Weekend 12 & Goodbye

This weekend was spent getting my car ready for its next road trip. Cody helped me clean my car up and Muffins watched wondering where her mommy was taking her this time.


Today Cody and I had to say goodbye to each other. I was pretty sad all day. My stomach had a knot in it and I was full of anxiety. I felt like I did when I had to say goodbye to him back in March. This time isn't as bad, but I am a baby. I will proudly admit it. Cody kept trying to make me laugh, but I would just start to weep again. I know we won't be apart long, but any day without him is lonely for me.


Tomorrow I am off to UTAH. I will try to keep my blog updated, but I can't promise anything since I know I will be busy and super tired! (and I don't own a "smart" phone with Internet. lol) I hope everyone had a great 4Th of July weekend!

Weekend 11 {FRUSTRATED}

This weekend was what I would like to call a WASTE! It was beautiful weather and we hadn't gone and seen Pismo Beach yet. On Saturday we decided to head up there. Well it was super busy and we got frustrated trying to find parking. I don't really like large crowds either. I went to take pictures and walk Muffins. I didn't want a bunch of pictures with people in them.


Then we drove further down away from the main beach to the Pismo Dunes. Well, I sure as heck wasn't going to drive my Mustang on the beach! I don't think that would of been to smart. lol We ended up just leaving because we were frustrated. This is what happens with you sleep in and wait to go somewhere in California during the late afternoon. Then Sunday came. We had no plans again, but the weather was beautiful. We thought we would just go to Solvang California again to walk around. On the drive to Solvang someone decided to hit their accelerator instead of the break at a stop sign behind me. Now my car looks like this...


I couldn't believe someone was that dumb. I was pretty mad and jumped out of my car, while the person who just did it stared at me blankly. There happened to be a cop at the other stop sign and he pointed for us to pull over on the side street. This isn't the end of the world, but when you are stressed about 30 other things it just adds to it! I don't need to worry about getting my cars paint job fixed right now! Not sure what is going to happen, only time will tell. The main problem is I planned on leaving California soon and I know how repairs can take awhile. I just simply don't have time for this. Oh well!


So the day went on and I tried to keep smiling. We didn't stay at Solvang long because my mood was pretty much ruined. Hopefully things go smoothly with the repairs. Unfortunately the Saturn that hit me really messed up the paint job! My fingers are crossed that this will be a quick and easy repair. My main focus right now has to be finding a place to live in Wyoming and planning my road trip that is probably going to be next week.

Weekend 10 & A Military Life Update

This week has been a little different for Cody and I. Our "weekend" actually started on Wednesday June 15th. Cody was off Thursday and Friday, instead of this Saturday and Sunday. We didn't get to really do anything because we had to stay close to the base. We spent a lot of our time trying to figure out what we are going to do in the next few months.


Another road trip is in my future and I have to make the decision of when I am going to take it and if I will wait for Cody, or if I will go alone. There is 2,450 miles to be traveled from where I am now to where I need to go in Ohio. When leaving California I must stop in Wyoming along the way, because that is where Cody and I will be moving to in August!

I have to find somewhere for us to live. I have been looking for a place for us to live since April! The "hunt" keeps coming up empty. I am not having any luck at all. Sadly, we are unable to buy a home because we had to do a short sale on our house. Even though we have excellent credit and money, those things don't matter apparently. The banks have changed the laws making it to where we have to wait 2 years to buy again. It has just added to our stress! We want a home. I want a place I can decorate. I can't do the crazy decorating things I want to do in a rental!!


I may have found an apartment, but someone is still living in it which is making it hard for us to see it. I am scared we will lose out on it, since we are in California and it is 1,200 miles away from me!!! So, I just keep looking!

