Sold!

Yes, that's right sold to ME. My mom helped me finish up and closed on my house yesterday and I can't be more excited. Now that it is official I can finally gush about it and not jinx my self. I have been working on all my plans for decor and have ordered all my furniture for my new home. I will be home in around 3 weeks and I am so ready to jump into moving and settling in. The current residents will be moved out by Wednesday and then my mom is going to be busy. Lowe's is coming in to re-do my kitchen floor. The house doesn't need any work it is move in ready but before I move in there are a few things that I do want to change like the kitchen floor and the paint. I have it all worked out and I can't wait to show everyone before pictures and then the after pictures. It isn't going to look like the same house I promise. The landscaping does need work in my opinion. I just don't like the type of plants they have right now and the places they are planted so I will be changing that but not until I move back home for good. I can't really maintain a yard 8000 miles away so until then just keep the grass mowed will be a challenge. LOL I don't want to pat myself on the back too much but I just have to say I am so proud of myself. I mean I am not even 24 years old yet and I have just purchased my second home. When I look at myself I still feel so young and like I just graduated from high school but then I look at my life and remember.... I am fixing to be 24 years old, I live in Iraq, I travel all over the world, and now I am starting new all on my own and it feels so great. I can't wait to share more about this journey with everyone so stay tuned for decorating updates and more. I'M SO EXCITED!

Fabulous Friday

Blinded

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
~William Shakespeare, Mid-Summer Night's Dream, 1595

Insanity

Yes, it's what it is and what it's called. A co-worker asked me a couple weeks back if I had ever heard of a workout program called Insanity. I hadn't so I looked it up and got very interested. It is a lot like P90X but way crazier and you only use yourself no props such as weights, boxes or other things. I had been wanting to start working out again but I get so intense with weights I thought this would be a good way to stay toned without being extreme so I ordered it. A girl that I work with and I started our regime on Monday and it is really INSANE! I can already feel results and i am sure in another week I will start seeing them also. It is really hard and neither one of us can go through a whole video without stopping or slowing down but we will get there eventually. The program is a 60 day system with working out Monday through Saturday and having Sudnay as your rest day. I am halfway through my first week so stay tuned for more updates on my fitness makeover.

Stay

Wow! This song is so great. Thanks Colby for turning me on to this artist. I love her.

The life of man is the true romance, which when it is valiantly conduced, will yield the imagination a higher joy than any fiction.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Guilty but Must Have Pleasures

1. True Blood
2. Reality TV
3. Wedding cake flavored snow cones
4. 90 minutes massages
5. Romance novels

I'll Take a Ticket Please

Have you ever heard of Bing? Well if you haven't check it out here. It's the newest search engine and its amazing. Every day there is a new background image on the Bing homepage and they have the coolest pictures. You start learning before you even start your own intended search. A lot of the pictures I post I copy from there. If you want to learn where the image was then just click the image link to the left of the Bing homepage and you can figure it out. This picture was today's background. Isn't so intriguing? I later found out that this is a place called Atrani on the Amalfi coast in Italy. It is the smallest or close to the smalled commune in Italy and please sign me up. It looks so old and rich with history. It may not be much of a party town but probably a good day trip to see and relax in. Italy has always been one of my top destinations on my list of travel places. I haven't had a chance to go but I am sure I will one day.

Dare to be Different

Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary. Cecil Beaton

A-Z of Me

A. AREA CODE : 281

B. BED SIZE: Full size, nothing bigger would fit in my jail cell of a bedroom

C. CHORE YOU HATE: I HATE peeling potatoes! (thanks mom) LOL

D. DOG'S NAME: no pets not allowed but I can't wait to get somewhere and get a big dog

E. ESSENTIAL "START THE DAY!" ITEM: if I had my way I wouldn't start my day until almost lunch but I guess I really like hot chocolate.

F. FAVORITE COLOR: all of them

G. GOLD OR SILVER: silver

H. HEIGHT: 5' 7"

I. INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: I played the clarinet in 6th grade but I doubt I can now

J. Job: government contractor

K. KIDS: someday. but that day's not today!

L. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: in Iraq in a room really as big as a jail cell

M.MOM'S NAME: Kathy

N. NICKNAME: Meggie

O. OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: I don't think ever

P. PET PEEVE: TABLE MANNERS by far is my biggest pet peeve

Q. QUOTE FROM A MOVIE: " I want the fairy tale" from....Pretty Woman

R. RIGHTY OR LEFTY?: righty.

S. SIBLINGS: Colby, Caleb, and step sisters Audrey, Shanna, and Jessica

T. TIME YOU WAKE UP: 5:20 7 days a week...duty calls

U. UNDERWEAR: yep.

V. VEGGIE YOU DISLIKE: brussell sprouts and brocolli

W. WAYS/REASONS YOU ARE LATE: I am only late in the mornings because i hit snooze too many times and wait until the last possible second to get up

X. XRAYS YOU'VE HAD: the last one i had was of my teeth

Y. YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: I think my favorite dish that I make is my chicken fried steak YUM!

