Power of Positive Thinking

Alrighty, there are two major possibilities going on with two major things right now.

1. BAH
2. Deployment

Okay, your probably sick of me talking about BAH and our apartment but now things are looking a little grim. Although the current barracks are at about 120% (seriously, I saw the papers with my own eyes, they are all MAXED OUT) but they are building tons of new ones. So many to the point where they are trying to pull all "single" E4 & E5's who have BAH back into the barracks. But there is still a chance that T will get BAH so the power of positive thinking shall commence.

Now for some good news about deployment. T has the opportunity to move to a different regiment. If this happens he WILL NOT  deploy with his current battalion. Hopefully this is the case because I don't know if I could handle him being gone again. Especially so soon after our wedding. I would die inside. We will be thinking positive about this as well.

If these two things could go our way, life will be good!

The Good News and The Bad News

I am going to keep this post relatively short because I have a ton of crap to finish in a short amount of time. Tonight will be my attempt to get to finish my to-do list before 10pm.We will see how it goes!

Anyway... The good news.... T PICKED UP RANK TODAY!!! 


In my post yesterday I briefly mentioned that he probably didn't pick up seeing only 23% that were eligible  actually did. But he was in that 23% ! How wonderful!! Guess what this means! BAH? Yes, exactly =]. I'll keep you posted on that little nugget!

The bad news... T is scheduled to deploy next October.....

There is not much to say about that other than the fact that we will only be married for a couple of months before he leaves. And him leaving at all makes me quite upset. But were not going to focus on that right now. There are too many exciting things right in front of us that we must enjoy.

P.S I fixed the video in my last post so you can actually see the madness...take a peek, I promise you will have a good laugh!


XOXOX

Deployment Survivor!

I am a PROUD deployment survivor. Although T and I talked extensively about the hardships of deployment before he left, nothing could prepare me for the stresses, the trials, and the tribulations of deployment. The weeks prior to D-Day, as I like to call it, I was in denial. There was no way to convince myself that he was actually leaving. It definitely hit us the hardest the night before D-Day. As I sat with T, helped him pack his sea bags, and med bags it was impossible to hold back the tears. At the end of our last night together he crawled into bed with me he began to sob as he held me tight. (Shh, don't tell him I told you that, he'd kill me. Our little secret?) I knew at that moment this would be one of the hardest experiences to date and the ultimate test to our relationship.

Day one I was a wreck. Day two I was even worse. Day three I was mush, unable to concentrate at work or school. Day four I was a zombie from staying up all night and crying. (Don't worry, I wont go on a daily itemized list of how devastated I felt, you've all been there, you know.) One day I had am epiphany. This deployment is an OPPORTUNITY for us, a stressful opportunity, but an opportunity none the less.

For the duration if his deployment I learned how to be someone else's support system as well as my own. I learned that the saying reigns true, absence DOES makes the heart grow fonder. I fell more and more in love every day. I learned that this life would never be easy but love will always trump the hardships.  I learned to never take any moment for granted. Every minute on the phone and e-mail sent was cherished and every love letter was saved. I found a wonderful Mil spouse/ SO community that had supported me through every phase of deployment. I took the opportunity to get close to T's family. Talking all the time and flying out to see them twice during deployment bonded us tight and for that I am very thankful. To top it off, I grew tremendously as a person. I always viewed myself as a strong, independent, and dare I say flawless, woman, but during and after deployment I was that women times ten. My strength and faith in God to keep T safe grew exponentially. I also learned how to be the same in dependant women while DEPENDING on others to keep T safe and help me through the hard times.

Before I knew it, I was getting into a groove. I got used to writing letters every day, sending packages every month and waking up at 3am to a tired, haggard but loving voice on the other line. And then soon enough he was home! (Click the linky for the full homecoming story!) I can keep going on and on but for the sake of time (baby girl is napping, this time is precious to get some stuff done!) all I can say, is our first deployment was a true blessing. While I was waiting at the Motor Pool for the buses to roll in, the sense of accomplishment took over me. WE BOTH ARE DEPLOYMENT SURVIVORS. Our relationship stood the ultimate test, and WE PASSED! Now we know we can make it through any situation we may face in our life together.

