What a vacation!!!

So, it has been a few days since my last post. We went on a 4-day vacation to San Diego with my dad and sister. We had a BLAST!!! I really didn't want to come back home.

We left on Saturday morning, and saying goodbye to the puppy was so sad. We left him with 'Grandma' so we knew he would be in good hands. Once we got into town and checked into the hotel, it was time to hit the pool!!! Even though we were only an hour and a half away from our home, it was as if we had left the country. We didn't have to worry about a thing! No laundry, no housework, no job....All that we had to think about was what drink we wanted to order while poolside! (I opted for a margarita!)
After spending a few hours at the pool we headed back to the room to shower and change and grab some food. Dinner ended up being Mexican (MY FAV!!) out in Old Town. It was a nice little area with some miscellaneous shops and dinner was very tasty!

Sunday (Easter) was the Phillie's baseball game. Nick was super stoked and our seats were AMAZING! We were able to stand up against the fence while the guys stretched and practice throwing the ball. I got sooo many pictures! They ended up winning, and swept the whole 4-game series against the SD Padres. Nick was like a little kid and even got his hat signed by one of the pitchers!!

Monday we went to the San Diego Zoo! Nick had never been and it had been a very long time for the rest of us! I just couldn't wait to see the monkeys!!! I was really hoping one could escape and come home with me! I can't even begin to explain how sore I am from all the walking. Uphill...downhill...uphill...downhill...Miles and miles and miles!!! Quite the workout! Nick and I got a caricature done of the two of us, and I must say, it came out GREAT! The guy did an amazing job! We went to dinner at a place called Lucha Libre Taco Shop. You may recognize this place from the TV show Man VS Food. If you even get a chance to go, DO IT! They have some of the best Mexican food I have ever eaten...HUGE portions and for soooo little money!! YUMMM

Sadly, we had to come back home today. As badly as we wanted to stay, reality was knocking on our door. We had to pick up our pup and get ready for a busy rest of the week.

I still haven't gotten our photo shoot pictures back yet, and I am DYING!!!!! I want to see them so very badly!

I'm ready for a nap...Until next time! <3

Who cries over laundry?!

Apparently, I do...

Today was a relatively normal day. Crawled out of bed, took the dog out, made some breakfast, sat around for a bit with the hubby, etc. We decided to pick ourselves up and run a few errands. We are going on a mini-vacation this weekend and have SOOO much to do before then.

We decided the things we needed to do didn't really involve both of us being present (Which means we can bring the pup. One of us goes into the store, the other waits in the car with the dog, or the dog is able to do whatever it is we are doing.) We like having days like this, and I think Jaxson appreciated not being locked in the crate all day!!

I get really happy when the three of us are just cruising along. It's as if we have left the real world for that short amount of time. The windows down, wind blowing through our ears, radio blaring! Ah, bliss! My favorite part is when the dog sticks his little face out the window trying to soak in as many smells as he possibly can. He just looks so happy!

Then I opened my big fat mouth!
"Baby, will you miss us when you're gone?
"Of course I will!! I will miss both of you equally, VERY MUCH!!"
**Insert tears and me shutting said big fat mouth**

We went about the rest of our day as planned.

When we got home I decided to throw in some laundry. As I am sorting everything into piles I'm saying (In my head) "Mine. His. Mine. His. Mine. His."
And then it hit me...This will probably be the last time I do his laundry for MONTHSSS!! It will only be mine...
I stood there, let out a huge sigh, and just started to cry...

So, who cries over laundry?? ME!

Chicken Soup for the Soul

Yesterday I went out and bought the book "Chicken Soup for the Military Wife's Soul"

You're probably asking yourself why I would do this. I already have enough things to cry about, why on Earth would I want to read stories about other people's military experiences? Well, to answer your question....I HAVE NO IDEA!! I really don't know what possessed me to make this purchase. I came across the book one day on amazon and it has been stuck in my head ever since. I finally caved.

So far so good...minimal tears. But I thought it would be fun to share a few stories with you when I came across a good one. So, as you can guess, this post with have more than one part to it!

