I've been tagged...

MelanieElissa tagged me to do this... You should go check her out... Her blog is fabulous!

First off... the rules:

1) List Six Unimportant Things That Make You Happy.

2) Mention and link to the person who tagged you .

3) Tag six of your favorite bloggers to play along, and comment on their blog to let them know they've been tagged.

Okay..6 unimportant things that make me happy...

1. Reading a good book on the beach... with lots of sunscreen on of course!

2. Watching a CSI: Miami marathon with my hubby.

3. Riding around in the car eating chips and dip with Karmen and Alline... I miss this!

4. Taking a great photo!

5. Laying in bed listening to it rain...

6. A pair of jeans that fit perfectly...

I tag...

Karmen

Lindsey

Kaitlin

Whitney

Jen

Natalie

Hiding out

This week we have had auditors here (I work for a credit union) and they will be here all next week too! BIG FUN!

I have a huge fear of auditors... not the actual person because ours are actually really nice but it is their position that terrifies me. And no I haven't done anything wrong to warrant being scared of them but they can come into my office at any given moment in time and start asking me questions and if I give a wrong answer the credit union could get written up for it... I don't want to be the cause of any write ups so I avoid them like the plague when they are here...

I walked out of my office for a couple of minutes and while I was gone one of them came in here asking for me (I share an office with someone else) and she told him that I had stepped out. When I got back she told me and my stomach immediately started churning. I started praying that they didn't come back in here because I knew that if he did that I might just throw up on his expensive shoes he has on. They seriously make me that nervous!

I can picture it now:

Auditor: Hi Kristen, how are you today?

Me: Great, thanks! *stomach churns*

Auditor: Can you tell me who your compliance officer is?

Me: Sure, Jo... *stomach churns again, this time out loud*

Auditor: Who balances the ATMs?

Me: That would be me and Sh... *barf*

Auditor: OK I think we are finished here...

Me: Thanks, sorry about the shoes...

And this my friends is why I avoid them like the plague because this scenario may actually happen if one of those nice gentelmen come in here to quiz me...

I am off to the post office, maybe I will get stuck by the train today and be gone for a while! Wish me luck!

Bedtime is at 9:30pm

If you follow me on Twitter, you already know that I was still awake at 1:00 this morning... I have no clue why but I was wide awake. I went to bed around 9:30pm like I usually do and I started flipping through channels on TV like I always do and landed on Dog the Bounty Hunter. They must have had a marathon going because at 1:00am the last episode went off and Tattoo Highway came on and I was still awake! Hello Brain, don't you know that bed time is at 9:30pm, that is when we stop processing stuff for the day!

My lack of sleepiness last night could also be the result of Zach and I not getting to bed until after 11:00pm the entire time he was home. But we were having fun with family and friends so it was well worth the lack of sleep!

Speaking of my oh-so-handsome husband, today is his last day of classes and tomorrow he takes his final test before he begins his field work. June 17 is his graduation date and we are so excited!

Remember me telling you about the puppies that my dog Emma had... Well they are ready for homes and I already have one given away... So four more and I am puppy free...

Anywho, I need to get back to work... Have a fabulous week!!!

Our past...

I have decided to undelete my old blog so that you guys could go back and read all about us!

Go to http://ourarmylife2008.blogspot.com/ to catch up on our military life from the beginning and there is a whole ton of other stuff on there for you to check out...

I will not be posting to that blog anymore but I thought I would open it up again for you see old pictures and read about our lives...

Hope you enjoy!

Weekend Recap and an Award

Sweet Momma gave me an award... I have been reading her blog for a few months... I enjoy reading her blog and I hope you will too... Thanks so much Sweet Momma!!!

To accept this award, I need to pass it on to a few of my new bloggy friends that I think are SuperStars!

1. Karmen at Dancing in the Rain

2. Heather at Amazing Grace

3. Jen at Mommy to 3 Blessings

4. Whitney at It's All About Me!!

5. Lindsey at Lowrimore Photography

Onto the weekend!!! Our weekend at home was amazing... We had so much fun just hanging out with family! We stayed up late every night and slept late every morning.

