PCSing took over my life....

So on  February 24 I worked my last day at my wonderful banking job in preparation of "The PCS".  I gave myself 1 week to Clean and Pack and prepare for our DITY (Do It Yourself) move from Oklahoma to Fort Lewis, WA.  Man did I need that full week to Pack more than ever.  My good friend Kayla and I had packing parties and help each other prepare for our next big adventures with the Army.  Although we were moving to the opposite sides of the country we knew we'd still be apart of one another's lives.
Kayla is from Washington so in the search for housing everything she has been my go to resource.  Her family and Allen's are still in Washington and have been so willing to help us with anything and everything we've needed.  It has been a wonderful blessing to have Kayla and her family in our lives.

As we prepared to move to Washington we decided that with the 10 year low in the housing market and the super low interest rates that it was a great time for us to purchase our first house.  We searched and searched and searched and found a wonderful new build home in a safe neighborhood that we were so blessed to find.  We got qualified for the loan and began all of the paperwork......But the only hitch is that we qualify with me employed in Oklahoma but as soon as my job was over to move we no longer qualified.  In order for everything to go through I have to find a job in Washington ASAP.  So the Job search began a few weeks before we left and I finally heard back from one of the prospects, Wells Fargo, but they were hiring before I could get there.  2 weeks later I heard back from them, they were still hoping to fill as couple more positions and I got an interview.  Now it has been 6 days and I'm anxiously waiting for tomorrow to roll around to find out if I have a second interview or if I was declined.  UGH!!!  I'd like to know already.

So the job search continues.....over 25 applications and only 2 responses back, I'm starting to get nervous.  I'm really excited about my job interview today with REI and we all continue to pray that everything will work out as god plans and that a I will find a wonderful job soon.  Today the job search is going to be extended a little further from our home in hopes that something will come open or at least it will help pass my time.  I know I will find a job, but I hope I can find it before we can't extend this house offer any longer.

Louie...

So about a month ago my husband and I were talking about puppies so he went online and found this adorable puppy.  And that is how this story began.... Yup, you got it we bought him off the internet.  He is so cute.  He was only 3 weeks old so we had to wait for him to be old enough to leave his mom.
Yesterday, Louie got to the airport in Missouri, his flight got cancelled due to a snow storm then he missed his connecting flight, but after a 10 hr day at the airport he finally made it to Lawton.

He was quite scared and unsure of what just happened bet he quickly warmed up to me and fell asleep in my lap.  When we got home he ate some dinner and went straight back to his kennel.  We soon went to bed as well.
At 1:30 am I woke up to a little whimper.  Went to go check on him and he ran for the door....Wow! an 8 week old puppy that knows to go potty outside yup he did.  After that it was like he was a new man he had so much energy and want to play but all I wanted to do was sleep so I played for 15 minutes then put him to bed in his kennel.  He's also really good about going in there to sleep.
This morning he had more energy than you could imagine.  Oh boy!  I've got a crazy puppy on my hands.  He sure is going to be a handful but an adorable fun handful.  Can't wait for him to wake up from his nap so we can go play some more and go see my cousins and their kids.  Hope the kids will tucker him out again.  :-)
Louie is the best early birthday present ever!

Blessed By PCS...

