Weekend Activities

Here I am!!! Oh my goodness- work has been SOOO busy! We are already short staffed as it is, then my supervisor went out on leave b/c she had surgery. And another girl I work with had a death in the family so instead of having 4 or 5 of us, we are down to 2! It stinks! I've been so busy during the day its ridiculous!

Anyway! I sure do hope everyone had a great Turkey Day. I know I did! I went over to Amy's house around 9:30 am, and we got right down to business! Peeling the potatoes, putting the turkey into the roasting pot. Amy did an AWESOME job on the turkey! It was already sitting in the pot when I got there, stuffed and ready to go! She put pieces of chopped up onion and celery all around it too. It smelled so great cooking! We put it into the oven and continued working on the rest of the food. We had on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (cheesy I know, but I have to watch it every year, tradition I guess!) We slaved in the kitchen all day! Our friends arrived around 2 pm, and dinner was served at 2:30. It was delicious! Better than I could have hoped it to be. Especially considering it was our first time cooking a turkey. It was just great though. :) All in all it was a great day. Me and Amy missed having our husbands there, but still had a blast hangin out with each other all day. I swear we were in the womb together! LOL We're so much alike.

The day after Thanksgiving me and Amy both had to work (we both work at the same hospital) and we also both had duty! So we had to be here at 0530 on Friday. I had to work until noon, then I had duty un till 9 pm! Amy got to leave at 6 pm from her duty, and they were nice enough to let me go too, since it was slow. :) We went back to my place and decided not to wait until Saturday to put up my Christmas stuff. So it all went up on Friday night! (Pics to come over the weekend!) It was...Exhausting, lol. I finally hit the rack around midnight. A little after. 20 hours of non-stopness! lol

The rest of our weekend was spent shopping here and there. I was sad to come back to work on Monday. I am already looking forward to this weekend! Joe is doing good, safe and sound. Some guys on his ship got flown off b/c they got hurt, but it was all self-inflicted. One guy punched a wall or something because he found out his girlfriend was cheating on him (being in the middle of the ocean with no where to go does not help that) and so I guess he broke his hand/wrist and got flown off. But everything is going good with him. I can't believe he's been gone for 3 weeks already! Next Monday will be a month. Hopefully time will continue to pass this quickly, because I miss him so much.

So what has been going on with everyone!?!???? Do anything good over the weekend?

I got a turkey!

Well, after a long week I was very happy to finally have the weekend! On Friday night me and my best friend (we'll call her Amy) went grocery shopping. Thats right- on a FRIDAY NIGHT. Yes, everyone can probably tell that our husband's are deployed, lol. You would never usually catch me grocery shopping on a Friday night. But anyway, we did. We like going together b/c we can talk and socialize, lol. Also, we wanted to pick out everything we were cokking for Thanksgiving. We got the usuals- potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc. Then we got down to business- the turkey! Well, I'm browsing around checking out the birds when Amy picks up this BIG BIRD! Now I don't mean "pleasantly plump" either! Its big! I immediately burst into laughter. Why the heck do we need a turkey that big!!?!?!?! Its only going to be me and her, and our friend and her husband! (Well, and her baby, but she doesn't count b/c she's only 2 months). So for the 4 of us its way too much, but she insisted, so we bought it. She said now we can make turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, etc. with the leftovers. Oh yeah, lol. Along with all this great food I am also making my famous homemade apple pie!!!!!!

Anyway, Saturday was our friend's birthday (the one coming for Turkey Day) so we all went to this spa and got pedicures, and they got their hair cut. We went back to her house and I saw her new baby, we hung out there and had cake and stuff. It was fun.

Yesterday was a very busy day! Around 0900 Amy came over and we cooked chocolate chip pancakes! Oh they were so good! We relaxed and drank some coffee. Then she went home and we both got ready to go out. I picked her up and our first stop was Eckerds to drop off some film. Next was Michaels (craft store)....this place is like my 2nd home! I bought some Christmas decorations and candles and Christmas flowers for deocrating. Then we went to Target, but we didn't buy anything there. Finally it was K-Mart. Amy didn't wanna buy a Christmas tree until after the holidays when they went on sale. She figured her husband is gone so she doesn't need one up. Well, we were in K-Mart and they had this nice 6 foot tree with pre-lit lights on sale for $50! She couldn't pass it up! So she decided to buy it, and got all blue and silver decorations for it too. It is sooo pretty! She loves snowmen, so all of her other decorations are blue and silver and white, so it all matched very nicely. Well we couldn't wait to put it up, so it went up yesterday, along with all of her other deocrations, lol. Even though its kinda early. And she's leaving them up until the end of January, when her husband comes home, so he can see it. :)

As for me, I usually put my Christmas stuff up the weekend after Thanksgiving, just family tradition. So we're gonna do that next weekend. But its so much fun, even without the guys, since we're such good friends. Just deocrating and cooking, what more could you want from the holidays! I am so excited this is a short work-week too. :) Well, I have to work and I have duty on Friday, but at least we have off on Turkey Day! What did you guys do this weekend?

