Jared is Home!!

Jared is home!! Jared has actually been home for about 2 weeks now, but I am just now getting around to blogging about it...as you can read. :)

Jared's homecoming was amazing! It was the most exciting, yet the most nervous day - was the house clean enough? would he find the 7 loads of unfolded laundry I hid? what would he think about our half killed grass? would he notice all the crap in my car? None of that mattered as the plane landed and taxied to its parking space. I was already crying as most of you probably figured as soon as I saw the plane. I couldn't help the flood of emotion from pouring out, I hadn't hugged or kissed Jared in over 6 months! As soon as the men and women started deplaning, a rush of people moved towards them. We kept getting closer and closer to the plane trying to find our significant others because we couldn't see past the ones already reunited. I thought I might have missed Jared, but I eventually found him. That first hug and kiss was amazing. Jared was finally home, home with me and Izzy to keep us safe from weird noises and to stop me from doing crazy things (ie. calling the cable company to have them come out to switch the tv from AV1 to Av3 - oops!, calling the neighbors at night because of a weird noise, solving my liquid flowing out of my car problem - busted a bottle of water open and it was dripping out of the car).
Jared loved the signs I made and loved the decorations I put on the house. He was happy to meet all of my friends for the first time and see just who has been taking care of me over the last 6 months. He was very happy to see that his motorcycle was still working and his car was still... umm... running. Izzy wasn't too excited, she didn't cry or anything, but I am sure she was glad to see him. Although that did mean she could no longer sleep in the bed with me.

Jared was home a few days before Thanksgiving. Because his day and time had switched many times, I didn't buy anything for turkey day and made plans to go across the street to the Ritter's house. So that's what we did. The turkey was delicious! These people go all out! Not only do they do one turkey, but they fried another turkey. Yummy! Nicole's mashed potatoes were awesome and well, my jobs of rolls... good thing I had back ups because those darn things turned out to be hard as hockey pucks. I was trying to do too many things at once and didn't devote enough attention to the rolls. Oh well. After dinner we were looking through the Black Friday ads getting preared for our early morning start. We were going to leave around 3am to get to the stores early! Well, Kendall and Heather had another idea. Kendall stopped by the Ritter's to let us know about a new plan. The outlets that are an hour away open at 10pm... why don't we shop all night!?! So that's what we did. We left at 9pm to get to the outlets and go home at 9:30 the next morning. We stood in line for hours at some stores and breezed through just looking at other stores. It was definitely well worth it though, for the most part. I got Izzy a dog bed so she can have a warm comfy place to snuggle and I bought myself and Jared a down comforter for $30! :) Great deal there! It is originally $160! I was definitely pooped the next day.

We are getting ready for the holidays and are hoping to decorate the house one day soon. We were going to do it today, but unfortunately Jared has to be sitting at a desk all day for work. It snowed last night for the first time this winter in Whidbey. It was coming down pretty heavily and was sticking, but the snowfall didn't last long. The Ritter's have a holiday party and they say every time they party it snows. Good job again this year neighbors! :) Maybe next time it snows it will accumulate more than just a dusting and we can build a snowman?!

Just to say sorry in advance: Sorry for the lack of a holiday letter again this year, maybe by Valentine's Day we could put one together?!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Fall/Winter

Here in Whidbey, Fall lasted all of a week or so. Now it's straight on to Winter. Roads have already started icing at night in Seattle, the winds are whipping around and throwing trashcans over, and the temperature isn't much above Brrrrrr!

I can't let that stop me from doing anything... the countdown is on and the list of things I need to get done keeps getting longer. (I am sorry I am not able to post/say over the phone/type in email a specific date due to OPSEC - know that is't getting closer! Way close!) Over the course of this deployment there have been many ups and downs, as you can probably tell from my posts. Lately, I have been a roller coaster of emotions because of the number of things I feel I have to do. I feel as though there is so little time and so much to do. You don't realize what living like a bachelorette has done to the house until you have to really clean it, which I haven't done yet. The perfect outfit must be picked out, the perfect dog must be perfectly groomed, the cars must be perfectly cleaned, groceries need to be in the panrty (what have I been eating this whole time he has been gone?), the house must by spick and span - which included putting all of the laundry away, and the perfect meal must be prepared no matter what time Jared comes home. I guess I have these high expectations for myself that I know I won't get to. I found a hidden basket of clothes in the hall closet that I don't remember putting there and just found a day ago. Hmmm, how long has that been there? The cars are a wreck. I have looked like a homeless person driving around with all of my belongings piled into my Explorer on more than one occassion - "just push all that crap over, there's room for you!" Luckily, the people that have helped me out this deployment are the ones that are still keeping me sane. Even when I forget to brush my teeth AGAIN and have to turn around and go home, which makes me late for bowling, they are still there to say, "you can breathe around me." Even when I drop my cell phone into the dirty dishwasher and it lands in all the goo, they sympathize and tell me I should have gone back to bed. Even when I want to find a gym that offers pole dancing for something "different" to do, they help me load up 2 cars with 10 people and go... twice! (it's a workout, you should try it if it is offered near you) I am so thankful for my Navy Family who has helped me get over the humps, talked about our lady lumps, and talked me down when someone makes me mad and all I want to do is give them a few big bumps!