So this week has been very overwhelming with lots of amazing things going on.  First off, I've been interested in going back to school to learn more about accounting and finance and now it's possible.  I was referred by a friend to MyCAA by a friend and found out that they offer an accounting program through Allied Business School and they I'm qualified for Financial Assistance to get my Accounting certificate with no charge to me.  Funding for Military Spouses is awesome!!! The even more exciting part is that it is an online independent study program so I don't have to wait until next semester to start so Schooling starts again real soon :-) YAY!!! I'm beyond blessed with amazing opportunities and the military has helped me stay on track with my long term and short term goals.
Second off, I put in my two weeks notice at work.  It's official we're packing our stuff up and moving out of Lawton March 3.  I truly don't mind this place but it's not ideal and I'm ready to move on to bigger and better things.  I will miss you wonderful co-workers and the few amazing people that I've come close to while living here but we can still come back and visit and now everyone has a new vacation destination....Ft. Lewis, WA.
Last but not least, We signed the contracts and started all of the paperwork to buy our first house in Puyallup, WA.  We have been blessed with a wonderful real estate agent and mortgage officer who have both been beyond helpful in the process and have been very supportive.  They are even helping me find a job from 2000 miles away :-)  They were able to help us find a brand new 2 story home on 1/4 of an acre for a price we could afford.  To top it off we got to have some input in the details of our new home because it is still under construction.  In our contract they even agreed to fence in and landscape our backyard, as well as install blinds and window coverings.  Amazing!!!
My husband and I are so blessed to have such wonderful opportunities and be blessed with such wonderful things.  We are going to be moving to a wonderful area and into a beautiful new home and I'll be going back to school for a great new career.  We have a loving and supportive family standing behind us.  What more could a girl ask for?    We have been beyond blessed by both of our recent PCS moves.

Girl Time....

So this past week was full of emotion and energy.  It seemed like it flew past before I even knew it.  To end the crazy busy week I got to enjoy my first girls night out since I've been here at Fort Sill.  When I say girls night out I mean we stayed in but I was out of my house for once :-)
So my exciting and emotional knew is we finally got official orders from the Army, yup, we're PCSing again.  AHHHHH!  The headache of moving and I couldn't be happier.  Although  Im finally starting to settle into this town and get used to it and make friends, I still don't like it here.  I've been making the best of it and and have enjoyed most of my time here but it's a weird town with very little to do.  We've been there done that then did it again.  I'm ready for a change of pace and scenery and thats exactly what we're getting.  We are PCSing to Ft. Lewis, WA.  I'm excited for the change but sad to see my wonderful job here in Oklahoma go.  The only thing I have here is my job so I am ready to let go and find something new.
On to girls night....Caitlin threw a fun and energetic girls night in to get a few Army Wives together, enjoy each other's company, eat some yummy food, and watch the Miss America Pageant.  I've never actually watched it and to my surprise it was pretty fun and entertaining.  We laughed at things they said and judged them ourselves while we ate food and wished for  skinnier bodies like the ones prancing across the stage in bikinis.  LOL It was a great night to get out of my house and spend some time with fun girls and just relax.  It's also a blessing to get to know Caitlin better since we will be PCSing to Lewis together in another month.   It will be nice to have a friend once we get there to learn our way around and get lost together.  I am beyond thankful for my fellow Army Wives and for Girl Time.....

Cheers to the NEW YEAR!!!

I've been so busy with moving across the country getting settled into to a new home, a new city, and a new job that I haven't really been on here recently.  I've come to realize that I became too focused on being an Army Wife and stopped enjoying being an Army Wife, so here is to a new year, new adventures, new happiness, and a new ME.
With a New Year comes New Years Resolutions...dunt dunt dun....So instead of making one that is not realistic, I've decided to make goals that I know will last.
1) Journaling/Updating this blog once a week.
2) Walking or working out 3 times a week
3) Eating whatever I want, but in moderation of course
4) Doing something for myself like Starbucks, painting my nails, getting a haircut, quiet time, reading, ect... once a week(or more)
5) Scrapbook my wedding photos before my next anniversary August 1
6) Make my new house a home

Lately I've been really struggling with living in Lawton, OK.  It really isn't that bad of a place.  Yeah, there is not much to do here and the shopping for anything is mostly done at Wal-mart.  I just need to look at the positive side of it all.  Thank God I have a job and that we don't need anything so shopping for food and necessities is really all we do and luckily it call all be purchased at Wal-mart.  The holiday's and being away from my family really got the best of me.  I just feel like I have no friends here although I really do.  We have many other military families and my "non-related cousins", along with several of my co-workers.  In the end it is not home and in no way can I make it home.  At least I always know I have a wonderful loving and supportive group of people standing behind me back in Arizona.

