Oh the joys of Christmas! It's getting closer, and we are really starting to get excited! We've been busy working and trying to get ready for the holiday season. My latest project has been tackling our thank you notes (finally), and trying to figure out ways to save some money here and there.
On that note, I tried something new this pay period that I'm super excited about! I went through my favorite cook book and chose meals that I thought sounded delicious, and then made a list of the right number of dishes for each day we're here between now and our next payday (more than ten in all!). Then I made my grocery list, organized it by section of the grocery store, and went shopping. :) I managed to get out of the store with only four things that weren't on the list, and only spent $150 for two and a half weeks' worth of food! I'm super duper proud of myself.
Also for those who don't know, Jordan and I went crazy last month, and somehow decided it was a good idea to buy two cars on the same day... that's right, we both traded in our old cars and now have matching Jeeps. Mine is a 2010 Grand Cherokee Laredo, and Jordan's is a 2008 Wrangler Sahara with a hard top. Both are black. So now we have two black dogs and two black Jeeps. At least we're consistent, right??
Our holiday schedule is also something to be excited about. Last weekend we went down to Charleston to celebrate with my family, and we made it there and back with only one major issue: Carolina was kind enough to get the runs all over my brand new back seat. I offered her to the gas station attendants at the place where we stopped to clean up the mess, but for some crazy reason they wouldn't take her. She managed to make it home with us without serious injury, but that's a miracle in itself. I hope she realizes how fortunate she is.
This Monday I'm hoping to have my friend Justyne down to visit. She'll be our first visitor other than the friends of Jordan's who stayed over after we got hammered for his birthday. Okay, I got hammered. But they stayed nonetheless. Anyway, hopefully Justyne will be able to make it. We were hoping to be able to go down to Charleston for Christmas Eve after I get off work, but with two new gas-guzzling cars, we don't think it's going to happen.
After Christmas, we go back to normal for two days, and then head back up to Quantico for the wedding of one of Jordan's friends. They're getting married on our first anniversary! I'm going to pretend that it's our anniversary party in my head. :) But for serious, I'm very excited that our anniversary will be spent in a beautiful celebration of love. That night after the reception, we're heading up to Maine! I haven't been to Maine since last Christmas, so I'm so so so excited. We'll be there from the 30th until the 2nd, and we're really looking forward to spending the New Year with Jordan's best friends and family.
I guess that just about wraps it up for now... with so much going on in the end of December, we haven't even had a moment to consider what'll happen in January! :) The countdown is on for our big move, and we're looking forward to that too. Also, we'll hopefully be taking a cruise to the Mexican Riviera as soon as we get to California. Just have to save those dollars! Look out, honeymoon; here we come! Anyway, I hope that everyone is doing well. We send all our love, and wish all of you a very merry Christmas!
All our hugs and kisses!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
TBS IS OVER!!!
So, we finally made it to NC, and TBS is over! We've had sooo much going on, so I haven't been able to keep up with blogging lately, but I'm back, I promise. :) The last few weeks have been nonstop work. Fun work, but work none the less.
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| Our house, Hasell Cottage, from the front |
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| Our kitchen - an oldie but goodie! |
So after we got back from house hunting, I finished up my last week of work in Virginia. The following weekend, we went down to Charleston for our church reception, which was a really good time. The food was amazing all weekend, and I got to see my very first UGA game of the season, since Virginia sucks and doesn't show Georgia football. Yet another dreadful thing about that place to add to the reasons we're glad to say goodbye to it!
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| My favorite part - the screened porch! |
The following week was a big one! On Monday the packing company came and took aaaall our stuff away to CA to wait for us in storage. Well, I say all, but we still managed to pack our cars so full we thought they were going to explode. I was really lucky that my friend Justyne was willing to come over and spend the whole day with me, which kept me from having to be alone with the packers. I really didn't want that to happen. My friend Jessica also came over, and she brought her two boys, Ethan and Logan. Logan was just born on the 20th, and I got to go to the hospital and see him on his first night in the world. :) I may have hated Virginia, but I sure am going to miss those two girls!
