Thursday, June 21, 2012

Military Spouse Tag Survey

If you're a military spouse, then TAG! You're it. :)
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1. How did you and your spouse meet? 
We met at Wal-Mart, he worked there at the time.

2. How old were you when you two met?
  I was 17 and he was 20.

3. How long have you been together? 
  "Together" for over three years, but we'll be married for 3 years this August!

4. Where are you and your spouse originally from? 
He's from Virginia and I'm from California, but I lived in NC when I met him (of course!)

5. How did you feel about him joining the military?
I was excited and pretty much his #1 support throughout the whole beginning of it. We both wanted a more interesting lifestyle with more opportunities and we definitely got that!


6. Where did your spouse go to boot camp/basic training
He went to boot camp at MCRD: Parris Island.
7. Has your spouse ever been deployed?
  Not yet, but we'll find out if that changes next month and if he'll deploy with some of his unit next year. He always tells me he doesn't want to be a "boot" forever, so he wants to go.


8. Ever been to his promotion ceremony? 
  No, but I do want to go at some point.
  
9. How long have you been a military wife? 
  Since May 2011.

10. Did you marry him before or after he joined? 
Before he joined.

11. How did your husband propose? 
We both had it all planned out, which some would call unromantic, but it worked for us! It was on top one of the "famous" mountains in our hometown area, we both read letters to each other and then out came the ring. And a little old lady saw the whole thing so she offered to take our camera and take our picture!

12. Where did you get married? 
  At our church.

13. How old were you two when you got married? 
I was 18 and he was 20...we didn't waste any time! ;)

14. Did he wear his uniform on your wedding day? 
No, didn't have one at that point!

15. Where are you and your spouse currently stationed? 
We currently live in Jacksonville, NC. He's stationed at Camp Lejeune.

16. Do you live on base? 
  No, we live in an apartment about six miles from base.

17. How long were you married when you had to go through your first separation? 
About a year and a half, when he left for boot camp.

18. What is your favorite base so far? 
  So far we've only been at this one, but we both like it for the most part.

19. Do you think your spouse looks good in his uniform? 
Of course.

20. Do you think military life is more advanced than civilian life? 
I don't think it's more advanced.. it's just different. You can't compare the two. 

21. Do you like the benefits you receive as a military dependent? 
  Yes, the benefits are great.  Basically anything I want to do on base is free which is awesome!

22. Do you have a lot of military wife friends? 
  I have two who I would even call close...we're all completely different people but we're in this military thing together so we get along great.

23. What is the hardest part of the military life?  
Things changing constantly really bothers me, but I'm getting used to it.

24. Do you own military wife stuff?
Yes, I only have one thing that actually says "Marine wife" though. I have some USMC shirts and stickers.

25. Do you support your spouse as a member of the military? 
Of course, what kind of spouse would I be if I didn't?

 "way back" at MCT graduation in October of 2011. This is one of my favorite pictures of us.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

help!

I'm trying to get help making my blog look a little better. I've done all I know how to do and I feel it needs more sprucing up. If anyone can recommend a good blog designer with a big variety of templates, I'd really appreciate it! I had thought I found a lady a few days ago but it turns out she's on hiatus until who knows when. TIA!

Let's Be Real: flaws.

I'm going to be starting a new series on this little blog called Let's Be Real. It will be published every Wednesday, or so I hope. It will cover a wide variety of topics, basically just to get me back into writing regularly!

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Let's Be Real Week 1: flaws.

This post was inspired by another blog I follow. She felt the need to type out all of her flaws because people kept sending her anonymous comments about how she's a fake, a liar, and a hypocrite. I won't link to the blog here because I don't feel like she'd want that, but if you follow any of the same blogs I do you might have seen it.

So here are mine.

