Wow.. Snow?

So it has really been too long since I've taken the time to write but so much happens all the time. I know I'm great at writing when Greg is away, and not so much at writing when he's home? He is back, been home about a month and it has been awesome. We ha d a wonderful thanksgiving with good friends, and great weekends, and a lot of time spent just about us. Its been good. So 3 of my 4 finals are over and I have to say I am pretty happy with my semester. 3 As and 1 B. Dad would call me a slacker for my B but it was an excell class and I hate it. :) I did the best I could make myself do. hahha. Actually I was shooting for a C, but apparently I am smarter than I know. <3 that! We're really hoping to get to come home for Christmas. I've been counting on it, only to find out that there really is a chance we wont be able to come. It would be sad, but we've spent Christmas alone before, it would not be the end of the world. It actually snowed down here last night! And stayed all day/night and now everything is frozen and covered in Ice. So I'm secretely hoping that Greg would be sent home and wont have to fly today, but we shall see. The news is hilarious! "OH MY GOODNESS EVERYONE IT IS VERY COLD OUTSIDE AND THE WINDCHILL MAKES IT FEEL LIKE ITS.... wait for it.... 10 DEGREES! ONLY 10 DEGREES" Ahhh Texans. They dont know cold, but I wont lie, I dont either anymore! Happy Holidays to everyone, lots of love, I'll have my christmas cards out this week! Love!

Wishes

I've been having a rough week. Why:

Statistics on our first 2 years married.
11 of 24 months have been spent apart.
7 of the 11 have been in the first 10 months of this year.


Now I know I have become a strong person, but even a strong person breaks down and hits a wall now and again. This is my day. I left Greg this morning and drove the 8 hours back home, and have been crying off and on since. Its not easy, its never easy. I know I posted those statistics, but at the same time that doesn't meant that I feel like unless you can beat that you have no reason to complain or to cry. Unless you aren't a military spouse, then I kinda judge you if you whine to me about being apart for a weekend. So anyways, saying goodbye sucks. Saying goodbye half awake really sucks.

Oh yes I was talking about being a strong person. I can handle just about anything. That isnt to say that we dont ever have any problems. We do. We're less public about them than most. There are few people anymore who I will honestly talk about my problems with, because I've seen enough wives/girlfriends/fiances throw big fights in public and it makes everyone around you miserable. You can fight, just dont tell everyone about every fight all the time. Heres my next piece of advice, talk to each other. You will not fix anything if you only talk to other people and not your spouse/boyfriend/fiance. The reason me and Greg work is because we talk to each other about all our issues. We talk it out, we figure out a solution, it doesnt always fix things the first time but by talking you have an active process on whats going on.

I've had boyfriends/husbands/fiances tell me that they're girls look up to me. They look at me and think that they can do it too. This gives me mixed feelings. I'm not being conceited when I say this but not everyone is me. I am ok with moving across the country, moving around, not always being able to go home. I miss home, but I dont miss it so much that I cant stand being anywhere else. SO basically I'm saying not everyone is me. So dont think just because I'm still here after 2 years and we're going strong (with minor mishaps) that you can do it. Because as statistics of military marriages show, chances are you cant. Be honest with yourself. It is not an easy life. I'm glad people look up to me and use me as an example, but seriously, not everyone is cut out for this, and even I have bad days.

I wish I could change things. I wish there was a way to make it so those statistics weren't so bad. Our "honeymoon phase" we've never had one. It keeps getting interrupted. This tempo will kill me. Its not all deployments either. I just wish there was a way to start something that would go up the chain and make people think. A way to get them to keep track of who they're sending where and when and take families into account. Its horrible because if I was pregnant, they would do all they could to keep Greg home more from everything, but because we're just married and not "newlyweds" anymore, it feels like no one cares. I have news for you, we will always be newlyweds if this tempo stays the way it is. So dear military, Please give me my husband for awhile.

<3 Gwen

School and Other Things

So I'm very bad at this whole blogging thing. So, two weeks ago I went and saw Greg in Little Rock. These are the things we did:

This is me at the top of Pinnacle Mountain. Took over an hour to climb up (with some breaks for mental stability.) Its 1115 ft. high and it was a ton of fun and super terrifying!

Heres Greg at the top!

The view :-D

This is the Old Mill, it was featured in Gone with the wind and it was an awesome park!! Great place for wedding or engagement photos for sure!

The only pic we took of us the whole weekend. Oops :)

Gregs a master photographer :)

Missing everyone back home!

I stink at this

So I'm no good at writing in this thing regularly, but since I'm sitting at school with 40 minutes until my first class starts I figure what the heck right?

We've been busy. Going home, getting ready for school for both of us, mentally preparing to be apart for 2-3 months again, getting Maddi fixed on Thursday, and trying to somehow find time in there to spend by ourselves, and keep up with friends, I'm frazzled. I'm exhausted, Gregs exhausted and we may or may not be getting sick with whatever horrible thing my mom has. We both have what now seem like colds that I'm really hoping dont get worse, but if I keep up with not sleeping ever I'm sure it will get worse.

I have everything written down, planner filled out and pretests already taken for my online classes. Greg had things to do today and couldn't give me a ride to school so I snagged a ride with a buddy but she had to be here 2 hours earlier than me so this is me getting crap done and trying not to fall asleep and miss my first class completely. Its very awkward here. All the preppy little girls dressed up and make uped talking about all the people they see here from high school. I feel to old to be here. I'm hoping they wont be in any of my classes. I dont think I could stand listening to them talk anymore. Oh well at least I know I have one buddy here, even if we wont be in any of the same classes.

