Luggage & Traveling

The holiday season always seems to equate travel, so between that and our upcoming PCS, I would absolutely love to get my husband and I new luggage sets! It most likely won't happen considering we've already bought plane tickets and gifts so we're a little low on $$$, but hey, a girl can dream right? =)

Check out these:

Caribbean Joe - Coral Reed - 5 pieceI definitely wouldn't lose these at the airport!



CalPak - Palm Springs - 3 piece
I absolutely love brown and tropical flowers, so this set is awesome!



Traveler's Choice - Two-Toned Navy - 4 piece

My husband loves simple & navy blue, so these would be great for him.



Britto Collection - Spinner Case - 4 piece

Alright, so I absolutely love the randomness of these, however I'm not sure if I would ever own a hard case set. I've always had soft/expandable. Anyone have a preference?

Hope your holiday travels are everything you had dreamed of and your luggage doesn't let you down {or get lost along the way!} =)

Reasons Why...

We don't have children.

1. Obviously #1 is the fact we've only been married for a year.
2. I'm terrified of pregnancy/delivering. Yes, I'm serious. Does that make me a terrible woman?
   
3. We enjoy sleeping through the night... aka: not getting woken up at 12am, 3am, and 5:30am.
4. When you need to use the bathroom/shower there isn't banging and screaming coming from the other side of the door.
5. All of your breakable items (ie: candles, glass decorations, vases) don't have to take up all of the counter space in your tiny kitchen to avoid being broken.
6. We've never had to clean our nice TV- until we got sticky hand prints on it...
7. Weights are for working out, not dropping off the first stair onto the tile floor.
8. Guinea pigs nibble on fingers that smell/taste like food- which ensures screaming & crying.
9. We can actually find the remote control and it isn't covered in spit...
10. We can go where we want, when we want. Yeah it sounds selfish.

We love our little nephew. But whew... quite a handful! Now to figure out where everything is, so I can put my house back together...

Happy Thanksgiving

235th USMC Ball? Oops...

Uh, yeah... the ball was exactly two weeks ago (10th) and I managed to skip over telling you all about it! My apologies, although I know that most Marine Corps SO's will already know most of this.

Rumored to have been made by "Ace of Cakes."

To begin the ceremony the Honor Guard marched in followed by the special guests and guest of honor, then the Color Guard presented the flags. Afterwords the Chaplain offered a prayer for the group, the food, and the remembrance- I absolutely love that this is still part of the tradition, that prayer is still allowed, and at the number of "Amens" we heard all around the room. This year they paid a special tribute to the Korean Veterans with a video from the commandant... After the video the guest of honor spoke and then the cake was brought in, per tradition the first piece is cut with a sword then given to the guest of honor. A second piece is cut and given to the oldest Marine in the room- who then gives the piece to the youngest Marine (this year born in 1991! whoa!). When the cake detail left, the "Missing Man" table was presented and described. At this time the drummer and bagpiper came in... I did my best to hold back tears. I think bagpipes are the saddest yet most honorable instrument next to the trumpet for honoring those that have left us. Once the remembrance and formalities were completed dinner and dessert were served followed by dancing. It was a fun night, we won the glass pitcher centerpiece at our table, which has "235th Marine Corps Birthday Ball" and an EGA etched into it. We each received a bottle opener saying the same thing with Iwo Jima images on the back.

I'm the furthest one to your right.
{click to view larger}

USMC Ladies- *Please Look*

Hello ladies!
With Christmas literally right around the corner (can you believe Thanksgiving is on Thursday?!), product lines changing, and my upcoming PCS, I have decided to throw a HUGE sale on my remaining inventory. I'm sorry I only have USMC items in-stock still...

Check out these beauties:For prices and ordering information, please follow this link!

These make great gifts and are a fun & fashionable way to show support for your marine.
Or for female marines to show their pride while "off-duty."

*Note- if you are one of the women who find these bags distasteful please just close out my blog and don't leave nasty comments. To each their own. Thank you!

Fall Photo Contest, entry #4

This is my fourth entry to this contest. The sun finally came out here... I was so excited! This was taken at the playground in our community.

[click to view in higher resolution]

Please go here, view all the entries and vote for your favorite!

Veterans Stories - WINNER

Well... the votes are in!

