Shipping Our POV to Germany

Last week, it was time to say "Good-bye" to the Jeep and send it off to Germany.  My friend Jennie also had to ship her car to Hawaii, so we decided to ship our cars at the same time and drive back to Lawton together.  I was really surprised how easy this process actually was.

The shipping VPC was located in Dallas, which is a good 3 hour drive from Lawton.  This presented a problem since Ryan is deployed and wasn't able to follow me to Dallas in order to drive me home.   Jennie and I easily solved this by following each other to Dallas and rented a car to drive back together.  In order to ship your car there are a few things you have to complete: 

1.  The car must be clean inside and out with no personal items remaining in the vehicle. 

2.  Have 4 copies of your orders

3.  A Power of Attorney (if the service member is not present) 

4.  A valid Driver's License 

5.  The car Title and Registration (or approval from lien holder authorizing the shipment)

6.  Ensure the vehicle only contains 1/4th of a tank of gas

We had cleaned out the inside of our vehicles before taking the cars to Dallas, but we wanted to ensure the car was super clean inside and out before going to the VPC.   So, we stopped at a very thorough car wash.  We opted to pay for the $30 was and it looked great so I am super glad we picked that option! It will be like new when we pick it up in Germany!  

Then, we hit a road block.  Jennie had forgot the rule to only have a 1/4th tank of gas remaining in the vehicle and she ended up with a half tank left.  This meant she had to burn another 1/4th tank of gas while I was at the VPC shipping my car.  It was really quite funny, since it took her another two and a half hours to burn that fuel! First, they directed her to a Firestone where they apparently were able to "De-fuel" her vehicle; however, it was a 2 hour wait and would take another 45 minutes to complete the de-fuel, so she decided to drive around revving her engine every five seconds to get the gas gauge to go down.  As she was doing this, she found an old man who offered to siphon the gas from her tank.   After his description of his makeshift methods, she decided that was probably not a good idea and continued to drive around.  She ended up picking me up and we burned some fuel finding the rental car place and picking up the rental car.  By the time we got back to the VPC we were at exactly a 1/4th tank of gas!!  Thank the Lord! I felt so bad because we had made this trip down and I swore she wasn't leaving without getting that car shipped to Hawaii!!

Now back to shipping the cars! We signed in and met with a customer service person to fill out some paperwork that required license plate numbers and the current car mileage.  They drove the car around to the large storage garage area and did a thorough look over of any scratches/dings/dents currently on the vehicle.  He took off our license plate and put any remaining items from the car in a box, taped it up, and stuck in the trunk.  At the end he gave us a piece of paper that we will have to present in Germany in order to pick up our vehicle.  It really was super simple and took less than hour from start to finish.  

I am so glad that item is checked off the list, but we will have to share a car for about a month when Ryan returns, so that should be interesting!!! Special thanks to Jennie for going with me and tag teaming shipping our cars overseas!! 

2 Half Marathons in 7 days: Check!

Over Christmas some friends and I were talking about upcoming races and deciding which ones to do.  I had not done the OKC Memorial Marathon last year and regretted it, but I had not done a Half Marathon before and it really frightened me.  I instead decided to run my first Half on post at Fort Sill  where it ended up that only about 40 people were running and by the turn around it was just you and the good Lord out there in the heat and wind.  Talk about wanting to DIE, but we made it through.

So, a group of my JAG ladies and I decided we NEEDED to run the OKC Half before we all moved away.  I am so glad we did because it ended up being a super fun weekend.  Three of our girls were about to run their first Half Marathon!!! It was really fun training with these gals and getting prepped for the race.  Four of us got a room in OKC the night before because the race started bright and early at 6:30 am.  This meant we had to get up at 4:00 am to catch the shuttle, eat, and be there in time for the race.  Of course my body  would decide not to sleep that night and the A.C. didn't work so we were all burning up! Needless to say we were bright eyed and bushy tailed the next day ready to run!

 At the Hotel waiting the the Shuttle to take us downtown at about 4:30 am

Shuttle shenanigans with these beauties! 

The services were starting and we were ready to run!!! And then the RAIN and storms came on strong.  We hung out under a tree to avoid getting soaked, but the tree happened to be next to the Porto-Potties, which is why we ended up calling that tree the "Stinky Tree."  That sounds so silly now, but in early morning deliriousness it was funny! 

JAG crew hanging out before the race!

They kept pushing the race back further and further and we weren't sure if we were actually going to get to run.  We took shelter in our friend's, neighbor's, brother in law's office.... haha.  They finally said the race would go on and we booked it to the start line.  By the time we crossed the line it was 8:30 and 4 hours since we had eaten anything or had water, etc.  It was definitely not ideal conditions considering most people really plan their food and fueling for a race.  Jaclyn was doing her first half (YAY!) so we stuck together most of the way! 

