An End to the Adventure...but another one begins.

Well, it was four months ago that I got onto the semi truck with my husband and boy was it an adventure. Four months of non-stop traveling and seeing the country! But after much prayer and thought we decided that it was time to leave the truck driving behind and settle down. In about two weeks we will have been married for 8 months and I can hardly believe how the time has really flown! I look forward to the many adventures and the blessings that will come from the Lord in our future. I guess our new adventure will be settling down. After all, I have never lived in Colorado before...

Winter Wonderland

I grew up in Texas where the sun pretty much shone bright during mostof the winter season. I remember seeing snow in my hometown just once while I was growing up there. Sure, I visited family in Iowa every other Christmas and saw plenty of snow, but I was never around it long, lol. Well, I must be making up for all of the times I wasn't around snow, because it's been fierce during our last couple days of travel.
While traveling from Oklahoma City to Denver we hit a big snow storm in Kansas that shut us down for about 15 hours. Poor Levi spent an hour the next morning tring to loosen the frozen truck breaks.
Now we are in Buffalo, Wyoming and the snow has been pouring down all day long. Here is what the interste looked like all day!

Well, Christmas time is almost here and eventhough being on the truck it doesn't feel as festive, I am excited. We are going to be taking a few days off at Levi's parent's house for the Holidays, and boy do I look forward to yummy homemade meals, hot chocolate in the evenings and lots of fellowship. =)

Incase I don't have the opportunity to blog before Christmas...Merry Christmas to all! =)
p.s. Don't forget to remember the reason we celerate this wonderful holiday.

QCK Corner OPEN FOR BUISNESS!

I know I talked about it briefly in my last post, and since then I've taken the plunge and opened my own buisness-QCK Corner. With QCK you can customize your own Winter hats and scarfs. Have a favorite sports team you want to represent? Or do you just want to customize a scarf and hat to match your favorite outfit? With QCK we make it so simple for you to get just what you want.
We have scarfs and hats in Adult or Children's sizes!

And the best part is you have the option of either shopping for the products already online, or leaving a comment with what YOU want. By going to www.facebook.com/QCKCorner and clicking on the SHOP NOW tab on the left of the page you can check out the store yourself!

TOP 5 THINGS to do to keep busy.

A lot of people ask me what I do to keep busy while always being on the road. To me, finding things to do hasn't always been easy, but here are the top 5 things I like to do.
1. KNITTING/LOOMING- I have often thought of starting my own website and selling the products I make. Scarfs and hats are my specialty! I like mixing colors and working with all kinds of yarn to get custom and unique combinations. I have been busy and have already made 6 scarfs and 4 hats this winter season!
2. CROSS STITCHING- I enjoy this form of sewing when I am in the mood for a heavy duty project. Each project takes me at least a couple of months to complete (when I'm working on it a little everyday.)
3. COMPUTER GAMES- I will admit that before I started my truckin' adventure I never played computer games, But now every couple weeks I get in the mood to play. I have played Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 and Stronghold mostly.
4. AUDIO BOOKS/READING- I love to read, but sometimes there are just far too many bumps on the road to do so. So levi and I found this website named booksshouldbefree.com where you can download audio books for free. I just finished Jane Eyre and am currently on Tess of the D'Ubervilles. (no worries, the books are free because they were published before 1923 and the copyright has expired)
5. SUDOKU /WORD CROSS- Many hours have been devoted to these brain teasing puzzles. I just reciently learned Sudoku though, so I have been doing mostly those lately. I'm currently working throught the medium level puzzles.
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The Christmas Season is close at hand!

The Christmas Season is close at hand! (26 more days)AND Levi and I thought it would be fun to start shopping! We went to Hobby Lobby three days ago and bought our Christmas stockings, Santa Hats, a 6-inch battery opperated light up Christmas tree, Christmas lights, a reindeer "costume" for the truck, and a tree orniment that says, "Our First Christmas, 2011". It was a lot of fun! Haha, So the Christmas tree is tiny and it isn't much, but the ornament kind of hangs on it alright. We certainly can't drive with the tree up, but we are putting it up every night when we stop. ALSO, we strung the Christmas lights up in the back of the truck where our bed is and at night we put up a strand of lights on the windshield. HEY this is our home for now so we're gonna decorate! The reindeer costume for the truck is somethin' else, lol. We have a big red nose on the grill and two antlers on the
windows. It's cute, but would probably look better on a small car.

