Thanksgiving fiasco.

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

This year has been a little lot different than any other Thanksgiving I've ever celebrated. Why? 

1.  Cameron is got tonsils out yesterday, so he was ruled out for any feasting.
2. My parents live in California now and I am not spending this holiday with them. 
3. We ended up spending the entire day in the ER. 

Yesterday, I found a great recipe (here) for crock pot turkey breast. I mean it's not my dads BBQ turkey (yes you read that right... BAR-B-QED TURKEY) but it works! If you're thinking "Today is Thanksgiving and you just found your recipe yesterday, how did you know what to buy at the store?" I didn't. I was one of those folks that every year in the past I have made a mockery out of for waiting until the last minute to do the shopping. Sorry guys, I'm one of you now, YAY adulthood and procrastination. Honestly due to Cameron's surgery I wasn't even planning on making a Thanksgiving dinner, I was going to make mac and cheese and call it good. 

I sat at work yesterday, and after taking a survey from my co-workers decided it's not insensitive for me to make food even though Cameron couldn't eat it. He can however eat taters and stuffing, just not turkey. I braved Smith's yesterday evening at 5:30 and MAN OH MAN was it a madhouse. I had to go anyways to get Jell-o, pudding, etc. for Cameron so I figured I would just pick everything up in one shot. GUYS, due to the fact I have the complete layout of that store memorized, I was able to make my list by aisle and I got in and out in UNDER 20 minutes. Yeah I know, it's impressive. 

So I had this master plan on how my Thanksgiving was going to go. 

• We would get up, watch the parade in our pajamas.
• I would make my turkey.
• We would catch up on the shows we missed while he was away.
• I would finish feast on my delicious meal.
• Lastly, I would pass out on the couch from the tryptophan overload and all would be well with the world.

Well that is not at all how the day turned out. The first half was exactly as planned up until the catching up on our shows. About 11:30 Cameron ended up getting sick. When that happened one of the scabs on his throat fell off and he started profusely bleeding. We didn't know he was bleeding until about 12:30 after he took a nap and woke up to a mouth full of blood and we couldn't get it to stop. He's never been the one who is hurt, I've never seen him in tears due to pain, or so weak. This time the roles have reversed. I felt helpless, panicked, but above all I was scared. However, I put on my brave face for Cameron (because the last thing he needs is to be having post-op complications, AND worrying about keeping me calm) and went to work on finding a solution. 

I called the ENT surgeon on call and told him what was going on. He told us he would call into the ER and head down to IMC. We got to the hospital and were taken back immediately. About 2:00 I went to the cafeteria (because I was starving, and I have an unhealthy obsession with hospital food) I called my mom and just broke down. My dad has had a broken back since I was 4 and he's been in and out of the hospital my whole life. She was the best person to give me advice on how to handle it. 

I want to be a trauma nurse and I was starting to second guess myself. If I couldn't handle a small thing like this, how would I handle a heart attack patient, or someone who cut off their fingers in a lawn mower. I ended up talking to Cameron's nurse who told me the same thing my mom did. It's harder when it's your loved one who is hurt because it's harder to detach yourself emotionally than when it's someone you don't know or have a bond with.

I got back into Cameron's room around 2:30 and he was passed out. He stayed that way for 2 hours. I actually ended up napping in the chair leaning over onto the bed holding his hand. 

When he woke up at 4 he got sick and they were almost positive he would start bleeding again, but he didn't. By some form of fate they didn't have to cauterize him again and at 6 PM we got to go home. Not exactly the ideal way to spend Thanksgiving, but I am so grateful for the doctor and amazing nurse we had tonight who sacrifice their holidays with their family to help out complete strangers. 

Finally we got home around 7 and my turkey turned out AMAZING, but I was too tired to make stuffing, green beans, and taters. I'm just going to wait until tomorrow for my Thanksgiving feast after I hit the mall for Black Friday deals. What better time to spend your birthday money than on the best sales day of the year?? 

So although we did not have a normal Thanksgiving, I would have rather spent it in the hospital with my husband than spend it anywhere else without him. 

