ABC's About Me

Now that my husband has officially graduated the Police Academy and his graduation party has passed, I can relax for a day and enjoy having him home once again!! We're currently catching up on "Top Shot: Allstars" on this lazy Sunday and I figured I better get a blog post in. I saw this on another blog I follow and decided to do it too :)

ABC's: All about Me
A: Attached or Single? Attached....I've been married for just over 9 months, but we've been together a total of 4 years.

B: Best friend? Katie. We met in 1st grade because I was new and crying because I didn't know anybody and she was being nice. Lucky her :)

C: Cake or pie? Cake. Pie is good, but I love to bake cake and eat it more!

D: Day of Choice? Saturday.

E: Essential Item? Cell phone. It is my life line (sadly).

F: Fave color? Red!

G: Gummy Bears or Worms? Gummy Bears! I love them and I can taste the different flavors even though many people say they can't taste the difference.

H: Home town: Chicago, IL. I wish I was still living there :(

I: Favorite Indulgence? Anything with cheese or chocolate.

J: January or July? July all the way.

K: Kids? Not yet, in the future for sure.

L: Life isn't complete without? My pups. They make me smile and feel like I'm such a good mommy :)

M: Marriage Date? Sept. 14, 2012. It was a beautiful day. Perfect weather.

N: Number of brothers/sisters? 2 older half brothers and 1 older half sister.

O: Oranges or Apples? Apples. I don't like the way oranges make my hands smell.

P: Phobias? Bugs. Bugs. BUGS. I. Freak. Out. And. Run. Away. Screaming.

Q: Quotes? You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have. 

R: Reasons to smile? I have an amazing husband, 2 beautiful pups, amazing family and friends, a job, a roof over my head, and food in my tummy.

S: Season of choice? Fall. It's when the weather is my favorite and my birthday is in fall!

T: Tall or short? Tall. 5'11.

U: Unknown fact about me? I was born in New Jersey.

V: Vegetable? Carrots.

W: Worst habit? Eating when I'm bored.

X: Xray or ultrasound? Uhhhh....I've had both done???

Y: Your favorite food? Cheese all the way.

Z: Zodiac sign? Virgo.

QOTD: What are your ABC's???

Always Write Dates in Pencil

I've only been an Army Wife for 9 months, but I've been an Army significant other for over 4 years now. What's the most important lesson I've learned? Always write your dates and times in pencil, chances are they are going to get changed at least twice before being some semblance of set in stone. And NOTHING with the Army ever really is set in stone. Hurry up and wait.

This past year my husband's National Guard unit has started up their FRG (Family Readiness Group) again. One of my favorite things about my husband's unit is that I'm friends with several of the other wives/girlfriends and we've established ourselves as the "officers" for the FRG, along with a few other great ladies that have gotten involved. We're a small FRG, which means we all do what seems like 500 jobs at times, but it's all worth it in the end. I love being able to make a difference with my husband's unit and connect with families of other soldiers.

Crossed cannons for Artillery, my husbands job in the military (hehe that rhymes!).

Speaking of soldiers, I did an interview with our local paper this morning talking about resources in the area for soldiers returning from war and struggling with readjusting or PTSD. I was very honored to be asked by my work to do this interview as my supervisors know how strong of an interest I have in working with Vets. It is immensely important for Vets to know that there is help out there. Sure there's a lot of stigma and issues that prevent a lot of Vets from going straight to the VA, but there are other resources out there aside from the VA. Ask your local FRG, VFW, or Legion :)

Didn't get a chance to run this morning as it was lightning and pouring out when I woke up at 5:45am to run. I'll try again tomorrow. Week 4 of training for the "Tower of Terror 10 miler" which means less than 15 weeks until run time!

QOTD: What are you most passionate about? What do you enjoy being involved in?

New Beginnings

Graduation, a new job, marriage, a new house, a new dog, and two years later.....here we are!

My co-workers and I have been joking about making a reality show at our office because it would DEFINITELY make for great TV. Since we can't do that, I've decided blogging about my life (because I'm big headed and feel like I'm an interesting person to read about) would be the next best thing. And since I already had this blog sitting idle for the past 2 years, I'm going to try to put it to good use.

Currently I am on my 3rd Disney movie of the day. I started with "The Little Mermaid", progressed to "Aladdin" and am now watching "Tarzan". I'm thinking this will be followed by my favorite Disney movie of all time, "Beauty and the Beast". I should probably go to treatment for my addiction to all things Disney, but I choose to think that it's a healthy obsession. A Disney addiction is not going to kill me like drugs would (yet!).

Speaking of addiction, I'm self-diagnosing my self with an addictive personality. As a QMHP (Qualified Mental Health Professional) I feel quite compelled to look at my own behaviors and analyze them. I can get easily addicted to things. What else am I addicted to aside from Disney? Shopping, but that's a female thing and doesn't warrant much discussion. Collecting things. I love collections. No not like hoarder-style collections.....collectible type items. I collect coffee table books and shot glasses. That's fun right? Tattoos too. I just got #5 and have a long list I've gotta get through before I'm old and wrinkly. I've also recently become addicted to running.....