The only thing is that it is so hard to go from sleeping our bed by myself to having Zach there... Don't get me wrong I love that he was home and we were in our bed but that is going to be something that will take some getting used to again when he comes home in June.

Speaking of coming home Zach will be graduating on June 17!!! I am so excited and so proud of him! He has worked so hard to get where he is and hopefully his hard work at AIT will result in another promotion when he finishes!!!

I am updating from work so I don't have any pictures from the weekend here but I will post them tonight when I get home!

I hope you are having a great day!

For our friends in Augusta...

Memorial Day Giveaway

To make our Memorial Day just a little sweeter Kaye is giving away some beautiful tiles that can be personalized! Go check them out, she will be choosing three winners on Monday afternoon.

So click here, here, or here (all take you to the same place) to enter!!!!

Life Lessons

Some people think that reading blogs is a waste of time or will turn your brain to mush. I happen to think that many life lessons can be learned from reading blogs. Like how people all over the world can come together in prayer for one person at the same time! Like Stellan, Harper and April Rose, it is amazing that so many people can come together for someone that they don't even know.

I read about people struggling with infertility like the Pifer family, I just started reading this blog and I really pray that Tiffany and Zach can conceive! I hope and pray that when Zach and I decide to start a family that we do not have any trouble conceiving. I can see how heartbreaking it can be by reading all of the blogs written by women who are having trouble conceiving.

But do you know what the biggest life lesson of all is? It is that God is always there for us. No matter how big or how small the trial is He is always right there with us.

Please join me in praying for all of the people and families that need our prayers. And do you know that you don't even have to name specific names because He already knows our needs. Prayer for the children who are sick, the couples having fertility issues, the women who are pregnant now, the families who have recently lost loved ones, the list could go on forever... you get the idea... He already knows!

God is good all the time! I hope you guys are having a great Wednesday!

Happy Mother's Day!

Now, before you start leaving comments that say "Kristen, Mother's Day was like two weeks ago..." I realize that, but my mom's gift from me and Zach is a little weekend getaway... which is taking place this weekend!

Mom will be making the trip with me to Augusta on Friday and we plan to sight see and eat lunch and just hang out together until Zach gets out of class for the day and then eat dinner with him. Then we are going to spend the night there and pick Zach up on Saturday morning at 8:00. Then we are making the drive back to Birmingham!!!

We are both so excited to go and are even more excited that we will be bringing Zach home with us!!!

I am so excited about spending this weekend with Zach! We were so excited when they approved his pass to come home and everyone else is excited to see him too!!! I think he is most excited to see Gavin because he is six weeks old and he has not seen him yet! That will change on Saturday though... Uncle Zach will be a Gavin hog! And that is just fine by us!

I have one more full day to work this week and then I am off for five whole days with my huggy hubby!

You guys may not hear a lot from me while he is home but I am sure you understand!

Happy Wednesday!

I want you...

...to help me come up with some ideas for a fun weekly series that YOU would actually want to participate in! Leave your suggestions in the comments section and I will sort through them and if there are enough suggestions I will let YOU guys vote on what you would like to do! Tell your friends to leave me their suggestions too, the more the merrier!

I will be taking suggestions until Thursday evening at 7:00pm central time! And then Friday morning I will let you know what the verdict is!!!

My Prize

Do you remember me mentioning that I won a prize from a giveaway at this blog? Well I never posted my winnings... so here you go!!!!!!!

And the winner is...

Karmen! And even though she is my sister, she is the winner and will be getting the Red Lobster gift gard worth $35!!! Congratulations!

Are you 1000?

Are you visitor 1000? If so please take a picture for me and email it to... i_love_you_to_pieces (at) yahoo (dot) com

Thanks! If you capture number 1000, there may be a prize in your future!!!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

While I was in Augusta this weekend I most certainly did not wish that it was already Monday so I could get this week started... I am not on vacation from Friday of this week until Tuesday of next week and I am not going to get to bring Zach home for the long weekend!

I did not lay around in my pajamas all weekend again, because that would just be lazy of me...

Zach did not make a 100 on his lastest test and he does not have only four and a half weeks left at Fort Gordon! I am not excited at all, can you tell?