I will finish this post by just saying how thankful I am for my friends and family who checked up on not only Cameron, but on me as well throughout the day. Also, I am so thankful FOR Cameron; without him I don't know where or who I would be right now. Even while we were sitting in the hospital and he was dealing with some of the worst pain of his life, he did nothing but apologize to me for ruining my Thanksgiving and for being so needy. Even when he is in tears due to pain, he cares more about me than he does himself. That is what love is about. 

Cameron, if you're reading this... Thank you. Thank you for taking care of me all of those times I have been in and out of the hospital. I can honestly say I don't know how you did it so flawlessly because personally, I'm a wreck worrying about you. Thank you for showing me how selfless of a person you are, and for reminding me how much you love me. You don't have to say it all the time, the little ways you care for me in YOUR time of need say more than enough. I love you. 

My family, they may be dysfunctional.. But they're mine 

First turkey, success.

Weekend Shenanigans

This weekend was such a whirlwind! I got my hair done, DEEP cleaned my house after mine and Kelsey's birthday fiasco, set up for Christmas, AND my husband FINALLY came home!


When I say that our birthday was a MESS I am not making light of the situation. It was a DISASTER. Hilarious and so much fun but a it looked like a hurricane of glitter, feathers, and confetti came through my entire house. Have you ever tried to vacuum confetti and feathers? It's nearly impossible, and just one room takes about 5 trips to the trash can to empty the vacuum out. I kid you not I have gone over the entire house at least 4 or 7 times and there are still pieces of party everywhere. They had put saran wrap on my bed and under it was glitter and feathers. I tried getting it all out before I slept but when I woke up it looked like I had been to a Ke$ha concert or a strip club in Vegas. It was EVERYWHERE. Thankfully after 3 hours, a lot of technical problems with the vacuum, and some beer,  I got my room livable again.

The Garage

This is just the bed... Not the floor or the bathroom

Saturday I woke up early and headed to my hair appointment. I was super nervous because I decided to completely change it up, but man oh man does it look amazing! Anyone in the Salt Lake/Utah County area go to Salon Beleza in Saratoga Springs! Brandi does the BEST job. Seriously I've never been disappointed by her! 

After I got done with my hair I ventured home and finished cleaning my bedroom and then waiting for Kelsey to get home from a birthday party so we could finish the house together. Two really is better than one when it came to cleaning up hurricane glitter because within 3 hours the house looked INCREDIBLE it was scrubbed and completely spotless. Since we finished way earlier than we thought we decided to decorate for Christmas, I know that it's not Thanksgiving yet but Cameron gets his tonsils out Wednesday and I wanted to surprise him with a decorated house that way he didn't have to help. We stayed up till about 1 am listening to Christmas music, dancing, decorating, and drinking. What I thought was going to be the most stressful day ever actually turned into a fun night.

Christmas decorations my Great Grandma made.

My favorite part of Christmas was always this village. Handpainted by my Grandma and passed to me last year.

As much fun as Saturday was, the highlight of my weekend was that CAMERON CAME HOME. I got to the airport about half an hour early, and I was nervous! I have no idea why  but I honestly had the biggest pit in my stomach. It almost felt like nerves from a first date, hoping that he likes me and missed me as much as I missed him. When the people started coming out I sat and watched, legs shaking, teary eyed, and excited. I saw him long before he saw me and my heart fluttered. I couldn't wait any longer, I grabbed him and hugged him for what seemed like forever... Until we had to move out of every ones way for them to walk past us. He never let go of my hand. I was smitten, and my nerves dissipated as soon as he hugged me. 

Once, we left the airport we went to his dads to pick up his car, and my birthday present! It's by far the most beautiful necklace in the whole world. Rose's necklace from Titanic has nothing on this baby. We went home and hung out all night, just the two of us. We didn't talk much but just sitting in the living room together made me feel so at ease, like I didn't have a worry in the world. I couldn't be happier where things are right now and I know the best is yet to come in all aspects of my life. 

Not the best picture but I was just so dang excited he was home!

BEST.PRESENT.EVER

Hope y'all had as great of a weekend as I did! Thanksgiving is only a few days away! 

