The Clouds

I like the clouds. I always have. Once, when I was in eighth grade, some random girl made me cry because she called me a freak because I randomly said how beautiful the gray clouds were when it was about to storm. I like to watch them move across the sky, the way they swirl from little wisps into giant fluffy clouds. That is one thing I can honestly say about Oklahoma: The sky is amazing here. It probably has something to do with how flat it is. If you are standing in just the right spot and stare at the sky, it makes you feel so small and meaningless.

Today we had my favorite clouds. They are the ones that look like they have been set individually on top of our little snow-globe. The really thick ones that are gray on the bottom, but the tops are the whitest-sunniest-happiest things you could ever see. They are my favorites! I love them. And I notice them here a lot, right before an afternoon thunderstorm.

You may be wondering why I haven't discussed much of my business here in a week or so. I've been pretty down on myself about things. I take everything way too personally and I really need to learn to breathe when I get overwhelmed like I have been. I have been beating myself up because my little teeny business hasn't become an over-night-success with just one business contact. Don't worry I'm shaking my head and rolling my eyes at me too, it's ok. On my way to the meeting, this afternoon, I was marveling at the amazing clouds. I had an amazing meeting with a very nice lady at the Oklahoma Small Business Development Center, today. She gave me SO much helpful information and suggestions and great ideas. I really feel back on track with things. I HIGHLY suggest for anyone out there who is starting their own business to contact their local Small Business Development Center. I do believe every state has one and it really was the kick in the butt I needed to get myself back on track. Just talking to someone who can look at what I am wanting to do and tell me, "This is great! You can do this!" Was really all I needed. I'm not alone in this and just because one person said I couldn't do it doesn't mean that is how everyone feels.

I've never really ever been able to say why I love the ones that I do, so much. Today I realized what it is. It's the gray and white of the cloud that makes me so happy. They are gray on the bottom and white and amazingly beautiful on the top. It's like they have been screaming at me all this time "Megs! JUST LOOK UP!" I can't control it. There may be rain, but the sun always follows it.

Eh! so you wanna fight, huh?

I am a full time student general ed/entreprenuer student with Central Texas College. I have one more semester (after fall) before I earn my degree. My fall classes start on Monday, my summer class doesn't end until Friday. It's all good though, because I just want to be done with the class. CTC is an AWESOME tool for any spouse out there looking to return to school. They offer full online courses and they have a test proctor at every Army post, so you are never forced to transfer because of a move.

Originally, I didn't want to take a summer class. May and June were very hectic months for me and having the three end of quarter classes during that time was very hard. However, a week into summer I became insanely bored ((emphasis on insanely)) and decided to take just one class to occupy me. It needed to be done anyways right? What is the point of putting it off? So I go through my mandatory classes and decide to take Composition II. This would be my sixth online class and I think I am an old pro at it. It's mandatory for my degree and if I want to continue on to a four year. I think composition should be no problem, right? English is my first language and I feel that I am a fairly decent writer so I should be ok.

The class started off well. I had a 96% in the class until it was time to take the first exam. I go to the test proctor (they are certified through the college to be sure that I do not cheat or whatever) to take my exam. There are 50 multiple choice questions and an essay question regarding the poem that was given. I answered all the questions first then when I tried to begin my essay, the computer would not let me isert the curser into the essay-box. I tyr clicking in several different locations and then get the test proctor. She comes in, cannot fix teh issue and then tells me to open a Word Document, write my essay and then attach to an e-mail through the system to my instructor explaining the issue. In six classes, I have NEVER had a computer issue. I am a student and I do as I was told by the test proctor because that is how it is supposed to be.

