New Look and New Name!?

For the last few weeks I have been debating on changing the name of my blog, the only problem is I am having a hard time coming up with something creative. This is where my awesome readers come into play. I would like to incorporate running somehow into the title all while keeping the army life as a part of it. 

Send any and all ideas my way, I would greatly appreciate it! :) 

Once I can figure out a new name I will be having a new look done for the blog. I am excited to change things up and start fresh.

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Oh Hey Monday!

Well as of about 3pm this past Friday we are no longer homeowners! It is a huge relief to not have to worry about that anymore. Now we can focus on what is ahead, as with any move I always send out new address announcements. Once we get our new address for the house I can order these!

I love them!

This weekend was pretty low key for the most part but still fun. Saturday we headed off to the farmers market in Las Cruces. We took Emma with us since we didn't want her stuck in the room barking at any little thing she hears. She loved it and got a lot of attention haha.

We enjoyed burritos and kettle corn, we probably won't make it back there so we bought a huge bag of kettle corn to have in the hotel.

We ran a few errands that included a trip to Petsmart. Since I accidentally let the movers pack their original costumes I picked up these gems. We now have Batgirl and Batman haha! They were too cute to pass up and they were 20% off.

Sunday was spent preparing for the week, laundry and stuff like that. I was able to order the cakes for Kyle's color casing and pick up everything else we will need for that day. We should be ready on Wednesday. Kyle ended up sick because of the silly flu shot he got on Thursday. Boo! Hopefully it doesn't last too long.

I hope you all had a good weekend!

Life In A Hotel And Other Thoughts

I have to say that so far living in a hotel hasn't been so bad. There is plenty of room and we even have a kitchen. Let me tell you that being able to cook dinner has been amazing. I do not think that we could function on eating out for almost every meal. 

Emma has a grassy patch downstairs that she can hang out on and Fishy has made himself comfortable underneath the bed haha. They hotel even provides a grab and go type breakfast with muffins, fruit, granola bars, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. It's pretty nice.

Emma proves that she can be comfortable anywhere.

As of this afternoon we will no longer be homeowners, we signed yesterday and it should all fund today. It is a HUGE relief (we did have some mixed emotions yesterday) and we are excited to move on to new adventures. 

Now we look ahead to Kyle's Color Casing ceremony on Wednesday. We are doing a small reception afterwards with cake and refreshments so that has been my focus. Another chapter of Kyle's military career is coming to an end but what lies ahead is going to be amazing.

(Kyle's CoC May 2013)

We have no huge plans for the weekend except a trip to the Farmer's Market in Las Cruces to eat lunch at our favorite burrito truck and get kettle corn. :)

I hope you all have an amazing weekend!

Change Is Good

So I can finally say that I am one of those people that sits quietly at Starbucks and works on school work. Let me just say that it was glorious!! Haha.

Since we had no furniture in the house I had no where to work, and since I had a 10 page paper due I had to do something. I have plans to make this at least a once a week occurrence. It is nice to change things up. I will likely end up there tomorrow to work on 2 finals that are due on Sunday.

As of this afternoon we will no longer be homeowners, we moved out of the house yesterday and are settling into our temporary home for the next 33 days.

Here is to new adventures!

Have a great Thursday everyone.

It's Coming Together!

I feel like life lately has been consumed by this move (who am I kidding it has!). However, despite all the craziness we have two major things checked off the list.

We sold our home in El Paso (tonight is our last night in it)!

and

We have a home to move into when we get to Polk!!!

We were contacted by housing yesterday and offered a 3 bedroom (originally we only qualified for a 2 bedroom, thanks but no thanks)! We are relieved and happy, we did want to be on post because of the convenience for Kyle. To have these two HUGE things checked off is such a huge relief. 

Now my focus is getting through this last week of my classes without losing my mind. I have a week break before I start up again and I am very much looking forward to it. 