  • I have zero patience. It's really something I'm trying to work on (getting to the age where people want kids and all that), but it's hard for me! I believe I used to be a patient person (I don't know, you'll have to ask my mom) at one point, but it just went down the drain for one reason or another. I try to remember Ecclesiastes 7:8 when dealing with this: "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride."
  • I very rarely think before I speak. I've always just labeled myself as "blunt" or that I "say the things everyone else is thinking," but I really don't want to do that. Granted, at times what I say IS called for, but I don't think Jesus would blurt out every little thought that came to his mind, so I need to try not to either! Words can be a double edged sword and I don't want to annihilate everyone with it. 
  • This is going to be a hard one to admit, but guess I should put it out there. Since becoming involved in the military lifestyle, I've taken on the mouth of a sailor! Maybe not that bad, but...well, if you ask my husband I DO have a sailor mouth. It got so bad at one point that he made me a swear jar and I had to put in a dollar every time he heard me. That got so bad that I ran out of $1s and started getting change out of his pockets to pay up. It's just really hard when everyone around you swears like crazy, I do admit that. My husband had a problem with this too but now I very rarely hear him murmur anything more than a "crap" or something equally harmless.
  • This might not seem like a flaw to you all, but it is to me. I have literally no motivation to exercise. It WILL catch up with me one day so that's basically what keeps me going. I can tough out a Jillian Michaels DVD  a few days a week and walk the dog on a brisk walk every day, but that's it. I always feel like I can do more and that I NEED to do more. I just don't like working out alone or in a new place where I don't know anyone; that's why I still haven't made my way to the yoga class on base or to the gym.
  • I'm very, very critical of how I look. I probably have the lowest self esteem of anyone I know. I'm the kind of person who needs to hear that I look good, or that I'm beautiful, or pretty, constantly or else I lose whatever esteem I had. I critique everything about my body, my teeth, the way my clothes fit, etc. Good thing I don't own a scale because I'd be having an issue with that too (I can honestly say though, I do like my body and I KNOW I'm not heavy or anything). When I don't hear those words every day (my love language is VERY MUCH 'words of affirmation') it brings me down. I'm also very wrapped up in how others see me, which definitely goes along with being critical about myself.
Um, I think that's all I'm going to write for now. I probably have upset someone or whatever. Oh well. Hopefully my mom won't read that part about swearing, she'll have a cow! But if she does: MOM, I AM working on it. I won't swear when you're here.  ;-)
And just because, a makeup free photo from a few days ago. I figured it belonged here :)

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Little update.

I just realized I never posted a few pictures from my 21st birthday. It wasn't as "crazy" as I expected it would be and that's totally okay with me! On Friday night (the 8th) B and I went to his friend's house for a get-together with a bunch of people from his unit. Basically everyone was drunk already when we got there around 8pm, but they all insisted on taking a "birthday shot" with me once it reached midnight and was OFFICIALLY my birthday. We counted down the minutes until twelve, and then down the hatch it went: a shot of strong brandy. I don't even know the name of it; it started with a C and all I know is it burned going down! Wasn't bad though.

I'll spare you all the details of what happened with two of the guys after that...let's just say they drank WAY too much that night and the shot did them in.

Anyway, next morning. We got home around 2am so we were exhausted, but we woke up early to go to IHOP with everyone from the night before. There were so many of us they had to split us up among three tables which kind of sucked but it was still fun. Someone had told the waitress it was my birthday, so at 10am I was surrounded my singing employees and a little sundae. I don't really like all that attention, but it was fun. This is where our motto of the day began; YOLO.

I really hate that phrase, I think it's so ridiculous. But what the heck, it was my birthday and we were going to have FUN!

We all headed off to the beach (little Sadie too) and made a day of it. Got a little too much sun, so we came home super tired and all plans for going out to celebrate that night kinda fell through. B and I crashed around nine and slept for a solid twelve hours!

One "family" picture:


 Excuse my "shorts tan." I'm trying to get rid of that unsightly-ness.

I have more pictures but I don't want to put them on this blog because there's alcohol and cigarettes in them; that's what happens when you're with a ton of Marines...I don't usually associate myself with those two things (let alone go to a "real" party) so off they blog they'll stay.

