Liebster Award! :D

I am beyond grateful to receive this award from Aly  @ http://worldaccordingtoaly.blogspot.com


The Rules of the Liebster Award are as follows:
1. Thank/link the person who nominated you
2. Answer the questions from your nominator
3. Nominate 11 bloggers who have less than 200 followers (link them)
4. Create 11 new questions for your nominees 
5. Notify your nominees through social media/blogs.

The questions I received from the wonderful Aly are as follows: 

1. What is something you feel strongly about?

    ~I feel strongly about being a very good person. That means, at least to me, that I stay educated, kind, understanding, patient, humble, and follow the word of God as I see fit. 

2. Something you always think "what if" about

    ~ I always think "what if" about all those "grown up" things that can happen. Pregnancy, illness, losing something, and forgetting anything. Haha. 

3. Five weird things about you

    ~ I swear I am more mature than most people my age. I love Cranberry juice. I play quite a few instruments. I think I am pretty creative. I don't have any patience for anyone that doesn't do everything they can to protect their children or spouse. 

4. How you hope your future will be like

    ~ I hope that I have a child (or children) to call my own and raise to be decent members of society. I hope to be able to spend more time with Trent and family. I hope that the world gets out of this violent slump it seems to have been in...

5. Something you are proud of

    ~ The one thing I am most proud of, would be when people tell me that I am just like my Mommy. (Yes, I am 23 years old. Yes I will and do still call her Mommy)

6. Where you'd like to be in 10 years.

    ~ Hopefully in a house that I am not renting and can decorate to my taste. :D

7. If you had a million dollars what would you do with it?

    ~Pay off my parent's mortgage, pay off student loans, and pay off a new car and a new house for Trent and myself. (Whether or not it would actually cover this.... Don't care. haha)

8. A moment you were most satisfied with your life

    ~I would have to say that I am most satisfied with life when I have the husband home and we are just sitting on the couch and enjoying each other's company. :)

9. Hobbies and interests?

    ~ My hobbies include: Drawing, creating, crafting, crochet, cooking, reading, and blogging when I remember to do it. :)

10. Five pet peeves

    ~ Five Pet Peeves: People who treat you like garbage, Disrespectful children, the smell of spaghetti sauce the day after it's cooked, Trent's socks being under the coffee table every day, and People who take my generosity and kindness for granted.

11. There wasn't an 11th one provided, so I will ask a question: What do I enjoy blogging about?

    ~ Day to day life and current events mostly. :)

My Nominees:

1. Rachel @ http://www.feathersandpaper.tumblr.com/

2. Monica @ http://www.hooah-milso.tumblr.com/

3. Johanna @ http://www.girlintheleopardprintpants.com/

4. Jessica @ http://crazyadventuresofjessica.blogspot.com/

5. Greta @ http://livelaughcupcakeshi.tumblr.com/

Those are the only blogs that I know of. Please comment below if you have a blog! :)

My questions:

1. What's your view on being a military spouse?

2. What is one thing that you love the most about your Husband/Wife?

3. How do you pass the time when they aren't home?

4. What is your favorite recipe to make?

5. How do you decompress after a stressful day?

6. What is your latest makeup obsession?

7. What is your go to hair-do for day to day life?

8. Favorite Color?

9. What has been the most stressful part of your married life thus far?

10. What do you enjoy blogging about?

11. What is your favorite healthy snack?

Playing Catch Up

Hey y'all!

    Sorry I haven't posted lately. I have been crazy busy the past couple of weeks. I started up a new workout routine, and the ship's FRG has been getting more and more active lately with meet and greets and meetings... On top of taking care of Trent and some other family issues, I have been exhausted.

    Let's tackle each new thing:

    My new workout routine! So, since I have finally gotten an answer from my doctor about some issues that I have, I have to lose some of this weight I have packed on. (In case you were wondering what I got for Christmas.... Fat. I got fat.) So what did this chick-a-dee do? I signed up for a 10k and a half marathon. What can I say? Either go big or go home.