Back to Homecoming... it's coming soon! I have made banners and signs and I have flags, I think I am ready. I am going to put a banner above the front door of our house, I am going to cover up the builder's sign at the front of our neighborhood so that everyone can see that Jared's Squadron is home, I am going to put flags in our yard. I don't care if our house looks like the Griswald's, I want to make sure Jared knows I am so glad he is home. Once he walks through that door and realizes dish duty/cooking duty/cleaning duty/laundry duty are all his again... that may be a different story. But at the front door, he will be glad he is home! :) (such a nice wife, eh?)

A funny moment from the past week: As you know I am on a bowling league and my partnet is Kendall. Our team name is Pin Pals (get it?) and our team slogan is, Strike or Spare we'll always be there (lame, I know)! Anywho, last week I was late because of the brushing the teeth thing. Well, I got to bowl and what do I do? I throw... the ball... BEHIND ME! I then step on my big toe and proceed to fall to the floor laughing. So far I am the only bowler who has done that. But you know what? At least I had cute bowling shoes on! Maybe I wouldn't have done that if I had our team shirt on, but no... they had to come in the mail yesterday. From now on though, team shirts and cute bowling shoes it is!

Back to what I was saying at the top of this post, Winter is here... and it is cold. They say it doesn't snow in Whidbey that often. Last year was the first big snow they have had in a while. I don't think this year will be any different. Seeing how it is this cold already, I think it is going to snow and it better snow enough to make a snowman. This cold weather makes me want to crawl back into bed and snuggle, or curl up on the couch with a blanket and someone warm and snuggle. Soon though, my snuggling partner will be back and my feet will be warm once again. It's just a matter of time! The song Two Is Better Than One by Boys Like Girls, feat. Taylor Swift, is one of my favorites right now and will be playing in my head when Jared steps off that plane. Makes me cry every time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJiExALbTak&feature=related

I hope everyone is doing well, staying warm, getting ready for Thanksgiving, and putting those lists together for Black Friday shopping. As always, there will not be a Christmas letter from us... maybe a Valentine's day letter... it's not that we don't care... I just forget. Sorry. I love and miss you all!

... Standstill...

I feel as though my life is at a standstill. It is neither regressing or progressing in my opinion, it is just happening. I feel as though everyday is the same, with a few minor differences, but it all basically consists of the same things. Every day (or most days I should say), I workout, I volunteer, I work, I try to give "quality" time to Izzy, and I try to give quality time to myself. But to me it feels like I am doing nothing. When I compare my life to my friend's lives, it's as though mine does not stand up to it. They are doing something meaningful, have real big girl jobs that they have worked hard to get (and have been in one place long enough to get those jobs) or they are mothers. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do - volunteering and working part time and all. But I feel as though my life is at a standstill. Maybe that is because Jared isn't here and I have to manage everything and that everything is a lot. It is hard to remember to drive both cars (even though one car is the scary blue beast that can break down AGAIN at any moment), start the motorcycle, PAY THE BILLS!, feed the dog, feed yourself, let the dog out, do the laundry, take care of the yard (why don't people think dead grass is aesthetically pleasing??), clean the house... which a few of these have REALLY been neglected. I guess all of this is why there has been a lul in my posting, I don't feel as though I have anything to say. I can't tell you about my new baby or my upcoming new baby, or my awesome new-I worked so hard for this-job, or even my major accomplishment. Hey, I managed to remember to brush my teeth today! That is an accomplishment in my eyes, a major one, because one day I was late to work because I did forget. I know, that's sad.

