Updates On Me + 30 Pictures!

Hello, friends!

I'm so relieved to finally have a few moments to properly update my blog and do the "30 pictures" that I saw on my friend Melodie's blog a few months ago.


Anyway, as of last week, I'm officially finished with classes towards my Master's Degree!  I haven't received my final grade for the class yet but according to my calculations, I have an "A" which subsequently estimates my overall final GPA at roughly 3.90.  A 3.90!  I didn't graduate high school with a GPA even close to that and sadly, my undergraduate GPA was not quite a 3.0 (thanks to an "active" social life in my early 20's, lol) so I'm beyond pleased with how my efforts and hard studies have paid off this time.  Now, all I have left is the Oral Comprehensive Exam on August 11th (the day after my 33rd birthday, ugh) which will be conducted via webcam so I'm spared the cost of flying out to the campus in Arkansas to take it in person.  Assuming I pass that, I'll be officially a Graduate School Graduate!  haha.


Ok, so on to the fun part which is this picture thing I've been wanting to do.  I figure my blog could use some "spice" with pictures and well, it's just plain fun to do this kind of thing.  Plus, it gives you, my fellow blog follower, some sort of additional glimpse into my life, interests, what makes me "tick", etc.  So...enjoy! :)

Pic 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts:

1.  I despise cold weather
2.  I served 4 years in the US Air Force
3.  I have an A.A.S. in Electrical Systems, a B.A. in Communications and a M.S. in Operations Management
4.  I'm terrified of heights yet I've gone skydiving once!
5.  Ignorant people annoy the crap out of me
6.  I'd love to start an animal rescue sanctuary some day
7.  I'm much more of a giver than a receiver
8.  I WILL write a book and have it published someday
9.  I don't take anything for granted.  Ever.
10.  I believe true friends are hard to come by and when you find them, hold on to them for dear life!

Pic 02 - A Picture Of You and The Person You Have Been Close With For a While

Pic 03 - A Picture Of The Cast From Your Favorite Show

Pic 04 - A Picture of A Habit You Wish You Didn't Have



Pic 05 - A Picture of Your Favorite Memory

(Old school 6th and 7th grade memories!  I'm the one w/ the blue "fanny pack" in the top pic and the bottom one I'm wearing the hat looking disgusted at my mom taking first day of school pics, haha!)

Pic 06 - A Picture of A Person You'd Love To Trade Places With For a Day

(Jodi Picoult.  I'd love to be a famous writer for a day and I love her books)

Pic 07 - A Picture Of Your Most Treasured Item

(This is the award I received for Maintenance Professional of the Year in 2006.  My proudest moment in the Air Force.  The banquet was held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and that night lives on in my mind forever.  Oh, that's an old picture of me in the background ;)

Pic 08 - A Picture That Makes You Laugh

Pic 09 - A Picture of The Person Who Has Gotten You Through The Most

(My Mom <3 )

Pic 10 - A Picture With The Person Whom You Do The Most Messed Up Things With

(This group about covers the criteria for "messed up" things.  Co-workers.  Go figure, lol)

Pic 11 - A Picture of Something You Hate

(Government spending and the overall current economy.  Nauseating.)

Pic 12 - A Picture of Something You Love

(Havaianas flip flops.  If I could wear them all year long (and to work), I would!)



Pic 13 - A Picture of Your Favorite Band Or Artist

(I like the "older" alternative bands.  Today's music just isn't the same!)

Pic 14 - A Picture of Someone You Could Never Imagine Your Life Without



                                    

(My Mom <3)

Pic 15 - A Picture Of Something You Want To Do Before You Die

(write and publish a book!!)

Pic 16 - A Picture Of Someone Who Inspires You

 Pic 17 - A Picture of Your Biggest Insecurity

(Regardless of how much weight I lose, it's still there!  The dreaded cellulite :/ )

Pic 18 - A Picture of You When You Were Little

(this was about age 5-ish, I think?)

Pic 19 - A Picture of Somewhere You'd Love To Travel

 (Bali, Indonesia.  It's beautiful there and I'd love to experience the culture)

Pic 20 - A Picture of Something You Wish You Could Forget

(This test and others like it.  And the pain caused by infertility)



Pic 21 - A Picture of Something You Wish You Were Better At

(drawing and painting - I'd love to have the "eye" for this kind of stuff!)

Pic 22 - A Picture of Your Favorite Book

Pic 23 - A Picture of Something You Wish You Could Change

(To have my baby girl Tiki back in my life *sigh*)

Pic 24 - A Picture Of Your Day

(Sunny, clear, high of 104 degrees today!)

Pic 25 - A Picture Of Something That Means A Lot To You

(This photo represents numerous things in my life and the things that have led up to my life now.  I think I explained this photo better in a previous blog entry and why it is the photo for my blog background)

Pic 26 - A Picture of Yourself and A Family Member

(My brother, my neice and I)

Pic 27 - A Picture of Something You're Afraid Of

(Heights!  Even watching something on TV involving heights makes my hands clammy!)

Pic 28 - A Picture That Can Always Make You Smile

(my life for 4 great years!)