I love how in the above picture our dog is just totally lovin' life. She hates the water but LOVES the sand and digging big holes. Kinda adorable.

Forgot to mention all of us bought neon YOLO glasses and wore them the whole day. Again not something I'd do normally, but...you only live once! ;-)

Thursday, June 7, 2012

lately.

I am the worst blogger ever!

I am alive though, I just mostly stay on facebook and Twitter now. I say this every time, I know, but I still read all my usual mil-blogs. Mine just never seems to get updated!

Want a few pictures?


 My little sister and I out celebrating both of our birthdays. Her's is June 4th, mine's the 9th (helloooo 21!)

Five month old Sadie. She's a tornado, let me tell you. The only thing she's REALLY good at is sleeping in her crate at night and being quiet and not peeing/pooping in it. Housebreaking for her has gone backwards. She refuses to go outside for me, only for my husband. She's obsessed with him. Sadie will literally attack him with kisses and jump all over him when he walks through the door, but she doesn't do that with me like, EVER! But that's okay. I'd rather not have doggy slobber all over my clothes and face.

Anyway. My 21st is on Saturday. I did something sort of mean and took my birth date off of Facebook just to see how many of my "friends" actually know it's my birthday. Ssshh, don't tell my secret! :-P As far as I know, I'm not doing anything overly ridiculous on Saturday, my husband and I will probably just chill at home with some Jack and/or vodka lemonade. Sounds good, yes? I also am hoping to get a tattoo when my mom comes to visit (she wants one too!) as a present to myself. YOLO, right? (totally kidding. I hate that phrase SO MUCH.)

Now for some crappy cell phone pics:

What's this?! A pic of B? This was from Monopoly/Pictionary night at our house. He was mad because his team was losing. That's what he gets for picking to be on my friend's team rather than mine! ;-)

See, told you she's in love with him. He goes out to light the grill and she almost has a panic attack.

Relaxing in the sun.

Aaaand that's about it for now. On Sunday B and I (and some of his friends) are trying out a new church. I guess it's about time since, you know, I haven't been to church once since moving here in January. Bad me!

Monday, April 30, 2012

right now.

Wearing: Yellow striped pj shorts & hubby's white t-shirt
Wanting: My husband home! And I'd like to find something decent to watch on TV...seems like nothing is on tonight.
Thinking:Why is my forehead so itchy? // Should I get up to get matches so I can burn my new candle? // When is hubs coming home?!?
Needing: I don't personally need anything but my dog is super low on dog food...guess I know what I'll be buying tomorrow.
Worried about: Nothing.
Hoping for: Good news when my husband turns in his request for leave time in June.
Excited about: My husband coming home! I know it's sometime this week, I just don't know when! The suspense is killing me. Supposedly he finds out tomorrow, we'll see.


B's two favorite girls ;)

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Me? College? hahahah.

Well, I'm about to register for college for the third time. Third time is a charm? Hopefully. After talking it over with my husband we both agree it's best I get some sort of degree/certification JUST IN CASE anything were to happen to him and I'd need to provide. I e-mailed the director of admissions at the community college here about the Veterinary Assistant program. I've tried doing human medical studies twice (CNA program) and hated it so maybe if it's with animals it will be different.

So, wish me luck. I'm still not super excited about it but hopefully I'll get there. Wish me luck, and for goodness sake, don't let me drop out for a third time!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Back home.

Okay, I'm not gonna lie. The past three or so days have been kinda hard. I held it together a lot better at my parent's house. Now, it sucks being in OUR house alone, sleeping in our bed alone, cooking alone, blah blah blah. As of right now B has only been gone about five and a half weeks, but it feels like forever. This is the longest I've gone without seeing him since boot camp; I would see him once a month, or more frequently, while he was in MCT and MOS school. Arghh!!!

