Monday, October 31, 2011

Monday: Pick-Me-Up

What a busy weekend... Friday I volunteered to face paint once again for the battalion's hauntedt house. Then on Saturday, we threw a BBQ at our house for the 30 guys (+families) that my husband will be deploying with. Finally Sunday we went to church and attended a Halloween Party/BBQ. I was a sushi roll and my hubby, a sushi chef, it was fun and everyone thought it was creative! Needless to say I am wiped out, I need a "weekend after my weekend!" Good thing my job is super flexible and on my time schedule. Today will be spent cleaning, doing laundry, and hopefully relaxing/napping. My tummy didn't like having so much junk food two days in a row, I didn't get much sleep last night.

I went to check the mail (since we forgot to on Saturday) and this little orange envelope caught my eye. Inside was a fun little card and this:

Pretty green bracelet!

It's from one of the ladies from my family's church back in AZ. She is a long-time milspouse and just wanted to send something "bright and cheerful" my way! How awesome is that?

Have you had any good surprises lately?


Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Mom& Dad came to town...

Mom & Dad came to visit... so we showed them the sights, sounds, local flavors, and of course the beaches! It was refreshing having my mom around, not just for the fact that she cooked and cleaned despite my attempts to remind her that she was on vacation in my home, moms... =)  My dad always makes me more adventurous when hanging out with him, within 25min of learning to stand-up on a SUP in the calm waters he had me out navigating and catching waves! We also visited Pearl Harbor for some historic tourism and hit up the local swap meet.

The boat ride back from the USS Arizona Memorial

My dad and I going out for the very first time on the SUPs

Saying goodbye was hard, always is. It had been almost 8mo since seeing them... between all the moving, being sick, and having anxiety it's been quite a ride. I love my parents and I hope that we can remedy the large gaps of time between visits-too bad plane tickets cost so much!



Monday, October 24, 2011

Monday: Pick-Me-Up

Despite fighting off an icky stomach bug... I have a lot to be excited about on this Monday...

  1. Celebrating (even if we're apart) 2yrs of marriage!
  2. Meeting two bloggers at the spouses conference! Don't worry, I'll blog about it soon.
  3. Starting my new job!
  4. The opportunity to win $100 from Our Military Home!!! No joke, check out her awesome review of "Apartment Guide's: Military Housing: Home Base in Any Place," and enter the giveaway... or don't, you know, so I have a better chance at winning. =P
  5. This little gem:
{source+}

How are you starting off this new week?

Friday, October 21, 2011

fluffy pillows and cozy sheets

Honestly nothing about this past week has been all THAT crazy... we said goodbye to my parents on Sunday (I'll do a short re-cap on their visit in a few days), Monday I had a planning meeting with the FRO, took homecoming photos for an Afghanistan detachment, then attended/photographed the women's worship night at my church. Tuesday I cleaned the house and ran errands. Wednesday I attended a fire marshall brief that is required for living in base housing and took my new beach cruiser for a ride around base. Thursday I went to my women's Bible study then drove all over the island looking for face paint.

Today I got up early for a job interview (I got it!) and since then have been baking fall goodies to sell at tonight's event... our battalion is holding a haunted house. I will have nothing to do with it, I can't handle scary stuff, so when I mentioned that I could paint kids' faces they decided to make a children's area at the event. So... 3 dozen pumpkin spice cookies and 2 dozen fall themed sugar cookies later, I'm tired. And... still have to paint faces tonight...

Now that I think about it... I've been tired the ENTIRE week. In the beginning I thought I was emotionally drained from saying goodbye to my parents (I hadn't seen them in almost 8mo). But, then we added the funky weather we've been having... humid, sticky, cloudy, gray, rainy... but still warm. At any rate, hubby and I were in bed at 8pm last night and asleep by 9pm! Unheard of for me... I am a night owl! I only go to bed early if I'm sick. =/

I woke up 3 times last night and each time I felt like the entire room was spinning, I don't know if it's pressure in my sinuses or not but it was scary. I've had a headache for the past two nights so that would be my guess. I will be painting faces tonight because I volunteered to do so. But honestly, I just want my pillow, sheets, and husband. *sigh*





I hope to meet/see some of you at the joint spouses conference tomorrow...
If you see me, please say hi!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Shutterfly!!!

I'm not going to lie, I love shutterfly... last year they offered free holiday cards to bloggers and I was chosen to be a recipient. I am lucky enough to say that I am again this year! They also offer awesome deals all year long once you have an account, I've gotten up to 40% off photo books, free shipping, and even free everyday greeting cards. They usually do a deal on free prints once a year as well.

Being in Hawaii, I want to have a "tropical" card to send our friends and family this year... here are my top choices:




{All of the above came from the "Christmas Cards" Selection.}


I can't wait to get our photos taken and be able to design my cards (I guess I need to get on the ball!)... I am also excited to create some awesome photo gifts for my parents and in-laws! They make such great gifts for "those who have everything," plus they are so much more personalized than that spa basket or box of golf balls. =P

So thanks shutterfly... for helping me keep my memories and pass them along as well.





*This is a sponsored post.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Monday: Pick-Me-Up

A few weeks ago (or maybe more, time is spinning out of control very quickly in our home with the looming travels/deployment) the wonderful  Tay from Our Military Home threw a contest for home made pumpkin frames. I WON ONE!

Our Military Home


We have a small "landing" next to the stairs and usually the mail gets thrown on top, along with my husband's notebooks, our Bibles, etc. Which is why we call it the "landing" because everything seems to land there! However, it is also a place for our wedding stuff, it's kind of cool to see it as you walk into our home.

