Bands For Arms, Yo.

I was catching up on my blog reading when I came to one of my favorites (The Journey Of A Navy Wife). Unfortunately she doesn't post as often as I would like for her to, but I understand life happens. :) She has been such an encouragement to me the past couple of years and I can't even begin to thank her for it! She has such a love for her country and those who fight for her freedom. It just makes my heart smile!

She is doing a giveaway! One of the ways to enter is to blog about the giveaway and tell her why I like the organization whose product she's giving away. To be honest, I'd never heard of it before and I'm very sad to admit that. It's such a cool thing they're doing! It's called Bands For Arms (click that and it will take you to their facebook page. You can visit their store here or go here to read more about them than what I will tell you). They use donated military uniforms to make bracelets. It's so neat. We all know what a softy I am, I barely made it through their whole product line before tearing up. A couple of them got me right in the heart. They donate a portion of their sales to help service members stay in contact with their family members. AND they tell you about the person whose uniform was used to make your bracelet. I think that's probably the coolest part!! The bracelet she is giving away is made from a WWII NAVY (!!!!!!!) uniform! It's called "The Pearl Harbor" Really, I want them all. I, of course, can't wear them all at once but...sigh...they just make my heart smile.

Aaaaand it gets better....the owner has a branch off or Bands for Arms called His Arms For Arms (click it). This organization is committed solely to getting the Word of God to our service members. To let them know that He is their Shield and Protector. And to know they always have a Friend in Him. Does it get any better than that? I mean, really, does it?

Check them out, for real. It's such a cool organization!
That's all I've got! I hope you go have a look-see. It blessed my heart, that's for sure!

Veteran's Day

Today is my favorite holiday. Read why HERE (it will open in a new window [I hope], so go ahead, CLICK IT!)
No, I'm serious. I just love it so much.
It always brings joy to my heart!

I usually make a t-shirt but decided not to this year.(mostly because every time I make a t-shirt it gets ruined in some fashion!).So this year I am posting pictures of real life and blog life friends with their [and some of my] loved ones. I love, or have come to love all of these women. Some of them I've never met before but hope to someday, and some of them I see on a regular basis. :)

The only thing I really have to say is that I'm so thankful for all men and women fighting, and who have fought for my freedom. And I'm proud to say that in less 7 months, I will be joining their ranks. I can't wait..I am BEYOND excited! :)

Enjoy! :)

ARMY

AIR FORCE

NAVY

MARINES

Unfortunately, I know no one in the Coast Guard.

*All photos used with permission. Thank you to all of you ladies who let me borrow your memories. I'm so grateful for you and your men! Have a blessed day. :)


Lovely ladies who let me borrow their military love:
Erika
Carissa
Christina
Samantha
Alana
Deanna
Jennifer
Christina
Kristina
Mollie

News!

I feel like I should make it bloggily official.

As of October 18, 2011 at 2:15 pm:

I am now in the United States Navy. 

Yes! Finally. 

Is really all I can say...

The process was loooooooooong and boring, but not as bad as everyone made it out to be. 

Thank the Lord:

I got the job I wanted & I get to leave when I want! 

Hallelujah! :)

I am an Aviation Mechanic and I will be leaving June 6 for boot camp. 

Then I have 5 weeks of A-School in Pensacola. 

     -try not to be too jealous. :)

I am considered Inactive until I swear in again on June 6!

Hooray! 

That's all. :)

Rats,Cats and Baseball Bats.

[I didn't realize I'm so creative I used similar blog titles for the last 2 blogs. So I changed it. hahaha]
I've been busy. Yes. Busy as a bee.

I'm sorry to say that blogging has fallen just under doing laundry on my priority list. 

I will try to do better. This blog will be a little sporadic [random is an overused word]. 

Mostly just essential thoughts you should know.

I think we often do things out of habit..not necessarily because we want to, or actually enjoy them. I'm finding this out in my own life.

I read a quote online a while back, it said: the word testify derived from a time when men were required to swear on their testicles. THAT. IS. HILARIOUS. to me. I'm sorry if it offends you. And I have no idea if that is true or not.

I also read one on a poster:

Imagination is more important than knowledge...knowledge is limited, but imagination encircles the world. To see with one's own eyes to feel and judge without succumbing to the suggestive power of the fashion of the day, to be able to express what one has seen and felt in a trim sentence or even in a cunningly wrought world...is that not glorious? When I examine myself and my methods of thought. I come to the conclusion that the gift of imagination has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing absolute knowledge.

-Albert Einstein

Right on, Albert. Right on.

Some people just don't get it. They just don't.

My work schedule is whack..usually when I'm not working, I'm sleeping. :)

Working! Ah! Did I tell I have a new job? Well I do.

I'm a valet in downtown Nashville. Go ahead, be jealous. It's awesome. I love it a lot. 

There are some things you should know about being a valet, and I will tell you them.

1. Unless you want to get lost in Vanderbilt University, NEVER, I repeat NEVER turn on 24th Ave. Ever. Confusion will ensue. That's a promise

2. I have short legs. This is a fact. Most of the rest of the world [or maybe just the people who stay at my hotel] has astronomically long legs. Seats must be adjusted accordingly...quite often.