Oh and I forgot my phone today so I cant even text my hubby to keep myself occupied. Which was good until I ran out of work to do because I didn't bring any textbooks with me. Poo. I could've really finished all week 1 assignments by now. Oh well. I just saw a girl with pink hair.

Aside from school there really isn't much going on in our lives. I mean the last few days have felt hectic but its been mostly cramming in buddy time with getting everything ready for Greg to leave, but hey, you need friends. And you definitely always need an hour of sunlight and pool time to keep happy. So kudos to me, on taking yesterday to relax. But I seriously cant wait to go home and nap. :-D

Because I'm a Rockstar After 10pm

The past two nights I've done this. First Sunday night I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. Eventually I will be a Radiology Technician. First I need to take some classes, so I figure I might as well get a degree with that since the advisor for the Rad Tech program said having an associates really gives you a leg up. So I applied to Cisco to be a Medical Assistant. I'll get all the classes I need and a Degree. Classes start Aug 26th? Super excited just gotta figure out everything that needs to get done between now and then. Financial Aid, Placement Tests, Student Loans, and how to get into that program. Super duper excited.

Monday night. I switched our car insurance to USAA. Progressive should be lowering my amount for staying with them for 2 years, and instead it went up $15. I know its just $15, but money is tight sometimes. So I quoted USAA. $20 cheaper. Nice. So I filled out the necessary stuff and sent in our current insurance card and it will start Aug 7th. While I was on their website I noticed a little refinance your auto loan as low as 3.24%! Well being a couple who pays 16% interest on a car loan, I was like, hey it cant hurt to see what it would be. Well it lowered our percent from 16, down to 4.99. Our monthly payment from $450, to $300. So Greg woke up this morning to find out all I had done while he slept peacefully during the night and he was super happy. I am the best wifey ever. (Well I'd be the best ever if I had managed to make him lunch too. hahah) Happy days when saving money!

Down and Out

So I've been feeling sorry for myself lately. I dont know why. I mean I suppose I do. Its a mixture of having no job, no degree, not going to school, and feeling like I want to start a family but we're just not ready for it yet. I've been feeling really down for a couple weeks now and I've been trying to figure out a way to stop eating bag after bag of cheetos, wanting to vomit, and then feeling worse. Yesterday I decided me n Greg were really going to hit the gym. If I could do the werewolf workout for a month, and not see any results, then I would consider taking out the implant (birth control) as the problem. I will not blame it for my depression, or my lack of motivation. I'm not looking for a scape goat. Just understanding.

Yesterday we hit the gym for the first time in weeks. It was a rough workout but it felt amazing. Now today he has a night flight, which always makes working out hard because we either have to go before his flight which makes him exhausted the rest of the day, or wait until 3am to go. Well i'm determined to go tonight. Even just for a half hour. Just to prove we aren't giving up.

Back to my funk. I need to snap out of it. While i was home I watched Eat, Pray, Love one night while i was feeling sorry for myself for missing my husband. A great movie to watch if you're depressed. Because its not a love story, I mean it is, but thats not all it is. So today I decided I'd finally read the book. Its been sitting on my nook for months and I need something uplifting. Even just the first 100 pages (theres about 600 on the nook) were so helpful. I put on some soothing music, and did yoga for a half hour. I cant tell you the last time I did yoga like that. No book, no movie, just doing the moves i remembered as being the most stress relieving. Its such a mood lifter. I feel so great after actually doing something other than sitting around all night watching tv and eating. I've read, I've cleaned, even did the laundry, AND i did yoga. Ten points on my self esteem roster. :)

So if you're looking for a good book to read, Eat Pray Love. If you want to feel better about yourself, do yoga (and avoid mc donalds for a week, I promise it helps) Love to all who support me. <3

Another Day Another Dollar

Greg is on another trip. It was hard saying goodbye again so soon, even if its only for a few days. Life will never be easy, but I am starting to enjoy my time alone. I can lay on the couch all day if I want to, or I can actually be productive and get things done without feeling like I have to keep someone else company. Dont get me wrong, it still sucks being alone, but I'm working on making the best of it instead of just moping around the whole time. I do have to say, he left Friday morning and its taking me until now to actually get things done. I managed to do Yoga today, research hotels for our California trip next year, I planted my herb garden (hopefully they actually grow true leaves now instead of just the sprouts that I have now) and I cleaned up the mess I've made around the house. I also defrosted the fridge, its working again (yay me). Though in my downtime I caught up on all my shows.. oo I also looked into careers. I've taken so many classes and I still dont feel like I've found anything that fits. I want a job thats mentally intriguing. I want to solve problems, or puzzles. Maybe accounting is right for me, I took a couple career tests today and they all tell me business is where I'm meant to be. Analyst, administrator, accounting are all my top jobs. So my goal is to actually call the admissions councelor for Ashford University and see what I can do and what I need and how soon I can actually graduate. Not that I really care about having a good job or anything, it'd just be nice to feel like I'm contributing to this partnership instead of living off my hubby's money. We're doing fine, but we could be doing great if I got my act in gear. Anyways, off to find some ice cream! Love to all!

