A Couple Highlights (DAY 96!)

Well, it's been a while since I've actually written a real post. I have been on the go, go, go since arriving in NC last Tuesday.

In the order of time I'm not going to give a play-by-play of the entire week, just a few highlights.

• Wednesday: Doc appt (gyn), everything is looking good and normal. Walked from the hospital to my friend's house, a much longer walk than it seems. Made some brownies in Jars for Mr. P.
  
• Thursday: WIC annoyed me as usual but I did get some formula for Ari. I'm still breastfeeding, I'm just using some help. Anyone who wants to give me crap about it, frankly, can suck it, because it is my body not yours (sorry to be vulgar but that's the way it is). Had my cervical biopsy. Wasn't comfortable but I'm glad it's over with. The fun people there didn't want to let me get it done because I had baby girl with me but a few tears and a mini-breakdown later and it was all done (and she was a good girl, just hung out in her seat!). Went to the battalion family readiness meeting and got to hear first hand what's up and what we have planned for the coming months. Realized how dumb some people are for not listening to me that they are not shortening the deployment (I'm not getting into it but I just don't know why people keep spreading rumors!)
  
• Friday: Enjoyed dinner at a friend's house. She had a bunch of people over and it was great to just hang out and catch up and eat delicious food. Also did a bit of shopping earlier in the day to prepare Mr. P's care package - care packages are expensive, whew. But anything for my Marine ;o) Got home pretty late after the dinner and Ari was a bit overstimulated from all the noise so it was a patchy-sleep night.
• Saturday: Went to the beach! One thing I loove love love about Eastern NC! Walked a bit with Cait, Andrea and Gigi. Then we went to get tattoos. They were too busy so we decided to go back later. Had Battalion Ladies Night at Shogun, the Hibachi place in JVegas. Yummmy. Went back and got our tattoos, definitely my new fave tattoo, it's on my hip/thigh area...
• 

• Sunday: Total veg-out day. Started packing Mr. P's packages. Tried several times to nap but every time I laid down Ari woke up. What a turd :-P Now she is napping, ok scratch that, was napping. Now she is ready for some attentions.
  

This Dog Really Annoys Me (And Other Random Unrelated Events)

*I started this post... yesterday? But was too lazy to add the pics and finish, so here it is a lil bit later*

I'm sitting on the couch here at my parents house and my dad's dog, George, is just whining. He won't stop. It's driving me damn near insane. He does this often. He just wants to play, but I do not want to play with you, I want you to shut up. Hence the title of this post, but not the purpose. If he weren't so cute I'd be angry... haha

The last few days have been delightfully busy, thank God, the only thing that seems to make the days not crawl is constantly moving.

Before New Years, I met up with 3 of my sisters for lunch. We had a wonderful time talking and catching up. The three of them are in grad school (well one's in med school!) right now, so it was really awesome hearing about all goings-on of their lives, how different grad school is from undergrad, talking about the changes in my life, and just generally catching up to speed in the happenings of the last month or so since we've seen each other. I love having the kinds of friends that you don't have to see or speak to every day but you still know they're you're friends and when you get back together everything is the same.

The day before yesterday, one of my college friends headed up here to good ol' Harford County (a short but still substantial hike from the greater Baltimore area) to take some maternity photos for me. She is starting up a photography business and wanted some volunteers to do photo shoots free of cost, so of course I happily obliged. We took some really cool "moto" ones, where I was in his camis with the American flag behind me, some with a sheet wrapped around, and some in regular clothes. I'm very very excited to see how they turned out, they looked pretty awesome on her camera, so I'm hoping they look even more awesome in full size. Then we enjoyed lunch together at Panera Bread (I looove Panera Bread) and talked about grown up things like mortgages and married life. So weird, the paths our lives take and the difference a year or two can really make. Feel free to check out her photography (HERE) and if you like what you see and are in the MD area, give her a ring and help her start up her business! *She also said people in the MD area who want photos done she is still doing them free of charge until the spring, so hit that up!*

*Seeing that I wrote this post before she sent me the pics, I can now share one with you. There are a whooole bunch, and I will share more but you're getting only one for now*

Mom and I have been spending a lot of (ok probably even more than a lot, more like too much) time playing Mario Bros Wii. This is just a random side note, as I'm sitting here waiting for the Ravens game to be over so we can get back to business and beat this game! We've had such a great time together since I've been home (who am I kidding, we always have a great time together) and it's cool to be able to just hang out and play games with your momma.

