Whole Lot of Posting Going On....

First things first....

Dallan got a 1st Class PFT (physical fitness test)! This is the best of the best in the company. He's been working towards this for as long as we've been married and he was finally able to do it (and right before they discuss promotions; he has immaculate timing....)! He did 10 straight pull ups, up from 7 before. 115 crunches in 2 minutes, up from 98 and ran the 3 miles in 21 mins and 3 sec, up from 24 minutes and some odd seconds (side note: I'd be excited if I could do a small fraction of any of this...). He was pretty jazzed about all of this and I'm so proud of him.

On another note, I went and saw Stop Loss last night. I can't explain why I HAD to do this; I know it teeters on the sick and twisted but I needed to see what Dallan's been seeing-what they've all been seeing and feeling-so that I know what we may be up against when he returns. It was heartbreaking and horrific and honest. I was crying the whole time and even more when I left and got home to see Dallan's pictures; especially the ones in uniform.

This war is so much more than who's right and who's wrong. It's more than a religion. The price of oil. The pride involved. It's about the soldiers, airmen, marines that are doing something that most of us couldn't do. It's a tough job; an honorable job. So...thank them whenever you can. Love them unconditionally. Pray for them without fail and welcome them home where they belong.

Here's a link for the movie just in case you haven't see much about it....

http://www.fandango.com/videos/102121

Lake Bled, Slovenia

So my favorite magazine just got better; Real Simple did a special travel edition and the bug has bit me so hard I'm already trying to figure a way to get more paid days off from work to trek around the globe. Moving straight to the top of my list is Lake Bled, Slovenia. I'd never heard of it but reading the articles and doing some research made me squirm with excitement! Maybe it's because I swear they filmed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang here (?!?!?) and I LOVE that movie (I know that's awful, but I've got great memories from watching Ol' Chitty and signing...Chitty Chitty Bang Bang we love you, high low anywhere you go....), but realistically it's because this is an undiscovered gem that I know Dallan and I will both love....

Anyways, June/July 2008...I'll be in a pletna heading from Grad to Otok...

Ah Paradise...

I thought I had sent all these pictures to Dallan, but I had the forethought to download them to my computer first (just in case they got/get lost in transit...). My sister and I went to Oahu, Hawaii in celebration of my 4th anniversary... Moe and I braved the waters with sharks, ate tons of good Hawaiian treats and relaxed as much as we could....

We had a great time, here are the pictures to prove it!

Technology and My OCD

I got an email today from Princess Cruises about pre-booking my shore excursions! I clicked through the link and signed Dallan and I up, just like that-it was so easy! For those of you who have traveled with me and know that before I can relax I need a plan, this is AMAZING! I can plan now, not stress about being the first person in line on board and best of all, Dallan won't have to deal with the OCD that organizing sometimes comes hand in hand with! We'll post pictures when we're back, but if you want to check out our planned trip, here it is:

http://www.princess.com/pb/itineraryDetails.do?voyageCode=D831

Isn't She Adorable?

Okay, so I know I'm totally biased but I have the cutest niece ever! She's such a freakin' ham (sorry sis; she's gonna be a handful by 12...) and seeing her cute little face just makes my day! I had to share the latest pic of her....

In the Beginning....

There was chaos.... Like all things directly (or indirectly for that matter) related to technology, I am eons behind....

(Side note: Boss if you are reading this, I'm totally up to speed on technology. I promise to not corrupt our files, shut down the server or have to re-install any software. I have also provided myself an "out" to this promise; I have programmed every imaginable help line into all my phones. You know, just in case...)

I thought I would start blogging at the beginning of Dallan's deployment as I thought that this life changing event was the beginning of the rest of our lives and thinking that we'd want to chronicle the year. I quickly realized though, that most of what has transpired this last year was either "classified" or way too personal. (We also discovered that with no email and very limited calling, snail mail is fun! We developed an old fashioned love story, complete with letters and doodles.) I also realized that we were stupid to think of his service in Iraq as the beginning of forever; this event is just the precursor that made us realize we haven't been "living", we've been getting by. Although there is no shame in this; we've worked hard and played too, we've just put things off for "later" or a "more convenient time".

Now, with his return looming in the near future (but still feels like forever....) I'm prepared to look to the future and live and let live. Life is about living and laughing; it's about loving-things we are ready to do again in full force. Like the 3R's of learning we've decided there should be the 3F's to life; family, friends and fun.

So, watch out life, the Livingston's are unstoppable....