--------------------------------------

--------------------------------------

Congratulations Lauren!
Everyone should go check out her blog:




An e-mail was sent your way lady =)

Lemon Fresh

I am beginning to think I have an obsession with lemon... although, it's been a long time coming... when I was little (like baby-toddler) I would take all of the lemons from the water glasses around the table and eat them straight up! No joke. =)

Lemon Pepper Chicken is a frequent dish at our house.

I have a "fresh lemon" candle in the kitchen.
I also have a citrus fresh reed diffuser in the kitchen.


Besides Coconut Lime Verbena, Kitchen Lemon hand sanitizer is usually in one of my purses/work bags.
I cannot get enough lemonade, regular, pink, mango... whatever. Lemon iced tea & Arnold Palmer's are also on the top of my list!! (I don't drink soda)
If these are not in the freezer... my husband may throw a fit. Which is perfectly fine with me, haha.
I am also pretty much addicted to any lemon-esque candy:



I found this recipe this afternoon, I am almost certain these cookies will be made by next week. #1- lemon, hello! #2- shortbread, I love shortbread cookies. {remember these shortbread truffles I made?}

Slice & Bake Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Basically:

So ladies...
Any fruit you are especially fond of?
Or am I just a total weirdo?

Monday: Pick-Me-Up

Okay I LOVE this (no pun intended)...[photo credit]

You could spell out anything you wanted...

The traditional "Live, Laugh, Love" or "Dream, Believe, Imagine" etc. You could also spell out your last name, or decorate a child's room with their name (or for a baby shower). So many possibilities!

I've been super crafty lately... there are so many felt flower hair clips & head-bands on my crafting desk it's pretty much ridiculous. One of my friends told me I should start selling them... maybe I will. =)

Fall Photo Contest, entry #3

This is my third entry to this contest (and I've yet to win...but it's okay, I love seeing everyone's photos). One of the schools I worked at decided they would like their class photos to be taken outside. I couldn't blame them with this beautiful scene for their background- yet again, it was a cloudy day... I miss the sun!

[click to view in higher resolution]

Please go here, view all the entries and vote for your favorite!

Veterans Day Stories - VOTE PLEASE!

All (3-I wish there had been more...) of the entries to the "Veterans Day Story Contest" are listed below (in order received)... grab a warm drink and read through them, I promise they are all worth it. Then please vote for your favorite one in the sidebar to the right! Thanks to all the participants, and thanks to all of you voters. Voting ends Wednesday November 17th.

1. Lauren @ Faith & Deployments
2. Megan @ The Liberato Lifestyle
3. Allie @ My Marine & Me
   

Happy Birthday

Happy 235th birthday...
Semper Fi,
Oorah,
Yut
...and all that. =)


In all seriousness... Thanks boys {and girls}!
Past, Present, & Future.
The USA wouldn't be the same without your service.

Monday: Pick-Me-Up

The school I worked at today had a Scholastic Book Fair... needless to say, I was super excited!

Check out my purchases:


"Sergio Salva el Partido," Mary Engelbreit's Fan Fare Cookbook, and "Guinea Dog." The two children's books are school market editions, which means you can only buy them in schools...

My sister would be proud =)
[Spanish Minor/Elementary Edu Major]

PS: Don't forget about the
Veterans Day Contest.
It ends Wednesday and we only have ONE entry =/

Shutterfly's Holiday Cards!

After getting married in late October last year, moving here, then traveling for Thanksgiving, the holiday season was quite a whirlwind and we never had time to send out Christmas cards to our family and friends... so this year will be our first year sending out a "family card." I want to find one that fits our personality and one that celebrates the true reason for the season. I plan on keeping one card in a book to document the years as they go by, eventually I hope to be able to sit down and look at the changes our family has gone through.

Shutterfly's card collection this year is amazing, not to mention HUGE! My top favorites are in the group of Religious Christmas Cards, I believe that Christmas is about Christ, not Santa... here is my favorite from that selection:

However, their Christmas Photo Card collection does not disappoint and I could add a verse in there as well... here is my favorite:

Their Flat Photo Cards definitely have the most options and designs! It was extremely hard to choose a favorite, so here are a couple that I loved:


So ladies,
Have you heard that bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? Follow the link to learn more...

I don't know about you, but this made me really excited!

Fall Photo Contest, entry #2

This is my second entry to the lovely Sarah's contest! I saw this bright red thing in the corner of my eye on the way to work one morning. Once I realized it was a tree I vowed to come back later that afternoon for photos! I'm sad it was a cloudy day, but I absolutely love the VIBRANT color =)

{click image to view in a larger size}

Please go here, view all the entries and vote for your favorite!

