It's My Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to me. And meet one of my best presents ever. I met Zach Braff. Be Jealous.

Fiction or nonfiction?

I read a lot. There is no secret in that. I read a large variety of books, too. But if I'm honest with myself and all of you, I read a large quantity of historical romance. Not the crazy intimate in detail kind, but more the romantic comedy drama kind. Set in history. It occupies my time and keeps my mind sharp.

But there is a flaw in all this reading, too. I expect my life to mimic these stories. Not in a ride in on the horse kinda way, but more of a say cute things just because kinda way.

And then it doesn't happen. And I get disappointed. For no good reason. Don't get me wrong, I've got a really good one. I've got one who dances with me in the kitchen if my favorite song comes on and who does the dishes every night cause they are my least favorite chore.

But sometimes I just want that brand new feeling back. The one that you get when they grab your hand and kiss your knuckles just cause. And honestly it's unfair of me to expect fiction behavior out of my nonfiction husband. I guess that's why all my favorite romance authors are women...

What's on Heather's Phone Tuesday?!?

So I won't lie, My friend Maresa(that's right, I'm using names from here on out. I will still protect the innocent....or guilty.... but here goes nothing) have spent all week with my new phone looking at anything funny and trying to get a picture just for this blog. Literally. And unfortunately most of the time it didn't work out :( For example, in Target there was this chick who had squeezed herself into some red velvet pants. You all needed to see this. And Maresa faithfully pretended to dig around in her purse so I could get the picture. And she would not walk away from the register. :( So here's what we did get:
I was going to save the best for last, but a lot of people probably won't read til the last, so the best is first! This is me. In Maresa's dog Apollo's new kennel. Yes  I fit rather easily. 

Whenever Maresa and I go to the mall we always have to stop in and see the puppies (or in this case bunnies). That's why they put pet shops in the mall, right??

This guy didn't come from a pet shop and couldn't make it in the real world, that is for sure. <3

I love my husband. Because he loves me and my quirks. Such as biting my nails....

And begggggggging to go to the Western store in Honolulu late at night....

And finally, I've been feeling kinda lonely cause everybody's gone for the holidays and won't be back til after I leave. :( So imagine my surprise to know that Hawaii was lonely too! It has rained (like typhoon) for 2 and a half days straight now. 

Thanks for stopping by!!!!

He's not MY Marine.

I feel the need to vent a little. I'm pretty darn tired of people going on and on about "being married to a Marine". (P.S. This applies to being in a relationship with one, too.) Here's the thing, I'm married to my husband. Who by trade happens to be a member of the Marine Corps. I'm not married to the job. I chose the man. Why is this difficult? If your husband was a plumber would you go around talking about "your plumber"?

We're all guilty of it from time to time. Especially here in bloggy land because we are attempting to keep some anonymity. And you eventually sound redundant if you keep saying "my hubs, the hubs, the husband, my man, etc." But COME ON. When you met your husband, when he introduced himself, how did he introduce himself? Did he say, "Hi, I'm the Marine. Wanna dance?" Or did he say, "Hi, I'm So-and-So. Wanna grab some dinner?"

I'd put money on the latter. In fact, a large quantity of us met our spouses pre-Marine Corps. The Marine Corps has taken over majority of our lives. They control where we live, how much we make, when we spend time together, when we visit family, practically when we breathe. But you know what? They didn't take my husband's name, they didn't take his personality. So I'm changing things around here. So here it is, This is my husband before the Marine Corps. This is the man that convinced me to marry him (although after seeing this picture I'm sure you'll ask yourself how. haha) In all his "Special" glory.

This is Brandon.

To honor their blood..... with our sweat.

The sun has risen and set on 15 combat deployments for 3rd Marine Regiment since 2004. In that time, 3rd Regiment has covered the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Northern Afghanistan, the streets of Fallujah and the valleys of Helmand Province. The Marines and Sailors of 1st Battalion, the Lava Dogs; 2nd Battalion, the Island Warriors; and 3rd Battalion, America's Battalion; have laced up their combat boots in the heat and cold to go to work protecting and preserving the life we hold so dear. And more than that, they've laced up those boots to offer that life to another, less fortunate people.

Since October 30, 2004, when Lance Corporal Jeremy Bow, a machine gunner of 1st Battalion, was lost as a result of a car bomb outside Fallujah in Iraq's Anbar Province, 3rd Marine Regiment has seen the loss of 116 Marines and Sailors. He is credited as the first casualty for the Regiment in support of overseas contingency operations however he is actually one of eight. Eight men lost their lives as a result of that car bomb on October 30th. It was considered the deadliest attack in 6 months against the U.S. Military. Those other 7 men? They are PFC John Lucka, LCpl John Byrd, PFC Andrew Riedel, LCpl Jeremy Bow, LCpl Michael Scarborough, LCpl Travis Fox, Cpl Christoper Lapka and Sgt Kelley Courtney who was with 3rd Intelligence Battalion attached to 1/3.

