The True Meaning of Memorial Day

Thinking of and remembering all those who have served in the past, serve in the present and to those who will serve in the future. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for this country. Without our military, we would not have the freedoms we do today!

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

Height requirements for the Kissing Tower...

Vending machine at HersheyPark...

Instead of sodas and chips, at HersheyPark you can buy candy bars out of a vending machine!  YUM!

Hershey Park HAPPY!

One of the many FABULOUS rollercoasters at HersheyPark :-)

Thursday 5 with MannLand5

Ok everyone....here is my Thursday Five with MannLand5!

Post 5 things that have made you:

Happy

Joyful

Excited

Jubilant

Grateful

1. Spending some AMAZING time with my girls in Tennessee!

2. Getting my first tan lines (well.....and sunburn) of the year.

3. The weather has been great this week.....high 80s and low 90s.  I love it!

4. JS has called quite a few times this week....much more than normal.  I'm so happy about that I don't know what to do with myself!!!!!!!!!!

5. Going to see renown Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno speak tonight with my Mom and Sister...YAY!  :-)

Happy Thursday everyone!!!

Blog LOVE!

Many thanks to Miss K over at Boonie Caps and Tiara's for my 2nd blogging award....yay!

I'm supposed to share 7 things about me....


1. I'm crazy obsessed with keeping my closet organized.  All of my clothes are organized by color (ROY G BIV style) and my shoes are all in clear shoe boxes (well, except for my tennis shoes and boots).

2. I was on my college's Archery Team which competed all around the country.

3. I have a KILLER volleyball serve ;-)

4. Every night I fall asleep to Golden Girls (just like Miss K!)

5. I'm terrified of earth worms!!!!!!

6. I'm a coffee snob.  I Looooove a good cup of coffee, and will do just about anything for it in the morning.  Oh, and I drink my coffee BLACK. 

7. I love love love classic cars and American sports cars.  I'm a Camaro girl, and my dear love JS is a Mustang kind of guy (I have a camaro now, and he used to have a mustang...hehe).  My parents own classic Camaros and his parents own classic Mustangs.....there is A LOT of teasing that goes on with this!

QOTD.....Superman, Batman, Spiderman???

Hey all!   After what seems like a loooooong time, the QOTD is back!  If you read my update yesterday, I talked about a game we played this past weekend called "Marry, Date, or Dump."  You get a list of three guys, and you have to pick out of that list who would you marry, who would you date, and who would you dump.  So, for today's question of the day....


Out of Superman, Batman, and Spiderman, who would you marry, who would you date, and who would you dump?


DUMP--I would dump Spiderman.  I personally like his little get-up the least of all three.  The funny thing that came up this weekend when we talked about Spiderman, everyone thought the kissing upside-down was weird ;-)

DATE--I would date Batman.  He seems like a pretty standup guy.  Normal yet secretive.  Drives a nice car.  The whole cave thing is cool, too.  Very mysterious.

MARRY---Superman!!!!!  My reason for this is pretty silly.  I always had a crush on Clark Kent....its probably the glasses ;-)  The nerdiness is so sexy!  Added bonus---he can fly!  HAHA


Happy Wednesday, everyone!!!  xoxo

Back from a FABULOUS Girls' Weekend!!!!

Hello all!  Sorry I disappeared for SOOOO long!  I left for my Girls' Weekend down in Tennessee on Thursday, and got back late Sunday night.  I spent the rest of the night.....and most of yesterday....recovering (even though I had to work yesterday).  In fact, I still feel like I'm recovering!  HAHA  I guess I'm just getting too old for all of that partying!

We all had an absolute blast!  Four of the girls live outside of post, and two of us flew in....me from the East Coast and the other girl, KS, from the West Coast.

Thursday KS and I got in pretty late, and didn't get to our hostess's house until well after midnight.  Our hostess had to work the next day, so she had to go to sleep.  But that didn't stop KS and I....we stayed up and had "girl talk" until the wee hours of the morning.

The next day (Friday), three of us went out for brunch.  It was this super cute authentic German cafe.  We hung out there for a good 2 hours eating, drinking coffee, and chatting.  Then we decided to move to a different venue.....another cafe.  There, we met one of the other girls (after she had gotten off of work).  We were all so hopped up on caffeine it was crazy!  After that, KS and I drove around town to visit random friends that we hadn't seen in a while.  Then, we hopped over to my love's house to make sure everything was ok.  Its crazy to think that in less than a year it will be my house too!!!!!!

That night, we all went "downtown" to a cute little pizza restaurant.  They serve some really gourmet pizza....soooo yummy!

