valentine's day Pug Friday

Hello everyone...its me the bad blogger. A lot has been going on with the Jetplanes lately. We are knee deep in home renovations, Mr. Jetplane is trying to get in as much snowboarding as humanly possible, and we just got back from some time with family over the holidays.





It was great spending time with our families, but it sucked having to watch Mr. Jetplane say goodbye to people knowing and acknowledging that he's heading off to war this year. He won't see them again before he leaves, and that's heartbreaking to me. I know it is to him too, even though you would never get him to admit that.





So there's a lot to do before he leaves and it makes me crazy and sad at the same time. Please accept my apologies in advance for having to be vague about a lot of this. I have to be, even though I don't want to be.

So in honor of how I've been feeling lately...

Have a good weekend every one. We'll be hitting the slopes on Saturday and the Lowes/Home Depot and non-stop home improvement on Sunday.

Happy Pug Friday!

XOXO

valentine's day My new family...

The Jetplanes have been 'in' the military for a little over 4 years now. A lot has happened in those four years, we have had huge successes and monumental failures. We loved, we laughed, and we've cried for ourselves and for people in our community.

For the majority of the past 4 years, Mr. Jetplane has been going through training and we've been part of various training squadrons. Some of these squadrons are very accepting and welcoming, they make you (i.e. the wife) feel like they are one of the girls...some are not so accepting, especially if you are just a girlfriend or fiance. (FYI that has just been my personal experience)

I adored the women in our last training squadron. It was the first time we were in an actual "fighter" squadron and I felt I like belonged. That was most definitely attributed to our wonderful commander's wife. Even though my husband was just a 'lowly Lt. student' I felt like I was just like any other wife in the squadron, and trust me that's a good feeling.

When we arrived in Idaho, I was sad to leave those women, the women and the community that I had grown to really love in those short 9 months. Its amazing the friendships that you can build in 9 months isn't it. Its amazing that these women and I are so different but so alike at the same time. Its amazing that some of these women are without a doubt, going to be my friends for the rest of my life...9 months people. I made those life long friendships in 9 months.

We have only been in Idaho for a few months and I'm just starting to get my bearings with in our new squadron. Luckily a couple of people came with us from our previous squadron and we have strong friendships already. But making friends with the rest of the spouses sometimes feels like a daunting task. I don't have any children. Most, like 90%, of the spouses do. I have a full time job, most of them don't. I can't attend day time activities at the squadron, I can't do a lot of things due to my job and activities that I schedule for myself during the weeknights. But with all that being said, what I have witnessed in the past 7 days has erased any and all doubt I had in my mind about our new squadron.

I have always been told that fighter squadrons are close, probably one of the closest in the military. Sure we've been told that a million times, but never truly felt it..until now.

When the accident occurred last Monday night, our squadron moved into high gear. From the top down, the selflessness and true love for others poured out of these men and women. It makes me tear up just imagining the support my friend was given last week. The commander dropped everything and drove my friend to the hospital. He and other higher ranking officers in the squadron arranged travel and accommodations for their families. People stayed in 24 hour vigil with his wife. We have arranged meals to be delivered to the hospital for however long it takes.

Its truly an outpouring of love that warms my heart. We are proud to be part of this wonderful community. You see in this crazy military life there are only a couple of constants - you have your spouse, his job, an upcoming deployment, and your military family. The players in that family may shift here and there, but they are always part of your family. Its a wonderful realization, unfortunately it took a horrible accident like this for it to show itself to me.

The outpouring of love doesn't stop with our squadron. Our sister squadron, the maintainers, and the foreign squadron stationed here have all pitched in. The love is being sent in masses from other fighter squadrons back in North Carolina and in England. People that trained with the pilot and went to the Academy with him, its truly amazing the love that has surrounded he, his wife, and their families.

But prayers are still needed. We've hopefully turned a corner but we're not out of the woods by any means.

Thank you all for the kind thoughts and prayers for our friends I mentioned in the previous post. If you follow me on twitter you most likely know a lot more about the situation. Since I'm generally anonymous on this blog and throughout this 'space' I prefer to not disclose his name or information. If you are in the military community or have a strong and true desire to pray from him, I would be happy to share some additional information, including his caringbridge site.

valentine's day Need a Vacation from my Vacation

The Jetplanes headed back to Illinois on Thursday afternoon and got back on Monday afternoon. Let me tell you, while the trip was great...it went by way too fast and I am totally exhausted from it.

