And the Halo-Winner is...

Meg from Army Harmony

for her thoughtful rendition of a Civil War Solider at JUST 12 years old!

I LOVE the fact that you were a young girl with an old soul, just like me.

The costume looks great: creative and well put together and, well, it's simply hilarious.

Plus, your writing is spectacular and I was laughing the whole time you described your costume adventures growing up.

I do have SOME of your prize. The other part is coming in the mail. I made the mistake of buying it on E-Bay with Al's account (because I was able to get a HUGE discount and even use a gift card he had remaining value on) but they take a while to ship things sometimes.

{I know you're in the middle of PCS'ing so the fact that I can't send it out right away is probably perfect! For now, worry about settling in and getting unpacked and send me your e-mail address when you get the chance!}

Thank you SO SO SO much to everyone who participated. This was such a fun contest for Amber and I and we really enjoyed hosting this event.

The turn-out was small, but high in quality and I am optimistic that if we get this thing going again we can have even better turn-out the next time. For the first go-at-it, I am thoroughly impressed with the results - and YOU made it happen!

A special thanks to Amber, my partner-in-ghoulish-crime and the object of my sauciest dreams, for co-hosting the Hop. I really enjoyed working with you and hope we can do something again very VERY soon!

Contest Closed and Happy Halloween!

Morning ya'll. It's a crisp 31 degrees right now I am wrapped in my fur blanket in my bed. It's projected to warm to 50 for the kids to Trick or Treat in, but it still sounds too cold for me.

The Halloween Bash Hop is now over. We will announce the winners later today but I wanted to stop in at least wish you a Happy Halloween.

BOO!

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Reminder

I am currently entertaining the masses at a Halloween party my roommate and I are hosting.

Sorry if you didn't get your invite, but I promise copious amounts of photos at a later time.

I wanted to make sure (by writing this post this morning) that I sent out a reminder about the Halloween Bash Hop.

<a href="http://mydeploymentjournaldearmatt.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween-bash-hop.html"><img src="http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9792/52443240.gif" /></a>

I mean, if you haven't entered, you are definitely missing out.

Amber and I will select our winners tomorrow and announce them on Halloween.

That gives you about 24 hours to drag those vintage photo albums out of the attic and go scanner-happy.

While you're doing that, I am imbibing on beer, lil' smokies and cheese dip and enjoying some excellent company.

Weird Facts About Me

I've been noticing some interesting character flaws/ticks/oddities - that are actually not a problem, but just weird things I do and I thought I would share them with you.

1. When I was in my first year of Undergrad, I read an article in Cosmo (shout-out to Just a Girl, who will appreciate this like no other.) This article discussed the cleanest stalls in a public rest room, stating that the one closest to the door was the least used and therefore the cleanest. In my thought process, after reading the article EVERY GIRL IN THE WORLD would now use the stall closest to the door. I theororized that the SECOND stall closest to the door would now be the most clean and would therefore be the one I would use from here on out.

Yes, I see the silliness. Yes, I still go directly to the second stall every time. It's habit and I can't break it (nor do I care to try.)

2. I am NOT a morning person. I've mentioned my disdain for pre-9 AM wake-ups and that I'm simply a terror sans coffee. Which is why my snooze button and I have a sordid affair. I will set my alarm for about an hour before I actually need to wake up and hit my alarm no less then 3 times. (Sometimes I even hit it 5 or 6 times, but usually I'll reset it altogether and go through the glorious event all over again 30 minutes later.) It's unhealthy my love for my snooze button and even though I know there are better (and easier, my God) ways of easing into my morning, I can't seem to break the cycle.

3. I'm an addict. Not of anything really detrimental, but addiction is addiction, right? Among the list of things I'm addicted to is coffee, online shopping and chapstick. While I won't make excuses for any of them, my addiction to chapstick does get a little out-of-control sometimes. I keep a tube next to my bed, one at my desk at work, at my desk at home, in my purse and a second as back-up in case one of those locations runs out. I also keep 3-5 new tubes in a drawer at any given time. God knows I can't run out and not have access to a store.

