SpouseBUZZ Live!

This is long overdue! With PCSing in just four days my blogging has fallen behind but I have to try and catch up a bit.

Flying to 29 Palms with SpouseBUZZ was an amazing experience. I got to meet some truly wonderful bloggers like Lori from Witty Little Secret , Sarah, Jacey and Ms Vicki from SpouseBUZZ and Kristle from Forget the Dog Not the Baby.

I was up at around 4am and at the airport and across the country before I was fully awake. The Palm Springs Airport is easily the most gorgeous airport I have ever been to. It was outside and sunny and so warm. Virginia was a brisk 40 degrees when I left and Palm Springs was in the upper 80s! Bliss.







We met up in the airport and went for a delicious lunch together before driving up to 29 Palms to check in to our hotel. It was fancy and on an outdoor patio and delicious. We used the time to get to know one another, just chat and fill in our stories a little bit outside of the internet.



At the hotel we sat out by the pool, remembered to rush and buy Mega Millions Lottery Tickets, and just vegged. Ryan met me there after class and we all hung out and did a rehearsal of our Lightening Talks for the next day. These women are incredible, I was very nervous to be speaking with them, but they made me feel very relaxed and confident in their presence.





We were up bright and early the next day to head to the O Club on base for the conference itself. The spouses that came were pretty terrific too! We all gave our talks first, mine was about GeoBachelorhood... aka the last nine months of my life.





After the talks we broke out into focus groups and made top ten lists that correlated with the topics we discussed, mine being (naturally) 10 Advantages for GeoBachelorhood. I thought nine months was rough... some of the wives in my group have been doing it for YEARS. One woman's husband was in 29 Palms and she is in Utah with their two kids, working full time, for the past three years. And there is not really an end in sight for them.



After that the girls insisted Ryan and I take off and spend time together. They knew being apart was rough and Ryan helped with set up and the like so they were appreciative! My husband scored some brownie points! He borrowed a friend's car and we drove back to Palm Springs to check in to our next hotel. After a nap we went out and FINALLY saw the Hunger Games (SO good!) and went out to a nice dinner.

The next morning I was flying back to Virginia

I hope I get to go to another SpouseBUZZ event in the future. Jacey, Randy, Vicki, Lori, Sarah and Kristle were fabulous and the weekend was a learning experience as well as a blast. If they ever hold an event in your area... GO! It is worth it, even if you do have to wake up early on a Saturday!

2011 Retrospect

Last year I wrote a 2010 Retrospect entry and I think it is only fitting to do one for 2011!! I love writing these entries because I look at most of it and go "Wow, that happened this year? It seems like ages ago." Time sure does fly...


JANUARY



Ryan experienced his first Swedish Christmas and we rang in the New Year with friends and family in New Jersey.
I met two fellow bloggers for the first time, Kaylee from Moore Kaylee and Holly from Semper Fi to Apple Pie
I did my first Vlog.
My cousin Christie gave birth to our family's first great-grandchild Kimmie.
And we sadly lost Ryan's amazing grandfather unexpectedly after a brain aneurysm. He was a wonderful man and his presence is very missed in this family.



FEBRUARY



The re-enlistment debate takes off in full force.
I did one of my most favorite guest posts ever... hint: it involves Disney!
I used Groupon for the first time to go to the DC International Wine Festival as a surpise for Ryan on Valentine's Day.
Ryan turned 23
My surgery , breast reduction from 36DDD to 36C, that was supposed to be in January happened at the end February. I had a whole slew of guest posts including my husband.

MARCH



I wrote a post about what I was like in high school *shudder*
My cousin Kim gave birth to a beautiful boy named Gabriel
Cherry Blossoms bloomed and my best friend came to visit
25 Facts (out of 100) about me
We began to panic as Ryan's re-enlistment was drawing closer and it was not a good time for use to EAS...

APRIL



Six weeks post-surgery I did a Before and After picture post
I posted facts 26-100 about me
Ryan's re-enlistment/MOS change finally starts to go through!
My car just had to get a little more banged up....
And I watched part of the Royal Wedding because Ryan forgot his keys!



MAY



Ryan and I had our first Wedding Anniversary!
I met some AMAZING ladies at the Milblog Conference!
I went to a Beauty Boot Camp for MilSpouses... appreciation!
My little brother got his black belt in tae kwon do
Thanks to google searches my Yoga entry takes over my blog stats! It is to date one of my most popular entries!
Ryan RE-ENLISTS for five more years! Whew!
A snake climbed up our apartment
I go to Arlington Cemetary alone on Memorial Day to say thanks, and see the president drive by

JUNE



I made some delicious fried oreos for the first time
I found some important things NOT to say to a military spouse
We went on our first big married vacation, a week in Myrtle Beach, SC. It was so big it took me four separate entries to write about it!



