An Adventure in Pictures

Meet Cute Girl.
One day she was sitting at work being extremely bored and decided she was in need of an adventure.
She wanted to find friends, and maybe even her true match *Cute Boy*

So Cute Girl got on a bus.
It was a beautiful summer morning and the sun was shining when the bus came upon the water at the end of the road.
The bus driver said "We have to take a fairy now".
"Wow!" thought Cute Girl, "i've never seen one of those. i didn't even know they were real. How will it carry the bus?".
But the "fairy" turned out to be a "ferry boat".
The bus drove onto this ferry and they were off to a new land.
While Cute Girl was on this ferry she decided to explore and maybe say goodbye to her home land.
Her home land was so beautiful though...
So she found the escape boat so she could go back.
But she couldn't figure out how to use it so she got back on the bus.
When they got to the other side of the land, the bus took her to a magical place called Seattle. There were many things to see in Seattle.
Then the bus stopped and the bus driver told her to get out.
She was at the airport which was perfect for continuing her adventure. "Where ever the wind may take me" she thought. So she got on an airplane.


She flew in the airplane for so long the sun started to set.
When she got off the airplane, it was light out again and she walked around for a while.
This new place she was in smelled different, so she walked until she figured out what it was.
It was the water. They told her it was the Atlantic Ocean.
When she got to the ocean she found some fish.
And swimming with the fish she found her friend Cool Girl.

Cool Girl was one of her favorite friends. They were so excited to see each other.

But the ocean was so distracting to Cute Girl, she couldn't stop looking at it.
So Cool Girl said to Cute Girl "Come get in!"
And that's exactly what she did.
It turned out to be kind of wet and mushy in the end though...
Cute Girl was having so much fun. But she wanted to do more.
"I still need to find my perfect match *Cute Boy*" she thought.
So she said goodbye to Cool Girl and started searching for someone to tell her where to look.
While she was walking she found King Neptune.
"He's a great person to ask where i can find my perfect match. I think i'll ask him" she said to herself.
It didn't seem like he was much help though. He just told her to go back the way she came and to watch out for the monster crabs the were wandering around on the beach.
She found them. Or rather, they found her. So she ran away to the direction she had came from.
Cute Girl found the fish where she had found her friend Cool Girl. She thought that one of the fish was kind of cute, so she decided to give it a kiss before left the beach.
Suddenly, the fish turned into a man and everything was different. It was her perfect match Cute Boy! YEA! Cute Girl and Cute Boy were united.
They were so happy together. They decided to see the world together and continue on the adventure. They got in a fun "space age" looking car, and Cute Boy led the way.
There were so many buttons and different things in the car.
They drove through tunnels...
And saw roads that had tracks to everywhere you could ever want to go.
And there were bridges too.
They saw many lands together.
Crazy red telephone booths were there....
and castles too!
"I don't think we she be here so close to the castle" said Cute Girl.
But Cute Boy said it was ok...
Cute Boy was caught outside the castle minutes later though...
After his was done being on display, he was put to work in the rice fields and was vary sad.
"I miss Cute Girl", he said.
But Cute Girl was not far away. She was on a mission to save him.
And she did. They ran away together, and found more friends in the strange land. They were "different", but extremely nice.
They even sang and danced for them.
Cute Boy was happy.
And so was Cute Girl.
Then they realized they were being followed!
Everywhere they went, there was the same guy and girl right behind them!
They looked nice...And they were always smiling....
But Cute Boy decided that he should hide in the girls bathroom until they went away.
When it was all clear, they found a waterfall.
It was so beautiful there, they decided to walk the paths.
and they found a place to play mini golf...
but they weren't paying attention and a Pirate Ship came!
The Pirates got one look at Cute Girl and decided to take them both captive.
They were given rules, and told what to do and how to speak now that they were on their ship.
And they were separated and couldn't be together.
But Cute Girl used her skills and made friends with the Pirates.
So the Pirates let them both be free together and sailed away...
Cute Girl and Cute Boy were left by the ocean again...
they didn't know what to do next.
But it didn't matter, because they were together :)
and they were happy.
So Cute Boy surprised Cute Girl with a kiss!
But Suddenly, when Cute Girl went to kiss him back, everything changed!
She was back in her office again....
It was only a dream.
So Sad.

The End.

How was vacation you ask?...i'll tell you. Great!

Ok friends, it's been almost 3 weeks being home from vacation now. I’m sorry it took so long to get this posted…I’m sure you’ve all been dying to know how my trip to Virginia Beach to see John was….but then again you may have forgotten about it by now. I’ve been having internet issues at home, so I’ve had this all typed up, but no way to post it. Lucky for me, I have internet at work for backup.

It's a bittersweet feeling being home again. There really is no place like home, but i miss my husband. But, vacation was great! Despite traveling for 15 hours both ways, the extreme teeth pain from flying that felt like my face was trying to explode on the airplane (which i hear means i'll probably need a root canal), the humidity that trashes my hair and makes me look like C-R-A-P, the crazy drivers and millions of roads to get lost on because there really is no way to tell which direction the ocean is unless you're driving next to it, the inevitable break-out of my skin (still haven't figured out if its the sun or the new climate that causes it, but it happens every time i travel no matter what time of year or where i go).... It was all worth it because i got to see John :] I can't tell you how much i miss him, more and more each day. And the trip was not enough to quench the need. The first few weeks when he left were the worst, but it got easier after a while. Seeing him again started it all over, again. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder. But this time i think it'll be a little easier.

