whew

I am in the process of applying to be a sub in Waynesville. This is about my only job option, and nicely enough it pays WAY better than subbing in CS did. It's a good thing though, bc this application process is INTENSE. I have to go get finger-printed, contact references and send them a form, write an essay about why I want to sub in the district, etc. I have been jumping through hoops all morning trying to call, e-mail, and find references. At least I will be able to tell Russell I was busy all day :)

On Saturday, we went to Springfield, which is a BIG city compared to here. There is a Starbucks [and not just in a grocery store], a target, and a mall with nice stores. I have had a bad cold now since about Thursday. I was getting cranky once we made the drive to Springfield. When we got to the mall the first thing I saw was a White House Black Market, which is one of my favorite stores. Russell asks if going there will make my cold better. It did, well probably the cute dress I got helped too :) Now I just need somewhere to wear it to!

Convo with our Barista Nick when we got to the Starbucks [we have yet to see the mall, target, etc]

me: We heard there is a target in this town, is this true?

Nick [while giving me a weird look]: Yeah there's a target, where have you been

me: We are from Ft Leonard Wood, this is our first trip here.

Nick: Oh I see, I'm sorry. We have a mall, a target, and two movie theatres!

Needless to say, Russell and I were thrilled to learn all this information :)

I can't wait till tomorrow when I actually get to see my husband AWAKE! I went to my first AFTB [Army Family Team Building] class last night. It lasted until 10:15, which is past Russell's bedtime since he has to be up by 4 every morning. The second class for this level is tonight. We definitely learned about stuff I need/will need to know, like acronyms, chain of command, etc. I feel very uninformed, especially since we just got started, and since Russell is not active duty. It was also nice to get to chat more with some of the other wives that are here at Ft Leonard Wood while their husbands are also in EOBC [engineer officer basic course].
I was also excited to hear [from one of the other wives of course and not my hubby] that there will be a formal in mid-September. :)

I also have an update on my scrap booking, I have developed all the pictures and only have a few more pages to put together till I have scrap booked through my graduation! Woo hoo! Now I'm only a little more than a year behind...tehe.

Now I'm back to scrap booking, I will be done with this book by Friday at the latest!

Precious kid yesterday at aerobics. There is a woman that when she comes, she brings her two sons that look between the ages of 7-9ish and are too old to need to go to child care. They just entertain themselves on the sidelines while we work out. Well, yesterday, the older one got in trouble for something right as they got there, so he pouted the entire time. The younger one then had to keep himself entertained. He was dancing on the stage, sometimes with little weights, or counting us down. It was ADORABLE and such an encouragement. I bet he didn't know how many of us he was entertaining. I swear, when we have kids, they better be that cute :)

let's get a little mud on tires...

This weekend we just spent lots of time together. During the week we don't really get quality time, so we catch up on the weekends. On Saturday morning our landlord offered to let us borrow one of their atv's. We had lots of fun, got stuck in the mud, and un-stuck getting covered in the process :)
That afternoon while relaxing, we had the food network on [per usual] and were inspired by the pillsbury bakeoff to make a loaded baked potato pizza. It was WONDERFUL! We used frozen bread dough, and just plain frozen broccoli instead, and loved it. We went to the commisary on post to get our ingredients, also so I could familiarize myself with it, since I had yet to go. We found a cheap table-top charcoal grill, and so of course Russell had to have it :)
Sunday after church we relaxed and put Russell's grill together. He grilled us some yummy steaks for dinner.

Every Monday morning at aerobics is 'bootcamp' last week I didn't realize how hard it was, but today left my arms feeling like limp noodles! Whew, guess I'll be ready for my sisters' weddings :)

C

mmm!

Well today I took a [much-needed] break from morning aerobics. I swear, Stacy could be a personal trainer any day. I took my car into a dealership this morning. I took it in a couple months for an a/c problem which they fixed. We noticed it acting up again on the drive up to Missouri. Praise the Lord it is still under warranty, bc my car is all better at no cost to us :0).

