BIG NEWS

SOOOOOOOOOOOO....I got a job!!!! I wasn't even looking for one. My parents' neighbor is being promoted and the position she had needed to be filled so she told my mom about it and my mom of course encouraged me to do it. My guess is she sees the stressed out mess I have become and thinks maybe getting out of the house and making extra fun money would calm my neurosis down. Either way, I'm appreciative of the opportunity. I think it is going to make the deployment flyyyyy by and not only that, but my kids will have some with my family before we make our big move to Hawaii at the end of next summer!

Also, this is going to help me reach our financial goals for 2014 even faster which is exciting! So, what is the job you ask?? Actually it's totally for me....I'm going to be working for a stage lighting company as a customer service and shipping/receiving employee. The work is mostly clerical and the work atmosphere is super laid back...the schedule is synced with my county's school system so when my oldest is out of school, I can work from home rather than at the office location. The pay is well above minimum wage with possibilities of raises and my first day is tomorrow!! I'll be training tomorrow and thursday and then im off until Jan 1st, which is when christmas break is.

I'm so excited and nervous. It has been a while since I've had a job outside the home and the thought of being away from the kids makes me sad, but I know it isn't for forever and it will be great for me and the kids!

I've been scouring the internet for tips on going back to working after having little ones.....It's gonna be A OK....but WISH ME LUCK and SEND ME GOOD VIBES =)

Murphy's Law

Ok you military wives, husbands, gfs, bfs, blah blah you get it....we have all heard it...."anything that can go wrong will during deployment." This is my 2nd and right before my first deployment with my husband I would roll my eyes every time I would hear that. The I went through a deployment and I was like aaaaaahhhhhh...YEP...IT'S TRUE!

Last deployment we got rear ended in a brand new car and then had a trip to the ER with my then 6 month old all within the first month he was gone! This deployment....I got into an accident, had to fix a garage door, and had someone steal my identity and steal my money!! grrrrrrrrrrrrrr....all of that on top of cranky children who miss their daddy...HUMPH



But we get through it!! There are so many ways to cope and Mama Meagan has a great blog post and accompanying video all about how to cope!

http://mama-meagan.blogspot.com/2013/12/deployment-tips-for-coping_6.html?showComment=1386334033291#c1567913954110656665

^there is the link for her blog!


Def check it out!

What I did and What I ate on Wednesday

WARNING: not the healthiest day.....but definitely a FUN day

Breakfast:

 I almost always start my morning with a spark and some catalyst and thermoplus. Spark is a mental focus drink packed with vitamins and amino acids.

Catalyst is a supplement that supports muscle tone and enhances strength and energy. Thermoplus is a supplement that helps stimulate the metabolism. All 3 of these items can be purchased at www.advocareteamcatalyst.com

Typically I take those items first thing in the morning and then get ready, but on this particular day I got ready before hand

 30 minutes after I take my supplements, I have my breakfast. On this wednesday I tried the vega choc-o-lat smoothie powder with some ice and some frozen bananas with a little bit of berry flavored sparkling water. MMMMMMM I will be buying a tub of that vega smoothie mix...DELISH!! I picked my packet up at whole foods.

 At this point in the day, I usually fill up my big JUST DRANK gallon container with ice and water. I try to finish this before dinner time every day. My lovely friend, Jena, who you'll see later in this post, purchased this one for me but you can get your own at justdrank.com

It's a great cause!

Lunch:

 For lunch, Jena and I went out to one of our favorite little Thai places here in the Jacksonville/Orange Park, FL area.

  We started with some tea (hot tea for me) and spring rolls, which are fabulous there!! We also had some of the bean sprout soup.

 I had the day's special. Salmon in a very delicious ginger sauce with thai style veggies.

 Jena had a yummy (I know because we are those friends that eat off of each others plates) garlic and ginger chicken  with vegetables and the cutest scoop of rice you ever did see.

 We both treated ourselves to a thai iced coffee =)

After lunch, Jena and I felt like it was a good day for walking around our local hippy friendly stores in the five points area. Midnight sun was our first stop. Here are some of our pics from our adventure.

 There is Jena =) told you that you'd meet her in this blog update. To the left of Jena, you'll see sparkles our unicorn friend.

 We picked up some candles and incense for a friend of ours and then headed over to Jena's place to RELAX before dinner. My Mamma (grandmother) was in town and I took full advantage of her babysitting the kids all day! No way I was going back home before the end of the night lol

Dinner:

Most of my friends and myself love to eat local. Brick is a great restaurant in the riverside area. Great cocktails, great atmosphere, and great food!

 We met up with our friend Tiff for drinks and dinner! We started with champagne to toast to good friends and good times during this deployment (All of us are husbandless to the same command at the moment so we are going through deployment together). Along with our champagne we had a baked brie. Not just any baked brie, but a baked brie topped with a caramel sauce and pecans served with toasted bread, grapes, and strawberries. It was my favorite thing I had there.

 Such a great place to enjoy with friends!!

 We all picked off of each others plate so I can tell you, they were all AMAZING! Jena ordered this Mediterranean salad. Greens, olives, pasta, tomatoes, and fried calamari...OH MY!

 Tiff ordered this big ole stack of yumminess. Layers of beefsteak tomato, mozzarella cheese, and caramelized onions all topped with sea salt, a basil leaf, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. 

 I ordered the ahi poke salad. OH MAN! Seaweed, horseradish, cabbage, lima beans, mango, ahi tuna, and crisped up wantons. SO GOOD!

We all finished up with a cocktail. Mine was a lemon drop Martini! mmmmmm

After dinner we went over to our friend Nikki's to spend time with her, Julie, and a friend of Nikki's. The the fun at Nikki's was captured on another friend's camera, but I assure you we had a great time ;-}

Hope you had a great week! Stay tuned for my thanksgiving vlog =]