3. Being a valet gives you the privilege of driving AWESOME cars. Seriously. I can't tell you how many Escalades I've driven. Not because it's confidential but because I don't know. I've driven 3 Jaguars [HOLLA!!!] and lots of other fun things. My friends at other hotels tell me that if I work at a certain hotel on certain days of the year, I can meet visiting football teams! SCORE! :)

4. I drive a shuttle too. It goes within a 3 mile radius of the hotel. It's so fun! I get to meet all kinds of interesting people! I think the coolest person [well, really irony, I guess] I drove was a girl from Chicago who had been to the bike shop I worked at! Cool!? I think you mean AAAAAAAAAAWESOOOOME!

5. Standing is required. Unless you're my friend Shawn who breaks the rules. It's not always fun. But sometimes it's ok. 

6. The first weekend I worked, a guy I trained with didn't show up for his shift so I worked from 3pm Saturday to 3am Sunday. Yea...that was interesting.

7. Drunk people. They are few and far between [because my hotel is farther away from the bars] but they are always interesting when they happen upon you. During the 12 hour shift mentioned above, I encountered 4 of them. One called me sir. Yea. I'm not entirely sure how I was mistaken for a male but whatev...and the other 3 invited me to come hang out with them when I got off work...AT 3 IN THE MORNING. No thanks guys, I think I'll sleep instead.

8. Shoulder pads. I'm almost convinced these were the cause of the gender confusion. I can't prove it. But I must admit I do not look cute in those blasted things. Not. At. All. 

9. The tips are AWESOME. Well, if you're not a boy who cares only about money, they're awesome. Other wise, apparently they stink.. I seem to be one of like 3 people who don't complain about the pay. Honestly, I'm just glad to have any job at all.

It's only my 5th Friday. I'm sure I'll have more interesting tidbits to come.

I will be giving oboe lessons to a 7th grader. That will be fun. I hope she likes me.

I have some fun new pictures on my fun new phone that I want to share with you. I want them all: 

1 Peter 4:8-Above all, love each
other deeply, because love covers
over a multitude of sins.

This is should be Bertha's boyfriend.
He's beautiful and I'd love to have him.

If I can't have Bucky Blue I'll settle for
Gomer Grey. He's even cooler than Bucky.
So cool he couldn't fit in the whole picture.

I have more to say. But I will save it for later. Just know that it's all FABULOUS. :) hehe.
You're probably still wondering what the title of this blog has to do with anything in it..well I'll tell you: absolutely NOTHING! muahahahaah and I can do that because it's MINE! :)

Let's Ketchup! :)

I've been meaning to write this post for weeks. Yes, weeks. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It's kind of boring, not gonna lie.

Ok. So the last thing I left you with was my test and the days preceding it. 
I took the test on Friday August 5. The earliest I was supposed to receive my results was supposed to be a week from the following Monday. Well hot dog they arrived 4 days later on Tuesday.
I got a decent score, but not high enough to wait around for the boards to open up again. At this point, I was still in Chicago and decided that I'd enlist when I returned home.

The next weekend, my best best friend Megan came up. We had a Mafia Weekend! It was so rad! We watched Goodfellas and Donnie Brasco on Friday. Then went to a minor league baseball game that night. After the game we tried to watch The Godfather but fell asleep. I fell asleep anyway, I'm not sure if she did or not. Then Saturday we took a "gangster tour" of the city. Can you say "AH-MAZING!"? I can. It was soooo fun. Just incredible. If you're into that kind of thing, you can view the information on it here. I recommend it for sure. For lunch we went to Sprinkles. It's a cupcake place. Oh my lanta. I had the best cupcake I've ever eaten in my life. SO good. Check them out. Then on Saturday night we went to Tommy Guns. I kid you not when I say the level of fun I had here rivaled that of Disney World. Seriously. It was obviously a different kind of fun. But oh goodness. SO fun. Here's a picture! :) :)

He was our favorite. His voice was so beautiful. Oh goodness.  He was funny. Just go. Ok?

Then I took her to the airport Sunday morning and said goodbye. :(

There's MUCH more to this story, I'm giving you the abbreviated version, otherwise this post will be far too long.

Then I left Chicago shortly after.

Now I'm back home in good ol' TN.

This past Thursday I had a job interview to valet park downtown. WOOHOO. After having vehicle problems and arriving 7 minutes late to the group interview, I was still offered a job. Praise the Lord. Seriously. 

I had to get a drug test done and I'll know within a week if I'm hired for real or not.

After that, I went to the Navy Recruiting Station. WOOOOOHOOOO!!!! I told the [only] recruiter [there] that joining the Navy is what I want to do. I don't have any 2nd thoughts. So let's get this ball rolling. Unfortunately it took more words than that because we weren't on the same page for a while. I'm not sure what was so confusing but neither of us were understanding the other. 

He asked me if I had ever thought about nuclear engineering. I told him I didn't know what that was. He explained it to me...I still don't really know what it entails. Then another recruiter walked in and asked me the same thing. I said "Are you guys short on nuclear engineers or something?" the 2nd recruiter nodded his head and the 1st said "no, I'm just trying to get you more money" Apparently when you re-enlist, they give you an $80,000 signing bonus because they know you could leave the Navy and easily make 6 figures. This all sounds very appealing but I don't know that I'd even been good at it. 

So, pray for guidance in that area. I've still got a while before it comes time for me to be choosing a job. I don't want to give up on my flying dream. Not at all. But there seems to be security in nuclear engineering. Even the woman I dogsit for brought it up that evening. So..yea. Guidance and wisdom would be fabulous.

