Knoxville, Tennessee

Good morning! Its 2 in the morning here in the winding state of Tennessee. Boona and I have risen the white flag! We are so exhausted. After driving from 3 pm till 1:30 am, and driving 40 mph up and down winding mountain sides, we are ready to catch some Zzzz's. Today was such an adventure though, my goodness!

For starters, we raced to clean his apartment. We started at 10 am and didn't finish till 2:45 pm. It took FOREVER! We cleaned even nook and cranny, every crooked fanny, (ha ha ha from Snow White). It looked so good. So good! We got the 'Passed' card from the landlord and ran for Betsy (Boona's Jeep.) It was a bitter sweet goodbye to Clint's roommate, Nick. He is such a fun guy. Full of whitty remarks and good stories. With promises to visit, we said goodbye for now, and headed East. It was about 3:00 p.m. when we shoved off.

With the sweet commanding voice of Lucy as our guide (the GPS unit Nick gave us) we crawled onto Highway 40. And when I say CRAWLED, I mean we went as fast as a Jazzy Scooter with the biggest obese guy you can imagine trying to run it up a hill, flabby rolls flappin in the wind and everything. Jeeps aren't great for towing. Don't get me wrong, we'll make it home, but the 5'8' trailer we're towing isn't the lightest.

With songs from Counting Crows, Collective Soul, NIN, Gene Autry, Thriving Ivory, Atlanis Morriset, Kerli, Elton John, Katy Perry, City of Angels Soundtrack and yes, even Miss Britney Spears, we made good timing to our first stop.....Chick-Fil-A. Never been to one. I would totally go again. Random life-size cardbooard cutouts of cows posting 'Eat More Chicken' signs really made it worth it! Not bad prices either. The Chris Cringle hats atop thier heads made it more homely. Mmmmm......home. (Homer Simpson voice)

From there it was Mt. This and Mt. That. (Appilation Mountains) We slithered our way to the top and slunked our way down. It was pouring 'fat rain' as Forrest Gump would say. I've never seen it rain like that in my life. The windshield whippers couldn't move fast enough. No reflecters and badly painted roads made it worse. It was pitch black, fog as thick as whipped cream, and rain drops the size of dimes. On several occasions I had to stop my heart from beating so fast.

Hydroplaning became a norm. But on three occasions we almost lost it. Luckily, Boona being such an expertise driver.....brownie points here ;) .....we made it!

Well, I need to hit the sack. I'm the navigator of this shin dig and I need a sharp mind for our adventures. Take care. Don't freeze out there in Utah! He he he.

PS- I have picks of today, but its pitch black in this hotel room to find any cords to hook the camera to the laptop. Speaking of camera, its in the Jeep. There's no way I'm going out there in this strange place, in the dark, while its pouring rain. You'll have to suffer one more day without seeing my B-E-A-utiful face. Tough love.

Shout Out!
Hey Baby! I'm almost home! 3 days till your lovin arms! 3 days till I kiss your lips again! 3 days till I can snuggle next to you to sleep! 3 days till I can look into your amazing baby blues! 3 MORE DAYS!!! I love you so much. I miss you! Later. I love you!!!!

ALOHA!!!

No. I'm not in the resplendent state of Hawaii, but it sure feels like it. I am in North Carolina with my brother, Clint. He is the coolest thing out there. Boring is not in his vocabulary. (Ladies, he's single! And by definition, 'a man in uniform.' ) Chuckle. He'll tie my arms behind my back and hang me upside down from the railing if he found out I'm selling him on the Internet. (Psst, ladies, twenty bucks for a movie and dinner ;)

I arrived in this muggy state Tuesday afternoon. And by muggy, I mean foggy, rainy, and very musty. Not so pleasurable for the eyes and nose. My first plane left 11:59 p.m. Monday night. Yeah, of course, I waited till the last minute to pack. Duh! I would have been so disorganized if I didn't. I had to be at the airport by 10:30 p.m. Because I have a Buddy Pass I had to go through special security searches. Kinda cool. I felt like an intruder. Or at least a Hollywood Star. Ha ha ha. My aunt works for Delta Airlines and can get plane tickets dirt cheap. She gave Reese and I plane tickets to Miami, Florida for our wedding present. That's where our Honey Moon started. From there we boarded our cruise ship. Good times, good times. Again, she helped us out so I could come visit my brother, bless her heart. She is the sweetest!

I wore a coat and scarf on top of my shirt and jacket while on the plane. I define 'plane' as a flying tube of freezing cold air and picky, stubborn people. I've officially decided that I am terrified of flying in a plane. Take off and landing always freak me out. Mention the seat belt light coming on because of turbulence and I get white-lipped. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of going 300 + mph and about 3,000 ft up in a tube. It just scares the living crap outta me when the tube starts shaking and riding up and down as if it was on a roller coaster. Just rattles my marbles a little, ya know?

I landed in the busiest airport in America...Atlanta, Georgia. There I waited three and a half hours for my next flight from Atlanta to Willmington, NC. The reputable busiest airport in America didn't seem so. It was dead. Yet, I did land there about 4:30 in the morning. All the shops where closed. No Starbucks for me. Dag nabbit! Thank goodness the rest rooms never close. ;) I couldn't sleep. I didn't sleep on the plane ride from SLC to Atlanta for several reasons. One- I was placed in the back of the plane by the stinky potty that was constantly being used. Every time the door opened, the odors wafted my way. Gag!!! Two- I was forced to stare out the window by a, should I say, 'physical' couple. Cute couple, so I thought. They are from France and were visiting their families back here in the States. Well, Paris is the city of Romance. Ha ha ha, I sure guess so. I heard noises that, well, I didn't think could be made by humans. Okay, TMI, I know. I'm stopping.

I couldn't sleep in the Atlanta airport. Just too awake by then. Oh my goodness, the plane from Atlanta to Willmington really wasn't a plane. It was more like a jet. I still chuckle when I think about the first thing the pilot said over the intercom. He said, 'Alright, welcome aboard Delta Airlines, bear with me, I'm not used to small planes. This'll be my third jet plane that I've flown in my carrier. If it gets a little rocky, forgive me...' Sigh.....yeah.... That's what I thought too. Just about peed my pants. The flight attendant on this flight left me in the worst mood. She was someones old nanny that had dealt with too many horrible children. RAUNCHY! describes her personality....and face too. Sorry, but its true. I checked her shoes out and they were square toed. Conclusion...Witch for sure.

I arrived in Willmington about 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Willmington has the smallest airport I have ever seen. One could never get lost in it. Meandering through the halls of the airport, I repeatedly got double takes, strange looks, and even open mouthed stares. I thought nothing of it. I just continued all hum drum like. I spotted the front doors and proceeded to exit when I suddenly couldn't breathe. It felt like I had been slugged in the stomach.

The EAST baby. Musty, THICK, humid air. I immediately put two and two together. People where thinking I must have been an Eskimo in my former life to where so many layers. As soon as I jumped into Betsy, my brother's sexy black jeep, all the layers were off! No joke.

What a sweet reunion it was to see him again! Total bliss. It took an hour to get back to his place. As soon as we did, I grabbed a bite to eat and crashed. I was now fat and happy and exhausted. I hadn't slept for 27 hours. After a five hour cat nap, Boona, Nick (his roommate), and I went out on the town and got some Chinese food. It was delish! Not as mouth watering Joy Luck, mind you, but it sufficed. On returning home, we were all so tired. We hit the sack. I woke up about 2:30 a.m. My body said, 'Alright, enough slumber for me. Its time to be awake.' I pulled my book out and began reading.

