what's YOUR song? week 44!

Gosh it has been FOREVER since I have done one of these! Be sure to link up at Goodnight Moon!

This week is This Time Of Year by Blaire Reinhard. This is such a gorgeous song and it was featured on Dance Moms.

what's YOUR song? week 33!

It has been awhile since I have done this! Be sure to head over to Goodnight Moon to link-up :)

This week: You Make Me Happy - Lindsey Ray

This song makes me feel all bubbly and carefree and happy! Enjoy!

song link-up!

It has been quite awhile since I have participated in Goodnight Moon's weekly What's Your Song? link-up!

This week is "Sleep On The Dance Floor" by The Postelles. This song makes me feel so light-hearted, I love it! Enjoy :)



I have to work tonight. I'm a little apprehensive after what happened Monday night, which was totally 100% *NOT* my fault. And I'm still pissed at that family. Long story short, one family member yelled at me and said, "I don't care if the patient next door is dying, our loved one could die too!" and um, the patient I was attending to was unstable. Their loved one was fine. It was pretty ridiculous, but I still maintained my composure and basically kissed their asses and did everything I possibly could to make them happy. Ugh.

Tomorrow night, however, is military ball! I am excited :) I'm just going to recycle the dress I wore to the military ball in April at Fort Leonard Wood.

And of course I work Saturday night, too :(

What's Your Song?

This week is You're The Best by Joe Esposisto. The song from Karate Kid hahahaha. I love this song, it always pumps me up, and Karate Kid is such a classic movie. I like to get into this mindset since I'm starting work very soon. I'm the best (RN) around, nothing's ever gonna keep me down! lol

:)

getting to know you!

1. Did you watch the royal wedding?

I didn't watch it the day of because 1) I didn't feel like getting up at 0400 and 2) I didn't have cable at my apartment. I did watch it the next day though at my mother-in-law's. I was mostly curious over Kate's dress, which I saw was beautiful but very simple. I was honestly expecting it to be more.

2. Tea and crumpets or coffee and a scone?

Oh coffee, please. Maybe a scone.

3. Who's cuter...Prince William or Prince Harry?

I have always preferred Prince William, but that big bald spot on his head doesn't do him good haha. Prince Harry is still pretty cute!

4. Can you speak in an English accent?

yeah.

5. Do you own a fancy hat?

No. I don't get the whole hat thing.

6. Would you rather live in a castle or an English cottage?

I have always wanted to stay in a castle. Not sure about living in one, though!

7. How old were you when Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married?

I wasn't even born yet. I was 10 when she died, though.

8. Have you found your prince?

Of course! :)

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In!

Hosted by Wifey. Be sure to go to her blog to link up!

1. How many pets do you have? And what type?

no pets at the moment :( we probably still won't get one for awhile, but we're looking at getting either a german shepherd or a husky :)

2. What are your favorite projects to do while hubby is away?

I haven't really had any "favorite" projects lol...E has been away at BOLC pretty much this entire time (he's done now though, yay!) and I filled that time with studying hard and graduating from nursing school, taking an NCLEX review course, studying and passing my NCLEX, and applying for jobs. The next couple of weeks will involve last minute wedding stuff and packing everything up! I have also been spending time with friends :)

3. What are the must-haves in your deployment care packages?

As a n00b army wife with no deployments (yet) I haven't sent any care packages. Some essentials for him will definitely be flammin' hot cheetos and flammin' hot fries, though :)

4. If you could star in any TV show, which would it be?

Grey's Anatomy :) and be a super important, super cool nurse. and show the world that it isn't just about doctors haha.

5. What was the biggest hurdle that you faced during you/your SO's first deployment?

Once again, as a n00b army wife, I have no experience with deployments. E did go away for 2 months 2 summers ago to LDAC & CTLT. We haven't really been apart much and that was hard, but it was also hard not being able to talk to him for a whole month while he was at LDAC. After getting through that, being away from him isn't so bad now. I'm sure my perspective will change once he deploys, though.

Other stuff:

* yesterday was my last day at work. I'm really going to miss the nursing unit I worked on, especially the awesome nurses. I'm hoping that there are brighter things coming my way in the near future.

* I started packing - or more like sorting stuff out because I'm still lacking boxes (apparently all of the places want you to call at like 0700 to save them...ugh!). This is such a pain in the ass. I have no idea where all of this stuff came from, either!

