oh, snow.

We are being hit with snow. AGAIN. We have feet of snow that's lasted a while and it keeps getting added to. Poor little hasn't been at school much because of all these snow days! It's crazy!

Thank you all so much for playing along with my games this past week! I have a giveaway I want to do but I don't want to do it yet knowing I can't get to teh post office! EKKK!

So keep a look out for it!

Also, if you want to join the bookclub, let me know! We are getting ready to start a new book here in a few weeks! We have a group on goodreads that's a lot easier then blogs now. Click on the link on the left side of my blog to be taken to the group and join in! You don't have to read with us each month if you don't want to, you can pick and choose what books you want to read.

Happy Holidays?

We had the Boat Holiday party this weekend. They waited until everyone came back from leave and such to do it. We had a lot of fun. It's always nice to get to sit and talk with friends.

We don't drink, so it was fun to watch people get VERY drunk and dance.

This was when J came back from getting me a soda at the bar and yelled "Open bar for the Mormons!"

Then as the picture was being taken

L- J you look HAMMERED!

J- I AM. FREE SODA!!!!!

This is what I have to live with people.

Me & my love at the party!

Me & Bri. I'm so glad I have her! She's been a great help all these years dealing with the crap!(And I love her kid. It's win-win!)

We always bring cards to play during the party. It's a long running joke now.

A good friend went on vacation and found this cup for me. I about died laughing when I opened it!

Thanks Steph!!

I do have to add that some of the outfits were a little questionable. Some were soooo under dressed(in jeans and hoodies) then some way over dressed(in prom dresses)....the best was the few who decided to wear mini-dresses. I think I know a girl a little TOO well now.

Get to know me!

Thank you for the amazing questions! Here are the answers! If you at anytime want to ask more, go for it! I'm always up for answering anything you want to know!

What are the best tips you have for surviving a deployment? Keep busy and set goals. I know everyone says it, but it's soooo true! If you have things you want to get done before they get home you will be busy. I always make a list of things I want to accomplish every deployment(find a new hobby, make a new friend, learn a new skill...ect).

Best things to put into a deployment box to surprise your sailor?  The birthday box I sent my sailor was his favorite. I sent party supplies for him and his friends, hostess cupcakes(with a candle), a video of little and I wishing him happy birthday and a little gift. He LOVED it! He even has pictures of some of the guys with his party stuff. lol.

Best book you've read in the past year? It might be silly, but INKHEART. Something about that book made me fall in love. I got it(and the next two books) for Christmas from my best friend and I'm really excited to read it again!

What's your most irrational fear? I have two. One is serious and one is a little silly. Serious- my husband(and/or little) getting in a car crash. Fear overwhelms me when he goes anywhere in the car without me. I can count on my hands how many times he's driven with Little without me. I also only have a VERY small handful of people that I don't have a panic attack with when they take Little somewhere. It's bad. Silly- I can't look in the bathroom mirror at night without the light on. I just can't. It freaks me out way too bad! I reach in and turn the light on before I step in the bathroom. lol.

Do you have any career aspirations? Yes. I want to own a bakery one day. I LOVE to bake and I have to say I'm pretty good at it. Ever since HS I've wanted to own a little coffee shop/bakery. Maybe when we are out of the Navy I can make my dream come true.

Do you root for any sports teams? Sure do! I'm surprised I don't post about it much. While I grew up in Seattle and root for the Hawks.....we are die hard Eagles fans in this house. When my husband was growing up and getting into football he only had a few channels. He would watch McNabb play when he was in college and when he got drafted J kept with him and rooted for the Eagles. Now YEARS later(and McNabb gone) that is our team.

What is the oddest "quirk" you have? I have slight OCD.....I like things color organized. My movies and clothes are the worst.

If you're husband hadn't joined the Navy, which branch would you have wanted him to join? When my husband was getting ready to join, he went into every military recruiting office and asked what they could offer him with the ASVAB score he got. The Navy had the best deal. Not only does he make a little more because of his job, but the training he has because of it will be great once he gets out. I don't think any other service could have offered us what we have. Not only that but as strong as I am, I couldn't do 18 month deployments. I will take 6-8 months and little ones in between.

If you could do it over again, would you even opt for military or would you want him to be a civilian? We were married before he joined the navy so my answers won't be too amazing. I would 100% choose the military for our family again. I remember what it was like to struggle for money when we first got married. He made nothing compared to what he does now and he had a good job! I would have had to work and no way could we have lived in a nice place, it just couldn't have happened. We want for nothing now. He has a stable job and we're not worried about making rent. This life is amazing compared to what we were facing.

