Saturday, October 30, 2010

I got Halloween flowers!!

This is the second time Seth has randomly sent me flowers this deployment. They're always sent to my work and they make my coworkers jealous!! Not going to lie, I do love that part (he knows that I love it, and I'm sure he loves the attention just as much!). And I love when people come down from different parts of the building to check them out. I love that word travels fast for when I get flowers!! This was a happy Halloween bouquet (who gets those!?) and had red roses and orange lillies. It is a very pretty Halloween bouquet! He's so good to me :)



On a different related yet not note, I went out to dinner with Molli the other night and it was like 67 degrees in my apartment when I got home. ABSOLUTELY FREEZING! When Seth was in Iraq, before we met, I convinced him to wear a t-shirt for a few days and then send it to me. He did this (then I got a wicked sty in my eyes - totally gross, I know - and I totally blamed him for it. I thought it was pink eye, and I was thinking, "what a jerk, he's giving me pink eye and we haven't even met?!" I think I used to get sties in like elementary or middle school...I haven't had one in forever, so of course it was his fault since I had just gotten his shirt and suddenly got one). Anyways, he sent me the shirt, I lived through the sty and I've worn it to bed since I've gotten it. So after I got home from dinner, I had the bright idea to put the shirt in the dryer to warm it up. When I put it on, it seriously felt like a big amazing warm hug from Seth. It felt sooo amazing for a good few seconds. But I was so cold and my coldness sucked the heat out of it, and then it just felt like a t-shirt, but for those few seconds, it was as close to a hug from him that I've felt in 7 1/4 months. And it made me even more excited for R&R. 2monthish2monthish2monthish.....

I'm off to the gym, going shoe shopping (DSW sent me a $20 off $49 coupon because they "miss me!!" How can I resist that?! I can't. That's how), going to my future in-laws house to finalize the guest list and do some wedding talk (I'm contemplating taking over my whole wedding binder, or will that freak them out?!), going to my parents to carve my pumpkin (and bake Seth pumpkin seeds) and then I'm going out with Molli later tonight. Should be a fun weekend and I'm super stoked for it.

I'm participating in blog around the world again!! Thanks to Amanda

Hope you all have a great weekend, too!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Mil-Spouse Friday Fill-In #8

Thanks to Wife of A Sailor for these questions!

1. What’s the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?
One time a few years ago, I was driving downtown and my car just died. I was stopped at a light and it just died. I started freaking out and called my dad and he said to get out of the car, and I refused to...I didn't want to leave my car alone to get hit! Just then, a young couple walked past and I had my 4 way flashers on, and they were like...do you need us to push you? So they pushed me down the street and into an empty parking lot where I could wait for my dad to come jump my car. I offered to pay them, but they just told me to pay it forward. They were my saviors that day.

2. If you are having a hard time going to sleep, what do you do to help yourself?
Reading. Or a movie in bed. If a movie, I'd be out in 10 minutes. But if it's a school night, I'll read a book.

3. Name something that makes you wish you were a kid again.
Going on family vacations. I was recently reminiscing with my parents about some of our family vacations and how certain memories from certain trips stick in our minds. We've had some really good family vacations, and I surely can't wait until Seth and I have a family of our own and we go on family vacations!!

4. What is something you never believed until you experienced it?
Ummm, nothing? Nothing is coming to me for this right now.

5. What can’t you say “no” to?
I can't say no to quite a few things. I lack a lot of willpower in this department. I don't let people walk all over me by any means. I guess maybe I lack willpower in materialistic things. During the summer, I bought a hot pair of zebra print high heels with red trim because they were friggin' sexy. I haven't worn them yet (1. they are too pretty to wear and 2. they're higher heels than I'd normally wear, and therefore they're uncomfortable). They were just too gorgeous for me to not buy. Plus they were on sale. Oh gosh, they're so pretty.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Wedding Wednesday

I got this idea from The Sand Is Different Here, who did a Wedding Wednesday a few weeks ago. Plus, this will keep my ass on track each week for getting more wedding related stuff done. Honestly, I’ve been slacking because I haven’t had the energy to do it alone. I want to make all these decisions with Seth, but it’s all via email so it takes extra long. TheKnot.com said we only have 262 days left! It seems like a long ways away…considering that is NEXT summer. We still have to go through:

