And the mayhem begins...

Joe and I got back from the cruise fairly late Sunday evening (after the long 12-hour drive from Tampa) and only had a one day turn around to do laundry, un-pack/re-pack for the holidays. We spent Christmas in Huntsville, AL with my parents and brother. It was the first Christmas my whole family has been together in over 4 years.

Christmas was nice- great food, great presents and great company to spend it with. The pups enjoyed tearing open their new toys and I have to say, everyone got really great gifts (Joe and I got quite a few awesome gifts from our registry from our parents along with new iPods from my brother). We can't wait to go shopping and use all the giftcards we received! Hoepfully we have time to get all of that done before the packers come!!

Speaking of moving, we hope to put in our final pack-out dates next week when the offices are open from New Years. We will have our unaccompanied baggage shipment on the 7th (all the stuff we want right away because the rest of our "stuff" will take longer to get there)... so that means some of the essentials... like a few pots/pans/plates/silverware/glasses, sheets, small TV (who can't live without that?), towels, etc. Then we need to organize the rest of our things for our baggage shipment (everything else that's not going into storage) and hopefully Joe can help me get that ready before he goes to resistance training for three weeks. Yes, this means I will be handling all the packers/movers by myself. I'm a little worried/stressed, but hopefully it will go smoothly.

So in the mean time, we have lots of packing (we will be living out of whatever suitcass we pack for probably a month or even longer), cleaning and going through all our stuff (it always amazes me how much "stuff" I'm able to accumulate in one year time period... and now that there are two of us and two dogs, let's say we've accumulated a LOT in the last year), organizing our things into what shipment things need to be packed up in, and then getting things ready to be stored. The biggie will be my car. Of course the AF can't make anything easy. They only have certain storage locations we can go to, so that means we have to drive my car to Atlanta and fnd a way back. It would make sense for them to pay for a one-way flight or rental car seeing that they are the reason we have to store the car in the first place, but no. We have to find our own way back to wherever we are staying for the time being. Thankfully my parents are willing to drive with us, and drive us back to their house (where the dogs and I will be camping out after everything gets packed up).

Anyway, if you haven't gotten bored enough to stop reading this blog (I wouldn't blame you, I'm just rambling) you can see how much we have to do in such little time!!! I'm hoping we can get everything done! It's going to be a busy start to the new year!!!

We're Back!!!

We're back from our amazing wedding & "honeymoon"!!! We spent several days in Tampa, which were filled with numerous trips back and forth to the airport picking up friends and family. Let's just say Tampa traffic isn't very friendly and probably spent more time in traffic jams and getting lost with the crazy construction more than anything! None-the-less, everyone made it into town safely and we had a blast spending time with everyone!

Joe and I realized we have several different "generations" of friends who came out. Friends from high school, college and friends we've made here at UPT. Even though the military sometimes makes it tough to stay in touch with people over time, it's great to know we were able to have so many wonderful friends come all the way to join us for our special day! It meant a lot!!!

We had a wonderful dinner the night before with many of our guests followed by a fun night out on the town! Getting a group of friends together who haven't seen eachother in over a year in most cases makes for a great time!!! Although the next morning at 5:30am I think we might have slightly regretted how hard we partied and how late we stayed out. Nah, it was worth it!

The big day went by fast. Hair and make-up took up most of the early (very early) morning and I ran around like crazy making sure everyone was ok and ready to go, bags packed, hotel rooms checked out of, taxis ready and dealing with the slow valet service. My wedding planner was a little on the crazy side, and after handling a last minute crisis with the luggage full of wedding supplies being too big, everything else went smoothly.

The day was great, I had so much fun. I enjoyed sharing it with my friends and family and of course, it went by much too quickly. The food was great, far better than I expected and the reception I had been dreading went better than planned. As the wedding portion came to an end, we said our good-byes and were sad to see people leave, but at the same time we were so excited for our CRUISE!!!

Including ourselves, we had a total group of 10 people sailing. We had a GREAT time sailing all over the western caribbean together. December sailing was a little rough some days but overall I can't complain. It exceeded my expectations by far with the amazing food, great shows, beautiful weather, extremley friendly staff and the crazy excursions we went on!!!

