Friday, August 19, 2011

I'm back!

I went home for a whole week!
It was a good week! I had a good time hanging out with my family. Having someone to eat dinner with every night. Not going to sleep in an empty house.

Charlie had a lot of fun too...sometimes I think he likes it there better. But then I realize he is probably just as lonely as I am when we are at our own house! He wasn't happy to be home today, he decided he would take himself on a walk down the street and not come back when I called, but he did keep looking over his shoulder, he definitely knew he was being bad. I had to chase him down and sneak up on him and grab him, by the tail.

I finally got the car registered! That was a fun trip to the MVD (that is the DMV in Arizona, I think the people who made the acronym are slightly lysdexic...I mean dyslexic) No more South Carolina plates for us...the car and the truck officially match now!

Eeeww I came home to some lovely smells in the house today. The trash in the kitchen I forgot to take out was not as bad as the smell that hit me in the garage! It smelled (still smells!) like something died. Then I open the truck which hasn't been driven in 3 weeks and find...a taco.

Yep. A Taco.

Leave a Taco Bell taco in a vehicle with the windows rolled up for 3 weeks and you have a great science experiment. Let's just hope the smell goes away before Ronnie gets home...or I will be driving his smelly truck!

He is coming home very soon...I think. So tomorrow I am going to clean the house, and make it look like it did before he packed to go on this underway!

I know I've said this before, but I have big plans for the design of my blog! I just need to get going on them, and maybe actually post something a little more often? I have a plan to fix that too! It's coming...eventually!
-Kristin

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Silence



It's a pretty big deal.

For a word that means absence of sound, it can be pretty loud. It can be relaxing, or it can be terrifying. I am starting to fully understand why they call the submarine force "The Silent Service". Yes, I know the one of the main reasons is OPSEC, and another is because most of the time, they don't even know where they are going or what they are going to do. Also, silence is a big deal when an enemy is near. I'm getting my first taste of the silence as a submariner's wife, and it is good preparation for what's coming next. I have not heard Ronnie's voice in well over a week, and it will be much longer than that until I get the phone call from him saying they are home. I have not opened my inbox and had a new email from him since Sunday, but with the delay in the service, it could have been written days before that.

Silence has a whole new meaning to me now. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I'm just reflecting. I'm remembering the days when I freaked out if I didn't get to have a 5 minute phone conversation with him. This is taking some getting used to, and I know I am going to have to go even longer amounts of time without hearing from him. So far, the longest we have gone without speaking was bootcamp. The longest I went without a letter from him was maybe a week and a half, and that was also during bootcamp. But this is SO much different! It's a different silence.

This underway has been pretty eventful, but not at all! I went, by myself for the first time, to the baby appointment.  I came home from that to find the garage door, which I made sure I watched it close before I pulled away, standing wide open. That was interesting! Now that I think about it, what I did was probably stupid. I went in with my pepper spray ready to spray, got the gun we keep down stairs and went through every room AND closet in the house. Nobody was there (probably good, if I was a burglar, a pregnant lady with a 45 pointed at me would make me poop my pants and never want to even steal the covers) and nothing was missing, but it was so creepy! I literally just wanted to sit down and cry, but I didn't because that would have solved nothing. It would have been so different if Ronnie would have been coming home from work in a few hours, that first night was rough.

I have been hanging out with our friends, and swimming laps! I went to the FRG meeting last night too, I was pretty hesitant about getting involved, but I have met some really amazing women and I'm glad I have them to go through this with. There are so many young children and new babies on our boat too, so now I have that source of support also! Last night the power went out, again, more silence. I have never been alone during a power outage before, it happens pretty often in out neighborhood, so I'm sure it wont be the last. The last time it went out Ronnie and I went to bed early and listened to the radio and just talked. I was really missing him last night! Tomorrow I'm heading home for a few days, I am so happy I can do that! I get to register the car while I'm there, yay Arizona MVD. Hopefully, it helps the days pass a little faster.

Right now I'm going to enjoy the silence...and get some sleep.
-Kristin

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Another Day.

Yep! Two posts in Two days! I must have a lot of time on my hands...

It's amazing what you can accomplish (or in my case NOT accomplish) while you are alone. I did load the dishwasher and clean the kitchen up tonight! Tomorrow I'm going to think about cleaning up the mess Ronnie made while we were packing his sea bag the other night, and going through and unpacking my last box of art supplies that I made sure he carried in from the garage before he left!
This morning I woke up to an email from Ronnie (and not his alarm clock, which I finally figured out how to shut off!) which was great! It was short, but it was so good to hear from him! I'm pretty sure he told me the day they will be home, AND that he LOVED the surprise I snuck into his sea bag after he was finished packing. I spritzed some of my perfume onto a plain white pillow case and sealed it up in a ziplock baggie. His last underway he had such a hard time sleeping, which is understandable since they are floating around under the ocean and he was in a new environment. I figured it would be nice to smell home when he laid his head down instead of boat smell, and he said it works! I'm so happy it helped! :]

Hello Baby!!!

Last Thursday we found out what kind of baby we are having...
I was VERY happy to see that it is most definitely the human kind, and not the fluffy yellow feathered kind I saw in the last ultrasound!


But even more importantly, we found out that this beautiful baby is a GIRL!!!! And she is definitely looking like her daddy! If you were to hold up a baby picture of him next to this one, they have the same profile!

We are both so excited! As much as Ronnie joked about "putting it back until it was a boy" if baby turned out to be a girl, he is very excited about having a little girl!

Now for the hard part...finding a name! We have a couple in mind that we are trying out right now, but I don't really want to share them, I don't really want everyone to know her name until she is born actually! I've had people ask me early on, and I gave them names that I was considering, but Ronnie and I hadn't talked about it yet, and it was like they got attached to the names I'd mentioned! OR I had people telling me how much they hated the names! SO I've decided I just don't really want to tell people her name until she is here and it's on her birth certificate, then they REALLY can't complain or try to get me to change it to what they think would be better!

It's hard enough to pick a name without other people weighing in. There are so many things to think about, like will the name we choose fit her? Your name is so much of your identity, it just seems weird to me that I have that much authority that I can choose another person's identity. I'm just glad we have the freedom to choose to name her what we want, and I guess that's okay because parents have been naming their children for just about forever.

