Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Randomness.....

Okay so there is this thing going around facebook, the 25 random things list... Well I got to thinking, I am going to post mine here. I will probably add more than 25...cause I am cool like that. haha

1. I have rheumatoid arthritis. I was diagnosed at 18 after months of testing...I live my life the same and don't let it affect me.
2. I am my parent's bonus child...they planned on having 2 kids...I am the third....oops...
3. I tried to break up with Jack about a month after we started dating because I was afraid it was too good to be true.
4. I like to put grape jelly on my grilled cheese, if we don't have mustard I can put on it.
5. There is a town in VA named after my mom's side of the family....cause they used to be the only people that lived in the area.
6. My parents changed my name 3 days after I was born. My given name was originally Elizabeth.
7. My dad's side the family is german and I am the only member that can speak it, minus the swear words (which we all seem to know.)
8. I grew up in western NY and love the snow.
9. I lost my two front teeth as child to a hockey puck after my older brother convinced me to play goalie...needless to say I stopped the puck!
10. I have a closet full of bridesmaids dresses that I keep saying that I am going to do something with, and then I never do.
11. I have two cats...Seneca Wallace....and Kobe....who we got as a friend for Seneca....they get along half the time.
12. I have had dogs my whole life and after putting my bulldog down in July...I am having a hard time getting another one
13. I am a car superstar. I sing loudly everytime I get in the car.
14. I run at minimum 3 miles every day.
15.My husband likes to do something he calls the booty dance in public and although I act embarrassed, it secretly cracks me up.
16. We have been ttc for over a year and I sometimes think we aren't going to succeed.
17. I am addicted to the Discovery Health Channel.
18. I work part time at the Gap because of the discount.
19.I am convinced my husband's car resembles the Batmobile.
20. I saw an escalator for shopping carts the other day and it was all I could do not to try and ride up in a cart.
21. I don't like cheese on sandwiches, but I love it in everything else.
22. I can eat a whole jar of pickles in one sitting.
23. I have my bachelors in political science.

24. I have 1 brother, 1 sister, 1 brother in law and 2 sister in laws, and 1 buddy or bf or whatever you want to call my sister's longtime significant other, and all but 1 of them have a J name.
25. I am a closet scrapbooker...and only do it when no one is around. haha

26. Watching the news relaxes me.
27. I am a constant knuckle cracker.
28. People who drive around with their turn signals on annoy the crap out of me.
29.I was terrified of birds as a kid...thanks to my siblings having me watch some Alfred Hitchcock movie.
30. Mary Poppins has always been my favorite movie. I have worn out countless copies of the tape and dvd.
31. There is never any room in my bed for me...because my two 8 lb cats take up all the space...don't ask how..I am still trying to figure that out.

Buffalo....

So most of you probably know I am originally from just outside of Buffalo NY. I love it there and it is a lot of fun. And lately I have been thinking a lot about Buffalo and the good things there. Its a good place to be for a lot of reasons but for me the most important being that my family is there.

Anyway my sister in law sent me this funny forward email about someone moving to Western NY and having to deal with the snow and finally giving up and moving to FL. It was quite entertaining and I laughed. Apparently one of the people she sent it to felt the need to reply to everyone on the list with his thoughts. He basically said that FL was full of "Ugly sprawless and soulless communities" and he didn't understand why anyone would live there. He continued on making fun of people in FL.
Well that is all well and good for him to do if he would like, but did he really have to hit reply all to the email. There were numerous members of my family on that email list and they were all offended by this guys comments. I understand that he thought it was funny, but to us it wasn't.
So I thought and I thought about it.  So finally today, I decided to respond to just him. I wrote to him asking him to not hit reply all in the future and let him know that I was offended by his comments and as a person that had lived in both places, I felt that I would have been more able to comment about the living situations in both than he.  I felt really good just hitting send.
I told my brother and his wife (the original senders of the email) and they laughed. So that is good. 
Some people really need to think before they email. I mean come on now, was that really necessary!?

Anyway back to Buffalo. I am thinking of making a trip there. I would drive, and as of right now I would bring Kobe and Seneca. Here in lies the problem, convincing my parents to have 2 , 4 legged house guests for a visit. My parents are not really cat people. They like Seneca (they haven't met Kobe) but I am not so sure how much they would like her staying in their house.
I have started lobbying my Dad on the off chance that I make this trip. I think I have already won my Mom over. She just said that I would need to bring all the things that they need. Which of course I would do. My Dad....he is going to be a harder sell. So I started sending him pictures of the cats. I mean how could someone say no to their cuteness. Haha.
I will let you guys know how it goes.

