I've never been one that's had trouble making friends. Sure, I can be shy sometimes, but still...I've never had a period of my life where I haven't found at least one friend. That is, not until I moved to Louisiana.
Although I really enjoyed my time in Houston with Sara and Lindsay, it made me sad in a way that I didn't have friends like them or like my friends back home in Oklahoma. If I can find friends that I mesh well with in a blogging setting, why can't it be that easy here?
Maybe it's because I don't have children and don't know many women here close to my age that don't. Maybe it's because I'm not really part of any groups here.
Don't get me wrong, there are a few girls here that I'm friendly with around here, but none that I'd call up and say, "Hey..want to hang out and do this?"
I'm really hoping and praying that when we get to Italy that I find at least one friend that I really click with.
So...thank you to all my blogging friends that come to my site to comment or just to read and thank you to my real-life friends that read this as well.
Also thank you to all the ladies that left comments yesterday. It made my day to read all of them and how supportive you guys were towards my husband and all military.
Now on to other things...like my lovely argyle sweater. Can I just say how much I love wearing it? I think it's my favorite sweater ever!
I tried this nail polish on Sunday while we were at Ulta and I'm regretting not buying it. I normally don't like dark colors on my fingernails, but I'll make an exception for this.
Look at this Christmas bag that I bought last year at Hobby Lobby when they were all on sale.
I was going through these the other day since I'm taking them to my parent's house to use for presents. I got so many cute bags from there last year. Maybe I'll still have time to stock up on after Christmas sales at Hobby Lobby and store that stuff at my parent's home for next year. Hmm.....
Ok...I have a PCSing question for you military gals out there. As you know, we have a Min-Pin that we are taking with us. Sean is insistent he be checked as baggage, I want him to ride in the cabin with us. We are flying AA to Baltimore and from there to Italy it's a military flight. Will they allow us to carry him on in the cabin on a military flight? If not, then I might as well go ahead and check him from the very beginning. Any advice or answers on that?
Last night was such fun for Sean and I. We went to go eat for lunch. He chose Ryan's Steakhouse (not my favorite by any stretch of the imagination) but I happily obliged since it was "his" day. Then we did a little shopping at the PX/Commissary. New Glamour for me! We got a few movies and some popcorn at Blockbuster and then went back home for some movie watching/cuddling in front of the TV. Of course Boomer had to join in....and in the middle at that. We rented Get Smart and I was suprised by how good it was! Very funny too. I haven't laughed that much at a movie in quite awhile. The second movie was The Business. Yawn. Weird sort of British characters. Not good at all. Sometime in between the two movies Sean manged to make pre-made Pillsbury cookies into rocks. Not even joking about that. I seriously thought I was going to break a tooth.
Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!
I *heart* Hobby Lobby!!
ReplyDeleteumm..about the pet...your "military" flight from Baltimore will most likely be on a commercial plane. I don't think that they put PCSing families on the C130s...so I can't see why they wouldn't allow it. I'd call the space-a desk at BWI and ask! You can find their contact info on this page: http://www.spacea.net/locations_conus.html
Thanks Allison! I knew it'd be commerical, since Sean informed me it wouldn't be on an actual military plane, LOL, but I didn't know what airline it would be.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go check out link now!
I know how you feel about the friends thing. I am the same way. From Hometown, East Coast to College Town, Midwest...then to Atlanta.
ReplyDeleteIt took some time when I got to Atlanta to make friends. I struggled with the interesting culture and the fact that I don't work with anyone within 10 years of me. I couldn't use work as a way to make social contacts.
Eventually things fell into place...and I made some friends. Now I have some of the best friends a girl could want. However, instead of taking 2 days to make friends...it took 6 months.
I know what you mean about making friends. I lived in Georgia for most of my life; the only time I was gone was for college in Florida, where of course you make lots of friends in college. But we just got married and I moved out to Washington state-- I'd never even been so far West before! All the married gals I've been meeting are older than me- I'm only 21 and most are around 28-- and they've all got kids or are pregnant. I'm not saying I can't be friends with a person who is a parent- it just means we have that much less in common.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with PCS'ing the dog! When Japan was an option for us, I was more than a little worried about flying my dog overseas. She is scared of loud noises, and the trip is so long, how do the animals not get dehydrated? What if she has to go to the bathroom? I'm looking forward to finding out what you guys do for your pup to make traveling as easy as possible for him!
i feel you on the friends thing. i still don't have friends here in columbia. i have tons of friends in louisiana, though! and the food there sure is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteOh...the making friends part...I never used to have trouble either! However, here in Saint Louis, I've met no one else my age that I could connect with. It probably doesn't help that I work with much older women and I'm not involved in anything yet here. I hope your transition to Italy goes well and you meet some wonderful people!!
ReplyDeleteI also tend to have a tough time in the friend department. I'll keep my fingers crossed that there's a good friend waiting for you in Italy. :)
ReplyDeleteI loved "Get Smart", and I thought it was hilarious. Anne Hathaway and Steve Carell are both great actors.
