The Embarrassing Truth

Can I tell you guys a secret?

Last week I found out that I have high cholesterol.

Yep. I'm 25. 

How terribly embarrassing.

At first I was devastated. "Are you sure?" I asked the nurse.

She was positive. Blood tests don't lie.

My throat started closing up, because even though I wasn't 100% sure what that meant, I knew it wasn't good. I cried. A lot. And then, in my head I blamed the way I was raised...eating fried foods daily, drinking sweet tea instead of water, cake for breakfast. And yes, I'm sure that had something to do with it, but the minute I turned 18 I took control. I made the decisions, but it wasn't until recently that I decided I couldn't live like that anymore. At this point I've been counting calories for 3 weeks, and I feel better. I'm going to the gym 3 days a week. I'm taking nutrition classes. I have taken control. I can turn this around. I have changed my lifestyle for the better. 

The craziest thing I've heard so far? Most people my age probably have it and don't even know it. Lucky for me though, I get the chance to fix it now. I don't have to wait until it's so high I have to be prescribed medicine.

And no matter how embarrassing that is, I'm thankful I have another chance.

My Time

Last night my husband and I had a 'talk'.

As most of you know, he has started his training. Which means he's gone pretty much all day.

I stay home with Adelei. I clean house & cater to my daughters every need.

I love it.

But I still need some time to myself every once and a while. So when Aaron got home yesterday, I asked him if he would mind watching the baby for a little while so I could have some time to myself. He agreed.

It just so happened that it was time for her last nap of the day, so he should have no problem.

I put her down, grabbed my purse, & headed out the door.

I had some things on my mind, yes. 

I also needed fresh air, and I wanted to get a few things for the house without having to take the baby. So I multitasked.

After I had only been gone a little over an hour I heard my phone ping...I knew it was a text from Aaron, 'What ya doin?'

*sigh* Here we go...

I responded '@ Hobby Lobby' and within seconds 'coming home soon?'

I wanted to scream! Right then & there in the middle of the store. But I kept it together. I finished browsing, and checked out. When I left there, I went home.

After I put the baby to bed, we talked.

Apparently he thought that because I left when I said I needed 'me' time, that I was upset.

That was not the case. Have I been feeling a little morose lately? Yes. But isn't that to be expected when you move 1,000 miles away from anyone you know for the first time? After explaining this to him, he somehow came to the conclusion that I don't want to stay home with Adelei. Read--this is NOT the case!

But after being home for 7 days, unpacking, cleaning, & catering to everyone else [husband, baby, dog] I just wanted a little bit of time for just me.

I don't think that is too much to ask for. 

The Move

I had this really long blog post written about all of the 'fun' stuff that happened to us along the way, but lucky for you folks, when I hit publish it disappeared.

Now, here I am, kind of in shock, and I honestly don't feel like giving another play by play, so here are the highlights:

Monday

*A got a flat tire somewhere in MS.

*While he was in the process of changing it, it started storming...bad.

*Add hail to the rain.

*Our car was packed to the brim, we were stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere & Adelei decides that is the perfect time to relieve herself. This resulted in me having to change her while she stood up in my lap. Awesome.

*Made it to the tire store only to find out they had 1 tire to fit his car, not 2.

*Got to our hotel at 10 instead of 5.

Tuesday

*A went to the Firestone close to our hotel to get another tire.

*He got lost & drove around for an hour trying to find our hotel. [aka wasted an hour of precious travel time!]

*Dallas/Ft.Worth is a beast! But I conquered it.

*The townhouse we reserved a month ago was nothing like what we were expecting. [aka another night in a hotel & search continued for a place to live.]

I'm back!

You can all breathe a little easier now ;)

Seriously, though...I'm breathing easier [aka less stressed].

There is a little stress left, but not too much.

If you follow me on instagram or twitter, or friends on fb, you know that we made it to our new duty station.

Of course, nothing went the way it should have [in my mind!]. We were thrown curve balls from every direction, but I think that we did pretty good at catching them & staying in the game. I've learned so much from this move, it's astonishing.

The biggest, most important thing I learned is that I am a strong woman [mentally & emotionally]. And that is giving me the confidence I need to be 1,000 miles away from my very best friends and family.

This is all for now, but stay tuned for the gory details of our trip and soon...a giveaway!

For rent

We recently found out that when Aaron leaves for training, I won't be able to go with him. I knew that I wouldn't get to see him very much, but I at least thought that they would allow us housing. Apparently not.

Our lease at our current apartment is up in July & I won't be able to stay here longer because they require tenants to sign a 12 month lease. I know his training won't last that long, so I'm not going to even bother.

Not to mention my job is a whole hour away, so I might as well just move back 'home' temporarily, right?

This is where it gets sticky.

As of right now, on the days that I work, my grandmother keeps Adelei for me, & then we spend the night so I won't have to commute an hour each way. Which was fine when I was only working 3 days a week. But now that I'm working 5 days a week & every other Saturday...it's getting a little stressful. I think she still sees me as a child even though I am an adult with my own child. I love her & value her opinion, but I don't think I can emotionally handle staying there FULL time & not having an escape.