Sadly we had to put our 2 furbabies in the kennel, and let me tell you they are still tired lil boys, and probably still a lil pissed off at us. I hate putting them in a kennel, Milo hasn't been boarded in almost 4 years and last time Charlie was boarded he cried and didn't want to eat....yeah needless to say we were worried.

Thankfully, it looks like all went well, except the kennel owner kept calling Milo by the wrong name....he kept calling him Otis. Yeah...I know. But enough of me being the crazy dog mama that I am.

The trip was jammed packed with family, friends, and tons o' fun. I got to see my mama, Mr's grandma, our newest nephew, my grandpa, and tons of friends. We got to attend a fabulous wedding at a gorgeous venue, drank too much champagne and danced our booties off.

I seriously love attending weddings, especially those of my friends. I miss my friends so very much and its wonderful to get to see them at these important events. I love breaking it down on the dance floor with my friends and feel like we're taken right back to senior year of college...perhaps... dropping it like its hot on the dance floor.

You want to know what song takes me straight back to college days partying it up at the college parties, afterhours, beer breakfasts, etc....




Within the next year, all of my best girlfriends will be married ladies. Its so amazing to see us all growing and becoming wives and mothers. I love meeting and developing relationships with their husbands and babies.

Sadly my camera was D-E-A-D at the wedding...but I do have 1 picture. Thanks to my cell phone which was ALMOST dead.

Hope to steal some from others off of Facebook.

Side note - I was in desperate need of an eyebrow waxing so I got mine did at a Mastercuts near Mr's brother's house and he decided he'd get a haircut. Poor guy the woman brutalized his hair...he is still livid. Just because he's in the military people doesn't mean he gets a buzzcut...poor guy :(

valentine's day What is up...

Well ALOT unfortunately.

If you follow me on Twitter then you know that my mother is in the hospital. She's ok but it appears that she has an infection associated with 1 of her implants that were inserted after her reconstructive surgery. For those of you that don't know, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, luckily we caught it at Stage 1 but due to our family history she chose to have a double mastectomy. This past Thanksgiving she had her reconstructive surgery from the mastectomy.

She had the exploratory surgery today and they removed the implant. She is doing okay and will hopefully be released tomorrow afternoon.

Luckily, the Jetplanes were planning on going back to Illinois this weekend to visit Mr's family and head on up to Chicago for a friends wedding. So I will get to drive down to my parents and hang out with my mama on Friday.

So in the meantime....I'll be taking a lil break. So unfortunately, there won't be a Pug Friday. Sorry guys...too busy, but I'll be back with vengeance :)

valentine's day Happy Birthday Mama Jetplane

Happy 50th Birthday to the BEST mom in the whole wide world....yes I may be a little biased but OH WELL... She is wonderful.

She was a young, single mother with 2 kids and a nasty ex-husband that refused to pay child support. She is a devout Catholic, breast cancer survivor who loves to cook, garden, and lay out in her pool with a wine cooler (yes my mom loves her a wine cooler). She is a hell of a lady that prefers to wear heels and jewelry no matter where she is going. That's my mom and I love her....even though she refused to accept I had straight hair and made me get perms...in the kitchen sink.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Thank you for putting up with me during my teenage years, I was quite a handful.

Thank you for taking me to the New Kids on the Block when you had the flu.

Thank you for showing me how much love can come from a single mom.

Thank you for allowing us to attend private school, dance lessons, play sports, etc. on 1 income.

Thank you for paying for my college education.

Thank you for making the best Halloween costumes.

Thank you for being a shoulder to cry on when I felt the world around me falling down.

Thank you for attending every one of my dance recitals, contests, and pageants.

Thank you for reminding me to not let stupid boys get me down.

Thank you for showing me what a strong woman is.

Thank you for teaching me how to cook.

Thank you for driving to Indianapolis with me to pick out my first apartment and loaning me furniture to fill it with.

Thank you for showing me how one can go through so much and still remain positive.

Thank you for every single thing you have ever done for me and my lil brother.