  • 3 seasons
  • The rest of this deployment
  • His homecoming
  • The rest of this school year
  • All of the holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, his birthday, Memorial Day, my birthday. I'm hoping we'll be able spend next 4th of July together as a first.
Ok, so here's the actual update for today: I'm going to see his parents this weekend to finalize the guest list. I have 90% of save the date completed, I just need to send Seth the proof, get the save the dates printed, put the labels on them, and mail them out. I hope to have this all completed in 2 weeks. Pretty easy, right? Yeah, we'll see about that.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Getting close

So here's a picture of my upcoming months in my Outlook calendar. Within this view, I can see the (tentative) date that Seth will be home for leave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


While we're at it....here's my donut:


I CANNOT WAIT FOR LEAVE!!! AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS DEPLOYMENT TO BE OVER!!!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

New Blog Name: "for ever & for always, no matter what"

I started my blog back in June on a whim, basically. I had contemplated it for a while and had just started reading some, but then talked myself out of it many times. The names of them were sooo clever and I was insanely jealous, but I couldn't think of anything creative for mine. I was talking to a friend about it, and she encouraged me to create one. If I didn't do it then, I probably never would have. So I came up with something not clever and not creative and I've never really liked the name of it. Since June, I've been thinking of new names for it. One finally hit me last night: "for ever & for always, no matter what."

I saw this little quote when I was in a little store last week when I went to the lake shore. I liked it immediately. (Yes, it's been almost a week since I've seen/heard the quote, and it just dawned on me to make my blog name that). So I emailed Seth last night and asked his opinion on it, and he said he liked it. He also suggested I do an & instead of the word "and." So there we have it, with a bit of team work. :)

I think it's a fitting title for us too, because no matter where we end up because of the Army, or how often/long we're separated, or any decisions the Army makes for us, we're in this together, "for ever & for always, no matter what."

I've also been wanting to contact someone to make my blog all fancy and cute and ME. But I didn't want to spend the money until I knew what I wanted it to be titled. Any suggestions?!?! So now I've got the title and soon I'll have the fancy page to match it!!!

Stay tuned...

Friday, October 22, 2010

Mil-Spouse Friday Fill-In #7


Thanks to Wife of a Sailor for the questions! Go there to join the fun!!!

1.Are you a night owl or an early bird?

I definitely used to be a night owl. I liked staying up and could do it!! Now, though, I'm all old and work a real job at a school district. School starts early!!! I have to be there at 7:30 am!!! I get up at 6 AM and can't stay up much past 11 pm. I'm in bed by 10 though....10:15 at the latest. Friday nights are my "crazy" nights at 11 pm though.

2.What makes you jealous?
I don't think I'm really a jealous person. I think I get more annoyed than jealous with most things. Such as when I see happy couples all in love, walking hand in hand. When I can't. I find that to be more annoying than jealous.

3.Have you started Christmas/holiday shopping yet? When will you finish? (There’s only 63 days left!)
Oh dear, I have no idea. I've bought 2 stockings already, but I don't consider that real shopping. I'll do it sometime in December. However, I do need to have Seth's Christmas stuff sent out by the middle-late end of November so it gets to him on time. Right now it only takes about a week to get there, but I've seen postings on Facebook that say I need to send it by November 11th to get to his area on time! That seems insanely early....and only 19 days left?!?! My problem is that I love Christmas shopping so much. I will go into a store, knowing what I want to get someone, but then I find 2098098 more things that they would enjoy/need too so I get that too. I think we're doing a secret Santa thing with his siblings, so that'll be cool. I know what I'm getting for his mom, too. No idea about anyone else though...

4.What would you have a personal chef make you tonight?
I would want the personal chef to bring Seth home and then make whatever he would like. No use in having a personal chef if it's just me.

