And the winner is...

This is incredibly exciting, because when I set out to have this giveaway it was to honor my (almost) 100 followers. Lo and behold, the day I announce the winner I have EXACTLY 100 followers!

I am so very excited!

HEY new followers! I like you already. I look forward to learning more about you, so please leave me messages or send me an email with your blog so I can follow you too!

Now, on to the winner.

I did the standard Random.org random number generator for entries 1 - 22.

And the lucky lady is...

Entry #1:

REINA from Semper Gumby...Return of Sunshine

This seems extremely fitting since she left me a sweet message about all my followers AND she herself hit 100 followers this weekend. Go Reina.

(Oh, and seriously go check her out since now she's hosting a giveaway too!)

Email me to claim your prize.

Some of you also asked questions to get extra entries. Here are my answers:

ABW asked... What type of law do you want to practice?

No-el asked... What kind of law do you want to work in?

I answered...

The job I've always wanted to do is Constitutional/International/Military law and eventually be a judge someday. But I've realized as I've gotten older that entering a field like that is extremely competitive and requires 100% of ones energy. I've gotten to the point where I want a more balanced life, with family and other things I enjoy. I don't want to marry my work. I've also recently developed an interest in business law. (I guess it's not SO recent since that was my minor in Undergrad, but recent as a career choice.) I like the idea of corporate law; consulting with businesses that want to create LLC's or agencies; helping write contracts; helping with bankruptcies and acquisitions. I think that would allow me to enjoy my field and still come home for dinner and be with my family.

Noel also asked... Are you an Al ever going to come visit Lewis? (Seriously though, what are your dream "duty stations?")

I answered...

It's too hard to travel right when he gets back since everyone he loves is here in Minnesota. I would imagine that next spring we will be looking for cool places to visit. Don't worry, I'll stay in touch!

As far as duty stations, I think he and I unanimously agree that Ft. Carson, Colorado would be our ideal. We like the area; enough city and enough outdoors wrapped up in one. Plus it's got great real-estate, great sports teams and it's close enough to home to visit when we want.

And... What are you going to get yourself when you graduate law school? (Everyone should treat themselves to a present after something like that.)

I answered...

I hadn't even thought about it. I would say a wedding, ha ha. Or maybe a house.

Really though, I want one expensive, designer Coach or Balenciaga briefcase. And perhaps a trip to the spa for a hot stone massage, facial and pedi.

And... Have you heard from your crazed ex-roommate since you parted ways?

I answered...

Not really. I have text him a couple of times with apartment details, ie: deposit and steam cleaning, but mostly we've kept to ourselves. It was his birthday the other day and I did wish him well. That's it.

Mrs. Wood asked... If you could change one law, what would it be?

I answered...

Oh, there are so many. Right now, I would repeal the health care bill. I think there are too many issues and flaws in that bill/law that are going to cause major problems and I would like to prevent that from happening. Perhaps we can think through more of those details before making such a detrimental decision.

(I am proud I answered that without getting too political!)

Thank you everyone for entering and for asking those great questions. I will {finally} be posting my shoes this evening and tomorrow I have another little treat.

Then, Monday it's back to work and back to the Our Story series. If you're new, I encourage you to read-up so you know where we're at with the story. In the meantime, enjoy your weekend!

Don't Forget!

To enter my giveaway BEFORE 2359 (11:59) tonight!

It's the easiest $40 you'll ever make in your life. Promise.

Oh, and have a Happy Saturday night!

Please forgive me...

For being a total blogging slacker. I know, I know. I almost NEVER miss even a day, let alone a couple. So I guess I deserve a day or two off. In reality, though, I didn't WANT to take any time off from blogging. I have just been so tired. Going to full time at work and moving in the same week has me completely zapped of all energy. Plus, there is this nagging homecoming in the back of my mind AND school looming just around the corner that is forcing me to really get into a routine and get things done.

I promise I will continue with the Our Story Series as soon as my sleeping, mental and emotional capacities are all caught up, which I presume will be this weekend.

In the meantime, tide yourself over by entering my contest here.

No, not later. Now. I mean it. Get over there and do it!

Love ya'll!

A Few Necessary Details

I had mentioned earlier wanting to catalog my shoes in photo form.

Well, I took care of that on Saturday and I have the pictures for you. I will get to those photos later in the week, but in the meantime, I have MUCH more important things to cover.

