Christmas at The Quinns

Christmas has blessed me in so many ways! To start my two week reunion with Mike's side of the family, I got to spend the holiday with Mike's aunts, uncles, and cousins at The Quinn's house. We shared stories, opened presents, and even watched clips from our wedding video. 

On Christmas Eve, Mike and I went to children's mass with his brother, sister and parents. It's much easier to attend rather than midnight mass (I'm lucky if I ever stay up that late anymore!) After church, Mike, Steve, Liz and I had a gingerbread house competition. Mike's parents judged them when we were done and Steve and I tied for first place : ) Then his parents read "Animal's First Christmas" and "The Night Before Christmas" to us kids while sitting in front of the fire. I know it may sound  a bit corny, but it was wonderful to reminisce with childish Christmas traditions. I found that as I've grown older, I sometimes forget the important things and tend to concern myself with meaningless worries. This Christmas was a reminder to me of how I used to feel as a child and how important it was to be surrounded by loved ones. 

Santa and the family gave me wonderful presents to open Christmas day. Some of my favorites were a digital picture frame, a flip video camera and all kinds of kitchen aid utensils/pots and pans! I was so spoiled! 

The day after, we all hopped into our car and drove to Myrtle Beach for three days. Mike's Aunt owns a condo there and we stayed right on the water. Below is a video clip of our view of the ocean. 

Now we're settled back in Fayetteville for the remainder of our break. Mike has something special planned for New Years so I'll keep everyone posted!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas together with your loved ones! 

Christmas Activities

This past weekend I went to Brooklyn and stayed at my sister and her fiance's apartment for our annual CINY experience. For the past three years, Molly, Ben, Howard (Ben's brother) and I meet in New York City and try to do a lot of festive holiday activities. Each year, we invite friends to join us. For two years, Taz (a great friend of Howard's and now of all us as well) joined us for CINY and this year my dear friend Bronwen from way back in 9th grade tagged along as well.











We started the event by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge into the city-something we've all wanted to do but never made the effort. It was SUPER cold but so beautiful to look at. Half-way through our walk, we stopped and sipped on hot cider that Mol had packed in her purse for such emergencies. Once we crossed the bridge, we went to Union Square where there's a huge Christmas market every year. Then we went to BLT Burger and ate homemade burgers (or veggie burgers.) Next, we met Taz in Times Square and walked over to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree and the ice skating rink. During this time of year, the place is a zoo and it's just too crazy to hang out there for very long. After seeing the tree, we stopped at the Mariott Marquis and sat in the biggest hotel lobby even know to man and again sipped on hot cider. We also ate cookie crumbs (back story-I made cute Christmas cookies and Mol put them in her purse to eat later...needless to say, they weren't very cute once we pulled them out.) I was a little disappointed cause every year that I go to the Mariott, there's an awesome gingerbread house display set up in the lobby but not this year. By the end of the day, Mol, Ben, and I went to the movies and saw "Rachel Getting Married" and then went straight to bed at 10 pm. It was a LONG day.





The next day, I helped Molly get ready for Ben's art studio Christmas Party (well I watched while she cooked in the kitchen.) By my third plastic cup of wine, I was very happy to be at the party and showed such happiness by spilling red wine all over my shirt and pants. Thankfully everyone was engaged in conversation so no one witnessed my clumsiness besides my sister. Plus I was wearing dark colors so you couldn't even tell!

Now I'm getting ready to drive down to North Carolina to spend Christmas with Mike and his family. I've VERY excited to see him-it's been three weeks and when you're a newlywed, that's too long! I'm super excited to spend the holidays with Mike's fam but am a little sad that I won't be with my mom and sister...the first time without them in 24 years!

Working in retail SUCKS

Basically my title sums up my entire blog but I'll rant anyway...

I took a position working at the Lord & Taylor department store over the holidays. I was hired to only work for two weeks but I can barely make it through my first week and (gasp) I want to quit! I mean, I can totally suck it up through next week BUT the problem is that this job is interfering with my vacation! I already had to cancel on two friends whom I made plans with before I was hired for the position and now I want to make plans with other friends but am being held back by this job. I only took this position at the advice of my oh so sweet husband saying that I should take it just to keep busy but heck! Now I'm skipping out on peeps that I want to see and that's just not fair! Oh well, I will sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning. I hate to put people out. But this job has NOTHING to do with what I went to school for so I shouldn't feel obligated to stay there.

On another note, on my day off, I made (and ate) plenty of Christmas cookies for our annual CINY (Christmas in New York) gathering coming up this weekend. I am so excited for it and will be sure to take lots of pictures to load on this here blog. Happy Christmas festivities everyone!