I can try to summarize everything I have been up to in the last few months, so here it is:
......Ummm...
- I went to the pumpkin patch with some friends and picked out pumpkins. They were $0.21/lb and I got 5 pumpkins for $10! One of them has already rotted and the neighborhood kids poke at it a little more each day (I know this because there are tiny finger holes in the top).
- I went to a "Pole Fitness" class in Seattle with the gang and we were all sweating 5 minutes into the warm up! Trust me, being a stripper and hanging onto a pole IS NOT easy. We were bruised, sore, and our legs were cut up from our stripper shoes scraping our legs (we had to go all out, so our course we bought our own!) I am glad that I have been working out for a while now, without my new found strength I don't think I would have made it. We are going back for a refresher course very soon. And here is a tip for everyone, NO PORN FEET ;) If you would like to know what that means, give me a buzz.
- The same weekend as stripper class, we went to see Wicked. It was great, but next time I will try to get better seats. Nosebleed section meant we could only see little ant like figures from that far up.
- Oh, I guess I haven't mentioned really that I have a job. I work part time in the afternoons at a real estate/property management office. It is great that I can still volunteer and have time to do the domestic duties and still make money. You know how I feel about money, I LOVE IT!
- I have joined a bowling league. It is an officer spouse's bowling league and I bowl with my friends. We have 2 person teams and I bowl with trusty-dusty-Texan Kendall. Our team name is Pin Pals :) Last week was our first Thursday bowling, it was the day we set our handicaps, but of course I didn't know that or know really what that meant (I should have bowled sucky), but I scored a 115, 89, 105 for our three games. Not so bad, but bad really because I needed to suck! Oh well.

I have done some funny things over the last few months, but they have all slipped my mind.

The only good thing that I have to look forward to is Jared coming home. We are almost to the end and I couldn't be happier. Finally someone to put my cold toes on when nothing will warm them up. Someone else to make dinner and someone to make dinner for! Someone to do the laundry for me and put clothes away (well, it's not like I am really putting clothes away right now. Someone how the piles got mixed up and I can't tell clean from dirty. The smell test is an acceptable way to measure the cleanliness of the clothes right?). I have made banners and signs, thought about my outfit for homecoming, purchased materials to make another banner, thought some more about what I am going to wear :) ... I think I have thought about homecoming atleast once a second in the last couple of months. It overwelms my brain. I can also be set off by thinking about homecoming and have found myself crying profusely over dumb lyrics to songs, thinking about Jared coming home, hearing Jared's name, seeing another blue trailblazer driving down the street, or just thinking about making another meal for myself. Really, anything can make me cry, I just want Jared to come home so I am not so lonely. I think even Izzy has a bit of dog depression. She hasn't been right lately and I don't know what it is. I guess we both have a bit to work on before Jared gets home.

Well, this post is kind of bleak and depressing. Sorry about that. I have just been keeping things inside and trying to manage on my own. It has worked some, but truthfully, it hasn't been all that great.

I hope everyone else is having a blast and is doing very well. Keep updating your blogs so that I may be entertained with your adventurous, amazing, wonderful, funfilled lives!

PS: Just to also let everyone know, we are planning to travel to Virginia for Christmas and we SHOULD have ample time off. If anyone is in the area and would be up for a visit, let me know :)

A long time coming...

Hello Everyone. I hope this update finds all of you doing well... and maybe thinking of updating your own blog?! :)

This update has been a long time coming! June was the last time I signed into this thing and I have been doing a lot and thinking a lot since then. Let me start at the very beginning...

My sister, Courtney, her husband, Albert, and my newphew, Owen, all came for a week long visit at the end of June for my birthday. It was so awesome to see just how big and strong Owen has gotten and to see my sister and B-I-L. I was so happy to show off the new house and to show them that I haven't fallen apart since Jared left. Well, I haven't fallen all the way apart... maybe just a little. While they were here we toured Seattle's Pike Place Market, went to a Mariner's game (they actually won), played at Ft.Nuggent park, and hung around the house. Although I kept telling them "it's just a straight shot," they seemed to think it takes forever to get anywhere. Now they know exactly how boondockish this place is :)

In the middle of July I flew to Oklahoma to visit with friend's from Pensacola and to celebrate my friend, Shannon's new baby that is coming at the end of August. It was a surprise to Shannon and I have to say, she was pretty surprised. Our friend, Ashli was also a surprise guest at the baby shower. I felt like we just picked up from where we left off in Pensacola, just like it was old times. These are the women that I met and bonded with at our first duty station. These ladies where there for me during the rough times, helped me understand what exactly we had all gotten ourselves into, and kept my life interesting when it was dull. Erika was our host "mom" and allowed Ashli and I to venture out in her mom van! :) Of course we attended the baby shower, but we also went out for dinner at Toby Keith's restaurant and enjoyed some Braum's ice cream!! Yummy!! Although the time flew by way too quickly, this was a great reunion of sorts. I miss them dearly and wish we weren't so spread out across the country.