5.Where was your first kiss?
Technically in a garage during a game of truth or dare. I think I was 15. We had to make out for 30 seconds in front of the other people playing the game.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Christmas Dinner - belated

Seth will be home JUST after the holidays. By "just after" I literally mean a week or two after the holidays. Since he'll be missing out on all the homemade yummy-yummy goodness, I thought it'd be fun if we hosted our own belated Christmas dinner, with our families!!! I shared this idea with him and he said, “what are we going to serve though?” I said, “it’s our party, we can serve whatever we want!!!” That apparently got his mind rolling with ideas and he said it would be fun if we tried to make “stuffed Cornish hens!!! And some good green beans. And scalloped potatoes. And some sweet potato pie for dessert. And a checkerboard cake. Maybe some chocolate covered cherries. Or we could try fondue.” Then he went on to tell me that he’d like to try to make some homemade biscuits too, like his dad.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a Cornish hen and so I asked him, “how are they different from a turkey?” and he goes, “they’re like little personal chickens! Each person gets one!” Haha. I said maybe some of us can share. I said, “since I only eat white meat, maybe we can share and you can have the dark meat.” And he goes, “not uh. I’m eating my own whole chicken!!” (Excuse me for thinking we could share!!) Don’t get me wrong, I love me some of those rotisserie chicken things from the grocery store, so I am all for this idea, but I really don’t think I could eat a whole hen.

I was actually surprised when he suggested the Cornish hens, because they are rather “traditional” and he’s all about trying new and different food things. Towards the end of the conversation, he said maybe we could do lamb chops or lamb shanks or something like that. I would definitely prefer a whole hen (to myself…haha), but if he wants lamb, we can do that too. The lamb idea sounds much more like him, anyways. This is really all for him anyways, since he won’t be home in time for the actual holidays.

Either way, no matter what we make, I’m already so superduper excited for this!!! We both love hosting, cooking and baking. I can already picture us getting up earlyish, and getting all of our cooking started, while listening to Elvis’ Christmas CD and it'll be a cold and snowy morning. We’ll stuff the little hens, then we'll take our shower, then we’ll do more cooking (ok, he will, while I do my hair), and we’ll do more cooking and baking and I’ll clean up our apartment and get table settings ready, and we’ll do more cooking and baking and then we’ll get dressed in our nice clothes and we’ll welcome everyone in for our first holiday party together.

Ahhhhh!!! I really just want to fast forward through November and December and for it to be January already. At least it’s another day closer. :)

I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU BABES!!!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Sweetest Day

On Saturday late afternoon/early evening, I drove myself to the lake shore to play with my new camera. I decided to watch a sunset on the pier and re-live the moment we got engaged...all by myself. Of course I forgot it was Sweetest Day because I surely wasn't celebrating it, so it was just another normal Saturday for me. It seemed like every possible couple in Michigan was also at the lake and out on the pier that day too. There were probably at least 200 people on the pier and many more on the beach. I was one of the very very few (less than a dozen, honestly) that was solo. Soooo, since every other couple had their partner with them, I somehow became the designated couple picture taker. Sweet. Thanks for the nice reminder that my better half is half a world away. I'm proud to say I was nice about it, but it took work. "Would you mind taking a picture of us?" while they handed me their camera so it was, like impossible for me to say no...and it'd be very rude. Here's how nice I was: one couple wanted the sun setting behind them...so the camera was facing the sun. I was kind enough to tell them that I wouldn't be able to see their faces, so maybe we should do the pier in the background instead. I was moving around for another couple to get the best shot, because I was trying to avoid getting yet another couple out of the background of their picture. I finally took it when half the person in the background was in (hey, it was better than a full person, or two people). I told them I was trying to avoid having someone else in the background, and offered to re-take it, because naturally, the background couple had moved away right after I took the picture. The politely declined and thanked me.

I'm still glad I went. I fell in love with my camera and re-lived the moment he proposed and he was with me...just not physically. And I think I got some really great pictures. See?







Sunday, October 17, 2010

Sweet Spiced Nuts - recipe

Like any good military wife/fiance/girlfriend, I bake a lot of stuff to send Seth. I found the following recipe in Food Network Magazine* from a friend. I think it will be a good taste from home, and a little different than the normal cookies I send him.