* I found out that E will not get deployed right away. There is another guy from his BOLC class is also down in Fort Hood and they chose that guy over him because this guy isn't married. He'll be going to Iraq later this summer. It almost makes me feel bad, because E would have gone if he wasn't married. I feel like I'm holding him back :/ I'm absolutely thrilled that he'll still be here for awhile, but I know he really wants to deploy. He didn't go through 4 years of college/ROTC + MPBOLC to be on staff. And he will be on staff for awhile until a PL spot opens up. When that will happen, no one knows. He should find out for sure on Tuesday.

* I'm getting marzipan callas on my cake :) I told them to reduce the number of flowers which brought the cost down and to mix with other buttercream flowers for a nice arrangement. yay!

* the wedding is like 3 weeks away and I still haven't found anyone to do hair or makeup...yikes! I decided I am going to do my own makeup, though. I feel like a lot of makeup artists will cake makeup on your face and I wear very minimal...so I know it won't look like me. I went to Bare Escentuals today and got a wedding day look. Let's just say right now I look pretty freakin' awesome, and I look like ME, just better. Even with money being kind of tight now, I dropped quite a bit of it at the store today...but I'm happy with my purchase. And I will look good on my wedding day :)

Military Monday! and Getting to Know Me!

Here are this week's questions:

1. What inspires you?

My hubby, my mom, my fellow nurses...though I'll admit, there are some nurses out there who shouldn't even be in this profession... -_-

2. What is the last thing you bought yourself?

I bought this dress from Target. I don't know why I like it so much. But I decided to get it, because I always find something that I like, I don't buy it, and then I regret it later. I *might* wear this to E's MPBOLC graduation in April depending on the weather unless I find another dress that I like...or maybe I'll just wear jeans lol.

3. Would you rather watch a movie in a theater or from the comfort of your own home?

I like doing both :)

4. Household chore you don't mind doing?

Lol I hate them all!

5. Coffee or tea?

Coffee!!! I cannot physiologically survive without it. I drink about 4-6 cups/day. I love tea too, but coffee is definitely my favorite.

6. What could you eat every day and not get sick of?

Bananas. I absolutely love them. Sometimes I'll eat 3/day!

7. What's the last book you read?

My ginormous NCLEX binder, which I consider a book in itself! (it's 600 pages!) Right now I'm reading Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen and I really like it so far. I'm also looking for some more book recommendations! ;)

8. Do you think you "look" your age?

Absolutely not. I am 23 and I get mistaken for being 18 a lot...sometimes 16 at work, but I notice that I look a lot younger with hair up (and I HATE wearing it up!) There is at least one patient or family member who tells me:

"you look a little too young to be working here! just how old are you?"

"I'm 23."

"ohhh well you'll be thankful for it later, hunny!"

everytime.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-in!

Head over to Wifey's blog to link up!

1. What is your must have gadget? submitted by Flying High With My Flyboy
Oh definitely my phone. It's like my life-line!

2. How does your adulthood compare to what you imagined it would be like when you were a little kid? submitted by L to the Third
When I was little, I wanted to be a veterinarian because I loved animals. I still really love animals, but yeah that didn't happen...and now I'm a registered nurse :)

3. What is your favorite chocolate recipe? submitted by Our First Deployment
I don't have one yet.

4. How do you deal with military life when it gets to be to much or to hard? submitted by Combat Boots And Pointe Shoes
I blog, try to stay busy or hang out friends.

5. What piece of advice would you give a new Military spouse facing their first deployment? submitted by The Albrecht Squad
I haven't been through a deployment yet...but I know it's going to come eventually. E & I have been separated a few times before...just keep yourself busy! It will make the time go by much faster and your husband will want to hear about how you went out and did stuff, not about how you sat around at home all day and did nothing. I know we have our good days and our bad days, but things get better with time.

What's your song? Week 5!

Go link up with Goodnight Moon!

This week is Waiting On An Angel by Ben Harper. I just love this song, and I love the lyrics.

