Friday's Letters

Dear husband, I cannot wait until I am off work at three tomorrow so that I can spend the rest of the weekend with you! We are both so busy during the week and I feel like I never get to see you as much as I want. I know it will only get worse when I add a full time position into the mix, but we will just have to do what we can. I cannot wait until we finally have time to explore the base and really explore Alaska. It will be the time of our lives, babe! You have been amazing since we got here, and I am so blessed by you as my husband. I love you honey! Dear Leo, Little boy, you have been the sweetest thing the past couple of mornings. You're wonderful until your daddy gets home from work and then you are a little terrorizer! You silly thing! Hopefully soon, we will get you a little sister whether she is a doxie like you, or a German shepherd puppy. We want you to have a companion for when you are alone for a long time when mommy and daddy are at work. Now, you will need to adjust to this and you will probably be a brat about it, but I told you that you would not be an "only child" for long. Then just you wait. Wait until you have a "real" brother or sister! Dear sun, Can you try to stay out more days in a row? You have barely shown yourself since Jarrett and I moved here and I would like to see you as much as possible now before you only show up for four hours at a time in the winter. Preferably, could you try to stay out on days that Jarrett and I are off so that we can actually go site see and get really good pictures? Please and thank you! Dear family and friends, Jarrett and I are doing great here so far! I cannot wait for every one's first visits. You will all LOVE it here! Please continue to pray and stay strong and we will do the same. We won't be here forever. We love and miss you all more than words can say, and we will see you all sooner than later!

Friday Five and Friday Letters

Hello all! Sorry I missed Friday Five and Friday letters for last week. Last Friday we went out to dinner, went grocery shopping and then we both came home and crashed from a really long busy week! This week was long and busy too, but I don't plan to crash too early tonight. So let's get on with Friday Five shall we!

1. Keds

Okay! Lately I have been a little obsessed with Keds shoes! My co-worker, Sandy, had bought a couple of pairs for work just recently because they are so comfortable and at Hallmark, you are constantly moving and lifting and moving and lifting. To work at a store like ours, you really need cute comfortable shoes to wear. They are having a major sale on many of their styles and I want want want! The two pairs above are the ones on my wish list! Hopefully I will be wearing them very soon!

2. New stuff at work

We have been getting the cutest stuff at the store lately. I am in love with all of it! My two favorite things that we've got are new beach decor for our beach section and wooden plaques and mugs with adorable quotes on them! I mean, can it get any cuter than this for home decor? Nope, sure can't! I love beachy decor and I love decor with quotes on them. Perfect combo! I don't care if I am moving to a place where it's mainly snowy and cold, I am still keeping my beachy bathroom and I am still keeping all of my beachy/springish/summerish decor. 

3. Disney home decor

Lately I have also been thinking about expanding my Disney decor. I never thought I have would have Disney stuff in my home, not because I don't love Disney because I definitely do, but because I never thought it would go with my other decor. Boy was I wrong. The Disney plaques can go with anything in your home. Somehow, my plaques just work with everything else. I also LOVE my Cinderella snow globes and my Beauty and the Beast figurine. These two movies are my absolute favorite Disney movies. Just having these in my home bring me happiness and sometimes motivation to get through a long day! I suggest you bring out your inner child and buy some Disney decor for your home too! 

4. Leo cuteness 

Ughhhh my dog is so stinking cute. He makes the cutest faces and I swear he smiles and winks at me sometimes. He just amazes me. When he sleeps is when he is at his maximum cuteness! Sometimes he smiles in his sleep and then my heart melts. I look at how much I love him and I cannot believe I love an animal so much! I mean, I never knew you could love an animal this much. It's crazy!