A Heartfelt Homecoming!

It has been over a week since TJ has come home. After a week of being absolutely carefree and now that we are both back to the everyday grind, it is time for our homecoming story!!

TJ's homecoming was amazing in every way. Let's start from the beginning. He was due home late Sunday afternoon at 5:30pm, lo and behold I get a text from TJ's mom that they are due home at 1:30pm. WHAT?? I know right? Are you as shocked as I that they were not late, but EARLY?! SCORE! So I decorate my car and off I go!

(It is hard to see but it says: "204 Days Later, I Finally Get to Kiss My Sailor!")

So at 1:00 I arrive at the Motor Pool where they are set to come home. It was amazing, I was really excited and anxious to be so close to seeing, holding and kissing the love of my life. So I walked around, snapped some pics, then sat my self down in the rows of folding chairs and waited.

While we waited the FRO was awesome. She told us how close they were and gave us updates, and just like clockwork at 1:30 the first bus rolled in.

At this point I start to cry. He is on one of those buses. This is truely happening! The crowd was awesome, people were cheering, laughing, smiling and crying.

And all five buses roll in and the Marines and Sailors begin to file out.

After this point I am crying so hard for many reasons. I was so overwhelmed with emotions I did not even know how to handle them all, so I just cried. This is why there is a lapse in the pictures, I was crying so hard and searching frantically for my baby I couldn't even hold my camera steady. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, and seeing EVERY OTHER wife, girlfriend, mother, father and child find their loved one I finally found mine! (Sadly there is no romantic first kiss picture because I was alone)

 I FINALLY HAVE MY BABY BACK!! But wait there's more. When he arrived and we walked hand in hand to wait for all his gear we walked up to the parking lot to this:

THEIR GEAR WAS ALREADY THERE WAITING FOR THEM!! And wait, even better, no formation or accountability shenanigans. No debriefing. No ceremonies. I got to whisk TJ away within 10 minutes of  his lips reuniting with mine. Needless to say we locked ourselves away from the real world for  a week and enjoyed each others company.

It is absolutely amazing to have him back. And because I know he reads this I have to once again say: Welcome Home Baby!

TODAY IS THE DAY!

Oh my heck. Today is the day. The day I have been waiting for the past 7 months to come. I got a call this morning from TJ's cell. No more crazy satellite numbers, no more awful connection, no more operators coming on the line telling us our time is up. I am so excited but at the same time nervous and scared, roll all those feelings into one and they almost want to make me barf. It is like that feeling when you have to go up in front of a large group and wing a speech (I do this a lot, don't judge me). Or its the feeling you get when your tied 50-50 with 10 seconds remaining (aww, I miss my basketball days). It is nervousness mixed in with so much adrenaline you feel both sick and like superman.  Never the less, I am incredibly happy! This day seemed like it would never come, AND IT IS HERE!! I still have 18 billion things to finish so I am going to keep it short and sweet. In 9 hours I get to have my baby back!!!!!

P.S This is my last deployment post for (hopefully) a long, long time. Who's excited?! Me =].

To Do Now & To Dream Later

Alright. I have many things I have to accomplish before TJ gets home. It's amazing, this whole time I have been screaming from the rooftops "ONE WEEK!!!!". Yet this week has creeped up on me fast like a cheetah stalking his prey. (I have been watching a lot of Life on the Discovery channel, can you tell?) Anyhow, now I have roughly 3 days to do finish a whole bunch of stuff. (it's not really 3 days, I am just telling myself it's 3 days away so I can get this shiz done. In reality, he is still grounded in Afghanistan, with no word of when their flight will be, because of this stupid Icelandic volcano that has decided to muff up all the airspace the week TJ is supposed to be home. As you can see from my PG curse words, I am slightly pissed.) This is what needs to be done:

1. New extensions, beautiful long ones.

2. Operation cleanup. If you catch my drift.

3. Sew new straps on the dress. I'm not entirely sure I will accomplish this. If I do not find the fabric at Joanne's I am not even going to bother. Although I would really like thicker straps on it.

