2009 In A Nut Shell

January ~ I said my last "Goodbyes" to Friends and Family in Texas & My puppy Chloe. Moved out of my parents house for the first time ever & to HAWAII. Picked up my car at the port in Hawaii in pieces & was so frustrated. Got my 2ND tattoo, Our last name on my right ankle.

February ~ Moved into our very first house, unpacked & put together all our furniture. Found out half our HHG's were shipped to Germany in the shipping process. GABE CAME HOME FROM A 15 Month Deployment in Iraq. :) BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!

March ~ Gabe had his scuba accident which messed his eyes up for almost a month. It was a really scary time. Celebrated one month of being home from Iraq by going out on a dinner cruise together. Toured the USS Missouri, Hiked up Koko Crater which is prominent 1,205 foot high. Our Newest addition: Dingo, a Australian Shepherd Mix w/ Terrier, lil. boy 6 weeks old.

April ~ Made our way to the Big Island of Hawaii for a day trip to remember. We were able to see many volcano's and other beautiful sites. Gabe had his last eye oppt. and everything went GREAT & he still has 20/20 vision. Took Dingo on his first walk up Kole Kole, he loved it. Celebrated our first Easter together by going golfing that morning & then dinner w/ some awesome friends :)Toured the Worlds Largest Maze @ the Dole Pineapple Plantation, Hiked Diamond Head. Gabe was in his first wedding here in Hawaii since we have been married. (he had to walk down the aisle w/ someone else. ugh lol) Celebrated my 23rd Birthday at Outback Steak House. The rest of our HHG's were delivered & I got a call for a Job interview which I got and accepted @ the CDC here on post.

May ~ Celebrated Gabe's 26th Birthday w/ dinner at Red Lobster & Cosmic Bowling with our friends Jamie & Anthony. Ended up trading in the Landrover for a 2009 Ford Ranger. It was a great add to Gabe's Birthday lol. Add to our family again Bailey our 8 week old Akita / Ridge back / Terrier Mix just fits right in :) Our friends J & A from above renewed the wedding vowels and Gabe did the ceremony. It really was a special day for everyone. I started work with the chitin's again.
Had to say "Goodbye" to a really close family here in Hawaii, it was heart breaking.

June ~ My FAVORITE cousin Shae Celebrated her 10Th birthday & I wasn't there to celebrate with her which really sucked. The 3rd season of Army wives came back on YAY!!!! Had a visit from someone friends back in TX, Sherie, Mark & Courtney. Said "Goodbye" to another friend & his son who we became close to since the guys had been back. Goy my 3rd tattoo and I just LOVE IT!!!! Took a surprise trip to the Valley to visit the In Loves and our Besties Nichole & Pace.

July ~ Surprised our Friend Nichole for her Birthday, it was the best trip ever to the Valley. I fell in love with Arizona so much more. (at the time I was ok with moving there) Once again, said "Goodbye" to yet another friend. UGH, gotta love the Army. Traded in the CHEVY AVEO for a SWEET RIDE. I got a '07 Mazda RX-8. Jared was WLC bound for two weeks. I received a Legendary Service Award at work.

August ~ Took a trip around the Island all on my own in my new car :) Went & had lunch w/ My Love while he was at WLC. TRYED (hints the word tryed) to clean up the back yard and fancy it up a bit as a suprise welcome back gift to Gabe. Hosted a few dinners at our house and discovered we really want a Great Dane when we get back to the mainland. Took both the pups. to the beach for the first time.

September ~ I had the chance to go to the 2009 Thunderbird Air Show with my sweet friend Crystal & Meko. It was their 56Th season to preform and by far the most amazing thing I have seen. Had a "Girl's" night out (along w/my hubbs) with the the Girls I work with. My little brother turned 21 :) not so little anymore.

