The Saturday Six

1. By far one of the best moments of the week! I squealed with joy when I first laid eyes on him! And luckily, I was deemed just small enough to ride him.

His name is Tony The Pony.

I couldn't stop grinning the entire time :D It was like Christmas came early!

Thanks to my barn friend Jenn for taking the awesome pictures!

2.  I have been on the lookout for fun culinary-themed prints to hang in our future kitchen. This one takes the cake.......or rather mushroom!

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3.  Australian Cattle Dog puppies are adorable! Definitely want to own one in the future.

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4.  Snow covered villages in the Alps. This is what I picture the Harry Potter village of Hogsmeade to look like, magical and inviting at the same time.

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5.  ...And speaking of Harry Potter, my darling sister Anna and I decided early in October that this Halloween we are going to relive J. K. Rowling's famous tales by watching the films and making some of our own magical treats.  On the menu.....Cauldron Cakes, Butterbeer, Pumpkin Juice, and Hagrid's Rock Cakes!

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6.  Finally.....things are on the up and up!  My background check passed and I received my final job offer from the VA Hospital of Cincinnati on Wednesday! Woohoo for government employment!

Love Letters II

See the pyramids around the Nile
Watch the sun rise
From the tropic isle
Just remember darling
All the while
You belong to me

See the market place
In old Algiers
Send me photographs and souvenirs
Just remember
When a dream appears
You belong to me

And I'll be so alone without you
Maybe you'll be lonesome too

Fly the ocean
In a silver plane
See the jungle
When it's wet with rain
Just remember till
You're home again
You belong to me

(Lyrics of You Belong To Me)

Love Letters

It's hard when you are separated from a loved one, especially your husband. 

Zachary is in Missouri for the next 5 months completing his MP BOLC  and I am still in Cincinnati working and waiting.  While he is there we will only be able to see each other every few weekends. The rest of the time we will have to resort to blowing kisses over skype and typing romantic letters via yahoo messenger.

Here is the amorous conversation we had just this evening:


Zachary Vance: hi
Zachary Vance: i love you and miss you a lot
bethany: i love and miss you too
Zachary Vance: i named my worms on my worm team and two of them are Kipper and Bethany
Zachary Vance: Bethany didn't make it
Zachary Vance: .....
bethany: guess that doesn't bode well for me
Zachary Vance: worms don't do well in water
bethany: no they swell up and get soggy
Zachary Vance: lol which is what bethany worm did 
bethany: eww
bethany: but in reality i am a very good swimmer
Zachary Vance: not if you have no legs
Zachary Vance: and you wear a camo hat and aviators
Zachary Vance: lol
bethany: yeah those would weigh me down significantly
Zachary Vance: haha i wish you were here to play with me

bethany: i don't want to play games where i swell up and die.
Zachary Vance: haha
Zachary Vance: you don't actually swell up you blow up
bethany: in water?
Zachary Vance: yea lol
bethany: what makes you blow up in water?
Zachary Vance: you run out of health and BOOM!
bethany: that is completely illogical
Zachary Vance: its ok the british created it
Zachary Vance: so it must be well cultured
bethany: like yogurt?

Creepy, right?
(FYI, Zach was playing Worms the video game)

Just like old times.....

Yesterday I woke up at 5:45, donned a pair of tight beige pants and tall shiny boots, stuffed every piece equestrian equipment that I own into my car, and headed off to the barn for my first horse show in over 4 years.

Back in the day, I was really serious about showing and would average about 1 show a month between April and October.  Unfortunately college and Army obligations have kept me from this pastime since 2007, so I am very happy to be enjoying my fav hobby again.  I jumped back into the saddle a little over a year ago and let me tell you it feels AMAZING!  I don't know how I lasted so long without riding. There is nothing like it and it is so hard to explain the feeling.  Contrary to popular belief, it is a very physically and mentally challenging sport.  Yes I said SPORT, all you naysayers out there should know that anyone can sit on top of a horse but it takes skill and commitment to maneuver a one thousand pound animal traveling at speeds around 25mph over obstacles while concentrating on the course/pattern you are riding and trying to look good while doing it.  Keep in mind that the "thing" you are riding has a brain and (most likely) an attitude.  Horses will not do anything unless the rider specifically cues them to do it, not to mention the cues that we use are very technical.  I know this has turned into a bit of a rant but one of my pet peeves is having someone who has never been on a horse tell me that it cannot be considered a sport because the horse does everything and the rider just sits there.  HELLO, Nascar?!!!! 

