A Few Random Things About Who We Are

I saw this post on my friend, Shannon's, blog.  I like to learn things about my friends so I thought I would share a few things with you.  I would love to learn more about you, too.  Here we go.  Enjoy!!!

1. What are your middle names?
Michael Alexander and Lorrie Anne


2. How long have you been together?
We went on our first day on February 25, 2006 and we got married on June 23, 2007.

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating?
We knew each other online and over the phone for about 6 weeks before we met in person.


4. Who asked who out?
He asked me out.  I was so nervous the day of our first date, that I almost called him and told him I couldn't make it.


5. How old are each of you?
Mike just turned 33 and I will turn 31 in May.

6. Did you go to the same school?
No!  Mike grew up in California and went to college there, too.  I have always lived in Arkansas.


7. Are you from the same home town?
No.  Mike is from Fillmore, California and I am from Greenbrier, Arkansas.


8. Who is the smartest?
It depends on the particular area.  Mike is very good in Math, Logical Thinking, and things like that.  I am better in reading, writing, spelling, and things like that.  We complement each other well.


9. Who majored in what?
Mike majored in Corporate Finance.  I majored in Early Childhood Education and later Early Childhood Special Education.


10. Who is the most sensitive?
I am by far.  I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve.


11. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
We went to Hawaii on our honeymoon.  We have been lots of places, but that is probably the farthest.

12. Who has the worse temper?
I think I do.  I tend to get stressed and then seem to explode sometimes.  He is so calm and handles me with patience.


13. How many children do you want?
I want 2, but Mike seems to think 3 would be the right number.  We will just have to wait and see how it plays out.


14. Who does the cooking?
We both cook, depending on schedules.  We have a lot of fun cooking together.  It's ideal when we can do it together.


15. Who is more social?
Mike is by far.  I think I would be a recluse if I was allowed.  I enjoy  being in small groups with people I know.  I am doing better and Mike is very encouraging when we are around people I don't know.


16. Who is the neat freak?

Me!  I like having a place for everything and everything being in its place.  This doesn't happen very often, but it's my dream.  Mike wouldn't notice if we didn't even have walking room in our house.  He grew up with an artist mother and brother, so chaos doesn't faze him.


17. Who is the most stubborn?
Even though I don't want to admit it, it's probably me.


18. Who wakes up earlier?
I do by just a few minutes.  Mike usually gets up when I'm done with my shower.

19. Where was your first date?
We went and ate Indian food and then saw a movie.  Brokeback Mountain wasn't the best move choice for a first date.


20. Who has the bigger family?
I am an only child.  So, Mike with one brother has a larger family.


21. Do you get flowers often?
Not too often, but we enjoy picking out fresh flowers together at the Farmer's Market.

22. How do you spend the holidays?
We usually spend the holidays with my family.  My family lives nearby.  His family is in California and Chicago.  His mom usually comes to visit us around the holidays.

23. Who is more jealous?
I don't think either of us is very jealous.


24. How long did it take to get serious?
We got engaged about 2 months after our first date.


25. Who eats more?
He does, but I come in a close second.

26. What do you do for a living?
I am a Special Education teacher.  Mike is in the Army National Guard and he is subbing at my school until he leaves for Officer Candidate School this summer.

27. Who does the laundry?
We both do.  Mike will do the laundry if I ask him.  He doesn't seem to notice otherwise.

28. Who's better with the computer?
Mike

29. Who drives when you are together?
Mike because I don't really enjoy driving.


30. What is your song?
We have only danced once and that was at our wedding.  Our "first dance" was to Everything by Michael Buble`.

What About Change?

I have been thinking a lot about change lately.  And why not?  We sure have had a lot of it in our lives in the the past several months.  I got a new job, moved to a new town, started attending a new school.  That in  itself brings about a lot of change.  Then, Mike has been undergoing a lot of changes.  He quit his job to move with me, only to be unable to find a teaching job here.  This led him to rethink his career direction and do some serious soul-searching.  You all know the outcome of this decision:  He rejoined the military.  That set off a whole lot more change in our lives.  He left for OCS, then came back sooner than expected, and now we now he will be leaving again in a couple of months.  All of this change makes me dizzy.  I'm not really a loving-all-the-changes kind of girl.  But looking back on all of this change I realize that is wasn't that bad after all.  As I have grown up (i.e gotten older), I can see the value in change.  Change is what helps meet goals that haven't previously been met.  If we keep doing the same things, we are going to get the same results.  Change had to take place in order for us to be in this place.  All of these changes have brought me closer to Mike and most importantly to God.  My faith has gotten so much stronger, and that has been the best change of all.  I know that know matter what, I am not alone.  I have faith that I will get through any situation that comes my way.  Just this last Sunday, the sermon was on change.  When I heard that, I perked right up to listen.  The pastor asked, "Are you being changed toward the image of Christ or toward the world's broken-ness?"  I choose to go toward Christ.  Since change is inevitable, I want to make the most out of it!

What Happened to All of My Time?