Today after church I went and met another one of my beautiful sisters (and one of my best friends), Shannon, since it had been far too long since I'd seen her. We enjoyed some lunch at the mall and lots of girl talk and more catching up (I love coming home and getting to catch up with all my good friends). Shannon is in law school (my friends are all so motivated, I love it and am so proud of them) so I got to hear more about school after graduation (and wonder if I'll ever head back myself), I think it's so neat hearing people talk about the differences and similarities between undergrad and their graduate studies and I am very proud of all of them for the hard work they put in. We also talked about military stuff (her hubby's a Coastie), married life, and other grown-up things as well as the always lovely gossip. Then we hit up Victoria's Secret for always appreciated SEMI-ANNUAL SALE! We both walked out with bags, I with a night shirt and lotion, Shan with some lip balm and other cosmetics and I think maybe a bra. They had really good deals on bras. I have to say, no offense to any of my other friends, but Shannon is definitely one of my top shopping partners. Had I not had to be home for dinner at 5 (and her hubby wandering around the mall while we were at the girly store) we probably would have shopped for hours.

And I don't know what else I was originally going to include in this post, as this is where I left off, So we'll just leave it at that. I'm headed back on the train tomorrow to get back home and wait for lil miss thang to decide she's ready to come out and play. Hope you're all enjoying your first full week of 2010.

2009 Recap and Reflection (It has to be done)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so cliche I know I know. But I mean come on, you either reflect or you write resolutions. And I'm not one for sticking to promises I make on NYE (typically these promises are made in a semi- to very- drunken stupor and consist of not drinking as much next time, hence no need for them this year!!) so I'm going to go with the former and reflect upon my 2009. An interesting and semi-eventful year in the life of Mrs. P.

JANUARY
Mr. P and I rang in the New Year at my parents house in MD. In December, I trekked down to his new duty station of Camp Lejeune NC to rescue him for Christmas and by the grace of God he actually had a nice chunk of block leave, something we're not all too familiar with as of late. So I got him for like a solid 2 weeks. The typically 7 hour drive took more about 11 and I got a speeding ticket but it was well worth it. If I could go pick him up from Afghanistan right now and bring him home for New Years I so would. Our New Years Eve this January consisted of him being the DD for once, a trip to our (at the time) new friends Jackie and Rob's and then hanging out in the clubhouse boozing. I got a little more than tipsy and acted like a douche and broke a beer bottle - total party foul. But all in all we had a decent night and enjoyed each other's company. It's going to be a very different NYE this year. January also brought a surprise visit to NC in the later part of the month, where I drove down and surprised him with a weekend trip. He's pretty hard to surprise, too. I can't think of anything else monumental in January. He was my fiancee, I was planning our wedding (ok my mom was, I was just saying "yes" or "no" to things) and we were separated. I worked at the Child Development Center on the Army base and from what I recall that's about all I really did. Oh and we also got our engagement photos done, which turned out beautifully.

FEBRUARY
February brought our first Valentine's Day together and Mr. P. did not dissapoint. I'm really hard to surprise, but he managed it with a trip to one of my favorite places, Ocean City Maryland. We spent a long weekend in a condo and I taught Mr. P how to pick crabs for the first time. He said it was good but not worth the work and I questioned the stability of our relationship (just kidding, he enjoyed the experience enough that it was ok with me that he's too lazy for crabs. bah-ha-ha). We enjoyed OC during off season, got some old timey photos done, went to Assateague Island and saw the ponies, and just had a lovey dovey weekend. He also surprised me with my Tiffany's necklace, the Elsa Perreti open heart. Love it, never take it off. After that weekend, I don't remember seeing much of each other, he headed back to NC. I still lived at home, we were still engaged, I was still planning (helping to plan) the wedding, and working at the CDC.
Wedding planning also brought with it bridal shows, which were a lot of fun.