Me and Shannon
Me and Ashli
Erika and Ashli
Me and Erika
Me and Hunter (Erika's little boy)
The girls of Pensacola

The day after I arrived home from my mini-OK vacay, my mom and sister, Krysten came out to visit me for 2 weeks. We only have 2 days left, but it has been a fun packed few weeks. The three of us, of course, went to Seattle to tour around. We also headed out to Forks to see Bella, Edward, and Jacob and take a ride through their hometowns. Forks was as cheesy as we thought, but it was a fun time seeing exactly where Twilight was set. With a population of 3,000... I didn't expect there to be a lot there. Did you know Forks is the logging capitol of the world?? Well it is!! Today we ventured up to Canada and checked out what they have to offer. It was exciting going through border patrol and see just how nice the Canadian side of it is. The US side looked pretty crappy, sad to say. We toured downtown Vancouver, drove through Stanley Park (that is a whole day worth of sightseeing, so we left it for another time), and walked through Granville Public Market (which puts Pike Place Market to shame). Heather was able to enjoy Canada with us!


I had a really dumb moment in Canada. Luckily this was only a thought and I didn't say it out loud! The four of us were in the elevator going down to the sidewalk and we were talking about how level 1 was actually the level 4 button. There was a construction worker on the elevator with us and he said, "Actually level 4 is level 2." In my head I said to myself, "WOW! He understands us." ...Duh Megan, they speak English too!

My mom and sister leave on Tuesday morning. I will be catching a red eye Tuesday night to head ro Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to spend a few days with the Stolle's at Stolle Beach week. From there I am headed back home to Newport News to spend some more time with the family. It will be good to get home and see the neighbors and be on more familiar turf. I will be gone until the middle of August... don't miss me too much.

Although I have been having lots of adventures lately, it still doesn't make me forget that I am by myself without Jared. Going places and seeing new things just makes me miss Jared more (as I am sure it makes you all miss your other halves as well). I want to be able to go to Canada with him and see Forks with him and just be having these adventures with him. But!! Soon enough he will be home and we can go and do all the things and see the things I want to show him. We have made it through this whole thing rather well... or as well as can be thought. There have been rough patches on both sides, but we are managing. It won't be long... I can see the return in the distance. Okay, so I can't really see it but I know it will be here soon enough and I can't wait.

As always, thank you for your continued support and all of the ears you have lent me to vent when I needed to get things off my chest. Without all of you, I would be lost. Enjoy the pictures and come visit ANY TIME! :)

Hiking Pictures

These are pictures from our hike up Mt Erie... I think that is what it was. Heather and I took the pooches, Izzy and Sunny. It was a lot of fun and there were beautiful views from the top.

Pictures

Some Funny Stories, Some NotsoFunny Stories

It's been awhile, I apologize for that. I have been filling my days to the max and I am just pooped at the end of the day. I have some stories to tell, but some news first (don't get excited it's not what you think).

I applied for a Financial Counselor Fellowship that would allow me to be a certified financial counselor after doing a self-study, volunteering, and taking a few exams... however, I was not accepted into the program. I haven't really been looking for a job because I have been waiting to find out if I was accepted or not. Now that I know I will not have anything to do for the next 2 years, I don't really know what I am going to do with my life now. Maybe that's not the plan for me, but I thought it was. I will be super job hunting now in hopes of making my own money.

Now for the funny stories...
I was cutting the grass and our new lawnmower stopped when only half the grass was cut and the lawn still looked horrible. I checked the bag and it was kinda full so I emptied it. I checked the gas tank and there was some gas in it, I could see the clear liquid. I tried to start it and it wouldn't start. I tried again and again and again. Nothing. I went to the neighbor's house to see if they could help and they weren't home. None of the neighbors that I knew were home. So what did I do? I sat on the steps and cried. And cried. And cried. Then I went online to see if Jared was on and he was...thank goodness. He told me several things to check, all of which I had looked at before. I decided I would just put more gas in it to see what it did... well it started right up. Silly me. Now I know to check the gas each time.

Hmmm... there were more funny stories, but now I have forgotten them. Oh well.