New Friends Exciting Times

Since Greg got back from his deployment we've been hanging out with a new crowd. Its exciting, relieving, and they are just so much fun. Its a lot of couples, a few years older than us, but we're all on the same wavelength. There isn't as much childish drama, its just a bunch of people getting together and having a good time! We took our first camping trip in Texas with these guys. One of the best weekends of my life. We went up to Possum Kingdom, its about a 2 hour drive. We were doing some recon for the 4th of July when we head up there for 5 days. The park is great, the water is great, Hells Gate is awesome. Its this cove on the lake, and when you pull in there are 2 huge cliffs on each side that make "the gate" and you drive through in the boat, and everyone ties their boats together and you hang out and swim for the afternoon and make new friends. It was awesome. I had so much fun. To tell you a little more about how that Saturday went..we were all sitting at Hells Gate. Talking to the boats next to us as these clouds start rolling in. Soon it was raining. No big deal, it was 106 and the rain felt great..but then it started hailing, as we all dive and hide under the little sun top random hail hitting you, we start wondering about our campsite.. Well we finally went back just a little before dark, to find the whole campground (which was full previously) empty and trashed. All of our tents (with the exception of Bill who had a little one man tent) were knocked over and/or broken. Our tent was mostly ok, one of the loops for the stake ripped off but we'll get it sewed back on and it will be fine again. It was good times, things to laugh over. Trunks were knocked over and filled with water, but we had food, and the night was gorgeous and we all laughed about it and continued to have a good time. I'm so glad we went. Even though we're completely broke until payday now, its nice spending our money on actually doing things instead of unnecessary things.

We got our cordaroy! Its huge but its awesome! It definitely makes for more snuggling time :) We curl up on it and play video games, the cats love their new nap spot, and it significantly shrunk the sive of our livingroom but soo worth it! We're looking forward to the future and all the good times to be had! Loving life in Texas! :)

I'm A Slacker

So I've been meaning to update the blog, and I've even started a few but never felt like finishing them. We've had lots of fun news in the past month. We dont have roommates anymore, just decided living our own is the way to go. So since that, we've spent lots of time unpacking, moving, getting our house set up the way we want and planning for the future. So heres what we've come up with.

1. Our honeymoon is being changed. I've decided that if we have a really good chance of getting orders to Germany, there is no sense in spending $6000 on a honeymoon to Greece, when it would be a heck of a lot cheaper taking a train once we get there. So instead, we will be taking a trip to California. A one night stop in Venice Beach, then up to the Redwood National Forest for a 3 day camping trip, then down to Napa/Sonoma Valley to stay in a Bed and Breakfast for 3 days, and then a one night stop in Vegas on the way home. Super excited, should be incredibly fun. We'll be taking that trip hopefully next July 2012. *Keep fingers crossed*

2. We are building a cat tree. Cat "playhouses" are super expensive. We've made a "blueprint" (I use that term very lightly for the drawing is pretty hilarious and you would have no idea what it was from looking at it.) But we've figured out the exact amounts of wood and carpet needed and how much it will cost to make (roughly $60 instead of paying $200+ for one this gigantic) and we'll be buying parts slowly every paycheck.

3. We're buying a Courdaroy. If you dont know what it is. You're missing out. http://www.cordaroys.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=8 Theres the link :) php Thats the exact one we're buying. A double king sofa. It will replace one of the sofas downstairs. Wooooo!! Super pumped about that!

4. We also are getting a patio set. Its a must. We wish we had one everyday.


So I'm super excited for our goals, our future, and having my family visit, even if its only one night. I cant wait for them to see my new place and all we've done with it. Love and miss everyone! <3

Deployment Update

So Gregory will be home no later than June 5th. Pretty much garunteed. I say pretty much because nothing is ever a gauruntee. (I dont know how to spell that word ever.) But I figured since I'm back in Abilene with nothing to do until move in tomorrow morning I'd post a "things I learned from this deployment and my thoughts" post. So here goes.

Things I've Learned:

-Murphy's Law is true.
- It does not get easier. Anyone who says this is a liar and only trying to make you feel better. I wish I hadn't lied to myself. I expected it to be easier, and when it wasn't, it made it harder, so be real.
- When you're married, moving back in with you parents is not the same. Personalities clash when you are used to running your own household.
- Fishing is a great relaxation technique.
- EVERYONE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO HAVE A BABY.

That last one is just because everyone I know is pregnant and I wanna be and obviously cant right this minute, and even when Greg gets back he's pretty iffy about the whole idea so we'll see what happens this fall/winter/next spring.

Song lyrics I liked on the way home:

"Damn these old wheels, rolling too slow, I stare down these white lines with so far to go, headlights keep coming, lonliness humming along. Who poured this rain, who made these clouds? I stare through this windshield thinking out loud. Time keeps on crawling love keeps on calling me home." -If my heart had wings Faith Hill. Perfect example of exactly how my drive went.

"I'm stronger than yesterday, now its nothing but my way, my loneliness aint killing me no more, cuz now I'm stronger" -Brittany Spears Stronger. Every deployment makes you a little stronger.

"I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive. I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise. To fly. I wish today it would rain all day and that will kinda make the pain go away. Trying to forgive you for abandoning me" -Fly Nikki Manaj Uplifting song about being strong by yourself.

Well those are my thoughts for the day. Peace out. :) I'll post pics as soon as we get settled!

Anxiety

I am getting so anxious to get back to Texas. Its sooo hard being patient. I just keep thinking about what needs to be done, even though its really nothing until I actually get back to the state. Then I need to get our stuff out of Alli's, get the storage unit cleaned out, unpack, and spend lots of time by the pool :).


I miss Greggles and I cant wait for him to be hooommmmeeee. Thats pretty much all I think about :D

Quel Jour!