First, I went to my first work party on Friday night and had a great time. I spent about $4 betting on horses and $6 on valet! Ha ha. I guess it's pretty clear where my priorities are!

The food was great, I got to get closer with the people I work with AND I won a Garmin GPS.

Second, I received my Summer Swap package from Flip Flop Chic.

I have to first tell you what happened. Apparently, the post office near her is incompetent (really though, which one isn't) and they completely crushed the package when she originally sent it. It came back to her doorstep totally destroyed! Oof. She e-mailed me and told me she was going to go down there and have them re-ship it.

I got it on Friday!!! Yeah for FUN packages!

I took a picture of the box, because she wrote "DO NOT CRUSH" on the front. Love it!

And this is what I got inside:

Contents: coconut lime shower gel, watermelon foot lotion, Burt's Bees, Clinique Plump and Shine lip gloss, a great summer-y nail polish, tealight candle holders and a key strap (which she made - how talented is she?!)

I just love the whole thing - and I can and will use everything there.

Well done, lady! Thank you!

Finally, I received this award from TWO lovely ladies: Just a Girl and Staci at Rambling Military Wife. Thank you ladies!

The rules of the award are to tell you 7 things about myself and to pass it along to 9 bloggers.

Since I think most of you have already received the award, I will open it up to anyone who doesn't have it. You are all lovely in my eyes!

1. I have large knuckles and have to wear size 8 ring.

2. I have bitten my nails my entire life. It wasn't until recently that I stopped and I really have no idea why or how.

3. One of the reasons I like being in a professional field is because I get to wear heels.

4. No matter how tired I am, I can rarely go to bed before midnight.

5. I'm seriously considering lining one wall of my bedroom in shoe boxes.

6. I wash my hair every couple of days. Day 2 is always my best hair day.

7. My bed really, really needs my man in it. It's just too big these days.

Our Story #3: Viva Las Vegas

{part 3 in a 7-part series of stories about my journey of love, with Al by my side.}

(I wanted to name this story: "A plaid shirt is not dress up and your Coors Light hat doesn't go with everything" but I decided against it. Read on to find out why.)

After a few months of visiting back and forth between Minnesota and Texas, we decided to go "somewhere." What was the easiest? Las Vegas. It was close enough for him to drive out there, so we only had to buy a ticket for me. Plus, we'd have a car there to drive out and see the Hoover Dam.

Having the car proved to be a good thing when BFF Linus and her boy at the time joined us our last night there. (They, of course, stayed for a few days after we left but we were lucky to have our trips coincide enough to spend some time together!)

My flight got in around 3PM (if I recall) and I was really tired. You see, at this time, I was working at a law firm but I didn't have PTO or any other way to take "vacation time." So if I wanted the money, I had to make up my hours elsewhere in order to get paid for them. No big deal, if I'm taking the afternoon off for a Dr. Appt. or something.

Much more difficult when you take a long weekend to Vegas.

I had spent Monday through Wednesday working 12-hour days. My flight to Vegas was at 7:20 AM and I lived about an hour from the airport, so I was up at 5AM to ensure I was able to get there with no problem.

Therefore, I was very tired when my plane landed in early afternoon. We went up to the room and took a nap. It just seemed like the best way to start a vacation. Frankly, I don't think I would have been much fun if we hadn't napped before starting on the fun stuff.

We did have dinner plans that night, but we had to make a stop at Express first to exchange a shirt I'd bought for Al that was too small. (He says it has to do with his muscular chest and arms, I say I just goofed on the size...) I wouldn't have had to buy him a shirt and tie at all if the boy knew a darn thing about dressing up. When I asked what he brought for our dinner, he showed me a plaid shirt.

It was a fine shirt. For golfing or a BBQ. Or maybe for casual Friday at work (not that he'd know what that was either...he he.) But it wasn't a "dinner in Vegas" shirt. At all.

He had another burgundy dress shirt and matching tie so we decided he'd wear that for that night's dinner and we'd just have to figure something out for our fancier dinner the next night.

(In his defense, he owns a grey Giorgio Armani suit, which he would wear our final night in Vegas. I would find out later that the suit was a size or two too big because he'd lost a lot of weight since he first joined the Army. So, for our 3 nights in Vegas he had a too-big suit, one shirt and tie combination with dress pants, and a plaid shirt.)

Luckily, I had anticipated such a fashion debacle and purchased a shirt in advance.

