High Class, Leopard Prints, and Loveliness

So last Friday we went to the class Dining Out/Formal/Ball (please ignore my fatty McFatterson bingo arms!).

It was an okay night. I definitely recycled a dress that I wore about 6 years ago (since I've gained weight I fit in it again) but whatever.

We dropped Little Butt at a friend's house so she could play with her BFF Z-man for the night. She got to play outside for a while and had a blast. At one point I received a text message from J telling me that the kids went into the shed to get toys. Z-man grabbed his bike. Little Butt?? She grabbed...

A leopard print broom of course! I mean...what kid wouldn't want one of those right??? I figure she's my daughter so anything leopard print would catch her eye. That's my girl!

Oh...and do you notice her new princess shoes?? They are pink and sparkly and she picked them out herself. We went into Payless because I wanted to maybe get her some sneakers. She grabbed those off the shelf and put them on right then and there. Then she refused to take them off her feet. I had to pay for the box. I'm just glad she happened to have grabbed the correct size because that would have been awkward.

Anyway. Back to the Dining Out. Since we are in the middle of nowhere I don't know why I was shocked to pull up to the VFW in my pretty ballgown and have to wonder if we were supposed to go in the "bar" side or the "bingo" side. Hmmm...

It was pretty awesome to walk in and see all the locals staring at us in our finery. It was even more awesome when we had moved to the bingo side and had to walk past the karaoke-ing townies to get back outside.

I sat next to a chick who was just downright unhappy the ENTIRE time. I'm guessing that is her default setting but it kind of gets to a person sometimes. Especially if you are generally happy like I am.

What was even more wonderful about this Dining Out was that it was buffet style! We were the last table to go get our food so we got the scraps no one else wanted. No green veggies were left, just corn. And the rolls were nice and...toasted??? LOL! But whatever. My favorite part was that I was in a ball gown and heels carrying my two plates of food (the salad and the meal) back to my table across the room. Neat huh??

Once the formalities were over, we did have a nice time. Especially when the General stood on his head to take a shot and started having beer chugging contests with the guys. We are high class here people! LOL!

No...in all honesty, it's pretty neat to see the higher ranking guys being able to connect with the students here. The upside down shots were pretty spectacular and is not something I will forget any time soon.

It was nice to see all my friends dressed up and it was a great night out without Little Butt no matter how "country" the evening was.

When we went to go pick up Little Butt she was fast asleep so we ended up having some wine and watching Lord of the Rings with J and J.

The boys ended up going outside and me and the female J hung out inside and watched an episode of Dexter Season 3. I've watched the first 2 seasons and am trying to get The Hubble into the show. I borrowed the first season from J and I hope to get The Hubble watching it when he graduates this Career Course in a couple few weeks.

While I'm here. Let me also mention that the lovely K over at Uncork and Unwined bestowed upon me this lovely award! (How much are you loving my use of the word "lovely" in this sentence???)

Thanks for this award K! It was very thoughtful of you!

I guess that's it for now. I am about to have a battle with my house...it desperately needs cleaning. Boo-faces!

I hope you all are enjoying this last day of September. See you next month!

What the Deuce???

Many of you may not know this but...I have a crazy obsession with makeup. It's pretty bad actually.

I am a member of Sephora's Beauty Insider club. What's worse...is that I am a V.I.B. That means, I spend at least $350 per year at Sephora.

Yes, I know. I alredy admitted it was a problem didn't I??

What's more is that I cannot walk into a Dillard's or Macy's without hitting the MAC counter. Oh I love me some MAC.

Here in the middle of nowhere I don't wear makeup as often as I do when I'm living in a big city. It's just so out of place here. But I love the stuff.

Even though I have this obsession...and I know children emulate their parents...you would think that I wouldn't have been shocked when Little Butt came to me looking like this:

Oh Little Butt...what did you do???

Can you hear my sigh of despair and the resounding "uh-oh"???

At this point...an investigation got under way.

Oh no!!! Not my favorite Urban Decay palette!!!

My new MAC bronzer, my favorite Stila eyeshadow (luckily that was already empty) and another MAC eyeshadow...

It sure looks like Little Butt was having a good time doesn't it???

How are kids so fast?

