Oh The Places We Go

It is so strange where The Husband has lead my family and I; Of course my life would be very different had I made the decision to join the Navy like I had been planning...

Sorry if you already know this little story lol!!!

I was accepted and working on all the application stuff.  I had been dating The Husband for MAAAYYYBEE two months when I found out that my application was being accepted.  We were visiting my parents in Georgia and he had been really REALLY quiet.  I finally asked him what was going on and he told me he was sad that I would be leaving.  My mom pulled me aside and told me 'The Navy will be there if this doesn't work out; finding someone who loves you and makes you happy is not an every day thing'  I told The Husband if he wanted me to stay to see where the relationship went, he had to ask me.  He did and that was it.  The day my life completely changed course. Some of you may be thinking it is ridiculous, if he loved me he would have waited.  That is probably true, but I'm glad I didn't make him =)  It wasn't like I had always dreamed of joining the Navy my entire life - so it isn't like I gave up my childhood dream. 

I was talking about this with my dad on our run this past Saturday.  I have absolutely no regrets and zero thoughts about 'what if'.  However, it is CRAZY the things I do now that I would have NEVER thought I would have gotten into - and I know I have said that before lol =) 

First - I hunt and go shooting; he even successfully taught me to shoot clays.  I'm actually pretty good if I say so myself =) 

Second - I am a BIIIIGGGG fan of fishing; shockingly so! I love going off shore, catching big fish, and eating it at home.  I haven't cleaned a fish yet...that's gross! So that part of my remains super girlie...I have a feeling I'm going to need to learn how at some point. BUT I am able to bait my own hook and all that goes with that.   In the respect, I am mildly self-sufficient on a boat =) 

This past Friday, a group of us took the day off of work and went off-shore fishing.  They briefly opened red snapper season for the first time in a couple years for the entire Southeast coast of the country.  we left the house by 4 am and were on the boat, in the dark by 530! I almost immediately laid down and took a nap.  It was definitely the best decision I made for myself because I didn't sleep well the night before. I woke up to the sun rising and it was gorgeous!

At the end of the day, we were all exhausted from fighting big fish and lots of them. Remember this trip when we went to the Keys? Yeah THOSE big fish...except on Friday I LITERALLY almost went overboard holding onto the rod trying to bring the fish in - I was SCAAAARED!!!! I yelled at someone to hold onto me lol...but seriously, scared! Thankfully I didn't go over, I didn't lose the rod, reel, OR the fish.  That thing was a BEAST!! Oh and I was SORE until .... yep, my arm is STILL sore today from trying to horse that silly thing in. 

 

Oh and this little beauty is a Trigger fish...and the one I am holding is considered a big one! They are SOOO yummy!!! 

Oh that would be a third thing, I eat a LOT of fish now because of The Husband =)  My life has been so very different - I was a CITY girl to the max and The Husband has added a little bit of country.  I like it! 

How would your life be different? Is there a hobby you have that you probably wouldn't have picked up without your significant other?

Taking Off in the Middle of the Week

hey hey!!!

Last week The Husband decided he wanted to take a day off in the middle of the week to go fishing. He invited me to go along too. We found a groupon for a head boat (fishing charter that takes out between 70-100 people) and decided to buy one.  The Husband decided he wanted to see how many people we could have in our group...so it became quite an ordeal.

Yesterday was the day we took off...that's right! We took a Wednesday off of work and decided to go off shore. Yes - it was quite random but i am SO happy we did it.

The Husband and I went, my sister and her husband, Marc and Christy, my daddy, my father in law and one of his friends...for those keeping count - that is NINE people total we had in our group to go fishing yesterday. NINE! The boat was filled to basically max capacity on a WEDNESDAY so I guess that means that a LOT of people had the same idea as we did.

Needless to say we had an absolute MARVELOUS time....we didn't catch a TON of keeper fish; in fact a good amount of fish caught by our group (and the boat) were fish that were under sized or out of season. I WRECKED the fish but it was such a fast pace for everyone that we only took pictures of ONE fish when we were actually on the boat...the rest of the pictures were taken in between fishing spots.