I'm totally weird. Are you weird too?

Technology makes me happy

Let's be honest...I'm kind of a technology geek. I'm DEFINITELY a blog-geek. Bleek?

And now, thanks to my beautiful Android app, I can blog from my phone like all you iPhoners.

(Ironically, my phone typed iPhoneys. HA.)

Don't worry, I'll get ya'll a real post tonight, but I just had to share how awesome-ly cool this was!

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Wordless Wednesday...in Words

Thanks to Wordle

Crappy Weather and a Wedding Website

It's been cold and rainy here since yesterday. We're supposed to get our first snow-fall sometime this week, although it's rumored to be minimal. It's not really a huge surprise to have at least a little sprinkling of snow in October.

In fact, this is from last year - 10/12/09:

Snow, fall leaves AND green grass. I love Minnesota!

Honestly, I'd rather have a little bit of snow then what we have right now. It's wet, cold, windy (so windy that my umbrella was incapacitated while walking into school this afternoon) and just dreary. It's a very Eeyore kind of day.

On the bright side, I posted our wedding website. Since we are still in the early-stages of planning, there isn't much information about the specifics, but you can still see some of the basics. If you'd like to check it out for fun, do so here.

Stay dry and enjoy your Tuesday!

Pippi Longstocking

I promised I would deliver a vintage Halloween photo of myself in order to do my due diligence in hosting the Halloween Bash Hop.

<a href="http://mydeploymentjournaldearmatt.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween-bash-hop.html"><img src="http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9792/52443240.gif" /></a>

Side note: You should all go enter this contest RIGHT NOW. Seriously....

I'm waiting...

I'm actually not even going to post my photo until you do.

Do I have you on the edge of your seat?

Good! Then go enter!

OK...You're back. I knew you'd do the right thing.

Without further adieu, here I am at 13 as Pippi Longstocking.

So, go find those photos and join in the fun!

My New Travel Mug

So, I noticed that my coffee addiction has gotten to the point where I drink a mug before I leave the house and then pour more into a travel mug on my way out the door. I noticed that they started stock-piling in my desk drawer at work and I kept forgetting to bring the travel mugs home.

Thursday morning when I went to get my coffee for the trip into work, I realized I was pretty much out of mugs and wasn't going to be able to bring it with me.

GASP!

Thinking quickly, I put together the following:

You can click to enlarge.

I found a bottle-cozy that I got at the firm's summer picnic and a red plastic cup (or keg-cup, as we called them in college) and put them together. I was able to use the cozy to keep my hands from getting too hot AND advertise for the firm.

Genius, right?

I blurred-out the firm name and number, but you get the idea.

Anyway, my ghetto-fied travel coffee mug got me a few goofy looks, but it was worth it to make sure I got my necessary coffee-intake for the day.

Halloween Bash Hop

I promised you something fun today. You didn't doubt me, did you?

Because I am SOOOO going to deliver.

The wonderfully sexy and awesome Amber at Goodnight Moon and I have teamed up to bring you the Halloween Bash Hop!

<a href="http://mydeploymentjournaldearmatt.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween-bash-hop.html"><img src="http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9792/52443240.gif" /></a>

This is a Halloween Give-away and the rules are as follows:

Locate and post on your blog a vintage photo of you in costume. It CANNOT be a current photo and MUST instead be from your childhood! So climb into those dusty attics and put those scanners to work.

{I do not intend to skip out on this part of the deal. I am visiting my parents this weekend and will get a copy of my favorite Halloween costume as a kid. Are you anxious to know what it is? Here's a hint: I had almost 2 ft. of hair, making the costume awesomely-authentic!}

THEN, grab the above button (created by the fantastic Christina) and blog about our Hop!

Finally, visit Goodnight Moon and link-up. It is important that you do this part because that is how Amber and I will keep track of the entries and choose our winners.

Yes, you heard that right: this will include prizes! BOTH Amber and myself will give away a fall-themed prize for our favorite! It's that easy!

