It's about that time..

So, I'm deploying in about two weeks... wow, this year flew by! It's certainly been a year filled with ups and downs, and it'll hopefully end on a good note overseas. I've learned and grown so much through this year.. I'm ready to slow down, smell the flowers, and enjoy life. I've found that I have amazing friends and family who care so much for me.. and that's all you need in life. To love, and be loved. Now I have an great guy that makes me feel pretty special, and I'm happy to be able to have him on deployment with me... (though I still miss my dog) LOL

Anyhoo, we had our Navy holiday party last weekend. It's really the Christmas party, but, since we're going to be gone for Christmas we got to have it early. It was a blast! Something is always wrong at the party, but, this year was great! I sat with a table of my good friends, had a wonderful man with me, and got to dance and have a good time! I'm not sure if I'll be posting again before we leave.. but, I should be posting through deployment! I'll try to get my address to anyone that wants to write me! =)

Update!

Sooooo, I met a boy! =) His name is Anthony, and he is absolutely amazing! Anyhoo... lol... I just spent two weeks on vacation! It was SO great! I spent time in Tennessee with my mom, and did so many fun things there! We went to the TN aquarium, Rock City, and got to ride some WWII "ducks" DUKW's! Then I spent some time in VA hanging out with all my friends and family. It was such a blast! Alas, now I'm back home in Maine with my friends here, and my awesome new boyfirend! =) ..I had to leave my dog in Tennessee though, I miss her so much! So, thats the update.. soon I'll be headed overseas again, but, hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this!!

Playing Catch Up

So, now that I'm single it seems that all my friends are getting engaged and married! They're smart... they waited. LOL Anyhoo, I'm so happy for everyone, I've been to a wedding recently, and I can't wait for more! I'm doing really good, getting ready to take some predeployment leave to say bye to some friends and family, and of course drop my dog off in Tennessee with my mom. I still don't know where I'm going, but, I know it's somewhere sandy again... hooray for the middle east! Heres some pictures from a few of my latest antics. =)

Rafting trip and more!

Wow, what a weekend! I went white water rafting with a group of ten friends, what a blast! We went through Northern Outdoors in The Forks, ME... on the Dead River. I was scared at first, but once we started it was great! After rafting we spent the evening sipping on drinks and relaxing in a big hot tub, not to mention building a fire and eating some delicious meals! I can't wait to go again!





On another note, I'm starting to think my ex-husbands wife is a little off her rocker! Seriously, I've done nothing to them, we've been divorced for six months, I haven't seen him in eight months, nor have I spoken to him in awhile.. not even email! She's displaying SO MUCH hatred towards me, it's just weird. I've never even met the girl. She's acting like I should towards her really.. LOL ..like I pose a threat to her... very insecure, not to mention immature. I mean, he's her problem now, I don't want him! I'm actually quite happy for them and their growing family.. I wish she would stop being a psycho though. I feel like she's stalking me or something.. LOL Anyhoo, just venting I guess.. Jax is the only person who reads this =) Thanks for listening!

Fat Albert!

Well, I got to fly on Fat Albert yesterday! For anyone who doesn't know, Fat Albert is the C-130 that is part of the Navy and Marine Corps Blue Angel Team. It was truly the experience of a lifetime! Who knows when I could get another chance to fly on an aircraft manuevering like that. We did a combat take off, some insanely steep turns (75+ degrees), and a short landing (less than 1000 feet), thank goodness for seatbelts! I got to experience complete weightlessness for a full five seconds! It was amazing! If you haven't been to an airshow an seen the Blue Angels and Fat Albert fly, you should make it to the next one near you!

Name Change

So, for the past almost six months I've had to continue wearing my ex-husbands name at work... but, today, my paperwork finally came back!! WOOO! Now I can get my new military ID, change my uniforms, and stop having the constant reminder of his name on my uniforms! YAY!

My kayaking adventure!

So, I got to go on a kayaking trip the other day, and it was awesome! We were out on the water for several hours, and saw so many cool things, including a harbor seal pup! I met some new people, who are quickly becoming good friends! We island hopped to our destination, Eagle Island, which is (was) the summer home of the man that first reached the north pole. The entire island is now a state park, so we got a tour of the house, and got to walk some trails and eat wild berries! I had such a great time!