We have to go to Ohio to get all of our stuff in the beginning of August and then be settled in to our new "home" by the end of the August. I am already feeling the stress of the move coming. Not to mention all the stress of just finding a place to live and hoping that everything works out. I am not sure what I am going to do. Not sure how much longer I will stay in California. If Cody and I will travel together or separate. The thing is, I know that things always work out. I am trying to remember that and play it over and over in my head. We knew this was coming and now its time to deal with it.

Weekend 9 - Holy Vinylmations Batman!!!

This weekend we didn't do any site seeing around California. Cody had to work on the base for part of Saturday, so there was no reason to make plans. Instead we spoiled ourselves with Vinylmations. This is what happens when the Disney store has a sale...
One of the fun things about collecting Vinylmations is that they come in mystery boxes so you don't know what you are going to get! You will end up with duplicates, but then you can go to the parks and trade them. There are some Vinylmation Series that you can buy and you know what you are getting. Like the Nerds Series....Most of the boxes I purchased were the Clear Series. I had bought them because they were on sale. I thought we would probably get lots of duplicates, and we would just use them for trading. It is a better deal to buy the ones on sale and use them as trades, then going to the park and buying them at full price. We did get some duplicates...I had a sad face because we ended up really liking what the Clear Series looked liked and hoped we would end up with a full set. A full set has 12 Vinylmations in it. We did ended up with 9 and only 3 duplicates! That is pretty lucky. What isn't lucky is that I didn't get the hot pink one. I was pretty sad about that. It was the only one I really wanted! Cody and I had a friendly competition while opening the mystery boxes. We played the card game "war" to determine who would open a box next. (I know we are dorks! This is what we do on Friday nights! lol) Doing it this way kept us from opening the boxes in 2 seconds like a kid on Christmas morning!!! It made it more exciting. Here is a photo of what we ended up...I ordered more Vinylmations from the Clear Series this morning before they sell out! We only have 3 more that we need to complete the full set! *fingers crossed* Also, it will give us trades for our next trip to Disney!

Weekend 8 in California

Cody and I didn't do much of anything this past weekend. It was rainy and cold so we just were lazy and watched movies and TV. We watched Meet The Robinsons and lots of Animal Planet. I always make Cody watch all the cat shows. We watched My Cat From Hell.

My Cat From Hell teaches you how to understand bad behavior your cat may be displaying. I have learned a lot about my own pets by watching Animal Planet. It was nice taking a break from driving around California. Hopefully this upcoming weekend we have nice weather!

Weekend 7 in California

I hope everyone had a great 3 day weekend. It was great having an extra day with Cody! On Saturday I bought a new camera. I finally broke down and did it. The camera I wanted was going out of stock and I didn't want to lose the chance to get it. I hated spending the money but I think its a good investment. On Sunday we decided to go back to Solvang California.


On Monday we went to a local beach so we could walk Muffins. She had a great time of course! It was only 60 degrees out and very windy, but still beautiful. I got some great pictures of a surfer with my new camera. I can't wait to see what we do next weekend! :)

Weekend 6 - Santa Barbara Beach

Last weekend when we went to the Santa Barbara Zoo we realized how beautiful Santa Barbara was. We decided to go back again this past weekend. This time Muffins got to go. I think this was the happiest I had ever seen her. It's to bad we aren't staying in California, because she loves the beach. She had never walked on sand before and she loved the ocean breeze blowing in her hair.
My favorite part was walking out on the pier. It was so beautiful. A really nice woman stopped to pet Muffins and she offered to take a family photo. lol It was the first photo that someone else took of us the whole time we have be in California.
I will miss California when it is time to leave, but I look forward to moving also. With Cody's job field we could come back to California someday to live but it would be a long time from now. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us!!