Here's the first one I really liked:

A NAVY WIFE'S PRAYER

How often we've stood on dark flight lines and piers...
"I love you", "I'll miss you" whispered through tears.
During long separations, in peacetime, at war...
my nights filled with dreams of this man I adore.
With only my memories to hold close at night...
I live for the day God returns my sunlight.
Yes, life goes on when your loved one's at sea...
but the ache never leaves, the fear stays with me.
Dear Lord, I need your guidance, your love...
help me be brave, keep your watch from above.
Hold my dear one so safe in your heart and your hand...
bring him home to his family...this hero...my man.
Of us, Lord, I pray he'll be filled with such pride...
of how we carried on without him by our side.
Please, help time fly quickly and soon I will hold...
the hand of the man whose eyes chase the cold.
Whose voice brings delight, whose touch eases pain.
How will I ever say "Farewell" again?
With your help, dear God, I'll try to stay strong...
and pray that his time here at home will be long.
Still, "I know that the navy will need him" I sigh...
but we'll face it together, Dear Lord, you and I.

Say Cheeesseeeee!

Today we had our Pre-Deployment photo shoot! Long story short, it went AMAZINGLY!!

We went to a place by our house that has a lot of over growth and grassy areas and trees. Even a catfish pond! Nick got to feed them. It put him is a GREAT mood for the shoot. The first half he wore his Charlies and the second half he wore a white button up and jeans to match me in my white sundress.

The posing wasn't even cheesy at all! She had us in pretty natural positions and it was even okay when we took a second to laugh at each other. It doesn't hurt that me and Nick are both hams when it comes to taking pictures!! haha She also took a few of just me. A couple with his dog tags and a couple with his boots which I think will be super cute!

She is supposed to have them ready in about a week or two. I just want to see them now!! Out of 156 shots, there has to be a few good ones in there! ;)

**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**CAN'T WAIT**

I need a good ramble...

...so here goes!

I really don't have anything to talk about. I am not in a bad mood, but not really in a good one either. Nothing significant has happened today to make me feel like this but for some reason I feel like I just need to ramble until I feel better. Let's see where this ends up...

Yesterday was a normal day, spent some time cleaning up the house, played with the puppy, went to physical therapy...They are getting a little more extreme at my appointments now. Each time I go seems to get harder and harder. Not effort wise, I don't do a lot in the way of exercising or being really physical, but in the way they handle my pain. Trying to loosen up my muscles means digging their boney fingers and elbows into my shoulder and hips until I cry! I guess it's a good pain, the kind of pain that makes you feel like something is working, but today when I woke up it felt like I had been hit by a TRUCK!! I didn't even want to move, and my shoulder was so puffy from being swollen...ugh! I am just hoping that this all works and that having this weekly pain, will eventually get rid of my DAILY pain.

Today I went out to lunch with one of my friends. Her husband is deploying with my husband and we needed a girl outing. These are bitter-sweet...While it is nice to spend time with someone who knows what you are going through, it also means that you tend to talk about it more. We spent our time at lunch figuring out how we were going to make it through these 7-8 months. How will we keep ourselves busy? At least I am not alone in this. And guess what?! I didn't even cry talking about it with her!! This is pretty huge for me...I usually can't even say the word 'Deployment' without losing it...I am just so lucky to have such great friends (some of which are in the same boat) to get me through this hard time.

Nick starts his pre-deployment leave as of this Thursday....I am so glad we will have a little vacation together before he leaves! We are taking a San Diego trip to go to the zoo and to a Phillie's baseball game. He wants to make small day trips here and there...IE. Hollywood, Sea world, etc...and eat as much as possible since he won't have the luxuries of eating out while he is gone. (Great, I can already feel my jeans tightening just thinking about it!!)

On Saturday we have a photo-shoot set up! I'M SO EXCITED!! We have only had our pictures taken once (professionally, that is) so this should be a lot of fun!! I am trying to have it done at the winery by our house. I think it would provide a really beautiful background for the pictures. I'll let you know how it goes!! (Insert excessive smiling and bouncy happiness)

We talked more about what my living situation will be while he is gone...should I stay here at the apartment, should we look at houses, should I move back in with my dad??? I really don't know what to do...

Too many things need to get done in a short amount of time!! Getting a job, moving, school......ahhh! I just need to remember to take things one day at a time. When I start taking on too many things at once, I get wayyy too overwhelmed. That's when things start to slip and I lose my mind. When my mind goes, I turn into a huge disastrous mess!! There will be none of that this deployment, I PROMISE!