She Works Haaaaarrrd For the Money

So as you all know last weekend was a long weekend for us because we had off on Friday for Veteran's Day. My best friend was visiting some family back home, so I was a little worried that I would get bored. However, I was very productive and time went by quickly.

On Friday I went shopping with a friend from work, who was looking for this Power Wheels thing for her daughter. We couldn't find it at any of the Walmarts by my house, where it was the cheapest. We did see it at Toys R Us, but it was a bit more expensive. We spent most of the day just browsing around the mall and hanging out. Good times.

On Saturday I decided to start my floor to ceiling cleaning in my apartment! (Long overdue!) But I figured since Joe is gone I have plenty of time to clean, and I know it will stay clean at least for the next 6 months! So, here is how it went, in order:

• Cleaned the bathroom...and I mean REALLY cleaned it, scrubbed every corner including scrubbing out the shower
• Moved to the kitchen. Moved all appliances and wiped down counter tops. Got a bucket of Mr.Clean and hot water and cleaned the inside and outside of ALL OF THE CABINETS! (My boredom is pushing me to extremes!)But my cabinets are white and so I thought a good cleaning would make them ultra bright!
• Thought my white refrigerator might be jealous of my nice clean white cabinets, so cleaned it too. Took everything off the top and off the front, gave it a good cleaning, put everything back.
• Swept and washed kitchen and foyer floor.
• For this next part you should know that I have ALL GLASS tables in my living room. Glass coffee table, glass end tables, and a glass computer desk! Nice and spacey! lol So, I windexed them. No spots or streaks left behind. ;)

At this point I decided to sit and take a break. I had been working diligently for over 3 hours. My friend whom I had gone shopping with the day before called to ask if I could meet her by her house. Apparently she finally found and bought that Power Wheels thing, but the box was too big to fit in her car. So since I have an SUV I said no prob. I showered and drove out there, picked it up, dropped it off at her house. Stopped at Starbucks and picked up a well-deserved Grande Non-Fat White Chocolate Mocha. Yes I had the damn whipped cream, even though I asked for non-fat milk to make the mocha fat free, lol. When I returned home in the evening I decided to take it easy and finish up my chores on Sunday. However, I did the laundry. But I didn't put the clean laundry away....I guess I'm a rebel. But I put the clean sheets on the bed and clean bath towels up.

On Sunday I picked up where I had left off. I started out by going through all of Joe's dresser drawers and our closet, getting rid of old clothes. I had a HUGE pile! I then folded and put away the clean clothes. This took quite some time though. We had a lot of clothes and it took forever to go through and decide which ones to keep and which ones to get rid of. Ok, moving on. Then I picked everything up off the floor and vacumed. Next up was cleaning the fish tank....I had been dreading this. I put our fish and 2 baby turtles in another bowl, cleaned it out good, and I had even bought new purple rocks for the tank! I cleaned it good, and put everything back into the tank. I let the water sit to get to room temperature, then put all the animals back into their home. :) All were healthy and happy.

Anyway! So that is it, but I was pretty busy all weekend! My best friend came back yesterday so this weekend we can hang out. I am so glad. :) Sorry this post is so long! I have duty today so its gonna be a loooong day for me. :) Won't be home till well after midnight. :( Hope you all are well!

Hangin In There

Can you believe I am posting 2 days in a row? I can't. Normally I post only every few days. Can you tell I have time on my hands? lol

Well, yesterday after Joe left, I went to work. But they told me to go home and rest. I was so emotionally worn out. I got home and laid on the couch. I kept thinking about Joe. I turned on the news, only to see LIVE COVERAGE of the tugboats pulling his ship out to sea. I turned it off. I cried. I laid on the couch and thought some more. I got angry. I decided a trip to the gym was in order to help get my frustrations out. I went. It helped.