A few hours later I get a nasty-gram from my instructor demanding the proctor information, basically calling me a cheater and telling me that because of this I now have to re-take the test, which she has already re-set so my grade is gone. Not only do I find it really insulting, but I got quite angry because I felt that I had done a VERY good job on that test. I was actually proud of myself for the essay I had written. Go figure. I go in to re-take the test and the proctor rolls her eyes and tells me the instructor NEVER EVEN contacted her. Then all of a sudden all of my work becomes, crap. I start getting poor grades because she says my essays are missing pieces ((like a title page and outline)) that she never asked for. Not in the lesson, not in the syllabus. People, somewhere along the lines, my powers of osmosis have failed me and now I have a failing grade. She also says if I need further help on something she has assigned I am to contact the writing lab. How the heck would they know what SHE wants?! Oh and she STILL ((THREE WEEKS LATER!!)) hasn't graded my second exam and she gave me a zero on my last essay because she said it was in the wrong form and late. Both of which are incorrect. I have screen shots to prove it.

Guess who has two thumbs and is taking all of this information, my essays, the lessons, and the syllabus down to file a formal complaint on Monday? This guy! er girl! The shitty thing is, the stupid class ends on Friday. If I fail this class, I owe MyCAA $450.00 -- um that we DONT have! All because she couldn't get off her high horse and give the test proctor a little phone call to see if I was cheating.

What. The. Duece.

Its Graduation Day Again

**Warning! This is a very cynical post. I didn't mean it to be but after I finished, I rearead it and decided a warning was in order.**

It happens every Thursday and Friday. Family Day and then Graduation from BCT. Today it just happens to be J's unit graduating. Every Thursday and Friday our small little town is inundated with JOE and JOE's family. ((JOE is a general term for all BCT soldiers. Its is in no way meant to be disrespectful. And it is no where near what I would like to call them)) It's so bad, J and I rarely leave the house on these days, and when we do when get smirked at or oggled by JOE. Sometimes, I just want arm-bar them.

When I say inundated, I mean full blown take over. They are everywhere. Like cochroaches. In all the cracks of every open space they can find. They are ate-up too. They walk around with their shirts untucked, their berets tucked into their belts, their hands in their pockets, talking on their cell phones. Their hair is a mess, they have backpacks on, their rank is crooked. Really, it's disgusting. Their families aren't any better. I saw more panties at the last graduation ceremony, then you do standing in the hane's section at Walmart. I get the desire to look sexy for your man that you haven't seen in 11 weeks(ish) but there is a time and a place for your skirt to be so short, people can see your panties. Or lack there of. Also, thoroughly disgusting.

Now your thinking, 'Come on Megs, don't be so bitter. You've been there, you know how it feels.' Now, that right there, is the beauty of the situation. My husband goes to work for 80-115 hours a week. These people sap the life out him. Do you know he had to have the "Be a Man" conversation with a weeping 41 year old? Can you imagine, sitting next to someone 15 years OLDER than you and telling them why they need to put their big-boy-panties on? J comes home pissed off and defeated by ridiculous red tape that says they can't make JOE do push ups when its hotter than 91 degrees and boo-hooing soldiers who cry about skinned knees and how "hard" BCT is. All of it and we are supposed to be happy for them and accepting of them on graduation day. Sorry, But I can't seem to make myself care. The really bad thing is J hates sending them off to their next unit. He knows they aren't disciplined and they're fat whiny babies. He also knows that when they get there, their NCO's will say "Hey Private! Who the F was your DS? I want to know what is name is so I can punch him in the face for graduating you, should I ever meet him!" Because that is what he said to new soldiers when he was the NCO. Now he feels bad for ever blaming the DS.

There is light at the end of this dark little tunnel, though. We have roughly 275 days left here at Ft. Sill, OK. Um, not that we're counting? ((hehe)) Then we'll go back to the "real" Army. Where he can tell JOE to look at the numbers on each shoulder, add them together, and push :) And as for me, I have yet to arm-bar a JOE. Though several times, I have seriously considered it. The prospect of being stuck here for longer usually talks me out of it. To prevent any unfortunate mishaps I think, today, I'll just stay in my house.

