V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

Week 1 of the Couch to 5k running plan. DONE! WHOOOOOT! I was feeling withdrawals from working out, I hadn't gotten my fix in and I decided since it was still light out that I'd go for a quick run. I ran OUTSIDE, can you believe me? oooohhhhh it felt so good. It was windy, I could see the beach, my knees weren't bothering me... it was amazing!!

I am going to do a bonus day tomorrow, just because I want to loose weight so, I'm just trying to get in the most cardio possible, but... I can still say that I did my full week 1.

Tuesday, I start week 2.

Mil Spouse Blog Hop

I have been trying to find a way to get more readers, people who understand what I am going through and I just found the perfect thing!

http://militaryspouserollercoasterride.blogspot.com/

It's the Military Spouse Blog Hop! What a cool idea!

So here goes, My name is Sarah I'm a college grad and career woman who decided to take a detour in her career and jump into the Nursing field. After some hard work and a lot of research, I started Nursing school this past January in San Diego. I've been married for just about three years. Our anniversary is May 11, so it's coming soon! My blog is about everything in my life from family, friends, deployment, school woes, even a little cooking. If I'm thinking it that day, I write about it! I look forward to following some of the wonderful mil spouses out there on their blogs!

Welcome to my life!

2 care packages and a margherita pizza!

I went to walmart this afternoon, well I guess it was still morning when I left. I spend forever walking up and down the aisles trying to plan what kinds of treats to put in there that my husband would like. I intended to put just one box together but, I bought so much stuff that I actually ended up with TWO! He's going to be so impressed with me. I bought all kinds of his favorite things, even nilla wafers. He loves those.

So, Tuesday is post office day. I have those to mail and a gift for a friend to send off as well. All very important type packages, that must go out asap!

When I got home, I made myself a margherita pizza on whole wheat pizza dough. It was delicious. I still have a little more than half left, that will work just fine for dinner. YUM. I still need to watch Avatar, so I can add that to the box, and then study for Monday's exam. Priorities, priorities... HA!

I think I might start with watching the movie, since I still have a pounding headache. Good thing I bought the king sized bottle of advil at the store.

DEFEAT! (like always)

So, here I am Week 1, Day 2 of the C25K running program. It goes something like this:

5 minute brisk walk, alternating 60 seconds running and 90 seconds walking until you hit 20 minutes, then a 5 minute cool down walking.

I have this podcast that I downloaded on iTunes, it's Robert Ulrey's Couch to 5k. It's basically workout music with some guy in the back ground telling you when to walk and when to run. They have casts for all 8 weeks of the program. It's very helpful. So, there's a part toward the middle where he says "You should be feeling the effects of your run, but you shouldn't be tired or out of breath" Ok, REALLY?!?! Are you effing nuts?! For one, I am getting shooting pains up my left shin and into my knee cap, I can't breathe and my side hurts!!!! For goodness sakes. Maybe I am just not a runner. On the plus side, I finished up the run for day 2.

Someone is probably reading this and thinkng "hey fatty, you gotta keep going, no pain no gain, remember?" uhmm... yeah, NO! Pain shooting up my leg into my knee sounds like a possible future injury. I hurt me knee, I can't walk, I get dropped from the nursing program. What kind of nursing student rolls around during rotations? I'll tell ya, the kind that gets dropped from the program. I need to be careful. I have worked too hard academically to get dropped because of a physicality. *le sigh*

I think maybe I need to take this up with my physician before I go any further. Getting hurt is the last thing I need right now. Except, the psycho in me is really considering going on to Day three tomorrow.

Exhausted

I got my official schedule for next semester, which starts May 13. I have so much to do before I get started, that I don't think I will have enough time to do it in. I probably shouldn't have planned a trip to such a far destination within such a short break period. To be honest, I know I need supplies, but I don't really know what types of supplies other than a rolly back pack. On top of all that I have finals coming up starting Monday for which I have done about ZERO preparation for.

I am actually pretty satisfied with my schedule for next semester, T/TH/FRI all day and clinicals on Saturdays. Not too bad. I really can't complain. With my husband being gone, Saturday is just another day, so it works out perfectly. I'm pretty sure that I'll be spending any free time off that I have reading and studying anyway.

I am tired as heck right now, I couldn't sleep last night. Nothing was on my mind, nothing is wrong, I just could not sleep. As soon as I'd fall asleep, I'd wake back up, uncomfortable, sweating, achy (from running). It was a miserable night, and then to have to manage through classes all day today was just torture. I can home and went straight to the couch, ate some baked pita chips and hummus and took a short nap. I'm still tired, and considering going up to bed to watch DVDs and just call it a night.