I have been doing pretty well. Each day I have a plan for what I am going to do so I am not waking up and moping around the house. Yesterday I went to field day and hung out with some kiddies, then I went golfing at "Ladies Night" with some neighbors. I have gone to the library and read many books and am still volunteering with NMCRS on Friday's. Our house fan (that circulates warm air out of the house) wasn't hooked up so I got that working by calling someone to fix it. :) I am really excited about this next thing... We are FINALLY getting our storm door installed on Tuesday :) !! YAY!! Jared and I picked out a door that is glass, but has a pull down screen that is rolled up in the frame... so no changing out huge pieces of glass and screens. With this door we can have air circulating through the house and allow Izzy to sit at the front door all she wants without worrying that she may be able to damage it. Wait for the pictures to come!

I remember part of the funny story now. I went to Home Depot to pick up the door because it had just come into the office. I took Jared's car because I didn't want to mess mine up incase something happened. I get some help loading the door into the car, the door is hanging out the back window. I get home and back Jared's car into the garage, at this point I don't have anyone to help me take the door out so I just leave it in the garage until I do. Finally my neighbor has some time and it able to help me get the door out of the car. I open the garage and pull the car out at normal speed. My neighbor says "Hey Megan, do you know how much room you have at the top of the garage door when you have the window open?" I said "No, I didn't really look at it. I just figured it was enough." I had only about a half and inch of space to clear the back window. Luckily as I said before, I took Jared's car just in case :)

Now I remember another funny story. My friend Heather and I went shopping one day. When we returned to my house we hear this loud beep before I opened the door. Oh, it's not my house I thought. We got inside and sure enough, another beep. It was my house. We look around and it has to be the smoke detector... but it's a new house! Why would it be going off? I get my trusty dusty neighbor to come over and he says it is indeed the smoke detector. He takes it off the ceiling and it is still beeping, maybe it's one of the other hundred we have in our house. Nope, none of those. Still beeping. We search around like chickens with our heads cut off... can't find out what it is. Then Walaaa! Heather finds my carbon monoxide detector hiding on the wall and it is telling me the battery is dead. Really... this house ownership is making me go crazy!

Not another funny story, just telling you some more about my life since the last post. Our squadron had a pity party where we just hang out and eat food. One wife told me she had ordered a shirt for the party... well this must be a challenge I said to myself. I can make an awesome shirt myself. Heather and I put our heads together and came up with ideas for shirts. Our shirts were by far the most awesome ever! Her shirt said: "Now Hiring: Gardener, Dishwasher, Dog Walker, Plumber, and Mechanic." My shirt said: "My bank account is overseas!" Aren't we creative? I will post pictures later. Heather and I also went hiking the other day. We hiked up Mt. Erie (or the mount next to it, whatever). Izzy went and so did Sunny, her dog. Now mind you, Izzy is not one for exercise or exherting herself at all. But Bygolly!! She jumped up rocks and jumped over fallen trees! It was amazing. She was pooped for the rest of the night and the following day, but I am sure she enjoyed herself. You maybe be asking the same question Jared did, "our little butterball can do that?" Well indeed she can!

It hasn't been all bad since Jared left. I have been gaining more and more independence and learning to not hide at every noise I hear. Bills are somewhat easier and the lawn is getting mowed. I have also washed the cars, only to have birds poop on them that afternoon, but at least it was done. I have also learned some other valuable lessons... when you are sad and think food will comfort you, pick a different food besides the LARGE size Stouffer's Mac and Cheese. It will make me feel sick and then quilty and then sick some more. Maybe half next time, definitely not the whole thing!

I hope everyone is doing well and that they are enjoying their summers. Whidbey is absolutely beautiful this time of year and the sun shines until at least 9! Come visit so we can go hiking :)

One down, lots more to go.

Since Jared left I have been keeping myself very busy. Having people over, volunteering, playing Bunco, hanging out with Lisa and the gang, checking books out at the library, grocery shopping... my week has been a blur. My schedule doesn't let up this coming week either! I haven't really given myself time to decompress and accept the situation, I haven't given myself me time yet. I think I really need to do that though, maybe after the chores I need to complete tomorrow.


This was the day Jared left. As you can see, that is a fake smile. It was probably the worst day emotionally I have ever had. My best friend is leaving and I have to just let him go. Duty Calls.










Lisa and the gang invited me to picnic with them at Bowman Bay (well, actually I told Lisa I was coming along and she didn't say no). I decided I would show Jared that I loved him using nature. I am really getting into this "in touch with the environment" thing. Granola perhaps? No.










At least he has a grin on his face.