A Few Thoughts

* One thing I haven't really talked about is a small medical issue with our sweet Emma. I took her to the vet last week to have a small growth on her head looked at. The vet wasn't overly concerned but he does want to remove it and have it sent to the lab to determine if it is cancerous or not. The growth hasn't changed in size much but better safe than sorry. So that is what we are doing today, while she is having her teeth cleaned they will take the growth off and send it away. It could very well be nothing but better safe than sorry.

We just want our sweet girl to be okay.

* After a few set backs (and emergencies) we are debt free once again and it feels absolutely fantastic! Lets just hope no other crazy things pop up.

* I am getting pretty anxious for my surgery that is happening in 3 weeks. I really just want to get it over with, thankfully Kyle's work is being great and letting him have a 4 day pass to take care of me.

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

My Life in Bullet Points

Things have been pretty busy in our household lately, not that I'm complaining it is better than being bored. Here is a quick look at my life lately:

• I'm finishing up my current 3 classes this week, no rest for the weary though, I start 4 more on Monday.

• I have been knee deep in planning our Battalion Volunteer Recognition luncheon, ahh volunteer appreciation season is in full swing. :) I'm always planning an FRG bowling event, which will be our last big event before the unit goes away. :(

•  Monday nights are now reserved for Kyle's bowling league, yay for the post wide commanders cup program.

•  We registered for another race on post, a 10k Pub Run, should be a lot of fun!

•  We bought tickets to Monster Jam this weekend, yes we are secretly 15 and love monster trucks. lol.

• My Dad is coming to visit us in two weeks and I'm ridiculously excited. It will be great to have him here for a few days.

• We made our appointment to get our tattoos done this weekend to commemorate our marathon experience.

•  The weather here has been absolutely gorgeous, so Emma has been getting lots of walks lately.

• We are starting to look at getting Kyle a new car, this is giving me anxiety because I love having two paid off vehicles.

 I figured I would end this post with sweet pictures of Emma and Fishy:

Happy Wednesday!!

El Paso Marathon 2014

For the last few months you have heard me talk about the El Paso Marathon. Well yesterday was finally the day we had been waiting for. We were not able to train as much as we wanted to because of medical reasons but we were damn determined to finish.

This was at the top of the mountain getting ready to start at 7am.

Heading down Transmountain

At the half, I told Kyle to run off ahead of me because his knees were starting to hurt. At the 19 mile mark, I see him at the water station and he waited for me. The exact words that came out of his mouth were "I couldn't imagine finishing this race without you by my side". He is truly amazing!

This was at the 21 mile mark!

Let me just say that no matter how hard you train completing a full marathon is difficult, we had to walk some because of our knees but crossing that finish line is a feeling I will never forget. All I can remember was crumbling into Kyle's arms and crying. We had no goal time at all we just wanted to cross the finish line and we did it in a little over 6 hours. Not the greatest but we don't care.

We did it! No one can ever take that away from us. It was an absolutely incredible feeling. Time to get our tattoos. :)

 

Thanks to all those that offered support and encouragement through facebook and instagram.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

New Ink

It is no secret that I love tattoos, I have 6 but if you looked at me you would have no idea haha. It has been 3 years since I got my last one and I have been itching for a new one. All of my tattoos have a meaning behind it and I do not want to get something just for the hell of it.

I have throwing around a few ideas and here is what I'm hoping to get:

This tattoo would be a mixture of several elements. I want to honor and remember the 5 precious babies that we have lost. During all of my pregnancies I referred to them as sweet pea. So I want 5 sweet pea flowers with the pregnancy loss ribbon and a few butterflies incorporated together.

This one would be representing the month I was born...this is the larkspur fairy. The larkspur is the flower of July. :)

I think this one is self explanatory and will probably happen within the next two weeks. I want a permanent way to remember our first marathon.

I'm excited to complete all of these within the next year or so. :)

Hope you all have an amazing weekend!

Shopping Fun

Over the weekend I decided it was time to pick up some new pieces for my wardrobe. As I'm getting older I'm noticing that I need pieces that can be versatile. I don't want to be stuck in t-shirts and jeans all the time. With all the meetings and events I attend on a regular basis I need to be somewhat dressed up. I have also fallen in love with blazers, I picked up a few of those as well.

I went to Old Navy, Ann Taylor and Target. I was able to find some great stuff that can dressed up or down. I also found a few pairs of black skinny dress pants, they are ridiculously comfortable!

I'm going to slowly keep adding new items, good thing Kyle doesn't care haha.

How often do you update your wardrobe?

Happy Thursday!

Nerves

This Sunday I will do something that I never thought possible, I will be running the El Paso Marathon!

I am so excited that Kyle has decided to run alongside me, it will be amazing to cross that finish line together (can't promise that I will cross it on two feet haha).