Speaking of parents...my mom came and stayed last week! It was a lot of fun having her here, we went to the beach, and she helped me unpack the last few boxes and organize the house a little better! We also hung my curtains in the living room! I'm happy to say that our house now looks like people live in it instead of looking like storage! Unfortunately she had to go home, because she needed to go to back to school meetings since school is about to start up again, and she is a teacher.

Now it's just the Charlie and I for a few weeks, yep, another underway. Back to checking my email on my phone every time I go to see the time, cooking for myself, and sleeping alone in the middle of the bed at night! This time I think Charlie misses Ronnie A LOT! He acts very depressed, and just wants to sleep all day, I have to wake him up to go on walks! I've been staying semi-busy though. Today I started swimming again with my friend Nicole, and tomorrow I go in for the next baby appointment/pregnant people group. I'm not looking forward to going without Ronnie, but it's one of those things I knew was going to happen eventually! I hope he will be able to make the next couple of appointments before the deployment, and I'm so happy he was here for the ultrasound last week!

Well I have been up pretty late...it's time to sleep!
-Kristin

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

I can't sleep, so I will be "productive"!

It's partly because I'm just not tired, well I was when I got in bed, but I've been up to pee like every 6 seconds and I just can't get comfy! I can't believe so much time has gone by between posts! Ugh! I really wanted to stick with it, but life got in the way. (Haha "life" I'm quickly re-adapting to the San Diegan version of life...it's summer, I've been going to the beach as much a possible!)

I am almost 19 weeks pregnant now, and I STILL can't believe that! We find out what kind of baby we are having in one week! (I mean like the boy kind or the girl kind!) I honestly will be happy either way, but there is a little part of me that hopes it's a boy this time. Only because the husband (really wants a boy) has mentioned that the amount of radiation he is exposed to being a Nuke can affect his ability to make boys...but who really knows? I mean I doubt there has been any real research done on it!

Speaking of husband's job...we officially survived our first underway ever! I know it wasn't that long, and the one coming up will be even longer...it's just nice to know that I CAN do this! I can function on my own, with only email, I can get things I need to take care of taken care of (except Verizon, they anger me. "power of attorney isn't good enough, is there a phone number we can reach your husband at?" "no, he is somewhere under water in a STINKIN submarine, which is why I have power of attorney with me, and the reason I'M talking to you in the first place!") The other day they came home early by a couple days! I didn't know they were home, but I did see on Facebook that couple other wives were getting phone calls, so I was hoping for one maybe, even though I figured he wouldn't get to call since he isn't qualified yet. I just happened to have the front door open, and just happened to look out through the screen as he was walking up, it didn't seem real, I literally jumped back and said "Oh my gosh!" My little brother is here for awhile was like "what?! Oh! Ronnie's HOME?!" It was a great surprise! Of course the first thing out of his mouth while he was hugging me was "we're leaving again (sometime in the near future)" but I didn't care! Honestly I was a little disappointed because I didn't have the house all unpacked, put together and clean like I'd planned, but I got over THAT fast ;]

So, I am happy he's home! Even though today sucked because he had duty. I have now officially learned about boat smell! I did experience this in Charleston while he was on the prototype, but it was never this bad. I washed his stuff twice, and it still hasn't come out yet, but two washes did make a difference! I've also been preparing stuff to send with the boat for him for during deployment, we get a little tiny box to fill, for a halfway box. I'm talking 4x4x3 inches! TINY. I'll post a picture when I have it filled (which won't take long) It makes me a little bit jealous of those surface wives I've seen with their posts about these awesome packages they get to send! But I am excited to do it either way!

Well, I am actually yawning now! So I'm going to try and get a little sleep before I wake up hungry...oh wait...I'm already hungry. Well, I guess I'm going to get a snack, then sleep, I have to come up with something really exciting for a 9 year old tomorrow, I'm thinking Balboa Park! I feel bad because he's been here all week and we haven't really done anything but go to the beach today, and watch movies on Netflix!

I WILL post again soon, I pinky promise it won't be a month before you hear from me again! :D

-Kristin

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Oh yeah...I have a blog!

Honestly I cannot believe it has been this long since I've been on here! It's probably because we have gotten into this routine where we are in bed by 9 every night. Here are some things I've learned from experience in the last few weeks...in no particular order...

1. 5 AM comes REALLY fast
2. People with perfect driving records can and will get in into an accident, most likely when they are on their way to pick up their spouse who just got done selling the only other vehicle they own.
3. There are some student loan servicing companies who are willing to actually work with you.
4. Soon to be dads like miniature baby things of what they have, just as much as the soon to be moms.

5. No matter where you are, there will always be that one weird person who asks way to many obvious questions and gets on everyone's nerves.
6.Your favorite "reality" TV shows, aren't always what they seem.
7. Sometimes it's good to just go for a drive, you might end up down a random dirt road shooting gophers.
8. Dropping your husband off at work takes on a whole new meaning when work is a giant metal whale that submerges in the ocean for weeks at a time.
9. Your first FRG (Family Readiness Group) meeting can be a little overwhelming, it's similar to rushing a sorority.
10. Baby bellies pop up out of nowhere.




 


11. If you aren't on the cell phone account, you can't do anything involving the account.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

My week of sisterly bonding!

Last week we had my two younger sisters and Ronnie's sister come stay with us for the week! It was a lot of fun! Monday we actually had Ronnie's dad with us for the day before he had to go fly out to work. We went and showed everyone the base, and then went to the Cabrillo National Monument at the tip of Point Loma. On the way there is the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery
http://wn.com/Fort_Rosecrans_National_Cemetery
http://doles.org/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=9
Since it was Memorial Day there were flags at every grave, and so many people there remembering the lives of all the people who sacrificed so much for this country. Visiting places like this, and seeing thousands of white headstones, really puts a visual to the number, even though it's only a fraction of the number, of people who have served this country in the military.

Tuesday, we slept pretty late, went to the commissary for food for the week, then to the beach for a little while. It was pretty cold, so we went home and made dinner!