 Start line!

Me and Jaclyn at the start line and ready to run!

We were all ready to get that race over with! We were hungry, hot, and sore afterwards, but it is always so rewarding when it is over! I finished 13.1 in about 2:09:47 about 1.5 minutes better than my previous run. 

Fia and Kayci also completed their first Half!!! So glad we all did it together!

Me and Grandpa Martin after crossing the Finish Line!

Front of the OKC Bombing Memorial

The next week consisted of rest, stretching, chiropractor, carb eating, epsom salt baths, and icing.  I was determined to survive the second half marathon in Indianapolis, my home State! My friend Jennie has a goal to run a race in every State of the country, so I said why not come with me back home to the Indy Mini Marathon, and might I add the largest Half in the country!  We found cheap flights and stayed with friends while we were there! We had just enough time to show Jennie some local sites and Indy's beauty.  She probably was so annoyed with how obsessed I am with home :)  

Packet Pickup and Expo

Dinner at Napolese with friends! Yummo food and beer

Since she is such an amazing friend, she ran with me to help me PR during this race.   It was a great course and I actually really liked running on the Indy 500 track!  

It was a lively race with tons of bands and energy! I really loved every second of the race and would totally run it again!  Jennie pushed me the whole way and helped me to run my fastest time yet!  I was hoping to improve my time to about a 2:08 finish time, but with her help I was able to finish in 2:03:35! I literally teared up with happiness and excitement after the race! I wanted my free food and beer to celebrate such an improvement.  

To give you some perspective, I finished my first half marathon about a year ago in 2:24:55.  I have officially improved my time by over 20 minutes.  I say this not to brag but to encourage people because I honestly never thought I would run 13.1 miles let alone make such improvements since I started.  If you even have a little inkling to get out there an run start 1 mile at a time and build yourself up.  You will be amazed at what your body can do and what kinds of goals you can achieve.  No one ever "feels" like running, but once you get out there and get started it feels so good!  Thank you so much to Jennie Gardner for being an amazing friend these last 2.5 years and pushing all of us girls to do things we never thought we could do! You really are inspirational and have such a positive affect on all of our lives! 

Jennie gettin' that beer! 

Post race bloody mary! 

DIY Mercury Glass

Well, my friend Natalie created a monster when she told me I could make my own mercury glass.  After I heard that I of course had to give it a try!  Let me start by saying I love mercury glass! I have several pieces throughout my home and why not have more?!

This is truly a super easy project that even the non-crafty person should try because it will blow your mind and you will feel super awesome and creative! There are 2 methods for this project so I will explain both and then try to choose the one that I liked best.

Here is what you need:
Krylon Looking Glass spray paint
glass items
a spray bottle that has a mist function
1/4 cup of white vinegar
1/4 cup of water
paper towel
phone or timer

Here is a little tip before we get started, the Krylon Spray paint averages about $12 for a small can.  However, if you pull up a 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby, Joann's, or Michaels you can get it much cheaper!

Lay a tarp down in the garage or outdoors.  Here in Oklahoma the wind is horrible, so for me doing it in the garage was a much better option.  Place your clean glass object on the tarp.

Mix the water and vinegar together in the spray bottle.  The first method I did was to first spray the object on the outside all the way around with the water/vinegar solution in the misting spray bottle.  Immediately after, spray a small amount of the Krylon Looking Glass paint all the way around the outside of the object.  Allow this to dry for about a minute, then take your paper towel and gently blot the object.

Allow to dry for about 30 seconds and then repeat these steps 2-3 more times until you reach the desired look.

The second method is not too much different you just wiggle around the steps a little bit.  If the objects allow you to spray on the inside then this is another option for you try.  So I went to GoodWill and found a few cute glass items for about $6 total!  First you spray small bursts of the Looking Glass spray paint all around the inside of the object.  Let this dry for about 1 minute.  Gently mist the inside with the water/vinegar solution, then blot with the paper towel.  You can then repeat this process 2-3 more times until you reach the desired look.  

I love how these turned out!! I am on the hunt for some apothecary jars/vases, footed bowls, etc that I can use during Christmas time.  I liked the look of spray painting on the inside, however not every piece is going to allow you to use that method.  I will say that I liked spraying the item with the Spray paint first then misting with the vinegar/water solution after it has dried for about a minute.  For some reason misting with the solution first and then spray painting gave it a bubbled affect, which I didn't hate, but personally liked how the last set turned out best.  

This project is super easy and since it supposed to look "rustic" you really can do no wrong! I have a few wine bottles I am going to do next and cannot wait to see how they turn out for decor! I hope you all give this a try and have fun doing it.  Mercury glass is a great way to boost up your decor and like I said it is a must in my holiday decor!