    So, since starting this workout plan, I am down 6 pounds! I use an app called TwoGrand and according to them, 6 pounds is the equivalent to a small Chihuahua in a cute sweater! It's a good thing I lost that chihuahua, cause I can't stand those dogs. Haha.

    I also have changed my diet to a lot more fruit and veggies, less super processed foods, nothing fried, nothing that is a sugary treat. So... Boring... But healthy.

    Next new thing, taking care of Trent and family.... That seems kinda self explanatory. A lot of medical stuff has been happening to family, so it's been a lot of calls home to check in and see how everyone is doing.

    Update on Stanley the Betta, we are still combating this Fin Rot... But I think he is on the mend. :) Yay for small victories!

    I promise to post more things daily. I have a challenge for the Month of February... So let's see if I can get 28 days under my belt! :)

-Haley

Liar Liar Pants On Fire Part 2

Hey y'all,

    So, towards the end of December, I kind of wrote about a friend of mine who lied about far too many things and looking back on it, I am kind of horrified with how discombobulated it is. I despise writing in such a sloppy manner, so let me first start by apologizing for my atrocious  blog post. You all deserve to know exactly what happened without me being a "vague high school teenage Facebook post"... If you know what I mean.

   Now, the entire ordeal. From the very tippy top point down to the gritty details. I will continue to use the false name I used for her back in the post "Liar Liar Pants On Fire" Stacy.

    I met Stacy through Facebook. I had a question about something Navy related, and didn't really have anyone to talk to at the time. So I messaged a Navy support page on Facebook asking my question. She messaged me from her personal page and we kind of clicked. When I found out I was moving to Hawaii, Stacy and I were very excited that we would finally get to meet.

   Fast forward to when I actually got out here on this rock in the middle of the ocean, we hung out constantly. It didn't feel completely different like some things are when you go from online to in person. Which was nice so I hung around... I noticed that Stacy and her boyfriend didn't really act like what my definition for a normal couple was. They didn't talk, they didn't compromise, and they just seemed disconnected. I assumed it was my doing with hanging out all the time, so I made myself scarce.

    We still hung out on occasion... the hang outs grew further and further apart while she seemed to hang out with a new group of people. I was perfectly okay with that seeing as I was also doing the same thing. (I am very involved with the other wives of the husband's ship... So I usually had plans or something. haha) Finally, I met one of these friends of hers. Mary (Yes, the Mary from a prior blog post... If you are up to speed.... then you can kind of see where this could be going.) and Mary let it slip that Stacy had cheated on her boyfriend.

    Let me put it out there. I am not the kind of person that will dig and dig until I get information out of someone. I am the kind that believes people need to work things out and sometimes, if they are in denial, I will coax it out with patience and kindness. It works a LOT better for me.

     So she told me her sob story about how she felt unloved in her current relationship and how the guys that she had been with (yes plural) made her feel wanted and all that nonsense. She asked me how she should handle it and I told her that she needed to be honest with her boyfriend and tell him before he finds out from someone else.

    Did she do it? Absolutely not.

    So he found out about it from someone other than her. He is such a nice guy that he didn't yell, he offered to make everything better. You read that right. He was trying to make her feel better because he cared about her so much.

   Then she really screwed up. She started messaging other guys in an inappropriate manner. When he found out about this, he did explode. He took everything away. This was how she landed on my doorstep for the remainder of her stay in Hawaii. (She had been staying with me for a few weeks by this point, but with plans to work things out and get an answer.)

    So I stayed patient and kind like I was raised to do. I didn't want to be "that friend" that was mean and unreliable when she needed help. However, I started to notice that she was sleeping. A lot. When I would go to move her to the guest bedroom, she was speaking cursive. (aka: slurred speech) I caught her on a few occasions taking 2 of her anti-anxiety meds (her prescription only said 1 at a time) on top of her new antidepressants.... as well as taking OTC cold medicines. So, I held an intervention with Trent and Mary for Stacy, because we were all concerned for her. I told her if she spoke cursive again, I would call the cops and have her sent for a psych eval. She started following her medicine the way she was told to and was actually going through withdrawal symptoms. I helped her through this and started to get her on the road to making a decision as to where she was going to go.