While Mike was gone to OCS and the train-up prior to OCS, I seemed to find time to blog 3-5 times a week.  I also found time to exercise regularly, keep up with all of my work for my classes, and read.  Now, about the only thing I have time to do is my classwork.  I do need to set some priorities.  I must exercise more.  I was doing so well, but have gotten off track the last couple of weeks.  Parent Conferences are now over, so no more working until 6 or 7 at night.  Eclipse is calling my name and asking me to finish reading it, along with several books I got for Christmas.  I enjoy writing on my blog and enjoy reading several other blogs.  I feel that our life isn't so crazy after all.   It's not that Mike demands my time.  We are pretty independent people that just enjoy hanging out with each other.  But, sometimes I feel like I am neglecting him if I take time to pursue my interests.  The opposite is also true, I feel like I am neglecting myself and my interests if I only focus on him or us as a couple.  I'm still looking for how to find that healthy balance where both of our needs are being met.  Any ideas or suggestions on how to accomplish this?

Another Snow Day, Really?!?!?!?!

Well, this is snow day #7.  We may or may not have a summer vacation.  Not really, but unless something changes, our last day with students will be June 7 and the teachers' last day will be June 8.  I really hope this is all we are going to miss.   Right now Mike is scheduled to leave for OCS on June 11.  He will be at Camp Robinson in Little Rock beginning on May 10.  I will be able to see him all but one weekend, and if school will ever end, I can go stay in Greenbrier and see him in the evenings until he leaves.  So let's just pray that there are no more winter storms heading our way.  I do have to say the the snow was very beautiful falling yesterday.  We were in school all day because the roads were just wet.  It was so peaceful watching the snow fall outside my classroom window.  It got really cold last night and all the water on the roads froze over.  The sun (yay!) has been out today and now most of the roads are dry.  I have a good feeling about returning to school tomorrow.

Here are a few pictures of our snow!

This is what it looked like when I left for school.

This is a view out my classroom window yesterday.

This is what it looked like this morning.

Drill Weekend Plans

Mike just got back on Monday, but already had to head back to Camp Robinson for Drill this weekend.  He was appointed as the Platoon Leader for the weekend.  I don't really understand what all that means other than he has to make sure the other people are doing what they should be.  We are pretty sure he will be returning to Fort McClellan in Alabama on June 11 for OCS again.  He will continue to go to Drill every month and then have a train-up session at Camp Robinson for several weeks before going to OCS.  He will spend the next couple months substitute teaching in my school district and training for OCS.

While Mike is at Drill this weekend, I will be in inservice tomorrow from 8-2.  We don't usually work on Saturday, but thanks to all the winter weather we have had we have to make-up and inservice day.  After that, I am making the trip down to Central Arkansas.  I will get to hang out with my mom and go see my dear friend Erica's new baby girl, Rylee, born on Tuesday.  I can't wait.

On Sunday, Mike and I will head back to Fayetteville for the Super Bowl.  ON Monday, we are supposed to have more winter weather move this direction.  Here's hoping and praying it doesn't pan out.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Better Late Than Never

Weekend before last I took a little trip with my mom.  It served a double purpose:  to celebrate my mom's birthday(January 23) and to get my mind off the fact that Mike was leaving and would be gone for what I thought would be 8 weeks.  Well, we all know how that turned out!  We went to Mount Magazine State Park and stayed in the lodge.  We planned on getting out and about and exploring the park.  We signed up for a couple activities.  One was to give us and overview of the part and to see what all was there to do.  The other one was a short hike to give us a brief history of the mountain and past lodges.  Mount Magazine is the highest peak in Arkansas, so we also thought we would take a hike to the official "highest point in Arkansas."  Now that you know all about our plans, let me show you what we actually saw up on that mountain.

You got it.  We saw absolutely nothing.  We were fogged and rained in for two days except for about five minutes when the fog cleared and we got to see this:

and this.....

and this.....

and even this.

But, most of the time we saw this:

and this...

and this...

and this....

and this.

All this means is that I want a do over.  I guess we will go back and try this again, but probably not during winter!

Decisions, Decisions

Mike made it to Fayetteville today.  Finally!  It was his birthday, too.  It was so nice to be able to spend it together.  We didn't just spend it hanging out.  We got busy trying to sort out what is going to happen next.  We went and talked to a recruiter with the Army Reserves.  That is not really an option right now.  In order to go that route, Mike would have to be released from the Guard.  There is a greater chance of seeing pigs fly than he getting his release.  The reason?  The Guard is has at least 125 officer openings that need to be filled.  Mike's test scores and other credentials are just too good for him not to become one of those officers.  Those are the words of the Major he met with this morning, not mine.  Although I already knew that.  So what are the real options we have?

1.  Traditional OCS-a 2 year program of getting trained on drill weekends and a couple of weeks during the summer.  Pro-Human-like treatment. Con-this program is usually for those who don't have their college degree yet.

2.  Accelerated OCS-this is the 8-week program that Mike just tried.  The Major feels Mike can spend the next few months preparing himself and training himself to return to this program in June, which is the next cycle.  Pro-it's only 8 weeks and so Mike can get it overwith.  Con-Inhumane treatment at times.

3.  ROTC-we don't really know a lot about this option yet.

More than likely what is going to happen is that Mike will go back to Alabama this summer and try this again.  I know he will make it through if he puts his mind to it and gets himself metally, physically, and emotionally prepared.  I was so glad to see my Mike today and to celebrate his birthday with him. 

I will be returning to school tomorrow.  Today was our 6th day to miss due to winter weather/road conditions.  I know my students need me, but I will feel sad for leaving Mike right after he got back.  Maybe we will have a speedy week!