Wednesday we went back to the beach for a few hours and the weather was so nice! It was nice and warm and we all got some sun. I went boogie boarding with my sister Mallory, that was a lot of fun since I haven't gone on the West coast in over a year. The beaches in Charleston were nice and warm, but there weren't very big waves there. I'm hoping the water will warm up a little more before Ronnie has to leave because we have so much fun boogie boarding together!

Thursday we got to meet Ronnie for lunch at Panera Bread, since he had an appointment to see if he qualifies to get lasik eye surgery, it turns out he does and since he is a submariner he is already on a waiting list! After lunch I took the girls back up to the Cabrillo National Monument, since you get 5 days when you pay to go into the park the first time, we went down to see the tide pools. That was really neat, especially since we had Mallory, who wants to be a marine biologist, tell us all about the different animals, including some things I didn't even know were living! We then went up and toured the Old Point Loma lighthouse, it was really cool to see how the people who used to run the lighthouse lived.

Friday we had planned on going to Balboa Park in the morning, but didn't end up getting going in time, we were so exhausted and sunburned from hiking the day before that we decided to stay in and get ready to drive the girls home. I took them to lunch at Jersey Mike's, a really really really delicious sandwich place. (I have actually been craving it...which is really why we went, I try to talk
Ronnie into taking me there all the time!) After that, Ronnie got home from work early and we got the car loaded up and took everyone home.

Saturday Ronnie and I spent the day at the movies, literally, we saw 3 movies we have been wanting to see but haven't because it is SO expensive to see a movie in San Diego! It was a TON of fun! We really enjoyed having that time together.

Last week Ronnie started actually working for his sub, so we know when he leaves now, and it's sooner than we expected! There are other things that may be happening after they return from deployment, but I just want to focus on getting thru the deployment and having the duckling before I even think about getting stressed out about things that may or may not happen.

That's basically what I've been up to lately!
-Kristin

Friday, May 27, 2011

It's a...duckling?

Wow it has been awhile!
I've been meaning to post because LAST Friday was our second doctor's appointment...and we have pictures!!! It's all pretty exciting! Seeing there actually is a baby in there (I had some serious doubts the other day when my mom was talking about maternity clothes and stocking up on diapers!) and hearing the little heartbeats really got me excited about all of this! It's hard to believe I am already almost at 12 weeks!

So here are the pictures! They aren't very good since my dinosaur scanner isn't working and I had to take them with my iPhone!
You know you are a military wife when your midwife points out the hand up by the face and says "It looks like the baby is saluting!" instead of "It looks like the baby is waving!" :]
This is what the baby looked like the first time we saw it! It looks like our little one is just floating around kicking back with their hands behind the head. Hopefully this is an indication that this baby will have an easy going personality!

Now for the reason behind the title of this post...

Take a really close look at this picture. Do you see the duckling??!? It looks like a beak where the head meets the torso, and there is a round dark spot that almost looks like a big duck eye in the head!
My dad was looking at this when I went home last weekend and pointed and said "Look it's a boy!" even though it is still pretty early to tell, and then my mom takes it and stares at it for a minute and says "No...it's a duck!" It was pretty funny!
This would probably really concern me but the other pictures we have look like its a human baby in there, so now I can just laugh and appreciate my child's budding sense of humor!
We decided it is probably just an arm up by the face and the angle it was taken from.

I don't think Ronnie appreciates it when I call the baby our duckling, but I think he is pretty excited! I'm so glad he was able to come to the appointment and experience this with me!
This week has gone by really fast even though I haven't done much, except for a little cleaning.

Tomorrow I go back home again, it was supposed to be the husband and I, but he found out this morning he has to work security for the Submariner's Ball tomorrow evening. I guess it's a good thing we didn't plan on going! He doesn't feel comfortable going to events like that until he is qualified, it is the same reason we didn't attend the Navy ball last year while he was still in a student status, and I completely understand, it's something he feels he needs to earn before he'll feel like he belongs there.

But it's only one night without him and Sunday afternoon I am jumping back in the car with my two sisters, Caitlin and Mallory, and Ronnie's sister Meaghan and bringing them to our house for a fun filled first week of summer in San Diego! I am really excited to have them all stay with us next week! We decided we'd have them come this week because NEXT weekend I am taking Charlie back anyway because PetSmart called and asked if he would model! We get a discount on the grooming services so I said heck yes and signed him up! :]

Well there is my little update for the week! I'm really hoping to post more often, I just need to get back in the swing of things.

-Kristin

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

My KRAZY Morning...

Once upon a time there was a loan company who lent some money so a girl named Kristin could pay for college. Then she transferred schools a few times, and every time the schools' financial aid office sent in, or told Kristin to send in the correct paperwork to the loan company to straighten everything out so they knew she was still in school, so she wouldn't have to start paying them until she graduated.

Then Kristin transferred AGAIN to a school in Charleston. This school tries really hard, but being a new school, they still have A LOT of kinks to work out. Instead of traditional semesters this school breaks down it's year into 4 quarters Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. Kristin attended this school for an entire year in 2010, and every quarter the financial aid office decided to send the correct paperwork to the loan company, except for her last quarter. Normally, a school would notify you when they stopped doing something for you, but not this one.

SO 3 months after Kristin leaves this school (without a graduation and the degree she had planned on getting, but that is a WHOLE different story) The loan company decides to call up Kristin, and her parents who cosigned this loan, and say "Hey your grace period was up a few weeks ago, and your payment is late!" (Kristin's father's worst nightmare! Which is MORE added stress to the situation.) After a double check on the actual date it was, and a few phone calls back and forth with the company, it is found out that the school in Charleston told the company her last day was in September, instead of December.

After a few more calls between the loan company, who is calling every day, and the school, Kristin fills out the paperwork and has the school send it in. BUT it still is not resolved.

Until this morning when I finally get in touch with the right person at the school. Sent in some more paperwork, only to find out it isn't the right form. Then another call back to the loan company, and I find out it IS the right paperwork. Now I am just waiting for the person at the school in Charleston to get back from lunch. AND HOPEFULLY HAVE THIS STRAIGHT BY THE END OF TODAY!