    Lets fast forward a smidge, it's now her birthday. Trent and I decide that we are going to surprise her with a fluffy pink blanket (She gave hers to someone in need and needed a new one) and some special cupcakes to celebrate. She later went out with some mutual friends of ours to drink and all that nonsense. I didn't hear from her till 2 in the morning about whether or not she was coming home or staying with a friend.

    The following morning. All hell broke loose. I found out everything. I found out that she didn't go out with mutual friends on her birthday, but instead went out with guys that I had never met. (which, i wouldn't stop her from doing, but would want to know that she was safe....) I found out that she had been using my name to lie to people about where she was and who she was with. I found out that she had been texting her now ex-boyfriend saying how he was ruining her birthday and that my husband and myself didn't do anything to make it special. I also found out about the inappropriate messages and pictures being sent from within my home. I. Was. Livid.

    I texted her asking her when she was going to be home, and she called me saying how bad she felt for lying and blah blah blah (insert crocodile tears). I told her that she and I needed to have a discussion and it was not to be had over the phone or Facebook. 

    So I waited. I cleaned my house, did laundry, ran errands, and brought husband dinner. 8 hours and she still hadn't made it home. Finally, at 11:30 pm, she walks through my garage door. 

    I let her have it. All of the anger, hurt, confusion, and frustration. She experienced it first hand. It erupted out of me like a volcano. It started off as a rumble when I told her that I was done with the lies. It started to shake when I told her that she was done being a floozy in my house, and that if she was going to act like a child, then I would treat her as such. It exploded with the fury of Pele (Goddess of volcanoes out here in Hawaii) when she stepped up to swing at me, and I met her in the middle. She was all bark. No bite. She was the little chihuahua that you see at dog parks causing problems, but the moment that it hit the fan, it ran off with it's tail between it's legs. Needless to say, I jerked a knot in her tail so tight, I don't think she will ever get it out.

    I called her out on everything. I told her that her anxiety was all in her head. That she wasn't depressed because she hadn't refilled her prescription for the antidepressants in a week. But she sure as hell made sure she had her anxiety meds. So I gave her 7 hours to give me a time and date for when she would be flying home. I had that info in 6 hours and 56 minutes.

    The worst part is? I want her to get better. I want her to see that she has nothing but potential to be a fantastic person. That she doesn't need to copy whoever is around her. That she doesn't need the fancy clothes, fancy makeup, and hairdo. I hope she finds peace. I hope she finds herself and I hope that she takes responsibility for herself.

    Sometimes the hardest thing to do when you love someone is to let them go. This is me letting her go so she can grow up and become the beautiful person that I know she is capable of doing. 

-Haley 

Planner Headaches

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Hey y'all!

    So, I have been on the hunt for a planner... And I am finding it to be incredibly difficult. All I want in a planner is the following:

• Monthly view
• Day view
• Budgeting Pages
• Meal Planning
• To-Do's 
• Notes

    Apparently, the only way I can do that is if I want to spend an ungodly amount of money on a planner. -sigh-

    Also, follow me on bloglovin! :)

-Haley

Oh No!

Hey y'all,

    So woke up this morning to discover that Stanley the Betta Fish has developed Fin Rot. Fin Rot is: 

"Fin rot can be the result of a bacterial infection (Pseudomonas fluorescens, which causes a ragged rotting of the fin), or as a fungal infection (which rots the fin more evenly and is more likely to produce a white 'edge'). Sometimes, both types of infection are seen together. Infection is commonly brought on by bad water conditions, injury, poor diet, or as a secondary infection in a fish which is already stressed by other disease." - Wikipedia

     So this is the picture that we showed to our Local Fish Store to determine if we were nuts or not. 

    It's hard to tell, but his back two fins shouldn't have that space there. Also to note the white edge that almost outlines the fins.... Shouldn't be there. He has gotten a lot of his color back in the last month that we have had him, but it looks like it's that "one step forward, two steps back" thing again.

