It's been too long.

I wish I could say that I took a hiatus from writing and blogging so that I could relax and enjoy the rest of my summer vacation. But.that.would.be.a.lie.

I wish I could say that I've been on some fabulous secluded beach- miles away from the nearest internet connection. But that would also be a lie.

The truth is, I've been here, in Japan. Mostly in the air conditioning, trying to escape the relentless heat Japan is experiencing this year. And my brain has been fried. Not only from the 90 degree weather, it is fried from an ethics class where my instructor dishes out hundreds of hypothetical situations and I have to determine which theory/decision would be ethically correct. So boring.
And I've been putting the final touches on the Big Trip to America for 5 of my students.

Haven't heard of this Big Trip yet??
Well, it's all that I can think of lately..
Justin and I will be traveling home mid-October! It's exciting! We haven't been home in a year and I've turned into a huge Mama's girl since moving away from home, so I can't wait! Also, we will be home to attend a friends' wedding! Can you say cobalt blue, a-line, cocktail dress??
Even more exciting than all of this is Justin will be turning 25! Which to me is cause for celebration!
To him, as he has reminded me, more than a quarter of his life is over. And I don't have the heart to tell him that based on the current life expectancy report, a quarter of his life was over before he hit the 2-decades-of-life mark... (He isn't really moping around cursing his upcoming birthday, but he did make that remark once).

But even MORE exciting that THAT is... my students are going to fly to NY to start their Big Trip to America vacation. 9 of their 14 days will be spent with me traveling around the Northeast (Niagara Falls, Boston, NYC), before they continue on to Washington DC and Arkansas.

Have you ever gotten upset when you realized that your travel agent has an additional fee for handing your trip arrangements. I will never EVER complain about this little fee ever again. I've been playing travel agent for a few weeks now and it is not an easy job.
After booking all of their plane tickets for 5 flights, I moved on to searching hotels that were within budget and walking distance to sight seeing attractions. After that, I had to coordinate all the smaller transportation to and from cities, hotels, and attractions. Once I priced and scheduled those, I started on buying all the tickets needed for the tours and such... 

In addition to all of this, I've been brushing up on information and history about the cities and locations and making sure I can guide them through the public transportation systems of America.

It's refreshing that people have so much faith in my travel agent abilities, but sometimes I wonder if I am just too stupid to notice I'm in way over my head. Right now, I'm pushing to have all of the reservations/tickets/tours scheduled and put in an itinerary before Justin and I leave for NY. That way, everything is settled before we go home to spend time with family and friends. So that leaves me with about a month and a half to finish. Seems reasonable, right? 

So, I have been frying my brain with difficult and boring textbooks, causing some chaos playing travel agent.. what else has kept me from blogging?
I've been teaching my English classes.
Starting up work at the Middle School this week.
And trying to slim down (just a little) before October.

The 30 for 30 challenge was sadly finished undocumented, but was such a lesson in closet etiquette 101.  Never brush aside a t-shirt you thought had limited options in your wardrobe.. you can make anything work with some accessories and confidence. It was certainly a challenge limiting myself to these items without dipping into my entire closet, but I was able to save some money during the challenge by not buying any more clothes. Which I'm happy to report is now O-ver!

So what is next for Sometimes Life is Messy?
How about some dressing up styling for those of you who have a fall wedding to attend  like me?
Also, Air Force Ball will be coming up in September (?)....
So I'm guessing that the future will hold some posts about how-to-and-how-not-to dress up at these events.


Lastly, Can everyone keep their fingers crossed for Justin and I???
Why?? 
The overseas assignment list came out recently and we REALLY want to stay stationed overseas.
Preferably in Europe.
And we have a pretty good chance to do so..
But I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt to have everyone crossing their fingers (at the same time) for us.
Maybe then the universe will be unable to ignore the request and give in to our need to change fate!

Ready.....

CROSS!

You are too sweet! 

I'll be around when I can..
I'm not making any promises, I can't keep.
But, I'll try to check-in and be a better blogger and bloggy friend!


Have a Happy Week!