Thank you for being our mother.

Love you.

valentine's day What up Idaho...

We are here... well we've been here since July 8th. Alot has happened since we last 'spoke'.

Mr. Jetplane began a Captain and turned the big 3-0.
We bought our 2nd house and we love it. It honestly feels like we live on a compound. It has a veggie garden and the sellers planted everything before they moved out.
We have already started a little demo and remodeling.

Oh and we already have our first house guests...and we don't even have all our belongings yet...truck comes tomorrow!

Heading to my 1st coffee tonight to meet all ladies in the squadron.

Hello Idaho the Jetplanes are here!!!!!

P.S. Thank you for all the Twitter love while we were traveling. I'm going to try to do a post about the trip later next week.

XOXO

valentine's day In just 8 short days...

The Jetplanes will be hitting the road and leaving North Carolina in our rear view mirror. We're moving to Idaho people...

We're heading to Illinois the first day and spending a couple of days with both my family and his, then heading out to the wild west...

So please forgive me for my current and potentially continued status of MIA, as one could expect its pretty crazy over here right now.

valentine's day Pug Friday - On the Road

Sorry I've been MIA this week. I am currently in Pensacola for work. I'm back at the corporate office, having to wake up, get dress, and sit in the office all day. I enjoy being back in the office but this waking up and getting dressed stuff is for the birds :)

I'm leaving today to head back to North Carolina and to these guys :) I can't wait!!

Yes, this was an outtake from our family shoot before we moved from Pensacola last summer!

Photo by Oeil Photography

valentine's day The END but just the BEGINNING!

Friday was a BIG day for us, Mr. Jetplane graduated from flight school. It was the culmination of years of hard work...really hard, stressful work. I have said it before, and I'll say it again...I am so proud of this man that I lovingly call my husband.

If you would have told me 6 years ago when we met that I would be a military wife I would have laughed in your face. But here I am the wife of a guy that freaking flies in fighter jets....yeah I know, crazy stuff, right?

Its not like I need reminding but when I am at a military event I get overly emotional. Sitting in a room full of high ranking military personnel, listening to 'war stories', and receiving sage advice for our futures.... I can't help it, I CRY!

I cried during the prayer before eating....I cried as a retired general spoke about what we can expect....I cried when Mr was awaiting to graduate...I almost cried when they gave all the wives bouquets of flowers as a thank you.

Its a scary world out there folks and my hubby is going to Afghanistan, he's going to be flying in hostile air space and protecting the lives of the folks fighting on the ground. This ISN'T a movie, this is real life...this is going to be my life. Everything got "real" real last night...yes I'll admit that I might have been living in denial, but its kinda easy to do when you've been in training for almost 4 years.

But as this big, heavy door is closing, we're walking into a whole new world. We're heading to Idaho. We're heading to our 1st operational squadron. We're heading to our 1st deployment. We're heading into this new chapter of our lives excited and obviously a little nervous. But I know we can do it... But now onto more important things....Pictures!

Here is my hunky husband awaiting his graduation certificate. Sorry the lighting was horrible, luckily they had a photographer there.

He is receiving his certificate from the Squadron Commander. Here is the whole class....don't they look happy?

But don't worry folks it just wasn't all pomp and circumstance...there was free booze.... Here I am with a fellow wife and Crud team member. That's our trophy and picture behind us!

And with a lot of free booze and a big, blue, beautiful limo driven by a DD...you get pictures like this one...Congrats to all the guys and their families... We'll see you all again in Idaho, England, or back in the Shady J.... Once an Eagle!

valentine's day Peace out 20s....

Today I am 30 years old...I am no longer in my 20s, nor my late 20s...I am 30. I'm not going to provide you with this in depth introspective post about what turning 30 means to me or anything but I will say this...I'm freaked out about it.

So in honor of this stupendous occasion I'm going to provide you with 30 random and perhaps totally insignificant facts about myself.

1. I won't drink 'white' milk.

2. I used to be really into NASCAR, but to my defense I worked for a company that sponsored one and I called on Home Improvement stores...hello I needed to know about NASCAR.

