This Thing Called Life...

Well, May has turned out to be quite the eventful month...
We are fully moved in to our new place and are still in love with it. It definitely feels like home. Except to poor Pheobe... I don't know if I've mentioned before, but she's afraid of walking on tile/hardwood floors. And our new living room and dining room are hardwood. She immediately took up residence on the bottoms stairs and entry rug in front of the front door. It took a lot of coaxing, but we finally got her to walk from the door to her dog bed in the dining room where her food is. She didn't like it and some times took one of us calling her, but she got used to it. Well, I'm not sure if she slipped at some point or what, but now she won't cross the living room at all. We have to drag her across. It's worrying me because I know she's only getting food and water when we drag her to it, but I just keep thinking if she gets really hungry she'll just go for it. Sigh... weird dog.
One unfortunate thing that May has brought us is the death of Ty's truck. We knew it was coming eventually. I mean, the thing has been lopsided for a good 9 months. But we just kept thinking it would hang on until the fall. Obviously, it didn't. It just wouldn't start one day and there's no way we're putting money into it to get it fixed (it's 20 years old and a pos) but now he's without a vehicle. Ok, that's technically not true. He does have two motorcycles, but neither of them happen to work at the moment. (Insert eye roll here) So we've been sharing my car which means him shuttling me to work at 5 am and me waiting around an hour and a half after my shift for him to get off of work. Then I'm without a car on my days off so I've been stranded at home. It's been stressful. He's been looking for a new vehicle forever it seems, but a. he's insanely picky and b. when we find one we're interested in, it doesn't work out for whatever reason. I am hoping and praying that we find one soon... Not just because it'll be less stressful, but because he can't take his bikes to be repaired without one and I'd like to go kayaking sometime this summer!!
Besides that drawback, May has treated us pretty well. It was my birthday this last week. The not so big 24. I didn't really plan on doing much besides going out the weekend before. I took a three day weekend to treat myself. Unfortunately, Ty was in class all day Saturday and the rest of the evening was spent driving an hour away to look at a truck. I was a little disappointed that we didn't go out to a fancy meal or anything, but the next day we spent together. We had doughnuts the size of our faces and ice cream and laid around watching the Big Bang Theory all day. Nothing too eventful but it was nice just to spend the day with him. On my actual birthday we did go out to eat, but after him working all day and me having to be up super early for work the next morning, it wasn't too crazy. It's weird to think I'm 24. Almost a quarter of a century has passed since I've been on this Earth.. Some days I don't feel like I've accomplished anything. But then I glance at my husband and our pup and think about the places I've been, I'm pretty content with where I'm at. I'm still young. I don't need to be a huge success or to have it all figured out at this point in my life. I'm incredibly happy and that's all that matters.
The next day at work I received a surprising birthday present. I was promoted! Not too shabby of a gift, huh? I wasn't really expecting it to happen this quickly or how it did. I knew it was going to happen by the end of the year, but I figured I'd have to go to another store or something like that. But it turns out the person above me is leaving the company. So they gave me the job! It was between me and another girl at the same level as I am, but I have more experience with this position and this position directly oversees mine so it makes more sense for me to have it. I officially start next week. I'm really excited about it, but also a little nervous. It's going to mean less super early mornings but more closing shifts which I'm not thrilled about.It's also way more responsibility and doing things I'm not used to. I'm basically going to be in charge of keeping the store running and all of the paperwork completed. But the pay is nice and it's nice to finally be on an upward progression with my job. I was in the same position for four year due to me moving around. And now I'm promoted again in less than a year! Not too bad... It's interesting to see how far I can get without a degree. I mean, I'm still "planning' on going back this fall, but I've made it pretty far without one. Old Navy is not my dream career, but I enjoy what I do. And you can make a decent living from it if you keep working your way up. There's always somewhere to go with it, which I like.
The hubs and I had the day off together today for Memorial Day. We had planned to hang out with friends by the pool all day, but they sort of bailed so we did what we do best: drink, eat, and shop. It was nice, but it would have been more fun to drink by the pool I think...
I hope you all had a more eventful Memorial Day! Remember what the day is really about: All of those who fought and have fallen for our freedom. To them, we give our thanks and owe our lives.
Until next time!
Chrissy

Birthday flowers from my mamma

Spring in our new neighborhood.. 

