gangster squad

last night lance and i watched gangster squad, starring the gorgeous emma stone and ryan gosling. (if you haven't seen crazy stupid love yet, you should! they were both amazing in that.) to understand the following conversation, you should know that sometimes people tell lance he looks like ryan gosling.

chelsea: "they are so cute together."

lance: "maybe they'll get married in real life."

chelsea: "no. he's too cocky."

lance: "i would be too if i looked like me."

... and i thought ryan gosling was cocky?! yikes. oh my husband.

the best part of the movie was the ending: ryan gosling, emma stone, together, with a bulldog (my dream pup) wearing a hat at the beach. epitome of happiness. it was a good movie as action movies go, but too much violence and sadness for me. thankfully lance keeps me laughing no matter what.

the canyon, the mirror and zumba

we look forward to the weekends so much because we get to spend a lot more time together. lance had a lot of late nights last week, and this week will be even more. (for instance, today he didn't have to go in to work until 11 a.m. but he won't return until after the sun comes up. not exactly sure what time. boo. but i am proud of what a hard worker he is - he puts in crazy hours.)

every weekend has been packed full of amazing memories since we've been married, and i love it. this saturday we went to providence canyon state park, which is about a 45 minute drive away from us and known as "georgia's little grand canyon."

the weather right now is PERFECT, so we are trying to do as many fun things as we can outside before it gets disgustingly humid for the summer.

i really am sitting on the ledge of an overlook at the canyon here, not photo-shopped in like it looks. i should probably take some pictures of us not hiking or hanging out at home so you don't get the impression i always look completely disheveled. i also do not wear black all the time. in fact i've started wearing more bright colors, because that's how southerners roll and i like it.

lance LOVES a good pun. any pun, really.

when we hiked to the bottom of the canyon it looked like it was going to be really sloppy, muddy, red georgia clay that we weren't sure if we wanted to walk through - but it was actually just a firm damp sand. phew.



hmm, already tired and our adventures had only just begun. ha. driving home from the hike i suggested we go pick up the floor length mirror i'd spotted on sale at a store. (i didn't buy it at first sight because i wanted to make sure lance liked it.)

lance loved it and thought it would probably fit in our car. it's about seven feet high and three feet wide, so lord knows it would fit in a truck or suv just fine, or maybe even a decent sized car. but not a dodge neon. 

i sincerely wish we had video to show you the process of us trying to fit this thing into the neon, because i was cracking up at our clown car antics.

we rolled the seats down and slid it through the trunk- not fitting. pushed the front seats all the way up ... and it was still sticking out the back. off with the cardboard protectors on the ends. closer, but still hanging out. "if we just had our bungee cords or some string to close the trunk ..." "what about my hair tie!" so mr. knot-tying-expert finagled the trunk shut with only a wee bit of the mirror sticking out.

 we could barely fit in the front seats and i laughed nearly the entire ten minute (usually only five but we had to take it slow) ride home.

to top off the adventure, while we were unloading the mirror to carry it inside to our apartment a woman was puking in the parking lot.

now at last, the mirror looks lovely in our living room. were it a video-recording mirror i would already have clips of lance doing lots of push-ups and me doing zumba moves in front of the mirror. we are goofy.

i only did zumba a few times in lancaster, but i've been getting into it here and going a few times a week. i am the ONLY white girl at zumba here. do you know what that's like? it is everyone suddenly being an instructor, trying to help you. and it is getting cheers from the rest of the people in the class when you finally start catching onto the routines. you feel silly being new at zumba in the first place, but among a group of all rhythmically inclined dancers the silly feeling is more than a feeling. sure, some white people can dance, but i am not one of them.

lance said i'm getting a lot better. but i was showing him this one move that i cannot get the hang of, and when i looked over he was practically not breathing he was laughing so hard. i mean i knew i looked ridiculous but i had no idea it was that bad! yikers.

here's to being goofy and trying new things anyway - because it's fun! and now i have a way to make lance laugh in an instant.

in the middle of the night

i couldn't sleep last night, so i was sitting out on our couch reading. suddenly there was a loud banging on our door. it was 2:30 a.m. and our couch is maybe 15 feet away from the door, so i just about jumped out of my skin.

i ran back to our bedroom and flipped on the light, hoping that would wake my husband (quite a sound sleeper) up quickly as i frantically whisper-yelled, "babe! babe, wake up! someone was banging on our door!" he mumbled, "are you serious?" (do i play that many jokes and act like such a maverick that you think i would honestly wake you up in the middle of the night pretending someone is banging on the door?! yes i am serious!)

