Happy New Years!

I have quite a few resolutions for the new year:


1. Be more frugal.
2. Use my sewing machine...A LOT!
3. Take pictures often.
4. get back to my pre-pregnancy weight by the end of next december.
5. worry less, have more faith.
6. read more books.
7. switch to all natural beauty products.
8. enjoy day-to-day life, and not keep wanting to fast forward to the future.
9. Grow closer to my husband even though I wont see him until late in 2012.
10. Have more patience with my dog.



2010 was a good year, and I'm sad it is ending, but I look forward to what 2011 will bring.

Update.

Sorry I have been so awful at updating. The past month has been really busy!

The first week of december I was studying like crazy for finals.
The Second week of december I had finals. After Finals, Matt and I went to Seattle for a concert featuring Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds. It was awesome! Our hotel was only like 2 1/2 blocks away and then afterwards we walked to a Mcmennamins that was just 2 blocks away :)

The third week in December we drove down to OREGON!
Friday the 17th= Rehearsal dinner for Cameron and Megan Lucas' wedding and bachelor/Bachelorette parties :)

18th= Wedding day.
the rest of the week was super super busy, so busy I can hardly remember what we did.

there was seriously not ONE day where I did nothing.

thursday the 23rd= did Christmas with my mom and grandma, I love them so much!

friday the 24th= went to Matt's dads for christmas eve.

Christmas day= went to Matt's moms for christmas dinner.

we were very blessed this year, not only with presents but being able to go down to Oregon :)

Basically that is what this past month looked like. Nothing too exciting.

Anyways, let's move on to other news.

It looks like I will be moving down to Oregon at the end of FebRuary (I capitalized the "r" because a lot of the time people either forget it, or don't even know that's actually how you spell it ;) you know who you are!)

That means I only have two months left up here in washington. It's very bittersweet. For a long time I have been so anxious to move back home, I wish I would have just been more content in the now. I miss our dingy first apartment and being newly married. I miss our studio apartment a lot too. I think I miss them a lot because we had a lot of great memories at both of those apartments, just like I will miss this apartment we live in now.

I'm scared for the next two years. I have no idea where I'm going to live, how to raise a child and a puppy that thinks its my child, let alone doing it on my own!

It's very scary, and I have been so anxious about it lately. I keep having to remind myself of this passage in the Matthew 6:25-34 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


I really need to quit being so anxious, and stressed. God will provide for our family. I need to have faith, but since I'm human that doesn't always happen.



I'm sorry this is so long, but I do have other news!

baby news:
on January 25th we will find out the sex of our baby! I'm very excited and anxious to find out what we will be having!


here are the names we have picked out: (they are subject to change, but I'm pretty sure we are sure these are what the names will be.)

Boy:
Jack Handewith Miller

Girl:
Annabelle Grace Miller
(I also kind of like it spelled Annabel).

I'm sorry (again) that this was so long, and not that exciting. I promise I will update more often :)

sugbfisbfsbfweuigfweuigfeuf.

So, lately I have been a little hormonal. I can't figure out why ;) just kidding, I know why. Because of these crazy hormones I have been feeling like an angry person. Not so much with Matt, but more so with stupid things people do.

Here is a list of things that have been driving me crazy!

- The smell of my dog. She stinks and makes my house stink. I'm pretty much a neat freak, but now that I'm pregnant everything is disgusting to me. I'm not mad at Riley for smelling so bad. It just irritates me.

- When people cut me off and there is NO ONE behind me! This has been happening SO much lately. What is the point????

- When people don't use their turn signals. Just because you have a really nice car doesn't mean you are above the law.

- When people tailgate me. A few weeks ago a "Papa Johns" delivery car was tailgating me so bad that I was going 10 miles over the speed limit (which is not common for me, I don't normally drive over the speed limit at all) and they were still on my tail. So, I called the local "Papa Johns" and told them about it. Apparently it was one of the managers there. WOW! how ridiculous. They apologized and said they would talk to her about it. I was at least glad I called because that is ridiculous, especially for a member of management.