We haven't started Christmas gift shopping yet because I think we are going to go out and buy each other gifts the day after Christmas so we can take advantage of the awesome deals. BUT we are going to do stockings ahead of time. =)

Well thats all for now, until next time!
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Thanksgiving Vacation

Back in September I officially was able to join my husband on the road. My truckin' Adventure has been full of love, happiness & well...adventure! Levi & I got to go home to Pensacola for a 4 day vaccation and it was wonderful! We got to P'cola around 5pm on Thanksgiving day & went to check in at our hotel. We checked in and got cleanned up then went to Pensacola Christian College (I just graduated May 2011) to visit my best friend L.J. for Thanksgiving dinner. GREAT MEAL! After our oversized meal the three of us went to the campus sports center for some recreational fun, We went to the Alumni basketball game. (Have I mentioned I played college basketball for the school? I LOVE the sport lol) After the game we went to the Alumni fellowship party where we got free pizza, donuts, and sodas. NEXT up was rock climbing, Whoa! It certainly was physically challenging, but it was a blast.

On the next day, Friday, levi had to get up early to deliver a special load. Thankfully he returned around 2pm and we were able to have some fun for the day. We went to PCC again to pick up L.J. and went shopping at the mall. I took advantage of some black Friday sales & did the Buy 3 Get 3 free deal at Bath and Body Works. L.J. & I shared and each got three. Then at Victoria's Secret I got some PINK body spray so I could recieve the secret santa card. (you win either $10, $50, $100, or $500!) After shopping we dropped L.J. back off at school while Levi and I went and did some shopping at hobby lobby than went back to the hotel to order in some pizza.

The next day, Saturday, we met up with our good friends Josh & Lauren for lunch. It was nice to catch up with them while eating delicious chinese food. Haha than we all went to the mall.

Sunday was relaxing and it was a joy to see the church fam. We went out to eat my friends the Carter's at Wendy's.

What a great vaccation!!!
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Happy Thanksgiving!!! What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!!! What are you thankful for? Your family? Friends? A home to sleep in with food in the pantry? The list really truly is limitless because we can be thankful for anything. My challenge for you is to keep the spirit of a thankful heart long after Thanksgiving, Christmas and the holiday season has past. God has given us all so much, So what are you thankful for?
*Leave a comment below! I'll start first*
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My cosmo, very possibly the best dog in the world passed away. =(

It's difficult and painful when trying to handle death.
For me, as a 22 year old I find myself extreemely fortunate to just now be feeling the grief. At this point in my life no one that I have ever truly loved has passed away and as far as humans go things are still the same, but today I have lost my dog Cosmo whom I have had the privelge of loving for almost 15 years. He was a wonderful companion to my 8 year self all the way until I had to leave for college...taking long walks with me and just wrestling around for fun. I remember what a spunky puppy he was- he had too much energy, but I loved him all the same. The day mom and dad brought him home for me on easter of 1997 was a memorable day. He was a tiny lil guy- half Dalmation, half lab. I also remember him getting loose and chasing the cows in the field next to our house. He would come back looking gross and smelling even more gross, but I'd clean him up just so he could come inside
to keep me company. AND I remember when my family moved out of the country and into the city. My poor pup went from a two acre back yard to what seemed like a shoebox, but he'd sure run around that shoebox of a backyard until he was so tired and had to come inside. He was a food guzzling, rambunctious lil guy and today I say goodbye. Goodbye momo, I'll never forget you.
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Small Towns

Sometimes I wish so badly that Levi and I were able to see some places we go through without having to worry about being in a semi. We passed through the cutest town today in Penn. Downtown Carlysle looked like a painting or at least a picture perfect town. It had all of the adorable shops along the road and of course it looked even cuter because it was decorated for Christmas! WHO doesn't love the christmas season? With the garland and wreaths and Christmas trees.... And the delicious foods, family gatherings, presents to give and to recieve, and most of all the celebration of Jesus Christ's birth. *sigh* I love Christmas.
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HaPpY BiRtHdAy HUBBY!!! (Nov. 12)

TODAY my hubby turned 23! Haha yes I know, we're young. Being a trucker's wife makes it slightly more difficult to have any surprises, but I certainly did my best. For his birthday I got him leather driving gloves, new earphones, a usb charger for the truck (so he can plug his phone or mp3 player directly into the cigaret lighter to charge) AND beef jerkey, 2 x-tra large rice crispy bars and a back scratcher from Louisianna. He loved it all and was even a little surprised about the usb charger. =)

Even though it's my hubby's birthday he's still hard at work. We're currently going to Meadville, PA to pick up a load and then we're off too Evansville, IN. Altogether about 800 miles!

