WHEW!

So, after 5 exhaustive weeks of training, I've made it through the first hurdles! For the first 5 weeks we were on our 6-2:30 schedule and starting on Tuesday I'll start working at a somewhat normal time, 7-3:30. We had classroom training to learn all of the ins and outs of the project we're working on for our company and starting tomorrow we start on the phones taking calls. I'm nervous but I'm sure I'll be fine after my first few calls come in to help get the jitters out.

The classroom training was pretty cool, I learned a lot and did very well- we took 7 assessments and I was one of the top 2 people in class by the end (we were practically tied with a 95.6 and a 95.8 avg., but Trisha just edged me out!) so I feel great about the material I retained. It's just a call center job, but the trainers are looking to hire supervisors out of our class once the last 3 weeks of T-Bay (transition bay) training is over. So as long as I do great on my metrics, I'm gunning for a supervisor role. I was talking to Marc, one of my trainers, about the possibility of transferring in June once we move to Ft. Bliss and he said he thinks I would definitely be able to transfer. The one slight *teeny* problem: the call center down there isn't exactly in El Paso, it's actually in Juarez. D'oh. I have to find out more info about safety and things like that before I can consider working there, especially with all of the drug cartel murders that have been happening. My trainer said he's been down there and it's actually beautiful, but if he left the call center and went outside, he had to have bodyguards from the company walk with him wherever they went. It's a little eerie to think about that.

Anyway, in other fronts- we've decided we want to start looking at buying a house! The house prices in El Paso are super cheap and many are brand new constructions. We think we'd be crazy not to consider it so we'll actually have SPACE. And it will be OURS, so we can do whatever we want to with our house! I have paint colors picked already, LOL.

Also, our wedding is completely booked! Still trying to figure out the guest list issues- we've had people that still can't figure out if they are coming, and we have a set number of people that can attend. If certain people don't make up their minds, we have to wait on filling up spots and inviting people. It's becoming stressful, which was the whole reason why we decided to have a small thing out here in the first place, to keep the drama away. Sigh. Anyway. I have stuff to get done so I'm going to be done for now. Thanks for reading!

~LeAnn

Sleep Sunday

So I started a new job last week as a customer service agent and it's an 8 week training. I have to get up at 4 AM Tuesday-Saturday, so by 8 PM, I'm exhausted! Today is my first day off after the first week of training and I'm so happy that I can have a lazy day. I'm going to meet a girlfriend up at a Victoria's Secret sale later this evening and then I'm going to bed early again, like usual, since now my body has gotten accustomed to early mornings. I think I'm going to try and find some wedding lingerie during the sale!

Planning has been going great! We meet with a pastor on Wednesday to talk to him about possibly being our officiant for the wedding. Plus, on Monday last week we had Angie from One Thousand Words Photography do our engagement photo session. She already finished the pictures (some of them are on her blog) and she's mailing me the DVD with the rest of the photos, so I should get them on Monday. I decided that I'm going to make photo books for the fiance's parents, my dad and stepmom, and for my mom and stepdad for Christmas this year. Once I get the photos and se how many I have to work with, I'm considering doing a digital scrapbook and then printing them out into a book through shutterfly. Plus, I'll do photo christmas cards with an engagement photo and will combine it into our engagement/wedding announcement. We're only having 20 people at this wedding and then we're planning a big party/reception for after we move to Texas, so we're going to announce our March wedding and send christmas cards out to everyone we're inviting for our big party later.

We have our menu picked out, and I talked to the pastry chef to discuss cake options. I think we're going to do mini cakes for everyone and do a black and white theme, with yellow roses on top of each cake. Our colors are a black/white damask with yellow, and I'm carrying yellow roses, so I'm really excited about how everything is pulling together.

The only thing I'm nervous about is the invitations. I decided to make my own but I don't know where to start! Having someone else do what I want costs way too much, and I can't find anything to print out that has our colors so it looks like a trip to Michael's to look for options is in order.

Alright, I really need to get off the computer and start getting some cleaning done before I go to meet Jade for our shopping excursion later. Have a great day!

~LeAnn

It's Official!

