Lots of changes since I was last on...

I had a baby!!  Yes, another addition to our family.  We named him Leo Jameson.  He was born the day after Gwyn's 2nd birthday!  Which will make birthdays a bit of a headache in the future!

Quick recap...During our transition from Virginia to Hawaii, I found out that I was pregnant.  It was a crappy one too, lots of morning (all day) sickness, living in a hotel for 3 months, and raising our little toddler.  Plus, the heat here in HI was almost too much for me.  Hoping that this summer and fall are better since I am no longer preggers.

Have made some great friends here already, wives of hubby's co-workers.  It's weird because many of them also have toddlers.  So instant friends for Gwyn.  Now my life is full of playdates.

Am nursing Leo, which I thought would be easier the 2nd time around but he came with his own set of unique problems.  Still have ups and downs, mostly because he is in the fussy evening stage.  When that eases up we will be moving into the distraction age.  Oh joy!  FYI - the lactation department at Tripler Army Medical Center is too busy to be of any help, so look elsewhere.  I have started going to Le Leche League meetings again.  Plus I have my Facebook friends as a resource.

So, basically I am a SAHM to a 26 mos. old and a 2 mos. old.  We play, I nurse, we water our flowers, Gwyn helps me out doing chores, and we will be attempting to potty train in the next few months.  Wish us luck!

Update

Sorry I haven't blogged in forever. A lot has been going on that has been keeping me busy or too tired to get on here. Here is the update of the last 6 months:

I'm pregnant.

It's a girl.

I am 6 months along.

I'm huge.

I have a head cold/flu.

I still have morning sickness, unfortunately.

I've only scrapbooked once since getting pregnant. It was at a Tally Rally in SC.

I'm having fun thinking about the nursery.

I want to get started on the nursery.

Nursery will be red and white vintage. No cartoon characters or ladybugs please.

March can't be here soon enough.

I'm scared to death of the upcoming labor.

My sister-in-law is pregnant with her 4th kid.

Well, that is about it for now. I'll try to post regularly now, not in bullet form. I miss everyone!!

I'll be back soon, I promise!!

I just have to say I miss scrapbooking!!! I've been away too long, with little available to express my creativeness. I've been cross-stitching a lot lately, going to Stitch n' Bitch nights at the library and at a local restuarant. It's been a lot of fun and I am making friends. But I really miss scrapbooking.

Today I visited a blog of a person who has invited me to her crops. Here is her page: Luv2scrapmilestones. She is so creative! I can't wait to meet her and to crop together. Here is a challenge blog that she is a part of as well: ChitChatChallenge.

This weekend I vow to work more in my new scrapbook room, to get it organized, and to get ready for Scrap Etc. in Nashville, which is only 2 weeks away!!!

45 Minute Drive!!

We took a drive up to Lovettsville today, just so we could gauge the length of my commute. It took about 45-50 minutes to get there, and from everyone around here says, that's an average commute. The drive up is picturesque, with rolling hills and fenced pastures. The town of Lovettsville is small but homey, with a nice feel to it. We went by the library, which is about 4,500 sq. ft. It was quiet, with most people outside enjoying the unusual January weather. The branch manager was in today, Chuck, so we finally got to meet in person, after a phone interview and a video conference. I also met Kathy, who works the circulation desk. It was great to meet them, and to see where I will be working.

After meeting them, Ken and I headed over to the community center where there was a book sale going on. There I met my assistant, Barbara, and her daughter, and picked up some great books. Chuck bought me a Lovettsville, Virginia t-shirt too, as a welcome gift. It was a great day.

I start work on the 24th, with an orientation in Sterling, VA. Then I head up to Lovettsville the next day.

I just wish I had a place to live. We are still in an efficiency, crammed into one room and both cars. I know the dog hates it, and it's starting to get to me as well. We've been looking for a place to rent for over a week, and have beened passed over on the one application we put in because the other couple applying didn't have a dog. It was a great place too. Oh well. I'm not going to let it stress me out.

Snow, Snow, and more SNOW!!

I have been in Texas way too long! I am freezing up here, and we're only in Indiana! This weekend we will be futher north in Michigan! Right now there is about 6 inches of snow on the ground, so I am glad that I packed my boots. But I need warmer socks, so Wal-Mart here I come. I will post pictures later once they are developed so that you all can see.

Also, check out my other blog for news on my 2nd interview request. I'm so excited! If you have any advice, please e-mail me!!

Catch ya later!

Tomorrow is graduation!

Well, I have left San Antonio for graduation, then North for Christmas, then on to D.C. We are staying at an R.V. park with my parents near TWU. Picked up the tickets for the ceremony, ironed my outfit, picked up my cap and gown. I can't wait until tomorrow. I just hope the weather is better than today. Rainy and grey and cold. Fun!