- Rude people in the grocery store. I found that this is true of other pregnant women. They feel entitled to cut in line. Okay, not all pregnant women, but quite a few I have come across. A few weeks ago I went to costco to buy a sewing machine and that was it. I was walking to the checkout line and this pregnant lady cut me off. she had a cart FULL of food! I hope I don't feel entitled to special treatment in a few months.

- When people take a cart full of food into the "15 items or less" line. That doesn't need an explanation.

So, yes I have been very moody...and I'm sure I could add quite a few more things to this list, but I shouldn't. Okay, from this point on I'm not going to let these stupid things bother me :)

Books!

I have decided to make a list of books I want to read/ re-read, and my goal is to read them all by the time the baby is born. Well, depending on how long my list turns out. I love reading, and I have really been slacking the last 6 months! The only books I seem to read anymore are textbooks and readers digest. The list will be in no particular order, BUT I will be reading the Hobbit first because Matt has been harassing me to read it since february.


Books:

-Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

-The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

-Harry Potter series - JK Rowling(re-read)

-Little Women - Louisa M Alcott(re-read)

-The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

-The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

-Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell(re-read)

-The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald(re-read)

-The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

-Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

-Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

-The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis

-Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

-Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

-A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

-Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White

-Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

- Alphabet Murder series- Sue Grafton

- The Scarlett Letter- Nathaniel Hawthorne


I think this list is good enough for now. I will add to it as time goes on if need be. I will let you know what I thought of the books after I have read them :) I'm going to try and go through and read all of the books I haven't read first and then re-read the ones I have already read....Although I'm very tempted to re-read Harry potter immediately :)

11.15.10

I finally made Matt take a picture or my slightly larger belly. From this point on it only gets bigger. I will miss my flat waistline, but I'm sure that we will meet again sometime next year. It's weird how uncomfortable my jeans are, I can't button/zip them anymore. I sometimes use a hairband to keep them shut, but that can be uncomfortable too.


sorry my shirt is all wrinkled. I have a short torso and this tank top looks ridiculously long on me. I don't even know if anyone could notice a difference in my tummy, but it's normally flat, so I notice a difference :)


I tried on maternity jeans this week and to my surprise I found some that fit and were really cute, but they seem so expensive. I'm only going to wear them for 6ish months! I didn't buy any, but I decided that after my 10 week appointment I would go straight from the doctors office :)

I feel like I have progressively been getting better, although, I do have some really really bad days. Mostly due to nausea and extreme fatigue. Thankfully, I only have 3 weeks left of my first trimester!

The baby is now the size of a grape, about an inch long :) this week the heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form, and so do its teeth! It's crazy how much develops in just one week!
Here is the first pic of our baby!



this ultrasound photo was at 7 weeks and 6days. My due date is officially June 21st, 2011.
I have another appointment on November 22nd, so I should get another picture then, and it should look even more like a baby.

In other news, school. School has been kicking my butt, but I'm still doing really well. It's just so hard getting out of bed in the morning! But thanks to my dedication I haven't missed a day of class because of it :)

besides school and trying to prepare myself for a baby my life has been pretty boring. I'm thankful for the help Matt has given me though. I have been such a crappy wife. I rarely cook, it takes me days to fold the laundry, I let the dishes pile up, and I have quit making his lunches. He has been so understanding and I don't think he has even complained...well maybe once, but I can't blame him. Like I said earlier, my second trimester is just three weeks away, and at that point I should get my energy back... at least for a few months!

Pregnancy

Today I'm 6 weeks and 6 days pregnant. When we first found out I was pregnant we said we didn't want to tell anyone until our first sonogram(ultrasound). Well, a few days later we decided to tell our family and close friends. If something bad were to happen, we would rather have the support of our family and friends, but so far everything seems to be going great.

I had my first pre-natal appointment but it was just an educational appointment. We went over my medical record, family health history, blah blah blah.

So far, my biggest "symptom" has been "morning" sickness. Honestly, who named it that? Because I have "morning sickness" ALL STINKIN DAY LONG ;)

I mostly dry-heave, I have only really vomited twice, one time was pineapple- that really really hurt.

I have many food aversions...basically everything grosses me out. the worst is chicken, ugh I almost gag just thinking about it. this makes it hard for me to cook :( thankfully Matt has been pretty understanding!

The only food that really has sounded good to me is whole wheat bagels with cream cheese, tilla-moos and crackers, and strawberries. Cottage cheese was my favorite about a week ago, but now it repulses me :(

according to Babycenter.com our baby is the size of a blueberry :)





My first Ultrasound is November 22nd, so just three weeks from today! I can't wait to see our baby and it's little heartbeat :)

UPdate.

Anniversary:
Beavers vs. huskies= BAD!

Jon, Matt's brother, and his girlfriend (Jon's, not Matt's:) Megan came up from OR
to go to the game with us, they are OSU Alum.
Huskies fans are rude.
On our way over to Seattle I looked out my window and saw a acr full of middle-aged people flipping us off (we have a beavers sticker on our car.) :O
Megan and I went to the port-a-potties and on our way back to our car this guy spit at us. TRASHY!

Next day we went to the beach for 5 whole nights! This vacation was definitely needed!

Highlights from the beach:
Oregon coast aquarium!
BEAUTIFUL spring like weather!
BABY SEAGULLS-SO CUTE!
Spending time with Matt.
just being in the state of Oregon feels good for our souls.


going back to Washington was hard, but it looks like we wont be up here for that much longer.
a few weeks ago we found out that Matt is going to Cuba for 15- 19 months, and it isn't a deployment, but rather a duty stationed. The orders are unaccompanied. Just a few days before we found out about Cuba, we found out.....that I'm pregnant! It was a lot of news for just one week. Needless to say, right now I really hate the Navy.

The Paper Anniversary.

Wow, I can't believe that Matt and I have been married for a year already! This past year was full of life. We made some great memories, and some not so great ones. Our first year married was full of trials, and rewards.
One of the most important things that I have learned this past year: You never know what is going to happen in life, things you never imagined happening will. Life is full of surprises and it doesn't care about what plans you have.

One of my favorite Memories:
I don't remember how long after having my emergency surgery it was, maybe it was later that night.... I just remember laying in my hospital bed, with Matt by my side, being thankful that I was okay and nothing major had happened to me. I remember talking and laughing with him, it was a perfect moment that I will always remember and cherish. It really is the simple things in life that matter.
It doesn't matter what kind of car you drive, the clothes you wear, how much money is in your bank account, or the house you live in. It just matters who you share it with.

I couldn't have asked God for a greater husband than Matthew Miller. I look forward to the many many years we will spend together! I love you Babe!

it was a good week.

It has been a great week. I got 100% on my first math test, an A on my first english paper, and I maked the most delicious meal that I have ever made, hands down.

You know what is really funny? I feel like I have grown up a lot over the last year, or at least I have realized a lot about myself. Most recently I have come to realize that I don't hate math, but rather, I'm intimidated by it, and I'm actually excited to learn it! If you would've asked me even a month ago how I felt about math I would've said " I HATE IT!".

School is going really well for me. I don't care for my french class. I feel like the instructor is ALL over the place. I haven't learned anything yet, but that is probably because I'm taking french 103. I decided to stay with a beginners class because I haven't taken french for a few years, but I would have been just fine with a more advanced class.


now on to more important things... FOOD! This week, as I have already said, I made the most delicious meal ever.

The recipe was called " Penne Pasta tomato bake"

I took a recipe and added a lot of my own ingredients, and I made my own pesto to add to it :)

Pesto recipe:
*2 cups fresh basil leaves
*1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
*1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
*1/2 cup almonds
*3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced

I took all of these ingredients and put them in a blender because I'm lame and I don't have a food processor (hopefully I will get one for christmas...that and a kitchen aid mixer;)
I mixed that up for awhile then put it in the fridge while I worked on the other stuff.

Pasta bake ingredients:
* 8 oz 100% whole grain penne pasta or similar shape
* 1 tablespoon EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
* 1/2 medium chopped onion
* 1 can organic tomatoes ( I get mine from Costco)
* 1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crumbled
* 1/2 a package of fresh baby portabella mushrooms, chopped.
* 1 1/2 chicken breasts
* freshly grated parmesan cheese
* 1/2 cup organic tomato sauce
* 1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded cheese, Mozzarella , divided


Directions:
cook pasta as directed on package, set aside. Pre-heat oven to 375.
sauté mushrooms on medium high heat for about 5 minutes in some butter. when done cooking set aside. Next, sauté onion and add the canned tomato (drained) and cook for about 3 mins. OH! I almost forgot about the chicken. To make some AMAZING chicken for this recipe take two thawed chicken breasts, and cook in your crock pot for 8 hours on low in 6 oz chicken broth and 1/2 cup white wine. This chicken will be so tender that it will break as you try to take it out of the crock pot, which is a little annoying, but more so exciting :)

okay, now that everything is prepared add it all to a casserole sized dish for baking! Once it is all in the dish add about 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan throughout the casserole. Once that is finished pop it into the oven for 25 minutes, then ENJOY!

Jeremiah 29:13...

13" You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

I have heard this so many times throughout my youth. Yet ,I feel discouraged. I pray, I spend time in scripture with an open heart. Is there something wrong with me? Why is it that there are people who feel God's presence, and I feel nothing?

What has discouraged me most is this: A few weeks ago Matt and I tried out a new church called "Newlife". It was pretty good. We came at the perfect time because they were starting new "life groups" for the fall season. AND I found one that sounded PERFECT and it fit perfectly into my schedule my schedule. It was a bible study for newly married military wives...How perfect does that sound? Well, I signed up for the class and I was so very excited!

A week before the first meeting I got an email saying that the time had been changed to an hour later, meaning that it would run an hour later. Well, that wouldn't fit into my schdule because I would miss half of my math class :(

I couldn't help but cry.


Hopefully I will find another group to join, but my heart is weary.

canineable lector.

I'm glad we got Riley spayed. We call her toys "Babies" (we also call them toys, she will go get them if you call them either) and this is what they look like:

(from left to right)



Turtle no longer has any stuffing. Hedgehog has only one eye, no nose and no arms. VS Pink dog barely has ears, and no tail. yellow pig has no legs and was torn at the stomach, where all it's insides were pulled out. blue hippo had only three legs at time of picture (right after pic she ate the other 3). Squirrel is lucky because the only thing he has lost is his right eye.

Recipes!

Last week I talked about using my crock pot, and how much I love it, so I thought that I would post the recipes that I use every week since I will be trying at least two new recipes every week.

the first one is
"Loaded baked potato soup!"

Ingredients:
4 russet potatos peeled and diced (uncooked)
1 container organic chicken broth*
1 whole chopped yellow onion
4 stalks of celery sliced
2 large carrot sticks shredded*
4 green onions chopped
12 pieces of bacon, fried and crumbled*
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups of organic skim milk or soy
1/2 cup white all purpose flour
1/2 cup organic 100% whole wheat flour

Directions:

put all ingredients (minus milk & flour) into crockpot and cook on low for 7 1/2 hours or 3 1/2 on high.

when the 7 1/2 (or 3 1/2 ) hours are up add together the milk & flour then add to the soup and cook for another 30 mins.

When soup is finished serve with shredded cheese and sour cream :)

* for the chicken broth I like using "Pacific natural foods organic free range chicken broth"
for the shredded carrots: I cut them in half and then use my cheese grater to shred them.
Bacon: whenever using bacon always make sure it is nitrite/preservative free!
and just a side note, to make this as healthy as possible I try to use as many organic products as possible, but sometimes they are just TOO EXPENSIVE. Eating more vegetables is way better than going out though :) Also, when it comes to cheese & sour cream I recommend Tillamook all the way! And don't try to cut calories by using non-fat sour cream, a little bit of regular Tillamook sour cream goes a LONG way! And it is so much more declicious!

