Welcome 2017!!!

Welp, it's officially 2017! I feel like I say this every time I write a post but, I CANT BELIEVE HOW QUICKLY TIME FLIES!! So much has been going on with wedding planning, the holidays, work, and just crazy old life in general.

December was a complete blur. My mom and I have been spending a lot of time on the last few details before the wedding which IS NEXT WEEK. Wut. It's insane. I feel like J and I just got engaged and picked a date, and now the wedding is here and I am soooo excited. We are officially entering into 'wedding week'. And what would the week before our wedding be without Snowmageddon Part II. This weekend Durham is under a winter weather state of emergency and we are expecting to get up to 8 inches of snow (which is a HUGE deal for us southerners!) I'm so excited, I hope we get a ton of snow but that is manages to melt by like Wednesday of next week haha. After all, we can all remember what happened a couple of years ago when the OG Snowmageddon hit...

Okay, so the AT-AT walker wasn't really there but that is a legit car fire. We just can't handle our snow down here, but hopefully people will remain a little calmer this time since most of the snow wont hit until after 5 today. Will keep the (un)interested masses abreast of snow progress on snapchat as it occurs ;) You're welcome.

Christmas this year was spent in Port Angeles with my wonderful in-laws. I had never been to Washington state before and was absolutely blown away with the beauty of it. I've never seen so much green in my life! Even in areas where snow covered the ground all of the moss, and trees, and plants were still alive with breathtaking greenery. It was incredible. It was also the first time that all 8 of us kids were together, and I can honestly say that I have won the sibling in law lottery! It was such a wonderful time and our hosts (Kevan and Rebekkah) were incredibly brave and generous to put up with all of us for the holidays, especially since they have spent the last year renovating their beautiful victorian home. They also organized a photoshoot out at Lake Crescent and the pictures are so wonderful (special shout out to M. Krueger Photography). Here are a couple of my favorites:

Coming back after our Washington trip and ending up with a horrible flu was not the way I wanted to ring in the New Year but I'm relieved that I am finally over it and ready to go into our Wedding Week with full steam ahead, aaaand maybe do some midnight sledding tonight!! Unfortunately, J and I did not get to spend New Years together since he had to get back to TX for training and I had to get back to NC for last minute wedding stuff, but I got to go out with friends for a little while and spend some time with them. The night ended and I was unimpressed, especially since I was sober due to the amazing quantities of cough syrup i was taking. However I still managed to karate kick someone in the face and stay up till 3 so there's that. Helloooooo 2017! 

Now, I am going to make some soup and bake some cookies while I wait for this snow to begin!

Happy New Year everyone!!!

E

Oops..kind of fell off the map there :)

I'm having a hard time deciding how to even start this post because it has been over a month since I last wrote and so much has happened both in my personal life and on a national scale since then. Obviously I was displeased and shocked by the results of the presidential election. Like so many others, I was unaware of how divided our country is and how easy it is to be blinded by the bubble we live in. Luckily, I've been brought up in a situation where everyone is treated equally no matter their religion, skin color, sexual orientation, or nationality is. However, I can see now that I have taken advantage of the fact that not everyone has the same open minded up-bringing that I have. I'm not going to harp on politics right now, but it's important for me to say that no matter who our president is or who our elected officials are, I will do everything in my power to support them when they support and protect ALL Americans, and I will defy and fight against them whenever they don't.

So! Now that the giant, misogynistic, racist elephant is out of the room (sorry! I'm really done now...) let's catch up! I've been back in Durham for about a month and everything is going great. I've been able to visit J down in Texas twice, but I definitely can't wait for the holidays so we can spend more than a couple of days together. Work is amazing! I forgot what it's like to sell houses in a town where the market never slowed down...it's also been such an uplifting thing to get back to work for my family business, which given recent events, I am ever more proud to be a part of! #girlpower

Wedding planning is insane, and it's probably a miracle that my mother hasn't killed me yet and vice versa. This whole wedding would never even happen without her, so thank god she continues to put up with my less than ideal method of getting stuff done...aka waiting until the last minute and then winging it. We are officially TWO MONTHS, I repeat TWO MONTHS away from this shindig and I am getting so excited. Meteorologists are calling for a super snowy winter so maybe we will even have a white Christmas AND wedding!!