  

  

 

In addition to the fishing trip (which included breakfast AND lunch on the boat) we were also given $10 EACH in vouchers for the local bar and restaurant.  Needless to say, after our day of fishing, we hit up the spot with $90 in vouchers and partied it up...probably a little more than we SHOULD have for a Wednesday but PEOPLE it was so much fun!!!! We ordered more beer than we should have and THE BEST. JALAPENO POPPERS. EVERRRRR!!! as in the ever - like the history of the world!!

 

Definitely the way we should be living it up on our Wednesdays =) .... I will say that making through my Thursday was a little ROUGH - especially this morning!! But my SUPER SWEET friend picked me up a DP (dr. pepper) to help get me through til lunch =) 

I love days off with The Husband and family =) 

 

We Went to the Keys Last Friday Night

Happy Friday Eve!!! Ugh I am so happy it is almost the weekend!

My weeks are flying by at work but that doesn't mean the stress isn't there.

Last Friday, The Husband, my dad, Marc, Drew, and I all took the day off of work to go off-shore fishing. We generally charter a boat for 6 and use the same captain over and over.  He has always helped us catch quality fish and we ALWAYS have an awesome time.

So we made the 2 hour trek to his boat - this means we got up at 4:30 so we had time to load up, drive there, and load the boat by 7. yes we were up REALLY early but hey - that's all part of the game! We get there and it is looking like it is going to be ROUGH off-shore. I mean we are bouncing pretty good inside the inlet! sheesh! good thing I bought Wal-Dram II the night before...

SIDE NOTE: The Husband kept encouraging me to buy those Sea-bands. After checking them out and their $13 price tag, I decided to talk to the pharmacist. The thing was, these things seem like a mind over matter deal. I'm not buying this whole idea that the pressure of the bands will work - I might as well wear hair ties on my wrists! So I talk to the pharmacist and she recommends this Wal-Dram II (less drowsy). "It is what we recommend to the older people when they cruise because they are a fall hazard" yea - she said that...as in fall of the boat hazard! CRAZY! I confess I laughed a little bit when she told me this...it sounded absurd...

Back to the story - I took the wal-dram on the way so it had time to get in my system.  The men on the boat encouraged me to drink a beer on the way out of the inlet to help with the sloshing of the boat. OK I'm in - we all enjoyed an ice cold beer at 8 am. NICE!

About a mile off shore, we hit a pretty good sized wave. suddenly we are heading back IN shore. What's going on you ask?! The boat CRACKED. Seriously - CRACKED! Unbelievable! AND Frustrating because we were all SO excited! So we all have another beer.

Now this girl is a LIGHT WEIGHT when it comes to drinking so I was feeling PRET-TY good by the time we got back to the dock. We unloaded- all five of us pouting like a bunch of school children and begrudgingly headed back to the interstate. By the time we hit the highway, we had made the decision that we were going to still try to go fishing. we pulled over on the side of the road and started making calls. No one was going and all those who were HAD. BUMMER!!

Then The Husband has a bright idea 'let's go to The Keys! it's only a 4.5 hour drive from here and they are ALWAYS fishing there'.  Now I'm three beers in and from the backseat shout 'hooray! let's go! great idea!' Off we went...

4.5 hours, a stop for lunch, and two wrong turns later we arrived in The Keys! This girl was EXHAUSTED so while the boys got out and looked for a place to charter, I stayed in the truck and slept for 40 minutes. Best decision I made that day haha!

We got on the boat at 4 that afternoon and headed out on the water with a captain and first mate we hadn't gone with but kept getting positive recommendations for.  We told them we all wanted to catch Amber Jacks and some sort of snapper. Amber Jacks are incredibly strong and pretty big fish! and I caught the biggest =) 

     

OH and the cherry on top  (except not so much) we forgot the memory card for our camera SO all of our pictures are courtesy of camera phones. AWESOME! Regardless it was SO MUCH fun! The drive home at 10 at night wasn't so awesome but we made record time =) and arrived at our house at 2pm...you do the math ;)  I'm so glad I was able to make this super fun memory with my dad, The Husband, and two awesome friends =) 

Have you ever done anything crazy spontaneous?

