amanda's daily obsessions

Punkin' Mickey

2012-01-28T16:36:00.000-08:00

I know its WELL past Halloween

but way back then we went to Disneyland...

YEE!!!!

you see, even though I've seen Disneyland a bagillion times and most of those at Christmas, I've never seen Disneyland when it was decorated for halloween

and I wanted too...

so we went!

Here's part of the entrance

and main street...

there were jack-o-lanterns in the windows...

and on all the ledges!

now unlike Christmas at Disneyland where everything is totally Christmafied, Only the entrance and main street were decorated

and as far as the rides go, the haunted house is changed to The Nightmare Before Christmas (and stays that way through the Christmas season as well) and space mountain is turned into ghost galaxy. It's basically the same ride except sporadically this creepy ghost guy (he looks like a skeleton with the muscles and stuff on him...like a skinned human...ugk!) anyway, he'll appear and screech at you

it was rather unpleasant and honestly didn't make any sense...I mean, what is this creepy ghost doing floating about in space? I sure as heck don't know!

but other than that it was fun (it was Disneyland after all) nothing to exciting Halloween-wise but it was cute and I'm glad I got to see it.

Oh! ps, my birthday is in exactly 2 weeks! YAY!

Any ideas what I should do? Cause I for sure haven't got any...

Happenings lately

2012-01-21T22:51:00.000-08:00

Hubs left for training, luckily it's here so in a couple weeks I should get to see him on the weekends

But before that he got a tattoo

We finally got our playstation hooked up to the network and set up our netfilx ...so basically that's all I do now

You all remember when I wrote about the socal blogger meetup right? well there's gonna be another one on Feb 4 and I can't wait!

Our upstairs neighbors' bathtub overflowed and poured through our bathroom ceiling light and flooded it...twice

speaking of which, they must either play basketball and move furniture up there everyday or they have pet elephant ..there's really no other explanation for the noise that comes from up there

and if you could all help my friend get some free wedding photography by "liking" this picture I (and her...obviously) will love you forever!

Life lately according to my iPhone

2012-01-12T11:17:00.001-08:00

I know I'm a guest posting monster lately

2012-01-11T22:31:00.000-08:00

but hop on over to Something Charming to see a feature on our wedding :)

okthanksbye!

guest posting

2012-01-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

Be sure to check out my guest post today over at the lovely miss Kai's blog!

I'm sharing my favorite things about about socal so head on over and check it out and be sure to share your favorites if you have any!

ode to 2011

2012-01-05T00:13:00.000-08:00

2011 was quite a year. So many changes around here!

It's amazing the difference a year can make!

I am so grateful to have this blog to look back through the year, so many things happened!

not to mention all of the wonderful people who have become part of my life this year because of it

so without further adieu... 2011 blog highlights:

We got Lulu!

I celebrated my 24th birthday

First married Valentines Day

Hubs left for boot camp

Hubby graduated from bootcamp and I finally got to see him again!

Moved to San Antonio, Texas

Celebrated our 1 year anniversary

Made new friends

Hubs got the orders he wanted and we moved back to California

Had some sad times, but got through it

Went to disneyland 3 times

Spent time with family

Went to a blogger meetup and made some awesome friends

2011 was a great year and I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!

After that unplanned hiatus...

2012-01-01T23:16:00.000-08:00

...I'm back!

Well... Not really, were still not home yet

But I am over here at Olivia's blog talking about my typical NYE so go check it out!

I will say this year wasn't much different except hubs and I went to a very nice dinner and I dressed lulu up like this:

she loved it, obviously

opening up shop

2011-12-11T22:30:00.000-08:00

So I wore this scarf to a lovely christmas get together with some ladies I'm sure you all know!

(hint* Stephanie, Olivia, Kai, Tammy, Kelsey, Hollie)

and when they found out that I made it they told me that I just HAD to open an etsy shop

so I said ok!

(oh! credit to Tammy for coming up with the adorbs name!)

anyway, I have made the shop but haven't added anything to it yet

however I am taking orders right now and I am shipping priority flat rate so if you order quickly you can still get these before christmas!

(and in my opinion they make great gifts!)

right now I just have the scarf, headband/ear warmer with bow, and single bow (could also clip into hair or attach to a headband) seen in these not so great pictures (sorry!)

pricing is $25 for the scarf, $15 for the headband, and $8 for the bow plus shipping (which ever size flat rate box will fit it...I believe it is $5.20 for the small $10.95 for the medium. The scarf and any multiple order will probably need a medium but I will double check :)

If you live in southern California we can meet up and you can avoid paying shipping. If not I will make a reserved listing for you on my shop page.

If you're interested let me know! you can email me at amandasdailyobsessions@yahoo.com or message me on twitter if you prefer

also! these prices may go up by the time I launch the full shop so get 'em while they're hot! lol!

and you can pick any color (that I can find of course!) so It's much more custom than waiting until the shop is open to buy!

Black Friday and other recent shopping

2011-12-06T23:43:00.000-08:00

I know, I know ...another (long) video

love me through it

I need your help!

2011-12-03T17:33:00.000-08:00

So I found a $25 gift card to pottery barn in my undie drawer (I know I'm not the only one who keeps random things there!) and I can't decide what to get!

option 1 or

option 2

they will be monogramed just like that, and the towels are a set of 2

what do you guys think?

2011-12-01T21:30:00.000-08:00

So I was nominated for the Liebster award by both the lovely Ana of And Everything Nice and Olivia of Olivia.Dee

Thanks ladies!

The Liebster Blog Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. Liebster is a German word meaning dear, sweet, kind, nice, good, beloved, lovely, kindly, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Thank you Ivana for the nice award. You're too kind.

So, here are the rules for the award:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.

2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog

3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love, too!

I choose these blogs:

1. Michelle from Life's Little Indulgences

2. Chelsea at Young Love

3. Jillian from Iron and Sunshine

4. Courtney from Since '86

5. Fran from Free Borboleta

I tried to pick people who I didn't remember putting this up before

and again, thank you ladies SO much!

SoCal blogger meetup & giveaway winner!

2011-11-18T10:06:00.000-08:00

Ok so I'm finally posting about the blogger meetup! I'm such a slacker blogger I swear! Always behind!

anywho, so obviously I should be the one person who always has their camera with them, but no, not me. I always seem to forget it when it's most important, always!

(I blame being scatter-brained, or the fact that it didn't fit in my purse...also, this is my excuse for being the last one to blog about it...ya...that's it! ;)

So I had to snag all of the forthcoming pics from the photographer for the event Karina Irene, except for the last one of me and Stephanie, that I snagged from Mandey (Thanks Mandey!)

Mandy also gave everyone some super cute earrings in the goody bags and I love mine! Will post about those later!

So I guess pics first and then i'll talk about it? Ya? ...that's what I thought

So clearly it was so much fun and I, for one, cannot wait for the next one!

The event was hosted by Tammy, Olivia, Stephanie, and Kelsey. I seriously love all four of these ladies to pieces! Such dolls! And since they're all so amazing they obviously put on a terrific event!

It was at Sip by Flavor Del Mar which was gorgeous and so cool! And the little appetizers they provided for us were delicious! I didn't have any of the wine but they had a ton so if you're in the San Diego area and love wine go here! I'm so glad I discovered this place because I love Del Mar! We take Lulu to the doggie beach there all the time, Stephanie and I have met up there twice for lunch, and B and I even went on our honeymoon there! (that's how we discovered it!) It's seriously the cutest little town and I want to live there so badly one day!

Anyway, back to the meetup. We played blogger bingo which was an awesome way to get to know and meet everyone! We also played that baby shower game where you can't say "baby" but this time it was "blog" or "blogger". I always fail miserably at that game cause I don't pay attention at all an this was no exception! (I am, however, amazing at the melted candy poop game...but that's another story)

We had champagne and I had my first ever sprinkles cupcake (vanilla fyi) and it was obviously delicious!

But the best part is all the lovely ladies I got to meet! A couple I "knew" before but I was nice to finally meet them in person as well as meet tons of new girls whose blogs I'm now obsessed with! And it was so cool to have stuff in common with nearly every person I talked to (besides blogging obviously!)

Anyway It was seriously so much fun! If there's ever a blog meetup in your area you should definitely go! (or maybe start your own!) and if you're in southern CA you should for sure come to the next one!

Be sure to go here to check out all of my new bloggy friends' posts about the event!

And the winner of my giveaway is #19 lovely Jillian from Iron and Sunshine! yay!!