After we were finished with the pizza, we came home and watched some wedding shows.  We were all so crazy tired from the busy day, but didn't want to go to sleep.  We were all falling asleep on the couches!  Everyone stayed over that night....even the girls who lived in town.  It was like a big sleepover!!!

The next morning, I woke up first (of course) since my body was still on East Coast time.  But the girls rolled out within an hour of me.  We all sat outside drinking our coffee and chatting some more.  Even though it was the morning, the sun was HOT.  We decided that we should all put tank tops on so our shoulders could get kissed by the sun.  We hung out for a few more hours, and before we knew it, we were all burned :-/  I'm STILL recovering.  My legs and shoulders are crazy red!

Then we all got ready to go to a place called Fat Daddy's.  Its kind of a biker restaurant that has a marina.  Apparently when the boys are home, they usually all ride their bikes out there and then go boating.  After we ate at Fat Daddy's, we drove around to the "beach" part of the lake.  Two of the girls decided to swim, the rest of us were crazy enough to try to soak up more sun. 

We got home, and all had to get ANOTHER shower.  We all got ready together....helped each other out with make-up and hair.  And, we played this fun game "Marry, Date, or Dump".  Each card had three names on it and you had to say who you would marry, date, or dump out of those three.  They would give you really funny choices like Batman, Superman, or Spiderman....so funny!  HAHAHA  Then, of course, we had to have a photo shoot.  Here are some of them....but believe me, there are many more!

We ended up going to this bar that had a band.  The band was AWESOME!  There was a girl for the lead singer, and boy could she sing!  The girls told the band that it was my bachelorette party, so they ended up calling us up on stage to dance.  It was a blast!

We danced the night away, and before we knew it, it was 2AM.  We had to leave for the airport by 6:30AM, so that didn't leave a lot of time for sleeping.....but thankfully both KS and I made our flights!

It was such a great weekend on so many levels.  Not only are the girls great to be around, but they also UNDERSTAND what I'm going through right now.  All but one have their husbands deployed right now.  We all celebrated when one of the boys would call to check in, and we'd ask about the other guys.  The boys were all so happy that we got to have some "girl time" and that we were all happy.

We're already planning the next one.  Its looking like we'll be heading out West....maybe skiing??  YES!  :-D

Girls' Weekend...yeeHAW!

Hey everyone!  I'm off to my girls' weekend in Tennessee with my fav Army Wives!  YAY!  Soooooo pumped!  I'll be back late Sunday, so look for a new QOTD on Monday!

Have a great weekend all...I'll miss ya!

K

QOTD.....Pillows?

I must be on some sort of bed kick this week!  Maybe its because I've been working some really crazy hours, and I just look forward to getting home to much comfy bed!!!!



What kind of pillows do you have?  How many do you use at a time?



I had this AWESOME down feather pillow in college.  That pillow went EVERYWHERE with me!  When I went home to visit my parents, I took the pillow.  When I had a sleepover at a friends apartment, the pillow came with me.  Then a day came when I had to toss the pillow out....somehow it developed a smell that hanging outside on the washline couldn't take out.

The next couple of years were rough ones.  I bought and tried out many a pillow, but to no avail.  I could never get comfortable and was always on a quest for that PERFECT pillow.

 When shopping for a mattress, I came across TempurPedic.  I FELL IN LOVE with their symphony pillow.....but it came with $100 price tag.  Definitely not possible for a poor, recent college grad, with astronomical college loans to pay back.

Thankfully, I came across a memory foam pillow at Kohls that after discounts and coupons, came out to about $20.  I bought one.  Then I bought another one.  I finally found my perfect pillow!

In addition to memory foam pillows, I do enjoy a GOOD down pillow...you know the kind they have at nice hotels.  The ones they have at the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas comes to mind.  I'm pretty sure they sell them, but I have no doubt they are out of my price range.  My sister and her husband got some nice  down pillows for their wedding.  They had registered for them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but they too, were nearly $100 a piece!

When I'm alone, I will sleep with 2 pillows.  When JS is home, I sleep with one....usually because I have his chest to lay on ;-)




Have a great day, everyone!!!!!

Thursday 5 with MannLand5!!

Ok everyone....here is my Thursday Five with MannLand5!

Post 5 things that have made you:

Joyful
Jubuliant
Giddy
Excited
Thankful

over the past week..

 
1. My Dad teaching my how to mow the lawn (because he wants me to be a prepared Army Wife :-) )
 
2. Getting to see some AMAZING friends graduate from medical school....and one giving the graduation speech for her class!
 