Its April 19th. In Texas its 90 degrees with a chance of wildfires. Here its 28 and winter weather advisory. So you can imagine, when laying in bed and feeling really really cold air, my thoughts were as follows:

1. Did the cats turn off the furnace again?
2. Why do I hear birds..
3. Wait that was Leo chirping and that means a door is open.
4. Oh no how long? Will Abbers ever come back?

I found Abbi playing in the stones by the playground we have. I think she thought it was a giant litterbox. Maddi was hiding behind the hottub, and Leo had decided he was just fine laying on my bed. Disaster #1 taken care of. I walk upstairs, only to find Alli got diarrhea all over the kitchen. So as I'm trying to hold down puking while cleaning that up.. I start to think its not gonna be a fun day.

I wiped up the mess, swept the floor, then mopped the floor. Sometime in there Alli puked by the kitchen table. I found this out later by stepping in it. More mopping. Then I decided heck with it, and cleaned the whole upstairs. I lost motivation before I hit the dishes though. The kids can do those. Im pooped.

So now Im ready for the snow. What a day it has already been and its only 2!

Yesterday was me n Gregs 2 year anniversary. So naturally Im a bit bummed and I miss him lots. I wish he was home so we could have celebrated. <3

War Does Not Define Character- It Reveals It

I used to think that deployments were all about misery, and just learning to "deal". I've been reading this book lately called Confessions of a Military Wife by Mollie Gross. I suggest anyone and everyone to read it. (Thanks so much Kelly). Its about becoming an "independant" and all the things you can do and should do during a deployment. The more I read, the more I realize how much I have figured out on my own in the past 2 deployments. Sure they weren't 7 months, or a year, they were 2 months and this one will be around 3. But You can learn a lot in 5 months of separation, especially in the first 2 years of your marriage. You learn to try not to be selfish. You will fight over money. You will fight about not hearing from them, but its ok. Because at one point or another, we all pick fights. My mom would say "Gwen just stop fighting" I love my mother, but she doesn't quite understand. She can sit here day after day and see my ups and my downs, but she cannot tell me what I'm feeling. And no one can. Other wives or girlfriends or fiances can relate. But only you know what you are feeling.

I feel happy, sad, frustrated, angry, exhausted, awake, usually all in the span of 5 minutes. I feel motivated, and depressed, and then like I have no energy left for anything but mindless facebook games. Today I was tired, angry, worn out, my back and shoulders hurt, but at the same time I was laughing, and a few minutes later would just want to collapse. I worked through my furstration just trying to hang on until the moment Greg would call. And you know what: I lived. We all do. We work through masses of emotions everyday. Theres always the nagging feeling in the back of your mind, what if? But you cant let it rule you or even admit to its existance.

Anyway my point was, this book helped me realize that I am ok. I have hobbies, I have friends. I regret not making more friends with more people's wives, but the truth is, I just dont see many wives my age running around at squadron functions. If I did I feel like things would be different. I've started excercising again, and getting your blood pumping is a definite must. Anyways. I just wanted to say, I'm good. I enjoy painting, taking the parents dog for a walk, snuggling with my kitties, watching copious amounts of tv, reading, and scrapbooking. I have hobbies, friends, and a great family, and wonderful inlaws. I'll be just fine.

Love to all!

The Deployment

SO basically I haven't written in forever. I dont know why. I guess I feel like its because I dont have happy things to say, but then that sounds ridiculous a lot has happened that I am happy about but the feeling of missing Gregory takes over and I hate sounding like a whiney child instead of a grown up when I blog. Anyway, things that I've found make me happy in the past 6 weeks I've been home. Since we've almost hit the halfway point:

-Netflix. I have now watched 6 seasons of desperate housewives, finished Bones, and watched countless movies and any other series where I had skipped shows (aka Glee, etc)

-Ikea. OMG I went to an actual IKEA store and I think I could have spent the next 6 weeks there planning out every single future home and apartment we shall someday live in.

-Courda Roy's. Like lovesacs only comfier and cheaper. We're getting on when Greg gets back.

-Music. I must spend an hour a day looking for new music that is amazing and then finding a way to afford all the new music I want. Because you know people who get sued .. cannot download illegally.

-Facebook. I know cheesy. I dont care. I will play citiville and farmville until my eyes fall out because you know what, it makes time pass. I like when time passes by unnoticed, because usually I am staring at the clock continiously counting down the days hours minutes etc that we have left.

SKYPE. Without skype I'd be a mess. Enough said.

SO the deployment really is going fine. I dont have any issues thus far, minus the 3 days the internet was out, those were kinda rough. I mean I'm kinda working, next week is my last week. I cant keep doing manual labor. My back just doesn't cut it anymore. I've recently decided my daily pain level is about 6 out of 10. When 3 ibuprofin multiple times a day it comes down to back or liver? Which would I rather deal with? And all those pills, only take away some of the pain, not even all of it. Which then makes me realize, I'm actually a pretty fricken strong person to be able to take this pain and barely ever cry or complain. My dad raised me to "be a man" when it came to my back. But lately I have decided I would like to stop feeling like a 55 year old woman who can throw her neck out getting out of bed. I want back surgery. I dont care anymore, this is seriously affecting my life in an incredibly negative way and the thought of being pregnant in a couple years with back pain like this already, its enough to make me second guess wanting kids. I know the recovery will be a ridiculous process, but I want a better life for me and for Greg. Poor guy has to sit and listen to me whine knowing he cant do anything about it but give me a little massage and hope it helps.