And the moral of the story is...I HATE owing people money.

I had big plans for this morning too. I woke up feeling pretty good compared to the past few days, I was going to CLEAN! Oh well, I can start that after this is figured out. It looks like the Charlie got into crackers and paper towels, YAY more stuff for me to clean!

-Kristin

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Changes

This weekend has been pretty fun so far. Friday afternoon I went with Ronnie to get a new military ID...because dummy here put it in my back pocket after we went to the commissary and WHO KNOWS where it fell out! But I really did need a new one anyway. The old one was from when we first got married and it had the wrong rank on it.

Then Friday night we had our first Phil's BBQ (if you live in San Diego you need to go!) experience with our friends Mike and Nicole, Grady, and Marc! It was pretty good! Next time we will probably go earlier or not on a weekend, the line was wrapped around the building! We ended up just sitting in the bar and ordering there.

Today was a lazy day. It was AWESOME. We went to Lowe's to check prices so Husband could build a work bench in the garage. As soon as we got home I laid down on the couch and took a 2 hour nap! It was amazing.

When I woke up Ronnie, Grady, and Marc were playing xbox. Then we went out for Korean BBQ which was also really good! It's Grady's last night with us so they are all hanging out until we take him to the airport in the morning, where he will fly for hours and hours to a few other countries where people aren't fond of American's, and eventually meet his ship. I am most definitely praying for safe travels for him.

But I am also a little excited for it to just be Ronnie and I in our house again!

Tonight I am a little worried too. Because one day soon it will just be Charlie and I in our house. And I know that it will most likely just be an underway, but it will be our first. From what I've heard from Marc, who is also on a sub, there is very little communication, like next to none. And there are a ton of rules (one of them being no pictures in emails!)

I've been reading all of these blogs from Surface wives whose husbands are deployed and how hard it's been for them. And they have seemingly a good amount of communication.

I just second guess myself, I guess. I keep asking myself "Will I be able to do this?" I know I will be, since I will HAVE to do it. I guess it's just not something you can completely prepare yourself for until it's time.

I'm also worried about saying too much. Giving too much information about his sub on here. I haven't met any of the other wives yet, but Husband was telling me that they have already had to re-schedule underways and the deployment coming up because they found a lot of the schedule in one of the wives blogs!!! If that is true...I don't even know what to say to it. It makes me a little mad, and what's going to stop it from happening again? I just don't want to be someone who says too much! It's scary!

I am going to stop before I freak myself out too too much! And I need to go to sleep so I can make sure the guys are up in time for the airport run at 5 in the morning! (YUCK!!)

-Kristin

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

My weekend, a few days late!

I think I may have accidentally trained Charlie to pose for pictures, look at the lower left corner!
Do you remember your Prom? Did you go to your Prom??
My little sister did this weekend.
My mom and I did her hair, and I took photos of her and her friends!
It was really neat to be there! Another reason I'm so happy we get to live so close to home!
  
These are just a few of the photos I took, I just wanted to share!
This last weekend was a great weekend. 
Which is why it's taken me until today to blog about it...I've been catching up on my sleep!

On Saturday, my sisters and I took my mom to lunch at one of her favorite restaurants, The Garden Cafe. It's only open a few months out of the year, the cooler ones, since it is outside in a historic garden. And it doesn't matter how much shade or misters you have...
eating outside in 115+ degree heat is NOT a good thing!
Lunch was delicious of course! 
It's been a long time since we've eaten there.
We used to go every Mother's Day for their brunch. 
And since Mother's Day is a crazy day to eat out anywhere, we went a day early!
After we got my sister ready and off to Prom, I jumped in the pool with my other sister.
It was SOOO nice! Charlie even jumped in and cooled off with us.
Sunday we went to church, and then to a Mother's Day lunch at Ronnie's church.
It's weird to think that next year I will actually have a child on Mother's Day!

-Kristin

























































































Thursday, May 5, 2011

I can't believe it's already THURSDAY!

I feel like I've been SO busy this week!

But I haven't actually been THAT busy...hmmm...

The doctors appointment went okay.
I filled out MORE paperwork...
Gave them ANOTHER urine sample...
OH and I almost forgot about the 8 tubes of blood they drained out of me!
(The girl taking my blood was like "It's a good thing you have fast blood!" WHAT does that mean?!?!)

I go back in a couple weeks to actually meet the doctor and do an ultrasound and stuff!

Yesterday I met one of my neighbors. She seems really nice.
Our other neighbors just moved out, so we never got to meet them.

I also stumbled across the show Extreme Couponing on TLC.
OMG
Those people are crazy! BUT SO SO SO AWESOME! 
I was watching it when Ronnie came home from work and he watched it with me.
Which is amazing because he does not normally like to watch shows like that.


He asked me "Are you going to start doing this and save us a bunch of money?!" 
I am really thinking about it.
Maybe not to the EXTREME they do but it would be neat to try it.

-Kristin

Monday, May 2, 2011

TOMORROW

we have our first doctor's appointment!

I have to say I am a little nervous but
REALLY EXCITED!

I feel like the last 2 1/2 weeks of my life have taken
FOR-EV-ER
But now it's finally here.
I hope everything is going okay in there!

Today I went to the school I am starting back at in August.
It was so good to be back on that BEAUTIFUL campus! 
And I'm not exaggerating when I make the type that big! 
That doesn't even BEGIN to describe it.

Let me just start with most of this campus has an ocean view;
this includes some classrooms, some dorm rooms, and the cafeteria.
I don't think I need to go into anymore detail than that :]


But this time around school here will be different.
I won't be living on campus.
Most of my friends here are graduating in a few days.
AND the big one...I'll be about 6 months pregnant when classes start!


That is what I'm most nervous about.


-Kristin

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Distractions

I need to post more often.

I think I have a solution to this little problem I have...but right now I am SOOOO distracted!

You'd think it was this whole being pregnant thing...
Yes it is very distracting right now...

If I'm not nauseous (that word looks so weird to me right now but I'm going to trust my phone on this one sorry if I spelled that wrong!) I'm hungry...
And if I'm not hungry I'm tired.