I did not ask Zach if I could take him back to base just a little bit early yesterday so that I could get a head start on the 300 miles drive home. I would never do that because I love spending every second I can with my husband... Even if I would have asked Zach most certainly did not agree!

We had a rather uneventful weekend, can't you tell? Oh well, happy Monday everyone!!!!!!!!!

Not just a band...

When Zach asked me to marry him I was presented with the most beautiful engagement ring ever. Zach picked it out himself and he did a fantastic job. We picked out a beautiful band to compliment but not take away from my engagement ring...

When it came time to decide on Zach's wedding band I already knew what I wanted... I wanted my granddaddy's wedding ring. It isn't the fanciest ring in the world, it is just a plain gold band but it means the world to me for Zach to wear his wedding band.

Granddaddy didn't always approve of the guys Karmen and I dated but he loved Zach (and he loved Matt, Karmen's husband, too). Zach loved my granddaddy too. Well when Zach and I started dating again Granddaddy had already passed away but I know he was smiling down on us!

Showing someone how much you love them isn't about how much money you spend on them, it is how much thought and love you put into picking that item out... Zach would much rather be wearing my granddaddy's wedding band than a big fancy shmancy ring from a jewelry store any day...

You see that gold band down there... it is more than just a band, it is a lifetime of memories wrapped around my loving husband's finger!

Congratulations Karmen and Matt!

This is my first real post since my blog makeover and guess what it is about? My fabulous sister of course! Today is her five year wedding anniversary! It seems like just the day before yesterday (because it seems like just yesterday that I was getting married) that they were getting married... Goodness how time flies and things change!!! Congratulations on five years you guys!




Photograph by Randall Veazey Photography. (And yes...they bought the proofs and rights to these so that they could make more copies later on down the road.)

What do you think?

Do you like it? I love it! Jennisa did a fantastic job!!! And she was super quick about it... but that could be because I loved her very first design and didn't want her to change anything! Man she is good!

Please, please, please if you are in the market for a blog makeover go with Jennisa!!! She is amazing!!!

Thanks Jennisa!!!

I've seen the light blog makeover...

Jennisa sent me a sneak peak at my blog makeover!!! Oh my gosh, it is so cute! I can't wait to reveal it all to you!!!

I got the email from her last night asking me to fill out the questionnaire, me being the anxious prepared person that I am I already had my design kit picked out and everything else I needed to tell her!

She started on it this morning and voila, I got an email with a sneak peek!

Oh, what's that you say... you want a sneak peek too??? Sorry folks, you will see the finished product soon enough and we can all drool over her fabulous work together!!!

Where did it go?

If you go over to www.onceuponablog.org you will not find my name on the waiting list anymore... that is because Jennisa has removed it because she is going to start working on it SOON! Can you believe it? I can't! I am so excited to see what she comes up with for me!!!

Giveaways...

All of you hard working people and all of you SAHMs will love this giveaway... It is for some pretty cool stuff from Carolina Pad and the giveaway is being hosted by AuntieThesis... Hop on over to her blog for your chance to win!

just another day at the office...

I thought today would be rough with me doing the work of three people. But it actually hasn't been that bad. I have everything listed that has to be done and I am marking things off left and right... I decided to take a little break because I was getting towards the bottom of the list and I didn't want to finish everything now and then have absolutely nothing to do this afternoon...

I was really wanting to watch the Real Housewives of New York City (RHoNYC) Reunion last night but by time I got home from Erika and Lee's it was already a few minutes after nine... So I didn't even start watching it... I can watch it online (you know, when I decided to catch up with the six weeks of LOST episodes that I have missed). Instead, I looked at Ava's cool new fish! And I actually got in bed early, go me!

Do any of you watch RHoNYC? I love it... It is so funny to watch the drama unfold on national television... I am not going to tell you who my favorite is because that would just stir up a can of worms that I don't even want to open... But I really do enjoy watching the show... I may watch the first couple of episodes of the New Jersey one just to see what it is all about. I couldn't get into the Atlanta one and Orange County was hard to follow for me because I missed a ton...