Missing My Husband and Movers

Yesterday, I dropped Mike off at the Philadelphia airport and watched as he made it through all the security points...minus me! We had originally planned for me to leave a few days after Mike because plane tickets are ridiculously expensive and leaving on a Wednesday saved us like $300 versus leaving on a Sunday. However, back in NM when we were trying to find great deals to fly to Mike's parents for Christmas, the best we found was over $1000! I mean, I love Mike's family, but there was NO way we were going to spend that much on plane tickets. If we did that, no one would get any Christmas presents. So needless to say, Mike had the idea that instead of me flying back a few days after Thanksgiving, I should just stay at my mom's house and drive down to North Carolina for Christmas and meet him and his family there. We'd still be paying for one ticket, but I am basically getting two trips for the price of one.

That all being said, I love being home and spending time with my mom and sister. It's just weird to be without Mike because I'm so used to the little family that we've started. I miss our little Christmas tree in our hotel room too! (We named him Charlie) While Mike was here, we were finally able to open up all of our wedding gifts! That was fun although Mike said I made out more than he did because we got mostly kitchen stuff. I quickly fired back that the "kitchen stuff" would benefit him as much as me so he better not complain.

Anyway, after opening up the gifts, I had to get everything organized for the movers. Mike's stuff is already in Japan but mine has been in storage, also known as mom's basement. We really didn't have a lot of furniture before we got married. To compensate, we bought a brand new couch, coffee table, end table, mattress, and a huge t.v. console to hold Mike's 50 inch t.v. We got all of this with our wedding money from Ikea and the total was less than $900! Pretty good deal when you're a newlywed. All of the fun gifts that I am so anxious to use are still wrapped prettily in their packages...the kitchen aid, coffee maker, panini machine, belgian waffle maker, dishes, linens, pillows...okay pretty much everything! I can't wait to set it up in our new house or apartment. We really have no idea what we're going to get.

Oh, quick update! You might have been thinking, "Wait, wasn't there a problem with her asthma and moving to Japan?" Well, that all got straightened out when I met with the flight doc. I told him about my mild asthma and what the other people said about not letting me move because of that. He was a major, a great guy from jersey and his exact words were, "That's bull$@%!" Those are his words, not mine : ) He told me that my case of asthma wasn't even appicable to that rule but for safe measure, he wasn't going to put that down anywhere on the forms.

Now, I'm nestled upstairs with the pets while the movers are downstairs in the basement gathering all of my things. My mom is beyond excited to get my stuff out of here!

Turkey Trot Run and Christmas Cards

So since I don't have a job while I'm in ABQ, I've been trying to find things to occupy my time. On Tuesday, Kirtland AFB hosted its annual Turkey Trot run. I showed promptly on time...and to my surprise, no one really wanted to be a part of it I guess. Only five people showed up to the race (it was a 5K) so needless to say, the race wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. After the race, they gave me a turkey because I won. I actually think its really funny that they classified it as a race with only five people but anyway... I happily took the huge frozen turkey and took a picture for the Kirtland AFB newspaper and then walked back to my car with the frozen turkey on my shoulder. I got a few honks and hollers asking me if I won the turkey. It was a little embarrassing. Anyway, as I got to the car, I realized that not only did I not have a place to store this turkey (we only have a mini-fridge), but I didn't even have a kitchen to cook it in : ( I really wanted to cook that turkey but instead, I brought it to the base chapel so that they could get more enjoyment out of it. 

Now, I'm thinking of competing in the Christmas Card competition! I know...my life doesn't sound too fun does it? But besides that fact, if you have any ideas of some fun Christmas card ideas, please fill me in. I'm in it to win it ok? Plus, I will get money if it gets first place! 

Ok, you can laugh. 

Yesterday's Homily

Mike and I have recently become acquainted with our Catholic church on base. Whenever we come to mass, we always seem to make it right before it starts and the Deacon is happy to point out our tardiness! Yesterday, our Deacon gave an inspirational and motivating homily. He started out by asking us to provide a ratio for the number of marriages that end in divorce. The answer was 1 out of 2. He then asked for the ratio of Catholic marriages that end in divorce...and yet again, the answer was the same. Then he asked us for the ratio of divorce for Catholic couples that attend church around three times a month. I thought the ratio would be much higher considering that most couples average around three times a month at church. Yet, the answer was 1 out of 3. Finally, he asked us to guess the ratio of divorce for Catholic couples that attend church every Sunday, pray together every day and spend five minutes of quality time together everyday. The answer was 1 out of 14,429! His message was short and simple, yet one that I have thought about and shared with others.

As a newlywed, it is important for me to not get caught up in all the small and stressful details that we will continue to encounter throughout our marriage. By praying together and spending quality time together everyday, we are acknowledging that our marriage is between God and Mike and I. It is important for me to remember that when we fight, we must also forgive. Mike is my lifelong partner and I am so excited to be starting this journey with him. 