He might not know this, but I was so broke at the time. I actually exchanged two items I'd bought for myself at Express that happened to still have the tags on them in order to buy the shirt and tie for him. It wasn't just about how he looked. I really wanted him to have it.

When it didn't fit, I was devastated. Let me tell you, this shirt was gorgeous! It was a great green color. I can't even describe the color; not mint or olive, but somewhere in between.

(And the tie was a black with dark grey/silver paisley pattern which looked awesome against the green.) As I silently cursed myself and vocally explained to him that he could definitely NOT wear the plaid shirt to dinner, we decided to go get one in his size since it was right on the strip and we had a couple hours before our late reservation.

So, we confirmed our reservations and headed out to take care of the shirt. I know that Vegas is a great walking city, but on my feet were a great pair of black D'orsay heels. This was bad because I had completely under-estimated how far down the strip Caesars Palace was from The Luxor. We were about half-way there when a perfect blister formed on my foot. I kept going (remember, I'm stubborn AND against looking like a damsel in distress!)

We made it to Express but couldn't find the shirt. They had ONE in the color I wanted. One. Guess what size it was? The same size I'd already purchased that didn't fit. Crap.

I started searching for the next best color choice. I wasn't going to get him something he wouldn't like (pink or an equally un-manly color) and I didn't want to get him another burgundy or blue since he already had them.

A different green? No, he didn't like it.

How about this great silver color? No, looked like a girls shirt.

Perhaps this deep blue? I only need one blue shirt, he quipped.

Rather then spend my energy explaining how this blue shirt and the one he already had were very different colors, I told him to pick out the shirt he saw that caught his eye.

I'll give you one guess what color it was.

Black?

Yep, it was black.

I rolled my eyes and we headed to the register to exchange it.

The tie still looked great with the shirt and if it meant I could get him to wear it again, it wasn't worth an argument. The black shirt it is.

After leaving the store we realized how late it was.

We were going to miss our reservation!

We hurried (which was really bad considering the already formed blister on my foot.) We got there and apologized for our lateness. It was about 12 minutes after our reservation time and we hoped they'd still seat us.

The lady at the hostess stand looked at us and laughed.

"Your reservation isn't until 7:50. It's only 7:00."

Our clocks were still on central time, one hour fast.

She was nice enough to seat us early and our efforts to hurry were not entirely in vain.

After dinner, we headed back to the room. I had planned a little surprise for him. When I found out what hotel we were staying at I called ahead and ordered a "Sensuality Treat Box" to be sent to our room along with a bottle of champagne.

Our goodies:

He was pretty excited and poured us glasses of champagne while I drew a bath.

I'll skip over the remainder of the evening and let your imaginations connect the appropriate (ah, who am I kidding - totally inappropriate) dots. In summation - it was an amazing night.

The next morning, I woke up to various noises in our room. Most of you know that there really is no "sleeping in" for Army boys. In fact, he'd been up since 5AM (it was now 9). He had showered, gone downstairs to get bagels AND he'd made coffee. I ate, had my coffee and got ready for the day.

We spent the day walking the strip (in more comfortable shoes) and looking at various attractions.

Like the lions at MGM

And the roller coaster at New York, New York

And Excaliber

My favorite was Caesars Palace.

It has everything from fancy shopping to gorgeous fountains.

Turns out, Al wanted to head back to shop. He wanted cuff links for his suit. Cuff. Links. I'm not making this up. I wasn't about to argue with that, so we picked him up a pair along the way. And we stopped at one of the fountains for a kiss.

And who could pass up these attractions:

That night, we went to see a show. Criss Angel's "BELIEVE" featuring Cirque du Soleil. Al thought it was a bust. I liked it, but not for $80 per ticket. Criss Angel wasn't overly spectacular and even the Cirque du Soleil stuff was pretty lame. If we ever go back, we'll see a full Cirque show or something like Blue Man Group.

After the show we went to a place called the Cat House for dinner. It's supposed to be a burlesque-style restaurant with scantily-clad women and other risque things like silhouette windows of women getting dressed. It seemed like a fun adventure so we gave it a whirl.

The "entertainment" was boring. There weren't any scantily-clad ladies, dancers or anything. The shadow-puppet window thingies weren't very exhilarating either.

Apparently, the really exciting stuff happens after midnight, but what did we know?