She was only gone for a few minutes!

These little guys ended up on the floor somehow...

How could my beautiful little girl do this??

Did she have help??

Could she have possibly thought of this all on her own?

NO! She had an accomplice I see...

Mickey. The mastermind behind this destruction I'm sure!

He corrupted my poor innocent little girl and convinced her to do the unthinkable!

Though the guilt and evidence may be written all over Little Butt's face....

That evil smirk isn't fooling me Mickey! You better watch yourself Mouse. I will get even...oh yes, I will get my revenge!!!

Moving So Fast I'm Forgetting My Purpose

Photo by Nathan Eal Photography

I feel like I've been going a mile a minute lately and just need to slow down!

I seriously can't believe that it's been over a week since I have updated my blog. And unfortunately, it has been almost that long since I looked at my Google Reader. 

I just kept ignoring it because I was scared to look and it just got worse and worse. So...I want to apologize to you all. There is probably no way I'm going to be able to read and comment on every blog post that has been published in the last week and a half to 2 weeks. 

So I'll ask you this...has anything really awesome happened in your life? Anything you would like me to know about?? A post you would like me to read? If so, please leave a link in the comments and I will get over there and read it.

So what's been going  on with me lately you ask?? I know, I know. You didn't technically ask...but you are here and so am I (fancy meeting you here) so I'm going to tell you anyway!

I'm going to break it down into days because that will just help me catch up. Hopefully after this catch up post I'll get better about being here with you more often again. So here goes...

Thursday ~ I recently joined a Spouse's Club here at the post and they have a monthly luncheon. Thursday was the first luncheon. My friend C came and picked up Little Butt for play group and to watch her while I went to this luncheon. The luncheon was okay. They charged $10 for a side salad with a thin chicken breast on it and 4 little cream puffs with chocolate and raspberry drizzle for dessert. I left hungry. Some lunch. But it was a decent time so I'll try it out again. They had some clubs for us to join and I thought about joining the book club but I didn't. Don't ask me why not. I may still. We'll see. 

After the luncheon I went to C's house to grab Little Butt. We ended up talking for a while then she extended an invite for dinner since The Hubble would be in class that night. I accepted. Little Butt and I ran to the store and grabbed a fruit tray and headed back. Dinner was delicious and fun. Got home around 9pm.

Friday ~ 2 mile walk in the morning with M. Little Butt and I stopped at the playground afterward. Finished at about 10:30am. Showered and dressed in time for The Hubble to get home. Drove and hour and a half to "town" and met up with some friends for a bit of shopping and dinner. Got home around 10pm.

Saturday ~ Mad dash to clean up the house and cook before our Italian potluck dinner party that started at 4pm. Potluck was a huge success. Tons of delicious food and amazing people. I love those dinner parties and I think they are even better for large groups when you make it a potluck. Then everyone can contribute and lots of recipe ideas are passed around. That ended at about 11:30pm. 

Sunday ~ Pretty chill morning. Bummed around the house and ate leftover pasta and Italian sausage for breakfast. 2 mile walk and playground with B, her daughter Princess, and Little Butt. Home for dinner, tubbies and bedtime.

Monday ~ 2 mile walk with Emily (yay she's back!), playground with Little Butt afterward. Came home, showered. Set up a couple posts for Jolts & Jollies. Spent the entire afternoon and evening baking! 

Tuesday ~ Had a spouse's panel that I was invited to attend. That lasted until the afternoon. Hung out with my friend The Marine's Wife and her son. Ran home to finish up some birthday stuff for B and headed over for a girl's night with Little Butt, Princess, B and me. We had pizza, cookies, cake and sangria and tried to watch a movie. Unfortunately, everyone got a bit tired and we only got about 30 minutes into the movie. So now I desperately need to watch Letters to Juliet so I can say I watched the whole thing. I do love those types of movies. Yes...I know. You don't have to say it. I hang my head in shame. I cannot help myself! I can literally recite the entire Legally Blonde and Sweet Home Alabama movies to you if you would like. Anyway. Got home around 9pm-ish.