View from the house
^ The group preparing to leave Eagle Island


This seal was so adorable!!

A little venting and mean humor...

So... since no one ever reads this I feel like I can vent without offending too many people. So, I'm recently divorced (finalized back in March). My now ex husband had a girlfriend while we were married, and they are now engaged. The funny part comes in because from my understanding he met her on leave, and fell in love (in less than a week), then left the country for about four months. When he returned she had moved into his (my old) apartment in Maine... after living together for about a month they got engaged. Now, I realize that my ex is indeed not the brightest.. but I knew well enough that he wouldn't just get engaged again, not that fast.. witout a good reason... and indeed she is pregnant. The poor girl.. I mean, he is such an abusive, jealous, insecure person..don't get me wrong, he has a good heart overall, but she has no idea what she is getting herself into. Sure, it's all great in the beginning.. but she is going to have his child and be attached to him forever now.. they don't even know eachother yet. He abused and assaulted me and our pets, as I'm sure he will do to her and his child.. it's so sad.

I felt sorry for her until tonight though. I found that she made a myspace page for my shepherd. (Which is just ridiculous in my opinion.) But my problem is that she is calling herself his mommy. I adopted him, paid $1600 for him, named him, and raised him from a puppy to an adult.. I'm Zeus' mommy. I know it shouldn't bother me that much, but, I had to give up that dog, along with several other things to make a clean safe break from my now ex.. and I miss Zeus. She is NOT his mommy, step mommy.. sure.. but not mommy! On another funny sidenote.. I saw that she has tattoos all over her side... HA.. they will never look the same after pregnancy.

Anyhoo, I still wish them well.. though I can honestly say that I've built up a pretty big dislike for them both.. I mean.. all the things I did to keep him out of jail, and in the navy.. and just overall out of trouble for him to turn around and have a girlfriend behind my back.. and completly screw me over and continue treating me horribly.. ug. I feel like I should've had him thrown in jail, and kicked out of the navy.. I could've destroyed his life! But, I didn't, I remained the bigger person. YAY me! As for her, she was messing around with a married man.. so I say "eff" her! Plus I had a couple shoe boxes of letters and cards there, and she threw them away! Seriously, she had NO RIGHT to do that.. isn't it illegal to mess with someone elses mail anyways? There were cards and letters not only from my ex, but from my family from over the years... It's all freaking upsetting.

But, I'm doing well overall. Work is moving right along, and I've still got my new car, great dog, and awesome apartment.. not to mention amazing friends and family. I've been getting out and doing things.. meeting new people, taking road trips.. and having fun! WOO!

Summer Vacation 2008

Well, I just had two awesome weeks of vacation! I flew from Maine down to Virginia and spent a few days in Fredericksburg. Though my time there was limited, I got to see so many friends! From there i went to VA Beach and got to meet my cousins new wife, and hang out with an old friend. Next I drove down to Topsail Island, NC... there I met up with about eighty family members from my dads side, and we all stayed at the Villa Capriani (a great resort). It's always great catching up with family, I really had a great time, and I can't wait to get back down to VA (and TN) in October!! Anyhoo, I'm going to post a few pictures, but all of them can be found on my myspace page!

My family picture.. / Some of the gang reunited!!

Topsail Island Beach / Me, and my newest nephew Liam!

Phil and Shannon

July 4th, and my new camera!!

I had a GREAT Independence Day! For once I didn't have to work, so I actually got to participate in the events! I spent the day with one of my best friends, and my dog. We hung out at a festival... you know, watched the parade, played some games, and of course.. ate some fried dough! It was such a beautiful day, I even got to see fireworks for the first time in years! Oh, equally important, I got to use my brand new camera all day!! (Canon SD850 IS) I love it! So, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure! Oh, and I added some more links for ya to check out!

Trying out the firework setting!

Gixxie playing at Lands End

Cute kid at the parade, the mother wanted me to take a pic with the special setting. lol
I love this one.. it's just so nifty. =)

I took a drive out to Lands End with Gixxie... it's so peaceful down there.
This was after Gixxie went swimming, so yeah, she got me completely soaked!!
This was her reaction!... but who could be mad at that face?

