Deployment Update!

Hey there! :) Beth from Simply B brought it to my attention that I have not been updating my blog...lol. She left me a very sweet comment and it made me realize that it was time to update! :) I admit it. I have been a HUGE SLACKER!!!!!! Haha. But things are GREAT and there is light at the end of the tunnel with this deployment!!!! I have been super busy working and getting everything in order to move to California. It's been a little crazy. I found this today and thought it was sweet and true.

{my source}

 I seriously worry way too much about things. I worry about leaving my job. Because it's secure and safe. I worry about my new life as a married lady because I want to be a good wife. I worry about leaving my family because I've always been with them. I worry about my friends --- especially my best friend --- because I will miss her so much!!!! I'm worried that I didn't accomplish everything that I wanted to accomplish while Duke was gone. I worry about looking cute for my hubby at homecoming. All of this is SO SILLY!!!!!!!!!!!! I know. But it's me. And I'm a bit of a worrier. And a bit neurotic at times. And Duke balances me out. And I need that more than ever. So, YES, I am SO ready for Duke to come home. :)

And here's a reminder about playing it safe in life. :)

Thanks for reading. :)

Deployment Update!

Helloooooo! Hope my sweet followers are doing GREAT! I have been trying to stay really busy lately. I really only hear from Duke about every 2 weeks now. But, I still feel very fortunate about that. I know of someone who is three months into a deployment with no phone call. That makes me sad!

I DID get to talk to him yesterday though!!!!! He sounded like he was doing really good. And --- great news! --- hopefully he will be getting promoted very soon! :) I am so excited for him.

On another note, I have somewhat learned how to crochet!!!! Yay! I have been working really hard at making myself try new things. Haha. That's always a challenge. So when I actually get good at it, I will have to post some photos.

{theorganicsister.com}

I've also spent a lot of time on Pinterest lately. It is so addicting. I found and LOVE this:

{12.media.tumblr.com}

 

 

I hate spiders.

Did everyone have a good Veteran's Day? Mine was lovely. I went to a parade and a ceremony afterwards; I bought a luminary for Duke and it was put with many others at the courthouse steps in town. The Marine Corps birthday was also this week! :) I am very excited to see the photos of all of the Marine Corps balls that everyone went to.

Is everyone getting excited about the holidays? I am! :)

It may be a little early...

...but I really want this for Christmas! I saw it today in my new issue of Martha Stewart Living. So cute. And I love the vintage-y looking photos that it takes. :)

{lomography.com}

I seriously want to take some photography classes soon.....

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On another note, my deployment "donut of misery" status says, "feeling like superwoman!!!!!!"

Not so much though....I feel like I have been a little frustrated over the last couple of days...

....but I'm hangin' in there! I feel the urge to paint today. I think I am going to go buy some supplies and attempt to paint outside of painting class! : D

I was thinking today about Duke and me. Is it crazy that we have only spent two and a half weeks together this year? (Sigh.) It may seem crazy, but it's true.

I love him sooo much. But, sometimes I feel like when he comes home, we will have to sort of "get to know each other" again. Is that weird? It seems strange to me, too. And it makes me nervous sometimes.

But, I'm excited about it. One of the few good things about having a long-distance relationship is getting those butterflies over and over again before we see each other. And we appreciate the time we have together. And we really "get to know one another" over and over.

Of course, I would trade all of that in a second to have him with me everyday! :)

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Thanks for reading.

Life is a gift and time is precious. Too many people take it for granted. Stop and think...and appreciate. :)



Painting and Deployment Talk

Hello!!!! Here is a little update regarding my last post. My painting class was super awesome!!!!!!! I seriously had a fabulous time and it was great to be 100% focused on something other than life for two and a half hours. :) Here is my finished product.

My teacher was obviously super great. :)

I kind of feel like I have been in a "funk" this week, so I have been trying to stay really busy. I have actually signed up for another painting class on Monday and my BFF is coming to visit me tomorrow!!! Heeheeeeee!

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I don't really talk about what is going on in my personal life at work unless people ask me. I definitely don't want anyone to feel sorry for me while Duke is gone. I feel very lucky to be married to such an amazing guy and no one should feel any pity towards me at all. I'm not the one overseas working 36 hour shifts. He is. They are...

I have had some pretty interesting conversations at work this week. It cracks me up what some people say.

I got pretty upset at work because I missed a phone call from Duke while I was in an exam room. The doctor that I was working with said, "oh...can't you just call him back?"

------(me) "ummm....not really......."

Another girl was asking me how Duke was and she asked me how often I get to talk to him on the phone. I told her about twice weekly. She said, "but he has a cell phone and you can call him anytime, right?"

------(me) "ummmm.....nooooooo....and if I miss his call, that's it for a few days."

She seemed so surprised.

And then, someone that I work with is about to go to Mexico for one week with her husband for their one year wedding anniversary and she said that she was dreading spending the whole week with him and hoped that he would sleep late in the mornings so she could wake up and go for a run by herself. Wow. And she tells me all the time that my relationship is an ideal one because we never get to see each other and she would just love that. Oh, really!?