So the 1st recruiter (who isn't MY recruiter, because mine wasn't there, he just took my info for him) made me take a practice ASVAB test. 

I haven't taken a test that easy since high school. It was almost a joke. I got an 89 out of 99. I'm supposed to take the real ASVAB on Monday. My real recruiter was also supposed to call me today (well, yesterday now) and talk to me about it...and he didn't. I'll probably call down there on Monday morning to get the skinny.

So. I take the ASVAB. I meet with someone to get a job. I tell them when I want to leave for boot camp. I get physicals and stuff done. Then I leave. WOOHOO. 

I hope it's that easy anyway. Sheesh.

Tonight I went back to my high school for a football game. 

There's one man [over 25] on this planet who can make my bones turn to jell-o.

He's the head coach of the football team. 

I'll be grinning for at least a week. Count on it.

Now, you're officially caught up.
Stay tuned for more details on our Mafia Weekend. 
I just need to find the time and figure out the pictures I want to use. I also don't want to give TOO much away or there will be no sense in you doing the tour for yourself! :)

Navy Test [not] Results

I already posted this on facebook, so if you read it there, don't feel the need to read it again. If you weren't tagged on facebook, that means I told you over the phone or we're not friends :(. 

I thought this would be easier than posting a status and hoping everyone who is curious (or I who I just wanted to tell) would see it.

I'll preface this with a recap of the last 2 days so you can get a feel for the week I've had. Yesterday (Thursday) I woke up bawling my eyes out. I'd just had a dream that I failed my test by one point. Everything sort of went downhill from there. Nothing too major happened at work. I was supposed to leave at 1, then it got pushed back to 2 then 230. I left work at 230 so I could go home and get some last minute studying done for my test today (Friday). 

I wasn't even a mile from home when I was rearended...for the first time in my whole life. It was the strangest thing I've ever experienced. I really didn't know what had happened. I was sitting, waiting for the red light to turn green. It turned, I let my foot off the brake (I don't think I even hit the gas pedal) and all of the sudden I was being jerked around. I had a million thoughts racing through my mind. The most prominent were "I'm not driving a stick shift...why is this thing jumping around!?!" and "Oh! I don't want to have whiplash!" It didn't register in my head what had happened until I was [sort of] driving away and I looked in my rearview mirror. I saw the guy behind me and realized HE HIT ME! Then I had to hold myself together. I pulled over to the side of the road and started looking for my phone. It had been tossed around during the jostle and I couldn't find it. As I said I'd never been in an accident before, so I had no idea what to do. I just knew I needed to call someone. So I was on the verge of tears, my hands were shaking and I couldn't find my phone. Several people driving by stopped and asked if I was ok, if I needed to go to the hospital and whatnot. I told them that I was fine, nothing was broken. I found my phone and tried to call my uncle, to whom the truck belongs. I called every number I knew and couldn't get a hold of him. Finally I found a number for the bike shop in the truck and called there. He was very calm about the whole thing. And told me exactly what I needed to do.

The guy that hit me had OnStar so the police were notified immediately. We traded information and right when we finished the police arrived. He kept apologizing. He was very sorry. I felt bad for him.

He had to have been doing at the very least 20 mph..probably more than that. He completely mashed in the bumper of the truck I was driving, broke the tailight and damaged the door and bed of the truck. My aunt and uncle think the frame is bent. His truck was mashed up pretty good too. He was fine, neither of us were hurt. I'm feeling a little tightness in my neck today but I don't think it's anything to worry about. His was also a company truck so it shouldn't be a problem having the insurance pay for the damage (that's what I'm told anyway). 

I come home and veg out...I didn't do any studying..of course. Well, I did a little right before bed but that's all. My uncle, who does NOT like Taco Bell, suggested we have it for dinner because he knows it's my favorite!! How nice of him! So my aunt and I picked it up. I got a Raspberry Tea..that I was REALLY excited about! We got home, I took MAYBE 3 sips of it and I spilled it...everywhere. ALL of it...GONE. Ugh. I was upset.

Fast forward to this morning. My test was scheduled for 10am. It was supposed to take me one hour and 42 minutes to get to the GREAT LAKES NAVAL TRAINING FACILITY (!!!!!!!!!!!!) so I left at 7 to leave room for traffic, construction and getting lost time. I arrived in the town at EIGHT THIRTY!! BAH! So I found a gas station and sat there until 915. I still got there 30 minutes early but that's not AS bad..

I went in and the security guard checked my info. As I was waiting to be escorted to my area, a woman came down and was talking loudly to the man standing next to me who was also waiting to be escorted. In the meantime, a man came up next to me and asked if I was there to take the test. I answered with an affirmative. He was the man I was supposed to meet. YAHOO. At this point, the woman stops her loud talking and says "Oh, our computers are down" This is directed to the test man and myself. And I say, under my breath "of course they are!" So he asks me if I mind taking the paper version. I told him I didn't mind. We mosied up to his office where I filled out my test form and found pencils with good erasers. He started talking about the computers and how the files were there yesterday and then they all of the sudden got deleted yesterday afternoon, and how the AC was out. And I said "ya know, I should have expected something like this to happen with the week I've had" and I told him about being rearended and some other things. He had pity on me lol. He informed me that it would take much longer to receive my scores with the written version than the computer version. I figured well, it could take just as long for the computers to get fixed, so I might as well just go ahead and take it, I'm already there.

