Monday: Pick-Me-Up

Hey everyone...
I'll have some news regarding our orders for you soon, let me say our current location is sending 16 marines all over the place at a very fast pace. I asked hubs what was going on and he said at the moment all the spaces being filled are fulfilling the Marine Corps greatest need. Some people are shocked, others plans are being ruined, some have unaccompanied orders, and most of the guys were suppose to deploy rather than PCS (hubs included). So Marine Corps... it really is a love/hate relationship.

Anyway... this is suppose to be a PICK-ME-UP! So... last week in the middle of the craziness, hubs celebrated his birthday. I wanted to see him smile rather than just worry about orders & his marines... so, while he was in the shower, I set this up for him to see on his way out to work...

Ladies- I am NOT a morning person. Needless to say, he came back upstairs, just as I was getting all cozy again to catch a couple more hours of sleep, and told me how sweet it was.

What kind of surprises have you done for your man lately? =)

1 month's notice... YIKES!

As I write this (because it will be posted later-need hubby's permission...) it is 12:48am...

I laid down with hubby around 10pm, cuddled, read a little, turned out the lights. Around 12 I couldn't handle tossing and turning... so what did I do? I painted my toenails teal. Yeah, random. Then I made a list of things I need to get done around the house, errands that need to be run, and projects that need to be finished. So... semi-productive.

I had a job interview earlier this week. It went amazingly well, I'm pretty much just waiting for the call saying "you're in, training begins on..."

Only to tell them- "I'm sorry, I won't be able to take the position."

Why? Well, the very next day (ie: why I can't sleep and am awake writing this)- I kid you not this happened:

I'm finishing up a batch of blueberry muffins for a bake sale my friend is hosting, hubs walks storms in at 3pm, way early for him to get home. Drops everything in his hands either at the front door or on the kitchen table, then proceeds to open the fridge, crack open a beer, and starts drinking before he even acknowledges me standing right there in front of him putting muffins in ziplock baggies.

Me- I take it today was rough?
Him- Do you want the good news or bad news?
Me- Bad first.
Him- We might be moving soon.
Me- How soon?
Him- My orders say October...*
Me- Oh. The good news?
Him- We got the duty station we wanted...
Me- How on earth are we suppose to prepare for that in a month?**
Him- Yeah...about that...

*We were suppose to be here until next July (2011), this move is 9mo-10mo early
**This duty station requires putting everything we own on a boat... usually you are suppose to send your item 1-3mo in advance. TMO only pays for 1 car, which means I need to sell mine.

We'll see if the Marine Corps is telling the truth soon enough... and if they are... we're in for one heck of a month!

This will be my first military PCS... when we got married I flew/drove my things here. Any advice from all of you seasoned veterans? What should I pack myself (not trust TMO with), since we have to fly to this duty station we'll only have 2 bags each. How do you organize before TMO comes to your house? Any tips, tricks, special precautions?

ALSO- has anyone flown with guinea pigs before, which airline did you use? It's going to absolutely DEVASTATE me if we have to give our fur-babies away =/ *yes they are allowed where we are going, I just haven't found an airline that will fly them...

Make a sign, snap a photo!

Hey everyone!
Have you heard about Operation Shower?No? Well... check it out.

ANYWAY.
They need us. Yes, you!
Their next massive shower theme is:
"A Star is Born"
it is being hosted at Walter Reed.

Now, where do we come it?
They want to have an opening premiere video!
They are requesting anyone to write a
note of what we feel military mothers are
hold it up and take a photo, then....
POST IT HERE.
or email it to - amy@operationshower.org

Read more info HERE.

HURRY ALL PHOTOS MUST BE RECEIVED BY
THIS THURSDAY, AUGUST 26th!

Monday: Pick-Me-Up

What could be a better "pick-me-up? than...

ENTERING TO WIN $50?

I'm still surprised that out of 123 followers...
Only 21 people have entered.
(7 aren't even followers... so technically...
ONLY 14 of you entered)

If giveaways aren't your deal... maybe cooking/baking is?

I found this AMAZING recipe website. You know Red Lobster's Garlic Cheddar Biscuits? Well... now you can make them at home... no joke, I actually tried the recipe- delicious!

Love dishes from T.G.I.Fridays, Denny's, Wendy's, Outback Steakhouse... she's got them!

>CopyKat Recipes.

Enjoy! =)

Living out of a suitcase...

I have been cleaning up the files on my computer, making sure I have all of the photos backed-up on my external hard drive, etc. Well I ran across my pictures from studying abroad in New Zealand and Australia...