As of now, I will continue doing it this way because I refuse to pay rent on two apartments. But once our lease ends in Troy & Aaron leaves for training, I was thinking about getting an apartment closer to my job & to my grandmother.

Part of me is scared to even mention this to her because I don't want to upset her.

I need help! I need advice! Have any of you been in a similar situation?

What would you do if you were in my shoes?

Once upon a time...

I used to wear my hair like this....
[please ignore the awkward positions my hands are in]
I was also 20 lbs lighter, and it framed my face so nicely.

At some point I decided to grow my hair out for about a year and a half and I LOVED it.
Recently, I cut it to a medium length for easier maintenance.
Now though, it's just getting on my nerves so bad! And I know that when I have the baby, I won't have time every single day to blow dry it and straighten it, so I'm really thinking about going back to the good ol' days and chopping it all off.

What do ya'll think?
I need help!

Every word you say I think I should write down

Okay, enough with the healthy eating/exercising blogs, and onto the good stuff...

My sister and I FINALLY caught up with the world and saw Avatar.
It was amazing.
It took me a few minutes to get used to the whole 3D glasses thing [my eyes had trouble focusing!!], but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This weekend I also saw Shutter Island.
All I have to say is............
it seriously messed with my brain....seriously.
I don't know what to believe. But, it was good. In a freaky 'I hope this never happens to me' kind of way.

In other news....
Our spring break starts in exactly one week. Which I am totally ready for because I REALLY need a break. And totally NOT ready for because it's not really warm yet.
*sigh* Here's to hoping the weather decides to be amazing while we're at the beach.

Also, I'm kind of having a dilemma.
You guys are always so helpful.....so,
my roots are showing BAD
should I
a] stick with dying my hair brown black

b] revert to dying my hair light brown [circa 2007]

c] just give myself burgundy highlights [circa 2008]

I will not bend, I will not break.

After going back and forth for months, I finally gave in.

I blame it on Matt.

You can find me here, now.

I don't really understand it yet, you guys may have to help me out.

Anyways. Today was dead day on campus. Yet I still had a meeting at 8:30 in the morning. How does that make sense?

It doesn't.

Not only was I kind of pissy for having to be there that early...IN THE POURING RAIN...but I also found out, that unless a miracle occurs in the next month, I won't be able to intern in the Fall, like I was supposed to.

I swear on everything that I own that the administration at my school is completely "f'ed" up. I am so tired of getting the run around when I ask questions, and finding things out LAST minute, what I should have known about 3 semesters ago. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to take a semester off.

Oh, and to add to my wonderful day...we got an email today saying that the shoes Aaron ordered last week for the wedding are out of stock. Lovely, huh?

My brain is absolutely fried. I feel like I can't even THINK straight.
So, tonight, we are having a girl's night dinner at my house, and I am cooking.
It should be a good relaxing night.

Scratch that. Should be a relaxing few hours. After the girls leave I still have to finish my lesson plans and create a purchase requisition for my final tomorrow morning.

Hope you all are having a happy hump day, despite all my complaints.

Identity Crisis.

Just wanted to take a moment to thank those of you who have spread the word about my give away! It has really helped a lot. Keep in mind, there is still time [winner is posted Saturday], so tell all your friends!!

Those of you who have been following me know that I'm getting married in 18 days.

Here's the problem.

Do I want to be
Jamie Keith Altgilbers
or just
Jamie Altgilbers

I've been contemplating this for quite a while.
To drop my last name, or not.

I just feel like that's who I am...do I want to totally lose that?

So what are your thoughts?
Pro's, Con's?
Your story?

I need advice.

With all your cheap words, who are you kidding?

I have a few dilemmas that I would like your opinion about.
[Since you all were so helpful with the Twitter decision!]

Recently, there have been quite a few things I wanted to blog about, but refrained because [I am in no way an anonymous blogger] I am kind of worried people I know [that I don't want to read these specific thoughts] would find my blog one way or another.

I mean, this is a legitimate concern, right?

So, should I:
a. continue refraining from blogging about super personal things.
b. start a separate blog JUST for super personal posts [things I need to get off my chest] and make it a more private setting, where people can follow me, but they have to have permission from me.
c. continue my personal posts on this blog, just use code names.


My next dilemma comes by way of Myspace.
I used to be ADDICTED to myspace. It was actually kind of ridiculous how much time I spent on there. For the past few months, I've sort of switched to Facebook. I'm not AS addicted to facebook as I was to myspace, but I am beginning to like it more.
I have been trying to decide if I want to delete my myspace now.
The only time I ever get on there is if I get an email saying I have a new notification. Almost all of my friends on myspace also have facebook. I can't really see a valid reason to keep it. I used to blog on there, but obviously I stopped when I started this blog. So, what do you think? Should I keep it, just for the sake of having one? Or should I just get rid of it and stick with facebook?

Okay, I realize that these two 'dilemmas' may seem completely ridiculous to older more mature people, and I am sorry if I seem like a complete child right now. I am slowly, but surely, growing up.

Thanks in advance for the help!