Date nights and Car Accidents

Yesterday was just one of those days. I have an entire week and a half off of work, and I'm enjoying the quiet time with James ( who has roughly that same amount of time in port). I truly treasure the simple conversations and the giggling that we share as newlyweds. It seems that whenever we are together there is always something to laugh at, it's kept my spirits up even when I know that he will be leaving again soon. At least I get to look forward to more inside jokes and exciting events when he returns. We decided that last night would be date-night. Though really, every night this week has been date night. It's almost like a honeymoon. I've saved up this paycheck so we have plenty of money and we enjoy going out and doing things that we don't get to do as often as we should. Simple things like walking around the mall (which always leads us to a video game store - or Barnes and Noble, both of our weaknesses), or going out to dinner. Last night was no exception. Red Lobster, followed by a quick trip to Target (me) and Game Stop (him) and then to Chucky Cheese for a birthday party. We only stayed an hour or so before we had to get back for a movie!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It's very funny. It is a bit lacking in excitement, but it definitely gives a big finish and the anticipation for the next movie that it should. James loved it as well. We both had a blast even though the movie theaters are lousy and we pay tons of money to sit in seats where you can't see past the person in front of you. I guess not everywhere can be as great as Utah when it comes to movies. It's just about my one complaint with the area here in Washington. Really lame Movie Theaters.

After the show it was around 10 and we were headed back using the back roads. I hate driving on the freeway at night. I feel blinded by the oncoming cars in my little escort, and though the thing runs like a trooper, I just don't like the mild panic when you literally can't see a foot in front of your windsheild. The back roads are a little better, though as I turned onto one of the roads near our house, a lady decided to exit the parking lot of a gas station right in front of me. Smart. We came within about 2 inches of her passenger side door before I was able to swerve slightly to the side and into the parking lot of the local bar, dodging parked vehicles and pedestrians alike and stopping. Completely white knuckled and terrified. The lady in the other car didn't even look at me. I'm sure she was embarassed, but I was worried more for her safety. Was she okay? James and I were in one piece after the near collision, but was she? Apparently: she drove off without a second thought for me in my little car. Nice.

It's been a long time since I was in a near accident and I hope that it's another long time before I'm in another one. I couldn't shop shaking on the way home, even though James assured me that had we hit her he would have made sure to break a bone so that he could be kept home from this underway. Blast. Is it healthy for a couple to cheer injuries? Probably not, but I know we aren't the only ones that do it, I think it must be a military thing. Either way, I'm glad that James and I are safe, and am more than greatful that we just replaced the brakes on the escort. This is the second time that little car has saved me, I think it will have a home with us forever. Thanks Dad. :) I guess no matter where you are, you are always watching out for your little girl. Sometimes it takes an accident to bring out focus on what's important. James and I are safe and healthy, and that's all that matters - as James said: "Objects are replaceable, you aren't." Buckle up everyone! Love,
Kara

Blog Prisoners - UNITE!

So much has happened since my last post. I started feeling overwhelmed and behind on updates. My pictures keep stacking up on the camera and in the meantime absolutely nothing gets done. Well.. I'm a blog prisoner no more! I'm liberating myself by doing an all inclusive update. And then I can start with a clean slate. I know that others of you have the same problem, so... I'm encouraging you to do the same. Shed the shackles of Blog Blues... and be free. Like me! :) Sooo, Update number one:

I no longer have a roommate!
My sweet Marissa actually left a few months ago to head back to Utah. I miss her lots but it was good to get a few days with James to myself when he got home. Which leads to update number two!

James was home for a whooole month.
We went to Seattle for Sushi, got a pet peacock (not purposefully it adopted us for a few days before it moved on to a neighbor who lives a few houses behind us.) We bought an X-box 360 and a new 40 inch TV - all James's idea of course. I think he's pretty happy to show off his new "toys". So I couldn't help but throw in a little snippet about it. I'm sure I'll get pictures up soon... cause the entertainment stand is beautiful...




We got a NEW roommate!
Derek Nichols is one of the guys on James's boat, and they work together in the same division. He's made a fun addition to the family. Because they are only going to be in port for two months of this entire year he didn't want to waste money on an apartment and instead decided to crash in our extra room. He may just have a matress on the floor and an old dresser, but he has a place to stay with nice people who care about his well being. He seems pleased to be apart of our little family, and James and I love having him around. I have a feeling that this arrangement will lead to having a life-long friend. Having a roommate isnt' too bad - especially because he doesn't mind being kicked out occasionally so that James and I can have our alone time. ;) Which probably happens more often than not! We fondly call him the family pet.


I got a Promotion!
For those of you who don't know I work for a company called: Spoiled Rotten Pet Sitting. ( Check out the website @ http://www.spoiledrottenpetsittingllc.com/ ) I'm officially a pet sitter, and now I'm also the Client Coordinator! This means I handle all customer service and set up jobs from scratch. Its a lot of fun but -really- busy, and I'm sure if you talk to me regularly you've heard me complain about it. Really though I have a wonderful job and I get paid to make sure that animals are taken care of.

