Military Monday bloghop & Something About ME!

Head over to Marine Parents to link up!

Go to Keely's blog to participate! This week's questions:

1. Do you watch/read the news?

I try to stay updated.. I get my breaking news updates from Twitter and I'm an avid USAToday reader.

2. How would you describe your "look"?

Comfortable and relaxed :)

3. Did you play sports in high school or college?

I think marching band should count as a sport...seriously! We were a competitive marching band and a lot of our shows were hard...it takes a lot of stamina to be marching at literally running speed while playing all of these ridiculous melodies on your instrument. Don't hate it unless you've tried it! I played mellophone in marching band, btw. I was also in Taekwondo, even though that wasn't school-related. Mostly through middle school and some of high school, but I quit because of school...and moving around was also another issue. I started TKD when I lived in Florida (WTF, that stands for World TKD Federation, not "what the eff" haha) and got to the lowly rank of orange belt, then I moved to Wisconsin (ITF, that stands for International TKD Federation) and got all the way up to a 1st degree blackbelt...then moved to Ohio which was another WTF school and I didn't like the school very much, so I quit (also because of school as I mentioned before). I really miss it, though. I'm thinking about getting back into it. Especially since I kicked some serious ass at it (literally!) haha.

4. Would you rather give up lipstick or high heels?

Seeing since I NEVER wear lipstick and I rarely wear heels, it wouldn't matter to me...but honestly I would rather give up lipstick, only because I wear high heels sometimes.

5. What's your favorite show to watch on TV?

Grey's Anatomy, even though I am waaaaay behind...I also like those wedding shows like Say Yes To The Dress...South Park/Futurama, and practically anything on the history or military channels.

6. Would you rather bake or cook?

Bake.

7. Shorts or skirts?

I hate my legs, but I would rather wear skirts than shorts.

8. What's your favorite scary movie?

I love scary movies, but I do not really have a "favorite."

I also got my outfit for E's MPBOLC graduation! I was originally going to wear this shirt dress from Target, but I saw this dress from American Eagle and I fell in love:

Paired with a short black cardigan if I get cold and I was going to just wear some jeweled black flip flops (they look a lot nicer than those $5 ones from Old Navy). I'm praying for NICE, WARM weather that day. According to the forecast, it is supposed to be rainy :( and graduation will be outside :(

Oh, government.

Okay.

So you're willing to cut the paychecks of our men & women who RISK THEIR LIVES every day defending our freedom...and yet the president & members of congress will still earn their pay when in reality all they do is sit on their asses all day? Something is not right here.

There are a lot of military families that depend on the pay of their soldiers. Oh, and for those who think military life is so "glamourous" - it really isn't. I think some people have a false perception of military life & military wives. They think we get everything handed to us and that we make a ton of money. Yes, there are "perks" such as BAH, FSA, HDP, the commissary, cheaper gas prices on post, practically free healthcare and very affordable dental care, etc etc etc, but you have to remember that these men and women are risking their lives for this. And it's not like we're here rolling around in cash.

Our soldiers overseas have enough things they need to worry about, like being able to carry out their mission. They shouldn't have to worry about whether or not their SO's/kids can afford to pay rent or even feed themselves. It adds so much stress to an already incredibly stressful job.

I really hope our government can figure this out by 0000. Or if the government ends up shutting down, at least ENSURE THAT OUR MILITARY MEMBERS ARE PAID. If it is anyone who works for the government that deserves to be paid, it should be them. I'm not just saying this because I'm a military wife. I guess that can make this seem a little biased, but I have stated before that they are RISKING THEIR LIVES. THEY DESERVE TO BE PAID.

Wake the eff up, Mr. President & Congress. And get your shit together.

what's your jam?

It's that time again! Amber @ Goodnight Moon is doing a weekly song link-up every Thursday!

This week: Better Together by Jack Johnson. I love Jack Johnson, and this song is pretty obvious, because it's always better when we're together :) And we'll be together in a week! I can't wait <3

not a happy panda.

my enhancer for my engagement ring came in and today I got the finished product. they're all soughtered together.

I hate it.

In theory, it looked good, but there is just way too much space between the enhancer and the engagement ring. They told me this was the closest they could get to my engagement ring.

My ring has a unique curve to it and surprisingly, Jared does not carry a matching band for it. For awhile we thought our only option was to do a custom, but for one band it would be over $1,000 and for two bands it would be over $3,000. We decided not to because of the price...and you can get an enhancer for a little over $1,000 (usually) and *most* bands are between $499-$599. The problem was just trying to find one that fits well with my ring.

I talked with a guy and we were trying some contour bands and we found one that fits almost perfectly with the ring. They said this will be the closest I can get without having to do a custom and it honestly looks really good :) There is a little price difference, and I called E to make sure it was okay and he said not to stress out about it or anything, price isn't an issue so do not worry about it. "Have fun and pick out what you like. I picked out the engagement ring and you're supposed to pick out the band(s) that you like." I love him =)

THIS LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER.

I love the enhancer, just not with my ring. It doesn't look good at all. Because I have teeny tiny fingers (size 4) we have to special order the bands, but they should come on or before May 6th. For now, I am stuck with my ring as is until the the contour bands come in, and then they will size everything down, unsoughter what I have now and either soughter one band to the ring and keep one band loose, soughter all of them together or keep all of them loose.

The guy told me to try to enjoy my ring now lol but it will get fixed and everything will be okay. I just might have to wait up to 30 days for it >_<

Military Life From Alpha to Zulu!

