Funny how life works out..

I know my favorite part of blogs is pictures, and I don't post much without pictures but sorry, I am doing that today :P Well at least until the end of the post.

I had a dream a few nights ago that was one of those dreams where you wake up and remember how life really is, and you're so glad it was just a dream. Then it made me start to think, it is so crazy how life works out. The littlest choices we make can alter our future in a completely different way.

This dream was about a guy I went to school with. It was in High School, but things worked out differently than they did in real life.

Real life-I had a crush on this kid from pretty much the 4th grade on through high school, but boy we we were never on the same page at all. We ended up "going out" (which is so funny for little kids to say-we certainly never went anywhere, and hardly talked) about 3 times total. The first two I ended because kids are mean, I hated being the center of attention, and I didn't want to get teased anymore.

Then, in my Junior year of High School, I decided to write him a note asking if he would go to Homecoming with me. I'm not a believer in the woman asking the man-I'm an old fashioned lady, and I think it's the man's job. But he was pretty shy at the time and I was tired of going to homecoming's just with friends. Anyway we ended up going together, but he never asked me out and that's where I drew the line-I wouldn't do that. I waited for a little while and we would write notes but he said he didn't want to hurt this other girl's feelings. I got tired of waiting and started talking to a jerk. Shortly after that, the other guy decided to ask me out and I said no. I don't really know why. I knew the guy I was talking to was a jerk, I liked the other guy more, but that's how it worked out. I ended up regretting it the rest of that year.

The next summer he asked me to go to the movies and I was really happy because I thought my screw up would be redeemed. He ended up cancelling that night so I went to the bowling alley with a friend...where I saw, you guessed it, him bowling with another girl. I was seriously devastated in that High School girl, woe is me, all men are pigs, kind of way. I practically swore off men.

Enter Kyler. He asked me out that summer after this incident and I said no. I was done letting guys make me feel terrible about myself, and I was done dealing with them.

Shortly after that, Kyler ended up dating a girl from another school...and of course, in typical woman fashion ;), I wanted what I couldn't have. I felt like I ruined my chance, again. Luckily they ended up breaking up not too long after and my friends told Kyler he should try again with me. He almost didn't, and who would have blamed him. I wouldn't have asked the same person out after getting shot down. But I'm so glad he did.

We had our first date at the cheap seats to see Wedding Crashers. It was probably the most awkward movie two innocent teenage kids could have picked for a first date. There were boobs. Everywhere. But I had a lot of fun and after that we went to Starbucks.

I was a really shy girl then. We were fairly decent friends because we worked together and had a lot of classes together, but still. The fact that there were no awkward pauses or lulls in conversation was great for me, because talking to people I didn't know like the back of my hand usually made me uncomfortable. I felt so at ease with him.

On top of that, he opened the door for me everywhere, including the car, he paid for everything, and he was a gentlemen. I had never been treated like that before and I really didn't expect it from a 17 year old guy.

By the end of the first week we had our first kiss on my front porch after he dropped me off from a date, and a couple weeks later I woke up to a text message that said "Rise and shine, beautiful". I don't know if I had ever been called beautiful in my life up until that point, and definitely not from a guy. He was so sweet to me and treated me like a princess. I wasn't a super happy teen, but then, I was happy.

By the time we had been together for 3 weeks I knew I loved him. People can say that's ridiculous, but it's true. I felt for the first time like I was with a guy that things would work out with.

Tomorrow is our 5 years of being together anniversary, and here we are. Never in my life would I have thought I would end up an Army Wife living in Georgia, pregnant before finishing college, married to Kyler that I grew up with, but here I am. And I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm so happy with how my life has turned out. I see women struggling on a daily basis with asshole men who don't appreciate them, and I thank God every day for making things work out the way they did. Thank you, God, for making that boy see something in that other girl that he liked more than what he saw in me, because if he hadn't, maybe Kyler and I wouldn't have ended up together. Thank you for making Kyler get with that other girl so I could see that I wanted him, because if they hadn't, who knows. Thank you for giving me my best friend. Thank you for giving me the only guy I can see myself having babies with, and a beautiful baby in my belly that I can't wait to meet.

I don't want sympathy because I'm a 22 year old pregnant girl without a college degree. Different things work for different people. Other people are much more deserving of your pity than I am. I love my life and I couldn't imagine myself happier.

I have a husband who tells me at least 5 times a day that he loves me and that I'm pretty or beautiful. I know without a doubt he would never cheat on me or so much as flirt with another woman. He works his ass off to take care of me and our new baby. He makes me laugh and I have so much fun with him. I feel like I can be my really odd and goofy self around him and he will love me through it. I'm married to my best friend and I love him with all my heart. In 6 months I'm about to start a new little family with my best friend and we get to raise our baby together and I will love it all the more not just because it's a part of me, but because it's a part of him, too. I am luckier than I ever could have hoped to be, all because of small choices some teenagers made 5 years ago.

Mil Spouse Fill In Friday

I'm on time. Woot Woot!