5. Friday nights at home 

So, tonight we were going to go to the movies to see World War Z, but the weather got really nasty. We decided just to stay in tonight. We did step out to get some yummy Wendy's and strawberry lemonades from there, but then we came back home and have been watching other zombie movies instead of WWZ. We first watched 28 Days Later and now we are watching Zombie Land. Yes, my husband and I love zombie movies and yes we love The Walking Dead! We are "that" couple. Sometimes just staying in and watching movies is the best way to bring in the weekend

Hellooooo Friday Letter's!

Dear Jarrett, You are so cute when you watch zombie movies. You just love them and it's funny to watch how fixated you are on the TV. This is just one of the many bazillion reasons why I love you! Dear Leo, You are just the most snugly thing ever. As soon as I get a blanket to lay with on the couch you just have to come over and snuggle your way under it. You love to be covered just like I do. You also love to be warm like I do. You are your mommy's son, that's for sure! Dear Alaska, In a little over a month Jarrett, Leo and I will be all packed up and on our way to you for four to eight years of our life. I can't believe how quick everything is happening. Dear first day of Summer, Yay you're finally here! I need to enjoy you while I can because soon I won't live thirty minutes from a beach anymore or have a pool anymore! Boo!

 

 

 

What is every one's plans for the weekend?

Are you having a lazy Friday night at home too?

Did anyone do anything fun for the first day of Summer?

 

Katie<3

Friday Five and Friday Letter's

Welcome to another round of Friday Five and Friday's Letters! Hope you all had an easy, good week. My week was busy, busy, and more busy! You know, the usual. I am definitely looking forward to this weekend with my husband. If the weather cooperates, we will be headed to Busch Gardens again on Sunday. Yay!

 

1. Hurricane season

It's that time again. Tropical storm and hurricane season is among us, and I am not a fan at all. The past two years we have been hit pretty hard here in Virginia and my family were also hit hard in Maryland. It has been pretty rough, but somehow we've all pulled through with only minor issues. I cannot complain though, considering this lovely gal in the picture below me moved to New York during this time last year and was hit very very hard by super storm Sandy. Her and her boyfriend, Patrick, basically lost their apartment due to heavy flooding and they also had many problems with their vehicles. I am so thankful that they are okay, but I felt for them when I realized just how much they had lost. I am happy to report that they are doing great today and were able to get another apartment not too longer after the storm hit. I did ask Jarrett the other day if there are any hurricanes in Alaska. His response was, "No, but there are earthquakes and volcanoes." Ummmm honey, that's not what I want to hear! Eeeek!

 

2. Amanda 

So, this my friends is Amanda, the girl of which I spoke of above. To make a really really long story short, she dated my younger brother, Chris, for four or so years. During that time, her and I became really really close. Even when her and my brother parted ways, we still stayed close friends. She has been one of the most loyal friends to me while I have lived here in Virginia. Last year she graduated college and did exactly what I did when I graduates; she moved away to live with her significant other. She left everything that she had ever known and moved to New York for a boy. After she moved, we still stayed in touch, but it was hard to see each other. We would plan trips home to Maryland, but our trips were never during the same time. Well folks, today we reunited! She was in town in VA Beach to see the Kenny Chesney concert with her mom, and she was able to stop by my store before leaving to drive back to Maryland. It had been a little over a year since we had seen each other and it was amazing! I miss her face already! Whomp!

 

3. Laundry date night 

Yes, you saw that correctly. Laundry date night. Jarrett and I have been incredibly busy this week which meant that housework may have suffered a little bit. I have promised myself that I will catch up on my cleaning on my days off on Sunday and Monday. For now, the main thing that suffered from the week was laundry. Loads and loads of laundry. Usually when we have a ton of laundry, we just go to the laundry mat because they have bigger washers and dryers, plus we can fold everything there on those neat tables so all I have to do when we get home is put everything away. Voila! It cost a little more than doing laundry at our town home, but it basically cuts my laundry time in half. So, in true Katie and Jarrett fashion, we drove through Wendy's and ate it at the laundry mat while we waited. Perfect little date night. It doesn't matter where I am with my husband, we always enjoy each other's company.