Happy Tuesday everyone!! :) 

Running, Oktoberfest, and More Running

This weekend was jam packed and it was a blast. It was nice to have so many things to occupy my mind in the midst of moving and all that chaos. I spent the day Friday cleaning the house (now that it is empty) and getting things ready for us to move into the hotel on Wednesday.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early to head off to Las Cruces for the Run Then Wine Half Marathon. The weather was hot and humid...therefore I was prime hunting ground for all the lame mosquitos. The run started off good until everyone realized that the distance was way off. When we finished it ended up being 14.6 miles that we ran. Needless to say there were a lot of upset people. It was a poorly organized race and I am not sure how much support it would get next year.

We ran some errands afterwards and then relaxed until heading to post for Oktoberfest. We had a blast!! We met up with our neighbors and a few people that Kyle works with and it was nothing but good times and laughter. I may or may not have had too many shots of jager (I am not a big drinker so this was a stretch for me) but when at Oktoberfest you indulge lol. We got home around 10:30 and went straight to bed since we had a race the next morning.

Sunday morning we had a 5k called the McKelligon Canyon Challenge. A lot of soldiers run this area for PT and let me tell you it is hilly and crazy! I felt crummy when I first woke up but after the race started I felt pretty good. It was a great race and Kyle placed third in his age group. :)

The rest of the day was spent cleaning, watching football, school work and prepping the house for the closing on Thursday. 

I hope you all had an awesome weekend!

Throwback Thursday

In honor of us moving to a new home and new place...here is us in front of our very first home when we were at Fort Bragg in 2008. The best part of this picture is that my Mom took it. :-)

Time flies!! 

Happy Thursday everyone!!

It's Time!

It's that time!!

The packers will get here first thing this morning and start putting all of our stuff in boxes. As of today we only have one week left in our house. We move into the extended stay hotel on the 24th and will live in that tiny space for 33 days haha. Yay! :) 

Change is definitely an emotional experience and we both are feeling it. So much is changing and while we know the new adventure will be great it is a little hard to let go.

Just hoping it all goes smoothly over the next few days. 

Hope you all have a great day!

Lucky #7

This weekend was another race weekend for us. Friday night was spent working on a paper for school and being lazy. Which let me tell you was really nice.

Saturday morning we dropped Emma of to be boarded (Fishy stayed home) and headed off to Albuquerque. We decided to have lunch at one of our favorite places, Del Taco. This is where we ate after we got engaged and it has always been a favorite of ours. It is 1000x better than Taco Bell.

We picked up our race packets and checked into our hotel. We had dinner at Mimi's Cafe with happens to be in the parking lot of the hotel we stayed at (convenient and amazing!). This was our 7th half marathon and I think it gets more fun with each one we do.

The run started at 7:30am on Sunday and it was a beautiful course! It was one of the best organized and marked runs that we have ever participated in. I didn't take any pictures along the course because I get paranoid when running along busy roads. Locals are getting ready for the Hot Air Balloon Festival next month and we were treated to a sneak preview. To see all those balloons in the air was awesome.

Once we finished we collected our medals and enjoyed a popsicle or two. They were setting up the table with the chips and salsa but at that point we were ready to get on the road. So Starbucks and a croissant was our post race meal (it has become a tradition). 

We had a blast but are happy to be home. We are running two races next weekend, another half and a 5k. It should be a great time.

I hope you all had an awesome weekend!

Hello Friday

This week has been full of moving prep, can I just say that I am ready to be in Louisiana already! I love moving but to be honest I do not enjoy the process of it.

Then you add in selling a house and it makes you want to pull your hair out on a daily basis. Then add in the emotions of selling said home, good lord I didn't think I had such an attachment to this house. We will be staying in a hotel for a month before we even leave El Paso and then in another hotel once we get to LA.

We have already taken down pictures and curtains, patched/painted nail holes, and patched a few stucco cracks that the buyers were concerned about. Their inspection and appraisal are done and they even want to move their closing date up to September 25th. We are ready to close this chapter of our lives and move on. The great thing about Army life is that there is always an opportunity to start over.