October ~ Was all about TEXAS, I made my way back home mid. month. Spent tons of time with my Friends and Family. Went to the TEXAS STATE FAIR w/ one of My Newest Favorite people Kari and just had a BLAST stuffing our face's with loads of food. Had lunch dates with my lil. cousins at school, had a super awesome Halloween Party with My Bestie and her Hubb. Spent lots of time with my cousins who I have missed so much. It was a AWESOME trip and confirmed that I DO want to MOVE BACK TO TEXAS, after Gabe gets outta the Army. :) CANT WAIT.

November ~ While in Texas I ate at all my favorite places which was one of the best parts about the trip. Went to the horse races with Shae. Celebrated my Mamaw & Papa's birthday while I was home. Traded in the '09 Ford Ranger for a '10 Dodge Ram 4x4, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE. Celebrated Our 2 Year Wedding Anniversary with dinner and a day at Kualoa Ranch. Really a neat place to go and learn allot of history about Hawaii. The In Loves came and celebrated Thanksgiving with us along with our friends Crystal and Adam who we have come to love so much. We hosted or first Thanksgiving together in our first home. As well made our 3 year mark on being together :) It was a great month with lots of memories made that we will never forget.

December ~ Made the decision to make a move at work for 6 months starting the first of the year. Got two new Sony camera's from My Gabers :) My Love went to the Solider of the Quarter board and although he didn't make it his SGM told him he did a awesome job and wanted him to come back to the next one (in Feb. 2010). Went to the Honolulu City Lights together along with our friends Crystal & Adam. Finished all my training materials for work to make my next pay raise to a CC3 & finished everything to get my CC4 as well. BIG BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT for me!!! Started a few NEW Christmas Traditions with my love such as making a Ginger Bread House and Baking Cookies. Made a 4 day weekend trip back to TEXAS to celebrate with My Bestie's Birthday with her in San Antonio, GOOD TIMES. MY MOMMA TURNED A YEAR OLDER AS WELL. Celebrated our first Christmas Eve & Christmas together, together since we have been married. One of the best memories of the year. Also got to see "STOMP" live in person Christmas Night, one of my favorite Broadway shows.
Now we are getting ready to RING IN 2010 Wii style. We are going to spend the evening at home together with a couple friends eating our self crazy and playing Wii. My new favorite toy. Hee Hee

There are so many more great things about 2009, these are just a few of the memories that made the year so amazing. There was also hard times were we struggled & I though I was just going to fall apart but it has only made us stronger as a couple now. I can NOT wait to see what 2010 brings for us in our life & marriage together.
HAU'OLI MAKAHIKI HOU ~ Happy New Year :)

Don't Eat ME!!!!

Today I had the chance to go swimming with the sharks with a friend and her in-laws. Something I said I wanted to do before I left the island. I was so excited when she invited me along, I couldn't wait.
Up bright and early to head down to North Shore and then I found myself standing there waiting to get on the boat.....getting nervous and scared. "AAAAAHHHHH
People do this all day every day so what is there to be scared about" I tryed telling myself. Once we were on the boat headed out to sea I was super stoked but in the back of my mind I couldn't help but think "why in the world am I doing this."
We came to a stopping point 3 miles out from the harbor in Haliewa. They dropped the cage in and with in seconds the sharks were swimming around the boat and all over. OMG, I was having second thoughts but then I would be wasting the money I just paid to do this and not only that, Gabe would never let me live it down. (he didn't go)
It came our turn and I slowly crawled down in the cage scared to death because literally the sharks are swimming right by me. Never once did they touch the cage or show any signs of aggression. After a couple minutes I was OK and was totally having a blast. It was the most amazing experience ever. I was in the metal cage with Galapagos Sharks swimming around me. They were as long as 12 feet. They were so close you could see their eyes. Truly a moment I will not for get.
Here are a few pictures from my North Shore Shark Adventure.