Pic 29 - A Picture of Your Favorite Thing To Do During Summer

(Sip a nice cold beer on the beach!  By the way, my hair was WAY short in this pic)

Pic 30 - A Picture of Someone You Miss

(My daddy who has been gone for over 25 years.  RIP daddy.  I miss you  <3)

Well, that's it friends!  Whew, that took forever to complete and I certainly admire my fellow bloggers who can keep their blogs updated much more often than myself.  Hope you enjoyed my pics and now I'm off to catch up on you!

 

I Found Happiness Again

The title says it all.  These days it seems that things are turning around for me and coming together so nicely, it almost feels surreal.  I've been living back in California now for nearly 7 months and the difference between present day and 7 months ago is so drastically different -- I feel amazing and humbled by everything I've been through and overcome. 

I have several things going for me right now.  I am nearly debt-free and by "debt-free" I mean ZERO credit card balance (which isn't overly outlandish anyway) and my SUV that will be fully paid off in July.  I am slotted tentatively for my oral comprehensive exam in late July and my current (and last) class required for my Master's degree is surprisingly easy and will be over with in mid-July.  When these obstacles are finally overcome and done, I can finally focus 100% on me which is something I haven't gotten to do in a very long time.  I would like to begin house hunting later this year, provided the market is still at bottom.  It sounds silly, but in my own little world, I feel like I'm almost to the top of Mt. Everest!  I should also add that I have lost 26 pounds over the past year which has been a huge accomplishment for me.  Having PCOS makes weight loss really hard but I'm now one pound shy of my initial goal.  I plan to add on another 10 pounds to my goal since I still carry some unwanted flab around the mid-section.  But, all and all, I'm so ecstatic to have reached my first weight-loss goal and I feel great!

Thankfully, I've had some amazing friends to lean on for support through this rough journey and my mom is absolutely my rock.  I truly hope that someday I will be just as great of a mom as she has been to me.  That's my goal, anyway.  Speaking of mom, I truly owe her the world for setting me up with such an amazing man.  He's so sweet and gentle and caring and I truly feel that he might just be the missing piece to my puzzle of life.  Talk about finding someone when I was least expecting it -- this one takes the cake for that phrase!  For now, I'm just taking everything for what it is, good or bad.  As luck would have it, it has been mostly good in my life as of lately which is a welcomed (and much deserved) surprise!  I just hope things continue to progress in a positive tone when it comes to my personal and professional affairs. 

I don't ask for too much out of life, I work hard for everything I have and NEVER take anyone or anything for granted.  Living by these mottos has allowed me to find happiness again...something that has been missing for a long, long time.

And just because I love her so much and owe her the world...here's my rock and I this past Mother's Day.  Love you, mom!

Assholes & Onion Soup

So, I promised myself when I started this blog that I would keep negativity to a minimum and forego all ex-bashing, but ... I lied.  This one's just too good NOT to share.

Even though Bobby and I are on speaking terms (though allbeit very infrequently), we communicate out of necessity most commonly via text message.  Ahh, yes, gotta love the digital age.  Anyway, a couple weeks ago he sent me a text concerning the topic of money.  For the record, I do not receive alimony or anything of the sort from him but I do, however, want my fair share of things.  I'm not stupid, just the same as I'm not greedy - it's just fairness.  So, since I walked out with literally the clothes on my back and a few keepsakes, "we" agreed it fair if I receive half of the value of all of the furniture, belongings, etc. we purchased during the course of our 4.5 year marriage.  Fair, right?  I drew it up in the settlement and he complied.

So, he sent a text to tell me my monthly check was in the mail a bit early and post-dated for June 1st.  Excellent.  Thanks.  Then, he proceeds to tell me how his finances are going, making it seem as though these monthly checks are really putting him out, financially.  Riiiight.  I know how much money he brings in so despite me reaching through the depths of my soul, I failed to find even an ounce of sympathy for him.  Not to mention, if you knew what these monthly checks amounted to, you would NOT consider it a justifiable figure for 4.5 years I gave to him.  For sake of conversation, I'll just chalk it up as gas money, basically.

At the end of the text "conversation", he proceeds to say something to the effect of "I miss your paycheck".  Excuse me?  Thanks buddy, I miss you too.  I didn't know that in addition to my onion soup that day, apparently I had also ordered up a side of asshole. 

If you found as much comedic relief as I did in this post, you are a saint!

Love,
Amanda  xoxoxo
P.S. I look better now than I ever did when I was with him and I also bring in a better paycheck.  Eat your heart out Bobby. *winks*

Latest Random Updates

Where does the time go?  Sheesh.  I'm sitting here thinking how I had so much to update my blog with but as I type, it's really nothing too noteworthy after all!  haha.  Actually, I just finished a class and have a short week-long break before my next and final class starts up May 24th.  I'm sooo freaking excited to get on with it and finish strong after this 2.5 year on/off journey to finish up my third and effing LAST degree! ha!

I know after that's over, I won't be 'out of the woods' yet since I have to complete my oral comprehensive exam in late July sometime.  However, the nice part about that is school will be completely cleared from my plate by the time my birthday rolls around in August~woot! 