So he found me a nice cooooooooool room to test in. I took the first half of the test. Then I had a 15 minute break. During that break we talked about the Navy. He told me all sorts of things. Including this fact that my recruiter failed to tell me: they've shut down all boards. No one is meeting to select officer candidates EXCEPT pilots. I thought "SWEET!" until he told me the next part. The meeting is August 11. The packets were due 2 weeks ago. I want to yell "ARE YOU FLIPPIN KIDDING ME!?!?!" but instead I said "Oh really? huh. My recruiter told me that they were meeting in September" and he said "well they were, then it got moved" and I said "oh. Well he didn't tell me that..." and he asked what field I wanted to go into and I said "I want to be a pilot." And he said "Oh."....YEA. He said that this occurred about 15 years ago too, where no one is leaving so there's no room for anyone to get in. No one knows how long it will last, it's just a waiting game. Last time, they called up all the recruiting offices and told them to contact everyone who qualified for selection and tell them if they could be ready in 2 weeks to go to OCS they were in. That could happen this time...no one knows. 

We then talked about my other options. I asked what he'd do in my position. He'd originally wanted to be in the band..so he told me to go for that. I told him that option was out! lol. He said that if he were me and this score turned out to be not as high as it needed to be, then he'd just enlist, work in an aviation field and take it again in a year or so. I've been thinking about this option  for a while. Buuuut the other thing..if my score IS high enough...I could be waiting around for a long time. I don't want to throw out that opportunity because I got impatient. Ya know? So I guess we'll just have to see what happens.

Then I took the rest of my test.

He has to send my test off to be scored. They only grade on Mondays and Wednesdays and they have to be in that office 2 days ahead of time. So even if he'd gotten it out today, it wouldn't have arrived in time to be graded on Monday. Then if he didn't get it out today it wouldn't get there in time to be graded on Wednesday. So it could be a week from Monday before it's graded. Bummer. But, the good thing is it's over and there's nothing I can do about it now. 

My feelings about the test: I think I did a lot better than last time. I know that I knew postively a lot more. Like, I knew "YES, this answer IS correct" instead of "eh, I'm not really sure, but this one sounds the most familiar" There was one section that I was much more familiar with this time so I think I did a much better job on it. The only downside was that they haven't used the written format in several years so it's kind of outdated. Several of the questions weren't in the study material I was given so I had no idea at all what the answers were. I did my best at guessing.

That's the key: I did my best. If my best wasn't good enough, well then, I'll do it again in a couple of years. And that will be that. 

Aside: My aunt and I went to see Captain America. From the concessions, I wanted a Red Freezze drink,a pretzel and Swedish Fish. The Red drink was out. So I asked for blue. The Blue drink was out. So I got just regular Pepsi Freezze instead. I know, they're just little things that could have been TONS worse, but seriously!? There's one day left to this week. One day. I can make it! Ps. Captain America was good.

When I get my scores I'll probably just post it on my status. We'll see. If you'd like another note, just holla and I'll accommodate! :)

Eeny Meeny Miney Mo

First I'd like to say (quite cryptically if you don't mind) that sometimes I'm an idiot. Usually it's about the same thing...I'm glad I've moved on from that.

Ok. Moving right along....

This weekend has been an interesting one. I'd like to give you every little detail..but it will bore you. TO DEATH. So just take my word for it when I say the devil is trying to do a number on me...but no no no I won't let that happen!

So during this weekend, I came up with a list of reasons not to live in Chicago. And I feel compelled to share this list with you!

I'll go from least important to most important.

The Cubs are awful. [All the cool people like the White Sox.]

The weather is crazy!

If you like normal pizza (from Dominoes) you're OUT. OF. YOUR. MIND.

People here like the Bears. Ew.

Snow.

There's always construction. Always.

The roads are crap..that's why there's always construction.

Everyone wants everything done yesterday. [this one really bugs me]

The people here aren't as friendly as they are in the South.

My uncle lives here.

Please don't get me wrong. I love love LOVE it here. I know, it sounds like I don't. I do. I just don't like the idea of staying here permanently. 

I think there are more reasons but I didn't write them down so I don't remember. Yes, I'm one of thooooose.

I went to church today. TWICE! I found out that the morning church preacher was in the Navy. I hope to talk to him eventually. The 2nd church was great. It was recommended by a good friend. I'm glad I know him. The people there were fabulous. I might be getting together with a couple of the women to do a Bible Study. We'll see how it works out! :) 

My Navy test is Friday. Please be praying for it. I'm nervous about it. But really excited too. 

I Have Grown Too Strong To Ever Fall Back In Your Arms

It's been a while, right? I know. Trust me. :)


1. I went to Six Flags Great America on Sunday. It was awesome!!! My cousin and I did the DareDevil Dive! It was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fun!!! :) Seriously. FUN. You should check out my pics on facebook! I also got to ride the American Eagle. If you've seen the tv show Step By Step, you've seen this roller coaster. If not, watch this:

Looks SO fun, right!? Oh it was! I thought it was just going to be like a slow ride because it's a wooden roller coaster...no way jose! That joker FLEW! It was GREAT! :)

2. I saw a Navy there. 

3. My test is in one week and one day. (August 5) I'm sort of nervous about it. I know I can do it. I'm just afraid I won't. I'm really excited though too. I'm just ready to get the ball rolling for this part of my life! 

