Christmas w/ The Spouse's

So my Spouse being the awesome gift giver that she is just couldn't wait any longer to open gifts. On the drive home she was already talking about how she wanted to exchange gifts that night. So we celebrated Christmas together after a much needed yummy dinner. I made Taco Stew a favorite that we haven't had in awhile.

First up she had a few gifts from the Mistress that she brought along as well. I though it was funny because she had to wrap them along with hers. Apparently Nancy doesn't know how the whole wrapping process works lol. First up was a super cute dress, the three of us have matching dresses now for our cruise in October. N has pink & I think S has purple or a color similar to those. The plan is to wear the with cowboy boots, on separate nights of course. The picture really doesn't show how cute it is but I absolutely love it!!!!

Next from the Mistress was the perfect gift, I have been randomly looking for a super cute "lunch pale" to use for work once I start full time. She must have been reading my mind because I had though of ordering one through 31 but never got around to it. I have a couple other items from 31 in this same print and LOVE LOVE it. Its insulated on the inside so it will keep things cool. SIMPLY PERFECT, it has my last name on it to so I wont have to worry about labeling it when I put it in the frig at work.

Along with the dress she also sent a beaded belt to wear with it. Each of us girls have a different color belt. I seriously can't wait for our cruise it's going to be a blast!!!!

Next was the Spouses turn ~ She has this thing for dinosaurs and I'm not really sure were it came from but I feel sorry for their child if they ever have one. There poor life will be filled with dinosaurs and everything that comes along with them.

We were at Hobby Lobby one evening and I came across these cute baby dinos and picked them up for S. Not really sure at the time what I was going to do with them but I knew I'd come up with something. And that I did, it was her own little dino aquarium with her name on it. Along with two new books. We both got a pretty good laugh out of this one, it was one of those moments you just had to be there to get.

On to the next gift she was slowly ~ carefully ~ slowly opening it......

and that aaaaawwwhhhh moment!!!!!!!

I had a custom frame made that said "SPOUSES" and in each letter was a different picture of the two of us. I was really happy with the way it turned out and absolutely loved it and I'm pretty sure she did to from her reaction :) We've been through so much together and this just show cases a few of our wonderful memories.

Gifts from the spouse, seriously I swear she is so creative when it comes to gift giving. A few weeks before I left Hawaii we were out on one of our normal Target shopping trips. We came across these singing characters in the toy section were we literally spent a good 20 to 30 minutes playing with them and listening to all the different songs they played. We couldn't stop laughing it was so funny. Here we were two married KIDLESS adults playing like kids, it was great. We debated then getting one for each of us and Nancy but decided not to. Now we are all three proud owners of our very own Sing*a*ma*jigs. Mine plays "Its Raining Its Pouring"

Something new I started here in our SC home was a cross wall. I was inspired by my friend K in Texas, her cross wall is awesome & I love it. (you may remember me posting abt friendship crosses we made together.) Seriously my spouse is awesome she had this beautiful cross made for us. In the center is says "The Gabriel's" then below that it has our saying "Always & Forever & Thensome". It is the perfect addition to my cross wall, 1) its personalized, 2) its from my spouse SCORE!!!!!

On top of that she also had 3 different Christmas ornaments made for our tree. A set of 3 snowmen with our names on each (her, Nanc, & Me), the other two were made with pictures one of Gabe & I from his Homecoming, & the other of us three girls from our stay at Turtle Bay. The best part about the Turtle Bay one is its not christmasy, it only has the year on it so its something I can leave out all year.
She also made us a set of coasters, a idea off pinterest. See, now you know what I mean when I said that she is a great gift giver. I love the pictures she picked they are just perfect and will be a great conversation piece for years to come.



No Christmas celebration would be complete with out the hubbs included as well, leave it to S to pull that one off. The day Gabe flew out of Hawaii to Texas the two of them stopped off at Anna Millers for a bite to eat. I think if Gabe had the choice he would eat there at least once if not more a week. He absolutely loves that place and he loves his coffee, she surprised him with a Coffee Mug from Anna Millers & one from Dunkin Donuts as well. He was quite surprised about the first one but the D&D her kind of already knew about due to a pretty funny prank we pulled on him a while back.

It was the perfect Christmas celebration, I'm so glad that I was able to share this moment with my spouse here in SC verse over the phone or computer. We had so many laughs opening gifts and telling stories about them. I truly cherish every moment with her now that we aren't 5 miles away from each other any more. (its only temporary though that WILL change soon)

MERRY CHRISTMAS SPOUSE!!!!!!!

Bitter Sweet Moments

DAY 68

Trying to see the GOOD in the BAD

I simply HATE good byes, they SUCK no sugar coating it at all. It just breaks my heart into pieces and makes me want to cry. Late this morning we dropped S off at the airport for her to continue her Christmas vacay. As much as I was sad to see her go I have to share her with her family because they miss her to.

