the post with really big news

First of all, thebump.com informed me today that I have (give or take) 53 days to go until baby Moore decides to make his or her appearance. We also found out yesterday that our extension here at Fort Huachuca hasn't been approved yet. It hasn't been denied, but it hasn't been confirmed that Ryan's new report date is January 26th. So, with that in mind, we're honestly still on a January 2nd report date to Fort Drum. No big deal.

Oh wait...very big deal.

About a month ago, we decided to get the ball rolling with on-post housing at Fort Drum. We made the necessary calls, we submitted his orders...the whole shebang. We received a return call stating that we won't actually be put on the housing waiting list for Drum until we sign out of Fort Huachuca, which means that the 45+ day waiting list won't start until just days before we have to be on post in New York. With a baby and two cats, honestly, we weren't feeling it. So, we made the decision to look for rentals off post.

^^^ image via

Yeah, apparently the rental market in Watertown, NY is insane, and everything is way higher than Ryan's BAH (basic allowance for housing), which is stupid. Even with two incomes, we're not willing to pay an astronomical amount to a rental, when a mortgage would effectively be far less than we'd be paying otherwise.

And so, my friends, we've entered that insanely hectic and crazy process of buying a house...from across the country. Luckily, my father has been a lifesaver by vetting properties for us, friends have taken trips to look at houses and neighborhoods for us and Ryan is heading out in a couple weeks to look at five properties in one weekend and to (hopefully) leave an offer on our favorite one. The prospect of home-ownership is daunting, but we're so excited to have a place of our own, as well. 

Since we're looking at 4 years or more at Fort Drum, we think it's the best time to buy, and it will give us a property to rent out after we PCS again. Plus, it will give the baby a place to grow up off post for a few years, which is really big for us. But, we've had two of our favorite houses snatched out from under us because our realtor sucks, so we just ditched her and we're going directly through the listing agents now. It's tricky, but it's so so so exciting.

I'm sure there will be much more on this to come...but you know, why make things easy? A move, a baby and a new house in a few months? Seems reasonable to me! 

family is love

This weekend has been such a whirlwind…in the best possible way. For those of you that follow me on instagram, you probably saw that my family pulled off the world's best surprise for my baby shower. My parents were supposed to fly into Phoenix on Saturday morning, so Ryan and I got up early and drove up to meet them in the city. It's a long drive, and Ryan wasn't feeling well, but we did it and I got there as unsuspecting as ever. Little did I know, they brought my sisters with them. 

^^^ Nikki, Kristina & myself

I am not the easiest person to surprise, guys. I'm a planner. I need to know what's happening at all times…especially lately. Somehow though, Ryan, my parents, my amazing friend Amanda and my sisters managed to pull this off though, and my sisters and I were reunited for the baby shower. And yes…baby Moore even cooperated and kicked for them :)

I have to do a full post on the baby shower, as well as both my parents' and sisters' visits, but for now, I can't get past how amazing these past few days have been. Getting to share this pregnancy, this duty station and this town with my family has been such a blessing, and I'm so grateful to my friends and my wonderful husband for making this happen. We enjoyed a few days of exploring the mountains, hiking, sharing meals and just loving our time with one another. So, for now, I leave you with just a couple more snapshots.

^^^ the view from old post of Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca

^^^ Nikki and Kristina

nesting is very, very real

The Bump.com informed me this morning that Ryan and I have 86 days left of this pregnancy. Please tell me how that happened. I don't know if it's been the combination of Ryan's absence with training, working (and working out) like a  fiend or what, but the time is dwindling quickly, and we have a lot left to do. I went through a few weeks where I was stressing out a lot at night, but since starting to read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, I've felt a lot more relaxed about the whole process.

With our PCS date fast-approaching, as well, we haven't had the luxury of setting up a nursery for baby Moore, and I think that was a large part of my self-induced stress. All I've wanted to do is nest and prepare for the nugget's arrival. I'm telling you, people, nesting is a real thing. Right now though, we have three bedrooms. One is my dedicated office, one is the guest room and one is our master bedroom. First, there is no bedroom for baby in our current post housing and second, there's no point in setting up a nursery, only to have to break it down again a few weeks after the baby is born. 

^^^ our new master bedroom dresser area & thrifted end tables in our guest room

So, with Ryan's blessing, I'm nesting elsewhere! We've put off buying a dresser because we have the world's largest master closet, but I finally broke down and bought that gem the other day. It's going to double as our changing table here at Fort Huachuca because baby will be co-sleeping with us (I'll go into that more at a later date) anyway. In our guest room, we finally purchased a bigger guest bed since my parents are coming out next month, and I scored these amazing vintage hardwood end tables at a thrift store the other day for just $50 - for the pair! They had a nice, clean feel to that room, and I'm loving it.

As for the nursery once we get to Fort Drum? No clue yet, guys. Because we're waiting to find out the gender of baby Moore, I'm almost positive it's smart to wait to decorate, too. Our new house has four bedrooms, too, so baby will have his or her own space once we get there, as well. For now though, I'm cleaning like a madwoman, organizing like crazy and making this house a real home for the last 3.5 months of our stay here. 

Momma's, newlyweds and fellow pregos…do you nest? I never knew it was a real thing till now!

quiet weekends are the best

^^^ Old post at Fort Huachuca

We didn't have big plans this past weekend. 

We knew that we needed to do a pretty significant cleaning on Sunday,

and we knew we needed to head up to Tucson for some cruise essentials on Saturday...

and to see the Veronica Mars movie, of course.

Well, let's be honest here.

I kind of dragged the husband to the movie, but he did enjoy it!

On Saturday morning, my calves were still absolutely dying from the running I did last week,

so we decided to go for a long walk/hike instead,

while Ryan rucked alongside me, since he's preparing for WOCs.

We ended up hiking about 5 miles around post, exploring old post and getting to soak in some of the history.

It was so quiet, so relaxed and so fun.

If you'd asked me a few months ago what I liked to do on weekends,

I probably would have said that I'd do anything to stay busy.

These days, I'm all about the little, quiet, simple weekends with him...

and it's great.

In other news though, it's just 6 more days until Ryan and I head off on our cruise!

We booked some shore excursions through my company this weekend (great deals, I tell you),

and we're so excited to explore another country and get some stamps on our passports this year.

We'll be swimming with dolphins in Puerto Vallarta, learning to make salsa in Cabo and ziplining in Mazatlan.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't get much better than that.

one month in our home

I'm jumping the gun here slightly, but tomorrow marks one month in our little Sierra Vista home.
Despite my aversion to making this place a home because we're here less than a year,
I'm definitely putting my stamp on this place...little by little.

^^^ art prints via. stella is settling in. our bed frame is amazing.

We're officially exactly 3 months from Ryan heading off to WOCs for the first 6 weeks.
Then, he'll be back for a brief 3 weeks, and he'll go back for another 6 weeks of training.
We're enjoying every moment we have together because we're not looking forward to the time apart.
Our cruise is in just 20 days,
and now I'm scrambling to expedite my passport because I forgot my name change.

It's crazy to think that we've just barely settled in our first home,
but in 10 months, we'll be packing our life and moving off to a new duty station.
I tell you...this Army life stuff is a trip (literally).

I've been running a lot lately here on post,
and I have to say that one of the best parts about Arizona is that I can run outside in March.
I'm up to about 10 miles a week right now, which is huge progress for me,
and Ryan and I have entered our first half-marathon for October - after he's back from training in Alabama.

There's not too much going on in the Moore household right now to write about,
but we're loving even the littlest things together.
I never thought I'd get excited about color palettes, picking out dishes and finding the perfect rugs,
but doing it with your best friend makes it a million times better.
I can't complain one bit...I have an amazing life.

weekends at fort huachuca

Ryan and I did our run on Saturday!

If you remember from the last time I posted, I said we'd signed up for an 8k, and we did.

We discovered, however, that there was actually a 5k when we arrived,

so we decided to do that instead - if only to save ourselves from imminent death.

Ryan did amazing - 25:15, and I went about a minute slower than my best - 29:36, but we were happy!

Neither of needed to walk at all,

and we were pretty dang pleased with ourselves just for getting out and doing it.

We've signed up for another 5k on post on March 8th, and we're excited now...just for fun.

Weekends around here are slow, and we're loving that.

I never really feel like I have anything to share with you guys though.

Our life is quiet, calm and peaceful right now, and we're relishing the normalcy of it.

