Recap

I can't believe I have not been keeping up with my blog lately! Actually, I guess I can, considering how busy we have been!

The new house is great. We put in our own back patio with paver stones. It took a LOT of work and we were lucky to have mom, dad and Ryan's friend Aaron help us with it. Unfortunately we worked outside in the 110 degree heat - NOT fun for any of us! But, it looks great and I will post a picture soon!

We also laid the sod in the backyard (well, ryan did for the most part) so it is finally starting to look like a yard! :) There are still a few projects that lie ahead: finish sealing the fireplace, replace some of the front yard sod (the people who laid it did a crappy job AND it is INFESTED with weeds), and hang pictures and decorate. Our housewarming party is next weekend (Oct 6th) so hopefully most of that will be finished by then.

Ryan started school again this fall. He is taking three classes on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings after work. He is SO busy, bless his heart. Back in May he was hired at a company named Sabre and he loves it! He pretty much runs the maintenance program over there and is proud of his work. He seems to enjoy his coworkers as well. Ryan definately has transitioned back into normal life after deployment, as crazy as it is right now!

Below are some pictures to recap the last several months. :)

Is it July already?

I can't believe it is already July and I have not posted in forever! I have been keeping busy with work, house stuff, and being the social butterfly that I am. :)

Ryan and I have done the walkthrough and the inspection on the house. All that is left is the closing which will take place on Monday the 16th! Then we have the next few weeks to move out of our apartment into our new home. I am so ready to be in this new house! I am excited about moving in, decorating, and working on DIY projects to make this home OURS. I will update more once we have closed.....

Catching up

Things have been rather busy around the Kamermayer home lately. Let's see.... as soon as we got back from Eureka Ryan started interviewing for jobs. He was looking for something along the line of diesel mechanic. Sure enough he received several job offers, but only one would really work with his school schedule. He is now working for a telecommunications company in Edmond (that is actually based out of Pennsylvania). He is basicalyl starting their maintenance program from scratch. So far he LOVES it and is excited that it is a normal 7:30-5 job instead of one of the crazy shifts the other places offered him to work.

Next exciting event in life: We bought a house! We will be closing the middle of July to move into a house in Sonador, a new community built by Home Creations. It is located in the Deer Creek School district and the best part - it comes with an underground storm shelter in the garage! I am kind of a freak when it comes to tornadoes so this is just perfect for me. It is exciting to think that we will have a brand new house, but also intimidating. No more landlords to take care of a broken air conditioner or a slow running garbage disposal.

Easter this year was a special one. We went to the Japanese church with Ryan's family in the morning and then spent Easter dinner at my parents' with the whole family. My little nieces even enjoyed an Easter egg hunt - although our beagle, Molly, nearly ruined the fun by opening the eggs that we "hid".

Of course our lives are still filled with lots of social activity. :) Ryan's parents invited us to the 2012 Integris Gala, a semi-formal event with a fancy dinner, drinks and dancing. It was fun to get all dolled up! One of my best friends, Jenny, came back to visit from Arizona so I got to spend some time with her. I also have visited with Cristina (who lives in Lawton but is about to move to Korea for two years with her husband) and Lauren (who lives in Austin, TX) so it's been nice to be able to catch up! Ryan and I enjoyed the all day Norman Musical Festival this year along with our friends Shelby, Beau, Joy and Joe.

I have been on an exercise kick lately. I joined an all female gym a few months back and I go about 5 times a week. I have been focusing on cardio (treadmill, eliptical, and Zumba) but will start bringing weight training into my routine. Ryan's going to create a workout for me. :)

I guess that pretty much sums up the last month. This weekend we will celebrate our friend Joey's 28th birthday on Friday and Stephanie's 30th on Saturday, followed by Mother's Day on Sunday. It is going to be a busy weekend!

Back to Eureka

Ryan and I booked a trip to Eureka Springs once again to get away from it all once he was back in town. We thought St. Paddy's Day Weekend would be really exciting and it sure was! We ate lots of wonderful food at different places, tasted excellent bloody mary's, and enjoyed the Promised Land Zoo. We were NOT ready to leave!

