Vacation + Other Updates

It's official I am on vacation and heading to California tomorrow morning! I haven't seen my family or friends since Thanksgiving and that is wayyy too long to be apart. I'll only be home for 4 days this time because thats all I could swing with work but that gives me 4 whole days to love on all my family and friends. I AM SO EXCITED!!

On a different note, I am finding myself nervous to go home with these awful braces on my teeth :/ I've gotten used to having them but I think thats majorly due to the fact that the people I see everyday are now used to me having them. Nobody here notices anymore. But when I get around someone who is seeing me in braces for the first time, I suddenly am very aware of the fact that I have braces which makes me talk even weirder and get all self conscious! Oh goodness. Bear with me folks.

In dog news, Bailey ate a whole tube of Blistex last night which was pretty traumatizing for me. She literally dug it out of my purse when I wasn't looking and demolished the whole thing before I noticed. I thought for sure she would be really sick but thank goodness she was okay. I swear I can't take my eyes off her for two seconds!

And I bet you're wondering how my handsome hubby is doing these days? Well he's good overall but unfortunately he's more stressed than ever this week. On Monday he will have his last BIG checkride in the T-1 and how he does on it plays a huge part in determining our next location - Eek! Everyone says for Jake not to stress about it but that's sooo much easier said than done. Heck, I'm stressed about it and I'm not even the one flying! At this point, we are both just so beyond ready for pilot training to be over. Jake is excited to finally have some free time again and I am looking forward to seeing my husband again. Sure he has physically been here this whole year but mentally he is not my usual Jake. Right now he is a ball of stress and I want my goofball back!! 5 weeks until assignment night and I'm counting down every minute!

Well I suppose I should get back to packing and preparing for my trip. I don't think it's really hit me yet that I'll actually be back in California tomorrow. I seriously think I left my heart back on the west coast :) Hope you all have a fabulous week... I'll be back with details of my trip on Wednesday!!

Summer Lovin

It is officially summer now... can I get woot-woot?! I'm definitely a summer baby. I love everything about it! The heat, the shorts, the bbqs, and the POOL! Oh how I love the pool. This year I bought a pool pass to swim on base and to say I've enjoyed having it is an understatement. Since it opened, I've gone just about every Saturday and Sunday and multiple weekdays after work. A couple of my friends have passes too so I usually go with them but I never mind going by myself either. It's my time to relax and it's really the only time where I take a second to NOT think about school or work or design or any other daily stress in my life. Hall-eh-loooo-yah!!

I Hate Goodbyes

This weekend was wonderful as usual. What's not so wonderful? Saying goodbye to our best friends on base. Ann & Derek, who I've mentioned often, are leaving to go to training in Oklahoma for four months before heading to their permanent new assignment in Washington. They aren't leaving for another week but I'm leaving to go to California this week so it was our last weekend to hang out all together. We went out to our usual "spot" which is a mexican restaurant here in town and as always had such a great time. The waiters there all know us now because we go there every single weekend and since it was our last time we asked them to take a picture...

Ann and I got to hand out all weekend and went to the pool both Saturday and Sunday. We're both in disbelief that its already time for her to move and me as well in just a few months. It feels like yesterday that we had just moved to Columbus! Tonight she's coming over for our weekly TV night (for over a year now we've gotten together on Mondays to watch a "girly" show like the Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars, etc...). I can't believe this will be the last time for us to hang out and I have to say goodbye to one of my best friends :( I'm hoping that the Air Force is really as small as everyone says it is and we can be stationed together at one point or another. I really hate goodbyes!!

Happy Birthday Badger!

Well my puppy turns 1 year old today :) We adopted Badger back in the beginning of October and he has been the perfect addition to our family. Seriously, I never knew a dog could be as good and sweet and mello as our little Badge. Back in November, I did a birthday picture post for Bailey so I thought Badge deserved the same. Here's a look back at the first year with our handsome boy...

Crazy.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - The weather in the south is insane!! I never imagined weather could even be like this. Last year, I was in California most of the time so I didn't really experience a southern summer. Well its officially summer here now and just about every day over these past few weeks the temperature has been in the high 90's and it's so humid that you can literally see the humidity when you walk outside. Seriously, I walk to the mailbox and I am drenched by the time I come back in. Gross! And the heat lasts all. day. long. There are no cool mornings or cool nights; it's hot and humid 24/7. But the weirdest thing about southern summer weather has got to be the random downpours and lightening storms. At about 2 or 3 every afternoon, massive storms roll in... the kind where raindrops are the size of quarters and the thunder shakes the whole house. I will never be able to get used to this unpredictable, insane weather and its just another reason why I'm dying to get back to the west coast ASAP!

And to add proof to my crazy weather stories, here is a picture from when I left work yesterday (sorry it's not the best pic, it was taken on my phone). It was a perfectly clear sunny day and then this huge storm flew in out of nowhere. Look at the sky... Have you ever seen anything like this?? It blew my mind! Crazy.