Oh and then you add in still going to school....yeah my brain is mush. I am in the last 2 weeks of my current courses. I will get a week break and then I will start 5 (yes 5) more classes:

(The geography class makes me chuckle lol)

I am sure at one point or another I will want to scream but hey it's life right?! A new adventures is waiting for us and I honestly can't complain.

I hope you all have an amazing weekend!

We Will Never Forget

I can't believe that it has been 13 years since our country was changed forever. Having a husband who serves in the military and has deployed overseas make it's incredibly personal for me and so many others. We will never forget those who lost their lives that day. We will never forget those brave men and women who lost their lives defending our freedoms.

We will always support and love their families.

Kyle and I have visited ground zero and feeling the emotions that run through it is something that I will never forget. Seeing the memorials that now stand in the place of the twin towers was an indescribable feeling. Also knowing that on that day we almost lost a great mentor and friend in the attack on the pentagon.

We will always remember and we will always honor those lost.

Never Forget!

I will always be proud to be an American!

A Little Trip

I am beyond ready and excited for this weekend, we are heading back up to Albuquerque to run the Chips and Salsa Half Marathon. 

 

To me there is no better way to end a race than getting breakfast burritos and chips and salsa. lol.

It will be nice to get away, even if it's only for just a day and a half. It will certainly be a nice stress reliever.

 

 We will have 6 more races left this year after this weekend and I can't wait!

 

I hope you all have a great Wednesday!

Things I Have Learned

I am in my 29th year of life and thinking back to my early twenties I am realizing just how much I have changed. I jotted down a fun little list of some things that crossed my mind.

1. I am a cheap date....2 drinks and I am buzzed. I do not enjoy going out and getting wasted, I am too old for that.

2. I have ZERO patience for nonsense and drama. When I was younger I feeded off it, now I will remove people from my life for stuff like this.

3. I am not up to date on the current music scene. I guarantee if you ask me who most of the new artists are I will look at you with a blank stare.

4. I used to love being out and about now my idea of a perfect Friday night is laying on the couch in my pajamas playing farm heroes saga with Kyle. 

5. Staying out late is not fun anymore....I swear I should turn into a pumpkin at midnight. (Staying out until 2am for that football game did me in)

6. In my early twenties I loved getting new cars. Now I am more than happy with my paid off toyota corolla that has almost 100k miles on it. 

7. I am a cheapskate. :) I overanalyze every dollar spent in our household...I am so glad I am like this now.

8. I don't let the little things bother me anymore, I still notice them but they aren't a factor.

I think the best thing about this list is realizing that I am the best version of me. I have evolved and changed over the years, and I am happy.

How have you changed over the years?

A Few Highlights

We had a really good weekend! Late last week I picked up the framed flag that Kyle had flown for us in Iraq. I absolutely love how it came out. I can't wait to hang it up in our new house.

 

On Friday we got the best news ever! We officially have buyers for the house, we have an executed contract and the buyers are having their inspection done today. If all goes well, they will officially own the house as of September 30th! It is bittersweet, but we are relieved that this process is going so well.

In light of this good news we opted to celebrate with Orange Leaf, it was so worth it haha.

Saturday night we went to our first (and last) UTEP football game. They were playing Texas Tech and let me tell ya the game was a blast. UTEP lost but it was a great game, we watched a few crazy fans get kicked out so that's always entertaining. We didn't even get home until 2am but it was worth it.

Sunday was full of cleaning, football and getting ready for this inspection.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Let's Make A Deal!

Yesterday, as I was sitting working on school I got a call from our real estate agent. As soon as I saw her name I knew an offer had come in. Usually our conversations are through text message which is totally fine with me.

There indeed was an offer! We made a counter offer, signed all the appropriate documents, and now we wait. I am hoping we hear good news tomorrow so we can get this deal done. If the deals happens they want to close by September 30th.

Which means we have to find somewhere to live for roughly 30 days haha. I'm not worried about that though, we just want to get the house sold.

