All about us!

I'm interrupting the regularly scheduled update for a more lighthearted post, but before we get to that, there are a few housekeeping things to take care of: As you read from my last post all my widgets were deleted :( very sad, which means that all the blogs I had on my sidebar are gone... more sad... so if you would please, leave a comment so I can have you all in one place and can add the blog back to the side bar! It will help me remember :). Even if you weren't on there before, heck even if you're new, leave a comment and I'll add you up there! It's much easier to get to the blogs to read them when they're, ya know... linked. Muchas Gracias!!

I found this on Just a Girlfriend is Just Fine With Me and thought it was super cute, so here's a fun little survey to learn a little more about us!

What are your middle names?
Well... I try and keep names on here non-existent or make believe so we'll do initials. My middle name starts with a J (See where the KJ comes from?) and Sgt's middle name starts with a P!

How long have you been together?
We've been something for a little over two years :)

Who asked whom out?
He asked me out. First he asked me to meet him for coffee but I couldn't, then he asked me if he could come down and take me on a date. The rest, as they say, is history!

How old are each of you?
Early twenties. Although Sgt. is 4 years older than me... a fact that is fun to play with sometimes ;). Don't worry honey, you're not old... you won't be old for a very very long time.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
mm... mine I suppose, although we don't see many of our siblings often overall. Sgt's siblings both live in different states than him, and mine live a few hours away. In a couple weeks we'll be far from them all.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
I suppose the thing that challenged us most as a couple is how we fight... our styles are almost polar so it's taken a lot for us to adjust to the other persons style... although I will say this, he has done WONDERFUL at this, I have a problem with holding stuff in to avoid an argument but he's so good at picking up on when I'm upset and has figured out how to get me to talk about it without making me feel forced. I wouldn't say I've done nearly as well as he has in that department, but I'm hoping I've made some progress!

Did you go to the same school?
We didn't. Grew up in different states!

Who is smarter?
We are both smart in different ways. Both of us can offer something to the table which is wonderful.

Who is the most sensitive?
*raises hand* that would be me.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?

We don't eat out a whole lot because we both love to cook and enjoy eating at home, even when we're visiting family. But we are fans of a wing joint in Tennessee called Toots! Although, we've ordered to go from there more than we go in to sit down :).

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Vermont over Christmas time. We're hoping to go on a fun vacation together sometime soon (and I say soon as in the next year) though... which reminds me.. I really need to get my passport. I know, I know... I'm the only person in the world over the age of 18 without a passport.

Who has the worst temper?
He does. Although he's not one to flip out over little things, but when he gets mad... he gets reallllly mad.

Who does the cooking?
We both do :). He's an amazing cook and I'm not bad, if I do say so myself! It's a fun way for us to spend time together and do something nice for each other.

Who is the neat-freak?
Depends on who you ask. If you ask Me, I'd say we're on a pretty even field. If you ask Sgt. he will tell you that I am definitely the neat-freak and then he will tell you how I iron sheets. We both like to keep things picked up, we both hate leaving dishes in the sink overnight, we both don't like clutter (even though we're pack rats...) so we tend to keep things clean. Neither of us is a spaz about it though.

Who is more stubborn?
That would be him. (I love you!)

Who hogs the bed?

Neither of us. We like to sleep close together for the most part, there have been a few times I've woken up in the middle of the night and we're sleeping really far apart but neither of us takes up a whole lot of space and I never feel like I don't have enough room. The blankets however... are a different story (remember how I said I woke up and we were far apart?)

Who wakes up earlier?
On a daily basis, he does, but only because he has to. I am the morning person of the two of us. I can hop out of bed first alarm. He is a 4X snoozer. He sleeps like a rock.

Where was your first date?

Bonzai sushi and the El Diablo tattoo parlor. :)

Who is more jealous?
Meeeee.

Who eats more?

Sgt. will eat more in one sitting than me, I have the classic "eyes-bigger-than-stomach" illness, but I'm convinced I snack more throughout the day than he does. And he eats a fairly small breakfast and lunch.

Who does the laundry?
We both do laundry since we both live on our own, but when we're together I try and keep up with the laundry. He doesn't mind doing it, I just tend to do it while cleaning.

Who’s better with the computer?

Him. Him. Him. I'm still not sure how many rams are enough and what is a good amount of gigabytes... if they're even still called that. I'm amazed I can even turn one on and use it.

Who drives when you are together?
He does usually. On road trips in MY car, we take turns. On road trips in HIS car... (which in fairness we've only done twice) he drives and around town he drives. Really, it's a good thing, he's a much safer driver than I am lol.

Oh No!

I lost all my widgets :(

Please, lets have a moment of silence for all of the annoyance it will cause me to put them back up.

I'm glad my other background is gone though!

17 days

17 days to go until the move!

Packing has begun... and I swear I did not know that there was that much dust on my bookshelf! Also, those huge ziplock storage bags are awesome, I totally recommend them.

In other news, my cousin's wife was sent home on hospice care Friday. I went to see my family this weekend and it was all very sad. She's just 27 years old... young, newly married... but she has been sick for a long time so I think it was harder watching my cousin watch his wife. It made me appreciate all the little moments I have had with Sgt. and all the ones I have to look forward to, even more. She is still hanging in there but we know it won't be long now so please say a prayer for my family if you have some room.

This is my last Monday at work... I can hardly believe it. A four year chapter is being closed here on Friday and as I told Sgt. this morning... I'm ok with it. I will miss them, they are my family, I love this place and it will always be a part of me, the experiences I have shared here were both small and large but no less a part of the story than anything else. I'm sure the sadness will hit next week sometime but it all feels right. It feels like the right time, going to the right place, leaving on a good note, and I'm so excited for the new experience ahead of me! So, watch out Tennessee, here I come!