PS: Don't forget about the
Veterans Day Contest.

PCS tips?

Recently Amber & Mrs. S have posted some great info regarding moving... but...

I NEED YOUR ADVICE.

Yes,

YOU!

I have roughly (maybe? Oh Marine Corps...) a month before TMO will be coming, this is my first PCS (hubby had everything on the plane with him last time), and it will be over the ocean- so I've got a double whammy. We've got the car covered... but here is what I want to know from you:

• What are your tips for loose thing? (ie: pens/pencils/decorative beads etc.)
• Will they simply pack my remaining clothes in the dresser drawers?
• I have a lot of glass items- bake ware, pitchers, vases, etc... how is that dealt with?
• What are we responsible for providing (bubble wrap, boxes)?
• Anything else I didn't mention.

Alright seasoned PCS pros... please, please, please bestow your advice on me!

I want the nitty-gritty stuff... the stuff that only people who have done this before would know...

[click to enlarge]

THANK
YOU!
=)

PS: Don't forget about the
Veterans Day Contest.

Veterans Day - "Your" Story {contest}

Veterans Day-

A day for all Veterans...

to be remembered,
to be honored,
to be heard.

A day...

to share their stories,
to honor their friends left on foreign soil,
to shed a tear and raise a glass.

------------------------------------------------

The Department of Veterans Affairs made a great video for this year, check it out:

There is a TON of great information on the site as well, so be sure to check it out when you're done here.

------------------------------------------------

Personally...
I love helping out and volunteering, but mainly I love sitting down with Veterans. Most recently my family and I had the opportunity to visit the Marine Corps Museum- while we were there we took the WWII Iwo Jima Beach Landing Attraction, and at the end...

We met Private Franks, survivor of the Iwo Jima Landing! The picture of him storming the beach is the first thing you see when you exit the attraction, accompanied with maps and group photos of the 4th Marine Division (his). The story he told us was amazing and heart wrenching. Loading the amphibious landing boat, storming the beach, his feelings during war, by the end of his story we had learned he was the only survivor from his platoon, the only one! Imagine living through that, he volunteers at the museum. He shares his story to be a living testimony to those who fought for us that fateful day.

I simply cannot get enough of stories like that. Men & women who lived through history, lived through tragedy, and overcame the impossible!

It makes me miss my grandpa so much, he would never talk about his experiences from WWII, I do understand why though- he was blown out of a fox-hole and knocked unconscious for a week, his buddy on the right lost both legs, the other was simply not there after wards. He was away from my grandma for 2yrs+, when he returned my uncle was almost 2yrs old! I wish he were still here. I wish she was still here. They were amazing people. They would have loved my husband.

------------------------------------------------

I want to hear your stories.
Who has made an impact on your life with their story?
Grandparents, Parents, Aunts/Uncles, Siblings.
Share your Veterans story with us.

I'll even throw in a "prize"
Vintage WWII Post cards from the Women's Memorial... at Arlington Cemetery.

"RULES"

1. Please write your Veterans' Story as a blog post and link it back to this post... via:
   
   <br /><center><a href="http://skinniepiggie.blogspot.com/2010/11/veterans-day-your-story-contest.html" target="blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xJ5KpuFnHzELRbYD42kPZ66bWo6HNes7kbDN6jJnLjKt3dp_g1PM_PtS2pZ0PhcV_o-7XBVOv-FEzeb7dheyaIjSBrbldE_rSsQzrHW8mRXIQbpYSvNxt-rVXwIWRUORtHWgDl3P2gW6/s1600/vdaystories.jpg" /></a></center>
   
   
2. Please make sure to comment this post telling me you've entered.
   
3. The contest will close at 12 midnight (EST) on November 11th, 2010.
4. All of the entries will then be posted in a new blog entry for voting to begin.
5. Voting will go until Wednesday November 17th, 2010.
6. Thursday November 18th, 2010 a winner will be announced.

I really hope people will "enter" this contest, I want to hear your stories- rather their stories through you.

Give the Veterans a 2nd voice.
Help them be heard.

Monday: Pick-Me-Up

A little cuteness for you on this post-halloween Monday:

The boys sporting their homemade costumes.

Beans as "Super-Pig!"

Twix as a "Pig-O-Lantern"

I hope everyone stayed SAFE, had FUN, and ENJOYED their weekend candy & costume filled or not. =)