3. Putting the deposit down on our Reception place....and therefore officially securing it!  YAY!
 
4.  Leaving for Nashville today to have a Girls Weekend with my fav Army Wives!
 
5. Adding some new decorations to my place....some of which I made myself :-)
 
 
Happy Thursday, everyone!

QOTD.....What side of the bed?

Yay for it being hump day....almost there, ladies!

Today's QOTD is along the same line as yesterday's:


When your man is gone, do you sleep on your normal side of the bed, on his side, or do you just take over the entire bed?


Personally, I love to take over the ENTIRE bed!  I stretch out as much as possible, and sometimes sleep diagonally.  Although, I must admit, sometimes after he leaves, I'll start out sleeping on his side just so I can smell him......but then when I wake up the next morning, I'm sprawled out like a big X across the whole bed...hehe :-)

Decorating on a DIME!

With planning a wedding, pretty much all of my money is tied up.  But that doesn't mean I don't want to spruce up my place.  I was searching for cheap ways to make decorations, and I found a thread on http://www.milspouse.com/.  I used two different ideas I found on there!

1. I found some scrapbooking paper I really liked, and wrapped it around foam squares.  It makes a really fun, artsy look.

2.  I took an old mirror (I think it was from Walmart) I had from college, and hung it up sideways. 

The result:

I also just got this table today!  I ordered from http://www.kohls.com/ last week.  It was on sale, plus I got 30% off and free shipping.  AND....I put it together ALLLLLL by myself!  I even had to use a screwdriver and wrench!

Now I have a spot to put the gift my parents gave JS and I for our engagement :-)

OK, so what do you think?  I really wish I had another set of eyes here!....but I guess I have more than that....I have all of you :-)

QOTD....Stuffed animal? Body Pillow?

Good morning ladies!  I hope you are all doing well and that you're having nicer weather than we're having here (its all rainy and cold :-( ).

For today's QOTD:

When your man is gone, do you sleep with a stuffed animal or body pillow?

I've always been a fan of stuffed animals.  I probably had hundreds growing up.  They were always so comforting.  When I went to college, I also graduated to body pillows....it was like a HUGE stuffed animal that I could wrap my whole body around.  I even got this awesome one that was all memory foam....it was A-mazing!

Enter JS.  No more need for a body pillow.  Stuffed animals were put up on a shelf.  I had found my permanent cuddle buddy.....or so I thought.

He had to leave for deployment, and I needed something to cuddle with.  Soooooo I got myself a little Army Bear.  He's so cute.....he came complete with a beret and I could personalize him and have JS's last name embroidered onto his uniform.  It sounds silly, but he actually comforts me.  Sometimes I spray some of JS's cologne on him, too :-) 

Have a great day, everyone!!!!!  :-)

I'll take you for a ride on my big green tractor...

Ok, so this weekend I was going home to visit my parents (as I've done nearly every weekend since JS deployed).  I got a new sewing machine a few weeks ago, and my Mom was going to teach me how to use it.....but my Dad had other plans for me.

My Dad informed me that he and his buddy are thinking of starting a "Wife Bootcamp".  Its a course that will teach new wives how to do many things that will keep their husbands happy.  These things include being able to take care of the lawn in the husband's absence, as well as being able to buy the correct beer for the husband.  (Please note, my Dad and his buddy are really silly sometimes, and just like to have fun).

So, my Dad decided that it was time for me to learn how to mow the lawn....something I had NEVER done before.  My parents have a large front lawn, as well as a HUGE back lawn, so there is a lot of mowing to be done.  My Dad took the picture below to send to JS....he thought that he would be very proud of me!

After I was finished mowing (which, to tell you the truth wasn't too bad.....but JS informed me that I must learn how to use a push mower because he doesn't have a riding tractor like my parents;-) ), I helped my Dad split wood.  My parents live in the forest, so there are a lot of trees that have fallen over, and my Dad harvests that wood to burn during the winter.  He used to split it all by hand, but it is just too difficult of a job, so this year he purchased a wood splitter.  That thing is amazing!  However, it is still a TON of hard work.  Dad and I worked the entire day (well, until after 6:30PM), and needless to say we were pooped!  A bonus for the day, I got some sun!  Unfortunately, I'm now sporting a modified version of a farmer's tan.  Looks like I'll have to hit the tanning bed before I head down to the shore!

Getting to Know YOU! (with MannLand5)

Hey all, its time for the weekly "Getting To Know You" with MannLand5.  Answer these questions and then link up to her page :-)  I know, I know....I'm late.  But, better late than never, right?


The questions..