But of course we stopped for his birthday dinner at Denny's so he could get his free grand slam! He enjoyed some delicious pumpkin pancakes along with eggs, sausage, and bread pudding french toast. We took this pic there at the restraunt =)
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GET OUT AND SMELL THE ROSES!!!

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Sometimes as a trucker you just have to get out of the truck and SMELL THE ROSES!!! When you've been in the truck for days even taking 20 minutes to get out and walk around is good for you. I would love to announce where we were when we stopped and took these pics while walking around, but we were just at a random rest area haha.

A Great Couple Weeks of Travel... Must Read!!!

Here is my attempt to summarize our last couple weeks of exciting travel!!!!

Levi and I were excited when his driver manager told us we were going to Phoenix to pick up our brand new 2012 Volvo. When we heard this exciting news we were on the East coast and made the long journey out West. Sure it was a long trip, but our excitment made it seem like a shorter trip. On our way to Phoenix we went over quite a few mountains, and of course Semi's are majorly slow headed up any kind of a steep incline. It was mid afternoon when we decided to stop the truck and let it cool. The truck had been turned off a mear 20 seconds when all of a sudden we witnessed a car accident. A truck plunges through the guard rail and down the side of the mountain! We jumped out of the truck and raced towards the scene and to our surprise the man had made it out alive. Just minutes after making it out of his truck the truck caught fire and soon the truck and surrounding grass was ablaze. We caught the fire on video and posted it to youtube.
Once we arrived at our terminal in Phoenix it took a full 2 days to get our truck traded for the new one. Once everything was transfered we could'nt believe how long we had been living in such a dirty truck. Levi likes to say our new truck is like driving a Cadillac!
From Phoenix we got a load going out to L.A. and boy was I excited, it was my first trip ever to California! I guess I never realized how mountainous Cali was, it certainly was beautiful! We arrived in L.A. in the early hours of the morning- I was half aspleep, haha. Just as we enter the city we see a helicopter flying low to the ground with it's search light scanning the interstate. A few moments later a car zooms past us with three police cars following! We were right in the midst of a high speed car chase! Levi coninues driving along hoping and praying the action didn't proceed to the exit we needed to take. Sure enough we take our exit and there on the shoulder is our affender with his pursuers hand cuffing him and stuffing him into the back a Police car. Durring all of this action we were even in the chopper's spot light! Thankfully we were able to get to our stop and park for the night.
The next day we decided to splurge and go shopping at a nearby mall for a few hours. We found an amazing bookstore where we bought way too many books and of course we hit Payless so I could get some winter boots. We finished by enjoying some Chineese food. =)
From L.A. we headed to Dallas. For a bit wed were super excited because my family lives near the Dallas-Ft. Worth areavand we thought we were going to be able to visit. But somewhere in Arizona Levi got a migraine and we had to stop driving for the night. Unfortunately those lost hours landed us not being able to visit with the family.
After we finished our load to Dallas we headed for New Orleans! Lucky for us because we've never been there. We didn't get to see much except for the downtown skyline, but we did stop for dinner and we had homemade gumbo and cornbread....mmmmm yummy!
From New Orleans we drove North to Greenbay, Wisconsin. We had been purusing the South so long that it wasz nice to break out the hoodies and jeans...I got to use my new boots that we bought back in L.A. =) We took a few days to get to our destination. and we were surprised at how small Greenbay was! But putting that asiade I was glad were able to find a cute lil' coffee shop- we ate breakfast there. Right around this time I get a Facebook message from my old Youth Pastor's wife that they are in Chicago and would love to meet up for dinner, so Levi and I get on the road and head that direction! (Luckily it was the direction we needed to head anyways)
This all took place just yesterday so technically I'm all caught up now as far as info goes. SO, yesterday we drove to the outskirts of Chicago and met up with our friends at a Pilot. Haha we ended up just eating at a nearby Long John Silver's, nothing fancy, but hey we were all truckers! We talked and caught up, (they hadn't seen me since highschool and here I am a college graduate and married woman) and then 2 1/2 hours later we went our separate ways.
Now Levi and I are currently headed to Muskogee, Oklahoma and toward new and exciting adventures. =)

So I've been a little behind....

Okay, I will admit that I have gotten a little bit behind on my blog....but my excuse is that I didn't have my own phone to keep up with it and naturally you need internet to blog! So I am proud to announce that I am the proud owner of a new phone! lol But aside from that I am just so excited to be able to keep up on my blog, afterall quite a bit of interesting things have happened in the last couple of weeks....