but before i could answer there was another incredibly loud banging on the door, and lance got up and went to answer the door. i walked out behind him, debating if i should grab a knife or call 911, and I listened as he talked to the person through the chain. they asked for someone who (obviously) does not live here.  they were shining a bright light in dear lance's face and i felt some relief thinking maybe it was a cop. but after lance finished talking to them he said it was not a cop, but maybe a repo man.

lance fell right back to sleep and i stayed up googling repo men ... wondering how they got into our gated community at that hour of the night or even at all ... and being really, really thankful lance was home! i got the feeling that if we had not answered the door this man would have broken it down. s-c-a-r-y!

dreams, keys and adulthood

after telling lance about some weird dreams i had the other day, he said that he never remembers his dreams. a few days later he said excitedly, "hey! i had a dream the other night that i actually remembered!"

me: "oooh what was it?"
him: "well, we were trying to get in the apartment and i started freaking out because i looked down at my keys and realized i hadn't turned in my barracks key, even though i thought i had-"
me: "THAT WASN'T A DREAM! THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED AND I WAS STANDING RIGHT BESIDE YOU!"
him: "what? no. are you sure? then how come that key isn't on my keychain now?"
me: "probably because the other night you were holding MY keys and i have more keys than you do! but i didn't think about that then."

we started laughing hysterically.

and i remembered the time i was out with my dad somewhere and he could not get his truck to start. he just kept turning the key and nada. after much frustration and not knowing what was wrong with his truck, he called pappy shank to pick us up. almost immediately after placing that call, he realized the problem was that he was using the wrong set of keys for the truck.

since it was before the days of cell phones, we had to wait for pappy to get there and tell him. which was apparently agonizing for my dad who swore and worried about what pappy would say. i think i started laughing then and my dad did too, and he said something about needing colby with us to keep us in line. i forget what pappy said when he showed up, but i am fairly certain my dad just pretended he figured out the problem and got it to start. ha.

have you ever mixed up keys and created a situation like this? or had someone tell you what they thought was a dream but you are listening to them thinking, what the what, THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED!

one of my weird dreams last week was about grocery shopping. even weirder was that i was actually excited to go grocery shopping yesterday. i told lance about this, and how i was excited to plan meals for the week and to invite people over for brunch. never thought i would look forward to stuff like that.

he knew exactly what i meant, and said that he was actually having fun changing the oil and putting air in the tires of our cars.

apparently we are growing up and liking it. go figure.

You'll Find Your Way



I love this song. It put tears in my eyes the first time I heard it, and this morning I played it for Lance only to realize yet again that we do NOT have the same taste in music. "I'm not gonna lie, it sounds exactly like the other songs you were just listening to." Which is funny because that's what I often think when he plays a song he likes for me - they all sound the same and do nothing for me.

This song makes me think of going for drives with my dad. Of all the back roads in Lancaster County, but especially in Holtwood. I love those roads. And somehow that got me thinking about the things we take for granted. How I used to get bored going to Pappy and Grandma's on Sunday afternoons with my dad and brother. Probably because it was routine.

And now I think, 'what I wouldn't give to have more of those ordinary Sundays ...' to get to be around Pappy Shank again and talk to him. I have so much left to ask him. So many stories I wish I could hear from him. To go back to Grandma Shank in a right frame of mind, bustling around the kitchen and making good food, singing and laughing.

To the phone ringing and Bruce loudly speaking what always sounded like jibberish to me, and Grandma responding in a yell-voice to get through to him, listening for a bit then yelling for Benny. And Pappy sitting on that stool cradling the phone, watching TV from the kitchen until finally we'd be sitting down to eat and Pappy would speak his only other words to Bruce (besides hello) - "Bruce! We're eating dinner!" And hang up.

Life is full of ordinary days. Sometimes we grumble or wish them away, but in retrospect they usually end up being the best days. Routine and the little things make life good, but the people around us are what makes life really good.

Sometimes if I'm frustrated or in a chaotic situation I think, "What is wrong with people!" or "I hate people!" But if I'm not completely distressed, I will counter that awful thought by thinking about how much I also LOVE people.

For as terrible as people can be, it is people who can also be almost unbelievably amazing. Through kindness, making you laugh and being there for you. Through completing the ordinary, everyday tasks that the world needs to keep moving. Through accomplishing amazing feats and overcoming unimaginably painful circumstances. People make life worth living. They are the best part of life. Ordinary days and ordinary people, they get inside of you before you even realize it and fill you up.

This song reminds me to take nothing for granted. Whatever kind of day you're having, someday you will probably look back on it as one in a series of ordinary days that you will miss. So don't take the people around you for granted.

What will I remember about these first weeks of marriage? What will I look back on someday as an ordinary that I miss? Well, I actually love when it feels ordinary. I love how natural it feels to live together, and I love when it feels like we have some routines established. It can be frustrating adapting to the Army life, which has no consistency, right down to the hours Lance works.

I am learning to keep my mouth shut when I'm in the passenger seat and Lance is driving - I fail miserably, but I promise I really am trying to pipe down. I am learning about myself and Lance and marriage.

[slightly creepy pictures of us, but we LOVE the mugs you made for us, Heather!]



What ordinary things might I lovingly look back on? Hmm, probably the newness of marriage. Our apartment and how we just have what we need. The basics. No clutter. I hope we always stay like that and don't accumulate excess.

Maybe all of the ridiculous ringtones and alarms Lance has on his new phone. One morning I faintly heard ducks, and since there are ducks that wander around our apartment complex from the lake to the pool and so forth, I didn't think much of it. But the ducks kept getting louder and louder until finally I said, "Lance do you hear those ducks?" Which apparently woke him up enough to realize his alarm was going off - the one he set to the tone of ducks quacking. So glad I knew that. ;-)

I love when Lance kisses me goodbye in the morning when he goes to work. Date nights. How we both get so excited for good food, and making big breakfasts on the weekends. Making fun of Georgia together. Adventures with our GPS. Watching Lance learn new things (like teaching him how to iron and how to make grilled cheese) and find his way around the kitchen when he helps me clean up. I love that it's just us down here, establishing our life together.

"Normal day,
 let me be aware of the treasure you are."

[Mary Jean Irion]

Ranger Ball 2013

 Last night we went to Ranger Ball. This was only the second one I have ever attended but I already feel like a pro. One of the many reasons Lance is awesome is that he enjoys (or at least pretends to) listening to me give my opinion on all of the dresses. I love when he pipes in with his comments too, so good. While we were waiting in line for our official formal photo he would ask, "What do you think of that one? ... Good, cause I think it's awful." I decided we'd be a great talk show team to judge the Oscars, Golden Globes, etc.

Military balls are interesting because from what I've heard and read, you are supposed to dress to represent your man well. With dignity, ya know? But so many of the ladies seem to completely fore-go that tradition in exchange for slutty outfits that are just, well, slutty. Plenty of gorgeous gowns to ooh and ahh over too, but last night it seemed like there were more women who I wanted to cover up with enormous blankets or snuggies, sheesh.

Besides people watching and chatting with the fun people at our table, my favorite part of the night was when all of the Rangers recited the Rangers Creed together at the close of the event. Powerful. And of course I had tears in my eyes for the slide show (set to a sweet country song) of all the fallen Rangers - but that certainly wasn't my favorite part. Too sad.

Truly the most fun part of the evening was being introduced over and over as Lance's wife. Happy, happy, happy.

I told Lance that because everything is different for me right now (new state, new town, new apartment, left my job, etc.) that it almost doesn't feel like we're married. Like when people ask how it feels to be married or how married life is, I'm not sure how to answer. Um, new? It has not completely sunk in yet that we are married. But I like this adventure we're on, cause that's more what it feels like.

I always feel sort of Amish when I get updos. But I haven't had one in awhile and my dress wasn't super fancy so I felt an updo was in order for this occasion. (I posted this goofy, shadowy self-taken shot for you Mom, so you could see my makeup. Didn't really get any good shots of my hair though.)

first impressions of columbus, ga

the south is really different. i like it, but it's weird to me.

when i lived in maui, i felt like i belonged. it was totally different than where i grew up (lancaster, pa) as well, but i could easily get into the rhythm of hawaiian culture and i loved it. i don't know if i can see myself ever quite fitting into southern culture. or maybe it's that i don't want to, because the main difference i've noticed so far is diet. fried food and southern comfort foods are featured in the grocery stores. tons of crisco, grits, and other things i wasn't used to seeing line the aisles of grocery stores in pennsylvania.

i have never seen so many fast food places in such close proximity, and i have no idea why anyone would need this many waffle houses or mcdonalds. yuck.

last week when i asked our waitress about a dish i was considering ordering (caesar salad with thai fried shrimp) she said, "it's fried! it's good!" it made me laugh - as if frying something means it is automatically good. but then i am probably in the minority for not agreeing with that sentiment. i ordered it and it was delicious. so help me God if i start eating like a southerner. eek!

other first impressions of life in columbus, ga ...

- i love our apartment and i love apartment living! we have plenty of space but not too much to clean. it was awesome when my parents came down with our stuff and we could really make it home. we had taken some essentials down with us, but couldn't fit much in my car and forgot a shower curtain so the bathroom was a mess for the first few days we were here.