So thats whats going on in my life. Really nothing too extravagent but I will try and write more, and more often. Love to all my family far away! *cough*Bry*cough*

Long Time

So its been awhile since I've written. But I try not to come on here and whine, and lately thats all I've really wanted to do. Feeling sorry for myself because I miss Greggles so much. Life always seems so unfair when deployments come. I get angry, upset, sad, and I just want to start fights and blame everything else on everyone else. Truth is, deployments stink. Yes, I am doing ok. But they still suck. We're only 16 days into this one, and it already feels like a lifetime. What can I say? I miss my husband and life is not the same without him.

Plus without him around, I feel like I have nothing to write about, because I like to write about "our" life, not my life. So it feels silly. So if I dont write as much in the future that would be why. The good news is, I found the place I want to move into when we get back. Its a townhouse, and I think its perfect. So yay!

Greg is doing just fine. He made it there safely, I made it home safely. He's flying missions and enjoying life for the most part. He did get sick for awhile right away when he got there, but he's all better now. Today he even learned how to play Spades. :)

The kitties are fine. Adusting to life in their basement. Oh yes, I said their basement. They have taken over acting like the whole thing is their playground, but its cute. I like seeing them running around and playing and being happy. They still snuggle with me at night, so I know they aren't too upset about the move.

Well love to all! I'm out :)

Home

So Saturday finally came. I watched Greg walk off into the squadron with tears streaming down my face and tried to pretend to be strong. I know it hurts him to see me cry, so I saved most of it for the 20 hour drive home. I went back to the apartment, picked up the cats, and started my drive. I thought about a lot on the way home. All of our goals, things we did for my birthday. Walking around San Antonio with coffee and hand in hand. Sure it was freezing, but we spent it together and I wouldn't have had it any other way. We ate at this wonderful restaurant on the Riverwalk called Boudros. It was expensive, but it was romantic and cute and pretty perfect. He is the most amazing husband in the world and I will miss him terribly. I had put in Sara Bareillas in Kansas because I was getting bored and needed something to start singing to. Well half of those songs are songs I used to sing to Greg when he was in tech school to put him to sleep. So in the middle of Kansas, in the middle of the tollway, I let it all out. Cried all my tears for this deployment, this war, this stupid deployment. Because I know more are coming, this wont be our last, and I know it wont be easy, and I'm frustrated with that, but I also know we can both be strong. So I'm hanging in there just fine. Theres even a chance he could come home early! yay!

So today is my first day of being home and coherant. I'm going to unpack my clothes, try and keep Leo out of the crawl space he loves so much already. (Been in there twice and I caught him going for a 3rd). Then this afternoon me and mom are running to Green Bay. Yay for days off :) Love you all!

Countdown Begins

Greg is leaving this week. THIS week. And it makes me sad. Its always hard the first time that it really hits you. We've known for months he'll be leaving, but we're both really really good about not saying a word about it and ignoring it. We even managed to get his trunks all packed up without talking about the actual deployment. Strange huh? So Friday as we're driving home after shopping, it finally hit. But I figure if I do all my crying now I get to be comforted while it happens, and hopefully I'll get it all out so that when he does actually leave I can be strong. Hurray?

This weekend was fun. Fight night. The packers winning the superbowl.. Never thought they could actually do it this year, but I am so proud of my team for finding their motivation last month and kicking butt! Cant wait to go home and celebrate with the rest of Green Bay!

San Antonio tomorrow for my birthday. I'm excited. Always love that city. I really dont know what else to blog about. I mean the whole week of snowdays all we did was play Little Big Planet 2 and poker. We're all moved out of the apartment, but thats old news. The storage shed is full, our room at Alli's is controlled chaos.. and I have a new addiction to goat cheese quesadillas? Thats really all I've got. I'm excited for my birthday, and to be home next week. I'm gonna miss my Greggles!

Get ready Wisconsin! I'm coming home~!

Amazon Queen.

Thats what I looked like when I woke up this morning. :) It made Greg laugh and added a fun start to our morning. We're still getting a few things settled in at Alli's. Trying to make it look like we dont live here is a decent challenge. :) Right now the bathroom is complete, with only the toothbrushes giving it away, and then we have a few things in the livingroom still, but we're waiting for this ice to clear up so we can drop them off where they need to go (storage, suddenlink, goodwill).

We have ventured out a few times into this ridiculous road situation. Mostly for our sanity. Cabin fever is no joke. Specially when you spend almost all your time in the exact same spot in the exact same room fighting over who gets to use the computer or the Ipod. But it has been fun. Lots of time to lay and snuggle and just appreciate each other. We did make it to walmart, and I got Little Big Planet 2 for my birthday. Mostly to keep us sane through this 3 day weekend in the middle of the week. Life is good.

Good luck to anyone else who has to move anytime in the future. Its a hassle. I dont like it, but its done. Yay! See you soon Wisconsin~

Snow Days

Snow days are a great day to play catch up. What a crazy weekend we've had! Thursday we left for Houston, got some sushi at Ichibon (restaurant #1 we've never been to before.) It was delicious, I got a little buddah statue while we were there too! Friday we went to Cavenders, and Dan got a cowboy hat, and Greg bought me boots for my birthday! They are basically amazing! Black with a teal design and they are SOOOO very awesome! Friday night we went out and bowled, and played video games at the arcade at Main Event. It was pretty fun. :) Saturday night we went to the IMAX theater and saw Green Hornet in 3D. 3D imax is way better than regular 3D. Also, it was a pretty hilarious movie. Then apparently Saturday night some kids broke into our car and stole our GPS, and both of our ipods. So Sunday we went to best buy, bought a new GPS and a new Ipod for Greg. I was waiting to get a new one, and then yesterday we got a call from the Houston Police. Apparently Dan had filed a police report for us, and they caught the guys that did it! So we should be getting our stuff back in the mail soon. :) YAY!