Waiting on an angel

One to carry me home

Hope you come to see me soon

Cause I don't want to go alone

I don't want to go alone

Now angel won't you come by me

Angel hear my plea

Take my hand lift me up

So that I can fly with thee

So that I can fly with thee

And I'm waiting on an angel

And I know it won't be long

To find myself a resting place

In my angel's arms

In my angel's arms

So speak kind to a stranger

Cause you'll never know

It just might be an angel come

Knockin' at your door

Knockin' at your door

And I'm waiting on an angel

And I know it won't be long

To find myself a resting place

In my angel's arms

In my angel's arms

Waiting on an angel

One to carry me home

Hope you come to see me soon

Cause I don't want to go alone

I don't want to go alone

Don't want to go

I don't want to go alone

Day 7!

Day 7: Post a picture of a wonderful friend you have made because of your s/o being in the military.

I haven't really met a lot of people since E commissioned (hopefully that will change once we PCS in May). Through ROTC I have met a lot of people, but more notably these two:

This is an older picture of him, but he still looks EXACTLY the same. He's one of our good friends and happens to be E's best man for our formal wedding in May :) He was formerly enlisted as an MP and was stationed in South Korea. Now he's finishing up ROTC and will commission in May as a 2LT. This time he's going MI.

Aaaaand:

Sorry Lauren, I totally yoinked this from your Facebook page :)

I wouldn't have met her if it weren't for the Army. Both of our boys lived together and we practically lived with them in that house together haha. She's very sweet :) She also has a blog, go follow her @ Killer Words From A Queen! :)

Edit: I hate my layout for not being able to display pictures properly, even though I choose them to be small! Oh well, click to view them better, I guess :)

Friday-Fill-In!

1. During military separations, how do you keep yourself positive and motivated?
I become a work-a-holic. I also have great family & friends who keep me busy :) We haven't been through a deployment yet, but we've been separated before and with the formal wedding coming up in like 2 months, that also keeps me busy!

2. What is your favorite concert you have been to?
It has been awhile since I've been to any concerts...but Taking Back Sunday :)

3. What do you miss about your hometown?
I consider two places my "hometown" - my home back in Ohio and Clearwater, FL, which is where I practically grew up. I miss the gorgeous weather and living only 20min from the beach...but moving to Texas in May will give me similar weather :) Back in Ohio I will always miss my friends and my family (even though everyone else lives in Connecticut) but I'm sure my mom and/or my brother will probably move close to where I will be just to get out of Ohio, even though they know we'll be there for 2, maybe 3 years maximum.

4. If you could run in any race, what charity would you choose to support?
The American Cancer Society.

5. If you find out Willy Wonka is your father, what 3 course meal do you INSIST he create in that stick of gum?
Oh geez, I LOVE food! but let's see....I would love to start with some Korean banchan (side dishes)...some of my favorites include the radish with kimchi flavoring, steamed lotus root (it's sweet!), fish cake and bean sprouts. Then I would like some kimchi jjigae, or kimchi stew (it's very hot and spicy with kimchi, tofu, chunks of pork meat, green onion/onion) and then finish off with a taro bubble tea for dessert :)

Thursday Five & What's Your Song week 3!

Nicole over @ Flip Flops and Combat Boots is doing a link-up called Thursday Five. Here are this week's words:

Peaceful

Loved

Awesome

Lucky
Smart

1. The most Peaceful part of my day is in the morning - drinking coffee and getting my morning fix of Blogger, Twitter, Allnurses and Facebook!

2. E makes me feel Loved every day! The way he makes me feel and the way he treats me is exhilarating...no one else can compare! I feel so Lucky to have such a wonderful husband.

3. Although I haven't done a whole lot (because there isn't much to do here at Fort Leonard Wood lol), so far it has been Awesome because I get to spend quality time with E :) Unfortunately I have to go back home soon :( But I will be here again in about a month for E's military ball and MPBOLC graduation :D

4. Lately I've been feeling Smart...nursing school friends have been asking me a lot of nursing-related questions that I've been able to answer! I better be able to, I've got this NCLEX coming up lol.

And this week is also week 3 for What's Your Song, hosted by Goodnight Moon!

Another favorite song of mine happens to be called Silver Lining by Rilo Kiley. Above I was talking about how well E treats me and how lucky I am to have such a wonderful husband. Before I started dating E, I was dating this asshole named Greg. He was nice at first, and pretty attractive at that time. Then as time went on I guess he started to get "too comfortable" and started to treat me like crap. He would always check out other girls and say to me how pretty and hot and sexy they were and say "why don't you wear something like she is wearing?" One night we were sitting in his kitchen eating dinner and out of the blue told me, "you know, a little bit of makeup wouldn't hurt you." His mom was sitting right there and ridiculed him for what he said, saying it wasn't nice but he just shrugged and said "but it's true." It was just things like that. He also could NEVER admit when he was wrong. I was always wrong and he was always right. He wrestled in high school and thinks that is the "manliest" sport that exists.

