Life Since My Last Post

Okay so I know I haven't posted in a while, things have been pretty hectic! The Norris family was staying with me after Derrick left until they left for Okinawa, Japan on March 11th. After they left, I have been trying to get the house back under control. I have also had a lot of tests and homework due lately. My classes this semester are definitely my hardest yet! Microbiology is a lot tougher than biology and physiology were, but I feel like I learn so much more. It is really fascinating looking at different bacteria under the microscope and identifying and understanding it. My first couple of tests in Microbiology and Developmental Psychology were not up to my usual standard, but in the last few weeks I have been able to dedicate more time to studying and have earned A's on my tests again! It feels really nice to be able to do that. I am still waiting to hear about the nursing program. I should be finding out shortly after Spring break, which is April 6th-10th.


I started Weight Watchers again the week that the Norris's left. I figure since Derrick is gone and not here to tempt me to eat pizza and junk food, it is the perfect time for me to strive toward my weight loss goals. Since he is not here to spend time with, I have started to spend my free time in the gym. It has already started to pay off. In the first week I already lost 4.8 pounds! It is really exciting to see it working. It makes me feel in control of my life. Anyway, I plan on losing another 23 pounds by the time Derrick comes home. If I lose a steady 5 pounds a month, I can easily do it! =D


My aunt, Tante Inger and her boyfriend Rad came down to Palm Springs this past weekend and I got to go hang out with them for a day. That was a lot of fun! It was really great to see her and go swimming in the beautiful Palm Springs heat. We went to a breakfast buffet, swam at the RV park Rad's parents are staying at, and did some shopping. I got a couple of dresses from the Old Navy $15 dress sale! That was pretty cool, too. It was really great to see family down here. Sometimes I feel kind of isolated! It will be nice if they come back again soon for another visit.


Today I got to have a free half hour Swedish massage on base, courtesy of Faces Day Spa. It was so amazing! I have never gotten a real massage before and it felt so wonderful! It was just what I needed after spending three hours hunched over my table at school working on a tough test! After that, I took the dogs for a long walk around the neighborhood. It was such a perfect day today. A cute little ground squirrel ran into a little burrow in the ground and Biscuit tried to dig him out! He just dug and dug and dug until the hole was so deep. It was obvious that the little guy was long gone, but Biscuit had no clue! When I called him and told him to stop, his nose was covered in sand because his whole head had been submerged in the sand. It was so cute! Anyway, later this evening was Home Family Personal Enrichment night (HFPE) with the Relief Society at church. We had a "service auction." Everyone donated a service and we bid on the service we wanted. I donated 3 hours of babysitting, and I ended up winning a set of really cute hand-made cards. It was a lot of fun. Even though I am now on my own, I really do not feel so alone because I get to do so many fun things. Many of my friends have left (Amy, Daisy, and Melanie), but I still have great friends here who look after me if I need it!



On the last weekend of February, I went up to Utah to visit my grandmother's sister Tante Gerd. We had a really nice time. She and her family are so sweet! We ate at the spaghetti factory and had fun playing Phase 10 and just relaxing. It is so beautiful up there! The mountains were covered in snow. It was super cold, but it was a nice surprise to wake up to snow one morning. Here are a few pictures from the trip:


From back left: Woody, Tante Gerd, her son Chad, and his two kids K.C. and Hunter.

Me in front of the Salt Lake Temple.

Statue of Jesus at the Visitors' Center in Temple Square

Well, that is just about all I have for now. Derrick is doing well and he sends his love. I get to talk to him most days of the week. I even get to occasionally talk to him on the webcam for free! I love it. It really helps to make us feel connected. I don't miss him terribly like I did the last deployment because the communication is so much better this time. So far, deployment number 2 is going way smoother than deployment number 1 did!

(I want to apologize for any grammatical errors in this post, I only got three hours of sleep last night cramming for a test I had this morning!)