"Chicken Tortilla Soup"

Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1 organic chicken bouillon cube
4 uncooked organic chicken breast halves
2 - 15 oz cans organic black beans, undrained
2 - 15 oz cans organic diced tomatoes
2 cups organic salsa
14 1/2 oz can organic tomato sauce

Tortilla chips
cheese
sour cream

Directions:
add all ingredients minus chips, cheese & sour cream. cook on low for 8 hours.
Just before serving remove chicken breasts and shred it. After shredding it, add it back to the soup and stir in.

"Corn Chowder"

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove,minced
2 large carrots, shredded
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 medium potatoes peeled & cubed
12 oz can cream style corn
12 oz bag frozen corn
1 container chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp oregano
2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
2 chicken breast uncooked (optional)
1 1/2 cups organic skim milk/ or soy milk
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup 100% whole wheat organic flour

Directions:
add all ingredients to crock pot minus flour & and milk. cook on low for 7 1/2 hours, or high for 3 1/2 hours.

when the 7 1/2 (or 3 1/2 ) hours are up add together the milk & flour then add to the soup and cook for another 30 mins.

I like to pair our soups with whole wheat rolls and usually a garden salad with fresh made caesar dressing.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as we have. I look forward to sharing my recipes with you in the following weeks :)

Octobre.

ugh. I'm sick :( sore throat, nausea, and congestion. Last week was stressful, but I vow that this week will not be stressful....or least less stressful, even though I am sick. Thankfully I'm ahead in my classes, so missing today is no big deal, but I am going to school no matter what tomorrow.

This weekend was pretty stressful too :/ I was so looking forward to a quiet relaxing weekend, but that was NOT the case. Friday we went out with a friend and had some drinks, and I don't really drink, so needless to say that after just a few drinks I was feeling it bad, drinking was a big mistake. Then Saturday she wanted to go to Seattle and go out, I was the designated driver, and that was fine with me. Well, That night we didn't get home until almost 4am. I was exhausted, and that night just made realize how much of a home body that I really am (and Matt too!) and I'm okay with that. I guess it just more so made me realize that I don't like partying, because if it is the right environment then I don't mind being out late. A good time to me is going out with friends, conversing over food, drinks and some good music. What's the point if it is so loud you have to yell to hear each other?

Sunday was good though :) Matt and I slept until about 12:30ish, then we got up, I made pumpkin pancakes (they were good, but a little too mushy, next time they will be better!) and then we showered and took a nap. it was lazy and perfect. We even had Taco bell for dinner and didn't even feel guilty about it :) Today we are back to eating healthy again though :)

This past week was crazy, but it was a good way to start off the month, because all month we are busy!

Next weekend (the 2nd) Matt's Dad, step mom and younger brother are coming up, then the next weekend my good friends Tabor and Amanda are getting married, and then the next weekend Matt and I are going to the Beavers/Huskies game in Seattle, and then the next day (the 17th!!!) we are heading to the Oregon coast for 5 nights to celebrate our first anniversary :) ahhh, so I just have to make it through the next two weeks and then I can relax all I want :)

First week of school.

in one word: STRESSFUL!

In a lot of words:

This term I'm taking 20 credits. needless to say, it's a little exhausting. What really makes it exhausting is having to leave at least an hour and a half before my first class starts because the parking is SO BAD! I live only 15 minutes away from my school. SO DUMB!

Classes have been good so far, I have had a lot of homework, but that's okay. I'm really excited to be using my crockpot more. Last week I made loaded baked potato soup, which was amazing, and then this week I made corn chowder, and right now I have chicken tortilla soup slow cooking :) Every week I'm going to make two new slow cooker recipes.


so, overall, my first week has been pretty good. Stressful, but good :)

rainy fall day...perfection!

Last night I fell asleep to the sound of rain hitting the parking lot of our apartment, and I woke up to the same beautiful sound!

I love fall so much, and I love the NW so much. I have been so anxious for the rainy season to begin. I'm excited to wear hoodies, rainboots, sweaters, and I can't wait to put on sweat pants and my bathrobe and cuddle up with a warm blanket while drinking a (decaf, soy, no whip) pumpkin spice latte!