MELE KALIKIMAKA

This is by far the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!!!!!!!!We are so BLESSED to be together and enjoying this time that we have in such a beautiful place. Since Jared & I have been together we have always been apart during the Holiday season so being together this year has been extra special for the both of us. We started the morning off by opening the gifts we had gotten for each other as well as the ones that our family had sent us from back home.
I got Jared a bunch of car cleaning stuff and a GPS Garmin for work along with some fun yummy treats and a bunch of other goodies. He was in love with every thing he got. Even the work out stuff for at home, he's going to have a gym in our house before to long.SCORE, I did good this year. :)

He got me my new Sony Camera of course that he gave me a couple weeks ago along with loads of new Fiestaware. Four new place settings and silverware & a cake pan. He also got me a Wii w/ a few games. Gabe really has been enjoying the Wii, it's funny the games he got for it, he was keeping himself in mind as well. hee hee

We kinda went all out I guess you could say, seeings its our FIRST Christmas together since we have been together and we may not be together next year.
After digging into all our gifts we made a feast of a breakfast just for the two of us that included Eggs, Bacon and Homemade Oatmeal pancakes with Banana-Walnut Syrup. It was so good and we were both so stuffed after.



After breakfast we cleaned up the house from the wrapping paper and box explosion and went on to some baking. I made my very first Apple Pie along with Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie Bars to take over to our friends Jason & Rae's house. (we were going over there for Christmas dinner & we took dessert along with a side dish) I made my moms famous Mexicorn casserole dish as well.

Then off to the beach it was. I wanted to be able to say I went to the beach on Christmas Day. Now how often do you get to say that, & who knows if we are going to be here next year. We headed out and down to Dillingham it was. We walked around a bit watched the waves but it was super windy and a bit drizzly so back to the house it was.

We tested out the Wii for a bit and YES I still SUCK. This is going to take some getting use to and figuring out.
We headed over to Jason & Rae's house for dinner along with his parents late this afternoon. It was nice to have a Christmas dinner and not have to really do any of the work. :) I love cooking and baking but every once in a while a break is good. The fellowship and laughter with everyone was great. My first year away from any of my family for Christmas and all went well. Dinner was AWESOME, so so good. The Turkey was some of the BEST Turkey I had ever had. Everyone love the Brownies I made as well as the pie turned out just perfect. :)

After we ate we quickly said our good byes and headed home.

We had a 8:00pm date downtown to see STOMP. We stopped by the house (thankfully) to let the pups out for a bit and put our left over dishes in the frig. When I went in to let out Dingo and Bailey they didn't get all excited like they normally do which was really off for them. I looked down in Dingo's kennel and he had gotten so sick in his kennel and threw up every were. UGH!!!! Not only were we rushing to begin with but now we have to stop and wash him up and clean out his kennel. This is so not normal for him so we were a bit worried. He was crunched down in the corner and it looked so sad. After we cleaned everything up we were out the door on our way. A stop at the 24 hr shoppette, & after much talking we just weren't ok with leaving him in his kennel for another 2 or 3 hours. So we decided to call my friend Rae to see if she wanted to go see STOMP with me tonight so Gabe could stay home with our sick baby. She was more than happy to go. I was really bummed that he wasn't going to be able to go but it was for the best. We wanted to make sure that Dingo was ok and that if he did get sick again in his kennel.
We had a blast at the show, the energy that they put off and the excitement was so thrilling. It just makes you want to get up and start dancing around with them :)


All in All this has been the most AMAZING Christmas EVER, not only because of the gifts or the food or being in Hawaii but being with Gabe. I couldn't have asked for a better gift. He is my heart and soul and at the end of the day you can't put a price tag on how much his love and friendship means to me. He is truly the most amazing gift I have ever been given and I think God every day for putting such a amazing man in my life.

I can't wait to see what the next year brings and how we will grow stronger as a couple. With each and every passing day we grow closer and closer to each other. Today was the Cherry on top of the most precious year ever.
I LOVE YOU BABY & AM SO HAPPY TO BE WITH YOU. WE ARE TRULY BLESSED TO HAVE EACH OTHER.