I vacuumed the house today and needed a nap by the time I was done!

But that's not why I'm distracted!

I'm distracted because Netflix has every season of ARMY WIVES to "watch instantly"!!!

I LOOOOVE THAT SHOW!
Not only is it easy to relate to it's awesome to know I've been to the places they show!
It makes me miss Charleston sometimes...but not too much...

It's funny seeing paintings on the walls in the background from the gallery I worked in when we lived there...it's kind of sad that the other night I paused it on one and pointed it out to Ronnie...I didn't tell him that I also knew the name of the painting and the name of the frame it was in.

I wish I would have known this when we lived there but the son of one of the ladies who goes to Ronnie's families church works on the show! It would have been neat to go visit the set and stuff!

I really wish I had an "Army Wives" group of friends!
Maybe one of these days...

The playground that is literally two feet away from our back door is one of the more popular ones in the neighborhood, I'd like to go out there and sit and talk with the other women out there while they watch their kids play but I don't know if that would be awkward or not!
Since my child is currently the size of a blueberry and isn't as old as all the other kids...
Would that be weird for me to go out there???

I have no idea!

But lately I'm fine just hanging out with the Charlie on the couch!
He's been such a good dog lately!
Really patient in the mornings when I tend to eat before I do ANYTHING including take him outside to go potty.
He also follows me everywhere, more than he used to. He gets so worries when I yawn now too not just when I sneeze.
AND if I lay down to take a nap...he does too!

I know he's good with toddler age children and older but I'm really hoping he'll be good with the baby too...as in not thinking it is another dog or a toy!
We will figure that out when the time comes I guess!

Last weekend Ronnie and I went home again!
It's so great being so close now, getting to spend Easter with our families was really special.

I like going home...but I REALLY like our new home in San Diego!


...including my bed which I should be sleeping in right now because I am completely EXHAUSTED...

Maybe I'll start on my awesome blogging more often plan.... tomorrow....

-Kristin W.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The Past 10 Days...

Have been EVENTFUL to say the least!

I have good reasons for not posting recently...but I really don't like going THIS long! I've been on here on my phone every day reading about everyone else but didn't post.

Now about these "events"....

First of all one of Ronnie's friend's from Charleston is in San Diego waiting to go to his ship, and while he's waiting he is living in one of our extra bedrooms(YES, I said BEDROOMS...housing gave us a 3 bedroom house for some reason!)
It's been fun! Grady is a nice guy, he's respectful, AND he helps with groceries :]
When he first came to stay I was going to post something, joking about "expanding our family"

But what comes next makes that statement even more funny...

Some of you may know already...

I'm PREGNANT!!! 

It's a pretty big surprise since we weren't planning on "expanding our family" for another few years! I'm due sometime in December. We're all getting a big Christmas present this year!

Last Friday we went home for the weekend and told our family,
everyone is very excited.

I'm getting a little more excited every day, I guess it's still sinking in, but I'm completely obsessed with this little pea sized person growing inside me!

The only thing I'm not excited about is the fact that Ronnie will most likely not be there when the baby is born, and will probably be missing a lot of the pregnancy, but I know that's a pretty common thing with the Navy, and nothing is ever set in stone so we will see!

Now for the other news! (I know how much could POSSIBLY happen in 10 days?!)

I received a letter Monday saying I have been re-accepted to the college here that I went to before I moved to Charleston!

I start school again in August! I'm so excited!
I'll only get to do about a semester before the baby, but hopefully I can do some online classes in the spring and take summer classes.

I WILL GET THAT DEGREE!

Well...I just thought I'd check in and give everyone an update! I'm going to go work more on my blog design...I'm really excited about it and it's almost finished!

-Kristin

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Back to CALIFORNIA!!

It's official! We moved in FOR REAL this week!
I LOVE being back in San Diego, it's even better having Ronnie here with me this time!

I decided since I haven't posted anything in over a week, I can post TWO tonight!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE our new house!!! I never thought living in housing would be this awesome, we are in a great community with A LOT going on all the time. Tons of families around Not to mention it's in a pretty good location, right in the middle of San Deigo, we are not too far from so many places and it's easy to get around with all the freeways nearby.

My only complaint is the weather...I can't wait for it to be just a little warmer, warm enough for beach weather!

Since we moved in on Tuesday night...or should I say Wednesday morning at like 2 AM (I feel really bad about that, the Husband's truck is pretty loud! He hasn't named "her" yet but my nick name for it is The BEAST!) we have done a lot of moving in! So much that we have more empty boxes than we do full ones!

But our time hasn't been consumed with unpacking either, we have spent some time with our friends from Charleston. It's been really neat to have this time to act like normal people before our lives get crazy again.

Tonight I cooked our first meal in this house :] Grilled salmon and steamed veggies, it was delicious. I'm sitting next to Ronnie right now while he plays xbox and makes fun of my blogging. I don't think he has actually ever read my blog at all, but that is partly my fault since I don't like it when people read anything I write in front of me (which he would, and out loud too!)...maybe I'm just afraid of the reaction I'll get?

We are enjoying the last few days of leave before Ronnie has to report to his sub, and the next part of our adventure unfolds. I'm kind of nervous about it, not nearly as nervous as he is though. I'm thankful we have had this past year together, I'm glad I made the decision to move out to Charleston. I was thinking the other day if I had stayed here in San Diego and finished out my degree, our life would be completely different than it is now.

It's weird to step back and look at days like the days we've had so far in this house and know that someday soon it's just going to be the Charlie and I curled up on the couch in the evenings, while the Husband is miles and miles and miles away under the ocean in a location he can't even know.

This is our reality in just a few more days. Everyone keeps asking "Do you know when he leaves yet?"

I hope not too, too soon, but I know it's gonna happen, and I'm told it's gonna happen A LOT since it's part of the job of a Nuke on a fast attack submarine in the United States Navy.

-Kristin

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Stylish Blogger Award?!?!






Wow! A lot has happened this week, I wasn't expecting it but Sara Mac from Anchors & Sails awarded me with the Stylish Blogger Award! Seven facts about myself and then award other blogs! Here it goes....

