I'm Back

Alright friends, I suppose it's time to update this beast again so you know I haven't forgotten about you. (I promise I haven't forgotten about you!) I've been busy working and trying to keep up with the house...which is much more intense than I was expecting. All the little things add up and before you know it, your entire day is consumed with tasks that don't really seem to do much. Oh, and there's ALWAYS something. My "To Do" list is never ending!

Since my last update:

I went to visit Allison and Bobby in Macon and decided (last minute) to take my furry children. Luca had two seizures while we were there (more than likely stress-induced) but thankfully Alli works at an Animal Clinic and allowed me to come straight in and see the vet. He was very straight forward but patient and kind in explaining my options. Long story, short...Luca is fine and hasn't had a seizure since. It was wonderful seeing Allison and Bobby although, as always, I wish it could've lasted longer. We walked around the Cherry Blossom Festival and I managed to find a vendor selling adorable, handmade, clay earrings that were shaped like orange and blue flowers with the word Gators in the middle. (Foot ball season cannot come fast enough!)

I paid off the remainder of our appliances and had them delivered. This may not seem like a big deal but I was without a fridge and a stove for over a month so Ive never been more thrilled than to cook REAL food (no microwave dinners). Ive had people over and I cook and it's been wonderful. I can finally bake again, which is my favorite. I even made some cake pops and brought them into work. Everyone said they loved them. One poor guy got a hair in his (probably from the girl who helped me decorate...or maybe a random dog hair??) but he said it was so good he ate the pop anyway. Thank goodness he was a good sport which only made it MILDLY embarrassing. (The flowers in the picture were from Adam for surviving the first month of the deployment...WHAT A SWEET GUY!!)

I turned in the GTI. Since the car was a lease, Adam and I decided (before he left) that we wanted to give it back to VW. What sold on on returning it was VW's program for deployed military members. Basically, they can get out of their lease contract with no penalties or extra fees. More importantly, the programs eats up any negative equity from previous cars. We still have a final payment to make but then we'll be free from his car payment AND his car insurance payment!

Our lawn mower broke twice. Well actually it only technically broke once: The first time it needed more oil and the second time it refused to start (a leak in some oil hose/tube/chamber/something). Luckily I have some pretty fantastic, manly neighbors that not only tried to fix MY mower but let me use theirs in the mean time. One of the older men even came over and edged my front yard for me! As hard as they tried, my neighbors Bo and Will were unable to get my lawn mower working so I had to drive it back to the NEX in Norfolk. I haven't gotten a replacement yet (I was planning on waiting until the end of May so I can shop around with guy-friends (they always know what to look for).

Adam left Spain and is headed to God-knows-where halfway across the planet. We email each other often and he got my first couple of care packages a few days ago. I was shocked at how long it takes to get there (over a month!!) He says it's hot, hot, hot and he hasn't seen rain in months. I told him it's been raining enough up here to last us for a while. While they were in Spain, Adam put on LT which is a rank advancement and a big deal for him. He is such an amazing man and I am so very proud of him, his accomplishments and his sacrifices!

I joined The Y (today actually) cause I'm tired of being unhealthy. Tomorrow begins my journey of a healthier Jenny. I need all of you to keep me accountable and help me out. I'm excited about the pool and the ability to swim laps. Leah also has a membership there so we can sync our schedules up and take classes together. I've always wanted to try Zumba!

I met some wonderful, new friends...some of whom are already moving away :( I keep trying to attend one of the FRG (Family Readiness Group) meetings for the USS Porter (Adam's ship) but a conflict ALWAYS arises (or I forget). I started The Hunger Games series and I've been on the 3rd book for some time now. (I told y'all I was busy!) As much as I love getting new books, I have over a half dozen that I haven't read yet so I need to put a dent in my stash first.I got my hair done, found a church for Easter (although I don't think it was a church meant to fit my needs), had the garage doors fixed, sprayed weed killer, and caught up on a ton of tv shows. I had work cut back my hours so I could focus more on the house and plan on finishing the living room as soon as we get paid again.I'm sure more has happened since I last updated so if I remember, I'll come back and add some things.

Happy Sunday and have a great week!

