My engagement ring(s)

Ok, this is waaaaayyyy overdue, but I have had so much stuff to do I just can't get around to sitting down and actually making a legitimate blog entry!!! Life is ridiculously crazy right now, and a lot of it has to do with the military (that could be a whole book of blogs in of itself...)

Anyways, I've been meaning to download a couple pics of my rings. The reason I have two is also because of the military, and my regular work; uniform requirements and policies on jewelry! My "official" engagement ring has two black onyx hearts, and my "work" engagement ring has one tiny onyx heart. Here they are:

Surprise!

I'm engaged- actually, I have been since March 28th!!! Surprising, isn't it? Yep, to me too! I just really was never sure when- or even if- it would actually happen to me. And honestly, I never cared either way. I have always been of the mindset that yes, it would be great to find my "dream man" and marry him one day, but at the same time, it would just be the "icing on the cake", so to say! There's always so much stuff going on in my life, that I always felt I wouldn't really miss anything if I never got married.

But now I can say I am truly engaged to who I believe is the perfect match for me! Phil is awesome, and he doesn't put up a fuss with being called Piglet :) His proposal was casual and non-chalant (he asked me while we were out for a run), and we're trying to approach our wedding with the same persective- no stress, just have fun with it! We're looking at February 8, 2010 as our wedding day.

For those who are curious, I do have an engagement ring...I'll try to get pictures posted sometime soon. But use your imagination- if you know me, you know it doesn't look like a normal engagement ring! :P

We'd appreciate your prayers and support as we enter these foreign waters of wedding planning!!! Yikes! My roomie has already been a big help in decifering fancy pancy restaurant food words :) Its crazy, this wedding stuff- and don't worry, my wedding won't be normal either!!!

Wisdom Teeth Removal and an Official Announcement

I have 2 major things to report!!!

First- I had the not-so-fun experience of having all four of my wisdom teeth removed at once. This happened at 10 am last Saturday. Phil went with me as my support and "driver." For the procedure, I was completely knocked out. I was very nervous about this. Going under wasn't so bad actually. But apparently when they were bringing me back in to concsiousness, I had some serious issues! I do remember feeling like I was drowning, and not able to do anything about it. My brain registered one word- "wheelchair" (I guess they were trying to lift me into a wheelchair)- and I FREAKED OUT. They say I started thrashing and hyperventilating. All I knew was that I was sure I was dying and I could feel terrible pain! Phil says it took at least 30 minutes before I was completely back to normal. Anyway, I am now doing fine, and I'm waiting for the last bit of swelling to go down on my left side. Its still pretty sore. In just these few days I've had to make myself eat soft stuff like yogurt, oatmeal, and soup, and I lost 3 pounds in 3 days. I can't WAIT to eat solid food again! I just managed to finish a small bowl of turkey chili, so I'm getting there...slowly but surely! And thank God for ibuprofen and Vicodin...

Secondly- my official announcement is that I will NOT be going on the May deployment with my unit. I have very mixed feelings about this, and definitely appreciate your prayers as I make the appropriate adjustments to my life as a result of this decision. My medical paperwork was reviewed by the State Surgeon General, and my medical flag was not lifted. So I'm not going anywhere- at least for now. At least I finally have a definitive answer!

Birthday fun

Ok, so to catch up, my brother Rob came and visited from February 27th through March 2nd. It was a lot of fun, and I wanted to do something for my birthday (which was on the 5th!) while he was here. So we had a "pre-celebration" at the Wild Animal Park! It was a great day with good hot weather, and all the animals were out and about.







It was a bummer that Rob couldn't make it to my actual birthday. But it turned out well enough! A bunch of friends went with me to the Jasmine Bistro, a cool little restaurant at the Parkway Plaza mall. Afterwards, the people that could make it also came by the apartment and had chocolate truffle cheesecake, baked by my chef-in-training roommate, Tammi! It was by far one of the best birthdays I've had yet!

Overdue Pics

Its been a while since I last posted! I've been really busy, and fairly stressed out. Ok...really stressed out. A lot of it has to do with my ongoing medical issues. For all of you who have been praying for me, THANK YOU, and please continue!!! :) You have no idea how much it means to me. As I'm sure you've all figured out if you've been around me long enough, the military is one huge "hurry up and wait" process. I am still waiting for a confident Yes or No on whether or not I'm deploying. Its looking like a No, but I know better than to accept that right away!

