Organizing for a Move

Let me just say, I despise moving. Like really do. The Army makes it easy on us by having people come in, pack everything up, and then shipping it all for us. But still. I hate trying to get everything organized and in their proper rooms to be packed up. I just cleaned out our storage shed and discovered years worth of junk that my dearest husband (the packrat) has been hoarding. Like, things from when he was maybe 5 (he's 27 now). It's driving me insane. I don't keep anything unless it's majorly symbolic in my life (like my baby book or year books). He has things stashed I don't think he even knows what they once meant to him. It drives me INSANE!

I'm generally a pretty well organized person. Things become cluttered, and I go through and reorganize everything again. I've been avoiding the storage shed like the plague since I started renting it earlier this year because 90% of it I can't go through until John gets home.

Can you tell what one of my pet peeves is yet?

I think it's as good as it's going to get for now. A few more things to put up in our storage closet (i.e. Balian's closet) and it's on to something else.

*le sigh*

Are we there yet?

New Year's Resolutions

It's that time! Well, almost that time. But I'm going to be (hopefully) super busy the next few days and John comes home on Friday, so I'm writing out my New Year's Resolutions today (before I forget. Because we all know how awesome my memory is.).

1.) I am going to lose 40 pounds, preferably before the start of summer, but definitely by the end of the year. This will put in between 140-150. 130-140 is a really healthy weight for me, but I'd be thrilled if I could just get below 150. I'm not only doing it for the vain reasons (though that has something to do with it) but because I do have a lot of medical issues that I'm hoping will go away once the weight is gone (like the high cholesterol and the fatty liver).

2.) Take better pictures. This past year (2011) I started the process of opening up my own business. Let me let you in on a little secret... i still have no idea what I'm doing... I want to spend this year and grow in my love of photography, to remember why I fell in love with it to begin with, and to learn as much as I can so I can better serve my clients. I'm also hoping to get in a few more maternity sessions, at least one birth session and at least one newborn session, and lots of kids sessions.

3.) Enjoy what I love. I love playing my flute, reading books, playing with my boys. My husband will be home for the year. I'm going to do my best not to take advantage of the time we have together, because who knows how short it will be? One thing this past 19 months has taught me (John has been gone for just about 19 months) is that life is too precious to spend it being selfish, ungrateful, and angry. I'm going to try to be happy, gracious, and giving, as much as I can be this upcoming year.


Those are my three biggest resolutions. I am feeling super confident about them. I know this year is going to be an awesome year, because I will make it awesome! So tell me your Resolutions!! How are you going to stick to them?

It's been a while...

Finals are over. Last paper is getting ready to be turned in. My life as a college student is over (for at least the next five years), and I'm excited about what comes after this. Firstly, my blog is getting revamped. Total overhaul. Completely redone. Deconstructed, then built back up. Or at least the name is. :)

My weekly lineup of blogs will be changing as well, including a couple of different link-ups (which I'm excited about). Pinterest Friday's will still be the same, because, let's face it, I need a place to show off everything I've actually completed on Pinterest.

On the 30th, something just very minor is happening in my life. Just a little thing, almost hardly worth mentioning, but MY HUSBAND WILL BE HOME AFTER A YEAR IN KOREA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are counting down the days, hours, and minutes until he is with us again. Life has definitely changed since he left, and we've both learned to treasure every moment together.

Next up, we are MOVING! The packers will be here on January 3rd, and we will begin to wend our way to the amazing state of Washington on January 4th. Our first stop will be Gatlinburg, TN and then Springfield, MO to see some of my family. Blog updates and pictures from our cross-country trip will be posted via my Optimus (gotta love technology).

And finally, next week I will be taking a week-long vacation and break to Clayton, Georgia to visit an amazing and dear family for Christmas. I will be back in Virginia on Christmas Eve.

I think that's it! I hope everyone's semester ended well, and I hope everyone has a very Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year! I know I most DEFINITELY will!!!

What's for dinner tonight?

Chicken alfredo with four cheese tortellini!

Judging Me

I really need a shirt that says, "I'm a Senior English Major. I own my own photography business. I'm a mother of a 17 month old boy. My husband has been away from home for 18 months. What's your story?" I always wonder what type of reaction something like that would get.