Thoughts:

1. I absolutely miss both of those countries, although New Zealand will always be the winner in the epic Kiwi vs. Aussie battle... I just love their culture, openness, and the beautiful scenery.
   
   
2. Oddly, I miss the simplicity of life during my time overseas...
   
   • Yes, I had class & mandatory field trips BUT everything else was done on my own time
   • NO cellphone!
   • Walking the city or taking the bus allowed me to really take in the things around me
   • Living out of a suitcase- EVERYTHING I had traveled with me, and all my souvenirs had to fit. It made life very simple, compact, and you knew what was important.
   • Everyone I knew lived in the same building, if you wanted to see if they could hang out- you knocked on their door. No phone call, no texting... face-to-face interaction.
     
     
3. Meeting new people, experiencing new foods (yes, I even ate Kangaroo!), and learning more about myself - and loving who I was then (sadly, I feel as though in the past 3yrs I've lost some of that girl...)
   

Here are a few shots from my time there [click to view full size]...

Sydney Opera House

Feeding a Wallaby

New Zealand Memorial built for American troops who fought by their side and died during WWII

Overlooking the main harbor near Auckland, NZ

Yes, that is a real lamb. (they are super oily!)

Would you guys like to hear more about my time there & see more photos?
IF YES.
What would you like to know?

God Bless America vs. Take Me Out to the Ballgame

This past weekend my boys (AZ Diamondbacks) were playing the Washington Nationals... of course I had to go to at least ONE game, so off to DC...

I liked:

• The ballpark, it was really nice!
• $17.00 seats gave us a nice view =)
  
• I got to see my boys play, even if I went on a day they lost...
• It stopped raining which ultimately led us to attend, we missed the first inning but whatever!

I didn't like:

• The fact that some idiots decided to run across the field during the middle of the 6th inning protesting SB1070...it's a baseball game, leave politics out of it!
• The fact that during the 7th inning stretch not one person besides us sang along with "God Bless America" yet, everyone sang "Take me out to the ballgame." Seriously?! Washington DC, the capitol of the United States of America... and no one would sing a patriotic song? I was heated.

So... what is your favorite baseball team?
Is the team from your hometown?
Have you got to see them play since you moved?

Monday: Pick-Me-Up

I slept for a loooong time last night. Not straight thru though, that hasn't happened in awhile. I know that's not normal either, it doesn't allow for REM. I don't know what the heck was up with my body, but evidently this is what it needed...

7:30-9:45pm (fell asleep downstairs on the couch, got a few things done before I actually went to bed)
11-2am (woke up because my guinea pig was screaming at the top of his little lungs... "napped" with him on the futon until he woke up and attempted to jump off the futon)
2:30-7:45am (finally back in my comfy bed, my alarm went off, I ignored it)
7:50-10am (evidently my time to get up was 10?)

Either way. That's roughly 13ish hours of sleep!

I thought a few comics about sleep might give you a laugh, to help start your week...click to view them full size!:

This is SO true! source.

Haha... oh the irony. source.

Oh man. If I ever get THIS addicted to blogging...
one of you better do something about it! source.

{Giveaway - $50 to CSN!} --- CLOSED!

With such a little kitchen and dining room I often find myself looking for cute & inexpensive was to expand my "space."

Adding a utility cart would definitely add counter/storage space...


I love this cute etagere (don't worry I had to dictionary.com it too!) it could hold a lot of the "knick-knacks" taking up precious counter space in the kitchen!


We have an over-hang on our pass-thru counter... and these stools would be perfect for grabbing a quick breakfast there in the morning!

Now on to the whole reason
I'm sure you clicked on this blog entry!

CSNstores.com has generously offered one of you a $50.00(US) electronic gift certificate to use on ANY thing they sell in their 200+ stores! (does not include S&H-look for items with free s&h)

What can you get with $50?
Well, for $40 I got all of this.

Now for the rules - you DO NOT have to be a follower of my blog, please make sure there is an e-mail address for me to contact you either in your comment/on your blog:

1. For one (1) entry comment saying what you would put your $50.00 towards.
2. For one (1) entry post about this giveaway on your blog, comment with the link to your blog post.

So, you can have two (2) entries (remember 2 separate comments)! The winner will be chosen at random and announced on September 2nd. You have until 12 noon, September 1st to enter.

Identity Crisis?

So at the moment I am curled up in my chair, wearing my work-out clothes. I want/need to work out but with the business of the past two days I didn't get a chance... and today when I finally plan it, what happens? My stomach turns on me! I hate when it churns and hurts like this for no apparent reason. So, I decided to sit down and write.

