Now for the relaxation phase of R&R

Oh vey- what a whirlwind it has already been! I feel like BF and I have spent a majority of our time on R&R thus far in a car... *sigh*. Between the 2.5 hour trip to the airport to see him when he arrived, then promptly returning to campus on the same day, meeting 1/2 way to spend a few days in the CU, then back to our hometown, then trekking to Iowa for a weekend to see family and to move his brother out of his apartment.... eesh!!! No wonder dearest LT wants a few days to finally relax at home.

Time together has been excellent thus far.  It felt like we fell just back into step with where we were prior to his departure.  Except, this time we actually are getting much more time together than usual, so it has been quite the balancing act to not drive each other completely crazy :)  All that is on the books for the remaining week-ish is a nice date night or two and plenty of family time. His family is all coming over to my parent's house for some of my dad's infamous grilled ribs *drool* I just hope they all get along without too much wine flowing haha. I spent an extended weekend with them, and there were no major breakdowns just lots of chatting and getting caught up with LT.  His photos from deployment were entertaining and I'm just taken aback by the beauty of such a hostile environment.  His stories were also quite enlightening about what he's been up to these last 9 or so months.

LT and I have had a lot of serious conversations while he's been home.  He's told me a few scary stories, but it's ok to hear about them in person vs in an email or over the phone. Granted the one super serious future conversation there may have been quite a few glasses of wine involved to lower our inhibitions, but my cold feet are starting to reappear- eep! I don't know why, but I tend to just shut down when talking about the future, I blame the school blinders that I am currently in and my stubborn streak.  We counted this weekend (emphasis on weekend only) how many times people asked when we were getting married, only 13 *facepalm* meaning I lost the bet it'd be over 20, so I owe him a long backrub.  Glad his family likes me, but yeesh, we're still just young kids!

Anyways, just wanted to pop in and say hello- I'm still getting all caught up on other blogs that I've been missing between finals week and R&R taking over all my free time.  Here is to sleeping in tomorrow and getting some quality chill time in before I start classes all over again.

The longer the waiting, the sweeter the kiss.

Guess who is finally back? :) 

Best hug ever. This was after tackling him.

Back where I belong.

Now just some pesky finals/papers to knock out then the good times begin!

Girly Squeals!

Ok, 6 am I open my laptop and wake up to the BEST BEST BEST email in the world.  My neighbors probably hate me from the loud girlish squeal I let out, but they'll just have to deal.  If you haven't guessed by now, a certain guy is on his way back for some R&R!!! By this time next week, we'll be reunited! He'll be home before that, but finals will be getting in the way a bit, so brief reunion at the airport, then I'll be trucking back to school to take some finals.  Joy. At least I'll get him for a few days to myself and then I get to meet his Mom's extended family for the first time ever- whoa, cue the nerves.

I'll post a reunion photo, but until then time to get a take home, papers, and study guides knocked out.  Ok, coffee overdose here I come.  I'm starting to get first date nerves on steroids.  It is so hard to believe that almost 9 months after we last saw each other, we'll finally get to be together again.  I'll try to pop in and blog occasionally, but odds are I'll be soaking up all the time I can get :)

Ahhh, can it be this weekend already!?!

Off The Radar

Yeah, it's that lovely time of the year... the one where school and work will completely kill any semblance of a life that I thought I had.  I'm frantically trying to finish my HUGE research paper so I can edit the heck out of it the rest of the week.  Start studying for my Anatomy and Physiology final (hoping for a B so I can just be done with the class), typing up a take home, another huge paper, and two presentations.   Why didn't I stop with a bachelor's degree again? Oh right, that whole want to be an Audiologist thing :)

Anyways, just wanted to let you know that I am probably going to drop off the face of the earth for the next week and a half or so.  I may pop in with a photo or update should I have any news on the R&R situation, but I'm still just trying to stay focused on school work at the moment.  Thankfully I don't have any patients scheduled currently, but that could change in an instant. I think I schmoozed the office secretaries enough with cookies that they will take pity on me and not give me a patient until finals are over *fingers crossed*.  Yes, I play dirty, but it usually works.