I will say one thing about the place. The food was amazing. Capital AH-mazing. I ordered lamb and it was seriously the best food I've ever put in my mouth. (I can hear Al in the background mumbling something about how the "food better be good for the price" but I don't care because the noises of satisfaction coming from my stomach were far louder then his grumblings.)

Note: the black shirt and tie - what a stud!

I was a little tired and he wanted to go play some cards. I'm not a gambler. At all.

I don't like parting with money. I'd much rather spend $40 on a pair of shoes that I KNOW I'm going to love then spend the evening betting on cards that I'm likely NOT going to win.

Mind you, he's an excellent card player. I think it's mostly because he reads people well and they can't read him at all. He's even talked about trying to play pro circuits for a bit to see how well he'd do, but the Army always quashes any chances of that.

I don't mind that he plays cards. He only plays with his "fun money" - like I budget for drinks with friends, shopping or movies. As long as that's all he does, I don't mind one bit. I like that he has hobbies and I love that he's good at it.

So, I grabbed a book (I know, I'm such an exciting Vegas-goer) and crawled into bed with some wine and he prepared to go down to the casino. After a fews pages he told me he was leaving and bent down to kiss me. I laughed. Hard.

He was still wearing the nice shirt and tie, but had put on a lime green Coors Light hat. I tried to explain that it didn't go with his nice outfit and he proceeded to tell me that a Coors Light hat went with everything. He then went on to say that he needed it to play cards. When I asked him why he wasn't going to dress more casually to match the hat, he told me that he looked really good in his outfit and wanted to keep it on.

Whatever honey. Have fun playing cards.

He did. When he crawled into bed a few hours later, he woke me up. I think he told me something about the men he was playing with complimenting him on his clothes and hat. He told me he won our money for dinner the next night and something about being frisky.

I snorted and went back to sleep.

The next morning, we decided to make our day more educational and went out to the Hoover Dam. Neither of us had ever been so we left early morning and brought sandwiches for a picnic. It was pretty neat to see the whole thing, but it was even neater to hear the story behind it. If you don't know, check this out.

We spent a few hours sunnin' our bodies at the pool (my pale-white Minnesota skin and his farmers/Army tan were both DESPERATELY in need of some UV rays) and then got ready for the evening. This was the night we'd pick up Linus and her boy (we'll call AP) at the airport and head out to a club for a night out. (See, I can be fun too!)

On our way to the airport, we HAD to stop at the Vegas sign and take couple pictures as well as a few in front of the Luxor, where we stayed.

We picked up Linus and AP and brought them to their hotel and a few hours later, we were ready to party! Earlier, we'd looked at a few places and found Lavo had a VIP special that night. It happened to be connected to the hotel they were staying in, so it worked out just great! Linus and I did some dancing and we all did some drinking.

All in all it was a great night.

We met up the next morning for breakfast buffet before I had to be off to the airport.

We had a great time, despite the dent in the pocket book. Al foot the bill for the whole thing, which wasn't cheap. He really wanted it to be a special weekend for us and it was.

It really was.

In case you were wondering, he does wear that plaid shirt once in a while, when I tell him it's appropriate to do so - but he also enjoys dressing up. He won't admit it openly, but when he's in a shirt and tie with a nice pair of slacks and I come around the corner to catch him eyeing himself in the mirror, I know he likes what he sees. I certainly do!

And here is his "proof" that a Coors Light hat DOES go with everything.

{Coming up in part 4 of the series: I visit Texas and hilarity ensues.}

Moving is Exhausting

So, I had planned a great post with my shoe photo-catalog for your viewing pleasure. Problem is, I am so bloody tired from moving today that I will NOT be putting them up right now.

I don't care what you say, you can't make me!

I'm not even sure I know where my camera cord is.

Hell, I'm not even sure where my make-up bag is.

I did get my closet started, with a lot of my clothes put away. I got my bed set up so I could sleep tonight and much of my kitchen unpacked. Beyond that, I made walkways throughout the house to the various important rooms.

Luckily, other then my half-day work schedule, I have NOTHING planned. I can simply spend ALL of my time unpacking and settling in. I hope to be completely settled by Friday, but it might take longer because I still have to go back to the old apartment to clean and check-out. Once I'm done, I should have over three weeks before I have to start thinking about school.

My new roommates made me brats and corn on the cob tonight and I can definitely say this is going to be a GREAT living situation.

And I have a walk-in closet, washer/dryer, and air conditioning.

I can definitely make this home.

A Giveaway!