1. Are you a night owl or an early bird?
Such a night owl!!! My current job, donut shop where work starts at 5AM, is really cramping my night owl style. When I was in college I would stay awake until 2AM most mornings.

2. What makes you jealous?
Girls who have willpower to not eat brownies and cupcakes and good ol greasy hamburgers. Aka skinny girls. I don't know if that will ever be me, because I think I'd rather not be depriving myself constantly and be a bit bigger, but happy. Seeing friends and family from home hanging out makes me jealous, just because I miss them a lot and can't be there. Women whose longest time away from their husband is a week and they are capable of acting like it's the end of the world, when a week to me seems like nothing.

3. Have you started Christmas/holiday shopping yet? When will you finish? (There’s only 63 days left!)
Psh, no. Me and Kyler are both wonderful at procrastinating. Although I don't really know if we'll be buying much as far as gifts this year, because of the baby coming.

4. What would you have a personal chef make you tonight?
Fried potatoes that I can put ketchup on, an authentic philly cheese steak sandwich, and chocolate cheesecake for dessert. I don't care if those things don't go together, they all sound awesome right now.

5. Where was your first kiss?
Ahhhh I don't even want to talk about this. Blah I will talk about it. It was the worst, most unromantic first kiss ever. It was in the freaking shower room in this little locker building by my High School's football field. It was the worst.

My first kiss with Kyler, though, was on my front porch, after one of our dates, and it was much more enjoyable :)

Mil Spouse Fill In

I think I'm just going to start titling this without the Friday...because I never do it on Friday. Sorry! Oh well. Here's the fill in for last week :P

1. What are some things on your bucket list?
Travel to another country, see the Eiffel Tower, become a teacher...let's see...I actually used to have this little book that I wrote all the things I wanted to do before I die. I wrote it in high school and I looked at it the other day and my interests have certainly changed.

2. How long have you been a MilSpouse and where have you been stationed so far?
For just over a year and so far we've only got Fort Gordon on our list. I'm ready for somewhere else ;)

3. What is a list of songs that sums up your life so far?
Oh boy, I always think these types of questions are the hardest. I will just put a few that come to mind.
-Dear God by Avenged Sevenfold-Kyler and I danced to this at our wedding, and I felt like it's a good song for when he was at basic, too.
-King of Anything by Sara Bareilles-This one is to all those people who have things to say about me being pregnant without a degree. "You've got opinions man, we're all entitled to em, but I never asked...who died and made you king of anything?" ;)

Okay so that's a pretty lame compilation, I'm sorry, but that's all I've got for now. Those song questions are tough for me.

4. What is your favorite kind of pizza?
I usually get pepperoni with green peppers and mushrooms so I suppose that would be my favorite. There's one at Giuseppe's that I LOVE that is ricotta, spinach, and tomato with a white sauce. Yum.

5. What are three good things in your life right now?
-I have the greatest husband ever that I love more than anything and he treats me great. Before becoming an Army Wife I didn't realize that was such a rare thing but it truly seems like it is and I'm really lucky.
-I'm pregnant, and I can't wait to meet this little baby and be the best momma possible.
-We have a place to live, a really comfortable bed to sleep in, plenty of groceries in our fridge...that's always good :P Also, I put in my 2 weeks notice at my job, which I could not be more psyched about. Worst. Job. Ever. For a sick, tired pregnant woman.

Mil-Spouse Fill In Friday...on Friday!

Hey look I am actually on time this week. Go me!

1. What is the longest road trip you’ve ever taken?
I will have to list two...I went on a Williamsburg trip from Kansas to D.C., Virginia, Pennsylvania in 8th grade but I just had to ride in a bus for 24 hours so I'm not sure that counts. The longest road trip where I was an adult and actually had to drive was on the way to Kyler's basic graduation. My radio wouldn't work, my CD player at the time was eating all of my CD's, and I almost fell asleep a few times. 14 hours later I luckily got to see the hubby :)

2. Do you collect anything? Tell us a bit about it.
I collect dolphin things, mostly because I love dolphins and people are continually buying me dolphin things. I don't think I have ever actually purchased one of these myself.

3. What is your favorite part about being an adult?
Being able to do, eat, say, etc what you want without really worrying about getting in trouble for it. I have several least favorite parts, though :)

4. What song brings a tear to your eye?
Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson and Slipped Away by Avril Lavigne are two that always nearly make me cry, because they remind of Lucas. Still miss him and think of him all the time! Traveling Soldier by Dixie Chicks always makes me cry, too. I think it's a really beautiful song and well you know, makes sense to have a bit of a "hits home" spot for me.

5. Describe your first plane ride (how old you were, where you were heading, etc).
I was about 9-12, honestly I don't remember. On the way to Las Vegas with my grandparents. I was absolutely terrified of flying before this, as in about to panic attack from it. Our flight got delayed because of technical difficulties with the plane. When we were finally able to get on it was storming and there was terrible turbulence. Can't make these things up.