We had a snow storm last night. And I mean snow storm. Complete with thunder and lightning while snowing. The coolest thing I've ever seen! So today all of Texas shut down because they dont have plows, people got stuck in the parking lot at our apartments, and also at walmart. Cant go an hour without seeing someone stuck somewhere, and our power kept going off about ever half hour for a good 5 hours today. I think someone hit the power lines down the street. We braved the roads and took a trip to walmart for Groceries and there were a bunch of electric guys working on the lines across the street. So I figured that was the culprit.

Well I'm gonna update my list! Lots of love~

Things I Love

1. Finishing 2 exams in one day.
2. Almost finishing the packing on the entire apartment.
3. Vacations (like Houston)
4. Kitten kisses, and when they sleep curled up in my arms.
5. Hugs from the hubbins after a long day of hard work for both of us.
6. Tote bags, because when you run out of boxes but own 20 totes, you dont have to worry.
7. Steven Tyler on American Idol. Much better than Simon.
8. Staying up late just to lay in bed and giggle with each other.
9. Ipod hookups in cars.
10. Having my own blanket to sleep with, so I can actually get a good nights sleep.

:) LOVE TO ALL

Accomplished

Exams came in yesterday, so this afternoon I will be finally finishing my semester. Relief right there. I kept getting worried I wouldn't get them done. So I'll be looking over some stuff this morning, and then I am going to attack my kitchen. Our bedroom is 90% done. Everything is taken down or put away that can be. Our bathroom about 70%. Threw away all my old make up, lotions, and anything else I just didn't like enough to keep. I packed my things for Houston, just have to do laundry so I can pack Greg's. I got the wii bedroom all packed up, just need to find a place for the kitty toys. and the spare bedroom is filled with nothing but things that either are packed, packing materials, or things half packed. I am sucessful. :) The livingroom is bare, the bedroom is bare, all our decorations are packed away. I am so relieved. So today will be starting the kitchen, and moving everything finished into the livingroom. I might even take some stuff to storage by myself after I finish my exams. Gregs on a night flight tonight, thats the only reason I'd be alone. :)

So its official. We leave for Houston on Thursday!! So excited! We'll have to come back Sunday night, Greg has stuff scheduled for Monday. But I'm pumped that we're going!

Crunchtime

So as I stated yesterday. Things come up. I have been planning this trip to Houston for my birthday week for over a month in my head, and a few weeks vocally. Though I think I've been talking to Greg about it for quite awhile. So its been "set in stone" in my mind. Of course, that was silly of me. I dont know how many times I will have to be told no before I learn my lesson to be flexible. But lets face it, I'm a stubborn firery red head who does not like to not get her way. From the infamous "I TACO MOMMY" quote, to moving out at 17, moving to Texas, getting married and not telling anyone first... I like to do what I want. So being told this weekend the dates of things that have to happen for the deployment. I was crushed. Of course they all happen right around my birthday, thank goodness nothing happens on my actual birthday..or I'd be reaaaaalllly sad. So I have been wracking my brain for the past 48 hours trying to figure out a solution. Voila! I texted Lindz, asked her when shes off...and told Greg to put in leave for this coming weekend. Yup. We move out of the apartment on the 31st, and I want to go to Houston the 27-30th. So my week has become mega crunchtime packing zone. Hahaha. Wish me luck.

To do Today:

All decorations are coming down, clothes will be sorted and packed appropriately, and the kitty/wii room will be entirely packed and cleaned up!

Whohooo for making things work. Boo for making more work for myself. At least this way I'll keep myself busy this week! Cant wait to be home sooN~


PS- Anyone want to go thrifting with me in the future? I'm addicted to craft blogs and I wanna make stuff while I'm home! K thanks!

As the days go crashing by

Another week is over. I think last night was the first night that it hit me that its getting dangerously close to the deployment. I cried. I am so excited for everything to come, but I just dont want to be apart again. Deployments are never easy, no matter how much you prep beforehand, and I know there will be stupid fights, and lots of crying, and days of wondering where and if he's ok.. and I'm just not ready for that all again yet. But there isn't one thing that you can do about it. So I'm just trying to put a smile on, and enjoy the time we have left together. Come on packers! Pull off a win today!

I'm a little upset. I've been trying to go to Houston for months..and we finally pick some dates to go, find out Lindsay is off work, and now it looks like it wont happen. So we have to find new dates.. try and work around everyones schedule, because I will go! I dont care! I want to see Lindz. She was my closest friend when she was here, and it stinks that life happens and gets busy and you lose time to talk. But 6-8 hours away isn't across the country and I regret not trying harder in the past to see her. So I am going!

The airforce life is never easy. Sometimes I wish just one thing that I really want would work out.

Its the Final Countdown!

Today is the day we move stuff to the storage shed. Its all sitting nicely piled in my livingroom just waiting to be picked up and tossed into a cold lonely 10 x 10 foot square. Hahaha. I'm excited. We're finally going to get stuff out of our place, and this week will be lots of hard work, but work I'm looking forward to. I did my first ab workout in like a month last night and my self esteem is up 20 points today, so keep it coming! Also we get our wisconsin refund back on the 27th! Check that action! I'm pumped. Lets do this! WHOOOO!