Email me your address and I'll get your goodies out to you ;)

amandasdailyobsessions@yahoo.com

Best mascara ever???

2011-11-14T11:03:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I may not have found the best mascara ever,

but I did find the best mascara for me

now let me start off with I've been on the hunt for the perfect mascara for the longest time

what would make my perfect mascara? well, here is my criteria:

big thick pretty lashes

(I'm a fan of volume over length)

preferably drugstore

(This one wasn't a necessity, it would just be ideal. For one, it makes it easy. I can just pick it up when I need it during one of my multi-weekly target trips. And two, while I typically believe it's worth spending the money on higher-end makeup (it's way better in most cases and last much longer so most of the time it's a better deal long term) mascara needs to be thrown out every three months (I have some issues with my eyes so I'm a stickler for this rule) and that can get pricey)

and most importantly, it can't bother my eyes

(I have fairly sensitive eyes and I wear contacts so a lot of mascaras bother me. I've had some mascaras give me itchy eyes and others make my eyes water like crazy. I have found some that I liked and worked for awhile but a lot of them by the end of the day were giving me problems)

in comes (dun dun dunnn...)

Physicians Formula Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Jumbo Lash Mascara

whew...that was a mouthful

anywho, this mascara is AMAZING!!! while I've only used it for 2 days I am loving it!

It doesn't have any of that harsh synthetic chemical junk that I'm sure is what bothers my eyes yet it still works really well and gives me nice, big, thick, luscious lashes. It ranks just as good or really close with some of my all time favorite (expensive) mascaras, and while some of them may be a bit better on the volume I'm gonna go with this one cause I can wear it all day with no problems!

in fact, I even slept in it last night by accident (totally passed out without meaning to!) and felt no irritation this morning! A miracle I tell ya!

I will say it didn't hold the curl in my eyelashes quite as well as most of my favorite mascaras but it wasn't too bad and i was able to re-curl and add another coat without any of that normal icky kinks and clumping. It looked just as good as it did when I put it on that morning!

also the packaging is pretty cheap and tacky looking but overall it's a great product and I would definitely recommend it to someone with sensitive eyes or someone looking for good natural makeup options

oh! btw, my giveaway is still going so be sure to go enter! I'd love to send you these fun/delicious goodies! (and I'll probably throw a few little extras in btw so be sure to enter!)

Happy Veteran's Day!

2011-11-11T09:11:00.000-08:00

Obviously veterans are important to me so I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Veteran's Day!

especially the two veterans in my life:

and in addition to hubs and my daddy there is my grandpa, father-in-law, grandfather-in-law, and (we're pretty sure) great grandfather-in-law (all Navy) (I wish I had all the pics!) as well as countless friends!

Thank you so much! Be sure to go get you're free blommin onion and krispy kreme doughnut (among other things) !!

My first giveaway!!!

2011-11-09T15:01:00.000-08:00

Ok so how to enter:

you must follow my blog and leave a comment on this post :)

extra entries yay!

follow me on twitter and leave a comment on the post saying so

follow my photography blog and leave a comment on the post saying so

I hope you guys like the giveaway! I thought it would be more fun to give away some stuff that you guys probably can't get instead of just a gift card or something (though those are always nice too so maybe next time ;)

Oh! and you have until the 16th at midnight to enter. YAY!

Just jumping in real quick

2011-11-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

to say I'm still alive

and I'll be back soon

and the giveaway is still coming

*pinky swear*

Be back soon...

2011-10-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

I'm at the happiest place on Earth!!!! :D

Things I'm loving lately

2011-10-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

don't mind my weird faces mkay? thanks!

San Diego/SoCal Blogger Meetup
Come!!! I'd love to meet you!

Youtube videos I've been obsessing over:

Missglamorazzi
Amarixe
FleurDeForce

sorry! the scarf wasn't online but there are other cute ones!

So I've postponed the giveaway

2011-10-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

to next week

why??

so I can give away some goodies from...

...DISNEYLAND!!!!

guess what!?!?!

2011-10-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

I totally just realized that I'm going to Disneyland in a week!!!

I mean, I knew we were going on the 29th but I didn't realize it was so late in the month already!

I so excited you guys! not only do I l.o.v.e. Disneyland but I've never seen it at Halloween and

I. can't. wait!

so I thought I'd leave you with some pics of me at Disneyland (meanwhile these are only the trips since 2007 lol)

Oh! and I almost forgot! I somehow managed to get 100 followers! gahh! I can't believe it!

so to thank all you lovely friends of mine I'm going to have a giveaway! probably on monday! yay!

anywho, Disneyland pics:

p.s. those last two were over a year before the very first one even though I'm totally wearing the exact same thing!

Mil Spouse Weekly Roundup #57

2011-10-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

Jillian passed the roundup on to me and I'm so happy to host it this week! If you've never seen the roundup before basically what you do is choose your favorite blog post from this week to link up (one you've already written!) and check out the posts others have linked up! Keep track of the roundup over at Riding the Roller Coaster

So for those of you who don't know me I'm Amanda

I'm 24, was born a raised (basically) in Sacramento, CA. Graduated from Sac State with a degree in photography and I am a photographer, clearly. I am also a housewife or future SAHM cause the photography currently isn't full time ;) and after a brief stint in San Antonio am beyond happy to say I'm currently living in North San Diego County! I love peonies, jcrew, thrifting, and disneyland (if you couldn't tell from the above photo).

I'm also the mommy to a little pug, Lulu...and I'm obsessed with her!

Now on to hubs

My Husband is a Navy Corpsman. He is currently waiting to do his field medic training so he can deploy with Marines. As much as I'm not a huge fan of this I am very proud of him for working really hard in A school so he can get exactly the job he wanted (not to mention in the place we wanted ;) Eventually he wants to get into the nurse officer program (I'm not sure what it's really called) where he can get a nursing degree and then be an officer. In between he plans on going to C school which means we'll be back in San Antonio for a whole year! :/ ...but that's another story

Anyway hubs loves baseball and is a huge Giant's fan. He's actually trying to play baseball for the Navy cause he misses it so much. He also loves beer, animals, and me, obviously ;)

We're your basic High School sweethearts who have been married for a little over a year. We love our life and little family and can't wait to start adding little kiddos to it!

Welp I think that about covers the basics. The next host will be my dear friend Michelle who if you don't know you totally should! Thanks for linking up!

I'm over here today

2011-10-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

I'm over at Bright Wishes today sharing my advice for any future DIY brides and my advice for the newlywed too!

stop on over and say hi!

getting inspired

2011-10-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

So I realized I've been kinda bleh about photography lately

I mean, I love photography. It's my major, profession, and what I truly enjoy doing

It's just that sometimes you just want to live life instead of photographing it, ya know?

and with all this moving and everything that's been happening in our life I haven't been able to do much work (and have gotten super behind in things I was already working on)

I still take pictures here and there for this little blog (though when I look through my previous posts I have actually posted any pictures I have taken in awhile)

but today I was really inspired

I was actually reading some of the archives of this blog (great one to follow btw) and just reading about her finding what she loves doing and working at it inspired me to get back into it

it was just the little kick I needed to get started again

today I started with catching up on some work I need to finish. I still have some more of that to do and then I want to update my website and start getting some more work. I also have a few projects floating around in my head that I'm going to start working on

So if anyone in San Diego or Orange counties is looking to hire a photographer (for christmas cards perhaps?) contact me!

and if any recent (or not so recent) brides (and grooms too!) want to help me out with a little project I'm working on (and get some free awesome pics of you in your dress) let me know :)

oh! and check out this wedding I shot back in San Antonio on the photo blog

(not sure why I never posted this, I put it up on face book awhile ago!)

happenings lately

2011-10-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

I've been sick. Just a little congestion (and therefore cough and sore throat) nothing too bad but I've been trying to take it easy so I can get better asap

Lulu and I had lunch with Stephanie and adorable little Hallie. We were bad bloggers and took no pictures except this one (which I snagged from Stephanie) but we did have the same hairstyle which obviously means we're besties.

oh! and Lulu and Hallie are obsessed with each other, clearly

we went to the beach...like a lot! cause we love it and are obsessed and I think we just can't believe we're really back in CA so we have to go to the ocean to convince ourselves (haha! jk...I just step outside and know I'm in CA and not TX)

and I joined pinterest

and it took over my life

...the end

I HAVE INTERNET!!!!!!

2011-10-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

so I finally have internet in my house again and it feels soooo good!!!!

so expect to see LOTS of me!

oh and ps I got a pintrest account

...I know, I know... BAD idea!

just stopping by...

