When..

When did my life become Commissaries and Exchanges instead of Publix and Walmart?  I never thought I'd miss a Walmart as much as I do now sometimes.  And I never thought I'd have an issue finding unsweetened almond milk or canned pumpkin puree (not the pie mix) but, lo and behold, those are 2 things that I miss on a daily basis!  Before I moved here, unsweetened almond milk was a staple.  And have a dog with a sensitive stomach that pumpkin is needed sometimes!  You'd be amazed at the things you take for granted at your local grocery store back in the states.  We've got the basics, plus a little more..  But, a lot of stuff has to be ordered.

When did my life becoming packing up and moving all of the time?  I grew up in a super stable environment.  We moved once when I was growing up, but it was about 2 miles down the road.  I never switched schools, I never had to make all new friends..  And here I am picking up and moving every couple of years.  Sometimes state to state, this time it was to another country.  I always thought at my age (almost 25) I'd have a cute, little house that was all mine to do whatever I wanted with.  I have a cute, little house..  It's not mine, though.  It's the governments.  Yay, living on base!  It's definitely better than the hotel we were living in before.  And I know my husband thinks it's way better than living on the ship!

When did I start making some of the best friends I've ever had and meeting some of the nicest women in the world, only to say goodbye so soon?  Sometimes it's just a couple of months later, other times I get the pleasure of having them around for a couple of years.  But each and every one of them have an impact on me.  Growing up I pretty much kept the same friends, unless they moved away or we just grew apart.  I never thought I'd meet people I felt such an instant bond with only to have such a short time with them.  Ultimately in the end it's so worth it to have their company and friendship because it's the only way to make it through this life, but it's bittersweet!

When did I become more and more comfortable with spending more time away from my husband than I do with him?  That doesn't mean I don't miss him or I'm happy when he leaves or anything.  But over the past 3 years, doing two 7 month deployments back to back, various underways lasting from 2 weeks to over a month,  a C school that was 6 months long..  Not to mention the duty days when he is 'home' where he doesn't get to come home..  I've spent a lot of time by myself and it gets easier!  I just never thought it'd be like this when I imagined my marriage.

When did my life become this life?  It's not something I ever dreamed of.  When I was a little girl I never thought I'd be doing this day in and day out..

When did I become this crazy independent person, who finally appreciates the little things, is more than grateful but beyond blessed to have super, amazing friends and has seen and experienced things that most people from my neck of the woods never will?  When did this happen?!  I never thought I'd adjust to this, I never thought I'd be able to cope.  But I guess you're really not supposed to say 'never', because then God makes you do what you think you can't do.

I'm finally doing it.

When I first started baking treats, I mainly shared them with my immediate family.  I got the compliments and everything and I always just figured that's what family does.  I enjoyed baking thoroughly though so I kept doing it.  And then I started baking and taking treats to extended family events like family reunions.  Again, people complimented me on what I made and how pretty it all was and a few even asked 'Do you sell this stuff?'.  Again, I thought it was family being nice.  

Well, when I moved to Virginia Beach I started sharing with everyone I could.  I'd bake and take it to my friends for get togethers, or if I made stuff on a whim and didn't want it in the house I'd send it to work with Codi and on one special occasion I got to make a birthday cake for a friends little boy and had about 40 people eating my creation, along with the 'oohs and ahhs' and it was really gratifying.  Throughout this whole time I kept getting 'You should sell this stuff', 'You should go into business with this', etc.  I was so flattered!  But I never really thought my stuff was good enough to put out there.

And then I went to a Cupcake shop in a local mall.  I paid $8 for 4 cupcakes.  And that was 'Happy Hour' price!!  I remember getting back to the car and being so excited and telling my husband 'I can't wait til I get home, I want it NOW'.  So, I dug in.  In the mall parking lot.  And, sadly, I was disappointed.  The frosting had more vegetable shortening in it then I cared to imagine, the cupcake was dry and just, not impressive at all!  After my complete and utter letdown, (yes, I ate the other one and Codi ate his 2, also.  He wasn't impressed either) I decided I was going to change this.  I wanted to make a product that was not only delicious but more affordable.  I mean, I've seen home bakers selling for $3/1.  WHAT?  

So, I started a Facebook page to kind of get my name out there.  I remember sitting there while I was doing it and I had this little voice in my head saying 'And what if no one in Guam wants your stuff?  This will be an epic failure'.  But, then I said back to that little voice 'My cupcakes are never a failure, I don't care if I only do 1 order a month, I want to do this'.  And so I am.  Within 3 hours of posting my link on FB, I had about 20 people 'like' it.  Wow!  I am so grateful for my friends who have shared the link and said good things for me and about my cupcakes so far.  

I'm passionate about this.  I have fun doing it, it gets rid of stress, it allows me to be creative and I get to satisfy that urge I have to feed people (I 'blame' my Southern roots for that one).  I really hope I can branch out and really share what I love to do and eventually when we go back to the States really start going with it!

Osama's dead. I need to blog.

This morning, I woke up like any other morning (remember, my Monday morning is your Sunday night for you in the states), checked Facebook on my phone while I laid in bed waking up, then got up and got in the shower.  When I was done getting dressed, I came downstairs opened Facebook up on my laptop (why, yes, I am a Facebook addict!) and the first post I saw was along the lines of 'Hell Yeah, America!  Osama is dead!!  Turn the news on everybody'.  And at first it didn't register.  I was like 'yeah, okay, Facebook spam, awesome'..  And then I scrolled down.  There were 10 other posts, within 5 minutes of each other saying the same thing.  Wow.  A few minutes later Codi came in the door, changed his clothes, sat down on the couch and looked at me and said 'So, did you hear Osama is dead?'  