I'll post pictures of graduation soon!!

I'M DONE WITH SCHOOL!!!

I just turned in my last final exam!! I am so done with school! It's been a long and grueling two years, but totally worth it now that I will officially be a librarian. I can't wait to get out to D.C. and find a job. Check out my other blog for job hunting progress: http://jobhuntinglibrarian.blogspot.com/.

Now, since school is finished, I have to pack up my house, attend graduation, finish the Christmas shopping, visit folks in Michigan, find a place to live in D.C., and get a job! Not too much, eh?

I am so LAZY!!

I have three days off, three days to get stuff done. What do I do? NOTHING!! Yesterday I sat around reading and watching T.V. all day. Today, so far, the same. I have tomorrow off as well, but I have no choice, I have a Weight Watchers meeting to go to, though I probably gained. I can't stop eating! Maybe that is because I'm LAZY!! Just wanted to get that out! Later!

I have another blog...

I created another blog for my job hunting in the D.C. area. Please check it out and make comments! It's for librarians, but as my friends, it would be nice if you visited and left me a note!!!

I decided to start this because job hunting sucks. I need an outlet for my triumphs and disasters. I want to share what I have learned in all of this so that others are not discouraged when it takes forever to hear back!! When I applied in San Antonio, it took them 8 months to call me for an interview. 8 freaking months!! So, I'm in for a long and bumpy ride. A blog was the perfect solution!!

So please check it out!! Job Hunting Librarian

Working with teens...

A co-worker at SAPL left for Nashville a couple of weeks ago and I am filling in for her in the teen department, Youth{Wired}. I'll be here 3 days out of 5, helping at the desk and with programs. Great chance for me to get some experience with teens and to become more comfortable with them. You can visit their website here, and they have a Flickr page too. It's a fun department with some great kids. Tonight we are making earrings, for Halloween. Too bad the skull beads didn't get here in time 'cause the boys might have made some too. Oh well.

Trying to catch up on homework today. Reading The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman, a graphic novel about a Holocaust survivor. It won a pulitzer prize. It's really good, and it's a true story. The author just made the characters mice instead of humans. People thought he was crazy for creating this but it started a lot of talk about graphic novels. This book has two stories in it, A Survivor's Tale and Here My Troubles Began. If you have never picked up a graphic novel, this is a good one, very easy to follow, and very interesting.


So, my life consists of homework, work, more homework, and latenight games to relax my brain. I like playing Stronghold. You get to build stuff in it. You also have to fight using an army, but I'm finally getting the hang of it.

What's the special occasion??

NOTHING! Can I dress up just for the hell of it? I mean, I do work at a place where we have to look decent, professional, fitting our "business" environment. When I wear skirts nobody bats an eye, but wear a dress? I get asked about 50 times during the day what the occasion is.

Know what is funny, though? I felt ugly putting this dress on so I went and got my face waxed so I could look like a girl again, and I repainted my toenails, and even put on lip gloss??!! Something about wearing this makes me want to do more. Wish I had some eye liner!!

So, nothing new here, just trying to get school paid for by Friday, find someplace to stay in D.C. for 7 adults, all with different lengths of stay, and buy airline tickets by this weekend too. It's crazy! I remember how poor I was after going to D.C. last time, even with it getting reimbursed. Now, it's my own money, and I'm staying for 11 nights!! Killer hotel bill. May try to stay with friends or something while there. We'll see.

Gotta get on the ball and scrap some in the next two days. I have some challenges that I want to enter, but I haven't been in the mood. Tired everyday after work, just want to go read a book and sleep. Have a lot of books checked out at the library, too many to read. My eyes are bigger than my....brain?? LOL! I think I have 39 checked out right now. It's like a small mountain next to my bed. And, school is starting next Monday, and I already have a huge reading list. I've read one already from the list, and decided to try and read a required book every other time I read. That way I can read from my mountain as well as for school.

Found a new inspiration challenge this week, on Crystal Jeffrey Rieger's blog. Basically you use a small blank journal and follow her prompts each week. Check it out here:

Weekly Challenge Intro
Week #1 Prompt

Very similar concept as Ali E's Daily Something and Emily Falconbridge's Deck of Me. Check it out 'cause you'll be hooked.

Grades are IN!!!!!!

I did it, I got A's in both classes!! Wooo Hooo!!

DONE!! (until next semester)

WHEW!! I finished the summer semester! Wow, the last couple of weeks have been hectic! And it's about to get busier, with preparing for next semester (the final one), getting ready for a trip to D.C., looking for a job in the D.C. area, trying to scrap as much as possible with friends before I leave, getting ready to move, etc. There is a lot to do. It's hard to think about sometimes, hurts the brain, you know!! ;)


Anyway, just wanted to announce the end of term papers, and to load my latest Daily Something pages.