Since being married, we have LOVED spending time together. Not that we didn't before, but marriage has provided us with a new perspective regarding love and responsibility. Maintaining a long distance relationship, completing graduate school and flight school AND planning a wedding forced us to get caught up in silly issues that didn't seem to matter once the argument and stress was over. I am so grateful that I married my best friend and I am excited for the new journey that awaits us! 

On a side note, tomorrow is Mike and my one MONTH anniversary since we were married. For those of you that have been married, one, three, six or many years after that...I will allow you to laugh at my statement. But before we were married, we were partners for eight years and nine months. We have watched each other grow up and have definitely seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. It is just so wonderful that we are now acknowledged by God and our loved ones as a married couple. 

Albuquerque Zoo

This past weekend, Mike and I had an amazing time at the Albuquerque Zoo. It's funny because out of all the years that we've been together, we had never been to a zoo before. I mean, we love to look at animals and always find ourselves outside of PetSmart on Saturdays to look at all of the adoptable dogs. So needless to say, the zoo was so fun! We were surprised at how big this zoo was and how many different animals were there! My favorites were the polar bears and the lions! 

Here are a few pictures:

Oh yeah, here's a picture of my short hair! 

It's starting to feel like fall

To start off the new month, I flew out to Phoenix visit my dear friends Becky and Casey and their little one Nolan. They are my first batch of friends that have a baby and they are wonderful parents! I was amazed with how at ease they both were with raising Nolan. I mean, I guess its a HUGE plus that Nolan is probably the easiest baby ever...but none the less, he's CUTE so even if he was bad, his cuteness would outweigh it! They invited me to Casey's squadron Halloween party where I dressed as a Geisha. I had a pretty cool costume but had a tough time trying to make my eyes look Japanese. I also visited my grandparents who live in Scottsdale and my good friend Kirby! I had seen her two weeks earlier because she was in my wedding but we had such a good time this summer that it was nice to see each other one last time before we both move overseas! 

It's nice to be back home with Mike in our clean little hotel room! He had the day off yesterday so we were finishing up all of the inprocessing that we needed to do on my end. While doing that, Mike found out that there's a strong possibility that they won't allow me to go to Japan with him because I have asthma! Can you believe that? Apparently the pollution is so high there that they avoid sending military families with any cases of asthma. I lived in New York and had no problems with it. It is only triggered when I do intense sports or if I'm around cats. There's no need to worry yet because we have to meet with the doctor who will give me the ok or not to go. My case is so mild so I really don't think that it will be an issue. BUT if it is, we will be going somewhere else...

I'll keep you posted! 

Wedding Video Sample

I just got a video sample of our wedding and I'm posting it for everyone to look at. Damon Bilger of Eight Creations Videography did an amazing job with this one clip. I can't wait to see what the finished product will be!

http://www.eightcreations.com/bridget/index.html

Getting Settled

Being in ABQ with my HUSBAND (it's so fun to say that now!) is so much fun! We keep joking that I'm going to leave to go back to NJ but actually...I'm not. I'm here for good! Sometimes Mike gets this look on his face like he's not too excited about the fact that I totally control what he eats and watches on t.v. Hey, I compromise from time to time ; ) 

For the next few months, we will be staying in a hotel while Mike finishes up his training. It's an adjustment that's for sure. We go out to eat all the time because we don't have a kitchen. Our hotel room is like a small apartment actually...minus the stove and sink. I'm trying to get creative and make our room "wife" cute by adding fall decorations that don't cost much. Today, I made a little sign that said, "The Quinn's" and stuck it to the front door. I would have put a wreath but I don't know if we're allowed to. 

After celebrating Halloween with Mike on Friday, I'm flying to visit my friend Becky and her baby in Phoenix. It will be a short trip but there will be enough time to catch up with old friends and loved ones. My grandma and Kirby live there too! 

On a side note, I cut my hair super short and I love it! I had been growing my hair out for so long and I needed a change. One day I will post a few of the new do.

Pictures from our Friends

These pictures are in random order but I wanted to post some of my favorites that our friends captured on our special day! 

What a WONDERFUL Wedding!

Oh my gosh! We had the BEST time! I seriously did not want to leave. It was so wonderful to see everyone there, old friends from high school and college and family from all over the world. We had our own reunion and there isn't one thing that I would change about our wedding. As soon as I get access to pictures, I will post plenty for sure. 

In the meantime, I've added my photographer to my blogger list. Cindy was AMAZING. I can't even express how awesome and talented she is. Here sister Robin was there as well and they were all such a big help. Once I met Cindy, I knew that our wedding would turn out beautifully. It is because of Cindy that our day was displayed and captured so magnificently. She recommended our florist, Marie from Mums the Word, and our videographer Damon from Damon Bilger Videography. We were so blessed to have her be a part of our special day!