We got engaged last night! We went up to Bellevue to go to Snowflake Lane and watch the drum line (and to see them make it snow)! Then we went to McCormick & Schmick's, which is where Mark proposed. I got a BEAUTIFUL ring, and I'm still trying to get over how gorgeous it is:

After dinner, we came back home, had a glass of wine and cuddled for the first time as an engaged couple! I love the ring of fiance'!

So, it didn't come as a surprise, but Mark wanted to make it official by proposing. We've actually already decided that we want to get married before we get our orders (which, our NY orders were canceled and now we have official orders to Ft. Bliss in June 2010). We've been planning for about two weeks already. We picked a date (March 28th), reserved a place, I ordered my dress, and we picked a photographer! Since we're leaving for Texas so soon, we're going to have a small ceremony and dinner with just our parents and a few other close relatives and friends. Then once we move to Texas, we are going to start planning a destination celebration for all of our family and friends.

I am so excited for the wedding! And to think, it's only 114 days away. Crazy. Now I have to get my big butt moving so I look great on my wedding day! :)

~LeAnn

I'm a bad bad blogger. . .

So apparently I only remember I have a blog about once a month or so, and I realize that's not exactly the promise I made to myself when I first started this a couple of months ago. So here goes again, I *promise* that I will not fall off the face of the planet any more. :-)

My last blog was about possible changes, but of course with the Army you know things never stay the same from one minute to the next! Our original hopes of North Carolina were squashed. Awww. :-(

Now that I've gotten THAT out of the way, I'm praying I don't jinx myself again with the orders ordeal when I say: WE'RE MOVING BACK TO NEW YORK!!!!!!!!!!

Mark got new orders which means we're going home. I haven't been an official NY resident since 2006, so let's just say that I am over the moon!

I'm a little paranoid about the money issues since Mark won't be able to work part-time anymore and I won't have a job when I first get there. Money is going to be tight and we'll have to make some big budget cuts, but I've been applying for jobs like a fiend and I'm hoping something falls in place. Everything else seems to be, so I'm thinking the Big Guy upstairs is working his magic to help the stars align, finally.

My mom is ecstatic and has been helping me look for apartments. We found one that allowed Clarkster to come with us (right, like I would leave him behind! He's attached to my hip. . . ) so it seemed perfect. It was only a one bedroom as that was all that was available, but we were going to make it work. . . .

. . . That is, until my crazy mother remembered one of the houses on the street behind them had an empty apartment. So she just walked around the corner to "check out" the house. It's a two family and the lower level apartment has been empty since the old couple that lived there for years moved out. (Well, the husband died, and his wife moved into a nursing home afterwards, but anyway.) As my mom put it, their mailman "just so HAPPENED to be there" and she prodded him for info. LOL. He told her that he "didn't tell her who the owners were", but he gave her the info so she could call the owners. It just so happens that the owner is a psychologist (I'm a semester away from getting my B.S. in psych and am planning on eventually getting my Ph.D. to be a psychologist, so it has to be fate, right?!)

She left a message yesterday morning not thinking anything would come of it, and then they called back. They had just re-listed it and were planning on renting it for $1125. Mom told them how Mark is in the military and how we're moving back home finally. Then they lowered the price by almost $200 a month!! I couldn't believe it. They also don't normally allow dogs but because my mom lives in the neighborhood and they know it's someone they can trust, they're going to allow it. Mom is going tomorrow to look at the place so hopefully she will like it so I can send the security deposit. They are nice enough to hold it for two months for us, which is huge. It's a two bedroom, lower level apartment with a two car garage (we get one half, the tenants upstairs have the other). There's a coin operated washer and a dryer in the basement that we share. The backyard of this house ends at my mom's fence in her backyard. Seriously? It doesn't get any better than this. I told her at this rate I can just throw my clothes over the fence and use their washing machine :)

She didn't like that idea too much, LOL!

This whole thing is just beyond comprehension. Everything that has happened over the last few years has just led us to this moment. I can't believe I'm going home. And we'll be home in the FALL!!!!!!!!!!