Weekend 5 in California

This past weekend was our anniversary weekend. I already posted about my present to Cody {HERE}. The rest of the weekend we basically just enjoyed being in California. I am trying to get used to the weather still. The forecast said 60 degrees as a high and rain this weekend. Usually we would just sit inside and watch movies all day assuming it would be to cold to go anywhere. We took a chance and ignored the predicted forecast! It was beautiful!! We still have to wear long sleeves, but it was comfortable and SUNNY! Saturday we took Muffins on a walk on a trail located on the Air Force Base....
I think Muffins will miss our life in California. She has me all to herself while all our other pets are living in Ohio waiting for our return. She was my first dog and likes being the ONLY one to get ALL the attention. She seems jealous of Cody now, since he wasn't in our lives for about 4 months. Yorkie's are best as one person dogs and are very loyal to their owner. Muffins is not used to walks. It's just not something we did in Ohio. She had a hard time walking on some of the big gravel that was on the trail so sometimes I carried her. She loved every moment of it. I love seeing her happy.

Then Sunday came and it was supposed to rain outside. I really wanted to go to the Santa Barbara Zoo. Going to the Zoo has to be one of my favorite things to do! The Cincinnati Zoo is amazing and I still have yet to find a zoo better then it! The Santa Barbara Zoo was small but beautiful. I have a small obsession with palm trees and loved seeing them at a zoo. (Don't have that in Cincy!) The zoo had some really cute entertaining animals...
The otters and the turtles were probably my favorite. The turtles just make me laugh! I love watching them because they try to move so fast, but it just doesn't work out for them. It's so cute to watch.
The lions are always sleeping when you go to the zoo, just like my cats. lol Cody enjoys the "gross" things at the zoo. Spiders, snacks and bugs. Not me! My skin crawls the whole time we are looking at them. The Santa Barbara zoo had a baby giraffe. He was so cute and shy.

We really had a great day and can't wait to go back to Santa Barbara to site see. California is so beautiful.

Weekend 4 in California

This past weekend Cody and I didn't do anything very exciting. We just took it easy and relaxed. I cooked dinner for him for the first time in 5 months! That was exciting. Then we went grocery shopping together on Saturday. That was fun. I am so used to always going by myself now. Cody was a bit annoyed with how "slow" I was shopping, but I really wanted to enjoy the moment.

We rented movies and cooked dinner for ourselves all weekend long. We did go back to a THAI restaurant that we found last weekend for lunch on Sunday. Its really expensive, so we can't be going there all the time. lol Cody begged and got his way.

This upcoming weekend is our wedding anniversary. Not sure what we are going to do because there is a chance of rain for Saturday. I am ready to go do something since we haven't done much since I've been here. We are trying to get preapproved for a house loan. We are really leaning towards buying a home again. I have already picked a few out. I am trying to stay away from my usual choices of homes that are falling apart and need way to much work!!! I am drawn to those types of homes because I see all the hidden potential! I can't wait to get decorating and designing again. I already have lots of ideas and want to use them. I hope everyone has a great week. Thanks for stopping by!

Jessie

Weekend 3 - Welcome May!

I'm really excited that it is May. Even though it is very hard for me to believe it is May already!!! Just like every other year, time is flying by! Cody and I spent the weekend pretty much being lazy. The weather was beautiful!
I bought a hot pink cactus from Walmart. It is really cool for me to go to Walmart and see cactus. You don't see that in Ohio. lol Cody dyed my hair for me this weekend and my Mary Kay makeup came. I am excited to start taking better care of my skin.I am still trying to get used to the beautiful scenery in California. It is a very surreal feeling for me be here. Seeing palm trees everywhere I go and flowers growing along the side of the road. It is great! We haven't gone to see the coast yet and I can't wait to take some beautiful pictures of the ocean.

Weekend 2 - Solvang California

Cody and I visited Solvang California on Saturday April 23rd. Solvang is a small Danish town with cute shops, dining, bakeries, windmills and beautiful scenery. It was a gorgeous California day and Cody and I enjoyed exploring Solvang. We plan to visit again.

Traveling to California - Day 2 and 3

I made it! After a total of 37 hours of driving I made it to Cody! Day 2 I started in Oklahoma City and drove to Flagstaff Arizona. (862 miles) I must say its a beautiful BEAUTIFUL drive. I loved every moment of it. The speed limit is 75mph for most of the drive! It was great. I basically used my cruise control the whole day.