We've only been married for a little over a day so I don't have a lot of experience, but married life is tons of fun ; ) After the reception, Mike and I left in our painted Dodge Neon while our close family and friends saw us off. We had to get up at 4:30 in the morning to catch our 7 am flight and let me tell you, we were both exhausted! Mike is currently at work as I am blogging away but I am on cloud nine. 

To everyone that was there, I must tell you how honored and happy we were that you took the time out of your busy schedules to be at our wedding. It meant so much to both Mike and I and we are still talking about how much fun it was to catch up with everyone. 

To those that could not attend, we love you and missed seeing you but can't wait to plan a mini reunion soon! 

Thank you thank you! xoxo

One week left as a Buckie

Now there's only a week left, I am much more relaxed and starting to get excited about our wedding. Before I couldn't because I had so many worries and an overwhelming list of things to do but now that most of it is done, I can finally sit back and relax.

This week I feel quite ugly as I am letting my eyebrows, armpits, and "mmm hmm" grow out in amounts I didn't know I had. I was told that I could not wax until next Tuesday so I'm going to be furry over the weekend I guess. It's also strange cause usually I highlight my hair and now it's totally back to its natural color. Earlier in the summer I went in to see my stylist and made myself a cup of coffee and was sitting in the chair with my robe. When he came by and saw my hair, he actually REFUSED to dye it. He said brides are more gorgeous when they go natural and he promised he would chop of my hair and dye it blonde after the wedding. My next thought was, "What do I do with my coffeee?" He happily took my warm beverage away and I was left with the original mousey brown hair that I came in the salon with. In all honesty though, I'm glad I didn't highlight it because it is SO hard to get your natural color back. I shouldn't really dye it until the gray starts to come in. I've also wanted to donate my hair to Locks of Love for over a year so I'm anxious to send in my ponytail! It's only a few more days, I can take it...

On another note, I got a job offer to be a reading tutor within the Albuquerque public school system. I'm very excited because the schedule is very flexible and I'll be able to do what I went to school for: Teach children how to read! This will probably be my last post before the wedding so I will have a lot to tell you the next time!

Two weeks to go!

So I've got two weeks to get everything set, organized, finalized, whatever you want to call it. You know, when Mike and I first got engaged, I was SO enthusiastic about it. I bought magazines, watched "Whose Wedding is it Anyway?" and took on every task that needed to be completed. Now that there are only two weeks to go to our wedding, I'm totally spent. I'm tired, I feel overwhelmed and I'm so worried that things aren't going to work out like I hope they will.

One problem while planning the wedding is that our reception hall is under construction at the moment. I had originally rented out the entire facility where we could use both the upstairs and the down stairs. However, while taking a walk in Haddonfield, I stopped by our venue and took a look in the windows. To my surprise, the entire first floor ceiling had caved in unexpectedly. I got a call from the Women's Club of Haddonfield (they own the building) and they told me that there was some freak accident, probably because the building is so old. They had planned on doing some renovations during the month of July so it was a good thing that they didn't book any weddings during that time. Flash forward to two weeks before the wedding and the ceiling still isn't done. Once the insurance was able to cover the costs of the repair, the workers found additional things that needed to be fixed. Because the building is historic, papers have to filed with the Borough Hall of Haddonfield before construction can begin. The reason I'm not freaking out is because the second floor of the building is totally fine. It's actually much larger than the first floor so we will be able to fit tables and a dance floor quite comfortably. It's just a lot of stress anyway.

Yesterday, my mom ran a lot of wedding errands with me and it was so fun to spend some time with her. I get sad when I stop and think that I'm going to be moving from home in two weeks time. She has been just amazing and she keeps having to put Molly and I back together. Mol's stressed too cause she's got a wedding in about six months to plan for!

So now I've done some things to get ready for the wedding but I still have LOTS to do. Combined with organizing my things for my move to New Mexico, it's a lot to deal with but I'm surviving!

Wish me luck!

Road Trip Pictures

During the first two hours of our trip, we drove up the state of Alabama where Mike's car got creamed with these nasty "love bugs"

Thought you'd like a close up of how many bugs were actually on his car. We had to pull over and totally wash down the car for over half an hour!

This was Mike's dog neighbor named Trooper! We were really sad to say bye to him : ( 

After two days of driving, we were on our third and final day and stopped at The Big Texan, a local tourist attraction in Amarillo, TX. 

Geez, looking at this picture, you would think Mike was a little person, am I right?

Saint Theresa's Prayer

My future mother-in-law sent me this prayer and it was so moving. I felt as if this prayer was speaking to me at this very moment and helping me to realize that God has a purpose and a plan for me. 

May today there be peace within. 
May you trust God that you are exactly where you 
are meant to be. 
 