1. The most expensive thing hanging in my closet is.....?
Probably my ski jacket.

2. Have you ever played a team sport?
Yes.....Volleyball, Basketball, and Softball in high school.  In college, I did club basketball and IM volleyball, and was also on the Archery Team (kind of a team sport ;-) )

3. If you were a bug, what kind would you be?
Ok, this is going to be a really dorky answer.  In college, I had a friend who was an Entomology PhD candidate (entomology= the study of insects).  He actually discovered a new species of fly.....The Long-Legged Fly.  So, I'll go with that as my answer.  Who wouldn't want to have loooong legs??



4. Where on your body is the worst place to get sunburned? (thanks Ian)
I'm going to go with my butt.   There is a story behind this...  In High School, I was tanning for prom, and one night, burned my butt REALLY badly.  It so happened that it was also softball season.  The day after the Great Burn, I had a softball game.  I had a really good hit and was trying to stretch it out as far as possible.  It probably should have been a double, but I pushed for the triple.  To make it to 3rd base safely, I had to slide.  That was the most painful slide EVER with my burned tushy!


5. Are you happy?
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am very happy!  I've always been a happy person, but now having JS in my life, I couldn't be happier!

6. People are always abbreviating..are there any abbreviations that make your skin crawl when people use them?  Hmmmmmm....I don't like excessive abbreviating.  I can see if you're in a hurry and your texting on a phone and what to abbreviate, but I don't like it when people start bringing it into emails.  I guess what comes to mind is when 4 U is used in place of for you.  Yeah, I guess that aggravates me ;-)  hehe

7. Do you love where you live..or could you live anywhere?
I do love where I live!  Its a great little town, AND its only an hour away from my family!  I'm definitely soaking all of this in because I know that I'll be moving in a year after JS and I are married.  I've never been that far away from my family, so it will be interesting!

8. What, if any, extreme measures do you go to to keep yourself from overeating when you're full?
I'm not above drinking a few glasses of water.....that helps to keep my tummy extra full.....and its low-calorie ;-)
 
 

QOTD.....Fav fast food fry?

Happy Monday, everyone!  Sorry I was slacking so much over the weekend.  Saturday and Sunday were jammed packed with action!  I will most definitely have to work on an update sometime later today.

For today's QOTD:


What is your favorite fast food french fry?  (wow, that is a lot of alliteration ;-)  )



When I think of fast food french fries, McDonald's immediately comes to mind.  I Loooooooooove their fries!!!  Sometimes, I get a craving for their fries.  I'm not a big fast food person, so I rarely go to these establishments.  BUT....the though of fries lures me in occasionally. 

The reasons I LOVE the McDonald fries are:

1. How they are so thin and crispy.
2. Their saltiness.

I know this isn't a very healthy treat, but its a once-in-awhile snack for me, so I can justify it ;-)

Even though I'm a  McDonald's girl, on Friday I stopped at Wendy's when I had a fry craving.  Thankfully, there isn't a Mickey D's near my place, so I'm not tempted to go there.  I must say, Wendy's is doing a good job with their fries.  They are thinner and crispier than I remember.  They had good flavor.  I don't think I'm ready to convert to Wendy's, but they are a pretty good substitute ;-)

Oh dear, after all of this french fry talk, I'm starting to get a craving.....

QOTD.....What makes you sing at the top of your lungs?

Happy weekend to all! Sorry I'm so terribly late today....had a really busy day, which I'll update you on later :-)   And, I know I welcomed my new followers last night, but again I'd like to say WELCOME!!!!  Enjoy your first Question of the day (QOTD).

For today's question:


What song can't you resist belting out in the car/shower/wherever?



I Loooooove to sing really, really loud in the car.  I'm not the best of vocalists, but in my car I'm the star of the show :-)  The first song that comes to mind that I can't resist belting out its sweet notes is, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston.  I don't know what it is, but I can't get enough of this song.  hehe  I also love La Vie Boheme  from the musical Rent.  Actually, a lot of Broadway tunes can really get my vocal cords working!!!!

Welcome!!!

I just wanted to say "Welcome" to all of my new followers!  I'm so thankful to have you all and look forward to hearing all of your comments :-)

XOXO

DJ...check :-)

I just officially booked a DJ for our wedding!!!!!!  I'm completely excited about it!  He's a local radio personality and seems like SOOOO much fun on the air, so if he's only 25% as fun at the wedding, it will be a complete success!

I found this DJ after my Mom said I should check him out.  What a great time to listen to Mom!  After I checked him out, and got the price quote, I was sold.  But.....and wanted to get an ok from JS.  He got back to me today and gave me the go-ahead....so now we're set...Yesssssssss :-)

QOTD.....Mac or PC?