Z. ZOO ANIMALS YOU LIKE: I like the tigers the best

Some like it HOT!

Yesterday I was in our engineer's office and he was showing me they had taken some pictures out by a thermometer that read 140! I came back to my office to share the news and just happened to have my camera at my desk. A photo op was necessary. This is indeed the temperature not the time!

World Cup

Sunday July 11th was the final game of the World Cup. Spain vs. Netherlands I was so hoping it was going to be Germany but oh well. I rooted for Netherlands but before I get into all that let me give you a little of my football background.... I have always wished that we had football (American soccer) at home because I always thought it would be fun to play but I had never sat down and watched a game and been serious about it. There wasn't enough action for me. Well now I love it. My English companion and his cockney roommate have me hooked. They weren't even here and I was watching every game possible on TV while I was in my room, racing to work to see who won if I missed a game, and even making tiny flags to show my team spirit. LOL I know extreme!!! So Sunday was the final game and there is a Turkish restaurant on the other side of base that shows the games on a big projection screen outside. Me and a friend drove over and reserved our table two days in advance to ensure seating. Sunday rolled around and the invitation had been sent out. My co-workers and I were discussing our outfits since we have to show team spirit and I didn't have an orange shirt. I had to match since I was the only one from my group rooting for the Netherlands. Luckily this man in my office had a bright orange shirt that was given to him as a gag gift... it said TEAM TESTED DUREX.... I couldn't walk around with a condom shirt on so I printed out the Netherlands flag and duct taped it on the front. It looked so good people were coming up to me asking me where I got it at LOL! The shirt was huge but it worked and I was showing my support. I also made little flags for each team for all of us to carry and wave during the game. I know too many high school football games :) LOL. Me and Hendrik were texting the entire game as he is from Holland but was unable to watch the game so I was keeping him informed. Our team lost and it wasn't really a good game in my opinion but it was a great night out with some fun people. I didn't get into my room into 12:45 in the morning and had to be at work by 5:30 AM we were all very tired but it was a good time.
Some of our group ready for the game to start.

Look at all these people it was packed. I thought to my self oh gosh please don't let the insurgents bomb us right now!

See my shirt is huge but I wore it with pride and had my flag ready to wave.After the game on the way to the car and then home! We lost!!!

While I was home....

My vacation this past time, in June, started as soon as my airplane landed in Dubai. A co-worker was also going out on RR the same time as me so we hung out in Dubai. We had big plans to go shopping and stuff but we got to Dubai around 8:45 at night so we didn't have much time. What we did have time for though was the club. A guy in my office recommended a certain club so we planned on going there and checking it out after dinner. We checked into our rooms at our hotel, got ready and met up for diner. We ate sushi in the hotel I always stay in and it was amazing as usual. After that we headed out on the town. We went to the first recommended bar and needless to say I will never go back or recommend it. After that we checked out 3 other clubs in the same hotel...finally we decided there wasn't anything for us there so we hailed a cab. We told the cab driver what we were looking for because we had no clue where to go and this is where he brought us. We walked in and immediately knew we were in the right place. The music was awesome and everyone was our age. Mostly Brits but a few other nationalities...we had so much fun. So much that when we finally made it back into our rooms at the hotel that I slept through my wake up call and almost missed my plane. Good times! While we were leaving the club I told Chris I needed to take a picture so we could remember where we were and could go back...I tell you... four months + no alcohol= MUCHO FUN

Rock Bottom Cafe- if you're ever in Dubai it's the place to goChris and I on our way ;)

While in Dubai I planned to also go see Sex and the City 2 but unfortunately it was banned in all the Emirates and had to see it while I was home. I am so glad they are conservative religious fanatics because me and my girls had a great time. One of my best friends', Heather, waited to go see it because she knew I would want to watch it...that's what I call friendship. The rest of the gang, Molly, Mom, Lara, and I hadn't seen it but Piper had but she came along anyways to spend some quality time. We had a lot of fun and it was cool seeing certain aspects of the movie that I have actually experienced in real life. Even though it wasn't filmed actually in Abu Dhabi they did actually have an Emirates airplane and dinar. I had dinar in my wallet that I passed out for them to see and of course I had flown Emirates. I haven't ever sat where they did in the movie but I pass those seats on the way back to where us poor folk and the chickens are kept! LOLOther than running around for all my appointments and visiting family and friends I didn't do much. 2 days before I was leaving I decided that I wanted to buy a house so my Mom and I were on the hunt. I found 4 or 5 really cute houses but the last one was the winner hands down. I don't want to share too much since I haven't closed yet and I don't want to jinx myself but below is the picture of the front door. The landscaping I don't much care for but for now this is it. I will share more after we close and I begin to make it my own with paint and furniture. I can't wait!

