Daily Word Count & 7 Random things about ME!

1348

Here is my running total for today. As you can see it is about half of what I did the previous two days, but its better than nothing! So it bring my running total to:

8343

I'm starting to get a bit distracted so I'm going to take a break and watch some Project Runway :) Maybe I'll come back to it later.

1. I hate the thought of biting down on a dry toothbrush. It makes me cringe like nails on a chalkboard does for others.

2. I would love to do competitive ballroom dancing. I'm hoping that when we move to our next duty station that there is a good program near by.

3. I love the smell of coffee, but I do not love the taste. I'm trying to acquire the taste but it's definitely not at the love stage yet.

4. I really want to live in Europe, preferably Ireland. Just for a little bit :)

5. I really wish I could have a do-over with college. I wouldn't rush through it and I would probably be an English major.

6. My dream job would be a published writer, or an editor in the world of publishing.

7. I worry too much. I play the what-if game all the time and it really annoys Jordan :)

So it looks like I have a lot of things I WANT to do, don't know if that classifies as facts or not. I really had to think about this and I think I need to add some more unique things to my life, it's kind of a boring list. But hey, that's me! I encourage everybody to do this (Toni & Trav!). Have fun!!

Write Away!!

So just wanted to put my good news out there. I have spent the past two days writing, yes actually writing. But the good news is that my word count is.... drum roll please...

6,995!

I think I will post my running total each day. I know it won't be anything too exciting for most of you, but it makes it to were I feel a little more accountable to others. Yes I am patting myself on the back!

Hope everybody is having a great Monday!

I need my own space!

While Jordan has his own lovely office I've been left too find my own "special" place to work. For a while I was using our dining room table but today I got so frustrated! I mean come on, the dining room table? That's where we are supposed to eat, not where I'm supposed to get inspired and spend my time writing away! So today I've opted for the floor in the living room. I actually like working on the floor best, but as you can see it's kinda tacky and Maverick thinks he needs to help and ends up trying to lay on my laptop because it's in my lap and that's exactly where he thinks he should be. Ugh! I just want my own space so I can focus on nothing but writing!!

Now wouldn't this be nice!

Ok so maybe I'm dreaming a little bit here but honestly I need something or I might just never finish a story! This is really what I need, just something for me to work at.



Ok I'll be done complaining... for now.

You have to see this!

Ok so while I should be updating y'all on my amazing trip home I have to put that on hold for now. As most of you know I am obsessed with the Twilight Saga (thanks Jenny!) and when I heard that they were making a movie I could hardly wait. Well they have just recently released a NEW trailer for the movie and its amazing. I encourage all Twilight fans to check it out!!

http://www.myspace.com/trailerpark

See y'all soon!

Can't wait to see everybody!!!

Hey maybe I'll even see this stranger :)

I'll be there in one week!! Can't wait to see Jamie get married and spend time with the rest of my girls :) It's been WAY to long!

Something to Ponder

So this is day 3 of being unemployed and don't worry, I'm quickly getting myself into a routine, wake up and have a cup of coffee (can you believe I'm actually drinking the stuff now!), do some internet browsing while watching the national news, shower for the day, and then I clean house, read, write, grocery shop at some point during the week, and maybe some more internet browsing.

I am quite happy about my reading and writing being back on my schedule, but seriously, I waste SO much time on the internet! I'm addicted what can I say. It was really nice when everybody was visiting because I actually stayed away from my computer. Come to think of it, I think I need to make a rule for myself. Lets see... um.... ok so maybe I need your help, how do you get rid of your obsessive bad habits people! I know if I turned my computer off it would make it much less appealing but then I can't do my writing. I don't know, maybe somebody will have a better idea.

Today I went to the Commissary (the grocery store on base) I had to go yesterday but it was the first day open after payday so that was a definite no no. So I thought today would be a little better, boy was I wrong! I had no idea the case lot sale was going on. There were SO many people there, many with at least two carts full of groceries! What normally takes me 45 minutes, took me 1.5 hours because the checkout line wrapped around the entire store!! Then I went back into town with my friend Alyssa, the two of us went to lunch and gossiped about the boys :) So while I didn't clean the kitchen I did get the groceries... good thing I have tomorrow.

Alright, I need to stop wasting time and get to my writing, I will not get on the internet again until Jordan gets home (wink, wink). Don't forget to give me suggestions!!!

I cut my hair!

So yes there has been lots going on lately and sure I could fill you in on all that, but I'm just too excited.... I chopped off my long hair! It was down to the middle of my back but I have wanted to cut it for months. I told my mom I wouldn't until after she visited. Well two weeks later, here it is.

