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!