My husband (3659) and I (3658) at the recent Urban Warrior Dash in Downtown Chicago!

In the last month I've done 3 different runs: Zombierun 5k, Urban Warrior Dash-5 miles, The Biggest Loser 5k. I will also be running a couple more 5k's in the next few months....all gearing up for the "Tower of Terror 10 miler" that I will be running this October through Hollywood Studios in Disney World. Followed in February 2014 by the "Disney Princess Half Marathon".

Running has been my big stress relief and the thing I am most proud of lately. 5 years ago I never would've seen myself running anything as I was about a good 60 pounds heavier than I am now. I feel like I've joined a special club of people that I used to point at and say "You're crazy for waking up at 6am to run". Just another piece of me to add to the Katie pie.

So I feel like I wear a lot of hats. Sometimes it's way too many for my head at once, but I wouldn't give any of them up for anything. I think that's one of the most beautiful things in life, getting to be multi-faceted, not one-dimensional. I hope that I will get to share those hats with everyone via this blog.

QOTD: What is the role you feel that you play most in your life?

He put a ring on it :P

I know most, if not all, of my blog followers already know, but.....I'M ENGAGED!!!

 Here's how it happened.....

We had gone out to dinner and Mike said he wanted to go to the beach for sunset and fireworks over Navy Pier. We got to the beach, and it was kinda overcast and stormy, but still beautiful. I love any bodies of water during a storm, so breath taking. We laid down on a blanket, and then he says, "Get up I think I dropped something". So I get up and he says "turn around" and I turn around and he's down on one knee and says "Will you marry me, Katie?" and then a big gust of wind comes and there's hair in my face. It was all very dramatic lol. But so romantic and of course I said YESSSSS!!!!

Long time no see....

Phew....it's been a long and busy month and I apologize for not posting.

I had a FANTASTIC time in Washington D.C. visiting Rachel! I'm gonna post some pics in here for you guys to see :)

 International Spy Museum

 Out for Rachel's 21st!

 All dressed up for the Memorial Day Parade!

 HOOAH

 Purple Heart Recipients float in parade

 Georgetown Cupcakes from the TLC show "DC Cupcakes"

 Vietnam Memorial

 Lincoln Memorial

White House

The day I flew back from DC, Mike and I had a wedding to attend to which he bought Dress Blues for! He looks so great in them <3

School has been super insane. I really hate my school. They suck. They're hypocritical and the professors don't know how to teach or grade. So not worth the money I pay. But my online classes continue to kill me. Just 4 weeks left of this semester. Then I have about 2 weeks off and then I start my Clinical Practicum! I'll actually be counseling people. EEEEKKKK! I'm doing clinicals at a Substance Abuse clinic so it should be pretty interesting.

We've signed the Chuggs up for some training. He needs lots of help on leash walking and some other basics. I wish training could get rid of his gas. Man that dog farts like none other. Yucky. Haha.

I'll post some pics of my recent baking successes in the next post! I'm making Cookie Dough Cupcakes today!

Bloggerific

Didn't have a spiffy title for today's post so I came up with something lame :P

Haven't posted in a few days because I've been busy. School and work and practicum....UGH! These online classes are killing me. And my practicum JUST gave me a huge project to work on. They could've given it to the other interns, but they know I'll get it done the fastest and best. I hate being dependable sometimes. I really should get paid for this shit.

Tomorrow I'm going to an AA meeting! Haha. I need to go for my Addictive Disorders class. Should be interesting. I'm going with some friends and we're gonna go out and drink afterwards :P

I'm getting more and more excited about my DC trip! I wish it was now. I need a nice break.

I'm in the mood to bake....as usual!

I think I'm going to be a superhero in my next life :P

Monday Monday.....

Hellloooooo lovely ladies! After a long weekend I hope I'm ready to get moving. We'll see.

At least it's sunny out today in Chicago. Much better than the rain and wind of the weekend. It was nasty.

I'm sitting here drinking an Ocean Spray Diet Sparkling Cranberry Juice beverage in a can that I believe is new. It's only 10 cals for the whole can and it's got barely anything else in it so survey says...healthy?! It's pretty yummy.

I realized last night that I have everyday up until like June 10 already booked with something. I guess I'm glad I'm busy, but WOW.

M took puppy back and now I feel lost without having a dog around. The cats are boring. They won't play fetch :p.

Ahhhh guess who's going to see NKOTBSB next week?! THIS GIRL! They're nose bleed seats, but that's ok. I'm just going to sing my lungs out! Going with my cousin and my best friend. Exciting!

I'm gonna drag myself to the gym later today in an attempt to curb late night food cravings. Plus I'm just too lazy to do anything right now.