I got to see friends as well as john too, so that was a bonus. I managed to get myself healthy again just in time to get on an airplane and remember that i need dental work done. My ears where great though, so i was grateful for that, and in a stroke of genius on the way out of the house in the morning on my way to the airport, i remembered to grab the Kanka Pen (Blistex makes it) i had from the last time i flew to numb my mouth enough to make the pain bearable. it only lasted one flight though... I took every reasonable form of transportation except a train to get there, and 15 hours later i arrived in Norfolk/Virginia Beach, grabbed my rental car and stayed with one of my best friends in the world, Rachel, the first night i got in. I spent friday with her until i could go pick up john. We traded clothes (i got a super cute white bathing suit from her as trade for the dress i mentioned in a previous post), went to the beach, drove around, ate some lunch and then she came with me to pick up john. John didn't know what time we were coming, so when we showed up he was sleeping and came down to meet me at the door still rubbing his eyes. it was cute :) I got to see his barics finally. After talking to him for so long and having a made up picture in my head of what it looks like, it was nice to see how he's really living. It smells funny. Not his room, but more the entire building really. I won't try to guess why. Then we went for Mexican (something PA doesn't have a great selection of) and i got to see a little of Elizabeth City NC. I wanted to see it so i could decide if it was one of the places where i wanted to move to for sure since its one of the few options we have.... I don't want to move there now. The best part of it was that, besides the good mexican food, it has a Super Wal-Mart. Wow right? (I only say that's a plus because PA doesn't have the "super", just the regular. haha). It was a ghetto swamp land rolled into one in some areas. i didn't even know that was possible. I wasn't impressed, so i'm over wanting to go there now.
I was given a Toyota Prias Hybrid for a rental car. John hated it when i told him about it. He thinks they're ugly and that they don't have any power because they're Hybrids. I thought it was kind of fun to drive though. It has a backup camera and push button start, the "key" is just the key chain remote that you slip into a little slot, and you can't even tell its on when you start it. The Valet guy just about had a cow when we pulled up in it and he couldn't hear it running. He thought it was the coolest thing in the world, couldn't believe it was still on. By the end of the trip john was asking if i would like one of them. i think he had more fun driving it then i did.
After we dropped Rachel off we drove to the Hotel we were staying at. Our hotel was NICE. Fancy, and pretty, and great. And the whole trip was like being on a second honeymoon.
Saturday we went to Busch Gardens with our friends from back in the hood, Doug and Jenny. I met Jenny when i was 12 on the first day at church when my family first moved to West Virginia. She had some of her Bennie Babies with her at the time (this was back when they were at the start of super cool to collect). That was the same time i met John too. We were friends from the beginning. And then i met Doug at a church dance i went to a few years later....or maybe it was at Youth Conference when we went on the Church History tour through New York and Ohio. Either way, i thought he was a cool guy and it was obvious (to me at least) that he was in love with Jenny from the beginning. Doug is also one of Johns best friends. But yeah, we met up with them at the theme park. They had got stuck in traffic, but lucky for us, john hassled me all morning to be ready on time so we wouldn't be late and we ended up not having their traffic problems.
Busch Gardens was great. John and i got in free because he's military and they'll give one free pass to military and their family a year, so it worked out great. We ate some breakfast while we waited for Doug & Jenny, and i tried to share mine with the birds and take a picture of them but they always flew away when i got it in focus. I think they have a 6th sense or something. But it was good to see Doug and Jenny, and we all had a lot of fun. i felt like a party pooper by the end of the day because my feet were killing me from wearing the wrong flip-flops. But we all had fun, and at the end of the day we went to dinner together and had some more.
Sunday we got to sleep in together. It was great since john had made me get up early so we weren't late the day before and my feet were still sore. I had brought church clothes with me so we could go to church together, but john left his back at his dorms. John went out and got lunch for us though and after a little wait we went to swim at the indoor pool they had at the hotel. I think swimming in the pool was my favorite part of my time with john. The whole trip was great, but there's nothing like playing and having fun with your husband. i love not having to worry about anything except enjoying each other. After swimming for a while, we got ready and went to see Angels and Demands, got some dinner and ice cream, and then went to the new Star Trek movie too.
Monday was our last day together. We drove around trying to find the good beach, but went too far and found the wrong ones and got a little lost... but we got some lunch and got going in the right direction, and ended up at a mini golf coarse on Virginia Beach for a few hours. Another day of fun and play. After that we saw the X-Man Beginnings movie. We were a little late so we had to sit in the front corner seats where the screen is all out of whack, but i didn't really care in the end. We picked up Rachel after that and she came with us to take john back to the base :( I did really well not crying too much in front of him when it was time to go so he wouldn't worry about me, but it was sad. I ended up crying more on my first flight the next morning. The poor lady sitting next to me kept looking over at me not knowing what to do.
All in all, the trip was great. Worth the money, and the time. I miss my john, but he’ll be home in 5 more weeks, so I have something to look forward to now. I can see the end of the tunnel. We still don’t know exactly when we’re moving to Cali, but it’ll be 2-4 weeks after john gets home. I’m hoping I can go to girls camp with my ward, but it’s the 2^nd week of August, so I don’t think it will work out L I’ve been wanting to go to girls camp for years since graduating, but it never seems to work out. Oh well. Maybe next year.
I’ll be posting all the pictures from the trip in my next blog…I hope.

Big News! (no jenny, not that kind of news)

My big news right now is that we're moving. Very exciting and stressful news. That's life in the military though. I hate moving with a passion, but the sooner it happens then the sooner i get to finally be with my husband again. 5 months apart is a terrible thing to do to newlywed's, and the 3 days together the other week was not enough to make up for it (yes, i still need to blog and post pictures about that. soon!).
But, this week John did his picks at school (we were hoping for Hawaii but it wasn't on the billet for picks this round). He was 5th in line to pick, and there were only 2 slots for Sacramento so he didn't think we would get it. So he called to ask me where i wanted to go: Alaska or Florida?
"NOOOO. Not Alaska!"
i said. And then i cried that we had to move so far away to Florida. i've had all this time to prepare myself for our top 2 choices (HI and CA) and i hadn't considered florida at all. But the more i thought about it, the more the idea grew on me. I think talking to my dad helped the most too. He's never been there, but he helped make me think of it as a positive thing so i felt better about it. 2 hours later i was looking for a place to live online and getting excited about it. But then john called again.
"We're moving to Sacramento"
he says. I was actually mad at him for saying that. I told him to go back and change it to florida. He didn't though. We've been talking about where we wanted to go after he got done with school for a year now, so we accepted that we got what we want and we're happy about it.


No idea when we're leaving, but john will be back on July 17th(!!!!!), so i'm going to assume we'll be packing up and leaving by the end of July or early August. He's mentioned a family reunion or something in Utah around that time, and we want to stop and see both our families for a little while too. The end of summer will be busy to say the least. We don't know if we want to buy a home or rent, but we'll be there for at least 4 years so we'll figure something out. I think the thing i'm the most excited for is that i'll be able to see john for longer then a few months. FINALLY! Our longest stretch spent together has been 6 months, and our first anniversary is Aug 1st.
Now i have to find a way to tell my main office that i'll be moving.... i'll only be 45 minutes from their office down there in Cali, maybe they'll give me a job there?

i don't know...

we're not going to hawaii :( there wasn't a spot open there for anyone this round. And as of right now there are 2 spots open for Sacramento CA, 5 for Kodiak Alaska, 5 for Clearwater FL, a bunch for Mobile Alabama, and 1 in Elizabeth City NC.....

John first told me a few hours ago that we were going to end up in Clearwater Florida. i cried about it a few times, and then i was ok with it a few times. i was accepting it. I was going to make it a good thing.

But a few minutes ago john called to tell me we're going to Sacramento... That's where we wanted to go if we didn't get Hawaii... but now i don't know. I was really starting to warm up to the idea of Florida.

i feel like such a girl. i can make up my mind!

