Well.. two months down... four months to go. I haven't lost my mind, so that's always a good thing! ;)

Between full-time classes, an internship, and four attention-hungry pets, I've been able to stay busy almost 24/7! The only bad thing about being so busy is that one week feels equivalent to two weeks. Thanksgiving break came at the perfect time. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike group work? Let me clarify. I love group work when each member of the group puts forth equal amount of effort. At least then it is fair and you can always trust your team mates to work as hard as you do. I'm involved in two different groups this semester; one small group, and one larger group. So far, I have carried the majority of the work in each team. And I'm tired. Very tired.

I've always (well, not always.. but most of the time) given 110% on assignments and exams, and I'm usually a favorite of my professors (I know, I sound like one of those lame teachers' pets). Unfortunately, my team mates picked up on this early in the game. My grades are strong enough that if I gave up now, I would probably still have strong grades at the end of the semester. It's tempting, I must admit. The Hermoine Granger in me just won't allow it though. At this point, I'll just focus on one day at a time; do the best I can, and then crawl into bed at night.

On the brighter side of things, I only have three weeks of my last semester of school left! Hallelujah!! I can't wait to be done with school. It will be nice to go home and spend time with the family. I'll finally get to cuddle with my numerous nieces and nephews! Finally get to eat my mom's awesome food. Finally not have to worry about due dates, reading assignments, exams, and making sure my team mates are getting their work to me on time, etc. And I'll actually have human beings to hang out with every evening. It will be an adjustment to not be alone all the time!

A big thank you to Starbucks, for getting me through the rough days of class =). Thanks to my fur kids for keeping me company in the evenings (I'm sorry you haven't been getting the full attention you need!). Thanks to my sweet Mr. Air Force for making me feel more loved than ever. And thanks to God for keeping me going on days I thought I'd rather give up than keep fighting.

Hannah Noel

Well, I have a new background! That's about it =). I'll eventually get time to work on the header.. if nothing else, I'll at least put in a new picture! And I think I'm going to change the name of this blog to just "Hannah Noel." I feel like labeling it a "military" blog means that that's all there is to my life, and I feel like I'm expected to only write about military-related topics. There is way more to my life than being a military wife though. It's an identifier, yes, but it's not my sole identity.

I'm also that: Christian, horse lover, wanna-be-famous singer, a sketch hobbyist (did I just make up that word?), a soon-to-be Public Relations consultant, a lover of Oklahoma, a Preacher's Kid, a Harry Potter addict, a Vamp. Diaries nerd, a conservative, and many, many other things.

So, as I said, I'll eventually be re-naming this blog "Hannah Noel" to encompass ALL of me. Aren't you just so excited? *note sarcasm*

Not much else happening on the home front. Trying to finish a few "I-need-my-husband's-help" projects before the Big D. Staying on top of homework. Mentally preparing myself for the next six months-- though, is that even really possible, or am I just kidding myself?

After my post asking for advice on grocery shopping for a single gal, I still haven't had much luck. I think that will be a blog goal for the next couple of months. I'm going to try to come up with a budget-friendly grocery list for a single gal. I've figured out I can't keep up my traditional shopping habits. Normally, I try to only make one or two big Walmart runs every month. That's a lot harder to do when you're shopping for one. I think I'll try to set a grocery budget for myself, say $30 per week, and then go grocery shopping once a week for what I need. My next big problem is making a list and only buying what is on the list... not adding on a bag of Mint Milanos after I'm already at the store!

Does anyone have good recommendations for sites with free blog templates/layouts (the key word there is free)? I've had this one for quite a while now and feel like I need to change things up =).

Pretty please? Thanks!

Am I the only one who often measures time passing by my birth controls packs? For instance: I realized today that Mr. Air Force will be officially headed for the desert by the time my current pack ends. What horrible timing!

Guess I need to start stocking up on chocolate now! Time is passing too quickly for this Oklahoma girl.

I have created and deleted a Twitter account twice now. Actually, I just created one for the third time. I think there's a commandment in the Public Relations Bible that says "Thou must be a professional Twitter-er." I'm jumping back on the bandwagon for the sake of my future career!

So there you have it. I have zero followers =). Not that I'll be posting much any time soon (only if I have extra time.. hah.), but in case you want to follow, I posted the new button to the left on my blog!

:::EDIT::: I thought I knew how to post a Twitter button. I followed the steps, but the link doesn't work! if anything else, I'm @hannahnrigby.

Time for a break in the silence that is my nearly-abandoned blog!

Summer flew by so fast! I really enjoyed my internship at the Humane Society, and I learned a lot! My LAST semester started this past week-- woo hoo!! I'm taking 12 hours of lecture and three hours for another internship. Already I am super busy. I know I'll be able to handle it all, because nothing beats the trauma of my freshman year at college!

Mr. Air Force is visiting his family in Mississippi and he'll be home later this week. He'll have enough time to unpack, wash his clothes, repack, and board a plane for a week-long TDY. He leaves on deployment soon afterwards, leaving me running to Walmart for chocolate and junk food.

Does anyone else have a Go-To Food they munch on when the hubs leaves? I almost always grab Pepsi, Ruffles, French Onion dip, and something chocolate (I love dark chocolate M&Ms!). I eat that for a day or so to get the 'down in the dumps' out of my system, so that I can move on to being a real person again, lol.

The first three months of the deployment will probably fly by because I will be SO busy with school and taking care of our fur kids. After Christmas though, unless I have a job lined up, things will slow down incredibly. Maybe I'll finally have motivation to finish the projects around the house!

I'm hoping to get better at blogging more often again, but only if it fits in my schedule. When I have THIS much stuff going on at once, I kind of become an organized, must-be-on-a-schedule freak. It's like survival mode or something. If I don't become like that, then my grades drop, I don't get anything done and I get stressed out all the time.

What about you? Any special routine or habits you pick up while your spouse is gone?
How about advice on food and cooking?? I haven't figured out how to grocery shop as a single girl. When there are two people in the house, I can cook full meals and know how to shop for two. But when I'm by myself, I HATE cooking. It seems like such a hassle to dirty all of those dishes just for one person. But I don't necessarily want to eat Kraft Mac & Cheese every other meal either! Tips? Anyone?