3. Milo was 'this close' to be named Bogart.

4. In high school, I was into punk rock and ska music....I may still have ALL that music.

5. I am a AGD.

6. I have a ridiculously small pinky toe, with an even smaller toe nail on it.

7. My childhood nickname is Pooh Bear.

8. I still haven't legally changed by name....yeah I'm really bad.

9. I was on the quiz bowl team in junior high and high school, and I freaking loved it. I also was captain for our sorority team in Greek Week.

10. I took tap, jazz, ballet, and toe shoe ballet. Obviously, being 5'2" a ballerina was not in my future.

11. My mother let me name my lil brother or at least she let me think I did....after my favorite television show in 1984 - Heart to Heart.

12. I have OCD when it comes to closing the garage. I will turn around and come home to make sure I closed it, I do it ALL the time.

13. I used to have a thick southern accent when I was 4-5yrs old. When my parents were still married we lived in Natchez and Baton Rouge for about a year or so.

14. In 1st grade I went to a speech therapist and she got rid of the accent.

15. My favorite book I think will always be Dante's Inferno. I read it for Honors English senior year. For our class gift to our teacher, we made a plaque for above his door that read, "Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here"

16. I have a deep love for techno music....thanks to college.

17. Mr. Jetplane and I often call each other by our last names.

18. Freshman year of college, I dated 2 guys and they knew about each other - One at home and one at school.

19. My favorite color is any shade of blue.

20. I know almost every word to Pretty in Pink, 16 Candles, and the Breakfast Club. John Hughes was God!!!

21. I also may have watched Howard the Duck every single weekend with my lil brother, on a VCR we rented with our videos.

22. My brother and I used to set up Double Dare challenges in our backyard.

23. I am messy. I hate to clean.

24. Dr. Pepper is my favorite soda.

25. Up until the 8th grade, my mother made me get perms. She used to give them to me in the kitchen sink...I used to say to her...give up I have straight hair.

26. I participated in beauty pageants, and I won some. My talent was tap.

27. I haven't spoken to my biological father since I was 20, and that was just by mistake when I answered the phone and he wanted to speak to my brother.

28. I curse alot.

29. I love Party Pizzas....like LOVE them.

30. My favorite smell in the world, honeysuckle.... It takes me right back to being a kid, playing with my cousins in my grandmother's backyard.

So there you go....30 totally random things about this 30 year old lady. Oh and one last thing...

valentine's day Happy Birthday Lil Bro

Today is my lil brother's birthday. Today he turns 26, he's 4 years younger than me.

A couple of things about my lil bro... He's a great kid, he's a nice guy, and definitely needs a good girlfriend. Oh and he's a HUGE Cubs fan. He is always willing to show his love for the Cubbies, no matter what.... He's definitely not the only ones...That's the Jetplanes last year in STL sporting our Cubbie Gear in a sea of Cardinal Fans in the bleachers....

Happy Birthday J...much love lil bro...much love.

valentine's day OH Baby!

Spring has sprung and baby fever is in the air...

The Jetplanes have been discussing babies alot lately. But with Mr. knee deep in flight school and a potential deployment occurring in December (yeah that's right, I said December), right now its not in the cards.

Earlier this week Mr. asked me the following question that was sort of off putting, "Why do you want to have a baby?"

Why do I want to have a baby....hmm...

I want to start a family with this man that I love more than anything in this world.
I want to have a baby because I turn 30 in June and I have totally irrational fears that I won't be able to have a baby.
I want to bring something into this world that is a combination of the two of us and our love.

And DAMN IT I just want one... but I'm scared to death, I'll admit it. SCARED TO DEATH about having a child. Scared about how I would handle the load of a child with everything else in my life....especially with future deployments that lie ahead.

Sometimes my crazy mind drifts into the nightmares of seeing myself at home trying to work full time like I do now, with 2 kids, 2 dogs, housework, cooking, etc. all by myself when my husband is deployed...and that causes me some serious heart palpitations.

I know plenty of women do it, heck I may work part time or none at all, who knows, but the fear of that unknown shakes me to my core sometimes...

I know I'm not the only one out there. And I know there are plenty of women, mil wife and non-mil wife, that juggle and struggle through the day to day of having kids, work, home life, heck even a social life...I know I'm going to be looking to them as my role models.

valentine's day Just when you think you can't take anymore...