After the gym I honestly did nothing. But I didn't feel bad because I worked out pretty hard for pretty long. I watched TV most of the day. My mom call around 4 pm, just as I drifted off to sleep. I was so tired too. I decided to answer and chat for a bit. She only made me mad. Long story, but for some reason she was being so pushy about things I needed to get done while Joe was gone. (School, etc.) She has no idea what life is like being in the military, so she talks like she knows, even though she doesn't. What works in the civilian world (AKA the "real world") doesn't work in the military....trust me.

I managed to get off the phone rather quickly, as I was getting very irritated with her. I took a shower and ate some dinner. I was pretty much in a daze all day. I literally walked around the house in ONE fuzzy pink slipper for hours. Didn't know where the other one was, didn't care to look either. I must have been walking around in the one for at least an hour before I even noticed. Sad huh?

I read my Bible for a while last night. I was very tired so I went to sleep early. I hesitated, because I didn't even want to go in my bedroom. It felt so empty. :( I smelled Joe's bottle of cologne on his dresser, curled up with his pillow, and went to sleep. I miss him.....

Day 1...

Today is Day 1. It has begun. Joe is gone. I am heartbroken.

I woke up this morning at 0400 so we could get ready and pack his stuff in the car. We left at 0500, and got to the base at around 0545. Joe ran the first load of his stuff to his ship, then came back for the rest. While he was gone, I looked around and saw many other people saying goodbye as well. Wives, children, girlfriends, all in tears. All sad. I saw some of Joe's friends from the ship trudging through the parking lot, towards their home for the next 6 months. And all of a sudden......I got angry.

I realize that it might sound selfish, because I get to stay behind where its safe and secure, and have the luxuries of my home. But at the moment I wasn't sad.....I was angry. This is the second deployment we've had to endure, and since we've been together over 3 years I realized we've been apart for about a year of that. And by the time he comes back, it will be a year and a half. I was angry for all those who have to suffer- the guys leaving, the families staying. The women who would have babies while they were gone, and not have their husband with them for the birth of their child. For the men leaving, who would miss that birth. Or miss their children's first steps, or first words. Angry. For being apart on the holidays, when you want to be with your loved ones more than ever.

And although we have endured through other deployments, it never gets easier. It still hurts every time we say goodbye. I was a wreck all weekend, knowing the time was coming so very soon. I had butterflies for days. Couldn't sleep right. Tried not to cry around Joe, because I didn't want to upset him. It was so hard. Too hard. Last night while we were snuggled up in bed, I just lost it. Lost all composure. He held me until we fell asleep.

And this morning, when he came back to get the rest of his things, I gave it my everything to be strong. But it didn't work. As I was hugging him and in his arms, I fell apart. He kissed me and told me not to worry. We've got through it before and we will, of course, get through it this time. We held each other for a long time, until finally he had to leave. Joe never says goodbye, because he feels like its too permanent. So he said, "I'll see you in a sec" :), smiled, and walked away. I leaned against the car and watched him walk away. He looked back at me, and we smiled.

I drove away, at first feeling really empty. I tried to think of the positives, we will be able to save so much money, I will focus on fitness and working out. I think the time will pass by quickly, with the holidays and stuff. My best friend is a very good "rock" for me too. Her husband is deployed too, so it makes it easy to talk to her because she understands, and likewise. I think half of what hurt so much was that I knew it was coming, and so all week and month I was dreading it. Dreading the saying goodbye. That mountain has been climbed now though, so I don't have to dread it anymore. And like always, I am sure it will be hard at first, but hopefully it will get easier. I really need a hobby though, lol. I can always work on the photography. Laying in bed will be hard, I will miss snuggling with him.

So, this weekend is going to be a long one, since we have Friday off. I am going to try to keep busy by cleaning and also going through Joe's dresser because its a mess! Hope everyone's weekend was good. :) If you can offer any words of advice or encouragement, it would be greatly appreciated.

For now, I am gonna go take a nap. :)

My Man!

So, I was able to get some days off this week. Back in high school, I used to do lots of photography...I actually intended on being a photographer. However, I ultimately decided to go into the medical field, but keep photography as a hobby. Unfortunately, I haven't done any photography in almost 4 years...since I've been in the military. Well, Joe has inspired me to get back into it, because it is a passion of mine. So, today we ventured out and did a little "photo shoot"...I did a role of Joe in black & white. I was pleasantly surprised with the results:


It was great to photograph Joe, as I think he is very photogenic! lol We had a great time, and I was able to put the pics into a framed collage and hang it up. I also bought a role of color film to mix it up, and we'll take those pics this weekend. :) What do u think?