They're scheduled to come home on a certain day, but just about every time he calls me the date has changed. Let's hope it doesn't change again though!

Up there is a picture of our girl, Sadie! She's 15 weeks today and growing so quickly. She eats like a horse...we went from buying a bag of food every two weeks to buying one every 10 days or so. She's sooo hyper but also really smart. Before B comes home, my goal is to get her sleeping in her crate in her kitchen and get her out of our bedroom. I've had her in our room (in her crate) the past few nights just so she wouldn't have such a hard time adjusting to being back in our own house. However, just a few minutes ago, I moved her bed to the kitchen corner where her new "spot" will be. I put her in there for her naptime (usually from 1-3:30ish every day) and she whined for just a few minutes and now she's asleep. Such a good girl! gah I love her. She gets so excited when she sees her leash and gets to go outside; she'll run to the back door and sit down, her little stump tail just wagging like crazy. B has missed her a lot! He always says he'll be glad to get back to his two girls. :)

Saturday, April 14, 2012

on repeat.

I've been listening to a lot of music lately and thought I'd clue you in as to what it is! I've said this before and I'll say it again: my music taste is a huge variety!

1. Courage by Orianthi feat. Lacey from Flyleaf
2. Learning to Fly by Lady Antebellum
3. Faceless by Red
4. One Last Time by My Darkest Days
5. Remember Everything (clean) by Five Finger Death Punch
6. The Downfall of Us All by A Day to Remember
7. Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle
8. Dirt Road Anthem by Jason Aldean
9. I Wanna Go by Britney Spears
10. The Way by Jeremy Camp
11. Beautiful Bride by Flyleaf
12. When I'm With You by JJ Heller
13. Inheritance by Jonathan David Helser
14. It's Not Me It's You by Skillet
15. Not a Day Goes By by Lonestar
16. Standing Outside the Fire by Garth Brooks
17. Heart of the World by Lady Antebellum
18. Kiss Me Slowly by Parachute
19. Crack the Shutters by Counting Crows
20. Doomsday Stomp by Project 86
21. Vices by Dead Poetic

Don't say I didn't warn you! My music taste is cray cray. I find myself listening to more country music when my husband is away just because it reminds me of him. Normally the only country band I like is Lady Antebellum because seriously, can't go wrong with them!

 don't forget to like the That Recruit's Wife facebook page!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

nine days...

...until I will be back home. I'm very excited, actually. I miss cleaning my house and making dinner and baking stuff. I miss being around a bunch of Marines (I don't mean that in a bad way of course...haha). I miss being in a town with stuff to do! I miss my friends! Aaah!!

I'm slowly but surely compiling a list of things to cook for B when he comes home. Can't wait to cook for him again! I know whenever he eats there are hardly any leftovers so I have to grab my portion for lunch the next day so I don't starve. ;-)

Tomorrow, April 12th, means B and I have been together for three years!!!!! It's gone by so quickly. Never thought I'd marry the youth preacher from Wal-Mart who turned into a Marine.

Just for fun, us three years ago:
 May 2009

4-12-09 which also happened to be Easter Sunday. :)

Also 4-12-09 

June 2009 before we got our engagement pics done. I had mono and didn't even know it here!

what we've learned.

What we've learned since being a Marine Corps family:

  • How much time you spend together is not as important as how much you value the time you spend together.
  • Whining and crying about anything Marine Corps related does nothing. It's the new lifestyle and it will come with some annoying aspects.
  • Just because we have more money now than before doesn't mean all of it has to be spent! Time together at home is the most valuable anyway.
  • How movies/books portray military life is in no way related to how it actually is. We've both found that out. You can't go into this lifestyle expecting a mil-family get-together every weekend, you can't expect tons of friends to always come over and be super close to you, you can't expect this to be a normal 9-5 job and always have your husband home for dinner. You're lucky if he makes it home for dinner.
  • Don't be The Wife who always nags and complains about EVERYTHING. These guys have virtually no freedom (like mine (and many more) who, is currently stuck in the desert with virtually nothing fun around them to do. If they want to drink, let them drink. If they want to gamble, let them gamble. It's harmless mostly harmless fun.
  • Don't ever, ever assume that he doesn't miss you as much as you miss him. Because HE DOES. We went through this and it ended with us on the phone at 3am while he was at MOS school (on firewatch!) and me saying "Okay okay we'll have a baby." Yes, long story. But me saying, "Omg, how come you don't even miss me?!" doesn't get anyone anywhere.
  • Marines may seem like big tough guys who don't take junk from anyone, they may seem like killers (which I guess they are thanks to MCMAP),  but I think all of them have a soft spot for something. Since boot camp especially my husband has really mellowed out and is just so chill compared to what he used to be. He loves kids more than ever, loves our puppy so much. He always teases me that I have less of a heart than he does now, which might very well be true!
I'm sure we'll learn more. These are just some of the basic things, and I think the biggest, that we can both agree we've learned since May 2011.

Graduation day- coolest day ever.

Also if you guys could like my Facebook page I'd appreciate it! I've been trying to go through and like everyone else's blog page as well. :)

Friday, April 6, 2012

right now.

Wearing: AE jeans, black shirt, Marines jacket. Lazy day after work.
Wanting: Dinner! I'm starving and it smells so good cooking upstairs.
Thinking: About how I hope I hear from my Marine tonight! Calls are few and far between.
Needing: Money! Everyone at work got paid today except for me, that's what I get for coming back in the middle of a pay cycle.
Worried about: Nothing!
Hoping for: I hope I'm able to find a church soon! I've been out for so long and I want need to go back.
Excited about: Vacation! And my 21st birthday. ;-) Should be a fantastic night...hubs said he'll show me "how it's done." I don't know if I should be excited or worried about that...hahaha.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Sadie.

Sadie the Jack Russell joined our family on March 5th of this year! She's sooo sweet. She's definitely in love with my husband; since he's been away he's made it very clear how much he misses her. :-) The two of them napped together constantly and played all the time. She'll be glad when he's back!

 First day with us! 8 weeks old.




 First bath at her new house. :) 9 weeks.


 Meeting my family. 10 weeks.

 Cuddling with her BFF. Few days before B left for training.

 Smiiiile!
11 weeks with her new toy.
Yesterday. Exactly 12 weeks! Such a doll.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

About Me...15 Facts Version!

I think I've done this once before but figured it was time for a newer version!

1. I was born in North Hollywood, California.
2. I love the color purple. I used to like pink but now I can barely stand it (even though I just bought a pink/white striped shirt...it was the stripes I liked).
 3. I've been married for almost three years. I got married "young" but I wouldn't change it if I could. Everything fell right into place and we wouldn't have it any other way.
4. I'm an extremely anal perfectionist. So much so, that it really bothers me sometimes but I would get so annoyed and irritated with myself if I was any other way.
 5. My personality type is ISTJ. Introversion, Sensing, Thinking, Judgement. And it's totally accurate.
6. I absolutely don't believe in religion/denominations of any kind, but a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ (John 14:6). 
 7.  I'm a very compulsive shopper. If I see something I want, I must get it or find a way to have it. It's a terrible habit and I'm trying to break it but it's something that's always been hard for me.
8. That being said, I'm really not materialistic. If someone came in my house and stole a bunch of my clothes, shoes, books, whatever, I really wouldn't cry like a baby about it. Things are just that...things. I was born without them, I will die without them.
 9. I love the fashion of the 40s and 50s. 
10.I have a super wide variety of music on my iPod. I used to only listen to one type at a time but over the past couple years my taste has certainly evolved. The content ranges from JJ Heller to Five Finger Death Punch to Skillet to Lady Antebellum to Eminem to Demon Hunter.
11. There are seven billion people in the world, but I can only tolerate ten. Pretty much how I feel on most days!
 12. I love to sew and do crafty things, but if something doesn't come out exactly right I get super frustrated and won't make anything for days at a time. 
13. I love babies. Most of them. We hope to have a big family one day in the future.
14. I've always wanted to visit Greece, and even though I doubt I'll ever get there, I still think about it a lot.
15. I've deleted Facebook and got it back more times than I can count. I have issues where people find out dirt about me and then blab to others, then I find out eventually (my nose ring is unacceptable apparently). But whatever. I have too many real friends on there and it's just easier to block the offenders (or ignore their persistent "friend" requests). Muahahaha.

