Freak Accident

So this past Tuesday afternoon I get back from my lunch break and Scott calls me. The first thing out of his mouth is "I'm just calling to let you know that I'm heading home because I just left the hospital." That's all he said!! So I'm freaking out and asked what happened. Basically, a ratchet strap that's under a lot of pressure came loose and flew back at Scott and sliced his arm. The cut is about 2-3 inches long and cut through to the bone. Scott says he didn't feel anything. Everyone was asking if he was ok and he said he was fine. Someone else grabbed his arm and raised it above his head, told him to apply pressure, and took Scott to the hospital. This happened at 9:30 that morning and he wasn't seen for about 3 hours. They gave him 5 stitches and he was put on profile for the day (which means he can't work) and on light duty for 2 weeks. The doctor said the ratchet barely missed slicing his tendon. If that had happened Scott would have lost motion in his thumb, index, and middle fingers. Crazy! I'm so thankful that didn't happen and that he's ok. He was checked recently to make sure he's healing properly, which he is, and sometime next week the stitches will be removed.

If that wasn't bad enough, Scott's water pump in his truck cracked Thursday when he was leaving work. We both knew it needed to be replaced but we didn't have the money at the time so Scott checked the water level every day before leaving to go anywhere. When he left post he was full, got a few miles down the interstate and his dash told him the truck was overheating so he pulled over and heard the water pump go out. Luckily a friend of his was nearby and picked him up and let him borrow one of his cars for the night. We bought a new water pump and the plan was to have a friend tow the truck on post Friday morning. Scott got to his truck a little after 9am yesterday to learn that between 6 and 9am someone broke his passenger window and stole several items. His ipod, radio, tools, knives, flashlights, and the box of blankets he had under his seat. Craziness!!! Bad things really do happen in 3's. He called the cops and our insurance to file a claim. We're waiting until Monday for his truck to be investigated and then we can get his window and motor fixed. It's been a stressful week. lol

Road Trip

Sorry I've been slack at updating. I'm not on my laptop a lot and now that I have an iPhone, I'm on even less. lol. Ever since the hubs & I moved to SC 2 years ago, we try to go visit his family in Indiana every July 4th and either Thanksgiving or Christmas. Since July 4th was a Wednesday this year we both took off the 5th & 6th as well so that we could have a nice long weekend vacation. I was able to convince my parents to come up with us. They've never been to Indiana and I really wanted to show them where Scott's from. My mom is a teacher so she was already off for the summer but my dad is an accountant so he worked hard to be able to take off some days. It was also the first time in a very long time that my dad was not in charge of driving. lol. So it was interesting to see what he'd do during the trip to entertain himself. It's a 10-11 hour trip usually. My dad booked us a hotel on the way up so we left Tuesday night, drove about 4 hours, stopped outside of Knoxville for the night, and continued the trip Wednesday morning. We got to Scott's hometown around 4pm. Scott's dad was on his 3-week vacation so he was able to spend a lot of time with us. His mom had asked off but it was denied. We had a great time up there! It's the most relaxed I've ever seen my dad. He works late hours at work and when he gets home, he's usually still stressing or busy doing something. So it was really nice to see him relax. We had hoped to flee the 100 degree weather of SC but it was just as hot in Indiana. In fact, I had my first nosebleed EVER while up there. It was Thursday around lunchtime and I felt like my nose was running, I wiped at it and saw blood. I was instructed to pinch my nose right above the bump and luckily it worked. It didn't last very long but man it felt weird. lol.

Then Friday night was the big cook-out and fireworks that we do every year. His dad invited a lot of people. Only about half showed due to the heat. The food was great and the fireworks were awesome. We were all sitting around the front yard while the fireworks were shot off across the street by his dad's polebarn. Someone had bought 3 of those boxed fireworks that each have 20+ containers that go off one after the other. Well, the first one went crazy. One shot across the street at us and hit the light pole and got the side of someone's head. One shot into the polebarn and went off. Another one shot back at us and went on the porch and exploded. By then we were all up and moving to find safety. lol. Needless to say, we didn't set off the other 2 boxes. I always love seeing the fireworks because growing up we only bought the cheap ones. These fireworks are the expensive, big, beautiful ones! So I got some great photos.

Saturday was the only day his mom was off while we were there (other than the 4th) so that was the day we were finally able to go off and see some things. So we went to historic Vincennes, which is the closest "big" city to Scott's hometown and it's 30 minutes away. lol. We went to the George Rogers Clark Memorial. It was beautiful and so interesting. We watched the short video about George Rogers Clark. I love learning about history, even if I can't always remember it. I picked up some souvenirs to remember it by. And of course, I took pictures. lol. We also walked to Illinois since the memorial is right by the bridge over Wabash River that separates the states. So it's fun to be able to say "I walked to Illinois" and also add another state to the list of new states my parents have been to. We then went to the nearby catholic church. I've never been in one so it was amazing to see all the stained glass windows and the huge pipe organ. It was a fun, hot day.