MELE KALIKIMAKA

Merry Christmas Eve

We are enjoying our first Christmas Eve together at home just the two of us.
I put a homemade Beef Stew in the crock pot, made sure all the last minute gifts were wrapped and under the tree and off we went. Petco and Target were on our shopping list. We wanted to get the pups a few chew toys for Christmas morning so they would have something new and exciting to play with. A stop at Target was a must seeings its right next door. We scored a few baking goodies and two new stocking holders for next year. It has been a really nice relaxing day and I am happy to have spent it just the two of us.
Lunch at Taco Del Mar and then home for a nap on the couch was a must. We made Chocolate Chip Cookies, White Chocolate covered Pretzels and Peppermint bark (melted white chocolate with peppermint crushed in it). I love baking away with Gabe, even more during this time of the year.

We had our friends Jason, Rae and their son Christian along with Jason's parents over for dinner tonight and we had so much fun. They are such a sweet couple and we are really going to miss them when they move. We enjoy hosting dinner at our house and having people over it's always so much fun.
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I can't wait for tomorrow morning, Christmas Day with My Love Bug :) Just the two of us. Our first one together since we have been together. Making Memories one year at a time.

Happy Birthday MommA

Wishing my mom a wonderful Happy Birthday. I have never spent a birthday away from her so this year was a bit different for the both of us. I was super late about getting her gift out to her so she will get it late, which doesn't help the situation any at all. But I guess its the thought that counts at the end of the day.
I can only hope and wish that she has a wonderful day filled with lots of Joy and Laughter.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM, I love you so much and miss you tons. I hope you have a FaNtAsTiC DAY :)

Making Memories to last a LIFETIME

We had a blast at Pat O'Brien celebrating Angela's Birthday. From the different drinks to the best fries I have had in a long time.
With loads of laughs, jokes and moments that you just had to be there to get. It is a night that we will all remember forever.
Angela went to high school with one of the bartenders "Lyn" that worked at Pat O'Brien so we were treated well. She is such a sweetheart and made sure we were all well taken care of which made for a wonderful evening. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time and Angela really enjoyed herself. I think it was just what she needed right now with everything going on. I truly am blessed to be apart of her life and to be able to celebrate her day with her.
Can't wait for our next trip down the Riverwalk in San Antonio.

(just a glance at our evening)

haPPY bIRTHday BESTIE :)

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I am super stoked about being able to celebrate with Angela on her big day!!!! She is such a sweet heart and deserves the very best. Friends like her don't just come around the corner every day. I am truly blessed to have her in my life and can't imagine anything different. Thank goodness we never have to. We are not just Best Friends but SISTERS @ HEART, she is like family to me.
AWH, looking forward to tonight, gonna have a blast celebrating on the San Antonio River Walk for my girls birthday. PARTAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BURRR its cold!!!!!!!!!

So after living in a warm area, were it doesn't ever get below like 70 degrees for a year and then you walk into a area were its 30 something degrees outside is insane. I should be use to the cold weather, I mean I grew up in Texas and spent every winter there freezing my butt off, but NO. I have been spoiled by the beautiful Hawaiian weather.
As I landed in San Antonio this morning and the pilot kindly told us it was 38 degrees outside I about went crazy. I mean I knew it was going to be cold I guess in my head I was just hoping that for a moment it wasn't going to be THAT BAD. Well I guess not.
I don't know how I am going to make it through these next four days. Good thing I brought a hoodie and lots of clothes to keep me warm. I miss Texas and everything here but man on man I DO NOT MISS THE WINTER. I like being able to leave my windows & door open and let the warm air fill my house.
(hahaha, & Jared wants to PCS to Alaska next. Man am I in for it if we do.)
However on the bright side of things I am here with my Bestie celebrating her Birthday so its all worth it. Every shivering cold morning and night. Lets just hope it doesn't snow while I'm here, but you never know it is TEXAS.

Santa Bring My Soldier Home!

Finally after 3 years of being together we get to spend our very first Christmas together and I couldn't be MORE HAPPIER. Life is just grand right now and I am so blessed and Thankful for everything in my life.
However, as I sit here loving my life I know that next year may be different and we may be miles apart which I am so NOT looking forward to at all. So I am taking every moment we have now and cherishing it with everything I have.