2011-10-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

so hubs is looking up people to call for cable/internet so i'll be back shortly!!!

pinkie swear!

I have so much to tell you guys and I can't to see what's been going on in your lives!

ps did you know that coffee bean has a military discount?

and that my husband still looks like he's in the military with a hat and scruff?

yes and yes!

(I blame the dog tags though lol!)

Brooke's bloggy bridal shower

2011-09-30T22:00:00.002-07:00

so today's the day!!! Brooke's bloggy bridal shower!!!!!

so I'm really sad that I wasn't able to set up my own little mini shower and photograph it for you guys but my last couple weeks in Texas were crazy and all my stuff is still packed up :(

anyway I planned an awesome bridal shower for Miss Brooke...if I do say so myself...which I do ;)

since I love picnics I went with a vintage girly backyard picnic for the shower.

all via weheartit.com

vintage quilts on the ground, miss matched china, sweet little treats and finger foods, cute vintage decor, some kind of banner, tassels, or lanterns overhead, and everyone would wear their best tea party picnic outfits

it seriously sounds like so much fun I will have to plan one of these in real life!

Congratulations Brookie ;) I'm so happy for you and Mr. Charming!!!

Have a wonderful marriage and happy rest of your lives!

(oh and I slacked and didn't get your present done but it's really cute and coming soon! promise!)

be sure to link up and stop by to "meet" everyone at the bridal shower :)

and be sure to stop over and say hi to our blushing bride!

this and that

2011-09-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

so first of all i want to thank everyone that commented, emailed, or tweeted me about my last post

I know i didn't reply to most of you but you seriously have no idea how much each of your words touched me. words from good friends and total strangers. I read each of them more than once and they truly did help me through it all

although I'm not quite sure if you ever really get over something like that I am glad to say I am happy and hopeful for the future (not to mention SO glad to be back in California!!!)

I can't wait to show you our new place (first we have to move all of our stuff there) and I still have a lot to catch up on from our time in Texas.

oh! dont forget about Brooke's bloggy bridal shower on saturday the 1st! I'll be posting the link-up at midnight pacific time so it'll be up all day for you to add your post! hope to see you there!

real life isn't always happy

2011-09-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

I generally keep it pretty upbeat on this little blog o' mine

it's not that my life is perfect...or that I try to pretend it is,

I'm just generally a happy person. I try to look at the bright side of things instead of dragging myself down in negative things, especially because I know, most of the time, it could be much worse. Also, when things are bad I really don't like to think about it so I'd rather not write it out and have to rehash my feelings.

I wasn't planning on telling you all about this, but honestly I can't think about much else and I'm hoping that if I put it out there I will feel a little better and can get back to thinking (and blogging) about that happy things in my life (like how I'm eating some delicious soup at panera right now...see? a little better already)

please note that this post will be a hot mess of word vomit as I have no intention of reading through it ever again, not even to edit it

so the reason I haven't been blogging is because for the last few weeks I've had one thing consuming my mind and I was just wait for some good news to share with you. Well, on monday I got some news...just not good

this post should be me excitedly telling you all that I am 8 weeks pregnant. I was 8 weeks pregnant. now I have an 8 week along fetus with no heartbeat inside of me.

(wow...this is a bit harder than I thought it would be)

also, this isn't the first time this has happened

now I know that these things happen, that 25% of documented pregnancies are abnormal and end in a miscarriage. I know that we are young and still have lots of time. I know that we haven't even been trying that long. and I know everything happens for a reason

but I feel like something is wrong with me. I feel like what I want most in the world is never going to happen. I feel cheated. I feel like it's not fair that so many people I know who don't want to (and usually should not) get pregnant do. and then I feel awful for resenting them because I truly am happy for them and hope they end up being wonderful mothers and fathers

to have something so precious and then to have it taken away...sometimes it's too much to bear. Honestly all i want to do is sleep and go home. I really am all alone here and I've never really felt it until now. yes, I have brian, but he has responsibilities he can't just not go to class cause I need someone besides lulu to keep me company. I didn't even get to see him all yesterday cause he had duty after class and i found out monday morning and didn't get to tell or see him till the evening...it was awful

and to top it all off they couldn't schedule me for a d&c till monday so we can't come home tuesday like we planned

well...I don't really feel better, but I do feel a little release and I know better and happy will come

*disclaimer* I'm obviously highly emotional and still very hormonal so I sincerely hope I didn't offend or upset anybody. I can't help the way I feel even when I know what I feel is wrong. so if I did upset you, I truly am sorry, that wasn't my intent

ten years...

2011-09-11T06:44:00.001-07:00

so I'm not gonna write some big long post because I'm sure there are lots of great ones out there

I will say that you shouldn't listen to this song unless you want to bawl your eyes out

...it is good though

also, I can't believe it's been 10 years since I was a freshman in high school...wow

just stopping in real quick

2011-09-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

to do a little update

but lets be honest, it may not be quick

and i may ramble

...a lot

it's pretty late...these things happen

(oh and btw i only have internet momentarily)

anywho, so i've been crazy busy and oh em gee were moving in like a week!!!

crazy!

i feel like i need to start packing but i only brought necessities so if i pack then we wont have things we need

also, how did i manage to get 81 followers when i haven't blogged like at all???

i mean, i know some of them came from this pretty lady and this pretty lady but quite a few were there before...strange

but anyway i'll be back soon so as not to disappoint ;)

and i'll check out all of your lovely blogs as soon as i have regular internet lol

oh! and be sure to participate in the bloggy bridal shower i'm throwing for little miss brooke! and if you want to send her a little pressy-pres (i'm gonna make her a cute little something ;) be sure to email me soon so you can get it to her in time for her to open in at the shower :)

oh! and i may have found the perfect place to live in oceanside so *fingers crossed* it all works out

also, when did it become september??? i'm actually totally ready for fall this year

yay for tights!!!

normally i dread the end of summer but this time i'm so ready!

(not like it feels anything like fall here...i'm still in texas after all lol)

anywho i have much more to say but those will be other posts for other times

also, sorry if this post is a hot mess...it's late and i don't feel like editing it haha!

moving news!!!

2011-08-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

so hubs finally got his orders and we're going back to california!!!!

we're very excited! hubs got exactly the job he wanted in the place we wanted which I, for one, was super shocked even happened but luckily he's been working his booty off and is 7th in his class

anyway we'll be in north san diego county in like a month!

I. cant. wait!

*ps I have tons to update on (since I haven't blogged in eons, clearly) but all that will be coming soon! promise!

a few comments on a comment

2011-08-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

so I got a comment on my 2nd texas tidbits post that wasn't exactly mean by any means, mostly I just felt like the commenter was misunderstanding where I was coming from. normally I would just address this person directly but

1. they don't have a google account

and 2. I thought other people could be misunderstanding me too, so I thought I'd explain

first off here's the comment:

"First of all, Austin is the shit! You must visit Austin to keep your sanity. San Antonio drivers are the rudest in TX and California's drivers are WAY worse than them! Seriously. And what's so wrong with state pride? If your state was the best shape, you'd sport it to. Haha & lastly, we are the friendliest, most genuine people you will ever meet. Open your mind and give Texans a chance. It could be worse, you could live in Houston! Haha"

so first of all I never said any of the observations were bad (except the driving...the driving is bad!)

these are simply observations of things that are different

and I may use the words "weird" or "hilarious" but to me those aren't necessarily bad things...they are just so completely different than what I'm used to in CA

to say I have a closed mind is utterly ridiculous! I have a completely open mind about the situation. I never once said I didn't like texas i moved here willingly and happily (granted it was cause hubs is here...but what I mean is I didn't dread moving here or anything...except for the packing and driving...obviously) , in fact, I wouldn't mind staying here for a while if that was in the cards, but it's not

and if you clicked on the little label and read my first texas tidbits post you would see that I said they were the nicest people I've ever met, and actually in the second post I said how could people be so nice in person and so rude on the road? I gave full credit to their niceness thankyouverymuch

and yes, they are the worst/rudest driver I have ever encountered...trust me, I have driven all over california and the only place scarier is san francisco. but that's because of the hills and people drive REALLY fast...but they still know how to drive

like I said, the people here either don't know how to drive or would actually like to get into an accident...like I have legitimate reason to fear being in an accident every. single. day.