May you not forget the infinite possibilities 
that are born of faith. 

 
May you use those gifts that you have received, 
and pass on the love that has been given to you. 
 
May you be confident knowing you are a child of 
God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom 
to sing, dance, praise and love. 
 
It is there for each and every one of us. 

We have arrived!

We are in BEAUTIFUL Albuquerque, NM and I just LOVE it! There are gorgeous mountains to the east and three volcanoes to the west. There are so many things to see and do here like hiking or skiing. We are located in "Mountain Time" where the altitude is high and the air is quite dry, a nice change from the sticky humidity of Alabama. 

Mike and I are checked in at the Kirtland Inn where we will be staying until we move to Japan. We are basically in a hotel room, although the room is much larger than standard size. We have a separate bedroom and living room and a decent sized bathroom. Two things that aren't so great is that there is no kitchen and you can't get internet service in your room, only down in the basement. Mike and I have been eating out quite a lot but I figured out a way to change that. You see, my absolute FAVORITE grocery store is only a ten minute drive from where we live. Last night, I made Mike go to Whole Foods with me so that he could experience all its goodness. Whole Foods always has out amazing free samples so Mike was just following me along and snacking on various goodies while I got a few things to last us for the week. Whole Foods is also great about making homemade meals that you can just microwave at a really low price so Mike and I will probably live off of that for the next four months! When we left the store, Mike was like, "I can see why you would like this store Bridget!" He's totally not into health stores but to know that he likes it means it is really as great as I think it is! Heck, I may even apply to work there since we're only here for four months. 

Speaking of work, I have applied for a few jobs on base and some off. Most of them are to be reading tutors part-time. I am also going to look into subbing with the public school system. I'd love to have my own classroom but I really can't since we're leaving in the middle of the school year. Mike started his first day of work yesterday and seems to really enjoy it. As with most Air Force pilots, Mike is still in training even though he graduated from flight school. He is training on the UH-1N which is what he'll be flying in Japan. He said his flight commander was super nice (which is a huge plus) and the schedule is nowhere near as hectic as he is normally accustomed to. This should be a nice change for him.

Mike is so funny though because he is not used to the west coast at all! We were at the mall and he was like "What's that funny looking food stand?" I looked over and said, "You don't know about Hot Dog on a Stick?" Now for those of you who don't know, Hot Dog on a Stick is food chain usually found in restaurants where employees wear ridiculous outfits and serve you...yes hot dogs on sticks! But not only that, you can get cheese on a stick...the list can go on! They also have fresh lemonade! 

Although I have had a wonderful time this past month hanging out with Mike, I have to go back to NJ and finalize all of our wedding plans. I have so much to do that it's too stressful to think about. Last night, I was freaking out to Mike saying "What if I'm sick on our wedding day? What if I have the flu? What if I have a cold?" Of course Mike rolled his eyes and told me that I need to worry about things when they are worth worrying about and not before. I totally know he's right. I just tend to think the worst case scenario, that way I am prepared in case it does happen! 

I will add photos on my next post of our road trip! 

The Movers are Here!

I'm camped out in the guest room while the movers are packing up all of Mike's stuff. If you guys have moved a lot, you know what I mean when I say that I feel awkward. I feel like I should be helping them move/pack things but you're really not supposed to do that. We've been giving them lots of drinks and we're getting them lunch so that should count for something...

Last night and super early this morning, Mike and I went through his whole house and had to decide which stuff would be shipped to Japan and which stuff would stay in storage until we get back in in 2012! There's a lot of crap that is going into storage that will either be thrown out or donated when we get back but we're in such a time crunch that we didn't want to deal with the additional headaches at this point. 

I found myself arguing with Mike over which stuff could be moved, stored, or thrown out. For example, Mike has this horrible pirate flag that hangs over his bed (or used to) and I immediately put it in the storage pile. It's not like I threw it away or anything, I was just hoping that he would grow out of his liking for it when we got back. Anyway, Mike asked why we couldn't bring the stupid flag and I was like "Are you kidding me? That flag is not going to hang in my house" Let me just give you an image of this flag. There is a picture of a skull drinking from a bottle and it says "Life is better when you've got a bottle of rum!" Mike doesn't even DRINK rum so why would he want that in our house? Then he said that he could hang the flag in his office. This just added more fuel to my fire. Eventually I won the argument as I always tend to do. But seriously, am I wrong for have the final say on what stays and what goes? If I let Mike pack everything, we would have all this crap in Japan and our house would look like a Bachelor pad. 

Change in plan...

Welp! Originally, I was supposed to get on a plane to fly back to NJ tomorrow. However, because the Air Force can be so darn unpredictable, Mike and I decided to change the plan bit. After Mike's assignment night, we found out that he needed to report to Kirtland Air Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 23rd.  That gives him NO time at all to move! I mean basically he had two weeks. And lets keep in mind that we have to think about the foreign move to Japan on top of everything else.