It won't last long because WOCs is coming up soon, and then it will be non-stop until our PCS next January.

^^^ kittens are settling in, paleo banana bread, juicing, healthy foods and birthday surprises :)

As an aside, that cute little bathroom message that my sweet husband left me?

Totally made my day today. 

I swear to you...it's the little things...

and the fact that he bought me a FitBit Flex, which I've been lusting over forever. 

In short though - I'm sorry the blog is quiet!

Things are just settling down as a newlywed couple, and we're just loving it.

I will, however, have my DIY refinishing tutorial of my desk later this week! So fun.

what were we thinking?

Since Ryan and I made a goal to make fitness one of our top priorities this year,

we decided it would be good to sign up for a run - preferably a 5k - just to kick things off.

Well, we were driving by the field house a few days ago and saw a sign for a 5k on post,

so we quickly jumped at the opportunity to sign up...

and then realized that we'd actually signed up for an 8k.

First of all, I didn't even know that an 8k was a thing.

I was pretty sure that races went from 5k to 10k...am I wrong in this thinking?

Second, with the race just a few days a way, I'm officially terrified.

I am not a runner, guys.

I am just a girl that attempts to run and usually ends up regretting it.

See, Exhibit A:

^^^ The Dirty Dash in Utah, circa 2010

That's my happy face when I'm running...aka utter disgust.

That race pictured above was a 10k in Heber, Utah in August when it was 102 degrees.

The race this weekend starts at 8 AM on post because it's been averaging over 80 every day.

Look, there's a part of me that's thrilled to be doing this.

There is also, however, a part of me that thinks I'm absolutely nuts.

I've been suffering from some pretty epic shin splints as of late, 

as well as some crazy foot cramps, and painful blisters on the soles of my feet from the hot pavement.

I bought cooling running socks, and they've helped, but the damage there is done.

Now, I'm just trying to keep things under control until after the race.

Any runners out there want to give me some tips on how not to die this weekend?

I think if I just go slow and steady, I might just survive...

but who knows?

moving and settling in

Slowly but surely, Ryan and I are making this little house our home for next 11 months.

We've been here just over a week now, 

and we're actually doing all our furniture shopping this weekend.

Yes, we were literally doing a marathon day of furniture shopping and knocking it all out in one day.

We bought our dining table and chairs last weekend,

and I just started refinishing it last night. 

When we bought it, it was an ugly blonde wood stain, which is not a favorite of either of us.

So, I'm doing a deep cherry wood stain 

to compliment the actual well-made design of both the table and chairs.

I'll be sure to post before and after pictures, as well as a tutorial on that when we're done!

I bought a rug for our living room yesterday -

yes, that's the biggest purchase besides our bed thus far - 

and it makes these hideous post housing floors a little more bearable.

^^^ this rug

I know, this is all incredibly exciting. 

But seriously, I really want to share what the place looks like with you! 

Despite the fact that the floors are absolutely atrocious, it's a cute little house for us to start out.

Once the furniture is in and the pictures are hung,

you'd better believe I'll be inundating you with photos of our little house.

It's not perfect, but it works well for us, and that's what really matters right now.

While part of me doesn't want to do too much for fear of getting attached to it,

there's another part of me that fully plans to make it a home regardless.

Obviously, that's the part that's winning out!

adventures can be overwhelming

As you know, I just barely arrived at our new little house at Fort Huachuca,

but I left my poor husband again last night.

My mother is flying back to the East coast tomorrow,

so we took the opportunity to drive up to Sedona to visit some family friends

before I take her to Phoenix to the airport tomorrow.

Much like yesterday and the day before,

I'm a little overwhelmed.

I texted Ashley, as I always do, that life seems to be a little too much right now.

There's too much in flux, too much undetermined, and we're not settled yet.

It's a very off sort of feeling.

And yet, at the same time,

I know that once I've dropped my mother off, reality will sink in.

This is for real.

I've moved to Arizona to start my life with Ryan.

Part of me thinks I'm crazy for selling my belongings, 

picking up my little life and my pets from New Hampshire

 and traveling to a whole different area in the US to be with the one I love.

As overwhelming and terrifying as this is,

I'm excited, as well. 

There are so, so many adventures to be had, so many pictures to be taken,

so many memories to be created

and so much life yet to be lived.

