Last Vacation Day.... So Sad

      It never ceases to amaze me how attached I get to this little plot of ground when I am here. My grandparents place is so beautiful.

It is only a small plot of land but it is peaceful (minus the large trucks zooming by). There is a small creek in front of their place that I could sit by for hours and hours just watching the water run over the rocks. It almost feels like a sanctuary really. There is wildlife galore here and plenty of plants to add to the beauty of the surrounding area. 

      Sadly, this trip was a short one. Normally, I would stay for at least a month with my grandparents, but that was when I was younger. My trips have been shortened lately to about two weeks time and it is a wonderful and amazing two weeks time. This time, however, my stay was dragged down to a week. Arrive on a Monday night and leave a Monday morning. 

      I wish that I could stay here forever. The tranquility of the place is so awesome that it almost feels like it isn't real. Like I have traveled down a rabbit hole into a wonderland or possibly found that little piece of never-never land. Alas, my stay is ending and I'm trying not to cry. Emotions are running high right now due to my pregnancy. Damn hormones. I hate to cry and more than that I hate to cry here because it upsets the beauty of things.

      I never want to leave while I'm here. I can just picture staying here and doing yoga in the middle of the road halting traffic from their incessant zipping. Speed bumps are definitely needed on the road in front of this house. Nevertheless, I could stay here easily and work while my husband goes to school. Of course I don't think my husband would easily leave the south. He says he wants to but we shall see. 

      Yoga would have been great this morning. I don't think I could have easily completed any though since I don't have a mat and the road is a bit rough. Not to mention, the ground is quite slick and on quite a hill. Maybe a few standing poses are warranted in that case. I feel the need for a standing forward bend to release the tension building in my lower back. Yay pregnancy.

Peace.

Is this really a vacation?

      My husband and I drove up to my grandparents in West Virginia this past Monday. This was supposed to be a vacation for the both of us but sadly it hasn't been quite a vacation really. I have been too busy reading for school and doing homework rather than relaxing and just hanging out. Makes me want to go back and start over again. I don't think that is a possibility though.
      I had considered bringing my yoga mat up here but I am glad that I didn't. It'd be doing the same thing it's doing now at home, just sitting there looking lonely. Only it'd be staring me in the eyes here. I'm still trying to figure out what is ok and what isn't ok to do as far as being pregnant goes. I can definitely say that I don't think Ashtanga yoga would be wise during my second trimester. I'm actually curious about how quickly I can get back into Ashtanga after my pregnancy is over. I feel like I've been so lazy and need a big wake up call.
      I think a break from homework is definitely needed for today though. I want to go sit on a rock by the river in front of my grandparents house and watch my husband and dogs play in the water. By Jove, I think that is exactly what I'll do too. Therefore, I'm signing off and saying see ya later.

Namaste

Back up and running finally

      I know it's been a while since I've written on this thing but school work dragged me down deep. I've pretty much completed two years of school in one. While this may be easy for some genius to do, I definitely have been on severe crunch time between school and work. Not only that, but I have also gotten married in that timeframe as well.
      So much has actually happened. Not only did I move away from Starkville, Ms but I also got married and have found out I'm pregnant. So far I'm 19 weeks pregnant and trying to become excited about the pregnancy. That has actually been harder than I have imagined, which is awkward. I want kids so bad and I can even see myself WITH kids but I'm not as happy as I could be.
      Needless to say, I wrote an article on finding ways to overcome this hormonal period and so far I have been feeling a lot better. Talk about "travels of life," I have definitely been on one long journey in this short amount of time. Hopefully, I won't slack off on my blog this time.

Long time no blog

I'm pretty sure its been too long since I've blogged. Time escapes me sometimes. Alas, I returned safely from Iraq. It was rather dull and boring most of the time. The only fun or excitement was what my comrades and I created. Since returning I have moved from Louisiana to Mississippi. I was attending Mississippi State University only to move an hour west of there to live with my boyfriend. That in itself has been an adventure and is becoming a daunting task. Lacking sleep and energy to do anything worth while I am hoping to start a rather much needed yoga practice. That is if I can keep at it this time.

I hope to try Bikram Yoga this weekend in Memphis. I'm actually excited to go to Memphis which is odd since cities pretty much scare me. But nevertheless I'm excited.Of course that is if I get out of drill in time to go to class. I keep trying to get up in the morning but its a struggle even to get up 30 mins earlier. Hopefully I can start sleeping well and getting up early.