Tomorrow, I need to be productive. I need to go for my run, I need to get my husband some things to send off in another care package, go grocery shopping for my spectacular dinner guests on Friday, and really start to focus on studying for my last three exams. Hopefully, I will be asleep by eight, so I can get up early tomorrow and have a better more productive day.

I'm happy that semester #1 is ending and #2 is beginning. Once the new semester is over, I will be very close to having my love home with me again. I expect him back within the first quarter of semester #3. VERY EXCITING stuff. It will all come quickly... I feel like time is speeding by as it is already.

Skinny people don't "get it".

I used to be skinny. Not anymore. Now, I am about 39 lbs overweight. Formerly, 50lbs overweight, but I've lost 11lbs. When I started my weight loss journey, I was 200lbs exactly. The biggest I have ever been in my life. I didn't even fit comfortably in my size 14 jeans, and I refused to go buy bigger pants. I was miserable, and I hated the fact that I let myself get that big. I didn't have an excuse like a lot of my friends who are Mom's have. It wasn't child birth that put the weight on me, but rather my own laziness and failure to exercise and eat healthy. I have a lot of skinny friends, and by skinny, I mean sizes 0-5 and none of them get it. I always some how end up being made to feel stupid because of my weight.

Well, why can't I fit into a size 13 because it's the biggest size in the store? or why can't I shop at forever 21 and get an XL? or why can't I fit into a Large because it's such a big size? Yes, perfect... all those things that you talk about being sizes for big people are way too small for me. It doesn't help my self esteem. It really makes me wonder if people knew how big things actually had to be to fit me, if they would just think I was a total COW. MOOOOOO!

Now, I know I am not that fat. I'm definitely borderline overweight/obese by medical standards, however. I'm working on it and it's working obviously, because I've lost 11lbs in the past month. I just started the Couch to 5k running program. I am not a runner, I never have been, but this, this I can do. Because I normally do 40 minutes on the elliptical 3-4 times a week, it's a little below my cardio ability at the moment, but I have a feeling in the next couple weeks that it will prove to be quite the challenge. Today, I did the week one workout, and then did 30 minutes on the elliptical which equaled one whole hour of cardio. Quite the workout.

Why can't I just go running and see how far I can go? Well because you see, I am 39lbs overweight, with flat feet and knee problems. Plus, I'm FAT! All that extra weight is not supposed to be on my body, therefore it's HARD to carry it around, especially running. I need to work up to it. I will get there, but I don't want to kill myself doing it. The Couch to 5k running program is PERFECT for me right now.

So, if you are a skinny girl, don't make your fat friends feel bad by talking about how BIG a size 13 is, or brag about how fit you are, how far you can run, or complain that you are upset that you can't fit into your size two jeans. Because honestly, you really just don't get it. Unless you've been a size 14+, there's no way you could ever understand what "Fat" truly means.

This one is for the fat girls! XOXO

I know I am crazy but,

I can not stand it when people misspell "Corps". The most common misspelling I see is either "Corp" or "Corpse". When I see Corp, I think of shorthand for the word Corporation. The Marines are not a corporate entity nor are they a Corpse! I was just reading something in a news paper, a civilian newspaper, and they spelled it "Marine Corp", at least they knew enough to capitalize it, but really? Corp? Jeebus! In regards to the nature of the article, they could have at least done the Marine the honor of spelling his branch of service correctly.

Yes, I know... I am cynical, and probably have spelling and grammar OCD, but... it is what it is.

MARINE CORPS!

You know you live in military housing when...

you can't sleep because the people that live behind you are knowingly allowing their dog to bark and howl for over an hour, and then when you go ask them to keep it quiet, you get called a rude b***. This is a true story, something that happened to me last night, and after I left her house, I didn't hear a peep out of the dog again. For all that fuss she made about me being so out of line coming to her house, her dog sure got quiet pretty quick. She even suggested I call the MPs. Seriously? Why? If you are going to keep your dog quiet when I ask you, why bother the MPs? This is military housing, not the ghetto and I am an adult, and would rather deal with things myself first. SOME PEOPLE!

So, this incident has inspired me to review my experiences of living in base housing. I have lived in a couple neighborhoods. The one previous to this one was pretty bad. Now that we live in what I like to call "the big kids area", it's a lot less eventful. Every once and a blue moon something strange happens, but it's pretty quiet here. So, here is my list of experiences of how I know I live in Military housing.