Simply Spoiled

How many wives have a husband who loves them so much they actually WANT to spoil them? I'm not sure. But what I am sure of is that my hubby sure enjoys it. Yesterday he took me to JCPENNY to get my hair cut. And he didn't go cheap because i got the shampoo, cut and style as well as a bottle of salon conditioner and another bottle of detangler. He also let me do some shopping at the nearby Target. After we finished shopping he took me to Panera Bread for a delicious dinner.
Now today he continues spoiling me by getting me the video mp3 player i have had my eye on for two weeks =) I've never had one before today and i really love it.

*sigh* It sure is wonderful having a husband who enjoys taking care of you.

Praise the Lord for flexibility!

One of the most amazing parts of driving trucks for your job is the flexibility. Levi and I had a load to drop off last monday morning, leaving us with Saturday night and all day Sunday free! Well we just happend to be only 3 hours away from my moms house so we were able to drive up to Iowa and visit.
Most people, when they want to travel or visit family have to put in for time off with their boss and then have to save up enough money to make the trip....but not for us! Not only are we being paid to drive, but get to randomly visit our family accross the country!

Part Two: Too much of a good thing CAN be bad thing

I wish i had a picture of this thing! It was so enormous that this man came up to me and asked me where in the world i got the thing! So i'm crusing through this chocolate cone until about ten napkins and twenty minutes later I'm still working on this thing and beginning not to feel so well. Thats when it hits me...maybe just maybe too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.
* if you've ever done something like this let me know I'm not the only one! Haha

Part one: I guess too much of a good thing CAN be a bad thing...

Ladies have you ever craved something so badly you ended up really over doing it? If so, read on and take comfort that your not the only one!
It started on our trip headed out toward Omaha, NE. Levi and I were trying to decide on a place to stop for the night during our drive out there and I really wanted to stop at the Iowa 80 truck stop. (For those of you who may not know, Iowa 80 is the largest truck stop in the US!)
Well Levi really prefered to drive farther than where the Iowa 80 truck stop was located, so he said not this time. Deciding that I didnt have anyting exciting to look forward to for the rest of the day I went to the back and took a long nap.
About two hours later or so Levi is waking me up telling me we are stoping for a bathroom break. So i spilled out of the truck with hair messy and sleepy eyes. I didnt care what i looked like...it was just a truck stop. Levi being the romantic he is takes my hand in his as we walk towards the entrance. I honestly didnt see the GIANT Iowa 80 sign right in front of my face, levi actually had to point it out! Boy did he surprise me! I was quickly awakened out of my sleepy state as i walked through the doors. For me it wasnt necessarily the truck stop that made me so happy, but my thoughtful husband who simply wanted to surprise me.
We walked around for awhile looking at all of the different truck parts as well as admiring the full sized semi's parked inside the truck stop for show. And that when we saw the small DQ sign calling our names.
Here is where the fun begins...I am craving chocolate. Not just something small or a chocolate bar, but really craving the stuff! So i get a chocolate dipped waffel cone with chocolate ice cream. And thats not all, i wanted more. So i kindly ask the lady taking our order if i can also have my cone dipped into that delicious chocolate syrup that hardens when it gts cold. BUT she says that they cant because it wasnt a menu item. Did that stop me? I think not! I simply asked for the delicious syrup in a side cup so i could put it on the cone myself.

The Real Day One

Well, a lot has happened since i first thought i was going to be trucking with Levi, my husband. But what really matters is that now I am with him and ready to go. =) We got to Gulf Port, MS yesterday where we were able to pick up our truck. Its old, but at least it is still a volvo. Our official first trip is a quick drop off here in Gulf Port, but all we did is sit and wait for several hours waiting to drop the big trailor, thats why I say that our first trip is to Louisville, Kentucky...646 miles away.
OKAY, so I have to admit that living in a truck is so much more different than I could have imagined. I think you can recieve all the advice in the world, but nothing can take the place of actually experiencing it yourself. Living in a truck means sharing a twin bed with my husband, and having to wait hours before using the bathroom. I bet i'll learn all the tricks here before too long. Until next time, praise the Lord i finally made it out here!

Life's unexpected surprises

August 17, 2011-- I think that most of the time we think we have it all figured out. We've planned and organized and everything seems to be in place when all of a sudden life throws us an unexpected surprise. Some surprises good, others not so good.
    I left home with Levi expecting to go out on the road with him. My bags were packed, my travel sized toothpaste and shaving cream all ready to go, and mentally I was prepared to begin our little adventure together. But, it turns out that this new company that Levi is working for requires that a driver doesn't take any family members on the road for the first 30 days. SOOO.... I'm headed back home for a little while. We are still going to have our "Truckin' Adventure" it will just be postponed for a little while. Thankfully Levi will still be working two weeks on with one week off so I only have to get through two weeks before I see my hubby again. I will miss him so much, but I know my Lord and Saviour will comfort me and give me all of the strength that I need.
     Just about 14 days until I see Levi again....<3

Finding our "Nemo"....