We told her to sit and I think she just panicked...

Lazy day...

Didn't I tell you they were huge?!

This is my "Hey, I'm 24" face

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On to Something New...

Well hello there!! Long time no...see? Write? Whatever. Sorry for the absence but we've actually had quite a bit going on.
First off, we're moving! Finally we found a place we love. It's not exactly what we were looking for but it's cute nonetheless. We've started the packing process and get our keys tomorrow. I'm really excited to move and start somewhere fresh, but it's been stressful. House hunting was torture. Getting my husband to lower his expectations to reality was difficult. I searched Homes.com everyday for months. Everything was either too far away, too expensive, or not what we were looking for. We wanted an actual house with a yard which is very hard to come by around here unless you want to pay for it or be about 30 minutes away. If we couldn't find a house, we agreed we'd take another townhome, but only if it was cheaper than where we're at now. I couldn't find anything that fit for the longest time, but we finally found something that looked decent online and when we went to see it, we fell in love. It is a townhome, but a little smaller (which is what we want) and about 200 cheaper than our place now. It's only about ten minutes away from where we're at now but it's in a new town and doesn't really effect either of our commutes. I'm really excited about it. It's got beautiful hardwood floors on the main floor and is the perfect size for us. Unfortunately, the actual moving out part is proving to be stressing. The day after I informed our landlord we would be ending our lease at the end of the month, he called letting us know he already had a showing. So we frantically cleaned our house in the 2 hours we had before they arrived. I couldn't believe he did that. Since then we've had a showing about every other day which means we have to keep our house looking presentable which is sometimes a challenge when you work at 5 or 6 am. I'm also a little worried about getting our security deposit back. We haven't done anything to the property but there are some minor issues that we discovered pretty much since we first arrived but they didn't bother us so we didn't mention them. I'm afraid those things are going to get blamed on us and they're going to screw us out of our money. Plus, we have to get our carpets cleaned and the house exterminated since we have a pet. The carpet cleaning itself is inching close to 400 with how big the place is and our pet deposit was only 500. Sigh. I wish I could just say screw it, have them keep the deposit and take care of it all. The only good thing is that our lease can't end until the end of the month but we're starting to move in to the new place tomorrow. So we've got some time to make sure everything's clean and ready to go.
So that's what we've had going on. It's been a busy month.
We've had some bad news too last month. My great-grandmother passed away early in March. She was 90, so it didn't come as a complete shock, but it was upsetting nonetheless. We had thought she was going to pass a hundred times in the last 10 or so years, but she always managed to pull through. So it was hard wrapping my mind around the fact that this time she didn't. It was and is surreal for me. Since I'm not there and wasn't there to experience everything, it doesn't feel like it actually happened. It hit my mother hard though. She was the last of her parents. I was sad for her more than anything else. I didn't make it home for the funeral. I knew with the move coming up we didn't have the extra money. But I know my mother and my great-grandmother were surrounded by people who cared about them, so I didn't worry.
Spring has finally arrived it seems. The cold has finally broken. It's going to be almost 70 this week. I'm anxious for what this season holds and all of the beauty and new beginnings it brings.
Chrissy

Spring.

Yum

Sunshine... Finally.

I made this. I'm so domestic. 

Today: Packing.... so much packing. And coffee of course

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New Year, New Problems...

