Woo, what a week. I apologize for the lack of posting this week, but the title sums up my general feelings lately - overwhelmed. I suppose I'll start from the beginning with a little week recap.
I started working this week, working in a whole new sense of working while being pregnant, seeing that I had taken a short hiatus from the paycheck earning world. The first three days were "World Class Community Service" training days that all Marine Corps Community Service (MCCS) employees are required to take. These three days covered everything from safety and security to drugs to being the best service provider ever. It was actually pretty fun, lots of group work type things and really not too too bad at all. Monday was 10-4 and Tue/Wed were 8-4. Much earlier than I'm used to and much longer days. Needless to say I was pretty tired each night and was in bed by 11 (SHOCKER!)
After those days of training, we headed to our places of work for our in-house orientations and trainings. These took place at the Child Development Center at Tarawa Terrace for me, my new place of duty. It was good to finally be back with the children. They were pretty easy days, on Friday we actually "assisted" (aka shadowed) in the rooms and filled in for people who needed breaks or lunches. Thursday was another 10am day and Friday an 8am. They were both pretty short days, but the exhaustion was really making itself known and I was pretty grouchy by the end of the week (sorry hubby!) It felt good to be back in the workplace but I could also tell already that it won't be easy.
This weekend has been pretty eventful. Friday we went and got new tires put on the truck. Since there was an hour wait and I was craving McDs, Hubs and I headed to the McDs down the road on foot - about 3/4 of a mile each way. Go me for getting all that exercise in (even though it was rewarded with bad-for-you food). We then spent some serious and much needed cuddle time in front of the tv.
Saturday we got to work cleaning the house (a total field day in USMC terms - I even cleaned the floor in the kitchen by hand!) then checked out the Onslow County Oktoberfest, which was a big fail (Onslow County fairs, I'm learning, are not too 'happening'). We met up with my friend Caitlin and her hubby and after seeing what a bust Oktoberfest was we came back to the house to devise a plan B. We ended up bowling and having dinner at Hooters (and spending way too much money, another reason I'm overwhelmed) but it was a super fun evening. Came back and watched Land of the Lost which, although pretty funny, I didn't make it through - I was out by 11!
Was up by 9 today (on my OWN! holy cow, this whole early going to sleep early getting up thing is really crazy to me!) and had a pretty typical Sunday. Ran some errands, watched some football. While we were out, we stopped by the Beirut and Vietnam memorials in Jacksonville. There is also a World Trade Center memorial with a piece from one of the centers. It was so humbling and sobering to see all these memorials and be reminded, once again, why we fight (and why we're waiting on those orders...). We then drove around and found a new back road place with a recreational area for picnics on the water! We always like finding new "spots." Although I was a bit put off by the "Beware of American Alligator" sign, it was a pretty awesome spot. When we got home I set out to making dinner, Mom's recipe for her famous home-made Mac n Cheese (I DID IT WOO HOO), pork chops, and peas. While the mac n cheese was in the oven, I also put in the laundry and cleaned the bathroom. Yeah, you can call me super wife.
I think the reason for being overwhelmed is now being in work I'll have less time to get my stuff done and I'm nervous about taking all the time off I need (doc appts, baby classes, holidays, etc) as well as the whole getting up early thing (this week I work from 630-1230 -- yeah, I have to BE there at 630 EEK!) As well as just being a grown up in general.. bill paying, money saving, house maintaining, having responsibility... Sometimes I just stop and think HOLY CRAP am I going to be able to manage all this? Hubs takes a minute to remind me that 1. I'm not managing it alone 2. Yes, we can manage it and 3. We're doing just. Fine.
And that being said, I've got to go pay some bills and then I'm going to enjoy a movie with the Mr.
Also, there may be pics later, my phone is being a jerk and won't send them online!
Showing posts with label dolla dolla bills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dolla dolla bills. Show all posts
What An Excellent Weekend!
Well it has been a pretty awesome weekend.
On Friday and Saturday we continued with our house hunting. We found a home we really really really like. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a lot of fun other things. We decided to check out getting out of our lease and discussed putting in an offer. However, after talking with hubs Staff Sergeant and my parents, we've decided that right now is not the best time for us. It was kind of a bummer and I am a little down about it, but it makes the best sense for us at this stage in our lives. As my mom pointed out, we're not sure how our finances will change once baby girl is here, how long we'll be in NC, or what is going on with deployment. There are too many unknowns in our life right now to do something as solid as purchasing a home. We've got a nice place that we both like, and while it sometimes feels a little tight with just 2 bedrooms it is certainly manageable and it's already all set up. Mr P. was the one who was most reluctant to buy the home and was so worried he'd "crushed my dreams" so while I joke with him and call him the "Dream Crusher" now, I really understand the points against buying and it really does make the most sense for us at this time in our lives. Besides, to me, there's no point in doing it unless both of us are 100%.