Yes, i'm due...

for a new blog. I've been home for 6 days and still haven't posted pictures or anything about the trip. But i have started writing it, i just get bored or my internet connection goes funky and i can't save it at home. I'm editing it because if i'm bored writing it then i know you'll be bored reading it. But there's a lot to tell about because i had a TON of fun and it was great seeing my John and Rachel and Doug and Jenny, and going to the beach and a hundred other little stories. AND, i started pulling out all the pictures i wanted to post (there are a lot of them), i put them in a folder in the order i wanted to show them to you all, but when i went into the folder to make a few changes they were all messed up and in numerical order so i have to go through them again to be in the order I want them in. It will happen soon though, promise!

**p.s.**
we probably find out where we're moving to this week! If not today, then probably tomorrow :]] Cross your fingers! john want's Hawaii, and the more i think about it, the more i want Hawaii too!

Our Future Baby!

Its amazing the weird time wasters you can find online when you're bored. This one is my pick of the day: Morphthing.com. You can use it to do what i did and get the baby, or you can make a funky lookin sheman prospective child thats your age. I tried the later, but it was so scary that i decided it was best to leave that one to the imagination...or try to find better pictures of us to use to try again another time :)



So, this is what John & I's future baby is supposed to look like. Cute huh? I've decided it looks like its a Her, and i already have a name for her (which i'm not sharing at this time because i have too many prego friends that could steal it cuz its such a good name). Just to put your mind to rest: NO, i'm not pregnant. Not that i know of at least, and i haven't seen my husband in almost 3 months so chances are good that i'm not.

Of all the luck...

Dang it. I've been telling myself for about a week that i should start taking some decongestant to make sure i don't have extra pressure on my ears so i can take my trip next week. "Preventative Medicating" was my plan. But, i didn't do it and now i'm paying for it. That's right, I'M SICK. blah. Terrible news when i'm about to go on vaca to see my husband. I went to the store on monday to pick up some things that i've been needing. I had planned to get the meds then...but i forgot to get it. So then i planned to stop at wal-mart on my way home from Young Womens last night (wednesday). I went to work feeling fine, i came home from work feeling fine, i ate a sandwich and then i noticed: "hey, my throat feels kind of sore...". So i made my priority to get to the store after YWs. I went and i felt about the same, dropped off the beehive girls i had driven around for the nights activities, then made my beeline to the store for drugs. The Halls Vitamin - C Drops are magic on sore throats, and i got the Sudafed for my sinuses to make sure they clear up and don't mess up my ears any more then they already are.

Don't fly with an ear infection. Actually, don't travel long distances with an ear infection. I have learned this from experience. Ears are not something to mess with. I've had the unpleasant experience of rupturing my ear drums several times. Four times in my right ear, and two in my left. I had both rupture at the same time twice. Once while i was driving over the passes from Montana up to North Idaho, and once while flying into Spokane. I'm almost positive i'll be deaf when i'm 60 if not sooner. The ringing in the ears only gets worse.

So, i got the drugs home and started medicating. I said my prayers and tried my best to get sleep last night, but this morning i woke up at 6 (an hour and a half before i usually get up!) with a killer sore throat and a crick in my neck that i still haven't managed to get out. The only up side to waking up so early was that it gave me time to wash a load of whites because i forgot i was out of undies.

It was a year ago, minus a week or so, that i started getting sick exactly like this. Disaster. Disgusting. Horrible. It was my last day of work because i was moving the next day to stay with my dad until my wedding, John had just gotten off a 4 month tour on his ship to South America and had flow up to see me before i left, and my dad had flow up to help me move. My throat hurt like this, and i was all clogged up in the head, and i had this fever, but we all went to a friends house for dinner. I don't remember what all we ate, but i do remember the brownies. They were delicious. The Costco kind that even had the chocolate chips in them. i ate 3 of them i think. Yummy. Why would i remember the brownies i ate a year ago you ask? Because, i remember what they tasted like when i threw them all up. Not the same. i don't eat a lot of brownies any more. When we got back to the house i went in my room and started sobbing from how gross and sick i felt. Ten minutes later i was upstairs throwing up in a bowl. I threw up 8 times that night. Poor sweet John sat and watched me do it too, and he was so sweet to stay by my side. Any man that can sit and watch me do that is worth spending eternity with. That's a real man. I've never been that sick as an adult before and i want to try to avoid doing it again.

I'm not throwing up yet, but right now it feels like i could be heading that direction :( i've decided its allergies. That's the only explanation. I'm not getting it from work because i work alone, just like i was last year. Where i'm living now is a lot like Coeur d' Alene with all the trees and everything, so that's the only thing i can think of. But this time, if i do get that sick again, i don't have my John around to help take care of me :( And, if i really do get that sick again, then i need to get it over with right away this weekend so i'll be well enough to travel to see john next week. Pray for me!! If you know of a better way to get rid of the sore throat, tell me please. Please, please, please! i have to get better soon...

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

What to do, what to do...

I'm feeling....inspired. But my problem is that i don't know which way to direct that inspiration. It needs to be something creative and artistic that i haven't done before. i have 3 projects i want to do actually, but i don't know which way to go yet...

#1 is refinishing my coffee table. Its real wood, kind of country looking (though not the direction i want to go with my decorating). It looks good with the plaid couch set though. Yes i said plaid. My step-mom has a weird thing for plaid. She gave it too me when they moved to Southern Idaho. I was just grateful to have anything. But i don't plan to be keeping this set for forever. This is just my starter furniture. But I found this thing (the coffee table) by the side of the road next to someones house with a sign on it saying "FREE". Its in pretty good shape except for some cup rings and it looks like a child drew in a few spots with a pen, but its not deep and it can be fixed with some sanding. So, if i sand it all down, i want to refinish it to go with the TV stand we have. Its a chestnut dark dark brown, and i also have a bookshelf that matches. So, i want this coffee table to match, and i think i can do it myself.

#2 has to do with cake decorating. i know, refinishing a coffee table...cake decorating. Two different things. But my interests are broad. I guess I have done this one before, but i don't have a lot of experience. I don't know when or for who i would make a cake for, but there is an artistic outlet in cake decorating, and i got a taste of it when i did my brothers wedding cake, and then my own. His was frosted red velvet with little rose buds on it that i made, and it tasted great. Their colors were red and white if you couldn't tell. John and I's was red velvet for the top and then lemon and mint cup cakes all with a marshmallow fondant (which tastes much better then regular fondant). I made everything all by myself for our cake: the 3 tier stand, the cup cakes, frosting, cake, fondant, and the monogram cake topper. It still amazes me that i was able to throw the whole wedding together with 2 weeks warning! Goes to show what military life is like. A lot of hurry up and wait and unpredictability.

So back to what i was saying. I've had a little taste of cake decorating, but I think the reason i'm so obsessed with doing cakes now is because i've been watching Ace Of Cakes on the Food Network. If you ever get the chance to check it out, do. It looks so much fun. They make great cakes that you can't even imagine being actual cakes. They show this cake they made that is this 3 tiered robins egg blue cake with chocolate fondant on top and cut outs in it so you could see the blue under it. I love it. I've been planning how to do it in my head trying to figure it out. They had a picture of it on their site last week, but it looks like they've changed the site recently so its gone now :( oh well i guess. So, for my friends and family, i am willing to do cakes. I'll be practicing and i'll get better, so give me a call if you need help ;) i'm not a pro, but i'm willing to try anything.

and...