We left Sunday morning to come back home. Due to road work on i75S our trip turned into 14 hours. We were so ready to get home. We left Indiana around 9:45-10 expecting to be home by 8 or 9. Nope. We got home at midnight. And then to add to it, while we were gone Scott had received a phone call from his Sgt saying that instead of leaving mid-July for a few weeks in Texas, he was leaving Monday morning. Once we got home Scott had to unpack and re-pack. He was up until 1am packing just to get to his unit Monday morning to find out his CO wasn't aware Scott was going and he needed Scott here since he was one of the top 2 hardest-working people in the unit. So luckily Scott didn't have to leave.

Working Out

I finally started working out again yesterday. I had planned to start Insanity this past Monday but was unable to. Then I remembered that I ordered one of Jillian Michaels's work-out DVDs to try. A lot of people think I'm crazy when I say I need to exercise or I'm out of shape. Yes I'm skinny and I don't weigh much, but I'm in no shape at all and would love to tone up some areas. I'm out of breath just walking around the office at work and going upstairs. For the past year or so I've actually felt really good about my body. My stomach is flatter with more definition and I love it. The best part, I don't even know how it happened! lol. Somehow I lost 10 lbs in the last 1-2 years. Somehow my biceps got bigger and more defined as well. Once again, not sure how that happened. Anyways, point is my self-esteem and confidence have been extremely high and I actually like what I see in the mirror. Most days. lol. I mainly need to tone up the hip/butt/thigh area and work on my upper body strength. Since that's my "problem areas", I ordered Killer Buns & Thighs to try. There are 3 levels. Each is 30 mins. Since I'm a beginner I did Level 1. There are 5 circuits: warm-up, 3 exercise ones, and a stretch/cool-down. She does each twice before moving on to the next circuit. I'm not gonna lie, it kicked my butt! I had to pause it a few times to catch my breath. I couldn't even do the full 30 mins. I had to stop it after 20 mins when I finished the 3rd circuit. Sad right? I've never felt so out of shape in my life. lol. I felt fine until I'd stand up to walk around and my legs were a bit shaky. When I got up for work today, I was sore. It wasn't as bad as the 3-mile cancer walk I did back in March. I was sore for 3 days because of how fast I power-walked. Anyway, normally when I'm sore I'll use it as an excuse to not work-out. Not today. I powered through it and actually finished all 30 minutes! I still had to pause it a few times to catch my breath because those cardio intervals are killer. It feels like my heart is going to pound out of my chest and I get nauseous. I take a few breaths, calm my heart some, and resume my work-out. Right now there are 3 moves that I can't quite get the hang of, but I'm sure I'll get better the more I do it. Can't wait to see how sore I am tomorrow. lol. After how badly these 30 minutes kicked my butt, I'm a bit nervous to try Insanity. I showed Scott the circuits and he said Insanity was very similar except Shawn T gives you short breaks. Even my Zumba disc gives me a few seconds! Come on Jillian, you're killing me! lol.

It amazes me how one healthy choice can lead to another. After working out yesterday, I was hungry but didn't want anything too filling. I was actually craving a salad last night! And yes, that was my dinner last night. If I keep this exercise routine up, I may decide to have salad as dinner every night since I'm not very hungry. If I can push myself to do these circuits and work myself up to Level 3 (we'll see) and get the body I want, it seems fairly easy to maintain it. I'm looking forward to biking or going to the gym on post or maybe even running one day. (I'm not much of a runner.) For once I feel like that life is in my reach. For years it was all in my head and it sounded so good, but I never did anything about it. But now I am and I'm motivated and determined to keep it up. We'll see how it goes! I did take some "before" shots yesterday for comparison. The plan right now is to take pictures every week, but that will depend on whether or not I see any changes.

Cirque du Soleil

My mom and I had the opportunity to go to Michael Jackson's Immortal Tour by Cirque du Soleil last night. We met her 2 sisters (my aunts) for dinner before the show. My aunt had bought the tickets so we were on the 7th row in front of the stage so we had a great view of everything going on. They played tons of his songs. It was kinda weird with the music because they had a live band and live back-up singers while playing MJ's voice as lead. So it was weird being at a concert-type thing with no lead singer. The show was so over-the-top and awesome that I think if MJ was alive, this is how he would have wanted the show to be done. It was filled with extremely strong acrobats flying through the air, tumbling around the stage, and dancing in the air.There was even a pole dancer that would position herself in ways that you couldn't tell how she was holding herself there. Sometimes it was just her thighs holding her and it amazed me to think of just how strong she must be in order to do what she's doing. Some acrobats were bending in ways that don't even seem possible. lol. The whole time I kept waiting and hoping that Michael would come out on stage. Like in the Thriller performance, they had all the zombies dancing on stage doing the Thriller moves, but no one to represent MJ in the red jacket. :( It was an awesome experience but kinda sad when you realized he's no longer here.