My nerves are pretty much shot at this point and I'm ready to just have the day be here. I feel that I have trained to the best of my ability and that it will be a good one. The weather is supposed to be really nice, so that is a definite plus.

Hope you all have an amazing day!

*As a side note on March 1st, I will be posting a link to a Jamberry Nails Party that my sister is hosting, if you don't know what they are check out the website. Just wanted to get the word out now in case anyone is interested. :) Jamberry Nails*

Just Relax

What a weekend this was! It didn't start out so great because Kyle was sick all day on Friday. Poor guy slept most of the day, good thing we had no plans for Valentine's Day haha.

By Saturday morning he was feeling so much better and we headed off for our getaway to Albuquerque. It was a short 3 hour drive but it was beautiful for sure. When we got there we had lunch and then headed off to the aquarium, botanical gardens and zoo. We had an amazing just walking around and enjoying the gorgeous 70 degree weather.

Afterwards we checked into our hotel and took in the sites. I didn't take many pictures but it was absolutely gorgeous, even parts of it were decorated for Valentine's Day! We lounged around before we headed off to dinner at a rooftop steakhouse called Embers, it was amazing! 

After dinner we decided to have a little fun and gamble. Kyle let me pick the machines and we walked out of there with an extra $170 in our pockets, not too shabby if you ask me lol. We ended the night with ice cream and the Olympics. 

We headed home yesterday morning but not before enjoying a yummy room service breakfast. This is just what we needed and it was so nice to just relax and enjoy each others company.

 I have plans to do a little shopping today before Kyle's bowling league tonight, since we are already getting 70 degree weather it's time for summer clothes haha.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

A Little Getaway

Kyle and I decided we needed to get away for a day or two to just relax. Tomorrow we are heading off to Albuquerque. We will spend Saturday and Sunday exploring and relaxing. 

We booked a room at the Isleta Resort and Casino:

It looks amazing!!! 

It will be nice to reconnect and spend quality time together.

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!!! :)

I hope you all have an amazing weekend.

A New Path

I have been meaning to write this post for the last few days but just haven't had the desire to. Well, here goes nothing. Last Monday, Kyle and I went to my followup appointment regarding my obstructed left tube. After much consideration and talking with my doctor we decided the best thing would be to remove the tube. 

As we talked more and went over tests for both of us, it became very clear that IVF would be our only option to have a biological child. Of course there were tears of frustration because as a woman it is hard to know that my body can't do what it is designed to do. On the other hand, there is still hope that we will have a biological child. 

I was referred to a doctor at the post hospital to schedule my surgery. I met with the surgeon and my surgery has been scheduled for March 20th. We talked in depth about removing the left tube and they will examine the right to make sure there is no damage or issues with it. I made the decision that if something is wrong with both to go ahead and remove both. 

In no way is this the end of our journey, we will look to start the IVF process in the fall. One of the only hiccups is that Fort Bliss does not have an IVF program, I will either be referred to Walter Reed in DC (which is what we want especially with the potential for us to PCS there) or Madigan at Lewis. There would be a lot of travel involved but it will be so worth it if the IVF works. 

This is just another step in our journey and we will get through it. 

Wishing you all a beautiful day!

Oh Sickness

Let me just tell you that that the last two days have not been so fun! At about 2am Monday morning I woke up horribly sick..chills, clammy hands and praying to the porcelain god (you're welcome for the visual lol). I spent that entire day in bed, watching mindless television and cuddling with Emma. 

 

 Yup, this is how I looked and felt. 

 

Yesterday was a little bit better, still felt queasy and clammy but I had to get stuff done for our volunteer recognition dinner tonight, so I ate pepto like candy (yes I only like the chewables) and did what I needed to do. Plus it helped that we got our tax return back already, that will perk anyone up haha. :)

 

I have a full day of events ahead of me, so hopefully this bug is completely gone. 

Hope you all have a great day!

 

 

 

 

Weekend In Photos

Our weekend was fairly uneventful which was just what we needed after a busy week. It was a good day for mail in our house because we got our professional photos from the battalion ball:

I also received this amazing gift from my sister, it's called "My Sister, My Friend". I am so thankful to have her.

Saturday morning we got up and decided to go bowling. Kyle is playing on his units bowling team for the post commanders cup and wanted to get some practice in.

Afterwards we came home and I worked on volunteer gifts and certificates for our appreciation dinner this week. I can't wait to properly thank all of the amazing FRG volunteers on Wednesday.

 

Then it was time for school work and lots of it. I finished two papers and submitted some other work so it was quite successful.

Sunday was more relaxed as you can see by Emma and Fishy's demonstration. :) We did get in a nice 4.5 mile run and finished the day with laundry and catching up on the Olympics. Kyle even made dinner so I call that a win!

I hope you all had an amazing weekend!

Why I Love Him

Around this time 17 years ago, I met this goofy kid in my 6th grade history class. Little did I know that I would grow up and marry him. 