MARCH
I don't remember much of March so I'm assuming it wasn't eventful, just a continuation of wedding plans. I don't even have any St. Patty's Day pics, so I can only assume I didn't do anything. Which is weird, I love St. Patty's Day... Oh look, thanks to facebook I have an idea of something I did in March... More going out. The pics from this night are prob from Jan or Feb but were posted in March, so it counts

Oh, oh more March. That's right, I lived at home and went out. A lot.


APRIL
I think during March/April Mr. P was in Fort AP Hill, VA for training. I know he came home the last weekend of April because we went down to my college and enjoyed some partying and had an incident on the side of I-95 that may or may not have lead to the conception of our daughter (according to the doctor it did not -she wasn't conceived until our honeymoon- but, I mean, it could have). This was also the month of my fantastic bachelorette party, in which we took a limo into Federal Hill (Man I love Fed Hill and wish I could be partying out there tonight) and I got good and slammed and enjoyed time with my best friends. I also enjoyed a magic show and a bar simultaneously (basically the best idea ever)

My bridal shower was also during this month, in which family and friends all got together to celebrate the idea that I was getting married soon. It was also all about me (and kinda about him) which I enjoy.
I also enjoyed frequent going out during this month.
April was basically a month of finalizing wedding plans and enjoying my last few minutes of "singledom" before the big day.

MAY
This was the "big month" for me. The month in which my life changed for.ev.er (think 'The Sandlot' when you read that). Definitely good change, but lots and lots of change.
First, I got married to my soul mate. Probably the single best day of my life. My wedding was perfect, I had so much fun, looked like a princess and it was all about me (well us, but I was ok with sharing), what could there be not to love? Of course I have a million and one pictures from that day so I'll just share a couple...

Ok I'm going to stop there with one ceremony, one reception, and one after party pic or else I'll be going through them all day, overloading you with wedding photos (that you can just as easily see if you go through the thousands - I'm not exaggerating - of pics of me on facebook) and will never make it back to December. So, anyway, May. We got married and had a grand ol' time doing it. (And I'm still so freaking in love!!!) and then we honeymooned, at Onslow Beach in Jacksonville, NC. Ok, so it may not have been an ideal honeymoon location, but we thought he'd have to work (by the time they said he could have leave it was too late to plan anything huge) and we wanted to be together. So we rented a cabin on the beach, partied, loved, found out we were pregnant, and found a house to rent. Yes, all in one week!

Then, I quit my job and moved to NC to be with my husband. Word was that he was deploying in August, so we wanted as much time together and for him to see the progression of my pregnancy as much as possible before leaving. And in case you didn't know... moving sucks.
JUNE
After we got all married, pregnant, moved and settled, June brought a sigh of relief and took off the pressure from the chaos that was May. This didn't last long, though, as my hormones were starting to kick in and I was a total d-bag mess. Mr. P got ready for a training mission to California and I prepared for my first month alone. Little did I know I'd be too sick to stay by myself. I spent the month in and out of the hospital, miserable from pregnancy and ended up in MD with my parents. It wasn't a fun MD trip, I felt like doodoo, wanted my husband, and wanted very badly to not feel poopie anymore. This pattern continued into July, until Mr. P came home.

JULY
July brought one of my best friends getting married. On July 25, 2009 my good friend and sorority sister Shannon married her high school sweetheart, so we trekked up to MD to witness this joyous occasion. We had a great time, but unlike the months before I wasn't partying (pregnant) and Mr. P was instead. I still had fun though.

AUGUST
Both July and August brought very hot months to Eastern NC, where the P family and friends enjoyed LOTS of beach time. I had finally started making friends and meeting people in Jacksonville so I was becoming more human again. Mr. P and I are huge beach bums, so we spent all of our spare time at the nearby beaches.
My parents came down for their first NC visit and we had a great time. We also found out in August that our little peanut is a GIRL and with this news began to prepare accordingly.