Really, REALLY easy. So, you're going to do it right now, RIGHT!?

The Story of Annie

Per the request of my lovely friend, Mrs. OccDoc at Annoyed Army Wife, I am going to share a story about a pet we had when I was a teenager.

A ferret.

Here is a picture of one if you don't know what they look like:
Cute, huh?

Well don't be fooled.

My sister was 10 when she decided she NEEDED a pet, and my parents obliged.

We were told that ferrets were a great indoor pet for a little girl. They were cat-like in many ways, but much more playful. They could be litter-box trained and run free in the house, or they could be kept in a cage like a guinea pig.

What they didn't tell us was that they were EXTREMELY stinky animals. They have a very musky scent, so unless they are bathed almost daily, the smell is offensive. Add a cage, a litter box, and a 10-yr-old who doesn't do her chores and you have a very smelly situation.

Additionally, ferrets are extremely agile creatures. They can fit into very small areas and have been known to climb into vents or the back of appliances. Ours climbed into the couch through a hole it created in the back and would wedge itself into a corner. This wouldn't be as big of an issue if it wasn't a couch with springs and we were afraid we would sit down and obliterate the darn thing.

There were good things about Annie too (Annie Terref, by the way. Ferret backwards. Yep, my sister came up with that all on her own...) She was very playful and a lot of fun.

But after about 2 years, we were tired and my sister had moved on to wanting a cat instead. So, we sent Annie off to another home. The guy who bought her already had ferrets, so we figured that would be a good place for her to go.

She was fun while she lasted but I can say my desire to have a pet of that nature has been satisfied. No cages or rodents for me.

A VERY Wordy Wednesday

Whew! I made it.

Amazingly, I survived mid-terms.

I have to say...it was brutal. Bru-Tal.

Much worse then BOTH mid-term session last year. Much, much worse.

But none of that matters because I am DONE! And I am ready for Fall Break!

So, I promised I would answer a couple of questions that were posted, but since I only received two, I am going to wait and post that in tomorrow. In the meantime, I want to recap a funny experience I had with my BFF Linus last weekend.

We planned on doing a little Halloween shopping (remember my costume?) and stop at Kay to re-size my ring. Yes, I could probably size it down now, but I will likely have to size it back up when I get a wedding band. Both re-sizing's are free with our service plan (thanks to my amazingly practical and money-savvy fiance) but honestly, I couldn't part with the ring for 10 days. Yeah, silly, I know!

After the mall, we both realized sushi was on the lunch menu. We were, unfortunately at a mall we don't normally shop, so we didn't know what sushi was nearby.

Enter, my lovely new Droid to help us out.

A few minutes and we were on the road with Google maps leading us to Taiko Sushi.

Yes. That is a drive-thru window on a sushi restaurant. Luckily, we discovered inside that it was not in use. It appeared that the owners bought an old Arby's or something and turned it into a sushi restaurant. The place was clean and friendly, so we decided to give it a whirl.

10 minutes later we had menus and soda. It took a few minutes to decide what we wanted, then we waited. We waited. And waited some more. 15 minutes later and she still hadn't taken our order.

I told Caroline I was going to make some origami in the mean time. I couldn't remember any of my origami-folding skills from Jr. High Odyssey of the Mind, so I made it up.

It's a snake, you don't see it?

We did finally get our food and it was delicious. For half the price of normal sushi, it was worth the decade-long wait. Thank you, Taiko, for a delish meal. No thank you for your crappy service. Although the hilarity of a drive-thru window and the excellent company I had, made for an awesome day!

A little help, please!

So, it's Monday. My brain is academic mush as a result of Mid-terms.

Luckily, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I have a couple fun things planned since it's my fall-break once Wednesday rolls around. That includes some fun things in blog-world. But until Wednesday, I won't really be "back" to blogging.

In the meantime, I would like your help.

Tell me something you would like to hear from me. Perhaps a question that's weighing on your mind. A story you'd like to hear. Anything.