So now our plan is for Mike to outprocess this week and we'll hop in his truck and drive to New Mexico over two or three days. I'm actually excited about this part because we'll be able to make some fun memories, stop at some cool landmarks, and take LOTS of pictures along the way. Once we get in New Mexico, I'm going to hang out there for five days before I have to head back to NJ to really finish up the wedding plans. 

I still need to go in to get my second dress fitting and finalize who's coming. I also need to make place cards, finish the programs, pay off the vendors, oh gosh the list goes on and if I mention it all it will just stress me out even more so I'm going to stop. 

Flight School Complete!

Today Mike got his wings and to be honest, there was a few moments when we both thought this would not happen! It was a perfect ceremony with only four guys in his class. My favorite part was during the pinning. I was secretly instructed to punch him right on top of his "Blood Wings" and it made a really loud noise in the auditorium. Everyone thought it was really funny. Mike also gave me my own wings to wear around a necklace. I honestly feel like I earned them after all he put me through!

So now we're done and on to our next journey...New Mexico! Mike has to be down there next week! They didn't give him anytime to relax after helicopter training. He'll be there for a month then I will join him after the wedding! Once I get there, we'll be there until March and then move to our next assignment at Yokota Air Base in Japan! We'll be there for three years! When we found out that was where we were going, I was really shocked. We knew it was a possibility, but neither of us thought it would be so soon. So needless to say, I needed a few days to really saturate the news and rethink my plan for our future.

A lot of things need to get done before going to Japan. I mean, we have to put stuff in storage knowing that we won't have it for three years. We both have to sell our cars because there's this emissions rule in Japan and it would be too expensive to ship and fix them to Japanese standards. We have to live on base and I'm trying to find out some things about Yokota housing but I really can't find anything. It's gonna be an adjustment, that's for sure! I've already gotten my application started to be a DoDDs teacher and just need to submit a copy of Mike's orders once my name gets put on them.

First Day

So I'm back in Alabama for three weeks, and let me tell you...it's not easy to get here. I had to get up at 4 in the morning to be at the airport by 530--flight leaves at 7--make a connection in memphis--land in pensacola--rent a car and drive myself two hours to Mikes house--spend time with Mike for one hour--then he leaves for work at 3pm and I won't see him again until 4 or 5 am. Let me just say that besides Mike of course, I feel that I should get some special treat once graduation has come and gone. It's been a LONG year and three months!

Weird dreams

I don't know about you guys but lately, I've been having some weird dreams. And when I mean weird, I mean WEIRD. I think it has to do with wedding planning, don't tell me why. I mean, one of the dreams I had was about me having a hole in my front tooth that didn't appear until the day of my wedding. Everyone kept saying that it wasn't too bad but that I should be sure to NOT smile for any pictures. What I want to know is how does a hole just appear in your front tooth like that?

So far, I've had a great summer but I feel that the days are just dragging until Mike's assignment night, graduation and the wedding. I felt anxious sending out the invitations because I was worried about last minute changes that Mike always seems to conveniently suggest at unacceptable times. When I told Mike I sent out the invites, he was like, "I know...I hope I can come." What does he mean he hopes he can come??? I don't care where the heck he is on October 18th, his butt will be there for the wedding. Anyway, I got so paranoid that I sent him a wedding invitation too, just to be safe. And I told him that he needed to RSVP to it, that way, I'd have it in writing that he was going to be there.

As far as the planning goes, sometimes I wish I had the money to hire a wedding planner. There's just SO many things to think about and you're never sure if they will all get done in time. I know I'm lucky that I don't have a job while doing wedding stuff, but at the same time, my budget is very limited with what I can do. I'm trying to be creative and am currently working on the program for our ceremony. Who knew that a full Catholic wedding program was so detailed?

Besides planning for the big day, I'm also trying to do my own version of "Bridal Bootcamp." Basically, I alternate days between cardio and strength training, giving my muscles a chance to rest in between days. I'm doing the best I can being that I'm pushing myself, but the results aren't as immediate as they would be if I had a trainer. No money in the budget for that! Tomorrow I am going to my first fitting so it will be good to see how I fit into my dress.

Later this week, I'm off to Alabama again to be with Mike for about three weeks. I am trying to convince Mike to get a dog from the local animal shelter while I'm there. He wants one as much as I do but we always hesistate if it's the right time to get one and back out. I'm hoping that I will get to pick my first "child" soon!

Where did July go?

Ok I know it's still the beginning of August but geez, I really must've been busy because I haven't added a post in a while. To be honest, my life has kind of been uneventful and I haven't really had anything to post!