My heart hurt having to say our "see you soon's" again so soon but knowing that B will be home on r&r soon makes my heart happy for her. Knowing that it's going to be SIX whole months before I see her again makes me terribly sad but keeping it mind that it will be a fabulous reunion trip to DC makes me excited seeing's neither of us have been there before.

With S leaving it also reminded me that I had to go to work later that afternoon BLAH. I was in a funk and really didn't want to go. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that is was only for 4 & half hours and it was the last day for TWO whole weeks. YUP, that's right the school I work at follows the same schedule as the local public school district so when they are closed we are closed pretty awesome right. The crummy part about today was that it's TUESDAY meaning I had off all weekend & yesterday only to go back for ONE day. However I did have a few gifts to deliver to the wonderful ladies I work with so I was excited about that. Little did I know the parents had a little something waiting for me as well when I got there. Each one of them gave each of us teachers a little baked goodie or little present for the Holidays with a sweet card. The school also has a program called PTO - Parent Teacher Organization similar to PTA - Parent Teacher Association, the parents get together and do something extra special for the teacher during the Holiday season. I'm not really sure how the whole process works as this is my first year there but we each received a card & gift card to target that totaled $113.00. Yes you are reading that right, when I opened the card after getting home this evening I had to look at the amount written on the back twice. I feel so blessed to work for such loving and caring parents. It is much different then working at the CDC on a Military base, I still can't tell which one I like more but I am enjoying my time at EDS.

I also received two gifts from teachers I work with & the school as well gives each teacher a Christmas Bonus with the amount based on how long you have been there. (the CDC never did that)

Candy jar's I made for the ladies I work with, filled with their favorite candy & their names on the back done in Glass Etching. (a pinterest idea!!!)

Goodies & gifts that I recieved from the parents & teachers I work with.

Awh, one of my favorites I was given. One of the girls I work with who I've also started going to Zumba with gave me this fabulous new cute water bottle!!!! (can't wait to break it in tomorrow night at zumba!!)

I've been blessed already and it's not even Christmas yet, not only by the people I work with but my the people I have in my life.

Nail Salon

DAY 67

Every Girls needs pampering

What better to do when your Spouse is in town then to go get your nails done together.

Pedis, YES PLEASE!!!!!!!!

It was our thing to do, about once a month we'd make plans to go get pedis together. A pit stop at the Starbucks on the corner first to grab a drink and something to munch on. So while she was here we made plans to go get our toes down. I hadn't had the chance to go since we arrived in SC, really I just hadn't made the effort to go. I was told about a place in a shopping center that freaquently went to and so we decided to try it out. I have to say as far as the pedis themselves went they did a pretty good job. However their customer brightness was a little off, as well as the chairs. Come on I mean every body loves the comfy over sized chairs that massage your back. They had these awesome over sized bench seats that sat two but only one of them worked. We did notice they had regular salon chairs further back so I suppose if I go back there I'll just have to request one of them.

We sat back and enjoyed the moment, talking about how neither of us have gone to get a pedi in BLUE JEANS. We were always wearing shorts or a summer dress but not here in the South, not right now at least. Burr the cold weather is killer & I'm not diggin it one bit.

After our toes had dried we went next store to check out Wine Styles, awh yes we were in love. We have one back in Texas and I've been a time or two but that was really before my love affair with wine. I fell in love with a glass personalized wine stopped, I mean how cute is it I just had to have it. S was a bit sad because they didn't have one with a M on it. (not to worry spouse I'll keep checking)

We also stumbled upon a bottle of "Pink Moscato" that we though we would give a try. Yes just because of the name, is pretty and every girl loves PINK. It ended up being ok, not fabulous but it was good. I think it's safe to say we will stick with regular Moscato though.

That afternoon we spent on the couch watching the movie Bridesmaids before venturing out to the gym. I attended a Spin class with S in Hawaii a few weeks before we left and enjoyed it, once I got the hang of it. I had been wanting to try the Spin class here but hadn't got the courage up to go by myself. Thankfully S didn't mind going at all, the class we did was called Spin & Pump it was a good work out and I felt so much better about myself afterwards. It gave me that boost of confidence that I needed, reminding me that I CAN DO THIS and I WILL. I just needed to take that first baby step.

The rest of the evening we hung out at home cooked dinner and talked about how much we weren't ready for her to leave. Although there are great things that await her when she gets back to HI (after a trip to WV to visit family) for that I am happy and will let her go. lol Also another thing that keeps me going is knowing that I will see her again in 6 short months for a trip to DC.

A Day Out!!

DAY 66

Doing what we do!!!

(he got not one but two new guns at the show )

Were to even start our Sunday was filled with loads of fun, lots of shopping and showing S around the area. The night before S & I prepped a "do ahead breakfast" for today, this particular recipe was a first for us so I was a bit nervous but while it was cooking it was smelling awesome. Turns out it was great and super simple to put together and I will definitely be making it again. The only down fall it takes about 1 & half hours to cook.