I then came home and decided to be really domestic. I was watching an episode of Paula Deen's home cooking, and she was making cinnamon rolls. I LOVE cinnamon rolls. They didn't look too hard, and I had all the ingredients on hand. Well, cinnamon rolls don't take too long while you are doing the actual work, but they definitely have to rise a LOT. I started them around 11:30, and they took longer than they were supposed to for their original rising time, so I have rolled and cut them, and am still waiting for their final rising to be done. WHEW! I am taking advantage of all this free time I have to make all the recipes I've been putting off or have never attempted. Hopefully Russell and I will be able to have some self control, or we might come back from MO as new people tehe :)

With all this free time I have had, I have a LOT of time by myself. I definitely know God's purpose for me right now is to be the best wife I can be to support Russell while he's going through this intensive engineer course, but it is still hard. It's hard to not feel guilty spending money or relaxing when he is the one working all day. He tells me that is not how he feels, and it's just Satan trying to deceive me. This is probably the first time I've been somewhere without close friends around me that I can just call and meet for coffee or just to hang out, and my mom is now MUCH more than an hour away. I now have a taste of what sweet Joanna feels being so far away from her friends/family. She's been doing this for a year now and I think she's so brave.

I'm off to watch my cinnamon rolls rise...

YAY for aerobics!

This weekend was great having Russell off and all to myself. We tested out several restaurants to see which ones we will want to go to in the future. We found a good Mexican restaurant as well as good BBQ [which is a must if you know my husband :)]. We explored the surrounding towns and did a little hiking on Saturday. Yesterday we checked out Westside Baptist Church of Waynesville. We loved the pastor's message. It was on how most people don't fear God anymore through our actions [gossip, grudges, tithes, etc] It was a challenge to the congregation on an issue we believe in. As far as I know we will continue attending this church while we are in Missouri. It was exciting to find a church so quickly. We asked around to find out what sorts of activities they have for women, since I have some ;) time to fill. I was excited to hear that they do aerobics every week day morning in the gym at church. I was wondering how/where I would work out here bc there is a lack of gyms. I went and really enjoyed it this morning bc we not only got a good work out, but we also did some bible study.

I am also going to start working on my Russell/Claire scrapbook which I am like 2 years behind in. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up before we get home :) I also had a good catch-up conversation with Courtney which was refreshing.

I also got to bug my Oldest sister Adriana for more information on what her engagement ring looks like. She is now officially [she has a ring now] engaged to Matthew as of this past Friday night. My sisters are getting married only a few months apart, Bonnie this September, and Adriana this December or March...it's CRAZY! We are now almost all married :)

I'm off to make dinner and wash dishes WOO HOO!

C

Welcome to the glamourous life of..

Dishpan hands!

What a gross term, but that is literally what I had friends. We have settled into our quaint, furnished [re: we didn't have to haul furniture here!] apartment, complete with a 3rd story deck with a beautiful view. Its only drawback is a lack or a DISHWASHER. I broke down yesterday and went to wal-mart for like the 5th time and bought rubber gloves and a bigger dish-drying rack. Those gloves are saving my hands, I don't know why I didn't get them sooner.

On Wednesday, before my mom's flight, we explored the cities surrounding Devil's Elbow. Other than lots of driving, we didn't see much. The biggest claim to fame in the sprawling metropolis that is [not] Rolla, there is a new Panera and Drury College. Everything else is pretty run-down. We then went to the closer town, Waynesville, where Praise the Lord there is a Starbucks and two cute Baptist Churches that we will test out this Sunday.

Yesterday was a VERY long day that I had to myself. By 11 am I had cleaned the entire apartment including bathroom and done laundry. Russell had meetings until 8 at night, so I definitely had some time on our hands. We no longer had Internet to borrow, and no cable till today, so I read A LOT. Today was better though bc we rented some movies for me to watch while I waited for the cable guy to come. Sydney White is a hilarious movie, I recommend it. :)

Russell should be home in 3 hours and then he's free till Monday!!!