God gives you another load to carry, another road to hoe, another obstacle to over come, and you think to yourself...why...seriously why...

The past year has been tough for us, and the past couple of months have been really tough for Mr. Jetplane, even though he'd never let you know it. In the past year I loss my step grandmother and Mr. Jetplane has lost both of his maternal grandparents. And now we find out his only living grandmother on may only have a couple of months to live.

His grandmother is a wonderful woman, if we have a daughter she will be named after her (she & my great grandmother share the same name). It was always my dream to have a child (hopefully a daughter) while she was still alive. But that doesn't appear to be in the cards for us.

She will be moved from the hospital back to her house and have hospice come in regularly. Luckily she lives with Mr. Jetplane's cousin, who's wife is a nurse.

Please pray for her, we hope she makes it to her 80th bday in June so we can visit her.

valentine's day Our Own Private Idaho

valentine's day

If you don't know by now the Jetplanes are moving to the great state of Idaho. It was our 1st choice and we're surprisingly pretty excited about the move. Most of you thought we'd like to go to England, and honestly part of us did, but our decision was made based upon both of our careers, future family plans, and current family situations....oh and moving our 2 dogs to England was something I most definitely wasn't looking forward to.

England was our 2nd choice, for Mr. it would be the best career choice, its the best of the best in the world of F15e's, but it wouldn't necessarily been the best for us. Sure the travel would be awesome, that's the best part, but we had to weigh all our options. There are pro's and con's to all 3 locations, and I won't air the 'dirty laundry' on here.

Idaho has the 2nd best flying and I can keep my job. Moving to England I wouldn't have been able to and right now, without kids, we want that additional income. So we're moving to Idaho....

We are freaking moving to Idaho...Honestly, if we weren't moving there, I don't think I would have ever had a reason to even visit there...

But down to brass tacks...we will be living in BFE middle of no where Idaho. Luckily, we will be (depending on where we live) 20 - 50 minutes away from Boise, which we hear is an awesome city. We're excited about living out West. We're excited to be near great snowboarding. We're excited to live near mountains....us Midwesterners are used to seeing hills and corn fields...bring on the mountains.

It will be a HUGE change but we like change, and being a mil wife, that's gotta be a mantra. If we stay in fighters, we'll most likely end up back in here in NC or head over to England. There are only 3 bases that have the jet Mr flies.

To answer some questions I know are going to come.

1. No we aren't upset about leaving our house here in NC (well alittle). We bought it with the intention of renting it out.

2. I will keep my job and do it from home in Idaho.

3. Mr could be deploying as early as January 2011.

4. We are in baby discussion mode but #3 has a lot to do with.

5. We may buy a house in Idaho, or rent, or live on base, we don't know yet.

Anyone out there that has or is living at Mountain Home AFB, or MoHo as we're calling it, please feel free to pass along any and all information.

And a big THANK YOU to Preppy Nonsense for the lovely picture. So jealous of you being in Indy right now....Go BULLDOGS!!! FYI - we're still planning on flying into Indy next season for a Colts game....

valentine's day Oh HAPPY Day!!

Low and Behold when I picked Mr. Jetplane up at the airport yesterday morning....he didn't have a mustache!! YEAH!!!

He took my advice and shaved it for the funeral...I told him it wasn't an appropriate time or place to have this goofy mustache, especially since it was going to be a military funeral.

But you see, Mr. Jetplane had fooled me because he told me that he hadn't shaved it, so needless to say I was shocked (in a good way) when I picked him up.

I couldn't stop kissing him last night, so happy to see my hubby's gorgeous face back to normal. But sadly it won't last, we're only 1/2 through the Month of March aka Mustache March, so he's back growing it again...

Wish me luck....and Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
XOXO

valentine's day Excuse Me....

As most of you now, if you've read this blog for any period of time, the Jetplanes recently moved to NC at the end of the summer. So far, we've really enjoyed it but something has been really bugging me lately and it came to a head yesterday with 2 situations.

You see, I, Mrs. Jetplane, like to pride myself on being a very self sufficient woman. I graduated college, moved to another state away from all my family and friends for a job out of college, lived in an unfamiliar city for several years, met and fell in love with Mr. Jetplane, moved to FL then NC, and have a job that (luckily) will allow me to work from home and follow Mr. Jetplane as he goes through his military career. I am 29 (almost 30...ugh) but will fully admit that I look very young for my age. But I'm not...I'm very strong willed, opinionated, and articulate when I want to speak my mind.