I spent two weeks in Alabama and totally surprised Mike that I was coming. I suprised myself actually cause I was just goofing around on travelocity one day and found a really cheap ticket for that day. I couldn't get a hold of Mike cause he was at work for the day so I just basically went ahead and booked the flight and hopped on that afternoon. I called Mike for the next six hours (still at work) and finally got a hold of him at 8 that night when I was making a connection in Charlotte. He was surprised, especially when I told him that I charged his credit card...yeah ok I know it was bad.

Anyway, it was great to have two weeks with Mike. He and I so use to just visiting each other one weekend a month so it was great to not feel pressure to do as much as we had to in two days. When he was at work, I tried to keep busy with wedding planning and reading and work out videos. Yeah I still think they're cool, plus it was too hot to run outside so I had to do something. I even managed to pick up a stray dog and feed him cheese sticks. That was all I had! Oh, and I also got into the Twilight series books by Stephenie Meyer. Great books, about vampire and stuff but it's not as stupid as it sounds, really.

After the two weeks, I flew back to my mom's and my friend from WAY back in 9th grade through me the BEST bridal shower/luncheon. She and her mom made the best food and organized such a great party with tons of fun an games. It was so fun to have her around Philly this summer cause during the school year she lives out in Tempe, AZ with her husband while he's in law school. After the shower, I found out a few days later that Becky-poo had baby Nolan. He's SO cute from the pictures I saw. I really want to go out and visit them.

This past week I've been recovering from a really bad cold. Combined with asthma and the fact that I'm allergic to cats forced me to have an attack which wasn't fun. I'm pretty much recovered now and I guess can't use the "I don't have to work out cause I'm sick" excuse.

So now, I'm keeping myself busy with visits to our church. I'm also addressing invites, typing out our program, and selecting songs to be performed at our ceremony. AND my sister is getting married in May so I'm already doing stuff with her too! Tomorrow I'm going to visit my sister and Bronwen in Brooklyn and probably stay the night. I've got nothing else to do I'm such a bum. Ok, long post again.

Summer time?

Today is my last day at work. I actually can't believe I've been there for a full nine and a half months! I'm going to miss all of the kids and the convenience of my job. I'll tell you, I'm definitely going to miss my paycheck... But it was a great experience overall and I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to have this job. 

This weekend I'm going to visit Mike in Atlanta and I can't wait! I haven't seen him since the beginning of April so it's been a while. We are making a compromise in that he gets to see a Braves game if I can go to Stone Mountain and go for a long hike! Usually when I visit him, there's not much time to do anything other than go to a mall and walk around. We're changing that habit and going to go on some different excursion/adventure every free weekend that we get! On July 13th, I'll be "moving" down to Alabama for the summer. I put moving in quotations cause I'm not going to move my furniture down, I'll wait until the military does that for free! But I'll be down there keeping him company and making him some healthy meals. He's been so busy lately and just needs a friend. You girls know flight school isn't fun and Mike's been in for OVER a year now. He won't be done until the beginning of September and it feels like these will be the longest three months ever. Poor guy. 

Wedding planning is also starting to pick up. I am meeting my caterer next week with my Mom and Kirby. I'm excited cause we'll finalize the menu, pick out the china and linen patterns, and possibly the chivari chairs! I am also thinking of hiring a lighting specialist to come in and make the reception hall more beautiful than it already is. I also need to schedule an appointment to meet with the dj, give numbers of the bridal party to the florist, make a trial hair appointment...ok the list goes on so I'm not going to go any further. My friend Nikki is making our invites and they look great! People should be getting them by mid-August! 

As I'm here in NY for less than a month, I've taken advantage of the city and hung out with my sister quite a bit. She moved to Brooklyn in a VERY cute town back in April with her fiance and since I haven't had anything to do but work, I go down and visit her. It's been nice to meet her for dinner or go shopping. It's funny cause I'm so used to seeing her that last night when I was saying bye, I got kind of sad and was like, "Okay, well I'm going to Atlanta so I won't see you this weekend...when is the next time I'll see you?" I've gotta get used to that cause once I'm on the move with Mike, it will be much harder. 

Summer is around the corner and I'm waiting anxiously to lay out by a warm pool with a nice book to read. I've already read the newest book by my favorite author called "Love the One You're With" and now I'm near the end of the newest book "Chasing Harry Winston" from the same author that wrote "The Devil Wears Prada" (which I read too!) Maybe there will be a chance to sneak away on a trip at some point? To those that already have plans, happy travels! 

Hasn't hit me yet

So I'm sitting in my dorm room with John and Kate plus 8 in the background. I've got a cup of pomegranate tea on my night stand with my cell and remote control resting on my lap. Plus my mac so a lot is taking place at this moment...Life is kinda weird right now because I don't really have anything to do. I mean I'm still working (double shifts the majority of this week) until the middle of June and then I'm taking the Teachers College Reading Institute for the first week in July. Then I will leave this beautiful city with all of the dancing bums and barking men to a better place filled with toothless bums and tobacco spitting men. See? New York and Alabama really aren't that different. 