#3 I want to learn how to Solder. This is something i've been wanting to do for a long time. My Grandpa made a bronze sculpture for my parents as a wedding gift, and i grew up with it in my home. I love it, and i want to make my own. For some reason i don't think i have much hope that i'll get it when my dad dies (which i never want to happen!) because my step-mom's family lives forever and will probably outlive everyone. But, I want my kids to have one in their home, and maybe if i make it well enough, i might be able to sell them one day. It's one of my ambitions in life, to do something artistic, from home, that i can share with people. I know, soldering isn't THAT hard, but it's something i haven't gotten to learn or try yet. Once i do, we'll see how much i want to do it still... but i hope it really is as great as i hope.

Ok, so i'll keep you updated about when i get into these things. i can't keep putting them off forever. Especially the coffee table. Wish me luck! And if you have any pointers, let me know!

New Clothes!

So, i have this awesome vacation coming up in a few weeks that involves GETTING TO SEE MY HUSBAND!! (yea!) We're going to the beach and we're going to have tons of fun. A real blessing in my opinion. i can't wait to see him.

In preparation for this trip, and for getting to see him after these long months, i have been working out and buying things so i look cute for him. i don't want to be a frumpy wife, i want to be cute wife, that's as thin as she was when she got married...with new cute clothes. So, i've gotten a few things. A floral top, a cute tan skirt, some comfy red sandals, some capris, and super cute polka dot dress....


Cute right? Dresses in my opinion have the ability to not be so extremely flattering on me, and its easier to mix and match with skirts, so i don't usually go out of my way to try them on. But, every now and then i will and it ends up being fine. I have a few now. I actually already have a black and white polka dot dress i got a while back, but its not as cute as this one i think. It hit me at the knee so it was modest, but once i got married it felt too short for my comfort when i sat down. i wore it once and worried the whole time if it was going to show anything. i didn't, but it was too much stress to be worth it. i'll be giving it to my friend Rachel when i see her on the trip. She's my size but a little shorter then i am....i miss having a friend close by to trade clothes with :( but yeah, i ordered this dress last week from Fashion Bug of all places. We have a store here in town (1 of the 3 chain stores we have here) and i checked out the site to see if it was worth going in to find something cute. I saw this and knew i had to go in. But, our store is a small store and they didn't have it so they had to order it for me. If it didn't fit then i could return it to the store. I found capris under $20 in the store though, and that's always great. Then today, the dress came :) yea. i ripped open the plastic packaging on it and threw it on with my jeans still on. It fits great. Made me want to go out and be a Salsa Dancer or something. The length is great, and there is enough sleeve on it to cover my garments without problem, but i have cardigans to go with it for church because our building is freezing with the AC on. I didn't really need the dress...but i'm glad i got it.

So, all i need to find is a red t-shirt to go with the red sandals i found (for $3!) and i'll be done with my shopping and ready to be cute for John.

Floor Plan Fun!!

So, i had to find a program for work that draws tree charts. I had to test it out and make sure the program did what the company is looking for and report back to them. I found one called SmartDraw and was trying it out when i realized: it had a Floor Plan function! How fun is that?? Well, its fun for me at least. For someone that started drawing imaginary home floor plans at the age of 9 in secret for years and then studied drafting in college for a few years, this is my new favorite toy. Sadly, i only have a trial version, and trial period ends today :( But, i played with it (in my non-working hours of course), and drew up the floor plan of our town home. I know the picture is a little blurry, but it was the best i could do. Trial version only let me save pictures with the words "MADE WITH A TRIAL COPY OF SMARTDRAW" covering half the diagram of all the copies and exported versions i tried to make. I had to "PrntScrn" it into a Paint file and cut out all the junk, so this was the best i could do. One day when i clean the house (i.e. actually make my bed and get all the splatter off the bathroom mirror) i'll add interior pictures of the real thing.

john wanted a blog about him

Today was the first time john saw our blog. He didn't really believe that i had started one like he wanted, but now he knows: it's real. He thinks its pretty :) so i have his approval for that at least. But...he didn't think there was enough about him in it for it to be considered "our" blog. My bad i guess (love you muffin!). But in my defense, it's hard to write stuff about his life when i don't see him every day. He's on the other side of the country!

if you didn't already know, john is in the Coast Guard and right now he's away at A-School in Elizabeth City, North Carolina for 5 months. YUCK. We got married last Aug. and 6 months later in March they ripped him away from me. When we got married we knew it was going to happen though, so we had prep time to be ready for this. He's been gone for a little over a month and a half though and we're holding strong still. It was hard the first few weeks, especially for me, but i'm doing a whole lot better now. The hard part was not being able to talk to him when i wanted to or for as long as i wanted to. Some days i'll be lucky to talk to him for 5 minutes before he has to go study. After being spoiled by seeing him every day...like a normal newly wed couple...it was hard for me. Weekends are kind of nice because he calls up to 5-8 times sometimes though. Its kind of cute actually, even when we're out of things to talk about because we haven't done anything all day he still calls. And he's sweet in not calling me before 9am (my time, 12 noon his) on saturday mornings. It's kind of a sacred day for me because it's the only day i get to sleep in past 7:45.

So, here's some things about john....He's doing great in school. He's really working hard at studying to make sure he's at the top of his class in ranking and so he can get his first pick of base assignments. His top choice is Hawaii at the moment (how often do you get the chance to move to hawaii right? might as well do it now), and then its a toss up between Sacramento and Elizabeth City NC...but the "toss up" part might be my wishful thinking...for him it might be Hawaii, Cali, and then NC in that order. At the moment i'm a little partial to NC though :) we'll see after vacation next month though. So yeah, he's doing well in school with high score on all his tests. he's pretty happy about that. he's making friends (which is probably a bigger deal to me then it is to him), he's losing all the weight he's put on since getting married (not may fault he was eating enough for 3 people in one meal. i only made that much so he could have left overs for lunch the next day) by playing Wallyball with ALL his free time. I miss him a lot, but he's doing really well and we're already almost 2 months through this.

