Homecoming Photos

Here they are!!! Kaylah from Laure Love Photography did a fantastic job once again. I also just made our Christmas cards featuring these pictures... fingers crossed they arrive in time for me to send them out. I am so so behind this year. No cards, no presents, no tree... at least we have an excuse! (:

Enjoy the pictures. I sure have! I cannot wait for our prints to arrive!

Complete happiness.

We are slowly getting back into a routine, a few snags here and there but nothing too terrible. I did catch a horrendous cold yesterday but hopefully the medicine the doctor gave me will zap that fast! Our main missions at the moment, in no particular order are; to get the hubby a passport, figure out a trip, decorate for Christmas, get Christmas presents, and various other things!

Happy happy happy.




Edit 12/15/14 PERSEC

Homecoming!

Oh what a glorious word!!!

Of course I was slightly stressed that day. Nerves and the like! I went to work and my coworkers were incredibly gracious to acknowledge my distracted self was pretty useless and didn't have me do anything too strenuous ;)

After work I ran to the dry cleaner to drop off my husband's things that sat on the closet floor for months. In my defense he told me not to worry about them right away! I then ran to the bank, the ABC store for baileys and then home. I quickly walked the Dup, changed the sheets on the bed and vacuumed. My friend Donna stopped by to help me snap out of my insanity and then I realized my no heat curls fell out! Usually those dang things last two days with no issue! So I quickly showered, gashed my leg trying to shave, recurled my hair and did my make up just to get an email they were running ahead of schedule! Crap!

I go to throw on my glorious eShakti dress I'd been saving for the occasion and it ripped!! I was texting pictures to everyone trying to find a back up option but left the house late only to crawl to base in thick thick fog!!

Of course I make it and then we hear the guys are delayed. Sigh. My luck! But my amazing photographer Kaylah from Lauré Love Photography was there waiting for me and definitely helped me stop panicking. 

They had a great set up with tents (that we hung our signs on since the fence gets cleared once a week) a bouncy castle, a movie for the kids and snacks and drinks. 

After a few hours we heard the busses were on base en route to the armory. It was damp and my hair was uncurling and my poster was limp but my butterflies in my stomach became bumblebees. 

Then the bus was there. Kaylah wisely had me stand back and still and let Ryan find me. And suddenly he was there. I ran to him and jumped on him and had the best hug of my life. Nothing else mattered. Kaylah posted some sneak peeks of our pictures so here they are!!

If we get more pictures I'll definitely be sharing here! Thank you Kaylah for waiting around with me and taking such awesome pictures for us!

 

The Dup was so excited to see him too! If I can get the video here I will. Ryan and I were up all night talking and sharing wine and caffeine. I passed out on the couch with him around 5:30am watching How I Met Your Mother on Netflix. At 8:30am he woke me up with homemade French toast. All weekend was napping, catching up, and going out to eat. Also seeing Catching Fire. I'm so glad to have him home. To have someone to walk the Dup with, cook with, and watch football with at Ale House! Plus we upgraded to iPhone 5cs and I'm loving how much faster it is!!! 

We've had our moments but it's been terrific. I'm so happy he is home again. 

Jitters

As this deployment winds down I feel myself getting jittery. My stomach has nonstop butterflies and my pulse is accelerated these days. I'm extremely excited, but also extremely nervous. I remember going through similar feelings last time but maybe slightly different. Last time we were dating and I kept having, "What if he doesn't love me?" thoughts. Of course now I know those were silly and I don't have then this time, but I'm still nervous with homecoming looming. 

I'm super grateful this deployment was cut short. I'm thanking my lucky stars. But I'm also nervous. We didn't have much of a "reintegration" last time as we were living a couple hundred miles apart. Will it be rough? Ryan and I bicker a lot, our parents independently have called us the Bickersons, but we don't full out fight often. As much as I'm looking forward to even bickering with him I'm still nervous for it. 

