Day Two Hundred Twenty-Three.

I had implant surgery this morning for two of my back molars that I still had baby teeth for and no permanent ones under them. Pretty much a lot of pain right now with a side of nausea haha. I wish J could be here too. I think a little bit of him would make me feel better. :)

Day Two Hundred Twenty-Two.

A few days before Jason came home on leave one of the other wives in the squad sent me a picture her husband had taken of mine...

How cute is he? <3

It makes my heart melt. Poor guy is tired.

Day Two Hundred Twenty-One.

"The best way to predict your future is to create it."

-Unknown

Day Two Hundred Twenty.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1) Seeing Jason at his homecoming this fall.
2) 24 hours of sunlight this summer.
3) Finding out where we are PCSing to.
4) Our second honeymoon in October.
5) The excitement with friends by late summer of making signs, meetings, and preparing for our husbands to come home soon.
6) Reaching my running goals.
7) Sunday pajama days with hubby.
8) The road trip from Alaska to the lower 48 when we move.

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1) Played with Emmie.
2) Had lunch with Courtney.
3) Bought things for Jason’s care package.
4) Put his box together and wrote a short letter.
5) Watched Amazing Race and Daisy of Love (total waste of time on that one).
6) Phone calls with Cassi and Kristene to catch up on everything.
7) Looked for plane tickets for our trip this fall.
8) Talked to Jason. Yay!

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1) Win the lottery.
2) Put the month of September after April haha.
3) Give my husband a hug.
4) Find a place to live that is updated and not rustic Alaska.
5) Buy a pair of navy blue Rainbow sandals without feeling guilty right now.
6) Intern for a magazine or something exciting for a month.
7) Take Jason to a taping of The Colbert Report.
8) Take a week off of work and go see Jessica.

8 Shows I Watch:

1) King of Queens.
2) The Colbert Report!
3) Millionaire Matchmaker.
4) Real Housewives of Atlanta and the OC.
5) Big Love.
6) Rock of Love (yep guilty of it).
7) Big Brother.
8) And I would like to watch United States of Tara if I had Cinemax. :)

Thanks to JLC at French Kiss for distracting me for twenty minutes on this. If you want to fill it out go ahead. :)

Now to the post office and lunch!

Day Two Hundred Nineteen.

In Alaska we have HUGE ravens. They seem like they are about the size of small chickens and they are everywhere. Emmie always notices them but has never gone after them. There we don't have squirrels for her enjoyment. That was until we came to Michigan. Emmie is always on the hunt for a squirrel and she can spot them a mile away. I am so scared that one day she will have a successful catch and bring it back to show off especially when we move back to the lower 48. So when Jason and I were strolling the aisles at the store one day they had a selection of pet toy squirrels. Right away we knew we had to buy Emmie one. Instead of just giving it to Emmie on Easter when we saw her he put it up in the tree that she watches for squirrel movement in. The result?! A dog that was going nuts that her daddy actually had a squirrel and wasn't sharing it with her...

Emmie did eventually "catch" the squirrel and it was more so a disappointment to her in the end haha.

Also pictured is Bella...one of Emmie's only two friends that iisn't a human haha.

Day Two Hundred Eighteen.

Thanks Mom!

I have been eyeing one of those Taste of Home cooking shows that they are doing all over the states. I love cooking and baking and my mom on the other hand just never has been into it. We had talked about the show coming here in a few weeks, but I knew she wasn't into cooking so we just kind of left it at that. This morning I woke up to a email on my BlackBerry from my mom (who was downstairs haha). It had a little message telling me we were going to make a girls night out and the doors opened at 4:00pm so we should get there a little early and attached to the email was tickets to the cooking show. :) I'm a nerd but I am super excited. I know my mom knows I have been down in the dumps the past few days and it means a lot to me that she did something for me like that. Yay!

More pictures tomorrow.

Day Two Hundred Seventeen.

I have had such a hard time uploading pictures tonight so I am just going to post the coffee cups for now...

Pfft tell me about it haha...
My new coffee cup!

Jason's new cup.

My favorite artist <3

Day Two Hundred Sixteen.

I like to give myself a little time to feel sad before I peel myself off the couch and get a grip on life. I find it important for any wife to cry, be a sloppy mess, lay on the couch, eat ice cream, and complain for a little bit when their husband leaves, but we can only do that for so long right?! :) So time is up tomorrow I am returning to work and my usual day to day. Right now I feel strong. I miss Jason with my whole heart, but I know I...no wait WE have this. I can't live my life in a slump or time will never pass.

I have lots of pictures to upload and will share some of those later when I do!

Day Two Hundred Fifteen.

Heartache and tears.

Another goodbye and they never get easier.