All of these things make the stress and the moving worth it.

Plus, come tomorrow morning, I'll be back at Fort Huachuca with my man!

We're looking at furniture this weekend,

cooking yummy meals in our new kitchen and hosting some new friends!

I'll be sure to document Sedona tomorrow because it is stunning.

Until then, here's to living in the moment and loving those crazy adventures.

a house to call home

Well, we did it - we made it to Arizona!

It was a long and arduous, to say the least, but we were so happy to arrive late Tuesday night.

Our house on post is honestly just to die for.

The place is so clean, so fresh and we're definitely ready to make it ours…

for the next year, at least.

^^^ the view from our backyard

I was pretty overwhelmed yesterday getting back online to work remotely,

try and start up a routine with Ryan while my mother is still in town,

and try to get the essentials for our house (i.e...kitchen supplies) because we have no furniture yet.

We're going to start looking for furniture this weekend,

but we're going to take our time getting what we want and need to make it a home.

I plan on doing a full house tour in about a month's time,

once we've had the chance to somewhat furnish and decorate our place.

^^^ the view from our front stoop

For now though, I'm really enjoying that I have both a front porch and a back porch.

I have a kitchen with a gas stove and a huge pantry.

I have a separate dining area that I can't wait to utilize.

And, most of all, I'm happy that Ryan and I actually have a place to call home.

We're pretty darn blessed!

some office inspiration

Ryan signed for our house on post yesterday!

I managed to convince the hubs to send me a plethora of pictures,

and I have to say that we really lucked out - especially as newlyweds just looking for a place to call home.

The house has 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, a huge open-concept kitchen, a backyard,

a 2-car garage and a walk-in closet in the master.

Honestly, for Army housing, we are really, really happy.

Once I'm there next week, I promise I'll some picture of our new house,

but let's be honest, the pictures he sent were...quickly snapped and not the best quality.

I think that the thing I'm most excited about is starting with a completely blank slate.

One of the three bedrooms will be my office at home,

and I can't wait to really put my stamp on it and make it mine.

The only real decision I've made thus far is that there will be one whole chalkboard wall.

Think of it like a life-sized to do calendar. 

Other than that, I've been scouring Pinterest for some inspiration,

and I think I've got a pretty clear idea of what I'm looking for.

images via here, here and here.

Since we won't be in our house for more than a year,

we won't be painting any of the walls,

which gives me a clear idea of how to make this office my own.

I'm leaning towards bright, clean and fresh whites with pops of pastel colors and gold.

For the most part, our house will be pretty neutral,

but I wanted my office to be a really sweet, fun and feminine sanctuary. 

I've decided that I want to buy a unique desk/table and refinish it myself,

then I'll design the room, including the textiles, around the desk because I hope for it to be a great accent.

There is something so amazing about starting with a completely blank slate.

We can't wait!

making a list (checking it twice)

It seems that, in addition to an endless series of countdowns (38 days till I see Ryan for Thanksgiving, 61 days till I see Ryan for Christmas and 75 days till our wedding!!!), I know am the proud owner of a million lists.

I have many, many lists of things to do for our wedding.

There's that list of people that will receive wedding announcements as opposed to invitations, simply because we're having such a small wedding.

There's a list of things I will be moving with my to Arizona, plus a list of things that won't be. Congratulations, cats, you made the cut. I know you're excited to drive 23984290384 miles with me to your new home at Fort Huachuca.

There's the list of documents I know I can't move without. 

It's seemingly endless, and it made me panic and get frustrated more than once this past weekend. Ryan, bless him, took it all in stride. He calmed my nerves and my fears about not being financially stable because of this wedding and the move. He remained my rock, for which I will be eternally grateful.

My parents, too, have blessed us in a way I never thought possible, and I realized this weekend that I need to take a step back, breath and just be.

It is so easy to get caught up in everything that has to be done and miss out on all the little things in life. I made a promise to myself, to Ryan and to my parents that I'm going to work harder to stop stressing and start enjoying.

And, most of all, I made a promise to Heavenly Father. I overlook his divine guidance too often. I know that His will plays a part in everything, and for that I am so, so blessed. 

a rude awakening

I mentioned yesterday that Ryan was going to meet with housing today about our living situation after our wedding and once I move to Arizona.