Happy Friday, everyone!  I'm so pumped that the weekend is almost here.....

On to today's QOTD:

Are you a Mac or a PC?

I know some people get REALLY fired up over this issue.  They take sides and will fight to the death defending their position.  Here is my story.

When I was little, my dad brought home our first family computer.  It was an Apple.  He was a school teacher at the time, and they got some special deal through the school district on the Apple.  I LOOOOOVED it!  I remember we had Oregon trail and some dinosaur game....in addition to all of the math games my parents got us.

We continued to be a "Mac" family until I was in junior high school.  I was starting to go to more sleepovers at my friends' houses, and we would play games on their computers.....their PC's.  I was sooooo jealous.  The games they had did not come in the Mac format at that time.  So I begged....and I begged....and FINALLY my parents gave in and got us a PC.

I followed the PC path all through high school, through college, and then I started my first job.  It was in a research laboratory.....that had ALL Mac computers.  As everyone knows, Macs are really good for all the artsy stuff.  Well, the lab I was in did a lot of imaging of cells that we were doing experiments on.  Hence, the Macs.  It really took me a long time to get used to the mouse with one button.....not having the X in the upper right hand corner of my screen...etc.  By the time I got a little used to it, I started a new job, and was given a PC.  I was right back where I started.

So, I officially declare myself a PC.  I'm not against Macs in any way, shape, or form.  I just prefer PC's.  Maybe its because most of my computer training happened on PC's....ie learning how to use Microsoft office, learning how to use the internet, etc.  I do, however, own Apple products.  I have 3 iPods (shuffle, touch, and the regular wheel....and yes, I have a specific purpose for all of them ;-) ).  Who knows, maybe someday I will end up with a Mac.....it seems to be the cool thing to do these days :-)

I hope you all have a superb Friday, and a great start to the weekend!!!!  XOXO

QOTD....First dance song?

Happy Thursday, girls!  I hope everyone is having a good week!!!  Yay for Friday being almost here :-)

Ok, for today's QOTD:




What was the song you had your First Dance to at your wedding?



JS and I have already picked out the song we want to have our first dance to....."I cross my heart" by George Strait.  We actually picked that song out REALLY early on in our relationship.  We had just gone to a movie and were driving back to my place, and the song came up on the radio.  JS turned to me and said, "This will be 'our' song....we can have our first dance to it at our wedding!".  SOOOOOO cute.  So, ever since then, it has been our song.   I even have it set as his ringtone on my phone :-)

Thursday 5 with MannLand5

Ok everyone....here is my Thursday Five with MannLand5!

Post 5 things that have made you:

Happy

Thrilled

Jubilant

Ecstatic

Elated

over the past week..

1. Waking up EARLY for my 6am meeting!  (maybe because I went to bed at 8pm???  hehe)

2. Getting to see 2 of my dear friends graduate from Medical School this weekend.

3. Going to visit the chapel and reception site where JS and I will tie the knot....with my Mom and my Sister (aka MOH).

4.  Getting to spend Mother's Day with my Mom AND both of my Grandmas.

5. Talking to JS about ALLLLLL the wedding planning I'm doing....and hearing the excitement in his voice!

Trip to see our wedding site...

Ok, I'm a little bit behind.  This past weekend, my Mom, my Sister, and I traveled to visit the site where JS and I will be married in LESS THAN ONE YEAR!!!!!  I've been trying to take as many pictures as possible to share with JS.  Just to show him what it will actually look like at this time of the year....and it helps to keep him included!  The trip went very well overall.  We got to meet with our wedding coordinator and he was pretty helpful.  Turns out that we don't have to actually pick our food until much later, so hopefully when JS is home on R&R in December, he'll be able to join me for a tasting....YAY! 

Here are some of the pics I snapped during the day :-)

Pretty barn

Such a pretty scene!

Definitely have to keep an eye out for Amish carriages!

They pop up ALL over around here!

The Round Barn....really cool!

The inside of the chapel.  This picture was taken from the choir loft.

Standing at the front of the chapel, looking toward the back.

Outside the chapel.....pretty flowers in bloom.....AND just before the storm hit!

The Inn where we are holding the reception...and where most of the guests will stay!

GORGEOUS rainbow we saw on the drive home :-)  This picture really makes me smile!!!!

QOTD.....Watch?

Do you wear a watch?