He has been such a blessing in my life and through all of our ups and downs we manage to end up stronger because of them. There are so many reasons why I love him but here are a few:

*I love him because he looked passed the fact that I had been married before and wanted to take that leap of faith with me anyway.

*I love him because he puts up with my crazy OCD tendencies when it comes to everything. ;)

*I love him because he embraces the passions that I have and makes them his passions as well.

*I love him because he makes me feel special when I feel like the biggest loser.

*I love him because he willingly goes shopping with me and actually enjoys it.

*I love him because he sits and cries with me when I'm having a bad day.

*I love him because he is the silliest person I know and he embraces it.

*I love him because he embraces the role of being an uncle and loves those kids like they are his own.

*I love him because he loves Emma and Fishy so much that it makes me thankful that he will be the father of my kids.

*I love him because he never compromises who he is for anyone.

*I love him for his commitment and devotion to serving this great country.

I am so glad I talked to that goofy kid 17 years ago!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

A New Do

I finally cut my hair off on Saturday and I am sooo happy with it!

It is amazing how a good haircut can make you feel better! 

Happy Wednesday!

Ask Me Anything: Answers!

I got a lot of great questions last week, thank you to everyone!

Here are my answers:

1. What is your favorite food? Jen @ it's my Life....

I would have to say pizza, I know this is probably everyone's answer but it's true.

2. What made you get pets? Kenya @ Life with Giggles

Well, first let me say that there has never been a day that I have regretted having pets. I have always had such a soft spot for pets because they are loyal and wonderful additions to any family. I have had Emma for all 10 years of her life and Fishy for all 6 1/2 years of his. They are my furbabies and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

3. Will you miss Texas if you move to the DC area? And do you mind the cold weather? Rosey @ Mail4Rosey

We will definitely miss Texas if we leave, but as with everything military related home is always where they send us. As far as the cold weather, I grew up in Las Vegas so I have never really experienced a true winter, so we will see haha.

4. How old were you when you had your first REAL kiss? Shannon @ sitting in a tree.

I was 14 years old and a freshman in high school. :) My first boyfriend, Chris.

5. What are some of your less obvious hobbies? Jen @ Ripples and Waves

One of my favorite hobbies is bowling. I have my own bowling ball and shoes, yes I'm that girl haha. Kyle and I have a blast playing.

6. How did you and your husband meet? Rachel @ The Ross Family

We met 17 years ago in our 6th grade history class. He was the adorable nerdy kid with glasses that had a huge crush on me. Boy am I glad that I married that kid. :)

7. When you move, do you plan on selling your house or renting it out? Stephanie @ Life, Unexpectedly

I think we have decided that when the time comes to move that we will sell the house. I honestly get anxiety when I think about someone other than us living it if we still own it.

8. What do you plan to do with your degree? Bailey @ Becoming Bailey

As most of you know I am going to school for my bachelors in psychology and a minor in family studies with a concentration in child development. I ultimately want to work with military kids and help them navigate their way through the struggles when it comes time for changes such as moving, deployments, etc.

9. What is your favorite recipe you make? Meg @ borrowed heaven

I have so many recipes that are my favorite but one that sticks out is: Herbed Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

It is amazing and so simple to make! You can also check out some of my favorite recipes here: Army Wife in The Kitchen

10. What is advice that you would give to new military wives? Kim @ livingnbliss

The best piece of advice that I would give to new wives is educate yourselves! Don't sit back and wait for your spouse to show you the ropes of military life. Take classes! There are so many amazing classes available on military installations and they are there to help you adjust to this crazy life. Also try to get involved, yes I know there is a stigma with FRG's but if you don't give it a chance you will never know if you like it.

11. Are you still considering culinary school and do you plan on working on your food blog again? Alex @ Munchkins and the Military

I think I have finally decided that culinary school is not something I want to pursue anymore. I love cooking and baking but not sure it is where I see my life going. As far as the food blog, yes I'm definitely going to start working on it again soon!

Thank you all so much for questions and please go check out the blogs of these wonderful ladies!

Have a great day!

Battalion Ball

Friday night was our BN Ball and it turned out to be a great night!! Getting dressed up and hanging out with my husband and good friends was definitely the way to spend a Friday night. As a commander, Kyle had to participate in the making of the grog (for those who don't know what the grog is, it's a nasty concoction of alcohol and other not so tasty things that make up a horrendous drink). He and his 1SG had a blast doing it and when it was all said and done the grog tasted like listerine haha. We had a lot of laughs and danced the night away after the formal portion.

Here are some pictures from the night:

It was definitely a great way to say goodbye to our battalion which will deactivating in a year or less.

The rest of the weekend was spent getting our taxes done, getting my hair cut (I'll share that picture soon) and watching the super bowl!

I hope you all had an amazing weekend.