In honor of Top Two Tuesday and Wordless Wednesday…
I’m doing Thankful & Thirsty Thursday. So…here we go.
I’m thankful for:
1. God. He always seems to provide for me even when I think I have nothing.
He keeps my needs close to His heart and answers my prayers.
2. My husband. We have many challenges in our lives currently, and at times it is a serious struggle,
I’m glad I have someone to love who never gives up on me or on us.
3. The friends I have met on Twitter. My life is definetly different since meeting them all. They each
have something different to teach and I’m soaking in the lessons 
For Thirsty Thursday, I’m drinking (pretend of course):
Good ‘ole Jack & Coke. My favorite drink
Okay, so before I ruffle some feathers…this is a FANTASY list. I’m not asking hubs or anyone else for all of the items on this list, but I thought it would be fun (and therapeutic) to put a wish list together for Valentines Day. Feel free to chime in with yours also. So, here we go:
1. A day at the spa. I’ve never been to a full spa. Always the day spa types for a quick massage. I think it would be AMAZING to spend an entire day just being pampered and relaxed. I’d love a sea salt scrub, mani/pedi, and a soak in one of those milk baths.
2. A new iPod nano. Mine got stolen a year ago when someone smashed into my car. Not making excuses here, but I just CANNOT work out without listening to music. Hence the reason I’ve gotten so out of shape.
3. A new wardrobe. I can’t tell you the last time I actually went shopping for myself. Besides getting my little white dress for our ceremony…it’s had to have been at least a year or so. I’m dying for new clothes.
4. A new Coach bag. I haven’t had one of these in like 3 years. I know not everyone has them, but I would love to have a new one. I love the black leather ones
5. New tires and a tune up for my car. It’s not in bad shape or anything, but besides the oil changes…nothing has been done to it since I got it 2 years ago. I just hate spending money on cars.
6. A pair of Uggs. I know. I know, they are over-rated or out of style now…but I’m rocking the Target ones right now and I’d love to have a pair of the real deal. I wear them every single day everywhere I go.
7. Crate & Barrel giftcards. I fell in love with two pieces of furniture from them. One is a fabulous entertainment center with a flat screen panel thing so you dont have to drill holes in the wall. Living in an apt, that’s key. Another one is a wine holder with side shelves. Hubs and I LOVE wine, so we want to have a pretty place to display it. This thing rocks! PS…If you haven’t voted for us to win this stuff…PLEASE DO! Vote here!
8. Whirled Peace…yeah the Ben & Jerry’s kind 
9. A positive pregnancy test…at some point this year.
10. For WordPress to stop charging to customize my blog. I’d love to throw up a super cute layout and some add ons, but I’m not paying a monthly fee. UGH.
My second Twitter giveaway is something I’m SUPER EXCITED about and I hope you are too! One of our Hooah Hottie’s, Patty, has an incredible gift of scrapbooking. She created this set of “Troop Tags” for our giveaway. They make great attachments for FRG presents, stick them on a plate of cookies at your next meet-up, or include them in scrapbooks of your own!
Here are the rules for the giveaway:
1.To qualify, leave a comment on Patty’s blog by clicking here: http://scrapbookpatty.blogspot.com/2010/02/support-your-troops-giveaway.html
2.Be sure you are following @shanpando & @scrapbookpatty on Twitter
3.Use the hashtag #scrapbookpatty and for every tweet you send, it will count as one entry.
Contest ends on February 14th, 2010! Remember, the more you tweet…the better your chances!
Friends and Followers! I beg you for a favor!
I have entered the hubs and I into Crate & Barrel’s $100,000 Ultimate Wedding Giveaway. There will be 18 people who win various prizes, with one person winning the ultimate prize…a $100,000 dream wedding.
To qualify, for the top 18…you have to have the most votes…and there are quite a few people who have a heads up on us…but we can TOTALLY catch up.
We are planning to have the real wedding we have both hoped for in 2012 and this would help us SO INCREDIBLY much! Even if we won one of the “consolation” prizes…it would be amazing. We would be so greatful if you would take just a minute and vote for us.
Thanks everyone!
Thank you to those who participated in my very first giveaway. I want to congratulate the following people who each won two copies of “God + Military Spouse.”
1. @VegasVickie
2. @ArmyWifeJulie
3. @ArmyGirlNay
4. @ReloReview
Thanks ladies for playing!
I will be posting a new and SUPER EXCITING giveaway in the next few days! Stay tuned!
Congratulations to my girl Megan for being selected for our Hooah Hottie of the Week! She is always a super positive force on Twitter and I love having her as a friend. She is an Army girlfriend and I’m sure you guys are eager to learn more about this fabulous chick!
My name is Megan, I’m 21 and I’m currently a student at Saint Louis University and am graduating this December with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Studies. I also have a minor in Spanish I am pursuing and a certificate in Foreign Service. I have a part-time job at the law school library on campus as well as at a law firm as a Legal Assistant. My boyfriend is in the U.S. Army and is currently stationed at Ft. Bliss. Before his leave in December 2009, Steve was stationed in South Korea for a year.
I am so thankful to my good friend Megan over at “Megan Writes” for giving me my very first blog award! WOOO! I can finally join the ranks of other awesome bloggers who have these cute little award all over their blogs. Thanks Megan!
