It Feels Like Home

I've blogged numerous times about how "home" is a feeling to me and not a specific place. Home becomes relative once you move around a lot. The past few days Alabama has felt a bit more like home. Why? Because there is another Marine in the neighborhood! (And he has a fiance....who...wait for it...is also from Ohio!!) A Marine moved back across the street on his terminal leave (yup, sounds terrible and according to the USMC terminal leave is terrible, it means you are leaving them!). He was a childhood friend of Dave's, they're almost like brothers. It has been great to have a fellow Marine (and his fiance) in the area. We have hung out two out of the past three nights. Dave and his buddy have been running through the woods "hunting" squirrels. The first day they found some and the second day it appears that the squirrels are on to them...not so much hunting fun this time around. Oh yay! Someone for Dave to go play in the dirt with and he'll leave me be lazy on the couch in peace. It's delightful. What have I learned from this? We will have to live near Marines forever now, lol.

In other news, the in-laws decided to go on a cruise to Mexico at the very last minute. There was a cancellation and they decided to go. I hope they have a wonderful time! They deserve a break. It doesn't hurt that Dave and I are home alone all week now. We will be busy working and he will be going to school too, but it sure is nice. I'm off to continue being lazy :)

Realizations and Prayer Request

I haven't really been blogging much and the truth is besides being kidnapped by the Twilight Saga I've had a lot on my mind and not nearly enough time to sift through it all to determine exactly how I feel and what I should write. As you know from earlier blogs Dave's old unit 3rd Battalion 8th Marines is currently deployed to Afghanistan. Since January 1, 2009 they have experienced the death of 3 Marines. I didn't personally know any of these Marines, but I can empathize with their families and the Marines left to carry on without them in a land far from home. Losing someone you love when you are at least within your comfort zone is one thing, but losing someone in a war zone can be completely different. Please pray for the 3/8 Marines. Pray for their physical safety and pray for their emotional well being. Pray for the families left behind-both those who have recently lost someone and those who haven't...but are left wondering if their Marine might be next and there isn't a thing they can do about it but pray. Pray for the Marines who have taken or will be taking those deceased Marines to their final resting place, from the war zone all the way to their graves, because it weighs on them too...

I've been asking a lot of questions in the last 6 months...Why are we here in Al? Why haven't jobs turned out quite the way we wanted? Should we have chosen a different path? Why didn't Dave just re-enlist while he was deployed last time? Why? Why? What if? It has taken some time...and I'm still feeling like I should be more put together at 27, but I realize why Dave isn't in the USMC at this particular moment. I realize the first deployment was a breeze compared to what the families are experiencing with this one. I realize the Marines biggest problem during their MEU deployment was a battle with boredom. This deployment they really are battling for their lives and struggling to ensure that the Marines to their right and left stay alive too. I'm feeling blessed that for now my Marine is home, but I'm also praying for those who aren't home....and those who have come home for the last time.

Latest Addictions

I had a whole four days off recently and I accomplished nothing really. I had Friday-Monday off from work, but I spent most of my time reading the books from the Twilight saga. I had resisted reading these books for quite some time thinking surely they must be silly...who wants too read a book about vampires? Not me, surely. Well, after a delightful night with "the girls" and playing a hilarious rendition of Apples to Apples (remind me to tell you about that later...) I decided I was going to have to break down and read the books. I bought Twilight and watched as my husband scoffed at me for my weakness. I read it in about 2 days...the only things that deterred me were sleeping and working. I bought the second book, New Moon and read it within a day or so. Saturday I simply had to get to a store and buy Eclipse because I was enthralled with the story and couldn't wait to continue the Bella/Edward/Jacob adventure. .oO(Is it silly that I secretly wanted Jacob to "win" Bella?) I decided to buy Breaking Dawn before I finished reading the third book so that I wouldn't have to wait to get to the store to finish the story. Today at approximately 10 am I finally finished the saga. I'm glad to be free from the pull of the story. I can finally return to the world and stop ignoring my husband. He was rather irritated with me ignoring him while he talked last night...I couldn't help it, my mind was absorbed in the story and the desire to finish it! It's done now, I found "the end" and even though it didn't end like I might have chosen I can't say I'm disappointed with the story. Maybe I'm just not ready to think about vampires, lol. I'm not going to say any more about the story in particular b/c I don't want to ruin it for anyone who isn't finished reading the saga just yet.

Another addiction is the game Apples to Apples. I had heard of this game before, but never played it. Oh my is it fun with the right mix of people. I bought it the very next day after playing it for the first time. I can see lots of fun in future gatherings as I continue to play this crazy game. I'm even planning on playing it for Sibs Wknd, if I can talk Katie into it...which the fun filled weekend is only 21 days away! Woohoooo. I went to storage yesterday and dug out my suitcase so that is one less thing to worry about. I don't like opening the storage unit when it is rainy out b/c I don't want to get any excess moisture in there and as much as it has been raining here lately I didn't want to take a chance of not getting my suitcase out.

