Friday Fill In

From Janet!

1. I love my new car!
2. Looking in the mirror, I see laugh lines around my eyes!
3. The best thing that happened to me this week was I paid off my bills!
4. Laying down to watch tv with JR is one of my favorite things to do!
5. I always have a good time with my crazy family!
6. I'm looking for some relaxation this weekend.
7. "Oh, I'm bein' followed by a a bumble bee". (Of course this is said I run and duck for cover.)

Conspiracy???

It has to be! Why else would Sanjaya still be on AI??? I just do not get it!

Move over Tom, there is a new guy in town.

For a long time I was a Tom Brady fan, and that was before I knew he was the QB for the home team. He just caught my eye when channel surfing. Before I knew I was watching ESPN and thinking, YUMMY! Lately, just not that impressed... Maybe it was the whole possible multiple kids thing. Safety is key my friend!

Then yesterday I was catching up on some TiVo when I spotted Peyton Manning on SNL. His guest hosting did it for me. Funny. Charming. Cute. I'm still an Pats fan, but my eyes will no longer be glued to the QB for the duration of the game. But, I will not miss any future appearances of one Mr. Manning on SNL!

Planning Has Started

We have the date and the place! The date was easily determined by the Navy schedule and my parents chose the place. So Friday, Sept 28th 2007 JR & I will be getting married in St. Thomas!

I am still vowing not to be a stress freak and leave it up to the moms & the wedding planner. Last week my mom started going into all of the details and options, I just looked at JR and asked, "Will you be there?" His reply, "Yup!" So I turned to my mom, "That's all I care about." That will be key in keeping my sanity. Our schedule is hectic enough with work, school, the house, etc...

I left the dress picking up to his sister & my sister. Invitations will be from his his uber-creative mom. My parents have all ready talked to the wedding planner and will finalize the details in May! I just have to decide on colors and send down some pictures of wedding cakes... I can't decide between a tangerine/garnet, mango/kiwi/lime, or aqua/chartreuse color scheme. That is my only dilemma. That and I have no idea for a honeymoon. I have been searching every travel site. I. JUST. DON'T. KNOW. We figure somewhere hurricane safe, or relatively safe. That may not make much sense seeing as we're are getting married smack dab in the middle, but why tempt the gods by picking two locations! It will also be our third Carribean trip in 7 months... We had been looking forward to Europe this fall, but we'll already be in the Caribbean for the wedding. The move to VA Beach is after the honeymoon. So we wanted to minimize the travelling. And I'd pick marrying him sooner over anything.

So that is all that goes with the wedding plans. Work is good, but it's work... Things look like I'll make a smooth transfer to the VA area. My boss called me with the concern that I was leaving. I explained the situation and they are trying to work something out. I'm valuable!!! I was so excited I could have danced right down the hallway at work.

It's just all coming together!

And there you Mr. Sovereign

That doesn't even make sense!. JR, you'll get that as well as any other Jim Gaffigan fans.

And there I was at 6:00am this morning. I couldn't sleep. New house. New noises. So I did the bill thing, not fun but they are almost non-existent and that is such a great feeling. An even better feeling, walking into Sovereign to pay off my car! One will notice that when I get this happy I want to do a dance right there in public. But I refrain because these hips don't move like that. Also, this loan may have disappeared, but I will enter into a new loan this week. We should be finalizing on the new vehicle this week and I cannot wait! Again, you may find me with the urge to dance at the dealership upon delivery. That may work though. Do you think they'll give me a better deal to get me to stop???

Baby Talk

Right... All parents seem to be itching for grand-children here in our corner of the world. We've gotten pictures of other young kids. Other hints, obvious and not so obvious. Then there is the flat out asking. Case in point: while driving to my grandfather's on Sunday my mother stated people were asking if we were starting a family soon after the nuptials or would we wait. I laughed and said, not too long after. We do want to get settled in Virginia and Navy life before heading down that road. This is when my mother decided to bring up my age, or the soon to be 30 birthday. Not once, but twice in about 20 seconds. I asked if she was going to say 30 anymore since she had already pointed the number out a couple of times. She went on to sing, "30, 30, 30, 30, 30..." She's also looked at little girl dresses saying she'll probably never get to buy those and that my ovaries were ready to move out! Now don't get me wrong, this is all in good fun. She happily pats herself on the back when she comes up with these little quips. It really is humorous. And we do want kids because the truth of it is that we'll both be 30 in the year after our marriage. Knowing that we do want to start in the first year or so has heightened the excitement for the family. Feeding the fire...