If you are so inclined please send some prayers, good thoughts, positive vibes or whatever you like our way! 

I hope you all have an amazing weekend!

Fall Favorites

I know we are still a few weeks away from the official start of fall but I am excited. Of course living in any desert climate you aren't treated to traditional fall weather. I love the fun of hay rides, pumpkin patches, leaves changing, hot chocolate on a cold night, and bundling up on the couch.

1. Sweater Weather and Autumn Sky candles from Bath and Body Works. They smell so good and are perfect for fall.

2. Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha. This is usually one of the only times I will get actual coffee at Starbucks. I tried it last year and loved it.

3. I am obsessed with the Apple & Spice Febreze. I am already using it in my house and it's the perfect fall smell.

4. Riding Boots! I am so ready to break mine out and wear them haha. I might even splurge and buy new ones this year.

5. Pumpkin Carving! We will likely do this early because we will be moving during that time. So in honor of this here is our pumpkin carving photo from last year:

6. Baking! I am a baking maniac during the fall months. There is nothing better than fresh baked cookies, cupcakes, fritters, and pies. Every fall I make these mice treats that my Mom used to make, they are always a hit.

What are some of your fall favorites?!

An Update

Well we are 3 days into September and I cannot believe that this is year is flying by so fast. I have been meaning to do a life update lately and here it is:

SCHOOL: 

Recently I registered for my last 18 classes of school! I can't believe it, I never thought that I would be finished with my bachelor's degree in just 20 months. I am proud of myself for sticking with it because to be honest I wasn't sure if I would. There were times when I found myself struggling with the idea of writing another forum post or another paper. 

I am so glad that I made the decision to go back to school and even more thankful that Kyle was willing to give me his Post 9/11 GI Bill. It has been such a huge blessing to me. I do have the desire to get my master's degree so I will likely start working on that sometime next fall.

JOB:

I do have specific goals in mind when it comes to finding a job. Obviously, there will be no jobs before we move to Louisiana. Right now I have my sights set on getting a job at either a CDC (child development center) or CYS (Child & Youth Services) after we move to just get my foot in the door before I finish my degree. I would love to have a job working with kids within DoD so that moving so much won't be a problem. 

MOVE:

Our HHG will be packed and picked up on September 17/18th! We have not found a home in Louisiana yet which to be honest is no big deal. Kyle will get his 10 days permissive TDY and this will give us a chance to figure that all out. I ended up not having the time to go out there like I had planned but oh well such is life.

FERTILITY:

Well not much new is going on with this. We decided to hold off on the 3rd round of clomid right now and wait until we get to Louisiana and get set up with a new RE doctor there. My mind and body are in stress mode due to the move so Kyle and I both agreed to just wait. I have noticed that some of the people I know dealing with infertility like to give their opinions about things we are doing. Every journey is different, every person is different and I am tired of being told what I am doing is wrong. It has been a 5 year journey for us and I don't need rude opinions.

RUNNING:

I am still running and loving every second. I honestly have never felt better, I am at a healthy weight and my energy is awesome. We have 8 races left to run this year and I can't wait. I know that what I am doing is helping my mental and physical state.

KYLE:

Kyle is good, he is just ready to start this new journey at Polk. Being a company commander in a deactivating unit has truly stressed him out more than anything. I feel bad seeing him this way when he comes home from work. I know that only good things await him and his new job.

So much is going to change in the coming months but we are ready for it and excited. 

Hope you all have a great Wednesday.

Good Deals

On Friday Kyle and I ventured out to the Under Armour store on post. Most of the store was 30% off plus an additional 10% military discount. We both were in need of some new running items and boy did we luck out!

I got all of this stuff, 4 shirts, 2 pairs of shorts, 6 pairs of socks, and running underwear. Plus Kyle got 6 things..we saved over $100 and even got a $30 gift card. 

I love their stuff! Their clothes never lose their shape and are always comfortable. Without being TMI but their running underwear is amazing!!! I never thought I would be picky about undergarments haha. 

Do you have go to running/workout brands?