4. My grandparents are coming on Friday and bringing my sister along. I'm glad they're bringing her. If they weren't, I don't know the next time I would see her. By the time I get back home, she'll be back at school!

5. I follow a young woman's blog who is FABULOUS! She and her husband are hilarious! He's in the Navy and she's along for the ride. She's hosting a giveaway (click on that link to see the cool stuff!) on her blog and I'm really excited! She's giving away lots of cool stuff! :) Go check it out!

6. My uncle is a child. 

7. I think I'm addicted to starburst candies. How unfortunate.

8. The bracelet that my Marine friend gave me is breaking. :( It looks like this: 

Mine is the whiter arm.

I've tried everything I know to fix it. Well..actually just superglue. It seemed to maybe have done more harm than good. It's got a hole in it. Does anyone know a way to fix it? Please share it if you do! I know I could probably get another one but this one was handed to me..by him. It wouldn't be the same.

9. I'm convinced I'm leaving the shop this week with one less finger...the other day I nicked my pinky with a wrench, that same day I broke my first nail. And those of you who know my hands, you know that I don't have long nails so it was quite a feat. Then today I busted up my knuckle and I don't even know how! [sidenote: it is STORMING outside! Geez lapeez! I think we have a tornado warning for the next hour. The wind and rain are outrageous!] So I went to get this tiny kid's bike, handed it to the woman, went to get the attractive man with lots of muscle's bike, I look down and my knuckle is bleeding. What on Earth!?!? Sheesh.

10. Ya know, I don't appreciate when people say "well when you're in the Navy you won't be able to do ____" It make me so irritated. I want to yell at them "Do I LOOK like I'm in the Navy to you!? Well, I'm not..so until I am, I'll do whatever I feel like doing!" or "Are YOU in the Navy!? No. Didn't think so..so how the heck do YOU know I won't be able to do _____?! You don't. So shut up." I especially don't like it when people try to tell me I'll have eat all sorts of nasty and that I should just go ahead and suck it up. Why the heck would I do that now if I don't have to? There are certain things that I know I will have to do once in the Navy. And when the time comes, I'll do them. Until then, go eat dirt jerks!

11.Lately I've wanted to spell taco.."talko"..I know, it's weird. :)

12. Today I heard a song that I've heard a gajillion times before. But today I really listened. It spoke to me, no not spiritually. Situationally. Yes, I'd applied it before but today it was different. It was like I was hearing it for the very first time. I could tell it was written about someone. Not just to make money. Someone's heart was broken and they let the raw emotions inside of them bleed out onto a page. It's beautiful. 

This song is perfect for me. I hope I never have to play it for the person it applies to though.

To check out the song I'm talking about, click here

That's all lovely readers! I hope you enjoyed! :)

Refinnej Eldnab, Where Are You These Days?

Today was my 2nd day off in a row!

Craziness, I know! It's been ridiculously hot here so no one has had bicycles that need repair. Please don't ask me why. I have no idea. The best answer I can give is that they're whimps. But I can't say I'd be riding my bike either in this junk! All I know is that hardly any repairs have come in.

So I had yesterday off. I watched a movie: The American President. It was good. And studied. 

Today I watched 2 movies. Both bad: Die Hard (the original) and Black Hawk Down.

I usually enjoy war movies but I just didn't like this one. And Die Hard was just dragging on and on and on!

And I tried so hard to study. I'm just so tired of it! I feel like my brain is going to explode soon if I don't get all of this information out of it! There's soooo much to know!

I've got 2 weeks and 2 days until my test. Ah!

Today was rough. It definitely could have been a lot worse, but little things kept happening that just made me want to scream "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!"
Like: I set my phone down next to my taco. I picked it up and it had sour cream, taco sauce and cheese on it. BAH!
Then. I was leaning over my cup of water and I spilled it. ALL. OVER. MY. NOTECARDS. And a little got on my computer but just on the top. Ugh. So irritating.

BUT! It was all made better when a lady, from the AWESOME church I visited this past Sunday, brought me cupcakes!!!!!!!!! YES! Cupcakes! I thought they were just regular yellow cake with chocolate icing. Oh no no no. I was fooled. They had chocolate IN THE MIDDLE and dark chocolate icing!! Oh they were gooood! She also gave me a thank you card! I had already decided to return there for the rest of the summer. But, had I had any doubts before, they would have gone out the window after that! Hahah. That was such a kind gesture. She (or someone..) took the time to make those just for me (and probably other visitors too..). That's why I liked this church. The people reached out and welcomed me. At the other church, I don't think anyone even knew I was a visitor. Which is sort of sad when you think about it. It wasn't a HUGE church, I've been to bigger. I don't know, I just feel like the people at the door should know a stranger when they see one. As soon as I sat down at this new church, a young lady came up and introduced herself! She was so sweet! And like 4 more came up after her!

It felt like home. And that's what I was looking for.

Tomorrow I will be driving to work alone. My uncle is taking the day off.
The trip should be interesting. There are about 14 different ways I can get there. I'm pretty sure I know the way he told me to go. I hope so anyway!
My uncle requested me to make some more strawberry shortcake this week! YAY! I LOOOOOOOOVE it. It's my favorite!! :)

Friday I'll be going with the neighbor girl to get her ears pierced! I'm really excited. She's such a sweetheart! Friday marks one month until her 9th birthday! :)
I've got lots of fun things in mind as presents for her!
I'll tell you all about them soon enough!