I did later dicuss this with a friend, starting a family in your 30's and such... We have changed this generation. More women are career minded, opting to wait on having a family for a bit, or sometimes deciding against it all together. We travel. We join the work force. We live in cities. We aim to save before having the family. We want to spend time with our spouses before. There are many reasons. Personally, in addition I was too selfish in my early 20's to settle down. I was ready to climb that corporate ladder and spend good times with friends. Go out and not answer to anyone. Spend all my money foolishly, and that I did... It was my mid-life crisis, mid 20's. My parents also encouraged me to see the world and live a little before settling down. That may have been my dad's attempt at holding on to his children... Now, I'm all about domestication, which came with meeting JR. It all just fits. I love the life I've lived. I've grown tremendously. I'm just ready for the next step.

Truth be told, I'm just as excited about starting a family with JR.

Running For Greg

***THIS WILL STAY UP TOP UNTIL THE MARATHON***

A friend of friend was killed in Iraq in December 2005. Our friend Tom speaks so very highly of his friend Greg and the type of person he was. This year Tom will be running in his first marathon to honor the memory of his dear friend. Tom's goal is to raise as much money as possible of which all will be donated to the Gregory R. Wright Jr. Memorial VMI Scholarship Fund. This scholarship was created by Greg's family and friends as a way to honor his memory and the life he gave in defense of our country. The scholarship is given out to an outstanding individual who best exemplies Greg's passion for life and determination to defend our country.

You can learn more about Greg by going to either the scholarship site or to Tom's site. Donations can be made electronically via PayPal on Tom's site.

I am thankful every day for the sacrifices these soldiers make. I am thankful that my loved ones are safe. I pray for the safety of all who who serve. I understand your sacrifice and commitment. You are all truly inspirational. Thank you.

Flying Low

Okay, I'm usually pretty OCD about checking my zipper after getting dressed, before leaving the restroom... Well apparently with my lack of sleep or rush to get back to work, I missed that this morning.

Fortunately, I noticed it driving to work. Unfortunately, I had already returned a movie to the store & gone into D&D to get my coffee. Of all days not to use the drive through.

Today I made it out of work by 7:00, only a 10.5 hour day. I'll just hope my brain resets and I will be cognizant of all I do tomorrow.

Craziness I tell ya!

Don't worry, it's nothing gross. I just heard it in a movie and thought it was funny. I'm quirkly like that. Would you believe this is the first time I've had a moment to breath today! Yesterday that time was 9pm. Let's see how the last month has been:
~started moving
~got engaged
~finished moving
~went to Jamaica 4 days later
~came back 5 days later
~spent the weekend with the fiance & caught up on work
~fiance left for Navy school (good timing)
~worked up north on a project
~4 hrs commuting = LONG DAYS
~last weekend my sister moved
~and we had a family funeral
~big review this week at work = 12 hr days
~this weekend
*the fiance is home
*the brother & his fiancee moves
*my cousin's shower

I swear that I've averaged about 5-6 hrs a sleep each night. Last Friday was supposed to be my Friday off, but I came in to the office since I had been off site during the week. I'll get a few days off because we despite being salary, 40 hrs is 40 hrs. Anytime over can be banked. Sweet, right?!? So I'm looking to this Friday and a day of absolutely nothing. Okay, that's a lie. I'll be cleaning like a mad woman because JR will be home some time in the evening.

Luckily I've vowed to have a stress free wedding and to be a fairly hands-off bride. I'm leaving most decisions up to my mother and his mother. They are both creative geniuses. So I'm in good hands. I'm just focused on being there with JR & having our immediate family surrounding us. Others are invited, but that is frosting on the cake... I just want it to be a fun celebration... 5 days of fun in the sun on St. Thomas to be exact!

Alright, I'm going to use the rest of my free time to unwind because this will start over again at 6am! I cannot wait until the end of the day on Thursday.

Single Gal

Well I'm only playing single gal for two weeks while JR is off at school. But due to a crazy neighbor, my sister has been voluntold to stay with me. This has enlisted her boyfriend's help as well. My dad also came down and took care of said neighbor. Big bad dad to the rescue... Still being called to duty to protect his girls. Trust me, it made his day when I called for help.

You'd think that at the age of of almost 30 I would be fine with staying alone. However, not playing single gal for 7 years has me in unchartered territory. I've become a big ninny! Seven years ago, I loved the peace & quiet of my own home. No sharing, it was all mine. Now I'm bored without my future hubby around. I love sharing my life with him. It's really been that way since the begining. We spend a good majority of our free time together. Yet, I never find myself yearning for some time alone. All of our friends here are couples. So when we're out with others, it is usually all couples... There are no real girls' only or guys' only nights anymore. I do have to get used to it, especially since I'll be away from family when we head to VA. I'll have to make new VA friends. New Navy friends. He will be gone a lot more with his Navy schedule. I may just become a girl of hobbies! I'm going to have to channel that younger independant Azzy soon!

I don't know how you gals with travelling men do it, but I'm learning.

Engagement

Hi all, we got engaged on Saturday, February 17th on our one year anniversary (from our first date) at the restaurant where we had our very first date (Elisabeth's). Dinner was capped off with the surprise proposal, the happily anticipated acceptance and champaign toast courtesy of Mom and Dad Ewing. I also work with Cherri & Ali to have Azzy's favorite dessert ready, CREME BRULEE. Mom & Dad Johnson were there along with Ali, Shawn and Angie to share in the festivities.

Date of the wedding is still in the air, but we're considering a Caribbean destination wedding around the last week of September. Keep the date open and start saving for a wedding and vacation you won't ever forget!!

Jamaica- Feb 22-26

We just got back from a nice little vacation in Runaway Bay (20km west of Ocho Rios), Jamaica. We booked a 5 day, 4 night getaway to an all-inclusive (drinks, food, room, taxes, tips) resort called the Royal Decamaron at Runaway Bay. Azzy's sister and her boyfriend accompanied us on the trip as well. We stayed in cozy little one room beach bungalows abutting to the beach.

Food was good, service was excellent, and the weather was amazing. In addition to relaxing on the beach, we squeezed in a couple tours as well. On day 2 we took a party boat (read rum cruise) to little snorkeling spot for a bit, then on to Dunne's River Falls for a shuffle up a waterfall. Day 3- Zip tours in high-wire traversing harnesses through the tree tops of an immense mountainous jungle. Day 4- shopping in Ocho Rios. Day 5- day at the beach.

All in all, a wonderful trip...right price, good times, and as always, TOO SHORT!
(pictures will be arranged into a slideshow sometime by friday the 10th)

Update to JR's post, it's Azzy. I just wanted to add the pictures!

Trying

I'm trying to be better about posting. Really I am. I'm also going to try and put the same effort into reading other blogs... Somewhere in the last 6 months I have just lost the time. Hmmm, oh yeah the new job, which I still love. It just keeps this girl very, very busy. The trip to Jamaica was great, but in keeping with my reasoning on creating the travel blog you will have to go there to read about it.

Other news, the engagement is going to be shorter than expected. We were hoping that a wedding next spring would be possible. This way family & friends would have more time to plan and possibly attend. However, life in the Navy or specifically life while on sea duty is not conducive to the type of planning. So it was sooner or after this next tour. Our choice, we'll get married en route to Virigina! This means we'll be getting married late September, early October. This is all fine with both of us. We see no real reason to have a 2-3 year engagement. Planning will be simple, no hoopla. No overwhemling feelings. We just want a small, intimate ceremony with those who can make it to the Caribbean. Just to enjoy a vacation-wedding, that is our goal. This will however cancel our Italy/Greece trip. Travelling from MA to the Caribbean back to MA and on to VA doesn't leave much trip or packing for warm & cold weathered clothes. Right now the wedding destination is going to be St. Thomas or St. Croix. The honeymoon location has yet to be determined. We've both been to Aruba & Jamaica. We'd like to do something different, relaxing, & charming. Any ideas and recommendations would be much appreciated!