Excitement

I can't even begin to describe the amount of energy running through my body right now.

I'm still in denial that it's actually happening.

It doesn't feel real.

It probably won't feel real until I'm sitting there at the airport trying not to throw up.

From excitement, of course.

For those of you who were worried about me (because of what happened last night/this morning) I am doing just fine. I've gone back and forth on the topic and for now all I can do is think about right now, tomorrow, when my man will be in my arms again. The rest is out of my control and will happen when it happens.

Hell, I don't think I could be remotely upset about anything right now!

I'm off to take care of a few more things before I hit the sack for the night.

In the meantime, I leave you with the following conversation that occurred tonight:

Al: Would you still love me if I had a butt-chin?

Me: Is that a question?

Al: There are no stupid questions, only stupid people.

Me: Then your butt-chin is the least of my concern.

How to get in your own way

Al and I have significantly discussed marriage. To the point that it's a surety we're headed towards that step. The plan has always been to get married post-Army/law school in 2012.

A few weeks ago, I brought up the idea of making it sooner. Doing the traditional small, legal ceremony and then the whole hoopla-shindig-extravaganza in 2012. I thought it would make more sense to have some control legally and financially in our lives together and that getting married sooner would facilitate that.

After talking with my family and reflecting on it further, I wasn't sure what I wanted.

I came to the realization that two things are very important to me:

1. My family; their approval and support and that they love him like I do

They simply haven't had the time to feel this way. While I know how long we've been together, it feels like a much shorter time to outsiders because of the distance. It's not like a normal couple who are physically "together" when they date for 2 years. Most people wouldn't think that's "too soon" to get married.

Mind you, my parents are supportive and would probably say yes if he asked for my hand. But I DO NOT want ANYONE in my family doubting us. Divorce is a scary thing and something I don't want to be a part of AT ALL. My family knows me better then most and if they think I should slow down a bit, I'm going to listen.

2. The Army cannot dictate our decision

This was our rule from the beginning. That I didn't want to get married because he was deploying or because we were separated. Recently, that was fuzzied by other sentiments and I forgot how important it was to me to have the decision be OUR decision, free of Army influence. This means waiting until after Al's contract is over and I am through with school.

My sister summed it up like this:

"You have your whole life to be married to him, there's no reason to rush it!"

After all this reflection, I told Al how I was feeling about it.

And I was instantly reminded what an amazing man he truly is. His response:

"We're not going to do anything your family isn't on board with. I love you and WILL marry you, and we will wait until your family and YOU are 100% comfortable with that."

(How can you NOT love a man who respects your family that much?!)

Fast forward to last night, we are web-camming about his leave (he gets here in 29 hours! eek!) and things he wanted to do. A while back he had mentioned taking a weekend trip to NYC or Chicago. I asked if he had planned that further. He responded that he didn't think the trip was going to happen because he "had bigger things planned for it, and now that has changed."

I'm far from stupid and knew exactly what he meant. In the course of all this marriage discussion, I apparently gave him the impression that I didn't want him to propose either. I've always thought anything longer then a traditional 1-year engagement was a little silly and I'd shared this fact with him. After further thought, however, I've started to feel as though it's a great way to show commitment to one another while we're still separated by distance, regardless of how long it will be before we get married.

I still want to marry him, and I still want people to know that.

I just don't feel comfortable moving the wedding-part up.

And now I've "controlled" myself right out of a proposal. Goody.

I'm pretty upset with myself. I can't exactly dictate when he does it, and I don't want to. But in the process of being careful about the marriage part, I destroyed any hopes of the proposal part. And I can't go back and change it.

When I asked him why he didn't just "go with his gut" and do it on leave anyway, he responded with: "because if I was actually going with my gut, I would have proposed during R&R [back in February] and I knew you weren't ready for that."

The thing is, he's been ready to marry me for quite a while. And it has always taken me a little longer to come around to the various phases of our relationship; not because I doubt "us" or even that I love him less. In actuality, I love him so much, I want to make sure I still have my head on straight when making decisions of finality.

So, in an effort to be more careful, I screwed up the one thing I really wanted. And I've got to say, I'm more upset then I thought I was. I didn't sleep at all last night. I can't say I was thinking about it specifically - perhaps it's just overall nerves - but it did affect my ability to clear my head.

For now, I can only prepare for tomorrow, when that amazing man in uniform gets off that plane in Minneapolis and kisses me for the first time in 7 months. That is something NOTHING will stop me from enjoying!

Chicken Dinner

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Remember the giveaway I started on Saturday? Well, it ended last night and I picked the winner this morning.

Without further adieu, the winner is...