Sweet Spiced Nuts

Ingredients:
1 large egg white
2/3 cup sugar
Kosher salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie** or chai spice blend
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups assorted mixed nuts
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

(aren't my granite counter tops just gorgeous? lets pretend like they are and you said yes)

Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 275. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper***
  2. Whisk the egg white with 1 tablespoon water in a large bowl until frothy.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, the spice blend and cayenne pepper.


  4. Toss the nuts in the egg white mixture, then stir in the sugar-spice mixture and Worcestershire sauce.


  5. Spoon the nuts onto the prepared baking sheet in small clusters and bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely then break into pieces.


*The Food Network site has this picture of this recipe, which is completely adorable and I LOVE the waffle cone idea! However, since I'll be sending this in the mail, I will not be putting my baked nuts into cute little cones with cute little ribbons to my soldier. (Thanksgiving and Christmas though...you bet I'm doing this!!!)

**Note: if you suddenly find yourself sans pumpkin pie spice (like me), here's a quick little recipe that makes a lot of it:
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Stir all spices together. Store in a glass container.

***Parchment paper is different from wax paper. I learned that the hard way this weekend. Not sure why I thought they were the same, but they definitely aren't. I wasted the whole first batch because every single nut had wax paper stuck to it. I don't have any parchment paper, so I just used some non-stick cooking spray on a cookie sheet and that worked very well.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

I have another busy Saturday/weekend. I made my to-do list yesterday:
  • Gym training session today at 11 AM
  • Get a birthday present for a friend (this was also on my to-do list last weekend and I never got around to it. But her birthday is this Thursday so I don't have a choice now!)
  • Drive to the lake shore and watch the sunset and find pretty trees and capture it all with my new camera
  • Email future mother in law about getting together to finalize our guest list
  • Complete our Save The Date card. I need to have them in the mail by the end of the month.
  • Work on our TheKnot.com profile (I'm mostly done...just need to put a few more things/pictures on there)
  • Start and finish Halloween themed care package
  • Call art place about mosaic class
I better get going!

Friday, October 15, 2010

MilSpouse Friday Fill In #6!


I'm numbering these now so it'll help me count down the weeks till leave. I need to get to like 20ish for leave.

Thanks to Wife of a Sailor for the questions!

1. What are some things on your bucket list? (from New Girl on Post)

I'm working on a post about that...stay tuned. I'm doing that 101 in 1001 days thing and I've got it half full with stuff right now. I start it on November 1, so I still have a few days to publish it :)

2. How long have you been a MilSpouse and where have you been stationed so far? (from Raising Roscoe)

I was a mil-girlfriend for a little over a year and a half. I've been a mil-fiance for 10 months. I'll be a milspouse forever...starting in a few months :) (That was cheesy, I admit). I've techincally not been stationed with Seth anywhere yet. Germany is on the top of the list though!! :)

3. What is a list of songs that sums up your life so far? (from Confessions of a Sailor’s Wife)

Oh gosh, so many. Right now it's our deployment song which is "Dear God" by Avenged Sevenfold. (For the record, I typically don't enjoy that kind of hardcore music, but I love the crap out of their CD).

4. What is your favorite kind of pizza?

I prefer onions and green peppers and pepperoni.

5. What are three good things in your life right now?

  • Seth - This deployment is officially (more than) half over and just a few months till leave
  • My sister is coming home in December which will make the holidays much more enjoyable for me..and it'll make them go by really fast (which means leave appears to come sooner!)
  • My new friend/coworker Molli!!!! We went out to dinner last night and stayed for 3 hours and shared our whole life stories with each other. Definitely best friend material. We sorta already planned a double date for when Seth is home...we're going to a hockey game. All the more reason for leave to hurry up and get here!!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

A thank you to my (future) in-laws

Lately, for whatever reason, I've been thinking about our first "see you later," when Seth went back to Iraq in June 2008. (Quick re-cap: we started talking online in March 2008, and met in person on June 6, 2008, when he came home for leave. Then he went back to Iraq on June 21, 2008 until November. I remember being asked to babysit the day that he was leaving, and I only said yes, because I knew I'd need something to keep me busy that night, instead of just being alone and crying the whole Saturday night).