...this isn't just me being paranoid...which, no lie, I am...a lot. no! this is some driver doing something to cause me to have to hit my brakes, swerve over, or seriously think that they will hit me

anyway, clearly my "texas tidbits" are more "san antonio tidbits" cause thats the only place I've been besides el paso (it was night and we drove straight through) and the middle of nowhere nothingness that is in between the two, but obviously texas tidbits sounds much cooler. maybe the drivers in every other part of texas aren't horrendous...who knows? I sure don't

also some of my observations are not solely about texas...you have to remember, I was born and raised in california and most of my experiences have been there. yes I have traveled to other states/countries but you really don't get to experience what it's like to actually live in those places when you're only there a short time. some things I am experiencing are the south in general, some are just states outside of california

I'm just documenting the things I discover that are different (good, bad, or otherwise) from what I'm used to and if someone moved from TX to CA I would expect them to find some things strange (well, I might not have before...but I would now lol!)

I know most of you think the tidbits are funny (including some readers from texas)...and thats exactly what they are supposed to be! I never meant for it to seem like I'm putting texas down (except the driving...it really is that bad lol!) cause I really do like it here! it's fun, it's interesting, and it's an adventure...it's just not california

and no matter where we move california will always be my home

good, bad, or otherwise :)

the sate fair: a tradition

2011-08-06T06:07:00.001-07:00

so as evidenced above it has clearly been a tradition for many years for hubs and I to go to the state fair and take some picy-pics in the photo booth

only this year we were in texas when the california state fair was happening

(which is lame cause my mom informed me the other day was armed forces day and we could've gone for free...which, by the way, would be awesome)

anywho, luckily hubs will be done with A school right around the time the texas sate fair starts which is great cause 1. it is in Dallas which is FAR out of his 80 mil radius hes allowed to go and 2. we can head up their "on our way" home for his leave

...ok, it's not exactly "on the way" but we can make a little detour

anyway, point being we will be able to (praise the lord) continue the tradition for at least this year

god only knows what struggles the coming years will bring, but if it's at all possible to get one of these legit photo booth pics you know I'll make it happen

rumors: a book review

2011-08-05T06:58:00.000-07:00

the amazon review:

After bidding good-bye to New York's brightest star, Elizabeth Holland, rumors continue to fly about her untimely demise.

All eyes are on those closest to the dearly departed: her mischievous sister, Diana, now the family's only hope for redemption; New York's most notorious cad, Henry Schoon-maker, the flame Elizabeth never extinguished; the seductive Penelope Hayes, poised to claim all that her best friend left behind—including Henry; even Elizabeth's scheming former maid, Lina Broud, who discovers that while money matters and breeding counts, gossip is the new currency.

As old friends become rivals, Manhattan's most dazzling socialites find their futures threatened by whispers from the past. In this delicious sequel to The Luxe, nothing is more dangerous than a scandal . . . or more precious than a secret.

so I just realized I never review the second book in the luxe series that I read while hubs was at bootcamp

so this book was…ok?

I mean, most of the book was good but (though quite frustrating) the end was awful! I’m all for twists and turns as long as things end weel and I really don’t see how they can fix it in the final book. that’s really all I can say without giving it away. I’ll still probably read the final one when I get the chance but as of right now I’m not happy which is sad cause I loved the first one

so i have this locket...

2011-08-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

that hubby got for me for my birthday/valentine's day one year (long before he was hubby)

and currently it has a pick of hubs playing baseball in high school and the two of us at my senior ball but I'm thinking about changing it to either this:

or this:

either way when we have kiddos i'll change the non wedding pic

what do you think?

the puggie's new clothes

2011-08-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

ok so I'm not normally one to dress up my dog (though I have been known to make her a tutu) but when we saw this little number at walmart I couldn't resist! (especially when a friend decided to buy it as a gift...how could I say no?) I mean, it says xox lulu for crying out loud!

and of course she looks so darn cute in it!

scrumminess

2011-08-02T06:55:00.001-07:00

i made this meal the other day

pan grilled chicken

corn on the cob

and fried okra

no recipe required,,,season and grill the chicken in butter, boil corn, and coat okra in cornmeal and fry in oil...voila! amazingness!

some decor

2011-08-01T06:35:00.000-07:00

so since i packed up and moved only the necessities that would fit in my car that didn't leave room for many pretties but I did manage to cram a few in

so I thought I'd show you the little bit of decor...aka the only thing that brings me happiness...in our apartment

life would be so sad without these bits n' pieces above the mantel

christmas in july

2011-07-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

why? cause I found these vintage goodies at the thrift store and had to get them!

and to answer your questions:

yes, I'm already thinking about christmas...I can't help it, it's a disease

and yes I did make sure to post this today so I could use that title...just keepin' it real

lulu update

2011-07-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

so I just realized that I haven't posted any pictures of lulu recently and I swear I'm just as obsessed as ever so I thought I'd post a couple so y'all can see what a rollie pollie she's become

*did I really just say y'all?? ...i need to get back to california asap!

isn't she just the cutest?

she has my ♥

texas tidbits: month one

2011-07-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

taco cabana is yummy fast mexican food, open 24 hours, and has scrummy margaritas! what more could you ask for really!

Grocery stores don’t sell liquor which is beyond lame, but you know what’s even more lame??? Liquor store are open from like 8am-9pm most days and CLOSED on Sundays!!! I mean really??? And it’s not like I’m a boozer or anything, even a mormon friend of mine thought that was crazy!

The people here are seriously the worst/rudest drivers I’ve ever encountered in my life and I’m from California for crying out loud! How people can be so nice in person ans so rude on the road is beyond me

Seriously though, it’s like everyone wants to get in an accident

The Alamo is smaller then I expected…though I’ve only seen the outside

The riverwalk is really cool but so hard to find cause is curves all through downtown and is a level below street level so you can’t see it while driving. We drove around forever looking for it until we finally just parked and started walking

Seriously almost every business logo, advertisement, freeway overpass, everything has either some version of the texas flag or the actual state of texas on it…it’s pretty hilarious

I’ve only seen one hippie

I’m pretty sure H-E-B is the only grocery store here

at the movie theater they have those big plastic barrels of giant pickles that you can get at the fair

Mall cops wear park ranger looking hats…no lie

im baaaaackkk!!! (aka the most random post ever!)

2011-07-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

well i still don't have internet (and it's not looking like i'll get any until october...stupid 1 year contracts) and i'm still feeling a little blah about blogging, in fact i'm feeling a little blah about online-social-anything-in-general lol

seriously though, brooke tweeted that she missed me and michelle commented on my facebook yesterday asking if i was alive cause i hadn't been on either much in a few days

i'm not sure what my deal is cause i've been in a fantastic mood and have been having so much fun i just haven't felt like documenting it i guess which is highly unusual for me haha!

but anyway to get out of this funk i'm just going to (drink lots of starbucks and) push myself to blog through it!

speaking of starbucks the lady didn't hear me say "vanilla" when i said "iced grande vanilla soy latte" and after drinking half of it before realizing why it wasn't sweet at all and went back up and was just gonna ask for a bit of vanilla syrup and instead she made me a venti on the house...win!

in other news the style posts are back cause we finally started going to chapel service on sundays

it only took us so long to start going cause i was waiting on hubs to figure out when/where to go and finally on saturday i just googled "fort sam houston chapel services" and bam! a whole list of services popped up

lesson learned: don't ask hubs to find things out...i'm still waiting on him to find out if i can go to the new gym and where it is/ what times it's open :/

anywhooo...this is what i wore to church on sunday:

i'm totally in love with this outfit and this skirt and belt are my two favorite new thrifting finds!

next week i'll show you how i made this belt out of two different thrifted belts :)

i know i know...you're on the edge of your seat in anticipation!

and to end the most random post of all time i recommend netflix-ing/redbox-ing these movies:

country strong

no strings attached

beastly

red riding hood

the lincoln lawyer

rango

why? you ask...cause thats exactly what i did these past few weeks...and it was awesome

anyway i'm gonna leave you with that before this post gets even more ridiculous

oh wait! r.i.p. peanut :(

ok...this post really cant get any stranger, if you're still reading this you must really love me/ are really bored...but i'm going to assume the former, it makes me feel better about life ha!

blah...

2011-07-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

so i've been kind of blah about blogging lately

not sure what it is. maybe the lack of internet or that i haven't been able to read all of your blogs and get inspired, or maybe i've just been busy...

funny thing is i actually have stuff i want to write about, just when it comes to it i never feel like actually writing it

hoping to kick this funk soon, until then...