So this leads me to issues that I've had since we started the process of moving to NC. First it started off with our real estate agent, a nice woman, that REFUSED to EVER call me or email me back. She ONLY communicated with Mr. Jetplane. I would send her a detailed email with bullet points of everything we needed answers on. No RESPONSE. I would call her - leave her a detailed voice mail - NO RESPONSE. Mr. Jetplane calls....BAM problem solved.

We're looking for cars, for ME, I'm trading in my Jeep, I'm paying for the loan, its MY money... People don't even look at me when discussing the cars. People don't even look at me when discussing my income, credit score, etc. HELLO!!! Sitting right here!!

Yesterday I had to talk with the finance department at the car dealership where we purchased a vehicle at the end of 2009. There are some issues, because we are excepting a check from either the dealership or credit union for the overage paid on the loan. I have called and left 2 messages at the car dealership, no response. Mr. calls and gets to speak to someone and tells her to call me back yesterday. She did, and I let her know that I had left her 2 previous messages. She kept referring to the loan and car as HIS... I assured her that the loan, the car, the trade in...it was MINE not HIS. He called because I couldn't get you to call me back.

Again last night, I have been calling our pet sitter to confirm that we are still on for this weekend. I have left 2 messages on her cell phone and tried to email but I keep getting bounced backs. Mr. Jetplane calls and she calls him RIGHT BACK!!

OMG I'm really flipping out here. I get the whole MAN OF THE HOUSE crap, sure I may even use it on solicitors or telemarketing people, but I don't really buy into it. I am a strong woman that makes her own money, and I really wish I could get some respect around here. I'm feeling a little like Rodney Dangerfield over here.

Does anyone else experience this??

valentine's day Thank you!

Thank you all for your kind words yesterday. Unfortunately we weren't triumphant in the election. With about 60% of the precincts in we were at 70%/30% and it looked good, really good, but we ended up losing by around 200 votes.

Its a sad day, for my family but I also think for our county. I won't go into my own personal opinions about the election, but I was alarmed and shocked by actions of some people. But that's politics right?

My step dad will continue to work for the people of our township in his current elected position as he's done since I was in high school. But I don't think he'll run again after this.

My heart just hurts for my parents, who really gave their all for this election and the people in our area. Its an unfortunate turn of events, but it is what it is.

Thank you again for all your love. You guys are the best!!!

valentine's day Big Day!!

Today is primary election day and my Step Dad is running for Supervisor of Assessments for our county. The election will be decided today since the opposing party will not be running anyone.

I firmly believe my step dad has 5x more experience than the incumbent (because he does, resumes prove that) and is the best person to hold this position.

He and my mom have been working their butts off for the past few months, and I pray we are successful.

Any thoughts and/or prayers are greatly appreciated.

I'll keep you updated!!

valentine's day 2010...A Girl Can Dream Can't She???

Well 2009 kicked my ass...I learned alot about myself, my marriage, my family, my friends, and the life of a military wife.

Its tough out there for a lil girl (ok I'm 29) like me, who still on occasion feels like she's fresh out of college, and not ready to be an adult.

What do I want to see, do, accomplish in 2010...oh boy, the list is long and whining that is for-sho...

1. I want to be a better wife and to focus on making our marriage as strong as it can be. We love each other, we're best friends, but we can get on each other's nervous in a nanosecond. We're not always team players and we both have to consider each other's feelings when we say or do something.

2. I want to decorate my house and make it a home.

3. We may have another move this summer to either Idaho or England (or we may stay in NC), we don't know until March and we'll move in June/July. I need to handle this uncertainty with grace and know that this is COMPLETELY out of my control.

4. I need to be better at self-motivating..I'm lazy, I'll be the first to admit it. I need to work harder in my life, my job, my marriage, etc.

5. I need to get out and make friends around here. Its tough, real tough, to meet women and like them, and become friends with them...become REAL friends, not the fake friends that so many of us have. I want tried and true, I can be my real honest to goodness self around you friends.

