…Resolutions

Just a quickie… This year’s resolution is that I am going to try to do at least one blog per week… you heard it! 52 lovely posts from me this year… I know you are SOOO excited!

 

Have a great New Years! Be Safe!

…Here’s Hopin’

…It’s time to Work/Nothing is working right!

Today was Justin’s first day of work. (Doesn’t he look good!)

I got up like the good wife, and made him lunch (just cause we are sweet rookies and we don’t know if he is able to eat on the ship or how that works)

We didn’t just have the paper bags on hand they were doggie bags from dinner the night before… I’m not THAT good (yet)
So Justin only spent one hour at work, and doesn't have to go back till Monday, (which is great since the Jamies are coming this weekend!), then came home changed and we played a bit of military base roulette, in search of the proper Tricare-ing
  To make a VERY long story shorter… make sure you bring your WHOLE life with you to get Tricare… AND I couldn’t be more serious! You’ll need ALL forms of ID, blood type, and possibly a lock of your dead grandfather’s hair… Then you will have to go back to the house for your dog’s permission and urine sample and then you can get your Military ID and get your Tricare signed up for MAYBE-- IF you are lucky… because it doesn’t go in the system (DEERS) in the same day, SOOOO you really are supposed to wait at least 24 hours (they are more comfortable with 42) THEN you can go to Tricare and set up… “your cards will be in the mail thank you”. Oh and “no ma’am we don’t handle dental, you’ll have to handle that online.” But don’t worry… being that today is the 29th of DECEMBER! and there’s only one more work day this YEAR, people were a bit more accommodating, and we are set.
  Also in the not so fun news... the movers have not made it yet (they should have been here today), and will most likely not be here till the 6th AT BEST and probably the 13th with our things! Apparently that was their plan all along (we had no idea!) and so here we sit... in an empty house... but oh well nothing we can do but wait.

  The cable guy is coming to fix his screw up tomorrow--there’s a satellite right outside the master bedroom… 2 options- flat cable, or drill a hole in the wall, (I figured the landlord would NEVER say yes to the hole so we opted for the flat cable) FLAT CABLE WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER! It caused the window to not be able to close (for 3 days) and a HUGE COLD draft to come in! So we called the Landlord and asked if the drilling would be an option and amazingly enough she said yes! So he will fix it and it will be all better tomorrow! That and the internet he messed up in the process…

Everything is fine-really!!... just inconvenient, but we are living much better than a lot of people, so we are blessed! Thanks for letting me vent… stay tuned we have tons of adventures coming soon!

…I’ve been a Busy Bee

I mean I don’t even Know where to begin! OK who are we kidding… it’s LIST time!!! YAY!

…when last you read, I had just begun the packing process… since then… I HAVE…

• Packed upwards of 90 boxes! (Literally EVERYTHING but a weeks worth of clothes and toiletries for each of us)

• Managed our financial situation from 4 separate checking accounts to 2 joint checking and one savings account! AND paid all the bills ON TIME… as well as consolidated our debt so that we can have it paid off by the end of the year! (thank the LORD!)
• Refinished 3 pieces of furniture that will be taken on the move.

Before:

 

After: (forgot a before of the hutch… sorry) Maggle looks like a little Queen on her throne hahaha!

• Done all the Christmas shopping (and wrapping) on a budget ;) mind you… for both side of the family (20 people!)… We made our list in October! (No pictures cause Santa hasn’t come yet)
• This past Friday was my last day at Evans Law Firm… My time there was such a blessing! They were fantastic!!!!
• This week I have done some final touches, and gotten the ducks in a row, readied Rusty for the long haul ahead and said a few good byes… Starting tomorrow its HIGH GEAR time!

SCHEDULE

15th: Driving to Eufaula (just me)

16th: Driving to NJ (Justin’s Parents too)…we are leaving between 12 and 2 AM!

17th: Watching GRADUATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Driving to Charleston (With Justin now :)!!!!!!!)

18th: House hunt (already set up appointments, we’re renting) Driving to Eufaula.

19th: Christmas in Eufaula. Driving back to Helena.

20th: Emptying Justin’s storage unit back to Helena (already reserved U-Haul) Christmas in Helena.

21st: Christmas in Homewood.

22nd: Military Movers coming to pick up things (delivering on the 29th)

23rd: Moving! (pretty sure we’re leaving early… still figuring that out, probably have to get there during business hours for lease etc.)

 

WHEW… I’m tired just looking at it! But it’s going to be FUN and such a thrill to have Justin back! So I don’t even care how tired and busy we are! We will be in our own home for our very first Christmas…with nothing but an air mattress!… (and our dog hahaha) And we couldn’t be happier about it! That’s all we want and more than we need, we are so blessed!!!!