Since my husband has been deployed a lot of changes have happened. I switched jobs/locations within the library, I dealt with two annoying car issues on my own, I handled family illnesses and bad news left and right, I've built routines like walking the dog daily to preserve my sanity, and I like to think I've grown and changed a bit. Of course he has. He has been in a war zone since this summer. I just hope our changes meld together without too much friction. 

I guess I'm mostly venting my nerves out there to the blog world. The homecoming banner and signs are made, the outfit is selected, the photographer hired (although he has no idea on that one, my husband is a pain with pictures!) and the house is ready aside from a last minute vacuum session and load of laundry.

 Sorry I had to edit them a bit but proof they're done!! There are hearts on the sides cut off there too. 

I'm ready. I think. I cannot wait to hug my husband and kiss him and tell him in person how much I love him. Not over a choppy, phone or video connection or an email either. I'm ready, whatever adjustment necessary to the solo life I've built in his absence. I cannot wait to walk the Dup with him, retire the Netflix/laptop combination that took over his side of the bed, and converse with another human every evening. I can't wait for him to be home. My butterflies can fly around my stomach if they must, I know it will be worth it. 

 

Spa Night and Spouse Experience

This has been a busy week so far but I'm so thankful for that. It's helping one fly by! Yesterday I went to work, ran home and walked the Dup, and then headed back to base for a spa night. It was a lot of fun!

We had four different stations; reflexology, sugar scrubs, yoga and massage. It felt wonderful to do some yoga, it has been a long time and my muscles were tighter than I ever remember them being. I really need to go find a class again, it's so hard to motivate myself to do workouts alone at home! And the massage was heavenly. I did not want to get out of the chair!

Today I was off from work but I did my usual commute to base to help out with SpouseBUZZ's military spouse experience. It was such a terrific day (massive artillery shaking the building and all!). I got to meet and see some amazing bloggers and people in the military community I've known (even just online) for years. Plus I met lots of great new people too. 

 Spouse Experience is a fun day. No powerpoints here, more like get on your feet and meet people and discuss the real experiences we all have and share. I'm so honored to even be involved in my small capacity! If any base near you hosts one please attend. It is so worth it!

Lots of people attended. Some spouses were married less than a month and others for up to 37 years! It's for everyone. The speakers are always fantastic, the prizes are awesome and the food was delicious!

I even got to be in a fake fight with Jayce for an activity. My husband would recognize my "You cannot be serious!" fighting stance!

Borrowed from the SpouseBUZZ Facebook page

The event let out around two so I had plenty of time to go home, nap, walk the Dup and then meet everyone for dinner at Ale House. It was a really nice dinner and I enjoyed getting to know everyone more. Now I'm home and quite sleepy! Tomorrow is work again but the library is officially closed for renovations, a new ceiling! We all will report in tomorrow to move books, pack and dismantle shelving before the construction crew arrives next week. Tomorrow night is a Return/Reunion brief with banner making supplies.... So you all know what that means ;)

Reunited!!

Ok sorry this took me so long to get to! But this is how my weekend with the love of my life went!

So I woke up at about 4:30am and was in the car by 5am with Don, Patrick, and Karli who all came to see me off. I was on the plane by 7:20am and in DC by 9:30am!!! As soon as I stepped outside of Regan Airport I was cold!!!!! It was FREEZING! My poor Florida body was in shock! I got on the metro platform and I knew I was in for it when it came to how cold it was. I took the metro to Union Station and I met Cat, which was awesome. It was sooo good to see her again too. We had breakfast together and then we went to the Smithsonian and the Mall (and our tree!) for awhile and just caught up before Ryan could get up to DC.

Ryan texted me that he was on his way and we agreed to meet at the Eastern Market Metro Stop... doesn't sound too exciting, but that was where we had our first kiss over a year and a half ago! So our first kiss after the deployment was in the same spot. And it was a long one. I literally jumped at him and just hugged him for so long, it was wonderful.

We got on the metro and went back to Union Station so I could get my suitcase from the baggage storage area and then we went out to Branch Ave (at the very end of the Green Line) where we stayed.