The great news is we get to see each other in May!!! Super Excited! I'll be taking off a few days from work and flying out there for Memorial Day weekend. We're going to stay in Virginia Beach at a super fancy 4star hotel that john found super cheep online and we'll have tons of fun. The beach, theme parks, the aquarium (that one's for me!), site seeing and shopping, mini golf, and all kinds of fun stuff. Plus! i'll get to see one of my best friends Rachel cuz she moved out there a few months ago, so that's a bonus. So this trip will break up our time apart in half and i'm so grateful. it'll be a great little vacation together :]]

So, excuse me while i get a little girlie for a little bit, but writing so much about him makes me miss him more. I love the fact that i still have a crush on him. There are days that i'll find myself going through pictures i have around the house or online and all i can think is "...he's so cute." I love him. he's so handsome. i know there aren't a lot of people that care for red hair, but for as long as i can remember i've always had a thing for redheads and i've never figured it out. It was destiny i guess. We're going to have cute kids. This is a pic of john with one of his nephews (maybe Coty can tell me which one cuz i'm sure she knows her kids better then anyone, but my guess is that its Sam).If there is a baby or little kid around, if he's not the one holding them then he's usually close by. There are tons of pictures as proof of that. I think it's kind of cute. He's a great person and it's easy to be drawn to him. i love him :) There are things about him and things he does, i feel so blessed to be married to him. And he's a great husband. He'll surprise me some times. He pays attention and remembers the littlest things that i didn't realize half the time i had told him. He'll come home with things that are super special and sweet for me. And he puts up with my craziness (and i really do have my moments). When he's bored and not being entertained by something, even if i'm busy, he's in my face asking for all my attention. Commercials, walking around, shopping, even at church. Kisses ALL the time. Its kind of cute the way he does it even if it gets exhausting sometimes. But i love it. He's always trying so hard to make me happy. And he has a 6th sense for knowing when i'm crying, especially when we're watching a movie. That's one of the reasons i realized that i liked him a little more then a friend. We went to see August Rush in the theatre and he caught me crying and wiped away my tears for me. He still does it....i miss him :(

ok, this was a blog all about John. If i say any more i'll probably start crying. If you want to say hi to him, or say great things about him, you can leave a message on here :)

Oprah wants to know if you're a rude person

I think its safe to say that there are rude people everywhere. I wonder if there is a study to find where the rudest people in America are...? Probably. i can't find it, but there's a study about everything anymore, its just a matter of finding it. From what i did find, the internet says that Miami is the rudest city in America. i'm not saying this is true, i've never been there. In all honestly i haven't had a lot of people be rude to me in my life. At least nothing is jumping out in my memory at least. Except for Utah drivers...(i love all my Utah friends! you all drive awesome! most of you are implants...love you!).

Ok, the more i think about it, there have been people that were rude to me. Mostly on the road though. And i do remember this one time while i was in college working at Wal-Mart as a cashier, this lady cornered me in the parking lot while i was walking to my car and accused me of trying to ruin her marriage. i had NO idea what she was talking about of coarse. I had only seen her once before in my life and it was 15 minutes earlier when she came through my line and had grilled me about my personal life. But she yelled at me trying to make me fess up, and i stood there and listened and then told her either she had the wrong girl or her husband was lying to her because nothing she said about me was true, and i walked away. i cried on the phone to the guy i was dating at the time while i drove home. i was lucky to make it to the car before i started the crying though. The next day she came in on "his" arm while wearing a butt length trashy mini skirt and a smug look on her face. The guy wasn't even cute, he was creepy looking. And i know i would remember if i had "flirted" with him. I had never seen him before though. The whole thing was rude in my opinion.

But yeah, i have seen people do rude things to other people. Grade school and high school kids are mean ruthless rude little people. I pray we don't screw up when we raising our kids and they all turn out like that (john is such a good person i doubt it could happen though). People get more rude with the growth of technology i think too. Phones are a huge contributor. And people more and more often assume that they have the right to take whatever they want, do whatever they want, and make everyone do what they tell them... I won't mention any names, but i did have a particular roommate a while ago that felt free to go in my room and take anything she wanted (my iron, my clothes, makeup, cd's), and she also had a habit of using every dish in the entire kitchen while she covered it in mess and then leave for the rest of the day without cleaning any of it up. After cleaning up after her one too many times so i could actually use the kitchen i resolved the issue by making a no mess policy posted on the cabinet with a $5 fine for breaking the rule. i never had that problem again. When she would blow fuses in the circuit breaker causing half the house to lose power, she wouldn't fix it. she would leave it for someone else to fix if they needed power. One of the rudest people i ever met. If you know what the color code test is, she was a strong RED. I'll be the first to admit that there are positives and negatives about all the colors, and i have my own red moments when i'm at the very end of my patience, but this girl was a full-on huge negative of the red category, all the time, every day.

Oprah put a survey in her "O" Magazine called the Are You a Rude Person Quiz. i don't read her magazine personally, but i don't read any magazines except when i go to my parents and they have the Readers Digest sitting around. But i heard about this quiz and it got me thinking: Am i a rude person? Do i do rude things not realizing they're rude? So i did the quiz. They're all Yes or No questions:

1. Are you chronically late?

2. Have you ever typed an e-mail while talking on the phone?

3. Have you ever interrupted a face-to-face conversation to take a non-urgent cell phone call?

4. Have you gone through a supermarket 10-item express lane with more than 10 items?

5. While among friends or co-workers, have you yawned without covering your mouth?

6. Have you ever texted or talked on a cell phone in a movie theater?

7. Have you let your dog relieve himself on your neighbor's lawn?

8. Have you ever cut in front of someone in line?

9. Have you ever stolen someone's parking spot?

10. Have you ever let your child kick the back of the seat in front of him and not apologized to his victim?

11. Have you ever not RSVP'd to an event by the date requested?

12. Have you ever gossiped?

13. Have you ever taken someone else's food or drink from the office refrigerator?

There were 3 things on it i had to say "yes" to. They aren't things i make a habit of doing, but i'm a rude person i guess. I'm a wimp and didn't submit my answers to find exactly how rude i am though. Saying Yes to some of them is enough to realize i need to be paying more attention to what i do. My problem with this quiz is that i think there should be more questions on it. Things like: Do you return your cart to the cart return, or do you leave it in the middle of the parking lot for other people to hit when they try to get into a parking spot? Do you swear in public? Do you wear extremely revealing and/or tight clothing to places where that isn't appropriate or wear low cut jeans to show off your thong? Do you ever talk down to people to make them feel inferior? Do you clean up after yourself when you make a mess in a place other people use (like at a fast food restaurant)? Do you drive 6 feet away from the car in front of you on purpose because you think they're going too slow?

So, there's my rant on the subject. What do you think? What do you think is rude of other people to do? How rude are you? It doesn't really matter. i just got stuck thinking about this today so i wonder what the rest of the world thinks about it. I hope no one is being rude to any of you :)

...the best job in the world

I've had some ok jobs in my life and some stupid ones too, but i always got up and went to work...unless i needed a "sick day" *cough**cough**sniff*. Its been a few years since i've taken one of those though. In the last 2 years though i've landed some pretty cushy jobs working part time because they pay enough that i don't need the full time. Super easy jobs. At my job last year i had so much free time at work that i watched all the seasons of Ghost Hunters online (i'm addicted to the show but i refuse to watch it at home cuz it scares me so much). This job i'm at now, again i have a lot of free time and no work to fill it with because i work alone in a branch office and i'm at the mercy to the main office who give me assignments. i sit here until they tell me what they need. It can get monotonous and boring some days, but the ones that are busy can be enjoyable and worthwhile. I'm not doing something i love though, and i'll be the first to admit it. I didn't go to school to run an office. if you want to know the real truth, i want to take some art classes. i have these things in my head that i want to do and i don't know how to make them yet. When i figure it out then i'll devote my time to that. it'll happen one day.

