B is for BOOYA! I got a "B" in Literary Criticism. It was a take home final essay, but it was not easy! I'm just so glad it is OVER! I definitely think that was my cue to move back to education courses. So this summer I'll be taking a course called Leadership 1. I think it's a 5 part series - yikes. So again, since tuition is free for me, I might was as well start climbing the PhD mountain. I have no idea what we'll be doing in a year...I mean we could move, win the lottery, have kids...WHO KNOWS! But no sense in not starting just because I don't know what the future holds.

So our anniversary was wonderful. Very low key, which I really prefer. I got home and Billy was cooking up a storm. Pasta alfredo with crab meat and garlic bread. No vegetables, just how he likes it! We also had red wine and Thin Mint ice cream. Yum-o. Then we took Patton for a long walk in the park and the weather was just perfect. 3 years down, a lifetime to go!

This weekend is Mother's Day, so we'll be making the trek down to Miami on Sunday Funday to spend it with the in-laws!

Three years ago today...my now husband was about to pass out from being nervous as hell and extremely hung over. And I was downing champagne and popping Vicodin with my best friends and dear mother. I kid you not. Today is our three year wedding anniversary! On May 1, 2008 I was getting ready to pack for our wedding in Virginia Beach, but first had to drive to Richmond to pick Billy up. Once we got back to Charlottesville, we were about to have dinner with my classmate and her husband. But damn me, I had to reach into the laundry room with my newly acrylic-manicured hand with full force and caught my pinky nail on the door frame and yanked the whole dang thing right off! Enter: me screaming like I have never screamed before!

So off to the campus health center we went! And they decided this finger situation was too much for them to handle, so they sent us next door to the UVA Medical Center ER. Seriously? For a broken finger nail? Let me tell you, it hurt like hell. They gave me x-rays, prodded my poor naked nail bed, cleaned me up, gave me some drugs and sent me on my way. So on my wedding day, I had a sweet bandage on my finger. I did NOT care because I had my healthy supply of Vicodin.

But all in all, it really was a great day. There is no other time when you can see all of your favorite friends and family all in one place!

I can't tell if three years has gone by fast or slow, because in one way it seems like the wedding was just yesterday, but then I look at all that has happened in the past 3 years and it is really a lot! I know I can say that our relationship is much stronger now that it was then, we know each other much better and are both better spouses because of it. We have certainly had our fair share of challenges, and I won't say I wouldn't change any of it, but I am happy that I have had Billy there for all of it!

This is what I noticed on my fence when I was coming home from walking the dog this morning! I guess at some point after I went to bed, Billy was feeling super patriotic and decided to fly all of our flags! GO USA!

Is this what we had to do to take the attention off England??? :)

I'm a little confused on one thing. How does Catherine Elizabeth get shortened to "Kate" with a "K"? I'm sure there is some reasoning behind this. But if I were going to be a princess, that would be all that mattered to me! Call me anything you want! I was getting sick of all the wedding coverage over the past several months because I didn't care much about the royals of another country. Heck, they don't even govern anything! But as soon as I got out of the shower this morning, I turned it on just as William and Kate began to walk back down the aisle. And what a trek! I wonder if they have rehearsals just like we do in the US? Or do they have microphones in their ears telling them what to do? Either way, I thought they both looked calm as could be!
I love loved her dress! I still till this day wonder why I never tried on a lace dress! Also, if I were the little girl's mother on the left, I would have had a talk with her about smiling and look a little more excited! That was her 15 minutes of fame!

The other day I was watching one of my new favorite channels, The Oprah Network and they were reviewing the show they did on military families. Tom Brokaw came in to talk to Oprah and her staff and told them that if you don't know anyone that is currently serving, then you don't really understand. I can agree with that, to a degree. My brother is a USAF pilot and was in Kuwait for four months. He came back in early March. I know that he goes to dangerous areas, but for the most part, he had a room to himself - sort of like a dorm and was fed well. My dad was a career Marine Corps officer and even he makes fun of my brother for his cushy USAF lifestyle.

That is certainly not the case for everyone. Billy's sister's husband is in Afghanistan for a year and these soldiers sometimes don't even have the basic necessities. I received an email from my SIL requesting supplies such as razors, shaving cream, deodorant, etc. Just basic stuff that I can't believe the Army isn't providing! She is even collecting ramen noodles! I am just floored. We sent our brother in law a package a couple weeks ago, so I got my super mom on the job for this next shipment. She contacted the Gold Star Mom(moms who have a son/daughter who passed away) and they have packages ready and waiting to be sent! I am so thrilled and so impressed with these women who relentlessly support our troops! If you have any interest in sending anything - even a card, it would be much appreciated! Everything can be sent to:
Alexander Cline
E Co, 2-2IN, 3BCT
TF Ramrod
FOB Andar
APO, AE 09364

This is my SIL's husband, Alex on the left:

Who joneses for food more than me? Only my dear husband. He wants very specific things all the time. Like a chicken tender sub from Publix or a Dunkin Donuts coffee. Let's be real - it is rarely anything that I make that he wants. One thing though that he always wants is dessert and I would say we have something on hand most of the time. He other day he said that it's ok if we have dessert every day because we're past the point of getting fat. He is dumb. I'm 28 and he's 31. I'm sure our metabolism will slow down a bit more between now and say....65? So I do not buy into that argument, thank goodness. But most of the time, I do oblige and make something and of course eat something too.

Today's easier than easy bake oven dessert is brownie cookies! All you need is a box of brownie mix, an egg, 2tbs water and 1/3 cup of oil. Grease the pan, throw some dough on like so:



And voila! COOKIES for all my friends!

What a weekend! Full of highs and lows, but mostly good. This morning I'm just recovering from the backlash of expressing my opinion. Sometimes, I guess if you don't have anything nice to say, you shouldn't say it at all. It's just hard to know those boundaries with family and biting my tongue when I think I know best.



Friday: I got out of work early because we had our annual college awards banquet. I have never gotten free food out of this place, so I was sure to get my share! Actually, a textbook company provided it all, so I still have yet to have a meal from them! Perhaps that is fine because I packed on nearly 5 pounds due to the weekly Chick-Fil-A at my last job. I got home, caught some Oprah, played with Patton in the pool, pulled some weeds and then enjoyed 15 pages of the poetical argument in Plato's Republic.


Saturday: Grocery shopping, unsuccessful bathing suit shopping, napping, article summarizing and then dinner/drinks at Bar Louie. If you have a Bar Louie near you, sign up for their email newsletter and you'll get $10 off your 1st purchase! www.barlouieamerica.com/

Sunday: Cooked Billy some greasy breakfast to nurse his 4 drink hangover, bathed Patton because he rolled in bird vomit/feces, church, mopping/laundry, and then we headed to the beach for our Baptism!



I grew up going to church and asked my parents when I was about 10 if I could get baptized, but they said that I was too young to make that decision. Billy was baptized around the age of 4 or 5 but very rarely went to church. This has been a decision that was long overdue for me, but we have never lived in one place for more than a year to get involved enough to do this. Our church doesn't have one of those pulpit pools, so the beach was the only option. Not my ideal venue, given that it is spinner shark season, but everyone made it through unscathed! We're both extremely happy with our decision!