This question seems innocent enough.  A few weeks ago this very question was brought up on an email group that my friends from college have.  People got really fired up!  Adjectives like presumptuous, oppressive, and (almost) ostentatious were thrown out in the conversation!  I guess you could say my friends are interesting ;-)

Growing up, I never wore a watch.  Throughout high school and even college, I sported a naked wrist.  After college, I started wearing one....probably so I would be on time for work.  This actually stuck for a couple of years.  Then, about a month ago, I left my watch at my parents' house.  I didn't wear one that week.....then I decided to keep the streak going.  I went a good 3 weeks without the watch.  This weekend I put it on again, and now I think its going to stay for awhile.  I've become used to it.  I check it quite frequently to keep track of the day's events.  I guess it can be somewhat oppressive...

One very weird thing about my watch wearing......I wear it on my right wrist.  "That's not weird," you say.  Well, the odd thing is that I'm right handed.  I don't know how this happened.  My parents have no idea.  Maybe since I didn't grow up wearing a watch, I somehow missed the "how to wear a watch" rules....or maybe I just wanted to be different ;-)

Have a great day, everyone!!!

QOTD.....Honeymoon?

Where did you go on your honeymoon?  Did you go on your honeymoon right after you were married, or did you wait?  (For those not married yet, where do you dream of going for your honeymoon?)



JS and I were just discussing this issue this past weekend.  We don't know if we'll be able to honeymoon right away, but hope to have one within the first year.  He's going to have to take a big chunk of time off to come up here for the wedding, and then move me down to his house.  His family is planning on being here for a week (for the wedding), and I'm sure the moving will take a good 4 days.

I really don't care where we go for the honeymoon.  Having said that, I've always dreamed about laying on white sandy beaches with my new hubby.  So hopefully that can be incorporated :-)

Sweet Blog!

Thanks to AFWifey over at The Life of an Air Force Wife for giving me my First award!!  I'm completely excited!!!

 

 

 

 

Now, I'd like to pass it on to 10 of my SWEET blogging friends!

 

 

Lcpl's Princess @ Boonie Caps & Tiaras

Jordan @ Southern Hospitality

A Marine's Wife @ Flip Flops and Combat Boots

ExPat Girl @ The Sand is Different Here

Mateya @ Our Journey from Iraq to the Alter

Jennifer @ Crazy Shenanigans

Skinnie Piggie @ Skinnie Piggie

MannMom3 @ MannLan5

Stacie @ One Step at a Time

BSS @ My Life, From {Army} Brat to Wife

 

Getting to know YOU....with MannLand5

To play..copy the questions..post them..then visit MannLand5 and get your link on y'all!

The questions..

1. What has been your most memorable Mother's Day? (with your mom, as a mom, or with your wife)
I don't know about a specific Mother's Day, but any one before about 10 years ago.  That's when my both my grandpas and my great aunt were all alive an well.  Thankfully I still have both of my grandmas (and my mom) around, so I'm very lucky for that.  But I think back on those days when everyone was still around, and it makes me all happy inside :-)

2. Have you ever been pulled over for speeding and were you able to talk your way out of it?
I've never been pulled over for speeding, but I have been pulled over for making a left turn when the traffic light was red (the lanes to go straight were green).  Being from a small town where we don't have ANY traffic lights, I honestly didn't know.  I told the cop that story and he asked where I was from.  When I told him, he said, "Oh, well, that definitely makes sense now.  Just don't do it again."


3. What's the oldest thing you have hanging in your closet?
I've been working on cleaning my closet out at my parents house.  I keep a lot of clothes/shoes in there so I have something to wear when I go home.  I recently found an old track suit in there from junior high!  I wore it when I was a manager for the Varsity basketball team.   hehe


4. Do you whiten your teeth?
I do whiten my teeth on occasion.  I probably *think* about whitening my teeth more than I actually do (in fact, I was just thinking about it this morning!).  I always start off the first 2 days strong, and then my teeth get super sensitive.  I end up skipping day 3....and maybe 4.  Then, most of the time I forget about it.


5. Underwear or Panties..What do you call your "unmentionables"?
Panties


6. If you could go on vacation right now..today..where would you go?
Most definitely somewhere with a sand beach.....where it would be warm enough to lay out ALLLLLL day!


7. Do you get offended when people cuss on their blogs?
It depends on how severe the cussing is.  I don't cuss on my blog (or in real life, really).  I can tolerate it to a certain extent, but sometimes it is just too much.


8. If you had to give up one luxury item, it would be....?
Does air conditioning count?  I moved into a new place last fall, and there is no air conditioning.  This will be my first summer living there, so hopefully it isn't too unbearable!