Anyways, on to the pics. These pics is from my most recent trip to Camp Roberts with my unit. The purpose of the trip was for our preliminary pre-deployment medical screening. (I failed, by the way, which has resulted in the stress I referred to above...). During our time there, platoon did what we could to make the process as painless as possible. This included group games and a BBQ!

And these are from on the bus, on the way back to San Diego:

We're a random, rowdy, but very cool bunch of people let me tell you!!!

Two exciting things

The first is a movie that just came out. Its called The Uninvited. I went and saw it Monday night, and was totally enthralled with it!!! If you like drama, suspense, pyschological themes, and not over-the-top horror, this is the perfect movie for you- which of course, made it the perfect movie for me! :) I'm not going to say ANYTHING in detail about it because you have to go see it for yourself. It was a very well-done, actually believable movie, with great acting. Go see it!!!

The second thing is that my brother Rob is planning on coming out to San Diego to visit again! He was here for Thanksgiving last year, and this time its just for a bit of fun and relaxation. He'll be here from the 27th through March 2nd. I'm always excited to see my brothers!

I made myself watch it

Tonight I watched Home of the Brave with Tammi. I'm not sure if that was a good idea or a bad one! Basically the movie is about 4 soldiers who come home from Iraq, and how they cope with everything. In other words, a movie about PTSD. Great. I'll admit, there were parts that made me tear up, and the only other movie that gets me like that is Blackhawk Down. So that's gotta mean something...

My life is crazy right now!

Ok, I'm finally back home from a week of military duty at Camp Roberts (up in Central CA). Whew, what a time. I have so much on my plate right now with unit responsibilities and my civilian job that I feel like I don't have time to breathe!!!

For those of you who are asking about my medical situation, I apologize for keeping everyone in the dark. The thing is, nothing is set in stone, and I don't want to announce things that might not actually happen or be the way I think it is going to be. Because of that, let me just say that I am doing all right, but I am back in treatment for certain things. As for my deployment status, that is still up in the air. All I can say is, I appreciate your prayers and concern very very much!

My time up in Camp Roberts was actually very productive, despite all the stress and lack of sleep. My days began at 4:45 am and didn't end till 10- 11 at night. My soldiers and I went through a bunch of medical and legal screenings, took web-based training, and participated in lots of PT. My platoon even put together a barbeque the last night!

I'll continue to post on here as often as I can, as long as I have solid updates. Thanks for reading, everybody!!!

My new eating schedule

Ok, so all the medical problems I've been experiencing have now affected even the way I eat! Before this, I have always been fairly blessed in the eating department- I could eat what I wanted, when I wanted. But now, with mysterious weight gain and severe pain after eating, I realized something was gonna have to give. I also got put on some prescription medication for the pain and bloating (pills to be exact- which I despise with all my heart).

Anyway, those pills are actually doing some good...however, the effect doesn't last as long as my day. On an average weekday I'm up by 6:15 and don't go to bed till around 10:30 or so. I started out taking the pills first thing in the morning before eating breakfast at work. But I soon realized that by late afternoon (when I want to be at the gym or going out with friends) the medication would wear off and I would be hurting big time! Also, it didn't seem to matter what I ate- the pain was always the same. So, I decided it was time to experiment.

After a bunch of random food combinations, different lengths of time between eating, and planning my day around the stupid pills, I've figured out that I need to take the medicine later on in the day. Now I don't really eat anything for breakfast, which- I know, I know, is supposed to be the biggest and healthiest meal of the day. BUT...my body is responding well to this. I'll have a cup of coffee and maybe a few bites of a bagel or something, but that's all. Then around 11:00, I take my medicine and eat lunch at 11:30. I don't eat anything again till around 6- 6:30 pm. Absolutely no snacking.

Now, just because it cuts down on the bloating and the pain, it does not mean that this is exactly fun for me! I hate the fact that I am scared to eat, and that I'd rather deal with hunger pangs and a growling stomach than the other kind of pain. I miss my morning veggie omelet at work! And anyways, I am praying that this is just a temporary solution and that some day, I'll be able to eat like a normal person again. I really do love food, and food fuels my workouts!!!

