Good Morning Baltimore!

Hey y'all!

    I know this is probably going to be "old news" for most of you guys, but I still want to put my thoughts out there about the riots that happened in Baltimore and a few other things that have been bugging me.

    With all these riots that are going on... and the latest "trend" of stepping/stomping/dancing on the flag to "stand up for" the innocent lives lost due to police deaths. Here is what I have to say to those who think that it was cool or awesome or were in agreement with these people.

    First off, that flag that you are standing on? Is the same flag that stormed Normandy. It's the same flag that sits comfortingly on the shoulders of our service members to remind them what they are fighting for. It's the same flag that flew on September 11th when those towers fell. The flag doesn't care if you are white, red, orange, black, blue, purple, or tie-dye... Here is what the flag stands for: White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice. Currently, my husband is gone defending that freedom. My Daddy served, my Uncles served, I have had cousins serve, Friends serve, and Grandparents serve. Do not tell me that their sacrifice warrants you disrespecting the flag they love and swore to protect.

    Second, these people that say that they are doing this to bring awareness to the innocent lives that are being lost.... Understand that there were innocent lives lost just so you could have the freedom you take for granted. The flag doesn't fly on the breeze, it flies on the breath of every service member that cashed in that check they signed when they volunteered to join the armed forces. 

    Last, if you are one of the fools that are allowing Our Flag to touch the ground, shame on you. If you are standing on it while it's on the ground... Please understand that you look like an idiot. If you want to protest, protest. But do so peacefully and respectfully so that you actually look like you know a thing or two... Martin Luther King never stood on Old Glory to protest. He never burned the flag to make a point. Nor did he ever condone a riot as a way of having a "peaceful protest".

    I do know that those people rioting in Baltimore, most of them were bussed in from Ferguson to cause that kind of damage.

    And I must say, that mother that got her baby boy out of that nonsense, I applaude her. It takes a real mother to be able to see only eyes and know who it is. The fact that the kid froze and tried to get away tells me one thing, these children that are rioting, are just that. Children. Throwing a massive temper tantrum for what they claimed to be "a peaceful protest". 

    Okay, I am off my soap box now. Haha.

    Move Tip #2: Make a running inventory of all the things you have in your house. It makes life so much easier when you can look on your inventory and see what's missing versus the HHG inventory the movers hand you that is all kinds of generic information.

    That's all for now folks!

-Haley

Rabble Rabble

Hey y'all,

    It's midnight, and I. Can. Not. Sleep. I am just super antsy and tense. I hate it. But, it's a part of that "Pre-Separation" process. Yay for moving. Yay Navy... Anyway, this is going to be a babbling brook of nonsense to try to quiet the cacophony of things running through my head. Maybe then I can sleep? Who knows.

    I mean, it could have something to do with the ginormous thing of sweet tea I made today.... Psh. No. Sweet Tea cures everything. Right? I am going to be making baby blankets for a few friends of mine. It's definitely making my baby fever crazy intense. But, like the husband keeps reminding me, "We have a plan." I swear, if I hear that one more time I may punch him in the kidney. Even though I know he is right. #TheStruggle.

    That's another thing that I constantly think about or worry about... What if I am not a good parent? What if I screw it up? I have this idea of what I want my future children to have. The lessons I want them to teach them... Gah. I know that I shouldn't be stressing about it, but I am... I have always wanted to be a mother... One day... One day...

    Also, might I add, I might be absolutely bonkers. I spent a few hours today researching how to ship/fly with Stanley when we move. It's crazy, right? I ended up finding out that the only way we could take him with us would be to ship him. So I will have to talk to the husband and see if he thinks I'm nuts...

    We are going to be going to the beach and I promise to take a ton of photos and post them in here. :) 

    I have to confess something that I have been harboring for a while.... 

I hate Hawaii.

    Really, I do. I can't stand it. Here are 5 reasons behind my feeling about this dinky rock out in the middle of the Pacific.

• Once you have been to all the beaches, been to the plantation, been to all the tourist-y tourist spots.... What left is there to do? 

• The "Aloha Spirit" that you hear about wherever you go... I have two words for you: Semantic Satiation. If you don't know what that is, it's a psychological phenomenon in which repetition causes a word or phrase to temporarily lose meaning for the listener, who then perceives the speech as repeated meaningless sounds. 

• Shipping Prices. I won't even say anything else on that topic.

• Car Registration = The biggest headache/joke combo on the planet. 

