2010: Retrospect

Looking back on 2010

January


I was newly engaged at the start of the year. I finished up my internship at Walt Disney World and had one of the craziest New Year's Eves ever working crowd control at the fireworks! After the first week of January I moved back home, picked out a wedding dress, and found a temporary job as a pharmacy assistant until the wedding. I was going through lots of medical tests for stomach problems and my mom started a blog. I also changed the name of my blog from Disney and Deployed (as neither one applied anymore!) to My Marine and Me.

February

Ryan turned 22 and got promoted to Corporal! We both got bombarded with snow. The second blizzard I was visiting him in DC and got trapped when all the trains were cancelled. Oh darn, another night with him :P

March


I found our apartment via google and Ryan goes to visit, loves it on sight, and signs the lease... before I even visit! We snapped it up! This month was filled with bridesmaid dress fiascos and my lovely surprise Bridal Shower! I also found out I got hired to work at the Summer Camp I had applied to for the summer. Employment! Yes!

April

It was our first Easter together. I also had a very moving reading at Church I read on Good Friday Mass, but kept it together. We finished up all the last minute wedding plans, I started to organize and pack to move to Virginia. I was still going to the doctor with stomach issues... as I had been since January, but we finally found a medicine that controlled it. Whatever "it" is. Still no idea. Still taking that pill today. I got my first blog awards AND reached my 100th Blog Post! I took my first trip down with my mom to SEE said apartment and move in some of my stuff. I also went down with Ryan to move in some more things. Time seemed to speed up. I was doing Wedding Weather Watches and praying my Wedding Day would be sunny! I finished work at the pharmacy. I had my bachelorette day and suddenly it was the rehearsal dinner!

May



Obviously the highlight of May... May 1, 2010. Our Wedding and our honeymoon in North Carolina. You can also click the link on the top of my page that says "wedding" to see all the pictures I have posted here. Some were added this week when I was bored at work! Parade Season started as we settled into married life. No cable yet, just games of Scrabble and Rummy! There was also a minor break in in our amazing apartments parking lot... then for memorial day we went to Vrigina Beach and it ended up being one of THOSE vacations. It sucks happening but you just look back and have to laugh!

June

I started work at the day camp. Long hours, long commute, low pay! We settled further into married life. We bickered. We explored our new neighborhood and fell in love with it, taking long walks every night we could. I hit a small blogging block and was tired from camp (but my co-counselors did rock my socks off). I tried to do a thirty day Meme and failed after a week or two. And we got internet and cable!

July

Summer continued. We spent our first fourth of July together, DC had an earthquake, Ryan almost got orders, and toyed with CID for a bit. I did my first guest blog for Nicole @ Flip Flops and Combat Boots.

August

A huge storm hit DC and gave me a scary commute. Finally finished camp. Found an adult job thanks to my friend Meghan! Started working out... hated it. Hurt my elbow. Finished our thank you notes and met a fellow blogger for the first time! Yup, it was Nicole! We met up in Busch Gardens VA.



I also explained what a parade is...

September



I turned 23, Ryan and I spend my birthday together for the first time. He gives me my amazing camera. I had my first give away hitting 100 followers. Flop. Not thrilled about the long story there. I tried my first Georgetown Cupcake and got hooked on red velvet. Finally saw a doctor about my back. Debated having surgery...

October



We went to the Renn Fest! Sold my soul to the Magic Flute, an opera for my friend Jay, as the Stage Manager. I got into my first car accident. I started physical therapy for my back. My surgeon said I was a prime candidate for the procedure. Ryan breaks my car a little more. :P

November



Work. Physical Therapy. My first Thanksgiving with my husband. We went to Great Falls together for the first time since we started dating. Sent out Christmas cards. Work some more... Harry Potter came out! We also went to our second Marine Corps Birthday Ball together.

December



Our first Christmas together. I get approved for surgery!
We saw the Grinch on ICE! Ryan started re-enlisting slowly and working on getting into intell.... now onto the New Year!!!

I am late! Need to leave work and drive to Jersey. Happy New Year all!

EDIT 12/21/2014 to remove some bad image links that for some reason no longer work!

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Edition

MilSpouse Video

I borrowed this from The Ramblings of a Marine Wife and had to share. It is a little long but you will laugh and get teary... definitely worth watching.

What do you think?

Holidays = Blogging Fail

Wow, I went a lot longer without blogging than I intended to! We drove up to New Jersey Thursday night and got in pretty late. The one toll going into Delaware was INSANE. One hour to go fifteen miles. Once we hit the toll itself and cruised past the line to the EZ Pass section we hit 75 and did not stop til Jersey. So the stop go stop go, in a standard mind you, was pretty heinous.

I ate a lot of delicious food, saw a ton of family, did the church thing, and got some nice presents too!