On to the pictures of the Day.

Day 21 :


the things that I wear everyday that make me think of my love
My wedding band, My charm bracelet, my bracelet made of his nametape, and his dog tag

Day 22:
some of the cuteness pictures of my babies....Look how sweet they are. 


Mr Kobe....so cute


Seneca Wallace

So I hope everyone is having a great day!!!

JMS - ilu -  according to that donut thing....we have 8% done.....yeah...almost in double digits...haha... I miss you monkey

XOXO
Amanda

Monday, January 26, 2009

Day 19 and 20

20 days done.  Lots of news today to.

First Jack just told me that he saw the Commandant of the Marine Corps today. How exciting is that. Apparently they were running on treadmills next to one another. So yeah for that.

Now on to my past two days. Not sure I didn't post yesterday, oh yeah I was exhausted. I don't what it is lately. I am tired all the time. I feel like I never sleep, when clearly all I do is sleep. Its kind of crazy. I either eat or sleep. And lately all I have wanted is red meat, which is weird because I don't eat red meat. That's some insanity.

So its official. We have an offer on the house. My realtor is taking care of the paperwork and what not. I am excited about it. This definitely went a lot faster than I thought it would. So that is good.

Today was an interesting day that involved me getting my brakes fixed. The thing is I had just gotten them fixed in October, but they were squeaking so bad. I took it back and the guy was like "we'll look". I asked what could be causing this and he proceeded to tell me that they had put the wrong pads on the first time. I asked him if this could have caused a problem and he said possibly. I freaked. Are you kidding me!!?!! I mean come on, you screw up and you are just like possibly. I was mad.
So when I said I needed all this other stuff, I flat out told him I would get another opinion and take it somewhere else, as they obviously didn't fix my car right the first time. People are insane.

Now for the pictures:
Yesterday Kobe and Seneca were being so sweet. They were loving on each other...something that never happens. Of course every time I tried to get a picture they moved. Here are my attempts.
Day 19





Day 20
Yeah for getting mail!!! I love it. Especially when it is pictures of my super cute niece and nephew! Today's picture is the awesome smile I got in my mailbox today!




It's blurry cause it is a picture of a picture....Sorry!

Hope everyone has a great day.

JMS- I love you and I miss you. 

XOXO
Amanda

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Day 17 and 18

So I haven't posted in a few days, sorry. But I do have some interesting news.
Yesterday someone came to look at the house......and they want to put an offer in!!! So I am happy about that.
But lets back up a minute first. Friday I worked and then I went to a slumber party. haha. Yep a slumber party. Complete with the pizza and the silly girl talk and everything. It was so much fun. Thanks Kate and Tracey. I had a blast.
Here are some pictures..... Day 17

Tracey and Kate

Me and Miss Maddie....Tracey's adorable dog

And Miss Maddie again.....so cute




Then Saturday...Day 18
That was the day someone came to look at the house...which remind me..I will take pictures so y'all can see it (plus it will be good for my scrapbook). Then I worked......and I won the contest thingy....Yeah!!!! Go me! haha

My winnings!!!



Today I am headed to work. But I will take some interesting pictures later!

Hope everyone has a great day.
JMS- I love you with all my heart and I miss you.... donut of misery says we are 6% done!

XoXo
Amanda

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Technology Amazes Me

So today is day 16. I am getting through this.
Anyway today's post is about my amazement with technology. I am telling you it is awesome. I get so excited.

First we bought a GPS this past weekend. This thing is so much fun. I like to use it going to places that I full well know how to get to just because I enjoy hearing it talk. haha It is far to much fun.

Then my dvr. I love that thing. I never watch tv when it is really on.  But recently I had been having issues. Like my Dvr would chose not to record some stuff. Who needs a dvr that trys to pick what you watch?!  So I call up Direct TV....and they were awesome. The guy was so patient and he walked me through like 8 different ways to fix it. And now..... all better!

And my last amazement of technology for the day....

I went to Target with my friend Tracey. But this wasn't just any old Target....it was like the Super Target of all Super Targets. It was awesome. It had it's own parking garage. Now here comes the super fun part. In the parking garages there are escalators, perfect for moving people.
 Now you may ask, "but Amanda I am shopping....what if I have a cart full of stuff."
I to had a similar question.....until I saw this....






Yes! it is an escalator for shopping carts! How cool is that. I wanted to ride up it in a shopping cart, but Tracey reminded me that wasn't the best idea. I was mesmorized. 

I guess the little things entertain me. haha

Anyway hope everyone had a great day!
JMS- ilu monkey!