Really, anything. I'm an open book.

I'm not always interesting, but I will not hide anything.

Leave it in the comments and that will be the theme of my Wednesday post.

Much love, peace and engine grease.

Halloween Costume Sneak-Peek

I'm buried in Constitutional Law and Evidence rules for my two up-coming mid-terms.

So, what you get from me today is a sneak-peek at the Halloween costume that I bought yesterday.

I'll be in the library all day, so if you see my soul, send it my way!

Wordless Wednesday

Fall has officially come to Minnesota. Enjoy!

My Fall Swap Package

I must be one lucky girl because when I found out that all the pairs were claimed for Flip Flop & Combat Boots' Fall Swap extravaganza, I realized I hadn't made the cut.

(Actually, I had totally blown off signing up and missed the deadline. My bad.)

Well, I wasn't the only one. The wonderful, LaDonna from Serendipitously Me paired up with me and I was able to participate.

I'm a total slacker and didn't get to the post office before the Monday holiday, so mine went out in the mail today. (Sorry, LaDonna - but I hope it will be worth it.) She was much more on the ball and ironically, my package arrived today.

It was a delightful surprise waiting for me when I got home from night class and I immediately dropped everything and tore into it!

Here's what I got:

A Scentsy pot with Cinnamon Vanilla and Pumpkin Roll scents!

A HUGE container of peanuts and candy corn! Yumm!

(My roommates are especially excited about this because I put it out on the counter to share since I can't eat the whole thing myself!)

Dessert flavors of Extra gum (Mint Bon Bon, Strawberry Shortcake and Key Lime Pie) - Which is just in time for me to run out of gum.

Body wash & lotion in Cucumber Melon. Chap stick in Coconut and Candy Corn.

Chili Mix (which is awesome, if you know that I LOVE making chili!)

An array of cocoa mixes - which I am SO not afraid to admit is my favorite part. Especially as Minnesota gets cold, I am a huge tea and cocoa fan and I can't wait to indulge in all the flavors!

LaDonna, you are lovely and awesome!

Nicole, thanks for hosting!

I can't wait to see what everyone else got.

My Vow to Be Happier (and Why Leggings are not Pants)

I am sitting in the library begging for a distraction.

Trusty blog, thanks for rescuing me once again.

The following are random thoughts I've had:

- Leggings are NOT an alternative to pants. Ever.

- The library at my school is at least 30 degrees cooler then the rest of the school. Do books need things cooler to stay in good condition? Because I don't.

- Lunch hour is the worst time to go to the post-office, the bank or Taco Bell

- Sometimes I get headaches when I drink caffeine. Sometimes I get headaches when I don't. I think my headaches have nothing to do with caffeine intake and more to do with people who think leggings are the same as pants.

- I have been very negative recently. Swearing more, snapping at people and just all-around not pleasant. My first step in ameliorating this is to cut Facebook from my life for ONE WEEK. The time I would normally devote to FB will be spent working on the wedding website. This makes me happy and not stressed.

- I am currently reading a case about a married couple that "suddenly" filed for divorce. She probably wore leggings as pants one day and he couldn't love her anymore.

See, I'm smiling already. Peace.

Monday Bloody Monday

What's that you say? I have a blog?

And I started a meme over a month ago that I have yet to finish?

My readers are starting to drop away because I have nothing interesting to share other then pictures of shoes I'll never buy?

Hmmm...

Mondays suck. This one especially.

I was in class for 8 hours which consisted of:

- A quiz (ungraded that you had to treat like graded because it might become graded...yeah...if you figure it out, let me know.)

- A court deliberation exercise where we discussed our views in groups (also ungraded, although based on a graded paper we handed in last week.)

-Three other hours of class

THEN I worked 4 hours. Although I usually don't mind being there at night by myself, (I tend to get LOTS done) tonight I would have liked someone to talk to.

Then I came home and made dinner & curled up on the couch with some homework prepared to watch some Monday Night Football.

I sacrificed reading time to watch the Vikings play like big-fat-losing-losers.