Whenever Jason departs I always feel overwhelmed with a feeling of alone. You walk away, get in the car, drive, and go home. The whole time you are doing each of these oh so normal goodbye steps the sadness is even greater especially when it is the most important person in your life you are walking away from. The car is empty and you are driving alone. You go home to empty and complete silence and maybe it is just me but this is where I insert many fine words of choice in my head about the Army and how much I really love them on departure days ha.

On top of the sadness I have yet to sleep more than an hour although now I am feeling like passing out. I was able to text some with Jason too which always helps. I must say on top of the million reasons I love him his messages and encouragement for me when he goes is just one more...

"I'm so sorry you have to go through all this pain and heartache baby, I wish it wasn't always like this and I am glad it wont be. I have the best times ever with you."

"I'm so blessed to have you and I know what we have is real. You're my best friend, my everything."

"I appreciate how strong you are and couldn't ask for anyone better."

Day Two Hundred Fourteen.

Wide awake.

Whenever the time comes for another goodbye we always decide on that last night to stay up the whole time especially because the Army LOVES early morning flights. The night usually consists of us doing a lot of talking, watching TV and/or a movie, trying to be in denial of another separation, and by 2:30am we are both passed out. The total sleep is three hours or less. In no way can this be healthy, but every time it helps Jason sleep on the plane and me sleep on and off the majority of a sad day. Hey it works for me I'd rather sleep when I am a sloppy mess than the last few hours together.

Day Two Hundred Thirteen.

The ending of something good is an unavoidable sadness.

Day Two Hundred Twelve.

Long day so far and we are about to head down to the casino to do some gambling. Hopefully we win big OR we will just have a great time! ;)

Day Two Hundred Eleven.

Tomorrow we check out of our condo. I am a little sad that our "two weeks of normal" is coming to an end, but at the same time we have had an amazing two weeks here AND we still have a few days left together. When we leave here we are going to head to the other side of the state for a little overnight trip. A few months ago I made plans to take Jason to Benihana for dinner and to the casino overnight. One thing he said he wanted to do while he was home was go gambling. Of course the great state of Michigan offers a lot of that, but I also made reservations for dinner at his favorite place. I hope it turns out to be a great time before we head back this way for the last bit of time together before he has to leave.

I have to thank the Army for dangling the two weeks of normal in my life. It is what could be, what should be, what is not here yet, and what is to come, but it was also just what we needed. I hope this time together is a refresher to get through the next five months...after the down in the dumps Army bashing I will do by the end of the week of course haha. Now off to enjoy more hubby time while I can!

Day Two Hundred Ten.

Happy Birthday Mason!

Today one of my best friends, Jessica, had her baby. I am so excited that Mason made his debut into this world at 12:24 this afternoon. You are going to make an amazing mom Flamingo!

Congratulations guys!

Day Two Hundred Nine.

April 16th...that day Jason showed up on my doorstep.

Jason and I did a lot of talking before we became "official" or "exclusive" whatever we call it these days. It was an obvious attraction and mutual feelings between the two of us before he took his R&R from his last deployment. He had planned on going with one of his buddies to spend the two weeks in some exotic location before deciding he wanted to change those plans and surprise me. I remember not hearing from him for a week or so before the doorbell rang one day at my apartment. When I went to answer it he was standing there in ACU's and his bag on one shoulder with a big grin on his face. It was that very day that the two of us became "official" or "exclusive." I mean who flies half way around the world to surprise a girl on her doorstep?! Oh yes my husband. :)

We have yet to spend an April 16th together since that one. Between our long distance relationship and his training it hasn't worked out until now. We took the Mustang out of storage today to go for a drive by the water. We then parked and walked for a drink during happy hour and to a nice sushi place for dinner on the water. This was all of course before the Xterra had a flat tire on the way to get the Mustang and we had to walk to town to get air for it so we could drive it to a place to be fixed haha. Surprise? Nope...just our luck.

Day Two Hundred Eight.

By far my favorite day so far!

We slept in a little later than normal this morning and took our time getting up and getting ready. The sun came out and after lunch we headed out for a walk. We went and checked out a few of the local stores and the water. It was just a beautiful day. After that we went to the rooftop deck and had a glass of wine and talked about everything under the sun before reading our books. We spent a few hours sitting out in the sun taking turns between reading and talking before heading to a clothing store downtown. I have been eyeing a dress in the window down there every time we walk by and so Jason had me finally go in and try it on before splurging on it and getting it for me. :) After that we had a simple dinner and now relaxing on our laptops.

I wish I never had to go back to reality after all of this haha.

Day Two Hundred Seven.

Such a lazy day! It seems like it has been way too long since we have laid in bed all morning and spent the day in our pajamas. We watched TV, a movie, played games, and had lots of laughs. It was the perfect day to make it a lazy one with how the weather has been. Hopefully the rain clears soon and it warms up so we can get out and enjoy what is suppose to be spring here.