I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon after work. I'll keep you posted on the outcome. I'm curious to find out what (if anything) was seen on the CT scan. On the 30th, I'm leaving for 6 days with my unit to go through pre-deployment medical screening. Who knows what will happen with that.

Peter and Breana's Wedding

I was in Canada again last weekend, this time for Peter and Breana's wedding! How awesome is that??!! It was a crazy whirlwind trip, but I did have a lot of fun, and the wedding went down without too many glitches! I was the maid of honor, and Phil was one of the groomsmen. The wedding party stayed at the Marriott in Niagara, and we had a great view of the Falls from our suites.

The wedding was very small; in fact, I believe there were more people in the wedding party than there were guests! Different, but fun and happy. Alaia was hilarious as usual, and stole the show. I swear she got more attention than Peter and Breana!

Peter and Breana are currently somewhere in or around Mexico- they went on a cruise for their honeymoon!

I've got a bunch of wedding pictures, but I can't upload any at the moment. If you are on Facebook, you can check out the album on my profile...I did manage to get them uploaded there!

Not feeling my best these days

I won't deny it. Normally after a crazy drill, I can bounce back within a couple of days, but this time, its not working. There is just so much stuff going on in my life that I have to deal with that I seriously don't want to even start in the morning! There's financial issues, soldier issues, security issues, my own medical issues, deployment issues, friend's issues...I swear its an avalanche right now!!! Its like- where do I even begin????!!!!

Yesterday afternoon after work I took myself over to Massage Envy and got my free hour-long massage. That did feel wonderful! For 60 minutes I just tried to focus on how good it felt to lay still, and thanking God that there are such things as massages. But then afterwards, I stopped at Barnes & Noble to check something out, and while I was in there, I started feeling horribly queasy and sick. I left the store, feeling like I was gonna vomit. I didn't exactly vomit, but I was spitting up in the parking lot by my car. NOT a cool way to end the day! I've started on some prescription medication that my doctor hopes will help with the stomach pain and bloating. Hopefully it starts to kick in soon!!! I've got a CT scan scheduled on the 21st, and I really hope they find something.

Tomorrow Phil and I leave for Canada once again- this time for a quick trip for Peter's wedding!!! That should be pretty cool! I'm actually going to be able to wear my bridesmaid's dress (that was too small at first because I had gained all that stupid weight). I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and chronicle the whole experience!

Drill- the whole story

Well, I'm back from a long drill at Camp Pendleton. Whew what a time. How do I even start to describe what went on?! Energy, anger, frustration, giddiness, sadness, impatience, relief...I felt all of this and more over the course of the three and a half days I was there.

Lets start with Thursday night. First formation was at 1900 (7pm for you civilian peeps!), and we were to focus solely on loading the vehicles (Humvees), establishing our radio communication, and getting on the road to Camp Pendleton. Our target time of departure was 2100 (9pm). Well whaddya know, we didn't roll out the gate till 2330 (11:30pm)!!! NOT a good idea...and oh by the way, half the vehicles are running on empty. As part of the senior leadership, I was royally disturbed by this. I won't name names, but I know who dropped the ball. I'm furious. I get on the radio "Lead vehicle, lead vehicle, we do not have fuel. I say again, WE DO NOT HAVE FUEL." Response: "Vehicle 19, we will stop in Del Mar." Ummmm...Del Mar is 25 miles away. Some people are on EMPTY. My responses are ignored. Finally we get to Del Mar, and haha, just kidding, the gas station we were going to stop at doesn't have diesel. Beautiful. Again, I won't name names but someone certainly doesn't know how to recon very well. All of us leaders in the convoy are going into fits. We manage to get to another gas station on our own and fuel all the vehicles. By this time is 0100 (1am). We've still got a long way to go. By the time we get to Camp Pendleton (Talega area) its 0300. Gotta get up at 7 folks...have a good night. (There were more issues before I managed to get to bed, but I'm not even going to go there.)

Three hours after getting to bed, we are woken up in a boot-camp sort of manner- the 1st SGT is screaming his head off that everyone has 8 minutes to be in formation in full battle gear. Ooops..who forgot to tell the 1st SGT we were going to let the soldiers sleep till 7??? I run out the door and try to get my platoon sgt to inform the 1st SGT. Too late...the damage is done. Soldiers are stumbling out of the barracks half asleep. The 1st SGT is still screaming. Total chaos. All the leaders are angry; all the soldiers are confused. At this moment in time, I hate my life. The 1st SGT screams at me and I have no clue what he's so mad about.