JULY



We spent the 4th of July together and went to Mount Vernon
Ryan's Orders officially came in
And we made the difficult decision that I would stay in Virginia and he would go to 29 Palms, CA
We dogsat for Molly and I freaked out when she ate my birth control...
And I saw my FAVORITE artist Josh Groban in concert!



Ryan left July 31st for 8 months (now 9)



AUGUST



I wrote about Ryan's last week home and our trip to Busch Gardens, The Marine Corps Museum, and his going away party
Carrie and I started to become uber close and explored Mount Vernon and King Street
I took my first Solo Venture to the Irish Festival
At 23 years old I experienced my first earthquake... in Virginia!
My Poppy turned 89 and I went to visit
Hurricane Irene hit



SEPTEMBER



I rediscovered the amazingness of a first kiss
We went to LAS VEGAS for Labor Day weekend!
I turned 24
It was the 10 year anniversary of 9/11
Nationals Game!!
For a surprise for Ryan I did a sexy boudoir shoot



I got to shoot my first national commercial



For a change I dyed my hair red

OCTOBER



I slacked on blogging so I wrote a catch up entry about visiting NJ, swimming twice a week and loving pintrest
My commercial aired



Another big entry for me was my USMC Ball Dos and Don'ts
Ryan came home on leave for two weeks



NOVEMBER



I drove up to NJ to see my mom and won tickets to see Miranda Lambert!
After some debate I went completely back to blonde



Ryan and I attended the 236th USMC Birthday Ball in Palm Springs (Student Ball)
Thanksgiving meant Ryan was home and we went up to NJ to see my family




DECEMBER



Ryan got promoted to Sergeant
Carrie and I went to lay wreaths at Arlington Cemetary
Roller Coaster hosted the Milspouse Blog Swap
I visited the Tear of Grief
500 posts!
Plus the best Christmas present ever.... Rylie!




All in all it was a pretty great year, but I am excited to see what 2012 will bring!!!

Promotion!

As of December 1, 2011 my husband is officially a Sergeant!! I am so, so proud of Ryan it is ridiculous. He picked up Corporal in February 2010 after being a LCpL for nearly four years, so to get to Sgt in less than two is pretty cool in my book. Of course... he has cleaned up a bit since those early days ;)

Back in June I was there for my husband's re-enlistment ceremony, but I have never seen him get promoted. When he picked up last time we were engaged, he was in DC and I was in NJ working and planning our wedding. Poor guy, he would drive four hours every single weeked up until our wedding to see me. Gosh I love him. Now of course the hubby is in 29 Palms, so a six hour plane trip to watch the ceremony was not exactly an option, but luckilly the MCCES Facebook page came through for me! Behold... pictures!!!

















Hopefully in a few years when he picks up again I will be able to be there to see it!


Oh, also on the 1st my baby brother turned 15. He now has a NC Learner's Permit. As in he is driving. Terrifying. You ladies who drive down in NC better watch out, stay east away from the mountains! ;)

Gosh I feel old.

BUNCO tonight! I cannot believe I have fallen for the craziness that is this game, but I do enjoy it and the girls are wonderful.

Have a great night all!

236th Birthday Ball

Ok this is looooong overdue!! Sorry for the delay. I have been slightly jetlagged (shocked me, I didn't think I was there long enough!) and not sleeping and just trying to get through insanely busy work days. My poor blog has fallen by the wayside. So last week I packed like crazy the night before I was due to leave (surprised? not really) and could barely sit still at work until I could leave to go to the airport! I finally get to the airport, check in, battle security and get on my way. To Cleveland.


I think Nick at Nite lied to me, there was no Betty White and it was not hot.

Sorry, dorkiness over.

I did find a nice little bar where I got an overstuffed sandwich to tide me over. It was bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato, coleslaw and french fries on thick bread. $7. I think my beer was double that!

Anytime I fly I tend to get the wing. No matter what I do, I look and try and choose my flight and I am always in range. So on my grasshopper flight to Cleveland I was in seat 5. I was convinced I was golden. This was my view. I think I lost fillings from the darn vibrations for that two hour flight!



Ryan picked me up in LA, only after he got a little lost, and we made our way on the three hour drive to 29 Palms. In the middle of a dark desert road he stopped the car and made me get out. I was quite confused until I looked up. I had never seen a sky like that before. Stars like you would not believe... I could even see the band of the milky way, clear as day! It was gorgeous. But we finally got to the motel six near base and settled in. Ryan got up early for work the next day and I waited for him to come back. It ended up being 70 and gorgeous. I could not get over how big the sky is. In any direction it is just a giant, unobstructed dome. As warm as we were there was snow on the mountains!