Ok, now that you're caught up... So obviously I was dreading taking him to the airport and going through my first "see you later." He was flying out of an airport about 90 minutes away from us and I had wondered in my little brain how it would all happen. I wondered if his parents were going to take him, or if I was going to take him, or if I was going to go with his parents to take him. I don't think we had a conversation about who was taking him to the airport; if we did, I honestly do not remember it. Honestly, I wanted to take him to the airport all by myself. I had only met his parents a few times and they were super cool, but I know how emotional I get, especially considering what this was, and I didn't really want to be with them when I was a sobbing mess.


The night before he was to leave, he had spent the night before at my apartment. That morning, we got up, got all ready and then we went to his parents house. We stopped at the gas station and I filled up my tank, and I think he bought donuts. Then we went to his parents house. I think I thought that we would say our "see you laters" in the drive way of their house and his parents would take him to the airport and that would be that. Instead, we got to the house, had donuts and hung out for a little bit. We printed directions to the airport. I don't think any of us really talked about who was taking him to the airport. Again, if we did, I don't remember it. After a little while, we said goodbye to his parents. I remember not watching that. I wasn't even ready for my own goodbye, and I just couldn't watch him say bye to his parents. I just turned around and looked at my car and paced back and forth with a tear tears running down my face. We got in the car and I think he asked, "are you crying?" Knowing me, I told him no, and he called me a liar and said, "I know you're crying!" (Side note: even when he's deployed, half a world away, he can tell when I'm crying. He will ask me if I'm crying and I always tell him no and he always calls me out on it!)


Somehow it was understood that I was taking him to the airport. I remember I drove to the airport. We held hands the whole way there. I think I started crying shortly before we got to the airport, but I had been been getting all teary-eyed the whole morning. I just was able to make it stop, but I couldn't this time. I asked if I could come in with him, and he said yes. I remember I only had like a dollar cash on me and realized that probably wasn't enough to cover parking. He gave me $5 and told me that would cover the parking. (I kept that $5 bill from him. It's still in my wallet to this day). We checked him in and I was already crying. I don't think I went up to the counter with him because that just made it more real. I've said this before, but I really wish that he were wearing his ACU's when we are parting ways. I cry like such an ugly person...my nose is runny, and bright red, my eyes are red and puffy...there's no mistaking it. I wish I was a graceful crier, but I'm not. People probably thought I was a crazy who'd never said bye before. At least if he was wearing his uniform, they'd have an idea why I was crying so hard. Instead, we just looked like 2 civilians. It was a fairly quick good bye. We didn't hang out at the airport for too long after checking him in. I think once I got in the car was when I really lost it. This is when I was crying so uncontrollably hard. He had called me a little time later before he actually took off and said, "are you ok?" Again, I lied to him and told him I was OK. (To clarify, I'm not a habitual liar, I just like to appear to him that I'm much stronger emotionally than I really am. He knows better though, but I still do it). He spent that night in a hotel in Atlanta. We talked on the phone and he said he had contemplated flying me down there for the night just for one last night together. (This leave, I've already decided that I'll be going with since I'm guessing he'll be flying out of Atlanta again).

I made the drive home successfully and took a short nap. I still had to babysit and I was so completely emotionally exhausted. That evening, I went over to the girls house to babysit them, and I remember being in the bathroom with the girls (we were playing hide and seek and one was in the bathtub) and I was on my cell phone talking to my friend. She asked how the "see you later" went and I started crying just thinking about it and telling her about it. When I got off the phone, the younger girl who was probably 5 at the time said to me, "why are you sad, Stacy?" And I explained to her that Seth had to leave and he wouldn't be home for a long long time and I was going to miss him a lot. She said, "do you want a hug?" It was so sweet....a little 5 year old was consoling a very, very sad 24 year old. Then she told her older sister why I was so sad and why she was hugging me. I love these girls so much. Even now, after Seth leaves, they'll call me a few days later and just check to see how I'm doing.

Anyways, the whole point of this blog which got much longer than I intended (sorry!) was to say that I'm thankful that his parents let me take him to the airport that first time. I'm thankful that they didn't insist they take him, or that they come with me, or that I not even go with. I'm glad they just somehow understood it was something I needed to do...alone...and they let me do it. We've had a few more good byes at the airports and it's always been my responsibility to take him.