I never posted the after photos of the house but I promise I will do a whole separate post on that when I get around to cleaning my house real quick aaaaand taking pics ;)

But I think that is enough of me blabbing for now. I will do better with the updates!

<3

P.S Super cool App for staying up to date on your local representatives, current bills, and news is called Countable...check it out! Let's keep the dialog open and try to fix these issues together by learning more about ALL of the demographics in our country. There is no place in America for hate and discrimination. Stand up for your neighbors. Speak out against hate. Keep your heads up!

A New Chapter: NC to FL to TX

Ya'll. I made it to North Carolina and J made it to Texas. It has been a long couple of weeks getting ready for this move, but we are both settling in nicely and appreciate everyones help with the move both physically and emotionally!

I have never been good with change. I love the idea of it and crave it when things get too monotonous. But when it comes time to actually pick up and go, I dig in my heels. This move was no exception, and the added stress of not being able to move together didn't help. But after unpacking and getting into the swing of things again around here I've started to appreciate that we made the right choice.

Today was my first day back in the office. I even got to go show a house with my mom (a REAL HOUSE, not a trailer) PRAISE!! I am not made for the life of a housewife, at least not right now. The last three months have been so incredibly tough for me not having a career, and I can't believe how motivated I am to work 24/7 right now. At least now I can hit the ground running and make the most of my months here in Durham so that J and I can save money and I won't drive us both crazy with my bored antics! I'm definitely a lucky girl to be marrying someone who appreciates my mania and encourages me to do whatever makes me happy <3

There are already so many things going on...Wedding appointments are on the books as we only have 3 months until the big day, the Trinity Park House Tour is in a couple of weeks, the Durham housing market is not slowing down anytime soon, I just got my Durham Pure Barre Membership up and running, and this Saturday I am 'running' a 10k (if I die, Brittney is to blame). I can not wait to get back into a groove again. The moving process really throws off any chance of having a normal schedule, and I am a planner so that never works out well for anybody.

So, here's to the next chapter of our crazy, peripatetic life!

Stay tuned...

Picture that James texted me when we first started dating haha

Love > Distance

We are officially down to the last few days in the Milton house. Our first home that we owned and made together. It is definitely a bittersweet moment. It will be sad the see the movers come through and pack everything up, take things off the walls, and move it all out of the house.

It will be even harder to know that J and I won't be in the same state for the next few months. Even though we weighed the pros and cons, talked about it for hours, and came to the same conclusion, I still find it incredibly hard to think about not seeing him every day.

Sometimes it feels like this is a lose-lose situation. Yes, moving to Durham will allow me to wedding plan on site, work a regular job, and be near family before our first big deployment (potentially overseas). But I will miss our little life together that we have created. I'll miss the wonderful friends we've made in flight school. And I also hate the thought of splitting up our family because Copper is literally going to mope around for weeks when he realizes J isn't coming with us. I might actually become the most hated human in all of dogdom for splitting them up. And yes, this is a legitimate concern and if you disagree you've never been around Copper at 9:00pm when he turns into gremlin dog.

Sometimes I hate that we have to make decisions like this and that we can't just have a normal life, whatever that even means. But then I think about it and realize how fortunate we are to have this life and everything that it affords us. Being a military family definitely has its downsides (potentially the biggest understatement of the year) but it is also a necessary sacrifice and an honor to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

We only have a couple of months until the wedding and a huuuuge stack of things which need to be done that I have been putting off. I will definitely have my fair share of things to do while J finishes up his last chunk of flight school. Between fixing up our new house in Durham, getting the final wedding details done, working a full time real estate job, applying to grad programs (maybe??), and trying to get my yoga certification I'm hoping that time goes by quickly.

In the wise words of my sister in law Rebekkah, who is a Merchant Marine and is married to a Coastie, I am officially joining the ranks of the Professional Long Distance Wife club. And I have to say that I am very lucky to be marrying someone who respects and supports my dreams, and doesn't ever try to hold me back because of the restrictions of his job.

