{Mis}Adventures of a Lifetime

Rockettes

2011-12-11T17:32:00.001-05:00

Hi, Everyone!! *waves* My cruise just left NYC harbor. So excited! I had a few days to kill in NYC before I left and one of the things I did was to go see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. I remember watching them as a kid on TV and thinking they were so glamorous and awesome. Here are a few pictures:

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Off the coast of New York

Taking this show on the road!

2011-12-06T22:46:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited! I'm the most excited I've been in ages! Why? Because I leave for NYC on Friday, and then on Sunday I hop on a two week Caribbean ~~booze~~ cruise! (Remember the one I paid for by selling my wedding rings? Well, this is it!)

My poor cat, however, is under the impression that she gets to come too. Bless her little heart.

When you next hear from me, it'll be from glorious NYC!

'til then...

What a Train Wreck!

2011-12-01T12:00:00.004-05:00

You know how much I love watching trashy reality TV shows, right? Have you seen the preview for TLC's Virgin Diaries? No? You must! The couple in the preview are a train wreck. I'm embarrassed for them.

Needless to say, I've already DVR'd the show. Thoughts? Are you going to watch?

Guess what I have tickets for?!?

2011-11-30T20:45:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited! The local library is hosting Teresa Giudice, and I got tickets! Let the table flippin' begin!

I guess a good blogger would add in here that she is one of the housewives of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. But let's be honest....if you had to be told who she was, you could probably care less that I have tickets. =)

I promise a full recap tomorrow night!

It's a plane...it's a bird...it's a...wreath?

2011-11-28T21:24:00.000-05:00

As many of you long-time readers know, I don't really get crafty. It's not in my DNA. Yet, occasionally, I'll have spurts of ~~craftiness~~ copy-cat-ness. Tonight was kinda one of those nights. I went over to a friend's house for dinner and wreath making. I did my best to make something resembling a wreath, and it can pass for one, if I might say so myself!

Don't ask me for any sort of detailed instructions. I just did what I was told. I gathered when I was supposed to gather, twisted when I was supposed to twist, and pinned when I was supposed to pin. I did it all in a circular manner, and I kinda made a wreath.

The bow, however, I can't take any credit for. My friend had to make that for me. After reading the instructions on the bow making machine thingy, I realized I wasn't inebriated enough to properly operate it.

At least my cat appreciates the wreath looking thingy.

A Dating Update.

2011-11-27T21:56:00.000-05:00

So, remember my last post? The one where I wondered if I should write the guy back and give him a second chance? Well, I did. And then....nothing. He never responded back. Loser.

He doesn't know what he's missing. Ha!

Anyway, I'm on to bigger, brighter, and better things! I leave for my NYC excursion and two-week Caribbean cruise in less than two weeks. I'm so excited! It's all I can do not to go and to pack my suitcases right this moment!

And, oh, I guess I gotta find the focus to finish out this semester. I just don't know how I'm going to focus with such an exciting adventure on the horizon!

Dear Dating Gods, I have a question.

2011-11-21T19:45:00.000-05:00

Okay, readers, I need advice. I need your opinions.

At the end of the summer, I met a guy through one of the dating websites. We went on three or four dates, and we got on well enough. To me, there was nothing that stood out as being wrong with him. Well, other than showing up an hour late, once. But other than that, there was nothing wrong with him. If fact, if truth be told, he met a lot of qualities on the list. The problem, however, was I just didn't feel a connection. I don't know what to call it, but I didn't feel a spark, a click, a something. I told him this. (Well, it's possible I might have texted him this.) His response was interesting. He told me that sometimes a connection takes time. I wasn't really expecting that answer, but rather than think about it, I just ended things by telling him we should probably go our separate ways.

I have occasionally wondered if maybe he's correct. Is there always an initial spark? Does whatever makes a relationship click happen immediately or take time? In full disclosure, there was a huge initial spark with my ex-husband and, well, we all know how that ended, so maybe it's okay if there's not a huge, initial spark? And, what if there wasn't an initial spark because I was scared? This poor guy was, after all, the first date I had after my divorce.

