"I Love" Sunday's v.33

Hello friends.

Happy Sunday! I hope you're all having a good weekend

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

** I shared with you guys my trip so far on Thursday. My room is pretty awesome and the people I am here with aren't half bad. It's nice to be with a group of people going through the same thing to make this process easier. I'm usually on my own in my broken-ness.... but now there are 14 other people going through the same thing. They all understand what I am going through and they all understand that when I say I'm ok, that it means that the term ok is relative to my life, that I am in some kind of pain.  I got asked all on Friday why I was carrying a backpack if I have back pain and someone else with a  cane understood that no matter how bad my back hurts, I have to carry a backpack because with the cane I only have one hand to carry everything I need for that day- which includes my paperwork, my drink, my medication, cellphone, wallet, and tablet (because I've been waiting over 2 hours for my appointment since we go in groups). It's nice to have someone else understand.

** The Hampton VA is a nice hospital and the people that work there are really nice. I've gotten to meet quite a few awesome veterans from different conflicts while I've been sitting around waiting for my appointments. I spent most of Thursday and Friday there for a hearing appointment for my Tinnitus and then for my General Medical examination. My Tinnitus appointment literally took 5 minutes, because there isn't really a way to test for tinnitus. She just asked me about my tinnitus, how often it occurs, if it hurts, or anything like that. My gen med appointment took about 2.5 hours. The doctor asked me a bunch of questions about the things that I am claiming, looked over pst X-Rays/MRI's for supporting evidence, and then worked her best to connect a bunch of issues to my Fibromyalgia and why I am disqualified for my job in the Army, to try to get me a higher percentage. I'll share my adventures next week before I head back to Germany.

** I found these awesome articles on the good of selfies, since people talk a lot of trash about them. Liz from Being Geek Chic shares an article called So I Selfie, So what? and Stephanie from Tottums and her article called In Defense of Selfies. They are both great articles about why selfies are important to both women, and I love what they had to say. They make important points- "So, in defense of my selfies - well, no. I don't feel the need to defend my selfies. My selfies are a constant reminder to me (and to my loved ones) that I'm not just seeing our life together, that I am part of it too." - Stephanie.

** So every night that we're here in the states, we have the option to go out to eat if we want (we get paid per diem for food since this is TDY (temporary duty) and we get a select amount of money each day- I've only eaten out twice so far since we've been here). Friday night myself, a girl named Kim, and a guy who told us to call him Country (his last name is hard to pronounce) went to Olive Garden and we had a great time. We all love their breadsticks! We agreed that the Italian food in Europe tastes different then what we get at Olive Garden, and although we've all been there almost 2 years, we all still prefer Olive Garden (which isn't abnormal). It just has a different taste... and it's home to us! We talked a lot about deployments.

** I don't usually watch TV, I haven't since I lived in my parent's house. I watch Netflix or Apple TV now, but being on this trip, I get to watch TV. I've been introduced to Castle and Rizzoli & Isles! I love both shows and I need to find the shows from the beginning. I've been watching Law and Order in the mornings. This weekend I've also watched Clash of the Titans, Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest, and Olympus Has Fallen as well. 

** I love being able to go to stores like Michaels and Walmart, where I can get the things that I need when I need them. I don't have to wait on shipping. There is a much bigger selection at these stores then any store I have found in Germany yet! It means I get to play with my new watercolor paints, Tim Holtz Distress Markers, and Copic Markers! I am trying new mediums for my crafting.

** Also since being here, I have been more active in my journaling in my Midori! I've written every day about what has been going on and what's been on my mind. I've even been decorating the pages with washi tape and stickers. :) This makes me happy since I haven't had much motivation to craft lately.

**  Starting to put together a better plan of what I want to do when I get out of the military and where I want to go! I am working on plans for my art again, my photography, and where I want to live.

** Been working with Caitlin of Caitlin Powell Designs for a new brand that I am working on launching in the coming months! I am pretty excited and I can't wait to share with you guys!

** Kristin's Find Your Voice workshop opened for pre-registration on Monday! My course kit has shipped and I can't wait to get back to Germany to play with it and prep for this course! I will be guest instagramming for the course in July, which I am also pretty excited about!

.: Little Loves :.

|| Mountain Dew Baja Blast | Reese's Peanut Butter Cups | TNT (the tv channel) | Papa Johns pizza | Sweet tarts | Dr. Pepper | Time Off ||

What are you loving from this past week?