My Horsie is coming in August!
I have a horse. Her name is Red. She lives in Utah, and I live in Washington. Well.... Not much longer! I found her a great barn called "Painted Valley Farms" and it's wonderful. The people are great and I found a fantastic price to get her shipped out here. YAY!










James lost a bunch of weight!
I figured that if -I- had lost a bunch of weight, I would probably blog about it, so I should do the same for my adorable husband. He had a busy underway for the first half of this year and while he was gone he started working out and never looked back. He lost over 3 inches around his already svelt frame, which left me wondering where on earth my husband went?! I'm not complaining though - he's always been cute. Now he's just that much better. ;)


Well, that just about rounds out the most important things, so I guess I'll say farewell until tomorrow... or later on this week as I already have a blog idea that I know I'm going to do. Hope you enjoyed reading my updates as much as I enjoyed being liberated from my chains...

Easter Festivities... and DDR.

I had a great Easter with my spiffy friends who made just about the most scrumptious dinner. Between Jenny's ham, Raymond's honey-butter, my rolls, and Tina's cheesecake we were ah... well, we were all full within about 5 minutes. But all the rest of the food LOOKED delicious. And we all pined about the fact that we were too full to eat it.

So after our meal.. we decided that we should burn off the added calories and busted out the wii fit. I WISH I had my camera for that, but I didn't make that mistake twice and made sure to pick it up later that night for DDR. For those of you less electronically minded... you may know this as "Dance Dance Revolution." Or as I like to call it: "Dance Dance Ridiculous!" It was fun! Haha, I had forgotten how absolutely crazy that game gets, and we were only playing it on beginner! It made me long for the days when I used to be able to tear those mats apart with my mad "dancing" skills. It's been a long time... apparently. Because the only thing I was tearing were my pants when I fell all over myself (I didnt' really tear my pants.. I wore stretchy ones.. for ease of movement). Raymond ducked out early, so we made it a girls night and took some time getting some good pictures... it took awhile....

Hmmm.. not quite...

Ah.. Nope!

Definitely Not

FINALLY! A cute pic!

It was the perfect end to a fun day!

Blog stalker... that's me!

So the other day while I was meandering between all the blogs on my list for the umpteenth time I discovered that several of my regular stops had tracers. Curious, I scrolled down the list of "hits" where it says the name of a the fellow blogger each time they look at your site only to see that my name showed up more than anyone elses.

This particular friend isn't one that I'm close to, she just leaves hillarious posts and I enjoy to browse. She also updates rather regularly, so I find myself stopping in several times a day to read up on her witty remarks.

Well.. that's weird! I didn't think of myself as a someone who browses blogs that often! This must be some mistake! I don't have that much time... do I? A careful exam of all the similar apps on my friends and families blogs have the same result.

I'm a Blog Stalker.

I found that it's making me incredibly shy! I find myself making sure I'm not logged in so that I can sneak around the blasted app so that people don't know that I reading up on them. But how creepy is that?! I'm practically sulking around in the bushes!

Well.. I'm not hiding any longer! I am a Blog Stalker, and I'm proud of it! Well.. who am I kidding.. I'll still probably sneak a bit, but at least you all know now that i'm doing it. And I will not EVER add such an app to my account.

Fellow blog stalkers, come and go as you wish!

I wanted a change...

AND I GOT IT!













I went red! Well.. okay, so it's mostely brown, but it's as close to a fiery redhead as I've been and I LOVE it. And how hot am I with bangs?! I keep being told my the hair-color is making my eyes "pop" I can't say I dissagree.. I mean.. they've always been blue, but I suppose I'm noticing them more? Anyway, This is my sweet awesome haircut, done by a really good friend of mine; Bree Carlson. She rocks, obviously... who knew my hair could have so much bounce and body? Enjoy!

VERY IMPORTANT UPDATES... well.. sort of.

First off, my husband is cute:












Secondly, I learned how to shoot guns!











Thirdly, It was my birthday, and I have great friends!






















Fourth, My husband remembered my birthday too!










Fifth, I went to Forks!












And La Push










I adopted some kids.. so that I could get pictures of them











And last.. but definitely not least, I HAD A BLAST!

This spring has pretty much rocked my socks so far. If I don't get to hole up in the house with my favorite new series (shout out to Sookie Stackhouse!) then I spend my time exploring my beautiful Washington. I'm only a few months into James's deployment, and I miss him like crazy. Still no contact from his end though this was expected. For now I just occupy my time by staying busy and trying not to sulk. I'm doing a pretty good job so far!

Updates and Manchester State Park

Well, I've been really neglecting my poor blog, since it's already been two months since new years! Where has the time gone? James is back out to sea, and I've been spending most of my time just hanging out with my new roommate! Marissa Curtis moved in with me into our spare room. She was my roommate back in college and happened to find an internship here in Washington. So while she keeps me sane, I drag her all over exploring Washington's coast. Last weekend we hit up Port Gamble and then stopped by a place to eat called the "Grub Hut" It was great! And this weekend we took a trip to Manchester where we saw: A deer, an eagle, a camel, and starfish! And tons of Green anemones that I'm sure we squished while we were trying to climb over the rocks. We had a blast! Here are just a few pictures to keep everyone occupied!