I'll try to keep reading all the blogs I follow, but it may just be a skimming.  Ok, light at the end of the tunnel is hopefully some R&R time with that one guy I'm kind of crazy about.  Then the summer semester beings... and the madness continues.  See you all in about 2 weeks!

5k- check!

Yep, just finished my first 5k ever! OMG it was so amazing! I haven't run competitively since my high school track days, and this was my first distance race.  I successfully finished without walking, which was my main goal.  I also wanted to finish under 35:00, and my running partner and I finished together at 33:18! Not an amazing time, but right where I wanted to be.  Next race, under 30 :)

It was so great to see hoards of people on the sidelines, cheering us on and ringing cowbells.  It was an awesome experience.  My running partner almost gave up a few times, but I convinced her to hang on.  If I was running alone, I don't know if I would have met my goals.  However, I already have a new goal for my next race- breaking 30 minutes.  This is probably do-able if I train more than 2.5 weeks. As of right now, I'm feeling pretty good, but that could also be the post race beers talking.  It's amazing how big of a motivator a nice cold beer and some Olive Garden bread sticks are to running that last kick of the race at a faster clip.  Oh, and you know, that whole stadium full of people cheering for you.

Some photos from the race for your enjoyment.  (Ignore the beet red faces and smeared make up from morning clinicals)

Obligatory post-race cheesing with my medal.

Me and my P-I-C.

Sweaty hugs :)

On Track

Yep, I'm right on track for my 5k on Friday! I did 3.5 miles today in 35 minutes without walking.  Whooo hoooo! Not too shabby for going from 1.5 miles to 3.5 in 2 weeks.  I feel strong, prepared, and ready for friday.  The goal will be to not push myself too hard this week.  Light weights, some abs and lots of stretching along with watching my diet and eating as healthy as possible.

I'll keep you guys posted, but things are looking good.  I just may have to keep up this running stuff through the summer and find a 10k to run in the fall :) I'm working my way through my bucket list, one race at a time.

Now onto making my race day play list- lots of 90's classics and my gangsta rap.  Thank you to Sir Mix-A-Lot for getting me through my last mile today.

R&R coming up!

Still no official arrival date, but I'm hopefully that will change soon.  Compared to previous times, I actually have a beginning of a leave date so I'm practicing careful optimism about an arrival within the next 4-ish weeks.  Fingers and toes are all crossed :)

Checked my donut of misery today- look at that progress! 2/3 done! Just a few months left hopefully.

My semester is flying by, and man am I going to be a busy little gal these next few weeks.  My finals schedule is all mapped out, so let the studying, writing and presentations begin!  If all goes according to plan, my research will also be wrapping up with 20 research subjects completed- whee! I also have a meeting with my research professor to discuss my summer schedule and set out my possible stipend situation for the summer and school year.  Ugh, I am very thankful for funding, but yeesh, my grades are not where I want them to be.  *sigh* Its going to be a very long next few weeks, here is to hoping a certain visitor comes to town shortly, I could use the distraction.

Now comes the fun part of balancing family time for LT and "us time".  His mother is starting to worry me with some of the things she is saying and plans she wants to make, but I'm trying to not get stressed until he actually arrives and decides what he wants to do.  I love his mother, she is such a sweet lady and we have a pretty good relationship, but she is having a tough time with realizing LT and I are young adults now, and not the high school kids we were when we started dating and treating us as such.  I'd love to spend some time with him and his family on R&R, but come on lady- we need some "just us time" to reconnect and get caught up on each others lives, especially after 8+ months apart.  I really want to introduce him to my classmates and show him my life down at school.  I'm trying to be patient and flexible and let LT decide, but I have a feeling his mother is going monopolize his time while he's home.  This could also be the green eyed monster in me that wants to never let go after I get that first hug and kiss.  I'm sure this makes no sense, but I'm just trying to get it all out, and maybe I'll be thinking rationally again.  I'm trying so incredibly hard to not be selfish and take a step back, but I feel like I'm failing miserably.

Any thoughts on balancing the mama situation? Am I being irrational?  I just need some outside perspective and advice.