Fast forward a couple of hours, and we are at the M249 SAW range. That, at least, went a little better. Everyone does some firing, and feels a little better. I even have a little bit of fun!

Saturday was my range- the MK19 40mm grenade launchers. Awesome! This was actually a pretty cool day. There were some bumps in the morning setting up the range- where's the sandbags??? Oh...aaaahhhh...SGT M. forgot to get them loaded on the 5-ton truck. Beautiful. Send SFC A on an emergency run to go get some! Hose clamps. What the heck are hose clamps??!!! We can use duct tape. Duct tape fixes everything! Yay! You get the picture. I'm in charge- its my range- and its actually pretty cool. My voice gets tired from repeating the commands all day though. I sound like a scratchy recording:

"Shooters, at this time position yourselves behind your weapon. (Pause) Lock and load your weapon. (Pause) Shooters, at this time, fire your ghost round- ghost round ONLY. FIRE! (Pause. Click, click, click) Recharge your weapons. (Pause) Shooters, commence FIRE!!! (Boom, boom, boom!)

The day goes on....some weapons jam, I get a stomach ache and have to sit out for an hour while my OIC takes over, radio checks every half hour, my face is completely dry and I get windburn, people shoot and shoot some more...but overall, its a good day. Success at last! Then more drama occurs in the evening aside from the range, and I get SUPER mad. I won't name names. A meeting gets called. The drama continues. Can I just go to bed now please? Thank you. This day gets a 5 on my scale- 50% good, 50% bad.

Sunday- our last day. Hurry up everybody, I know you all just want to get home! Wake up was at 4am. Rush to the M16 qualification range. I get to do half of the process. At least I know I can make good shot groups! And then finally its time to leave Camp Pendleton! We drove back to the armory, but our work is FAR from done. Weapons cleaning, paperwork, a random drug test, leadership meeting...by this time I'm too tired to even be upset at anything any more! Another female NCO and I are so tired we are getting giddy. Somehow the conversation turns to prehistoric woolly mammoths and we're laughing till tears are in our eyes! What is so funny about woolly mammoths? Nothing...they are only funny after you've been working for 18 hours!

Finally...FINALLY I'm released. I drive home in a daze. I managed to crawl into bed around midnight. Ahhhhh, quiet. And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes my drill story!!!

Late night posting...a lot on my mind

Well, its almost 11 pm and I'm succeeding nicely in staying up late on purpose. I have a very long drill this weekend, which will consist mostly of staying out in the field up at Camp Pendleton. We are gonna be shooting, which will be fun, but I will be freezing my butt off at night! Booo!!! Needless to say, I won't get much sleep. So I'm staying up late tonight, sleeping in in the morning, and then hopefully will be able to stay up just fine tomorrow night. This usually works for me so...we'll see.

Just a quick recap of my New Years- I had so much fun! I spent New Year's Eve with Phil of course, as well as Tammi, and two other friends of ours who we affectionately refer to as Rabbit and Labradoodle. We had a great time goofing off, playing Guitar Hero and board games, eating, and generally acting silly! Here's some pics:

For those of you who haven't heard yet, I've been experiencing some weird medical issues these past few months as well, which has resulted in several visits to the doctor, blood tests, an ultrasound of my liver, and coming up next- a CT scan of my chest, torso, and pelvis. I won't go into all the details here, but I've been experiencing a lot of discomfort, and most distressing of all- WEIGHT GAIN. BOOOOOOOO!!!!!! If you know me at all, you know I'm a fitness freak, love to run, and thoroughly enjoy being small. So needless to say, this is NOT going over very well with me! I'll keep you posted as I find out more myself.

Anyways, I'm just rambling and enjoying experimenting with this blog so far! I'm sure my page might look kinda weird once in a while- I'll figure it all out soon! I'll try to post pictures as often as possible. The joys of digital cameras and memory cards! :)

Next post will be all about this drill, I'm sure. Goodnight, sleep tight!

So I'm gonna start blogging

Yep, I am. Welcome to my crazy world. I figured since its the beginning of the new year, I'll start something new. And in case I get deployed like I'm supposed to, this will be a handy dandy way to keep people updated on what's going on with me.

So...check back soon!