In other news, can I just say that I am SO sad about Sen. Teddy Kennedy? I know he was sick and we were all expecting it, but it's the end of an era. He has done so much for this country's progress. I am well aware as a woman that he has helped us become more accepted in society and has made so much progress with equal rights. I may not have voted for Senator McCain, but the statement he released about Ted Kennedy was one of the sweetest things I think he has ever said. I'll share my favorite excerpt from it:

"He grew up in the long shadow of his brothers, but found a way to be useful to his country in ways that will outlast their accomplishments."

I don't think anyone could have said it better.

Until next time,

LeAnn

Possible Changes!

I just realized that it's been like three weeks since I last posted. Whoops! Things have been getting busy around here between me babysitting and Mark working like crazy. He's finally back at the clinic and out of the pharmacy- THANK GOD! He hated it there so much. All the patients were idiots and cruel to him for no reason (mainly because he was in charge of giving them the tickets to wait to be called upon. So, they were all upset because they had to wait their turn and would take it out on him). But, now he's back where he should be and can actually use the skills he has to help people instead of being a doormat for stupid people!

Mark is also still working on his warrant officer packet. He won't have it in by the August 1st deadline so his next opportunity is going to be for the November boards. He's also going to get together his second and third choices for WO so he'll have backups in case he's not accepted for his first choice.

We also got word that we may be getting orders for next summer. So far he's been given four requisitions and we're hoping he'll get a few more for our other two ideal duty stations. The one we like the most so far is for Ft. Bragg, which has a tentative PCS date of July 31st. Granted, if he gets accepted into WOCS then we'll PCS to his school for a year and then get orders somewhere else but we want to make sure we get all of our ducks in a row just in case he's not accepted. We're also hoping for either Aberdeen (I have family in Baltimore and lived there for two years and would have a job waiting for me at IKEA if I moved back. That's actually our first choice because it's closer to home in NY) or Hawaii- because well, it's Hawaii!! :-) He's talking to branch to see what options he'll have so hopefully we'll hear something soon.

Otherwise, things have basically been uneventful around here. Yesterday we went to Point Defiance and had a picnic and it was so nice. That's the first time we've just spent quality time together in a while. Yeah, we hang out at home, but it's not the same when you're lying on a blanket in the grass talking about our plans and hopes for the future and just enjoying each other's company. We definitely want to make this a regular part of our schedules, going to the park and hanging out. Note to self: wear sunscreen on your legs. I got the weirdest sunburn yesterday on half of my right shin and my left thigh. Both of my legs were out straight so you would think it would be even, but no. And, I've never gotten sunburn below my thigh before. I've gotten a little red on my thighs before, but I had no idea I was going to have that much sun exposure to burn my shin. It really hurts! I always wear sunscreen and used my face moisturizer with SPF but totally forgot to put it on my body yesterday and never would have thought to put it on my shins since I never burn there. Now I know better!

~LeAnn

My love of peanut butter will be the death of me.

It's been a couple of days since my last post but there really hasn't been anything that interesting to update about. I'm meting up with Candyce this week to see where her house is and have an opportunity to (direct quote from her, here) "have a last chance to freak out" on watching her kids. Haha, so far I'm not scared! But, I have a feeling I'll be second guessing myself once I'm in the thick of it. Speaking of kids, my neighbor Marcy's kids are so sweet but the other neighbor kids in this apartment complex are a bunch of bullies! They pick on Auston and MaCaelob non-stop. I'm really getting fed up with them and I swear if I hear them being mean one more time, I may just need to "accidentally" lose control of Clark while we're walking outside and let him chase them down the street. He's totally harmless, but they certainly don't know that.

Anyway, other than plotting my revenge on the heathens in my apartment community. . .

I'm really needing to get back in shape. I took a couple too many days off (ok, just 2 but still!) of my wii active so I didn't make the 30 day deadline. I'm really bummed out but I am going to start back up tomorrow and am absolutely not giving myself any more excuses for missing workouts. I really need to eat healthy and I really am trying, but the peanut butter keeps calling my name! We're going grocery shopping today and I wasn't going to pick anymore up so it wouldn't be tempting but Mark specifically asked for peanut butter (the first time he's asked for it! Why now when I'm being good!?!?!?) for when he does he weekend ambulance work. Ooook, fine.