After breakfast Gabe headed out to a gun show that was about 2 hours away. After he found out I was going to get him a new gun for Christmas but ended up not being able to (that's another story) he was on a mission to still get one.

That left S & I on our own to do a bit of exploring, shopping and of course girl time!!!!!! We ventured down to Five Points, (I still don't understand the name) its a old Historical area with loads of shops & boutiques. Also a few little cafes & restaurants one in particular called The Gourmet Shop that I love, its a cafe & a kitchen store combined. Here I picked up Gabe a personal size Red Velvet Cake & a Gumbo Soup mix to try. Across the street we walked through the different boutiques that were open. (Sunday's here alot of things are closed) The last shop on the strip was the reason we went down there Bohemian, THEY SOLD TOMS!!!!!!! I seriously have become addicted to Toms they are so cute, comfy, stylish and not to mention they keep my toes warm. The spouse picked a cute creamy color & I went with a brown that had colored spots all over. Oh I'm so in LOVE with them I really want a pair in every color.

All that shopping left our tummies feeling pretty empty so we made a pit stop for lunch at a sandwich shop near by. After lunch we went across the street to Target, a visit together simply would not be complete with out a stop at Tarja. It was a first as we were checking out I looked at Sarah and made the comment that she wasn't buying anything. I can't even remember the last time we went to Target together & one of us leaving empty handed. Right next to Target was World Market another one of my favorite places to shop. S had never been so I had to break her in, she seemed to love it seeing's after checking out she spent a grand total of $100.00 on goodies for herself & others.

We quickly went home so I could drop off Gabes cake & let the pouches out for a bit to go potty. We grabbed our coats and were headed out the door again, we were off to meet Gabe at the Zoo. They have it all decorated up with lights for the Holiday season so we wanted to check it out. The plan was to get there around 4:45 see the animals in the day time & then once it got dark we could see the lights. Well things really didn't happen as planned, see we got there and found out the zoo is closed from 5-6. I'm guessing because it gets pretty chilly out at night they have to put away the animals that can't handle the cold weather. I was a little disappointed but we still had a great time and enjoyed the lights.

We ended the evening with dinner at Texas Roadhouse one of my favorites. When I asked the Spouse were she'd like to go for dinner while she was here TDH as her answer. We didn't have one in Hawaii so we are doing lots of making up for it now.

I've had a fabulous day with my spouse, I am so blessed to have her here for a few days. She makes every thing perfect and I never want this trip to end. I know sounds crazy but it really feels like home now having her here, my heart is warm again and I feel like I can just let loose.

SHE'S HERE!*!*!*!

DAY 65

The Spouse is in the South!!!!

I don't know that I've been this excited since moving to SC at all. The time had finally came to go pick up my Spouse from the airport. She was coming in for a visit for a few days before heading home to WV for Christmas and then back to HI for some much needed R&R w/ her hubbs. With my sign ready to go we loaded up the car and were on our way. Since we drove to SC we hadn't found the airport yet so we felt a bit early to allow extra time to get there.

We arrived a bit early so we went searching for coffee, the hubbs pulled a all nighter the day before so he needed some caffeine to keep him going. Going back down stairs to the baggage claim to wait we looked around checking out the airport and next thing you know I turn left, then right then LEFT again and THERE SHE WAS!!!!!!!!!!!! Her plane landed 10 minutes early and the monitor had not updated the arrival time. I was so excited, I wasn't dreaming she was really here and we were going to have the best time.

On our way home I don't know that Gabe got much of a voice in we were chatting away. We showed her around post a bit & made a stop at the PX. Home for some dinner and relaxing it was a long day for her and both Gabe & I. It was just like back in Hawaii I was in the kitchen cooking dinner, she was sitting at the bar keeping me company and we were catching up on or daily gossip. The hubbs kindly poured us a glass of our favorite wine to enjoy while hanging out. Things were as if there hadn't been a time laps of seeing each other, I guess that's how it is when you are as close as we are.

After dinner we swapped gifts between each other and from the Mistress as well. Last year this time it was The Spouse her hubbs and me now this year its Gabe instead of B. Next year for Christmas they will both be home Thank goodness. I got some of the cutest Christmas ornaments, the best part is one of them isn't christmasy at all so I can leave it out year around. And a few other super fabulous goodies which I'll save for another post.

The rest of the evening was spent just hanging out chatting and doing a bit of pinteresting. I swear that website is so addicting but I love it. So many fun ideas and recipes to try, once the holidays have passed I am going to start working on a few more.

I just want to freeze time and keep her here forever, nothing wrong with that right?!?!?! lol Its awesome having S here, I am so blessed to have her in my life.

Loads more to come highlighting our time together over the next few days so stay tuned!!!!!!!!