In Grand Cayman we went snorkeling and swam with the sting rays. They were WAY bigger than I expected... probably 2-3 feet wide and were heavy!!! They felt like wet portabella mushrooms. They only slightly freaked me out, but what a cool experience!!! That day the waters were rough and I swallowed a bit too much salt water and was feeling sea sick so I skipped out on the coral reef snorkeling... which I heard was more of a work-out than anything else. Cozumel was beautiful, maybe my favorite place of all! We rock climbed, zip lined and snorkeled in the clearest blue water I've ever seen! Belize we went cave tubing, which was "refreshing" seeing that the water was only in the 70s. We went on a beautiful hike through the jungles and the caves were amazing!!! The saying for the day was "butts up!" because you didn't want to get your butt hit with rocks on the bottom of the water!!! Our last stop was the Roatan Island in Honduras and we decided for a relaxing day at one of their beautiful beaches. We snorkeled a bit but mainly just soaked up the 90 degree weather for all that it was worth.

We had a great VACATIONNNN (the karaoke guy screamed this about every 5 seconds and clearly became the saying for the trip). John was a Legend in the Legend Show, only 1 person got sick and had to be on isolation, we stuffed ourselves silly with far too much food, some money was made and some money was lost for some at the casinos, and great times were had with great friends!!!

Now it's crunch time to get things rolling for our upcoming move and the holidays!!! Speaking of which, I need to run!!! We have SO much to do!!!

It's here! Well, nearly!

The time has finally come! Thursday we're making the grueling 12-hour drive down to Tampa!!! I'm so excited, I can't wait to see everyone!!! Most of our friends and family will be coming in Friday and Saturday and we can't wait to spend some time with them! Many we haven't seen in years.

Sunday of course is the big day! Then we set sail on our one week cruise with some of our closest friends and family! It's going to be amazing! A lot of prep work has gone into all of this, and I think it's going to be a wonderful time.

Of course I'll post pictures as soon as I can!

Gobble Gobble

Joe came back last weekend and we packed up our stuff and headed to Huntsville to visit with my parents! Thanksgiving was great!!! I can honestly say I don't think I've ever felt so "full" and consumed so much food in such a short period of time!!! My mom cooked her amazingly yummy traditional Thanksgiving menu and boy, it was good! Let's just say a 20lb turkey for four people (okay, and three constantly begging pups) with all the other side dishes and three different pies... is a LOT of food! I'm not complaining though, I love home-cooked meals! I just hope I can still fit in my wedding dress...

Of course there wasn't a dull moment. To start the little "vacation" off, Kella ran away! She managed to push the big wooden gate open and run out. Of course, typically she's a lazy princess who just stares at you when you toss a ball for her to chase. But no, apparently when she's not attached to a leash and has no fences surrounding her, she some how summons up bundles of energy which in turn meant a 20 minute (which felt more like hours) chase through the neighborhood. Mind you, my parents new neighborhood which I am not familiar with! I was running through people's backyards and she managed to run so far I didn't really even know where I was. Exhausted and running in shoes not suitable for a full-on dog chase made me realize how out of shape I am! Hah. Anyway, needless to say a woman must have seen me running after my crazy dog and stepped outside to distract her long enough for me to snag her by the collar. Great! However, then it sunk in I had no way to get her back other than carrying her... and let's just say a 41lb dog after a good 20 minute full on chase is not the best combination. My arms felt like jell-o and I wanted to cry. I guess Joe and my mom finally realized I was no longer in the backyard and there were only two dogs instead of three... and finally came looking. Making it practically all the way back to the house, I ran into my mom and she had a leash so I could finally walk her back for the last 20 feet. UGH. Oh Kella...

I also have to admit during the break I decided to buy "Twilight" to see what all the buzz was about. Everyone I talked to assured me they didn't think they would like it but they love it and it wasn't the typical "vampire" storyline and that it was REALLY good. Let's just say in one night, I read over 200 pages and I am hooked. I'm already planning to make a trip to the bookstore this week to buy the other books from the series!!!

I think I can honestly say we have everything under control and taken care of for the wedding! The fun part now is packing out stuff, fitting it all in the car, and a nice long 12 hour car ride down to Tampa! I am in no way complaining though! I can not WAIT to see all my friends and family!!! It's a much needed break from Columbus, and I am so anxious! Just two weeks! However, until then Joe and I have a million and one things to take care of with the upcoming move. So if you don't hear from us, it's just because we're crazy busy!!!

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! For all our friends and family members coming to the wedding... we will see you soon! :)

Pre-Wedding Nightmares!