Zach is about 5 weeks away from being finished with his training at Fort Gordon. We are so excited that he will be home soon!

I am sad that I am not living in my own house right now because Kelly has been doing a series every Friday that she is calling "Show Us Where You Live Friday". I wanted to participate but since I am living with my sister right now I didn't think she would appreciate me showing off her house to the world... So when Zach gets back and we move back to our little home maybe I will do my own little series of posts so I can show you where I live...

I am going to go and tackle some more stuff on my to do list and then it is lunch time and then the week will officially be on the down hill slide... WOOHOO!!!

Breaking News

We just received word last night that Zach's pass for Memorial Day was approved!!! So he will be coming home for the long weekend... We are so excited!!!

Just wanted to share that tidbit of news with you!!!!!!

what a wonderful weekend

Zach and I had a wonderful weekend together and with his parents.

We stayed at a different hotel that just opened and we were quite impressed with it. We are staying there again this weekend. It is just as nice as the Best Western but a whole lot cheaper... like $50 a weekend cheaper... so we will be staying at the Howard Johnson for the rest of our time at Fort Gordon.

Zach is off 4 days at Memorial Day and so am I. Unfortunately, Zach will more than likely not be able to come all the way to Birmingham for the weekend... So I have arranged with my cousins in Georgia (Hi Brenda and Jimmy!) to go stay at their house with them for the weekend! I am so excited to go visit them! Zach has not been to their new house yet and he can't wait to see it! He is so excited to go fishing also...

I got my earrings that I won in the mail on Friday... but I didn't get to see them in person until last night. They are so super cute! I will take a picture of them for you!!! They are fab!

I took some pictures this weekend for the first time in a while so I will post those tonight after I get home since I don't have my camera with me.

My name is at the very bottom of Jennisa's list! As if you can't tell, I am so ready for my blog makeover and I can't wait to see what she comes up with!

Not much else to update on so I am going to get back to work... Have a wonderful Monday!

Enough with the pictures Chickie...

Get used to it little buddy... your Chickie is a picture taking fanatic!

Out of the red...

With the economy in the state that it has been in over the last several months my lovely 401k has been losing money left and right... Like -21% at one time... I will have you know dear friends that I checked my balance today and I am out of the red and I am now earning a whopping 1.71%... Hey, at least I am not losing anymore!!!

In other news, I am going to Georgia tonight. Big surprise, I know! But I always get so excited when I get to go see Zach.

Last night a girl in his barracks tried to commit suicide. Everyone was locked out of the building a long time while they got her stable and cleaned everything up. Zach said they told them that they think she is going to be ok. So that is good. Please keep this girl in your prayers, I don't know her situation but she definitely needs our prayers.

This evening they are having a suicide prevention class that everyone is required to attend. I guess to tell them what to watch for to prevent this from happening again...

Anywho, that is all I have for now... look for an update this weekend!!!

It is so close I can FEEL it!!!

I am so close to my blog make over with Jennisa I can feel it... My name is the sixth name from the bottom of the list (she works from the bottom to the top)... It is so close and I am so excited! I can't wait for her to get started on it and for it to be finished so I can finally have a pretty blog again!

If you are in the market for a new blog design you should go check out her work, it is fabulous and her prices are reasonable!

My Best Friend

We all have a person in our lives (outside of family members) that we can tell everything to. We call this person our best friend. I have never actually introduced you to my best friend, Winks... no that isn't her real name but that is what I call her, long story but all you need to know is that is her nick name just like mine is Chickie. Her real name is Lindsey and I love Lindsey like she is my sister!

I met Lindsey when I started working for the credit union that I am still working for. I was hired in as the part time receptionist in August of 2004 and she was the first person to make me feel comfortable here. We have a lot of the same qualities in our personalities and I think that is why we hit it off so well! She eventually left the credit union for another job but we still stay in touch and email quite often even though we don't get to see each other that much anymore (we still need to get together for Christmas, Winks!).

Anywho, Winks is the best friend any girl could ask for!

She does have a LiveJournal but it is private so I can't share the link with all of you but just know that she is an amazing photographer, cool aunt, beautiful, blue-eyed, computer guru (my personal guru), book-loving, movie-loving person and I am so blessed to have her in my life!