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22!

Wow! I didn't even realize I haven't blogged this week, oops! 

Last week was one of my best friends (and roommates) birthday and tomorrow marks MY 22nd year of life! Today's post is going to be a little bit all over the place so I apologize. 

Two weekends ago we started the celebrations (because who wants to contain your birthday to just one day?) Now when I say celebrations, please by no means think that we are celebrating daily. It has been so much fun having our birthdays 6 days apart, we get to celebrate for twice as long and we get to do it together. 

On the 7th we went to the Paint Mixer in Salt Lake and if you haven't been there. I highly recommend it. What's better than mimosas and painting? NOTHING. I was nervous because the entire time I was painting it just looked like a bunch of blobs of color with no actual substance. Finally, at the very end when we put the finishing touches on it, it came together and I am so proud of it! I am not artistic in ANY way unless you count coloring books artsy. My mother however, has an art degree and can pretty much paint anything so it was nice to feel that connection. 

Last weekend, Kelsey, Deeds, and I went to my first hockey game since I was little (so I don't remember going) and man oh man did I LOVE IT! I used to figure skate competitively so being back to a rink, even just sitting in the crowd, was an amazing feeling. The energy was so amazing, screaming at the refs and players, along with the fights was so much fun. I even fell in love HA! Not literally, obviously, but there's always one player you can't take your eyes off of, not so much because he was good looking (that was just a plus) but because you can tell how passionate he is for the sport. Something about seeing someone with a passion and fire in their eyes just makes them 100% more attractive than looks alone. 

Tomorrow is my 22nd birthday and to end the festivities I am getting my hair done, and then we are going out to the Gateway Mall to watch them do the tree lighting. I love this time of year, not just because my birthday but because of the whole season and the feeling of pure bliss and happiness. I swear it's nearly impossible to be sad during November and December. 

This will be the first year (of probably many) that Cameron is not home to celebrate my birthday with me. It's hard and at times I doubt my strength to go on without him home, but I knew what I was getting into when I said "I do." He was in the military long before he and I got together. I knew that missing birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, etc. was just apart of the job. I know he would be here if it were up to him. 

So, for my 22nd year of life I am going to try something new. I am going to put my all into becoming a better me; a better sister, friend, daughter, and wife. I want to be the person I know that I can be deep down. I know that 22 isn't significant (unless you're T-Swift) but with a new year comes all new opportunities to better yourself. 

Starting out, I am going to do the most important step in becoming a better person.... I am going to love myself. All of my flaws, all of my quirks, every little thing I dislike about myself... I am going to learn to love and accept them. I can no longer live in my own mind where I am unhappy. When you're constantly fighting with depression, loving yourself is not always an easy task. I can't just tell myself to be happy. I have to truly feel it. So I will do things that make me happy. I will no longer come home and plop in front of the TV counting the hours until I have to start my next day. I will no longer put off chores that need to get done because "I just don't feel like it." I will start loving myself and in order to love myself, I need to love where I am. Everything is a part of a grand plan, I am exactly where I am supposed to be in life and I need to be happy with that. I have pushed myself so hard to get into school, and begin my career. Instead of being upset with having to wait until January, I will be happy that I get to START! 

I'm going to finish the projects that I have started. I am going to CLEAN my house and ORGANIZE everything so that it has a place and maybe even get rid of some things I truly don't need (gasp) once I declutter my house, maybe I can start decluttering my brain, and my life. I am no longer going to take little things for granted, nor will I continue to get upset over little things.  

I started the process of a new year yesterday. I changed my phone number. A number I've had for 11 years. It sounds silly, but it was almost like I was giving up my past. I felt sad, but I also felt relieved and happy. I get to start over in some aspect. New age, new number, new me?? Maybe that's a bit of a stretch.