Moving On

So...... I'm trying to get back into the dating scene, which is proving even more complicated than I had anticipated. I was never one to be single, not for long anyways... but I know I still need time to heal from this past relationship. Anywho, I'm finding that I'm turning 99.9% of men away that try to take me out... now, that could be because more than a handful of those guys have been my friends for years, so it's just weird... I guess they're all stuck in the "friend zone"... and the rest of the guys just seem like they would be a waste of my time. Maybe I need to be more open.. I did go on a date the other night, I guess it was my first "real date" since I've been single. It went pretty well! =) ..though it was easier since he brought his kid to lighten the mood. His son was awesome and kept me laughing the whole time. So, I guess I'm looking for advice.. I've never really "dated" before. I usually have met a boy, and we both just knew it was right, and jumped into commitment.. now I'm afraid to do that. Ah well, other than that everything is going good! I've been getting out of the house with friends, and I'm losing weight! =) YAY!

Journey to Bar Harbor and Fort Knox

I went out with a couple friends on a journey through Maine. Destination: Bar Harbor Pit Stops: Cool Bridge and Fort Knox. It was a great day!

The Penobscot Bridge and Observatory. Jake, Zach, and I in Bar Harbor The original Fort Knox

Catching Up

Well, it's been too long, so lets catch up. I finally made third at work. Thats right, I am now AE3. It's not a huge deal, nor is it much more money, but every little bit helps!


This is me getting frocked by the skipper.


I quit drinking. It was getting beyond out of hand, so I asked for help. After two weeks of treatment, I've learn to deal with my life instead of drown it with alcohol. It's been over a month since I've had a drink.



I've decided to re-enlist... but not as an AE. I'm going back to the sandbox towards the end of this year, and I'm going to re-up there, and put in for cross-rating. Hopefully by this time next year I'll be headed for a new school to begin a new rate.



Other than that I've been getting out of the house more.. I went kayaking, and to a fair, and more!



Me kayaking in Maine.

Me and my friend Jake at the fair.

I've been tagged!

So, Jackie tagged me. Since I've been SO lazy with this blog thing I'll tell you six random things about me.

1. My second toe is as long as my pinky finger!

2. I would give up everything and live in a cardboard box before I'd get rid of my dog.

3. I sing in the car as loud as I can everywhere I go.

4. When I'm looking straight ahead I can actually see my nose.

5. When I was born the doctor thought I had heart condition, but I was holding my breath until I turned blue. Turns out I was just "obnoxious".

6. I can only find bras at stores like Victoria's Secret because my size is so "rare".

This Job

So, I recently extended my enlistment to make the next deployment (hopefully to Japan this time).. so July 1, 2009 I should go on terminal leave to get out of the Navy. I've been tossing around the idea of re-enlisting for a couple years of shore duty... but, I really don't want to. Yet, at the same time, I don't want to base my decision on the command I'm in now.. it's been said that they took the worst parts of sea duty and the worst parts of shore duty together to create this command. I hate coming to work everyday because the command morale is so low and the leadership here is awful. It kinda makes me want to try somewhere else. I figure I'll look at orders around June/July to see whats available and go from there.

Freedom

Well, today was the day. I had my final hearing for divorce this morning, and now it's all through. It is truly a relief to be free from a failing marriage... but, it still saddens me to become a young failed marriage statistic. I've learned from it I suppose, and I wish it could've worked, I really tried, but seeing that it couldn't I believe it ended as well as it could. I'm free now to move on and take care of myself for a change!

Great Leave!

Well, last Wednesday I took leave for a mini vacation. I flew down to Pittsburgh (after getting stuck in D.C. because the plane was "broken") to visit my friend. I don't see him often so I treasured every second. We went to a comedy show featuring Kevin Brennon (prior SNL writer.. hilarious), the zoo, and a monster truck rally.. amoungst other things. I had such a great time. The truck rally was definitly a new experience for me, I felt a little out of place surrounded by rednecks... but, we got beer and nachos and blended right in! I was also introduced to The Cheesecake Factory, and let me tell you.. delicious! We don't have one up here in Maine. So, thanks to my friend, I had the greatest five days I've had in a long time!

The New Place

My Driveway
One view

New Bedroom
Kitchen area =)

Finally a walk in!!
Out to the deck

Alrighty, so I finally took some pictures of my little humble abode. Its great to be on my own again, just me and my Gixxie.