Link up with Riding The Rollercoaster! Here is my list:

Alpha: American, AAFES, Afghanistan, Army, ACU's, Airborne, Acronyms, Abbreviations, "Assist Protect Defend," Apache

Bravo: Bravery, BLS, Boots, Brigade, Battalion, Beret

Charlie: Company, Commissary, Coveralls, Camouflage, Courage, Camelback

Delta: Deployments, Dog Tags, Dependent, Dress Blues

Echo: E-mail

Foxtrot: FSA, FRG, Freedom, Flag

Golf: Guns, Gear

Hotel: Hazardous Duty Pay (HDP)

India: Iraq

Juliet: Jets

Kilo: Kevlar, KBAR, Kuwait

Lima: Love, Long Distance, LES

Mike: Military, Moving, Military ID, Military Police, Military Ball, Military Wife, Murphey's Law, Mail

November: NCO

Oscar: OPSEC, Orders, OPORD, Overseas, Officer

Papa: PCS, Patriot, Pride, Proud, PERSEC, Paperwork, PX, Perseverance

Quebec: Qualifications

Romeo: Reunions, Rank, Ribbons, R&R, ROTC, Retreat

Sierra: Skype, Security, Spouse

Tango: Tricare, Training, Tours, "This We'll Defend," Tank

Uniform: USO, United Concordia, USAA, Unit, United States

Victor: Veterans, Valor

Whiskey: Waiting, War

X-Ray: XO

Yankee: Yellow Ribbons

Zulu: Zero Dark Thirty, Zip-Lock Bags

milball dresses and more wedding stuff

As much as I didn't want to spend money on a floor-length dress for the upcoming military ball because this wedding continues to be expensive *and* I have to do some mandatory repairs on my car which will probably total to $1200...I understand that I have to maintain the car but why the hell does everything have to happen all at once? But anyway, I thought a floor-length gown would be more appropriate for a "ball" anyway so I decided to buy one. And the dress was under $100 which was a huge plus for me. I ended up buying this one:

the halter clasp on this particular one was broken so that's why I'm holding it up so I don't flash all of you haha.

I think the dress is very flattering on me and like I said, it was under $100 on sale :) These pictures make it appear more blue but it is slightly more purple. The other dress I was considering was this one:

$10 more, I loved the color (slightly brighter blue than this picture depicts) and I love the single strap but I wasn't too crazy about all of that frilliness on that strap. So I went with the purple one instead :)

I also met with the church organist and chose music for the wedding ceremony. We have to use the organist, so that limits me in my music choice. But here is what I chose:

seating of the mothers: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Bach

bridesmaids processional: Grazioso by Telemann. I listened to some recordings on youtube of this and I actually didn't like it. It sounds so much better on an organ.

wedding march: Trumpet Voluntary by Clarke. This is the same wedding march Princess Diana used :)

recessional: Rondeau by Mouret

That's another thing I can cross off my list :)

The bakery quoted me on the price for marzipan calla lilies on my cake...freakin' $185. ON TOP OF an already $500-$600 wedding cake. I feel bad for declining because I know they worked with it in the shop for awhile to make sure it was doable, so I feel like their efforts would be wasted...but that's a lot of freakin money just for some flowers. I thought about doing a mix of buttercream callas and marzipan but I don't know how well that's going to look. I don't know what to do, ahhhh!

The necklaces for my bridesmaids came in today, too :)

Not the best picture but I didn't want to take it out of the bag and (wo)man handle it before the wedding lol.

So finally that's another thing I can cross off! Their jewelry is on me...but I don't know if I should get them another gift as well? I would love to at least buy mani/pedis for them but that's going to be expensive as well and I only have a few more weeks left to work...so I won't have my own income any more :(

I also got offered an interview for an ICU internship at a level 1 trauma center! But I had to regretfully decline it, and the hiring manager totally understood. He believes in honesty, and he told me that if I were to get hired in another position in the hospital, all I would have to do is wait 6 months and then I can transfer into an internship. They have another one that starts in January and he said my chances are a lot better to get into that one than the one that starts in June. I would have to fly down for the interview, too. I looked up flights to Texas and they average around $500...so really, he was telling me to not waste my money and just wait lol. I'm hoping I'll get more calls in the future. I sent in a lottttt of apps! keeping my fingers crossed :)

Friday Fill-In!

Head over to Wifey's blog to participate! :)

1. What romance movie scene reminds you of your SO or spouse and the LOVE you share? submitted by Simply Sunshine & Daisy's

That's a good question! I'm sure there are movie scenes but honestly I'm too lazy to think of one and pick haha...E & I never really argue. Sometimes we disagree, but it never turns into a fight. Actually, I cannot recall a time where we were really angry with each other. But I digress. As for our LOVE, we're very playful and passionate and we love to just lay around in bed, talking and laughing with each other :)

2. If you were allowed to deploy with your husband to a war zone, would you and why? submitted by I & J

I would as a nurse, because someone needs to take care of those wounded soldiers! My husband definitely wouldn't let me, though.

3. Have you ever done anything (intentionally or unintentionally) to embarrass your spouse or SO in front of his military cohorts? submitted by Marrying the Navy

I know I have never done anything intentionally and I'm sure I have never done anything unintentionally, so no lol

4. What is your most irrational fear? submitted by Eights on the Move

lol every time I hear a random noise at night I'm afraid someone is breaking in and they're going to come kill me! I also tend to check behind the shower curtain to make sure there isn't a murderer on the other side lol...even when I have that bathroom door locked!

5. If you could only live in one kind of climate for the rest of your life what would it be and why? submitted by Many Waters

70's and sunny :) That way it's still gorgeous without it being too hot...not that I mind the heat, but weather in the 70's is perfect to me :)