Along with the leaves falling also comes the starting of school. I start my fall classes on Monday the 20th. I'm so nervous, but also very excited. I'm nervous because I'm taking 20 credits, but I'm excited because I will be finished with my associates. Although, I do have a lot of school left still (I want to get my masters in nursing, more specifically CRNA).

Other things I'm excited for this fall:
-Learning to sew.
-Amanda & Tabor are getting married.
-Celebrating our 1st year of marriage at the oregon coast for a week!
-Expanding my knowledge in cooking/baking.
-Finding out where the Navy is going to send us next!

This term is going to be really hectic, but one thing I'm going to do to make my life a little easier is to use my crock pot! Every week I'm going to make two different soups (yay for soup season!) with a side of salad and a roll from monica's. Then on friday I will make something like pizza/salmon/pasta. This will make my life so much easier! Especially since Mondays&Wednesdays I have a class until 7pm!

Tonight I'm making my first soup of the season, which is a recipe I've never tried before, actually the only soup I have ever made is chicken noodle & beef stew). Tonight we will be having loaded baked potato :)

Labor Day Weekend.

Labor day weekend was so-so.

Good parts:
-Shelia.
-crocheting.
-Staying at my dad's house.
-Ice cream with Dad.
-craft warehouse with Grandma and Cousin.
-Riley made a friend.
-burgerville.
-my brother was really sweet.
-Pumpkin spice lattes with my husband.


Bad parts:
-The beavs lost.
-Urgent care.
-Not being able to sleep without Matt.
-Staying at my dad's house.
-a mean person I will not name.
-Driving back to Washington.


Overall the good weighed out the bad of the weekend, but nothing felt as good this weekend as the joy of getting to see my husband after four looooong days! He makes me feel at home.


p.s. I'm going to wear white today :)

Navy.

Right now I really hate the Navy. Okay, not the Navy as a whole, but just part of it. for the last few months Matt and I have been waiting to hear what our next plan of action is. Matt put in a request to stay in washington for the rst of his enlistment, and he was told that there should be no problem, and that it should get approved. Well, like two months after he put in the request we found out it was DENIED! So, we started looking at the different billets (jobs) that needed to be filled. Every day they tell matt, we should find out what's going to happen tomorrow, then tomorrow comes, we should know by tomorrow. UGH!

Well, last monday Matt found out that they are thinking of Deploying him for a year...I was heart broken to find that out! They said we would know for sure on wednesday what the decision would be. Well once again they didn't come through.

I just want to know either way what is going to happen so we can start setting down an outline for our plans for the next two-three years. Hopefully we will know our fate by the end of this week.

August.

I can't believe summer is already over! I also cant believe that our first wedding anniversary is almost here! Did we really get married almost a year ago?!?!

Anyways, August was a great month! We explored washington, we had family up to visit, and we enjoyed the beautiful weather together.

Unfortunately we didn't get to go camping once! That was partly my fault and pratly the Navy's fault.

my fault: I was really turned off to camping because for some stupid readon we went in March and it was sooo cold! It was miserable. So, I just wasn't up for it after that, unless we were able to go to barview jetty. I LOVE Barview so much!

Navy's fault: Matt has this thing called watch. Watch always happens a few weekends a month. Matt goes to the Naval hospital and works in patient admissions for 12 hours. usually it's on sunday night from 6pm to 7 am (sometimes 10:30/11:00 if he has to do his regular job too.)

So, me + Navy= no camping. I will go camping no matter what nexter summer...that is if Matt isn't deployed :(

Snacktime!

I love the Barenaked Ladies! Currently, Matt and I have been listening to their album "Snacktime".

Technically it is an album for children, but it so entertaining even for adults.
All of the songs are great, but here are my top five:

1. Food Party.
2. Pollywog in a Bog.
3. Raisins
4. The Canadian Snacktime Trilogy 1. Snacktime.
5. Crazy ABC'S.





This Album gets two thumbs way up!