Christmas Eve my bestie Sam came over and then we welcomed the chaos of my Dad's 100% Italian family for dinner. About 40 people? Not sure, just a lot of people and my mom and I are the only blondes present (I always felt like such a stepchild at these things... but I love my dad and being able to be Italian by association for a night!). They are always good for a big ego boost too, telling me I look fabulous/married life agrees with me/you lost weight etc. I may not agree with all of it, but it is nice to hear!

*watches her inflated head sail off into the distance*

Naturally inordiante amounts of food were consumed. Pasta with the secret mushroom tomato sauce, rice balls (AMAZING), eggplant, string beans, a million finger foods and snacks, home made cannoli and baklava, cupcakes, chocolate... oh it goes on. My pants feel a little snug at the thought.

Then we went off to midnight mass at ten o'clock. We've called it that for years. Originally our church had a midnight mass, but then they changed it to ten pm for the poor priest who had a seven thirty am mass after being at church til two am! But the name sort of stuck. I was a lector (reader) and it was amazing to have my family, my husband included as well as my aunt and cousin who surprised us, my best friend, and the best friends of our family (Fran, Rob, Chris, and Nicole) all sitting together. I also love reading at church.... and truth be told it is the closest thing to acting/being on a stage/in front of an audience that I have had in ages. :( Miss that.

Christmas morning was fun. Lots of presents were opened and the living room was demolished. I could not believe Ryan woke me up at 6:25 AM saying, "Let's go see what Santa left us!" I just stared at him, m little brother was still asleep!! Haha I am horrible and said no and went back to sleep. He let me stay that way til about 8:30 and then I had to be up because I did actually hear Stefan watching tv in the living rooms.

Presents:


From the top, an amazingly warm blanket made with that pattern from my mom and dad. Eat Pray Love on DVD and a VS gift card from the hubby (totally need that in one month for bras to fit post surgery!!). Santa got me a Kindle, which I AM IN LOVE WITH. We also got a laptop and a Wii for ourselves at Best Buy two weeks ago (with speakers for the tv too) that we wrapped up and acted surprised to open. My mom also discovered Scentsy and got us the USMC one with lots of blocks to burn. We've used it in our room every night so far and I do love how the room smells! I also got these amazing socks from my mom (and a client at work) that are scented and have shea in them and they are just SO cozy and comfy. They even have the little stickies on the bottom so I don't fall on the hardwood floors. Couple all that with some sweaters, a Betty White calendar from my cousin Jill, candles, candy, and some black sketchers snow boots and we had a pretty great Christmas!

Christmas Day brunch (as per tradition) followed at my Aunt Joan's house. We ate too much again, I may have gotten drunk on champagne mixed with pomegranate liquer while Ryan schooled the kids in pool in the basement. We then stopped by Fran and Rob's on the way home so the kids could hang out... and the adults too. It is at this point I realize my husband is quite drunk. I am long sober... but he was not. And had more to drink at Fran and Rob's. Needless to say I was not pleased. Especially since he kept going.

I played rummy with Nicole and tried not to be a nag and ruin our first Christmas, but I was upset at him for his behavior. Especially today when I get an email from my dad of all people saying how some of the things that happened were not acceptable. When I get home today we have to have a "talk" about it that I am not looking forward to.

Sigh.

Couple that with the fact he had a nightmare while drunk and freaked out since he was convinced it was real and would not listen to anything else I said. I was awake watching tv and he was out all of thirty seconds when he started saying 'help' so I woke him up. He was convinced he saw a demon in my room (this is not the first time he has had this sort of dream) and would not listen to a word I said. That in turn freaked me out.

Anyway Sunday we went to church and the snow started. We were going to go see my other two brothers and give them their presents and then stop by my grandparents before heading home but I just got a feeling that we shouldn't. I am glad that feeling struck because that snow fell fast!! It was slow go up until Philidelphia and then got better, but it was still a long and snowy drive back to DC! We then put all our presents away and crashed.

Work has been dead slow. I spent yesterday catching up on blog reading and was going to start this but the mail came at the last minute and stretched out my day. Typical.

There ya go, Christmas.

Pictures to follow when I figure out which laptop to load them on to...

....and

SO EXCITED!

I won Brea's giveaway for a new blog layout!!!!! Yay! Changes will be coming soon (:

Happy Holidays

Why do I have to be at work today? No one is here! Maybe four of our clients versus the usual masses. Lame. I have nothing to do, the phone isn't ringing... lameness. I checked and replied to my outstanding emails, read all my blogs on google feed, and I am now updating even if there is nothing to update.

Yay! The mail just got here! Sweet. Something to do! And it is early! And I can still go to lunch and kill an hour there.



Anyway, I just wanted to wish all of you a Happy Holidays. If you celebrate it, Merry Christmas. I hope you all enjoy being with family and friends. To those of you who have loved ones deployed you are in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

I am going up to Jersey tonight (with the husband naturally) and will be there through Sunday. Probably not going to update until next week... so enjoy the holidays!

<3

Wordless Wednesday: Grinch Ice Edition