Anyway, over the past few months I have been riding a a cute little pony named Lulu. 

 Isn't she adorable?!  We competed in the 18" Hunter Division and did great considering it was my first show in years and Lulu's first jump competition in a long time.  Here are some pics from the day!

It was so much fun and brought back some good memories.  The best part was Zachary came home on leave this weekend and was able to watch me ride :)

Weekly Entertainment Report

Lately I have been visiting my public library quite often to stock up on reading material and DVDs.  2 weeks ago I was perusing the movie racks when I stumbled across Sherlock.  I love when classic literature is represented in modern day film (or in this case television) and snatched it up faster than you can say Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!

 Unlike the recently released movie (and its coming sequel), this 3 episode series produced by BBC takes place in modern day London.  The cast is perfect;  Martin Freeman's Dr. Watson is a former military doctor just returned from Afghanistan.  He is asked to share a flat with Sherlock Holmes, the brilliant detective played by Benedict Cumberbatch.  Both do an outstanding job of portraying the unique qualities of the characters.  Freeman is a practical thinker and loyal 'til the end,  whereas Cumberbatch is a socially aloof intellectual. Together they offer a fresh yet believable representation of these two literary cohorts.  Sherlock's arch-nemesis, played by Andrew Scott,  is equally well cast.  Moriarty is a chilling mix of psychopath and mastermind criminal,  whose involvement in malfeasance is purely for his own enjoyment.

Add these amazing actors to the superbly written plots and the exhilarating action with phenomenal special effects  and  you  have a sensational television series that you will be addicted to from the start. 

So do yourself a favor and search for Sherlock at your local library, and if they don't have it find it on Netflix.  And don't be too disappointed when you finish this season, the second season is due to be released in 2012 and promises to be even better than the first!

Let's Blog!

I'm back and ready to go again!  I have had a very busy summer with lots of changes and adventures, which I plan on sharing soon.

For now though, I want to keep things light and carefree :)  I spotted this survey on a few other blogs and thought it was a cute way to chronicle this time in my life.

I have an unhealthy infatuation with surveys and lists (with the exception of business surveys and end of semester class surveys.....yawn).  They are a great way to share a little bit about yourself, to unleash your thoughts and opinions out into the world.  Other people may not appreciate or relate to what you have to say but there is something therapeutic about putting your personality down in writing.

So, without further ado, let the therapy begin!

         A - Z about me

A.  Age: 23 going on 24.  I am almost at the 1/4 century mark, eeeep!

B.  Bed size:  At the moment I am sleeping on a pull-out couch.

C.  Chore that you hate:   Folding laundry....especially matching socks together.

D.  Dogs:  Kipper  a sheltie/terrier mix and Jonas an eskimo spitz who currently lives with my in-laws until    Zach and I get our own place.

E.  Essential start to your day:  putting on my glasses so i can see :)

F.  Favorite color:  Forest green.

G.  Gold or silver:  Usually silver.

H.  Height: 5'4" and 3/4.

I.  Instruments you play: A little bit of guitar. This is something I need to put more time into. "Do you know it is [my] dream to play the flamenco guitar?!"

J.  Job title:  Registered Nurse.

K.  Kids: None at the moment but I would love to have a big family someday.

L.  Live:  In Cincinnati Ohio.....for now.

M.  Mother's name:  Rebecca Lynn.

N.  Nicknames:  When my brother was little he would call me Beffy and and my dad called me Boo Bear.  Today my family members will refer to me as Bethie.

O.  Overnight hospital stays:  One due to Crohn's, unfortunately it probably wasn't the last.

P.  Pet peeves:  Hypocrisy.  And yes I know I am as much to blame as the other man.  It's the one thing I hate about myself.