XOXO
Amanda

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Day 15- Wordle

So today is Day 15....Each day is one day closer. I have to keep telling myself that.
For some reason today was harder than most days. I am not sure why. I mean I didn't do anything terribly different.

I have been lacking in writing a post with actual substance for quite some time. So I figured that I would fix that today, or at least try to.

Today I went on an interview for a new job. It seems promising and I am excited about new possibilities. Who knows how that will work out. If y'all have a minute maybe you could cross your fingers for me. Thanks!!

Also my brother in law stopped by today. So it was good to see him. I enjoy talking to someone other than my cats while at my house once in a while.

Speaking of the house, the progress is continuing in trying to sell. I have been cleaning like crazy and moving stuff around. Apparently I need to rearrange furniture to make things seem bigger. Whatever that means. All I know is I spent quite a bit of time today trying to figure out how to arrange my living room to make it seem the biggest. I had never given this much thought before but my realtor assures me that it is important. I figure she is the professional, she should know. She also told me to buy those glad plug in things......Dang...those things are strong. Holy Jeez! My house seems overwhelming of Jasmine. But if it makes it sold....then I am all for it. So we shall see.

I am working through this missing him thing. Slowly but surely I will survive. Our donut of misery says 5% done....so that is a little sad. I wish it had a bigger number...and it will eventually.

I tried to upload pictures from today. I finished the scrapbook and I took a few pictures of some of the pages to show y'all, but the computer is not cooperating at this time. 
So in the meantime here is my wordle thing. I made it at www.wordle.net. Give it a try, its lots of fun. ( it didn't save quite as well as I would have liked....but here it is..)



Today's pictures will be up....once I can get the computer to cooperate with me.
 - Okay- it's now Thursday morning.....but I got the computer to cooperate...so here are yesterday's pictures....a preview of the scrapbook! yeah!


our Wedding Page.....<3

just some pictures of us....

Jonathan's Boot Camp Graduation page...returning to Parris Island (that almost sounds like the title of some creepy horror movie...haha)


Hope everyone has a great day!!!

JMS -  ILU...but of course you already knew that....hehe....

XoXo
Amanda

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Yeah for Good Deals

Okay...so I love to shop. It is lots of fun.
Yesterday I went to store called Ross and wandered around. Let me tell you, they have amazing deals. I bought the cutest dress...for are you ready.....$13!!!!!! Craziness right!!!
So today I tried it on....and it is Day 14 in my pictures....



Oh and it snowed in NC! Isn't that crazy. So Jack sent me pictures of him in the snow....so you get those today to. 


Camp Leguene NC

My adorable husband getting snowed on.....

awwww......isn't he cute...

JMS- Ilu.....14 days down.....we got this

Everyone...hope you have a great day tomorrow!!

XoXo
Amanda

Monday, January 19, 2009

Such a good idea

Okay so one of the Marine girlfriends on a site I love had this awesome idea. She puts up a heart for every day her Marine is gone. Kind of like a count up. I decided to give it a shot. So I spent sometime today cutting out some different colored hearts and I decided to use the mirror in my master bathroom.
I am pretty excited about this project....so here the picture....as of today. I figure I will update y'all every 2 or 3 weeks...


JMS -  This weekend was amazing. I can not even begin to say how wonderful it was to be able to spend time with you. I love you... for now... forever and for always....

Hope everyone has a great week!!

XOXO
Amanda

amazing weekend

Okay so I wasn't around for the weekend....and I have a good reason why. I got to see Jack!!!! It was awesome. Sometimes the little things mean so much. We spent time just talking, snuggling and being able to touch one another. Amazing.
We did spend a lot of money, but it was definitely worth it. I took a few pictures....

Friday....
Was at my friend's house and her dog loves me...hehe


Saturday....I got snuggle with my monkey


Sunday.... hanging out with my handsome Marine.... and yes we are goofy


Monday....we got new rims for the car... They look awesome! Oh and we got a gps for the car too....amazing. Fun little gadget.



Hope everyone has a great week!

Jms -  ilu...this weekend was amazing.

Xoxo
Amanda

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Day 9....

So I have gotten through 9 days....9 whole days. Pretty proud of myself. I know I said I would make a real post today...but well...I am just not feeling it. And I will be honest I probably wont post a lot this weekend. So y'all may have to wait till next week for any insightful words...
But I do have today's picture...I went to the library and curled up on the couch reading....
so here you go



ilu jms....hope you had a good day

hope everyone is doing well!

xoxo
Amanda

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Day 8....

So I have gotten through day 8, pretty proud of myself. Not really in a writing mood...so here are the pictures from today...
here is me before work...