I was so nervous about seeing Ryan, and being with him again. It had been a long time since we had seen one another... hell we didn't even talk on the phone that often while he was gone. He was in Iraq, he had a lot go on... I moved to Florida, we had grown and changed, and I was terrified that we might not click like we used to or something would be different. But we were wonderful. I was still a little nervous when we were together but that all fell away.

The first night we hung out around the hotel... and the only place nearby to eat (we were carless remember) was Red Lobster, so we walked there and had dinner. The next day we slept in and it took us awhile to get going because Ryan wasn't feeling the best. I walked to the gas station and got him medicine (had to force him to take it!) and then we went out into DC. We hung out in Georgetown since it was Halloween, had this wonderful dinner at Clydes where we talked about a LOT of things (ie the future, plans, ideas, hopes, what's going to happen...) and then we went and saw Couple's Retreat. I already saw it but it was funny and worth seeing again. Ryan got pretty sick so we just went back after that. He had a fever that night and wasn't doing well, but his fever broke in the night while I was taking care of him.

The next day I got sick.

So we were both sick!

You take someone from the hot dry heat of Iraq and someone from the hot humidity of Florida and put them in the cold dampness of DC in November, of course they'll both get sick!!!

So we were both drugged and struggling for a few days. Sunday we went back to my campus and went to church at the Basilica and then I saw some of my friends on campus. After that we went to Chinatown and got Ryan a cellphone charger but I was pretty sick at that point so we went back. It was my turn to have the awful fever so we just watched tv and I was miserable in a ball under the covers. (But we watched UP when he was sick and The Ugly Truth when I was, so we got some movies in! And I think Jumanji was in there somewhere too....)

Monday I was a little better. We went down to the Mall and saw some of the monuments and met my friend Kristin briefly before having a nice dinner at Jaleo in Chinatown. We were walking around after that and all these guys were scalpling tickets outside the Verizon Center. We were tired of being asked so we finally caved and asked what the tickets were for, turns out Bruce Springsteen and the E St Band were there! Guess who ended up at the concert?

That would be us!!!

It was fun, and I know Ryan wasn't a huge fan so it meant a lot to me for us to go. After we went back to the hotel and then it was suddenly our last day. We took a long metro ride to Virigina and went to IHOP for breakfast, I didn't eat much since I was still sick, but I was getting there. Then we sat on the National Mall and talked for hours until it was time to go to the airport. We had dinner at Fridays in the airport and then I had to say goodbye again. Leaving him at security physically hurt, I cried the entire way through. Then I was suddenly on the plane and back in Florida.


I also finally quit smoking. Being sick prompted it and then I just didn't want to anymore. It has officially been six days. And I am still sort of sick. I finally have a voice again but it comes and goes. Not good when you talk for a living.

Since our visit we text constantly and we talk on the phone every night, usually for an hour or more. Last night was two and a half hours.

We're planning on moving in together after I finish here in Disney. Ryan thinks he will end up in DC until at least August (*fingers crossed*) so we'll get an apartment together. I just have to ask my Dad first... eek. My mom is cool with it though.

Talk of an engagement and rings has also come up.

Multiple times.

Whew. Ok, all written! Thanks for keeping up with me and this deployment saga. I cannot believe we made it through our first deployment. Yes it was shorter than expected but we still did it and so far we're still going strong, if not stronger than before. I love him so much, he is worth every bit of this.

Semper Fi readers, Semper Fi.

Hey Jealousy?

So I know one of the biggest issues Ryan and I have in our relationship is the issue of jealousy. His ex was not the nicest person and really hurt his ability to fully trust in others. She basically left him for one of his best friends. Now the problem is, I always have been one to have a big mixed group of friends. I usually have a big mix of guys and girls that I hang out with and that has always been a sore spot for Ryan in our relationship.