I am almost at 100 followers! Wa-hoo!

I was going to wait to do this until I hit 100 on the head, but I'm too excited.

So, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for all your love, support and readership! It truly means the world to me to have developed an amazing blog family.

That said, it's time for a giveaway!

CSN Stores contacted me to give away a gift card.

How much?

$40

Yes, that's right! Forty WHOLE dollars to use in ANY of their HUNDREDS of stores!

I'm currently browsing their many sites dedicated to decorating since I am moving this weekend - and they have SoOoOo many.

Like bedroom furniture sets.

And matching bedding.

Or gorgeous mirrors and wall art.

Maybe I can get that toaster oven I've been talking about.

Or a new bookshelf for all my books!

Even if you're not in decorating mode, there are many, MANY great stores.

This one is neat.

So is this one.

I love this one.

And this one.

Can you tell I'm excited?!

So, if you'd like to play, here's what you do:

1. Become (or let me know you already are) a follower {one entry}

2. Blog about my giveaway {one entry}

3. Ask me a question!

{one entry for each question, max of 5}

And finally...

4. If a new person becomes a follower because of YOUR post, you will get TWO additional entries! - Be sure to let them know to mention you when they stop by!

*Note that shipping costs might include international shipping in Canada or other countries.

**I am not receiving any compensation for hosting this giveaway.

The contest will be open until Friday, July 30 at 23:59 and I will announce the winner on the 31st. What a great way to bring in August!

What I'm Wondering Today

It's that time again...

For me to tell you what I'm wondering about today.

I hope ya'll are enjoying my series of stories about Al and myself. I'm enjoying writing them and I assure you that they get better and better. That being said, I am going to break from the series sporadically (usually on the weekends) for my typical blog memes and other life news and resume the series on Monday.

This weekend I have an extra-special treat for you!

I am going to inventory my closet of shoes, accessories and jewelry. This means I will be photographing EVERYTHING I own in those categories so I have an accurate depiction of what's there. What? You want to see the photos?

OK...I will show them to you.

Be warned.

There are LOTS!

And on that note, what I'm wondering today:

1. If there is one thing you can't pass up at the store, what is it?

2. What is your favorite shoe store? Clothing store? Other store?

3. What is the most money you've spent at one time? What was it and where did you get it?

(Note: do not include house/car and other necessary large purchases)

4. Does hubby/BF/Mr. have any shopping vices? Explain.

5. What is the best thing you've ever bought yourself? Someone else?

My Answers:

1. Definitely chapstick. (Al, honey, you thought I was going to say shoes, but I'll have you know, I walked past Aldo's 70% off sale and didn't even go in the store!)

Really though, I NEED chapstick and any time I'm in line to pay for things and they have a 3-pk, I buy them. I buy the Chapstick brand blue moisturizing ones. Sometimes I splurge on Burts Bees, but Al thinks it tastes "waxy" so I only use it when he's gone.

2. I have many favorite shoe stores, but I'd have to say the aforementioned Aldo is my favorite. They have a good variety of shoes and the prices are relatively reasonable.

My favorite clothing store is much harder to narrow down. I'd have to say J-Crew, Express, H&M and Old Navy (for their jeans and tees).

Finally, my favorite "other" store is most definitely Target. What CAN'T you get there? And it's all good quality amazing-ness, for good prices.

3. I spent close to $350 on my Blackberry (from T-Mobile) and $500 on my laptop (from Best Buy.)

My largest purchase is actually books (but I never spend a lot on each individual book), which together are probably worth $2000. Although, my shoe collection likely rivals that.

4. He doesn't really have any shopping "vices." There isn't a whole lot he can't live without. But if you let him loose in a hardware store, he can shop for tools for hours. I mean, HOURS. While he doesn't have any shopping vices, he does his "spending" on card games. He really enjoys Texas Hold 'Em and Blackjack and will often play with buddies or at a local tournament. The upside: he frequently wins.

5. The best thing I ever bought myself was my tuition. What better investment then education? If I'm talking smaller scale, I would have to say that my quality, tailored business suit or my coffee maker! ha ha.

The best thing I ever bought someone else I would say is the money I've donated to the American Cancer Assoc. and St. Jude's Children's Hospital. Material don't matter when cancer comes around and I've always felt like that was a good use of my money even if it wasn't much.

Link-up below and join in for the weekend. Meme ends at 23:59 on Sunday. Enjoy!

