Mardi Gras

Well, I always thought that Mardi Gras was a celebration isolated to New Orleans. But no! Mardi Gras extends as far as Pensacola (and maybe farther, but I only know about Pensacola)! Over the past week or so I've heard about quite a few parades going on around town and I told Garin that I wanted to experience one of them. So yesterday morning I heard about one going on at Pensacola Beach and we decided to head off down there after church. It was a beautiful day outside so Garin had the great idea of taking our bikes and parking a ways away and then riding the bikes in (mind you, this includes going over a bridge with quite an incline...but the bridge is a toll bridge and we didn't have to pay on bikes so it was worth the pain!). I'm so glad we did it because I'm not sure we would have found a place to park if we hadn't! Plus it was cool to ride over the bay and next to the beach :)

I was quite impressed by the parade, I must say. Back in good ol Indian Trail we have an annual 4th of July and Christmas parade. These parades usually consist of kids riding in the back of a pick-up truck, fire trucks, tractor trailer trucks, tractors, horses, the occasional float, and anything else a local business can put in the parade to advertise themselves. However the floats in this parade were quite elaborate! I mean, people put some dough into these things and they weren't even for advertisements! And each float has some theme and the people on board are all dressed up according to the theme. It was craziness! I'm so bummed that I didn't take my camera with me so I could have captured the craziness.

Another different thing about this parade was that they threw out beads and moon pies instead of the candy I'm used to. I got A LOT of beads:

Fortunately, this parade was at 2PM and was a "family" parade, so I all had to do to get my beads was smile and wave! I could have gotten so many more, but Garin reminded me that I had to ride my bike back over the bridge with all these beads on! Oh and I'm not sure what the deal is with moon pies...but surprisingly no one was really interested in them. I mean, throw some cheap beads out and people will fight for any that fall to the ground, but throw out the moon pies and people just turn up their noses! So I collected all the neglected moon pies that fell around me. I was like something edible? or some cheap beads I'm gonna throw away when I get home?! I'll go for the food every time; I just don't understand people ;)

So yeah, we had a very cool day yesterday. I think we might start taking the bikes to the beach on our Sunday afternoons! I'm excited :)

Go Figure!

I just had to voice my frustration to the world. Since Garin and I have moved from a two income family to a one income family I've tried to start clipping coupons (and actually using them!). Well for the past few Sunday's I've been stopping by the local Walmart to pick up a Sunday paper. So tonight after Bible Study we made a special trip by Walmart to get the weekly paper.

WELL, when I got home and started breaking out the ads and coupons, I discovered that all the manufacturer's coupon booklets were missing. Yeah, so I guess someone walked into Walmart, picked up a paper shopped around as they also "shopped" for the coupon booklets inside the newspaper, then returned the paper back to the stand and walked out with coupons in hand. I mean really people, the newspaper costs ONE DOLLAR! I guess if you are willing to clip coupons to save a buck, you are willing to steal the coupons for a buck as well! GRRRR!


UPDATE: Huge thanks to Christina Gainor, who informed me that they didn't put ANY manufacturer's coupons in the paper this week (what in the world is up with that? We are in an economic crisis, we NEED them coupons people!!!). So yeah, now I feel pretty silly...but man, I was riled up last night! I was about to get in the car and take the paper back to Walmart! Glad I didn't, then I would have felt really really silly then! Thanks again Christina :)

In Memory of Judy Carolyn Griffin Killough (1/14/48-2/12/06)

Today marks the 3 year anniversary of my mother's death. I can't believe it has been that long. That painful day (and year leading up to it) is still so fresh in my memory. Although it is true that time heals, there will never be enough time to cause me to forget.

So here's to you mom. I'm so thankful to have been your daughter, you blessed my life in so many amazing ways. I am who I am because of your love, care, understanding, wisdom and example of a godly woman. I can only pray that I will be the mom to my children that you were to me. Thanks for giving of yourself and your career to enrich my life and provide me with everything I could have needed or wanted. I will NEVER EVER EVER forget you.

Running Wild

Man, I'm really up to date on my blogging! I'm actually gonna post pictures that I took TODAY! Garin wanted me to download the pictures and I had some free time so I thought I'd put up a post about today's main event.

Garin got up at 5AM, left at 6AM, and started a 15K at 7AM (that's 9 miles and some change, for those of you that don't feel like doing the conversion). I was so proud of him, he finished it in about 1 hour and 12mins, which was quicker than the goal he had set for himself! They also had a 5K that ran the last 3 miles of the race, but, being the cheapo that I am, I couldn't justify spending $35 to run 3 miles...that's an expensive T-shirt (and really, who wants to PAY to run?)!! However, some of the girls from Garin's OCS class ran the 5K and I was actually wishing I would have joined in :( I felt like the lard of the group! But fortunately I was there to be the photographer and bus driver :)

Garin at about mile 7...he is the one in the sweaty grey T-shirt

Garin crossing the finish line

Garin and his two OCS buddies, Matt and Zach, that also ran the race...I think they were all a little pooped!

A month has passed...