It's funny how after returning from my long weekend with Sgt. over Valentines day, I suddenly felt like a visitor here. Not quite a visitor, it was familiar... and I fit in, I looked like the natives... but at some point over that weekend "Home" transferred for me. It was our apartment with the tough box furniture (save for another post, but honey, don't worry, I love you and there is absolutely nothing wrong with tough box furniture..... for now) and the comfy couch big and soft enough for two. Our kitchen with that large bakers rack and the dry erase board on the fridge that lists "Ketcup" among the other need-to-get items from the store. It was him, there when I woke up in the morning and hearing him sneak up behind me with a cup of coffee in his hand. Him playing video games with me and feeding me the dreaded orange gummie bears when I walked into a wall on said video game. I missed home... and in just a short 17 days, I'll be back!

Things are crazy busy right now and probably won't slow down so the blogging will be in and out but I'll do my best to keep you all updated! Until then, I'll be the girl with the huge smile on my face purchasing bubble wrap at the store :).

Tennessee or Ten-i-see?

I'm determined to get back on to the blogging horse. The Mrs. was right when she said it's hard when you've been away for a while!

I finally quit the unglamorous second job (Linds, nights are free again! Drinks, dinner?) and feel a huge weight off my shoulders. I was going to wait until a week before the move but after going back and forth about it, I decided the small amount of extra money it would give me was not worth my sanity. Hopefully having nights free again will also allow for more blog time seeing as I'm not working 14 hours a day anymore.

Right now I'm in Tennessee, the place that will soon become home, which is certainly a nice thought :). I was driving through the small town I live in the other day. It's like a lot of small towns, two stop lights, the local lumber yard and hardware store advertises the high school events on it's marquee. We have one restaurant you've ever heard of. Everything else has been passed down through families or built up by those who have finally saved enough money. We serve a lot of Mexican food in my little town. We have a small lake to the left as you're driving out to my house. The lake was just emptied for the first time in 15 years so that everyone could repair and rebuild their property along the lake. Small town gossip reports that Mr. Greedy pants built a ten foot extension onto his land and, oops!, built it onto his neighbors property so the next time they drain the lake (in the next 15 years) he'll have to tear it down. It's the kind of small town where the local gas station still does charge accounts.

These are the things I will surely miss about this place.

I suppose you notice things like that more often when you're preparing to leave. And, while I have no hesitation in the decision I've made, an ending is always a little sad.

Seems to be more than a fair trade though. Two stop lights for him. As the spring is starting to approach it's easy to remember all of the excitement of last year. Preparing for him to come home on leave, hearing about Green to Gold, him finally coming home for good. A year goes by so fast yet so many things change, it's sort of exciting to see! Makes a person wonder what all could change in the year ahead. A year ago on Valentines day (and you can read the post from that day last year as well) Sgt. had just come back in and I was finally able to talk to him after nearly two weeks. Now, here he is, sitting behind me on the couch reading.

Last night we went out to dinner and he surprised me by taking the evening off from work :), a year ago, taking a day off from work was impossible and being together was even more of a stretch.

I remember last February becoming more anticipatory of his leave. We hadn't seen each other in a year... what would be different? (and his leave was still 3 months off!) And now, in just 3 weeks I'll hang clothes in the closet and clutter the bathroom counter with too many beauty products I hardly use.

A year ago I was in the same small town with the same two stop lights, and soon enough I'll be in a new town, on a different adventure, yet with the same person. So like I said, it's a fair trade, the two stop lights, for him.

Happy Valentines day everyone!

So I was just thinking....

(anyone remember that episode of Everybody Loves Raymond? No?)

So I was just thinking...

That I need boxes, but I'm too cheap to pay for them, and I don't need many, just a few. What I really need are those ginormous zip lock bags that you use to store blankets and stuff in! Hmm... Wally world?

That I have a problem. A, I love looking at furniture and day dreaming, problem.

That it's single digits until my last "Visit" to Tennessee.... after that it'll be Home! :)

That Sgt. is one of the most encouraging and calming people in my life. Stress for me sort of becomes a boiling pot... and unattended to will boil over into other areas of my life. But he has an incredible way of letting me know everything will be ok, and that I need not worry so much about the micro details, they will come together. It's nice to be able to count on him for that, and I can only hope that I do the same for him.

(warning: rant) That trying to use a Spanish accent while speaking English to Spanish speakers does not make them understand you better, you just sound like an idiot. Now, I'm a Texan, and while I don't claim to be bilingual, I can get by, and I can EVEN appreciate a little spanglish from time to time. Ex. Yo necessito mas storage bags. and yes, a decent accent when speaking the Spanish language is welcome, just like any other foreign language.... but putting a Spanish accent in your mouth while speaking in complete English is STUPID. STOP. YOU'RE DRIVING ME NUTS.

That I'm going to miss this place... but leaving on a good note and while still in love with it is the ultimate reward and I am so incredibly excited about the future.

That I really hope he can go to the Sapper school this summer! Cause I know how much he'd like to, which makes it important to me.

That I'd like to go see an old high school teacher before I move.

That it's actually probably a good thing I'm not going to the rotc ball with him this year. Even though I really enjoy the events and getting to meet the other people he works with and their significant others (networking anyone?).. trying to coordinate getting back up there and yet again trying to figure out exactly what does "formal" mean, in this case for freshman in college.... Prom dress? Eww. all whilst trying to tie everything up back here in order to move... yeah, it's better this way. We can go together next year. Plus he is going to be one of the people in charge of putting it all together and he'll be working the whole time so it's better this way :).

That motivating myself to run at the butt crack of dawn when it's cold is difficult... but I'm working on it.

That I wish it was Friday already!!

& last but not least... I'm really blessed. Really, really.