Our Story #2: March in a Small Town

{part 2 of a 7-part series of stories about my journey of love, with Al by my side.}

I encourage you to read-up on the previous stories in the series and check out the "Me, Him and Our Story" link above for background on our journey together.

Like a lot of military couples, we spent a large portion of our getting-to-know-each-other phase using webcam and phones. Granted, our friendship background helped, but that doesn't make up for the many, MANY, many miles between Minnesota and Texas.

About a month after our anti-V-day in Texas, he was able to get a pass home for a long weekend. I picked him up at the airport in mid-March and we decided to spend the weekend out at the farm. Keep in mind, I had met his family previously, but both times were fairly brief. This would be the first time I'd spend a significant period with them.

Let me start off by saying that my $150 boots did not mix well with a hog farm.

What do I know? I'm a city girl.

I didn't spend a lot of time on farms and other then the State Fair, I don't think I'd ever seen cows and pigs up close (that is, unless you count how "close" you get while driving down the road.) Therefore, I was unprepared.

Al fairly warned me. I had a bag full of "grungy" clothes (which consisted of a pair of overalls and a plaid shirt I'd purchased that week at the thrift store.) Apparently, I thought he was taking me to farm with the Beverly Hillbillys. I had also brought my Esprit rubber galoshes (affectionately called "designer shit-kickers") which I anticipated wearing into the pig barns, but was promptly informed that I shouldn't unless I "wanted them to smell like shit for the rest of my life."

Needless to say, I didn't wear them.

Turns out I didn't need to.

Al's dad ("dad-D") took me down to look at the pigs, but I never stepped foot inside. Al wanted me to get up the next morning and help them with chores.

I politely informed him that I didn't get up at 5AM for many reasons, and slopping pig crap WAS NOT going to be one of them. He'd just have to forgive me for that one.

So, I luxuriously slept in while he helped dad-D.

Later that day, we met up with a group of his friends to go four-wheeling.

I had never been four-wheeling before and I especially had never been "mudding" before (which is really just a dirtier version of the first.) As I said, I was prepared clothing-wise for the adventure. I had an old, grungy pair of jeans, a hoodie and bandana.

Take note of how clean we are in the "before" shot.

We were ready to go...Or not. Al took me on a ride around the farm a few times to make sure the 4-wheeler was in good shape (we'd find out later this wasn't a very thorough test) and in doing so I realized I really wanted to wear a helmet.

Don't get me wrong, Al was a safe driver.

It was more my lack of inexperience that I feared would cause me to do something stupid and get hurt. I like to say that my brain is my "money-maker", so it's worthwhile to make sure it's appropriately protected.

And being the amazing man he is, he spent the next 30 minutes finding me a helmet.

(Let me stop for a minute to make TWO observations: One) these guys grow up driving tractors, ATVs and the like so the idea of wanting a helmet was preposterous. Once he stopped rolling his eyes at my insistence, he took care of it. Two) this also means that helmets are hard to come by.)

Luckily we found one and could head off to meet his friends.

When we got there, more teasing over the helmet ensued. But after they realized that I would NOT hesitate to kick some country-bumpkin-ass, they let it go and we were off.

Let me tell you, this was the MOST fun I've ever had. Really.

We were out for hours, just tooling around the country-side. Since it was March and most of the snow had JUST melted, there was plenty of mud to work with.

I had mud from my cleavage to my butt-crack and I didn't care. At one point, I was helping Al find good mud patches so we could spray one of the other riders or whip a couple donuts and spray ourselves. It was seriously a incredible time.

Until the whole experience went south.

First was the creek, which was much higher then we expected because of the recent melt.

(Ever played Oregon Trail? You NEVER forge the river and make it in one piece!)

We had just seen a bunch of guys come out of there unscathed, so we thought we'd give it a try. Al's step-brother had a brand new 4-wheeler, so he went first and the rest of us followed. We made it through the creek and out the other side. And then our ATV shut down. We were MILES from the nearest house or road and a good 20 minutes from home.

So we got out a rope and towed the broken ATV behind the brand new one (which came with a tow hitch and everything.) Until we came to the pond.

I don't entirely recall who's idea it was to try to cross said pond. I know it wasn't mine or Al's.

But the first guy headed across and made it, so everyone else blindly followed thinking it was an excellent idea.