Merry Christmas!

Just in case I’m not back before then ;)

…It’s been 2 months.

Justin and I got married 2 months ago today! Sadly he is not here with me to celebrate this however… he did write me TWO letters that I received today! I got my first one on the 4th and then 2 today…
What’s that? You want an update? OK…
The first letter was a little sad, he said it was pretty hard and that they yell at him to get up at 5 am, only to have to go out in the 40 degree Cape May weather in shorts and t-shirts! However the next letters were on a much better note… he has taken on some extra responsibility as the co-organizer of the recruit’s watch schedule. He also said that he is getting more used to the schedule, and weather. However… despite the efforts of both his mother and I, he had yet to get any of our letters :( (well as of the 7th) mail is SUPER SLOW!
We are closing in on the amount of time he will be away, and I am packing our things for the big move… to who knows where.

I will post pictures of the painting projects later.
Another reason that today was FANTASTIC… we got our wedding photo proofs!
We have almost 500 pictures and I get to go through them all and pick out favorites for our book… but I will probably wait for Justin to get home to make final decisions. If you haven’t seen April’s work at Once in Every Life, you absolutely should. She does GREAT work and is SO fun to work with.

That’s probably all for now… Happy 2 months to Us! What a great day!!

…I basically LOVE this magazine!

If you don’t read Real Simple you totally should! I LOVE it! There are TONS of simple solutions to organize and “pretty up” your whole life. This post will lay out some of my favorites from the recent issues…
1. Do you save all your ticket stubs from dates and girls night out etc.? Do you know what to do with them??? I sure don’t… Until now.

This Ticket Stub Diary will keep all your mementos in order… for only $10!

2.  How many surge protectors do you have lying about because you can only use half of the plugs on it… you know with the iHome and camera charger etc. etc.

Well you should pick up one of these… Socket Sense only $19.99

3. Love personalized cards, stationary, and calendars?

Shop at MINTED.com and use a discount on your order (Real) special for Real Simple readers.

4. Have a ton of t-shirts you only keep for the memory?

Make them into a quilt so you can really appreciate them! Can’t sew/don’t want to?? Send your collection into Campus Quilt…

5. For the women… Hate rumaging through your makeup bag for the 1000s of different eye shadows you use?

Organize them in this… for less than $30! You can pick your color too!!!

These are just a few of my favorite items… these along with the millions of organization solutions… you can’t go wrong! My OCD type A LOVES this!!!

…I’m craving these dresses.

Ok I don’t know if you have ever heard of this website… but if you have just humor me.

Rent the Runway
Ok so here’s the deal… you go to this website… and sign up (yes you have to log in… but it’s worth it!) And you can RENT dresses straight from designers in New York… for a mere fraction of what it’s worth!
Sweet Jamie told me about this… and then a week later I read about it in Real Simple Magazine… It’s awesome!
Here’s an example…

How much would you LOVE to look like this at your next big event?! Well guess what from RTR, you can!!! For the low low price of $135!!! That’s right, less than $200 for an entire outfit that is worth $1090!
So how does it work?

• You tell them your size
  • and they send you 2 dresses (just to make sure it fits)
• You tell them the day of your event
  • and they send it 2-3 days in advance
• You’re having RED WINE?
  • don’t worry you can get $5 insurance to cover your butt ;)
• Event over? You pack it up and send it back…
  • WITH THE INCLUDED RETURN SHIPPING!

You cannot go wrong! This will allow you to look like you have spent a fortune on yourself, and really you have spent less than you would at a local department store. AND let’s be honest, how many times would you EVER wear it again?!
Get shopping!

…You must meet the cast.

In every good sitcom there is a cast of characters… and you have yet to be formerly introduced to mine. Why a sitcom??? Because many have said (myself included) that my life so closely resembles a sitcom that I should just have cameras set up everywhere like the Big Brother house and a few non paparazzi camera men following me around everywhere (oh and of course that one guy with the big microphone with the puffy end that looks like a giant q-tip)…but I digress.
The Characters:
Leslie- That’s me (the one who brings this little ray of joy into your life.) I am a little crazy…and may or may not have a problem settling on one pair of sunglasses.

Justin- (on the left) That’d be the HUSBAND ;) He is super fantastic! (Ummm what else do you need to know?) He’s from Eufaula, AL and I met him when I waited tables and he was a manager at Wings on 280,  but he is currently in the Coast Guard and away at boot camp in CAPE MAY, NJ! (we are counting down till he comes home… when we will promptly move, but that’s another story too…).
Daniel(‘D’)- (on the right) Justin’s roommate, and possibly down the line my cousin,  thus I call him ‘cuz’ 90% of the time (his last name is Holmes too!) He works for the Shelby County Reporter in graphic design and he also does some REALLY awesome photography on the side. He’s a great friend to Justin (ergo the uber cute picture below) so I think that we’ll keep him around!
 