So... thank you future parent in laws. I honestly do appreciate your understanding!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Blog around the world

I've got a fairly busy day. Right now I'm eating oatmeal and participating in...

and reading up on a few different blogs around the world. Cool, huh? You can join in on the fun by going here!

After this, I'm going to go to the post office to mail out a care package. I was going to mail it, but due to a last minute request that I had to fulfill last night, I am mailing it today. Seth told me a few weeks ago (after I had neglected to send a care package for a little while) that he was feeling "deprived." Nobody likes a deprived soldier, so I packed up up 2 boxes and off they went. I can't say what's in this one because he hasn't gotten it yet, and I don't want to ruin the surprise. When he was in Iraq and I first started sending him care packages, we agreed not to cheat by looking at what was listed on the customs forms. We have to open the box entirely to see what's in it. I always liked this idea, but it was very hard for me to do. I always had to remove the customs forms before opening the box and put it face down so I couldn't accidentally see what was listed. He sent me a few esrever (reverse) care packages...which is what we called the fun boxes he sent me with Iraqi stuff. It was fun. I wish he had outgoing mail where he's at now...I miss getting letters and a random box. :(

After the post office, I'm going to the gym where I'm participating in the Biggest Loser Contest. We get 4 personal training sessions and this is session #3. We're working our booty's and legs today. Last time I worked with this trainer, I could barely walk for like 5 days. I'm not joking either. It's going to be awesome.

I also have to go to Best Buy and look at cameras, and I think I'll go downtown to find a friend a birthday present. I have no idea what to get her but I'll find something good. I was going to bake an apple pie this weekend, but since it's going to be in the 80's, I don't feel like turning on the oven, so I'll scrap this idea and wait for a cooler day.

Have a great Saturday!

Friday, October 8, 2010

MilSpouse Friday Fill In!

Hosted by Wife of a Sailor :)

1. What is the longest road trip you've ever taken?

When I was younger, we drove across the country a few times for family vacations. California to Niagara Falls and back, and then the following summer we did it again when we moved to Michigan. I think I've driven back to CA twice since we've lived here. Longest road trip with Seth is from Ft. Drum to Michigan in December :) Haha I think we both have very fond (I use that term very loosely) memories of this trip...the day we left Drum, there was a blizzard with lots and lots and lots of snow. We were driving like 15 mph for about 5 hours and I think that got us to Buffalo (or around that area), and I remember him telling me it normally takes like 2 hours to get to there. After lots of begging him to pull over for the day, he agreed to. I think the only reason he agreed though was to shut me up. I honestly didn't know I was making him so mad on that trip with my constant nagging until he told me afterward. He said he had to try his very hardest not to push me out of the car and into the snow and leave me!! (He does love me, I swear). We pulled over at a Comfort Inn I believe, and I was wearing these stupid new snowboots I got...stupid Rocket Dogs....and since we couldn't drive anywhere, we walked across the street to this little mom and pop restaurant and I was slipping and sliding all across the road. The Rocket Dog boots had NO traction and I got rid of them as soon as I got home. It was still very early in the day and we were really bored in the hotel room (you can only do that so much!!!!) so I convinced him to walk across the street again to the gas station to buy a deck of cards. No cards, but we returned with lots of beer and energy drinks and an ice scraper for his car. The next day was a perfectly sunny and clear drive for the rest of the trip. (Oh man babe, remember how fun that was!?!?!? I learned early on what not to do in long car rides with him!!)



2. Do you collect anything? Tell us about it.

I don't really collect anything. I keep keepsakes, but I don't consider that a collection.

3. What is your favorite part about being an adult?

I guess being able to do what I want, when I want? Not that my parents were really strict, but I guess it's cooler now.

4. What song brings a tear to your eye?

Oh man....this list is endless. Military ones ALWAYS do. I have a habit of torturing myself by watching YouTube videos of ordinary songs that are put with a bunch of military homecoming pictures and just watching and bawling my eyes out. Gary Allen's "Tough Little Boys", Lonestar's, "I'm Already There", Avenged Sevenfold "Dear God" (that's our deployment song actually), Trace Adkins' "All I Ask For Anymore (this came out last year around Christmas and it was always on CMT right before Seth came home for the holidays. I watch CMT when I'm getting ready in the morning and I'd see it every morning and always get sooooo excited and think to myself, "that'll be me in just a few more days!!!" It was always happy tears), John Michael Montgomery's "Letters From Home." Toby Keith's "American Soldier."