Well, he did...and it wasn't really news that was easy to stomach.

Apparently, at Fort Huachuca, unmarried soldiers (even when engaged) cannot be added to the wait list.

However, the super accommodating lady in housing told him that they might have a place available in our time frame.

She basically gave us two options:

A) Get married in a courthouse so we have our marriage certificate on hand to provide to housing and be placed on the wait list.

B) Get married on January 4, 2014 as planned, fax our marriage certificate over to housing, cross our fingers and pray really hard that something is open in the two weeks between our wedding & our move.

Neither solution is really great, to be honest.

If we go with the first option, that means one of us has to spend the money to fly out to the other to do the courthouse ceremony...taking money from our actual wedding budget.

If we go with the second option, we're not really guaranteed a place by the time we arrive, and with two cats, plus all our furniture in tow, that's bound to be hell on wheels.

Needless to say, despite promising I wouldn't stress, I definitely had a meltdown.

I know that God will grant us the peace of mind and clarity of heart to marry when and how it is meant to happen. And, in a way, I'm thankful this is happening.

I need to learn how tricky the Army procedures are because it will be our life for another 15 years.

We could choose to live off base, but I know Ryan wants to be on-base to meet more young families and so I won't be lonely, especially because I'll be working from home.

We're hoping to have our final decision in the next few days, and we're praying heavily on guidance to make the right decision for both of us, as well as our families.

Please, please keep your fingers crossed for us! 

It's not the biggest issue ever, but it's definitely a rude awakening to the Army lifestyle.

Ladies, I have a heck of a new appreciation for all you do for your soldiers, sailors, airmen & marines now.

arizona happened (so did sharkfest)

I meant to start my personal blog in Arizona. I really did. I wanted to chronicle the fun trip, but it just didn't happen. The truth is, I really don’t have an excuse because it’s super freaking easy to write a post and say “hey, I’m in Arizona with my man.” The other truth is that I just didn’t want to spend anymore time online than I absolutely had to.

Here's the thing; for the first time in about a year, I actually got to spend more than 2-3 days with Ryan at a time. I flew out to Arizona on August 30th, and I just got back a week ago - only just in time to do the Boston Sharkfest swim. Pretty much everyone has been asking me how I liked Arizona, and the answer is simple. Arizona and Fort Huachuca are whatever (hot, dry, blech), but being with Ryan makes any place worth it. 

We didn’t do too many crazy things. We really just enjoyed spending time together - just the two of us - because it doesn’t happen too often. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. Long distance sucks. It sucks a lot. But if you have someone that you love, that loves you back and that makes you smile even on the worst of days, long distance is entirely worth it in the end. 

Enough of the mush though. I get to see Ry again in less than 3 weeks, as I’m visiting him and his family in Utah for a long weekend (and I can’t wait)! But for now, I’ll leave you with a few pics from the trip…and from Sharkfest in Boston.

From the top left: Yours truly swimming the Boston Harbor; The whole gang getting ready to brave the Boston Harbor; My big sis and I after the race; When the sun decided to come out after the race

From the left: The Bisbee 1,000, which is a crazy stair race that people apparently run; Yours truly and Ryan trying to savor every last moment before I left; The Bisbee Peace Wall

hello, blogosphere

I figured I’d start this blog (despite my better judgement) because my future is very up in the air right now. I’m a blogger…elsewhere, that is. I review young adult books over at I Swim for Oceans, and I’ve been doing so since 2009. 

This blog, however, is a bit different. Colour it a personal blog of sorts. My boyfriend, Ryan, is a Staff Sergeant in the US Army, currently stationed about 1,000+ miles away from me in Arizona. I live in New Hampshire, and I work just outside of Boston for the time being. We’ve been together for about a year, and we see each other about once a month, if we’re lucky. 

We just managed to spend the past 3 weeks together while I worked remotely, and it was amazing! I can't tell you how hard it was to actually leave him there and fly back East. He’s an incredible man with a ton of heart and a huge passion for what he does. I’m lucky enough to have a job that affords me the opportunity to work remotely, so here’s hoping I have a reason to do so…soon ;)

Until then, this blog will be a record of my travels, photography, everyday life and planning a future with the man I love. Thanks so much for dropping by, and I really do hope that you come back again soon!