We've had a very busy summer, time has flown by way too fast. The first week of September was when all our guests from Oregon came to visit and I went to my first Nascar race. It was so hot but definitely a neat experience. I recently quit my job as a nanny and I'm waiting to get a job on base. It will be a much better position for me in the long run, so keep your fingers crossed! So in the meantime I'm spending my time at home with Maverick and plan on doing lots of reading and writing :)

Here are some pictures from our amazing summer in North Carolina!

We planted flower beds and boy was that a lot of hard work! We had to dig up all the grass which totally sucked. I told Jordan that I would not be helping him outside, EVER again! But it turned out pretty.

We of course spent a lot of time being silly and going to the bars with the gang.

This is me with the little man I was a nanny for. His name is Carson and he is going to be a big boy, he's not even 2 yet and weighs 40lbs! I miss him lots already but hopefully I will keep in touch like I have with the triplets.


My mom was here for 4 days and we had a nice time together, though I was sad when she had to leave :( But the following weekend we went to the Richmond International Speedway.

So there is the very quick catchup on our lives. I promise to try harder at updating this thing :)

Portland, I mean Asheville NC

So yes I know, I'm not doing such a great job at posting more frequently. The result tends to be a long message so maybe one of these days I will get the hang of it. Jordan and I chose to spend our 2nd Anniversary in Asheville NC. This is in western NC and let me tell you, we felt like we were back home! It was really nice, it was our first trip that wasn't Military related. Getting away from life for the first time in quite a while was fun. We stayed at a very rustic cabin where Maverick could stay and went hiking Chimney Rock, and a day at the amazing Biltmore Mansion. Blogger isn't liking my photos at the moment so I will try again tomorrow.

Now we are back to work, yes we. I got the full time Nanny position working for a very nice family. I watch their 20 month old son about 45hrs a week and will occasionally watch him over the weekend. He's sweet, and pretty well behaved. Well I'll keep it short and leave more goodies for you tomorrow :)

Sleepy...

Lately I have been so very sleepy! I don't know why, I mean its not like I do much during the week, but I would rather be sleepy all the time than restless.

This weekend started Thursday night with a girls night! We all met up at Kathryn's Martini Bar & Bistro for dinner and then went to see Sex and The City. It was a lot of fun and we hope to start having girls nights more often. Friday night all of us (12 people) met up at Icehouse and had a fabulous dinner on their deck. The restaurant is right on the water so it was perfect! After dinner we went to a local bar were 2 guys they worked with were playing acoustic. We all had a great time socializing and listening to great music. Saturday was a relaxing day all to ourselves. Jordan worked on homework, then we had a late lunch, early dinner, stopped at the bookstore, and then enjoy nachos and a movie :) We watched The Terminal, it was a cute movie. Now it is Sunday and Jordan has been very productive with school work and I was lazy sleeping in :)

I interviewed for an awesome full time nanny position on Thursday and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I get the job! I've only met the mother, but she was so nice and I really think I would fit in with them very well. They are the modern day Brady Bunch :) They have 8 kids!!! I would only be watching their 20 month old son though. They love to travel and who can complain about that! This is exactly the type of job I want if I'm going to go back to working full time. As most of you know, I love being around kids! We've been playing phone tag trying to set up a second interview where I can meet her husband and son. I'll keep everybody posted!

Now it's time for me to get into gear! I have a messy house and laundry to do :)

Happy Fathers Day to all those Fathers out there!!!

Daily Post

So I decided that I really need to increase my postings on this page, I mean I like to write yet I never make the time to put my words down for the rest of the world to read!

Speaking of writing, people are increasingly becoming aware that I spend my afternoons writing (when I'm not wasting time on the internet) which then leads to many questions about what I'm writing. When I hear that question my heart instantly begins to race and I begin to stumble over my words. I have heard others say that this would be how I would react to such a question but I didn't realize how true that was! The truth of the matter is, I don't really know how to answer, only because I don't yet have an answer. It's too soon to classify my work, so to all of you supporters I promise to give you more information when I have the answer. But for now, I am working on a story and we will see how it goes! I've written over 5,000 words already but it is all planning work.

Jordan's school work has 100% taken over his life, therefore mine as well. He gets home from work, eats dinner, and then takes over the dining room table until bedtime. So I am then restricted to reading or internet browsing as the TV is too distracting. I'm trying to be a good little wife and not complain, but let me tell ya... it's gonna be a long 7 more weeks! It's gotten so bad that we now have no weekend. Since he has so much vacation time stocked up he is going to take the next 7 Fridays off and spend all day doing his school work. Hopefully that will at least free up his weekends so we can go back to having some fun.

