An update

Here's the update: I'm doing great, working hard, and being a bum when I'm not working hard. And that's really it. I could totally be done writing, but I'm sure it would be really odd to post an "update" with very little written. Seriously though, the above is really all that's been happening....especially the bum part. ;)
I really need to find something to do in my spare time as I really end up being the biggest bum ever and it drives me insane. Every day last week that I was off I wanted to bake cupcakes or something to make me busy. I didn't though as I would've spent a ton of money to buy all the baking stuff. Btw, I don't usually just make one batch of cupcakes. It usually ends up being 2 or 3 batches. Don't worry! I spread them out over a couple weeks so I don't kill myself. I usually can eat about 10 cupcakes a day....which means they don't really last a couple weeks. More like a few days. Oh wait, you wanna know the truth? Ok, I take them into work and only (usually) eat two. :) I made seventy some odd cupcakes and took them to the base and the ER. Let me just say that it is one incredible way to get everyone to like you. ;) Of course, then they never leave you alone and are constantly asking for more cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, cookies, etc. So ungrateful. But, I keep bringing them more because it's one way I can bake without having to eat them all myself. :) I came into work the other day and the first thing I got asked was: "Where's the cinnamon rolls?" Like I said, ungrateful. ;) 
Oh, the latest and greatest cupcakes at the moment are: Neapolitan Cupcakes with ice cream frosting. :) Sooo yummy! I made them for a church dinner and they were gone pretty quick. The Red Velvet Cupcakes are a close second though as everyone at work loves them. I like them too. :)
Next week is a big day! Yesterday, my partner and I decided that we were going to have a cake competition. Chocolate cake and chocolate frosting, all made from scratch. :) We work again next week and so will bring our cakes in to see who has the better one. His sounds pretty awesome, so I may have to steal his recipe. ;) I'll let you know how it goes and who had the better cake. =)
The best news of all though, is that I'm going home on Friday!! I have been waiting for this weekend to come for awhile and it's almost here! Even though it seems like everyday goes by incredibly slowly and I'm about to go insane from it. I'm excited to see everyone and I'll finally get to meet my adorable nephew! Who seems to be cuter in every picture I see of him. :)
Well, pretty sure it's time for me to sleep. I worked last night and I'm at it again tonight....have I said how much I hate working nights? Cause they pretty much make you feel really rotten. I don't think they would be as bad if I had a set schedule of working nights. It's the not sleeping during the day and then getting up at odd hours during the night that make you feel rotten. Ok, enough talk. It's after 10 and I am beat. Goodnight, little world and sleep well. :)

Btw, I did not read through this again, so please forgive any errors I made.

The Naval Museum

That is one huge, but very cool, poster. :) 

Nathan spent some time with these guys...not sure what his thoughts of them were. ;)

Its amazing how many planes they fit into this building. Cool thing is that all the planes have been flown at least once. :)

Very intent on something.... 

You can almost imagine that you're flying in one too. ;)

 Aren't we cute? ;)

I think Nate might have to fight the sailor for this girl. ;)

lol, I thought this sign was awesome. :)

Spitting was expensive back in the day.... ;)

I guess some people need shower rules... I mostly just take a shower whenever and however long I want. :)

Not sure what they call this room, but most of you have probably seen it from the movies and know what it is. :D

Do you know what this is? Again, I don't know the exact name but I do know that it's what they use on carriers to launch the jets. :)

The awesome 360 simulators!

That is...............well, that's my brother. ;)

 

Uncle Craig getting sucked up..... Nate, you need to work on staying away from people while you're taxiing. ;)

The only thing wrong with this picture is that we didn't fly. Maybe one day! :)

The lighthouse

My camera lens didn't like the heat so well.... 

Ok, so this lighthouse is "haunted". They have haunted tours (or whatever their called where they talk about the ghosts that have been seen, etc), and my uncle and aunt went to it. My uncle decided to have some fun and so after people had seen the above doll and took pictures, he moved the doll so that it was sitting up. Mind you that it is dark in the room so no one would've noticed him moving the doll. Anyway, one lady freaked out and told everyone how she had just taken a picture of the doll lying down and now it was sitting up. Must've been a ghost! ;) lol, my uncle got a big kick out of it and I don't believe he told anyone that he had moved the doll. :) 

Notice how the young man has some newer technology. Maybe the days weren't so bad years and years ago. ;)

Just a big door that I thought looked cool. :)

Some people have been known to take pictures down this hallway and then notice a ghost in the picture. Well, nothing like that happened to me. Guess that's why I don't believe in ghosts. :)

 We had to walk up 175 steps. Talk about a workout! ;)

This was probably about halfway up.... I'm guessing. :)

 

The Naval Museum

Aunt B checking out the view

I love the different colors of the ocean, the white sand, and the palm trees!

Our group picture :)

Aunt B and I got the memo about the thumbs up. The guys on the other hand....obviously didn't. ;)

 Loooong way to the ground

I would love to have an apartment that was this high and with this view. :)

Leaving the lighthouse...

Vacation pictures!