6. I want to prepare our little family to take the next step and have a baby. I don't know if this will happen this year or next, but I think I've come to realization that I really do want kids, and now I have to make my mind feel the same way as my heart.

7. I want to use my Kitchen Aid Mixer that I got as a wedding gift in 2008. I want to bake and cook more. I really enjoy cooking and I'm pretty good at it.

8. I want to grow a green thumb. I want to plant flowers and trees in our yard. I want to make our yard a place to hang out in the summer, and I want to be motivated to keep it that way.

9. I want to learn to appreciate what I have, and not feel like I need more. I want to not shop as much. I want to not feel as if I need things.

10. I want to become a better saver. My husband is great at this and I need to learn from his example.

11. I want to be OK with turning 30 in June. I want to celebrate the 30 years I've had, not feel bad about things I haven't accomplished and realize that 30 isn't as old as it sounded when I was 21.

12. I want to get in better shape. Here is the motivation again, I want to lose 10 lbs and be in the best shape I can before having a baby.

13. I want to see my friends more. I miss my girls...we live all over and don't get to see each other. I miss them.

14. I want to do more charity work. I want to donate more to breast cancer research, ASPCA, etc. I want to participate in charity walks, runs, drives, etc. I want to give back to my community more. I'm a big donater to charities, but I want to be a participant.

15. I want to be a better blogger. I enjoy this outlet, I need it, and lean on it from time to time. I need to make it better, I'm working on that.


That's it...for now. I'm sure I forgot a couple of things here and there but that's pretty much the list. Wish me luck... give me a kick in the ass, I'm going to need it.

Before I end this post I need to tell you all that I really, truly appreciate everyone that reads this lil blog. You all have made 2009 more bearable for me. Mr. Jetplane calls you my invisible friends, and you might be invisible but your kind words, emails, thoughts, and prayers are very tangible to me.

You all have made me cry, laugh, think, pray, and maybe a time or 2 go shopping, but your 'friendship' is something so special that I don't think Mr. Jetplane (or any man for that matter) could ever truly grasp.

Here's to us KICKIN ASS in 2010

XOXO

valentine's day 2009...Can't Say I'm Sad to see YOU go...

Wow!!! 2009 was a hell of a year, full of really high highs and really low lows. I had the best of intentions putting together a fabulous post full of pictures and details of our year.

But then I have to admit that I am lazy (something I plan to work on in 2009) and then I got a little depressed about 2009 and stopped. Then I restarted and the stopped... also a running theme for 2009.

So I decided to leave you with pictures from our year and little bits of info here and there.

Unfortunately these are not in chronological order...accept my apologies...

Hit up ATL for the wedding of one of my lovely friends and bridesmaid, Lou. We had a wonderful time, and I drank way to much. Someone may have mounted a statue in the lobby, there were pictures but my computer crashed and those were lost.

We went up to Chicago for a long weekend. Visited friends and attending a Cubs v. Cards game.
I ran into this HOT MESS outside the Cubby Bear... i.e. what not to wear to a Cubs game. FYI it was cold that day.

Celebrated our 1 year anniversary with a short trip to Biloxi. Where I learned that I love Black Jack almost as much as I love Mr. Jetplane. We attended a wedding in STL and got to go to another Cubs v. Cards game in STL. Notice me and Dr. A are supporting different teams?? Yeah! I also got into an agrument with a fat, drunk Cardinals fan at the bar that night... I think I won... We went on a week long boat trip in Kentucky with several of Mr. Jetplane's frat brothers.

Mr. Jetplane became SCUBA certified and we learned to sail (I attempted to learn how to sail)

The Jetplanes moved to NC and Mr. started flying in the F15e. Oh and we BOUGHT A HOUSE!!! And I started working from home.

This year has been filled with a lot of heartache too... I lost my step-grandmother (my only grandmother left) and my great aunt. Mr. Jetplane lost his grandmother.

But there is good news. My mother reconstructive surgery was a success and she is recovering nicely.

The 2 weddings I mentioned above...both of those girls are pregnant one due this month and the other due in May.

Its been a year of ups and downs...

What's up for 2010? Hopefully alittle more of this...

And this...

Happy New Year!! My 2010 Plan is forth coming...