I'll leave you with a photo from my play date with Dee and the boys!

Our Weekend...

With all the fun we've been having the last couple weekends Jordan had to buckle down and get caught up on his Masters classes. He spent practically the entire weekend at our dining room table, books and papers spread out, plugging numbers. Since he chose the dining room I was left to spend my weekend without television. So I took up my handy work station (there is no room for me at Jordan's actual desk so I have taken over our over sized chair). I did a little reading, writing, and internet browsing. What an exciting weekend huh?

I guess its been a while since I last posted. Our BBQ was a success, everybody showed up and we all ate and played games until about 9:30. The next weekend, Memorial weekend, was a Wetting Down party, held at a beach house in Emerald Isle. At first the weather threatened to ruin all the plans, but by 1pm on Saturday the sun prevailed! We had a great time playing beach volleyball, bocce, frizbee, and just having a good time :)

So you can see how Jordan got behind with his school work.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Dance, dance, dance!

Hello Ballroom dancing...

See ya later square dancing!

So what is this all about you might ask? Well you see, I've always loved dancing. Since I was little I was hooked :) My grandfather was a square dance caller so naturally I wanted to learn. In elementary school I was out there on the dance floor with the best of them, and I loved it! Life got busy in High School and I no longer wanted to spend my free time with the grandparents, rude I know. Anyhow... So I stopped dancing and boy do I miss it. But now I'm addicted to ballroom dancing, I want to learn SOOOOO bad! So I put Jordan and I on a waiting list for classes this summer, I've been working out to Fitness with the pros, a ballroom workout DVD, and I recently bought a dance lesson DVD for Jordan and I to learn at home! Poor Jordan, he has to suffer at my expense, but I love him even more for it! I'm hoping our next Base is in a bit larger of a metropolitan area so I can take real lessons :) I told Jordan I would love to be able to compete at least once in my life, so I am going to work real hard! Go ahead and laugh, but I love dancing so I don't really care. Of course, Jordan is not into it like me so I don't think he will be wanting to compete but I'm sure I will find a dance partner ;) So call me the obsessed ballroom lunatic!!!

Now let me bring myself back to reality... Ok I'm here. This weekend Andy will be staying with us and I'm excited for him to come to Camp Lejeune! He's a lot of fun and Jordan and I look forward to hanging out with him :) We miss his CECOS crew so having Andy here will help. We are having a BBQ tomorrow with the other J.O.'s, it should be lots of fun, don't worry I will take pictures :) I'm back to writing again, my new years resolution was to finish a book so I better get going or else I might fail! I'm not finishing the other one I had started, its too much about me, so this time I'm digging deep and bringing my creative mind back from the dead and hope to get more excited about this one. I will let you all know more about it soon!

Happy Mother's Day to all those moms out there!! Moms are the best and everybody better take a little time out of their day to let them know it :) To my momma...

I love you so much! You have the kindest heart I've ever seen, sometimes too kind but that's what makes you you! I think life has yet to give you just what you deserve and I believe with my whole heart that when you get it you will see just how amazing life can be. I recently read this in the Bible: Pain with a purpose. God makes it clear that this pain is not arbitrary and purposeless. Like childbirth, it will lead to something happy and good. "as a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you" (Isiah 66:13). Just remember that when you are feeling low, life will turn around for the better, you just have to have faith.

and to my mother-in-law...

Just like my mother I love you so much! You have embraced me as one of your own, with a love that is so deep in faith. People say that we have the same mannerisms... I've never met a woman so strong in herself, faith, and family. There's always this sense of peace around you that calms me. Whenever I would come over to your house I always felt slightly more relaxed, like once I was inside your doors I was safe.

I'm so thankful to have both my mother's in my life, each one balances each other perfectly. I look to you both as role models as women, and mothers. So Happy Mother's Day!!

The count down begins

Hola!! That's me speaking Spanish :) I've decided to give the second language thing a try again, hopefully I will do a better job at it this time around. So Jordan is going to be home in.... 6 DAYS!!!! I can hardly stand it. Last week I saw a truck just like his and I got all giddy, of course I then scolded myself for being so silly! I think every couple should have time apart like this, well ok maybe not three months. This time apart always makes me appreciate him even more and anticipating the arrival is fun as well. I keep romanticizing his arrival... he pulls up in his truck and I run out the door to give him a big hug and Groodinees (that's Maverick pronounced Grew-d-knees) is just as excited. I'll stop there at my fantasy but needless to say I can't wait.