Time in Iraq

I arrived in Iraq on March 31, 2010 and it is currently October 16, 2010. So far this trip has taken me through so much turmoil. When we first arrived my team and I were preparing for our missions and getting our equipment ready. Two weeks later we were told that our mission was scratched and we would be given the option to go home early. For a good two months we sat around doing nothing and I seriously considered taking that early flight home. Instead of opting out though I decided to find a unit that was here to work with until our time in Iraq was up. This decision was both good and bad in some ways. It was good because I was able to obtain a new rating for my Air Traffic Control job and it gave me leadership time as well. The bad comes into play when the unit I worked for started to go belly-up with problems. I say unit but it really was a certain aspect of the unit. There were people causing so much chaos that it was causing the rest of the facility to get all bent out of shape. I've been working here at Baghdad Radio now since July and will be leaving their presence in approximately 15 days. I'm excited and sad all balled up in one little person. I'll miss some of the people I've come to know here. They have left a lasting impression on me and I will never forget them. However, the excitement to go home is overpowering my sadness for leaving them. My unit tells me we'll be home before Christmas and that makes me extremely happy. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I'm missing Thanksgiving this year (my second favorite) but I hope that the dining facilities are able to provide a good holiday meal for us. I guess I'll find out when that day arrives.

So far I've taken many online courses in an attempt to get my General Education Requirements fulfilled. I took History 2 and Chemistry + Lab and completed them. I'm currently taking Intro to Anthropology, Training & Conditioning and Trigonometry. My Trig class will last until January but my other two are about to be over at the end of this month. In the beginning of November I'll start my final class in Celtic Christianity which should end in December before I get home. Upon returning to the states I'm hoping to attend Louisiana Tech University to major in Photography and Journalism. We'll see how that goes.. I change my mind a lot.

Day 1- Departure ceremony

Had a rough night of sleep last night.. Tossed and turned for a bit and 0500 Am came wayyy to fast for me. Tried to delay it but couldn't. Was almost late to my formation due to changing circumstances but fortunately made it in the nick of time. After our talk from the first sergeant we headed over to the civic center and I proceeded by waiting for my parents and sisters to get there. I swear I was like a 5 year old on christmas eve.... excited and impatient in one little ball. Trying to fight to save seats was an interesting ordeal though. 131 soldiers approximately and the place the ceremony was held would have fit the soldiers and maybe half of their families. Everyone had their families and more it seemed. However, I was able to hold down the fort and kept the seats. Finally, the ceremony started and I proceeded to try to stay awake. Stood up for the national anthem and the soldiers creed AND the fight song (retarded). The end. We went to the drill hall for lunch and my family scooted on out and back to the house. Low and behold, I realize that I'm missing my sleep system....GREAT that thing costs an arm and a leg. Now I have to pay for a new one. I bet as soon as the issue me a new one my mom will find my old one. I have that kind of luck. It will randomly show up somewhere and OHH hey I found it. After they left it was kinda drab. Boring but not. Talked to random people at the unit and laughed a bunch. Should be interesting going over with these guys. They are genuinely nice guys and fun to be around. We waited around the drill hall after cleaning up just for chow to get there....I didn't eat any at all...eww. Me and some buddies went eat sushi and hibachi (free for me yay) and came back to the hotel. I'm about to pass out so I'm gonna call it a night. Yay for tomorrow. Don't know exactly what it will hold.

Day before the ceremony...

Well today went by extremely quick. For all the days to go by quick the one I wanted to last is the one that flew by.. how great. I need to pack up my crap and shove it in my car but don't feel like doing that at all right now.. I just want to sit and be lazy. The last time I can be lazy for quite a while. I have random things I need to grab from around the house still. I really don't want to say goodbye to my dog... that is like the finalizing touch to the situation. It's gonna suck. I sort of feel like running away into the woods somewhere and not returning but thats foolishness. Alas, here I sit getting my finances in order and closing what needs closing. Sounds rather boring if you ask me but it needs to be done. Hooray. Three days til we head out to Camp Shelby, Mississippi and I'm not to excited.. I'm more excited to leave for Iraq than Shelby but I'm going to make it worth the trip if I can. I have a feeling I'm going to freeze my little white butt straight off my backside (not that I have much to freeze off but still). I hope they issue me what I need for cold weather like on the first day. That and RAIN GEAR lol. Time to pack.... I guess or more like put it where it needs too go. Yayyy.. Not really.