So, after being a little bummed about that, we decided to go engage in some sweet fall activities (woo hoo!) We headed over to Mike's Farm which is across from the airport only a few minutes from our house. When we got there we were pretty shocked about the disorganization of the place and the high cost of everything there, but nonetheless we ended up with 3 punkins - 2 big ones and 1 tiny one, kinda like our family.
Mr. P thought he was soooo funny with his preggo punkin belly.
After that we went on base to run some errands and then we headed to Babies R Us to continue to work on our registry. The first time we went, we didn't know the sex of our baby and I was also way over excited and ended up putting about 4 of everything on the list, since I couldn't decide which themes/colors/things in general I liked best. We enjoyed editing things, Mr. P made me delete a few things, and we have it so that there is just about only one of everything. Just about. As we headed home, we discussed what we wanted for dinner and decided that we'd done really well last pay period and we'd reward ourselves with dinner and a date night.
We enjoyed a great dinner at AppleBee's and then headed over to the movies to see ZombieLand which was pretty freakin' funny. I do admit though, for a good portion of the movie I was more concerned with not peeing my pants than having a good laugh out loud. Note to self (and other preggo women) after month 5, get an end seat so you don't have to continuously climb over people (or in my case feel guilty about climbing over people so much that you just sit there trying to ignore the gotta-pee sensation) every 5 minutes.
Today was different than our typical Sunday, as we spent the day running around. While we usually run errands on Sundays, we veg out and watch football a good portion of the day too, but today's agenda didn't include much football (much to Hubby's dismay). We had to put air in my tires, get hubs a haircut, gas up the truck, make our meal plan and grocery list, shop for work clothes for me, pick some things up from base for him, stop at a friend's house, and grocery shop... It was a long day. It was nice though. The humid NC weather has finally dropped enough that it feels like fall, almost like winter today. It was about 50 degrees and and cloudy and, while I do love the sun, it felt great to have a break from the heat. We got 2 pairs of khaki pants (they give us the shirt(s) once we're in the center - I'm just supposed to wear khakis - and I just need to look "work appropriate" the first few days in HR for paperwork/training) for me from Old Navy and a really nice zip-up hoodie for him. We also groceried for way under budget - I'm getting pretty good at this budgeting/saving money/smart shopping thing. Go me!
We came home and put the groceries away and watched the Pats CRUSH the Titans. Sadly the Ravens lost by a field goal, but luckily I didn't watch it to put a damper on my day (because we never get the Ravens games here... grr)
Tomorrow is my first day of work - basically intake type stuff, HR paperwork, training, the norm. I'm a bit nervous for my first day in the center (Mon, Tues, and Wed are all training and that's as far as I know, center will be some time after that) as I'm not sure how different it will be from the center in MD and I'm already used to how things worked there. I just have to take it as a totally individual experience, right?! Wish me luck!!
Happy Week Everyone :-D
On Friday and Saturday we continued with our house hunting. We found a home we really really really like. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a lot of fun other things. We decided to check out getting out of our lease and discussed putting in an offer. However, after talking with hubs Staff Sergeant and my parents, we've decided that right now is not the best time for us. It was kind of a bummer and I am a little down about it, but it makes the best sense for us at this stage in our lives. As my mom pointed out, we're not sure how our finances will change once baby girl is here, how long we'll be in NC, or what is going on with deployment. There are too many unknowns in our life right now to do something as solid as purchasing a home. We've got a nice place that we both like, and while it sometimes feels a little tight with just 2 bedrooms it is certainly manageable and it's already all set up. Mr P. was the one who was most reluctant to buy the home and was so worried he'd "crushed my dreams" so while I joke with him and call him the "Dream Crusher" now, I really understand the points against buying and it really does make the most sense for us at this time in our lives. Besides, to me, there's no point in doing it unless both of us are 100%.
So, after being a little bummed about that, we decided to go engage in some sweet fall activities (woo hoo!) We headed over to Mike's Farm which is across from the airport only a few minutes from our house. When we got there we were pretty shocked about the disorganization of the place and the high cost of everything there, but nonetheless we ended up with 3 punkins - 2 big ones and 1 tiny one, kinda like our family.