To honor and draw attention to the sacrifice of these Marines and Sailors, 3rd Marine Regiment organized a memorial run this past week. Each runner stepped up to receive a fallen hero's dogtag and began a run of 2 miles for the loss of that man. Those 2 miles were ran 116 times while carrying the 3rd Marine Regiment flag. These Marines and Sailors ran in daytime heat and nighttime chill out of respect for fallen brothers they may or may not have ever met. Respect that was well deserved. This Regiment who isn't perfect, who makes mistakes, and who is just a collection of men who made the same decision to fight for what they believe is right, made a statement this week.

A statement that said they will not forget. Let's not forget them either.

Weekly Roundup!!

It's Roundup Time again! Hop on over to Empty Nest PCS and all the Rest and check out this week's following! :) I love Roundup wives!!!

Employment Schmoyment

That's right, I used Schmoyment. I created it, too. That's about how I feel these days. See, the hubs and I are desperately trying to start the next chapter. And what do you need in the next chapter? The same thing you need in this chapter. Money.

How do you get money? Jobs.

How do you get jobs? Beats the Heck out of me.

I've never struggled to find a job, until moving to Hawaii, but this place is an employment black hole so there is no surprise there. But now? Now we're really trying and so far? No luck. Ugh. But this is all  the time I'm allowed to take away from applications so back to the chomping block I go. Wish me luck.

What's on Heather's Phone?!

So it's Tuesday!! Now. This will be the LAST What's on My Phone with crappy quality pictures! The hubs and I got brand new shiny phones. This doesn't mean you're going to get good pictures. I apparently lack the "cell phone technology" gene. So just be prepared. haha. Let's get started!!

First up is all of our many suitcases!! Moving is pretty crazy and we have tons of stuff we want to take on the plane with us rather than go with our HHG.

When Gracie is being friendly he likes to hang out under the tree. Notice what I am calling the before:

But sometimes that can be a bit cold so then he takes matters into his own hands. Notice the after:

What do the hubs and I do on dates?? We borrow babies and go to the mall!!!

And this baby is something special. He's our sweet Baby Liam. He and Husband are buddies.

So this sweetheart's mommy just left for vacation. (She took him with her) and so we made a going away dinner. I made hor dourves. I put them in my new hor dourves spoons. I love them.

And now I leave you with this crappy picture of a new favorite book. A favorite passage in this favorite book.

It says, "He cupped her face with his hands, forcing her to look at him. 'Listen to me, Evie. I loved you then and I love you still. I may not have always loved you in the way you wanted to be loved, but as God is my witness I loved you the best way I knew how. If I never told you it was forever, then I beg your forgiceness, but I never saw it any other way.'"

Sweet.

Denny's from Hades.

So on some Sunday morning's my husband and I like to go eat Denny's before church. It's great, they have a value meal that I eat a meal for $2 and he eats for $4. Add in drinks we're out under $10. However, this Sunday was a joke. An unbelievable joke.

For starters, we walk in and are seated promptly. Awesome. Except oh yeah, our server didn't get the memo that we were there. 10 minutes later we are finally greeted. No big, the hubs and I were both servers (in fact that's how we met) and so we let it slide. We order both drinks and meal now. Drinks FINALLY come out. She asks hubs if he wants creamer for his coffee. Yes, in fact, he does. Too bad. She ain't coming back.

I ask another server for the creamer. Then our meals come out. They are both wrong. She manages to get them fixed and ok, we're eating. We've taken two bites or so when she comes back up and says, and I quote, "I'm going to leave the ticket here because I'm going on break. If you need something, *points at some unseen server* just flag down So-and-so to help you."

I'm sorry. WHAT?!?!?!

Best part? She then continues to serve our surrounding tables. Like they are so close I could reach out and touch them. Does she think we're stupid??? I'm so far beyond livid. Again, the hubs and I were both servers. There is no such thing as a break when you're busy. Unluckily for her, her manager does the table check about 2 minutes after that moment.

And we informed her of our displeasure. That's the moment our server decides it's a good time to "check on us". Her manager wasn't having it. Graciously the manager covered our tab. And the server got an earful.

The hubs and I are pretty easy to please. This was just a joke. Moral of the story? Don't go to Denny's expecting Cheesecake Factory service. In fact, Don't go to Denny's expecting IHOP service.

Image Credit

The Age of Kindle!!

This is my BRAND NEW Kindle!!! (ok, so not really mine, but I couldn't get a good picture of mine...)

And this is my not old Kindle but rather my ORIGINAL Kindle.

Isn't having Kindle's fun??

Weekly Roundup!!

It's Roundup Time again! Hop on over to Ines and check out this week's following! :) I love Roundup wives!!!