Graduation Party

Whether it was me playing video games at my friend Brian's house, hanging out with Nate, Jeff, and Dave from my theatre school when I am home in NJ, or hanging out with Don and Patrick in Disney... we have had pretty decetly sized fights about all of them. I would never do anything to hurt Ryan, I love him and want to spend the rest of my life with him. I have friends who are guys because, well let's face it, they are usually awesome to hang with, are honest (not catty at any rate), know sports, and are easy to talk to. Girls are much more complicated! I bond really well with one or two girls and get super close, but in big groups I do have my guy friends.


Team Bro-Womance at Disney Cast Quest

Now when I hang out with Don and Patrick here for example, usually it is in a group. 9 times out of 10 it is in a big group. Patrick and Don have a huge "bro-mance", they remind me of Ryan and his room mate Josh in a lot of ways, and Karli and I have the designated "wo-mance" (not as catchy but it works!). Usually the four of us hang out together. Karli's boyfriend Bryce is giving her the same flak Ryan is giving me which makes me feel a bit better, but not much. Patrick is dating Jenny, Don is on-off with Sara... and Karli and I are taken! What is wrong with the four of us being friends?? We work the same venues at work, we have fun together, and it breaks up the monotiny of the day in Innoventions.


The Love of my Life

So I haven't had a phone call from Ryan in nearly a month, and before today our longest talk in a week was maybe 10 minutes. Today he spent an hour of precious internet time (Al Asad sucks for that) arguing with me about being friends with guys! This isn't third grade, boys and girls don't have to be separate from coodies contamination and just because you are male and female does not mean sex has to be involved for any sort of connection to be possible.

These guys are my friends. Nothing more.

1. I have Ryan, I love him and want to spend the rest of my life with him. That trumps anything anyone else could throw at me.
2. Not attracted to them. I love them dearly, but these guys become like my brothers. I have three already, I don't mind having more pseudo-ones in the mix.
3. If anyone, and I mean anyone, was disrespectful to me or my relationship I'd kick them in the balls so hard they'd come out of their noses.

The guys hear me talk about Ryan all the time. They want to see him when he comes down here. It is no secret. I have always been upfront and honest with Ryan in our relationship, and I think that is what makes all the difference.

He eventually backed off and apologized. I did too. I know it bothers him, but I don't seek out guys to befriend on purpose or anything. They are just my friends. Plain and simple. And usually when he DOES meet them he gets along great with them. Example given being my graduation party when Ryan went off with Jeff, Nate, and Dave on a cigarette run to a store 2 minutes away and we're gone for nearly 45 minutes. They got along great.

Sorry for the venting today, I was just frustrated that the hour and a half we had to talk this morning had almost an hour wasted on a pointless fight we've had many times before. Of course it ends up ok in the end, but I hate fighting with Ryan over anything and it is frustrating with him so far away. He will be back soon and I know we will be just fine. In 10 days I will tackle him, I swear I will!

I know he wants to be here with me and experiencing Disney with me like my friends here get to... and he will once he goes on leave. I told him he has to trust me. He said he did, it was the other guys he didn't trust. I said it doesn't really work that way, you have to trust my ability to choose my friends and the people I associate with, if they weren't good people, they wouldn't be in my life. Wow, this came out to be a much longer entry than I intended. Props if you read it!

It is all about the trust baby.

Typical

Homecoming is pushed back from Saturday to Monday. I hope this doesn't effect the 96!!!!!! But I am glad I ended up booking to come up a week later. I'd be so upset right now if two of the four days I took off were spent without him!

Small blessings indeed...

The Good and the Bad

First... The Bad
I won't be at homecoming for Ryan.
I haven't had a phone call from him since September 30th.

BUT the Good
I will be there for Ryan's 96! Hopefully the 96 information was right since my flight is now booked! And work oks everything...
I did get to talk to him this morning online for a little bit. It was slow and not for long, but it was so incredibly worth it.

These next few weeks are going to be so agonizingly slow! I am really upset I cannot be there for him getting off the bus. Megan and Nadia said they'd take pictures for me, but it isn't the same. I couldn't get the short notice to work and the flight would be $250 vs the $130 I paid for next week.