The Job Hunt

I have been unemployed for one year. Luckily, it has been my decision to be unemployed for a year, until now. Now, I'm ready to get back to work, feel the satisfaction of earning a paycheck, and wear my cute heels everyday. As I am in the midst of searching for job openings, revising my resume and preparing for interviews, I thought I would share a few thoughts that go through my head on a seemingly regular basis.

• I HATE looking for a job - probably the consensus of most people. The process requires patience, something I don't have, yet have been praying for a lot lately.

• I think cover letters are dumb and a waste of time. I know they are "necessary" and required for most of the jobs I am applying for, but still, dumb. While their purpose is to help the employer understand why I, the prospective employee, applied for the job and help decide if they should spend any more time looking at my resume, it seems like a waste of time on both our parts. Instead of summarizing my entire resume in a completely unique and personalized letter to you and your company, just read my resume and decide if I'm worth an interview. If letter-writing skills are a make-or-break kinda thing for the job, then check out my handwritten thank-you note on my super cute stationary that you'll be getting after the interview. Booya.

• I will never understand the purpose of including an "objective" at the top of my resume. My objective is and always will be to get the stinkin' job! That's why I'm applying for it! I guess I could put "to successfully obtain employment at _____ company." That sounds a little nicer than GIVE ME THE JOB! It seems the only thing an objective really does is shorten the already limited space I have as I try to fit everything on one page.

• Please put the salary range on the job posting. I know what I'm looking for and you know what you can afford.
  

Dating

I hate dating. Let me rephrase that. I hated dating. That's one of the reasons why I love being married, I don't have to date anymore. The awkwardness of being asked out, the torture of making small-talk and "getting to know each other", sitting around waiting and wondering when you are going to hear from them again, wondering if you should initiate contact this time, should you call or text or maybe email, not knowing what the other person is thinking or feeling about you and the relationship, wondering if it's even really a relationship yet, having to have "the talk" about whether you're exclusive or not, ugh, just all of it, I hated it. And here I am, back in the "dating" scene.

Have you ever noticed how making new friends is kind of like dating? Do you ever remember saying, "Oh, I want a boyfriend/girlfriend soooo bad"? Well, that's like me and friends here in Washington. I want new (local) friends soooo bad. I've been on a couple of "dates" with some prospective friends, we've done the awkward get-to-know-you-chit-chat, but it's to the point now where I am wondering if they like me. Do they want to be my friend? And how do we take it to the next level, beyond the weather and our husbands' work schedules? Since when did making friends become so difficult?

I feel like friendships in the Army change depending on the season. They go to a whole new level if both the spouses are deployed at the same time. The friendships tend to go into a "lull" or just put on hold momentarily when the husbands come home, and understandably so. Right now, thankfully all of our husbands are home at the moment, so maybe that's why the friendships are going a little slow right now. It's just tough being so far away from friends and family....the comfortableness (is that a word?) of it all. I am so anxious to get back to a new "normal" that I sometimes I can't even enjoy this season of our life. If we make new friends here, maybe we won't be quite so homesick. Maybe so, but instead of hoping and wondering and wishing, I'm going to try to relish in this newness and just take it one day at a time.

Or I'm at least going to try!

Christmas Cards!!

I couldn't pass up the great promotion that Shutterfly is doing this year. They are offering 50 FREE Christmas cards if you write a post on your blog about the promotion and fill out a quick and simple form found here. I am always up for free stuff, especially when it's as easy as this! Just look at how cute and varied their designs are...there really is something for everyone's style.













My family has been using Shutterfly for years as a way to share pictures. They always have great quality prints when you order them from the site and their site is super user-friendly! Not only do they have super cute designs for all holidays and themes, and they offer tons of products you can personalize for gifts. One of Johnny's favorite Christmas gifts he received while he in Iraq was a calendar that I made filled with pictures from home. I was even able to personalize a specific date with a picture....it couldn't have been easier for him to tell when everyone's birthday was because their face was right there in the date box!

Our Christmas cards this year are a combination of "Merry Christmas" and "We've Moved"...might as well kill two birds with one stone, ya know?!! Shutterfly is always my first stop when I need cards or a personalized product, so this promotion was a no-brainer for me...I knew it would be easy to talk about how great they are!

If you have a blog, take advantage of this! It's a great way to save some money this holiday season!!