And now I am eating an entire bag of Swedish Fish right before bed-time.

I have two thoughts about this:

1. The assorted pack with extra flavors is a waste

We all know the red ones are the only ones worth anything

2. I might have a sugar rush and not be able to sleep.

That would, of course, be OK because I could always read more, put away my laundry or do the dishes. But I just want to sleep.

Now that I've thoroughly bored you, I am heading to bed.

(I bet you wish I had more shoe photos instead!)

I might go back to the 30-day meme at some point.

But for right now, I'm just staying afloat until Mid-terms are over next week.

And life kinda stinks with Al gone (although I get A LOT more done, life is a little emptier.)

At any rate, I love my blog and my readers and I hope you'll bear with me.

Did I mention that I love the support ya'll give me?!?

Shoe Shopping Sunday

I start mid-terms this week, which means one thing:

I am procrastinating my homework by shoe shopping online.

Makes sense, right?

"Tyms" found at Aldo

Could these BE any sexier?!?!

"Destime" found at Aldo

Great for work!

Bow-Tie Platforms found at Talbots

I love these, but they are sold-out in my size. Boo!

Langford Oxfords found at J-Crew

Another great pair for work!

Marissa cuff bootie found at Payless

Cute fall bootie!

And this fun winter essential.

Grey sweater boots from Target

Monthly Thought-Provoking Question: October 2010

Well, I'm a total blog-slacker. The beginning of October came and went and I forgot to post a new TPQ. I am going to be completely predictable and center my question around the pinnacle of October-nees: Halloween!

What is your favorite Halloween memory?

My answer:

Although I've had many, my favorite is Halloween 1991, when Minnesota had a HUGE blizzard. The blizzard dropped over 8 inches of snow on Halloween night and over 28 inches of snow before the blizzard ended. I remember putting my winter coat, boots, hats, gloves and multiple layers over my cute bunny costume (I was 7 years old) and having my mom drive me door-to-door. We lasted about 10 minutes (or three blocks) before we gave up and went home. Mom made hot-cocoa and we stayed in for the rest of the night.

It might not have been the most ideal Halloween, but it's certainly the most memorable!

Engagement Dinner: In Pictures

Reflections on Leave

He left today.

Actually, about 12 minutes ago.

I am just kind of numb.

I'm not overly sad, perhaps because this is nothing compared to deployment.

Or maybe because it hasn't hit me quite yet.

He'll be back in December for another 30-day leave and there's a possibility I'm visiting him sometime in between. Either way, it won't be too long before he's here again.

The big difference between saying good-bye before he deployed and saying good-bye now, is that I can look down at my left hand and know that he's mine forever. That soon enough he's coming home to be with me.

For now, THAT is getting me through.

This is It

Once again, life has foiled my previous plans for posting this morning.

Since many of you are already my friends on Facebook, you know my news:

Al and I are engaged!

Yep. A simple, wonderful evening led to the thing I've been thinking about (and trying NOT to think about) for weeks. Hell, for months.

The evening was mellow, low-key and sweet.

I got home from class about 9 and we had Jimmy Johns (like Subway) for dinner along with a bottle of red. Then we played a game of Scrabble.

You know in Scrabble when you have to start plugging in left over tiles that don't make longer words? Well, Al started doing that, but jokingly. Just connecting two or three vowels to the end of something and pronouncing it funny. Then he did this:

And said, "you know, like 'ya-ow.'"

I looked at him, blinked, and said "that's the word you. Like, you know, YOU are silly."

He realized his mistake and laughed.

And we carried on with the rest of the game.

I won. It's not so much my extreme skill and high-level of smarts (modest, eh?), because Al is insanely smart also. He got a bum deal with his tiles and I just didn't.

After the game, we headed to bed. We were just talking and laughing and getting ready for bed when he got down on the floor while I was sitting on the edge of the bed. He told me he had something in his eye.

