Columbus

Yesterday was the day that Mark and I went to Columbus. We left my parents' house around 7:00-7:15 AM. It only takes about an hour and a half to get there, but we didn't know what kind of traffic we'd be in and how long it'd take to find a place to park once we got to Ohio State [University]. Well, we got there about an hour early! [The meeting with Capt Rosenthal was scheduled for 10:30, we got there around 9:30.] It was okay though because Capt Rosenthal told us that he had blocked out his whole morning, and he let us have the meeting then. He was very nice and he really informed us about MECEP and other stuff. He was honest, and he said that Mark was a good candidate, but he wouldn't go in that "Definite" pile of applicants right away for MECEP. He said that Mark would be put in the "Maybe" pile, and that there's a slight chance he'd get accepted for MECEP this fall. Mark has a great ACT score and ASVAB score [or whatever it's called], but his PFT is lacking a little bit. Mark can do all of the pull-ups and sit-ups/crunches, but his run isn't as fast as they'd like it. His run isn't that bad, but it's "bad enough" to have him sit in that "Maybe" pile. So after the meeting, Mark and I were talking about MECEP, and we've decided that he'll still try to put in the application this year, and we'll just kind of expect him to not get in. So if he doesn't get in this time around, he'll just apply next year because then they'll know he's serious about going the Officer route, he'll have more time to knock down his run time, he can take some college courses so they'll see he has some continued education, and we'll both know what to expect next year when it comes time to get things in order to turn in the application. If Mark would happen to get accepted this year, we'll be thrilled!! We just wanted to go ahead and come up with a plan in case he doesn't get accepted. I think our plan is a good one.

After the meeting, we walked around Columbus for a few hours. It was AWESOME!! We went to The Shoe first. [That's where the football games are played, in case you didn't know.] We were walking around and I was taking photos, and when we got right by the front gate, a guy that worked there told us that if we wanted, we could around to Gate 23 and come in the stadium and walk around, but we couldn't go on the field!!!! Umm...AWESOME!! So Mark and I had the whole place to ourselves [outside of the people that were working there]!! We spent some time there walking around, looking at stuff, and it was just amazing!! I took so many photos!! It was my first time there, and I just loved every second of it!! Plus, when we were there, I was thinking about Mark's Uncle Chuck who played for Ohio State back in the day. I think it's so cool that my husband has a connection with Ohio State football, because Ohio State football means so much to him!! [I, also, believe that Uncle Chuck had his ashes spread out in the stadium. I'm not 100% positive on that, but I think his ashes were spread there.]

After our time at The Shoe, we had lunch at a place called Varsity Club, went to a store called College Traditions, and walked around Columbus/Ohio State for a while. It was a fun day!! I really enjoyed it!! I will put some photos up either later today or tomorrow. I have to sort through which ones I like the most and want to put on here because I took over 200 photos!! So be on the look-out for those photos - some are pretty cool!!

School Update & More

I got a call from my advisor dude at AiP last night, and things are going well. Actually, he said things are looking really great for me!! YAY! All of the stuff that needed to be done on my end is complete!! WOOHOO! Next is just the financial aid stuff has to be taken care of on the school's end. I don't know how long that'll take them, but I do have a while before it needs to be done since I'm suppose to start on July 13th. I just can't believe that I'm wanting to go back to school, especially as much as I do - let alone actually trying to make it happen!! HA. I swore up and down I'd never go back to school for anything, especially if I had to take "core classes". Guess I was way wrong!! HA. But it does feel really good to actually be able to go to school for something that means a lot to me and something that I really want to push myself and succeed in.

So yesterday was pay day. I woke up early, got ready, got the boys ready, and we were out the door by about 6:45 to go grocery shopping. Since we're leaving Monday morning, I only needed to by things for 5 days. I know I shouldn't have done this, but I did anyway...I went to the makeup aisles and bought some makeup. And only one of those things is something that I'll use every time I put makeup on. HA. The other things I bought were 3 Cover Girl eyeshadows [that are brand new colors from CG], 6 Maybelline eyeshadows [most of which are brand new colors], and Maybelline's new Lash Stiletto mascara. The CG eyeshadows I got are INSANE!!! They are bright, metallic colors and I just love them!! I actually really want to go get some more!! Some of the Maybelline eyeshadows I got are pretty awesome, too - while 1-2 are just okay!! I have yet to use the Lash Stiletto mascara. I seriously didn't even need to buy the mascara. I already had 6-7 tubes of mascara before buying the new one yesterday. [And all but two of the mascaras I had before were ones I've bought within the last month or two. I love mascara and have to have different mascaras for different looks.] But the makeup I bought yesterday is to maybe test out and use for when I go home and maybe test the waters and do the extreme beauty shots on people. I know my sister is willing to let me try any kind of hair and make up stuff on her whenever I'm in the creative mood. She's such a good sport!! HA. I'm thinking about buying some fake eyelashes, too, for whenever I do extreme beauty shots. Fake eyelashes are amazing...it just sucks that I can't put them on myself!! If I could put them on myself, I'd be rockin' them almost every time I walked out of the house!!

I've decided that next time we move back down here, I'm not going to paint walls because we hopefully won't be here for long. We'll either go to Columbus, Ohio, because Mark got accepted into MECEP and Ohio State, or we'll be stationed elsewhere. So instead of painting walls, I'm just going to probably get a bunch of new picture frames and hang up some of my photographs on the walls. I don't want plain, boring walls, and photos will definitely "spruce things up a bit". I've already gone through some of my photos and picked out the ones that have to be hanging up on the walls. I'm not going to lie, I am very proud of a lot of the photos I've taken, especially recently, and I think that they should be on display wherever I may live. Plus, I think photos are more personal than just any type of decor. Don't get me wrong, I do love those little things you can find places, but photos are more personal and when I see lots of photos in someone's house, I feel like they are letting me be more into their life than someone who only has a few photos up. Do you know what I mean? But I just want people to be able to walk into my home and look at my photos, and feel like I'm welcoming them into my own little world. And you just never know, maybe someone will really love a photo I have up and be moved by it, even if it's just a little bit of that feeling. I know that I am often moved by photos. Some photos just have that ability to touch ones soul instantly, and those are my favorites.