This has been my secret wish dream job for as long as i can remember, the job that has nothing to do with anything about who i am. No reality about it at all. I've wanted to be that person that goes traveling around the worlk rating all the luxury hotels and restaurants for forever. It has nothing to do with talent. I didn't want to do it for money. Its just the plain being pampered and the enjoyment of it all. I imagined sitting poolside with virgin Piña Coladas, a big hat and a book. The fancy food and all that. But, where do you get jobs like that??

So, i listen to the radio while i'm getting ready in the mornings before work. My brain has a weird habit of getting stuck on odd thoughts, ideas, subjects, stories, and random memories in the mornings, like its still in dreaming mode, and that's all i can think about, so the radio gives me something else to think about and get out of being stuck in those ruts it gets in. In Port Angeles, in my opinion, the only good radio we get comes from across the sound in Canada. All the Seattle radio is too much static to pick up. So weather reports i have to convert from metric, their traffic reports will never effect me, i have to listen to them say things like "in hospital" and remind myself not to start saying it that way here, and i know i'll never get to participate in all the cool contests they have for their station. Morning radio is a lot of talk so they keep me up to date with what's going on in the entertainment world news, and then they throw in music about the time i'm always in the shower so i have something to sing along to, so it all works out.

A few weeks ago i was listening to them talk about "the Best Job in the World" contest. I don't know if you've heard about it, but i think it really does sound great. The "job" is to hang out for 6 months on the beach of an island off the coast of Queensland Australia. There's a resort, and you just have to test out their new spa treatments, skim a leaf off the top of a pool maybe, feed some fish, snorkel, eat, enjoy the scenery, hike, swim, and write a blog about your stay. And they pay you a lot of money for it! They've already picked the "job" candidates though. They're from around the world and overall attractive young people.

NOT FAIR!

So, yesterday i was listening to the radio again and now "the NEXT Best Job in the World" is taking "applications". It was inevitable to happen. It's a company the sells "Elite Travel Experience" vacations, and they want someone to try them all and blog about them. This is what their site says:

We are looking for an elite travel correspondent to travel the globe for six months, staying at the most exclusive and out of this world hotels and resorts, searching out and reporting on truly unique and mind-blowing experiences normally reserved for the rich and famous.

Imagine this: Enjoying a private candlelight dinner on the Great Wall of China; racing Ferraris through the twisting back roads of Tuscany; spending the afternoon picnicking in the middle of the Moroccan desert and then telling the world about it.

The "job" creator/company owner said there is a "James Bond Experience" where you get to run around pretending your James Bond. You get paid $50,000 for taking the "job", AND you can bring someone with you....I'm applying. There really is such a job that i dreamed of, and now i know how to get it. Not in my wildest dreams do i think i'll actually get the "job", but i can say i tried.

For My Protection

I've been having a hard time deciding what's appropriate for me to say in blogs. i know we don't have a lot of followers (3 that i know of), but my hope is to one day have more. One Day. i joke that Blogs are great for stalking, but if you do put the wrong things on here it really could be used for that. I'm living alone right now. That leaves me open and unprotected. John found out the hard way that i'm stronger then i look, but still.... I doubt that i'll get a lot of fan fair between now and when john gets back, but i scared myself thinking about it.... The other week i went and bought Pepper Spray and other "weapons". i did it because i heard a noise really late at night while i was falling back to sleep and thought someone might be breaking in through the window in the back bedroom. There was no break in attempt and i was hearing things (probably my extremely annoying neighbors going out onto their back deck to smoke), but the whole situation made me realize i had nothing to stop someone if i really had to. All i could think about at the time was a friend back in idaho that had woke up one night with her husband to a man standing over her in bed. He didn't attack them, but that's SCARY to think things like that really happen, and it could have gone a completely different direction. So after my night of fear trying to think of ideas of things i could use as weapons, stiletto heals were the best idea i could come up with at that time, i decided i needed something real. The whole time i kept questioning "why doesn't john play baseball so we could have a bat laying around?", and "if only i could have a dog!". oh well. like i said, nothing happened and it was unnecessary stress, but i did go after work to buy pepper spray and a few other things for my protection. I have a gun, but at the moment it lives with my dad in southern idaho and i can't really remember the reason that is right now so i plan to change those living arrangements soon. At the time all this happened, i was in the middle of writing a blog about our apartment. What it looks like and how it's laid out and all that, i even had pictures, but i changed my mind. I'll post that when we move out i think. So, if you read something on here you think is "too informative", please tell me and i'll remove it. I really am fine being alone for this small amount of time, its not permanent, but i'll still take precautions. Thanks for reading friends!

Spinach Balls

So, when husband and i got married i had to decide on what to serve at the reception for food. I was going through cookbooks to get ideas and i found this weird book my step-mom cindy has that some women put together on one of the bases she had lived at, and it had a million recipes of all kinds of things i'de never heard of. In it i found the Spinach Balls. Holy yummy food goodness. It sounded so amazing reading the recipe. But i figured no one would really eat them since we were already having the meatballs (that was husbands only food request), so i almost didn't add them to the menu. but, i needed simple recipes with minimal ingredients so it was included. I'm glad i did too. They really were as good as they sounded. They were all the rave at the reception (mostly from johns cousins husband doug, but from other people too). An exact quote i heard was "this is what wedding receptions are all about: good food!". The more i think about it, the more i think it may have out-shined me at my own wedding... Oh well. it was still fun.

This week we had a double baby shower for 2 of our Young Women leaders that are having babies and i was asked to bring something for food to it. Remembering how wonderful the spinach balls were, i decided they were the way to go for the shower too. They were as big a hit as they were at the reception. Girls and women were standing around the food table wafting in the smell of them before the shower started. Everyone asked about them, and who made them, and what was in them, and if they could get the recipe. The relief society president even wants to put the recipe in the monthly newsletter for everyone. So, spinach balls are now my official number 1 party food. Every party or get together i go to will include them. And since i don't want to be greedy and deprive you the people of the well deserved praise for including them in your future parties, i've decided to give you the recipe :]

Spinach Balls

2 (10 oz.) pkgs. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 c. herb stuffing mix (crushed)
1 c. firmly packed grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. butter, melted
4 sm. green onions, finely chopped
3 eggs
Dash of grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix well.
Shape into 1 inch balls. Cover and refrigerate or freeze until
ready to bake 350 degrees on un-greased baking sheet
15-20 minutes until light brown. Makes about 4 dozen




And that's it :] It takes a little time forming all the balls, but you can place them fairly close together on the pan, i fit 24 to a pan, so they cook in a reasonable amount of time. i hope you enjoy them when or if you do make them!