Hey look! The first post of 2014! Only 25 days after it began... Oh well.
How has everyone's year been so far?? Have we kept our resolutions or already thrown them out the window? I made a few, but have really only stuck to one which was to read more. I finished Anna Karenina and started and completed The Road already. All of the others I don't think I even began to fulfill...
This year has been quite stressful so far, I'm sad to say. We received some pretty depressing news a few weeks ago. I won't go into all of it, but basically, there's a chance that Ty could be involuntarily removed from his contract which means that by next January we could be out of the military. When we first found this out, I couldn't believe it. My mind went racing with thoughts on how we were going to be able to afford rent or anything really. We can't exactly live on my salary. He doesn't have a degree and really doesn't want to do anything with what he has been trained for in the military. He wants to be a paramedic which will require at least a two year degree. I started to worry that we may have to go back home and live with our parents for awhile. That is not something I want to do.
But after a few days to let it all sink in, we began to be a little more proactive about what we were going to do if he was let go. With the GI bill, if he's in school full time, we'll still get a housing allowance. That instantly relieved me since rent is the biggest bill of course. However, when he would be let go would be just a few days after the start of spring semester at pretty much any school. Of course. So we thought maybe he could do online the first semester. But we found out that if you are full time online, you don't get housing. Well crap. So we're trying to see if perhaps they would release him a few days early or if he could do half online half in school or something. We're optimistic that it'll work out.
Unfortunately this means that a lot of things are going to change. If he's in school and only working maybe part time, our funds will be incredibly limited. And who can say if he'll be able to get a job right away when he finishes. Things could be tight for quite awhile. This is fine with just the two of us and we'll get by. But it definitely  means that a baby is not in our immediate future. There's just no way. It really breaks my heart to have to admit that, but it's reality.
Sigh...
So that's been our year so far. Besides that, we're currently on the hunt for a new place. Somewhere smaller and cheaper. Unfortunately, Ty is THE pickiest person ever. He doesn't want to live in a townhome and wants a little bit of land for chickens. Considering we live on the East coast and near major cities, that's hard to come by. He's given in on the land for chickens but is still being difficult about a townhome. I've been scouring homes.com but haven't found too many prospects.
I'm hoping that this year turns around. And soon. We could use some good news.
Sorry to be so depressing. I hope that the new year is being kinder to all of you!
Until later.
Chrissy

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Happy Holidays...

Well hello there! I'd say Merry Christmas, but I'm too late... oh well. Happy holidays will have to suffice. I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas (and Thanksgiving since I haven't posted since right before then...). I certainly did.
But lets back up. I survived hell week/month at work. Barely. The shifts were rough, the stress was high, but I made it. We're back to normal now and I can breathe. It was definitely different being on the manager side of retail during the holidays. It's a whole other level. But I'm stronger now on the other side of the holidays...
I've barely seen Ty the last month and a half. He's been busy with his EMT classed and I've been having crazy hours at work... we've hardly spent time together. That all is back to normal now too, thankfully. We don't know what to do spending the entire day together. But I prefer that to never seeing him.
As far as Christmas goes, I think it was a success. We didn't travel home since both our jobs wouldn't really allow it this time of year. Even though I wish I could have spent time with my family, I loved our little Christmas with our own little family. At first, I was really worried about finding a great gift for Ty. I was trying to think of something that would completely blow his mind or bring him to tears or something. I was getting myself too stressed out so I decided to get a bunch of little things instead. Once I made that decision, I went a little crazy. I kept finding cool or quirky things that I knew he'd love. I ended up getting him:

• Sock garters: he's always complaining about his socks falling down....
• A bottle of bourbon
• A lego mug that he can put legos on
• Legos 
• An ice mold in the shape of the Death Star
• A book on NPR
• A book on backyard farming
• A bunch of protein bars, chapstick, coffee, ect. as stocking stuffers
• A print of the latitude and longitude of where I was born, where he was born, and where we were married.