5. Describe your first plane ride (how old you were, where you were heading, etc.)?

I really don't have any idea. I think it was from CA to Texas, but I don't remember that at all. I think I was 8 or 9 then and just remember somehow ending up in Texas for a family vacation and I'm almost positive we didn't drive. The first plane ride I remember was a few months after we moved to Michigan, my grandma in CA died and we flew back for her funeral. It was the middle of winter and I remember sitting on the plane in my winter jacket, watching them de-ice the plane. It was really dark outside and it was an over night flight.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Signs

This weekend, I was going through some files on my computer and I ran across the first emails that Seth and I wrote back and forth. I re-read through a lot of them and I actually remember how excited I was when I'd get a new email from him; I'd be learning something new about him and he'd say something to make me laugh. I still get excited actually...I look forward to getting to work each morning and yes, the first thing I do is check my personal email. As I was reading through these, so many things make perfect sense as to who he is now!

I also ran across something I wrote shortly after he deployed this time. Kinda like a little journal, but not really. Just something I wrote at the time. Here it is, from April 15, 2010:

Before Seth deployed, and I knew we wouldn’t be talking on a regular basis, I was wondering how I’d know he was thinking of me and he missed me and how much he loved me….signs from him basically. Well, turns out I’ve gotten a few. On the day he left, Easter, I went over to mom and dad’s for dinner. Then I had to stop by his parents house to drop something off to his parents. After talking to his dad for a little while, I started to drive home. The song I’m Already There by Lonestar came on and I started crying. It’s a song about being thousands of miles apart, but still together in your heart, no matter where you are. That was sign number one. The other day I got a box. I was expecting it, but it was still a sign. I’m expecting another tuff box with some of his stuff from Germany. It will have his two suits, his wedding tie, his hard drive, and some other stuff for me to keep, he said some important papers. He also said there was a little surprise in it. I can’t wait to get it! I should get it in a day or two. It was mailed at the same time as the other box, which just had his laptop in it, and I have to send that to him. The laptop box came yesterday, so I’m expecting this one any day. Plus, we got to talk for 14 whole minutes, which was like, FOREVER! So I’m glad to get the good box on a separate day, so I have something to look forward to, and so when I get it, it will be another thing to brighten that day. I don’t want all the excitement on one day…..I want it spread out. Tonight I was driving home from my parents house. As I was getting close to my apartment, Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton came on. Last Valentines Day, 2009, when we met in Cleveland, I was driving him back to Erie, PA to meet John. We went to breakfast at an iHop and when we got back in my car after breakfast, I said, “what song do you want to dance to at our wedding?” Mind you, this was only about 11 months after we had started talking (talking, not even dating, it was 8-9 months after we met/started dating). He said…hold on, I’ll play it for you. And he went to Wonderful Tonight on his Zune. Then we listed to a 9 minute acoustic version as we were driving, holding hands, down the Pennsylvania/Ohio freeway/toll road. It was cute. He still wants it to be the first song we dance to at our wedding. I’m always looking for little signs like this, of him saying hi to me and he misses me, and I know one when I spot one. He loves me, even when we’re thousands of miles apart, on totally different continents, and we can talk for about 20 minutes per week for a whole year.

Well, I'm glad to say that the last part of the last sentence has improved greatly in the last few months. We now average (this is a guess) about an hour to 90 minutes each week. (Thank you Lord!!) Anyways, I'm still always looking for little signs of him saying hi and he loves me. I get the signs frequently when I'm driving and my ring sparkles on my car ceiling. I love it. Might be weird, but I always kiss my ring and say hi to him when it gets all sparkley. On the day I went to the wedding location to check it out in the summer, I was sitting in the back seat of the car and OMG my ring has never been so sparkley!!! It was beautiful. The picture doesn't do it justice. I took this as a sign of a long, happy and healthy marriage. :)

Today after work, I was going to the gym. I was listening to the radio and my ring was all sparkley yet again. I said hi to him and kissed my ring (whatever, call me weird if you want. He probably will when he reads this) and then I changed the radio station. It was the very beginning of Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight song! It took me back to our Valentine's Day together in Cleveland and asking him what he thought our wedding song should be. For a few seconds, when I closed my eyes, I could actually picture him sitting in the car next to me, listening to this song with me.