A little about John, and then some about Twilight...

So, John has been gone for 3 whole weeks. The first 2 weeks it felt like it was whipping on by (man how time flies!...), but now its starting to feel like its been forever. At least on my end. John is doing well in his classes though. He's definitely in the top half of his class, if not the top half of the top half. He's trying super hard so he can have his pick of base assignments when its time. I'm proud of him for putting so much energy into doing well while he's there. He's also on a lose weight mission there too. He feels a strong urge to lose all the "happy weight" he's put on since we got married (if he doesn't he won't make rank at the end of school lol). The only things we seem to talk about are what he's eating, how much time he spent in the gym that day, and how much he has been studying. it makes me feel like a slacker some times... But still, he's passing all his tests, and training really well, and he says to say "Hi" to everyone. I told him i was going to write that in there for you all and he was surprised that we have a real blog. I told him back when i created it that we had it, but for some reason he thought i had started it and wasn't doing anything with it. I'm not as good at it as some people, but i am doing better then others.

So, i'm sure you all know that Twilight came out on DVD last weekend. John and i got to be among the small amount of masses that watched it for the first time where the books/movies supposedly take place. Jealous right? i will tell you right now though, the Port Angeles depicted is not what its like here in real life. i'm not even sure there is a "bad" part of town. I know some of you may have been worried about me being here all alone like john's mom was after she saw the movie, but it's really not like that here. There is a shady townhouse complex that's a bit of an eye sore in my opinion that i don't plan to walk around in the dark any time soon, but every town has that kind of place. The crime rate here is nothing of note. i think there is more suicide then anything (considering there's rain and overcast 9-10 months of the year i can see how that is possible).
So, i didn't even know it was a trend at the time when i read the books. The first time i saw the book was at John's parents house over a year ago. I found his sister Sarah in every room of the house with her eyes glued to it like a zombie. She said it was about Vampires but i didn't give it much thought after that cuz i assumed it was just one of the regular young adult book i don't read any more. Then a few months later i was hanging out with my bed ridden friend Rachel at the time who had just had a huge tumor taken off of her liver. her sister had sent a care package to give her things to do while she was stuck in bed all day. I flipped through the first few pages and read a little, but i wasn't sucked in right away so i didn't think too much about it again. Then john and i found out we were moving to Port Angeles last July. I had no idea where it was, i had never heard of it, and i had to pull a map out to find it. When i told Rachel that was where we were moving, she actually knew where i was talking about. She said that was where parts of Twilight take place. So, i asked her if the books were any good and she said they were. So that got me thinking about them finally. When john and i got married, after the honeymoon i had to go back to Preston for a month while he was in Seattle on the boat until we were stationed to the base here. I was walking around the airport all by myself and saw the book on a stand at Borders there, so i figured "sure. why not?". I purchased the book and went to sit by my gate. That night i finished 1/3 of the book. i was hooked. i would have read more if i hadn't gotten lost leaving the Salt Lake airport. yes, i know. who gets lost in Salt Lake? Me. i wasn't paying attention to the signs and ended up on the belt loop headed south instead of north for about an hour. It took me 2x's as long as it should have to get home. Oh well though. My fam was out of town for a few days so when i got home i had free time. I set up a box for the cat to have her kittens because i noticed she was following me from room to room with a look in her eye looking for a good place to do her business. So, while i did my best to keep her out of my lap during her little miracle of life (yuck!), i kept her company and finished the book that day. It took me a total of 2 weeks to read all the books because i had to wait a few days for the last book to come out. I sat around the house glued to them like sarah had done. i just had to know what was going to happen. They're easy reading, but they're entertaining.
When the movie came out john reluctantly came with me. But i kind of think he liked the movie more then i did, and more then he'll admit to as well. Every day for months, if it was rainy or overcast he would say it was a good day for vampires to be out lol. it was cute i thought. I know the movie will never be his favorite and will probably only watch it to humor me if i chose to watch when he's around, but i'm ok with it if he doesn't. i wasn't thrilled with the movie, but it wasn't the worst one i'd seen either. i'm only ok with it though. I hate the actor that plays bella for one thing. I can imagine her looking like that and maybe with edwards character too, but the girl has a stick up her butt in my opinion. She always has this disgusted look on her face like she's annoyed to be there when people talk to her, even in other movies and interviews i've seen her do. But it was all bad acting, and it didn't follow the book as well as it should have.
If you like a book enough, the movie is always a let down. But, we get over it most of the time. Like for Harry Potter. The books were great, the movies are great, but the movies don't have everything that the books have. My mom says the Star Wars movies are better then the books though. The best thing to do is to never read the book within 4 months of watching the movie for the 1st time i've decided. I made the mistake of reading the book within the week of watching the movie for a few different titles. But i can watch those movies now and not be so harsh as i was the 1st time, and sometimes even end up liking the movie a lot. Last week i started reading Twilight again...it was a mistake though. in my defense, i ran out of books that i haven't read in the last 5 months, so i figured i would give it a whirl again. I read it in 3 days and then made the mistake to go buy the movie and watch it. I hated the movie more this time. Dang it. but oh well i guess. The reason i buy movies any more is to make sure i have them for any future kids we have....that'll be my excuse for that one at least lol. Maybe later i'll watch it again and decide i can stand it.
So, last night i finished the 2nd book, New Moon...i had forgotten how boring that one was. i almost skipped it all together when i realized it, but since its easy reading i just decided to get it over with. Now on to book 3 again...

Snicker doodles

We had new beginnings this week for the girls that will be coming into young women this year (i don't remember mine all that well because its been 14 years, but i do remember a little stand that had all the little flags in it with all the value colors, and i remember wondering if yw's was going to always be at that time of day after church because if it was then i wasn't going). Anyways, i was helping with the refreshments for our new beginnings program here. Cookies, drinks, and a veggie platter. i made my amazing snicker doodles and their equally delicious friends "Devils food cookies", got all the veggies washed and separated, and bagged it all up to be ready when it was time to head over to church. i was supposed to be there at 6:30 to set it all up, and i still had hours to wait. So, i sat down and watched some tv. the whole time i kept thinking how long the day seemed, and i kept looking at the clock behind the couch to make sure it was still working. So, 6:30 finally starts coming around. I threw everything in the car and drove over to the church. i arrived at exactly 6:30 from what my car clock said...but i was a little surprised when i got there and there were so many cars in the parking lot. But, i grabbed as much as i could carry and walked in. As i was walking past the relief society room to the kitchen, i realized what i had done. My clocks have not all been changed over yet to daylight savings.... I figure, if its not effecting anything then it doesn't matter. But this week i realized i use those clocks more then i think i do. I never realized how many clocks we have in our house either.... So i ran to the kitchen and set it all up on the platters so as soon as the program was over i could run in and put it all on the table. i was able to finish just in time. whew! i felt so bad though. when i got home i changed ALL of the clocks. i haven't figured out the one in the car yet, but at least i know its wrong and i'll keep trying to fix it. But yeah, from what i saw of the program, it was really cute. The new little beehive girls will be a lot of fun. And the refreshments went over great. Everyone was a fan of my cookies.