Well enough ranting for the day! Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Veterans Day

Yesterday was Veterans day, and my 3 veterans were not with me. This is the first year that my dad has been away from me, ever. We have always been EXTREMELY close to each other, hardly ever apart. Now he is 664.1 miles away from me. Normally on Veterans Day we would all get together at dads for a tri-tip, potatoes, and some sort of veggie. That was just the tradition. However, yesterday I went home to an empty house. Cameron is training, my dad is in California, and my grandfather is no longer with us. Luckily my roommate got home about an hour after I did with dinner. I ate my Wendy's and tried not to miss what I had always known.

I would find myself enjoying my glass of wine but my brain would be wandering off missing the familiarity. I was sad. I miss my husband, and I miss my dad. Thankfully, I was able to call my dad and talk to him on my way home from work and tell him how much I miss him and was thankful for his service.

My dad has been disabled since I was 5 so he retired and stayed home and raised me while my wonderful mother did everything she could and worked her bum off to provide for us. Another reason my dad and I are so close, he raised me. I know more about changing a radiator on a car than how to braid hair thanks to my pops. I know everyone says that they have the greatest dad in the world. I truly do, this man has sacrificed so much. He has always put me and my needs WAY before his own. Hell, I would rather hang out with my dad than any of my friends on any given day of the week. He's that amazing.

I wasn't able to talk to Cameron until later due to our conflicting schedules, but once I talked to him I missed him even more. This has been the first time he's left that I've truly to my core felt like a part of me was missing. Normally, he leaves, I do my thing while he's gone and he comes back in what seems like a blink of an eye. This time it feels like he has been gone for ages and I am just counting down the days until he comes home to me.

Cameron and I haven't always had the perfect marriage or relationship in general. With any relationship you have your ups and downs. Along with the wreck and many other trials, things have popped up that weren't always easy to overcome. Somehow we have pulled through. He truly is my soulmate. He goes to work everyday at a job that is not easy, nor extremely fun. However, he goes everyday to provide for me and give me the life I've always dreamed of. He is the most supportive person I've ever known, and is constantly pushing me to be a better person and follow my dreams.

Finally, my grandfather. Who passed away in a plane crash when I was 5. Although I was young when he left, he was my BEST friend. I saw him all the time and when I didn't see him, I would call him. I blame him whole heartedly for my love of Dr. Pepper and Double Stuft Oreos. In the short time he was with me, he left such an impact on my life. I still remember his voice and how he always smelled of fiberglass and cigarettes from working in the shop. He also made the best root beer floats known to man. I remember the last thing we said to each other only minutes before he got on the plane "I love you dork, be good while I'm gone" to which I replied "I'm always good dork. I love you forever." Those last words have stuck in my mind for the last 17 years. Because of him, I refuse to let anyone go anywhere without saying goodbye and telling them I love them. You never know when it will be the last time.


Thank you all, family, friends, strangers in the military for going above and beyond the call of duty so that us Civilians can live freely. Your sacrifices do not go unappreciated. You go months or years without seeing your family, holidays spent away, milestones are missed. All because you are fighting for our rights. I could never express how unbelievably grateful I am for each and every one of you. I not only celebrate you today, but everyday because your job is not just one day a year. It's every day, every year. 

Jack David Siebenhaar- Navy

David Scott Siebenhaar- Army 

Cameron Michael Peterson II - Army National Guard

Managing mental illness

I like to try and keep my blog happy and fun but life isn't always those things, sometimes life is hard, and sometimes you wonder how you can possibly make it another day. So today's post reflects on the hardships life puts you through. This is by far the hardest most emotionally draining post I will probably ever do (I've been rewriting and editing for about 3 days) so bear with me.

It's a very long post, so you can either read it.. or skip it. 

I have debated sharing my struggles with mental health for a while but never felt like I had an outlet or a place that was safe for me to talk about it. What better place then on a blog where hundreds of strangers can see it, read it, and silently judge me? Yes, that's where my mind first goes because of the lovely friend I have named anxiety. I have to constantly remind myself, "You are not the only person who feels this way, you aren't the only one who feels alone in a room full of people. Speak up, get it out, help someone who might be going through what you are and won't talk about it."

At the age of 14 I was diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression. It was hard, kids my age talked about mental illness as something to be ashamed of and acted like people with mental illnesses were "crazy." I wouldn't necessarily say I was crazy, I just had very little motivation to live.