There is never going to be a solution or situation that is perfect for everyone. And a lot of times spouses of service members end up having to give up their life and goals in order to support their spouse. But I want people to understand that there are MANY ways to do that. There isn't just one path to be a supportive partner. And sometimes that path may break with conventional thought. Maybe being a stay at home mom/dad is the best decision for you. Maybe having two full time incomes is the way to go. Sometimes your jobs will have you working temporarily in two different places. There is not one solution. All any one of us can do is our best <3

A Few Good Books

Today is September 13th which means; the movers come to pack our stuff up in 6 days, we move in 7 days, the first day of fall is in 9 days, and our wedding is in 123 days. Just a few random facts that I have been ruminating on this morning.

The week has ben very laid back so far as J wraps up his last few events and I work on getting us ready for our respective moves. It's crazy to think that this will be our last week living together for the next 6 months. But it will go quickly and we will definitely rack up some miles visiting each other! Speaking of...does anyone have a credit card that they recommend for getting miles? 

Oh! And we officially closed on the Durham House this week after a long repair period. I am very excited to see it again in person! Oh the joys of buying real estate from another state :) It looks like I'll be getting to Durham a few days before the truck so I will be camping out with the animals at my parents place while assessing the new digs for decor and furniture placement (which we all know if the best part of moving into a new place).

Since I've been spending the last few weeks practicing the good old game of 'hurry-up-and-wait' I've had time to burn through a few books on my never ending reading list! Keep in mind these books are all over the place and have absolutely nothing in common except that I really enjoyed them...

1. Lean In - Sheryl Sandberg 

This book is everything. If you are a woman in the work force, read it. If you are a woman NOT in the workforce, read it. If you're a man, read it. The stories and statistics discusses by Sandberg in this book are enlightening and empowering. I also added about 7 of the books from her bibliography to my next stack of books to read.

http://amzn.to/2cupArL

2. How To Be Parisian Wherever You Are
This book was very entertaining to me. Partially because it was so abrasively and stereotypically French that I found it hilarious. But also because in between the ludicrous Parisian 'snobbisms' there was actually some good advice about being who you are and not caring what people think about your faults. It takes like 3 hours to read and is good for a rainy day when you're feeling especially existential. Or bored.

http://amzn.to/2curit2

3. The Sixth Extinction - Elizabeth Kolbert
This was my second time reading this gem. I'm definitely a sucker for a good case study and anything anthropological. This book does an amazing job of bringing to light how patterns in nature have occurred over time and how humans are effecting the environment.

http://amzn.to/2cE89dg

4. The Fiery Cross - Diana Gabaldon
I love this series (Outlander) and this book has been especially fun to read because **SPOILER** it is set in NC. This story line never ceases to surprise me and I'm very curious to see how the book progresses...

http://amzn.to/2cE8pZB

What is everyone else reading right now?? I'm always open to suggestions!

Pensacola Bucket List

I woke up early this morning, my mind racing with all of the things I need to get organized and taken care of in the following months. The saying "Home is where the Marine Corps sends us" sure is proving true! J selected his platform and it looks like were going Ospreys! Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to be going on another adventure, and VERY happy that this platform guarantees us a small chunk of time in our home state, but it's always a lot of work planning for a PCS especially when one is also planning a wedding. 

The way things are looking now, we will have a few more months here in Florida though so I will be able to wrap up the sales I have going on, spend time with our wonderful friends, and do all of those fun PCS things like; inventory our house, find renters for it, attempt to obtain housing in TX from afar, gather all of our records for the move, find a new job, and...pack. 

I'm definitely becoming a bit of an expert on packing, if I do say so myself ;)

We also decided to come up with a Pensacola/Milton Bucket List to accomplish before we go, and here is what we have come up with so far:

1. Go to a Blue Wahoos game
2. Kayak the Blackwater
3. Pensacola Bay Brewery
4. Florabama *cringe*
5. Beach it up!!
6. Irish Wakes at Maguire's
7. Bands on the Blackwater
8. Pensacola Lighthouse ghost tour
9. Tube down the Blackwater
10. Blue Angels Air show

What are some things were missing?? Any recommendations? 
xoxo

Also, for tips on PCSing check out my pinterest board HERE :) 

For those of you who were wondering...this is an Osprey! Cool, hunh?