Weekly Meal Plan Dos

The hubs and I went grocery shopping yesterday and went about 40 dollars over our weekly grocery budget. Woops. I have moved on to the stage of pregnancy where I eat and an hour later I'm hungry. I eat, hour later, hungry...and just keep repeating that throughout the entire day. It's really annoying to me because I'm not used to that-breakfast usually lasts me a good 4 hours, and the same with every other meal. So I had to get a lot more healthy snacks than I normally need so in between meals I have good things to go to.

That being said, I've read a lot of articles online telling people how to have a healthy Halloween...by which they mean, completely deprive yourself. I'm sure there are some health nuts out there cringing at what I'm about to say, but that seems like a really lousy way to live, in my opinion. It's once a year!!!! And if you count up all of the holidays where we typically indulge, it would come up to about 8 days per year, maximum. Are people really expected not to even have 8 days out of the year that they can put down the tofu and enjoy some good old candy, cheeseburgers, pies, and buttery mashed potatoes? I'm not endorsing eating like that all the time, but come on. Live a little. I know I for one plan to have a great Halloween filled with pumpkin pie, chocolate bars, smores, and hot dogs cooked on the grill. And no offense, but I'm sure I will be a lot happier that night than all those people listening to those articles and eating fruit platters instead. Just sayin'. I understand eating healthy, but it literally won't kill you to make yourself happy, be human, and indulge every now and then.

Anyway, here is my meal plan for the week, that is mostly healthy, but I do plan on making a pumpkin pie. Yes I'm pregnant and no, I don't only eat fruits and vegetables. Judge away ;)

Monday:
Breakfast-breakfast burrito with two scrambled eggs, green onion, and cheddar cheese, pineapple fruit cup in 100% juice
Lunch-chicken sandwich on wheat bread with lettuce, tomato, onion, and a side salad
Dinner-Shepherd's Pie
Snacks-bowl of grapes with string cheese and baked cheese crisps, nutri grain yogurt cereal bar, veggies

Tuesday:
Breakfast-Cereal
Lunch-Healthy Choice Cafe Steamer
Dinner-This is one of our exceptions for the month-going to dinner with Kyler's class at an Indian restaurant.
Snacks-banana, string cheese, cheese crisps, cereal bar, veggies, fruit

Wednesday:
Breakfast-Cereal
Lunch-Healthy Choice Cafe Steamer
Dinner-Italian shells and cheese hamburger helper with peas
Snacks-same as above

Thursday:
Breakfast-Cereal
Lunch-frozen meal
Dinner-homemade chicken and dumplings
Snacks-same as above

Friday:
Breakfast-Oatmeal with fruit
Lunch-We are going to Folly Beach this day, so we will probably have to pick up something on the road
Dinner-RITA'S! :)
Snacks-same as above

Saturday:
Breakfast-breakfast burrito
Lunch-Turkey sandwich on wheat, side salad
Dinner-Enchilada's
Snacks-same

Sunday:
Breakfast-Cereal
Lunch-Sandwich with veggies
Dinner-Pepper steak
Snacks-Same.

As with last week if anyone is interested in any recipes, let me know and I'd be happy to hand 'em over. :)

Mil-spouse Friday Fill-In (Shhh it's Saturday)

I seriously fail at remembering things. My memory is not the most fantastic anyways and add on top of that my increasing pregnancy brain...yeah. So, sorry, here's the Mil spouse Friday fill in, a day late :P

1. What is the silliest get-up you have ever worn outside of a Halloween party?
One time at yearbook camp (yes...there is yearbook camp. No, this story doesn't have anything to do with cameras going into private parts) there was a contest to win your school a brand new, nice, digital camera. You had to sing a song and have choreography with it...I think we may have actually only had to lip sync. Our song/dance was me and my friend dressing up as guys and the two guys who did it with us putting on wigs and make up and dressing up like girls and I'm pretty sure we did the Scrubs song. We won! So yeah I was wearing baggy pants, a baggy hoodie, a hat, and I think they may have drawn a beard on us.

2. What is something that you gave up in order to live the military lifestyle?
What don't you give up? lol. You give up your home, your comfort zone, your patience, seeing your friends and family, freedom to go wherever you want whenever you want, and honestly you give up your husband too. The military owns him and basically everything about your life while you're in it.

3. If money wasn’t a factor and you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? And why?
I would really love to go to Ireland. It seems like a beautiful place and my family is very Irish so I've always been interested in that. I would also love to go to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower. I'm not sure why I love that thing so much, but there is just something about it!

4. If you were going to join the military, what branch would you join? Or which MOS/rating would you choose?
Ha! I would never, ever, ever, in a google years join the military. EVER. No thank you. Since I have to answer the question though, I guess I would choose the Air Force and I don't know what MOS because I don't know any of theirs. Are there any MOS's that have anything to do with kids? haha.

5. What is your favorite thing to make for dinner?
I really enjoy cooking but when thinking of this question, I honestly don't really like making anything for dinner. Weird. I guess it's the end result that I like? I do love to bake. So I will amend the question and say that I love to bake pies.