I just can't believe it sometimes. I have to go in the bathroom and calm myself down. It's crazy. I would give anything to go somewhere right now with my husband for one whole week. Silly people.

* * * * *

It's the ten year anniversary of the war in Afghanistan and it is very  important to remember the sacrifices that all of our troops have made for this wonderful country.



New Outlook, Awesome Weekend.

So, I have pretty much decided that I am going to stop stressing out about my future career and stop pressuring myself to figure out what I want to do with my life. I tend to stress about this a lot, especially lately. I recently got married, I am 23 years old, and I have pretty much changed my mind about a million times about what I want to do. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy my job now, but it's not exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life. But I want to do something that I really love. And right now, I am just not sure what that is. So, I have decided that I am going to stop freaking out about it and just enjoy life as it comes along.

And I totally signed up for a painting class on Wednesday. Sounds fun, right? I am soo flipping excited about it. I feel like I have been doing great with this deployment, but the last couple of days have gotten the better of me and I need to get out of the house and do something new. Yayyyy! Hurry up, Wednesday!

Speaking of the deployment, I saw this today and liked it.

Cute. And very true.

I got to talk to Duke for about 15 minutes on Saturday (exciting!). I think I am starting to have a hard time because I only get to talk to him twice a week (although, I know I am lucky, it could be wayyy worse). He says that his guys are working 36 hours shifts (crazy!) and he only gets a 12 hour break in between to sleep and usually ends up working most of that, too. I feel sooo bad. Poor guy. He is definitely not one to complain though. At all. He is one tough cookie and an awesome Marine.

I live in a pretty small town and we had our annual Fall Festival over the weekend. This is probably the only year that I have gotten super excited about it. My BFF, Brittney, and her husband, Nathan (a veteran), came into town and it was sooo good to see them. Brittney is pretty much the most awesome person ever. And I met up with Duke's little brother and hung out with him, too. This is us on the Ferris wheel. He pretty much made me ride it. But it was fun.

The weekend was just the kind of thing that I needed.

For makeup junkies like me:

So, on a completely different note, I was thinking yesterday that I am so much more girlie than I ever have been before. I loove makeup and girlie things. I really love Benefit makeup. It is my favorite. It's the cutest ever and all of their stuff is great.

They have a new mascara that I have been dying to try, but I was waiting for my Diorshow to get used up first. So, I decided it was finally time to get it. Best. Mascara. Ever.  

You won't be disappointed. I wore it all weekend and it was awesome and lasted all day.

Anyway, this has kind of been a random post, so thanks for reading! :)

A Good Read

I finished a really great book a few days ago called The Five People You Meet in Heaven. It's written by Mitch Albom, also the author of Tuesdays with Morrie (another fantastic read, by the way). :)

I cannot say or write enough good things about this book. It's a must read. I read it in one day. Here are a few memorable quotes...

"Dying? Not the end of everything. We think it is. But what happens on Earth is only the beginning."

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"Lost love is still love, Eddie. It takes a different form, that's all. You can't see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it."

~

"Life has to end," she said. "Love doesn't."

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On another note, I had a pretty good day today. I had to take Breena to work with me so she could get her Rabies vaccine and she had a small growth removed from her face. She was soo sweet today. Here is a photo of her from last night.

Omigosh. So cute.

I missed a phone call from Duke while I was in an exam room though and it made me so sad. I held my phone for the rest of the day hoping he could call back. I hate that feeling, but it is bound to happen sometimes.

Thanks for reading.


Phone Call :)

Woo-hoo! I got a phone call from Duke last night. Yayyy. We talked on the phone for 5 minutes and 22 seconds and then he had to go. Hearing his voice was so nice. I sent him a care package yesterday, and it's a bummer that it will likely take a month or so the get there because I want him to have it TODAY! Haha.

I think he would be super proud of me. I feel like I'm doing pretty good (with the deployment) so far.

It seems like I have been spending wayyy too much time on the computer lately. But, I am trying to save money and if I go out, I know I will want to buy something. Ha. So here I am. Yesterday, I went to VS to pay my bill and was standing in line behind another girl. She and the cashier were chatting it up about having military pride and whatnot and I wasn't really paying attention. (I usually keep conversations like this to myself unless someone personally asks about Duke or my opinion). Anyway, the girl in front of me grabbed her purchases and said goodbye, and as I approached the counter, the sales associate said, "she just got back from Afghanistan, can you believe that?" And then I said, "well---actually, my husband is there right now." She couldn't believe it. I think her exact words were, "wow, two people that have some kind of experience like that were just here together." I don't know why she was so surprised. Military, Veterans, and military families are everywhere. It's not something that everyone talks about all the time because for some people, it's just everyday life. But I feel like it is important to be thankful and appreciative. I am so, so glad to live here in America. And I am very thankful for what all of our troops do.

Thanks for reading.