Thoughtful Thursday

I am a really random person and I have lots of funny little quirks, I cannot believe my husband puts up with. Today I thought I would share some with my newly discovered readers ;o)

thougtful Thursday:

~ I heart tequilla. Don't get me wrong a glass of wine is perfect for any occasion but if I am in the mood to be fun, I make myself a margarita. I currently am drinking a Peach Strawberry Margarita. Amazing!

~ I have eight different sets of glassware in my cabinets. Yes. That is what I said eight. I have more space taken up by glasses, then I do anyother thing in my kitchen. You see, on the day J left to go back from R&R, I was understandably out of mind depressed and really sick with a cold. Add sad sad depression and cold medicine and shopping for a cute new apartment and it equals NOTHING else but eight sets of glassware. I laugh almost every time I open my cabinet for a glass. To this day I honestly have no idea what I was thinking. But the ONLY thing I came home with that day was glasses.

~ I burst into song when the feeling hits me. Where ever I am, whatever I am doing.

~ I have no brain-mouth filter. None. Its a blessing and a curse. Just don't ask me if your jeans make your butt look big. It also usually means if your thinking it, I'm saying it. I am the center of a lot of awkward moments.

~ I HATE doing laundry. My washer is under our stairs; the dryer is out in the garage. Don't ask why, I can't tell you. I am pretty sure it was done by the previous owner to torture me. It sucks.

~ I am a process girl. Everything has a process. Do not interupt my processes and I will not turn into a raging B with an itch. K?

~ I do nothing. NOTHING. Until I am on my second cup of coffee in the morning. Except maybe walk into walls.

~ I LOVE Sunrise Earth on Discovery Planet network. L.O.V.E. Love it.

~ I used to be a mean girl. But that was a while ago. I can honestly say I hated my life and wanted everyone to be as miserable as I was. Now I'm happy and just want us all to get along.

~ My baby brings me more joy than I ever thought anything ever could. I tear just about every time I think about her, look at her, hear her or even see her picture.

~ I fold my towels in half then into thirds. If you do not do it this way, you're cute, but you're wrong!

~ The hubs and I are addicted to the show "Weeds"

In fact... I think we are going to watch some now :)

Our day at the Zoo & a special shout out

Kendra at Uncorked and Unwined you totally made my day with your blog! I checked the comments settings on my blog and switched some stuff around... Maybe that will fix the problem? You rock! I didn't even read what the blog said. I'm such a girl, I just saw the title and burst into tears:)

Today was a beautiful day! The weather was an AMAZING 83 degrees today so my friend and I decided to take the kids to the OKC zoo. Here are some of the best pictures from our day. Enjoy!

womp!! womp!!

Blogger hates me right now and won't let me upload pictures. Go figure. So instead I will just write about my day. Bug is still alittle young for the zoo. I caught one picture of a catfish-feeding-frenzy and in the very next shot, I have bug playing with a McDonald's toy, Oblivious to the goings on around her. Can't blame the kid she's not even a year old and even though she does look when I point at the big moving thing half a mile away, I'm pretty sure she has no clue it's a rinocerose. She did, however, really enjoy the petting zoo and her latest accomplishment - real walking!- She walked all over the petting zoo and "pet" and played with the tails of several pygmy goats. She had so much fun walking around, her only meltdown of the day occured when I had to put her back in her stroller. Don't hate me, she takes wee-little steps and the zoo is at least a four mile loop. The weather was awesome, there was a great breeze and even though I was in jeans, I was still comfortable. After several weeks of 105+, we needed an 84 degree day! It was really nice to get out of town for a bit and not have to think about business or anything deeper then soda flavor for a few hours. My poor brain needed a break.

Tomorrow I am going to get started on my Forever pictures. I was having problems in the etching process, but a tv show just gave me a GREAT idea! I hope everyone has a great night!! Maybe I'll be able to report some progress tomorrow on the business front :) who knows.

Pardon that annoying sound coming from the hive...

It's just me whining.