SEPTEMBER
I don't really know of anything monumental that happened in September. My life began to get a routine as I made more friends and started volunteering in the Battalion Family Readiness Office. Oh, I got my first non-family visitors to our house in NC. My bestest, Justin, came and saw us for a long weekend with his girlfriend at the time and we took our first trip to Myrtle Beach. At the end of the month, two of my sisters Shan and Theresa came and spent a long weekend with us as well. It was nice having little pieces of home in NC.
OCTOBER
October brought with it the stresses of pre-deployment. Deployment rumors were running rampant and we never knew where he'd be when. It was rough. I worked in the BN as much as possible to help during this time. I also worked (and quit soon thereafter) in the CDC during October. It definitely wasn't a fun month, just a busy one. I don't remember much of it, as it seemed to fly by. Also, I'm getting lazy with photos as I started blogging before these months and there are photos already on. I'm kind of over this whole post actually, maybe it was a bad idea! I'm sure there was fun stuff in October too, but I just don't have too many fond memories of this month!

NOVEMBER
November followed October's footsteps as far as the stress of predeployment. Mr. P and I continued to prepare for little baby P's arrival and set up her nursery (somewhat) which I am very glad he was here to partake in. We went to MD for Thanksgiving and my mom threw me a surprise baby shower, which was a HUGE success. I enjoyed time well spent with friends I hadn't seen in months and getting fabulous gifts for my daughter. While this time it wasn't all about me, it was all about her, it was still just as good! The end of November also brought with it the sad news that my husband would indeed be leaving, and leaving very soon...

DECEMBER
Clearly, I'm getting lazy here. I even thought of not even posting for December, since anyone who's been reading at all knows what's up in December. Basically, I had to say a sad "See ya later" to my love, as he headed off to war. We began our first deployment. I also turned 23, a non-fun age. In happy news, I got closer than ever to my "NC gals" or "Marine Wife Friends" and am learning the true meaning of friendship, regardless of distance, from both these women and my good friends pre-military. My NC gals threw another shower for me (and my friend Cait) and baby girl got some more fabulous gifts, although Lori has not put up pictures from this yet so I still can't share them - bad Lori! Oh and we bought our house, and (I just found this out from the realtor a couple days ago) the construction company broke ground on our house this week! Christmas came and went and I anxiously awaited January, which will FINALLY be here tomorrow, so I can seriously get ready for Miss Thang to be here. In a few days, I can say I successfully survived a month of deployment, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

If you hung on through all that, well mad props to you, you deserve some homemade cookies! All in all, it was a great and very eventful year, and I have so much to be thankful for.

Here's to a wonderful 2010, a fresh start, and so much to look forward to already. I'm already excited for (and dreading writing) next year's recap!

Hope you all have a faboosh New Years Eve, be safe, and if you're drinking, have one for those of us who can not indulge this year!!

What a Hiatus (Oops, Neglect of Blogging)

Yeah, I've been on a slight hiatus. First there was the whole Thanksgiving thing, which was FANTASTIC and I even cooked some this year!! I made sweet potato casserole and cranberry salad a la Mr. P's mom. I wanted to make sure he got some of his home traditions at Thanksgiving in Maryland.

Then there was the whole surprise baby shower thing! My mom planned a killer surprise baby shower and I got to enjoy time with some of my closest friends ALL AT ONCE while celebrating my beautiful daughter and getting lots of awesome gifts!!

Phi Mus at the shower

Then after that we headed back home and Mr. P's mom, step dad, sister, and our brand new nephew came to visit. They just left this morning at around 5am, actually, so we had a nice long week with them. We had a great time, I felt kinda bad because I was doing a lot of running around and getting things done in between visiting, but Mr. P is very happy that he got to see his family before a possible deployment.

Mr. P also got a promotion! We're very very excited about this, we've been anticipating it for a while (ok, since July). He is now Cpl (Corporal) P instead of LCpl (Lance Corporal) P. He is at NCO status, which means he's got more responsibility and a little more respect, which is pretty great. I am soooo proud of him (us, I mean, I did nag the crap out of him to get his stuff done...) and I even got to pin on one of his chevrons at the promotion ceremony.