Now that the holiday's are over the next thing we have to look forward to is February 14.  Yes this is Valentines Day, but better yet it is when Ryan finishes FA BOLC training and will be ready to take charge of his first Unit.  In the mean time we are still playing the waiting game on his Orders as well as housing options.  I'm so anxious to know when and where we'll be living, will he deploy, what will he be doing, how long will we be here....so many questions so much unknown.   All I do know is that this next year is going to bring great things to us and great adventures.  So here is to 2012!!!
Cheers to the NEW YEAR!!!

OCS Graduation then PCSing....

So I haven't written on here in a while, but it is because the Army somewhat took over my life.  I've beyond busy and have had limited internet access.  The last few weeks have been full of tons of emotions and experiences.  So here it goes...My adventures of the past few weeks.
So it all started with getting to Ft. Benning Georgia.  My mom and I took off on the beginning of a long road trip to see my husband and finally get to be a real wife not just one who writes letter and waits for the next phone call.  We get to cook and clean and live together after being apart for our entire first year of marriage.  The first part of our trip we drove all the way through New Mexico and into Texas.  We got to stop in El Paso at Ft. Bliss to see another "Army Wife" and a wonderful friend of mine Audrey.  It was the best way to start a trip.  She is one of the best friends I have, even if we don;t see each other for years when we do get together it seems like we've never been apart.  The second day of our trip we made it to San Antonio to play tourist at our first stop.  Actually my favorite stop before we made it to Georgia.  The River Walk was so much fun and beautiful.    We visited the Alamo and went on a horse and buggy tour of the town.  It was where we decided that we will always come back to for a fun vacation.

As we left we headed to New Orleans to spend the next 2 days.  We stayed in a beautiful historic hotel on Royal street just 1 block off of Bourbon St.  It was an amazing place and a unique vacation spot but a location I probably would never go back to.  When we pulled into town there was so much traffic it was hard to get around and on top of that there were crazy people and everyone of them were dressed up in "Red Dresses"  That day was the Red Dress Run in support of Breast Cancer.  It was a huge event and a Crazy one at that!  The locals said it was the second largest event next to Mardi Gras.  They meassure the success of the evening on how many tons of trash they have to clean up the next morning.  I have never seen such a dirty place with so much trash in the streets.  It was definitely a must do but a 1 time experience for me.  My favorite part of it was the Piano Bar Howl at the Moon.  The next day we went on several tours of the area.  The first one was an Alligator Swam Tour.  We got to ride on a swamp boat and feed alligators.  AMAZING!  Then we when on a bus tour of the town and got to see the remaining damage from Hurricane Katrina several years ago.  The history behind this city was amazing.

Frustration...

Recently life has gotten the best of me.  I've been working more than normal, packing to go to my husbands OCS Graduation, and packing/organizing everything to move.  I am a bit of a planner and not being able to plan and confirm this trip is driving me nuts.  It's even more so driving me nuts that we cannot find a decent place to live in our price range.  We have found a few places but they are either in a bad part of town or not a nice neighborhood (so we've heard)  but moving there sight unseen is scary and frustrating.  Without much of Ryan's help it has made it that much harder.  We know what we can afford on his salary alone but trying to figure out if I'm going to have a job or not has also been driving me bonkers.  I just want some definite answers.  At this point in time the few things that I know are definite are we are leaving Arizona on the 11th to drive to Ft. Benning, GA we will be in Georgia for the OCS formal and Graduation on the 16th and 18th and will be back to Arizona on the 23rd.  Hopefully along this 2 week vacation we can get some more definite answers from the Army and hopefully we can get a few more decisions made as to where we are going to live.  I am trying to be more spontaneous with "BIG" decisions and not get so frustrated when I don't get a straight answer.
I will conquer this frustration...