Im a little blue. It might be the fact that I have heard NOTHING from the granite guy since I dropped off his house marker. It might be that my husband hates the unit he is currently in and he hates going to work every day, which I hate for him. It might be that I have changed and added new stuff to the website and have gotten not even a "hey your website sucks" in response. It also might be the fact that I have an essay that is supposed to be written and turned in to the stinkin writing lab by tomorrow and I haven't even read the story yet. It might be that my English teacher hates me... Or it could be NOTHING at all. Who knows.

But I hate it. Maybe I am PMSing (I never know because Im on Mirena) and it's making me moody and full of piss and vinegar. Sapping all of my drive and ambition and leaving someone who cares little to hear the "problems" or attitudes of other people. Actually, it would also explain the two giant cookie dough ice cream chocolate dipped waffle cones, I have eaten this week. Mmmmm... That sounds sooo good.

Ice cream makes everything better right? ;o)

"Home" Sick

I'm home sick. I always use that term loosely because in all actuality the house I am currently residing in has been one of the only "homes" I have ever had. Its not that I have a place I miss, But I miss my family. Some days I think about how far we are from everyone we love and it makes me so sad I can't breathe. J and I have great family and friends we consider family.

One of our best friends is getting married in a month and I don't think we will be able to make it. We just can't afford it right now. I hate that we wont be at her wedding. Next weekend is her bachelorette party in Lake Tahoe. All "my girls" wil be there. They rented a condo with a hot tub and sent out a promise of four days and fun adult-girl time. I want nothing more to be there but it's just not possible for us right now. Unless maybe I robbed a bank. Which is really out of the question. I have a very real jail-phobia.

I hate it. J only has ten days between cycles this time. So even if we could pull the $400 out our asses for a plane ticket and another $200 for spending cash and my share of the condo, I'd still need to find someone to watch Bug. This is the one part of military life I canNOT stand. I hate that we are so far from everyone. I hate that we have tp plan things a year or more in advance for them to "possibly" happen. I just miss everyone. And I wish more than anything Bug had family close.

I'm done whining now. I have to go clean my house.

What do you do when you miss your family?? I always wonder this about the wives who are OCONUS

Open mouth, insert foot... or something like that

It's been one of "those" couple of days. I sort of ruined a pretty large piece of granite the Granite Guy gave me on Monday. He gave me seven different pieces of granite to carve and asked me to do a House name marker for his front yard and one for his neighbor. The large piece of granite was supposed to be for his yard. Oops. The good news for me is I did explain that I am new at this and that I couldn't promise what this particular color of stone would carve to. Also, if you were standing in front of his yard you would never see what I see. He will because he works with granite all day, I do because it's my job. But in the name of customer service, I will ask if he will let me re-do it. The really good news for me, is that the one for his neighbor turned out awesome and he happens to be the marketing director for a brand new hirer end housing development here in town. Yay for "free" advertising!

Two things happened when I was carving that piece: one, I was rushing it. I always want to do the very best I can at everything I do. This business means SO much to us and what it's potential is, that I have been putting SO much pressure on every piece. When the truth is, I am new at this. The second thing that happened is, the stone was too big for the machine. It was wedged in there pretty good. Anything bigger would not have fit at all. Unfortunately, the way it was wedged allowed almost no hand movement room for me. So the carving came out wicked un-even in some spots. After that epic failure last night, I made myself a margarita and decided I just needed to chill. I have been going, going, going, non stop 6am to 10pm almost three weeks straight working on the business. I haven't been sleeping well because I am putting SO much pressure on myself to make this work, I am even dreaming about it at night.

This morning, after another website-drop-down box dream, I decided a break was in order. I played with the girls for awhile this morning, got some website stuff done at my leisure. Then I made some masks, took my time and had FUN. After, I completed the masks, my friend and I took the girls to the lake and for a nice drive through the wildlife preserve and up Mt. Scott. I came to the conclusion while we were driving around that I was driving myself crazy. I REALLY enjoy doing this. If I kept up at that pace, I would HATE it in no time. The whole point of this business is for me to do something I enjoy. I was overwhelming myself for no reason. Worried about too many things that haven't even happened yet.

