As of a couple days ago, we have officially finished a month of this deployment! I am stoked about the first month going by relatively easy! I moved across country, started the spring semester of school, and have started working out in this past month. School is going okay so far. It would be doing better if I could focus myself a bit more. The working out is going very well. Today I, along with my mother in law, finished the first day of the Couch to 5K program. (Couch to 5K) I had started it with my husband months ago but unfortunately our complicated busy life got in the way before we could finish the nine week program. When my husband gets home we are going to run (not walk) a 5K together. I am so excited! Though for him it will be an easy thing, this is a great big challenge for me.
For one month down, we are doing very well! I can't wait till this moment again....

  

"Marriage isn't just sex, it's conversation and laughter."

While I'm sure there are many people who may not agree with what is said in this video, I think it makes some great points. There are so many misconceptions about marriage in general. I often wonder how many people go into marriage believing it will be a fairy tale. It's what Disney movies and romantic chick flicks teach us. A damsel in distress, saved by a prince, riding off into the sunset happily ever after. I have never heard of a troubled relationship being solved by getting married. Saying your "I do"s is nothing to take lightly. Marriage and love is a commitment you make over again every single second of every single day. What happens at the alter is just one moment of your life. It's the years that follow that make a marriage.

"It's not the love that sustains the promise, it's the promise that sustains the love."

RIP Etta James

Jan 25, 1938- Jan 20, 2012

I absolutely fell in love with this song last deployment. I can't listen to it without welling up inside and thinking about homecoming. That first amazing hug from someone I've been waiting for months for. What an amazing voice!

“Long ago, men went to sea, and women waited for them, standing on the edge of the water, scanning the horizon for the tiny ship. Now I wait for Henry. He vanishes unwillingly, without warning. I wait for him. Each moment that I wait feels like a year, an eternity. Each moment is as slow and transparent as glass. Through each moment I can see infinite moments lined up, waiting. Why has he gone where I cannot follow?”  -Clare

I watched the Time Traveler's Wife tonight. It always gets me and I end up in tears! It is a wonderful movie but I suggest if you have the time, read the book as well. Such a heart breaking romantic story. Two people deeply in love subjected to life's unfairness.
I think it is truly amazing how love gives us strength to conquer enormous obstacles. The true deep love I have for my husband makes waiting for him worth every second he's gone. While I strongly believe there is a lot more required for a strong happy marriage, love is what binds everything together. It's what sparks patience, kindness, perseverance, honesty, and unselfishness.

Honestly, sometimes I hate my husband's absence. I get myself worked up and curse any reason he has to leave me. But that absence has taught me a lot. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I appreciate my husband more than I ever could have imagined. This small glance into what life would be like without him is a blessing. It's a lesson that comes the hard way, but it's a lesson not many people ever get.

Having your husband thousands and thousands of miles away makes caring for him very challenging. Spoiling my husband with treats is one of my favorite things! Though I don't mind hearing him praise my cooking :) 

This is my first attempt at baking "Cake in a Jar"

I used white funfetti cake. I figured the sprinkles in the cake would look sweet in the jars. 

Be sure to wash your jars with hot water before hand. Keep a pot of boiling water off to the side to sanitize the lids right before they are sealed. Wide mouth jars meant for jarring work best for this! I found mine at the commissary.

I mixed the cake batter like normal and filled the jars about half way full. In this case it was a half a cup of batter per jar.

Ready to go in the oven

These cooked for a little longer than the cupcake directions on the box. When they are done turn off the oven and throw the lids in some boiling water to sanitize. Once the lids have sat in the boiling water you can lay them out on a clean paper towel. Take the jars out of the oven and with some oven mitts on screw on the lids. If the cake has baked over the top of the jar a little, don't worry. Just squish it down with the lid a little. Screw on hand tight.

All sealed up

After they are sealed up you should hear the jars "ping" and the tops should but unable to be pushed down. This should let you know they are sealed well. If the lid flexes, the jars have not sealed and they will not keep for much longer than a normal cake. Be sure to send along a tub of icing!

Enjoy! I sure hope my husband does! I intend to mail them off tomorrow in hopes they make it to him for Valentine's Day!

I am loving that we are two weeks finished with this deployment! I know we have months upon months to go, but I like seeing time go by!

I am loving being back in Georgia! I can't wait till Spring when all the trees go green and the flowers bloom!

I am loving this craft! I need to get a hold of our wedding vows to type them up in a heart. I would love to see this on the wall every day.

I am loving satellite phones! I am so happy, thankful, and overjoyed I got to talk to my husband last night!

Goodbye California!

Well, for now, I have said my goodbyes to warm sunny Camp Pendleton and am back in Georgia! It is quite a cross country drive. Roughly 2,250 miles. It's so amazing to see the vastness of America! I love seeing the mountains of California, the desert of Arizona and New Mexico, the oil and windmills in Texas, the fields and trees in Louisiana,  Mississippi, and Alabama. And finally familiar Georgia.

So far we've finished about a week and a half of the deployment. We're trying to get settled into our separate routines. He's settling into his night shift. I'm settling in Georgia and about to start the spring semester. I am ready for consistency. And eagerly awaiting homecoming! I can't wait to be picking out a homecoming outfit, getting a sign together, planning meals, and getting all ready! Soon... but never soon enough! :)