i've always been a fan of chocolate chip cookies when it comes to making cookies at home. But one day, back when i was still single living in CDA, my friend Christy came over and said we were going to make cookies for our little movie night we were having. Then she pulled out a white cake mix from her bag. i was so confused. But we made cookies with it. Snicker doodles have never been my favorite until then. they were always too crunchy and i didn't think they were worth the work to make them. But now, they are all i make if i want cookies. Them or their equally easy, devils food chocolate cookies. Yum. They're always perfectly soft and wonderful, every time. Because i love them so much, i figured i would share the recipe with everyone. Super Easy!

Snicker doodles.

1 box white cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
a baggie of cinnamon sugar

Pre-heat oven to 375. pore the cake mix in a bowl. Add the eggs and veg. oil, and mix well. The mixture may sometimes seem a little dry, but don't worry, its ok. Form the dough into small balls and toss around in the baggie of cinnamon sugar until coated. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 375 for 10 minutes or until the tops start to crack.

That's it. Easy :D let them cool a few minutes if you can hold yourself back. If you want to make the chocolate ones, use a chocolate cake mix and don't add the cinnamon to the sugar to toss them in.

So that's it. My contribution to the baking community for the week. Girls and guys alike can make them with ease. Next week i'll be helping with refreshments for a baby shower and i'll be making Spinach Balls. YUM. If you were at our wedding reception, you know they are to die for. Some of the guests were raving about them the whole time. Seriously, they are beyond amazing. They're like heaven. I'll try to put the recipe on here when i make them :)

Email to the Airline

So, john left for North Carolina on the 1st. Not my favorite. Saying goodbye was torture. On friday after i got off work we loaded his stuff in the car and drove to Seattle to spend the night there because his flight was so early saturday morning. We checked into the hotel and then went out for dinner. After that we tried to stay up as late as possible to talk and spend time together because we knew once he went through security the next morning at 5 a.m. that was it for 5 months. it would be all phone calls after that. sadly we were asleep before midnight though. we were talking one minute, and seconds later john was snoring. Seriously, we were watching Cast Away on tv and he said something about Tom Hanks being his own dentist with the ice skate, and then he was snoring before Tom even hit the skate with the rock. But i just laughed at him and turned the tv off. So we didn't last the night. the next morning we got up and took the shuttle the hotel offers over the airport. Check in was fast though. Faster then i would have liked. And the line for security was looming in wait for him to go through it. Since he was on orders with the millitary they had to do a special checkin with him so he wouldn't be charged for baggage, and just when she was finishing up putting tags on his bags, she turned to me and asked if i wanted to go to the gate with him. I could hardly hold myself back from jumping in her arms to say thank you! All emotions spilled out of my eyes when she handed me the pass to go through. She gave me a pass to spend 2 more extra hours with my husband, and for that i love the airline. So, this week i felt so moved that i wrote an email to them to tell them thank you, and this is what i said:

My husband is enlisted with the US Coast Guard
and is on orders now to attend a school they have
in Elizabeth City, NC for the next 5 months.My
husband and i have only been married 7 months as
of this weekend. With his service in the Coast
Guard over the coarse of the 6 months of our
engagement we only saw each other twice, and then
after we did get married and back from the
honeymoon we were separated again for a whole
month until we could be stationed to an airbase
together. Our time together has been precious and
a blessing, and we haven't taken it for granted.
I love my husband very much, more then i will be
able to express to him in this lifetime, and being
away from him again has not been something i have
looked forward to. This past weekend my husband
traveled with your airline on orders from the
US Coast Guard to this school and i was the one to
take him to the airport in Seattle so I could say
goodbye to him there. With the change in
regulations after 9/11, I knew I would be saying
goodbye to him before he went through security and
I wasn't too thrilled for that time to come, but
while we were getting his baggage checked your
ticket agent asked if I would like to go to the
gate with him. I don't know if it was the
depressed look on my face, or if its a general
practice you have, but it was like hearing a voice
from heaven. An absolute blessing. The floodgates
i had so desperately tried to keep up that morning
couldn't hold back my emotions any longer. She
checked my ID and gave me a security checkpoint
pass, and i was barely able to squeak out a "Thank
You!" without sobbing all over her. It was a
surreal experience and blessing to be able to
spend an extra 2 hours with him at the gate before
he left on his flight. I can't thank you enough
for that.
*I think the airline industries' respect and
treatment of our countries armed forces and their
families is applaudable from everything i have
witnessed over the last few years. No baggage fees,
discounts inside airport businesses, and free
headphones to men in uniform on flights with
various airlines. I've seen many things, all given
without asking for anything more then the service
they are already giving to our country. I know
none of these things are a general public
knowledge, but still, THANK YOU!
*With our budget i'm almost sure that i won't be
able to see my husband John until he completes
his training in 5 months and returns home. I know
there are other wives and husbands or parents and
loved ones of military men and women that go a lot
longer then that without seeing their loved ones,
but as a wife, I want to thank you from the bottom
of my heart for that extra time i was given with
him, even if it was only a few hours. I needed
it, and i love you for it.
*Again, thank you, thank you, and thank you!!
**With sincerest gratitude,
**Cassie Hurst

The next monring, i received a response from them:

Dear Mrs. Hurst,

I appreciate your e-mail to United Airlines
Customer Relations.

Mrs. Hurst, I'm delighted with your positive
reaction to our service. Your kind message is
both appreciated and meaningful to all of us here
at United.  We always try to provide efficient
customer service to all our customers and we are
pleased to know that United could be of assistance
to you as a result of which you were able to
spend some more precious moments with your husband
at the airport.  Please be assured that your
positive comments will be shared with the
management here at our headquarters as well as the
airport management team.  They will be ecstatic
to read such a positive reaction to our service.

We hope you have a happy married life and we look
forward to delivering quality service to you and
your husband when both of you travel with us to
different destinations around the world.

Regards,

Anish Chandran
United Airlines Customer Relations


I just wanted to share that with someone, i don't know why. But it really was a great experience and blessing
to have so i am grateful. After he got on his flight i went back through the airport and back to the hotel to my
room to take a bath and cry some more. The rest of the day wasn't that amazing. I got a stupid call from rude
verizon (that i hate), and then i couldn't get any more sleep before checkout

i'm staying busy with work and young womens and church stuff this week, but i think it sucks to not have him for 5 months.