I bring all this up because out of the blue, the guy contacted me again. Nothing creepy...just a quick note saying "hi" and asking how things were going. It took me by surprise. I'm not really sure what to do with it.

So, what do I do? Respond to his note? Give it another chance? See if maybe he's right about a connection taking time? Or do something else entirely?

And, is there always an immediate something or do connections take time to build?

The Craziest Thing I Ever Did to Save Money

2011-11-17T20:09:00.000-05:00

I was reading an article over at Bankrate entitled 'The craziest thing I did to save money'. These people are borderline wackos. One lady had a crafting hobby so she went dumpster diving at cemeteries (yes! cemeteries!!) for fake flowers and other assorted decorations.

It all got me to thinking...what's the craziest thing I've done to save money? I think, unfortunately, I'm fairly normal. I simply don't buy what I don't need. I guess the one crazy thing I do is keep the thermostat really low during the winter. I keep the thermostat around 60 degrees during the winter, and it only gets bumped up if I'm still freezing after exhausting my supply of electric blankets, sweaters, socks, and hats!

What do you do to save money?

What I'm Learning in School

2011-11-14T15:50:00.002-05:00

Guess what I learned today at school? In between classes, I learned that the going rate for a gram of pot is $60. I'm not sure what a gram of pot looks like (quantity wise), but that seems a bit steep...I mean these are poor college students...

Anyway, after learning this piece of information from my classmates, I couldn't help but wonder if this was a high or low going rate. Does it vary across the country? Also, what is the profit margin? Do you think that's taxable income? And what does the going rate depend on -- supply and demand?

I'm tempted to ask my classmates about this tomorrow. They have lots of experience in this field. Trust me.

If anything, I guess this could be considered a real world application of my accounting degree, right?

For those of you who are as sheltered as I am, I'll keep you posted.

What I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-08T19:16:00.000-05:00

Photo Credit

I'm thankful that I have enough clothes so that I only have to do laundry when I run out of clean underwear.

Only in the South...

2011-11-05T19:30:00.000-04:00

Do they do war reenactments in any other part of the country? I have to admit that I don't see the allure in dressing up in period costume and "playing army". Not to mention, it's not like they don't know the outcome. Well, whatever the appeal is, I can say that I've been to a war reenactment and I can cross it off my to-do list!

PSA: Tights are not pants.

2011-11-03T22:37:00.000-04:00

I wish I could post this all over campus! I'm so sick of seeing camel toe and panty lines!

Fall at the Biltmore

2011-10-29T14:43:00.000-04:00

and just for kicks and giggles....chicks at the State Fair

Happy Fall!

Dating. Ugh.

2011-10-28T20:01:00.001-04:00

Eeek! I know! Dates! I never thought I would be dating again, and after some recently awkward dates, I'm almost tempted not to do it. Dating's tough and I don't wish it upon anyone!

I had one guy show up an HOUR late to our date. Awkward! Then there was another guy who got super frustrated at the children's corn maze we went to and almost freaked out because we were "lost". *sigh* There was no way to get lost in the corn maze - first of all, the corn was about 4 feet high. You could see the entrance and exit points. Second, worst case scenario was that you could just walk out of the maze by trampling down all the corn. He wasn't a fan when I pointed this out to him.

It's too bad the corn maze isn't available year around. I think it would be a good litmus test for dates to see how they handled the "pressure" of navigating a children's corn maze. If they can't handle it, then we know not to go on any more dates with them!

I've also discovered another great dating litmus test - the question "What would you do if you won the lottery?" I've decided you can tell a lot by a person based on their answer. The corn maze guy was also the guy who flat out told me he had never contemplated such a question. WHAT?! Who hasn't contemplated what they'd do if they won the lottery?!? That was strike two for him! I know most people get three strikes, but I'm not that generous. After that disastrous corn maze date, I never bothered to call him back. Whoops.

And don't even get me started on the guys with the bad pick up lines.