What advice or comments do you have for someone who has a husband about to enlist in the Navy? Keep your chin up. It will get better. Be as supportive as you can. Know that what he's doing is great and be proud. I see a lot of wives who hate it from the beginning. Yell about the hours and time away. I do my best to never do that. I tell my husband to stay late and help if he needs to, because in the end it looks good on him. He's known for helping out and not ducking out. If he plans on being a lifer, then he needs to do the best he can to do as well as he can. Does that make sense?

Ask Away!

So, as part two of my "200 followers" posts, I'm going to let you ask me any question(s) you want! Could be anything(but lets try not to get too personal...no one wants to hear that). Leave me a comment with your questions(s) and I will write a post tomorrow and answer them all! You don't have to be a new follower to play along!

Also. Participation in these posts might earn you extra entries in the giveaway! *hint. hint*

200 followers! Part One! Getting to know you!

It's a nasty day here. Really nasty. But Littles school got cancelled so I got to sleep in! wonderful when you're not feeling well! Now we are just hanging out for the day. I feel a nap coming on and I haven't even been up an hour! Eekkkk!

I have 100 new followers since I posted this time last year. I would love to get to know you! Unless people comment, I never know who is following. I love to find new blogs just as much as the next girl! Even if you're not brand new! Introduce yourself!

Leave me a comment with your answers and feel free to ask me any questions you have!

Getting to know you!

1. Who are you?(Military wife, friend in real-life....random stumbler?)
2. How did you find my blog?
3. What would you like to see more of on my blog?
4. What do you want to see less of on my blog?
5. How long have you been blogging?
6. Tell me something fun about yourself!

and leave me a link to your blog(if you want) so I can go check it out!

Sorry 'bout that

I've been feeling a little under the weather the past week. So, my posts have been few...and a little lack luster.

Sorry.

I have a few things I want to post! Mostly me whining about why other people drive me nuts. Whats new. If you know me in "real life" then this is not new to you. Lol. Seriously. My charm exceeds me when people get on my nerves. Try as I might.......my wit and snark get away from me from time to time. Even more so when I'm not feeling well.

On a GREAT note! I've reached 200 followers! Yay! I have a few posts about that(hopefully starting tomorrow) which will include a giveaway!(jenny- leave it alone!).

I hope everyone is doing great! I will be back soon with normal posts that have nothing to do with books!

BBC

I put a poll up on goodreads for the next book after the last hunger games.

If anyone wants to join the book club, let me know! You don't always have to read, just when you want to. The post below has a link to our BBC goodreads page which will have discussions and polls from here on out!

BBC ladies! Next book.

No one has really been on to check but I hope you will soon. Do we want to start reading now? then have our first talk next week? That would mean we read half RIGHT NOW. I'm in for this but I want to make sure you all are to. If you don't want to do that then we will START reading next week and go from there.

I also started a new group on goodreads for us. Search the BBC(Blog Book Club) and see if you can find it, if not I will find a way to add you. If we are on there also, we can all chat and talk about the book as we are reading it and talking about all other things book related and really get to know each other.  Let me know if you like it or not.

I just want to find what works for us. I know we have 5 every month readers and a few new ones. I'd love to get some more people to join us!

BBC Week4: The Hunger Games!

Hello! Everyone finish? Was it what you expected?

Write a review of the book.

What did you like?

What didn't you like?

Then rate it! Each can have 5 stars.(mine will be at the bottom.

Plot: /5
Setting/Imagery: /5
Originality: /5
Ending: /5
Total Score: /20




I liked that it was so different then whats out there right now. It was a good break from vampires. Haha. I loved the plot in general, really.

I didn't like(and it may be odd) that it was sooo gruesome but there was no swearing. The author went to great lengths to not swear, they should have been careful about how vivid the violence was if they cared so much about who the reader was. While I don't like reading swear words, I could have do with the gore toned down a little.

Plot: 5/5(Great plot. No real holes and it reeled you in)
Setting/Imagery: 5/5(Loved the "end of everything" theme. Very vivid descriptions)
Originality: 4/5(while it was different I still feel it's a cross between City of Ember and Running Games)
Ending: 4/5(I wanted it to be "happier")
Total Score: 18/20

It was a great book that is hard to put down. One that I can read over and over again and not get sick of!