Just keep reaching out the way you are. :-) You have a wonderful open heart, you're bound to find kindred spirits along the way.
ReplyDeleteOk, that sounds really Anne of Green Gables cheesy but...
Oh, I love Hobby Lobby! I especially love finding things on sale..
ReplyDeleteI have some really great friends that I have had forever and thank God for them because all of my colleages and church friends are married with children.. and while I still love to hang out with them.. it is not the same.. you know what I mean..
I know exactly what you mean about having friends. There is no one our age where we live, and the people we like are all older and have kids. I think they think it's weird to be friends with us! :) So, we only have one couple that we're friends with, and we rarely see them!
ReplyDeleteI'll be praying for wonderful friends for you in Italy!
You are leaving this winter, no? I don't think they will let you put Boomer under the plane if it hits a certain temp. And in Dec/Jan in Baltimore it is going to be cooooolllddd. So, you may have to bring him in the cabin, regardless. You might want to call and check.
ReplyDeletei understand about the friend thing. in fact, i was posting about it this morning i was so upset.
ReplyDeletethe flight from baltimore is a chartered commercial jet that runs between ramstein and bwi about three times a week. i'm not sure about under the seat, but my parents put our dog under the plane when we went in july. if you do come through ramstein, call me and i'll come meet you at the terminal with lunch!
It is so hard when you don't have someone to click with or just hang out with.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a really nice afternoon! I am glad you and Sean were able to enjoy your day off together :)
I have felt the same way about friends down here. Although, after four years of living down here I am finally making important friendships, I think. I had a weird college career which made making friends kind of difficult. Anyway, I still probably only have three close girlfriends down here, but sometimes even those relationships feel distant. I'll pray that you will meet someone amazing in Italy, but you'll always have all of us bloggers, too :)
ReplyDeleteI feel you on the friends issue. It takes time. Time and work and luck.
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved to Dallas it took me a solid year of "waiting for it to happen on it's own" before I went out and found a volunteer opportunity. That was the USO, where within a 6 months I made a few of the best friends a girl could ever ask for and met my future husband.
I know it doesn't always happen that easily but when you get to Italy, just remember that sometimes you have to make your own opportunities. Create your own luck! And trust me, you won't have any problems. Think positive! :-)
I have has some friends on commercial but military contracted flights. They may or may not allow pets on board at all. It varies based on the airline, the outside temp, the number of traveling animals, etc.
ReplyDeleteWe brought our cat in the cabin. The vet recommended giving him kids Benadryl prior to the flight. It worked like a charm. He was much calmer, but it didn't slow his heart like some other meds.
About the friend thing- One good thing about moving over here is the closeness of the spouses. We are all each other have! The wives clubs are much more active, and making close friends is easier. In the states people have family, jobs, and neighbors who speak English :)
I have never PCSed to another country but I have a friend, Heather, who has been to Germany and is now in Japan. She said that both times she was welcomed with open arms on post and that it was much easier to intergrate and find friends overseas because the community is much smaller. I hope that you find it to be the same for you!
ReplyDeleteAlso, good luck with flying your pet. I hope you can take him in the cabin so you don't have to worry about him under the plane. He's a small dog so it probably won't be a problem. And Benedryl sounds like an AWESOME plan! We've used Cat Ease on our cats when we drove from Colorado to Oklahoma and it helped a ton. PetSmart sells it to relax them and it works great. I'm sure they have something for dogs, too.
I hope everything goes smoothly!
I know how hard it is to find friends. Being a military wife, without kids, over 23 it gets really difficult! I am thankful for the friends I have made through my job, not my husbands. It is true that when you make friends with military families they are friends for life because they understand you situation. But, unfortunately, I have found that they can be some of the most clique-y people ever!
ReplyDeleteI hope your time in Italy allows you to meet many new friends that don't already have a friend base due to being from there.
if it makes you feel better its tough for those of us with kids too. i tell ya motherhood is just one big clique. to the moms out in town I dont belong b/c we're military and havent grown up around here, and with other military my kids are either too young or they dont kids or they're crazy (althought I'm not ruling out that I could be the crazy one). Its just tough all around. I feel for ya but at least all of us have each other out in the wild blogging world!
ReplyDeleteI have given you an award! Go check it out!
ReplyDeleteAll this time I thought I was following you and I've been missing all your posts! Now I am :) I am soo with you on the friend thing. We just moved a few months ago! We actually have a few friends that moved here too, but it's definitely taking longer to make new friends than we thought! We have tons of friends back east but we're still working on getting involved out here :) It'll happen, you're a sweet, fun girl, it'll happen!
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous you have a Hobby Lobby!!!! I LOVE that nail polish. I am totally into dark colors.. especially for this time of year.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I have a giveaway I linked to on my blog..check it out ;)
Well I'm here now... we have a few weeks to hang out before you go.
ReplyDelete