On the flip side of things there are many many wife's that are in the same shoes that I was last year and a few that I know personally. So I am sending love out to them wishing them a wonderful Holiday and may the New Year bring great things and reunite them with the ones they love.



(I did not make this video, I found it on YouTube)

"Gifts"

This year for Christmas we did gifts for our family and sent out Christmas cards to everyone else.
There was one couple that we just love to death and wanted to do something alittle extra special for them but what????
We would look every time we went to the stores to try and decide on something to get them. But nothing ever jumped out at us. We wanted something different, something unique. That's when we were at the PX one afternoon and some crazy idea came across Gabe. He pick out a picture frame and said "what if we get this", (it was a Hawaiian frame, keeping in mind this couple has not been to Hawaii) I said but its a Hawaii frame, "like if they had been to Hawaii, then we could put a picture of them in it and send it to them." He said "NO, we will get a picture of us & were our face is we will make it a white circle and have it say "YOUR FACE HERE" and then have something written at the bottom as well." I laughed about it a bit but then thought it would be a perfect gift for these two people. Something simple yet, typical from Gabe and they would totally know that is was all his idea. I think the Husband will get a kick out of it more, but it will be a good conversation piece for them. As well as NOT that they would ever forget us but this just give them one more thing to remember us by. Hee Hee.
So we finally managed to get it all put together and mailed out this week, I can not wait till they get it to see what they thought. :)
Here is a picture of the out come.




At the bottom it says "YOU JUST WON A TRIP OF A LIFE TIME TO HAWAII!!!!!!"

Pot Roast anyone???

I have been wanting Pot Roast for, what seems like forever now but didn't know how to make one. Out of the tons of cookbooks we have there wasn't a recipe that was just jumping out at me that I was wanting to try. I just wanted the traditional roast. You know the one with potato's, carrots and onions and the roast that just falls apart when you put your fork through it. Well after asking around and putting together a few of my own ideas I managed to put together our very first homemade Roast.
Through out the day I would check on it and it just continued to smell yummier and yummier. At times I just wanted to dig in right then but then I had to remind myself that no matter how good it looked & smelled it wasn't done cooking. So I went back to waiting and baking. Cookies that is. Another Holiday tradition that we have started. :)
Finally it was done and time to indulge. I had very little to eat all day because I was so excited about the roast that was awaiting us at the end of the evening.

OMG, I was so pleased with the way it turned out. I couldn't be happier & the best part there is plenty of left overs for tomorrow. Jared loved it and that just put the cherry on top. I love cooking and not that I stood there and slaved over the stove all day to fix dinner but when ever I manage to make something new (even in
the crock pot) and it comes out a success I get so excited.

This is definitely one that will go in the books to make again.

We're having a Fiesta

I have wanted to start a Fiestaware collection since I was young. I was at a estate sale once with my mamaw and they had a big set that they were selling of all different colors. However then I was to young, didn't need them and they were asking way to much for then.
During one of our MANY trip to the NEX I saw that they had started selling it there. WOOHOO, I didn't get any that day because well I have a set of dishes at that I really like and don't plan on getting rid of them and why have more than what I need.
This past weekend while at the NEX (again) we went to look to see if they had the dishes still and sure enough they did. I stood there forever just looking at them and dreaming I had some of my own. When Gabe points out that they are having a sale and anything from the collection is 20% off. Still holding off and not jumping into getting any he pipes up and says, "pick out what you want, its ok". After standing there for what seemed like forever I gave in & got 2 place settings & a water pitcher.
When I got home I rearranged all the dishes and glasses in the cabinet to make room for our new set. I was so excited I had OFFICIALLY started my Fiesta Collection. I was on Amazon.com and did a search for Fiestaware and they had tons of it online. I made myself a "Wish List" on Gabe's account and plan on going off that to add to my collection. One day, I will have a collection like I saw at the estate sale along with all the cookware to go with it.


I have the Chocolate & Ivory place setting and the Red Pitcher,
Here is my "Wish List" http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/14OVXTWG2VJ56
(everything else on the list other than the dishes is Jared's :)