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!