Q.  Quote from a movie: "Adventure is out there!"  from Up.  Great movie!  It makes me cry every time :)

R.  Right or left handed:  Right.

S.  Siblings:  1 brother and 1 sister, both younger.

T.  Time you wake up:  Depends on if I am working night shift or not.  I love waking up early in the morning though, its such a magical time of day.

U.  Underwear:  Geez.....is modesty a thing of the past?!  This qualifies as TMI to share online.

V.  Vegetable you hate:  Not a big fan of beets or radishes.

W.  What makes you run late:  Traffic.

X.  X-rays you've had:   Complete gastrointestinal x-rays plus a barium swallow which was disgusting!

Y.  Yummy food that you make:  You haven't lived until you have eaten my blueberry dumplins', or my peanut butter banana pudding :p

Z.  Zoo Animal:  Otters, because of their personality and playfulness.

Wedding Bliss

On May 7th, 2011 the Free Spirit married her Soldier in a wedding that was as beautiful and perfect as anyone could imagine.  On this day they established their vows to stick with each other through thick and thin, to laugh at each other's jokes,  to eat the other's cooking whether delightful or disgusting, and to love each other deeply even when seperated by thousands and thousands of miles.

Their love will last forever....... throughout and beyond the happily ever after.

Guess What!

Zachary and I found out where he will be stationed after completing his MP BOLC.

Here are some hints:

1. Home to Jazz and crawfish gumbo.

2. Swamp people live there.

3. The bugs are as big as Kipper.

Yup, you guessed it......

Louisiana!  We will be living at Ft. Polk which is about 3 hours north-west of New Orleans and 1 hour north of Lake Charles.  We'll see how this Yank adjusts to life in the deep south, haha!

Lazy bones

Whoa over a month without a post!! Shame on me!  It seems like all I do anymore is sleep, work, eat, and oraganize wedding stuff.  In fact, after I write this I am going back to bed to catch some Z's bfore heading off to work tonight.

But before that, I want to share some photos from my two beautiful bridal showers.

The first was thrown by some dear friends of Zachary's mom at their church in Tollesboro, KY.  It was so thoughtful for them to host this event for us, especially since most of them don't know me or only know me by face. 








I looooove Zachary's Grandma Carol and Aunt Sheila,  they have done an amazing job of making feel like part of the family :)





There was delicious food.....







And pretty decorations!



These ladies even taught me a wedding tradition I had never heard before.  Creating a bouqet or the wedding rehearsal using the bow from all of the gifts.  Here is the finished product!



Again, I cannot describe how blessed I feel to have been given this shower!  Everyone was so generous, kind, and thoughtful, I felt like I had known them for years :)

My second shower was given by my Maid of Honor/Lil' Sis, Anna.  It was held at the cutest little book club call Book Bums.  Book Bums lets you borrow books for free (kind of like a library without the government ties) and has the cutest little cafe where they sell coffee, tea, smoothies, sandwiches, and cookies.  It was the perfect place to have the shower, Anna knows me all to well :)

This shower also had delicious food.....







..seriously ladies, if I keep having to eat this wonderful stuff I am not going to fit in my wedding dress : D

And once again, everyone was sooooo generous!  I love all of these ladies dearly, family and friends.

p.s. Thank you Anna for the dog bowls for Kipper, she loves them!

Military Ball

Saturday was Zachary's big night!  Military Ball was really nice and we had a great time hanging out with friends afterwards.  Here are some pics.









This next one is a little blurry but its the only one of us walking in.

Verse for the Week

Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.

Zzzzzzz......

Working 12 hour shifts is exhausting!  Plus, they are even more exhausting when they are night shifts!  Luckily I have this weekend off and will be able to catch up on some R&R.  Here is what's on my schedule for the next couple days:

1. Yawning.



2. Dozing (minus the drooling).




3. Entering a comatose state.



On Saturday, I will take a break from my rigorous sleep schedule to attend Zach's Military Ball.  It should be a lot of fun (assuming I can stay awake for it).  I will post pics of the event sometime next week.

images found at http://www.cuteheaven.com/

Etsy Love

I wanted to share some darling drawings from an Etsy Artist based in my hometown, Cincinnati!

Arian Armstrong creates such magical and spiritual scenarios in her works.  Some of these will be hanging in my home someday!