1. Your neighbors think it's normal to let their dog bark all night, and accuse you of being rude when you go ask them to keep it down.
2. You have a neighbor that lets their toddler run around outside barefoot without supervision.
3. You have neighbor's that let their dog get out on a regular basis.
4. There is a ban on certain breeds, yet everyone in the neighborhood seems to have those breeds.
5. The MPs knock on your door asking for an eye witness account of the physical fight between husband and wife that just took place outside your living room window.
6. You get woken up in the middle of the night because owner the car parked outside your window at 3am decided to "bump" his music with his friends.
7. People think it's normal to play basketball at the court outside your window between the hours of 1am and 4am.
8. You catch a 7 year old peeping in your window, go outside to walk her home and talk to her parents, only to find that the only supervision she has is a 13 year old "cousin" that is drunk in the garage.
9. A child trespasses in your back yard, and when you talk to the parent YOU are the one in the wrong.
10. For an entire 13 month deployment, you observe a man who parks down the street and walks up the block and sneaks into one of your neighbors garages on a regular basis.
11. The kids in the neighborhood firmly believe that the side of your house can double as a hand ball court.
12. Every once and a while, you try to leave your house, but some idiot parallel parked their vehicle at the end of your drive way.
13. When people have parties in their driveway, you see women sitting there with a beer in one hand and a baby monitor in the other.
14. You've come home to several kids hiding on your porch like it was a fort of some kind, only to scatter the second they see you pull into the drive way.
15. You've been dig dong ditched during a deployment and had your heart sink into your stomach because you thought it was the CACO, only to be thrilled beyond belief that no one was there.
16. You notice, there never seems to be any Men around.
17. You can't figure out how you are on a tight budget, but then the people 2 houses down and 2 ranks below your husband can afford 3 kids, an Escalade AND a Mercedes without being in the poor house.
18. You have mold growing in your house, and housing tries to tell you that it's "normal".
19. Even though your husband rates a three bedroom house and you have no kids, you've still had people comment on how it isn't "fair" that you get all that space.
20. You've been told on by a neighbor for something stupid.

Of course, I say this all in jest. I love my house, and I have a good neighborhood, but sometimes you just have to sit back and think... "only on base housing would this happen..." hahaha.

Feel free to add some of your own. :)

To know them is to love them

I have two of the silliest dogs I have ever met. Sometimes I think they are more human than animal. That photo is their collars, stuck together. I'm sitting on the couch, relaxing, procrastinating on going to bed and they come waddling over in some kind of weird way and then just sit there and stare at me, making these kind of strange noises that I've never heard them make. Bubba also looked like he was hanging from Major's neck. At first I ignored them and though they were just being idiots like usual, until I thought..."Bubba really IS hanging from Major's neck, what the heck?" So, I get down on the floor to check out what the malfunction is and the goof balls are totally STUCK to one another. BWAAAHAHAH! It was the funniest thing. Here they are, looking up at me like two toddlers with that look in their eyes like "Mom, I think we did a bad thing and might need some help."

I love my dogs!

"Maine-ly Crane"

Just 10 more days until I get to go on vacation to Maine. I will be visiting my Dear friends Drew and Taryn (almost) Crane! I can't wait! WOO HOO!

Chihuahuas and Elephants

Maybe I am blogging out of anger here, but I feel it is something that needs to be said. There is a person on the outskirts of my life that I just have no respect for, I used to but she lost my respect due to her own actions and reactions to certain things. I have made countless efforts to try and rectify this relationship and to no avail, I always fail. The failure, however is not really due to any fault of mine. I can't be ok with someone who, like an elephant, never forgets. I can't be ok with someone who only looks at the negative side of life, someone who is unhappy, with a short temper and a very bad chronic case of PMDD. I just can't do it.

There are only so many times that you can "pretend" like you are the one who is in the wrong, only to have someone find something wrong with you again. It's a vicious cycle of toxicity. I refuse to let someone treat me like I am anything less that the outstanding friend, family member, wife, or person that I am. People will treat you the way you let them, and I won't be treated like a second class citizen.

There's only so much you can do for someone. Sometimes you just have to agree to disagree, or in this case, agree to be ok with having someone not like you. An opinion is just an opinion, and nothing more. It isn't based on facts. Unfortunately this time around, her opinion of me is like the herps; it lays dormant for a while and then when something happens, it comes back to haunt me with a vengeance. If only they made Valtrex for opinions. Now, that would be something... I think I would buy stock in that.

I wish this person nothing but the best in life, I hope she finds happiness and peace with the situation like I have. I know that life is too short to dwell on insignificant things like this, and for that, I am the better person.