Living here has been a bittersweet experience. Although I don't have a diploma in hand, I've done what I needed to do to finish the program. Seriously, I didn't know if I would make it through the program until my thesis was approved. I always had a feeling that being here was too good to be true and that someone would realize they made a mistake when they accepted me here and then kick me out. But it hasn't happened so far so I feel like I'm pretty much guaranteed a diploma from this place. I won't be participating in the graduation ceremony cause they won't let me walk with just 3 credits shy but what could you do? I don't really care. I have flashbacks from graduation at Clemson being stuck in the center of the arena and freaking cause I had to pee but I didn't think I could just get up and walk out during the ceremony. 

Besides paper writing and researching, NY has blessed me with new memories and growing independence. I am among friends in this vegetarian friendly city and can always find exactly what I'm looking for. I buy my produce from the farmers market on Thursdays and run by the same old man and his french bulldog at least twice a week. He seems like a grumpy old man but the next time I see him, I'm going to stop and talk to him. I mean, this guy is OLD and he takes the time to walk his OLD french bulldog both morning and afternoon. They look alike...seriously. The dog even walks like his owner...head down with a soft trot and appreciation for Morningside Drive. 

My birthday's coming up on Thursday and I've got plans to see the new Indiana Jones movie with Mol, Ben, Howard, and Tazzy Bear on Friday or Saturday. I don't think I'm doing anything on my actual birthday. Last year I remember I ate a milky way bar in my room and sang "Happy Birthday" to myself so anything should be better than that experience. 

Happy May!

I'm adding my first post!

Hello! I am currently at a crossroads between my graduate school and the new and happy life that awaits me. At this point, life is bittersweet and has worked out in so many ways. Let me backtrack to exactly one year ago when I moved into my TINY (Becky, you know from personal experience) dorm room. 

I started graduate school on May 17th and was quite lonely I might add. I had just returned from a month long vacation staying with Mike in GA and now I had to officially start my new life as a grad student. I honestly didn't think it would be that bad. And for the first few months it wasn't. I actually had time to work, go to class, and train for a marathon at the same time! Life was good, but I knew it wouldn't be for long. I knew going into my program that I wanted to take extra courses so that I could finish in time to get married to the one and only guy that I've been in love with since I was 14. Usually, the Reading Specialist program takes a year and a half to complete. On top of classes, tremendous papers, projects, and a thesis, there are three practicums, countless lesson plans called LISPS (or as us practitioners like to say FLISPS) and reflections on such lessons that are such a waste of time that I usually bs'd my way through them and pretended that each lesson was beneficial and meaningful to each child that I worked with. Let's be honest, all teachers know that there are some days where you aren't as great a teacher as you would like to be, your students aren't in the best mood, or a combination of both. HOWEVER, there are also those days were you see the light bulb click with your student and you feel like you have actually made a difference in their lives. I love those days. Anyway, the point I was trying to make was that instead of doing my program in a year and a half, I decided to do it in a year so that I would be done with my program and then transition to being a happy wife living down south in good ole' Alabama. To do this in a year, I had to double up my course load and take two practicums instead of one, plus work, and class all at the same time. 

A typical night of sleep was no longer than five hours. I usually got up at 5:30 in the morning to make my scary trek to PS 8, an inner city school in Harlem. The first day was the most shocking for me as I met with the cooperating teacher and the two 6 year olds that I would be providing reading intervention services for. During the first fifteen minutes that I was there, two 6 year olds got in a fight and were just thrown out in the hallway where I was working on the floor with my students (They were unable to provide a room with desks and chairs for me to work with). Needless to say, I grew a lot just from that tutoring experience. After my morning sessions, I had just enough time to go to work where I taught very gifted (and very privileged children if I might add) for the rest of the school day. Quite the opposite from my PS 8 students. After school, I went straight to class, followed by another round of tutoring with an amazing little girl. Although I longed to crash on my bed after that, I still had to go to the computer lab (and stay there until they closed) just to finish typing those FLISPS before my midnight deadline. 

All this has come to an end this week and now I can finally look back and be proud that I made it through. I can't remember the last time I cried (which is a good thing right?) and I am getting so much closer to so many things! Graduation, living with Mike, our wedding. It's so great to finally see the finish line. After next week, I will readjust to a "normal" routine and get back on track with taking care of myself and maintaining friendships that I was forced to ignore this semester. I should actually be typing papers this minute but I feel much better venting my thoughts to my white little mac that has since become my new best friend. 

More posts to come. This is too fun!