Refund Accepted

Got our taxes finished last night. :) It was so easy this year too.. maybe Im getting a hang of some of this numbers stuff. Anyways I was so excited about I couldn't sleep. It was ridiculous! Our refund will pay off 3 credit cards. 3!! Leaving us with only the best buy account, and Gordons account both which are still interest free and will be paid by June 1st! By the end of the deployment we'll have a nice nest egg in the bank as well. I just cant believe it. Married a year and a half and we'll be out of debt. Its days like today I dont mind the military so much. It comes at a cost though. 1/3 of the year without your husband.. not exactly the way I wanted it to happen, but I'm grateful all the same.

Santorini.

We've updated our trip to Greece. We're going to spend 3 nights and 4 days in Fira (Thira). There I plan on lots of beach time, maybe the submarine tour they offer, and hopefully visiting a winery.

Then we'll spend 4 nights in Chania, taking a ferry from Thira to Souda, and a taxi, shuttle, or bus into Chania. There we're going to eat wonderful food, probably kayak out to a small island, visit some musuems, and my favorite part: the market. I would love to bring home some great olive oil, some wine, and other wonderful things that they sell! :) I cant wait for the trip!


Today is not an incredibly excited day otherwise. Just studying and packing! Missing everyone!

Lobsters

I just realized that I have forgotten to post the photos from our lobster dinner so here they are!

This is me not wanting to pick up or touch the things! They freak me out a little bit.

Greg holding his dinner :)

Me finally picking up a lobster and playing with it. They were soo delicious. I cannot even begin to explain!

We tried to have a lobster race, but they weren't in the moving mood. Instead we just freaked out our cats. Chased them around the kitchen with the lobsters. Soo funny. Little Madison was hissing the whole time!

The complete and delicious New Years Eve dinner. Thank you again Marla and Wade!!!

Soo excited

I'm still waiting for things to happen! I want our W2s or whatever they are to get here so we can file taxes! Plan for taxes, pay off Amazon, Discover, and as much of wells fargo credit cards as possible, and put $500 into savings to jumpstart savings! Yay! We'll be debt free by July! Seriously I have it all worked out! Of course in July we'll have to buy a washer and dryer, possibly a pool table (Greg really really wants one and he's worked so hard this year I think its definitely a deal) and hopefully put a downpayment on our vacation, though maybe not, we might just keep that money in savings until we know for sure when we'll be going.

Life just seems so wonderful lately.. Nights of laying in bed talking about the future, about the past, about all that we have to do before the 31st, but its not stressful. Its a relaxed frenzy. I am really looking forward to being home, also nervous because I'm not sure what it will be like living with family again, but I'm sure it'll be great.

My goals for home are to study a ton, work out, tan, and start working on buying myself a new wardrobe. Probably Greg too. Since my paychecks aren't really paying for anything, anything I make at A&W can go to us. Things we've been wanting and haven't gotten. Mainly, a sewing machine, bread machine, and donkey kong wii!

Debt free by July. Well I say that sparingly. Of course we'll have our student loans, and our Equinox to pay off.. but other than that we will have nothing. And it will be so nice to stop stressing and just live life. And when we get back, I haven't decided if I'll work right away, or if I'm going to push to finish school first so that when I do get a job I can actually get a decent one. So many decisions.

So when we do get back to Texas in July, we're moving in with Staci and Josh. I cannot explain how excited I am about this. The houses that we can all afford together are basically dream houses for me, and I know they'll be the best roommates ever! I just hope nothing happens to screw that plan up or Ima be super sad. I cant wait to go out to New York in July either for their wedding! See Niagara Falls, taking road trips with my hubbins. We love to drive. lol.

Anyways, its early, and this lil girl is gonna shower and get her study face on before all motivation goes out the window! Wish me luck on my exams!

Waiting for Something Big to Happen

This whole limbo stage is strange. The period where you know things will shortly be changing, but you aren't quite there yet, and there is only so much you can do before they actually happen. Like now, I'm packing up boxes, but I'm running out of stuff that I'm willing to give up for two weeks..and also boxes. I just keep running through all the plans we have for the future, getting incredibly excited for them, and I just want it all to happen now! Someday maybe I will learn patience. :)

Everything I want to happen right now: Have our apartment packed up and empty, move a couple things into Alli's for the deployment, be in San Antonio/Houston celebrating our birhtdays. Thats what I would love to have happen tomorrow if possible. I want our taxes done, return in hand, and at least 2 of our credit cards paid off. Now we aren't crazy in debt, we mostly have little balances, but for different stores.. hence the problem.

I feel like lately, things down here are home. We have friends, we make plans, I no longer want to sit in the house all day and talk to no one cuz I'm depressed. I want to go out, do things, learn new things, meet people. Finding out who true friends are when you need them the most. People will always suprise you, in good and bad ways, and I am just so grateful that lately it has been all good. I'm glad to have finally put "the college life" behind me. Making grown up decisions, with mature friends. This isn't to say that we never go out and goof off, because most of our life is goofing off, but its nice to to know there are plenty of other girls my age who will be here soon and we can all get through this together. <3

Love to new friends and old!

Late Nights

Greg is flying again tonight.. and I am bored. Watching bones as usual. Alli totally saved my hair today. My stress level is almost down to zero, aside from packing up and moving, but she's letting us stay with her for the two weeks that we'll be in limbo between our apartment and the deployment. Such a huge stress off our shoulders! We'll be able to pay off some more debt, and go out and enjoy my birthday.

We're planning on going to Houston to visit Lindsay and Dan for a few days, haven't seen them since the summer, and then after we're headed to San Antonio to see the Music is my Weapon tour featuring Korn, Disturbed, and Sevendust (Gregs favorites). Its a double birthday celebration. We weren't able to really celebrate Greg's birthday, so we're going to the concert for him, and San Antonio for me. I'm so excited its going to be wonderful! :)

Hurray for things working out!