♥

lovebirds shoot

2011-07-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

head on over to my photography blog to check our more of this lovebirds shoot i did of my little sis and her boyfriend :)

4th of july

2011-07-07T06:29:00.001-07:00

so 4th of july was slightly lame cause there were no fireworks :(

like zero, we weren't allowed to light any cause of the drought and we couldn't go see any of the professional ones cause the boys had to be back on base at 9

but it's cool though cause we had a few of our friends over for bbq, swimming, and guitar hero :)

enjoy!

hopefully you all had a fun fourth filled with family, friends, food

...and for your sake, hopefully some fireworks

still at starbucks...

2011-07-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

and i won't have my own internet for at least a week

boo.

i have so much to catch up on and i swear i will soon

i've been surprisingly busy for someone who doesn't work lol!

happy 4th!

2011-07-04T06:47:00.000-07:00

i hope you all have a happy 4th of july!!!

i'm spending the day pool side with hubby and his friends :) and since we all know how much men like to bbq=no cooking for me :)

boot camp graduation

2011-07-02T06:46:00.000-07:00

so i finally asked my father-in-law to send me the pics from brian's graduation

so i got there 2 hours before the ceremony even started and then had to sit through an hour and a half ceremony while i was staring at the husband i hadn't seen for 2 months... needless to say i was anxious!

in fact the night before i could stand the fact that i was literally across the street from him and i could not go see him...it was agonizing! plus i was like a little kid on christmas and got like 2 hours of sleep cause i was far too excited!

anyway, as soon as they called for liberty i RAN to him

...well ran into a mass of sailors ...and then couldn't find him, but i did, don't you worry

and i leaped into his arms and didn't let go...it was the best feeling ever!

so anyway, without further ado:

finally in my sailor's arms! ♥

and my favorite picture ever:

love ♥

family portrait

2011-07-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

we're missing sassy but i love it still!!!

my chicago weekend via blackberry

2011-06-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

just popping in real quick you let you know about my weekend in chicago

i'll post more about the graduation when i get the pics from my father-in-law

bags packed ready to go!

about to take off!

the super cute hangers at the navy gateway inn and suites! oh my gosh! and can i just say comfiest bed ever! seriously though it was like sleeping on a cloud

hubs in in there somewhere! you have no idea how excited i was to see him! (and how hard it was to sit there for an hour and a half and not just run up and give him a hug)

at this ice cream place in great lakes...i was NOT playing lol!

at the airport waiting to send my sailor off to TX! ...at 3 am

ma sent me this...i missed my little punkin!

so when i made my flight/hotel reservations i wasn't sure when hubs was leaving and i wasn't planning on moving to texas then so i wanted to make sure i didn't leave before him so i could give him his phone (you had to do it at the airport) so he left at like 6am saturday morning and my flight wasn't until 10pm sunday night

luckily one of my best friend's boyfriends is in the navy and is stationed at great lakes!

this is them...aren't they cute!? (yes i stole this off facebook lol!)

we'll anyway he was super nice cause i had met him only once before (for like 2 mins) and he entertained me all saturday and sunday!

we went to a white sox game, for free! (technically i wasn't supposed to be free, only active duty military, but we said military tickets and showed my ID and i think the lady felt bad for us lol!)

on sunday we ate breakfast at this totally scrummy place in this cute little town (sorry i scarfed it down before i got any pics) then went for a walk through the town and on this little nature trail waiting for the train to get there

a heart shaped planter in the town

my fav house we saw...actually there was a better one but there were people there so i didn't take a pic cause that would be awk-ward!

me in front of this decorative gun thingy on base...he told me what it was a million times but i don't remember lol!

this awesome dinosaur skeleton statue at o'hare airport

the only pizza i had in chicago...at the airport lol!

and a funny convo with my taxi driver:

driver: they have a six flags in california?

me: ya, there's two

driver: no shit!?

me: yep, one in LA and one in the bay area

driver: so that (the six flags there) wasn't exciting for you?

me: oh no, there's lots of theme parks in california

driver: damn! they open year round?

me: uh...they sure are...

lol!

anniversary

2011-06-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

so if you didn't notice our 1 year anniversary was on sunday ♥

so i picked up hubs in the morning and we went to starbucks to use the internet...again lol!

then we took lulu to brackenridge park which was probably the coolest park i've ever seen! we tried to find the dog park there but it was too big!

then we had lunch at cracker barrel and it was amazing! but i will probably eat there for dinner from now on...too much food for the middle of the day!

then we were in a food coma so we took a nap lol!

then we went the the riverwalk which was really cool and we took this picture ♥

we ate dinner at this place called iron cactus and it was super scrummy mexican food!

and they automatically gave us a discount cause hubs was in his uniform :)

and some little girls told him thank you...how cute!

so so glad i married this man a year ago!

and what a difference a year can make! i feel like we live a completely different life than we did when we got married

and i ♥ it!

my saturday

2011-06-28T06:35:00.001-07:00

so this past saturday was the first full day i got to spend with hubs ♥

it was amazing of course

we started off the day at starbucks so we could use the internet

(why do i have a feeling we'll never get internet setup so we can use it as an excuse to get starbs?? ...jk we're just waiting till payday...i hope lol!)

then we met up with some of hubby's friends at the mall

i couldn't find hub's sun glasses when i was packing (and he wanted some better ones anyway) and when we went into sunglass hut (just to look...you know how that goes) the sales lady informed him that they normally don't have a military discount but were currently having a 20% discount for mall employees that they would give to military too (that uniform sure does come in handy!)

so anyway he obviously couldn't pass that up lol! but that's ok cause he got me these babies!

i was super tired for some reason and hubs and i took a little nap (or so i thought) and i woke up to find hubs cleaning! i tried to get him to stop and told him i'd do it later when he was in class but he wouldn't stop! he kept saying "it's supposed to be clean" and "this is what i do" lol! i'm surprised he didn't tell me we had gear adrift and were going to get a hit

anywho gotta love that navy training :)

then i made our favorite dinner: linguine with clam sauce :)

and because 1. we don't have a table or chairs and 2. i thought it would be fun, we had an indoor picnic

it was basically an awesome day only thing that would've been better would be to not have to take hubs back to the barracks at night

ahh...soon :)

texas tidbits: week one

2011-06-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

so i've decided to periodically post my observations about texas (good and bad)

from now on though it probably won't be weekly, maybe monthly...if i remember lol!

anywho...

the streets here are cuh-razy!!! they curve and come/change out of nowhere! and freeway entrances are way bizarre! and you can't read the street sigh until you get right at the intersection! my GPS is my best friend for sure!

whataburger is neither amazing nor like in-n-out (course i personally don't think in-n-out is all that amazing either)

i could eat jimmy johns every day and never get tired of it!!!

blue bell ice cream is the best ever! seriously so amazing!

humidity is the devil. end of story.

the freeway access roads make it so nice to get out of freeway traffic and still get to where you're going

the thrift stores are bigger...but grimier...but slightly cheaper

and finally, the people are seriously SO nice! i've had better conversations with perfect strangers here than some people i've known for years in cali

HAPPY 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!!

2011-06-26T08:52:00.000-07:00

to the love of my life, best friend, and future father of my children!

you mean more to me than i could ever say

one year ago today i became mrs. brian kringle and it was by far the best day of my life!

♥

still no internet

2011-06-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

so ya...i've been slackin on getting internet setup so i've been spending quite i bit of money at starbucks

we did however purchase a mattress for me yesterday which should be delivered tomorrow so no more sleeping on a camping pad! yay!

and i'm hoping to pick up a couch off craigslist today so i'll finally have a place to sit besides the floor! lol!

well i have a million blogs to catch up on but i swear i will soon!

also, i swear i'll have a real blog post soon too!

and did you check out my guest post over at life's little indulgences??

if not, you should!

kthanksbye

greetings from texas

2011-06-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

so this is not my picture...it was dark when i saw this

...which by the way was 9 whole hours before i got to san antonio, that's like driving from sacramento to mexico

...except with nothing in between, you know instead of a whole state worth of towns and cities

anywho i'm here, i'm safe and i'm with my husband (well...in the same city as him lol!)

i'm sleeping on a camping pad and have no furniture or cable or internet but i do have a brand spankin new (and totally necessary) gps

i'll post more of my texas discoveries and revelations soon but i have to go home and let lulu out of the crate

oh! and incase i don't make it to a starbucks tomorrow be sure to check out my guest post at michelle's blog!

guest blogger: michelle from life's little indulgences!