First, I wrote this week's session of Fireproofing Your Marriage over at SPA Diaries. If you are engaged, newly married, married for 5yrs or 50yrs... I promise this study is for you. It was so interesting and useful for my husband and I to do in our Young Marrieds' class, give it a shot. All of the sessions can be found in the right-hand sidebar or by clicking the Past Studies link in the top navigation bar.


Second, the title of this post. I feel as though I'm having an online-identity crisis. You know me as Skinnie Piggie/SP (some know my first name via guest posts or blog swaps... thanks for not sharing) and it will stay that way. After the whole OPSEC fiasco the Military Blogging World went through, I ran a personal checklist:

1. My first name, his first name, our last name <-- not on here
2. Our duty location <-- not on here, however general area is
3. Photos of us <-- yes, however his name is not seen on any uniform photo

Then I asked him about the photos... he said it was fine, but not to over do it... and not to announce any promotions (at least the rank) or awards he earned. Which I understand. I feel as if I live in a dual world... anonymous but not. Does that make any sense to you all? I have a facebook/personal blog for my family and "real"-life friends... sometimes on my personal blog I double the stories I tell here, obviously just with more details and names, and it just feels awkward, when it shouldn't. That is my private space, this is my public space.

Third, I want to help people. Share experiences, have discussions, etc. I haven't posted anything substantial lately because I don't feel like anything I share will be well received. Stupid? Maybe. However... my follower's section says I have 119 people with me on their list. 119 people that click on my blog, maybe skim and entry, and then just leave. I'm guilty of doing that too... but, I do make an effort to comment on entries when I can.

Who are you?
Why do you/did you decide to read my blog?
or...
Why did you stop?


{GIVEAWAY in the works... here's to hoping it doesn't fall thru!}

Monday: Pick-Me-Up

They're baaaaaaaack!

I told you my little bundles of poop would be back.
Alright, so not in those exact words...
But, here they are:



Beans is a little more adventurous than his brother. I love how they make themselves like mini-torpedoes! [flat bodies + ears back... so cute!]

So, did you know that guinea pigs were good swimmers?

CSN Stores Review

Awhile ago I was contacted by a representative from CSN, do you remember this post? It's what they require in order to do a product review, a form of "pre-review" to make sure you'll hold up your end of the deal...

So, here I am! Reviewing CSNstores.com.

With our gift cards from doing the pre-review my husband and I finally ditched our nasty vinyl shower curtain for a 100% cotton shower curtain and totally cute hooks!

Here they are, making our bathroom look beachy!

We also opted for a balance board, which is really fun. You can get a nice work-out by doing lunges, squats, tricep holds and leg raises.

Yeah...ignore my white legs!

I had a great experience with CSNstores.com

• creating an account was easy
• ordering was easy
• they sent me confirmation e-mails for each item with tracking numbers
• all of my items arrived 2-3 days earlier than estimated!

The only thing I thought was weird was each item was shipped individually, as in - own box, own shipping label, own shipping cost. I know that each item I ordered came from a different CSN Store, so they must each have their own warehouse. I just felt bad that so much packaging was used for my items.

All in all... I completely recommend ordering from CSNstores.com!

No cable+crafting bug=

This:

[Click on image to view full size!]

• 5 tag-along plushies
• 1 custom framed art piece
• 1 mosaic cross
• 3 felt flower hair clips

The cross is hanging on our bedroom wall.
The hair clips I will use.

What on earth am I going to do with the rest?
Anyone interested in purchasing a plushie (or hair clips-I really like making them)...
I made some for my friend's daughters and they loved them!
Let me know =)

Whoa! 2 features in one week...

So not only was I a guest blogger, but my interview for Semper Gumby was also featured this week!

I am totally feeling like a Celeb.

Kidding. Kind of.
This picture was taken at a Vegas themed birthday party in 2007.


Okay... enough of talking myself up...
Check out the interview here!Thanks Reina for giving me this opportunity.
Let me know when you're settled in and we'll work on that "real" life thing you mentioned! =)

In all honesty... I hope my story gives others hope in long distance relationships. I for one did not believe in them... but when you meet someone that you can't imagine living your life without... your perspectives change!

Monday: Pick-Me-Up

Ladies!!!

The beautiful Mrs. S contacted me last week wondering if I would be interested in posting a guest blog for her...

Um, yes!

So just in case you haven't visited her blog today, check out my post:

Home is where the heart is.

Thanks for reading ladies!

Have a wonderful day =)