Stay-cations Are The Best

Hey Y'all!!! I'm back!! I had to step back from everything -- well mostly everything and just take some time to be with The Husband. Work has been so stinkin' stressful and then we have been just SOOOO busy that we have hardly had time for just the two of us. In addition to relaxing together, The Husband and I also worked on some home projects.  We did a little of everything and I will share those projects tomorrow; I will share one tomorrow and then one on Monday or Tuesday. =)

After nearly two years, we finally felt compelled to go back to the beach. I know you are probably thinking we are crazy for living so close but never going but the truth is The Husband doesn't like the sticky/salty feeling and doesn't enjoy just hanging out in the sun so we haven't been in about two years. It just isn't his thing. I love reading in the sun and lounging but I know he would be bored to pieces!

A group of our friends were going and the guys were going to surf fish and surprisingly The Husband was looking forward to the trip. It was a BEAUTIFUL day, with a nice breeze and tons of sunshine! oh and word to the wise -- MAKE SURE TO PUT SUNSCREEN ON YOUR FEET. Seriously our feet were SCORCHED!!

It was so wonderful! I read my nook -- Catching Fire

The Husband caught some sharks. 

It was a great day! I think The Husband would even be willing to take another trip to the beach!

Oh and we ended it with a slurpee for the ride home. This girl LOVES a Slurpee!! YUM!!

Monday afternoon, we went shooting/fishing/hunting. Yes - we did all those things but thankfully only went to one location; an orange grove that a friend of The Husband's has access to.
He fished and I got bored so I grabbed a beer and hung out with Aeron while The Husband walked the ponds.

 

Car-bar anyone?! OK this is a lot little staged -- don't worry Mom!! =) 

We shot some plastic bottles while we waited for the sun to start setting so we could go get us some hogs!

I took a shot and missed. I was so sad! Seriously, it is the first thing I have shot at to take down and missed. I am sure some of y'all are not into harvesting/hunting but it is fun being outside and looking for food. I felt so Hunger Games without the fighting for your life scenario. I will tell you one thing - this girl would NOT have survived. Once we were dropped off in the orange grove, I felt VERY lost and disoriented. I know I would have just curled into a little ball and cried in HG. I definitely wouldn't have been out there alone - yes I'm a fraidy-cat even when I'm armed!

All in all, we had two full days of being outside. It was so amazing. We wanted to go out on the boat but after the beach on Sunday and getting a wee bit too much sun, we decided staying in pants or indoors was our best option.

Tuesday we did some grocery shopping and laundry. Other than that, we watched Unstoppable; awesome movie!  We also caught up on our recorded shows - like 100% caught up. We are NEVER caught up. I was actually a little disappointed because I don't like commercials and I like having a variety lol.

It was so nice to reconnect as a couple and as friends. Time together is so important for us - especially when we can be silly or creative or serious or whatever together. Sometimes it has to be all about US.

Happy Halfway through the Week!!!

I Love the Fishes 'Cuz They're So Delicious

Hi! have y'all seen all the goldfish foods that are out now?! (note this is NOT the point of the post lol) They have 100 calorie packs...and they are pretty full pouches! They are delicious but the fish in there are a little small and aren't as air-puffed. I think they are so yummy =) Just in case you were wondering!

So I married a fisher/hunter man...this means that we do outdoor things fairly often. I fished when I was in jr. high but we used bread and cheap-o fishing poles. The husband uses high quality items and real bait or fancy lures. I have learned a ton from hanging out with him.  I could skip out on these adventures BUT I love the learning aspect of it and I like seeing personal progress. Plus he tells me he's proud of me when I remember some technique he taught me. Or like this weekend when I hooked and caught this fish ALL. BY. MYSELF!