QOTD.....Fav shoe brand?

Happy Monday, all!!!  I hope you all had a great weekend and an awesome Mother's Day!

Ok, for today's QOTD....



What is your favorite shoe brand?



This is a tough one for me.  I am a shoe-a-holic (Hi, my name is Nittani, and I'm addicted to shoes....."Hi Nittani"...).  I guess I can pick favorite brands for different occasions.

Working-out---- New Balance-  They are really comfortable, and they give a lot of support.

"Kickin' around" sneakers----  Nike-- I love  how they look, but they just don't work for working-out.

Work shoes----  Dansko- Awesome support for someone on their feet a lot during the day.  AND....they come in really fun patterns.  I have a pair that is red and black leopard patent leather.  So fun!

Nicer shoes---  Nine West- Reasonable prices and lots of fun styles.  Added bonus---there is a Nine West outlet about a mile from my house!

Quick slip on comfy shoes---- depends on the season.  Rainbow flip flops in the summer.  Sperry boat shoes in spring/fall.  Uggs in the winter.



Have a great day, everyone!!!  :-)

My Dream...

I just wanted to share the dream that I had last night. It was one of those dreams that seemed to go on forever...and felt extremely real. Its pretty funny!



Sooo...for some reason, JS was on a Ship that was docking in Baltimore, Maryland (the weird part about this is that JS is Army.....not Navy ;-) ). So, I had the opportunity to go down to visit him. I was extremely excited to see him...it had been forever. When I got on the ship, I was notified that he wasn't there.....he had been sent out on a Medic mission, and they weren't sure when he would be back. SOOOOOO sad! I decided to just hang out and wait for him.

Next, I ran into someone that I apparently knew. She took me to this room on the ship where they were having a dance-off. I took part, and it turned out very well...HAHAHA  At the dance-off, I also ran into Kenny from the Real World/Road Rules Challenge.  So random.

After that, somehow I ended up being outside and climbing up some huge grass covered hill. I was having a really hard time making it up the hill....it was really steep and slippery. I got near the top, and some girl opened the door and pulled me in. She was a younger girl and asked me if I was going to Prom. I chuckled and said, wow, I'm Waaaaay too old to go to prom. Then I started asking her and her friends about their prom dresses, dates, etc. It was a nice little talk. Turned out all of these young girls were part of the flight crew. The party that we were in was some type of little social. I was the only visitor there, the rest of the people were part of the crew. I kept looking around for JS, but everyone said he was still out on his medic mission.

Soon, some man called the room to order. Everyone sat down around the white board. I wasn't sure what to do, so I just sat with everyone else. They started going over some physics problems on the white board. The girls I was with broke out some note pads and started working on the physics problems. Then, they called 2 people up to the board to answer the questions up there. Weird.

The next thing I knew, I was involved in some training exercise. The weird thing was that it was all going on in my parents' driveway....and my Dad's trailer was involved. I had watched a few girls go through the exercise, and then it was my turn.  One of the girls was one of my sorority sisters (who I haven't seen in years).   I was trying REALLY hard to do it right. When I was about halfway through, JS showed up! He said, "What in the world are you doing, girl? How did you get involved in this?" Then he started laughing like crazy.


That was the end. That's when my sister came in and woke me up....hehe What a dream, eh? It was so vivid.....it felt completely real!!!

QOTD.....Mother's Day?

Hey all, thanks so much for your responses yesterday!  This is so much fun!!!!!  I really, really love reading all of your responses!


Ok, today's QOTD is very suitable for today:


What are you doing for Mother's Day?  Will you be seeing or talking to your Mom?  Are you a Mom yourself?  Are you doing anything special?


I am not yet a Mother, so all of my focus will be on my Mom and both of my Grandmas.  I'm at home at my parents house, and we will be having a big dinner tomorrow for the whole family.  Even my sister and her husband came home!  Its really nice when the whole family gets together.  We usually all get together after Church, eat dinner, and then hand out presents.  I'm very excited to give my Mom her present.  I bought her a ticket to a dinner party where her favorite college football coach will be speaking.  I know she's going to be crazy excited!!!

So, Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mom's out there!  I hope you all have a great day :-)

QOTD....Where was your wedding?

Thank you all so much for your responses yesterday!!!!  Its so fun learning about you all! :-)

Ok girls, here we go for day 2 of QOTD.


Where did you hold your wedding ?  Was it in your hometown, your spouse's hometown, where you were living at the time, a special place to both of you?  Did you have it in a Church? JOP? Outdoors?  For those of you not yet married, where do your dreams of your special day take you?