 

4. Skype/Face Time with mom

My mom has entered the IPhone world! I am really glad she has because now we can do Face Time and even Skype through our IPhone's. Awesome considering we are about to be thousands of miles away for four or more years! Tonight, we tested Skype out and it worked for a little bit then our Internet connection went crazy and it stopped working. We then tried Face Time which worked way better than Skype. It was so much fun for my mom. She has never done anything like this before, so she was pretty excited when she saw my face and heard my voice all at the same time. I am excited to do this with her our first day in Alaska!

 

5. Scentsy love

My oh my, I am in love with Scentsy. I first introduced Scentsy in another Friday Five segment of which you can read about here. The first scent that I put in my warmer is called "My Home" and it is burning as we speak. Swoon! It smells just like I would want our home to smell when someone walks in the door. I have our home decorated with a little bit of modern flare and a little bit of country flare, so this scent reflects our home perfectly. LOVE!

 

Dear Hubby, Every time you walk by me as I type up this blog post, you kiss my cheek. Could you be any cuter tonight? It is little things like a random couple of kisses on the cheek that make me fall in love with you all over again. How do you do it? Dear Leo, How in the world are you managing to jump over your kitchen gate almost every time we leave the house? You amaze me every single day. I mean, at least you aren't taking any harsh feeling out on my shoes anymore, but still, this is crazy! I really have no clue what to do with you sometimes. I think we might just have to get a second gate just like the one we have. Ha, I'd like to see you jump over double gates! Dear PCS to Alaska, You are getting closer and closer by the minute. In two months we will be just about ready to head off on our two week driving adventure to get to you by August 31st! This still does not seem real to me. It will not seem real until the movers come in and take my car and all of our stuff. AHHHH!

 

Katie<3

Friday Five and Friday Letters

Hi everyone! Hope you have had a great week! I have another busy and fun weekend ahead of me. My best friend Christina is coming for the weekend and my other best friend Brooke is in Williamsburg for her family vacation, so we are going to see her at some point too! Us three haven't been together in years, so I am very excited! What are your weekend plans?

1. Jarrett's cooking

My husband's cooking is just out of this world! Yes, I cook too, but not as good as my husband. He has always been a great cook and even more so now that we are trying to eat healthier and experiment with new recipes. Last week he made me a burger with a boiled egg inside it without a bun. He put garlic and cooked spinach on top of the burger too. Best recipe ever! Wednesday night he made me a grilled chicken caesar salad and garlic bread and I was in heaven! Another reason why he is just like my father! :P

2. Trail mix

I have been searching for peanut butter trail mix forever and I finally found it at Walmart. This trail mix has Reese's pieces, peanut butter chips, peanut butter candy drops, peanuts and pretzels! So delicious! I also came across S'mores trail mix. From the looks of the bag, this trail mix looks amazing, but I don't know how I feel about it just yet. I'll just stick with my peanut butter!

3. Dove chocolate

I am OBSESSED with Dove chocolate. My co-worker, Sandy, had bought a bag during work the other day and I may have eaten almost all of them the next day when she was off from work. I had a huge chocolate rush on Wednesday and just had to eat them. Yesterday I bought her a new bag of chocolates and put them in her apron at work! Maybe I'll leave her new bag alone? 

4. Busch Gardens

I received this e-mail the other day and realized that Busch Gardens is open for the summer now! Yay! Jarrett and I have to go there as much as we can over the next couple of months so we can use our season passes. This weekend we are planning to go if it isn't too hot outside. This e-mail is about their Food and Wine Festival which sounds like a lot of fun. If it involves food and wine then I'm there!

5. The cuteness that is Leo

I can never get away from blogging about Leo! He is just the cutest dog ever and he does the cutest things all the time. He amazes me every day with the things that he know and does. Dogs are so smart and they aren't given enough credit for the things that they know. I honestly learn more about him every day! I cannot believe a year ago tomorrow we will have had him for a full year! When we get settled in to our home in Alaska, we are going to get another puppy, so I can't wait to go through this whole process again!