Goodnight!

Piiiiiictures! :)

I got permission from the photographer to post these. Her name is Gloria and you can check her out here. The pictures have  funny quality because I had to take them to the store and scan them on to a cd. But the originals are perfect.

Sorry, they're willynilly no order. :)

The Bride and her brother. I walked down
the aisle with him. 

Dancing. :)

The photographer told me to do that, I promise.

The Bride and her mother.
That's me crackin it up in the background!

The Girls! :)

The Bride and I. :) This was our fun pose.
I told her I wanted to take advantage
of my pockets!

There's a Green Bay Packer in this photo.
Can you figure out which one he is!?
The answer is soon to come!

Aaaawe. 

:)

This was the Best Man's idea..the guys were down for it
but the girls had no idea what to do!

The Girls, again. :)

This was our serious pose.

This picture is so stinkin cute! They're gorgeous!
The girl on the right, holding the groom, is his sister.

:)

The Bride's Grandmother and Grandfather

I didn't meet him but she's precious! I love her!

The Bride's mother and step-father. 

Aaaaawe! :)

THAT'S THE PACKER AND HIS BROTHER!!!!!!!

Their dance was so cute!!

SO Cute.

Instead of throwing her bouquet, she gave it to her mother.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDD

Last but certainly NOT least! :) 

This is for my daddy.

A picture with the Green Bay Packer. 

Please don't tell him. 

It's a surprise.

I can't decide which is better.

In one I have funny eyes and the other I feel like I look awkward. 

Votes, please. :)

Rumor Has It!

I will be posting 2 blogs tonight. One full of fun things that need to be said.
The other....WEDDING PICTURES!!!! (no, I'm not the bride....but that doesn't make it any less exciting!!!)

So this blog is the Not As Exciting blog..but you should still read it.

So, I follow the blog of a woman who is familiar with an organization called Got Your Back Network. I'm not sure if she does volunteer work for them or if she donates to them. I'm not sure. But it's really cool. They help families who have lost loved ones in the war. You should go to their store and look at the bracelets they sell. I really want one. I might have to buy one! Or maybe someone will buy one for me lol.

Today this guy came into the shop who is a cop in a neighboring suburb. This suburb is predominately black (I think). When he picked up his bike he said something about the heat and Dave said "yea, but at least when they run away it'll be slow because of the heat!" and this guy said "Nah man, they're quick out there! They're like gazelles or something!" hahahaha We laughed about that for a few hours.

So. In this blog I told you about a man who looked like an older version of one of my friends. Well. I came to the conclusion yesterday that they just had similar facial features, because yesterday I saw exactly what my friend will look like in 15 years. No joke. I couldn't stop staring at this man. It was so weird. So. Weird.

My uncle collects beer cans. Why? I don't know. He started when he was like 11. He thinks they're worth millions. My aunt and I think he's full of crap.

Yesterday a woman came into the store and needed something put on her bike. So my uncle assisted her. While he was assisting, she was waiting...in my chair. So I swept the floor (that's what I do when there's nothing else for me to do. If I just stand around waiting for someone to arrive I get yelled at. So I just look like I'm really busy).  I went over to where she was seated and got my dust pan. She said "So, it's Friday night! You got a hot date tonight!?!" I said "hahahahaha...no...I'm going home to sleep! By the time we get home it'll be like 730 or  8." She asked where home was and I told her. I was flattered that she'd think I had a hot date...

In my house, you grab a cup and it's yours until you put it in the sink to be washed. Not here, no sirree! Sometimes I don't even get to use the same cup all day long! It's crazy! It just gets snatched up and stuck in the dish washer! Then by the end of ,however long it takes for us to fill up the dish washer, I'm drinking out of strange holiday cups...Holiday cups don't matter..it's just weird that I can't keep the same cup as long as I want! Especially if I'm just drinking water. Sheesh.

So I've got all but like 4 of my Navy notecards finished...there are around 200. Yes. Two. Hundred. Soooo many. Half of those are pictures though. I would try to explain it to you but it wouldn't make a difference. Just know that I don't have to memorize that many...the pictures are matching.

This has been the week for military appreciation! An escalation of it anyway, I appreciate the military every single day, but this week has been phenomenal. I've had 2 Armies, a Marine and an Air Force all come in this week! Crazy. That doesn't sound like a lot, but trust me, it is!

I was thinking the other day, the closest I'll ever get to being in the mob is pretending that I'm John Dillinger while using the pressure washer. EXCEPT for the weekend that Megan comes up. I'll tell you all about that closer to time though! :) You'll LOVE IT! And if you don't, well poo on you!

Have any of you ever heard of The Dragon? Apparently it's the windiest (as in curvy) road in the U.S...or something. It's in Gatlinburg, or near it. I'd never heard of it. It's really popular among motorcyclists. It's got 318 curves in 11 miles. Crazy, right!!? There's even a restaurant or hotel something at the end of it that has a "Tree of Shame." When someone dies on this road, the owners ask the family if they can have parts of the motorcycle the person was using. They then hang it in the tree! It's crazy.

