Hurricane, husband, and horrible luck...

via

This picture cracked me up as soon as I saw it.  We've been weathering a pretty awful storm over here on the East Coast for the last couple of days.  We personally didn't get too much of it other than some really strong wind, clouds, and a little rain.  It's also been down in the 50s and 40s as far as the temp goes and sweaters are out in full force.  Over on the home West Coast they've been dealing with earthquakes and I think I'd rather take some wind and rain.  Hurricane Sandy should be on her way out of our area by tomorrow.  I can now check "Survive Hurricane" off my non-existent bucket list.

My husband is finally home!! It was great to spend the weekend with him and get things accomplished (sort of, see next paragraph).  There was of course a lot of time spent catching up on sleep and cuddling during this stormy weather.  I really love him.  Is it too much to ask for him not to go away again for a very, very, very long time?  Yes, I know, keep dreaming.

The long story short of this whole situation is that we collectively have horrible luck.

Our mission in life this weekend was to find a car.  We need one desperately and thought that it was going to be a piece of cake finding one.  NOT! We fell in love with two different cars this weekend and were ready to buy and they had either been sold an hour before we called or the day before.  Really? It was very discouraging and now I obsessively check Craigslist every couple of minutes so that doesn't happen to us again.  Maybe by next weekend we'll be fully mobile.

 *Crosses fingers and says a prayer*

I hope your weekends were all lovely and if you were over on this coast that you were safe and sound!

Rut.

I'm stuck in a rut.

My "routine" over the last month hasn't been anything close to normal.

There's nothing to blog about except the occasional happy list, maybe list, and birthdays.

I'm anticipating that in two more days things will start getting back to a more normal state.

Hopefully we'll have a car in the next week and then a house shortly after.

Then holidays start and the job hunting will really pick up and I'll actually have things to write about.

Hang in there with me while this ginormous transition time is still, well, in transition!

Birthday #2

Happy Birthday Becca!

This picture sums up a lot of our relationship.  You're silly and make me laugh. 

You dream without any hesitation and have the sweetest heart.

You also are incredibly wise for your age and I want to be like you when I grow up. 

  

I can't wait to see you this coming summer!

I love you!

All photos by Joni Llyod Photography

ninja style

Today my lovely roommate, Jess, and I took our two dogs children for a walk in the woods down the road from our house. It has a bunch of dirt bike and quad trails that are perfect for letting these two big guys run around and expel some energy .  We were doing great until we decided to follow some pink tape tied in the trees back to the truck.  Basically, there was a whole lot of this going on...

'Twas fun and I really wish I had my video camera rolling.

Hopefully the boys will settle down and take a nice long nap for their mommas tonight!

shorty

A (short) Wednesday Happy List:

Seeing and visiting with people from home.

Watching Sons of Anarchy with Jess.

Getting my dog healthy...no matter the cost.

That the boys will be home shortly!

Waking up, rested, before my alarm.

Seeing pumpkins everywhere.

Apple Cider.

football weekend.

Yesterday I got to go to my first East Carolina University football game against the Tennessee Tigers.

It was so much fun and I feel like Long Beach needs to step up their game and get their football team back.

Here's a couple pictures from the day!

I hope y'all are having a great weekend so far!

Look how big my cousins are getting! I love my boys!

 

yesterday's letters

Dear Lisa and David, you guys are seriously the best. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you renting me a car and inviting me down to the beach this weekend. I needed to get out of the house and this is the perfect place to go.  Dear Ben and Matthew, I'm excited to spend some time with my cousins and go to my first college football game/ECU game with you today!  Dear Morehead City, you make me want to live closer to the beach so bad. See picture above...who could not want to come here?  Dear husband, I really wish you were here with me this weekend. It almost doesn't feel right having all this fun without you.  Dear mom, dad, and siblings, I really wish you were here too. I miss you guys a lot.  Dear Corinne, I love getting crazy text messages from you in the middle of the night. You're not sorry.  Dear sweetheart, you get two letters because you're special. I miss you.

Link up with your letters over at Ashley's blog!

guilty pleasures...we've all got em'!

I have just a few guilty pleasures.

Nothing crazy. They are as follows.

Reading a really good book.

Coffee, coffee, coffee.

Cheesecake.

Recipe for Pumpkin Toffee Cheesecake here. 

And lastly, Vampire Diaries!

Season 4 starts in 15 minutes and I'm incredibly excited about it.

I'm sad I'm not going to be able to watch it with my CA family, but I'm glad I have some NC family here to watch it with me!

What is your guilty pleasure??

Bring on the birthdays!

Fun fact about my family!

All of us Mann, and now Massingale, siblings have birthdays within a few days/weeks of each other.

Except for husband...he misses out on being included in this super fun fact. Sad face. Moving on.

Starting in October and ending in December we get to usher in this fun time of birthdays and holidays.

To kick off these next few months is the only baby brother of the bunch.