Neah Bay

Matt and I finally had a weekend where we could go do anything we wanted together! We decided to go to Cape Flattery in Neah Bay, and we took Riley with us. On the way there, we made a few stops.
Our first stop was in Port Angeles. We walked down to the beach and got to see some amazing sand sculptures(there was a contest the prior weekend), and then we had some lunch at a pizza place. One stupid thing about Port Angeles is that there farmers market was NOT dog friendly, what kind of farmers market does that? Anyways, after our pizza lunch we stopped at a placed called "Cock-a- doodle doughnuts" They were pretty delicious. Before we left Port Angeles we thought it would be good to let Riley eat and have some water. BAD IDEA. About 15 minutes later she started vomiting, so we pulled over and took her out of her carrier and cleaned it out. another 10 minutes later, same thing....except she had vomit all over her :/ I tried cleaning her off and let her sit on my lap for the rest of the trip (thankfully she slept). A little while later, traffic was stopped because... there was a BULL IN THE ROAD! It was kind of scary, that thing could have annihilated our car! thankfully a truck ran it off the road and into it's owners yard.

The drive to Neah bay was beautiful, and Cape Flattery was even MORE beautiful. We saw Sea lions out on a rock, and a lot of birds. The water was such a deep turquoise. It really was beautiful, and well worth the vomit-y car ride.

On our drive home we remembered we had only one headlight working ( all week I kept forgetting to go the the auto parts store and get another.) and just our luck, we got pulled over. Thankfully The police officer was very nice and didn't get us a ticket or anything, he just said to get a new headlight. That could have been really bad!

Over all our day was truly amazing. It is one day I will cherish forever :)

I wish.....

If I win the lottery, I'm going on a huge fat shopping spree at anthropologie....



This polka dot dress and the sweater on the bottom center, together, would be over $400. hmph. I need a sewing machine.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

So, Yesterday I sat on my couch ALL. DAY. LONG. Why? I was waiting for comcast to come set up our cable. First off, I didn't know until that morning that they were coming. Second, they said they would be there between 2-6pm. Now, I have, for the most part, had a good experience with comcast. They usually seemed to arrive early, and finish promptly, this was NOT the case yesterday. I called customer service around 4:30, just to get an ETA, but they couldn't give me one...ok whatever, that's fine. I just didn't want to waste my saturday. around five forty-five I'm getting antsy, still no call/no-show. At 6pm I call customer service again and explain my situation, they said, we it says here that they changed your appointment from 2-6, from 8am-8pm..WHAT! Okay, well what are my options? She said to wait until 8, they put out a "ticket" to the field supervisor to come out to our house, and the supervisor should call me by 7pm she said. 7:15pm rolls around.... still no call. So, I call customer service again. The representative tells me, "the technician noted your account and said you weren't at home when he came to install." By then I was livid. " I have been home AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL DAY LONG ON A BEAUTIFUL SATURDAY! I haven't left my fricken couch at all, I have just been sitting here waiting for the cable guy! "She then asked me, what color is your door?" I erspond to her "white, I live in an apartment complex, all of the doors are the same color." The only thing she could tell me is wait until about 8 o'clock and if they don't show up then they can reschedule my appointment for august 1st. Um, no thanks.


That pretty much ruined my whole day. Stupid comcast. Thankfully, they ended up waving our installation fee and credited our account $40.00, and they are coming out first thing monday morning. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend comcast to ANYBODY, I think once our promotion is over I'm switching to Wave broadband (a local cable/internet company.)

Comcast review= 1.5 stars, and two big fat thumbs down.

P.s. Sorry about all of the grammatical errors/ misspelling I'm not wearing my contacts or glasses and my inability to see hinders me from doing things correctly.

Quote[s] of the week....

1. Jessica [talking to Matt]- If I write a resume can you print it out for me at work? I want to apply at Walmart

2. [Walking around the waterfront looking for a spot to watch the fireworks]
Jessica- Is that Mount Rainier?
Maisie [my neighbor]- No, that is a tent.

I can't wait....