The last one was sort of for me too. I absolutely loved it and it's going to look great on our wall. I honestly didn't think he had gotten me anything since I had seen him only go to the mall (with me there) a few days before Christmas. But he surprised me with a beautiful watch and a pair of diamond studs. He did really good this year. :)
We spent the rest of the day eating and drinking and then drove around for a few hours looking at possible homes. Our lease is up at the end of February so we're starting to hunt for something with some more land (he's really set on chickens...). I don't know if we'll ever agree on a place... We'll probably end up staying here...
Can you believe 2013 is almost over?? This has been a busy year if not eventful. It flew by. It seems like just yesterday we were saying goodbye to California, but that was over a year ago. Life goes by so much faster the older you get. I'm excited for what 2014 might bring... we don't have any major life events planned such as a move... But life always has a way of surprising us. Who knows...
That's all for now! I'll leave you with some pictures of our holidays...
Chrissy

I don't even know...

Assessing the damage...

It's not Christmas without Charlie Brown...

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Glad to Live in a World Where There are Octobers...

Hello all! I cannot believe that it's almost the end of October... I think that time deliberately goes quicker this time of year because it knows how much I love it. It's finally actually been feeling like fall outside after what seemed like endless summer heat. Of course, now, I'm whining about how cold it is in the mornings, but oh well. I'll take it in exchange for finally getting to experience fall. The leaves here seem to be resisting changing, however.. It may be because of the lack of rain over the summer, but they're just not turning vibrant like I imagined. Sigh..
Life has been pretty uneventful lately. Ty and I have both been so busy with work and him with EMT class. I did the math, and, on a good week, we maybe see each other 40 hours. I see my coworkers more often. How incredibly depressing is that? I wish that we had a way to work with each other or work from home or something. I know most spouses would most likely get sick of one another, but I would love seeing him all day. Especially having a specific task to do such as work. We'd get to be with each other, but doing something productive.
We did go to the Air Force ball last month. I was expecting it to be sort of boring and for me not to know anyone. But it actually was a blast. I got to wear a beautiful dress and get my hair done and dance the night away with Ty and some of his friends that I actually knew. It was so much fun. We stayed the night at the hotel where it was held so we got to have extra fun since we didn't have to drive home. It was nice going out and doing something new.
Other than that, we've been spending the few nights we are together at home. We don't have much time for exploring or anything too exciting. We did buy a new car last weekend. Does that count as exciting? I have been searching for a new car for the last three or so months... I know way more about cars than I ever really wanted to. What we opted for was not my first choice, but I'm loving it so far. It's three years old but has barely any  miles on it and it's all wheel drive AND it's blue! A pretty perfect find I think. Now, unfortunately, we have to find a vehicle for my husband... His 20 year old truck is not going to make it much longer which is unfortunate considering we just got it before we moved and considering he loves it. It's his perfect truck. But alas.. a replacement must be found. Which means money is going to be tight for awhile. I am not looking forward to having a car payment again and having nothing in savings (what we're paying for his car with). But it'll be alright. We've been worse off. It was just nice having spending and fun money.
What else... Oh! My little sister got married over a month ago now (crazy!). I spoke to her via skype the other day and she informed me that they're already trying for a baby.. yeah. That definitely surprised me. For one, she and him have known each other less than a year. For two, they JUST got married. Three, only he is working and they live right outside a major city which means it's rather expensive to live there. I just can't believe they're even thinking about kids yet. I know it's not my business and my opinion doesn't matter, but I just don't get it. I think she's underestimating how difficult it's going to be to just finance a baby. My eldest sister gets government assistance and mooches off of my grandmother to basically provide for her kids. I don't know if maybe my younger sees this and just assumes that the money will be there somewhere. I'm trying not to be judgmental, I'm just worried. She's not the "maturest" or responsible of people and I don't want them getting into a bad situation with finances while trying to raise a baby. I guess we'll see. It's they're lives... they can do what they like.
It's hard to believe that the holidays are right around the corner. I know that the month of November and beginning of December are pretty much going to be hell for me. Not only am I in retail, but I'm in the marketing aspect of retail which of course blows up for the holidays. I'm really trying not to even think about it. I just keep telling myself it's 4 weeks of craziness and then it's over. :/
Considering that we won't really have a Thanksgiving together since I'll be working, I really want Christmas to be special this year. This will be the first year that we don't go back home since being married. While I'm sad to not see my family, I'm grateful that I won't have to deal with trying to figure out how to see everyone now that they're all over the place. Ty and I can start our own traditions and spend the day together. Maybe watching Christmas movies around our fireplace drinking hot chocolate or peppermint lattes... That sounds perfect to me.
That's all I have for now! Until next time!
Chrissy

Morning face...