Well this past weekend marked our first month of living in Florida. So far it has been great and we have really enjoyed living here. It really is a lot like home so it hasn't been a far stretch for us to settle in.

Garin started his first day of flight training today. His first phase entails him obtaining his private pilot's license at a civilian air school, where he will learn to fly on Cessnas. This first week is made up of ground school where he will go to class and learn flight stuff before he gets into the plane. Right now he is watching some DVD's and studying in the living room...fun, fun. Oh and one of the draw backs of this is that he is doing his training in Mobile, AL, which is about an hour away from where we live :( There were about 5 places he could have gone and this is one of the furthest. Go figure, oh well...at least there are 2 other of his CG buddies that are there too so they can all carpool. This phase should take him about 2 or 3 months.

Well this month also marks a month behind us in our P90X training. Some of you are asking: "What in the world is P90X?" Well, since you asked, let me explain. If you watch cable TV with those super cool infomercials you might have seen it advertised. Well, my husband saw the advertisement and decided that we should try it out (yes, we bought a work out video off of an infomercial...well I take that back, we actually got in on ebay). P90X is a 90 day workout extravaganza. The workout is based on "muscle confusion" and hence we do a different type of exercise everyday. The first month consisted of: resistance training, yoga, plyometrics, and cardo kick boxing.

Its been a good thing that we have had a lot of time on our hands because each workout takes about an hour and a half a day. But the good news is: IT WORKS! We took photos of ourselves before we started and then took photos again today and we could DEFINITELY tell a difference. I'd post the photos but neither one of us wants to show our "hot" bodies on the internet ;) hehe. But here is a before and after of a more adventurous person!
Along with the exercising we have also been trying to stick to a high protein, low carb/sugar diet. I did okay for the first week, but that whole no sugar thing is too tough for me to stick to. Garin on the other hand has done a good job sticking to the diet and hence you could see better results in his pictures :( Man, I need some discipline!

So, those of you wanting to make a lifestyle change, P90X comes highly recommended from us!

Wow...I'm continuously amazed...

The other day Garin and I were working out in our living room and Garin informed me that the carpet smelled like wet dog (I didn't smell this). Yum. Then a little bit later after our workout I was about to get in the shower and Garin comes in and informs me that he has determined that the wet dog smell is coming from my plant that I bought a couple of weeks ago. Now I love house plants and had to leave a couple behind during all our recent moving...and I'm very fond of this palm plant that he was accusing as the smell culprit. So, when he asked if I'd move it outside, I said no and told him that he should deodorize it if its smell was so offensive (I think he has a sense of smell like a blood hound because I sure don't smell an offensive smell even when I'm right on top of the plant...smells like potting dirt to me!). What I meant by this comment was that he should spray some Fabreeze around the plant. Well I proceeded to take my shower and assumed that the problem was resolved. So, when I got out of the shower and walked into the living room I just stopped in my tracks when I saw what is pictured below:


No, my friends, it did not snow here in Florida. The white stuff at the base of the plant is CARPET DEODORIZER! Garin's solution to deodorizing the plant was to put carpet deodorizer on it! I wasn't exactly happy about this (I'm sure that there are some chemicals in that stuff that probably aren't that great for plants and my plant is probably gonna kill over next week!) but I couldn't help but be amused by it (so amused that I had to share it with everyone else). My husband, the problem solver...

Recent Happenings

Well, I guess I should catch everyone up on what's been going on down in Florida. So, here are some pictures and random updates:

We are now officially Floridians. Why? Might you ask did we we decide to change our residence from our beloved home state of North Carolina to sunny southern Florida? Well, three words: No State Tax. That's right, Florida is one of those great states where they don't charge state tax but stick it to you on property tax...but since we are renting and not purchasing, we get the best of both worlds! Also, since we are military, we can carry this residency with us wherever we go and in effect never have to pay state taxes. One of the few perks of being Active Duty.

New Florida Tags on my Jeep

This past weekend we had our first "party" at our house with some of Garin's friends from OCS. I forgot to take a picture when everyone was there so here is one after everyone left and after we started cleaning up. We had a Mexican themed party so we did a taco/burrito bar. Yummy! Oh and the random picture of the bowl with onions and peppers in it, is a picture of what Garin calls "The bowl of leadership". Garin won this bowl at OCS for getting the leadership award. It actually has his name and the award and such engraved on it, but I couldn't get it to show in the picture. Garin thought it was funny that I actually used it to serve with...I don't think anyone noticed...gotta put that thing to some good use, right ;)

The "Bowl of Leadership"

And finally, this past Sunday Garin and I took a night out on the town and went to a Brad Paisley concert in Pensacola. Garin is a pretty big Brad fan, so I got him the tickets for his birthday. I was pretty late in the game on getting tickets, so they weren't the best in the world, but they weren't too shabby either. We were on the front row of the top section, so we didn't have to stand up the entire time and got to enjoy the show.

I wore my super cool cowgirl hat that my dad got me...I fit right in with all the country folk ;) Garin sported his feather vest, that looked kinda country too.

The Paisley

Oh yeah, and one other random event: My car hit 100,000 miles yesterday. Fortunately I had the camera in the car to capture the moment :)