2011-06-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

my next guest poster is acutally a close personal friend of mine, michelle (yes, in real life haha!)
she is an army wife who is aslo married to her high school sweetheart and she's such a genuinely nice person!

enjoy her adive for military spouses and be sure to check out her page!

oh! and don't you just love this pic from her wedding? i may be biased though :)

I am so honored to be guest blogging here on Amanda's page! What a talented woman she is!

My husband and I. Our first dance as a married couple.

12.19.2010

The advice I am going to give is only through experience and a lot of these, I wish someone had told me before I started my military adventure. It would have made things MUCH easier. Not all of it is the most upbeat, but it is completely honest. I was given some of the little pieces below when we started our military life as a couple through friends and family with previous military experience and some of the pieces of advice below are ones I have learned all on my own.

1. Learn military time. There is no escaping it.
2. Never believe anything the military says, unless it's happening.
3. Never take second hand information as the final answer. Always do your own research and contact DOD offices directly.
4. The commissary has the best prices. Always. And they accept coupons.
5. Use EVERY single resource you can find. They are there for a reason.
6. Always, always, always drive the speed limit on post/base. If it says 30 MPH you better drive 30 MPH.
7. Have a close group of friends who are military wives. More than 4 and gossip usually becomes the root of your relationships.
8. Before deployments, ask the hard questions about their funeral wishes. The conversation may be very difficult but if something does happen, at least you'll know what your partner would want.
9. Have copies of everything and as many power of attorneys as you can get your hands on.
10. Take pictures of everything before deployment, those pictures will mean so much when they are gone.
11. The military is your husband's mistress or your wife's secret lover. They will always get more attention.
12. Always ask companies if they offer military discounts. Most cellular companies give 15% off your monthly bill and most sporting good stores do as well.
13. We all know that military pay isn't the most luxurious paycheck so manage your money well and stay within your means. Leaving the military with no dept is a huge success.
14. The best hidden secret about the military is you can fly military planes for free or next to nothing. Hello trip to Hawaii.
15. Even after basic training, write your spouse little love letters.

I hope you all enjoyed my little list and please, add a comment below if you have some more advice to give that I did not include. The more advice for others, the easier this journey gets. Have a great Monday everyone and enjoy the week.

I thought my guest blog would feature some advice I have for other military spouses and a little bit of advice towards gearing up for deployments.

My husband and I have been married two weeks shy of six months and are in the beginning weeks of our first deployment. My husband is an infantryman in the Army and is currently deployed to Afghanistan. We are stationed in Fort Carson, CO. You can find my own blog over at Life's Little Indulgences.

guest blogger: brooke from bright wishes!

2011-06-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

so i'm sure you all know that i'm moving to texas this weekend (how could you not? it's all i talk about!)

so anyway i thought it would be fun to have a couple of my fav military spouse/ future spouse bloggers on here to let you all (and me) know a little bit about this military life i'm about to start

first up we have brooke who's fiance is in the navy just like brian :)

enjoy her post and be sure to check out her amazing page!

Hello! I'm Brooke from Bright Wishes and I am SO glad that Amanda asked me to guest post. She's in the middle of moving and starting her new life with her husband as a military wife :) I am a military fiance - soon to be wife and I love mostly everything about it. My fiance has only been in the military for close to a year so I don't have as much experience as other wives. We haven't gone through a deployment and hopefully won't but being part of the military world is a whole new experience. It's wonderful and painful all at the same time.

Of course the worst part of your significant other being in the military is being away from one another. It's not the same as if you were in a "regular" long distance relationship. You can't just pack up your bags and see them whenever you want especially if you're not married. Most of the time they are away for months or years. Of course when I talk about this not every family is the same so I am only speaking from my experience. In the past year I've seen my fiance for all of approximately 24 days and parts of those spent crying because you don't want to leave or want them to leave. I can't stand when people talk about their husband/girlfriend/fiance/wife being away for a whole week or the weekend. I think they should be thankful that they get to see each other mostly everyday.

The great part about my fiance being in the military is of how proud I am of him. For someone to want to join the military to help others while bettering their own life is just amazing. They go through so much on a daily basis. That moment you see at boot camp graduation when all the soldiers or sailors come marching out and you see him transformed, you get the biggest feeling of pride and a realization that your life is just starting. The benefits are also a good part and also making so many great friends in real life and the blogging world. We all tend to stick together because no one really knows what it's like until you are in that situation.

Thanks Amanda for having me :)

my handsome sailor

2011-06-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

gahh! i love this man!

i have so much to post about from my weekend in chicago but right now i have to pack like crazy!

be back soon :)

what i will be doing today...

2011-06-10T07:43:00.000-07:00

i can't wait!

military wives club

2011-06-08T22:21:00.000-07:00

two of my sorority sisters came over on monday

one of them, erin, i actually didn't really know (she joined the semester after i went alum) and the other was my good friend michelle

these two alpha chis are also military wives. both of their husbands are in the army.

it was so great to get together with these lovely women and talk about everything we're going through and about to go through. we're all at different stages of this journey.

erin is at the beginning of boot camp

i'm almost through that

and michelle is at the beginning of a long deployment

we live in different places, have different circumstances, and our husbands are all doing different things

but we are all without them and we miss them

it has been so amazing to find so many women in this situation in my real life as well as through blogging, facebook, and twitter

it really is true that only another military wife can know what you're going through

i am so thankful for all of these friendships i have made as well as all of the sorority sisters i have (even those i have yet to meet) it is so great to have a common bond (whether military, sorority or both) to bring so many different people together

it's official!

2011-06-07T00:29:00.000-07:00

i am married to a united states sailor!

brian passed his battlestations friday morning and i got a one hour call that afternoon!

i'm so proud of him and can't wait to see him on friday!

i'm drowning

2011-06-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

in cardboard boxes

and bubble wrap

and clutter

anyone wanna come help me?

kthanksbye

it's june!

2011-06-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

i have so many exciting things planned for june!

first off i'll finally get to see my hubby!

then i'm moving to texas so i can see him all the time!

and finally we're celebrating our first anniversary this month!!! gahh! i can't believe we've been married a whole year almost!

i have some exciting things coming on the blog this month too

i'll be taking you on all of these adventures as well as having some guest bloggers for the first time (though i haven't actually asked them yet so we'll see how that works out lol!)

i also have a ton of photography work that i need to edit and put on the photo blog so thay'll be coming too

so stay tuned!

on this memorial day

2011-05-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

so i have to say that today is the first year i've ever really thought about what this day really means

as a kid it was a warm day off of school that consisted of bbqs and possibly swimming

i knew it had something to do with the military but most of the time i would confuse memorial day and veterans day and could never remember which was which

as i got older i just never really thought about it. i didn't know many people who had been in the military and the ones close to me who had were out of the service long before i was even born

this year it hit much closer to home

because i never want to have to spend a memorial day remembering

my husband's best friend,

one of my best friend's boyfriend,

my sorority sister's husband,

a girl i work with's father

a girl i used to work with,

the husband's of many wonderful friends i've met through blogging, twitter, and facebook,

the friends my husband has made at boot camp,

and the many more people we will undoubtedly meet and grow close to in the coming years,

and mostly, my husband

just thinking about it makes me cry

i pray that this day will never hit closer to home then is does now, but at the same time i know that there are many people out there experiencing all of those above loses, so i pray for them too

and hope that one day no one else will have to suffer with the loss of their loved one on this day or any other

i've seen the signs a million times but i've never so perfectly understood that the freedoms we have, cherish, and often take for granted truly are not free

thank you to all those who have served and continue to serve our country, and happy memorial day!

it does seem a little strange now to say happy memorial day, but i suppose you should be happy. this day shows us that time is valuable and possibly short so we should make the most of it

and i plan on doing that by writing a long letter to my husband, snuggling with my dog far to much and spending time with family and friends...at a bbq :)

who knew?

2011-05-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

who knew packing up your entire home would be so much work!

and so time consuming!

i mean, i have almost three weeks and i don't see how i'll ever get it done

i swear i'll be back soon!

i'm here without you

2011-05-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

totally forgot about this song until i heard it recently while watching these awful (ok they're good but they make me blubber like a baby!) military videos on youtube and it's seriously the story of my life right now!

i think about you baby, and i dream about you all time <3

ballerina sunday

2011-05-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

so since this skirt has layers of tulle...

and i decided to be nice on my feet and wear ballet flats...

i figured i might as well go all out and rock the ballerina bun.

i swear it looked much less awkward in person

some birthday crafting

2011-05-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

so now that hallie's birthday has already past and her and stehpanie have already seen the gift i sent them i can post about it.

i've been wanting to get crafty lately but had nothing to make so hallie's birthday gave me the perfect excuse :)

and since stephanie is decorating her room i thought i'd paint a little h for her to hang on her wall

and since they're so easy and i love making them a also made her a tutu to match her new room

cause really, there's only so many tutus you can make for your dog before it's just sad

so i'm moving to texas?