 

 

That's what we did on Friday night after work. We met at the house with my dad and a friend and his brother and left our house to go fishing an hour away at 6:30! We were out on the water by 8. It was so much fun! we got home right around 1:30AM and we FINALLY got to bed at 3AM!  I was exhausted on Saturday because I woke up at 7:15AM! oh well =) My internal clock has a hard time staying quiet past 8AM lol!

Oh and for the record - I wish I could say I was ultra excited in the picture of me holding the fish by myself...sadly, that isn't what was happening. You have to hold those fish in their gill plate which sticks your hand in to the mouth...well they are REALLY strong! so the fish flailed a little and crushed my fingers =( that is why J is holding the fish for me lol

PS: we didn't keep this fish - it is considered oversize and we threw it back. =)

Do you learn from your significant other?
Do you fish or hunt?
Would you be willing to try if your man wanted you to?

Yesterday I Smelled Like Fish...

True story! =) This is because I went offshore fishing! I love going offshore. It is beautiful and calm (sometimes; I won't go if it isn't). J and I haven't been able to make it offshore in about a year. We had a WONDERFUL day of fishing -- which would have been better had we been able to keep more of the fish we caught.  Marc, Doug, my dad, J and Christy went also -- it was Christy's first trip and I am SO happy that it was so calm!

 

 

On the trip out to the fish, J spent time getting the rods and reels ready and making sure everyone knew how to use the reels.

    

I was just excited lol =)

All-in-all we ended up catching 5-6 keeper Red Snapper, 2 grouper and at least 10 Black Sea bass -- all that we had to throw back due to restrictions.  

   

 

We were able to keep a few fish that we caught = 4 Trigger fish and a big Mangrove Snapper =)

  

I caught one of the Grouper and it was my first EVER! I was pretty excited =)

It was such a great time for multiple reasons - but I do love being able to spend time with my friends and family!

 

Other than that, J was VERY sick on Friday night so I went to the bar to sing without him so he could rest. Larry and I had 2 new songs: Don't Stop Believin' and Bring Me to Life.  I am still trying to figure out how to share our music with you -- I will soon, promise!

Saturday, I spent the morning cleaning while J worked. I also worked on some jewelry for a lovely bride-to-be.  Thankfully she LOVES the pieces.  Here is just a sneak peek of one set NEARLY complete -- she has the chains for the necklace charm.   

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Jessica at Stilettos & a Fishing Pole asked me to guest blog for her!! She is a newly engaged bride-to-be and she has decided to host a series of guest posts discussing all things to do with wedding; "Marry Me, Monday".  Check her out! She is amazing and beautiful and such a sweet girl!  

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Happy Last Day of February!!

J&A Chronicles: Being an Adult

I think the first thing that happened that really made me feel like an adult in a real relationship was when my little sis came to stay at ...our...was it our house?...J's house, where I lived.  She brought her boyfriend along and we went to Islands of Adventure and really just hung out for a few days before they drove back to our parent's house to visit.

I'm not really sure why this made me feel like this relationship might be real.  Perhaps it was because he wanted to spend time with my family just like I did.  He wanted to get to know them, and never made it seem like it was out of the ordinary to spend time with family.  He has a very similar family situation -- they are close, like my family is close.  This really makes a tremendous difference -- if you have some similarity in how you were brought up and your family situation. 

Over the next few months we had some great times!  We hosted my birthday that year at our house.  turns out, at the time I didn't have many friends....so one of our friends invited a TON of people...a lot of whom I didn't know but it was still a great time

 

Then he took me on my very first off shore fishing trip!!!  I caught my first and second dolphin (Mahi-Mahi)! It has been one of my very favorite trips off shore! 

J has gone out of his way over the last few years to teach my so much about various things, including his hobbies: hunting and fishing.  He does his best to include me as often as possible, and never once has he made me feel like I was out of place hanging out with the boys. =)

*Next Friday: KJ's Wedding