Monday, April 2, 2012

a touch of madness

I found this on Pinterest last night, and seriously, how true is that? Love it! Beethoven is my very favorite composer and he was certainly mad, but such a musical genious.

Some other favorite Pinterest findings lately:


All pictures are from my Pinterest boards, "Words of Truth" or "What I Believe." Credit to original owners.

Anybody found anything Pinteresting lately? That place is such an inspiration to me, no lie.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

life.

Hiiiii everyone!

I really think I can get back into the blogging groove again, because...I finally got a new laptop! I used to blog on a really bad quality netbook (it was great when it was in its prime) and it just wasn't working out. So after this morning and dealing with it freezing up constantly, I walked into Staples, called my husband, and informed him of how I was about to purchase us a new laptop. And he agreed!

Husband is currently not in NC...he's doing pre-deployment training in a classified area. ;-) Although we've been told he's not getting deployed anytime soon, this is "required" training for when it does happen.

Anyway...we love it in our new town! I suppose I like it more than he does for obvious reasons. I'm currently back home visiting my family while he's gone and I'm actually going to be working for a few weeks until he comes home. I figured it would make the time go by faster and Lord knows I can use all the help I can get!

Here are a few pictures to update you guys!

 We got a puppy! Her name is Sadie and she's a Jack Russell. Sooo adorable! She'll be 12 weeks old this coming Wednesday.

 Nap time...I tell B I don't want her to sleep in our bed so they nap on the couch instead! :-)

 My brother home during his pre-deployment leave. We also celebrated his 19th birthday. He deploys in May with the Army.

 Us at the NC Zoo a few weeks ago.

Got my nose pierced as a late Christmas gift from my brother. I have wanted this since I was 16 and it was worth the wait! I love it.

So...I really hope to get back into blogging! I still read all of your blogs but very rarely comment because it was such a long process with my old computer! I will be doing that more often, for sure!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Our new life

Long time no posting! I felt the need to update because I constantly read everyone's blogs but never update my own. I'm such a bad blogger!

A few recent happenings:

-I FINALLY live with my husband again! I've been here almost a month (Camp Lejeune) and I love it. I don't know if I mentioned this before or not, but I sold my car back while he was at boot camp, and that was probably not such a great idea. B takes the car to work every day and I'm stuck at home. I don't usually mind it, but sometimes when the weather is beautiful I just want to go drive somewhere and sit and read a book. Or something.

-I've got one new friend so far. Her and her husband helped us move in when we arrived here. My husband and hers are in the same unit so they've known each other for a while. It would be easier to get out and meet people if I had a car...but I'll make do for now. Hopefully within the next few months my own set of wheels will be parked in our driveway.

Now, a few pictures from the past month or so:

We drove to Topsail Island a few weekends ago, just for fun. He's not mad, just really cold!

My last day at work. Bittersweet. Mostly sweet.

Loading up the moving truck! We left at 4am the next morning. Couldn't sleep so we just rolled outta bed and took off!

Recent self-portrait. :)

Hubby built us a headboard. We got a new bedframe/mattress the week after I got here! Our other mattress was sooo old and definitely needed to be retired.

Overall, I love our new life. We go out and do stuff all the time which is very nice since we've never had the opportunity before. I'm excited for the summertime when we can sit on the beach all day long! That's my kind of summer. Beach, swimming, books. Yes.