Lola from alis volat propriis!

Email me for instructions on how to claim your prize!

Reminder

Don't forget to enter my giveaway by 11:59 PM tonight!!

Have a great Labor Day!

Sunday Round-up

I have a couple of thoughts running around in my head. I wasn't sure how or IF I was going to blog about them, mostly 'cause they're mundane. Instead, I was going to do MannLand 5's GTKY Sunday in lieu of a real post, but I couldn't get past the Little Mermaid. Once "Under the Sea" got into my head, it was all over.

I've finally settled on a list of 10 things "rounding-up" my week and look towards the next one

The week in review:

1. Loans came through this week. I still need to sit down and work out my budget for the rest of fall, but it was nice to have some "extra" money.

2. Which meant I did a little shopping. Total I spent about $150 and go the following:

- An awesome red pencil skirt

- A camel-colored circle scarf

- A pair of chunky combat boots

- A long beaded necklace

- A sheer floral boho-style dress

- A grey military-style blazer

- A brown pocket cardigan

- A pink cotton wrap dress

3. I started preparing the house for Al to come

HE COMES IN 4 DAYS! (Oh, did I forget to mention he has an actual plane ticket and will be landing in Minnesota on Thursday! Wheee!)

4. One of the things I did in preparation, was clean the bathroom, more specifically the shower. (If you have a weak stomach, skip to the next number now.) There are three girls in this house, all with long, thick hair. When you get to the point where you're shower in a few inches of water, it's time to clean the hair out of the drain.

5. I spent a lot of time in bed. Normally, I get up and do my homework in the office in the basement. This is mostly because I try to keep my office separate from my bedroom. This week, I was sleeping with my laptop again and I'm not sure why. Al's in El Paso and has a phone.

6. I did not go to the gym at all. This is unacceptable.

7. I made a delicious dinner of talapia, acorn squash and white rice last nice. It wasn't bad but I'm still getting the hang of making squash just right. Oh, and I totally cheated with the rice and made it in a steam bag. I've found that any other way tends to make my rice too sticky or under-done.

8. I STILL haven't gotten any of the sewing done. I've still only made the ONE pillow. I also need to get the curtain up in the office, but I have not found the motivation to do so.

9. I got ahead on some of my homework this week since I had the extra spare time to do so.

10. We conclude the Anniversary festivities today with a Twins game. I am excited about this because they are great seats and my family and I LOVE baseball. And I get to wear the jersey that Al bought me.

10 things to do for next week:

1. For the holiday on Monday, we are going a boat-cruise for my BFF's birthday (rescheduled from when it rained the first time.) Now, the weather shows a 40% chance of rain again in the afternoon. We just can't catch a break on this trip!

2. Pick up wine and beer for Al to arrive

3. Buy a drain trap for all the hair in my shower

4. Pick my mom up on Thursday, drive to the airport and wait patiently (or, like an eager mess, most likely). This will hopefully be followed by some crying, kissing, smiling, hugging and other displays of affection. My apologies in advance to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport.

5. Go to my Tuesday and Wednesday classes; Work both days; Do my Lexis lab hours both days

6. I NEED to get back into my work-out regime, maybe when Al is home he will run with me, or at least work out on weights and such

7. We are going out to the lake on Thursday night, to spend that first night alone. His parents will join us Friday and we'll leave Saturday morning for a wedding. After the wedding, we are back in the cities for a week of dog-sitting. The best part about this is we get to "play house" for that time and take care of two awesome dogs. Should be fun!

8. I anticipate drinking a little bit this week. I know we'll want to celebrate with some drinks at the lake. Just another reason I need to get to the gym first!

9. I also anticipate eating lots of yumminess, starting with today at Target Field and some sloppy nachos and beer!

10. Finally, I plan on starting a new blog-venture. Stay tuned for that!

Labor Day Giveaway!

Hey folks!

CSN Stores asked me to do ANOTHER giveaway. I almost told them "no" because I didn't want to burden you guys with "tasks" on Labor Day weekend. Then I realized I was kidding myself and ya'll would LOVE a giveaway!

I know you KNOW about all the great stuff at CSN stores.

I really want one of these lift-top coffee tables for doing homework in front of the TV.

They have a new store Luxe, featuring designer brand shoes and handbags.

And someday, when I have a nice house of my own, I'll get one of these wine fridges.

Browse through their 200+ stores and find some things you want/need.

So, what am I giving away?

A one-time use gift code in the amount of

$40

Woo! Rah! Cheer!

And, since it's Labor Day, I am making this SUPER easy to win.

All you have to do is leave me a comment, any comment, about anything.