Thanks for being such a great friend Lindsey! Can you believe that in August we have known each other for five years??? It seems like we have known each other forever!!!

This is Winks... (I stole this picture from her Twitter page)

"H"ow are you doing today?

Here it is... the next installment of my ABCs! This one is going to be tough!

Here we go, in no particular order...

1. Hummus- I was introduced to hummus dip at Mellow Mushroom, Zach and I both love it!

2. Holidays- I love holidays because we spend lots of time with our families... I escpecially love the holidays where I am off work.

3. Home- I love my house. I actually miss living there and I can't wait to move back when Zach comes home.

4. Hot chocolate- A good cup of hot chocolate is the best thing to relax with after a crazy day...

5. Hair style- I love to change hair styles...

6. Home decor- I love to decorate my house. I can't wait to move back and change a lot of things.

7. Hotels- since I have started visiting Zach in Augusta I have actually started to like staying in hotels... Breakfast is made for you and there is someone there to make the bed for you...

8. Hold it up to the Light- Since I won something on her blog the other day I have to give her a shout out again!!! I absolutely love reading her blog.

9. How It's Made- I love this show... I think it is so cool to see how things work and the process it takes to make them.

10. Hearing my niece say "I love you to pieces!"- that pretty much explains itself...

Christmas in May...

I know, we are only five months into 2009 but I could seriously listen to Christmas music all year... right now playing on my iPod is some fabulous TSO (Trans-Siberian Orchestra)... My best friend Winks and I love going to their shows... I missed this past year's show because my work Christmas party was that night... but 2007's show was on New Year's Eve and lasted into the new year! The show was awesome... It was also great because me and Lindsey went but Zach and my mom and dad were able to go too... We had a great time and if you haven't ever seen one of their shows I encourage you to do so... you will not be disappointed. By far the best concert I have ever been to and each year is bigger than the previous year!

My Husband Rocks...

He really does... I just entered a giveaway for a cute "My Husband Rocks" shirt over here... If you think your husband rocks as well head on over and sign up!!!

Not Me Monday

I am so glad that MckMama is back doing the Not Me Mondays!!! Welcome back MckMama!!!

Over the weekend I most certainly did not get out of my pajamas just to go to dinner on Saturday night only to return an hour later and get back in my pajamas until we checked out of the hotel on Sunday...

I also did not get punched in the arm by some strange woman at JC Penney who wanted me to look at her kid eyeballing the lady in front of me's nails (which were a good five inches long)... I also did not carry on a pleasant converation with said puncher until I had completed my transaction and left...

We did not request a late check out from our hotel because we were too lazy to be out by the normal 11:00 am time... We wouldn't do that...

Zach and I also did not go to Savannah River Rapids park like we do every Sunday because we do not think it is absolutely beautiful there. (It really is, you should check it out.)

I did not start crying when I heard the song Good Morning Beautiful when I was in the car last night because my husband did not call me every single morning when we were dating and start the conversation that way...

I also did not drive home last night wishing I was still in Augusta with Zach! I would never do that!

That is all for my Not Me Monday... Have fun with your own Not Me Monday!!!

I love laziness...

Well let me rephrase that... I love to be lazy on the weekends with my husband, and that is exactly what we are doing today. We have not gotten out of bed at all. We ordered in for lunch (Hungry Howie's) and we are just laying here watching TV.

Sometimes it is good to just lay around and do nothing, especially since the last few weekends have been on-the-go weekends for us. We will probably go out for dinner, just not sure where yet but that will be our only outing today.

I love coming to Augusta to visit Zach because it is our relaxation time. It is my time away from work and it is his time away from the Army.

I am so excited that Zach is so close to being finished with his classes here. I can't wait for him to come home and for us to get back to our house and make all of the changes that we have talked about... I have a few other ideas up my sleeve for home improvements, we'll see if I can talk Zach into them...

Just wanted to let you know that I did make it here last night and that we are just being lazy... maybe something interesting will happen at dinner for me to blog about... maybe not. Either way, have a great weekend!!!