Easter weekend

Easter was done rather differently this year but it was a lot of fun! We normally get up Easter morning, check our baskets for Easter Bunny goodies, go to church (the same one we've gone to for 20+ years), and head to one side of the family for lunch and egg-hunting. (We alternate each year which side of the family we go to.) Over the years, my mom's side has grown and my aunts and uncles have their own kids and grandkids to spend the day with so the amount of people that gather together has greatly decreased. Add in my grandfather's passing in 2006 and my grandmother now being in a home, it's now at the point where each aunt/uncle spends time with their own separate families. It's kinda sad to think of how things used to be, but I understand how things got to where they are. Anyways, we were due to spend Easter with my mom's side this year so we decided to spend the weekend at my grandmother's house on Lake Murray. We all went up Saturday. Scott & I got there around 7:30 after he got home from work and we packed. We spent the rest of the day sitting around a campfire, roasting hotdogs and marshmallows, and having a great time. Unfortunately my older brother and his wife couldn't stay the night, but we were all up until about 2 am enjoying each other.
The next morning we went to a local church with my aunt. It was different but fun. When we got back we changed clothes and went to my aunt's "shooting range" they have set-up at the top of their property. My dad and brothers had brought their guns to shoot. I shot my dad's 22 and it was much different than the 45 or AR17. lol. I could shoot the 22 all day; it's so light with little recoil. Plus it was practice for the P22 Scott wants one day. By the time we were done it was lunchtime. So we popped in "Grown Ups" while Scott grilled porkchops. We then put in "Smurfs" and after that one, I needed to get up and move around. So I joined my mom on the garden swing with my kindle and read. It was so relaxing! The sun started to set so we grabbed camping chairs to sit in the sun. We had to keep moving them lol. It eventually got too chilly so we went back inside. The boys were finishing another movie. We put in "Black Sheep" to watch with dinner. My parents were staying that night but we had work Monday morning and couldn't stay. It was a lot of fun! I hope this is our new tradition. Until grandkids come in the picture, we should hunt gun shells instead of eggs. lol. I hope everyone had a great Easter! Pictures to follow.

Lovely Springtime

I love Springtime, minus the pollen, but luckily I think we've passed the pollen stage. lol Anyway, it's really fascinating to watch the trees bloom with the stinky white flowers that turn into beautiful green leaves. It seems to happen overnight. One day the neighborhood is full of white trees, the next day everything is green. Love it! I'm out in my backyard almost every day once I get home from work since I have to take Sally outside. One of my favorite trees has leaves! I swear they weren't there the day before. lol. I love seeing green trees everywhere and not bare ones. Not sure if you remember my post back in October when we planted 2 new trees, but they've started blooming as well. Our October Maple hasn't bloomed much but hopefully soon. When I got home today from running errands I noticed the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry tree has blossomed! We saw buds the other day but overnight they blossomed and are so pretty! It didn't have flowers when we planted it so it was exciting to see the kind of flowers that bloomed. They're so pretty! I'm so excited to watch this tree grow and see it covered in these flowers.

We also bought 2 boston ferns the other day. I love how they look and have been wanting some to hang on our porch. We lucked out and found some the other day. After looking around for a lower price, we wound up buying 2 from a store nearby. I love them!! Our house looks and feels more like a home now. We changed the light fixtures and put up curtains a few weeks back before the in-laws came to town and that drastically changed the home-y feel. We also rearranged the living room so the TV is neither in front of the fireplace or the windows. So we have more light in the living room, no glare on the TV like before, and the living room is more open. Love it! We transformed the inside and now the ferns help transform the outside. Now to figure out what to do with our flower bed area...

Beach Hair!

For some of you this post may seem silly, but I'm excited I was finally able to give my hair the "beach look". Ever since I was little my hair has been super straight. It does not hold curl well, especially the longer it gets 'cause of the weight. At my brother's wedding last month we curled it, put lots of hair spray in it, and even though my hair is somewhat short with layers (to keep it light), the curls still slowly fell a few hours later. At my wedding I curled it and used TONS of hairspray but due to how long my hair was and the heat, my curls fell in 20 minutes. Anyway, after I shower I've noticed my hair has some sort of wave to it until I brush it or blow-dry it. So I bought mousse last year to try on my hair when it was short. My first attempt failed. I don't think the mousse had dried so my hair was rather wet and, as it dried, the "wave" fell and my hair was a mess. I gave-up and figured this was one hairstyle I wouldn't be able to do. I still have the mousse so I tried again this morning after I showered. This time I kept scrunching it until my hair felt dry and it looked the way I wanted it. Then I sprayed some hairspray. It actually worked!!! I was so excited!!! I have another hairstyle other than straight. lol. (I've never curled my hair so if you see a picture where it's curly, my mom did it. lol)