I'm reading Stephen King's 'The Stand.' Its a must read before one dies. I'm about half way through. I've been on this book since August! I'm dying to finish it. I haven't finished a book for a long time. I'm on a quest to read it cover to cover. I finally fell asleep around 8:00 a.m. I had the weirdest dream. Its never left my mind. It won't, I've tried. Ever since that dream, I've felt... kinda like I'm not really here in North Carolina...? Like, if I lay down on the futon, take a nap, I'll wake up on my plaid couch that's full of holes back in West Bountiful. Like this is all a dream. Nothing is familiar here. Places, people, smells, etc. I feel like I know nothing. Lost. My thoughts keep returning to that its some psycho-Freudian manifestation of something that I have yet come to realize. Who really knows?

Since then, my days consist of dishes, cooking, vacuuming, and deep movies. Fargo- excellent movie. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- I want to own this movie! Clint and Nick go to work from 4:30 a.m. to about 6:00 p.m. I chill here by myself. Its kinda cool. Grooving to music and checking emails is the newest adventure.

Last night Clint took me onto the Marine Base here in Jacksonville. He showed me where he worked. I felt so cool. Like I was 5 years old and we were snooping around in Mom's jewelry box. All of the file cabinets there were made of steel and heavy has heck! They also had a combination lock on them too. Ooh! Top Secret! I felt like a spy or a character from Breach. All I needed was a brief case, spy glass, top coat, and a miniature camera. Clint had several passwords he had to enter in order to access his files into his computer. Also, someone from inside the building had to clear our names and let us in. Totally top secret! Loved it! Maybe in my next life I'll venture into being a spy.

Well, that's all of my adventures so far. I need to start making dinner for the men so it'll be ready when they return. They'll tie me up if I don't!

Shout out!
Hey baby, I love you! I miss you like crazy! Just six more days and I'll be home! I can't wait for our first Christmas together! I can't wait till we wake up at 2 in the morning and play Santa Clause for our kids. I can't wait till I'm in your lovin arms again. I miss them. I miss falling asleep with my head on your chest and your arms around me. I miss your smells. I miss your lips. I can't wait for that welcome home hug. I love you Reese. Later babe! I love you.

Catching Up

Here follows the promised blogs I would compose. Sorry it took so long. Just busy living life. Enjoy!

My First Love

This car is my first love. This is the first car that I have ever owned. I saved and scrimped in high school for it so I could have a way to take early college. I've had it for almost four years. On November 5th, I got into a pretty bad collision. I'm so blessed and so lucky to come out of it without serious injury. Just some neck and lower back sores. Here is a picture of its sad, crooked little smile after my dad and I bent the bumper back to make it presentable. It runs! Thank goodness! But there are some problems with it. Antifreeze leaks like crazy! The radiator is cracked pretty bad along the top. And the power steering fluid leaks as well. My daddy and I took last Sat to take it apart and look at the damage. The power steering tube is fixed and getting a new radiator will fix the antifreeze leakage. I don't want to get rid of this car! I love it! Plus, no payments on it....the best kind of car for newly weds.
A new radiator is on its way for this Sat. We'll be installing it ourselves. My dad is a genius! After that, my little scoot-a-bout will be as good as new and then I can scoot-a-bout anywhere I need.
Thanks to all of those that I bummed rides from. Much appreciated!

Cinderella Man

My personal Cinderella. :D

We bought a mop from All-A-Dollar. Never will again. But hey, what can you expect? Its All-A-Dollar! It broke after a few swipes at the floor. So now, we use a wash rag and some elbow grease. Reese and I were getting ready for Thanksgiving, company, etc. He opted for the floor rather than the dishes. 'Alright...?' I said out of the corner of my mouth, making sure that he didn't want to trade.

The funniest thing...the very next day, Reese came home from work with a Swifer Starter kit in his hand. Lol. What a doll!

Chicken Chow Mein

This picture means a thousand words to me. Comes with a story that is going down in the books of 'Reese & Beccie'.

Reese was at work. I was craving Chinese food. We are newly weds and can't afford to eat out. So I scrimped around the house and made homemade chicken chow mein from things I found.