Upon his arrival we have decided to make some life style changes compared to before he left. (1) We plan on seeing as much of NC as we possibly can, therefore we will be spending little time being bums on our couch. (2) we have decided on our new hobbies, Jordan will be taking up Kite Surfing & working on his Master Degree, and I will be learning Spanish & Ballroom Dancing (which he has to partake in as well). (3) We both have established workout routines and will stay on track with those. (4) We are trying to go GREEN so grocery shopping will become more about fresh food than the icky yet sometimes yummy and often easier processed foods! And get ready for this one (5) we will be eliminating weekday TV watching!!! Don't worry we will be DVRing our favorites and watching them when we have a chance, allowing for a few hours on the weekends. In general we just want to make the most of our time here on earth and these all seem to be steps in the right direction :)

So I basically have 6 days left to watch TV all day long, eat lots of junk food and just be a bum on the couch :)

Oh and by the way... don't be alarmed when you start to see my hair curly in pictures, this humidity makes it impossible to wear straight!

We will be having our first house guest in less than a month so I'm getting all excited and will be putting the spare bedroom together. Right now it looks like we are a pair of college kids that just threw things together to make another room.. wait that is what it is! So I have decided to get it all dolled up and lookin good for Winkler, I'll be sure to take before and after pics of it!

Buenas Noches!!

Happy Birthday... TO ME!

So in less than 24 hours I will be 23! It's crazy how fast this last year has went by, here are some of my highlights:

- Jordan Graduated from OSU

- Our first anniversary was celebrated w/a trip to the airport as Jordan left for OCS, and that very same day our best friends, Toni and Travis got married

- Packed my bags and drove to Pensacola with Courtney to spend the last month w/Jordan at OCS, little did I know we would be making that drive 3 more times in the next 6 months!

- Missed 2 of my closest friends weddings because I was in Florida :( Congrats Jenny & Kyle Tegner, and Courtney & Mike Jasckson!!!!!!!

- Found out we were going to Camp Lejuene, North Carolina

- Bought our first house!!!

- For the first time ever we spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Years away from friends and family

- Jordan headed out west for CECOS, leaving me with the dog for 3 months

-Went out to California for Jordan's birthday and the Seabee Ball

And ta-da we are now at the end of a year full of many memories. I think this might have been one of my most life changing years so far!

Thank you all for the nice cards and messages, I appreciate it a lot! Hopefully this will be my first and last birthday spent alone, but I plan on adding it to my memory wall :) Hugs and Kisses to you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wake Up!!!

Hello again :)

I got back to North Carolina yesterday and I'm stuck on California time, staying up until 2am and waking up at 12:30!! This doesn't help my motivation to be productive during the day. So I've decided to take a sleeping aide tonight to go to bed at a decent time and try and get back into a decent schedule. My hopes are that I get a lot more done in my days. We shall see.

Jordan has gotten himself back into a strict fitness regime, I'm hoping at least a fraction of that has rubbed off on me during my stay. He's lookin good, I can no longer say he is caring our child :) No he didn't really have that big of a belly but when he sticks it out it sure looks like he is 6 months prego, ha ha. He is really into Crossfit and wants me to join him, but after looking at the women who participate I don't really want to. These woman have HUGE muscles!!! I told him I'm lookin to tone my body not look like I could beat him up! Anywho, I'm jumping back onto the fitness bandwagon and hopefully I stick to it this time.

Jordan only has another 2.5 weeks left of class and then he will begin his voyage home. He is stopping in Eugene first to get the Camaro so if you wanna see him he should be there for about 4 days, arriving on April 19th. He hopes to get here on the 28th, I'm really hoping that works out. Then a couple weeks later we will be having our first ever house guest! Winkler, a guy from Jordan's OCS and CECOS class will be joining us in Camp Lejeune and he plans on staying with us for a few weeks until he gets to know the rest of the guys.

While I'm excited to have a house guest, I wish is was someone from back home!!! I miss you all and I am very sad that I won't get to see you all when Jordan is there :(

Seabee Ball

Hey! So here are a few pictures from some of my time out here in California so far. I got here on Wednesday and we have been busy socializing the entire time. The Seabee ball was on Saturday, it was held at the Reagan Library and it was amazing. The library was awesome and the ball was very good, it was a great time.

