Easter Surprise

Skype is a truly wonderful thing!  I went to visit my in-laws and was able to get them hooked up with Skype.  His parents were so excited to be able to see The General.  Then on Easter Sunday we went to my sister-in-law’s house.  Everyone was able to chat with The General.  It was so great to get to show them all how to use Skype.  The kids loved getting to see their uncle.  The General told me this week that the girls have been emailing him and they said how great it was to be able to Skype.  One even said it helped her not miss him so much!  I am so blessed to have married The General.  His family has become such a huge source of support.

 

 

Better When We’re Together

Last week I had to travel down to the Gulf Coast for work.  It didn’t go unnoticed that it was the anniversary of the oil spill.  When I asked the office manager to make a hotel reservation, I was surprised to find out that I was going to be staying at the same hotel where The General stayed for the first month of Deep Water Horizon.  I’ve been really missing The General lately but this just made it infinitely worse.  And to add to my misery I was down there alone.  Last year I was able to visit The General and I was able to have our dog with us.  It was very lonely.

It was nice to see the beach though and know that the tourism industry is improving.

101 in 1,001

I’ve been working on this list for awhile.  I’ve been avoiding posting it because I was afraid of actually having to start working to meet these goals.  After really thinking about it, I finally decided that there’s no time like the present.  It’s time to get started and make these things happen.

 

Start Date: Friday, April 1, 2011

End Date: Friday, December 27, 2013

Travel

1. Go on another cruise

2. Go camping in a tent

3. Get passport in my married name

4. Hike back to Laurel Falls

5. Travel to Ireland

6. Drink warm beer out of a barrel in a real Irish pub

7. Kiss the Blarney Stone

8. Travel to 3 states I’ve never been to before (0/3)

9. Travel by train

10. Take husband to New Mexico to visit family

Fitness

1. Complete at least 10 5K walks that supports worthy causes (0/10)

2. Lose 25 pounds from highest weight (0/25)

3. Lose 50 pounds from highest weight (0/50)

4. Lose 75 pounds from highest weight (0/75)

5. Walk dog 3 days/week for 1 month (0/12)

6. Give up caffeinated beverages for a month (0/30)

7. Go to the gym 3 times per week for 4 weeks (0/4)

8. Floss everyday for a month (0/30)

9. Complete the Couch to 5K Program

10. Complete a half marathon

11. Reduce BMI by 25%

12. Be able to do 30 push ups

13. Be able to do 50 sit ups

Finance

1. Pay off all credit card debt

2. Pay off my car

3. Clip coupons at least once a month for 12 months (0/12)

4. Save $100 on groceries from clipping coupons in 12 months ($0/$100)

5. Put at least $50 in savings a month (0/30) or ($0/$1,500)

6. Save 2 months salary for an emergency fund

Food

1. Try 10 new foods (0/10)

2. Eat at 10 new restaurants (0/10)

3. Try 10 new recipes (0/10)

4. Not eat out for a week

Family & Friends

1. Start a family

2. Send 10 cards to friends "just because" (0/10)

3. Travel to see a friend

4. Have a night out with friends at least once a month

5. Host a BBQ

6. Host a game night

Hobbies & Interests

1. Read 50 books (0/50)

2. Complete our family tree

3. Scrapbook our wedding

4. Take a helicopter ride

5. Go rock climbing

6. Go white water rafting

7. Sing karaoke

8. Learn to rollerblade

9. Swing down a zip line

10. Buy new digital camera

11. Complete 31 Photos in 31 Days Project (0/31)

12. Post a blog entry at least once a week for a year (0/52)

13. Go paint pottery at Seize the Clay

14. Complete a 26 Things Photo Project

15. Shoot a gun

16. Take a photography class

17. Take a pottery class

18. Take a sewing class

19. Make a quilt from concert t-shirts

20. Complete a 1,000 piece puzzle

21. Get a plant and keep it alive for at least a year

Entertainment

1. Go to a parade

2. Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the alphabet

3. Go to an outdoor concert

4. Go to a professional football game

5. Go to a professional baseball game (somewhere other than Atlanta)

Community

1. Do five new things in my city (0/5)

2. Volunteer at a food bank

3. Volunteer in a soup kitchen

4. Donate 10,000 grains of rice at www.freerice.com (0/10,000)

Home Improvement

1. Organize storage room

2. Clean out my closet twice a year and donate what I don't want

3. Have a yard sale

4. Sell the house

5. Fix door and door hinge to storage room door

6. Finish painting trim in house

7. Replace carpet in house

Other

1. Do 25 random acts of kindness (0/25)

2. Go to church at least once a month

3. Get a professional massage

4. Vote in the 2012 presidential election

5. Make a wish at 11:11 on November 11, 2011

6. Convert home videos to DVD

7. Spend 24 hours without using the phone – even for texting or checking email

8. Upload a video on YouTube

9. Update my will

10. Read the entire Bible

11. Go one week without buying something non-essential

12. Go on a one week news fast - No TV - No news websites

13. Get a manicure/pedicure once a month for three months (0/3)

14. Get up every morning before 7 am for a month (0/30)

15. Master everything on the list of 75 Skills Every Woman Should Master (http://abundance-blog.marelisa-online.com/2008/05/15/75-skills-every-woman-should-master-the-first-25) (0/75 items mastered)

16. Teach my mom how to use Skype

17. Go one week without television

18. Go to a book signing and get a book signed

19. Buy crayons and a coloring book; spend an afternoon doing nothing but coloring

20. Go one day with TV, computer, and phone

21. Properly store my wedding dress

22. Donate $5 to charity for each goal not completed

23. Add $5 to vacation jar for every completed task

24. Goal to be added later

25. Goal to be added later

Strike through = completed
Italics = in progress
Normal = haven't started
Blue = partially completed
Red = didn't complete
Wish me luck!

Moving Right Along

I haven’t been blogging much lately.  In fact I haven’t been doing much of anything lately.  Since The General left, I have been in a funk.  In preparation for the deployment, I was aware that this might happen to me, especially since I have a history of depression.  However, I didn’t expect it to last this long.  It’s been about 2 months since he left and I still feel that this phase may not end anytime soon.  I’m trying to utilize my support system but I’m still having a hard time.  I know every military spouse is different but if anyone has words of advice they would be greatly appreciated.

A Visit from the Easter Bunny

 

We had a visitor at our house yesterday….he’s a couple of weeks early though!  Just for the record I DID NOT do this to my poor baby.  I took him to PetSmart for a play day and they were having their monthly themed party.  Usually he looks so happy in the pictures but this one he looks terrified.  I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to think about the Easter Bunny again in the same way.