This week I made two mistakes. Today I learned two lessons. I need to breathe and relax and enjoy this. Take it day by day. And worry about what to do if it takes off, when it takes off. And it will if I keep taking my time on these pieces of granite. After bug went to bed tonight, I worked on the two I made the masks for this morning. I took my time and they turned out BEAUTIFULLY!

Lessons learned? I think so!

It's Our Anniversary

I love my husband. He is the most amazing man I have ever met. To say that I am lucky is the biggest understatement. It is our second WEDDING anniversary. Our third MARRIAGE anniversary is December 19th. Confused yet? Yea, we get confused about it sometimes too.

We got married while J was home on R&R at the JOP. It was romantic and it was just for us. There were literally five of us in the room, including the Baptist-Minister-JOP. He was ultra southern-baptist, he had an unfortunate stutter and one lazy eye and one front tooth centered and larger than the other. All of those things just makes the story that much better.

J and I kind of had a rough start. He came in a point in my life where my "crazy years" were ending and my "adult years" were starting. I didn't really understand that transition that well and instead of jumping in head first, I backed out several times. Even when I backed out, I still wore my engagement ring. I *knew* he was the one, I just didn't know if I could handle being the wife to an Airborne Soldier. If Uncle Sam called, the 82nd can leave in as little as 72 hours. What about our children? What about me? I was out for awhile. He wouldn't talk to me and then he deployed. The day he deployed I hadn't talked to him in over a month and I cried the whole day, in my bed. It sounds so silly now, but I didn't think I was strong enough to love somebody at war and the truth is it made me love him more. The next day I wrote him this incredibly long e-mail begging for forgiveness. He said no. This time though I was in it for real and a month later I told him I was moving to be in NC where I would wait for him to get home. He still didn't believe me. Another month later, I was in Oklahoma City, Having left from San Francisco, and he called to see what I was doing. That is when he believed me. That is when it all changed.

The day he came home for R&R my world made sense and everything was perfect.

Two days later we went to the courthouse by ourselves, with only two friends as witnesses. It was a cold day. It was freezing rain outside. Inside I was a mess. I thought I was going to throw up from nerves. We didn't even tell his family, a fact that at the time made the nerves worse because I was to be meeting them for the first time that Saturday. As his new wife. I did have my mom's blessing though and that helped. When he called us in a peace came over me and I was suddenly ok. A few southern-baptist minutes later, we were married. On our way out of the courthouse a bum asked us for change and J told him to get a job. Then we stopped for sausages from the little vendor on the street. On the way home, J was pulled over for doing 88 in a 55. Imagine my surprise when he turned to me and said, "I think I am going to jail." He didn't, thank goodness, and we went home and napped together on the couch. The day was perfect. It is a perfect story that I love to tell.

Our wedding was actually a surprise. His family were, rightfully so, a little hurt we didn't at least let them know what we were doing. He was in Iraq and I was talking to his brother who had again said something about not being there, when I had this great idea. I threw together a little wedding. Invited some people we don't get to see very often because of the distance we are away from them and when J got home I surprised him with it. At first, he thought it was a waste, but when he found out who all was coming he even got a little excited. I really just wanted nice wedding pictures for our children to have some day. On August 16th, 2008 I walked down the aisle and again promised that I would always love him.

It was a great day, too. We had the people that love us around us. We had amazing cake and a yummy taco bar with delicious Margaritas. It was the perfect laid back day and it was us. Our friend that introduced us officiated the ceremony.



And after it was all over. We had an amazing 9 day honeymoon. We drove to Miami and went on a 7 day Southern Caribbean Cruise.

If you have never been on one and you are a military spouse, who has gone through a deployment, I HIGHLY recommend a cruise. It was an awesome way to reconnect. No phones, no computer, just us. It was beyond words. We are already planning our next one for after this next deployment.