The weather reports here are outrageous. I'm not even kidding or exaggerating when I say they last 15 minutes. I'm completely serious. I go away having learned nothing about the weather happening in my area...the man talks about all of the U.S. and it takes soooooo long. Weather reports at home or only like 2 minutes maybe. Maybe we have a shorter attention span down there...who knows!

Nasal irrigation. That's a strange term hahahahahah.

One might think that country music is only popular in the South. Oh contrare! I walked into one of the biggest grocery store chains up here and they sure were playing country music. It was the oddest thing...but it was real! lol

Stay tuned for the pictures!

There's Only One Thing To Do Three Words Four Yooooooou.

Today was a goooooooood day. Much better than any day last week. Well, maybe except for Monday because I was alone all day and it was pretty good.

I meant to tell you this, maybe on Saturday. I don't remember which day. I do remember that I was very angry at my uncle because he took the bumpiest road in the whole state and that stupid motorcycle made my esophagus hurt. UGH I was irate.
Buuuuut I was entertained at one point. hahahah.
So my uncle believes the only kind of music that's worth listening to is rock-n-roll. I believe I've stated this fact before. Anyway. So this attractive male pulls up in a pickup truck next to us at a stop light. Out of his radio is playing Eminem. HAHAHAH. My uncle was SOOOOOOOO annoyed. I thought it was hilarious. THEN when the light changed and the kid got ahead of us, I saw that he had  US Navy license plate holder. That made that moment ten times better! haha.
While I'm on this subject, I'd like to clear something up. I don't know the technical terms for women who like men in uniform. Yes. I do appreciate viewing these men. And I wouldn't mind marrying one. However, what ever man falls in love with me and can't seem to live the rest of his life without me is the man I will marry...whether he wears ACUs or tutus! Ok, maybe not tutus...but you get my drift. I just wanted to clarify. Moving on...

I painted my nails last night. The color is called "Blue Me Away" by Sally Hansen. First I must interrupt your regularly scheduled program for this announcement. I can find ANYONE on Facebook. I'm serious. hahaha. I just found a friend of a friend that that friend had been looking for for a whiiiiiile haha. It took me like 30 seconds. Seriously. Ok...so I painted my nails. It took me like 3 tries to get my middle, ring and pinky fingers of my right hand to look halfway decent. Today at work I washed windows. I had to put this stuff called "Goof Off" on parts of it because papers had been taped up and the glue was left. Well unbeknownst to me, that junk takes off every kind of goop it come in contact with...and what do ya know...my fingernails happened to be right there in the middle of the action all painted and pretty. Those 3 stinkin fingers that I spent (probably literally) 30 minutes on were ruined. Ruined. I was so sad. I still am sad. Not sad enough to fix them yet though...maybe in the morning.

Today, I built TWO bikes. I was only supposed to build one. This is what went down...my uncle told me to go get a pink "Puddin 16"" bike out of the basement. Well, little did I know that there's also a bike named the "Lil Puddin" and it's 12" So I bring up the Lil Puddin. I start putting it together and see that it's only a 12"...I think "Well, maybe I misheard him" That was the only "puddin" I saw down there. So this had to be the one. I am almost finished putting it together and he comes over to get something. He says "I said a Puddin..that's a Lil Puddin, you did the wrong bike" I look at him, dejected and say "I'm sorry" and he said "It's fine" and walked away. HE JUST WALKED AWAY! I thought for sure he was going to yell at me to listen more carefully next time or look around a little more. Nothing. I got nothing. Mind blown. So when I went down to look for the bike I'd originally been instructed to assemble, I found it. But not in the right place. The first bike had been inventoried. Which means it had been assigned a number and a receipt. There was a row in the middle of the floor that I didn't even look at because they hadn't been inventoried and I wasn't supposed to build them if they hadn't been. So I told him that it didn't have a number or anything and he said that was fine, he'd take care of it. So I built the bike and put the serial number in the little basket.
Phew. Crisis avoided. (yes, I know the word is averted but I didn't do anything to avert it..)

Today is 7/11..which means you can get a free 7 oz slurpie at 7/11 because it's their birthday.

It's also the 213th birthday of the President's Own United States Marine Band. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOYS! (and girls) I wish I had known before 9 pm...I would have celebrated properly. But, I know for next year! :)

That's all for tonight, folks!
AH! wait, I got permission from the photographer to post the wedding pictures from the wedding I was in! So as soon as I can figure out if I can make a cd at walmart from pictures that aren't on a card, I will have them up!! :)  I'm REALLY excited. Hopefully, by Wednesday (that's my day off and I can run errands) I'll have the one of Mr. Masthay and I and I can post that as well.
Ok. That's all for real this time.

I Could Flirt With All The Guys...Smile At Them And Bat My Eyes

So I'm noticing this is becoming a "Whiny Schminy Blog"
I'm not down for that.
Not every single time I blog any way. Maybe once every 5 blogs. 
I might start blogging once a week. Just save up all the good stuff that happens and write it all at once. Unless one day is abnormally exciting lol. :) Then I'll lay it on ya a little at a time.
Just know that he (my boss, about whom I'm whining) is a jerk and that's probably not going to change. If it does, I'll let you know.
I've decided that whenever I feel the strong urge to slash his tires or key up his Harleys real good, I'm going to think about happy things...like my best best friend coming to visit me in August, or my future husband, or how much my dad is the opposite of my uncle and how thankful I am for that, how much my mom loves me, how blessed I am to have the friends that I do, how I'LL BE IN THE NAVY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR! Ya know, stuff like that. 
The reason for this change of thinking...I was talking to a friend's mother this morning. I don't think she knows what's been going on. If she does well hot dog..but this is what she said to me (and we weren't even talking about life up here..):

and you will learn a lot about yourself and how much you can handle! hang in there and keep being your cheerful self!!