JS and I are getting married in the town where I went to college.  I have dreamed of getting married there since I was a little girl.  My parents would take my sister and me to campus (mainly for sporting events), and I just fell in love with the Chapel there.  When I started attending college, I also attended services at the Chapel.  From then on, whenever I pictured my wedding in my head, it was alwasy in the campus Chapel.

Thankfully, JS was 100% on board with this vision of mine.  He could see how excited I was about this idea.  Before we made the decision, we went to tour the Chapel, and he fell in love with it too.  It is small and cozy....the max capacity is 125 (which includes the bridal party).  We wanted to have an intimate setting, so this location is perfect.  (its also only 2 blocks from where the reception is going to be!)

The Chapel is about 2 hours away from ALL of my family (and I do mean all of my family....everyone lives within 15 minutes of each other!).  However, it will be a MUCH longer trip for JS's family.  They live on the opposite side of the country, so it will be a major trip for everyone.  But so far, everyone is thrilled to have a little get away....many of them have never been to this side of the country!


I look forward to hearing all of your stories!!!!!  :-)

QOTD....Favorite (embarrassing) TV show

Ok, so I'm going to start a new segment on my blog....a Question of the Day (QOTD). Hopefully I'll be able to post one most days. I look forward to hearing your responses!!!




For the first QOTD....


What TV show do you LOVE to watch, but you are embarrassed to tell others that you watch (or others make fun of you for watching)?



Mine is Golden Girls. I loooooooooooooove the show and could watch it for hours and hours straight. I actually own the entire series on DVD....but always watch it on TV when I find it, too. My parents make fun of me big time. They say I'm a "Twenty-something in an 80 year old's body" (especially when I'm watching Golden Girls and knitting). JS also makes fun of me. He said that when we finally live together, there may be a limit to how many Golden Girls I can watch in a week ;-)



If you like, post on your page and then link back here!!!

One year from today....

One year from today JS and I will be getting married!!!!!!  I was so excited last night thinking about it that I couldn't sleep!  Its really exciting to hit the "one year away" mark (finally), but I almost wish that it was sooner.  I've done SOOOOOO much planning already, that we could have it earlier (if he were actually home ;-) )

Tomorrow my Mom, my sister (and also my MOH), and I will be going to visit the chapel and the reception site.  I'm told by the wedding coordinator that there is a wedding going on in the chapel tomorrow, so it will be exciting to see how everything is set up and decorated.  I'll also be taking LOTS of pictures for JS.  He wants to know what it will look like on our special day :-)

YAY!!!!  I just have excitement radiating from me!!!!!!!!!  :-)  :-)  :-)

This is our little Chapel !!!

The Shred: Day 4

Wow, I can't believe today was Day 4 of the 30 day Shred already!  Surprisingly, today was good all around.  It didn't hurt to walk.  It didn't hurt to sit down.

I'm still on the Level 1 workout, but it is most definitely getting easier.  Today wasn't too bad at all.  I was still really pushing myself, and I worked up a great sweat, but I didn't feel sick afterward like I did after Day 1.

I will sign off with a quote from Jillian:  "Right about now you're getting that feeling down in your stomach.  You want to stop.  Keep working through it.  Pain is just fear leaving the body!"

Thursday Five

Ok everyone....here is my first Thursday Five with MannLand5!

Post 5 things that have made you:

Happy

Thrilled

Jubilant

Ecstatic

Elated

over the past week..

1. My super good Annual Performance Review from my always crabby boss.

2. Receiving more phone calls than usual from JS!!!

3. Going on two great hikes last weekend with the family and Jasper.

4. I started exercising again (after a looooooooooong break).  Its really making me feel good about myself!

5. I asked JS's little sister to be a bridesmaid....and she said YES!!! 

Sew Fast, Sew Easy!

My birthday was a couple of months ago, and my parents and grandparents gave me money to buy something for myself.  After my bday, I put the money in the bank (to be used later) and completely forgot about it.  Then last weekend, my parents asked, "So, what did you end up getting with your birthday money"?  Oops.

So I bought myself a new toy.  

Brother CS6000I 60-Stitch Computerized Free-Arm Sewing Machine


Funny thing is, I have NEVER sewed before (using a sewing machine) in my life!!!!!  I thought it would be fun to learn and be a little more "domestic" by the time JS comes home :-)

Thankfully, my mom knows the basics of sewing, so I'll be taking the machine home this weekend to get a few beginner lessons.

I also bought this book:

Does anyone have any tips for a beginner?  Any recommendations on things I MUST buy or projects I should try?

Thanks ladies!  XOXO