What's the worst date you've been on? What's the best/worst pick-up line you've heard?

I feel old.

2011-10-20T17:37:00.000-04:00

It's official! I'm cool! Some popular, 18-year old in my math class told me so.

He found me in the student commons today and asked for homework help. I said, sure. Why not? After all, I had nothing better to do. After we were done, we just sat there and chatted. At one point he says, "Wow. You're actually pretty cool."

Um...geee....thanks?

I mean, what do you say to something like that?

Well, I said the first thing that came to mind, "Shhh! Don't blow my cover!"

I don't know what I meant by that comment, but I was just messing around. Unfortunately, he found that to be hilarious and took that as a cue to invite a whole bunch of his friends over.

I now have a whole bunch of new 18 year old "friends" who think it's "amazing" that someone of my advanced age (25!) has the balls to go back to school. *sigh* I feel old.

I never knew I could be made to feel old at this age. Has this ever happened to you?

Well, it's final!

2011-10-18T21:10:00.000-04:00

Well, it's final. I am, legally, no longer a military spouse. The divorce was processed through the courts last Friday. Some people have asked why/how the divorce was so quick, and I can finally confirm that in South Carolina divorces go quickly when adultery is involved. That, my friend, is public record now.

I've also had people ask me what I did with my wedding and engagement rings. Honey, I hawked those suckers months ago and booked myself a 12-night Caribbean cruise for Christmas break! *applause* Bring on the umbrella drinks!

Now, I'm on to the task of finding new blogs to read. I still keep up with a lot of military spouse blogs, but I'm trying to branch out and to find some blogs that aren't milspouse blogs to reflect my new life. Any ideas? Any favorite non-milspouse blogs?

Damn Technology!

2011-09-30T17:08:00.000-04:00

It's possible that I might have been on my phone during class yesterday. Imagine my surprise when I got a text (yes, a text!) from the professor telling me to put my phone away. Damn technology!

State Fair Photography Competition

2011-09-27T20:14:00.001-04:00

On a dare, I entered two photos into the South Carolina State Fair Photography Competition. I went and dropped them off today. I have no thoughts about winning anything except {maybe} a participant's ribbon {do they still give those out?}, but I was excited when I got to see other photographers' works because my photographs didn't look out of place! My photographs looked like they belonged there just as much as any other photograph. Hooray!

Anyway, dropping my photographs off made me start to get excited for the State Fair. I love all the food (fried Pepsi, anyone? Hey, I'm in the South...), the exhibits, and the people watching. Oh, yes! Let's not forget about the people watching!

Do you go to the State Fair? What's your favorite part(s)?

Going to Jail...

2011-09-21T08:51:00.003-04:00

My BFF and I are going to jail.

What is that saying...? A good friend will bail you out of jail. A best friend will be right there with you saying, "Damn! That was good!" Well, that's kinda what's going to happen. Only, we're going to jail to potentially volunteer -- not to wear the snazzy jumpsuit. Although...I wonder if they'll let us try on a jumpsuit so that we can take facebook pictures. Hmmm...we'll add that to the list of things to ask about.

A lady we go to church with is the warden at a local prison, and she's putting together programs to assist the inmates in finding jobs and getting on their feet when they leave prison. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but the BFF and the warden were at some church meeting together and they got to talking. Before I knew it I had been volunteered to potentially help with this program. I'm always up for a {mis}adventure, so I didn't say no. We meet with the warden next week to discuss the details of what she wants from us.

I still wonder if we can talk her into letting us try on orange jumpsuits...I look good in orange.

SH!T My Professor Says.

2011-09-19T20:50:00.000-04:00

I have a math professor who is a borderline douche, but the pearls that fly out of his mouth are priceless.

Example #1
We were solving some pretty complex formulas, and the professor was doing all the math in his head. The girl next to me asks, "How do you solve those problems in your head so fast?" Without skipping a beat or even turning to look at her, he says, "Genetic Superiority" and keeps on writing. O_o

Example #2
We were in class early today, and we were chatting with the professor who teaches the class before us. We told him we had a test today. Our professor walks in and the other professor remarks, "Looks like your students are ready for the test today." Once again, without missing a beat, our professor says, "I doubt it" and walks out of the room. Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.

