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Vallery
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Name: Vallery
Gender: Female
Interests: My God, my husband, thinking, conversing, adventures, learning, acting, being constantly in a state of perfecting myself (even in spite of the fact that I'll never fully be able to reach that point), music (listening to and especially making it, regardless of how), DDR, gaming in general, Chrono Cross, Dungeons and Dragons, Magic, grammar and mechanics, cooking and baking, spending time with friends, reading good books (including Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Stone Tables, The Lord of the Rings, Girl Interrupted, Blue Like Jazz, Kissing Doorknobs, etc.), watching Disney movies, watching AWESOME movies (like Underworld, The Matrix, 300, Serenity, Gladiator, A Knight's Tale, Ocean's Eleven and Twelve, Fight Club, LOTR, etc.), learning other languages, perfecting my handwriting, driving, roguery (but I stole that from Casey), beaches, painting/drawing (although I don't really have the resources to do so), taking lots of pictures, and I guess scrapbooking would be one, too.
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AIM:  ValleryYvonne
Member Since:
8/27/2005
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| Man, it seems like we've really done a lot in three years. I suppose it's possible that, due to our ages, we might've done a lot in the past three years even without one another. But I like to think that we've helped mold each other into who and what we are today. I can't believe that just three years ago I was with Davonne and Gina getting ready for our wedding...picking up/putting the cake together, just staring around the Erikson in complete disbelief that this man was gonna marry me today. It seems like it was so long ago but just yesterday all at the same time. I don't even really remember getting ready as much as I remember walking down the aisle. What a climax to an already surreal day... You will be busy today, as you are most week days, but I'm excited to celebrate this weekend! What's wonderful is that winter stand-down at NNPTC technically begins Friday at 1400 and lasts until January 3rd. So not only will we get the whole weekend to celebrate, but we don't have to worry about getting to bed early on Sunday (not to say we won't get to bed early anyways, hehe)!!  If I've learned anything in the past three years, it's this: to always fight fair, how to remember the good you do instead of holding on to the bad, that with forgiveness and patience we can work through anything (yes, even all the crazy things that have come our way...we've worked through so much together)...and that above all, every day reaffirms that God couldn't have made you (and didn't make anyone else) more perfect for me in any and every way. Cheers, Casey, to a wonderful three years, and the anticipation of many, many more to come! I'm so proud of you and of us, and I love you more than words could describe!  Love,
Vallery | | |
| NOT! Hello, December 9th, 2009 - a whopping 75 degrees and sunny! I'm definitely not quite spoiled enough to call in the 40s "freezing" yet, but I can already tell that I'm getting at least a LITTLE spoiled. The sun definitely helps during the day, especially since it still gets dark in the evening around 5:30 just like up north when we lived in Parkersburg.... This time of year always brings about some weird emotions for me anymore....I get excited for the holidays, and then I start to think about our wonderfully extravagant and happy Christmas activities at home, and then I get sad because I start to really miss that... Man, I want so badly to snuggle on the couch with a cup of tea with no lights on except the ones on the tree! There have even been, even in this wonderful (relative) paradise here in SC, some times when I've longed for a little snow to go with the soft glow of the lights!! Haha. I know that longing will be short-lived (once Christmas is over I'm sure I'll appreciate the temperate winter much more, lol), but for now I do miss it a little. As far as money goes, I would really like to start bringing in a paycheck at some point, but I don't necessarily know where to look. I've thought about just trying to get something menial just for the extra cash, but something nicer would be great; but I don't want something that's so demanding that it takes my attention away from being good support for Casey. Yeah, same battle. I thought about volunteering at the Fleet and Family Services Center, but although that might bring me some good experience and may even possibly lead to employment there or elsewhere, it's not bringing in a paycheck.....which, I feel bad about having that mentality, but if I'm gonna be doing something that takes time away from supporting Casey, I at least want it to be worth it. I want to volunteer, but not at the expense of giving up on things I could do for Casey. I dunno. Jobs stink, lol. There are officially six days left of our third year of marriage!!!! I can't believe we'll have been married THREE YEARS next Tuesday.... I know that three years will seem like a few minutes in the long-term, but it really does seem like just yesterday that it was a sunny and 65 degree December morning in Parkersburg, and I was putting our cake together in the Erikson theatre.... I can still smell the candles we used in the ceremony, lol! Ah, marriage. What a blessing.  No....more like "ah, life....what an adventure!" | | |