{Disclaimer: he did not plan this part - it just worked out perfectly for the event}

I found an eyelash in his eye and removed it. I told him to make a wish and blow it off the tip of my finger. He did and when I asked him what he wished for his response:

"that you'd marry me."

And he showed me the ring.

Me: "Are you serious?"

(Always with the words, I am)

Al: {blank stare}

Me: Of course I'll marry you"

Ok. So I know you all want to see the ring. There are two photos, one of last night in bed and the other this afternoon in different lighting.

I'm off to go spend the last few hours with my fiance before he heads back to Texas in the morning. Goodnight!

Why Normal Isn't Better

One of the things I looked forward to with Al being home was to have a sense of a "normal" life. We all know as mil-so's that "normal" is a figment of our imagination.

Normal doesn't exist. It changes over time.

Rather then calling our life normal, I prefer to use the word "routine."

For now, we have a routine down. The routine might change, but that's normal, right? Ha!

We did get a routine. I work and he stays home. He takes care of various errands and chores around the house. He uses his days to visit family and friends, work on projects and help me with things I've put off working on (like those darn shelves in my room that are still laying on the floor.) I spend all day in class and at work, then I have a few hours of homework every night. For now, that's our routine.

Problem is, Al is going crazy. He hates that he's not working. He doesn't like that he doesn't have his "things" and he's in MY house (with my two roommates.) He feels like he doesn't have a place. He feels like he doesn't have anything to do with his day.

By the time I get home, he's bouncing off the walls. He's obnoxious. And it's usually right when I need to read for an hour or two. Or when I'm winding down for bed.

Combine his feelings of being nomadic, bored and useless with my extremely busy schedule and lack of sleep and you have one uneasy couple.

I think as a military couple, we keep looking forward for the "next thing." The next leave period, the next deployment, the next duty station. We're looking for what's around the corner so we can prepare for it, embrace what we have now, and adapt to life as it happens.

And Al and I are no exception.

"Just a few more months until I'm home"

"Next year will be better"

"Soon we can look at houses"

"Try to stick it out until the next step"

These are all common vernacular. Things we say to each other during a difficult period, or a worrisome week. But they don't necessarily come true, do they?

Truth is, life is always happening. That means that sometimes things just suck. You might get to the "next step." You might get engaged or married, you might buy a house or have a baby. You might get a new job, or quit and stay home. These are all part of the "next phase" and they are all good things. But that doesn't mean that it gets any easier.

Right now, we're both stretched thin. Neither of us are at our best.

In fact, I would say we're both being pretty icky versions of ourselves. But we're trying.

The fact that we're aware of this, we talk it out, and we work hard to listen and keep each other happy, is a testament to our relationship.

The challenge is finding someone willing to brace the suck of life, work through the transitions, love unconditionally, and enjoy RIGHT NOW instead of always waiting for what's just around the corner.

I am blessed to have found that partner in Al.

I am blessed that even though our life is SO NOT "normal" and our "routine" isn't ideal, we're in this together. For the long-haul. For right now, AND forever.

Day 21: Another Moment

During the day Friday, we checked out Parade of Homes.

Originally, we were going to make a big thing of it and map out all the houses we wanted to see, drive around and check them all out.
We took a much more lazy route and just pulled up the addresses of the ones that interested us, put them into GPS and drove around.

We also fit in lunch with Al's sister and a couple of other necessary stops.

We saw 2 houses.

One was $1.4 million house.

See it, here. More info here.But my "moment" came when we entered the master suite.
1700-sq. ft. master suite with 5 closets. Yes, five.

I looked at the closets and looked at Al. I think I stared for a good 10 minutes, drooling over those amazing closets and this beautiful house.

Al: You better lawyer pretty damn good if we're going to afford something like this

Me: Yeah, I know. There's nothing wrong with dreaming though.

Al: True.

We then made our way downstairs to the "man cave" which consisted of a designer poker table and cigar room.

This is where Al was drooling.

Me: Honey, it ain't gonna happen.

Al: Yeah, the cigar room isn't sealed off right anyway. It would just let all the smell out.