Now, you get to see it decorated for Halloween...
Isn't the pumpkin frame she made so cute!?
As you can tell... I'm NOT into scary halloween decor... bring on the oranges, purples, neon greens, cute jack-o-lanterns, and Peanuts Halloween items. I also take down the specific halloween decor and replace it with Thanksgiving to make Oct/Nov easy! The only thing that will change here is the mini jack-o-lantern & "happy halloween"... it'll go to a turkey and "give thanks." Easy, right?

Do you enjoy decorating for the holiday's? Any tips or tricks you use to make transitioning between them easier?

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Not a fan...

*warning... whining ahead, heavily influenced by military work situations- don't say I didn't warn you*

I'm not a fan of...
  • My husband working 18.5hr days
  • Pre-deployment drama... and it's not even the wives- it's the men!
  • The command threatening field training over Thanksgiving when it's suppose to be block-leave
  • One of my husband's buddies got here a month ago and is all moved in. This man was in our wedding, went through training/2 schools with my husband... yet, because of his super ridiculous wife... that haven't hung out once. Not once.
  • The fact that I can tell my husband is completely and utterly stressed out and I cannot help him. I can't know anything about his job (which, I admit is a blessing in disguise most days) which means he can't talk about anything with me, which means unless he hangs out with guys from his platoon... he's in a crappy mood after a bad day/bad week... then he comes home to me, and I either have to suck it up and deal with it, or I get emotional and cry.
  • When your business becomes other people's business... but not by choice.
  • Plans falling through over and over (not military related).
  • Trying to plan a trip home with consistently changing deployment dates.
  • Fake fake fake people. *sigh*
  • A former friend cheating on another friend of mine... after proposing to her, only to get caught, break it off, and propose to the girl he was cheating with... WHAT THE HECK?!
I promise happier things to come next time... I just really needed to get that stuff off my chest.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Marriage Retreat Review

Before my birthday week hubby and I attended our local CREDO's Marriage Enrichment Retreat, it was great! Hubby and I seriously needed a weekend away from everything... technology, cell phones, but especially his work.
Our room (post bed-bug check/husband jumping on the bed!)

Friday afternoon he got off early since the retreat is sponsored and funded by the military. We drove across the island and checked into our hotel. We had enough time to grab a quick nap before the opening session/dinner. We were told what was expected of us (ie: be on time, attend all sessions, participate), they then answered any questions we had, and released us for dinner. Dinner was the most amazing buffet EVER. Prime rib, crab legs, mahi mahi, sushi, pasta, full salad bar, full side bar (mashed potatoes, rice, veggies, etc), hot rolls, dessert bar, and make your own ice cream sundae station. OH MY GOODNESS.

The Friday night sessions consisted of: "3 Keys to Communication," "Men vs Women's Brains & Special Moments of Our Love." We also learned our Myers-Briggs Personality.

Saturday morning's breakfast buffet rivaled dinner... omelet station, juice bar, pastry bar, pancake & waffle station, fruit bar,  and all the typical sides (bacon, eggs, sausage, oatmeal, yogurt, hash browns, etc.). Saturday was an intense day of sessions... we learned the four biggest issues in arguments and how to change the situations. We also learned an exercise called the "XYZ" to allow the other person's feelings to be known. We received a literal "floor tile" for our refrigerator to use the Speaker Listener Technique during arguments/discussions of importance. As well as learning four steps of conflict resolution and how to fight properly. Before we were sent off with our boxed lunches we wrote each other an apology letter and an appreciation letter... we ate lunch by the pool then went back to the room to enjoy the air conditioning and to read our letters. After the break we went back for two more sessions, during these we learned about the 5 love languages (and were even given the book for free!) and intimacy... then at 4pm we were released for our "mandatory date night."

Sunday's breakfast was just as amazing... then we had a small church service followed by the final two sessions which focused on finances. Finally, we were taken to the top floor of the hotel to receive our certificate of completion and have couples photos taken. They also gave the option of doing a vow renewal, which was pretty cool...

 
I HIGHLY recommend attending one of these events if at all possible!

 

Monday, October 3, 2011

Birthday Palooza Winner #5!

Okay... first of all I want to thank everyone for "celebrating" my birthday week with me. Even if you didn't win something I'm glad you took the time to participate! I'll get back to "regular" blogging later this week (I hope, the next couple of weeks are pretty packed!).

Congratulations to...

Brittany @
 

You have won the $10 Credit to STAMPED!
 You should receive an e-mail from me shortly {skinniepiggie @ gmail.com} with information regarding contacting Elizabeth for your prize!

Thanks to everyone that entered!






Sunday, October 2, 2011

Birthday Palooza Winner #4!

Congratulations to...

Erika @
chambanachik



You have won the soy candle and patriotic tee!

 You should receive an e-mail from me shortly {skinniepiggie @ gmail.com} with information regarding contacting Taylor for your prize!



Thanks to everyone that entered!

Don't forget you still have time to enter my final giveaway of the week! 
It's for a $10 credit to STAMPED.
You can also get all your purchases for 10% off for the rest of today.


Saturday, October 1, 2011

Birthday Palooza Winner #3

Congratulations to...

Allie @



You have won the Custom Military Sign!

You should receive an e-mail from me shortly {skinniepiggie @ gmail.com} with information regarding contacting Staci for your prize!



Thanks to everyone that entered!
Don't forget today is the last day to enter to win the candle & tee,
you have two days left for the $10 credit to STAMPED!