| It is so beautiful out today. Weather.com says it's 65 and sunny in Goose Creek, but I think it might feel like it's a little warmer than that. Today is the kind of day when all you want to do is go outside and enjoy a nice picnic and maybe an impromptu football game with some friends. I love it! Happy December, everyone. Also, I spent my afternoon at the Commissary after a slightly irritating lunch hour (I hate it when they let his class out for an earlier lunch than for which they're scheduled, as he has no convenient - or even possible, sometimes - way of contacting me to let me know, and he depends on me for lunch), and taking my time shopping and bargain-hunting helped me feel a little better. I still can't get over how inexpensive some things are there, especially meat - we have meat as part of our dinner almost every other day now! Any type of meat used to be a very special-occasion sort of thing, but the prices at the Commissary are so awesome (by the way, for those non-military peeps who might not know, the Commissary is the military-only grocery store, and they have wicked-reduced prices). I think I'm making a lasagna tonight for dinner, but don't tell Casey! It's a surprise, lol. Also, I'd forgotten just how much better paper grocery bags are than plastic. I'll sometimes get plastic bags to stock up (as they serve multiple purposes in the home), but since we have plenty I've been getting paper recently and I'd forgotten how sturdy they are, they stand up on their own, they hold more than twice the amount of groceries that plastic bags do, etc. Small discovery, but a nice one. Been feeling kind of ick lately, which is weird....either I'm eating something that's not agreeing with me and I'm not realizing what it is, or my stomach has just become increasingly picky or something. Never really get sick or anything, just seem to be queasy a lot, lol. I don't think Casey has PT today so I'm looking forward to him coming home soon for awhile before he goes back in for his study hours tonight! Then tomorrow is FRIDAY!! Hope you have a good weekend! | | |
| This is such a great song/video.
Just thought I'd throw that out there first and foremost.
Still haven't heard anything from Halo. I'm still planning on getting involved with Army Wives, though. I'm hoping that, even if I can't get an agent to submit me for a lead audition, I can still get involved with extra work. I hear that at least extras make okay money PLUS you get to work with the crew/talent of the show (or at least around them). If you're professional enough, someone's likely to notice. I know that I am definitely professional when it comes to that sort of thing, so who knows? In the meantime, STILL thinking about getting a job around here, maybe just something part-time, like, at the NEX or something. We're doing okay making ends meet for the moment, but loan payments are still making it a bit difficult to accumulate any sort of savings whatsoever, which is kind of a hindrance to the whole "maybe we'll have kids someday" thing. I like having the days free so that I can go see KC for lunch and be available if he needs to come home after school or for PT or something, but we can't escape the undeniable fact that pretty much every penny I'd make could go straight to paying off loans faster. *sigh*
I read a blog earlier today about paying for college (it's actually on the front page as a featured blog right now), and there's one girl that commented that worked her BUTT off through college so as not to accumulate debt, and ended up owing something like $2000 by the time she was done. I wish I'd gotten some sort of financial advice or counseling when I was starting school - being financially responsible was something I just sort of had to learn along the way, and by the time I'd started to get a good grip of it, it was already too late. Also, I hate that in high school everyone told me that being smart and "getting good grades" would get me through college debt-free...which is kind of a lie. There are very few schools out there that actually offer reasonably awesome academic scholarships, unless you commit to a program of theirs YEARS before you should have to decide on a school or a major (i.e., when you're, like, a freshman or sophomore in high school - if you know what you want to do in life by then, more power to you, but I didn't and don't feel that one MUST, because who knows what you might be interested in later on but just aren't exposed to then, you know?). Most of the good scholarships are given for the extra-cirriculars....especially sports. There are some decent arts scholarships out there, but they are few and far between and extremely competitive. Plus, you need a good heads up - like, when I was in high school, there was a local college that actually had a full-ride scholarship that they offer to incoming freshman for just a "general arts" sort of deal - my guidance counselor told me I might have a reasonably good shot at it, and that I would just have to submit a portfolio of my different talents in high school (band, chorus, art) and the application/essay. Except, by the time she actually told me about it, it was already past the deadline to apply, so I actually didn't even have a chance (you had to submit the whole packet by sometime in December, and it was January that she gave me the info, lol - although I'm pretty sure she told my dad that I was actually offered the scholarship but turned it down to go somewhere else for school......EL OH EL). But, that ONE scholarship (for while the packet said they'd in the past had over 200 applicants for) as well as 2 other 1/4 tuition scholarships for the same credentials (sort of "runner up" scholarships for those who didn't get the big one) were the ONLY arts scholarships offered at that school.