So that is a little bit about our life together. It had a rough start, but we have something good going. Adding Bug to the mix has been easier than I expected. It is almost like she has always been here. He is the best father. I watch him with her and am so thankful I found a real man, who just wants his wife and his baby around. I always say that I have "daddy issues" because of my own father. When I see J with Bug, I know she will NEVER have the same issues. It literally brings me to tears when they are together.


Happy Anniversary, J. My husband, My heart.

My First Blog Award & My day in Pictures ((Two Part Blog))

Yay! I won my very first blog award and it was from one of favorite bloggers to read!! How exciting!! I wont the award from Kendra at Uncorked and Unwined. She is a doll and I love reading her adventures and I can't believe how excited I am that she gave me a blog award!

The rules are to 1.) Thank the person who gave you the award ((thank you! thank you! Thank you!!)) 2.) List three things you love about yourself - Is it bad the first two things I love about myself are my husband and baby? 3.) Pass the sweet Blogger love to five people!!

Ok the three things I love about myself are: ((previously stated)) my husband - He seriously is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am so lucky to have him as my husband, My baby - who is the best little girl anyone could ever ask for, even on a bad day and the third thing that I love about myself is my outlook on life. I try to always stay a glass-half-full kind of person and enjoy things even when it gets tough. Which sometimes is hard to do and thats ok too.

Five bloggers I love:
1.) Bonnie @ The Sometimes Single Mom - Honestly one of the strongest mom's I have ever known. I <3 her!

2.) Amy @ Girlfriends Get Real - I'm a new follower to Amy but I love reading her blog!

3.) Judy @ CoffeeJitters - The strength this wpman has to have is amazing and is so inspiring!

4.) Mrs. Ma'am @ Life as a Cajun Bombshell - I love people who love where they come from!

5.) Jessica @ Ups & downs of being me - I went to HS with Jess and she is still one of my best friends. <3 her!


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Today rocked!! Instead of writing it all out I have decided to do a "Day in Pictures"

These are the three things I worked on today




The next step is the UV light


And then the washout


Now it's time for the dryer


Next is mask-placement - very important that this is correct


Yay we made it to sandblasting time! Blogger is being weird so Im going to go straight to finished product - the granite came out AMAZING! I was SO excited!!


I finished the day off dropping mom off at the airport - WAY not enough visit time but I should be seeing her again within the next few weeks and a nice refreshing cold glass of Barefoot Moscato - or two :)

I'm tired. Tomorrow I'm off to prove to the granite man that I can carve stone lol! That should make for an interesting post.

The weekend ahead

The weekend ahead is promising to be a busy one. My madre drives in tomorrow afternoon with a u-haul full of stuff for me :) (I love that woman) and we will be spending all of our awake time over the weekend, going over all of the equipment and programs for the sandblaster. I have already made two templates for the pieces of granite that the Guy at the store gave me and we will be blasting those right away. I am really excited about those! Mom has never tried blasting the stone before and both of us are looking forward to the end product.

Also, while she's here we'll be working on the Forever Pictures. They are going to be a great service to offer people and I cannot wait to have them put up on the website! As a matter of fact, my first customer was for one of these and she is going off blind faith that it will be as cool as I promise :) ((maybe better?? one can only hope!))

A busy weekend, full of work, but I am SO looking forward to it! It's not cool enough that by the end of this weekend I'll have everything I need to succeed, I get to actually see my mom too which makes it that much better. I love my mommy :)

So, I see I have picked up a couple more followers, What does everyone else have planned for their weekends?

Great News!!

The last two days have been great for Sugar Bee's Engraving. I have made my very first sale and a great new business contact that could lead to some very real income! It is so exciting and it is just what I needed to kick my butt in gear after being hurt by my friend.

By the way, have I mentioned that I don't even get the "sandblaster" delivered until Saturday? This is SO great! I feel like I'm moving in the right direction. I ordered business cards and postcards today for the first Bridal show I am attending, Sept 12th. My plan is to talk to as many brides and party planners as I can to get in good with them.