4. Beach Rental. I found this CUTEE rental right on the beach. The owner was so nice she said to just give her a call when I knew TJ would be in town and she would make it work. I just hope she isn't all booked up, seeing that our reservation will be VERY last minute.

5. Wash and Iron TJ's civilian clothes.

6. Pack our bags!

7. Clean the car. We cant be picking him up in a dirty vehicle. I am also super excited to write something cute on my back window about picking up my sailor. I even bought the window paint and by bought I mean borrowed from our ASG art room.

8. Take care of the odds and ends at work and school before I go MIA for a week. I need to finish 2 essays 1 extra credit assignment and finalize banquet plans.

I am almost certain more tasks need to be added to this list but for the sake of time, and my sanity, I will keep it to these 8 things. Oh, I should maybe throw in a few last minute workouts because, lets face it, I must look good! SO MUCH TO DO!

On an unrelated note. I am totally obsessed with real estate. When I am not watching Judge Judy, or even when I am, I search listings. This is my favorite one so far:

Isn't this house a gem? It sits on 23 acres of beautiful Virginian land. Some day I will have a house like this, with a salad garden out back, some rows of corn and hens to lay eggs for my freshly baked pies which I will place in the window sill to cool. All while all my kiddies run around the fields and enjoy the wonderful outdoors.

One day.

Jackpot!

Ladies, I have found it! I have found THE DRESS. My Dad must be my good luck charm because we went to the mall together today and  the dress just jumped out at me. It is amazing, tight and beautifully seamed in the bodice then it becomes slightly loose right above the hips. To top it off it has my two favorite things, it is royal blue, TJ's favorite color and it has pockets! The only thing I don't like is that it is a thin spaghetti strap, which I am not too fond of, but I may just sew a thicker strap on. OOOO, I am soo enthused!

Okay I need to lay off the posts. I just had to let the world know my excitement!

Much Love,
Delainey

The Perfect Dress?

I don't normally go shopping. In all honesty, I HATE spending money on myself. I am not exactly sure why, but I would much rather buy someone a gift, or a fun adventure with some friends. My mom has to constantly remind me to "Invest in myself" because it is something I never do. Anyhow, today was slightly different. I was excited to go shopping! Why you ask, well, get ready for it....

TJ COMES HOME IN ONE WEEK!!

AHH, I have been so excited (and anxious/nervous). I have been on cloud 9 and yesterday I officially took off of work the days of his homecoming and 96. Needless to say, this homecoming I've been dreaming about for the past 7 months slowly becoming a reality. So today I was exciting to go shopping for the PURRRFECTTT homecoming outfit. Courtney and I went to the Spectrum, I found a few things (2 to be exact, 1 shirt and 1 belt), but NO DRESS!! Nothing!! I'm not sure what is up with the fashion these days, but holy moley, everything is an extremely short, strapless, printed or color blocked, disgusting mess!! Would it kill someone to put a cute dress with straps in their stores? Or maybe something that covers my crotch, which should be easy, I'm only 5'2. What is going on?? I am quite upset. I guess my search will continue for that perfect dress.

Another Blog About the Love of My Life

TJ called me this morning and it was absolutely fabulous. I wasn't expecting a call for a while because I was informed that their satellite phone was broken. We mostly talked about how excited he is to come home ad for us to each other, hang out and go on adventures like we used to. Also about how excited he is to sleep in a real bed and take a real shower and eat some real, homecooked grub!

After the call this morning (and after I went to bed, woke up and studied) I wanted to do another bloggidy blog about us. So I found this little survey and I thought it would be a fun little doo-dad about us.