In other related news, work is well and I'm still gainfully employed.  My vehicle will be paid off in July and I almost have my one and only credit card down to zero balance so the prospect of being debt free in just a few months is exciting to say the least!  I'll begin looking around at condominiums and houses soon after that with the goal to purchase by early 2012. 

As far as the dating scene goes, I have gone out a few times with the guy from my mom's work.  His name is Charles and I have to say it is refreshing to go out with someone so stable and on the same page as me in terms of goals and aspirations.  Truthfully, I'm not actually wanting to be in a relationship but if the cookie crumbles that way with the right person, I'm definitely not opposed to it either.  I'd like to be at 100% mind, body and spirit before I offer that piece of me to someone else.  It's only fair to both parties involved.  BUT, I digress.  At the moment, I'm just taking it for what it's worth.  It's nice to have a man around to go catch a movie with (or drinks or dinner etc) and he gets my personality which isn't always easy to do! haha.

I guess that's about it for now.  Just working away and keeping life balanced.  That's about all anyone does, right?

Dating

It's a recurring topic amongst those I know and lately I've been fielding the question of "so, who are you dating?" a lot lately.  The truth is, I've been on a few dates, none very recently, but there's just no one I'm particularly interested in at the moment.  Perhaps that's due to a crazy upcoming work schedule in addition to me being neck deep (on a good day) in school work which will ultimately lead me to a Master's Degree with just one class left..woot!

I don't know.  Maybe my head just isn't in the game and maybe there's a little sliver of me just isn't ready to truly set upon the dating path.  I'm thinking it's more the first part of that hypothesis.

Anyway, so my mom (of all people) has taken it upon herself to fix me up with one of her co-workers.  I had my reservations intitially, but since have let my guard down and decided to let good ole' mom play matchmaker.  Admittedly, I'm fairly excited about it.  He has all of his 'ducks in a row' which is a plus. Ya know, financially and mentally stable, owns a home, educated, sense of humor, tall, and best of all...single.  Well, this is all according to mom who is typically a trustworthy source.  The truth is, I haven't actually spoken to him outside of the speakerphone conversation that my mom conducted with me while he was in her office...(yeah, awkward!).  She has relayed me the proverbial phone number so I guess I know what to do now...

As usual, I will report back my findings once the phone conversation(s)/date(s) are under way.  For the time being, I'm in good spirits and the fact that my own mother is also my matchmaker, is entertaining to say the least!

PCOS Treatment and Awareness Petition

If you're reading this, please click on this link PCOS Treatment and Awareness Petition to sign your name on this petition to promote education, awareness, medical insurance coverage and proper treatment of those diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.  Yours, truly is signed as number 10530.  It would mean a lot to me and the PCOS community of women if you could please take a few moments to read and sign.  Thank you very much for helping and supporting the awareness of this disorder that I and many other women suffer from! xoxo

The Numbers Game

I feel like I haven't updated my blog in forever.  I honestly don't know how people find the time to keep up sometimes when I can barely keep my head above water most of the time.  Anyhow, April has been a tough month on me.  Filled with birthdays and anniversaries and generally things that I don't care to rejoice in lately, but can't avoid thinking about either.  And, whenever you think of birthdays and anniversaries, you're generally dealing with numbers so that's what this random update is about.  So, here they are, some fun, some not so fun.  Some I can't block out or wipe away and others I eat, sleep and breathe every moment of my life...

11 - weeks left until I graduate with my Master's Degree
8  - the total number of years it will take me to complete an Associate's, Bachelor's and Master's degree
4 - years I spent serving my country in the USAF
15 - this June, marking how many years since I graduated from High School
10 - the number of both prescription medications and OTC supplements I take daily
5 - if things were different, that's how many years I'd be married as of this month
33 - how old I will be this year
40 - how old my ex husband just turned
2 - years since my ex husband and I first started "trying" to get pregnant
8 - days since he had a vasectomy and actually told me about it
2 - months I've been officially divorced
3 - months until my car is paid off!  (woot)
4 - the number of dress sizes I've lost in the past year
21 - the number of pounds I've lost in the past year
2 - the number of times I've cried in the last month
25+ - the number of times I've cried in the past year
30+ - the number of times I've been punched in the ovaries (figuratively, of course)
9 - on a scale of 1-10, 9 is how I rate my own strength
10 - years since I met my best friend
4 - number of times I saw her this month
6 - number of months I'll go before seeing her again
5 - approximate number of times I've gone on Facebook this year
2 - times per month I contemplate removing the text feature from my cell phone
2 - times per week I have a serious (and I mean SERIOUS) chocolate craving
1 - one life to live to the fullest

And I fully intend on continuing to pursue that last one!  Ok, off to bed.  I'd love to update with more but my brain is like oatmeal right now and I'm typing with one eye open.  Someday...ok, like as in 11 weeks, I'll have more time to update my randomness blog and incorporate some of my usual wit and banter, and less time investing in my silly little education.  I think 8 years of my almost 33 years of existence is ample time spent frying my brain with secondary education text book mumbo-jumbo overload.  Whattaya think? haha...

Kisses,
Amanda