Cross Country Trip

13 days

15 states

4,100 miles

2,500 pictures

Our cross-country trip was a success! We saw more corn fields and cows than I care to remember and stayed in some very shady "hotels", but we had a blast and saw some amazing sights and made so many awesome memories. It has been non-stop since we rolled into Washington. We spent 4 long days looking for a house and have been unpacking and trying to get organized ever since. I came down with a wicked case of bronchitis on move-in day that has kept me in bed for about a week now. I'm finally starting to feel better, thank goodness! Once I get through all of our pictures, I'll take you through our trip state by state. So stay tuned!

Yay!

We're here!

The movers are here!

I can see Mt. Ranier from my new house!!

I Love Fonts

That's right....I said it. I. Love. Fonts.

I have always loved writing different fonts and creating "To-Do Lists" on the computer in fun fonts. Somehow "Dust the downstairs" always seems so much more fun when it's written in the "Gigi" font. It's like magic! I also love "Rage Italic"....that's what my name was written in in my signature block on work emails and "Tekton Pro" is one that I try to use as often as possible. Even in college we would study fonts in a few of my advertising classes....serif fonts...sans serif fonts...which ones are appropriate for headers in an advertisement...which ones are best for the text in the body of an ad. I think my professor actually said he would fail us if we used "Comic Sans". That sure is one font that gets a lot of hating...I'm surprised it's still in existence!

Did you know that you can download even more fun fonts for free from various online sites?! The possibilities are endless friends! THIS is my favorite site for free fonts....and recipes....and camera tutorials....and scrapbooking inspiration, etc., etc. Her site is just all around awesome!

Here is one of my favorite videos of all times. If you enjoy fonts and are familiar with a few of them, then hopefully you will get a kick out of this as well!

Watch Font Conference and more funny videos on CollegeHumor

Photo Shoot

Last year, I think maybe even during R&R, we got to spend the morning with our good friends Matt & Erin. Erin, at the time, had just started up her new photography business and generously did a mini-photo shoot for us. She is incredibly talented and her business has completely taken off! Check out her website and her blog to see snapshots of all her recent clients. Here are a few of the shots she got of us in downtown Bluffton.

Obsessed

They are salt cellars. Do you know about these precious little things?

A salt cellar is a vessel, usually small and made of glass or silver, used on the table for holding salt. The use of salt cellars continued through the 1940s but has been in decline since, gradually replaced by salt shakers (ha, BORING!). During the Middle Ages, when salt was a valuable commodity, salt would be kept on the table in elaborate metal or glass dishes as a status symbol. Being granted the favor of sharing the salt cellar of the host was seen as a sign of great respect. (thank you Wikipedia)

Good news, if you ever come over to my house for a meal I will grant you the favor of sharing my salt. You are welcome!

Crisp Air + Orange Leaves = Everything Pumpkin Please

I was never very good at math. Nonetheless, I know I'm not the only one who is craving anything pumpkin related right about now. I know we technically already had the first day of fall, but I was in Florida and something about 80 degree weather just didn't scream FALL to me, not sure, maybe it's just me.

Check out THIS POST from last year to get two of my most favorite pumpkin recipes. Holla back with your favorites please!!

Check It Out

I was first introduced to this guy named Pastor Ryan on the Pioneer Woman's blog. After following his blog for awhile, I've learned that he is a Jesus-loving, tatoo-covered pastor who is incredible in the kitchen and behind a camera. He did a post on some money saving tips in the kitchen and I thought it would be worthwhile to re-post a link so y'all could check it out too!

http://www.thisisreverb.com/2009/11/food-week-gormet-on-the-cheap.html

A Life Update Through Pictures

My man is currently doing this...

I am currently learning how to not completely suck at play this game…

We leave in 5 days for this....



So that we can live here....

pictures from here and here

To Blog or Not To Blog

As of lately, it would be the latter. Clearly.

Would you believe me if I said I've thought about this blog every day that I haven't written? What if I told you I literally lay in bed at night thinking up blog post ideas? You're wondering what the heck took so long for me to come back to it, right?!

Oh, the reasons why I stopped blogging are numerous. It came at a time when I quit my job and for the first time ever did not have true purpose or organization to my day coupled with moving out of our first home in Georgia to an apartment in Virginia. I didn't work while the husband was in training in VA for 5 months and boy, did that ever take a toll on me. I didn't realize how much I would miss working. I used to dream of being a stay-at-home wife to do all the things I wanted to do that I never had time for like scrapbooking, staying on top of chores so the house was always orderly, trying out new recipes, eating dinner at a decent hour, etc., etc. But when that became my reality, I was just blah instead of refreshed. It was a tough move for me. I wasn't super happy with our location, with his work hours, not finding a church we liked, not having friends nearby and many others things, but in reality, the real issue was that I was just in a slump. So, out of my normal routine, the blog suffered. For a few months I didn't even read my favorite blogs which is shocking even to myself now!

