Looking Back on 2012

. 

Since 2013 is peeking around the corner at me, I wanted to take a post to reflect on the last year and all it held for me and my family. I feel like it's necessary for one to pause, remember, and take note on how the last year changed you. Time changes us all in one form or another. We can choose to become jaded with our experiences or be grateful for what we went through. I know I didn't love every minute of 2012, and I'm sure there are minutes, hours or even days that I would choose to never re-live again. But I... learned to love new people, appreciated the hell out of my family, and I really used this year to get to know myself. Truly valuable.

Kit and I started this year off with our 2nd wedding anniversary! We were pretty poor at the time and living with his parents so we made our gifts to each other! Cheesecake and a "56 Things I Love About You" book made from a deck of cards. Best anniversary gifts yet.

On Jan 6th I turned 24! We had the most awesome time celebrating with our best friends Brie and Shawn in OKC Downtown.

Also in January my husband became an EMT. He worked so hard for it, very proud of him!

The second piece of excitement came in Feb when we finally received confirmation that the AF still wanted us. After an 11 month break, we were finally going to live lives outside of college. We were ready to turn the page together and start our adventure.

Before we left for Texas we lived up our last couple months stress-free in Sulphur, OK.

In April we celebrated my husband hitting the big 25! We went to a baseball game and I flooded his room with 25 balloons with 25 different memories from his family that morning. A great way to start your 25th year.

On April 15th we loaded, packed and loaded up our life into two trucks and began heading south to San Angelo TX!

April - November we lived in TX and made SO many memories. Kit was in and out most of the time for training in OK but when he was gone I had friends and plenty of work to keep me busy. I came away with two amazing girlfriends, Alex and Kate, that have changed my life forever. I believe things happen for a reason and it was meant to be that we all were in the same class, prevailed together through the hardest educational course we'd ever been through and made some amazing memories that I'll treasure for a lifetime. With my husband often gone, these girls were there for me, thick and thin. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay them, but then again they wouldn't let me even if I could :). These are some highlights of our time there.

First Day of Work

State Park

Lake House fun

Visiting a winery

4th of July in Austin, TX

Bestie visited

Parents visited

Celebrating our new assignments in Austin, TX

Drop Night - Tyndall AFB, FL

Local brewery trip 

Climbed Enchanted Rock

 h

Class trip to Big Bend National Park

We snuck out to NYC for a wedding in May

Starne's Wedding-NYC

Finally after 5 years had to say farewell to the Celica

Kit's parents visited us with the pups

Tough Mudder in Austin TX

Then came time for November..the month I had been dreading. I had to say good-bye to my husband for his year long deployment. The hardest goodbye I'd ever given, and away he went.

Graduation and moving in November, two positive things for me to focus on!

Graduation with my girls

Blessed to have family there

Third place to call home this year....Panama City, Florida. I was very lucky to move solo with a dog, 2 cats and a snake with no issues!

Our home in Florida

Luckily we ended this year together. Kit caught a break and his unit allowed him a pass to come HOME for a few days over Christmas. I could care less about tangible gifts this year...all I wanted was my love. Ask and you shall receive! We spent our first Christmas by ourselves and in our new house together. Couldn't ask for anything more.

I know this year will be emotionally, the most challenging Kit and I have/will ever face. I have no doubt we will conquer it and come out stronger because of it. My wonderful husband has 6  "benchmarks" for me to look forward to throughout the year to get me through as painless as possible. Sort of like when you want to lose 40 lbs, so you set small goals first that will add up to the big overall goal at the end. That's what our benchmarks are (he's so clever). #1 - January I'll spend the month at Hurlburt Field for training, #2 - Home for a week in February, #3 - Family visiting for SB in March, #4 - Mom visiting in May and the in-laws, #5 - Bestie visiting for 4th of July, #6 - Taking a week to hit Seattle to see the other bestie and cousin in August.  Looking forward, 2013 might not be one of my most favorite years to come...but it's only temporary (as my positive MIL always tells me) and it too shall pass.