3 hours later, we have FINALLY gotten 2 of the 4 ATV's safely to the other side. One is still stuck a foot-deep in the pond and the other is that poor, brand-new 4-wheeler, that we used to pull everyone else out. Another 30 minutes and we were ready to go. Even with the break-down and the drowning, it was still one of the best experiences I'd ever had.

That night, we cleaned up and went out to the town bar. Yes, there is only one, it's where everyone goes, and they KNOW when you're not from around there. It didn't take long for me to fit right in (once I started drinking, of course.) I met a bunch of his childhood friends. I drank some more. I met some of the guys dad-D "talks farm" with. I drank some more. I danced with his sister-in-law and best friends' wife. I was still drinking.

And by the end of the night I was drunk. Extremely drunk.

I threw up on the sidewalk in front of the bar. Dad-D had arrived 20 minutes earlier in anticipation of driving us home safely. When we got back to the farm, Al went upstairs to bed and I told him I'd join him as soon as I went to the bathroom.

An hour later, dad-D came into the bathroom to find me passed out on the floor.

(Did I mention this was the first real impression they had of me?!)
His response to me being passed out, was to open the window "so I had fresh air" and proceed back to bed. I woke up 30 minutes later shivering (HELLO! It was March in Minnesota) and made my way upstairs. Al (who was also drunk, though seemingly less drunk than I was) asked me "where I'd been" for the last 10 minutes. I responded that I had passed out and it had been much longer then 10 minutes, but I wasn't sure how many.

I sat down on the edge of my bed and told Al he might need to help me get my pants off.

(I know what you're thinking and yes, this is one of my proudest moments.) You see, I was wearing extremely tight jeans and didn't have the dexterity to remove them myself. I don't even think he saw it as a sexual thing as much as a standard boyfriend duty when your girlfriend is too drunk to function.

After helping me get ready for bed, he kissed me.

Al: "You threw up."

Me: "Yes."

Al: "At the bar?"

Me: "Yes. Should i brush my teeth?"

Al: "Naw."

{pause}

Me: "I love you."

This was the first time either of us had said it. I don't remember if he responded.

I rolled over and passed out.

In the harsh light of morning/afternoon, we woke up to the smell of bacon. The absolute BEST thing about dad-D owning a hog farm is that you get the most delicious bacon you'll ever have. It's amazing. We stumbled downstairs in our hungover stupor and devoured our breakfast. Over eggs, I mumbled some apology about getting drunk and passing out on their bathroom floor.

Dad-D laughed and said that he'd expect nothing less and was happy that I'd "fit right in." Turns out, everyone was reasonably impressed with my ability to handle my alcohol throughout the night and thought I was a "fun girl." Who knew?

After breakfast, we spent the rest of the day in bed. It wasn't so much that we wanted to, but we needed to. We were both so tired and so sick that entire day and it was really the only option that didn't make me want to die. It turned out to be one of the best days of our relationship.

I brought up what was said the night before.

(Yeah, that thing I said when I was drunk that I wasn't 100% sure I meant...)

We didn't talk about it much, but we both repeated the sentiment again, knowing this time that we both meant it. (Romantic, huh?) Then we took a nap.

I woke up later to the sound of my stomach. It was THAT loud. My stomach was grumbling so bad that it woke Al up too. He looked at me funny and put his ear to my stomach.

"What do you have in there?" he asked.

"Who knows?!" was my reply.

After another loud grumble he informed me that it sounded a lot like soldiers doing cadence.

This was the birth of the tummy soldiers.

We spent hours with his head on my stomach and every time something new happened, the Army was "on the move" or "doing drills" or "getting into formation." I was laughing so hard. And every time I'd laugh, my stomach would get more active.

Soon the soldiers were plotting out their "plan of attack" and "infiltrating the enemy."

I was in tears from the laughter, darn near hysterical, and he was enjoying every minute of it.

It was the first time he'd seen me laugh like that.

(There are really only two people who can make me laugh like that, Al and my sister.)

Thankfully, it wasn't the last time. In fact, it was the start of many occasions where that man makes me laugh so incredibly hard I think I might lose circulation to my brain.

He would be going back to the airport the next afternoon and there were so many people we wanted to see. We canceled lunch plans with his sister and dinner plans with Grandma. We were pretty much lazy and worthless the whole rest of the weekend. Nevertheless, I don't think we could have picked a better way to spend our short time together. Just me, him, and the Army inside my belly.

{Coming up in part 3: we both make a big gamble...}