Day Two Hundred Six.

I can't wait for September when the thought of all of this having to come to an end is nonexistent. As amazing as our time together is it is always in the back of your head that the time apart hasn't come to an end yet. Boo!

Day Two Hundred Five.

Happy Easter!

Day Two Hundred Four.

Jason and I walked downtown yesterday to the ceramic cafe and painted each other big coffee cups to use when he gets home this fall. By the time I finished mine it was four shades of green (his favorite color) and said "The Mister" on one side and he wasn't even half way done.:) We ended up going back today so he could finish his masterpiece. He spent a ton of time drawing squares and even ran back yesterday to get his ACU pants as a visual haha. The end result is a camoflouge coffee cup that says "Army's Best Wife" on the inside and a message I have yet to see on the bottom. :)

I can't wait to pick them up next week!

Day Two Hundred Three.

Movie time!

We have watched a lot of comedies and catching up on some of the new releases out since the start of leave. So far we have watched:

-Pineapple Express
-Fred Claus
-Role Models
-Yes Man
-Don't Mess with the Zohan

We have a few more to watch this weekend as well.

Has anyone seen anything lately worth renting or a good recommendation!? Let me know. Maybe I can talk Jason into a romance haha.

Day Two Hundred Two.

I know I know my husband is home, but I have made a commitment to blogging 365 days of his deployment. I think he gets that and he doesn't mind since he is currently playing his video game next to me. He completely supports my addictions and madness haha.

Everything is going amazing. It feels as if we have never been apart and if we have it was nothing like the six and a half months it really has been. I love that we just fit together and any amount of time apart just doesn't change those things.

Now I need to get ready for our date tonight. :)

Day Two Hundred One.

"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."

-Carl Sagan.

Day Two Hundred.

It amazes me how much time two people can spend apart and then pick right back up where they left off. Seeing J for the first time yesterday was amazing. I could see him behind someone as he walked into the terminal with this huge smile on his face. It was this overwhelming emotional feeling as I ran to him and jumped on him when that first sight appeared. I cried and we held each other (I promised myself I wouldn't pfft). Looking at him and feeling him in my arms was unreal and only describable as if you have been there and done it you know. I couldn't believe in that moment the two of us were together again and it felt as if no one else in the world was there.

After all the countdowns, planning, thinking, wishing, praying, and hoping R&R is here and my husband is amazing. I love seeing him next to me and feeling his presence with me when night falls. Most of all I love knowing for these next two weeks he is nothing but safe with me. <3

I love you mister!

Day One Hundred Ninety-Nine.

I'm at the airport waiting for a certain someone. :)

Eeek!

Day One Hundred Ninety-Eight.

Packing is stressful. It doesn't matter if I am moving or going on vacation they both rank as crappy. I don't know how to pack less than two suitcases or less than five pairs of shoes. I always have a huge to-do list or a list of the things I cant forget. Most of all packing the car is just horrible especially when I know I am the one that is going to unpack it all when I arrive to a destination by myself.

The saddest part of packing?! Knowing Emmie cant go this time. I know it is sad but we have only spent a few nights apart so I hope she does okay without me. I will be sad to leave her in the morning.

The best part?! Of course it is seeing my husband soon silly.

Day One Hundred Ninety-Seven.

Totally random...

-Pedicures should be mandatory. They are one of my favorite things about being a girl.

-I love relaxing days filled with movies and any day I can take a nap. So refreshing.

-Augusta, GA who are you!? You read my blog every day and I cant think of any of my followers from there, but I would think if it was family they would say something so now I am curious. Spill it who are you?! :)

Day One Hundred Ninety-Six.

I am pretty sure texting cost us a fortune today. I woke up this morning to a text from Jason updating me on the status of his leave and plans. We usually don't text because where he normally is his cellphone doesn't work. It is only good for an alarm clock really. So throughout the day we were able to text back and forth until he went to bed. It almost felt like a piece of normal that we have missed for so very long, but then again what is normal is in this life? haha.

The past week has been super busy with work, getting ready, packing, and being sick that I haven't had the time to keep up with blogs as much as I would like or usually do. Ill be making my rounds soon. :)

Day One Hundred Ninety-Five.

Since the beginning of Jason and I the month of April has been the only month we have always seen each other. April holds a lot of great memories for us...

-We officially met in April.

-The first time Jason told me he loved me was in April.

-Jason took his first R&R tour from Iraq to come see me in April.

When they asked in September last year which month he wanted to take for leave the obvious choice was April. It was a halfway point and April holds a lot of meaning to us.

I am getting anxious. :)

Day One Hundred Ninety-Four.

HELLO APRIL!

I have waited for you for so long to be the month on my calendar.

I never thought you would show up, but thank you for finally arriving.

Now where is my husband haha. :)

Love, Me