3 Days of Heaven

My husband was granted a pass to come home over Christmas this year. At this point he's been gone for about two months. We've gone longer apart but this two months apart was different. Many emotions and changes happened during this time which made it feel just centuries longer. He arrived home late Saturday night and I whisked him away to see our new home for the first time!

On Day 1, I played tour guide and showed him around town. First we had to hit Waffle House for breakfast, and this is a big deal for us since it's the first time living in a town with one. We drove out to Pier Park (Outdoor mall in my previous post) in PCB and went Christmas shopping for each other. It was so much fun spotting him all over the mall, making eye contact from yards away and just smiling like goofy teens. Then lunch on the beach and a fancy dress-up dinner date night to top it off.

Day 2, Christmas Eve! We trekked out to the beach with Zeus during a rainstorm, got soaked to the bone, but couldn't stop smiling/laughing the entire time. We spent most of the day snuggled down at home due to the rain and watched Christmas movies/The Office all day. Also the first fire in our home was built!

Day 3, Christmas Day. We slept in, made a feast for breakfast (eggs, REAL bacon and bubble bread) and opened gifts from each other and all that our family has been sending the past weeks. Who doesn't love opening presents?! Then came time for Christmas lunch/dinner. Kit wanted to start cooking at noon so we could just eat on it all day. Fine with me! We made brown-sugared ham, green bean casserole, crescent rolls, sweet potato casserole, cheesy hash brown bake (MIL's secret recipe) and pecan pie. And like every Christmas Day we had to finish the night off with a trip to the theater! DJango was so good! We really missed family this year. It was our first Christmas since we've been married that we weren't in OK, but we couldn't help to be so grateful that at least we all had each other on this special holiday.

When I say, "Three days isn't enough time" my wise husband always replies, "It'll never be enough time. If the Army would've of given us a month, it still wouldn't' have been enough." How wise he is. I have learned it's never enough time. Time with our loved ones is so immensely precious. I have learned to treasure it the most over the last couple of years above all else.

My goal was to give my husband a wonderful new memory of what home here will be like when he returns. A memory so luscious, so wonderful that during dark times all he would need to do was hold it up to his ear like a sea shell, close his eyes and just listen and remember. I think I did that. I've never seen him smile so much in such a short period of time. I hope I gave him a glimpse of what we WILL have WHEN he returns to me. Life will be wonderful, and our family will thrive. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and treasured loved ones and the time spent!

Exploring Panama City

I've lived here almost a month and I'm just now getting out to explore. Sad, yes I know. It's been hard going about life solo. Especially doing things that I really enjoyed with my husband like going out to eat (which actually is saving us a lot of money now that it doesn't happen often) and exploring our surroundings. When we lived in Texas we made it our mission to experience everything San Angelo had to offer. We did and it was so incredibly awesome.

So here are a few gems that you'll have the pleasure of seeing WHEN you visit us!

Pier Park is a huge outdoor mall right off the beach! My favorite places are Marshalls and Margaritaville!

The next place I explored I took Zeus. We hit the Conservation Park in Panama City Beach. The vegetation is so different then what I've experienced in other parks in Sulphur OK and San Angelo TX. The trees are twice as tall, but only have branches at the very top. There are lots of low-lying tropical plants and many butterflies. This park has trails ranging from 1 mile to 11 miles long.

Lastly I finally made it to Panama City Beach's beach. It's about a 30 minute drive from our house, but as you can see it's totally worth it. Can't wait to take our visitors here!

Resuming in Florida

My world has done a 180 in just two simple weeks. I went from living in San Angelo TX with friends and no husband to living in Panama City, FL with no friends and still no husband. The road trip down here took about two days. Surprisingly it went fairly smooth. Zeus, the 2 cats, snake and I drove 10 hours the first day to Baton Rouge, LA. My husband made us hotel reservations in a very nice, pet friendly hotel that offered free breakfast and HBO. What more could a girl ask for? Then the next day we were off for a 6 hour drive to finally reach our destination and see the house we hoped would be Mr. Right.