I'm sorry, but honestly, I think wrestling is kind of gay haha. Nothing like having two guys rubbing up against each other. :X

Then he went to Florida for a week with some friends. The FIRST thing one of his friends told me was "don't worry, he didn't cheat on you." 8 months later (and by this time I moved on and was dating E) my friend Nicole found out that he did cheat on me. It pissed me off because I was still with him for 2 months after he got back from Florida, but oh well. He was really upset when I broke up with him, but whatever, it's his loss. Then he messaged me on Facebook saying I was dating an ugly guy and that the military is for pussies....later he messaged me telling me he was going to join the Marines and be "a real man." He never did.

E would NEVER say things like that me. He ALWAYS compliments me and tells me how pretty and beautiful I am. He always treats me with respect.

This song reminds me of my ex but also where I am today and that I have someone so much better. I was your silver lining, but now I'm gold.

Day 6 - Fort Leonard Wood

Day 6: Post a picture of the base your man is at and tell 5 cool things about the base.



Oh what to say about Fort Leonard Wood lol... (I'll try my best!)
1. Obviously, E is here! That is the BEST thing about this post ;)
2. It's warmer here than back home (OH-IO!)
3. It's got a cool MP memorial. I love the bronze crossed pistols statue:



Along with that memorial is also a chem and engineer memorial.

4. The post isn't overly huge which in a way is nice. I know when I move to Fort Hood in May it'll be a big change, but I'm ready for that (and nicer weather!! lol)
5. There is a really good Korean restaurant (Seoul Garden) and Mexican restaurant (El Jimador) off-post.

That's pretty much it lol.

Getting to know each other.

Lou @ Guinn & Bare It is doing a link-up to get to know her new followers. Check out her blog to link up!

Getting to know me: Melissa!

1. What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
Laundry, because between my husband & I it's a lot of loads. I blame him though lol. He waits until ALL of his clothes are dirty and I don't. I also hate doing dishes because it's very gross...and my husband will just leave dirty dishes in the sink at times and sometimes I really have to scrub to get some of that shiz off!

2. What is your favorite body part?
I guess my eyes.

3. What celebrity do you get mistaken for?
I have never gotten mistaken for a celebrity, but I've been told that I look a lot like Jessica Alba, just a slighly more Asian version of her lol. And sure enough, I took one of those celebrity look-a-like tests and I got 70% Jessica Alba as a result lol.

4. What was the last movie, TV show or book that made you cry or tear up?
I watched Restrepo a couple of days ago with E. It's a documentary of 2nd Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team who all go on a 15-month deployment to the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. The Korengal Valley was considered to be one of the deadliest deployment areas for soldiers to go to. The platoon was under fire every day. It was good considering this was all real footage. So far 50 American soldiers have died in the Korengal Valley, including some members of this platoon. Afghan civilians and soldiers have lost their lives here, too. Some parts were very sad...but that's with any war movie or documentary. I have a love-hate relationship with them. I find war films/documentaries to be so interesting but at the same time they make me so sad because I think of all of those men and women in uniform who have lost their lives and it is mind boggling to think of what these servicemen and women have to go through every day. It also makes me think of E and what he will have to endure once he deploys.

5. What story does your family always tell about you?
I will actually have to come back to this one. There are stories but for some reason my mind is blank at the moment!

6. What do you love about blogging?
I can share my feelings and have met a lot of online bloggers through the MilSpouse blogging community which is such a plus!

7. What are your passions?
Nursing and helping people, supporting and respect for our troops (obviously! I really really REALLY hate those WBCers!!) and cancer awareness/fund raisers/etc, especially for pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is one of those silent killers because you don't know you have it until it is very advanced. The chance of surviving when diagnosed as a stage IV is 4%. I lost my father at 51 to pancreatic cancer 4 years ago (it will be 5 years this October). I really hope we can find a cure or at least a way to catch this early.

Day 5 - Branch

Day 5: Post a picture of the branch he is in and list your favorite thing about him being in the military.