Dear husband, I love you, but you drive me crazy picking on me all the time. I might just punch you in the face one of these days, or maybe I'll just give you tons of kisses instead! :P Any who, babe! I can't wait for this weekend because we can finally go to Busch Gardens any time we want! After the crazy, busy week we've had, I'd say that sounds perfect!

Dear Leo, I love you little buddy! You are the sweetest boy ever. You make mommy so happy and you make mommy want another little dachshund so we can give you a sibling. Don't worry though, we will get you a sibling when we get to Alaska. Actually, you will probably have more than one sibling while we are there! We shall see, little one!

Dear Rachel, I loved our dinner together tonight! It had been a month since we were together so I'm glad we could do dinner. We have two more months to do a lot of stuff and get into a lot of stuff together so we have to do as much as possible! I'm so lucky to have met you while I was here and I know our friendship will make it through all of this!

Dear Christina and Brooke, Omg! Are we seriously going to be together again and in my state nonetheless? I cannot wait for this weekend with you both! It has been literally years since the three of us were together. It will be the best reunion ever! Love you both so much!

Happy weekend all!

Katie<3

Friday Five: Obsession Edition and Friday Letters

Happy Memorial Day weekend y'all! My weekend is consisting of a drive to Maryland then a trip to Massachusetts with my family to see my cousin get married and to spend some time in Boston. This is the last family trip before we move so we have to make it memorable! Anywho! This Friday Five post is about my obsessions of the week! There might be a little Friday Letters thrown in here too! Enjoy! :)

 

1. Herbal Essences Body Envy shampoo and conditioner and Paris Amour body spray. 

I started using Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner again a couple weeks ago. I use to use Herbal Essences a long time ago and then used Pantene for a while. Lately I had been using a sulfate free shampoo and conditioner because I had my hair colored a little while back. The sulfate free stuff was making my hair look and feel awful, so my store manager who is also a hair dresser told me to start using Herbal Essences again since that's what she uses. I ended up buying Body Envy to give my hair some volume. LOVE IT! My hair is now softer, has volume and just all and all looks and feels much better!

 

Paris Amour is my absolute favorite Bath and Body Works scent there is. I have the body spray, shimmer body spray, lotions and shimmer half and half lotion. I am like over the moon for this scent. It's perfect. I just love it! What is your favorite Bath and Body Works scent? I bet it's Paris Amour too!

 

2. Under Armour v-neck shirts

I am all over these shirts right now. I love them mainly for the gym, but I also like wearing them as an every day t-shirt with jeans. They are only $22 which is not bad at all for Under Armour. I have the shirt in neon pink, blue and orange, and I hope to get it in every color very soon. Yay!

 

3. Frozen yogurt and Rita's custard

So since my husband came home we have been trying to eat a lot better. My husband is a HUGE ice cream lover so we wanted to find an alternative to ice cream so that he could still have his frozen fix. I had been telling him for a while that he needed to be eating frozen yogurt instead and he finally listened to me. I took him to Yogurt VI the other night and he loved it. You can make your cup as healthy as you want or as non healthy as you want. He also loves Rita's Italian ice with the custard inside it. I love the ice too, but I'm very partial to the custard. I looooove custard! It is like frozen pudding and it's better for you than ice cream. 

 

4. Bud Lime Strawberry margarita and an Arnold Palmer

I have seen the commercial for the Bud Lime margaritas like ten thousand times and then they just had to come out with the strawberry ones. They are noms. They have the lime and the strawberry mixed together and even though that didn't sound very good to me at first, it was actually quite delicious! I urge you to try it this summer! 