Songs

A few years ago somehow all of the songs on my iTunes were erased. I had a mixture of songs that I had downloaded (not from iTunes), some I had imported from CDs I owned, and some from CDs owned by others. It had taken me an entire weekend the first time to import songs from CDs when I got my first iPod in 2005 and over the past several years I've added songs to it so I could only imagine how long it would take to get my iTunes fixed. Plus, I was afraid to plug my iPod into my computer thinking it would automatically sync to iTunes and would erase all the songs on my iPod as well. So for several years I've kept a list of songs I want to download and put on my iPod but I can't update my iPod until I fix my iTunes. Long story short, that is what I've started today. All the songs I've downloaded are on my iTunes so I'm going through my iPod alphabetically re-listening to every song to see if I still want it. The ones that weren't downloaded that I want to keep, I'm making a list in Excel so later I can go through ALL of my CDs and import the songs back to iTunes. Whichever songs are left I'll have to download. So this is definitely going to be a process. lol.

Point of my blog is about some of the songs. I'm only in the B's at the moment, but it's amazing the memories that are attached to songs. I hear some that remind me of high school that I would blare while driving home from school or around town my senior year. There are some songs that I downloaded when Scott was deployed so they're all about missing him or him being gone. Some I can even remember buying the CD back when CDs were popular. Those songs were all part of a certain time in my life. They have meaning but majority of these songs I don't like as much as I once did. The songs have memories but newer songs have come out since then that I'd rather have on my iPod. I almost feel a bit guilty deleting songs. lol. I'm glad to finally start updating my iPod. I just thought it was interesting how just hearing a song can take me back 10 years.

In-Laws

My in-laws are coming into town tomorrow. All of Scott's immediate family are in Indiana and some distant ones in Florida and Michigan. We usually make the trip up to visit his parents in Indiana but this time they've decided to come visit us. :) They haven't been to SC since we got married almost 3 years ago so I'm excited to show them around and enjoy spending time with them. They leave Friday morning so I hope the days are long so their visit seems longer than it is. I lucked out in the in-law department. I've heard horror stories from friends about their in-laws, especially the MIL, but I have no problem with them. Since the day I first met them they've made me feel right at home with jokes and laughter. They're a 2nd family to me and I hate we only get to visit twice a year (July 4th and Thanksgiving). When we were stationed in KY we were only 3 hours away so we visited often. I was out of school for the summer and Scott had weekends off so we had the time. Then we moved to SC where my family is and we're now about 11 hours away from them. So it's a very long trip but worth it. Scott is from a very small town in IN so it's fun to visit. I cannot wait to see what the next few days have in store for us!

Leap Day Wedding ♥

My brother, Greg, got married on leap day. It was such a beautiful wedding. It was a small, intimate wedding with only immediate family and aunts/uncles. Unfortunately including cousins would make it too large of a wedding and they were paying for it themselves. They have been together since Oct/Nov 2010 and engaged July 4, 2011. After seeing them together a few times and observing how my brother acts around her and how gentle he is with her compared to his past relationships, I knew she'd be permanent one day. Her name is Kayla and she is such a kind, sweet person. She's very similar to my mom which is rather funny. lol. I love her like I would my own sister if I had one. We can talk about anything. She grew up with 2 older brothers and I grew up as the middle child between 2 brothers, so we both finally have a sister. I was honored to be asked to be a bridesmaid. She was a very laid back bride. Our only instruction was find a black dress and red shoes. She didn't care if they were different lengths and our shoes didn't have to match.

Once the day got here it was full of excitement. I think I was just as excited for their wedding as I was for my own. lol. I'm not much of a crier but I was a mess during the wedding. I always tear up when the bride enters, but the vows are what got me. They wrote their own and my brother went first. He started talking about how difficult it is to put into words how much he loves her, that he wasn't sure how to put into words the comfort she makes him feel, etc. It was so sweet, especially knowing how far he's come to finally get to this day. We never thought he'd get married, but Kayla made him a better Greg. Her vows were just as sweet, talking about how she loves that he knows exactly how she's feeling without her having to say a word. They are so perfect for each other and I'm so thankful to have been a part of it. It's been 2 days and I'm still on a "love high" from all the amazing-ness that night. Congrats to Mr. & Mrs. Harmon! ♥

The Girls

Sweet moment

First Dance

He kept kissing her cheek! Seeing them together, you know it's love.

Cake-cutting