1. I'm glad our new house has TONS of windows and skylights because I LOVE natural sunlight and definitely prefer it over electricity.

2. I learned how to swim when I was really young, so young I can't even remember when I learned. My whole life it has been as natural as walking for me. 

3. I was a lifeguard and swimming lessons instructor for 7 years, and I swam competitively for 10 years.

4. I have attended 4 colleges in 4 years, I should be graduating this May like all of my friends, but I still have a couple years to go.

5. I LOVE THE BEACH!!!! When I was little my parents planned a surprise trip to Disneyland but told me we were going to the beach to throw me off and I was SO excited for it. When we pulled up at The Happiest Place on Earth, I cried because it wasn't the beach, but I still enjoyed the trip. :]

6. My entire life I have said I wanted to be an art teacher, when I started college that all changed. This fall I am changing my major to Art Education!

7. I like shooting guns. I never thought I would, but the Husband got me into it...it's actually a lot of fun!

Now for my blogger choices! 






Thursday, March 31, 2011

FAIR WEEK!!!!!

It has been a super busy week! Not just because it's Fair week here, which also means every school in the county is on spring break, which means more time to spend with my parents (who are teachers) and my siblings (who are students). It's been a great week so far.

 Saturday we ended up going back to the mine and we climbed to the top of a mountain! (I'll put up some photos later!) We went inside the mine a little further, it was SOOO dark! I didn't like the fact that I couldn't see my feet so I got out of there a little sooner.

Sunday we went to Ronnie's family's church in the morning and had a great potluck lunch, then I spent the afternoon relaxing with my mom, and in the evening we all went to a birthday party for Ronnie's mom.

Monday was probably my favorite day this week! I learned how to bake bread and cinnamon rolls! It's a top secret family recipe on from my mother-in-law's family, she taught me what HER grandmother taught her. It is really special that I get to be a part of that tradition, and that I have the relationship I do with Ronnie's family, you hear so many "horror stories" about in-laws!

Tuesday we went to the Fair! I took a few chances and went on some rides I never went on before, since I don't know how much I should trust rides that are trucked in and pieced together by drunken carnies (true story! we saw a TON of beer cans under some of the rides!) BUT I didn't die, and we are going back tomorrow!

Today (Wednesday) My parents painted their bedroom, I baked birthday cakes for my Grampa's birthday tomorrow (he and my Gramma just got into town today!) I washed the paint off of Charlie's paws, broke the faucet on my parents' sink, sprayed water all over the kitchen, painted my toenails (really badly), had a Nerf dart war with my little brother, and ate dinner watching Survivor and drank fruity drinks with my mom!

Thursday (Tomorrow) We will be going to the Fair again, celebrating my Grampa's birthday, and who knows what else!

Friday, WE MOVE INTO OUR HOUSE IN SAN DIEGO!!!! I'm so excited! :]

-Kristin

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Playing in the Backyard

Well...sort of.

It's been a busy, yet uneventful couple of days. I should be hearing back any day now from the school in San Diego I went to before I moved to Charleston, to see if I have been re-accepted for the Fall 2011 semester or not. I just hope my wonderful (sarcasm) school in Charleston came through and did what I needed them to for once. I'm pretty anxious about the whole thing and I just wish I'd get that letter already, because I really would just like to finish college...WITH a degree.

To pass the time, I've been illustrating a few things to personalize my blog a little more, and make it pretty! I figure if I have the 3 years of graphic design skills to do it myself then I don't want to use something somebody else created, besides the fact that I can't find EXACTLY what I want and I don't want to do this thing half way. I'm VERY excited about it! :]

I also have a couple of other things I'd like to start adding to it when the design is all put together, basically I have big plans.

Speaking of plans...

We explored the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge today...which is just a few miles North of our hometown...basically our backyard.

Originally, the plan was to hike this mountain...Castle Dome.


But it was a WINDY day and we didn't think it would be a good idea to try and make the climb. There is a "ghost town" at the bottom of this mountain that we toured for awhile. The lady working there told us about a few different trails you can take through the Kofa mountains and old silver and lead mines that are scattered throughout the desert.

So what did we do?

We asked for a map, and changed the GPS icon from a car to a hawk.

And our day began with a 15 mile off road, 4WD, trek down dirt trails like....


This one! It was a rough ride but it was SO MUCH FUN, not to mention beautiful! A lot of people think the desert is just a bunch of dry, flat land covered in dirt, but there is so much more to see than that!


I was just bummed that I left my Nikon at home! We'd been planning on a rocky hike and I didn't want to risk dropping and breaking it!

Another view of Castle Dome
Ronnie's Cousin

Me and my sunglasses

Ronnie "This is serious business...We ARE the HAWK!"

We pulled off the trail and stopped to look at anything we found interesting. We hiked a short distance to a few mines we could see off the road. Most of the abandoned mines in this area date back to the late 1800's and are just really, really deep holes in the ground, but a couple are actually carved into the mountain and you can walk inside them.

Part of the "Tin Cup Mine"

Us at the entrance

A view from the entrance
Our goal was to go up to a bigger mine called "Big Eye" we drove until the trail ended then started hiking. It ended up taking a lot of hiking around to actually find it, but we did!

There was a neat little cabin you can stay the night in (for free, if you can find it!) an old shower house along with rain water retention tanks, a couple old collapsed cabins, and a few entrances to the mine. We didn't want to go too far into it because it was getting dark, so we signed the guest book in the cabin and headed back down to the truck.





 Eventually we made it back into town, but not before seeing a, much missed, beautiful Arizona sunset.



 We have talked about going back to see more tomorrow, but we are pretty exhausted. I know that IF we do go back I will be taking my good camera, so keep looking for some more photos of this amazing place...unless you absolutely HATE the desert...then you can skip over the pictures and just read the words...but even then what is the fun in that? ;]


-Kristin

Monday, March 21, 2011

I Heart Weddings!!!

I really do! And it's even better when it's the wedding of two good friends!

AND I realized this weekend that I am now at the age where friends (and not just military) will be getting married, since this wedding makes #2 I have attended so far in 2011! And it's only MARCH!