And here are the flower they gave me today at work....cause my team is fabulous like that


JMS- I miss you and love you....hope you are having a good day

Hope everyone had a good day and I promise to write more tomorrow!

xoxo
Amanda

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

almost a week done!

So I have gotten through almost a week. Yeah me! I can do this. Well at least that is what I keep telling myself.
I will do this. I am fortunate enough to get to talk to Jack frequently, which I love. That helps a lot.
Also I have a great support system. My brother is in the military and his wife has been sending me some very encouraging emails. The thing I like about her emails, they are very straightforward. She doesn't sugarcoat anything or bs it. She tells it the way it is and I appreciate it. She and I will be deployment buddies come summer time. Yep, my brother is headed back to the sandbox for the 3rd time. Go Army...way to deploy people. 
Jack and Jerrod will meet for the first time in person, in Iraq. How crazy is that. I have been married almost 2 years and the first time my husband will meet my brother is in Iraq. I expect lots and lots and lots of pictures. Jack has our old camera to take with him....so I want pictures all of the time.

Speaking of pictures....here is today's....
Day 7...
hanging out with the kitties


JMS- ILU....hope you have a good day!

Everyone....have a great day tomorrow...

xoxo
Amanda

Monday, January 12, 2009

another adventure

So today I met with the realtor. We are putting the house on the market. She had good news and bad news. The good thing is we have a way to get the house sold pretty quickly. The bad thing is, we won't make any money. Basically she wants to list our house for 56,000 less than we paid for it. Yeah thats a lot.
But we are going to do something called a short sale. It is basically saying to the bank, "Here have the house back and sell it, I don't want it, but I dont want to foreclose either." There is just no way we would get what we paid for this house, not in this market which is unfortunate.
I'll write more on the house selling process later...I am going to watch One Tree Hill and go to bed...
Anyway so that was today's events.... 
Here are today's pictures:

The paperwork begins....selling a house has a ton of paperwork!

got to have a picture of at least one of my babies....Isn't Kobe so cute!! haha

JMS - (Jack Matthew S... for those who have asked what that means...hehe) I love you....I'll see you in my dreams.

Everyone have a great day....I'll write more tomorrow!
xoxo
Amanda

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Day 5.....getting by

Okay so this whole picture a day thing while he is gone....I am going to accomplish it...haha
and I am thinking since I missed Friday... I will post a few today...
Today consisted of cleaning...the realtor is coming tomorrow, fighting with Blockbuster (what happened to the no late fees thing....stupid) and getting some stuff done for Jack.... 
so here are today's pictures

look how clean my closet is.....yeah!

I did Jack's side too.... so now it is super clean

Mr Kobe....relaxing...what a life...haha

And Miss Seneca....they miss Jack...

And now one of me....

wish I could figure out how to rotate the picture...haha....

Jms....ilu....have a good day tomorrow...

Everyone else....hope you have a great week!!!
xoxo
Amanda
So I have made it almost all the way through 1 weekend. Kind of proud of myself.  I think the thing that helps is that I can talk to him a lot.  Thats the positive about him being a reservist that is activated. They have to go to a base for a few weeks before actually shipping out. So basically the day they leave here is when the unit tells us the deployment starts, but they don't actually leave the country for a few more weeks. That being said, there is a good chance I may be able to see him again! So I am happy about that.
I said that I was going to try and take a picture each day he was gone....I kind of forgot to do so on Friday...sorry....but I did the other days...so go me.
Here is the day he left :(

Now day 2.....I am really into scrapbooking....so here is the evidence...haha


Day 3....Friday...I forgot....oops.....

Day 4... Saturday...
I went out with a good friend. Suzzanne and I went to Downtown Disney. We saw the movie BrideWars. It was adorable. We both teared up a bit. Then we hung around Downtown Disney. There was a little dance party thing for little kids so we joined in on that. It was lots of fun. 


So I am getting through deployment thing....one day at a time.....
Today I have lots of cleaning to do. The realtor comes tomorrow... A little nervous....but it should be interesting.  Hopefully we can get this house sold. That is the next step in our plan.

Jack- ilu..... have a good day...and hopefully I will see you soon.

Hope everyone has a good Sunday!
xoxo
Amanda

Friday, January 9, 2009

addicted

So I have a new addiction...and by addiction...I should probably say obsession.

I am utterly and completely addicted to scrapbooking. It's crazy. I mean I get all excited to plan out pages and make another page. I have all this paper and stickers and scissors that cut differently and everything. I have all these plans to make future scrapbooks and I find myself staring at pieces of paper in the craft store for hours debating on which one is just right. Then the other crazy thing is I find myself buying stickers for events that haven't happened in my life yet, but I liked the stickers and they were on sale... silly I know...