• Traffic all the time no matter where you go.

    Those are the things that have stacked up over and over until I decided that Hawaii is like that smokin hot babe at the gym that you would give your left arm to talk to, only to find out that she has about the same amount of personality as a box of rocks. 

    It really makes me miss home. Arizona is beautiful. I miss the heat, I miss the wide open roads, I miss the grid system... I miss being able to go see my family. This chica is seriously homesick. 

    Although I am beyond excited to go to the next duty station: South Carolina or Bust! If y'all would like, I can take pictures and show you how I put together my PCS binder. :) It is such a life saver to have all those important documents in one spot... Especially if you are going all the way across the USA like we will be. Haha. 

    What are some moving tips that you do that work well for you?

-Haley

Paws for Homes

Hey y'all,

    So sorry that I haven't posted in the last few days. I have been spending some good quality time with Trent seeing as our time together is growing shorter and shorter every day. (Yay... not) So I have been unplugged from my computer and phone and spending as much time with him as possible. 

    Anyway, one of the things I find on facebook on a daily basis is the fact that pets get rehomed so much in the military community. It drives me up a wall. A pet is yours till the day it dies. It should not be a situation where you are moving and no longer want it.... 

    What is something that drives you nutty about the military community?

    Oh, and here is an updated before and after picture of our Stanley:

-Haley

Just a Spoonful of Sugar

Hey y'all,

    Today's post is going to be pretty short, and I apologize for that right now. Woke up at a ridiculous hour because my face was going to implode and my entire body was feverish and hurt like you couldn't believe. 

    So, I have been resting and drinking water and eating toast and chicken broth. What are some things that you do to feel better when you don't feel so hot?

    Also, I would just like to put out there, I am a firm believer in "Loose Lips Sink Ships" phrase. Don't go threatening when my husband comes home to me because you want to complain. Ugh.

    Well, that's all for now. I promise to still keep posting, but they may be a smidge on the short side of things till I have my energy levels up and running. 

-Haley

The Drums of War

Hey y'all!

    So, today is going to be a movie review. Trent and I just recently watched the movie Fury.

    My first reaction, was to roll my eyes and sigh... I usually abhor war movies. For pretty obvious reasons too, I might add! It started much like every other war movie. Explosions, foreign languages, and in that monochromatic color scheme of wartime. Everything seemed to be painted in the same shade of gray and the only thing that made that shade of gray different was the clothing underneath it, or the skin tone of the person wearing it. 

    There were absolutely no subtitles... We had to put them on ourselves, (which, ended up blocking a lot of the movie, so we went without... Turns out, Trent's High School German class stuck with him... I'll get to that later) but it wasn't angry German all the time. They seemed to speak German in every emotion that war tends to hand out. When they were angry, or scared, their German was loud and sharp. Much like the stereotype portrays. When they were dealing with hostages or liberating a town or talking to the townspeople, their tone was soft and questioning. Of course they threw in the perverse soldier... But even his German wasn't the stereotype. It was a nice change.

    Anyway, the movie follows a soldier named Norman's journey through Germany as the US is pushing forward to try to win the war. Let me tell you, it's gruesome. Very gruesome. There were parts I had a very hard time watching and brought forth tears.

    However, there is a scene when they have liberated a city of it's SS personnel, when the Sergeant is speaking German, and I was frustrated at this point. Well below is the conversation between Trent and myself:

TV: German language that I am clueless to understand.
Me: OMG. What did he say?! -frustrated sigh-
Trent: He said (Insert translation of German paragraph here)
Me: O.O I didn't know you spoke German that well!
Trent: I only catch bits and pieces... But I get the summation of what they are saying.
Me: What did that guy say?

    Needless to say, my husband amazes me every single day. Fury is good. I would give it 3.5 stars. It's slow going, and super brutal. But it does know how to tug on those heart strings.

    What is a movie that you have seen? Have you ever discovered a hidden talent of your spouse? Comment below!

-Haley

Happy Days

Hey y'all!

    So today, I want to talk about RadioShack. Why you may ask? Because I worked there for a little over a year and a half, and I learned a thing or two about what it means to be a part of RadioShack.

    1. They really don't care about their employees. At all. I can't tell you how many times I worked my butt off while a manager or other employees went and relaxed in the back. I also can't begin to tell you how many times people were hired that had no idea what the difference between a resistor and a motor was.

