East Coast Living...

Well, after 2 years and a whole hell of a lot of waiting, we finally made it to Maryland!! :)
It feels amazing to finally be here after all of the delays. The next chapter is finally starting..
We've been here about two weeks after driving out from the Midwest. I have to admit that even though I drove alone (we did have walkie talkies to communicate along the way...dweebs I know..) 16 hours is a lot better than the 32 to California.
Once we got here, though, the stress began... We had to go into temp housing since we didn't have housing set up before we arrived. Pheobe, however, was not allowed so we had to get her into a kennel which required her to get all of her shots updated beforehand. I hated her having to go into a kennel knowing how miserable she would be. I felt like such a bad mother...
While the temporary housing wasn't horrible, it was definitely not a home and we were ready to be out by the next day. Thus began the intense whirlwind of house hunting. We scoured the internet for places to rent nearby, within our BAH budget, and that allowed dogs. I swear that I literally called over 20 places (only half of which returned my call...professional much?) and we saw about 6 or so. We liked a few of them, but they all required first month's rent, security deposit which is the same as rent, and an enormous pet fee up front. Considering we were paying for temporary housing and Pheobe being in a kennel everyday, we were currently hemorrhaging money. We were starting to get worried that we were going to be in temporary housing forever and were going to be completely broke and without a home when we stumbled upon and amazing townhouse. It was 2000 square feet, three levels, three bedrooms and an office, tons of storage space, on the end so plenty of yard space, a fireplace, an enormous master bath, and a huge deck. We fell in love with it. It was a lot more space than we would ever need, but it was for the same rent as a few much smaller places. We were worried about the up front costs, but miraculously the property manager said that he would wave the first month's rent until the first of the month when we get paid. So we rented! We were out of temporary housing, with Pheobe, and in our new home the next day.
We've been in our home for over a week. We had all of our housing goods delivered really quickly which is a blessing in the military. Of course with this big, beautiful new space, I want all new things. Unfortunately they'll have to wait until we're in the money again. But my decorating urge is in full swing.
It's so nice to be in our own place again. Just the two of us. As much as I enjoyed spending time with my family and being back "home", I missed having my own space. I missed it just being us on this adventure.
We've gradually been exploring the area. Mostly the nearby malls. We're a stone's throw (ish) away from D.C. but haven't made it there yet. There's so much around us I don't know how we could ever be bored. I'm so anxious to explore and go on adventures along the coast and see the oldest part of the country (history buff much?).
I haven't started work yet since Ty has been off and I'd rather spend time with him. I'm a little nervous about starting over at work, but I've done it before. I'm hoping to find something full time soon and put my associate's degree to work. But what can you really do with an associates??
So far, we're enjoying ourselves. I cannot wait to see what this chapter holds for us and all the experiences ahead of us. If it's anything like the last chapter, it's going to be pretty amazing.

First night in our new home...

Not a bad view...

Look what came with our goods...

We were told to save this for when we had something to celebrate...does not being in temp housing count?

Me attempting to curl my hair for the first time in forever...

Finally figured out how to turn this on..

First homemade pizza in MD...

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I'll Take the Little Things...

My husband doesn't really agree with a day of obligatory presents...he claims love should be shown everyday, not just today because people say so.
I used to begrudge him this, resenting the fact that I was the only one who's significant other didn't get them flowers or chocolate or do anything cliche.
But now I'm beginning to agree with him. I mean, I understand taking a moment out of our crazy lives to recognize how much we love one another, but I am lucky enough to get that everyday.
Everyday, my husband shows me that he loves me. Not at every point throughout the day and not in some extravagant way...but at the end of each day, I have been shown his love for me. Whether it be making enough coffee for me before I wake up, wanting to hang out with me, wanting to snuggle, when he's extra cuddly, or sometimes it's just when we go to bed and he wraps an arm around me or insists on a kiss before we fall asleep.
Flowers and presents are nice, but I wouldn't trade them for the everyday ways he shows that he cares.
I love you babe. And not because it's Valentine's Day...Just because it's a new day.

Hoodlums for life...

I mean, how cute are we?

Nerds.

A v-day gift from the in-laws. They know us too well

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It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

The last two months have somehow managed to fly by. I work in retail so needless to say I've been busy. I'm actually extremely grateful for the distraction. It's made the time go by so quickly being apart from the love. We're down to 10 days.. Ugh, I'm so anxious to see him! I hate this whole being apart thing... it's not for us.
I know, I complain an awful for 10 weeks being the longest we've been apart when some military couples are apart for years. I admire their strength because I don't think I could do it. Or at least I wouldn't take it bravely. I'd complain the entire time like I am now. I'm so extremely grateful that this is the longest we'll most likely have to be apart. I'm even more grateful that it's almost over.
It's been hard having the holidays without him. This is our favorite time of year. We love exploring the autumn weather and scenery...
But I've been trying to get into the Christmas spirit knowing he'll be here soon.
I'd love to share some exciting things going on in my life, but unfortunately I don't have any..how sad.
But here's some Christmas themed pictures to leave you with. :)

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"Home" Sweet "Home"?