Ingredients included:
Chow Mein noodles,Chicken, Chick peas, Red Bell Peppers, Salt/Pepper, Soy Sauce, Broccoli, and Mushrooms, etc. The house smelled amazing, I'd have to say. And it was pretty darn good!

That night I had to work. I had to spend the night overnight at a house up in Eagle Wood. After Reese got off, he came up and visited me. He said he was way hungry and that he was craving pizza. He hinted, 'Guess what babe!? Red Robin Pizza is on sale this week at Dick's!' I gave him the go ahead to buy the pizza but that we'll eat it for a date night that weekend. I said, 'I just made giant size load of Chicken Chow Mien.' He seemed anxious to try the chinese food and was happy about the idea I proposed.

The week passes and soon comes the weekend. The chinese was almost gone. But hey, its Friday night, we both have it off of work. Lets eat pizza! I told Reese that I'll put the luandry away if he heats the oven and makes a vegetable. The look on his face was priceless! He looked like a kid that was about to confess something horrible to his mother. Scared, nervous, and vulnerable. I asked him what was up.

He proceeded to tell me that when he went home that night after visiting me, he cooked up a pizza and ate it ALL. BY HIMSELF, mind you!

I was shocked! I tease him about it to this day! I am not letting him go. I 'slaved' over that gourmet dinner and he didn't even eat any of it that night! He ate the pizza....WITHOUT ME!!!
Ha ha ha. What a story to tell our kids....

Angel

This is one of my best friends, Heather. She is the sweetheart that I take care of. She has taught me so much. She has taught me to love, to be patient, to laugh, to look at the simple things in life and to also enjoy life as its given to me. She is amazing.
In this picture, we are enjoying our favorite dessert. Chocolate Pudding!

Yo Yo Ma

Here's a shot of One Republic and the amazing cellist! I'm so sad! I didn't catch his name. But he was amazing! Look that that thing! What a gorgeous cello! Ha ha ha. I tried the cello for a while. My hand span isn't that big. Especially since my fingers are crooked. Well, take that back, my pinky one is really the problem. Tis why I play the Violin. Still makes for a difficult fourth finger to play. Gah!

ONE REPUBLIC

OH MY GOSH!!! Can you say AMAZING!!!! I was so lucky to attend the ONE REPUBLIC concert with my sista-Krystal Bean, my motha in law-Tammy, my favorite sista in law- Keaners (he he he), and my good friend Chelse-a-bells. It was such a hoot. The opener was Spill Canvas. They sang such a scandalous song. And of course I loved it! It's called 'Connect the Dots'. Its such a...hum....how do I put it...making whoopie song. The best! :D Of course they sang 'All Over You'. All of us ladies jumped up and jammed to that one. Next, out came One Republic! This picture here shows the lead singer playing the piano. Their theme was red lamps across the stage and red drapes hanging this way and that. (As shown behind him.)It was really neat and unique. I thought-ingenius. They were great entertainers! They had a guy join their band for this tour. They found him off of the internet. He plays the cello. I was jealous! When he came on stage, he brought out a black electric cello! My jaw dropped! Lucky dude. But he earned every penny of that thing. He was amazing! A real Yo Yo Ma! He mostly played thier songs acoustic. My favorite genre of songs. He did rock out to some spunky songs though. My sista-in-law, bless her heart, she bought me a One Republic cap. I love it! Keaners and Chelse-a-bells got t-shirts and went and did a meet and greet with the band. JEALOUS!!! Ladies-I'd have to say that it was a awesome and well needed Ladies Night Out! Good times, good times.