 

My husband has turned me on to the Arnold Palmer drink too. If you don't know, an Arnold Palmer is half sweet tea and half lemonade. It is amazing! I love sweet tea, but I've been trying to cut back on it because I was drinking it WAY too much. I also really love lemonade so what better way to drink two of my favorites than to just mix them together. This way I'm not drinking straight sweet tea. Lately I've been ordering this drink at fast food places too. They always seem to know what I'm talking about too, so why not order it. So go on! Order yourself an Arnold Palmer next time you're at a restaurant! 

 

5. Scentsy 

Yesterday I received my first Scentsy order and even though I have not burned any of my bars yet, I am already in love. Scentsy does the wax and wax burners and they have the cutest wax burners I have ever seen! Move over Yankee Candle! My co-worker Heather has recently become an independent consultant for Scensty so I bought my stuff from her. Like Heather, I had been looking to become an independent consultant for a company too and I already really like Scentsy. I am considering selling the product too so I'll have a little income for when we get to Alaska. I also like Thirty-One bags and thought about selling their products. Hey! Maybe I could sell both? Who knows!

In other news, here's some Friday Letters! 

 

Dear Husband, I still wish you were going on our trip this weekend, but I guess it's okay. I know you can't help it, but it still makes me mad when you can't do something because of the military. I guess it's maybe a good thing you had to stay behind so you can focus more on getting stuff done for our orders. I love you and hope you and Leo have a good boys weekend together. 

Dear Leo, You be a good boy for your daddy this weekend! While I'm gone, please try to refrain from chewing on the pillows, couch and papasan chair cushion! We are going to work on breaking you of this habit before we buy all new furniture! Hopefully it will work, but we love you anyways. 

Dear Boston vacation, It feels so good to take a vacation somewhere I've never been before. I've always wanted to go to Boston and now I am. Yay I'm excited! 

Dear Memorial Day, You are more than vacations and cook outs with family and friends. You are a day for us to remember the men and women who have served our country in the past, those who have lost their lives defending our country and those still serving today. Thank you all for your service. Our fallen heroes will never be forgotten. 

Dear Husband, Happy Memorial Day babe! I feel so honored to be your wife and I am so proud of you for serving our country. I never want to take our life for granted because one moment you are here with me and the next moment you are deployed! I am blessed by this life with you and wouldn't trade it for anything! Thank you for serving our country over the past eight years and for serving our country in the future! I love you always!

 

Katie<3

Friday's Letters

Dear husband, I LOVE having you home again. I feel alive again having you around me all the time again. You are so cute and handsome. Sometimes I can't take it. I love seeing you with Leo. You are such a good fur daddy to him. I love our life and I can't wait for our life in Alaska. I love you so much. Dear Leo, You are being such a good boy right now as we drive to Maryland. I bet you cannot wait to see your Gamaw and Sophie. I know they cannot wait to see you. I also bet you're glad that your daddy is home again. Your family is all together again! Dear summer like weather, Boy oh boy am I going to miss you like crazy when we move. I am trying to not take you for granted, but I am so use to having you around right now that's it's going to be so hard to leave you. I guess I'll just have to make friends with the cold, snowy weather! Dear husband, You make me laugh so much. You've picked out a song to make Leo fall asleep in the car and it worked. You and Leo make my life, seriously! How did I get so lucky? P.S- You really are cute. Just saying!

 

Katie<3

Friday's Letters!

Dear husband, In exactly one month you will finally be home and we can start all our planning for Alaska. I still cannot believe we are actually going to be living there, especially after all of the conversations that we've had about wanting to go there so bad. It's crazy and wonderful all at the same time! I love you and I cannot wait for this next chapter of our life! Dear Leo, I'm really getting tired of you barking at me whenever I'm on the phone. I cannot give you attention 24/7 so please learn to contain yourself when mommy is on the phone. Mommy would love you forever if you could just give her some peace and quiet every now and then! Dear Alaska, Are you ready for the Hayman's? Well, you better be because we will be making our way to you in a little over four months now. Get excited!