Well, I am officially back in the Midwest... yippee...
I guess I should back up and summarize the last few weeks.
The move was stressful. I was so worried about getting something wrong with all of the moving forms or that something wouldn't go right and we'd be screwed. On top of that, I was incredibly stressed about our checkout with our landlord from our place. It had to be impeccably clean or we'd be charged.
Of course, I put off the cleaning until the last minute, which meant the last few days I had with my husband were spent cleaning or being stressed about cleaning. Besides the actual "moving out" part, that last week did not go how I wanted it to.
I wanted to spend every possible minute with him before he left doing stuff we actually enjoyed. Instead, we were cleaning or packing.
The day that the movers came went really smoothly surprisingly. We just sat around and they took care of everything. Perks of being military. :)
However, they came the next day for his motorcycle. That was an ordeal. We were told that we had to disconnect the battery and empty the gas tank. Well, of course we forgot to run the bike to empty it so we had to let it run all morning to try and get out as much as possible. Then, I ran to buy a siphon pump about 15 minutes before the time they were supposed to arrive. It took me about a half an hour to figure out how to put the little sucker together and how to actually use it. After all of this, once they arrived, they informed us we didn't have to do any of that because it wasn't being stored. Insert appropriate four letter word here.
That night my mother flew in to drive with me back home. I really wanted to show her our little part of California and actually do something fun, but instead we spent her only day there cleaning..:/
The next day, he left. That was absolutely awful. Do goodbyes ever get easier? Luckily I was distracted with all of the things that needed to get done and didn't get a chance to have a complete meltdown.
Finally, we gave back the key to our first home together and said goodbye to California. So began the 32 hour trek back to the Midwest. It was long. Really long. We ran into some troubles including needing a new tire, taking a half hour wrong turn, and driving through torrential rain and hail, but we made it.
It's been an adjustment being back, to say the least. My parents divorced a few months ago, so I get to adjust to the whole situation late in the game. My mother is currently living in a trailer that is small and old. I won't be too judgmental, but let's just  say she doesn't keep it that tidy.
I really  miss having my own home and my own space. I miss having my patterns and routines. I miss the people. Most of all I miss Ty.
It wasn't too bad at first with how busy I was and considering the fact that it was only going to be 6 weeks. A couple of days ago, however, he informed me that it was now going to be 3 months. What the hell. I lost it. I pretty much cried all night. I was so upset. I accepted 6 weeks. 3 moths is not an option.
He will get to come home for a week at Christmas so it's really only 9 weeks until I see him, but still. I don't know what to do without him for three months. He's my best friend. He's the one I want to do everything with...
I don't know how military wives do it. This is only 3 months. He's not deployed or going to be gone for a year. I should suck it up, and I'm trying. But it still sucks.
Well, this sure is a negative post. With all of this crap, there are things that I've enjoyed. I got to see my babies (nephews and niece). I didn't realize how much I missed them and cannot believe how big they are. I'm really looking forward to spend time with them while here. I also am enjoying the foliage. I haven't seen autumn in over 2 years. I'm going crazy over all of the colors...
Well, that's all I have for now. I hope I haven't whined too much.. but it's my blog. So tough! (just kidding)
Here's some pictures to hopefully make up for my complaining:

My nephew's birthday party!!

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The Future is Coming...Eventually...

Long time no post, I know. But life hasn't seemed that stimulating enough to share... How sad...
But I do have some recent developments. Kind of.
Well, if you've read my previous posts, you know we've been in limbo waiting to move to our next home. Finally we've gotten confirmation that it's happening the first of October!
Not only that, but I won't have to be away from Ty as long as I originally thought. We were told 3 months, but it's gotten cut down do only 7 weeks.  I'm so relieved. I know that some military families are separated sometimes years so I shouldn't even think of complaining, but 3 months would have been rough... I'm very blessed.
Not only that, but it looks like we'll be in our new home and on a new coast before Christmas! I can't believe it. We've been waiting over a year to move on and now that it's time, it's all happening a lot quicker than I imagined. I'm anxious, but admittedly nervous about the move. Starting over is rough. New place, new people.. new coast! It's hard to believe that in about 3 months from now I'll be over 6000 miles away from where I am sitting now...
I'm going to miss this place. As ready as I am to go somewhere new and start a new chapter, this place has become "home". It's where we were newlyweds. Our first house. Our first chapter. It's going to be hard to say goodbye to this beautiful place... Hard to believe I won't drive by the ocean every day and see the sunset over the water every night. It'll be sunrises on the horizon now.
I'm going to try my best at not being too sentimental. I want to be excited for this change. There's going to be so much to do out east. We're going to be in the middle of everything. History will be around every corner. As a history major, let's just say I'm ecstatic about that. We'll get to see the seasons again too. It's probably strange how much I'm looking forward to that. I haven't seen a real fall or winter in two years! I guess even a real summer for that matter. I'm not looking forward to the harsh New England winters, but I'll have to get used to it again. It's a good trade off I suppose.
I hope it's as wonderful as I imagine it to be. I hope we're as happy there as we were here. A new chapter is starting for us. I have a feeling our lives our going to change a lot in Maryland. Maryland will hopefully be where I become a mother. It's hard to wrap my mind around that fact... surreal. I'm anxious about it though, I'll admit. Probably a little too anxious for my husband's liking. I'm just ready to be a mother. With every day I grow more and more certain I'm ready. I want Maryland to be where we start our family.
I will say being a military spouse and surrounded my military families sort of makes having kids "quickly" the natural occurrence. It seems like everyone has children around us. Either that or the newlyweds announce pretty soon they're expecting. I guess it makes sense though. The spouse who isn't in the military tends to not work (not everyone of course, just I feel the majority around here) so it's easier to start a family.
I'm glad we've waited as long as we have though. We were able to figure out how to combine lives without adding a third to the mix. I'll admit, I'm glad we have had a chance to be selfish a little too. I had him all to myself.
But my maternal clock as sounded it's alarm and it will not be ignored! By the way, what's up with that? I'm 22... shouldn't it start ticking later? Hmm.
Well, since I don't have babies to take endless pictures of yet, here's pictures of Phoebe!! I guess you can say she was our first "baby"... :)

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