Day 0: I'm leaving on a jet plane...

Here's my last view of my parents as I stood in formation before boarding the buses...

Goodbye, everyone! I'll see you later...

Fork

Okay, so the movers left all my food. I mean, I can't store that sorta stuff for 15 months anyway, but couldn't they have left me ONE FORK! I just microwaved some yummy stuff and only to reach into the silverware drawer to find it empty. Doh!

Packers & Movers

Wow, the packers and movers just left. They arrived around 0745 this morning, and immediately engulfed my apartment with cardboard boxes in every space available. These aren't your ordinary movers. I didn't have to pack a thing. They do all the work for you. I had five people in my two bedroom apartment popping boxes into form, whipping tape guns over anything in reach, and slinging sheets of newspaper around every little trinket I've accumulated in my four years away from home. I woke up surrounded by all of my things in their normal places this morning only to go to bed hearing even my breath echo off the walls. It's so strange...

Guest Blogger: Camryn (My Cousin)

"LAURA"

Current mood: crushed

Category: Blogging

OMG, Laura you have no idea how hard the last week was for me. I will miss you so much you can't even believe. Don't forget that i love you and even though i don't show it i am so freakin' proud of you. I can't help but think of all the fun times we had together and do you remember how i always wanted to be just like you. I still do believe it or not. You are amazing and i love you for everything you are because even though you have been through tough times you still hold true to your values. I only wish that we could have spent more time together. i have to stop crying and typing cause i know you are starting to tear up too now. Well i will watch lullie belle (i so butchered that name) for you and give you updates and i promise she will get played with on Fridays at least. I can't wait til your 15 months are up. You better make it back to my graduation. Let me know if you need me to mail anything to you and if you need any hand warmers LOL. I can't even see what I am typing because i am crying so much. What a baby. Well i won't say goodbye because i know you don't like that so i guess it will be a see you later.

I love you and thanking for fighting for my freedom. Most of all thank you for being such a good role model for me. You proved to me that I can do anything. LOVE YOU LAURA!!!!

Currently listening : Greatest Hits By Jo Dee Messina

I'm a YouTube Addict

Don't forget...

The Melting Pot

The Melting Pot has to be one of my favorite restaurants if not THE favorite. I'm lucky that I have one in both Nashville and Austin, so no matter which 'home' I happen to be at I can still indulge. There's nothing not to love about this place.

Here's my cousin (Camryn), my mother, and BIL (Robbie).

If there's a bar, Grandma's gonna find it.

Sheila and I with our Love Martinis.

Me, Sheila, Aunt Sandra, Ella (sister), and Camryn up on top.

I love fondue!

Mom, Robbie, and Ella.

Grandma and I fighting over a martini.

Grandma, Me, Sheila, Aunt Sandra, Uncle Duane, Camryn, Mom, Robbie, and Ella.

Camryn and I outside across the street from The Real World Austin house.I don't know what I'm doing with my leg or what the heck I'm looking at. Anyway, I had a great time. I can guarantee that I'll be making reservations again at both the Austin and Nashville locations upon my return in 2010, so if you're around feel free to join in on the party. Love Martinis on me!

Leave

I'm on leave in Texas! Woo-Hoo! I'll be back at Campbell on Sunday night though. I need to pack!

Vote!

It called to me...

Music is my one of my vices, so of course I can't go through this upcoming deployment without it, so I snatched up a new iPod Touch today. I stocked up on a couple iTunes cards too to get me started. This thing is pretty awesome. It doesn't just play songs. I can play games, read books, keep track of my calories and weight loss, check the weather, surf the net, browse photos, watch movies, and all sorts of stuff. I'm definitely taking it on the long plane ride over there with me. I have to carry everything on my back, so it just makes this little guy even sweeter. It's perfectly pocket sized. I can't wait to start downloading applications and tunes. I still need to get a good web cam if anyone has recommendations. I want to keep up with my blog as much as possible this next year. The good and the bad. It's my goal to really document this journey as best as I can. I think it's going to be a good thing as Martha says. I just have one stop back home in Texas to make before I'm really ready to leave. It's going to be difficult saying goodbye to everyone. I think that's the hardest part really.