So I am adding to the list of things I addicted to... It is getting quite long now...

I am addicted to running...but you all knew that... I mean I will wake up out of a dead sleep and search for my running shoes... 
I am addicted to Jack....obviously...who wouldn't be
I am addicted to my camera....really addicted to that one
I am addicted to the discovery health channels crazy documentaries....they are amazing...I especially love the Big Medicine one...I know I am weird
I am addicted to chapstick
I am addicted to hooded sweatshirts and adidas sandals....

I think that is about it for now...but who knows that could change.

I am currently trying to take a picture a day while Jack is gone...I took 2 yesterday...going to take a few today...just got to get off my lazy bum and post them....so I am promising to get that done by the end of the weekend... So Jack...if I haven't remind me...

Anyway hope everyone is having a great Friday....
Jack...ilu

Enjoy the weekend!!
xoxo
Amanda

Thursday, January 8, 2009

it officially started

So the deployment has officially begun. Jack left yesterday. I have never felt so empty in my life. My heart broke as that bus pulled away. I miss him terribly already. Everyone tells me that the first day is the worst, and I got through that...with minimal crying.

That's the weird thing... the crying. I cry at random times, and by random, I mean really random. Like yesterday I was at the grocery store. I was buying milk. I went to put the half gallon in the cart as opposed to the gallon, which I would normally get if he were here, and I started crying, in the middle of Publix. Crazy right!

It helps that I have some awesome friends here to support me. I can't tell you how thankful I am for that. Yesterday Tracey and her super cute son Cameron took me out for dinner, to help take my mind off things. Some of my other friends have sent amazing messages and words of support. They are all so greatly appreciated.

I figure I got this deployment. I am stronger and I will take it. 
so a quick open letter to the deployment, before I go back to talking to my amazing husband (and after my new found addiction...scrapbooking...more to come on that later)

Dear Deployment:
This is notice that I am going to kick your butt. You and I aren't friends, and I am going to win this game.
I don't like you.
Thank you,
Amanda

So Jack...I know you read this... I love you monkey.....and remember...we are stronger than any deployment.

Talk to y'all later!
Amanda

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy 2009!

So Happy 2009 everyone!!

2009 will be an interesting one for us. Jack will be gone for a majority of it. Although I am not excited about this and I want it to be over with, I am trying to look at the positives and look at the oppurtunities it will give for us.

First thing is that it is bringing us closer together and allowing us to continue to grow as a couple. The other thing is that it will allow us to save quite a bit of money and plan for our future. We have a plan and we are going to work it.

We have also begun to realize who are friends are and who will be our forever friends. We have friends here that I know without a doubt will be our friends for life.



Josh -The other day we mentioned to Josh that we wanted him to be the godfather of our children. I don't think that you could have seen a bigger smile on anyone anywhere. He truly is a good friend and we are grateful to have him in our life. I am so thankful he came home safely from his deployment and I know he will be here for the both of us for this upcoming deployment.


Adam& Morgan - Although we have known them for a relatively short amount of time, we can already tell that they are the type of friends that will be our forever friends. They are the type of people that you can tell geniunely care about their friends. Although we are sad that they are about to move away (and take their absolutely beautiful son with them) we are excited for the oppurtunity that they will have. We are excited to be able to visit them and have them visit us as we travel across the country and the world courtesy of the USMC.


Amanda- Manda is the type of friend that will be there no matter what. I can not tell you how grateful I am to have her in my life. Although we live entirely too far from each other for my liking, I know that all I need to do is pick up the phone and she is there. I know that ever big event and little struggle, Manda will be there to help me. She is a friend that I could not imagine my life without.


Dawn - Again another friend that lives entirely too far away for my liking, but someone who I know no matter what she will always be there. Dawn and I share a struggle, with our RA and she and I also share our happy times. She is someone that I know no matter how long it has been since we have talked, we can pick up the phone and pick up right where we left off. I love that girl and am thankful to have met her.



Then as I look back on those friends I am grateful for, I unfortunately see the friends that appears we are growing apart from. It makes me sad. I have some friends from college that I honestly feel I have grown apart from. I don't think that it is anyone's fault. I just think that we are going down different paths in our lives. It is sad, but it is reality. So in the end I just need to accept we are growing apart and continue on the path that I have for myself and my life.

2009 is a new year and new beginning and who knows, hopefully a new addition to our family.
So to all our friends, family and readers.... Happy 2009! May it bring you happiness and all you wish for!!