That he takes pride in making a difference in the world and serving his country and defending our freedoms.

hooah! :)

day 4! Family

Post a picture of the family he had to leave behind to protect his country.


I can't find a picture of his ENTIRE family but here is one :)

day 3 - how we met

Day 3: Post a picture of how you met. Did you know then that you'd be where you are with him today?


We met at college. Not at this building, but this is a picture of part of the campus.

E actually requested to be my friend on Facebook before I even moved into the dorm I was living in that year (which was the townhouses). One of my roommates knew him. One day all of us (as in my 4 other roommates and E's 5 other roommates) met and E and I instantly hit it off together. The chemistry was definitely there :)

I honestly knew that I would be where I am now with him, and he felt the same way :)

military photo challenge days 1 & 2

I saw that Beckie @ Turn for the Nurse was doing this and I thought it was a cool idea. Katie @ Every Day That You're Away is doing a link-up for this photo challenge! Here are days 1 & 2, I'll include 3 when I have more time.

Day 1: Post a photo of your military SO and list 10 facts about him.



lol I love this picture of E, from his ROTC days.

1. E drives a Subaru WRX and absolutely loves it. I joke around with him and tell him it's his girlfriend because of how he is with it. He loves cars in general and wants to race someday. He keeps talking about bringing his car to a track or bringing it to the Nuremberg Speedway in Germany. He has already tuned his car which is now as fast as a stock Subaru STI. He used to own a '96 Mustang GT and spent way too much money on that car lol.

2. E is a middle sibling. He has an older sister who is 24 (and she is married to an Airman!) and a younger brother who is 20.

3. E is a beer connoisseur. He loves craft beers and IPAs.

4. E is also a Chipotle addict. The closest Chipotle from him is 2 hours away. He drove one day just to get it

5. Although E hasn't been in the Army for long (he's a newly commissioned 2LT) he is a great soldier. I couldn't be more proud of him!

6. E loooooves anything and everything spicy!

7. Playing video games is one of his favorite past-times.

8. back home he has a german shepherd named Mercedes :) Unfortunately we can't take her once we PCS to our new duty station, so we're going to get a shepherd of our own :)

9. E's guilty junk food vice is Flamin' Hot Cheetos.

10. E graduated with a bachelor's in political science, associate's in criminal justice and minor in military science.

Day 2: post a picture of you and your military SO being silly

Lol we do not really have any silly pictures!


this one was awhile ago


more recent :)

ring link-up!

Mrs. Yellow Ribbon is doing a "Show Me Your..." link-up and this week...it's RINGS! I love looking at everyone's rings :) Here are mine:

the center diamond is a princess cut but rotated on its side. they call that style a baseball diamond.

I'm wedding band-less because I have teeny-tiny size 4 fingers, and the original band that E bought was a size 8. Jared told us they can't size the ring down that far, so I had to order the band in a smaller size. They told me it was supposed to come in the beginning of February. I'm still waiting -_- But, here is my band (click to enlarge):

The two rings will have to be cut and flipped around then re-sautered together so that the curve goes inward and matches better with my ring...my ring has such a weird curve to it that it's hard to find a band that looks good with it without having to do a custom, which for one band would have been $1700 (which is outrageous) and for two, over $3000 (even more outrageous).

Did you look at rings together?

Actually, no. I did send E pictures of styles that I liked. We shopped for wedding bands together, though.

Do you like your ring? Did you from the beginning? ...Be honest!

I loved my ring from the beginning and still do! It was a different style than the ones that I showed him, and his choice blew me away. I also love what he did with the center diamond because I have never seen a ring like that before. He told me he saw it and didn't like it, then told them to rotate the diamond on the side. I absolutely love it! And I get a lot of compliments on it, too :)

How often do you wear your rings?

I don't wear them to work (I am thinking about buying a either a plain band one or one with a few diamonds) because I'm so scared that something will happen to it! I also don't wear it when I shower. Otherwise, it stays on!

Do you clean your rings?

I have jewelry cleaner, but I usually just have Jared's clean it when I'm in the area. I also get it checked every 6 months and I also check it myself by holding it up to my ear and lightly "tapping" the band. A friend taught me that if you hear a little jingle or clanking sound, that means something is loose. One day I did it, heard something and sure enough it was loose!

What went through your mind the very first time you saw your ring?

It's so pretty and sparkly!!! And also too big lol (the size, I mean! I actually got it resized twice since I got it lol)