This first picture is of a real Air Force One Plane inside the library, the entire plane is there and you can walk through it! We never quite made it up there but Lora and I really wanted to :(


Don't we look great! Ha ha, no really though we had a blast and I LOVED my dress :)

The next day, Easter Sunday, we went hiking and then spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach, it was in the eighties and as you can see the sky was as clear as can be. What a beautiful view huh?!
I'll be sure and post some more pictures when I get back home :) Loves Rissa

Spring Fever

So it's been a while since I've left some love on here for y'all so let me catch everyone up! My trip to visit Jordan was great I enjoyed seeing him and hanging out with Seth & Lora. It was over just like that and I was back in North Carolina.

We threw a going away/cocktail party so the day I got back Elisha and I were cooking Queens! The party was a huge success, almost everyone was in attendance :) I'll throw in a couple pics for ya:

These are all the J.O's that helped Elisha and I with the party (minus Jordan)

The Hostess with the Mostess and Me!

So that was a blast and since then I haven't really been up to much. We all are getting together this weekend though so that should be fun. I'm also going out for one more trip to see Jordan! I will be there 2 weeks :) I wasn't planning on being there that long but the difference in ticket prices was huge! So I will get to see him and since it happens to be Spring Break week in Oregon Shan's coming down to see us!! So I get to see my lil sis!


I'm lucky that Dee & Bruce were totally cool about me going and seeing him, so it all works out. Okie dokie that's it for now, Love Y'all!!!

Triplet Duty!

Hey y'all!! Hello from North Carolina again :) I took my camera with me when I went to watch the boys today, boy is it difficult to get all three to look at the camera at the same time and stay in one spot! Trying to get them all to smile was just a bit too much but I did my best. I plan on bringing the camera with me most of the time to capture some good moments.

This is Brendon, Brett, and Bradley!

(from left to right)

These two are the identical ones, if they only looked this different from each other all the time I might actually be able to tell who is who :) Bradley, (red pants) is the daddies boy and tends to throw a small fit when his parents leave, and Brenden likes to grunt lately, Dee and Bruce say he sounds like a baby dinosaur!

And this is Brett, he's the chunky one of the bunch, but he loves to sit on my lap. He was the leader of the pack the first day I was there, making all the first moves and then his brothers would follow.

I love watching them, they keep me busy and they truly aren't that wild. I've just been watching them about 12 hours a week but hopefully that will increase a bit now that Dee got a job here and Bruce starts on base soon.

On a personal note, I plan on visiting Jordan February 22 - 27 so I will get to see him for his birthday!

I took Maverick to the vet and again he was horrible, something about this vet he gets SO excited when he sees others dogs there. He barks and bucks like a horse, he is relentless and won't stop until the dogs leave. And forget trying to leave the place, it was a tug-a-war and in the process the leash broke my skin on my hand and I started bleeding, so I had to pick him up to get him into the Envoy. I swore to Jordan that was the last time I take him there by myself and then I get a message from Elaine informing me that he needs shots next month! Ugh!!! That dog sometimes, I swear!

I've begun a workout routine... again. I'm not letting myself quit this time! I'm running with Maverick 3 days a weeks and on the other days I'm walking him and doing strength training at home. I'm only 2 days in and I'm SORE!! :)

That's it for now, stay tuned :)

Our Home

Come on In :)

Ok so here are the photos of our lovely home :) I didn't have any pictures of the spare room, but have since put it all together. So besides that room you will get the picture. We painted the entire house except the kitchen (we ran out of paint). When Jordan gets home we plan on updating the kitchen, we want to tile a backsplash. Our walls are a little bare but we go for a more simple approach. While I'm sure I will be adding to the decor, at the moment we are both very pleased.

My First Post!

Ok so here is my first ever blog post! This is mainly for the older generations of my family that want to stay connected with Jordan and I while we are away. Its kinda funny when I say I just got home from VISITING Oregon. That was home for 22 years and its strange for it to now be a place I visit. We had a blast, we felt very busy and time wasn't ours at all. Before we knew it, it was time for Jordan to head to California and me to head back to North Carolina.

Since being home I've spent a lot of time cuddling with Maverick which he loves :) I had my first day watching the triplets, it actually went better than I expected. They are really adorable, but they definitely keep me busy while I'm there. Their parents are great, I think I will be forming a really good relationship with them. So that's what my life will be the next 3 months, Maverick, Brett, Brenden, and Bradley (lots of men in my life!)

Jordan is busy in school, it's only his first week so they are making things fairly tight to start out. He is anxious for his field week where he will get to play super Seabee man for 4 days in the wilderness.

I don't have the photos of the house on this computer so I will have to figure out how I will post those for y'all to see soon, but for now I leave you with a few photos of me and Mav :)