Work work work

As I may (or may not) have mentioned, one of our hostesses at work just had a baby. I was asked if I could help out by picking up a few shifts. Well, technically, it started out as a favor: "Just this once...do you mind?" I agreed and said I'd be happy to help. Of course, typical of RR they've begun abusing my kindness. I've all but been pulled off the server schedule and my usual money-making shifts have been replaced with mind-numbing busy work. Sure, I get thank you's but I don't think they (the managers) understand just how irritated I am. First, I make more money as a server than I do hostessing and second, it's one of the world's most miserable jobs. It's literally draining me and, mark my words, I will not volunteer myself again any time soon.

Because I've been working countless doubles and long, terrible hours I've been lacking ME time...so this is my public apology to the masses. If you feel that I've been ignoring you or short with you lately, it has not been intentional. I apologize for not returning calls, texts and emails but the little time I have for myself is just enough to get home, pour a glass of wine and chill before I pass out and move on to the next day of misery. I talked to some of the managers and (hopefully) they plan to cut my hours back...upon request, obviously. I have so many things around the house that have to get done and there simply aren't enough hours in the day.

I had my first "bad day" tonight. For a week I've held strong and managed to push through the pains of deployment but (I'm guessing due to all the stress factors in my life right now) I broke down and cried. It hurts and I miss Adam so much it's ridiculous. Thank GOD for my dogs or I'd go crazy in this house! Of course, Adam and I still email each other, provided the ship has it turned on (sometimes they turn the radar off to avoid being detected) but it's so much harder that way. I'd give anything to hear his voice or even see his face. Yes, Skype would be a welcome, wonderful luxury. UNfortunately, this ship's public-access computers don't have speakers so that is not an option.

Luckily, I've made plans to visit Allison and Bobby in Macon this weekend for the Cherry Blossom Festival. The plans to find a dog sitter didn't really fall into place so I'm resorting to taking them with me. As terrible as these monsters are during car rides and road trips, it will, at least, give me some form of company on the TEN hour drive. I plan on leaving right after work on Thursday. Hopefully RR will let me off early...  I really need this mini vacation!

I love you all and thank you for being so supportive and helpful. I would also like to thank red wine. It has been helpful too.

Emotional Rollercoaster

Hello internet. We meet again. You can tell I've been spending entirely too much time on my iPhone when I type with reckless abandon and expect my multitude of errors to just magically correct themselves. Also, for some strange reason, I've been hitting the period key twice in hope that it will space my words for me. Oh technology! Why can't you yet read my mind?!

After weeding a bit and chopping down a devil bush

Framed key to our first home!

I must say these past couple months have been the biggest grab bag of emotions under the sun. We finally closed on our house, although nothing is ever as easy as it sounds. We moved out of Steve and Leah's in February, after nearly a month of living with them. As fun as they are and as much as Adam and I both love them, we owed them time together. After getting permission from some mystery property manager for an early release, we moved into our future home...still sans the whole "closing" business. (Side note: The term "short sale" is not named accordingly. Someone should change it to "You-have-time-to-have-grandchildren-while-you-wait-on-your-home sale".) After a ton of waiting, Adam and I closed on our house on Monday, March 5th. Since then, we've been trying to repair our fixer-upper as quickly as possible. So far we've renovated the laundry room, the kitchen (kind of), breakfast nook, and we're in the middle of redoing the living room.

Living Room - mid project. Let me tell you how much I hate wallpaper!

Breakfast Nook

 

Eventually we'll add art, cabinets and glass backsplash

Adam and I were trying to hurry the renovations because he departed on his first ever deployment today, exactly ONE week from closing! Ahh!

Adam left today for his SEVEN month deployment on the USS Porter. Luckily, I was able to tour the ship before it set sail and have an authentic Navy-style lunch. After experiencing these things, my level of appreciation increases. The quarters are tiny and the missions are never ending. What sacrifices these men and women have to make!! I made Adam a box of goodies to take with him and we had a whole week off together, which was beyond wonderful but the goodbyes we said today were some of the hardest things I've had to do thus far. I've tried to stay as strong as I possibly can but there's really nothing that can prepare someone for such a terrible heartache. Adam is my rock. He's my number one supporter, my biggest motivator and my best friend so I would be lying if I said I think these seven months will be easy. There's no doubt that it will get easier but that doesn't mean I have to start liking it. Thank goodness I have a handful of ladies here who are dealing with some of the same emotions. I'd be completely lost without them. As sad as I may be, my heart is swelling with pride for the courageous, loving and dedicated man I married. He makes sacrifices daily to provide for us and our furry kids and I couldn't be any more grateful. I am thankful and blessed beyond measure!