1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Paste the award on your blog.
3. Link the person who nominated you for the award.
4. Tell 7 interesting things about yourself.
-Wedding & Event planning is my passion. I had a business for a few years in Orlando before moving to DC.
-I love to travel and one of my jobs in 2008 was as a tour manager with the LPGA & Choice Hotels. Some places I’ve been include: Las Vegas, NYC, Rio de Janeiro Brasil, Palm Springs, Palm Beach, Portland, Ithaca, Corning, Atlanta, New Orleans, Mobile, Nashville, Highlands, Asheville, Bahamas, and plenty of other places
-Jack Daniels and Coke is my favorite drink. Mojitos, Sangria, and Bud Light come very close.
-My secret passion is cooking. I want to go to culinary school SO BADLY.
-My favorite type of food is Greek. Thai or Italian are also close.
-I have a bucket list and the three places I MUST go in my life are Greece, Napa Valley, and Bora Bora.
-Hubs and I are planning on having a REAL wedding in 2012. We’re looking at vineyards in North Carolina.
5. Nominate 7 bloggers or less.
I nominate the following awesome ladies:
I received this comment on my blog from Steve, who is behind the Dog Tags for Kids organization. They are asking us to please vote for one of the amazing people who have helped make DTFK such a success. So please, take a minute and vote for Rose Sliepka. It doesn’t require much information to vote and if she wins, they will be able to recieve $5,000 for the organization!
Thanks friends!
~Shan
Hello,
I am writing you concerning a link on your site for the Dog Tags for Kids organization and need your help. I’m pleased to say that with everyone’s help and support, we have now sent over 500,000 tags to our men and women fighting in harm’s way. That makes for over 1 million smiles, and is a great way to thank our troops for the job they are sent to do overseas.
Many have graciously stepped up to the plate and donated to make this program the success that it has been, and now I have another favor to ask. We have the opportunity to win $5000 if we can gather the most votes for the person that has unselfishly dedicated herself to making this project a huge success, Rose Sliepka. She has been entered in a contest for heroes, and we could use your help. Simply go to http://www.care2.com/hero-next-door/531/?refer=15861.02.1263996798.374501 to vote for Rose Sliepka from Lancaster,Ca. They only require a name, email and date of birth but you can remain anonymous and opt out of any mailings. The entire process takes less than a minute.
For those who are not familiar with our program, they can visit our web site at http://www.dogtagsforkids.com. For those in a position to do so, donations are gratefully accepted, but more importantly please help us spread the word and get Rose the votes she truly deserves. It’s a great way to help and support our troops without spending a dime. I thank everyone for their time and trouble and in helping us support our military!
Kind regards,
Steve
Yeah. I have a confession to make. I don’t feel very married. Aside from the ring on my finger, I can’t tell. This living apart thing SUCKS. Oh, and let me warn you…if you’re not in the mood to hear some complaining…stop reading now.
I think I’m still struggling with the fact I didn’t have a proposal, I never felt engaged. My mom had my grandmothers ring sized, I walked in the door, got the box, hubs wanted to put it on me and he did. A week later we were married. I signed up for it, I know. I agreed to these things. It’s just really hard for me. I didn’t totally love the dress I got married in either. Trying to find a white tea-length dress in the Winter is like finding a needle in a haystack. I probably came across three the entire time that were affordable…meaning like $100 and under. In all fairness, we did stop by the Lilly Pulitzer store (I SO wanted to get married in one of her dresses) and they didn’t have anything white.
I missed the shopping with your mom, your girlfriends, and giggling over all the fluffy white dresses. I missed the down on one knee with the ring of your dreams. I missed the picking out your invitations, bridal tea, and celebrating with family and friends. Our “ceremony” lasted all of like 3 minutes. I don’t even remember what was said because I was crying and just felt so distracted. I would have given anything to have a minister perform it. Time and money didn’t permit that. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, because I’m sure that’s how some will perceive it…but it’s super tough. It eats at me still.
I’m that girl who flipped through bridal mags in middle school. I’ve dreamed of how my future husband would pop the question. I dreamed of celebrating with family and friends…everyone with a smile on their face and a drink in hand. Planning other people’s weddings for a living, makes it that much harder. I’m in the midst of planning one now and one of my besties is planning hers too. Maybe I’m just a little planning envy.
I hope our time will come. We plan on doing something for 2012 but nobody knows what the future holds. Not to mention, more than anything the hubs and I want to be parents. So, we’re shifting focus to that and I’d gladly put wedding plans aside to be a mommy.
My name hasn’t been changed yet. I tried to do that today for my SS#, but hubs didn’t return my papers soon enough. Friday it shall be, but even then…my drivers license can’t be changed until March when I go home to Florida. I just want to be Mrs. P.
So, couple that with the fact my husband is in another state…it’s a recipe for disaster. We got married and 4 days later we were separated again. I get that it’s the military life. I get that deployments keep you separated…but my husband is home. He’s here and we can’t be together.
I’m trying to remember it should all be over in a matter of a few weeks. 5 to be exact. It’s just really weighing on me that this is supposed to be one of the happiest times in my life. I’m married. I found the man God had wanted me to have for eternity. I’m just not happy and that sucks. This too shall pass right?