Anyone else have an instructor or professor like this?

Pin the Sperm on the Egg

2011-08-13T23:02:00.000-04:00

I'm in Seattle this weekend hosting a baby shower for a BFF. You know no baby shower of mine would be complete without some sort of tawdry game! So, we played Pin the Sperm on the Egg! Genius, right? I thought so!

You should have seen how bright red the BFF turned when we brought out the game! She's a bit on the....ahem....classy side, so her reaction was priceless!

What got me, however, was when they insisted on having the little girls in attendance play Pin the Sperm on the Egg. Does anyone else see anything wrong with this? I don't think this is the best way to have "The Talk". So, you see, Sally, when the sticky sperm is actually lucky enough to get find the egg....

Later we all wrote out advice cards for the new mom. Oh, great, what do I know about babies? All I could come up with was "Apparently, it is a myth that baby's bounce, so don't drop it." Hey, don't judge. It's all I know about babies.

What is the best shower game you have every played? Any baby advice for the mom-to-be?

{Mis}Adventures with The Unlikely Wife

2011-07-29T20:55:00.000-04:00

Kat, the Unlikely Wife, came and visited me in Columbia a few weeks ago. We spend a day gallivanting around Charleston. A few photos are below. My favorites are the ones of Kat in the fountain. Don't you just love her?!

{Mis}Adventures at the IRS

2011-07-26T23:21:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of hanging out at the local IRS office for a few hours yesterday thanks to tax issues stemming from le divorce. {Note to self: Don't start divorce proceedings around tax time. Wait until after your taxes are filed.}

When I got to the IRS office, I was astonished to see the line was out the door and around the corner. I could understand the length of the line if it was April 14th, but we're almost to August, people! What's going on?! Turns out all the people in the office/line never bothered to file their taxes! *SMH* Who thinks they don't have to file taxes?! The clerk at the window was, essentially, asking the exact same question. The clerk would ask each person, "Did you earn an income? What made you think you wouldn't have to file income taxes on your income? *sigh* Take a number."

Turns out, all these people thought they didn't have to file taxes because of some dumb reason like "Well, my dog's baby daddy's owner said I didn't have to because he didn't have to."

I should also mention at this point, if you haven't already guessed, that the line was mostly comprised of a demographic I don't regularly associated with. Sitting in the waiting room and eavesdropping on their conversations was entertaining, to say the least. I heard one conversation that started with, "Well, at least I'm not in jail. They said I didn't have to go to jail because I didn't know what I was doing was wrong." Oh, goodness. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear the whole conversation (damn screaming kids!), but the rest of the conversation I heard contained this gem, "Well, they had the assault rifle pointed at the children." OH. MY. GOD. What is wrong with these people?!

Going Back to School

2011-07-18T22:13:00.001-04:00

Yes, you read that right, I've decided to go back to school. It's something I've thought about for awhile because my degrees are a bit unusable right now for anything other than wallpapering a bathroom, but, for some really dumb reason, I thought I couldn't go back to school. I thought as a military spouse I wouldn't be in one place long enough to finish a degree, so I shouldn't start one. I also thought I wouldn't be able to support my husband's career while attending school full-time.

See, I told you. Dumb reasons.

I was also scared to start a new degree program. Where would the money come from? How would I balance volunteer duties with classes? What color of notebook should I use? See, once again, dumb reasons.

It's amazing what a divorce will do for your thinking and mindset. Once you've gone through a divorce there's nothing else left to really scare you - especially the idea of going back to school!

So, I'll be going back to school in the fall for a degree in accounting. It'll be kind of weird being considered a "non-traditional student", but it's not something I'm scared of. It's going to be a fun {mis}adventure!

Off Gallivanting!

2011-07-17T06:37:00.000-04:00

I'm off to Charleston today to gallivant with Kat from The Unlikely Wife and Emily from the Frugal Reservist's Wife.