Rachael's Bachelorette Party/Wedding

The main reason for me going home this past time was for one of my best and longest friends, Rachael's wedding. We have been friends since literally before we were in the womb LOL and ever since for sure. It was great sharing all the events of one of the most special days in some one's life. Both my weekends home were packed full of wedding activities.
Me and the bride before the ceremony. I didn't get any pictures after the ceremony but everything went great and the whole ordeal was so Brad and Rachael. Their reception that was held at the church reminded me something out of Alice in Wonderland. I loved it and it was all so creative and so her. After the church reception we headed out to The Red House and literally partied until dawn LOL. Rachael and Brad left early because they were tired and were heading out on their honeymoon early the next morning but we all stayed out and celebrated for them. It was so much fun and it also gave me a chance to catch up and spend some great quality time with my close friends.

Piper and I while we were getting ready.

The bachelorette party was the first weekend I was home in Fort Worth. I rode up with Rachael and we met all the other girls at our hotel. We had a fun packed weekend and enjoyed it so much. We even made a pact that now we have to all save our money and each year do something similar. The first night we went out to diner at a Mexican food restaurant down the block and then headed back to the hotel for Rachael's lingerie shower. She got some of the most adorable outfits and we had a lot of fun. The next day we went to the mall and shopped around. Rachael found her going away dress for after the wedding and somewhere throughout the day we all decided to dress up 80s style and go out that night. After we had hit every store in the mall we went to the nearest Goodwill and searched for the perfect outfits. That night after many cans of hair spray and I think a whole compact of eye shadow we went to eat sushi. After sushi we went to a club that was really 4 clubs in one. We stayed the majority of the night in the karaoke bar and had the best time.

This is all of us girls singing the legendary Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and as you can see Rachael is really into it. Ashley got down up front and played her air guitar solo which sadly I didn't get any pictures of. I am up there too so I had a girl from another table take pictures of us. Later on Rachael sang a couple other songs and we sang from our table along with everyone.

Piper and I all 80s out! It took a lot of talking to get Piper to get her hair and makeup done and I think it took bringing out the guilt to make it happen but I know she enjoyed it.

Rae, me, and Autumn at the sushi restaurant. A lot of the girls had never ate sushi before but it was a really great restaurant and had many choices for even the amateurs. I think they all really liked their dishes. I took pictures of everyone in their outfits and I will look back on these pictures for a long time and laugh. We looked awesome. Thanks to Ashley who did every one's hair and Rae did most of every one's dramatic makeup.

Ashley- you can't see her eye but she has a star framing it in all different colors.

Piper- she rocked the 80s school teacher look LOL

Me- I actually loved my outfit but I am living in the wrong decade I would love to be my age right now in like 1984. It would be crazy. I had really big hair going on if you can't see I have not only one hump on the top of my head but TWO.

Blair- her inspiration was the album cover of....I can't remember who? But everyone who saw her knew right off and said she hit the nail on the head.

Autumn- by far the best one in my opinion. I mean she looks like she walked right off the set of Dallas. I couldn't help but to laugh at her. I'm so glad she is grown up and we are close with her because I can remember the days when she was just the annoying little sister who wouldn't leave us alone. ;)

Christy- she looked just like teen witch and the really great thing she got her dress at a store in the mall...the 80s are back for real.

Amanda- she is channeling Pretty Woman LOL

Our lovely bachelorette- I have to say she was for sure 1980s barbie. Her ponytail stayed spiky through out the night and she had so much fun. Look at those bow sleeves!!!

Jennifer- she looked great too. The headband kills me.....she took a lot of time getting this outfit right and she pulled it off.

Group shot outside our hotel on our way to dinner. You should have seen the looks people gave us. They either looked at us like we were crazy or they got the idea straight away; there really wasn't any in between.

This is the cake that I had made for the party. It looked amazing and tasted even better it was a big hit with all the girls and I am so glad Rachael liked it.

Update from Iraq

Well, since I have been back in Iraq I have slacked off my blogging but I have so many updates. In August I am going home for 3 weeks instead of Paris, London, and Dubai. There is a really big reason but that will come in a later post!!! Other than that I have been working and it is very hot here. This month we have had a few parties for the 4th, a co-workers birthday, and the best was the World Cup. Pictures and details coming soon. Iraq is really coming together well our base is anyways. We have an Iraqi mall now which isn't really a mall that we have in the states. It is a pretty nice building with a real grocery store, a couple boutique type stores that has perfume, rugs, purses, movies, and knick knacks, and there is a barber shop. Outside the mall is an awesome fruit and vegetable shack. They have the best fruit....watermelon, mush melon, peaches, cherries, apples, grapes pretty much anything. Here are some cherries and peaches I got today. If we could drink I might never come home ! LOL only kidding Mom.

I hate...