At OVU, the only arts scholarships available were measly 1- to 2-grand scholarships (per year - SPLIT between each semester) based on whether you were one of the "poster children" in one of the traveling performing groups. Actually, no - I think the jazz band and choir also offered small scholarships to members, but only if you auditioned early, and they were like $250 a semester, LOL. That doesn't even cover books. I heard of one or two people that actually got reasonably okay scholarships for academic merit coming in, but you could only qualify for those if you were an incoming freshman - if you had a 4.0 GPA as a sophomore at OVU, you still didn't qualify for more $$. I got a (whopping!) $500 scholarship my freshman year for being Valedictorian of my class in high school! Woo hoo! Throughout school, I qualified for their "academic scholarship" for maintaining my kick-butt GPA and making Dean's List EVERY SINGLE SEMESTER there, but that was only a little more than $1,000 a year.
Don't get me wrong - I am so appreciative of all the extra help I got through school, especially since I was a "poster child" one year and got that scholarship as well as being in the choir that got me a little extra money, too. And it's not like I would've said NO to any of the extra money. But here's my beef.
I was Valedictorian of my class. I maintained a near-perfect GPA in both high school AND college. Given adequate resources, I probably could've done a whole lot with the psychology department that would've been extremely beneficial to the school. I was invovled with the school in extra-cirriculars. I did tutoring for work study. I did everything that everyone my whole life told me about "school being my #1 job" and kicking butt in the classroom and ALWAYS doing my homework and being responsible. And I saw maybe a few grand a year in school-given scholarships while I was there. Now, the sports teams? As far as I could research, more than HALF of the athletes at OVU had at LEAST half of their school expenses (tuition, etc.) paid by the school in scholarships. There were more full-ride scholarships given to athletes on any one sports team than there were ANYWHERE else in the school for any other reason. I don't remember ever encountering an athlete that didn't recieve a sizable scholarship for playing. And a lot of the athletes on these sports teams were nowhere NEAR projecting the "image" that OVU was trying to have in its community (granted, some of them were, but some...). I understand that sports make universities a lot more money than academics, and politics has a lot to do with it, but COME ON. Just thinking about it now disgusts me.
I guess what I'm trying to get across here is, I wish someone had told me that, in order to have any reasonable chance of getting decent scholarships in college, you pretty much have to be an athlete. Sure, there are ways you can get them otherwise, mainly through the arts or academics - but with those two, you pretty much have to be the absolute BEST to qualify (the arts scholarships are WAY too competitive for amateurs to see anything sizable come their way, and the academics just aren't given enough money to give scholarships to everyone who deserves them - which I've seen as a pretty general truth regardless of the school). Also, I wish I had been given a little more knowledge and advice about financial responsibility BEFORE promissory notes were shoved in my face with no explanation. At least I know enough now and have learned my lesson enough to know that my kids will DEFINITELY be prepared to make the right decisions about school and borrowing and debt and financial responsibility when the time comes. Hopefully by then I'll have put what I've learned into practice successfully enough to have a little money saved for them when the time comes to help them out a bit, too. Taking the Xanga college-working girl I mentioned earlier as an example, I know now that it's definitely possible to work your way through college to where you have virtually no debt weighing you down afterwards, but I'm sure she must have really sacrificed a lot of valuable socialization and leisure through college that I'd like my kids to be able to have.
Anyways, this little rant is all stemming from mine and KC's efforts to continue to be more financially responsible even now as we struggle to get out of debt as quickly as possible. It's funny, because I'd never really understood when the Bible talked about debt being "servitude" and "slavery", but I suppose in a way I can really see what that means now. God is trying to protect our hearts from the pain that comes along with borrowing - even as we bring in money now, our minds are uneasy knowing that we owe that much and more back to someone else. I'm just glad we've started learning this BEFORE we got into the American-borrowing-mentality of relying on credit cards, because if debt with interest rates the likes of 4 to 5 percent average weigh this much on our shoulders, I can't even imagine how quickly the slavery of credit card debt could ruin our family's peace and happiness.
Please say a little prayer for us that we can stay strong in this battle for the sake of having greater peace of mind financially when our family starts to grow!