My cheerful self. That's right. I'm a cheerful person. But I bet you couldn't tell by the tone of my last few blogs. And trust me, that tone has translated into my face. I don't like being unhappy or agitated. I don't like it one bit. So I'm going to stop. And she probably doesn't know it, but those words encouraged me a lot. So today was day one of...well I'm not sure what to call it hahah. But it was the first day. :)

So Dave and I were talking the other day (we do that a lot, our not-so-benchy work benches are right next to each other) about black people. I love black people. He found that out pretty quick lol. We were talking about how my uncle and Bryan are afraid of black people. hahahah. I told him "they're just peeeeeeeeople with more melanin! There's no reason to be afraid of them!" and he said "yea! I agree" then he affirmed what I've been thinking but wasn't sure was accurate or not. He said "Man, when have you EVER heard of a black serial killer. EVER!?! I'm afraid of white people. At least when black people kill someone they have a reason and it's not just for some creepy reason!" The man speaks truth! I'd been thinking that for a while but didn't want to say it if it was inaccurate. Dave knows a lot so I believe him. hahaha.

There's a nudist colony up here. HAHAHAH. My friends sometimes suggest that I join one. I just don't like wearing clothes. It's such a burden.

Like I said, Dave knows a lot. He's a body builder...but he doesn' t look like Arnold...I've never seen him topless. (hahah that sounds funny when you say it about a guy..but it's the same thing!) He probably looks more like Ryan. Anyway, as a result of the building of his body, he knows nutrition. I was talking about giving up sweets except on Sundays. And he looks at me with a hint of amusement in his eyes and says "and why would you do that?" and I say "because sugar is bad for you" and he says "yes, some kinds of sugar..but really, people who want to lose weight should, in theory, eat nothing but sugar. Your body burns sugar as energy, that's the only thing it knows how to do with it..it doesn't store it or anything. BUT you should  stay away from flour, and corn syrup..." and some other things. As long as it's pure sugar and not that high fructose corn syrup stuff, you're good to go. Good to know, Dave, good to know.

I wonder what it's like to live in a world where you're always the victim. Where you always count on everyone to think of you first, to put you first. Where you think of no one but yourself. A world where everything that goes wrong is someone else's fault, never your own. Where you're constantly putting everyone around you down. A world where everyone who asks a semi-difficult question is either a drunk or a stoner. Where the only thing considered "music" is rock-n-roll. i just wonder....

My husband will be self sufficient. If you're my friend on facebook, you may have seen my status about this...

Things he will be able to do while I'm gone, whether it be on vacation, deployed or gone for good:

his own laundry

shop for groceries

cook above mentioned groceries

clean up after himself

do the dishes (this would tie in with cleaning up)

take care of the dog (yes, we WILL have a dog)

take care of the children (if we have them)

pay bills

I think that's about it. Simple things. Yes, I realize it's nice to be needed, but I need his world not to crumble when I'm gone for a few days and I happen to not go grocery shopping the day before I leave. He needs to be able to fend for himself. 

If you can't tell, I really like Dave hahah. (no, not like LIKE him...) He and Bryan were talking about when I'm leaving for good and whatnot. I told them that my aunt said I could stay as long as I wanted, I'd just have to get another job. And Dave said "DUDE (maybe he didn't say dude, but that sets up the tone for the rest of the sentence)! You know what would really kiiiiiiill him!? If you stayed until you left for the Navy! It would drive him absolutely crazy! So if you want to get back at him for being such an *expletive* just stay as long as you want! And I can get you a job at Starbucks and you can start like tomorrow!" (his brother is store manager or something..) then Bryan chimes in and says "I could get you pretty much any job you wanted in Elmhurst" and he starts listing off jobs. I love these guys. They're looking out for me and making me laugh while doing it. I considered it for a few minutes, staying that is...but I don't think it's the best option. I can't pinpoint the reasons but I just don't think it is.

AH! I built a bike! I can't believe I didn't tell you about this! It happened yesterday (the 7th). Well, I didn't blog yesterday so that's probably why I didn't tell you! Probably also because it was a huge ordeal to learn how that I'm not going to go into. I'm going to think about my future husband and just post the picture. :)

Raleigh Jazzi. A girl's bike. 

I'm so proud of that bike. I asked Bryan what I needed to do with it and he told me to move it to the other side of the room and I said "OH! Wait, I have to take a picture of it" and Bryan said "a picture...?" and Dave said "Yea man, she's proud of it!" 

Bryan makes fun of me because I have 800+ friends on facebook. The day after we became friends, he came into work and was like "So I think you know the whole state of Tennessee..." I was like "huh?" and he said "You have 830 friends on facebook!" and Dave said "What, are you number 831?" and Bryan said "Yea..(turns to me) do you even know all of those people!?" I explained that between college, church and high school, yes I had met every single one of them at one time or another. He was taken aback. Hahhaha. :) 

That is all...until the next time when I have a lot to say. :)