Umm? Burrrrr! (With some BBC news)

New England is getting hammered with snow right now. We are expecting at least 1-2 feet within the next 24-36 hours. Ick. Some snow is great. This much? not so much.

Everything is closed down for tomorrow and it's only been snowing for about 30 min. Hahaha. So little is home from school for at least a day and even the base is shut down for now! Family fun-snow day!(AKA Mommy nap day!)

To all those in the BBC: It has been decided that we will read the next book of the Hunger Games next! We are going to try to pick up the pace a little bit and see how it goes. I will post for sure page numbers but we are going to try to do it in 2 weeks not 4. Sound good?

I hope everyone is staying safe in this weather!

Happy Birthday to me!

Well. Kinda. It was yesterday.

The weather has been nice here. Not too cold for being winter in New England, but not warm enough for my liking.

We had big plans to stay the night at the aquarium the night of my birthday....then it snowed and it got called off. Not only was my kid heartbroken, but I was to. We hadn't planned anything else since it was going to take most of the day and all night. It was the first time my hubby had been home for my b-day and I felt like it was going to suck(yes. I had a girl moment when I whined like a little baby)

Boy was I wrong. It ended up being one of the best!

Of course I got the most amazing flowers from my husband and an IOU to get a cover for my new kindle when Vera releases them later this month! Then he suggested we all go sledding on our big hill by the house. I was a little ehhh about it. To tell you the truth, I've never really been sledding before and didn't really have a desire to do it. But we got ready. I was uber cranky. Not as bad as I could have been but I was bummed. We headed down our street and for the next hour and a half had the time of our lives!

This was the beautiful view going to the "little" hill. We were walking in almost a foot of snow at some points!

My boys.

Landon getting ready to go down on the sled for his first time ever!

He loved it!

Snow always takes my breath away. I always stop and stare at the wonders it exposes. Everything looks so magical.

Landon getting ready to go down the "big" hill.

Me and my little on my birthday.

Landon wanted to take pictures of J and I. He's so cute and I think they turned out alright...even if I wasn't wearing any make-up. Haha.

After the fun in the snow we headed back to the house for hot drinks(Cider & Cocoa). Then we went and got snacks, a movie and pasta from my favorite place, Pauls!

After we ate and Little went to bed, J and I had a movie night on the couch. It was the perfect end to a perfect day. The Best birthday by far.

Flowers from my love. He had them put all of my favorites together! and they were in the cutest vase I've ever seen!

My friend Bri even sent me flowers! So cute and had the sweetest car with them. I have such great friends. I don't know what I would do without them.

My flowers!

I'm a lucky lady. I really am.

Birthday....part 1

This is just the videos Landon sledding today. I have a post that I will write up tonight or tomorrow about it all with pictures.

Where we live in housing used to have a ton more houses(like a few hundred more) that are now torn down. Whats left is a lot of land(that in the summer is all nice grass). It has tons of perfect hills for sledding. We had a few nice ones to pick from and where we ended up was perfect since it had a huge one and a smaller one for Landon to go down when he was sick of the big one.

We were out there for almost 2 hours sledding and it was so much fun.

Yes, I'm aware that my son screams like a little girl. He's 5. Give him a break.

We had a great time. I'm so glad we got the chance to go outside and sled for a while. It was the perfect thing to do on a birthday!

Exciting news(for BBC readers!)

Before the exciting news, we are going to talk a little. Ready? I want to know where we want to go from here. Hunger games book 2? Or move on to a new book? Do we want to keep it at 100 pages a week or up it to a little more(to be clear...I mean read FASTER! lol)? I know a few of us are ready for more, but I don't know about everyone else. ALSO- We could change it to 2 books at a time. 1 at a slower pace and 1 at a faster pace to keep everyone Happy and reading....??

Please let me know!

Now on to the exciting news! If you are friends with me on FB then you've already seen a snippet of this, but I didn't elaborate much.

I was asked to review a book. A great new military book. I mentioned that I had a book club online(since it's an online/blog campaign) and was asked how many copies we would need!!! So, who's interested in not only reading but reviewing this book? We already review books in a sense anyway so it wouldn't be much of a difference. We would be given the books to read then review . Even if you haven't read with the BBC before but would like to be apart of this amazing opportunity, let me know!

I don't know how many books we will be given so it will be on a first come first served basis!

I'm soooo excited!

Here is what I was given about the book.