Muffins pretty much slept again for 13 hours straight. lol I guess the car makes her sleepy. New Mexico was very pretty and I really loved Arizona. I could definitely see myself living in Arizona someday.

Day 3 was even more beautiful. (626 miles) The best part was past Flagstaff Arizona and right before the California border. The mountains and the scenery was breathtaking. I really got a good sense of independence and appreciation for life during this trip. There is so much beauty out there just waiting to be discovered! You just gotta go out there and find it!

Everything went well with Day 3 till I got on Highway 15. Then all hell broke loose. It was just normal driving in till I looked up in my rear view mirror and saw all these cars flying towards me! (Remember I am driving my Mustang and I don't drive like a grandma!) Traffic and people changed. Then as I got closer and closer to LA and all the other cities and attractions it was bumper to bumper. I was so stressed out. After spending days on the open road and basically being all by myself on the highway, then going into heavy TRAFFIC was a huge change. I did make it to Cody by 2:30pm on Saturday though! It was great being able to finally be done with my journey and be with him again. He was able to spend the night with me Saturday evening. I finally got some real sleep. Today we just were lazy and enjoyed doing nothing.

Tomorrow I move to my new place. Cody and I can't wait till next weekend when we get to spend more time together. I will see him a few times through out the week, but I want him to focus on his school work not me. The weekends will be for us. :)

Traveling to California - Day 1

First let me say how tired I am right now. I should be sleeping, not blogging. I really wanted to share my day though! As you may have figured out from the title of the post, I have left for California!!! I actually found a place that I could afford to rent. It just fell into my lap. I found out on Tuesday and decided to leave this morning at 5:00am. I drove over 13 hours today and almost 900 miles. I drove through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and ended in Oklahoma City.


My Yorkie Muffins slept the whole way! I had to force her to take pee breaks. She loves riding in the car. She is such a great dog. I really enjoyed the drive. It was a nice day. The only bad part was a thunderstorm I hit in Oklahoma! I actually saw a funnel cloud and it scared the crap out of me. I was glad to see that the funnel cloud went back up into the sky and not down to the ground!!!! I am running on 3 hours of sleep, caffeine and adrenaline. It is time for me to sleep. I can't wait to see Cody on Saturday!

Goodbye Apartment 103

This past weekend I decided to pack everything up and move it to storage. My friend Dan and Corey helped me move. Sadly on Saturday it poured rain when we started loading all the furniture onto the truck. It was supposed to be 80 degrees and sunny, but that didn't happen!

We made the best of it and just dried my furniture off once we put it in the storage unit. My apartment is empty and clean. Now I just have to hope they rent it before May 15th so that I don't have to pay to break my lease. I am so ready to go to California, but Cody may have found me a cheaper place to rent. We are waiting to find out about that. I plan to only stay in Ohio another week. Can't wait to see Cody!!!!

Here is a video of the rain on Saturday!

32 Days

This probably has been the longest 32 days of my life. It feels more like 62 days since I have seen Cody. There has been a lot of progress since then though. Today I am renting a storage unit and starting to move boxes into it all by myself. (It is going to be a hell of a workout!) I officially have a California address. My apartment is sitting empty in CA waiting for me to move in. Woo-Hoo!!!! I plan to move my stuff out this weekend in hope that it will help rent my current apartment. If my leasing manager rents my apartment I won't owe money to break my lease. That would be awesome! Cody is super excited to have me coming out to see him. He finally starts his schooling for his career next Tuesday. Unfortunately I couldn't get to California before he started, so it means I will probably only see him on the weekends. Anytime that I can get with him is better then no time at all.