I attend the largest Christian University in the country, probably in the world. I love Liberty, with all of its flaws and horrible decisions. The people, however... Oh the people... Because of its size, very few students bother to get to know, really know, another human being (outside of dorms). Even in some of the smaller classes you can see this happening. I have a class of less than 20 people, and I personally know maybe four of them. Would I like to get to know more? Of course. Will I? More than likely not.

Students who attend a school the size of Liberty tend to place their judgments of others on that first meeting, that first sight. They take into consideration what the other wears, what shoes, do they have makeup on, do they need makeup, do they seem confident, are they lacking in intelligence? English Majors are notoriously horrible about this. That first impression could make or break an entire semester, even an entire year. Even worse is listening to someone in class. Again, this is worse in the English field (although I'd imagine Theology majors are bad about this, as well). If someone raises their hand in an upper level English course, you expect them to have something enlightening to say. If they don't, you begin to question their intelligence. Have I done this before? Absolutely. Have I been judged like this? More than likely.

I'm a pretty friendly and open person, and I am more than willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt, repeatedly if necessary. I have a tendency to try very hard not to judge people (at least, not harshly). The only thing I ask is to not be judged in return. That request is repeatedly ignored. Which brings me back to my original point.

I am 24 years old. I am a wife, first and foremost. My husband is Army, and has been away from home for 18 months. Secondly, I am a mother. I have a 17 month old boy. He is my reason for getting up in the mornings. Next, I am a photographer. I have turned my love of photography into a business so that I can help others capture those special moments in their own lives. Finally, I am a student. I am taking 12 hours of 400 level English courses (the sane English majors typically stick to 6-9 hours), and an additional 3 hours in an upper level Theology class (which I actually adore). This is my final semester.

Don't tell me you understand how I feel when I say I am overwhelmed. You don't. Do not whine at me about how difficult your life is, because you've no idea what that term means. I don't want sympathy. I want a friendly ear to listen. I don't want judgement. I just want you to understand where I come from. And I want to hear your story.

If I can do all of this, so can you. So do many other people on a day to day basis. Most other people in this world have more worries and cares on their shoulders, much much more, than I ever will. I am thankful, every day, for the sacrifices that have been paid so I can live this lifestyle. Yet I will not disguise my troubles. I will not disguise how much it hurts when I am judged.

Until you know my story, how can you pretend to know who I am? And until you know who I am, how can you pretend to judge me?

Some Entertainment for the Day

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II:

In light of your immediate failure to financially manage yourselves and also in recent years
your tendency to elect incompetent Presidents of the USA and therefore not able to govern
yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.
(You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states,
commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without
the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated sometime
next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced
with immediate effect:

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1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.'
Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize'
will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to
acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').

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2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an
unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We
will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into
account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'

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3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

-----------------
4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist,then you're not ready to shoot grouse.

----------------------
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

----------------------
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

--------------------
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.

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8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

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9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. New Zealand beer is also acceptable, as New Zealand is pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

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10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

---------------------
11. You will cease playing American football. There are only two kinds of proper football; one you call soccer, and rugby (dominated by the New Zealanders). Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

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12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the Australians (World dominators) first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

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13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

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14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

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15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

------------------

God Save the Queen!

Monday's Unsung Hero

Today's Unsung Hero is a fairly new friend of mine. I've only known her for a few years, but she has had such a  wonderful impact on my life. Her name is Cassandra Clifton.

I met Cassandra through a mutual friend, and then we had a class together (Literature of the Bible). It was in that class that we really connected and became friends. We discovered a mutual love for music and books, NCIS, Castle, and she introduced me to one of my favorite artists, David Garrett, and my newest favorite show, Bones.  She graduated and left to teach English in Russia, and I left to go and be a mom. We traversed around LU and DC together, and came to know the inner workings of the Barnes and Noble Bookstore, as well as what places are the best to hide during Convocation. She has become Balian's crazy aunt, and has spent countless hours on the phone with me, listening to my rants, my vents, my tears, and my laughter. My life is better because she has been a part of it.

I love you, dear! Here's to you!