Wednesday ~ It was raining so didn't get to go for a walk. C posted on FB about wanting volunteers to join her for breakfast so I jumped at the chance. I am obsessed with Cracker Barrel's Apple Struesel French Toast! Yum! Had breakfast then decided to go to C's house. Ran by the store and grabbed stuff to make dinner. Ended up making it all at C's house and just having The Hubble meet us there. It was SO good. I made this garlic chicken and I tried my first artichoke with Hollandaise sauce thanks to C. Delicious dinner! Got home sometime after 9pm.

Thursday ~ Started reading blogs but had to go to and orientation at CDC (more on that later). After orientation, Little Butt and I went to the library then home around 5pm. The Hubble had to go to class so I made a nice "girl dinner" (meaning no meat) and had a delicious dinner with a glass (or more) of wine. I'll be sharing that dinner on Wednesday over at my food blog.

So that brings us to today. I had to cancel my walk because I had a migraine approaching so I took meds and laid back down for a while. Thankfully that's gone now.

I've been working on my Google Reader for a couple days and it's still in the 100's so I think I'm officially giving up. I'm sitting here with hair color in my hair and writing this update. 

I have a Dining Out/Formal/Ball (whatever you want to call it) tonight so I'll be busy tonight too. Then tomorrow I'm watching Princess so B and her hubby can go on a date. 

Maybe Sunday will allow me some down time?? We'll see.

Anyway. Thanks for getting this far. I just have to remember to breathe. I hope you all had a great week!

Wordless Wednesday: The Cupcake Edition

I participated in Jesstagirl's Bake-n-Blog. I made #24: Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting. Want to learn how to make them? Check out Jolts & Jollies.

We Got a Good Thing Going

 Photo by Seyed Mostafa Zamani

Eight years ago today, I woke up in my mother's house to the sun shining brightly through my window. I laid there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, trying to convince myself that it was just another normal Friday. But I knew that my life would drastically change that day and I couldn't fight that feeling. I got up and sleepily stumbled out of my room.

At that point, it felt like someone had pressed the fast forward button.

I knew that we all had to be ready and at Michaelangelo's by 5pm. Everyone was meeting us there. There was a strict time line because the party started at 6pm.

I have 2 sisters though. And getting a bunch of girls done in time is difficult. Hair. Makeup. Dresses. You name it.

We jumped in the car a few minutes late and prepared to race to the event. No worries. We were doing good...until we hit standstill traffic. Ugh!!

Panic started to set in.

I called The Hubble to see how close he was to Michaelangelo's. He was stuck in traffic too.

I called the party planner. She said "don't worry."

We finally made it and rushed upstairs to finish getting dressed. The Hubble was nowhere in sight.

My brother in law, The History Teacher, walked into the room as I was lacing up my pink and white Adidas sneakers. I looked at his face and became more panicked. I walked up to him and asked him several times "He's going to be there right? He won't change his mind? He won't run?" I think I asked him those questions all the way up to the big French doors. He kept reassuring me. I'm sure he was annoyed with my worry and questions. I was so nervous.

The music started to play as I walked through those doors and rounded the corner. Stairs?? Whose bright idea were stairs?? As I held my dress, held onto my Jer-Bears arm and tried not to fall as I walked down the stairs I took a glance at The Hubble. He had tears streaming down his face and the biggest grin I had ever seen.

I immediately knew that all my panic and worry was for nothing. There was the man in whose hands I was about to entrust my heart.

When we finally descended the steps, I hugged my Jer-Bear and turned to look into The Hubble's eyes. We held one another's hands and in front of our families and friends pledged our hearts, souls, lives and futures to each other.

The last eight years has been a crazy journey. We've moved many times. Endured a couple deployments. Had a kid. Have fought and made up more times than I can remember.

But through it all, my true love has never wavered. He has been there through it all. The good times. The bad. The poor times. The not so poor times.

He has held my hand, my heart and sometimes my hair.

He is my hero. My rock. My everything.

Baby, I have cherished the last eight years and look forward to so many more. With you in my corner I know I can conquer the world. You are my biggest supporter and biggest fan and for that I am thankful. I love you more than words can ever express. I pinky swear!

You are my hunka, hunka burnin' love and my big piece of man cake!

I will follow you to the ends of the Earth and back.

I love you.

Happy Anniversary baby!