The death of a post.

So I was laying in bed imagining this blog. It's what I do most nights before I go to sleep. A lot of blogs never come to pass but I was determined this one would. However, as I got up and came downstairs all geared up to write it, I noticed a new blog posted by an amazing Marine Corps widow. I couldn't help my curiosity at reading this blog prior to getting started.

And that is where my original blog died.

I have stressed lately, there is no secret in that. I have been far from grateful for our situation in life, there is no secret in that. I have worried about the future and the uncertainty that is to come and I have wished some things could be different. I have asked myself time and again, "What are the two of us going to do?... Really?"

And tonight I was reminded that the answer is inside the question. The TWO of us will figure it out together. The TWO of us will make it work. The TWO of us will have each other.

I think about our last couple of years and smile. I think about the next 50 or so and smile. And I realize how fortunate I am to have those next 50 or so.

I read a lot. And in the most recent book I read he was given a choice of giving up his life for her freedom. Not even her life, just her happiness and freedom. And he chose death. Now before I turn away readers, he didn't die but, the point was he chose death. And he said to her "I need you. If I can have one hour or one lifetime I'll take either. But the truth is, I need you." I know this widow would make the same choices again. I know she would take the months she had with her husband rather than live a lifetime never having had him at all.

Also in this book was a bit of advice that stuck. People tend to regret the things they didn't do more than the things they did. So make your choices, take those risks, step out on that limb. You're more likely to regret not taking the step than to regret IF you fall.

What's on Heather's Phone???

Yay for What's on my phone Tuesday?!?! Hop on over to Jessica's page to grab this AwEsOmE button and join in on the fun!!

So because of the moving chorefun I have suitcases everywhere. I'm trying to pack up the clothes going with us on our month long vacation rather than ship with our HHG. My darling kitty Gracie loves suitcases. So in an attempt to keep him out of the one I was using, I opened up an empty one for him. This wasn't good enough. Until I added some towels for cushion..... (forgive the blurry)

So because we're moving, and we're heading somewhere cold, the thought was brought up that my little beach dog will be very cold. (And since hubs wants to take him hunting...) I sliced up a pair of old cammies and went to work on an outfit. This is just a test run as the final product will be made out of woodlands and will have the nametape "Devil Dog" attached above the pocket. Oh and be fleece lined. hehe

So in all my excitement to move, I forgot how much I'm going to miss here. The people, the fun, and very importantly, the beach.

Lastly, and yes, I know this is a short post, but hey, I'm headed out to get a massage so I'm sure you'll all forgive me. hehe. This is my darling playing our BRAND NEW Rockband. We love it. And we're getting pretty good! It was our mutual Christmas present to ourselves. :)

I'm glad you stopped by! Hope to see you again next week!!

New Blog Roll Page!!

Click on the Blog Roll Page to see blogs I love! Don't see yours there? No sweat, send me the link (or comment with your blog name) and I'd LOVE to add you! Can't wait to hear from you!!!

Introductions.

So I'm here to introduce you to some important people in my life who have just gotten started blogging. They are very near and dear to me so please go check them out!! (P.S. I'm introducing them in the order they created their blogs, not playing favorites)

First up is Kindle. She's my wifey. She has been there for me for a bunch of years and is closer than close to me. Her blog is different from the norm. It's controversial. Do NOT go there and judge her. Do NOT go there and preach at her. We all have our beliefs. This is her space to be her, so do not go class it down. Got it? Great, now go enjoy her!!!!!
365 Days and Counting

Next up is "Mrs. R." from this blog. Also known as Maresa. :) She is a wonderful friend who I have been fortunate to meet here on island and who's husband has deployed again. This is their second pump together and this is her space.
Missing *Him*

Last but MOST CERTAINLY not least is my darling and wonderful husband, Brandon. You've heard about him here, now you can go read straight from him!! He is very honest and blunt so be prepared to hear it like it is! :)
Redneck Romeo

Roundup and More!!

It's this week's roundup! Hop on over to Maine-ly Taryn to join in on the fun!!!


In other news, we finished up our Christmas packing/wrapping last night and I put together the flat rate boxes for most of our presents, and wrapped up the ones too big in my FAVORITE brown packing paper! haha. I had allotted $50 for shipping (I know that isn't much to mail EVERYBODY's presents from Hawaii, but I'm a pretty amazing packager and can get them in pretty tight. I am very proud to say that with insurance on everything, we got out the door spending $52.90. :)

I wish we could be there for Christmas with our families, but this is the next best thing. We do get to see them shortly afterward, so YAY!! :) This is our last Christmas in Hawaii. That is a big pill to swallow. Bittersweet. I am so glad to leave because we miss our families but this is our first home together, too, and that is difficult to give up. But I'm excited for our new adventure together. We're going to be living on love. Luckily, that is something we have in large supply.