    At the beginning of the summer I decided that I wanted to get some fish. I didn't want anything fancy with a huge tank and tons of fish, just two goldfish would do for me =) So I picked up two goldfish at the local pet store. First thing I did when I got home was take a picture of them through the plastic bag with my cell phone and sent it to Levi. I wanted him to name them!! (haha he named them Angel and Boomer) They were doing great for awhile, but one evening I went to feed them and Boomer was floating. The saddest part was that poor Angel would have to swim alone for awhile. BUT just about two weeks ago I felt it was time Angel had a buddy so I purchased another goldfish and named him Boomer Jr.
   I have to admit I wasn't thinking things through too clearly because the night before Levi and I left home for his job orientation he asked me what we were going to do with the fish while we were gone. (we also have a hermit crab) After careful thought I decided the best thing to do would be to take them with us! I know I know I'm crazy, who takes two fish and a hermit crab on a Greyhound bus ride and then onto a semi truck,  but I didn't have the heart to get rid of them.
    haha so I guess your wondering how I was able to transport these little guys. Well, I put them in seal tight Tupperware containers! The fish in one and the crab in the other. I then placed them in the bottom of a gift bag and simply carried them along, no one even knew they were in there, lol
    So I woke up after our first night at the hotel and went to go and feed the fish...but one was missing! I rubbed my eyes and turned on the lights just to make sure I wasn't going crazy. Sure enough only Angel was  in the fish bowl. After checking all around the desk that they're bowl was on I found Boomer Jr. on the floor. It was his attempt at escaping, but he didn't succeed like Nemo was able to. I guess this means the fish bowl will be less cramped, huh?

Day 1- Greyhound, Day 2- Relax

   Day 1: August 14, 2011, Levi and I make our finishing touches on our preparations for starting this adventure of ours. Staying up until 2am the day before to pack and clean the house left me a little sluggish at the beginning of the day, but soon it began to wear off and my excitement grew.We were headed to Mississippi for Levi's orientation and with the transportation and lodging taken care of by the company, I didn't have much to worry about. To many taking a greyhound bus is the opposite of adventure, the opposite of fun, the opposite of  "great traveling", but I've always enjoyed trying new things and it was my first bus ride. =) What could have been a 2 hour trip in a car took about 4 hours by bus, but I enjoyed sitting next to my husband the whole way there.
   When we arrived at the tiny greyhound station in MS we were able to call a cab to take us to our hotel. (Even the company took care of our cab ride!) The hotel was better than I expected and after we unloaded all of our stuff in the room, we took off for a cute Mexican restaurant in town for dinner.
   Day 2: August 15, 2011...Ever had one of those days when you found yourself with nothing to do?? When the everyday hustle and bustle of life just seems to be paused while you have time to relax? That was today. Sleeping in until noon, free coffee and Krispy Kreme donuts for "breakfast", an exhilarating workout, and a movie in bed to top everything off... A day like today doesn't come around often, so when it does make sure you enjoy it to its fullest and thank the Lord for the wonderful break.

The Reason for the Adventure

    Every new wife looks forward to spending lots and lots of time with her new husband. It certainly is easy to get caught in a fairy tale during the planning process of a wedding and lose touch with what reality will really be like after the wedding. I married Levi on May 13, 2011 and we headed off to Gatlinburg, TN for our honeymoon getaway with nothing but the money we received at the wedding. Ha Ha it was way to easy to spend every drop of the money we made at the wedding during our little one week excursion. When we returned home from our honeymoon, reality hit me like a ton of bricks. My husband was a truck driver, and what do truck drivers do? They drive, all day, everyday, sometimes for months at a time without having time to come home. Just 3 days after returning home from our honeymoon he had to return to work and I would have to "be tough" and spend the entire summer without him. 
    I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't easy. I had to learn things on my own and when the car broke down I had to figure out what to do without his help. I prayed long and hard about the situation of being separated and finally decided that nothing else mattered if I couldn't share it with him; the condo, the car, the job...nothing seemed as vibrant on my own. Levi returned home on Tuesday, August 9 and we began making preparations for me to start coming with him on the road. He joined a brand new company and will be driving solo now, so I get to be his team member...well, the cheerleader really since I can't actually drive the truck, lol. The adventure begins now...