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| Me, Jessica, and Justyne kissing Logan, and Ethan trying to stop us. |
Wednesday was Warrior Day, and it was soooo awesome. I guess I got the "true TBS eperience" though, because this is how our day went: We got up at 4:00, dressed, went to McDonald's for breakfast, and then got to TBS by 5:20. They changed the schedule from the one I had last seen, and we missed the memo, so then we had two hours to wait until it was time to start registration. After registration, it was time to head to the range!! We went out to the line for the buses, and had the privilege of standing around for two fabulous hours while we waited. In order to shoot I had to wear a flak vest and kevlar helmet, which were so heavy that after I shot the M16 (a rifle) in the kneeling position, I fell over backwards trying to stand up. It was super embarassing and Jordan called me a wimp, because it's nothing compared to the weight he has to carry around on a regular basis in the USMC.
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| Us on Warrior Day |
We went out to the line for the buses, and had the privilege of standing around for two fabulous hours while we waited. In order to shoot I had to wear a flak vest and kevlar helmet, which were so heavy that after I shot the M16 (a rifle) in the kneeling position, I fell over backwards trying to stand up. It was super embarassing and Jordan called me a wimp, because it's nothing compared to the weight he has to carry around on a regular basis in the USMC.
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| In front of a CH-53, which is the kind of helicopter they used to helo Jordan out to the field (when they weren't marching). |
After the M16, I got to shoot the SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon), which is a freaking MACHINE GUN!!! It was sooooo cool! Then it was on to the grenade launcher, which was fun, but not nearly so fun as the SAW. Another really cool part of the day was the different vehicles we got to see. There were two helicopters, which we actually got to watch come in and land. It was awesome! We also got to see a bunch of MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected), which are the vehicles they use in the war. Both of us were able to climb up in the turrets and sit in the drivers seats of the vehicles, and it was so cool.
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I know it's blurry, but here's a picture of Jordan finally taking that well-earned walk across the stage of the FBI Academy. I am SOOO proud of my man!! |
The next day was Graduation! David (Jordan's dad) and his girlfriend Jane came into town to be there, and we had such a great time with them! We did a lot of talking and a LOT of eating!
The next day we finished packing the cars and made the long drive down here to NC. I had Carolina in my car, and Jordan had Gunner in his Jeep. It was long and boring, but we finally made it!
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| Carolina sleeping in the box in front of her seat |
Now that we're here, we've just been getting settled in and playing a LOT of Call of Duty. :) For those of you who don't know, I finally gave in to one of Jordan's greatest wishes and got him a PlayStation 3. I've been saying no for well over a year, but I figured that since he graduated from TBS and his birthday is coming up in a week and a half, he deserved it. We got the system and several games, including Call of Duty: Black Ops, which just came out this morning at midnight. As I'm sitting here, Jordan's sitting next to me playing the heck out of it. :)
When we aren't playing the new PS3, we're enjoying our time off together, and we've taken the dogs out to the beach as often as possible to run around and get some of that energy out. To wrap up, here are two more pictures...
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Running out of Tiiiiiiiiiiime
So the past week has been eventful, to say the very least. :)
We found out that Jordan will now be reporting on the 6th to Camp Lejeune, so now we have TWO DAYS to move down there, since he graduates the 4th. I went to TMO (Traffic Management Office) on Friday, and set up our shipment for all our furniture and everything to be moved out to 29 Palms on the 1st, so we've got a lot of planning to do for that! Last night we went to the PCS (Permanent Change of Station) mixer to get some good information about moving to the desert, and tonight I'm going to a dinner at General Flynn's house. I've been stressing about that pretty hardcore, but I got to go shopping for a new outfit, so I can't complain. :) I think that's about it as far as the military goes for right now.
On the family front, we had quite a scare with Miss Carolina. She's been really tough to potty train, so on Friday I took her to the vet. They had me leave her there so they could collect a sample and do a urinalysis. About an hour later Dr. Trout, her veterinarian, called me with the news that she didn't have a urinary tract infection, but there is something wrong with her kidneys. We were really worried, because Dr. Trout told us that there was a chance that if her kidneys weren't filtering out the bad stuff effectively, it might mean our little girl wouldn't make it out of puppyhood. They did bloodwork to test, and about $300 and a river of tears later we were told that she definitely has a kidney problem, but it's probably not deadly. We're supposed to be monitoring the amount of her water intake this week and she's going back for another appointment this Sunday.
I got some great news this week... the bank I work for, which I can't write here because it's a fireable offense to represent the bank online (stupid), has a few branches around Camp Lejeune, and I'm going to be able to transfer! Because I haven't been with the company for six months yet, I'm not technically eligible for a transfer, but my awsome boss Susan gave me a glowing recommendation and my interview went well, so they arranged for a military exception. I'll be working at the Havelock branch for now, and there's a chance that they may be able to arrange for a guy at the Morehead City branch to switch with me, which would apparently shorten my commute by 15-20 minutes. Either of those branches are actually closer to Cherry Point, so we're going to be living somewhere in the middle to split our commutes.
This weekend we're headed to Camp Lejeune to house hunt, the next weekend we'll be in Charleston, and then graduation is the 4th! We're super duper excited to see lots of family soon, and miss everyone terribly. I'm off to primp for the dinner tonight, but will hopefully be sending another update along soon. Hope all is well with everyone!
We found out that Jordan will now be reporting on the 6th to Camp Lejeune, so now we have TWO DAYS to move down there, since he graduates the 4th. I went to TMO (Traffic Management Office) on Friday, and set up our shipment for all our furniture and everything to be moved out to 29 Palms on the 1st, so we've got a lot of planning to do for that! Last night we went to the PCS (Permanent Change of Station) mixer to get some good information about moving to the desert, and tonight I'm going to a dinner at General Flynn's house. I've been stressing about that pretty hardcore, but I got to go shopping for a new outfit, so I can't complain. :) I think that's about it as far as the military goes for right now.
On the family front, we had quite a scare with Miss Carolina. She's been really tough to potty train, so on Friday I took her to the vet. They had me leave her there so they could collect a sample and do a urinalysis. About an hour later Dr. Trout, her veterinarian, called me with the news that she didn't have a urinary tract infection, but there is something wrong with her kidneys. We were really worried, because Dr. Trout told us that there was a chance that if her kidneys weren't filtering out the bad stuff effectively, it might mean our little girl wouldn't make it out of puppyhood. They did bloodwork to test, and about $300 and a river of tears later we were told that she definitely has a kidney problem, but it's probably not deadly. We're supposed to be monitoring the amount of her water intake this week and she's going back for another appointment this Sunday.
I got some great news this week... the bank I work for, which I can't write here because it's a fireable offense to represent the bank online (stupid), has a few branches around Camp Lejeune, and I'm going to be able to transfer! Because I haven't been with the company for six months yet, I'm not technically eligible for a transfer, but my awsome boss Susan gave me a glowing recommendation and my interview went well, so they arranged for a military exception. I'll be working at the Havelock branch for now, and there's a chance that they may be able to arrange for a guy at the Morehead City branch to switch with me, which would apparently shorten my commute by 15-20 minutes. Either of those branches are actually closer to Cherry Point, so we're going to be living somewhere in the middle to split our commutes.
This weekend we're headed to Camp Lejeune to house hunt, the next weekend we'll be in Charleston, and then graduation is the 4th! We're super duper excited to see lots of family soon, and miss everyone terribly. I'm off to primp for the dinner tonight, but will hopefully be sending another update along soon. Hope all is well with everyone!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The Beginning
Well, I've always made fun of people who blog, but I've finally decided to join the ranks of the thoroughly self-absorbed and create one. :) I figured that, since we're in the Marine Corps and will very soon be on the other side of the country from both our families and friends, we needed a simple way to share what was going on with us with the ones we love the most. So far, I have no idea what I'm doing, but hopefully I'll figure blogging out well enough that I can share pictures and everything as well. Soooo... for anyone reading this who hasn't heard, this is what you've missed lately.
Jordan finally found out his MOS (Military Occupational Specialty, for my side of the family) and our eventual duty station, and we're getting pretty excited about it! He will be a member of the 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, which is based in 29 Palms, CA. Technically, this means we got our first choices for both MOS and duty station, although when we said we wanted West Coast, we were really thinking Camp Pendleton. Camp Pendleton is on the beach in Oceanside, CA, and is supposed to be a super beautiful place. At first I was a little disappointed about being sent to 29 Palms, but it's going to be a totally different experience than either of us has had before, so we're starting to be more optimistic.
The other day I called the Relocation Assistance Office at 29 Palms to get some information about it. The guy told us he's going to be sending us a 4 lb. package of stuff! I can't imagine that there'll be any questions left to ask after that! He also asked if we had kids, and I told him about Gunner and Carolina. He said it's a good thing they're big, because apparently they have a problem out there with little dogs getting eaten by hawks and coyotes! It's definitely going to be a learning experience for our little family. Before we make our way out to the desert for the next 3+ years of our lives though, we'll be going down to Camp Lejeune, NC so that he can complete Engineer School.
On November 4th, Jordan will graduate TBS, and then we only have a few days before he reports to Engineer School. We detach from Lejeune on March 31st, and we have 30 days to get out to CA. Since the Marine Corps will only move us once, we're going to ship all our stuff out to CA when we leave Stafford in a few weeks, and we're planning to rent furniture and everything while we're in NC. We've planned an awesome road trip to get us to 29 Palms, too!
Our plan is to start out from NC and spend our first night in Gatlinburg, TN. From there we'll make our way to Houghton, MI to visit with Jordan's Dad, David. Our next stop is Keystone, SD, where we'll get to see Mount Rushmore. I'm super excited about that because neither of us has ever seen it. Next on the list is Colorado Springs, CO where we'll visit the Air Force Academy. From there it's on to the Grand Canyon before we finally make it to our new home! We're going to take about ten days to make the trip. The biggest concern we have about it is that we'll really have to plan ahead on our hotel stays because we'll have Gunner and Carolina with us, but planning all of this is definitely giving me something to replace wedding planning with. :) We're also hoping to finally be able to take our honeymoon between moving out there and Jordan's report date. Cross your fingers for us!
Anyway, I think I'm about spent as far as coming up with interesting things to talk about since I don't actually know if anyone will ever read this, but hopefully it wasn't too, too boring. With all the changes that are about to start happening in our lives, I hope someone is kind enough to wish us luck... We're gonna need it!
Here's a video of the babies playing today... We took them out in our apartment complex today and they were fetching gigantic sticks! It was a really great time, and I hope y'all think it's as great as we do. And don't worry, the yellow jacket didn't sting me!
Jordan finally found out his MOS (Military Occupational Specialty, for my side of the family) and our eventual duty station, and we're getting pretty excited about it! He will be a member of the 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, which is based in 29 Palms, CA. Technically, this means we got our first choices for both MOS and duty station, although when we said we wanted West Coast, we were really thinking Camp Pendleton. Camp Pendleton is on the beach in Oceanside, CA, and is supposed to be a super beautiful place. At first I was a little disappointed about being sent to 29 Palms, but it's going to be a totally different experience than either of us has had before, so we're starting to be more optimistic.
The other day I called the Relocation Assistance Office at 29 Palms to get some information about it. The guy told us he's going to be sending us a 4 lb. package of stuff! I can't imagine that there'll be any questions left to ask after that! He also asked if we had kids, and I told him about Gunner and Carolina. He said it's a good thing they're big, because apparently they have a problem out there with little dogs getting eaten by hawks and coyotes! It's definitely going to be a learning experience for our little family. Before we make our way out to the desert for the next 3+ years of our lives though, we'll be going down to Camp Lejeune, NC so that he can complete Engineer School.
On November 4th, Jordan will graduate TBS, and then we only have a few days before he reports to Engineer School. We detach from Lejeune on March 31st, and we have 30 days to get out to CA. Since the Marine Corps will only move us once, we're going to ship all our stuff out to CA when we leave Stafford in a few weeks, and we're planning to rent furniture and everything while we're in NC. We've planned an awesome road trip to get us to 29 Palms, too!
Our plan is to start out from NC and spend our first night in Gatlinburg, TN. From there we'll make our way to Houghton, MI to visit with Jordan's Dad, David. Our next stop is Keystone, SD, where we'll get to see Mount Rushmore. I'm super excited about that because neither of us has ever seen it. Next on the list is Colorado Springs, CO where we'll visit the Air Force Academy. From there it's on to the Grand Canyon before we finally make it to our new home! We're going to take about ten days to make the trip. The biggest concern we have about it is that we'll really have to plan ahead on our hotel stays because we'll have Gunner and Carolina with us, but planning all of this is definitely giving me something to replace wedding planning with. :) We're also hoping to finally be able to take our honeymoon between moving out there and Jordan's report date. Cross your fingers for us!
Anyway, I think I'm about spent as far as coming up with interesting things to talk about since I don't actually know if anyone will ever read this, but hopefully it wasn't too, too boring. With all the changes that are about to start happening in our lives, I hope someone is kind enough to wish us luck... We're gonna need it!
Here's a video of the babies playing today... We took them out in our apartment complex today and they were fetching gigantic sticks! It was a really great time, and I hope y'all think it's as great as we do. And don't worry, the yellow jacket didn't sting me!
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