2011-05-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

so even though it's going to be a pain in the patootie

and even though we decided against it

i'm moving to texas for the 4 months that hubs is in a school

you see... hubby changed his mind and decided he wanted to see me every weekend

so it's either a $400 plane ticket every week or move

oh! and why the question mark?

did i mention i have a month to figure this out and move all by myself

so we'll see if i can really handle it

in other news lulu tried to climb up the wall today...i don't think she realizes she's a pug

wednesday wishes

2011-05-18T01:05:00.000-07:00

the first one is the same as brooke's

one. for time to speed up till i see hubs again (and then slow down that whole day)

two. a call from brian

three. for the rain to go away and it to feel like may

four. a sketch like this from our wedding

five. for the laundry to magically do itself

be sure to check out the other wishes

so i've hardly touched the computer in days

2011-05-17T00:44:00.000-07:00

and heres what's to blame:

well, actually it started with thursday, you see thursday is mail day round these parts

(round these parts? where am i from lol!)

anyway i happily skipped to the mailbox bright and early thursday morning

(ok it was 9:15, that's early for me)

waited for the mailman to finish, opened my box to find...

...nothing.

that's right, nothing.

my heart sank. mail comes every thursday

this is practically the only communication i have with my husband, i look forward to thursday all week

and there. was. nothing.

there was nothing friday

there was nothing saturday

and of course there was nothing sunday (i didn't check... thought about it though)

suffice to say i've been in a pretty mopey mood these last few days so that combined with my recent obsession with army wives on netflix i've avoided getting off the couch as much as possible

don't fret though, the heavens shined down and i got two sets of letters today

it seems hubs was so excited to send his letter last sunday that he rushed it out without putting our address on it. luckily he can now send letters out on wednesdays as well so i got both sets today

i may have cried when i saw them in the box

but i'll never tell :)

please ignore my disheveled hair

2011-05-10T22:01:00.000-07:00

this was after i took a 3hr nap

...i know ridiculous!

i wasn't in the mood for the normal wedges i wear to church so i want with my saltwater sandals

do you remember those? you probably had some when you were like...five

(yes my roots are atrocious!)

oh, and i had to weasel my sister into taking these pics since hubby's gone

she gripes and moans about it but i think she does a pretty good job

guess what???

2011-05-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

exactly one month from now i will see the love of my life again!!!

(one month ago...aka last time i saw him)

and he will be in his dress whites i just can't wait!

this is snuggles

2011-05-09T14:23:00.000-07:00

B got him for me on our very first christmas dating...in 2002!

the best part about snuggles is that when you squeeze his hand you can hear hubby's voice!

it used to say "merry christmas amanda" but i pushed it so many times the first quarter i was away at college (not to mention the amount of times i squeezed it the 2 1/2 years prior) that it stopped working

so we took it in to get a new one!

this is also when we got the hat and glove so he could look like hubby in this picture (also why the glove is wonky on his hand):

(sorry for the crappy photo i don't have a scanner and took this with my phone)

considering the amount of times i've squeezed snuggles hand today alone i have a feeling we might have to get another one by the time brian comes home.

happy mother's day mommy!

2011-05-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

i ♥ you!

AND this is the first year i have two mothers to wish happy mothers day to cause i have my mother-in-law

and she's basically the best mother-in-law ever...we don't have any crazy in-laws here on either side praise the lord!

and happy mothers day to all the other mommys out there!

take a look, it's in a book

2011-05-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

I've been doing quite a bit of reading since B's been gone. mostly just at night though.

you see i have this problem when it comes to books, either i am so interested in them that i don't put them down until i'm done or i am not interested enough to pick them back up. so i try to only read before bed that way i'll fall asleep and not spend the whole day reading.

my taste in books varies greatly. i love historical fiction, classics, young adult, and anything with a good love story (or a good any story for that matter)

i would have to say my all time favorite books are

water for elephants

the time travelers wife

a tree grows in brooklyn

and catcher in the rye

i also love teenage girl books, especially series

anywho, i can't remember where i picked this book up but sometimes i just see random books and find them interesting. this book is by the same person who wrote 101 Dalmatians.

heres the amazon review:

Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain wants to become a writer. Trouble is, she's the daughter of a once-famous author with a severe case of writer's block. Her family--beautiful sister Rose, brooding father James, ethereal stepmother Topaz--is barely scraping by in a crumbling English castle they leased when times were good. Now there's very little furniture, hardly any food, and just a few pages of notebook paper left to write on. Bravely making the best of things, Cassandra gets hold of a journal and begins her literary apprenticeship by refusing to face the facts. She writes, "I have just remarked to Rose that our situation is really rather romantic, two girls in this strange and lonely house. She replied that she saw nothing romantic about being shut up in a crumbling ruin surrounded by a sea of mud."

Rose longs for suitors and new tea dresses while Cassandra scorns romance: "I know all about the facts of life. And I don't think much of them." But romantic isolation comes to an end both for the family and for Cassandra's heart when the wealthy, adventurous Cotton family takes over the nearby estate. Cassandra is a witty, pensive, observant heroine, just the right voice for chronicling the perilous cusp of adulthood. Some people have compared I Capture the Castle to the novels of Jane Austen, and it's just as well-plotted and witty. But the Mortmains are more bohemian--as much like the Addams Family as like any of Austen's characters. Dodie Smith, author of 101 Dalmations, wrote this novel in 1948. And though the story is set in the 1930s, it still feels fresh, and well deserves its reputation as a modern classic. --Maria Dolan

it was really good, slow but interesting at first but toward the end i had trouble putting it down.

(in fact i broke my rule and rest the last few chapters during the day cause i couldn't wait)

i definitely recommend it!

the next book i started was the first in the luxe series

i bought the first two books a few years ago and never got around to reading them

here's the amazon review:

With a quote from The Age of Innocence as an epigraph and an enthusiastic blurb from the creator of Gossip Girl on its back cover, this lavishly produced debut makes no secret of its twin influences. The story opens in 1899 with the funeral of Elizabeth Holland, a well-bred beauty said to have plunged to her death in the Hudson River. The narrative then travels back several weeks, tracing the relationships and events that have led to the somber assembly. This tangled web includes not one but two sets of star-crossed lovers; an upstairs/downstairs romance; a scheming social climber; a bitter servant girl; and oodles of money, all set in a Edith Wharton via Hollywood vision of Old New York. The dialogue has its clunky moments, and the plot twist that drives the tale is telegraphed from the very start, but readers caught up in the fancy dress intrigue are unlikely to mind much: it’s all part of the dishy fun. Needless to say, the ending paves the way for at least one sequel.

i loved this book! it was like gossip girl set in 1899 and i definitely read all of the gossip girl books!

i love books that are set in a different time period cause it is like entering into a different world, yet it was still relatable.

a definite must read! i'm already on the second one and after i finish this series i'm going to pick up her new book set in the 20's

if anyone has any book recommendations send them my way!

afternoon at target

2011-05-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

so what was supposed to be a quick trip to target to get some cat and dog food turned into a 30 minute leisurely stroll around the whole store

why? you ask...

well see i went in, got my cart, got the pet food, and was just about to head to checkout when...

rinnnnnnggg...i look down and hubby is calling me!!!
(actually my phone doesn't sound like rinnnnngg, it sounds like this)

and since it was too hot to go sit out in the car, and i still needed to buy that cat and dog food, i just wandered around target for 30 mins while i talked to my husband

normally thins would have been really bad as i would've bought lots of things i shouldn't, but luckily i was quite engrossed in the conversation i was having :)

right after he had to say goodbye i did see this:

is that not the cutest little swimsuit you've ever seen in your life??

i so wish i had a little girl to buy this for!

trip to the zoo

2011-05-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

so a couple weeks ago my nephews stayed a my parents house for the week

one day we decided to take them to the zoo

i absolutley love the zoo!

no really, i try to get hubbers to take me on dates here all the time (he's done it once and almost two other times)

anyway here's some pics

the giraffes were liams favorite...can't you tel lol!

gus chilled in the stroller

doesn't this chimp have the cutest look on it's face?

the otters were hannah's favorite

my favorite animal at the zoo is a panda

unfortunately there are no pandas at the sacramento zoo, but it was fun noentheless

sadly i did not get an animal juicy

...you know those plastic colorful animals with the pop top and each animal is a different flavor juice

ya ya ya...