One day after my parents had separated (they're back together now) I was sitting in my dads apartment and I just sat on the couch and stared out the window for hours. I didn't have anything on TV or any music playing. I was simply sitting in silence looking outside. That's the first time my dad had noticed something was not right. Over the next few weeks he had been watching me and had talked to my mom about watching me as well. I was so wrapped up in my own head and my own world I didn't even notice that they had been keeping tabs.

I stopped going out with friends, I stopped singing, listening to music, and dancing. I had stopped all of it because I just could not find joy in the things that used to make me happy. I remember this went on for about 2 months and one night I had been watching TV with my dad when all of a sudden I started crying. He asked me what was wrong and I couldn't answer, because honestly I didn't know. He thought it might be due to the separation, or school, heck it could have been because my friends weren't around much. Honestly, to this day I don't know what was wrong, it felt like nothing but everything all at the same time.

I had been crying so hard that I sent myself into a frenzy, I couldn't breathe and my inhaler wasn't helping. This was much more than an asthma attack. I felt like I was drowning, like if I took a deep breath I would suffocate. It was by far the scariest moment of my life. I was hyperventilating and there was no sign of slowing down. My poor dad didn't know what to do, so he got me in the car and took me to the hospital. I remember the whole way there my dad just kept telling me to breathe, he was trying to keep my mind occupied with my favorite songs and trying to get me to talk but I couldn't. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe normal breaths, my heart and lungs felt like they were going to pop right out of my chest.

When we got to the hospital I was seen immediately (I guess it's not completely normal for a 14 year old to come in with severe chest pains) they hooked me up to machines, IV's because I was severely dehydrated due to not taking care of my health, and a breathing treatment machine. The problem was that I couldn't get my breathing under control for the treatment to work. With nebulizers you have to take long breaths of the foggy medication for it to get into your lungs. Finally after 10 minutes of realizing that it was not my asthma they put some sort of tranquilizer in my IV. It took another 10 minutes for it to take effect but once it did, I was finally able to breathe, I was able to talk, and I was ready to get answers. I was sent home and told to follow up with my primary care physician the next day.

My mom took me to my Dr the following afternoon, we spent about an hour talking about everything going on in my head and how I was feeling. Finally we had a diagnosis. I had suffered a major panic attack and had clinical depression. Depression runs in my family but I'd never actually seen what it can do to a person first hand. I spent the next 3 years hiding my illness, I had told a couple people and their reactions were always the same... "But you're life is so great." or my personal favorite "You don't look like the typer of person who would have depression." What are we supposed to look like? Are we supposed to live in sweat pants, look a mess, and never talk to anyone to fill your stigma of what depression is? So from then on I went ahead with life pretending like I was a normal teenager all the while depending on medication to keep my head above water. 

When the wreck happened I was two months shy of my 18th birthday (read about the accident here.)  I had been doing well and my medication had helped majorly throughout the years. However, once I woke up in a hospital room unable to move my neck and wired and tubes poking out of me everywhere I went straight into panic mode. I was scared terrified and couldn't remember how I ended up in the position I was in. I don't remember what happened after the panic attack other than I woke up the next day and finally was ready to hear what happened to me. Do you know how hard it is for a 17 year old to be told that her neck was broken, she lost a unhealthy amount of blood, AND that she may never walk again?

I made the decision to do everything in my power to leave that hospital as soon as I could. Thinking back, I wish I wouldn't have pushed myself as hard because now I have issues that could have been corrected had I not pushed myself as hard. But you live and learn right?

Fast forward to December 2011 about 3 months POST wreck. I had been having nightmares and panic attacks in my sleep. I was in a neck brace, so when I would have these episodes it literally felt like someone was strangling me and I couldn't breathe. I would get into spells where I would be overly happy and excited for a week or two and the CRASH and burn with sadness that couldn't be solved. 

Once again I made my way to the doctors to talk about what was happening. That was the day I was diagnosed with Panic disorder, PTSD, and Severe Depression bordering on Manic Depressive Disorder. Now I really felt crazy. I couldn't even handle my life when I was asleep. How the heck was I supposed to handle it while I was awake? The answer was always the same... Medication. So I took the medication and moved on with my life. 