Finished!

I finished my classes today! Just waiting on my exams to come in and then I will be officially finished with my semester and I can work on the next one while I'm home. Thats right! Coming home in February. I'm not sure if I posted that on here yet or not. So the next month will be filled with packing, storing things away, and getting ready for the next deployment. Its a bittersweet time. I'll be with family, and around the snow, and friends, and everything I've been missing, but we cant come home together. Which is a bit sad. I just wish Greg could be there. So our plan is I will be back in Texas sometime in June to get our stuff moved in and what not, and then we'll probably be back home in July, for quite a long period of time. Hopefully we'll get in some Marquardt camping, along with a camping trip for just the two of us. I'm excited about it. Life has been good to us. I love my hubbins and my kittens. We'll be debt free and one step closer to our honeymoon in Crete!

The List

101 in 1001
Started Jan 3, 2011
To be Completed by Monday Sept 30, 2013

Travel:

1. Go to Crete
2. Go on a Gwen and Greg only camping and fishing trip
3. Greg-send home postcards from somewhere other than home.
4. Go to our 5 year reunion if possible.
5. Go to a place neither of us have been before
6. See the west coast, take a photo of our feet in the Pacific Ocean
7. Go swimming in the Mediterranean Sea
8. Visit One Winery and one Brewery (0/2)
9. Go to 5 different farmers markets (0/5)
10. Get passports
11. Visit the DeYoung Family Zoo
12. Go on a cruise together
13. Go to a museum or art gallery
14. Visit one Texas State park and camp there for a weekend
15. Plan a tropical vacation
16. Go to a zoo we've never been to before

Finances:

17. Pay off credit card debt
18. Pay off equinox
19. Start a college fund for kids
20. Start a retirement fund
21. Buy nothing for one week except groceries
22. Create a budget and stick to it for one year
23. Start a business plan for the coffee shop and have a place for all my ideas
24. Organize all financial information
25. Save $200 a month starting in February 2011

Health and Fitness:

26. Run 6 miles a week for one month (0/24)
27. Go to the gym 3 times a week
28. Eat one healthy meal a day for one month (0/31)
29. Wake up with Greg everyday for one month (0/31)
30. Go to the dentist
31. Go to yoga once a week for 6 months (0/24)
32. Buy bicycles
33. Go for a weekly bikeride for 6 months (0/24)
34. Go one month without fast food (0/31)
35. Go one month without eating at a sit down restaurant (0/31)
36. Private
37. No soda for one month (0/31)
38. Run 2 miles without stopping
39. Take multivitamins everyday for one month (0/31)
40. Get Massages

Relationship Goals

41. Complete one thing a week from the his/her booklet for one year (0/52)
42. Have a date night once a week
43. Write a love letter once a month to each other (0/21)
44. Build a bench from scratch together
45. Watch the sunrise together
46. Make lists of 100 things we love about eachother
47. See 5 bands in concert (0/5)
48. See the Transiberian Orchestra
49. Go Snowboarding
50. Write letters to ourselves to be read in 5 years
51. Try 10 new restaurants (0/10)
52. Go horseback riding
53. Come up with 50 date night ideas and do them
54. Go on a picnic
55. Buy a loaf of bread and feed ducks
56. Do something we've never done before on our birthdays

Cooking goals:

57. Make meal plans weekly for one year (0/52)
58. Cook a new recipe a month for one year (0/12)
59. Have an herb garden
60. Join a wine club for a year
61. Go out and pick something from a farm
62. Make homemade jam or jelly
63. Surprise Greg and make Penne Cota
64. Make homemade sushi
65. Bake 5 different cupcakes out of my Hello Cupcake books

Gwens Personal Goals:

67. Finish a degree
68. Read one book a month for a year (0/12)
69. Learn Greek before the Crete trip
70. Blog at least 3 times a week
71. Paint 5 new paintings for the house
72. Buy fresh flowers once a month for a year (0/12)
73. Buy a desktop computer
74. Compile a book of Marquardt and Heller family recipes
75. See Wicked
76 Write down 25 things I like about myself and keep somewhere visible
77. Set up emergency fund of cash
78. Make 5 new christmas decorations
79. Go one week without facebook

Greg Personal Goals:

80. Finish prerequisites for Palmer
81. Finish CCAF as an airman
82. Prestige in COD black ops 3 times
83. Decide whether or not to re-enlist
84. Watch one "Classic Heller" film a month for a year (0/12)
85. Teach Gwen to shoot a gun
86. Complete 100 hours of community service (0/100)

Rest of the Goals:

87. Buy a nice furniture set.
88. Own an entire TV series
89. Find a place with a balcony or porch and have outside furniture
90. Get all of our photos printed and scrapbooked
91. Send 5 care packages to the squadron boys when Greg is not deployed (0/5)
92. Send 10 birthday cards to people (0/10)
93. Learn to drive stick shift
94. Buy another vehicle
95. Buy a sewing machine
96. Get rid of everything we do not use or wear
97. Have a computer free weekend
98. Make something new and give as a christmas present
99. Make Daily goals everyday for a week and complete them (0/7)
100. Post list on the fridge and update weekly on blog
101. Donate $5 for every unmet goal

101 in 1001

My sister has posted her goal list of 101 goals in 1001 days. Since it is the new year, I thought I would follow suit with my own set of 101 goals. Well technically its for me and Greg. A few are just mine, and a few are just his, but almost all of them are things we want to do together. Enjoy!