Semper Cool is the wrenching, sometimes hilarious and always thought-provoking true story of well-off Long Island teenager who enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps seeking adventure and his father’s approval and finds both, plus more danger than he ever could have imagined. Barry Fixler gets molded into a Marine at Paris Island and sent to Vietnam, where he is assigned to a company that would soon etch it’s place in Marine Corps lore. Fixler’s Echo Company defends a hill at Khe Sanh against overwhelming enemy numbers in a 77-day battle that is considered one of the greatest military victories in the history of modern warfare. With its vivid imagery, Semper Cool thrusts the reader into a “grunt’s-eye view” of the blood, guts, tears and laughter of war, as told by a Marine who returned home a man and a patriot. Be prepared to laugh and cry for the men and women willing to risk their lives for the freedoms that so many Americans enjoy.

BBC: Hunger Games: Week 3!

Love it? I know you all do. Hahaha I've gotten a ton of comments on how you all want to finish reading it NOW!

I had a harder time coming up with questions because they were more statements then anything....

SO.

Week 3 prompts:

Ask a question for everyone to answer(in a comment) on your blog.

Then I want you to play casting director for the parts of Katniss and Peeta. Find an actress/actor(or just a picture) of who you think fits the part in your head.

...

These would be my picks(for Katniss and Peeta...maybe even Gale)

Katniss Everdeen – Kaya Scodelario

Peeta Mellark – Alex Pettyfer

Crappy people & you

I've had this on my mind for a little over a week now and I've talked myself out of posting it. I'm just so ticked about it that I have to get it off my chest.

*Warning: Major whining and complaining ahead. Turn back now!*

I volunteer at the Aquarium here. VOLUNTEER. I do not work there. I do not get paid. I spend one day a week(9 hours) busting my butt for them. I've been doing this for a few months now and I've really enjoyed it. Except for last week.

I understand people have bad days. I understand that some days you're just not in it. But I do not understand a paid staff treating a volunteer like crap for no good reason. This was the second time I've worked with this trainer, the first time being my first day when she "trained" me. She was nice the first time. Not warm and fuzzy, but nice. Last week? Not so much. The day started with her making a snide comment to me about standing there when she walked in.....HELLO I always wait until the TRAINER gets there, moves the birds so I can go in and clean(since I can't go in when the birds are in there. it's against the rules)......apparently me waiting for 2 min wasn't ok, I needed to FIND something to do. Whatever, I get it. So I went on to do the other things that needed to be done. At one point she made a comment about how I should just know what to do(and what she wants done. like she expected me to do something I have NEVER done before and got mad when I said I'd never done it. HELLO lady, i'm not a mind reader!)

The day went on and a few more comments were made. Not big nasty ones but enough to get under my skin a little bit. The big one came right before lunch. Everything was done. All she was doing was writing in the log book. It was 10 min until we went to lunch so I was waiting to see what the game plan would be after we got back since I hadn't really worked with her before and I wasn't used to how she liked things done. She decided that she didn't like that and sent me out to scrub the beach. Now, normally I would be fine with this....BUT the birds hadn't been outside in two days due to the weather being too bad, so there was NOTHING to scrub! I knew it was time for lunch so I went back inside(from the 15 degree cold) and washed the brush so I could go. She looked at me, rolled her eyes and told me to go back out! I just looked at her! Whatever. I went back out for the nest 30 min until she came out to get me. She then asked me if I saw what she told me I needed to scrub, when I said no, she looked around and said "Oh. Well I guess there is none today. You need to make sure you stay on top of it. You can go to lunch now. Make sure you're back by 1 to prep for the feed. I'll be a little late".  By the time I got my food I had 20 min to eat when I should have had 60....then she showed up almost 40 min later then me! So she got a full lunch break but I didn't AND I had to do all of the prep work by myself.

The rest of the day went on fine. For the most part, I was up there alone so I didn't have to deal with her. I'm mad though. I did 95% of the work. Besides feeding the penguins and writing in the log books she did nothing. At one point she said she had a feed so I had to wash the bucket(She walked the bucket down(decent walk) so she could go to a feed at 2.) I walked down at 230 to wash it and she was sitting with her friends BS'ing. Then I had to make the hike back to the room to finish what needed to be done. She later told me the feed got pushed to 245. She didn't wash the bucket, she talked with her friends instead...she could have come back to help me!

Now if I was paid staff I would suck it up. BUT I'M NOT! I don't volunteer to do her job for her! AND I SURE AS HECK don't volunteer to get treated like crap.