With that being said, I am going to go on with my day by watching movies, spending time with my dogs, and studying. I will not revisit this again today, for I do not care any more to think about it. I have the company of great friend to look forward to this evening, now THAT is something to think about. :)

*no, I will not remove this blog, so don't even ask. I am entitled to my opinions, and it's nothing I haven't said before.*

Late night excitement

Ok, I know, it's not really that late. It's 10pm. I'm an old lady, to me that's late.

HE CALLLLEDD! YAY! I'm so excited. We got disconnected 3 times, only for him to call me back to tell me the SAT phone was dying and that he PROMISED to call me back as soon as it charged.

soooo, how long does it take for a SAT phone to charge? anyone? anyone?

I've sent two motomails, he got them both yesterday. Total Delivery time= 15 days.

Package #1, nowhere to be found (sent April 6)
Package #2, delivered yesterday (sent April 13)
Packages #3 and #4, still on their way (sent April 20)

His birthday present from AAFES, shipped April 12... also nowhere to be found. AAFES can't even find it with the invalid tracking number they gave me, and they can't tell me how it was shipped, because well, they don't know. I guess that was $269 down the drain on that one.

I'm super excited he called, but I'm super fed up with this deployment in general and ready for it to be DONE!

1 month down! and that much closer to having him home again!

Baked Mostaccioli

So, I'm pretty famous (at least in my circle of friends) for my baked mostaccioli. So, I thought I would blog about the recipe, if that's what you'd call it. I kind of just throw things together as I see fit, but this is how I do it.

What you will need:

About 1lb of Ricotta Cheese
32 oz. of fresh Mozarella
1 box of mostaccioli pasta
and your own sauce (no way are you getting my super secret squirrel recipe for that one ;) )

1. Prepare your sauce. Weather it be from the jar or from scratch, it doesn't matter. Any red sauce will do. You may add ground beef, chicken, or sausage if you like but I just use meatless marinara sauce.
2. While you are making the sauce, set your water for the mostaccioli. Add some salt to the water, and wait for it to boil and then add your pasta, cook until done and then set out to drain.

3. While you are finishing up your sauce, you can cut up the fresh mozzarella into thin slices.

4. Once you have everything ready, put the pasta into a 3qt. baking dish

5. Little by little, begin to mix in the pound of ricotta until it is evenly distributed in the dish.

6. Then ladle the sauce, you can use as much or as little as you like onto the pasta and mix throughly.

7. Finally you will mix in the slices of mozzarella into the pasta, and then place some slices on the top.

8. Chill overnight in the fridge so that the sauce has a chance to mix in and the flavors will mesh together.
9. Before you bake, if you like parmesan, add that on top. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes.

VIOLA! You have my famous baked Mostaccioli.

Final Product: I will post a photo tomorrow after I have baked my dish so you can see the final product.

Starbucks as motivation

I'm tired. I got a great night's sleep, but I'm still tired. Exhausted. I have NO motivation. I ran out of shampoo, and conditioner, I need to go buy Ben an alarm clock, and some other things to fill a box to ship out on Tuesday. My floor looks like hell and full of muddy dog paw prints, so the floor needs to be mopped. I need to drive the truck, because it's been a couple weeks since I last drove it. I have to STUDY, and I have no motivation to do any of it.

I just want to go back to bed, or watch a movie.

I need coffee. I think, that I will get dressed and head out to Starbucks. ahhh, yes... there's my motivation.

Life's like a novel

Would you beleive that I had this entire blog planned out, it was a fabulous piece. I thought it was witty and interesting and everyone was going to love it! So, I sit down and wouldn't you know, I can't remember a darned thing I had thought about writing. I've been sitting here staring blankly at my screen now for a few minutes and I just can't recall what this bright idea I had was. Then, I remembered something that my freshman english teacher used to tell me when I was at Azusa Pacific University. He would say, the you just have to write what comes to mind, that so many people are afraid to write, but what you don't realize is that you can always go back and edit later, move things around, reword, delete, etc. It worked out well for me in that class. I made it out with an A. But, anyway, this is not english at APU, this is my blog, and I've failed this morning because I really have nothing interesting to say or any creative, exciting way to say it in.

Although, perhaps that professor was onto something because now that I am just blurting out thoughts onto my screen in typical word vomit fashion, I am thinking my idea had something to do with how I survived deployments, or maybe just finding your inner strength. I know this because before I came on here with a blank mind I went to go look up the lyrics to my favorite Rascal Flatts song, "Stand". That is MY song. I think I listen to it about four or five times a day. It's really a good song. It's just so relevant to my life in so many ways:

Life's like a novel with the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon with only one way down
Take what you're given before it's gone
And start holdin' on, keep holdin' on

Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend 'til you break
Cause it's all you can take

On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand

I noticed the other day a bit of crackling and strange feed back noise when I went to play Disk 5, Track1 in my car. I think that over the years I have listened to it so often that I wore the track out. I also have it on my ipod, but I like to do things old skool when I'm rolling in my RSX. So, all this actual need for Rascal Flatts on a daily basis all started in Japan. I went there, alone. A lot of the time, I really was home sick. I made myself stay though. It would have really been stupid to leave. I mean, realistically it was a once in a life time opportunity; living in Japan for three months. Amazing country, wonderful people, and rich culture. By the time August came around, I didn't want to leave. It was one of the best experiences of my life.

When I came home from that trip is when I met my wonderful husband. Oh, he's wonderful! I'm just so delighted that I get to spend my life with him. Which, brings me to the other REAL reason why I listen to "Stand" on repeat a few times a week. He's gone A LOT, talk about ripping my heart out. I once went THIRTEEN months without him!! He's my best friend, I do everything with with him; I tell him everything. I can't imagine life without him. So, when he is gone I miss him. I have to constantly fight the urge to not want to get up and be productive. I actually have to go to school and act like a normal human being vs. a toddler throwing a temper tantrum, which on occasion really is enticing. Oh you have no idea how fun a temper tantrum sounds some days... and then, I listen to "Stand" and all is well in Sarah-land. Everything seems to be ok.

I realize that this is extremely cheezy, juvenile even but, you know what? Some times, you just gotta do what you need to do in order to get through the day. Anyway, it was either Rascal Flatts or Whiskey...

Did you rename your blog?

I did! I felt that "Adventures in life" was a bit more appropriate regarding the content of my ramblings. I seem to be writing about everything under the sun. I didn't want to be restricted to writing just about Nursing School. I want to write about anything and everything I feel like writing about, so... Adventures in life it is!

Good Night!

QUARANTINE!

We are back from the Vet. I honestly do not recommend this Veterinary office. The Dr. was great, super sweet lady but, the office was so crowded and they asked me to wait IN MY CAR with diarrhea dogs. I had to remind her that I was sitting in the car with TWO dogs that were having flatulence issues, and ask why they didn't have an isolation room for situations like this. After I complained we finally were placed in an isolation room. We won't be returning there. I was there for two hours, most of it spent waiting. It was the equivalent of an HMO medical clinic for humans. NO THANK YOU! Next time I will just drive out to our normal Vet 40 minutes from here and deal with poop in the car. That would have been a more pleasurable experience.

So, the verdict is that they either have Coccidia or Giardia. Without the results from the lab, they don't know for sure. I guess I will find out the exact issue in a day or two. For now, I have some kind of broad spectrum antibiotic that they need to take twice a day, for five days. They will also be put on a bland diet of chicken and rice as well per doctors orders.

I can say that neither of them will be allowed upstairs or in any room that has carpet in it. I am heading out to go borrow a steam cleaner from a friend down the street to see if I can clean up the aftermath of Bubba's projectile diarrhea from the night before.

When the shit hits the fan

If it's not one thing, it's the other. Just when I think I can relax and all is well in Sarah-land, I wake up to a world of shit, literally. Last night my German Shepherd - ish dog had what I refer to as projectile diarrhea. It looked like chocolate milk coming out of his butt. So, he slept in the laundry room and I took my little snuggle bug Bubba up to bed with me. At some point Bubba became infected with explosive diarrhea. It was under my bed, on the bed, next to the bed, on the wall, on the dresser... you name it, there was chocolate milk poop on it! So, I spent the morning looking into veterinary offices off base that would see them today for a reasonable price. Mission Animal Hospital will see them for $46 a pop, that doesn't include any testing or medication they will need either. It's really too bad the base Vet doesn't do emergency same day appointment. It really would save my bank account a lot of misery. So, now in a few minutes I will be trying to get two dogs to the vet office on my own. Last time I did that I failed miserably. It's really difficult to manage the two of them alone. It works a lot better when my husband is home and we can handle one dog each. One of the many joys of deployment. Some day I will sit down and write a list of things I hate during deployments.

For a small while, I was able to get out of the house and away from the poop. I went to lunch with a class mate, we went out to a place called "Pho & Chicken Express". The Chicken Pho there was super good. I was impressed. I will definitely be going there again. That was followed by an intense study session. I know more than I thought I knew in my classes, and I am happy about that. I feel like I could sit down to exams and pass with a solid C if I had to take the exam tonight. Good thing is that I have another week with 2 weekends left to study, so I am confident that I will be getting an A or B on both my finals, which is AWESOME! I may make it out of my first semester with a 4.0. That would be very pleasing.