Emily and I gallivant on a regular basis. We're half-jokingly talking about getting shirts made for what I'm calling the Summer of 2011 Gallivanting Club. The shirts would read, "I'm up to no good...want to join me?" LOL! Today, Kat has achieved honorary status in the club. If we actually had shirts, I'd present her with one.

Anyway, I'm so excited for today! Both of these ladies are awesome friends who have really helped me to handle my divorce and life change in a healthy, positive way. Oh, and they're both wicked funny. I'm a lucky girl to have them in my life!

Okay, gotta run! Charleston awaits! Pics to follow!

Just a Girl and Her Camera...at the Beach

2011-07-12T13:58:00.000-04:00

You know what I like about photography? With all the ugly stuff in my life, photography allows me to create something beautiful, to capture a moment in time, and to walk away with something that is all mine. I don't have any training, but that doesn't matter to me. I don't have all the crazy accessories or gadgets, but that doesn't matter either - simpler is better. I don't have a strict purpose for taking photographs, but, once again, that doesn't matter. I do it because it makes me happy.

The other thing I like about taking photos is that I don't have to share them if I don't want to, but I've discovered sharing my creation is somewhat cathartic. If I can offer something pretty to the world or offer my perspective, why not? This world needs more pretty things. (If only I could figure out how to bedazzle the photos, I could offer the world pretty and shiny things!)

I went down to a friend's beach house and while I was there, we visited Brookgreen Gardens. Below are some photos from the trip. I was even honored when she asked if she could give one of my photographs as a present to her sister-in-law. Talk about an ego boost!

Google+

2011-07-11T22:06:00.000-04:00

Someone explain it to me. Pretty please. It just seems like another facebook.

Just a Girl and Her Camera....in Charleston

2011-06-21T09:43:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to do a photo tour of Charleston for quite sometime. I had planned on going a few months ago, but...well...life got in the way. I'm glad I was able to go last weekend. It's truly a gorgeous city with so much character and Southern hospitality.

♪♫Bad Boys, Bad Boys. Whacha Gonna Do When They Come For You?♪♫

2011-06-18T18:05:00.000-04:00

I've been humming the COPS theme song because earlier this week, I saw a COPS-style bust go down right in front of me on Fort Jackson. I was driving down the main street, and out of nowhere, cops zoomed in on the car in front of me from every angle. Cops were yelling, "Get out of the car! Get out of the car!" and "Hands on your head! I said, 'Hands on your head!'"

I'm sure most people would have been freakin' out and trying to figure out how to get out of there, but the only thing I was worried about was getting my phone out so I could take pictures! I also had to make a split second, life or death decision about whether to take still photos or video. Either way, I knew immediately it was going to be blog worthy!

A friend asked me later if I was scared. Hell, yeah! I was scared that a.) I wasn't going to get my phone out in time to take photos, and b.) that the police were going to march over and confiscate my phone! But otherwise, I wasn't scared. In fact, I live for these moments!

Now, here's the fun part just because I have an overactive imagination. What do you think happened for the cops to swoop in, arrest the two occupants of the vehicle, and impound their car? I'm thinking they were trying to shag street signs. Apparently, it's a problem elsewhere in the world.

What's your guess?

How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation

2011-06-09T10:27:00.000-04:00

Do you remember in school how we had to write those "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" essays when we returned to school. If I had to write one of those again, I would just submit this photo taken with my iPhone, so don't judge the quality.

I'm also spending my summer keeping the sunscreen industry in business. Nothin' less that SPF 60 for this white girl!

Oh, and in other exciting news, I have a job interview today. WoOT! Go me! The only thing better than an interview is a job offer!

I'm TV-less

2011-06-04T10:54:00.000-04:00

First, a picture I took on Memorial Day of a retired CSM playing music with one of his Soldiers. I cried as he sat there and told me stories about him and his Soldier.