I've gone back and forth so many times trying to decide if I should just delete the blog all together. And then I would randomly get a comment from a fellow military wife saying how encouraged she was by my writing. Me! Just a young, slightly naive Army wife who is still trying to figure out this whole Army thing and may not be quite so optimistic about it all after I tell you about our next move....yes, another one, after the last move I wrote about on February 17!

But those comments meant so much to me because I know how much of an inspiration and source of laughter and joy other blogs have brought me. Yet, if I'm going to do it, I need to stay connected and stop being so darn fickle! So, needless to say, the internal battle of "To Blog or Not To Blog" continues!

So that's all for right now. I had a moment of....gumption I guess you could say and thought I would actually type instead of just think about it :)

We're Moving!

I know I alluded to some big news and then left y'all hanging, so for that, I am sorry!

It has been a whirlwind these past few weeks.

Our house is on the market and we are moving to Ft. Lee, VA in less than a month. Phew, there, I said it.

Johnny has to attend Captain's Career Course which is about five and a half months long and split between Ft. Lee and Ft. Eustis, both in VA. After that, he will go to Airborne School at Ft. Benning which only lasts about three weeks. At that point, we will PCS (Permanent Change of Station) again to a new unit somewhere in the world! Talk about an adventure! I think this next year is going to teach me a lot about patience and being flexible, and a lot about true Army life. This is our first big PCS.

We went back and forth for months debating whether I would go with him to VA. My first thought was no. We have a house here, I have a career, friends, a church we love and we just spent a year apart, so what's another 5 months. But after awhile Johnny eventually said "I want you to come to Virginia with me, no more debating the pros and cons. We have been apart too much and it's just not worth it if we have the opportunity to actually be together." Now, you have to understand something about Johnny. He for the most part lets me rule the roost. So for him to say "this is what I want and this is what's going to happen" I figured I'd better listen!! And I think it is the best decision for us and for our marriage. I know another deployment is on the horizon once we get to our new unit, so I want to take advantage of every second together while we have it.

Johnny has been stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah for four years, which is a long time by Army standards. We have been spoiled living in the beautiful city of Savannah, a place where people pay money to come and visit, not to mention his family is about a 30 minute drive away and my family is only about 4 hours away.

Putting the house on the market was so emotional for me for some reason. I'm much more in touch with reality now, so at this point I just want the durn thing SOLD! We will probably try to rent it as well to help offset some of the cost since we have not even had anyone call to look at our house which has been quite discouraging to say the least. But, our trust is in the Lord because we know his timing is perfect.

My last day of work is next Thursday so I am trying to wrap everything up here at the office. I can't wait, I have waited for my last day here for a long time. As I clean out my office I am amazed at the amount of crap I have in my office after only three years! I plan on looking for a job when we move, but I'm unsure of what I will do. I'm not sure if I'll stick with marketing and pr which is what my degree is in or if I will just do something low-key and fun for a few months. The latter would allow extra time for blogging, scrapbooking and cooking :)

We are headed up to Virginia soon to try to find a place to live. We are excited for the change of pace and scenery. While we will be further away from both sets of parents, my three sisters, brother-in-law and precious nephew will only be two hours away. My hometown, Roanoke, VA is only a short three hour drive away and Washington, DC is only two hours away. And can you believe my Soldier has never been to Washington, DC?! I got spoiled growing up in Roanoke, every field trip we ever took was to Washington, DC or Monticello!

So, there you have it folks. We're just going to continue weaving our little webb wherever the Army may take us :)

Good News, Bad News

Well, the good news is that I probably lost a few pounds.



The bad news however, is that not even 3 hours after my hunny and I were spooning our way into a deep slumber on our anniversary night did I awake with a very non-romantic horrible stomach ailment. It wasn't food poisoning because Johnny and I shared every delectable thing that made its way to our table at dinner that night, but it did put me in a phenergen-induced coma for the next 36 hours. I'm back to work today, but my stomach is still gurgling and I'm not quite sure if I can eat chicken broth and noodles for another meal.

Pitter Patter Goes My Heart

Happy 2nd Anniversary to the best man I've ever known!

I am so excited that we are actually able to be together for this anniversary. I woke up to a beautiful bouquet of pink tulips and we are headed to dinner tonight at one of our favorite restaurants downtown. Last year we decided that we would save the big gifts and/or big celebrations/trips for the every-five year anniversary. But I still wanted to get him a little something today. So, in keeping with the traditional second anniversary gift, I went with all-things COTTON! I made him a card out of 100% cotton paper and then got him a new bow tie (100% pure cotton, of course!) and new (cotton) dress socks with a sign in the box that read "I love you from head to toe!"