But after today I think I may try to stay in a more custom-home items area. We'll see. I'm just SO excited!!

I am a Domestic Goddess

... or at least I used to be. Don't get me wrong, my level of "disaster" is probably a lot cleaner than mosts; but the level of "disaster" that I currently allow it to get to is much lower than it used to be. Look around my house now and I don't know what has changed... Oh wait. I remember...

It's the 21 pound dirt farmer that crawls around after me destroying my house. I pick up cheerios off the floor, she comes behind me, takes them out of the bowl and squishes them into thousands of little cheerio pieces with her pudgy little hands. I wipe off the finger prints, she stares at the mess the cheerio massacre left on her fingers and thinks, 'hmmm... that looks like a nice clean place to wipe my hands.' I wipe milk up, throw the paper towel away and walk back in the living room to find her waving her bottle around, quenching the thirst of my hardwood floors. Four times a day I clean up a mess I *swore* I would never allow in my living room; her baby toys. When she is distracted enough to let me pick them up, they live on a shelf in the corner. Cubbies hiding all the little pieces. For the other part of the day, they are exploded all over "her half" of the living room, another thing I *swore* I would never do. . The bomb that is my child, removes every last thing she can from the shelf. Leaving them splayed across the floor like shrapnel.

The funny thing is I actually like it. I LOVE watching her talk and sing and dance to the music some of her toys play. It actually brings tears to my eyes to see her "reading" her books. And when she picks up Lenny the lamb, first thing in the morning and last thing before bed, I know that for all the damage she's done to my domestic goddess status, she's worth it. I really don't miss it that much.

... I just hope my husband doesn't miss it that much either ;o)


Bug and Lenny the Lamb


Bug and her Mess

Phase 1 -- Done... ish

OK, well, I got the website to an acceptable level of completed so I can go to bed. I'm a little concerned because, I couldn't find it in google ((waiting period maybe?)) And it never asked me to put the paypal info into the website ((maybe I just do it on my own?)) Either way, Im exhasuted and excited... but it's finished!! Check it out!

http://www.sugarbeesengraving.com/

I'm going to bed.

Phase 1 -- The Website

I am so excited! Hopefully* by the end of the day Sugar Bee's ENGRAVING website will be up by the end of the day. I know for the few people who do follow my blog, I may have just confused the beans out of you, so here is a brief update.

My mom offered to give me all of the necessary equipment to start an engraving business. She has had the equipment for about six years now and had originally planned to start a business with it, but never did anything. This means I have an entire business without the cost of startup. All I have to do is the "business" part of it. I already have made a data-base of potential business contacts in the area. My plan is to start local and then circle out from here until I've made an empire ((mwahahahaha!! I mean... what?)) Ok, so Im not looking to be the next Martha Stewart or anything, but I would like a nice monthly income. I am super excited about this. Besides the start up costs for the daycare stressing me out, the idea of having a bunch of other people's children in my house was honestly stressing me out a little, too. What if I did something wrong and accidentally hurt someone else's child? I'm not sure I could handle that. This offers me a business with little-to-no start up cost for J and I and no other people's children. Win-win.

The pictures below are from a wedding I did last summer for friend of my mom. It will give you all a better idea of what it is I can and will be doing. When I get the website up later, I will post the link here :) yay!

Bridal Champagne Glasses and Their Champagne

The bride gave each bridesmaid a monogramed apple and a glass with their initial on it (bottom picture)

The bride had a pink theme, so they put a bottle of pink liquor at each table with their monogram on each bottle.

Blog Hop '10

I am going to be taking part in Blog Hop '10. It is hosted by (Pensieve) I was turned on to this by Kendra at Uncorked & Unwined. I am very excited to meet new bloggers and to get more readers :o)

I am a twenty-six year old, happily married Army wife. My husband and I have been married for 2 1/2 years and we have an eleven month old baby girl, Bug. I am currently a fullt time student and in the process of starting an engraving business out of my house, while dealing with motherhood and Army-wifedom. My blog follows these adventures and so much more :)

Enjoy! <3

The things that I am happy for

I get in these ruts sometimes. I focus SO completely on everything in my life that isn't going my way, I forget about the things that are. It doesn't happen very often and when it does, I'm the only person that can help the funk I drop into. When they happen, I have a few "poor-me" days and then I get bored with it. It's so exhausting to be so defeated by life.