First night alone: Malbec, chocolate, a good book and my Adam-scented Navy Gator

As for tonight, I'm enjoying my wine. I bought  journal to record some of my more private thoughts (yes, some things are even to personal for the internet) and hope to look back on it a few deployments down the road and see hoe much I've grown. Hopefully Adam will be doing the same. Thank you for everyone who sent kind, thoughtful texts or made it a point to call me today. It makes things sting a little less. Remember to keep Adam and the rest of his battlegroup in your prayers. This is a new experience on both sides and ANY support is welcomed and appreciated. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated with the latest Adam-info as I get it. Go Navy!

On a lighter note, make sure you guys save our new address for Christmas cards, birthdays, road trips, etc!
The Peeples
1017 Chesterfield Terrace
Chesapeake, Va 23320

I'll try to keep the pictures coming. Currently, renovation has ceased due to lack of funds but hopefully we'll be back up after payday!

Fridays aren't supposed to be this depressing.

So, pardon my colorful language, but I would like to thank the jackass that mugged me back in 2007 and decided to right hook me in the face. His stupid gang initiation is still affecting me NOW in 2012. Because of him, my caring mother lovingly and well-meaningly chose the most expensive optometrist in Riverside to make sure there was no permanent damage to me or my left eye. Sweet, but now it's $300 worth of irritation. This medical bill (which was supposed to be paid for by the kid that mugged me) has since gone into collections and is keeping Adam and I from moving forward in our home buying process. I know I should have paid it off long ago but due to a list of super-excusy sounding excuses, I'll spare you my reasoning. It's impossible trying to figure out who I need to call because no one wants to help.

This house buying process is not as fun as I was expecting. It's hard work that requires too much patience and above all, it's making me anxious...and NOT in the good way. I wanted to be happy about buying this house but I can't get that way. I'm far too nervous.

On top of all this, my birthday is tomorrow. Usually I'd be excited; planning my outfit and which bars we'd go to, but I'm turning twentyFIVE. I know it sounds silly but I'm genuinely upset about this. I've been alive for a quarter of a century and have nothing to show for it. I have literally accomplished nothing on my own. I still work at the same dead-end waitressing job because no one wants to hire me. I have no skills, no experience, no degree. Hell, I'm not even enrolled in school right now. The list goes on and on but the more I share, the more pathetic I sound, and the LAST thing I want is sympathy. Simply put, it's depressing to feel so far behind my peers, especially when social media feels the need to advertise the fact that these people are too happy or too successful or too insert-great-accomplishment-here. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited that my friends are doing so well and almost all of them deserve it...I just wish I could be there with them.

When I'm old(er) I'm going to write a book called Unsolicited Advice You Wont Appreciate Til You're 80. It will be a compilation of lessons and advice I WISH I had the foresight to heed. Just funny, quippy stories that will make for a fast, truthful, hilarious read or perhaps even, God help me, toilet-reading. I'm not a fan (at ALL) of bathroom literature; however, I might just need to play it safe and publish the book with a vinyl cover...you know, for the bowel-y inspired.

Since my last post, I've decided to quit Bravo and go back to working at RR as often as I can. I've only worked 3 shifts this week but in those shifts I made more than I would have made at Bravo in a week. I'm hoping it stays busy but I still have the intention of finding a "real" job. Fingers crossed.

Update: Our USAA rep that's assisting us in the home-buying gave me the name of the credit agency and the debt has been paid. Kind of a bittersweet pill to swallow.

My New Calling

Holy Moly! I can't believe I haven't updated since December 12th! Meh...who am I kidding? It's not THAT shocking.

Our first Christmas on our own was a bittersweet mixture of emotions. Nothing makes me miss family more than the smells and traditions of the holidays but it was wonderful to avoid the pressures that come with the season. My favorite gift from Adam were my Kitchen Aid pasta maker attachments, which I'm excited about but wont get a chance to use until we move into the new house...