I can't seem to stop thinking about our wedding day. Even last night I found myself thinking, "This time two years ago we were at the church rehearsing...." I think anniversaries are intended to be spent reminiscing about the day and more importantly the vows that were made.

Johnny and I have weathered many storms during the first two years of our marriage. Only being together for about 6 of those 24 months, we have endured Ranger School, a year deployment and the dreaded "adjustment period." But thankfully, God has his hand on our marriage and we didn't give up even during the toughest of times, and we have come out of all that stronger and more seasoned for the rest of life's ups and downs. I have more respect and love for him today than I did on our wedding day and quite frankly, two years ago, I didn't think that was possible!

So, to the man I dream of when we are apart, and cherish when we are together - I LOVE YOU, Always and Forever!

Marriage is a Funny Thing

I usually drive home from work in the evenings with a magazine in my lap because traffic is horrendous. Don't worry I only use it to occupy my lack of patience and ADD-self during completely stopped moments in my commute. I am an excellent driver and I would never read or be the slightest bit distracted while driving. Never.

On this one particular evening, I was super excited to get home. Johnny had been in Ft. Drum, NY for a week for work and I couldn't wait to get home to see him. As I was flipping through my Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine, I came across an ad for laundry detergent. And much to my dismay, it was a "scratch-n-sniff" type ad to smell the new scent Fresh Water Sparkle. I LOVE scratch-n-sniff...I mean, honestly, who didn't like scratch-n-sniffs as a kid?!

So what does any woman who's excited to get home to her husband do?

Use it as perfume, duh.

Yes, that's right, I didn't even hesitate. Scratch, scratch and up to my neck it went.

I finally got home and attacked Johnny with welcome home hugs and kisses and guess what he said?

"You smell good, Amanda!"

"Why thank you hunny, it's called Fresh Water Sparkle, it's new." :)


-the end-

Reality Check

I was just checking out a few of my favorite blogs and made a quick stop to catch up on the blog: Joy's Hope. Her post from today linked up to another blog of one of her friends who is stuck in Haiti right now with her baby on a trip to visit their adopted son who they've been trying to bring home for years. She was so excited to spend some time with her son and then that devastating earthquake hit. Read her story HERE and then HERE to get a glimpse of their reality this week. I can't even begin to imagine the devastation and fear the residents and visitors of Port-au-Prince, Haiti are feeling. If you want to make a donation to help provide relief, click on the picture below.

Oyster Roast

In October, Johnny and I hosted an Oyster Roast at our home for friends and family to welcome Johnny back from Iraq. We had an awesome time! Johnny was able to catch up with many friends who he hasn't seen since our wedding two years ago! Thank you to everyone who made the drive to welcome him home in true Low Country fashion!

Here is the oyster table under the tents surrounded by those who eat them and those who stood and watched in amazement!


Me and my grandma


My papa


Custom Water Bottles that I threw together at the last minute


Gary, Matt, Lewis and Johnny.....proud Citadel men


With my parents


The Webb Family


The Taylor Family


Cornhole....compliments of The Smoaks :)


Round 2 with the Oysters...just a little midnight snack...totally normal

So happy to be back together with my man!

Okay, Okay

So, I'm sitting at Panera right now (about to pee in my pants actually, so this is going to be short!) during my lunch break from work utilizing their free wi-fi to update the blog! You should be very proud of me!

DISCLAIMER:
The pictures in the coming posts were taken with a semi-crappy camera. I say semi because it was a Christmas gift from Johnny two years ago, but truth be told, the pictures just aren't that great. And no, of course it has nothing to do with the person working the camera, so don't think that for a second! I didn't even bother editing half the pictures, and more than likely the pictures that are in focus with crisp coloring are from my friend Chelsea who is an amazing photographer and should quit her job and start her own business stat!! So, unfortunately my blog isn't going to be one of those blogs that will dazzle you with amazing pictures....I'm not happy about it either, it's just the truth!

There are lots of big changes on the horizon for the Webb family, party of 2. So many big changes that I just asked my boss today if I could cut back on my hours (gasp!) because I am so overwhelmed with things. And now, I will leave you hanging in true cliffhanger fashion to entice you to check back soon for the news :)

And NO, I'm NOT pregnant. That is a dirty word in our home (right now anyways), so don't even ask!!

It's True