    So, we have our pretty boy in quarantine in his small 1 liter tank with 2 drops of Betta Revive in it.

    He isn't too pleased with being in his smaller isolation tank, but It's going to make him better after the next 3 days. Once the three days are over, he goes back in his big tank where we have cleaned and put in some special medicine that is a little bit more long term to kill off any of the remaining bacteria in the tank that our cleaning didn't take care of. So, hopefully, our beautiful boy starts to feel better soon.

    Anyway, so Trent told me that we will be moving in the June/July area to South Carolina! If you have any tips, tricks, or ideas on how to make the move seamless seeing that Trent won't be here for it so I am kinda on my own. (Although I do have a moving buddy!)

-Haley

Here's What Grinds My Gears...

Hey y'all,

    So, I have one for you guys today. Something that really really grinds my gears. Check out this "article": here. 

    To be completely honest with y'all, I disagree. Completely. This article makes it sound like I have to just "be okay" with the life I have decided to share with my husband. I would never in my wildest dreams ask Trent to stop going for his dreams. Ever. If anything, I push him to do what his heart wants. I want the man to reach for the stars if he wants! And it doesn't matter if you are military or not. A lot of the "You have to be okay" topics are normal stuff that every couple should do; like "choosing happiness" or "finding the positive" or "talking about death and dying".... There are others, but these ones bothered me the most. If you don't do those things normally, how are you functioning as a couple? As a unit? Trent and I are on the same page about all those topics and then some. We work on budgets and discuss those not-so-comfortable topics like dying because you know what? I am human. Eventually I will grow old and die. However, I am not some weak woman that has to tell myself that I have to "be okay" with my situation. If I don't like it, I do my best to change it. If he is deployed, and I don't like the fact that I am by myself, I go do things with people. 

    You are more than welcome to try to enlighten me about how some of the things she listed are ONLY for those who's significant others are in the military (besides the obvious deployment one... but in all honesty, you get into a rhythm...) Everything she listed, MANY other (insert job title) wives deal with the same thing... Construction Workers, Doctors, Police Officers, Teachers, etc.... You should always strive to stay positive and keep your head up. Life doesn't stop just because they are gone. So why should I?

    It's articles like this that fuel the younger wives into thinking that they are something like a superhero. Yes, they miss a lot of milestones. Yes they miss out on adventures. That's why I make an adventure book and fill it with pictures and stories of my day and send it to him while he is deployed. Gives me something to do and a reason to go out and do stuff. 

    You want the real reason being a military wife is so hard? It's because a relationship takes work. A relationship takes dedication and compromise. THAT is hard to do when your husband is halfway across the world from you.

    End rant. Sorry y'all! Haha. I am a passionate woman about certain things.
    ALSO! Check out the recipe page! I am sharing a good one with you guys today! I made some Lemon Gooey Bars (CHECK IT OUT HERE)

-Haley

Ring In 2015

Hey y'all!

    Happy New Year! :) I hope it was a safe one for all of you. :) I haven't done my sappy "2014 year" stuff so here it is in summation:

2014:

• Made some lifelong friends
• Moved to somewhere new
• Learned more about who I am as a person
• Lost some friends
• Made lots of memories.

    Looking back on it, I cannot wait to see what 2015 has in store for me. I already know that we will be moving. again. So that should be fun. Maybe. Possibly.

    My New Years goals are to lose some serious weight. :/ I was diagnosed with PCOS (Which, lucky for me, is managed via birth control). PCOS is Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. Basically means I have cysts on my ovaries that are messing with them. I have no idea how it is going to affect my future when Trent and I decide to have children, but as of now, we aren't exactly ready for kids. So, we are okay for now.

    One way to handle PCOS, however, is to exercise and eat healthy. Which I need to and am going to. My goal is to get back down to the 125-135 range that I was back in high school. Bring on the pain! haha So a group of my good friends out here and myself are going to get ourselves in shape and we are going to be really organized about it. :)

    Have a good one!

-Haley