Mr. P thought he was soooo funny with his preggo punkin belly.
After that we went on base to run some errands and then we headed to Babies R Us to continue to work on our registry. The first time we went, we didn't know the sex of our baby and I was also way over excited and ended up putting about 4 of everything on the list, since I couldn't decide which themes/colors/things in general I liked best. We enjoyed editing things, Mr. P made me delete a few things, and we have it so that there is just about only one of everything. Just about. As we headed home, we discussed what we wanted for dinner and decided that we'd done really well last pay period and we'd reward ourselves with dinner and a date night.
We enjoyed a great dinner at AppleBee's and then headed over to the movies to see ZombieLand which was pretty freakin' funny. I do admit though, for a good portion of the movie I was more concerned with not peeing my pants than having a good laugh out loud. Note to self (and other preggo women) after month 5, get an end seat so you don't have to continuously climb over people (or in my case feel guilty about climbing over people so much that you just sit there trying to ignore the gotta-pee sensation) every 5 minutes.
Today was different than our typical Sunday, as we spent the day running around. While we usually run errands on Sundays, we veg out and watch football a good portion of the day too, but today's agenda didn't include much football (much to Hubby's dismay). We had to put air in my tires, get hubs a haircut, gas up the truck, make our meal plan and grocery list, shop for work clothes for me, pick some things up from base for him, stop at a friend's house, and grocery shop... It was a long day. It was nice though. The humid NC weather has finally dropped enough that it feels like fall, almost like winter today. It was about 50 degrees and and cloudy and, while I do love the sun, it felt great to have a break from the heat. We got 2 pairs of khaki pants (they give us the shirt(s) once we're in the center - I'm just supposed to wear khakis - and I just need to look "work appropriate" the first few days in HR for paperwork/training) for me from Old Navy and a really nice zip-up hoodie for him. We also groceried for way under budget - I'm getting pretty good at this budgeting/saving money/smart shopping thing. Go me!
We came home and put the groceries away and watched the Pats CRUSH the Titans. Sadly the Ravens lost by a field goal, but luckily I didn't watch it to put a damper on my day (because we never get the Ravens games here... grr)
Tomorrow is my first day of work - basically intake type stuff, HR paperwork, training, the norm. I'm a bit nervous for my first day in the center (Mon, Tues, and Wed are all training and that's as far as I know, center will be some time after that) as I'm not sure how different it will be from the center in MD and I'm already used to how things worked there. I just have to take it as a totally individual experience, right?! Wish me luck!!
Happy Week Everyone :-D
The Spirit of Growth
I am such a procrastinator. I've had things I've been wanting to write about for quite some time but I slack. And once again, I missed Wishful Wednesday. I fail at blogging :( Ok, journey of self-pity over, what's been up?
First, fall has hit! Woo hoo!! It's is finally cool in NC. Now of course, the minute I hit "publish post" and this becomes official, the temperature will suddenly increase back to the sweltering 90 degrees it was this weekend. Hopefully not. For real though. I'm starting to get to that "private summers" stage in the pregnancy where I am always Hot (well hotter than usual, because I'm naturally always warm). With the arrival of that good ol' fall feelin, I've been in a more fall-y mood. I have been wanting to just bake. So the other night... I baked! I made muffins with two of my favorite fall ingredients - apples and cinammon! Mmm. They were delicious too. I only made 6 because we only had one apple and it was 11pm and I wasn't about to make a WalMart run. Mr. P. certainly enjoyed them (I left him a note and told him he must take the biggest ones, have one for breakfast and one for lunch because I loved him that much. Aren't I sweet? bahaha).
We have decided to resume our house hunting in full force. We've been doing great at budgeting. In all honesty, our salary isn't anything to write home about, something I was prepared for marrying an enlisted Marine, however, with a little attention not only can we survive but we can thrive (yeah, how cheesy was that?! I'm in a good mood, let me be). Seriously though, we haven't really cut out all that much (ok so I can't buy expensive makeup and bags the way I enjoyed in college) but just paying attention and being conscientious of what you're spending money on makes a big difference. Oh, and turning out the lights when you're not in a room (now who sounds like a mom?) I am very proud of how responsible with finances I have become, especially anyone who knew my spending habits before marriage could tell you I was anything but frugal. That being said, Mr. P assures me that if we continue this budgeting deal, we really can afford our very own house. Something I really, really desire especially with Little Miss Buttons on the way. I want to paint and have a dog and a yard and a swing set and... all the other fun stuff home owners get. Of course, this is all dependent of finding the house, I refuse to settle. Our rental is great now, I just wish it had a bit more space and we could do what we want with it. But it's in a great area and it's livable, so if we don't find our dream home (in our price range) right now, it won't be the end of the world. Wish us luck on our hunt though, we sure could use it!