We got some Sonic and made our way on the hour drive or so to the resort where the ball was held. It was at this place called La Qinta and it was stunning! Orange and grapefruit trees everywhere, fresh citrus beverage upon check in, pools and cacti and palm trees nestled in the mountain ring.... wow. We were in a little 'hacienda' with twenty foot ceilings and a fireplace! No time to marvel, we had to get ready. I think for doing my own hair and make up I did ok! But of course I stabbed myself with my eyeliner pencil and my eye turned BRIGHT red. I looked half stoned. Luckily by the time we took pictures it cleared up!

One of my favorites! We didn't know anyone at our table but it was neat to meet Ryan's classmates and chain of command. It was a student ball for MCCES and man did I feel old. Most of these guys were just out of bootcamp, which means six months ago a lot just out of highschool. The youngest Marine was born in 1993! I remember 1993 vividly!

Our favor was a coin that doubled as a bottle opener. Appropriate! The guest of honor was a retired Navy Chaplain and his speech was good, but the entire ceremony felt a little shorter than normal. The video of course had me in tears. Seeing 9/11 footage always gets me really riled and shaken, I remember it so well. And the thing that got me, most of the people in the room were only seven or eight years old when it happened. I am sure they remember it, but remembering something as a kid is very different from experiencing it as a teenager or an adult. I am not saying I was old and knowing at the time, but I know I was one of the minority in the room who not only lived nearby where the attacks were but was old enough to really understand (mostly) what was going on. Does that make sense? I hope it does. I was grateful to my husband allowing me to grip his hand in an iron grasp, he knows me so well. He was smart and watched it ahead of time and was much more prepared than I was.

And the POW MIA table always makes me sniffle a bit. Our cake was gorgeous, here is a side view...


And the front view. Actually this years cake was more impressive than 8th and I's last year. Shhh...

I did not realize until photos were taken that my dress was a teensy bit big in the arm holes. Lukily my bra was black but I am quite mad at myself for not noticing that the many times I tried it on!

Also, my posture still needs a LOT of work! Post surgery my back is 150% better but old habits die hard.
Ryan and some of his buddies from BEC.

And his entire new class. My hubby is the front row far right. Damn I am so proud of him!

This may be my favorite full length of us. It got a little chillier as the sun set so my shawl came in handy, but it also made me feel better about my fashion faux pas! After dancing and enjoying ourselves we hung out in the next hacienda with some of Ryan's friends and one other guy's date. After awhile we journeyed back to our room and lit the fire. In our sweats we curled up on the bed and... passed out. You know you are getting old when!! The next day we slept in and it was once again BEAUTIFUL outside! This was basically the view anywhere you looked.

We ate lunch at the bistro where all the food was farm to table. It was grown either at the resort or local and it was so delicious. I had fresh apple cider and we split a huge cobb salad and then a turkey club and roast beef au jus. Bliss.

Then we sat in the sun and basically digested. Man were we full.

The afternoon was spent idly wandering and taking pictures of the resort....

Gorgeous views

Our room/hacienda. Ryan ate a little too much so we went and laid down for a bit and watched NCIS before venturing back out to the outdoor restaurant. We had a margharita, a quesadilla and live music to keep us entertained. Then we splurged on a bottle of champagne and made our way to the hot tubs and spent the next few hours drinking and smoking and talking to some of his classmates. Awesome time.

Big damn cactus

Sunday morning we had to be up early to get back to LA in time for my flight but we took some more pictures before we left. Especially by our orange tree. We also got some Carls Jr to sustain us on the never ending car ride!


Our fireplace.

Ok, some iphone photos.... you may have seen these on facebook!!!


Ball

Orange Tree


Windmills/Turbines. These things were amazing. I drove to the resort part way through them and it was so windy my car was moving! I had to fight to keep it straight!


Ryan took this from my iphone as I drove... not bad for a camera phone! The rest were on our drive to the airport... and my regular camera again.








At the airport it was POURING rain. We wanted to go to the beach so Ryan could get his first ever view of the Pacific ocean... seriously. But the weather was so awful we scrapped it for my next visit, probably his graduation in April. I told him he should go anytime, but he wants me there for it (: I won't get our airline lady in trouble, but she was AWESOME and gave Ryan a gate pass to come through security with me!!! I loved having that extra hour or two and lunch with him. The only thing that kept me mostly composed saying goodbye (yea I cried a bit anyway) was knowing he'd be home for Thanksgiving. I am a lucky lucky lady.


I love to look out the window when I fly... I always take a window seat. It calms me and I just love the ever changing view. And I loved our weekend together. (: