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.

Schnookies... aka... Brody!

This is a little video of Brody. I had just gotten home from quitting my job... long story for those of you who don't know about it... and I literally threw all my teaching junk in the kitchen. Well the red little bouncy ball fell from the mountains of stuff, and Brody claimed it as his... I'm amazed it didn't pop! He definitely brightened my day... he's just so cute!!!

Pumpkins!

I finally uploaded a few pictures I had on my camera. Because I don't trust myself enough to carve pumpkins, I opted to paint a few instead. I'm not even going to be around for Halloween, but I couldn't resist putting a few cute little pumpkins outside. I thought they turned out pretty good!

Time is flying

I can't believe it's the end of October... where is the year going!? Not that I'm complaining, it means we're just that much closer to Joe being finished with his follow-in training in Altus, closer to our wedding/cruise, and closer to moving to Japan!!!! I'm so excited... I wish November would hurry up so the fun can begin!

Things here are looking up. A handful of people are back in town from trainings so it's been nice to hang out with people. Joe got news if weather stays nice, they could finish as early as mid November... which would beat the predicted after Thanksgiving time frame.

We're getting more and more RSVPs in the mail and we're so excited so many friends and family members are going to be able to make it! I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone... it's been too long!

I've been busy trying to keep up with a workout routine... jogging with the dogs and going to the gym, but it's tough, especially now that's it's getting cold outside. I'd rather stay bundled up on the couch with a book! Which by the way, I can't seem to get enough reading in... I've gone through 3 books in the last two weeks and I'm pretty sure the people at the book store know me by name (kidding... I hope).

The pups are still being little rascals with secretly digging when they think I'm not around. I spy on them through the blinds and it's funny... they really ARE like little kids. I caught Brody taking a peek at the back door to double check I wasn't there. Little did he know I was watching his every move through the window. After he thought the coast was clear... he immediately began to dig... and I immediately ran outsite with the water bottle to chase him away. One day they'll learn...

I'm hoping the week goes by quickly. I'm going to a substitute teaching orientation, working at Sylvan a few days and then packing up and heading to Huntsville to visit my parents for the weekend. I'm excited for my final dress fitting! Every time I try it on I think I fall more in love with it!!! I can't wait to wear it down the aisle!

Okay, enough babbling... I should throw in some laundry and get ready for work. Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!