Fast forward to March of this year. I had been doing extremely well with my disorders and physical ailments (thanks to the 14 pills a day I was taking.)  Cameron and I finally decided we were ready to start a family and add one more to our household. I headed to the doctor to talk about what I needed to do in order to make my body "baby friendly." The first answer was drop as many medications as possible. 

I was terrified. I'd been on medication for 3 1/2 years. The easiest medication to get off of was the 12 pills for my physical health. I replaced a lot of the medication with vitamins and supplements. What I was afraid to come off of was my "crazy meds" and my sleeping medication. The first couple months I had episodes constantly. I would be overly happy and then the next week I would be so angry or upset that I would scream and cry for hours. There were even a couple times I blacked out because I was so upset and I don't remember anything but "coming to" on the floor crying. It was hard. I almost thought it was impossible and I was close to giving up. 

Finally in about May I decided to sit down with myself and have a talk (that sounds crazy but hear me out.) It was a day that Cameron was gone and I was home alone. I sat on my bed and closed the door so the animals couldn't get in and interrupt me and my thoughts. I remember telling myself "This illness does not define you. You are so much more than this. You can be happy without medication. You just need to find something worth being happy for." It's not that I wasn't happy with my life. I had everything anyone could want at 21. I owned my own house, my car, had animals, and a loving husband. I just needed something to push me to realize I was a genuinely happy person. 

I thought about bringing a baby into the world and that's when it clicked. I didn't want to bring a child into this world until I was happy with myself. I didn't want to have to raise a child and be on medication to make me happy. So right then and there I decided "I can do this, I don't need anything but love for myself to be happy." Since that day I haven't touched medication again. I am not on any pills for physical or mental disabilities and I strive every day to be a better person than I was yesterday. 

I still have a hard time going out in public to places without someone with me. Even the grocery store puts me in a panic, like everyone is watching me and judging me for what I look like or what I buy. I just have to remind myself that we are all there for the same reason, and people don't care about me at the grocery store. They are too wrapped in their own lives to worry about what I buy for dinner.

Earlier this week I had my first episode since March/April. It was scary, I didn't know how I was going to continue without Cameron home to occupy my mind and keep me focused on something else until the panic was gone. I was laying in bed and getting ready to go to sleep when the ever so familiar feeling of drowning came back. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest and literally sucking the life out of me. Luckily Cameron was able to text me and relieve my stress. I still struggle daily on how to make myself happy and confident in my own skin, but every day I remind myself why I don't need medication. 

I understand, every ones struggle is different. Some people aren't able to get off of their medication, and that's OKAY. It doesn't make you less of a person or make you unlovable. Just be yourself and do what you need to do to be the best person you can be, whether it's by getting help by medication or finding someone to talk to. You are worth it. You are amazing. You deserve this life just as much as everyone else. Most importantly, you are never alone. 

The most common underlying disorder is depression, 30% to 70% of suicide victims suffer from major depression or bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) or 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255).

Remember: Eight out of ten people considering suicide give some sign of their intentions. People who talk about suicide, threaten suicide, or call suicide crisis centers are 30 times more likely than average to kill themselves. Talk with the person about your concerns. Communication needs to include LISTENING. 

Statistics and information provided by http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/

New Beginnings

In life there are no guarantees, no handbook on how you should handle certain situations; There is no predestination set to tell someone "you're going to be a teacher" or "you're going to be a doctor." We get to make these decisions on our own. 

Yesterday, I made one of biggest and scariest decisions of my adult life. I decided to leave my job and pursue a different career path. I have been here for almost a year and a half and it has become familiar, and the people I work with have almost become like family. Making the decision was rough but I knew it was what I needed to do. 

I have always wanted to be in the medical field, and let's face it, medical/nursing school is not cheap. For now I decided to start small and get my foot into the door in this field, which is why starting in January I will start my Phlebotomy course. With Cameron's deployment right around the corner, what better time to start something new than when I need to keep myself occupied the most? The way I see it, I can put 110% into this course and find a new job and help myself grow and change while Cameron does the same thing from 7,166 miles away. 