And the last bit of exciting news I have for the day is...
And last but certainly not least... baby girl is doing fantastically as far as making mommy grow. I had my doctor's appointment on Wednesday - 25 weeks. I have gained about 20 lbs (EEK!!!) during the whole pregnancy which they say is good (I'd hate too see what too much looks like, I feel like a cow) and my belly is measuring at a perfect 25cm. Her heart sounded great and she was a brat as usual, kicking at the doppler and moving away so we had to keep hunting her down to listen. She's so awesome :)
I still don't think it looks that large in person...
Mr. P loves "his" belly
First, fall has hit! Woo hoo!! It's is finally cool in NC. Now of course, the minute I hit "publish post" and this becomes official, the temperature will suddenly increase back to the sweltering 90 degrees it was this weekend. Hopefully not. For real though. I'm starting to get to that "private summers" stage in the pregnancy where I am always Hot (well hotter than usual, because I'm naturally always warm). With the arrival of that good ol' fall feelin, I've been in a more fall-y mood. I have been wanting to just bake. So the other night... I baked! I made muffins with two of my favorite fall ingredients - apples and cinammon! Mmm. They were delicious too. I only made 6 because we only had one apple and it was 11pm and I wasn't about to make a WalMart run. Mr. P. certainly enjoyed them (I left him a note and told him he must take the biggest ones, have one for breakfast and one for lunch because I loved him that much. Aren't I sweet? bahaha).
We have decided to resume our house hunting in full force. We've been doing great at budgeting. In all honesty, our salary isn't anything to write home about, something I was prepared for marrying an enlisted Marine, however, with a little attention not only can we survive but we can thrive (yeah, how cheesy was that?! I'm in a good mood, let me be). Seriously though, we haven't really cut out all that much (ok so I can't buy expensive makeup and bags the way I enjoyed in college) but just paying attention and being conscientious of what you're spending money on makes a big difference. Oh, and turning out the lights when you're not in a room (now who sounds like a mom?) I am very proud of how responsible with finances I have become, especially anyone who knew my spending habits before marriage could tell you I was anything but frugal. That being said, Mr. P assures me that if we continue this budgeting deal, we really can afford our very own house. Something I really, really desire especially with Little Miss Buttons on the way. I want to paint and have a dog and a yard and a swing set and... all the other fun stuff home owners get. Of course, this is all dependent of finding the house, I refuse to settle. Our rental is great now, I just wish it had a bit more space and we could do what we want with it. But it's in a great area and it's livable, so if we don't find our dream home (in our price range) right now, it won't be the end of the world. Wish us luck on our hunt though, we sure could use it!And the last bit of exciting news I have for the day is...
I GOT A JOB!
A great follow up to the budgeting discussion above, we will soon be pulling in extra money because I will finally be working again. (Maybe only for a few months before time off but working now is better than working never, right?) A few weeks ago, I attended a "career fair" on base for Child Development Center positions, which is the same job I had back in MD before the move. They called literally not even an hour ago and let me know that I was selected for the position and I start with paperwork/training on Mon, Tue and Wed and go from there. It is a flex position, which means I will be working "not set" hours, but at home I was flex as well and after being there a while I was pretty set with my hours, so hopefully it will follow a similar pattern. I'm making about a dollar less an hour than I was at home, but NC is also cheaper than MD so that's not such a big deal either. I'm just really happy to finally contribute. I was starting to feel kind of like a bump on a log. Even though I do volunteer and do things during the day, not bringing in any extra money when we could use it had me feeling a bit guilty and well... useless. Not a feeling I'm very fond of, so I'm really really stoked to be a contributing member of the P family. Hahaha.And last but certainly not least... baby girl is doing fantastically as far as making mommy grow. I had my doctor's appointment on Wednesday - 25 weeks. I have gained about 20 lbs (EEK!!!) during the whole pregnancy which they say is good (I'd hate too see what too much looks like, I feel like a cow) and my belly is measuring at a perfect 25cm. Her heart sounded great and she was a brat as usual, kicking at the doppler and moving away so we had to keep hunting her down to listen. She's so awesome :)
I still don't think it looks that large in person...Mr. P loves "his" belly
