reunion

my darling wife,

on the eve of this long deployment ending, and this being only my second post ever, there are a few things i wanted to share with you.  i've been deployed now for nearly 9 months, though we've been apart for nearly a year and a half if you include the work-up.  i have to admit, it was the longest most arduous year and a half of my life.

now that we're moving in together, again, i feel a sense of renewal...a new beginning.  this time apart has tought me that my love for you is enduring, and it has only grown stronger with time.  you make me so proud in everything you do.  you are a strong, talented woman, and i am privileged to call you my wife.

so from here forward i promise to do all i can to keep you happy. i will not get upset when clothes are left scattered about the bedroom; i will bite my tongue when the dog piddles on the carpet; i will even keep my mouth shut when you lose your car keys for 3 hours just to find them in your purse.

all i ask for is one simple request in return...

will you join me for a trip to Italy this fall?  all you can eat gelato is on me!

love always,

your husband

full speed into {the wall}

expecting is the greatest impediment to living. in anticipation of tomorrow, it loses today.

lucius.annaeus.seneca

i've been off the net on our blog lately.

because without jeopardizing opsec,

i can say this:

we are in the home stretch.

but strangely enough,

knowing how close we are to the end

has made me even less patient with this deployment.

is that strange?

you'd think that the brighter the light gets

as you near the end of the tunnel,

the easier it is to endure.

but somehow, it's more difficult because it's almost over.

it's so close, you can almost feel it.

....and yet, not quite.

i've heard it referred to as "the wall".

that point in the deployment where you just feel like:

i'm over this.

does this sound familiar?

what do you do when you hit the wall?

of horses and horizons

if you're reading this:

thanks for hanging with me.

i'm discovering that it's tough to be a good manager,

and a good student,

blogger,

friend,

wife,

all in the same breath.

something usually has to give.

{guess which one that was lately?}


but i'm here for now...

so time to share some photos!

are there any texas natives reading this?

and if so, can i come live with you?

holy horses.

your state is [ gorgeous.]

i haven't been outside the city in so long,

and it didn't really hit me until i looked up from the range,

the horizon stark black from the lack of city lights,

amidst a star-dotted sky.

this was actually taken at night,

in a cloudy atmosphere

under the harvest moon.

and i made a little friend:

this guy lived outside my hotel.

{seriously....in the front yard of my hotel.}

and i might've bribed him with some carrots.

just a few.

all in all,

it was just another week at the office.

a {nod} to temptation

i got this lovely catalog in the mail today

from the land of nod.

have you heard of it?

i've been getting them for the last few months -

an endless array of adorable decor,

clothes, and gifts

for children.

and although we have none yet,

by virtue of our friends and siblings, we now know plenty of kids.

and these catalogs are great for generating gift ideas.

but for me, they're also pretty good

at generating a little anxiety.

because i'm already challenged to limit my purchases of stuff for myself.

throwing away a restoration hardware catalog

or a j. crew spread

is like an addict washing their stash down the drain.

so hard.

but soooo necessary to the survival of our bank account.

and frankly, of our spirits.

because do we really need all that stuff, anyway?

still, with all this temptation,

what's it going to be like

when i have a super adorable little person to adorn?

i mean, really.

could you resist?

so wish us {luck}!

or better yet,

wish me will power.

almost like being {home}

i ended up working part of last week

in the same north cackalackey town

where the husband is stationed.

of course,

the town is still devoid of husband,

but i got as close to him as i could:

i borrowed his bed.

see, before he deployed,

husband moved most of his belongings into storage

and kept just the essentials

at his sister's home in the area.

and she graciously let me stay over last night.

and is it weird that i was excited

 to see his {stuff}?

pretty sure that under any other circumstances,

this would be called

"stalking."

luckily, since we're married,

it's just called:

i miss you, babe.

local {flavor}

ever notice how each military town has its quirks?

the things that make it uniquely what it is...

and when your friends announce their next duty station,

you can name all of its distinguishing traits.

por ejemplo...

if you ever visit jacksonville, nc....

proud home of a Marine base,

and a quiet small town,

you’ll probably notice an abundance

of three kinds of places:

i. auto shops

ii. furniture stores

iii. strip joints

soooooo.

given how prevalent these places are

surely, a person could be forgiven

for thinking that an establishment called “Driftwood”

falls into category two.

and that person would be wrong.

because it belongs

to category three.

(or, as my teammate explained it,

sure, that place sells furniture!

like tall metal poles. and "pillows".)

[oohhhhhhh.]

luckily, i got educated before i went in to look for a new ottoman.

close call.

shabby {chic}

now really, Lady.

you know i already like you, right?

you didn't need to include a discount to shabby apple

in your dressed up post this week.

*sigh*. alright.

i'll use it.

twist my arm.

in honor of lady's generosity,

i'm pulling out my shabbiness...

even if the weather is still a little chilly for bare legs.

- dress:shabby, what else? -

- shoes:target -

- bracelet: thrifted - pearls: gifted -

not sure that they still offer this style,

but the lindy hop is pretty similar.

{and ps to my dear husband...

this lovely is going on our honeymoon with us.

if you get my drift.}

{and i will even strike that pose for you.}

morning {glory}

i thank You God

for most this amazing day:

for the leaping greenly spirits of tree

and a blue true dream of sky;

and for everything which is natural

which is infinite

which is yes

e.e. cummings

this is from my sunday morning at the basin
along with my kindred spirit in lowercase letters, my man e.e.

i couldn't resist sharing them with you.

hope that yours is an amazing day, too.

these {slippers} were made for walkin'

after my first vegas trade show two years ago,

my feet were dying.

two days of suits, high heels, and lots of walking

and i was ready to cut myself off at the ankles.

refusing to fly home uncomfortable,

{and having failed to pack tennis shoes}

i went in search of a comfy alternative at the nearest gift shop.

enter: my ed hardy lowtops.

i'm not going to lie:

i bought them because they were on sale.

ed's not normally my kind of guy.

and now they're my favorite pair.

comfy. fun. with a twist of badass.