Kids...lol

(Awe!!!!!) Here are our cutie pies! We were so fortunate to come upon two kittens. We got them on November 4th. They are brother and sister. They were about to be put to sleep when I saw them. Knowing this information, my heart just couldn't let that happen. I'm not a cat person. Give me a big muddy dog, I'll be happy. But Reese Jay has been wanting cats for a long time. I saw these and immediately thought of him. I went and bought food, kitty litter and toys. When Reese Jay came home from work that night he was so suprised and so estactic! For days we were trying to come up with names. We were thinking Figero and Cleo (Pinochio), also Simba and Nala (Lion King). Finally, after a week went by with nameless kittens we chose Lady (for the girl) and Chester (for the boy). Lady fit her personality perfectly. She is so dainty and petit and such a sweetheart. Chester, well, we should have named him Trouble Maker, Rascal, or Stinker! He is into everything and anything! He eats socks, cords, butter, and anything he can fit into his mouth. They get along great. They love to play and tackle each other. Their 'meows' are so angelic. You can barely hear them, they are so tiny. They are about 4 months old now. Still a lot of growing and exploring to do. Sigh.....

Oh Dear!

I have so much to say but too little time to explain. So much has happened. I have pics for everything. I knew this was going to be the case. Between school and work and husband, I don't have time to sit and 'blog'. This is just a note saying that I haven't forgotten about this 'blogging thing', but just a rain check that I will come back and post more fulfilling stuff.

Some People!!!

"That's all I have to say about that."
-Forrest Gump

Boona's Birthday Party

October 24th was my older bro Bday. He turned 29! He is currently in the Marines being stationed in North Carolina. He was able to come home for three wks to visit. It was so nice to have him home! He is one of my best friends. Halloween is his favorite holiday/time of year. So for his birthday, we celebrated both, duh! We ordered pizza, carved pumpkins, watched scary movies, and drank hot apple cider. The chillins (age 2-8) painted pumpkins instead of carving them. As you can tell, the ADULTS got carried away with the paint. The pic included is a pic of my favorite, crazy, wild, silly, hilarious, and strange people. MY FAMILY. (left-right: My Mamma, Boona, April, Daddy, Bean, Chooch, and Moi) What a fun and crazy night. That night will go down in the books. Just awesome!

Your Path

I love pictures of roads or paths. For me, its a silent reminder. To evaluate myself. Am I on the path I want to be? Where is my destination? What needs to be changed?
This is a snapshot of a snowy path where I deer hunt. Another reason why I love deer hunting so much.
Its inevitable. One cannot go there and not feel the Savior there.

Serenity

Last week I was able to break away from the everyday crazy, busy world and join my husband, brother, and dad down deer hunting. It was such a peaceful and enjoyable time. No sounds of cars, thoughts of homework, buzzing of televisions, ringing of phones, and the humming of the washer and dryer there to interrupt my thoughts. It was just me. Basking in the sun while upon the rock flats looking into deep valleys and thickets, imagining what could be nestled in them. Or balancing yourself on a log while floating above a 38 degree creek. Watching each leaf teeter totter into it and them watch it float until it turns the bend. Or baking in the heat and the light of a campfire. The glow from the faces of your loved ones is all you can see. Deer hunting to me isn't just about the sport. The trophy. The stories. Its about the memories. To me, its Serenity.

Trial Run

This is my trial run. As you peeps may know, I am new at this 'blogging' thing. I am at my 'dreaded mother in laws' house. She is teaching me how to add photos. This will be my first photo added. Enjoy. Much will follow now that I know how to add photos. Victims of embarassing photos, beware!

Really Something

This 'blogging' thing is really something. I will need to spend some serious time with it to really learn the ins and outs of it all. But that time I do not have. Tis the reason why I was so hesitant as to create a blog. I will have a hard time updating my blog. Between full time school, homework, work, housework, and being a newly wed (wink wink), I just don't think I'll have the time to 'blog'. We shall see...

New At This

Oh my goodness! I really can't believe I'm doing this. This is just as bad as scrap booking or making cards. (He he he, wink) I am very computer savy, but blogging? Please. Tammy, Kaylene, and friends have been urging me to create a blog for months now. I guess its about time that I jump on the band wagon. Everyone's doing it. What's the harm in that, right?