I would have walked out if it weren't for two things 1) I had things in the back room I needed. 2) we are staying at the aquarium for my birthday this weekend and I don't want to see people if I just walked out. lol.

I called in sick this week since I didn't feel great and I needed a break. I think I'm going to talk to the volunteer coordinator this week and tell her how I feel about it. I don't mind bad moods at all, but I do mind how I'm talked to and treated. It may sound petty, and I bet I will think so when I cool off.

But for now. I'm ticked.

My first(non-personal) reading challenge!

I love finding new blogs. I LOVE finding new blogs when they have to do with things I LOVE!

I was looking around today, reading a few blogs I follow and I saw this challenge! I knew I needed to do it. Not only do I love Nicolas Sparks books but I have quite a few on my shelf that I have yet to read. This is the perfect way to get me to read all of them(and to re-read a few I love). I own all the ones I put in blue but I have not read all the ones I have, the ones in red are the ones I've read already(I will come back and update as I read!)! I'm so bad like that! I think a trip to the book barn is in order to get the ones I don't have!

So here we go!

Nicholas Sparks Reading Challenge
hosted by The Book Vixen

Details:

• Runs January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011(books read prior to 1/1/11 do not count towards the challenge). You can join at anytime – Sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
• The goal is to read or re-read as many Nicholas Sparks novels as you’d like. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you. Nothing is set in stone; you can change levels at any time during the challenge.
• Books can be any format (bound, eBook, audio).
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are fine.
• You can list your books in advance or list them as you read them. It is not required that you review the books you read for this challenge but feel free to do so.
• Post this reading challenge on your blog so you can keep a list of the books you’ve read for this challenge. Please include a link back to this post so readers can join the challenge too.
• You do not have to be a book blogger to participate. You can keep tabs on books you’ve read for this challenge on Goodreads or LibraryThing if you’d like (maybe make a shelf for “Nicholas Sparks Reading Challenge”). If you are not on either of those sites then you can list the books you read for this challenge in the comments on my wrap-up post, which will be up at the end of 2011.

Levels:

     First Date – Read 1–4 Nicholas Sparks novels
     Going Steady – Read 5–8 Nicholas Sparks novels
     Engaged – Read 9–12 Nicholas Sparks novels
     Married – Read 13–16 Nicholas Sparks novels

List of Nicholas Sparks novels:
     The Notebook
     Message in a Bottle
     A Walk to Remember     
     The Rescue
     A Bend in the Road
     Nights in Rodanthe
     The Wedding     
     The Guardian
     Three Weeks With My Brother     
     True Believer (read this first, before At First Sight)
     At First Sight (read this after True Believer)
     The Choice
     Dear John
     The Lucky One
     The Last Song     
     Safe Haven


I'm going to do my best and read all of them! I have faith that I can do it but I don't want to promise in case I fall short! Head on over and join up if you feel like reading some great books!

2011!!

2010
(my list of things I posted in Jan to do this year! I did them all!)


1. I want to read at least 50 books again. (I read 74!)
2. More family trips! (A few. Deployment makes it so you can't do a ton)
3. Take one more thing off my bucket list. (I took 2 off this year!)
4. Go to church more. (YEP!!)
5. Take up a new hobby. Sewing maybe? (Not sewing but I got really into making scrapbooks online)
6. Survive another deployment.....ick. (YEP!)
7. Send Landon off to Kindergarten...and not cry. (Did this to!)
8. Get more involved with Landon's school (Yep! I help out often)
9. Get more involved with church activities. (Yep. Now that J is home I get to go to the book club)
10. De clutter my house! (Ehhhh still working on this one but I did some)

A few more to add.

1. I got my license
2. Got my first job like commitment at the Aquarium
3. Learned how to do things I never thought I would(like putting air in my tires and re-registering my car. Haha)
4. Flew with Landon without help from another adult!
5. My bestie had ANOTHER baby! Yay!
6. Got baptised!

 
2011
(Things I want to do this year!)
 
1. Go on a big family vacation
2. pay off my car
3. Cook dinner more often and try new things
4. Get even more involved with Landon's school
5. Get even more involved with Church
6. Read 75 books....? (50 for sure!)
7. Strive to be the best mom/wife I can be
8. Do something that makes me happy (join a gym, cooking classes...ect)
9. Learn how to drive J's car!!
10. Learn something new and/or meet new people.