- lance did an awesome job picking a place and frankly i feel like i'm on vacation sometimes. the weather is perfect this time of year. our apartment complex has awesome pools, a nice fitness center (complete with saunas i won't use and free classes i will use - yesterday i did zumba and was of course the only person in the class, ha.), and a pond with ducks that wander all over the place.

- love being a short drive away from places we go - grocery store, restaurants, crossfit, downtown, and all of my faves in ONE shopping center: barnes & noble, ross, tjmaxx and marshalls. (that's a good shopping center!)

- southerners are generally very polite and well-mannered. i love it.

- people stand on street corners selling newspapers. i feel like i'm back in time.

- store employees walk your groceries out to your car for you. again, i feel like i'm back in time. this was incredibly perplexing for lance and i the first time it happened. so much so that we temporarily forgot where we parked and had the person zigzagging behind us in the parking lot, whoops.

- my first trip to the commissary (the grocery store on the army base) has led me to call it the cuh-misery, or just the misery, instead of pronouncing it correctly. it made me really glad that lance wanted to live OFF base. the store was packed out to the max and people were ramming carts around like it was a freaking nascar race. i felt like i was in a third world country. you could barely get to the shelves to get what you wanted and the line you wait in at the end was so long they had someone directing carts to each checkout. insanity. way too stressful and aggressive of a shopping experience for me, but everything is apparently a wee bit cheaper there. so i guess i'll go back. sigh. publix is practically around the corner from us (and winn-dixie and piggly wiggly, ha.) and i like that much better.

- baptist churches are everywhere. so are goodwill donation centers. and of course fast food GALORE.

- i miss turkey hill milk and ice cream.

- lots of businesses here have ridiculous names that crack us up. i think the most obvious example is the piggly wiggly - how can anyone take that place seriously?!

- southern accents are so great. i was afraid i'd pick up a fake southern accent and it's already sort of happening. sometimes i can't help talking to lance with southern twang. it may have more to do with all the duck dynasty we've been watching, love that show.

- we found a gorgeous park near our house, and i'm excited to keep exploring and finding more gems in this area! i love finding hidden beauty! we drove past development after development, then bam! a beautiful park that stretched out for miles with waterfalls and rocks to climb on and nice trails. it was also unexpected because a recent review of it online said a man had been there with his two daughters and got mugged, and someone else said to never go there because "it's full of homosexuals at night." wow people. the anonymity of the internet is something else, personally i find that the positive reviews of places are usually much more accurate than the negative ones!

lance spotted this stork (maybe heron? we're not bird experts, help us out.) and it was perched on one leg beside the lake so still that we both agreed "it's fake ... but so realistic!" so we were walking down to get right beside it for a funny picture of lance posing by the fake stork, and we were no more than three feet away when it flew off! HA, not fake after all. we could not stop laughing. (if we were written about in old testament style, i feel that phrase would be repeated. "and they walked with God ... and they could not stop laughing.")

 it was so beautiful.we've been having a lot of awesome bird encounters lately. when we drove in my parents lane after our wedding rehearsal, i was exclaiming, "there's a blue jay! oh my word, i've officially turned into my grandma shank, getting excited about birds-" lance: "is that an eagle?!" and sure enough, there was an enormous bald eagle sitting on a branch beside the stream. 

it was the first eagle i ever saw at my parents house. it definitely made a special trip there for us. we sat watching it for awhile until we had to go because we were already late to pick up my friends at the airport. ("sorry guys, just doing some bird watching! totally normal!" ha.) God does so many cool things. ask Him to do something cool for you today or to open your eyes to what He already did for you - i am confident you will love it and He will keep surprising you if you let Him.

Ranger School Graduation: Part Two

here are some pics from ranger school graduation. they might make more sense (then again they might not) if you read what i wrote here first.

and now for some where's waldo lance ...

he is standing up in the back row in the top right corner. he even had a great spot that should have made it easy for me to spot him haha, whoops ...

just carrying another man is impressive to me, let alone rapelling down a wall with one ...



yes, that is four men hanging gracefully from a rope out of a helicopter ... crazy crazy but so cool!

fyi this is not lance in the action pics, they give the graduates a break and have other guys do the demos.





okay, now can you find lance in the picture below? me neither. he is not even in the picture because once they regrouped and went to different spots i lost sight of him again, ha. good thing i'm not the one in this relationship who is in the military.



loved the prayer. love prayer in public places and moments like this when we as Americans give God the reverence and respect He deserves.



here is a pic of lance before he went to school to give you an idea of the before/after ... and now the coveted ranger tab is finally where it belongs, excellent work & perseverance lance!