To move back to Oregon.
There are so many reasons why it will be amazing.
Here are my top 5 reasons:
5. Burgerville. Every other fast food restaurant is disgusting (to me. Except for taco bell of course!) Plus, all of the ingredients are local to the NW :)
4. I won't have to pass in the right lane anymore.
3. Mt. Hood ( although, I will truly miss the Olympic Mountains!)
2. Friends!
1. Family. 'nuf said.

I will miss Washington though!
Here are the 5 reasons I will miss Silverdale:
5. Grocery shopping at the waterfront farmers market and then walking to the bakery for fresh whole wheat bread.
4. Being so close to the water.
3.The Olympic Mountains
2. Playing the License plate game and finding super cool license plates.
1. Monica's waterfront bakery. The most delicious food ever.


I can't wait to be back in Oregon, but I know I will miss where we are right now, So, I'm just trying to be content and enjoy the time we have up here :)


P.S. Today, we have been married for 9 months :)

young and foolish?

very often I feel judged because I'm married at 21 years old. I get treated this way by people my age, people older than me, and pretty much everyone else in between. Marriage is difficult, and I know I'm still young and that I'm still growing and changing, but aren't we all everchanging? You never stop changing. I decided to get married at 20 so I can start builing my life foundation with my husband now, rather than us building two separate foundations and then try to merge them together. I want to grow and change with my husband. There will always be things you don't necessarily like about your spouse, and that is at every age. It doesn't matter how old or young you are. Our first year of marriage has been... eventful, we have been through so much, for the most part I think we have handled it pretty well. It has by no means been easy, but I don't think that being older would have made it any easier, and I think we made the right decision getting married so young.

P.S. Please everyone in the world, call me Mrs. Miller, not Ms. Miller. It gets a little annoying :)

Goodbye is never easy.

I was hoping our life would settle down, but that just isn't the way that life is. Yesterday I had to drive down to Oregon to say goodbye to Theo, I had no clue we were going to have to put him down. I never thought the day would come, or at least not so soon. Theo was the best cat ever. I know everyone says that about their cats, but he truly was. I like to say he was the one boy I could always count on. He never wanted anything from me except to be loved (and fed lol). When I lived at Matt's parent house he would sleep in my room almost every night. He would usually wake me up in the middle of the night to leave the room, but the next morning he would be right outside my door waiting for me. He would get extremely jealous of matt and I. If Matt and I were sitting on the couch together he would come and squeeze himself in right between us. I remember when Matt came home for the first time since he had left for the military and we were sitting on the couch, Theo just sat across the room glaring at Matt. Losing Theo has broken my heart in a way that makes it hard for me to express. I feel so silly being so sad about a cat, but he was more than a pet, he was apart of our family. Whenever I was sad Theo could always make me feel better, he would just sit on my lap and comfort me. Sadly, I will never have that same feeling of comfort ever again, but I will always cherish it. I love you Theodore Beaver Schmiedeskamp.

lifestyle change.

Today is day three of what I would like to call a "lifestyle change". I haven't gained very much weight at all since getting married, but whenever I see pictures of myself I look fat. I have quit working out and have become addicted to taco bell. Well, now it is time to change that. I want to start eating healthier again and working out regularly. Today is day three of our lifestyle change, and so far I have done really well :) I will let you know how our change goes and if we are seeing any results,I'm hoping to notice some change in the next few weeks. Anyways, drink lots of water and stay hydrated during this heat wave!

xoxo,
Jessica

Riley Miller

This is our new puppy, Riley. Isn't she just the cutest puppy ever!

life in Washington...

It has been a little over 8 months since I moved to Washington. I have decided to start a blog documenting my life up here. Matt and I have had a crazy first year of marriage so far. I have moved three times (from OR to WA, from our 1st apartment to a studio, and to our current apt). I had emergency surgery, Matt witnessed a traumatic shooting, we both turned 21, and honestly getting married in and of itself can be a little stressful! To say the least, it has probably been one of the most stressful years of my life. Here's to hoping the next few months will bring us some peace.

xoxo
Jessica