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 Well Mayans, so much for the end of the world. It's been a quiet apocalypse; I don't know about you but it's been an average day. I picked up some stocking stuffers for Michael, he wrapped my presents, and we've been bumming around in our usual routine. I have to admit I was sort of expecting something, if only some rare cosmic event that was non-threatening but had been misinterpreted by the Mayans. I guess they just got lazy and figured 2012 was just so far away they need not continue. Makes sense.
 We finally found a new house to move into, and so last weekend and up until at least Monday or so was a blur of running around town and in between houses. Being our first move with no help, we weren't terribly organized. There are things we could've done differently. But we managed to get out of our old house in the time we were given.

Honestly after over a month of driving by house after house all over town, we found this one just over a mile away from our old place. It seems almost silly how close it is. But so far the neighborhood is so much quieter, and its so much cozier, not to mention more private. I've gotten used to it pretty damn fast. I'd put up pictures of the inside, but as you can imagine it's still an absolute mess, but we're getting it together day by day.

Being silly on the new equipment/pants that finally fit/Christmas ornaments/Anniversary dessert

  In the midst of moving we picked up a basically brand new elliptical from a military family that wasn't using it. I've used it almost every day this week and it's fantastic. Other than about two or three days (spent lifting heavy things back and forth for a few hours) I've kept up my workout schedule, and shortly discovered old clothes that haven't fit me in months finally do. It makes me want to work harder, and with the addition of the elliptical there's absolutely no room for excuses.
  One of the first things I did was unpack our small tree and some rope lights. I found some Christmas-y smelling candles, cinnamon scented pine cones at a craft store and immediately felt more in the spirit. We decorated with ornaments sent from Michael's sister and my parents, including the two new ornaments we picked out this year.

  On top of that, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary! It's been a year of really learning how to be a married couple, with the added military aspect. With the amount of time we've spent together you'd think we'd fight more or find regrets, but I can honestly say that any fights have been momentary misunderstandings and there are no regrets in sight. It's been a really good year for us. All of this moving and settling in to a new house has allowed me to put aside a lot of homesickness and allow me to focus on my time with Michael; seeing as he leaves next fall it's pretty important. We celebrated by driving to a nearby city to have some delicious sushi (there are no sushi restaurants in Lawton) and going out of our way to do a few things we don't normally do. I'm enjoying all of this us time a lot. Next year I'll get lots of time in Arizona to hopefully make up for some lost time here with friends.

  We had a momentary scare when we got the sudden news that part of Michael's unit deploys a lot sooner than he was told. Like, in the next two months. It would seem that thanks to the detail he's on and a few other small factors he's excluded. I thought, how much would that suck, we move to a new place, get all cozy and then he'd have to go all of the sudden! There's always something reminding me of our situation, and not to take anything for granted. I suppose it's a good thing in the long run. I hate every aspect of being in a military relationship except for the fact that miraculously it's brought us closer together than I could've ever hoped. It's a bond I know will last for a really long time.

 So happy holidays to all; love the ones you're with and make the best of it.