This weekend the Hubby and I celebrated with our friends Mike and Nicole! Mike and Ronnie were in bootcamp at the same time (but not together) but met in A-School in Charleston! The wedding was small but beautiful, Ronnie was a groomsman, it was really great that they asked us to be there on this special day. What is even more exciting is we will all be in San Diego together really soon! I'm really looking forward to having Nicole there!
I took this with my phone because I frequently forget things, like hair brushes and cameras.

I finally have some internet now, SO no more posting via phone for awhile! :]
So I'm sitting here typing away while the Hubby is playing Black Ops on xbox Live.

This is us in the car on the way to Phoenix this weekend, Ronnie isn't looking at the camera because he is DRIVING!


I am very excited for this week! We finally get to relax, and spend time with our family and friends we haven't seen in awhile. Tomorrow, we have NO PLANS...

Funny, as I typed "NO PLANS" the Hubby looked away from the video game and asked me "What are we doing tomorrow?"


I guess we will see...
:]

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The end of the tunnel!

I feel like every time I post lately I'm starting off with "it's been a few days..."

But!

We are definitely seeing the light at the end of this loooong dark, moving, broken down truck, housing mess tunnel!

Ronnie's truck broke down AGAIN on Sunday 80 miles out of town...so that was a big mess, luckily he has friends and family with big trucks too!

Tuesday we went to San Diego to go to the housing office to get on a waiting list. We got there as they were closing but someone was nice enough to stay and help us! And she didn't just help us...

she FOUND US A HOUSE!!!

it was pretty amazing, I definitely believe God has a hand in all of this, He shows us over and over again "I'm here and I love you, just trust me."

So that brings us to today, we are on the road to San Diego to sign the lease! I'm so excited for our new home. I think I'm going to like living in housing, I'm looking forward to the community. We drove by the house the other day just to see the outside, when I saw signs reading "welcome home daddy!" over doors, I knew we were home.

Friday, March 11, 2011

The road trip continues...

Well at least for my husband and his friend! The truck was fixed today and they are on their way. Somewhere on the same highway my mom and I traveled down, almost to Mississippi, headed for Dallas, was what he said on the phone a minute ago. I'm so excited for him to be here!

And as excited as I am right now, I know others in the world are less excited about their situation. My prayers are going out to the people in Japan. The whole disaster and everything those people are going through is really humbling to me I guess. After my whole post last night about being "homeless" and all my whining I feel a little foolish and I realize now how lucky I am. So many people lost EVERYTHING and I am sitting here with my family in a house that is standing, dry, with food to eat, water to drink, and a place to sleep. I have nothing to complain about. Nothing.

This all also got me thinking about things, some questions I had for Ronnie on the phone tonight were:
"What is going to happen to the reactors at the nuclear power plants in Japan if they can't cool them down?" (He gave me a looong detailed answer that used a lot of terminology I know I've heard before when he's talking with other Nukes but I'm not sure EXACTLY what it means...but I got the jist of it.)
"How is a sub affected during a tsunami?"
He assured me like he normally does when I have questions that relate to his job and his safety, that the Navy plans for every situation and is prepared to handle just about anything that may happen. Sometimes I don't know if he just doesn't want me to worry, or if I really should trust the Navy that much. I try not to ask really hard questions, I don't want him to think all I do is think about everything that could go wrong, because I don't. I'm just curious, but I know it will ease his mind about leaving me to do his job if he doesn't have to answer all of my deep, dark, serious questions. So I pick and choose which ones I ask and most of the time I'm satisfied with the answers I get.

Speaking of safety, I was looking at the "stats" tab on the dashboard for the blogging site today. It tells you how many times your blog has been viewed, the different browsers used to view it, and a bunch of other neat stuff. What really got to me though was where it shows what countries your blog has been viewed from, mine had views from China, Russia, and Iran.

It really makes you think twice about what information you post!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Home. Homeless. Houseless.

So, I know it's been a few days but it's been a busy and exhausting few days.We saw Texas the other day, some parts are really pretty, and some are just...not. You could say that about any place you go to though. It's impressive how flat it is, how you can see for miles and miles. We spent the night in Pecos the other night, there were coyotes outside the hotel. And El Paso, not somewhere I'd be too happy about living.

I just thought I'd let everyone out there know my mom and I made it to Arizona...since the last time I posted anything we were trying to out run tornados and make it across Texas in eleven hours.

We made it.

It was 90 degrees today and it was BEAUTIFUL. A big change from the 43 degree weather we left in South Carolina! Poor Mr. Charlie must hate me though, he's got SOOO much fur right now, and he just looks at me like he's saying "I'm so hot". He'll be getting a haircut soon.

My mom and I spent today making two different kinds of enchiladas for dinner tonight since we have both been REALLY wanting a home cooked meal. They were delicious by the way! I'll have to post the recipes some time in the future...like when I'm not posting from my phone. ;]

The husband's truck's part should be in tomorrow! That means he will be on the road and making the trip out. He is very excited to finally come home. And I am excited to be home with him when he gets here! There is still a lot to do before we can have fun and enjoy leave with our families though, because that's what grown up responsible people do?

1. Get our stuff to storage in San Diego
2. Find a place to live in San Diego.

I guess it's not too much to do if you write it out like that. It is just a really big thing, finding somewhere to live.

Somewhere along the way I've decided that home isn't the place you live, it's the people with you. Right now I'm home because I'm with my family, but I also feel like I won't really be home until Ronnie gets here, because he is my home...especially when we were so far away from home. Then this other word comes into play, "homeless" how could I ever be homeless unless I was completely alone?

Right now I am home.
And to anyone else I'd be considered "homeless".
But what I really am is just houseless.

I know it's all going to work out, but with everything that's been going on lately it's hard not to worry.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Our old-school-homeless-road-trip Part 3

Well my mom and I have been on the road since yesterday morning. We had to make the decision to go on ahead of Ronnie since the part for his truck won't be in until later this week. And my mom needs to get back to work.

I could tell he wasn't too excited about letting us go ahead without him, and he's frustrated because we should have all been in Arizona yesterday, but he was a good sport about it. He knows I can handle it but I think he wanted us to all go together. He figured out distances and had hotel reservations for us within minutes, gave us the GPS with updated maps and made sure everything was good to go, which was so nice of him!