    2. If they don't care about their employees, then they REALLY don't care about their customers. Yes, we plaster on a smile and ask you how your day is going. And for the most part, it was the highlight of my day when someone would tell me about life outside of my prison.

    3. They sold cell phones. That's literally about how much we are able to help. Yes, you may have purchased your phone at RadioShack, but if you have a problem two months down the road... We are super limited in what we can do.

    4. The stores are empty. A lot. And you can tell just by the recent events. Like, how RadioShack is going out of business.

    5. Any person who was at one time a RadioShack employee knows how I feel when I say I have been waiting for this day. The day RadioShack falls to the ground.

    6. If you're looking for parts... Go online. They're cheaper there. Even after shipping.

    I have a lot of disdain for RadioShack. But I can give them this much, they gave me the first job where I was absolutely miserable. Nothing like a lack of management skills and no help even when it's asked for.

    So peace out RadioShack. You had a good run.

-Haley

Come Little Sister

Hey y'all,

    Sorry for the late post. I had Trent home for the weekend, (sorta), and I didn't want to share my time. I have a topic that I do want to discuss though... It has to do with the meme that goes along the lines of, "Oh, you haven't talked to your boyfriend for a day? Try going months" or something like that. 

    The reasons that this bothers me is that first, we shouldn't be tearing each other down no matter what our spouses do. I can tell you that my Mommy was a wife of an airman who later became a soldier. Even to this day, when my Daddy has to go out of town for his job, she still misses him just as badly. Second, I don't feel for one second that what I do as a wife is any better than what anyone else does as a wife. Who are you to judge what other people do? Third, just think about what kind of message you are putting out there. You aren't saying, "I know how you feel, here's what I do to pass the time..." You are literally saying that their suffering, their pain that they are feeling, is nothing. How would you feel if someone said that to you?

    I am not saying that being apart from my husband is easy. I miss him every time he goes underway and every duty night. But I am not about to tell someone that they have no reason to cry. 

    When did it become okay to put others down? When did it become okay to hear what someone says and talk little of them?

    I think we need to reevaluate our ideas as a society. I personally refuse to be a part of that sisterhood who puts people down. Let's support one another. 

-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

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

Liar Liar Pants On Fire

Hey y'all,

    So, I have learned a very valuable lesson. From this lesson, I have learned and grown as a person, but unfortunately, it has cause the loss of the trust required for a full friendship. There are a few things on this planet that I consider to be unforgivable.

Lying

Abusing

Cheating

    All of these happened within a few days after that post I made about Mary. Like, literally... maybe a week. I found out about all the lies, about how my kindness and generosity was used, and about all the cheating that was taking place with my friend Stacy*. Stacy and her boyfriend broke up. She was devastated and said she was willing to do anything to fix it and get back together. What she actually meant was that she was willing to do anything but be honest and stop lying.

    Needless to say, we had a come to Jesus moment when I figured everything out. It was quite intense, emotionally draining, and physically exhausting. Physically exhausting because instead of showing up like it was important, I was angry all day long. Which isn't a normal thing for me. Although, I did find out how much of my mother I had in me... And I am both proud and terrified at the results... All that power and I am just now tapping into it. haha.

    Anyone that thinks that cheating is okay, is so not welcome in my home. I believe in loyalty, monogamy, and just being honest with the person you choose to spend your life with. The only saving grace in that situation is that it was only in the dating phase. There wasn't a marriage or kids involved. 

    I love Stacy. I really do... but she definitely has some growing up to do and really needs to figure out her priorities in life.

    Well, that's all that I am posting for tonight. Hopefully there will be more (Positive) things to come in the future!

-Haley

*Names changed for security

Momma Didn't Raise No Fool

Hey y'all.

    So today's post will be a blog post and a ranting session. I apologize in advance if I kinda bounce all over the place. 

    I had a friend, Mary*, that seemed to be pretty cool. We hung out a couple of times out here in Hawaii... and she and I seemed to get along rather well. Her boyfriend was a military member, which was yet another thing that we had in common. One weekend, she stayed the night and we all were drinking. In the midst of our jovial intake of spirits, she received a phone call and left the room. We didn't think anything of it, until she didn't come back. We went looking for her and found her curled up and crying. 