Devils Elbow

Russell is so stoked about the name of the place we live. Devils Elbow is a little town near Ft Leonard Wood. Our apartment is located at the top of this winding gravel road that makes you feel like you are driving up to a cabin in the mountains in Colorado. It is a little nerve-racking at first to drive up and down from the apartment, but I am adjusting quickly. Russell on the other hand every time we go up and down drives really slow and states that is the speed I should be driving. Sometimes he can get SO worried.

Yesterday Mom and I went to the visitors center and then drove to what was supposedly a park where you could hike. We finally got there, and found nothing more than a gravel road and very thick forest on either side. We were slightly disappointed, and ended up just going back to my apartment. There we hiked around the apartments and to this overlook that is very high over a river. It was beautiful. Russell and my landlords are the sweetest people. Brian and Lisa Brown own the apartments as well as a woodworking business. Brian gave us a tour of his shop and showed up replica German steam trunks he is working on now. Then Lisa gave us a tour of their home. The made all the wood floors, cabinets, most of the furniture etc. It was gorgeous, especially with all the detail there was in their work. If you ever have to live in or near Ft Leonard wood, you should live here. :)

Today is the day my mom leaves. I am pretty sad bc I am by myself most of the day. Russell leaves by 5:30 or earlier in the morning, and comes back over 12 hours later. I am still hoping to find some kind of job or volunteer work, or I think I will go stir crazy by myself everyday...

Tonight we are going to a meeting with Russell's comander and his wife to learn more about what the next three months will look like, I'm hoping it will go well and that I will get along with the other wives, so I can have friends up here...

We are lost in the woods

the 4th of July




me and sweet Holly in CS



We love the Gardners!



Whew! The last week has been eventful for us. We had a really nice trip to CS to visit Russell's family and see a few friends. Seeing Drew, Jen and Buttercup Gardner was really fun, and we look forward to when we get to meet up with them in Branson while they are there with her family in August. We went to Sweet Eugene's, one of our favorite coffee shops in CS. It was crazy how a place looks and smells can bring back such memories of the past 5 years. It was a place of many of Russell and my dates, many hours were spent 'studying' [people watching :)] and many a java shake was imbibed with great friends like Paige and Courtney. I will miss living in CS, but really I will mostly miss the relationships that were formed there.

On the fourth we had a great last hurrah with the family. Russell's family came to Houston, and we spent the day at my parents house. We had fun in the pool and had some great BBQ. the girls and the boys were there, the Busch's stopped by [sans Sarah and David :(] and Matthew's parents[especially dad] entertained us that evening. The night ended with us watching while the 'three amigos' Russell, Russ, and Matthew, set off a menagerie of fireworks in the middle of the street moving often and hilariously when cars passed.

We had a last brief visit with our fave CS house guest, Lindsee, when the proud 'mama' came by. She is the newest owner of a SUX [sport utility crossover, coined when Sam said her vehicle sucks...tehe] She has a pretty red rogue that we admired while saying our goodbyes.

Sunday we left Houston at 6:30 am and set out on our 12 hour drive to Ft Leonard Wood Missouri [more specifically Devils Elbow, MO]. My mom came with us to take turns driving my car, and to help us get settled. We finally made it to our apartment around 8 last night. Today my mom and I went to Wal-mart twice and unpacked everything. There is NO Target or any nice place to shop around here...I guess it'll make spending self-control easier :) Tomorrow my mom and I are going hiking. I am enjoying having her here to help us get settled in, as well as keep me busy these first few days while I adjust to life here.

I feel slightly guilty because our Internet has not been set up yet, though we have already paid. We 'borrowed' our neighbors Internet, and their Internet name is "Amber and Ryan's Internet" It makes it worse to borrow Internet from people that are cute and name their network after them....


spell check corrected the 'i' in Internet, apparantly it's still a proper noun.