Damn. Maybe I'll just have one teaspoon?

But no seriously. I do need to get in shape and I actually have some motivation this time! In October my cousin (who I haven't seen in two years!) is getting married and I'm going to her wedding. She lives in Florida so I'll be flying down there for a week and meet up with my mom and grandmom to go to the wedding. So my goal is to get into some serious shape so I can hit the beaches and get a nice tan while I'm there. We will see how that works out!

Going to do some menu planning now for grocery shopping.

~LeAnn

Dog Park Drama and the King of Pop

My dog is crazy. Clark is a lab mix (the guy we got him from said corgi mix, but he looks like a miniature lab so I don't buy it.) and he's 35 pounds. He's 3 years old and is the most hyperactive dog I've had in my life. My aunt and uncle have 80 pound black labs back in MD and Clark has always bee used to playing rough with them-- he came home with grass stains every day he was over at their house, haha.

So, Mister Clark doesn't exactly have a "filter" where he can behave like a normal dog and be nice and sniff a little bit and then be cool. No, he pulls himself on the leash so hard that he chokes himself, starts drooling, and automatically jumps on anyone and anything that's exciting to him. Once he gets the attention he needs from people (or dogs, or squirrels, or anything for that matter), he will calm down but that doesn't generally happen for a while. For the last three days I've been testing him a little bit to se how he interacts with some of the other dogs in our apartment complex, because this whole time I've been so embarrassed that he just jumps all the time. He now has three new best friends: Samson, Static, and Copper. My neighbor Marcy has two kids (Auston and MaCaelob) and a chocolate lab named Chaco-- Clark and Marcy's kids get along SO well but Chaco is jealous of Clark being too close to the kids so she's not very fond of him. We've been trying to get them used to each other and we're hoping Chaco will get over it soon.

So today I took Clark to the dog park with Marcy, Auston, MaCaelob, and Chaco. It was the first time in a long time I had taken Clark to the dog park (he had a throw up incident the first time he went because he was so excited, so I've been hesitant to take him again). Anyway, we went to the dog park hoping that Chaco would feel a little better since she didn't have to be so territorial since it wasn't in her front yard at the apartments. Unfortunately, no luck yet! Clark ran up to her as soon as I let him off the leash and she lunged at him, and jumped on top of him. He kind of fought back but we separated them. I think in time they'll be ok but we don't want to push the issue. We were the only people there at first, but then 7 other dogs eventually joined the party. Clark was very well-behaved and had a blast. He's sleeping on the couch now and is absolutely exhausted. Marcy and I are going to go to the dog park again soon to see how they are with each other. I'm really glad Clark went and had fun!

One of the dog owners said she doesn't like going to that dog park much when there are a lot of dog owners around because there is a lot of bickering between owners. Apparently they are so paranoid about which dog "caused" something first or got in another dog's way. The woman who told us this, along with the rest of us dog owners, were laughing about it because it's like, they're dogs for god's sake! They have their tiff and then they are fine. Just let them be dogs! All the dogs at the park got along great today, and it was a big mix of them. The woman said two guys actually got in a fist fight with each other one time when she was there. So crazy. Why can't we all just get along?

In other news, I knew Farrah Fawcett died today but I was watching CNN and they were like "Michael Jackson has been rushed to UCLA hospital for cardiac arrest". I didn't think much of it until they started talking about how he was dead. WHAT?! This day is crazy. Two amazing entertainers. So sad. I also heard a rumor that Jeff Goldblum died today but on twitter there are a bunch of people saying its not true. I think it's some internet hoax, so I'm not believing it!

Anyway-- It's already almost 5:30 and Mark will be leaving work soon so I need to get dinner started. We're having breakfast tonight! Marcy is making breakfast for dinner and it made me SO hungry. It works for me because I didn't know what to make tonight. So now it's pancakes, sausage, and scrambled eggs! Woohoo! I'm going to go to the grocery store to pick up a few things and then I'll be starting dinner.

~LeAnn