So here is what I do to get out of it. The first thing I do is remember that God has a plan, even if I don't know what it is or understand it. He is in control, not me. The next thing I do is list the things that ARE going right for me. Today I did this aloud in the car on our way to Bug's appointment. It was after a nice twenty minute phase-four-meltdown from her, after her daddy left the house this morning.

1.) I am so very thankful for my amazing husband. He is so supportive and he never tells me no. He works so hard for us and everything we have is because of him. He is amazing and I love him more than I could ever put into words. Everything the last year has thrown at us has just made us a stronger couple. I always tell people if we haven't divorced yet, it's not going to happen. This last year was tough! He is an amazing husband and the best father I could have asked for, for Bug.

2.) Our beautiful amazing daughter. She truly is the light of our lives. She makes me laugh so much and I love it when I have dropped her off with a friend and when I get back she runs straight to me to give me the best hug I have ever gotten! She is smart, and healthy and she is everything I could have ever wanted in a daughter. I am so fortunate to have her.

3.) I am thankful for my family. I have two amazing brothers that I have great relationships with. A mother who is supportive and one of my best friends. I honestly do not know that many people who have the relationship with their siblings and parents that I do. I am SO blessed!

4.) J's family. They are the greatest in-laws I could have asked for! They accepted me only because J loved me. That was enough for them. They are so awesome! His father has had the ability to help us out in two of the toughest parts of the last year. They LOVE Bug. I mean LLOOOOVVEE. J's cousin said his dad almost tears up when they talk about us because we are so far away. And Bug is a TOTAL grandpa's girl! It's great!!

5.) Our health. None of us have anything seriously wrong with us health wise. Well physically, anyways. I think there are a few who would argue the mental aspect. We have a great house, now, we have great working cars, J works in a job he can never be fired from, or can never lower his pay ((unless he deserves it)) We have health insurance and food in our fridge and two great dogs....

About here is usually where I stop. I get to the dogs and I think about how trying to control the uncontrollable is so futile. All it does is stress me out. Let it go, I say to myself, its not worth it. It's not. So I let it go...

And man do I feel better.

System Failure -- Immediate Reboot Mandatory or Spontaneous Combustion May Occur

It's been one of those weeks. Every little thing I have tried to accomplish this week has turned into an epic failure. EPIC. I am stressing about too many things I have NO control over and its keeping me awake at night, which does not make me a happy camper. The problem is, I have no control over them so stressing doesn't even do anything but keep me awake at night. There is a high probability that Bug has an ear infection. This does not make her a happy camper, which, in turn, only sours my grapes even more. I am not going to go too far into the whole bit now, because I don't want to. So now I'll just say on thing and get it over with: Boo Hoo Hoo!! WHY ME??!!

System overload. Must unplug, re-boot and get back on track. I hate when I have poor-Megs days! My friend is in a similar situation, and we've decided to have a wonderful girl-day. The good news? It wont be your typical get-your-nails-done-and-gossip time. Huh. Come to think of it we've never really done that. We will be spending the afternoon on Saturday enjoying the beautiful surroundings at the Woods & Waters Winery & Vineyard in Anadarko, OK. I cannot wait! Wine. Friends. Beautiful suroundings. Wine. No kids. Did I mention wine? This is JUST what I need! Nevermind that it also happens to be a good opportunity for a business lunch. ((I'll explain that tomorrow.))

Friday night, our next lesson. Saturday, a trip to the winery, with wine. If I'm not totally relaxed after that something is seriously wrong. Until then I guess I'm stuck with yoga breathing and prayer to calm myself.

Did I mention there will be wine?