{or as badass as you can be while wearing sequins.}

so this year,

i went back to that gift shop in search of  second pair.

alas, no ed.

but i did find these beauties instead:

equally comfortable...

and they make me feel the opposite of badass.

a little ballerina-ish, actually.

every girl has a favorite pair.

and you might find me packing uncomfortably from now on,

just to find my next!

{milspouse weekly round up}

i'm stoked be hosting this week's

milspouse weekly round up!

if this is your first time,

here's the battle rhythm:

submit a link below to your favorite

post of the week on your blog,

then have fun reading others' entries.

if this is your first time {here},

i'm so glad you stopped by....!

our {family} sitrep looks something like this:

boy....

meets girl.

boy marries girl.

boy submits paperwork to get out of the marine corps.

girl submits application to grad school.

boy gets unexpected great opportunity if he stays in the corps.

girl gets into grad school.
double win!....

....can you see where this is going?

so boy moves down to a sleepy town in north carolina,

while girl holds down the fort

{and a job, and a few classes, and a ravenous dog}

in their home up north.

and then boy deploys.

but soon enough, boy will come home,

and then the two get to live together again.

{.the.end.}


or really, more like the beginning....

so now you're up to date -

and i can't wait to meet you!

who's hosting next week?
athena!

{aka mama2six}

you can meet her here:

have a good weekend!

and link up : )

your blog {and mine}, reviewed

the lovely blog guidebook

has been offering a blog critique service lately,

and out of overwhelming curiosity,

i went for it.

i wasn't sure what to expect...

and if you're interested, here's the essentials of what you get:

i. a numeric review of various factors in your site....design, content, etc.

ii. an overall assessment: 'leave it!' or 'room for improvement'

iii. positive and constructive feedback

surprisingly (to me, at least),

we got high marks on everything.

with one glaring exception:

social media.

as in, we're not doing it.

and that's no good.

dangit.

i have to be honest:

social media for blogging is starting to freak me out.

only because there are so many options.

blogfrog

facebook

twitter

networked blogs

problogger

SITS girls

business 2 blogger

.....

oh.my.lord.

 really?

if you have a job,

or a toddler,

or are going to school

or any combination of these,

you, like me, are probably just grateful to get 5 hours of sleep a night.

{and somehow find time to write a post

for your deployed husband, who is asking for another one.}

so how does a good blogger make time for all this web networking?

or it is easier than i think it is?

bright lights, big city

hey kids...

i'm in vegas,

{again}.

somehow, homework is just so much easier to swallow

with a spoonful of salted caramel gelato,

and a sip of cafe americano.

ya know?

your skin is {gorgeous}

if you happen to be in fredericksburg, va

par-taying on the battlefields in your tri-cornered hat....

you should stop by the looking glass

and visit my girl, val.

she's a phenomenally talented aesthetician

who's been doing wonders for me for years.

{more so lately than normal.....

if i didn't get her help soon, i'd be wearing a burqa to the husband's homecoming.}

she'll take the time to walk you through your options,

and she's extremely detailed and thorough.

if that weren't enough,

her services are totally affordable.

i almost didn't believe this when i saw it:

Initial Facial Offer Includes:

{One Hundred Dollars, Two and a Half Hours}

Intake Interview: Objectives & Solutions

Cleanse and Assess

Appropriate Exfoliation

Corrective Masque Steamed Towel

Extractions as Necessary

Brow Groom

Under Eye Lymph Drain

One Zone Facial Sculpting

Custom Facial: Correct Feed Protect

Concluding Dialogue

Trial Size Products for Your Scenario

 

say wha??

that kind of pampering

can run at the same price as a coach bag in some places.
nothing beats beauty that won't break the bank.
{go 'head....say that five times fast.}


this is a totally unsponsored plug, folks -
val's amazing
and she'll do great things for your pretty face.


you're welcome. : ) 

the ease of email

does anyone subscribe to blogs via email?

i've signed up for a few -

mostly you crazy wordpress folks...

and i dig it.

i didn't think i would -

because it's not like i don't check enough emails on a daily basis -

but these messages are actually enjoyable,

because they're about you guys!

and because they come straight to me....no google reader required.

i take my blog news delivered on a silver platter, thankyou.

now, are you ready for it?

the cheap plug:

now you can get us in your email, too!

and via rss.

just enter your email  address in the block

underneath this guy:

and we'll bring updates straight to your inbox.

that's just the kind of service we deliver around here. ; )

riveted

via afp

have you been watching the news on libya?

i have. like it's my second job.

without jeopardizing opsec, i can tell you,

part of my fascination is personal.

you know. personal.

but the other part my interest is just the pure, fascinating drama

of the libyan rebellion.

it started out as legitimate protests against a socialist leader

and accelerated into near civil war,

with untrained civilians taking up arms against professional warfighters.

and swirling all around them:

a political debate of global proportions.

most of the world's free nations deliberating what their role ought to be in this fight.

seriously....

can you imagine?

no. we can't.

it might as well be happening in another dimension -

a certifiably insane head of state versus a band of citizen underdogs,

and every Western nation on the planet watchng.

we can't imagine.

thank god.

most of us can't imagine waking up to gunfire at 0200,

or being publicly and physically threatened by our nation's leader,

or seeing our playgrounds turned into battlegrounds.

we're just that fortunate.

for now, we can (and we will)

continue to watch.

and debate.

{and pray.}