I'm sorry my writing isn't as creative today as it has been in the past, but I'm tired and thinking about the dogs and the price tag attached to them right now. So, off I go to spend all my money is the name of loving my pets!

Please pray that I make it to the vet without my car looking like C. diff came to visit.

10 days left

My first semester of Nursing school is coming to a close and I just have 10 days left before my finals start. You know what? I still can't focus enough to sit down and review everything. It's not that I don't care about my grades, but rather I think I am burnt out on school. I am ready for a break. So, I need to just pull it together for 10 more days. I really didn't want to cram, but I believe that I am at the point where I don't have a choice. Cramming is going to be the way to go! I really just don't know what to do with myself at this point. I feel defeated by school. I have no energy, no drive, at least not tonight and definitely not at this moment. ughhhh, ohhhh motivation where did you go?! Please come back, I miss you.

I think I am going to fix myself some dinner and then re-evaluate the situation. Perhaps there is a massive flash card session waiting to be had this evening!

I bark at Chicken

I drove all over base yesterday, looking for ProPac dog food. Every store was sold out of the kind that I feed my dogs. That's what I get for waiting until the last minute. So, I am feeding my dogs my home made dog food until I can find some of the ProPac brand elsewhere. The home made dog food is just shredded chicken breast, rice, peas, carrots and chicken broth. Pretty nutritious type of stuff. The dogs usually love it.

I wish I would have gotten this on video, but my large German Shepherd- ish dog just stood there and barked at his bowl. Quite angrily. I kept asking him if he realized that the chicken was already dead, but he kept barking. I don't think he hardly ate much of it at all. I'm sure if he gets hungry enough he will, but... man, I wonder what that shredded chicken did to piss him off so early in the morning. HA!

Cake and Copenhagen in a flat rate box

And a round of applause goes to me, for making the impossible, POSSIBLE! Today, I fit a standard sized pillow, large sized towel and a pillow case in a 11-7/8" x 3-3/8" x 13-5/8" flat rate box to send to my husband in Afghanistan. With the help of a vacuum seal bag, lots of tape and persistence, I got the job done! It's just a towel and a pillow, you say? What's so hard about that? WELL, let me tell you, it's a lot harder than it looks; I promise. The box was bulging when I brought it to the post office. I was so proud of my deformed rectangle box filled with fluff!

Hubby is a lucky man this week, I sent him out TWO boxes today, yes TWO! He got cake in a jar in the other one, some mosquito repellent, a Scentsy plug in with 3 bars, 10 cans of copenhagen wintergreen long cut (on sale for $16 a roll at the PX!) guaranteed to make his jaw fall off, some hanging Scentsy fresheners, and baby wipes! I'm sure it will be his most favorite package yet. I heard rumors that it's hard to get dip there so, that alone will make him happy. Although, I feel bad for contributing to such a putrid habit. The things one does for love...

Most every time I talk about sending Cake in a Jar, someone always asks what it is. It's the most wonderful thing ever. Someone very smart has figured out how to bake cake in mason jars so that it stays fresh and is mailable. It's AWESOME! My husband loves it, and so do the other Marines. I always have to send extra so he can share.

The Recipe:
1.Prepare the cake according to package instructions, or use any cake recipe.

2.In pint size, straight-sided wide-mouth jars, put 1 cup of batter in each greased jar. Make sure to keep the rims of the jars clean. Put in preheated oven 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place jars on a cookie sheet to keep from tipping over while baking.

3.Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.

4.While they are baking, have your jar lids boiling in a pan of water. When the cake is done, take one jar out at a time and add the hot lid and screw on your jar ring and let set and cool.

5.It will seal as it cools. Place the jars on the counter and listen for them to 'ping' as they seal. If you miss the 'ping', wait until they are completely cool and press on the top of the lid. If it doesn't move at all, it's sealed.

6.After it cools it will pull away from the jar and when you are ready to eat, open and pop out the cake and enjoy.

And, Viola! There you have it! wrap the jars in bubble wrap, stuff into a flat rate box and ship it off to your favorite Marine. :)

I better find somebody to love.

I am wondering if my eyes are playing tricks on me. I've got most of my study guide complete except for 3 possible essay questions that I was sitting down to work on right now. I read them each, to see what I am going to be writing about, and then I get to question number 3, which reads:

When the truth is found to be lies, and all of the joy within you dies, don't you want somebody to love- don't you need somebody to love- wouldn't you love somebody to love? You better find somebody to love...