Kelli- Kelli is Daniel’s girlfriend and I am SOOO glad he brought her around. We basically share a brain and have done ALOT of the same things in life… (Chi O, Pantherettes, Pelham High School just to name a few) We have good times together (lots of laughing! and more stupid moments than I could ever share) Kelli is the director of marketing for Easter Seals (basically has a super awesome job) and has a 3 yr old named Addison.


Kim (Soulmate)- Kim has been my soulmate since college… one of the best girls I know! She is married to Jim her college sweetheart (who also happens to be in the Coast Guard) they live in D.C. and she is a high school English teacher.  We have got some serious history, I could write a book on just our crazy stories!

Falon- FALLY! I LOVE THIS GIRL! Super cute and one of the best friends a girl could ask for! She teaches kindergarten (well she did until the school laid her off like they did me… stupid education!)We have also shared a few crazy times (ok maybe a ton…) and she is now living in McCalla with her sweet baby Allie Paige!

Jamie- Last but not least, Sweet Jamie Michelle… Kim’s first cousin and my B.F.F.!! We hit it off the instant that we met at Kim’s wedding festivities! Love her! Couldn’t make it without her. She is SUPER smart and in med school… She and her husband Jamie D. (yes they have the same name… get over it) currently live in North Carolina (at least for this leg of schooling!)


The Fam:
Mom- That’d be the Mom…

Dan- That’d be the step dad.

Daddy- The daddy!

Debby- The step-mom.

Jeff- And the brother. He’s 10 years older than me if you were wondering :)


That’s about the gist of it… Stay tuned!!!

...I'm Lovin the Small Stuff!

So I sat at work yesterday talking with my new sweet friend Kristen about how I LOVE glass bottle Coke. I mean sure, if you know me at all, you know that I love Coke in all forms but there is a definite hierarchy of Coke love!

1. Glass bottle Coke

don't worry I had one of these on the way home yesterday the gas station had them... they must have seen me coming from a mile!

2. Fountain Coke

(especially if it's from McDonalds!) I will go OUT OF MY WAY to get it!!! 
 

3. Can 

but don't forget to wipe off the top... those things can get NASTY! 

 

4. Bottle 

(20oz) 

5. Bottle 

(2 liter)

Do any of you out there have ridiculous hierarchys of things you LOVE? Just keep in mind these simple pleasures are what keep us grounded! Live for those small moments with a good GLASS BOTTLE COKE :)

And maybe a mini 3 Musketeers-- if the mood just so strikes you... (what?! it was just begging me!!!)

...I'm a blogin' MACHINE

Well It has come down to the 10 day countdown. That's right folks... Justin is leaving for the Coast Guard in a mere 10 days. We have been married for a little over a month, and we have had a great time, and really enjoyed ourselves. There is still a LOT of nit-picky bill arranging to be done before he leaves (October 26th) but we can do it! We are in the process of making the rounds to see everyone before he is gone for EIGHT WEEKS with no outside communication-- don't you love how we think that letter writing as our only for of communication is a death sentence?!-- It will really be fine! I think it is actually going to be a nice way to hear from him (granted his circumstances are going to suck...) But just think... wouldn't you love to get a few more handwritten letters from time to time???

I'm SAYIN'!!!!

A few pictures to tide you over... Justin got his first Coast Gaurd-ian Gear yesterday when he met with the recruiter Barry (lovingly only called SK1) to sign his life away.

Matching shirts for me and Justin....

But they left out sweet Maggle, so we just wrapped her up in the blanket!

TO BE CONTINUED...

...I'm a work in progress

In the blogging world as well as in real life (but that's a whole other post...possibly novel...but ANYWAY) I am still working on layout and that dang signature that for some reason looks to be glowing... Stick with me. My type A-ness will get this thing looking perfect yet-and probably by then I will be sick of the color scheme and change the whole thing! Them-s the breaks!

...I have Officially Relocated

After about a week of dreadful and PAINFUL editing and HTML-ing... I have moved blogs. While yes I LOVE blogger and all it's bells and whistles, it will NOT let you change main emails when you decide to get married-HOW RUDE! hahaha oh well! If you have just tuned in... feel free to check out my old blogger here cause it was pretty dang awesome too!

Stay tuned for many more episodes in the life of Leslie-- It is sure to be a wildly outrageous ride!