Okay for several weeks now I wake-up remembering the most vivid dreams... ok more like nightmares about things that go wrong with the wedding!!! Last night I dreamt about the wedding planner who is supposed to meet me at the port during check-in never showed up! I was completley lost on what to do and everything turned into a disaster! Also, the DJ refused to play any music I had picked out and was a total jerk!

Sure, it sounds silly but I keep running all these things through my mind that I want to make sure are covered to prevent any possible disasters! I'm hoping that for the most part, things go smoothly. I'm sure there will be a few bumps in the road, however if there aren't any major disappointments I'll be happy!!

It's less than a month now and I'm getting super anxious! Joe gets back this weekend (FINALLY) and we will be busy, busy, busy! We're also visiting my parents for Thanksgiving... mmmm home cooked food!!! I just need this week to hurry on by, but of course I'm sure it'll drag on forever.

Well, hopefully these crazy silly dreams stop and I can stop worrying about everything! I think I have most everything under control!!! I think....!

Time is flying!

I can't believe it's only one month until our wedding!!! I am getting more and more excited each day, and can't wait to see all our friends and family members. I know it will be a great weekend!!! I'm finishing up last minute details and hopefully everything will go smoothly. I drive myself crazy thinking about various situations and scenarios trying to make sure there are no loose ends!

Joe should have his last ride before his checkride next week. Which means, if all goes well and weather stays nice, he will be back by Thursday!!! It's a little surreal, he's been gone for four months and I've just gotten used to him being gone! Now I'm frantically trying to clean (not that I don't clean regularly) and get things ready! Both the computer room and guest room have been taken over by countless boxes full of wedding things and clothes already picked out for the cruise. You're probably thinking that's crazy to already have things ready to go, but when Joe gets back, we have a TON of things to get done for the move, Thanksgiving, and then a week and a half later we drive down to Tampa!!!

Aside from wedding plans, I've been trying to stay busy working, updating resumes, submitting applications to teach overseas, and going through our stuff so we don't end up packing and moving useless junk that needs to be thrown away. I'm always amazed at how much "stuff" I can accumulate in a years worth of time! It's pretty ridiculous. Time for another donation to the Thrift Store.

The pups have been great... I think they thoroughly enjoy me being home with them more during the day. I'm worried about having to board them for nearly two weeks while we're in FL and on the cruise, but there aren't really any other options. Oh and I don't think I posted Joe booked and confirmed our flight from Seattle to Japan with the dogs on a Space-A flight! That means, we don't have to pay $1,600 for the dogs to fly commercially which is GREAT! Apparently, to travel overseas on a commercial flight, it's $800 a pet... not the news I wanted to hear but was so thankful when Joe snagged two seats for us and the pups... so much relief. Now we just have to work with the travel people to book us another Space-A flight from here to Seattle... fingers crossed!

We're officially moving February 18th and boy, I have a feeling time is sure going to fly. I hope we have enough time to wedding plan, enjoy the wedding, unwind from the wedding, organize the house, pack the suitcases which I assume we will be living out of for a few months, clean the house and get the 100 other things on the AF check list we'll have to do in order to move. Let's just say, we are going to be busy, busy busy!!!

Weekend at "home"

This last weekend I went to Huntsville to visit with my parents. Although Huntsville is not really my "home", I'm used to considering wherever my parents are living "home"... must be a military thing. Anyway, it was beautiful weather! Who could complain with mid 70 degree weather in November?!
The pups had a great weekend running around enjoying the enormous backyard and playing with my parents pup, Brandy. I went to my final dress fitting and the dress fits perfectly! I took it home, but unfortunately with all the shopping I did with my parents over the weekend, didn't have enough space in the trunk to take it home. I'll pick it up over Thanksgiving.
I must admit I was spoiled! My mom made home-made stuffed shells and meatballs, and we went out to PFChangs and Macaroni Grill. Oh how I miss having more than a few restaurants to choose from! It was glorious and I'm still stuffed from all the good food.
Joe should be back in a few weeks... crossing my fingers and praying for good weather so he can stay on track! The wedding is a little over a month away and although I'm disappointed with the amount of people now not coming, it's out of our hands and we're thankful for the friends and family members who are coming. It's going to be a blast and I'm soooo excited to cruise with some of our best friends!
I put in my application to sub at the schools around town... fingerprints, background check and all the forms are completed and turned in so I can only hope they need lots of subs :) Wishful thinking never hurt right? That's about all going on here for now! Check back again for more updates and pictures.