Ok, so here's the start of the vacation pictures. I'm very slow at putting things up. ;) Hopefully, I'll get them all up at some point. 

My phone was very handy for the drive down. As you can see we were almost to Memphis.... I was studying up as I heard it was tricky. Turns out it was one of the easiest interchanges. :)

 Mississippi was pretty.... and you can see the directions reflecting off the window.

Wished we could've had a tour of that! :D

And we finally make it into Florida!

Kaden!

 

 I finally have a nephew! Kaden Scott was born at 4:48 Monday afternoon weighing 7.5 lbs and 19 3/4 in. long. I haven't seen him yet, but I already love him to death and think he's the cutest little guy! :) I've heard he's a very good baby and he has the cutest dimple. I believe the above picture was a few hours after he was born. I'm hoping to go home next weekend and so will get a bunch of pictures of him. So be ready for it! =)

Going home from the hospital. :)

And he finds his thumb. :) Is he cute or what?! I can't wait to see him! This week can't go by quick enough. :)

Home from vacation!

Florida was fabulous! I had never been there before and enjoyed it immensely. The drive down was long and tiring, but we made it in good spirits and didn't kill each other in the process. ;) We ended up  leaving our house at 3:40 in the morning (talk about early!!) and got to my aunt and uncles house at exactly six. That's even with us missing the exit the first time. ;) I was really amazed that we made it all the way through the crazy big cities without getting lost. Makes me think maybe I'm not such a lost person when it comes to driving places. ;) Our first day we did a lot! We went to the Navel Museum and  saw a ton of planes. That place is huge! If you ever go to Florida you should definitely check it out. Oh, and they had some awesome 360 simulators that we went on. Nate and I rode together and we each shot down an enemy plane. And we did a 360, which was pretty cool. :) Below is a picture my aunt took of us when we finished. We were pretty excited, if you can't tell. ;) Oh, and apparently the simulator isn't sound proof. I guess everyone standing around heard me yelling at the bad guys.... Nate was yelling too, so it wasn't just me. :)

We also went to the lighthouse which was nearby and climbed 175 (I think) steps to reach the top. The view was great and you'll see once I put pictures up. :) I've been working since I got home and haven't had time to edit pictures.
In the afternoon we went to the beach  and went parasailing. Which was totally awesome! I want to do it again. :) Our aunt and uncle had never been so it was something new for all of us. We bought water proof camera's as they dunk you in the water while pulling you back in. Yeah, there was no way I was taking my camera on it. :) I don't know how far up we were, but it was pretty high. And it was amazing how peaceful it was up there. Not a sound... well, except for Nate and I yelling at the other people parasailing. Don't worry, we didn't say anything bad. ;) The dunking part was awesome and Nate and I were both yelling at them to do it again. Of course, we were too close to the boat at that time and so they couldn't. :)
We were at the beach all day on Saturday and got to ride the jet ski most of the day. I would definitely be getting one of those if I lived by  a  lake or ocean. :)
We went to the beach every day except Wednesday, when Nate and I went shopping. :) We enjoyed getting something for everyone, and I think they all liked their gifts. :)
We ate a lot of seafood while there and I surprised myself by trying almost everything. :) The raw oysters were pretty sickening. I chewed it up and then spit it back out. First of all I never eat things that resemble brain matter and second of all, it was gross. You'll see from the pictures  (I'll eventually get them up;-), that I had quite an audience who all laughed when I spit the oyster out. :) At least I can say I've actually tried oysters and hopefully I will  never have to eat one again. Everyone at work has been telling me I need to try them again cause I might start liking them better. Anything that you have to acquire a taste for, isn't worth eating.
We left early in the morning (3:30) again on Thursday for the long drive home. It seems like the trip takes even longer when you're driving home and you know vacation is over.  Nate and I had both picked up colds and so didn't feel good. Which made the trip even longer and not much fun. But we made it and I was able to enjoy the evening with the rest of the family before I left to head back to Columbia. Working the day after vacation is rough. Especially when it's a 24 and you haven't had much sleep the last couple days. I made it through without dying so I suppose that's good. ;)

I was able to get all moved out on Saturday morning and into my new place. That was a very exciting time for me. :) I had less than 8 hours to get all my stuff packed up and moved all the way across town to my new place. Elisabeth helped me a ton and we were able to get everything to my room and my bed up and made. I even had time to take her to lunch and just spend time talking, before I needed to be back at work. I used my day off on Sunday to unpack everything and I'm happy to say that my room looks very nice. Just a few little touches to make it more homey and personal. :)

I'm  in the midst of my longest shift that I've ever done. I'm 23 hours into my 48 hour shift. Is it just me, or is that really depressing? I guess I'm almost half way through, but it seems like the hours creep by. I got a little sleep last night and I  took a nap this afternoon, so I should do okay if the night goes wacko. Lets hope that doesn't happen though. :)

Well, I'm signing out now... Believe it or not, but I started writing this on Saturday evening and have just now been able to finish it. So, if it sounds funny, blame it on that. I'm going to bed. ;)

Quote of the day: "If I'm not back in two minutes... wait longer." :)