Yesterday we drove through Atlanta, Birmingham, and Jackson. We crossed the Mississippi river at night so we didn't get to see much of it. Currently we are driving through Louisiana, trying to beat the thunderstorms coming in with high chances of tornados. I think it would be neat to see New Orleans, especially on Fat Tuesday (not that I celebrate Mardi Gras) but we have to make it through most of Texas today!

We have seen a lot of interesting things, and will probably see a lot more. I decided that one day I want to take a long time to do this drive and adventure off the highway and see more of the country, instead of just driving from point A to point B as fast as possible. Sometimes that is okay but everyone needs to not rush around all the time, I think American stress levels would be lower if people would just take time and explore the world around them.
:]




Saturday, March 5, 2011

Our old-school-homeless-road-trip Part 2

So we are still in the middle of nowhere SC. We didn't end up making it to Memphis.

The problem with the truck is bigger than we thought.

Now we are sitting in a motel waiting for Monday. The mechanic was trying to find a transfer case used so we could save about 1700$.

So we might not be out of here and back on the road until Tuesday...which is when we were planning on being in Arizona.

But it's okay. We are going to Augusta tomorrow to hang out and get Ronnie fitted for his tux for our friends' wedding later this month!

So I'll write more later when something is actually happening. ;]


Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone



Friday, March 4, 2011

Our old-school-homeless-road-trip

We are on the road.

We said goodbye to Charleston a little later than planned but it was okay. Now we have issues with the truck and are currently sitting in "El Creep-o-ville, SC". And the GPS is el-dumbo. But it's a good thing I bought a 2$ Road Atlas so we can do this thing old school. Our goal for this hour was Augusta. Our goal for this leg...Memphis. Now the goal has shifted to get to the auto parts store to buy the tool we need that we have that's packed in the back of the trailer in the toolbox before it closes. Oh and we all got about 2 hours of sleep last night.

We have our walkie talkies and our road map and our snacks so this should be fun right? Haha

It will be. :]

Oh and I realized that as of this afternoon we are homeless...it's kind of exciting!

Another update when we get to Memphis.

It's nap time til the truck is fixed. :]

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone



Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Just a few more days!

I'm sitting here watching American Idol, which is really weird for me because I almost never watch TV! But we watched the guys perform last night so why not watch the girls perform while I wait to switch the laundry over tonight? This is probably the last time I'll do laundry here which is really exciting! Tomorrow I pack up the kitchen, then it's time to attempt to fit all of our stuff into the u-haul trailer, truck and the car!

I really hate commercials...

I've been SOOO tired this week, I'm ready for this moving stuff to be over, and we haven't even started driving yet! My mom gets in tomorrow night, Friday morning is Ronnie's Prototype "graduation ceremony"(We've heard it isn't really much, but I went to his A-School and Power School ceremonies so I really want to be at this one too!) Then hopefully we have some time to eat some good food and show my mom Charleston before we are on the road!

I think the laundry is done! Yay for sleep!!! :]

Monday, February 28, 2011

Molten Chocolate Cakes...oh and it's MOVING WEEK!

I'm back! It's been a few days but I was having such a great time with B! We always have so much fun...even if we are just sitting around watching The Notebook 15 billion times and Facebook stalking people :] That saying about true friends are the friends that can go long periods of time without seeing each other or even talking but as soon as they meet up again it's like no time has passed at all...that is B and I! Saturday we went to one of those places where you paint your own pottery, we painted mugs. Then later that night we somehow came across this recipe for Molten Chocolate Cakes and of course we HAD to make them! So it was off to Walmart at 1 AM! We used a regular sized cupcake tin and they were the perfect size for one person.
They came out of the pan so easy, and it was even easier to cut the holes in the middle for the hot fudge.
We also used dark chocolate fudge cake mix, it was super fluffy and moist and just delicious, for the hot fudge we used the Hershey's brand, because it tastes like Hershey's chocolate instead of having that weird hot fudge taste.



We put them in the bowls before we added the ice cream on top. For the ice cream we used mint chocolate chip because that's what B had in her freezer, we thought it turned out way better than it would with plain vanilla!
Next, more chocolate on the top! The recipe says to use chocolate topping that hardens on the ice cream, but we bought chocolate peanut butter flavored instead and didn't think that would work with the mint...so we just used more fudge!
They were AH-MAZING!!!!
B and her Molten Chocolate Cake!
Me excited to eat our tasty creations!




This is what delicious desert looks like.

These are the leftovers...that are still moist and delicious today!
About the time our middle of the night baking sessions normally end :]

It was a GREAT weekend and I was sad to leave but I was needed back at our apartment to help get it ready for the move. My morning of getting the apartment ready for the walk-thru with the manager started with the mini-blinds falling on me when I pulled them up to open the windows, did I mention I was getting the apartment ready for the final walk-thru? OF COURSE that would happen to me. While Ronnie was at work I started painting over spots on doors and walls, BUT the white paint they gave us didn't match, so I ended up painting most of the doors, door jams and baseboards! THEN that paint smells like cat pee and rotting wood, so of course when they came to do the walk-thru the lady was like "There is a definite pet smell, so you will probably have to pay to have the carpet replaced." Ronnie just spent the weekend steam cleaning the carpets and removing stains, the place smelled better than it did when we moved in, when I got home last night. Oh well, hopefully it smells better when the paint dries!

I am so excited to just pack the truck up and leave! I can't wait for my mom to get here on Thursday night, I hope we have time for her to see a little bit of Charleston before we leave on Friday. Before that, I want to collect some Spanish moss, and go down to the beach one last time.

I'm glad that Ronnie has a month of leave, and I'm glad we will get to spend it back home with our family and friends and I'm SO lucky to know, but not for sure, I at least have him until mid-April. But the time when he could just be gone is getting close, it's a sad feeling just hovering over us and I know he feels it too, but we can't let that get to us. We can't obsess and worry over the inevitable, we can only live in the moment, and make the most of the time we are given.

Tonight I have my husband home, and at this moment that is all I could ever ask for.