In other news, I'm television-less. One of only two things that "he-who-cannot-be-named-due-to-the-divorce-settlement" got in the divorce was the television. I had the option of purchasing a new television, but I've decided to try to lead a simpler life. I've had friends that have cut the cable and who have loved that decision...I'm just taking it one step further. =)

So far, I have mixed feelings about my tv-less life. Part of me hasn't missed the TV at all. It's been nice not to have it because I've been uber-productive. Plus, it's not like there's anything good on TV right now. The other part of me misses it, however, because it created a presence in the apartment...if that makes any sense. It was nice to have the background noise. Although, I've been creating my background noise with a radio and NPR. The apartment also feels empty because there's a huge empty wall where the TV used to be. I guess I could always put up some art, right?

Anyway, have you ever gone without TV? For how long? How did you handle it?

Moving On

2011-05-30T10:51:00.002-04:00

I'm also retitling my blog to "{Mis}Adventures of a Lifetime". The actual blog design and related things are a work in progress, but I think those of you that know me will agree the current blog design-in-progress is more a reflection of me.

In the meantime, I can't leave you without a real blog post, right? Well, here we go....I've decided that since I'm staying here in South Carolina I need to get to know this state. I've set a goal of being a tourist for the next year or so. Thankfully, I have a friend whose husband is deploying, so I'm going to be her battle buddy, and she's going to be my travel buddy. Win-win for all involved, right?! Right! We sat down and made a huge list of things to do over the next year. Our first excursion was to Magnolia Plantation just outside of Charleston. It was gorgeous! My favorite photo below is of the peacock.

One Day at a Time

2011-05-08T09:32:00.001-04:00

Before I talk about the actual topic of this post, I wanted to share a photograph with you.

Do you know what it is? It's an Easter Basket full of letters. And guess what? You're responsible for it! Yes, you! There's almost 200 at last count. I wake up every morning and see those letters on my dresser. Seeing the letters gives me that much more courage to face the day. I also randomly take out a few at times when I'm feeling down because your words continue to inspire and to uplift me. Thank you.

-------------------------

Just take it one day at a time. That's what my counselor keeps telling me to do. If that feels impossible, they tell me to take it one hour at a time, one minute at a time, or one moment at a time. Sometimes it feels easier said than done.

I spent most of this week pondering what "take it one day at a time" actually means. As a person who believes in short-term and long-term plans, the idea of taking it one day, hour, minute, or moment at a time threw me for a loop. How can you take it one day at a time and not plan for a future? The idea of one day at a time just sounded silly to me.

Thankfully, I had a group member point out to me that, in the past, I spent a lot of time focusing on the future. She asked me how my persistent focus on the future had worked out for me. I realized she was right. I was always planning for that next PCS move, the next weekend trip, the next class I was going to teach, and even the next blog post. I had forgotten how to express gratitude for life. I feel that expressing gratitude for life is done in the moment. It's the cliche things like stopping to smell the flowers, and the bigger things like not fully paying attention to a conversation with a friend because you're planning what to have for dinner next week. In short, it's living in the moment. It's being mindful of what your senses are experiencing at that moment. It's realizing what we do and do not have control over.

I've been working on living a more mindful life. That's not to say there aren't times where I need to sit down and plan for the future, but I don't plan for the future while I'm watching TV, reading a book, walking outside, or even grocery shopping. I'm taking the time to look around me and to fully experience what is happening. I know mult-tasking is valued in this world, but multi-tasking makes me wonder how many of us are missing the simpler things in life - the simpler things that make life worth living. When is the last time you sat down a truly focused all of your attention on a conversation you were having with a friend? When's the last time you played with your children and just reveled in their laughter and in their fun? When's the last time you stood outside and experienced everything God has created - the sun warming your skin, the breeze gently flowing through your hair, and the grass beneath your feet?

Internally, I'm thanking God for a second chance at life. Externally, I am fully experiencing what is around me - what God has created - as another way to express gratitude for life. I challenge you to do the same. You'll be surprised at all the new wonders you'll discover and the sense of peace that will engulf you.

"In recover, we live life one day at a time, an idea requiring an enormous amount of faith." - Melody Beatte