You wouldn't think by looking at him now, but there was once a time in his life where Matt weighed just a couple pounds.  He was supposed to be due in November, (which I was excited about because I would have a sibling with a birthday in the same month as me...I was also the only one that wanted a baby brother...let that be know) but God and Matt had other plans and he was born early on October 11.  Now, he's 6 ft. tall, swims like a boss when he wants to, plays the guitar and drums, and can legally drive in about 6 months.  Shut the front door.  

I must admit that sometimes I wasn't very nice to my baby brother while he was growing up and for that I'm very sorry, but that doesn't change the fact that I love him like crazy and I'm super proud of the teenager he's becoming. 

Happy Birthday Matt! 

We love you!

cold day maybes

 

Maybe I've been in bed by 10:30 more nights in last few weeks than I can count.

Maybe I haven't been able to fall asleep til' after midnight.

Maybe the minute I get out of my bed I am looking forward to crawling back in it at night.

Maybe it's because I put my comfy down-comforter on and it makes my bed feel like heaven.

Maybe I've watched three awesome movies today.

The Birdcage, Snow White and the Huntsman, and Hook.

Maybe I'm going to look at a house tomorrow.

Maybe that house is down a dirt road.

Maybe I'm really excited about it.

Maybe I really wish my husband was home so we could go look at it together.

Maybe I made really good beef stew last night for dinner.

Maybe I've had two bowls of said stew today.

 Maybe I'm really excited for Sons of Anarchy tonight.

Maybe I realize that my life sounds a little pathetic right now.

Maybe I'm working really hard to change that.

A letter.

Dear Husband,

I miss you a lot.

While you've been away (which hasn't been all that long), I've found myself doing a lot of nothin.

I am on Pinterest way more than I should ever be, but I've found lots of yummy recipes to try when you get back and we get our own place.

Speaking of our own place, I've also obsessively been checking Craigslist every chance I get.  I wish I could say that I've found the most perfect place ever, but I haven't yet. Don't worry, we will.

I've also been looking for a job, watching a lot of movies, and cooking dinner every 3rd night (Jess, Tony, and I came up with a system).

Oh, I ALSO look at our wedding photos at least twice a day.

Our wedding was perfect and everything I could have ever wanted.

 Photo by the AMAZING Joni Llyod

Today made me miss you terribly more than any of the other days.

It was the first really cold, fall day of the year and you weren't here to cuddle with me and keep me warm (So I pulled out our down comforter and I'm currently wearing your pajama pants to bed).

Hurry up and come home.

I love you!

Finally.

via

It's finally cold.

Cold like I'm wearing multiple layers cold.

Cold like all the windows are closed.

Cold like we really need to light a fire.

It was nice waking up to the rain and thunder.

It's really nice to pull out long sleeve shirts from the garage.

It's really nice to say, "So long," to the humidity.

It's not nice that I didn't have anyone to cuddle with this morning.

It's not nice that I'm sitting on the couch by myself.

It's not nice that this month is going by so slow.

Happy Sunday lovelies.

Be it hot or cold, I hope you have a wonderful day.

Katy Perry

Isn't it funny how looking back four years you realize that things can change a lot?

Four years ago, I was in community college and working on our campus newspaper. 

I was covering the presidential election that year.

I watched both Nation Conventions, I researched countless differences in both party's policies, and when it came time for the Presidential Debate (which was tonight if you don't have a Facebook or Twitter or live in a hole in the ground) I was all over it. Now mind you, I don't like politics.  I'm not outspoken about them, I really don't follow them that well, and when it came time to take a class about it I was still not super stoked.

Fast forward to tonight.  I could have watched the debate, but do you want to know what I did instead?  I watched the Katy Perry - Part of Me movie.  It's not because I wasn't interested in hearing what Obama and Romney were gong to spar about tonight, but I was more interested in watching someone who has made their dream a reality.

See, my dream is to be a journalist.  Maybe not a political one, but one that delivers news to people everywhere.  A couple of days ago I sent off a e-mail to the editor of an online newspaper here at Ft. Bragg.  I was super nervous because I haven't applied to any jobs here yet and I even said a little prayer before I sent it off with lots of hope.  There hasn't been a response yet.  I'm debating whether or not to send another e-mail...it's hard to show up in person when you're still out a vehicle. 

That being said...

Sometimes I get caught up in the overwhelming talent of others.  

I get lost in other peoples' success and their gifts and then I start to throw myself a pity party.  Why do their dreams get to be a reality, when mine is still sitting on the ground waiting for its chance to take off?  Why was this student offered a job right out of college and I wasn't?  Why does this blogger have over a hundred followers and I don't?  Why can't some amazing breaking news happen right in front of me so I can jump start my career?

Then I have to stop and think logically for a second.

My life...is pretty damn good.

I have an amazing husband, family, and friends.

I have more support than I could ever need.

I have a God who has a plan for my life.

I might just be a little talented myself.

My career might not be taking off at lightening speed, but good grief, I'm only 23.

There is still time and there is no reason to give up hope.

  I'm also a firework...just kidding.

..

I need to start writing again.

Just for starters, I need to start writing thank you notes for all our friends and family who gave us wedding gifts

Then, I need to just write what comes to mind.  Poems, stories, and news articles.  Pen needs to be put to paper and my creative juices need to start flowing.

Wish me luck!