This sorta reminded me of a memory of when he was home this last Christmas. We were standing in the kitchen, NOT engaged yet, and I said to him, "when we get married, how are you going to kiss me?" Then he took my face in my hands and gave me a really sweet gentle kiss on the lips. He's not one for full on PDA, and it was just perfect. I think I remember making him practice it a few more times, even though he hadn't even proposed yet. He's the best for going along with me when I asked him these kinds of questions while technically we were still dating!!!



P.S. My deployment donut officially says, "congratulations! you're over the hump!!" YESSSSS!!

Friday, October 1, 2010

MilSpouse Friday Fill In :)

Hosted by Wife of a Sailor :)

1. What is the silliest get-up you have ever worn outside of a Halloween party? (from To The Nth)
I don't really get dressed up for this kind of thing. I don't even really like dressing up for Halloween. I just don't really find it fun. One year I was a ladybug for Halloween...a very drunk lady bug and we'll leave it at that.


2. What is something that you gave up in order to live the military lifestyle? (from Pennies from Heaven)
A "normal" relationship. Seeing Seth on a regular basis, spending holidays and seasons together. I haven't had to move yet, but in less than a year, I will be giving up my job to go wherever he is. I'll be giving up everything I've ever known for something completely new and exciting. With him, of course (!!!)


3. If money wasn’t a factor and you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? And why? (from Life and Times of a Displaced Jersey Girl)
I would love to go to the Great Barrier Reef. Sometimes at work, I Google Earth the hell out of different places, and all in one day I travel the world. I love looking at the pictures that people upload. I really want to go snorkeling, but I do not want to get into a wetsuit. And I'm scared of snorkels. I don't trust them...I like, hyperventilate trying to breathe through them. I mostly just want to see the reefs and the fish and other animal life.


4. If you were going to join the military, what branch would you join? Or which MOS/rating would you choose? (from And You Never Did Think)
Army only because that's what I am somewhat familiar with and we could get stationed together and possibly deployed together. Or the Navy, I really do love boats. Although I'm sure there's a lot more to it than that. I think I could live on a boat though. For an MOS, I'd probably do something with computers because that's what I know. But lets be honest here: I would never do well in any branch of the military; I couldn't make it, I'm way to girly and prissy. And plus: they wouldn't want me. I'm 99.9% sure of that. I'm totally cool with that though. I'll be linked to the Army by default and that's perfectly OK with me.


5. What is your favorite thing to make for dinner? (fromArmendinger Party of 4)
I like to make a lot of things. For Seth, I really like making lasagna. It's a fun dish to make, I like the layers. And hello, who doesn't love cheese? One time, for the one and only Valentine's Day we've spent together, we met in Cleveland for a long weekend. He was living in the barracks at the time, so I baked him a lasagna dish the night before we met. I made it in one of those portable tin pan things and I gave it to him when we got to the hotel. Since it was February in Ohio, and we didn't have a fridge in our room, we put the lasagna dish by the cracked open window and that kept it cold and safe to eat. We also didn't have utensils, but he had gotten a heavy duty knife for Christmas and left it at my apartment, and so I just so happened to have that with me (I was returning it to him). We used that massive knife to cut little bites of lasagna and then ate it with our fingers. Then he got to take the rest of the lasagna back to his barracks room and eat it for a few days. It was pretty sweet.

Two (deployment) Donuts... for breakfast

Ohhhh man, we are sooo close to the half way point! After the 6 month mark, it will hopefully be smooth sailing from here!!!


As if one donut wasn't enough today, I had my leave donut too. This is coming along nicely too. Not a terrible amount of time until he's home for leave :)


I love you and I soooo cannot wait to see you, Seth!!!! xxoo