Honestly, I am hoping to get a job at a hospital and work swing or night shift. It seems the night time is when I miss him most and if I can keep myself occupied more at night... I will have an easier time getting through this deployment. (But I will be happy to have any job doing something I feel passionate about)

 I try to look at the bright side of him leaving, one of those positive points is that regardless of where I work I wont have to try and find something that works with his schedule so the sky is the limit. I could work weekends, nights, random shifts, and I wont have to worry about missing time with him. 

So as of December 11th I will be leaving a workplace I have become so familiar and comfortable in and start a new adventure with a career I have no experience in. It's frightening, but it's also extremely exciting to be able to take this leap and begin my new life without too much fear.

I am so thankful that Cameron has supported me and pushed me to do something to help others. Without his persistence and confidence in me, I don't know if I can honestly say that I would be pushing my limits and getting out of my comfort zone. 

So as I finish up my call center journey here, I am grateful for the opportunities it has given me and the wonderful people I have met along the way. There are always good and bad days in any profession, so I can't say that it's been a walk in the park. However, it has been an great experience and I will never forget the lessons and values I have learned from working here. 38 more days until my new chapter begins!

Halloween weekend.. Hello November!

I hope everyone had a FANTASTIC Halloween weekend. I know I did. I was so happy to have my sister-in-law in town and hang out with her all weekend! I just love her so much. It's crazy how much alike we are and how well we get along. Seriously, even if we weren't related I'm pretty sure we'd be best friends anyways. So Friday night I went straight from work to my father-in-laws house to the Halloween party. It was a blast, there was about 30-40 people there at any given time throughout the night and people were coming and going until about midnight. It started to die down right as I was leaving. Everyone brought amazing food and good drinks. 

Satuday was Halloween, I got my new comforter in the mail and it was PERFECT for my bedroom, I was so excited to put it on the bed and hang up all my things. But I had to wait until Sunday because Saturday night we went trick or treating out in Magna at a friends house and it was so much fun! I loved seeing the kids costumes and there was even a guy dressed up as "The Man in The Yellow Hat" from Curious George. We had a great night and I didn't get home super late either which was nice. 

Sunday marked the start of November which just happens to be my second favorite month (December being my absolute favorite) my 22nd birthday is on the 19th! Honestly, I'm not as excited as I normally am. I feel like after you turn 21 it's just another day. I am pretty excited for Thanksgiving though. Cameron is getting his tonsils out the day before so we are going to have a nice day and evening at home because let's face it... he wont be wanting to go anywhere. So I'm excited to get to be a little selfish and have our last Thanksgiving before deployment alone together watching movies in front of the fireplace snuggled up on the lovesac. 

Sunday, I put together my comforter and redid the bedroom and hung a few things up (like my chalkboard) and a beautiful picture of an elephant that Cameron bought in Park City a few months ago. I'm officially starting to get my house to feel like a home. It only took 2 years and Cameron telling me he is deploying for me to get into domestic mode. I'm really excited to come home and love my house like I did when we first moved in. It's amazing what a couple screws and decoration can do for your morale! 

I have pretty much ZERO fall decorations for Thanksgiving, but I am a very firm believer that you don't decorate for Christmas until the day AFTER Thanksgiving. However, I feel like every year it gets a little more difficult to wait but I will do it. 

Oh and last but not least Cameron wanted me to make sure I mad a PUBLIC apology for my blog post about the pumpkin patch. We had gone before together and I totally forgot because it was right after the wreck and my brain is a little fuzzy from that time. So dear, I am sorry I forgot that you took me and you have been put back in the running for husband of the year award.  

I am now a lady with a chalkboard! Let the fun festive decorations begin!

The beautiful picture Cameron bought me in Park City.

I swear he doesn't skype to talk to me, he only ever wants to talk to P. I'm pretty much chopped liver to him.

Last but not least, my room is almost complete. Just need to replace the canvas on the left and add curtains!