It was a winner!

I love the house. It is by far the nicest house we've ever rented. I have been in it for a little over a week and with our things being delivered, cable and internet set up and Christmas decor out...it really is starting to sink in that I'm here for the long haul. I still pull up in the drive-way and feel like I'm at someone else's house, but I'm sure it'll feel like mine soon. 

When you ask? Well probably on Dec 22 WHEN MY HUSBAND FLIES IN!! Yes I'm just a tad excited. I know once he steps foot in our house, once we've made some memories in our house then I'm certain it will feel like home. We are lucky enough that his unit gave them a 5 day pass to leave their base and fly home for Christmas! I couldn't be more grateful. We will have about 3 whole days together, then he flies back. His time here will be short, but we will make the most of it and treasure every minute. 

I'm still in-processing in at work. Haven't really met anyone under the age of 45 yet, but I am in contact with a girl here I went to the schoolhouse with so hopefully we can meet up soon. This is the first time I've moved and not known a soul. When I first moved from my parent's house, I lived with my cousin for 2 years. I moved to Stillwater, OK after that with my best friend at the time. Then I have lived with my husband ever since. My days are usually pretty busy with running SO many errands, organizing, or entertaining Zeus...it's the nights that get me. 

When I lived in Texas I had many close friends and my two best girlfriend and I were inseparable. I really enjoyed their company. We had a bar we'd always hang out at, movie nights, baking nights, and plenty of weekend trips. I hope to find a close knit group of friends here soon! Fingers crossed :)

Finale Lonestar

The time has finally come. I'm starting the final exercise in between me and graduation tomorrow at 0600, bright and early! We'll go Wed - Fri this week, then Mon-Wed next week. Graduation next Thursday! One week left and it has honestly has come so quick! This whole course has led up to these last 6 days of exercise. I can't give too much away but we will be integrated in with enlisted personnel to add a little spice of realism. I know I can get through this and out the other side. My day will start at 0600 and end at about 10 pm.  Please keep us in your prayers this week! As for the last push...you can do anything for 72 hours right?

Potential FL Home

So we're so excited that I'm bubbling over at the seams! We think we found a house that the price is right...and our needs are all met! It's a block from the ocean, 3 bed/2.5 bath and simply perfect. Trying not to get our hopes up in case it doesn't pan out but here are some pictures!
Description: Two-story home minutes away from Tyndall AFB with both covered and uncovered patio and pool. Three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, alarm system, pergo and vinyl floor in bedrooms, living room and upstairs bathrooms, tiled kitchen and breakfast area, updated kitchen, working fireplace, ceiling fans, skylights, large landscaped backyard and frontyard. Master bdrm. 16x12, 2nd & 3rd bdrm. 10x13, living room 23x15, brkfst. area 8x14. Pool service included in rent.

Teach Me

So my husband is home! Picked him up from the airport and couldn't stop smiling...me or our golden retriever. This week will go by extremely fast, so we decided to our to-do list done in the beginning versus waiting until the last moment when that will be the last thing we'll want to do. Since the husband will be away for awhile there are a lot of things to consider, given the length of time. Especially with a move coming up, new job, holidays, tax season...etc. My husband and I had "teaching time" so that he can show me things that he usually takes care of over the year. Hope if you're ever in this situation or know someone, that this may be a good starting point for you:

1. Cleaning the guns
2. Taxes
3. Hooking up our comp, TV, PS3, routers, printer, and webcam
4. Vehicle maintenance
5. Changing the oil on the lawnmower

These are just items that he usually takes care of....that are a must know for the upcoming year. I took written notes and when it came to showing me how to clean the guns even took video. Everything little thing helps!