Colors and Pie.. the Best of Autumn...

Hello there!
Can you believe it's actually November? I don't know why this month always springs up on me. Every year I just cannot believe it when November arrives. Maybe because I dread this month so much I just keep hoping this year we'll skip over it somehow... No such luck.
Halloween came and went pretty uneventfully this year. I don't know why, but I was sort of hoping it to be as fun as last year. My mother and I went out with some friends last year and it was a blast. It was my first time out on Halloween. This year, though, we didn't even dress up like we usually do. We simply handed out candy and watched Hocust Pocus. Oh well.. Life doesn't have to be exciting all of the time I guess...
As far as November goes, I have to say that I'm loving the scenery so far... It felt like the trees finally changed colors overnight on the first. I wish I had the time to really enjoy it... I'd love to take a drive down into Virginia or go for a hike. Unfortunately, the husband and I never have time off together anymore so that's probably not going to happen before the leaves all fall off...
I do have a confession. I have already started looking at Christmas decorations. I'm usually one of those people who argue about enjoying Thanksgiving and that Christmas festivities cannot start until the day after Thanksgiving. But for some reason I'm too excited to wait. Maybe it's because we'll actually be in our own home this year instead of traveling back home. We can decorate and really enjoy the season together. It'll be different celebrating with just the two of us, but I'm hoping we can still make it special.
That's really all I have for now... I know, so exciting. But sometimes that's how life is.
Until next time!
Chrissy

My costume... sort of.

You have to use the straw!

First pumpkin pie of the season...

Got to love morning light...

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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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Adventure is Out There!!

Hello everyone!!
I hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of summer... As for me, I've been ready for fall since about May so I'm done with summer. My house already has fall decorations and even though there are only a few, they make me all warm and happy inside.
Anywho... Life has been pretty much normal and uneventful the last few weeks. Work, work, work. It's a good thing that I like my job. Otherwise I would be miserable..
I do have some new family news to share: My mom got married the other day! She and her now husband decided to just go to the Justice of the Peace and get it done. It sort of took me by surprise since she had been discussing having at least a small wedding not a few weeks prior. Oh well.. I'm always an advocate of JP weddings. It's worked out for me. :)
So she got married and then next week my little sister ties the knot! This is craziness. Everyone's lives are moving onward and upward it seems. I'm still upset that I won't be there for her wedding, but I know it'll be lovely without me. It's so surreal having both of my parents remarried now and my little sister right behind.. Life is so crazy sometimes.
Besides that little bit of news.. we finally went kayaking! We've been trying to get out again for so long, but work schedules have been in the way. Over the long weekend, though, we were able to be out on the water for three of the four days. The first day we went to a new reservoir. It was really lovely out on the water. It definitely takes some getting used to for the paddling.. my shoulders were not having it that day. We didn't stay out long that night since I had worked all day, but it was still a nice little jaunt.
On the second day we went to the same reservoir but launched from a different point. The water seemed a lot murkier and stagnant for some reason. We decided to risk taking a couple of Blue Moon's with us to relax with. We found a little alcove where the hubs fished for awhile while we drank a bottle. It was so relaxing and we had such a good time together.
The last day we went on a river for the first time. I was a little nervous about paddling against a current, but luckily there was barely any force on this river. Unfortunately, that's because there hasn't been a lot of rain which means there were a lot of very shallow areas. We had to drag our kayaks over a few spots to get to deeper water. We did encounter some rough, rocky areas where the current was pretty strong. It got a little intense at one point when I was attempting to walk my kayak over a shallow but rough spot and almost lost my paddle and then my boat. I managed to hold on to them and not get swept away myself, but it was close. Getting over those rough and shallow parts was definitely an unintended workout. We got quite a ways up the river, but we were coming to a lot of shallow areas and didn't really want to drag our kayaks anymore so we decided to head back. The trip down was a blast. Coming back over those rocky and rough areas is a lot more exciting than going up. I felt like an extreme kayaker (even though it was probably the un-roughest "rough" area ever). It was an amazing day to say the least.
I managed to "finish" the summer on the water, got some sun on my skin to take into the fall, and beefed up my shoulder muscles... I think I bid farewell alright.
I hope you all did something fun over your Labor day weekend. Are you as ready for fall as I am, or still holding on to the heat??

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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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Fall is in the air... If only for today...

The heat broke today thankfully with some lovely rain. That's one of things that I don't miss about Monterey. It never rained. I was surprised at how much I could actually miss something like precipitation, but I really did. I just love rainy days. They're a good time for coffee, movies, and reflection. And after it rains the world is so pretty and new. There's a cool breeze blowing which makes me anxious for fall...
Fourth of July came and went uneventfully. I worked early and we drank Pabst all day which of course meant that I was in bed by 8, missing the fireworks. Oh well...
We've been enjoying our new kayaks. We're anxiously looking for new places to explore. I'm loving it. Now I just need to invest in a waterproof bag for my camera so I can actually document it. It's so gorgeous out on the water, basically by ourselves surrounded by nature. I could stay out all day.
My mother came to visit at the beginning of this week. I'll admit that I really wasn't that anxious for her to come out this week. It's was my last few days at my old store and my first few days at my new one. Plus, our anniversary was Tuesday. There was just too much going on. But I'm glad she did. It was nice to see her. I forget what it's like to have another friend besides Ty. She's really my only friend. How sad. I met her boyfriend (which is weird to say). He seems nice and they seem really happy which is all that matters. We didn't do much while they were here, but did manage to make it to the beach. Not on the ocean, but the bay, which is good enough. I think they had a good time, despite Ty and I working.
Tuesday was our anniversary. 3 years... how crazy is that?? It's flown by but it seems like it's been he and I forever. It's been a great adventure. I can't even begin to imagine how different my life would be if I had said no to marrying him. I'll never regret following my heart and taking that leap. We were "too" young, hadn't known each other "long enough", it all happened so quickly... but I wouldn't have it any other way. Whatever it took to get us here, no regrets. I'll admit that sometimes I'm sad that I didn't get the big wedding of my girly dreams.. but I wouldn't trade our wedding for anything. It was about us. Being together. Being in love. Not about a party or other people. That being said, I'm urging Ty for a vow renewal for our five year anniversary.. my parents weren't at our wedding, and I'd like a nice dress. And a party would be fun too. Doing things differently is how we do it.
I started my new job the other day. I was nervous about it and really sad to leave my old store where I felt like a part of a family... but I made it through. It's a little stressful at the moment trying to figure out how they do things, how they want things, what they expect of me, and what my role entails. I sort of feel like I was just thrown into it and am learning along the way...which is sort of overwhelming. Hopefully I find a groove soon and the stress dies down.
I can't believe that we're past the halfway point for the year... I hate that the older you get, the faster time goes. I don't even want to think about how quickly it will move once we have kids. Before we know it, it'll be Christmas time. This is going to be our first year that we don't go home for Christmas. I'm a little sad about it, but I'm thinking it's for the best. Since my dad's remarried and in a different city and my  mom has moved to a different city with her boyfriend... it would be insane trying to go between 4 homes... I'm excited to have a Christmas to ourselves and start some of our own traditions. I secretly wish that we would've had a baby to share the experience with, but oh well... Just the two of us is more than alright with me. :)
How is the summer going for all of you lovelies?

Fourth of July outfit. So patriotic.

I fell pretty in polka dots...

Rainy day coffee...

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