Three more weeks...

Yesterday I went to a baby shower for one of the girls I used to work with. She had gotten pregnant while I was still working but I hadn't seen her since November! Needless to say, she's about to POP! They only have a few more weeks before their little man comes into the world! I am so happy for them!

Being at the shower gave me massive baby fever!! Everywhere I turned there was a baby or a mommy to be! They were just all over the place! SO JEALOUS! I can't wait until Nick lets us start our own little family...but that will have to be talked about in it's own entry...

A few of the other girls from work were there, and because we haven't seen each other in quite some time, we all had to exchange our "What have you been up to?"s. Everything was going really well and I was so happy hanging out with them again...I really so miss them all so much!! But then I was asked, "So, when is your husband leaving?"

Without hesitation or a change in pitch, I uttered the dreadful words "Three weeks"....

I've said before that this really isn't news to me. I know he is leaving, I know he has to! But for some reason, there are little moments when it catches me off guard. This was one of those moments. It took a few seconds (It seemed like hours) to realize what had actually come out of my mouth...three weeks....my husband is leaving me in THREE WEEKS!! This is crazy! I only have three more weeks to soak up as much of him as possible!

I pulled myself together and enjoyed the rest of the shower.

We went out last night with a couple we know, who happen to work with Nick. They had a baby two months ago and needed a 'Mommy Daddy get away'. We went out to dinner, to the casino to see a comedy show, and ended up at the bar for some drinks! I had a blast. I really enjoy getting to have nights like these. Good times, good people, and the man of my dreams by my side the whole time.

This deployment is going to be rough...VERY ROUGH!!!

Long day/ Random thoughts

I have been trying really hard lately to not let the small things get to me. Focusing on the positive and moving on with my life. That doesn't mean I am not allowed to have a rough day here and there.

The things is, I don't know when these days are coming. I would like a little warning! Like this morning, everything is going great!! The hubby didn't have to go into work until late so we were able to spend some time together. Had some coffee, watched a movie, shared some cuddle time. I LOVE mornings like this! Then out of nowhere he turns to me and says "Gosh, I go on leave in like a week! That's crazy! That means we're leaving soon...wow." I just lost it! Balled my eyes out!! It's not like this is news to me. I know they leave soon. I know he will be on vacation even sooner. But for some reason, actually HEARING it, makes it so much worse!!

I just don't want him to go away. I don't want to be by myself. This is so HARD!!

I was finally able to pull myself together. Nick went to work and I went about my day. Which leads me to the second half of my day...PHYSICAL THERAPY!

Physical therapy is a bitch! You are sent there because of some part of you being in pain. Their way of fixing it is to put you in even MORE pain!! He said if I don't feel like I was beat up tomorrow, that he didn't do his job...great...
So he dug around in my muscles for a while before sending a girl in to do an ultrasound. It was actually pretty interesting. It is a machine that she moves around the injured area and it submits sound waves to stimulate blood flow to help heal you. Crossing my fingers that it did it's job! I am already in some pain though, so I am totally not looking forward to tomorrow. I guess as long as this all does what it's supposed to and I don't have to hurt anymore, it's fine by me!

****

I was finally able to finish our Save the Date cards. My mom and I decided to make them ourselves on the computer. They came out SO GOOD!! Better than the ones I had originally purchased and waayyyy less expensive! That's as far as I've gotten with the wedding planning...Nick and I went to look at a venue a few days ago but it was not what we thought it was going to be. (And more expensive!) I have a couple more places to look into. I just wish I had someone to do this all for me! haha

We are trying to decide if we will be continuing our lease here at the apartment. We can either sign up for another year, or try and go month to month but our monthly payment would go up. My dad offered to let me come live with him again. As much as I love being away from home and getting to live my own life, this option would save us close to $1400/month!! There is obviously a lot more to consider when making my decision....Luckily I have a little bit of time to think about it!

I need to start looking for a job (seriously) I have put out a few applications here and there but I haven't been too serious about it. There was really no point in getting a job so near to Nick leaving. I wouldn't have been able to take any time off for his pre-deployment leave. It makes more sense to just wait until he's gone and then bust my butt!! If I don't have a job while he is gone, I may lose my mind...In fact, I KNOW I will!!


Sighhh....Time to cuddle up to the puppy and hope the Hubster gets to come home super early!!