 

(This is one of my favorite pictures of us. In July, 2009, we went on a massive family reunion road trip, needless to say we have a TON of memories from this trip. Here we are infront of Mt. Saint Helens in Washington.)





♥ What are your middle names? Jissel and John. Contrary to popular belief, we didn't plan the J's.
♥ How long have you been together? Just shy of 1 year.
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? 1 week or so, well, more like 3 days.
♥ Who asked who out? Well, we actually had no choice. My friend Courtney went to go pick up her friend Austin when he visited California (he is also Troy's best friend in the whole world).  So Courtney asked me If I wanted to come with her to the airport and I was not working that day so I tagged along. That's where I met TJ (I actually kinda met him once before at a party, but I don't count that. It's an embarrassing story that maybe one day I will muster up the courage to tell). Subsequently, the next week turned into one perpetual week long, absolutely perfect, double date. =]
♥ Whose siblings do you see the most? Well I live with my sister, so I win this one
♥ Do you have any children? No, but lots of babies are in our imminent future.
♥ What about pets? Ew, I have never really understood the point of pets. But I would enjoy having a cat one day
♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Deployment sucks on both ends for sure
♥ Did you go to the same school? Negative.
♥ Are you from the same home town? Nope, He is from Utah and I have lived my whole life in the good 'ole Orange County
♥ Who is the smartest? I think he is smarter than I in many different areas, but I am definitely a better writer.
♥ Who is the most sensitive? Me! EVERYTHING makes me cry. Once we were in the car and I started crying because I was having a less than desirable day. After a few minutes of comforting I started to cry again and all TJ could say was "Are you really crying again?" That's like every other day for me. TJ has seen me cry hundreds of times. I've seen him cry twice. 
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Taco Bell. Don't laugh haha, it's his fav.
♥ Who is the neat-freak? Definitely me, he just drops things anywhere and I pick them up, haha, but it works for us.
♥ Who hogs the bed? Since TJ is quite bigger than I, naturally he takes up more room. He also has this really bad habit of rolling over my face when we sleep. It's weird, don't ask haha.
♥ Who wakes up earlier?Sheesh, close my blinds and let me sleep till noon, thanks!
♥ Where was your first date? Our first date was a week long adventure where we did everything from San Diego up to LA. It was beyond perfect in every possible way.
♥ Who has the bigger family? He has 4 brothers and sisters. I have 1. But our extended families are equally as huge.
♥ How did you spend the holidays? With him being gone I spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family and New Years with his in Utah. TJ and I shared the holiday joy via e-mail and satellite phones.
♥ How long did it take to get serious? 96 hours.... =]
♥ Who eats more? TJ is a bottomless pit, he also works out all the time, so that may have something to do with it.
♥ Who does/did the laundry? MEEE! Call me crazy but I actually enjoy doing laundry and I have been doing his from the moment we met. BUT TJ did do his laundry the night before he deployed. I was so proud.
♥ Who drives when you are together? I hate driving, especially in places I don't know very well. So I would say 75% of the time he drives.

This was fun! It definately isn't everything about us but it sure does sum us up pretty well. I'm counting down the days untill he comes home!

Much Love,
Delainey

A Very Special Valentine's Day

"Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible -- it cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession could." ~~ Barbara De Angelis

Ahhh, So as Valentine's Day has come and gone I have come to find being so far away from the one you love makes you truly appreciate EVERYTHING they do. No card, flower arrangement or box of chocolate, even if it is Godiva, can convey love like the memories of every smile, touch, tear and loving gesture. With TJ gone I had the chance to reflect on all the times we have had together, especially when we first met. I am so grateful we both decided to take that leap of faith. (For some background, when we first met I thought he was incredibly cute but I was sure I wasn't his type at all and TJ thought I was way out of his league. ALAS! we both took the chance and here we are almost a year later!)But, I did get one amazing gift, a phone call. I was about two minutes long, he said; "Happy Valentine's Day, know I love you. I can't talk for long, if you watch the news you will know why." Although the phone call was a somber reminder of what he going through overseas. Overall, I must say, yesterday was, by far, the greatest and most meaningful Valentine's Day to date. Who would have ever known that 4 small words could mean so much;

"Know I love you."