Speaking of- We're still scheduled to close on the 24th. WOO! Apparently the seller repaired the downstairs heater (which wasn't working) and replaced the water heater (which was on the verge of exploding or something). We're waiting on the sellers to make a few additional repairs then we need a re-appraisal. For the record, I'm pretty sure that's not what it's ACTUALLY called. Adam dropped some papers off by the lawyers today and we're continuing to pack up Leicester. Dear Lord, when did we get so much STUFF?! I don't know what excites me more: the prospect of moving into a new house OR finally throwing away Adam's smelling, sagging pleather bachelor couches. (Probably the latter.)

My wonderful friends (Mr & Mrs Middlemas, their sons Ian and Sean and almost-daughter-in-law Kelly) decided to vacation up in Williamsburg this week. I believe the story involved something about a time share but you could see the real reason in their eyes...they missed me. Since it's only a 45 minute drive, without tunnel traffic, I decided to spend my Wednesday with them. I mean, it's only fair since they drove 11 hours to get here THEN drove to our house in Norfolk THEN drove alllllllllllll the way to Virginia Beach to pay for everyone to eat delicious seafood on Monday night. THANKS AGAIN, BY THE WAY! Anyway, back to today. The Middlemi and I went to the Williamsburg Winery. Even though the weather was cold and rainy, I had an amazing time and learned a TON. I also discovered my next true calling: to be a professional wine taster. You might think I'm joking or perhaps hinting at the fact that I'm on the verge of becoming a lush but it's a lot harder than you'd think. You're probably asking yourself the same thing I was thinking before the tour..."What's so hard about getting paid to drink wine?!" Sounds like a dream job, right? Well...it is; however, I learned there's a lot of hard work and knowledge that go into the process.


First, our guide took us to the vineyard. Due to the weather, we weren't able to go out into the rows of twiggy grape trees but because of the cold weather, the lack of leaves made it easy to see pretty far. I would love to go see the winery in the summer. I bet it's beautiful. We went through a museum full of old wine bottles, tools and corks, even articles on the wall about the discovery of the bones of a 6'8" 20-something Englishman on the property! The fermentation tanks were MUCH larger than I anticipated (2 stories!) and full of delicious rotting grapes. Did you know they actually keep cooling bands around the tanks to chill the mixture in case the fermenting process gets a little too heated? Our guide made his way to the cellars- down a narrow, winding staircase with us in tow. Immediately I smelled cinnamon and spices. As it turned out, we were in front of the winery's storage tank for their spiced dessert wine. We made our way past real oak barrels full of white wines to the windows where we could see the bottling machine. They have the ability to bottle a 1000 bottles an hour (I think). Next we made our way into the red wine cellar where they play classical music all day long. Funny, the traditions that stick around. Finally we got to my favorite part, the tasting! Having never done this before, I thought I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the wines. I mean, I love wine but let's be honest...I've had my share of $2.99 boxed Walgreens wine. As it turns out, I not only can taste the difference but I was able to pick out distinct flavors. I developed my own 1-5 scale and rated the wines writing down notes to help me remember WHY I liked what I did. Obviously I'm a novice but I think with a little training, I'd be able to give tours and tell people all about the loveliness of fermented fruit. We were able to take home our tasting glasses as well as a free wine topper but I also made off with not one but TWO bottles of delicious wines! AGAIN, THANK YOU very MUCH! Here's a couple of collages of pictures I took. Unfortunately there are none of us tasting the wine. We were enjoying ourselves too much for photos. Our guide, Ian, was wonderful! If you ever go to the Williamsburg Winery, I highly suggest him. He new a lot about the process and flavors of the wines they offered but I never felt pressured nor did I feel like he forced his opinions on you. It was such a great time with wonderful, hilarious people. I love those guys!

As if I don't have enough dependence upon social networking, I'm now addicted to foursquare, a way to share your whereabouts with friends. I think it helps that you earn points for every place you go. The points are absolutely useless but it makes me feel like I'm accomplishing some sort of goal which, in turn, makes me feel great about myself. See the benefits of social networking?!

I'm cozy at home now, with Adam, who has one more day left of class number one. Unfortunately, after that, he's on to class number two. Hopefully learning how to be on a ship is exciting for him. I was debating between reading more of The Help, which I'm LOVING or watching our new Netflix movie. I'm thinking the movie wins...

Goodnight!