Me: Yeah, 'cause that's why we won't have one in our house.

It was a lot of fun to look at houses and it really got Al and I thinking about what our plans are for a house in a couple of years. We've definitely got some time, but we now have a good idea of what we're looking for and what our goals are.

And really, we both just want a house together. Both of us. Home.

Coffee

I actually have a real-live post, with pictures planned for tonight. Are you surprised?

In the meantime, I have a funny (and quick) story to share.

As I've mentioned before, my Mondays really suck. I have 12 hours between class and work and I rarely have time to slow down and eat lunch. As a result, my morning coffee is vital.

Al has been doing a lot of the "housewife" tasks this month since he isn't at work and I am. This means making coffee and meals, laundry, running errands, etc...

This morning, while I was getting ready in the bathroom, Al ran to the gas station to get the paper. He comes back with a tall coffee.

I told him how excited I was that he got me the tall, big coffee and reached for it.

Al: Umm, it's not for you.

{blank stare}

Me: What?

Al: This is mine, I didn't get you one.

Me: Umm, ok... Did you make coffee downstairs?

Al: No...should I?

Me: Well it's too late now, I have to leave

He poured half into a mug and gave me the to-go cup, but I was still sort of hurt that he would drive all the way to the gas station, get himself coffee and completely forget to get me one. He's been making the morning coffee for weeks now. Nothing is new today.

Anyway, he brought me lunch at school (maybe out of guilt, or maybe because he's doting and wonderful.) Boys are just silly sometimes.

Happy Monday!

On the farm

I'm a liar. I expected I would be able to blog more tonight. I can't say that we've done anything overly exciting or important, but we've been just enjoying our time with family. For that, I don't feel bad. I promise to blog, with pictures in the morning because Al will be helping dad with something and leaving me to my homework. Which, of course means that I'll use some of that time to blog.

That said, I'm off to curl up in bed with my man. Happy Saturday night from a chilly Minnesota.

Weird

I'm not sure what happened. I posted from my cell phone - received the text that it went through - only to discover some weird hieroglyphic cryptogram was posted instead of my interesting and eloquent post.

No matter. I'll sum it up for you.

Over the last two days, Al and I have been busying. We've been busy with lots of good, fun things, but busy nonetheless. I have some photos and I have a couple interesting stories, but I won't be able to get into them too much until things settle down (probably tomorrow.)

I will share a little bit with you right now.

Wednesday night, we had dinner at my parents. The plan was actually for us to head over there and I would "vanish" for a little bit so Al could talk one-on-one with parents. Yes, he wanted to have "the talk." So, I ran off to get a pedicure.

{I have to digress a moment to share with you the lady who was at the nail salon. She was literally Snooki (from Jersey Shore - which I don't watch, but understand the iconic relevancy of it.) She came into my nice, upscale salon wearing a hot pink and black lycra belly shirt, low slung jeans to show off her slight belly pooch and her tramp stamp. The best part was that she was getting her 2-inch purple acrylic nails filled. It was just odd.}

When I got back, we had a delicious dinner and spent a few hours hanging out with my parents. In the car on the ride home I asked Al if he was able to talk to them (I was gone for an hour, you'd think it was enough time.) But it wasn't.

He felt like it was set-up and my parents would know that was the whole point.

Which they did.

But I think that's OK. My mom and step-dad have both mentioned (and other times hinted) at why he hasn't done it yet. They know he's going to. They want him to.

And he just won't.

It's driving me crazy.

I keep reminded myself that getting all twisted up about it is only causing myself more anguish. The more I make a big deal about it, the farther he pushes it out. He wants to be a surprise. He wants it to be romantic.

And whining, guilting and bitching him into doing it my way isn't romantic.

I know, I know. That's shocking.

So, my new goal is to let it go. I know it's going to happen "at the right time." I know we'll be engaged (and eventually married, even better!) I just need to let it go so it can happen how it's supposed to.

And the fact that he loves me despite my neurotic attempts at controlling every aspect of our lives is further proof that he's the perfect man for me.