I could not ask for anything more.

My Ramblings about Deployments, Love and Finding an Apartment

Well it is officially February. There are a few things I think about this, which I will not go into all of them because my ramblings would go on forever. The most important thought I have on February is that we've got through another month of this (RETCHED) deployment. YAY US! TJ will be officially gone for 5 months on the 5th. We are both incredibly amazed on how fast time flies. So all he has to do is get through the next two months alive and I have to get through the next two months with my sanity then *boom* he is home! Although it is still 2 months away its surreal and exciting might I add, to think he will be home soon.



While my baby has been gone I have have had a lot of time, not just to focus on school and work, but also hangout with my family. Let me start by saying I LOVEE my family. I never understood those people who declaring an undying hate for their parents or siblings. I must say, mine are the BEST! One day I went to just lay in bed with my mom to have a "snuggle chat". I walked into my parents room to see her laying on my Dad's side of the bed. I have NEVERR seen her lay on his side of the bed so when I asked her what she was doing on that side she told me, "I am keeping it warm for your father when he comes to sleep." That was the most amazing response I ever heard. After 23 years of marriage my mom is still doing little thoughtful things like keeping his side of the bed warm. This day I realized what everlasting love is. The love my parents have for each other. I am terrified to grow old but I am excited to grow old with TJ the way my parents have grown old with each other. (Just to clarify, my parents are not old they are in their 40's but you know what I mean =])



Now this brings me to my FAILED apartment search. Well I wouldn't say I have completely failed, but I definitely am at strike two. After what seemed like years of searching for something affordable to me Apartment number one was in this absolutely adorable historic inn in San Clemente. Incredibly cute from the inside but, oh my gosh, the inside was absolutely terrible, it was 10 X 15 shoebox that smelt like smoke and mildew-y socks. The second apartment, this is a funny story, the agent took me to the wrong place, so we walked inside this absolutely BEAUTIFUL apartment with a full kitchen, nice counter tops and perfect carpets. Turns out that was the wrong unit, instead he took me to, literally, a closet off the previous apartment we saw. It was a room off the other apartment (it still had a connecting door!) not to mention it was the size of my parent closet. So naturally that place was a no. Finding a suitable apartment at a reasonable price in South Orange County is literally impossible. If you are looking for an apartment on a budget I would advise you STOP right now if you want to keep your sanity or double your budget.


Now I am done with all the ramblings, for now =]
Much Love!
Delainey

Our First Deployment

So, I am completely slacking. It has been 2 months since my last post. Although I'm almost certain no one is actually reading this. As of right now life is pretty much sucking. Sorry for the lack of eloquence but in all honesty that is the best way to describe it. T.J deployed on Friday and since then I have been a huge wreck. As much as I want to be viewed as a strong girl, I need a support system and my main support is now overseas. I cried 3 times before I made it to class, twice in the morning and once in the car. I hold his tags and say a prayer for him every morning. God are you listening? Please keep him safe over there. Why is this so hard? It is only day 3 and I am a wreck. Hopefully this will ease up and I will stop worrying. I will be sending my first letters and package very soon. I am pretty worried that it will not make it there, I guess we are going to have try to find out, yeah? Last I heard he was at some Air Force Base at some country outside of Russia living the high life. Food 24 hours a day mixed in with workout sessions and video games. Sounds great to me. The tough stuff is coming soon though and I know he is in the prayers of friends and family. I even went as far as to put his name on the Prayer Roll at the Newport Beach Temple (Summer kindly showed me how and programmed the number in my phone). So, hopefully all the prayer and good energy equates to the love of my life coming home in one piece. 7 months and counting down!

You'll be hearing more from me, promise.


Much Love,
Delainey