I am going to have to say that this is the second funniest thing to happen to me today. The first was me hiding in a tent with Kaitlyn and a Penis. (You just HAD to be there)

I'm pretty sure that Nursing school is rotting my brain at this point.

Piss and Vinegar

Friendship is something we learn as we mature through the years. It's an evolving process in which both the nature of our relationships grow as well as our necessity for the type of friend we choose. In Kindergarten, I had a best friend, we went to elementary school together and eventually grew apart. It was more or less a friendship based on childhood convenience. Most primary friendships are. You become friends with those who live near you, or those who have a toy you want to play with, or even the ones who are in the same class room as you are. I've noticed that as I've gotten older, friendship just means so much more to me than convenience, or geographical relevance.

I look for first and foremost honesty and sincerity in a friend. I want someone who understands me, and where I am coming from most of the time. I don't want someone who will agree with me just because they think they should avoid conflict. Let's debate! It's ok to disagree. I enjoy the mental challenge. I enjoy surrounding myself with strong, educated, and well informed people. I want to share my life with people and I want them to share theirs with me.

I feel like, I have been trampled on one too many times as a friend. I'm a Marine Corps spouse, so I have access to the commissary so maybe someone pretends to be my friend so they can buy discounted groceries, or so that I can give them information about a deployment because they don't have access to that type of thing, because maybe they aren't married and aren't on the contact list. It's not fair, I don't like putting myself out there to be used. I'd really much rather not have been friends at all, or maybe that the intentions would have been made clear from the beginning. I understand that sometimes it is difficult not to be married in the military, especially when you are anxious for information about deployments and other things that you might miss out on other wise. I'm always happy to support people, and help in any way I can, after all we are all in the same boat here, missing our loved ones while they are away. I just want people to be honest with me.

I've felt for the past few years that maybe not everyone has been honest with me. I feel like I need to start being careful with who I become friends with. A friendship is toxic when you are putting more into it than what you are getting out of it; it's draining. It's parasitic when one person gives and gives and gives, and gets nothing in return. I'm tired of being a host cell for a certain virus in my life. It's time for change, and it starts now, with me, right here.

Friendship is a two way street, and it's time for traffic to start coming my way again.

I will do anything but study

Did you ever notice that when there is an exam to prepare for, that you find everything else to do BUT study? I am the most productive around the house, and with my social life when I have exams to prepare for. I find anything and everything I could possibly do just to justify not studying. After all, I have so much to do; laundry, dishes, take the dogs out, meet up with friends, vacuum, rearrange the storage closet so that I can see what things I can sell on the Pendleton Yard Sales website... and the list goes on.

Fortunately, I did find it in myself today to get one study guide complete and a couple of research project items as well. The second study guide I should be working on is still a work in progress, and probably will be until the day before my final. You see, the nervous system seems to be the most confusing system in the entire body, and I have about two and a half more weeks to learn it. I also figured out my grade in such a way that if I get a 0 on the final exam I will still get a 77% in the class. I only need a 75% to pass, so no matter what I do, or how confused I am about the material, as long as I take the exam, I will surely get better than 0. Therefore my point is, even if I fail the final, I still pass the class. PERFECT!

At least I can call today an overall productive day. I did all my laundry, worked on 2 papers, put together a study guide, went to a doctor's appointment, took the boys to the dog park, and then wrapped it up with a nice dinner with some new friends. The only thing I didn't accomplish today that I set out to do was drive up to my Mom's house. I am way to tired to sit in the car with two nutty dogs up the 5 freeway for two hours. Tomorrow is going to be an early morning for driving, but at least I have time with my family to look forward to!

And on that note, I bid you a good night with proof of me not stressing out over finals.

That's the OC, It's not L.A.

Being a Los Angeles native and living in San Diego county, in a military town where people don't really know any better as to where county lines divide has helped me to develop some what of a pet peeve when people say "we're going up to LA" in reference to anything North of San Clemente.

There is a whole big county in between San Diego and Los Angeles. It's called Orange County. Disneyland is not in LA, neither is Knott's Berry Farm, or the Irvine Spectrum. Just because it is north of San Clemente, or Camp Pendleton does not qualify it to be Los Angeles. It becomes Los Angeles once you reach one of the following cities which border Orange County and Los Angeles County:

Long Beach, Hawaiian Gardens, Cerritos, La Mirada, Whittier, La Habra Heights, Rowland Heights or Diamond Bar.