You don't have to be a follower (although I highly recommend it) and you don't even have to like me (although I recommend that too!) Just leave a comment.

The contest will end on Monday, September 6 (Labor Day) at 11:59 PM (23:59).

I will announce the winner on Tuesday.

Have fun!

(Disclaimer: I'm not being given anything in exchange for running this contest and I am not affiliated with CSN Stores in any way.)

The Lovely Brandi

I was blessed to spend my day in the presence of the glorious Brandi from Excess Baggage!

We tried to put something together before, since she flies into Minneapolis pretty frequently, but something always came up. I guess I can't blame her for choosing to work, over seeing me; especially when the destination is Hawaii. I'll forgive her for that one.

(Especially since I was about 15 minutes late today, oops!)

The good news, we had a blast!

Here was our day:

(Hopefully, she post the other set of photos, since we weren't coordinated enough to take them all with one camera.)

We started our day at Crave.

I ordered a gourmet mac n' cheese with steak, which I ordered medium rare.

At which point, Brandi made fun of me. After all, she's a true Texas girl (who ordered a PLAIN hamburger VERY well-done!)

Both of us thought the food was great (and I have to say I've never been disappointed there.)

Then, we ordered dessert and I ordered a cocktail. It was lunch-time, so definitely necessary.

The picture doesn't even do this justice. It was delicious. If you want one, see Dave at Crave.

After our meal (and about 2 hours of chatting each other up) we decided to hit the mall and shop, browse, people-watch (or, more accurately, people-judge!)

Brandi's best "I'm a teenage, hipster-wannabe" face!

In Old Navy, we realized that one of the workers (Shannon, apparently) was VERY lazy. The hold-tag from FOUR days ago was still on the garment. Major fail from my favorite store.

We connected immediately and I hope it was the start of an awesome friendship.

Let me tell you this: she is absolutely fabulous. Her sense of humor, great attitude and beautiful soul will make anyone want to be around her. She's strong, charming and a total babe. Best of all, we didn't run out of things to say and fun to have.

I really hope to spend a LOT more time with this gal in the future.

Monthly Thought-Provoking Question: September 2010

It's Fall! I LOVE fall! The weather, the clothes, the smells, the food!

In addition to those things, one of my all-time favorite things about fall is

FOOTBALL SEASON

In honor of that, here is this month's TPQ:

Are you a football fan? Do you prefer NFL or college football?

Do you have a favorite team (for either NFL, college, or both?)

And finally, tell me your favorite football memory...

What I've got so far...

I found a couple of dresses online...Let me know what you think!

My Favorite Shoes (in case you forgot how fab they are!)

Dress #1 (found here):

Dress #2 (found here):

And this one, which is ridiculously expensive and not exactly practical for anything BUT the ball, but it's a pretty amazing dress. It's also the only one I've found that's floor length but still lets me show off the shoes! (Found here)

I'm a Baller

So, I've finally convinced Al to go to the Army ball. Actually, I've convinced him that since it's mandatory and he HAS to go, that he should take me with him. It was a much easier battle to win once he made it back to El Paso and they extended his RIT by about two weeks. That, and I never got to come down for Homecoming. The deal was, if I couldn't make it for homecoming, that I would get to come down for the ball.

So, thank you, Army.

(Although, I'd rather have his butt home right now, I am grateful I get to go to the ball.)

I am excited for this experience. Yes, it might be completely lame (like Al insists.)

It might be a bunch of old guys getting drunk while the young guys bail the instant they can.

It might be a complete and utter shit-show.

On the other hand, these reasons just make me want to go more.

AND, it just MIGHT be fun!

Either way, I certainly can't pass up an opportunity to put on a nice dress and some hot shoes.

And get Al in his Class A's. Which he looks AH-mazing in.

Here's my dilemma.

I told Al I was going to buy these shoes and just wear a dress from my closet.

BUT, I don't have a dress that will work for the ball AND go with those shoes.

That leaves me with a couple of options:

1. Find a different pair of shoes and wear a dress I already own

2. Buy a dress and wear one of my many shoes in my closet

3. Screw my budget and buy the shoes AND a dress

If I did option #3, I would definitely make sure I bought a LBD. I don't currently own one.

I figure every grown woman needs a great black cocktail dress in case she has a wedding, banquet, fancy dinner, etc... and needs something quick. It goes with everything, can easily be dressed up or made professional, and can typically work in any season and for any occasion.

It wouldn't be a bad investment to make.

Which leaves me with so many more questions. I need your help!? Will ya'll help me?

Hope so, 'cause there just might be a prize in it for you. {hint, hint}

Stay tuned for more details!