2011-05-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

so ive been slackin again i know!

and i totally forgot to do my next batch of 100 things about me, but that's ok cause stephanie didn't do it either :) it's like when you skip class only to find out that the teacher cancelled it lol!

but i do have more post coming that aren't so random as this one i promise! (well, maybe a little random)

in other news i finally created a twitter and i have no idea how it works so if you could help a sistah out it would be greatly appreciated!

so um... teewt me? i guess?

easter edition

2011-05-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

yes i realize easter was a whole week ago

yes i realize i'm a slacker

it happens, anyway even though i like to dress up more for church than a lot of people at my church do, easter i like to dress up even a bit more

what can i say? when you grow up getting a fancy easter dress each year it sticks

anyway you may (or more likely probably not) notice that this was my bridesmaids dresses

it was my sisters and was not her style, and it is totally mine cause (duh) i picked it out... anyway, score for me

and my wonderful hubby got me these shoes on our honeymoon!

and since i never got around to posting this before, here are my easter decorations:

and to answer your question: yes i just took this picture...these are still up and how long will they remain? lordy only knows

oh! and my church is huge and has like 7 services normally and usually about 20 the whole week of easter so instead this year we went to arco

aka power balance pavilion

aka where the kings (used to) play

this was during worship...it was pretty cool to see all the lights they passed out

be sure to check out...

2011-04-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

the new lovebird pictures i posted over at my photography blog!

and and you might want to become a follower cause i have a ton more pictures coming soon

oh! and in other news i found the most amazing facebook page!

it's for RTC aka navy boot camp! and the post pictures!!! gahh!!! i check it like a million times a day no lie im so addicted! finding it totally made my life right now!

besides that fact that they post pictures so i might get a glimpse of my hubby they also answer any questions you have which is amazing! and! i've made some friends with husbands/fiances either in brian's division or with the same graduation date. It's great talking to people who know what you're going through!

anywho, i hope you all have a fabulous wednesday!

100 things about me: part 2 (plus other exciting news)

2011-04-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

so first of all:

i got a phone call from my husband yesterday!!!!!!!

it was only like 5 minutes but it was so exciting! when i heard the phone ring i literally ran as fast as i could cause who else would be calling me on easter (i was already with my family)

it was bittersweet though cause i missed him even more after i talked to him then i did before

anyway some corrections to part 1 of this series

i was 2 when i broke my leg, i feel back in a chair and my leg got caught in the gap between the seat and the backrest

brian was 13 when we met, 14 when started "going out"

so anyway, on with it...

26. i love my name and if it were customary (and not weird) to have your daughter be named after you i totally would!

27. i had braces in jr high (and i wanted them! all of my friends had them)

28. i had to start wearing glasses in 3rd grade...im pretty sure i'm legally blind now

29. i believe that wearing pearl earrings makes you look instantly more put together, even if youre just wearing jeans and a tee

30. i cannot stand the smell of tabasco sauce (i'm sure i cant stand the taste either) luckily hubby shares this with me so there will never be any in our house

31. i'm irrationally afraid of spiders and bridges

32. when i was little i wanted to be a ballerina when i grew up

33. i totally hate driving, if i can get someone else to drive i always will, sometimes i would rather not go somewhere if someone else wont take me

34. i've never written so many letters in my life as i have the past two weeks (and theres still 6 more to go)

35. i'm totally obsessed with disneyland, i mean really? it's the happiest place on earth. i even made hubs take me on our honeymoon

36. hubby and i always go see harry potter on the first day it comes out (not midnight though, i dont want to risk falling asleep)

37. i am neither a morning or a night person, i'm my best in the middle of the day

38. i prefer to wear skirts and dresses than anything else

39. i love to crochet...yes i'm an old granny

40. the only place i've ever been to out of the country is mexico

41. i have visited 4 states (outside of california obviously) hawaii, arizona, nevada, and florida. sick if you count the airport (i mean. technically i've been in that state) utah, and georgia. i'll be adding illinois and texas within the next few months

42. i'm in love with the beach

43. though swimming with fishies creeps me out so i tend to stay out of the ocean

44. i am a giants fan through marriage

45. i like my movies and books to have happy endings

46. i am super crafty, my sorority sisters were always jealous of the things i made for my "little sisters"

47. i always won the soccer mom/betty crocker/susie homemaker award in sorority (the name changed a couple times)

48. speaking of sorority i am an alumna of alpha chi omega fraternity (you know its old if its a women's fraternity and not a sorority..that word wasn't invented yet)

49. i could eat cereal for every meal of the day

50. brian is my best friend and has been for years. long before we ever got married, engaged, or moved in together

well there you go! hopefully i can come up with another 50, this is hard!

go here to check out the others

happy easter!

2011-04-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

find these adorable cards here

i got my first letter!!!

2011-04-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

well...it was more like a note

but i'm uber excited nonetheless!!!!!

best. day. ever.

...in other news i should post my wishes more often

cause i posted this ridiculous wish list for my birthday and then this happened

and now after i posted my wednesday wishes yesterday i get my #1 wish

basically what i'm saying is i'm still waiting on that unlimited jcrew gift card

wednesday wishes

2011-04-20T06:29:00.000-07:00

i'm linking up with brooke for wednesday wishes this week

(click on the pictures for the link)

one. my #1 wish...a letter from hubby

two. this dress from abercrombie (good thing as an employee i get 30% discount)

three. this beyond adorable laptop case

four. this bike

five. and some cadbury creme eggs from the easter bunny...yum

update 2: picnic

2011-04-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

so just a day or so after i posted this i got to do all of those things

so i packed up a lunch and and we grabbed a quilt and took lulu for a walk to our nearest park

this is what our yummy meal consisted of:

i love picnics

100 things about me: part 1

2011-04-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

so i know this is my second post today but stephanie at polos, pearls, and pacifiers is doing a 100 things about me linkup where you post 25 for the next four mondays and i thought it would be fun :)

let's see if i can actually come up with 100 things that anyone would want to know ha!

1. i miss my husband

2. i am now a united states navy wife

3. my middle name is michelle, i was named after my daddy (michael)

4. i have two adorable (and crazy) little nephews

5. i have one younger sister (by 10 years)

6. i have one older half brother (by 13 years)

7. i love pugs, especially this little princess

8. i want to be a mommy more than anything in the world

9. my favorite movie is breakfast at tiffanys

10. when i was 3 i broke my leg

11. i met my husband when i was 15 and he was 14

12. i love to cook and bake

13. i have a bachelors degree in photography

14. my birthday is february 11, aka the best day of the year

15. at it's longest point my hair is almost past my hips

16. dishes and laundry are my nemesis

17. i have never lived outside of california

18. my favorite color is pink

19. i play magic on the playstation, you know, that really nerdy card game that the weird kids in high school (and jr. college) would play at lunch? ya...that one. only on the playstation though :)

20. i am currently car-less. i mean, i have brian's car to drive (though its not really his car, his parents gave us their old van when his car stopped working, and of course this happend to mine

21. i love the goodwill, or most thrift stores for that matter

22. i will always call my mommy, mommy and my daddy, daddy

23. my favortie food is sushi, ice cream, dounts, pizza, or breakfast...just not all at once

24. grocery shopping is my favorite chore

25. this was the most challenging thing i've done in a while...i need to read more

update 1: disneyland!!!!!!

2011-04-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

this is the only picture i took

i know.

i'm a slacker.

and as wet as we look in this picture it wasn't really rainy until about 5 min before this picture

then the monsoon hit.

normally i go for the princess look and wear a tiara but after getting the minnie mouse bride ears on our honeymoon i decided minnie mouse ears were the way to go

oh! and if you look closely you'll notice that hubby isn't wearing his wedding ring

he left it in the bathroom of the hotel.

the maid stole it.

the only thing that gives me any satisfaction is it was titanium and worth basically nothing

anyway disneyland was amazing as always

i mean, it's the happiest place on earth! who wouldn't love it there?

oh...and don't worry, we got hubs a new ring

queen of hearts

2011-04-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

it's hard to tell in these pics but the pattern of the skirt is little hearts (take a look here)

i love that shirt cause i got it on our honeymoon and it's very jcrew

and yes i do wear those shoes most sundays...they're my favorite what can i say