So, if you are just going shopping or anything else in places like Costa Mesa, Anaheim, Santa Ana, West Minster, or Buena Park you are in the OC. Huntington Beach is also in the OC, it is not an LA Beach, Neither is Newport.

And while we are on the topic, I really can't stand when people say "I hate California" or "I don't like the people in California", because many of the people who say that usually stay real close to Camp Pendleton and haven't ventured anywhere else. For one, you can't judge the entire state on a small community surrounding and within a Marine Corps base, nor can you judge the entire population of a state based on the community on or around the base either; chances are, most people you encounter in the Camp Pendleton community aren't even from California anyway.

So, here's to LA!

Sanity

There are few things and people that keep me sane, especially during deployments, and at school:

1. My Husband
2. My Mom
3. My Dogs
4. Jennifer
5. Sushi Night with Sarah
6. Doggy Play Dates
7. Red Velvet Cake
8. Facebook
9. Rascal Flatts
10. Kaitlyn and carpooling
11. My elliptical
12. The wonderful World of Warcraft

Without these things, the balance in my world would be off. I need all of it to keep my sanity. Whenever my husband is gone, I always get compliments of how strong I am, and what a great person I am for doing what I do. What do I do? I can't figure it out. I stay here while he is off doing something that is truly commendable. Me? I just go to school, take care of the dogs, study and watch tv. I cry, I stress, I complain. I'm really not that strong. But, in all seriousness, what choice to I have? I Married the man, he had to leave. I kind of HAVE to wait. I had to learn to live with it. I wish he would never leave, but that's just unrealistic. So, I wait and make the best of it. I always appreciate the compliments, but I somehow feel guilty for accepting them, because I don't think I do anything that spectacular. I'm just a Nursing student married to a Marine. Nothing glamourous about that.

I'm just like everyone else. :)

In the home stretch

The exams I took last week, I didn't do too bad with. Considering the circumstances and the lack of concentration on my part. I pulled off two Bs, and a C. Not bad for a minimal amount of studying. Now, I get to start all over again and prepare for finals. I believe now that I have had some time to readjust to having my husband gone that I am a bit more focused. I am already on track with my study guides and my reading up until this point. I still do, however, have a bit of "end of semesteritis". I'm so excited about a trip I am taking to Maine to see a friend, and getting the opportunity to get away from here and relax for once.

I finally did hear from my husband, a couple times since my last blog actually. I've sent two packages, and a lap top that I ordered from AAFES, for his birthday present. He is doing well, and that puts my mind at ease. I often wonder if I really don't know what he is up to over there because I've always told him that I don't want to know what he is doing, if it involves him leaving the base, going on a convoy, going anywhere in a helicopter or other air craft, and basically any dangerous type thing that could result in death or injury. Ignorance is bliss. I don't mind hearing about it after the fact, but I don't want to be worrying during. Besides, as they always tell me "No news is good news". So far, that statement has held to be true. Although I can't say that I don't jump out of my skin at the late night ding-dong-ditchers in the neighborhood. After all, that is any Military Wife's worst night mare...

I do have to say, thank heavens for my dogs. I love them to death, and I've built up a good rapport with them since my husband has been gone. They often stare at me with great interest as I voice my complaints and concerns of the day. I appreciate the fact that they listen to me, and unlike humans they don't say anything back. Sometimes, I don't need a response. I really just need to say things out loud to feel better.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a dinner date with a German Shepherd and a French Bulldog.

Concentration is the game

I'm at the end of my first semester. Week 12 out of 16, or something like that. I may have lost track. On Thursday March 25th my husband left to Afghanistan. This is his fourth deployment, and my second one being his Wife. That alone has take up all my mental capacity this week. Never mind the three looming exams that I have coming up this week. At first, I thought what a blessing it would be to have a deployment right now. I would have more time to study, less distractions; I was going to be focused! By the time he comes home, I will be at the end of my first year. I will be too far in to get distracted by that time.

It has been eight days since I've talked to him. The last time we spoke was when I said goodbye to him, sitting in the front seat of his truck with tears coming down my face and him standing there with a rifle on his back at 2am in the freezing cold. I really hate those moments. I always get so upset saying goodbye because deep in my mind I can't help but wonder if that will be the last time I see him. Sometimes I let fear get the best of me.

So far this week, I've had an emotional breakdown at school. Over NOTHING. I had a good evening of pigging out and napping. I spent another evening crying so hard because I thought he didn't want to talk to me, and another making flashcards only to stare at them for a couple hours to retain nothing.

I hope that starting today, I can put everything aside and prepare for my exam. So far, I have a 4.0, and I'd like to keep it that way. At least for the remainder of the semester.