Last night I spent the evening with my friend Robin. She is also a military wife. She really inspires me, because she is so strong. Her husband gets deployed to Iraq and they are apart for months at a time. She helps me to have the strength to just keep going everyday. This whole experience with Cody has made me such a stronger person already and it has only been since January! It has put everything in life into perceptive for me. You realize what is and isn't important anymore. I have let go of so many bad past life experiences and learned to grow from them. Things that hurt me for years don't even matter anymore. What matters is my husband and our future together. My friend Robin sells Mary Kay products and I let her do a facial for me yesterday. It was really fun. Of course, they also were looking to recruit new woman to sell the products. It is not something I had ever considered doing before. Everything about it really seems to be a fit into my life though. Minus the fact that I am not super girly and not sure how I feel about working with a bunch of women. I have always been the girl that has only guy friends. lol That was also the Jessie in high school and growing up. Things are different now. I have learned who to trust and not trust. I worked with great women at IKEA! It is something for me to think about while in California. Cody supports it because he wants to see me get a Pink Cadillac lol I have no idea where my life is going. I would like to pursue design, not makeup.

COOKIES FOR CODY

About a week ago I was talking to Cody on the phone and he says to me,"If you REALLY loved me you would bake me some cookies!" I hate baking in my small apartment kitchen, but since he sent me roses I thought I should do something sweet in return. His favorite cookies I bake are Chewy Gingerbread Chocolate Chips Cookies. I usually only bake them around Christmas. I paid $37.00 to mail them to him in 2 days. He is totally clueless. He just thinks I am mailing him some DVDs and clothes. Hehehehehe






Hopefully Cody doesn't share them with all the guys, since it cost me so much to ship them to him. Everyone who has ever tasted these cookies has gone crazy over them. I highly recommend them for the holidays! I follow this recipe.

14 Days

Well, it has only been 14 days since I saw Cody last. It feels like it has been months already. The memories of going to his graduation seem so long ago! I do get to talk to him daily now. Which even though sometimes it makes it easier, at the same time I tend to get really sad also. The only thing I care about is finding a way to get to him as soon as possible. I lay awake planning the day I will get a moving truck, who I will ask to help me move, where I am going to store my stuff and how am I going to have enough money to make all this work? (also, am I crazy?)

I have started packing and letting go of stuff I don't want or need anymore. I have talked to my leasing manager and I am able to break my lease,....for a small cost of course. I have also contacted an apartment in California who will rent to me month to month. I just need everything to fall into place for me. I am setting a very high goal for myself to be in California by April 22nd. I know this may or may not happen, that is why it is a "GOAL". I have to have something to look forward to everyday.

Cody was a sweetheart and had roses sent to IKEA yesterday while I was working. It just made me want to be with him even more!!!!!

MY HEART IS IN CALIFORNIA

Now that Cody is done with his basic training he is going to start his TECH school for his career in the Air Force. He originally was supposed to go to Mississippi for 2 months, then go to California for 4 months, then fly back to OHIO to pick me up and move our things to the place we get stationed. Well, that changed. They sent him to California right away and he will be there for at least 7 months if not longer.


This kinda changed my plans and turned my life upside down! I had planned on driving to Mississippi a few times to visit him and then just fly to California a few times to visit him there. Well after already being apart for 2 months and only seeing him for 4 days, I realized how much harder just visiting him would be. My heart is broken without him. Needless to say Cody wants me to move out to California so that we won't be 2,300 miles apart. Cody and I love California. We went there for our honeymoon back in 2006. California is just so beautiful! Basically I am just nervous about having enough money to move. I am sure I could find a part-time job somewhere to help out with costs. My plan is to just drive my Ford Mustang across the country with some clothes packed and Muffins {my Yorkie} in the passengers seat. I wouldn't take much with me. I would just have to buy some cheap furniture when I got out there to fill the apartment with something. It sounds crazy but very exciting at the same time. I feel like Cody and I are magnets and we can't be separated. Time will only tell. Someone at work told me to follow my heart first, then my brain! Well I know what my heart wants! My husband, best friend, soulmate, my everything....CODY!