Planless vacation!

So my husband started block leave today and we have nooooo plans!  It is actually a weird feeling for us.  In the past block leave was a time to be cherished because that was when we would be reunited after long distances and time.  We would have every day planned months before.  But now since April we have been blessed to be living under the same roof finally! lol

I talked with a girlfriend of mine about it and she said that sometimes they take block leave to finish house projects.  I think that we might take a few days to finish the grill pad we started in our backyard.  We started it about two weeks ago and didn't even get past the leveling sand because it's been either too hot or too rainy outside.  Hopefully we get some decent weather this week.

Phase 1 of the grill pad

We also haven't seen my husband's dad and step-mom in Philly for a while now....and actually in the last 3+ years we've NEVER gone to see them together.  Chris was always either in Afghanistan or Germany or with me and when he was with me, half the time I was still working.  He went to see them before he left on deployment in 2009 and that was by himself because I had to work.  And then I went to his brother's high school graduation last summer.  So really it's been over a year since either of us have seen them.  Our visit is well overdue lol. 

I also hope that we can fit in a few trips to Myrtle Beach.  We've heard a lot of good things about the place from friends and family.  AND I just found out they have a Ben & Jerry's parlor there....TWO!!!  I absolutely loooove Ben & Jerry's ice cream.  So it would be a double treat for me if we went.  QT with the husband and QT with my sweet tooth!

A Brighter Day Indeed

Today turned out to be very productive.  My financial aid paperwork came in the mail today.  (Thank goodness for USPS address forwarding lol)  I got awarded a Pell Grant and a Subsidized loan which will cover everything! My admission packet didn't come in though so I decided to drive out to Pembroke today and get some things done and request my admission paperwork as well.

After paying for my orientation fee and getting my BID number, I sat down with one of the ladies in the Admissions office to go over my transfer evaluation.  Turns out over 70 credit transfer over making me a Junior....YAYYYYY!!!!  I was sooo exicted to hear that.  It was the light towards the end of the tunnel for me.  A lot of my friends are already graduated with their Bachelors and sometimes I feel like these last four....wait five years of school....have been wasted away.  But seeing that atleast 70 of my 90+ credits transferred over was a lovely surprise for me. 

Monday I'll meet up with the ROTC secretary to go over my education plan based off my transfer eval.  I guess I can officially say I'm a UNC Pembroke student!  Wish me luck!

Beyond Frustrated....

So school starts in three weeks and nothing is going smoothly!  I STILL haven't gotten my application packet.  I called today and they said it was going to get sent out today.....to FLORIDA!!!  So I told them that is the wrong address...they put me on hold to see if they could pull it out of the mail bin for today....oh wait...apparently it got mailed out yesterday!  Ughhh....so they are hopefully going to get another packet out today to my correct address here in North Carolina.  My next call was to Financial Aid to check my award status.  Good news is I did get awarded...Bad news is that they won't tell me how much I got awarded!  I have to find out in the mail...oh wait more bad news!  They are mailing my award letter to Florida too!  Can you say....AHHHHHHHHHH!!!  Yes I really feel like screaming...they said I MIGHT be able to get it fixed before the letter goes out if I fax in an address change request today but still...By the time it gets here I will be signing up for my classes and I won't even know how much money I have to use and if/what I will be owing  for my classes.  I really want to cry.

My next battle is to find out how many of my classes transfer so I can sign up for only the classes I need. Tomorrow I'm going to go to the registrar office and see if I can get a glimpse of hope....hope that they will take a majority of my classes so I don't need more than two years.    :sigh:  I hope something goes right tomorrow.  =(

College Jitters

So today has been a busy day running around getting things done before school starts.  I just got an email last week saying I got accepted to UNC Pembroke....FINALLY! lol So now I have TONS of things I need to do before school starts in hmmmm....only THREE weeks!

I had to go to the Army Education Center on post...took me like 20 minutes to find the place.  Then I had to drop off some papers to my husband.  In order to get in-state tuition, his Captain needs to sign a military affidavit or waiver so I can qualify.  Turns out I'm going to have to write up the memo...all his Captain does is sign it...so yay to more work for me to do lol.  Next I drove out to Pembroke.  I spoke with the ROTC secretary about signing up for classes.  Since I took two years of ROTC already I don't need to take the first year classes but I'll have to retake the second year classes because my second year at UCF was Air Force related and now I'll be transfering to Army.  Still awesome to know I don't have to retake both years.  Next, I went to the Student Health Services office and filled out my medical forms.

Now all I have left is to make a few follow up phone calls to Financial Aid and Student Health Services later this week to make sure all my information was received.  And last but not least, Transfer Student Orientation on August 13th.

I'm super excited to be starting school again but I'm nervous as well.  More nervous about ROTC really.  I haven't done ROTC for over two years now and I'm switching branches so it is going to be pretty different.  I hope I do well and maybe qualify for some free money too lol.

Ready...set...catching up!

Hello hello hello!

It's been a busy few weeks for me.  I my parents came up the 4th of July weekend.  It was sooo nice to have them over and for them to finally see our house!  Unfortunately my kitchenette table wasn't in yet but we improvised and pulled in my patio set so everyone could sit during breakfast lunch and dinner.  I had a full house!  My parents, both my sisters, my brother-in-law, and my dad's parents.  We had so much fun during those three days.  My brother and my dad helped me put up fans in my kitchen and my two guest bedrooms and upgraded my lights in the back and front porch.  On Saturday we used our firepit for the first time with my neighbors and roasted marshmallows to make smores while admiring some fireworks of people down the road celebrating a night early. Christian and my brother went fishing Sunday and came back with two fish!  It was a very productive fun filled weekend to say the least.  Unfortunately they couldn't stay for the 4th of July Celebration on Fort Bragg but it was great to have them over even if it was for a short time.

On July 4th, my neighbors, Christian, and I set up for the Fort Bragg Celebration.  It was sooo much fun!  We watched freefall paratroopers fly down to us, they did a canon salute for all 50 states (boy was that loud!), and then the finale of a great show of fireworks...and of course funnel cakes!  I think I ate enough funnel cake to cover me few a few months lol.  It was a great way to spend my neighbor Gary's last weekend before he deployed.

I'm sooo blessed to have the friends we've made since we've moved here.  We have become like a great big family and a super strong support system.  My poor husband has all his buddies deployed right now.  I know it makes him feel a bit left out the action overseas.  But not to worry though!  One of my neighbor's husband get back sometime next month so I'm sure Chris and him will be fishing in the weekends to come lol.  I hope my husband doesn't deploy in February so that they can all be home at the same time next August.  *Crossing my fingers*

Well today is a special day for many reasons.  It's my baby sister's 19th birthday!  (Ok maybe not so much a baby anymore lol)  And my cousin from Tennessee and his wife showed up EARLY this morning!  They will be staying with us for a few days so I'll be taking them around the base and Fayetteville to show as many tourist things I can find (not many lol).  My cousin was here many many years ago when his dad was stationed here but he was just a kid back then. 

Ok well time for me to make breakfast guys!  Enjoy the pics below and remember...tomorrow is FRIDAY! Please forgive my night pictures...I have yet to figure out how to focus my camera at night lol. :)  Stay blessed ya'll.

Getting ready for the Celebration

82nd Freefall Paratrooper

Cannon Salute to the States

Fireworks!

Just the adults now. :)

Gary's last day.  We miss you Gary!