Hmmmm....I know there was something else I was going to blog about, but I can't really remember and other addictions at the moment. Have a lovely day!

Delightful Rain

It has been raining here since yesterday afternoon. It has been somewhat torrential at times. I am loving it. Mostly because I haven't had to drive in it too much or be out and about a lot. I also have been enjoying an excellent night's sleep and a lovely 3 hour nap thanks to the hard rain on the tin roof. For some reason I have grown accustomed to noise while I sleep. Maybe it was living on Maple Ave listening to ambulances roll down the road, maybe it was living in DC where no one sleeps til 4am, or maybe it was living in NC with the noise of the base artillery and New River's aircraft all the time...but it has left me a very restless sleeper out here in "the country." I now sleep best when it rains. The in-laws house has a tin roof and the rain makes a lot of noise, almost like a lullaby. It was wonderful to be able to answer my husband's morning question of "did the Wizzel sleep good?" with a resounding "yes." I also took a nap this afternoon when it started raining again.

In other news beware the Wizzel sugar addict stole her husband's box of Dots. I saw them after my nap and needed a sugar boost. I stole them and ate several. Yummy!

Dave's current GPA from college is a 3.0 which isn't too shabby considering her had to take a math class. He signed up for more classes this semester-sociology, speech, another history, and a computers class. Hopefully he has fun.

In Honor of My 27th Birthday!

In honor of my 27th birthday I shall try to come up with 27 things you may or may not already know about me. .oO(I don't know if this will be a tradition though b/c it could get very hard to do by say...age 60.) Dave and I celebrated my birthday early by going to Cheesecake Factory with two friends, David & Megan. It was YUMMY! Oh the pounds I would gain if I could afford to eat there more often.

Here's to my list...

#1 I'm slightly CDO (OCD alphabetized). I had to clean my college dorm room on Friday nights before I could relax for the weekend. I would have to clean our house before I could relax on the weekends...it is kind of sad sometimes.

#2 I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

#3 I haven't read the Twilight series yet, although this soon may be corrected thanks to the influences of Chrissy, Kim, Ginger & Amber.

#4 I love cotton candy. It is way better than chocolate some days.

#5 I love candy. I crave candy if I haven't had sugar recently (and keep a stash of some sort...kinda like a druggie).

#6 I sort of miss the Marine Corps days. Who knew?

#7 I would sleep all day if I could.

#8 I own several coloring books and boxes of crayons-and still use them.

#9 I am very particular about my crayons...once the points wear off it is time for a new box.

#10 I am somewhat of an expert about school supplies. I like regular pencils though, not the mechanical kind...thanks Mom.

#11 I don't like peaches-at all really. I will sometimes eat peach cobbler though.

#12 I secretly would like to be a librarian. (At the Library of Congress is the dream job.)

#13 My husband's lack of organization drives me insane...I just can't understand why he doesn't remember where everything is and can find it on his own.

#14 I'm a sucker for dress blues (Marine Corps uniform...), the white pants are the best version though. Honestly.

#15 Flip flops are my favorite kind of shoe. One great thing about AL is that flip flop wearing season is very looooonnngggg...and some days during December I was still able to wear them since it was like 70 degrees here.

#16 I can only wear certain kinds of earrings b/c my ears are very sensitive and will get infected easily. (Hence the reason I wear the gold hoops nearly all the time.)

#17 I'm not really a big jewelry person, but my husband can pick out great jewelry that I love. (Not easily done...just ask my mom.)

#18 I can't stand to wear a turtleneck. It makes me feel clausterphobic. (Looser fitting cowl necks are ok though)

#19 I don't like to wear shorts...they don't really look that flattering on me.

#20 My favorite place to be is the beach. Even in the dead of winter when it is freezing cold I still like to go.

#21 I can be overly critical. Dave has helped mellow that criticism to an extent.

#22 I have high expectations and get very frustrated when I (or someone else) is unable to meet them...refer to #2 & 21...

#23 I get cold easily...which is why the south is so great...I'm not as cold here.

#24 I would like to go to Ireland someday...Dave forgets that we had talked about going for our 5 yr anniversary (which means we have 2 yrs to plan and save $).

#25 I actually get more accomplished when I have a very busy schedule. (I guess it forces me to do things right away...)

#26 I would be totally lost without my Mom, Katie, and Maggie.

#27 I would also be lost without my husband. He keeps me sane most days.