While I kept reading the posts on Facebook, 99% of which were positive, I kept thinking 'now what?'.  Don't get me wrong, I am happy that he was found and that he no longer has his life.  But my immediate worry was 'Now what happens to the troops still over there?  What about the retaliations?'.  There were other women on my Facebook with the same fears.  They're military wives, of course.  Not to say people outside of the military don't understand the impact of this, but I don't think it hits so close to home.  I almost have an anxious feeling.  I'm waiting for the news to start covering what's happening over there, I'm waiting for the videos from Al-Qaeda to start up.  

In the same vein, I have confidence in this.  People can say what they want about 'America's always just looking for a fight' and whatnot..  But you know the awesome thing about America?  We don't back down.  There may be retaliation, I almost guarantee there will be.  But the leaders here in America and our men and women in the military knew this would happen if Osama was killed and they won't back down from the upcoming fights.  They'll keep doing what they do, just like they have done and just like they are doing right now.  

As an American and a Navy wife, today I am proud.  Sometimes I don't always agree with what we do, what goes on and why we're exactly involved, but I see the bigger picture and I can appreciate it.   I support our troops and I am ever thankful for them.  All of them.  Past, present and the ones who gave their life defending me, you and what they believed in.  I'm happy my husband and all the other troops get to see some sort of closure for what they've been working for over the past 9.5 years.   I pray that the families and friends of those who lost someone on 9/11 and in the war since then are able to get some kind of closure, also.  I know the death of Osama won't bring back the loved ones that have been lost at his hand, but hopefully it brings us closer to an end, to getting our men and women home and starting a country of healing. 

Dogs and routines.

Routines.  They're both annoying and comforting.  Unless you're really the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type.  And I'm not.  I don't like surprises.  I like know what's coming up ahead.  Guam is throwing me off.

When we first moved here people kept asking me 'How do you like it?' and I'd always answer 'I love it, but I can't wait to get into our house and get into our routine.' and I meant that.  When we first got here and everything was new and exciting, we did a lot of sight seeing, looking around and just general 'touristy' kind of things.  But I still craved a routine.  I missed waking up at a certain time, having tasks for the day and feeling like I was actually doing things.

Well, we moved in..  And I love our new house.  But I didn't realize how much of my routine depended on my dogs.  Yes, my dogs.  Like kids, my dogs take up most of my day.  I have  2 year old dog who is a hound.  She's pretty hyper, she doesn't always listen, she loves to chew but she's fun!  I also have a 10 year old dog who  is like my little shadow and thinks he needs all my attention all the time.  So juggling them both can be pretty tricky; but I love it.  And in between their walks, feeding times and playing with them I still have the laundry, cleaning, bill paying, cooking, errand running, etc to do.   But everything is pretty much set and planned around the dogs by 3 questions.  How much time will they be in their kennels? How long can I be gone before they need to go out?   Can I do what I need to do so they don't have to wait too long for their dinner?

But right now we don't have our dogs.  They haven't been flown to Guam yet.  So there is no need to get up right away to walk the dogs, we can stay gone all day, come and go as we please, etc.  There's 1/10th of the mess without them here.  Between their hair, their paws tracking in everything, the chewing of toys all up, slobbering on the couch, they keep me cleaning.  But without them, there's not much to clean.  Plus, the severe lack of furniture doesn't help.  Our house hold goods are still on their way here, so our house is pretty bare.

Sounds awesome, right?  No.  I'm bored most of the time.  Don't get me wrong, we're still exploring the island, finding out we really like snorkeling and having fun whenever we want and for some people that might be awesome, the whole not having anything limiting what you do and where you go and there for you're never bored.  But, I miss my dogs and I miss my routine.  I miss waking up at a certain time and spending all day with them.  They keep my life interesting and fun and they keep it in check.  Codi and I could still go out and go snorkeling, or take a drive a to see the mountains, or hang out on the beach.  We could even take the dogs to do those things.  But in the end, when I open the front door when we get home, there's no one to greet me on the other side.  And until then, I have no routine.

The good news?  We're hoping the dogs will be here in Guam within the next month!  And then everything will be normal and feel right again.  I can't wait.

Great News!

I might be baking sooner than I thought I would!  We found out today our unaccompanied baggage is here on the island and should be delivered in a few days!  Of course I prioritized and sent my KitchenAid Mixer and miscellaneous baking things in this shipment.  My husband is all 'you could have sent useful stuff, like our printer or coffee machine'.  I could have, but I prioritize like a girl.  Like in one of our bags we packed to bring here on the plane, I brought my wax pot and a Scentsy burner (along with all my scents).  Nice eyebrows and a nice smelling living room is a priority, yeah?

Also, our household goods should be here the first week of May!  That means I can have my comfy couch and bed!  The only thing left to set up is getting my Toby and Mady over here.  Hopefully that plan is complete within the next few weeks and they're here before the end of May.  I can't wait to have them here and it feel like 'home'.  Yes, I'm one of those people.

But, for now, it's bedtime.  I have to get used to  updating this thing.  I guess I could put everything on here that I don't think is important enough for Facebook.  Maybe.  We'll see.