8/14/2007 - Determination

8/13/2007 - Last Paper of Semester!

8/12/2007 - Chained to my Desk

ARGHH!!

DO

YOU

KNOW

WHAT

TIME

IT

IS???

It's 3 freaking A.M.! As in morning, as in "I should be in bed asleep, not writing this damn paper!!" I hate this class, this paper, this everything!! It's due in less than 12 hours, and I have leave for work in 5 hours. Oh goodie!!

Right now I have a heat pack on my neck, tryng to loosen it up, make it stop hurting. Did some yoga stretches, worked out my shoulders/neck/back a bit. All this while doing laundry!!

4 more minutes until my break is over. *sigh*

I'm so tired right now, I feel drugged. I've taken a ton of Tylenol today (don't worry, not over 8 pills in 24 hours), so it may be working, but I still ache.

Anyway, 2 minutes left. Hope you all slept nice and comfy in your soft beds. ;)

Off to strain my brain and neck more.

FYI - Got 100% on that other paper I turned in last Friday. Very cool.

He got promoted!!

My husband made CHIEF!! Now he is an E-7 in the Navy, which means better money, better retirement, etc.!!!! I was worried because if this didn't happen, he talked about getting out of the Navy. That is really scary for me because the military is our safety net, you know? They will be there for us, in almost any situation.

But, don't have to worry about that now! He'll be in for another 11 years now, so he is halfway to retirement.

Now I'll get to go to his pinning ceremony in D.C. next month, and his parents will be there too. I can't wait!

For him, the next 6 weeks will be a Chief boot camp, so it's a good thing we are apart right now 'cause I'd never see him if we were together!

So, YEA!! I just wanted to share my news!!

Yuck, yuck, yuck!!

I have two papers due on FRIDAY!! Everyday, the deadline gets closer, and I start to get frantic!! Sometimes, as I'm thinking of my papers, I'm like, "no problem, you've done this before, you have the bones in your head, etc." But as I do research, I realize that it will take forever!!! I don't know if I can handle it, and I don't know if my neck can handle it!! My headaches are more frequent now, due to the neck aches. Will I be able to push myself the next 3 days to get them done??

If I can just survive this week, I'm gonna relax and bake on Saturday, while doing some scrapbooking. Maybe I'll take pics of me baking. But, can't think of that now. Too distracting!! (like blogging isn't distracting!! HA!!)

So, all my friends out there, I apoligize if I am short and testy this week. On top of school issues, I have PMS.

LOL! Wish me luck!!

I DID IT!!

Well, I made my 10% weight loss goal!! I am 22 lbs. lighter than I was in January!! Yea!!

Things have been so different for me this year, getting my priorities in order.

I have career that I love. Just to say the word career is cool. It's always been a job before. I love working at the library, and I am almost finished with grad school. December graduation baby!!

I'm scrapbooking again, getting published and participating on design teams. I love being involved in an art that I can call my own. So long have I searched for an out for my creativity, and scrapbooking is it.

I'm losing weight, learning to be healthy. I think before I eat, make better decisions, and most importantly, I don't deprive myself of the things I love!! LOVE ICE CREAM!!

I feel that everything is coming together, so that when my husband and I are together again, we can start a family, the one we have been so close to having before.

So, YEA to my 10% lost!! Onto the next 20 lbs.!!

New Hair-do!!

Okay, I got my hair cut on Friday. It looks bad here, but you get the picture on how short I cut it. Ken is gonna fuss, I know it. He loves long hair, but it was looking so BLAH!! So heavy and limp. So, I went to a new salon opened by a friend, and she whacked my hair off!! I should have done locks of love, but I forgot. So, what do you think?

Next up, EYEBROWS! They so need landscaping!!! It makes a huge difference in the face. I'll take a pic on Tuesday after I get them done. Going back to same salon. If I don't get them done, I'll look horrid when I see Ken on Thursday!!

Approved for Basic Grey Gallery!!

I don't know exactly how they approve layouts for their online gallery, or how hard it is to get on there, but it took 10 days for them to approve mine! It is called Sweet Dreams and is a great layout of my niece, Ellie, at 3 weeks old. I love that photo!! My friend Roni also had an altered tin approved for the gallery! Check it out here!

Happy Birthday to me!!

This is my view out of the plane's window, on my way back from Michigan. My birthday sunset. Had a pleasant day with my folks, then the drive to Detroit. But, kind of depressing to be alone on your birthday, flying. Makes me miss my hubby. Also makes me think too much of what I wanted to accomplish by now. Oh well, at least I'm not thirty yet. Hopefully will be with hubby when that happens!!

Happy 29th Birthday to me!!