    I had no idea what she was saying, all I knew was that she was upset and that she was my friend and I needed to make sure she was okay. We waited for her to calm down and she told us that a mutual friend of ours had just found out that a family member was terminally ill... and that he was wanting to come see her seeing as she was his best friend. So he came over and we went inside to give them some space... He was upset and only wanted his best friend. (Mind you, this was the dude that she was doing the bed sheet tango with) She promised that they weren't doing it anymore, that she wanted to focus on her relationship with her boyfriend. 

    Later that night, we were sitting out on the front porch and she told us that she was so upset about the news because she could relate. And by relate, she meant that she had cancer... and only had a year and a half to live. This was a huge bombshell. She looked so healthy. The next morning, her and I were sitting at the table, and she told me that her meds that she took could make her live up to 2 years. I told her I would keep her in my prayers. She went as far as to show us each of the pills that she had to take.

    We continued on with our day and she said that she had to go home cause her boyfriend was upset. I told her to let me know when she got home and to drive safe and with that, she left.

    Two hours later, I received a text message from Mary stating that she was at the hospital and that she would fill me in later. I was a nervous wreck. I didn't know which hospital, and I didn't know what had happened. Finally, 6 hours later, she told us that she was in the mental ward, and that she had thoughts of causing permanent harm to herself and it scared her so she went to the hospital.

    The following morning, we went and visited her in the mental ward... She was on some pretty good drugs, so she wasn't completely there. Her best friend was there as well, and they were all over each other. -Signal the first Red Flag-

    After the visit, I didn't know how to feel, so I settled with happy that she was okay. About two days after that, she had signed herself out of the hospital, even though she told us she didn't feel any better. But her mom was there, so we weren't too concerned. Later that day, she messaged us saying that while she was in the mental ward, they did a biopsy of her tumors and it came back as a lump of cells. That it wasn't cancer. -Signal second Red Flag- But, misdiagnoses happens more often than we would like, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt. I asked her how her parents were handling the health insurance bills... because that can be pretty stressful on someone... and she told me, "I signed paperwork when I was 18 that barred them from seeing what I get done health wise." -Signal next Red Flag-

    Two days later, she messaged us and said that they had drained the cyst in her neck. When I asked her what she was talking about, (a cyst is very different from a tumor), she said that they did more tests and it turned out to be a cyst. -Signal final Red flag-

    So, my list of lies that Mary has told me are the following:

1. She had cancer

2. It was a benign tumor... not cancer

3. Turns out the benign tumor was actually a cyst... the doctors had it wrong and she had been paying thousands of dollars on harsh medicine for her body... but she was cool with it.

4. She wasn't boinking her guy best friend while still with her boyfriend.

5. She barred her parents from seeing what their health insurance was being used for.

    Hefty list. 

    So, I confronted her. I asked her about everything. I have had members of my family pass from cancer. I know how much the world's most expensive health insurance covers... And it isn't a lot. Anything that is associated with cancer, it's expensive. She then tried to tell me that she was discharged by her doctor... that she didn't sign herself out. When I sent her the screenshot of our discussions... all of a sudden, "everything is a blur." 

    I couldn't take it anymore. I called her on her lies. I called her out on everything. I caught her in her lies, and like her imaginary tumor, I cut her out of my life. I don't need someone who is going to lie about serious things like that.

    When I asked her what she was going to do about her boyfriend, and if she was going to tell him the truth, she said, "I don't want to ruin his Christmas. Once my mom and I get a place, I will move in with her and then I will tell him." She's basically using him for a place to stay... when he thinks he is being the most supportive person ever.

    Evil girl. So glad that I discovered who she really was before I got in too deep.

*Name has been changed

    Whew. I feel worlds better getting all that off my chest.

    Anyway, I have been doing everything I can to get into the Christmas Spirit, and it got me thinking. What is the Christmas Spirit? Here's my answer:

    It's not about gifts, it's not the lights on the house, or the ornaments on the tree. It's sitting in your home with the people that you love and knowing that you are happy, healthy, and in good company. It's seeing your fellow mankind and smiling and waving instead of avoiding eye contact like it were the plague. It's going out and feeling full when you are with a group of friend and y'all are laughing and having a good time.

    I see all these videos of kids losing it when they get socks or clothes... And it breaks my heart. So I will do everything in my power to make sure that when I have children, that I pass that same message along. Christmas Spirit = Love.

    Trent is still off doing Navy stuff, so I am going to finish off the Christmas Cards and get caught up on laundry and housework. 

    In the mean time, what are some traditions you have in your family? Have you ever been in a situation where you knew someone was lying and they just continues to lie like that? It's so stressful!

-Haley