He is HOME!

Ryan arrived at Will Rogers National Air Guard Base at 10:30 a.m. on March 3, 2012. :) My dad was sick and my brother had to work, but my mom, Angie, Doug, Allison, Toshie, Joy, Joe and I were all there waiting for his big arrival. I was SO emotional, nervous and excited for the few hours we were there before the soldiers walked in. It's difficult to explain exactly what I was feeling and why. When the doors opened and the troops walked in, all in formation, I had the craziest butterflies in my stomach! All kinds of emotionals ran through me at that moment and my heart just melted. It was surreal. Finally being able to have him hold me in his arms was so amazing, yet strange at the same time. The first few days he was back I honestly didn't feel like he was here to stay. But he is. For good! :) No more deployments for my guy!

For the last two months I have been planning a surprise Welcome Home Reception for Ryan. It was NOT easy to keep it all a secret. I rented out the ballroom at a hotel in Oklahoma City. We had a DJ, dance floor, food, and cash bar. He seriously had NO idea I was planning this. I tricked him into getting dressed up by saying we were going to a really fancy wine bar in OKC and that I got us a hotel room so we wouldn't have to drive. Joe and Joy were my accomplices, just like they were for his surprise going away party. Joe made sure that Ryan did not go downstairs to the Lobby when we were up in the room getting ready. We had about 50 total guests come and go at the reception. Ryan was completely surprised and he had such a great night with friends and family. My only regret - wish I would have requested more songs to dance to and i wish i would have taken more pictures. :) But, overall it was an awesome evening and it went off without a hitch.

SO SWEET!!!

My husband is such a sweetie! Even though he is out of the country he still sent me a sweet surprise at work. AND the flower arrangement has two little puppy dogs made out of flowers! How cool is that? I am not huge on Valentine's Day, never have been. But this year V-Day was extra special just because of his creativeness and thoughtfulness. I am SO ready for Ryan to come home. For good!

"God doesn't give you the people you want, he gives you the people you need. To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you & to make you the person you were meant to be."
-Unknown

Isn't this quote just perfect? A friend on facebook posted it and I could not pass it up. So true!

And the countdown begins

It is now February, and let's just say that Ryan gets to come home a lot sooner than expected. I can't put out specifics on the internet, but just know that he is coming home much earlier than he was told originally. Oh yes, I have begun a countdown. :)

I can't believe that over a year ago we celebrated his birthday and had his going away celebration. Honestly, that going away party seems like just a few months ago, so time really went by FAST! (thank God!)

I feel like I can't really update much since I can't give details about when he will be home, so I might have to wait a little while before I post again. We shall see.

Resolutions?

Most people come up with one or a few New Year's Resolutions each year. If most people are like me, they probably don't get very far with these goals, and usually the resolutions are pretty much the same year after year. I think my very vague New Year's Resolution is going to be this:

Do everything I can to become a better person, all around.


Of course there are LOTS of small, more detailed STEPS that are included in this very broad resolution. However, I don't want to state each of these steps on here or anywhere really. I don't want to have a very "measurable" resolution, if that makes sense. However, I will keep record of what I consider to be small accomplishments and steps that will help lead to this New Year's Resolution. At the end of the year, instead of measuring how well I did, I will simply reflect on any accomplishments I made, instead of dwelling on the goals I did not meet.

As I say, I am a work in progress. Maybe I should stop being SO hard on myself, and give myself credit once in awhile. :)

When in Eureka......

This year for New Year's Eve my husband encouraged me to do something fun. As soon as I mentioned the possibility of New Year's in Eureka Springs he was all for it. I took my friend Shelby with me and we headed to Arkansas On the 30th and came back to OKC on January 2nd. Even though I did not get to spend New Year's with my amazing husband, I had a great time with an awesome friend in one of my favorite towns. :) The people of Eureka Springs are SO VERY nice and friendly to everyone. And of course my thoughtful husband just had to do something special for us. We arrived at the hotel and were greeted with champagne and chocolates. :) I sure am lucky. Best of all - Ryan and I will be headed to Eureka Springs in April! I am SO excited!