***Also, a little snippet that's been on my mind: There are a few people out there that I know are hurting and going through really tough times right now. Please say a prayer for them, if you could: my friends S and K recently had a baby and C was born with a rare heart condition that has been treated starting since the day he was born until now with multiple surgeries (one of them a 5-hour open-heart surgery). He's on lots of medications but is doing a bit better and is slowly being weaned off the support. S and K have been really strong through this but continue to ask for prayers for his recovery. Also, my friend E's grandfather is battling cancer, and I know it's really taking a toll on her. Say a prayer for her, too; she's dealt with a lot of hardship lately.
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| I hate starting a post without knowing what I'm gonna blog about. I guess just general updates and meanderings are okay once in awhile, though.
So, on October 24th, I went to Savannah, GA to interview with/meet the owner of Halo Models and Talent Agency. The talent scout that invited me to the Applause Regional Talent Showcase in Chicago this past May was holding auditions/scouting in Savannah, and, knowing that Stephanie Duke (owner) would be there, invited me down so that she could "introduce me and hopefully get me acquainted" with her. The interview went well, and I got a great word from Kim (the scout) - which goes a long way, as they've known each other for a good many years. I haven't heard anything yet, but I asked Kim about it and she said that Ms. Duke was busy right now and to be patient - she advised me to "not worry about it [not hearing from her yet] too much". So, I remain hopeful. I guess it's only been a couple of weeks! She interviewed me and asked me a few questions on camera, and I gave her a copy of my resume and stuff - so hopefully I get a call!
Another thing - the Lifetime series Army Wives is filmed here in Charleston, and they're beginning filming for the fourth season in December. I'm SO going to audition to at least be an extra in that! What a perfect job - exactly what I want to do, and right here in Charleston!! Prayers for that are welcome!
Things are okay here on the homefront - Casey started a new class (Digital) that he's having a few problems with, but it's only a 3 week course and we're halfway through it. He has his first of two tests tomorrow, though, so prayers for that are welcome as well. ALSO, speaking of Casey's tests - the last test he took (last Monday, a week ago) was a THREE HOUR long test, the final test for Electronic Fundamentals, and the biggest test of all A school (as far as points go - it was worth a TON of points, even more than his final comprehensive test will be worth), and guess what he got??? He got a 3.7 (on a 4.0 grading scale)!!!!!!!! I think his score was either second or third highest in the class!!! For those of you who don't know, it is VERY rare to get a 4.0 (i.e., perfect) score in this school, and anything higher than a 3.5 is considered outstanding, considering the nature and pace of the coursework. Actually, there was a guy in Casey's class that got a 4.0 on a test in the first couple weeks of school, and the Commanding Officer of NNPTC as well as the head of the department of the class they were taking and some other super-important people actually came to the classroom to present to him a certificate and to offer him their PERSONAL congratulations - a 4.0 is considered THAT good here. So, a 3.7 is an AWESOME score on ANY test, and Casey got it on the biggest test of A school! I guess me hounding him about studying is paying off. 
Actually, as far as that is concerned, I really feel like Casey has made great progress since we've been here about taking more responsibility and making better priorities, as well as managing his time better. Thanks to Davonne, actually, I'm doing a lot better at looking at these advancements as PROGRESS instead of perfection, and have realized that constantly seeking perfection makes me blind to all the progress he's made. Because it's been a whole heckuvalot! He's doing great, and I'm confident that even though he's having a few problems with the class he's in now that he'll pull through and put in the time necessary to do his best.
Man, I was hoping that this post wouldn't turn into just one big Casey update!! Oh, well. I guess a significant portion of my life has been consumed by his schedule and career. I'm trying to remedy that, too. Not that being there for him as his support isn't important or a priority of mine - it's definitely #1 on my list. But, I have to be careful not to completely lose myself in him and his life. It's important for me to keep being "me" also, and I'm trying to do that. Actually, I'm working on getting into a better eating and exercise regime....they've been slipping lately, espcially the exercise part. I would say that I've been slipping a lot in the eating department, but I'm starting to give up on that a bit for now because - let's face it, folks - eating well with plenty of proteins, good carbs, low bad fats, and low sodium is almost unreasonably expensive in a place like America. Like I told Bama - fat is cheap. 
Okay, well - I'm meeting Casey for lunch today. Gotta go figure out what I'm going to make!
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