Fall uniform...

Fall essentials...

Bedside things...

New hair...

Officially addicted to cheese and crackers...

Air Force ball.. So much fun

Pasta is always better with cheese...

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Working 9 to 5... Actually it's more like 8 to 5....

This whole full-time job thing is exhausting.. let me tell you. I've been in the position about a month now and my body is still not used to it. It's not even the hours necessarily, it's more just how on the go I am during them. I'm constantly moving and having to do something. It makes the time go by quickly, but wears me out. I'm pretty much useless the rest of the day. Needless to say, my workouts have been suffering. I've been skipping more than I need to. I need to get used to my new routine, but it's so difficult sometimes mustering the energy to after work and when I need to super early in the morning before work, I just can't get out of bed. I admire all of you who manage to do it though. My poor house only gets cleaned once a week and deep cleaned rarely...
I am enjoying my job, though, which is a relief. I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to handle it or the other managers, but I think I've been doing pretty well and the other managers are great, thankfully. I'm not looking forward to the next few months with the holidays. My job is going to be nothing short of insane. Life will be non existent....
Besides work, we really haven't been up to anything... With both of us working full time and me more often than not working on the weekends which are his only days off, us doing things doesn't usually happen.
We've been gradually working on getting things done around the house. We finally got rid of our old furniture and have accepted the fact that our new couch is staying on the first floor. So now we're planning what to do with the second floor space. We've pretty much decided to make it our entertaining/lounge area. Our bar is already there... We're going to do something along the lines of 4 upholstered chairs around a large coffee table. I think that will work nicely in the space. We also bought new end tables which just so happen to match our bar. And after 3 years we finally bought a dresser! It's being put together (by the lovely husband) as I type. I'm pretty excited about it. I can finally get my undergarments out of box lids which have been my drawers for the last 3 years. And my husband will now have no excuse to leave piles of folded clothes everywhere.
You'd think with how much I want our house "finished" that I'd have this done or farther along by now. But I've come to realize I'm really lazy at decorating. That and I'm really cheap.. I just don't know what I really want to buy when I'm out or I second guess myself or decide it's not worth the money. When we settle down after the military I might just hire a interior decorator. I mean, I know what I want, but when I'm shopping or pulling things together I don't quite get there. I have good taste just not good execution...
The heat has decided to come back this week which I'm not happy about. We had been getting a nice little preview of fall and I was loving it. A bunch of fall clothes are coming in at work and at our favorite clothing stores and I just want to buy everything... you can't have too many sweaters, right? I'm beyond ready for sweaters, boots, scarves, fires, changing leaves, pumpkins... sigh.
Oh, I don't think I mentioned in my last post, but my little sister is getting married! How crazy is that?? It came as quite a shock to me, I'll admit. She's been with her fiance' about 9 months and they've been living together for about two or three so I guess it shouldn't have been that surprising that they'd do things quickly, but still. I did not imagine her getting married for a very long time. She's just a very unique spirit and has a lot that she wants to do. But hey, they're happy and I got married at 20 too. I don't know if I'm going to make it home for the wedding, which I'll feel horrible about, but that's one of the givens with being the family member that lives far away...
I'm sorry that this post is a bit all over the place, but that's life, am I right? It's not always nice and neat and organized. It just happens and you have to take it as it comes and move forward with it.
Anyways...I hope you all enjoy the last few weeks of summer as I continue to count down until fall.. :)
I'll leave you with some pictures that I finally got developed from my film camera and a few other instagram randoms...

My mother-in-law (on their visit out to Cali last July)

Quality time

My husband is so sneaky...

I love this... 

We went searching for a place to kayak on this river for three hours with no luck.. but pretty scenery.

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