Pinning on his Cpl chevrons

Now we are just getting ready for our first deployment. It's a very stressful time. We actually have an idea of when this will happen, but of course I can't share it with you. I'm just trying to get all the stuff we need to get done totally done before it is here. Honestly, I have been a bit of a mess but being 8 months preggo and preparing to send the love of my life to war, well I believe it's to be expected and still think I'm doing a hell of a job. I mean, I haven't even thrown up once even though I've thought about it! I guess I just thought it would never come, never be official. We'd heard so many rumors and had so many "We'll be gone by xxx" that by now it had just come to be normal to just disregard it until there was something official... now that we've got official, well, it's still hard to believe and even harder to accept.

So there is a quick recap on why I have been missing lately. Please don't think I don't love you all by not commenting, life is just really chaotic for now, and I will be back to full time blogging world as soon as I can...

Hope you all have a phenomenal weekend.

Lamaze and a Rib-Ing Pain (How Big ARE You Baby??)

I must admit, I pretty much love being pregnant. Pregnancy makes every day a little adventure, and makes each day, week, month, something to look forward to as each day is one day closer to my little one being here. While there are some pains (literally) and some trials, I really have enjoyed my pregnancy and feel so lucky to have this experience.

That being said, one of my most favorite parts of pregnancy is feeling Baby P move. Each little flutter, every kick, brings a smile - and quite often a giggle - to my face. And each time, it never fails, I realize all over again "There's someone in there!" Some of her kicks now, as she's getting older, I can see my tummy actually moving. It's really like something of a sci-fi movie, and I hope to catch it on video one of these days, but of course she never does it when I'm expecting or waiting for it! The fact that this is something that Mr. P can sit and experience with me is something I really enjoy, too. The other day, he laid his head against my stomach and was talking to our baby. He said to her, "If you love me, punch me in the face" (I thought to myself when he said this, don't let yourself down when she doesn't, she's not particularly active right now and that's kind of a loaded request for someone not even here yet) And what do ya know - she punched (or kicked, elbowed, head-butted...) him right in his cheek as he lay there! We were both very astonished and so excited! Of course daddy then had the biggest grin on his face "SHE LOOOOVES ME" haha they're so cute together already and she's not even here.

Baby Gaga

Now that being said, I don't mean to complain when I say that I wish this kid would get out of my ribs. Haha. I love the movement, I love feeling her there, I love knowing she's still there. But her new favorite spot to hang out is up in my ribs, particularly on my right side. I don't know if it's a foot, an arm, a butt... but some body part has been there continuously over the last few weeks. And I'm pretty sure there's a bruise on the inside from where Little Miss Thing is constantly rubbing. Of course, nothing I say or do helps to move her from her spot. It's where she likes to be and it's where she'll remain until she's ready to move. So, until that point I will continue to just rub my aching ribs. I know I could have it worse - my friend Cait's baby wakes her up in the night kicking at her ribs - at least we don't have that going on... yet.

Tonight we had Lamaze Class. Mr. P's unit isn't exactly... supportive... of his attending my appointments/classes/anything family related, so he wasn't able to make it. Instead my friend Whitney came with me as birth partner. I've just got to say I am so very lucky and blessed to have the friends that I do. This was the relaxation/labor prep segment of the course which meant the birth partners would be massaging us preggo ladies. Whitney was such a trooper and did all the massages, paying special attention so she can properly teach my husband later. She even did the foot massage and she hates feet, I told her she didn't have to, but like I said she is such a trooper. I'm so thankful!! Mr. P did make an appearance at the end of the class, which was nice for him to be there, and I am lucky to have had anyone there at all, let alone TWO people.

Photo

And now, as the Ravens are on Monday Night football, I am going to go enjoy having a teeny piece of Maryland down here in NC. Hope you all have a fantastic week!

Veteran's Day Thankful Thursday

I don't typically partake in Thankful Thursdays, usually because I forget it's Thursday before I have the chance (hence why I've been slacking in my Wishful Wednesdays, too) but yesterday, I skipped a Veteran's Day blog because I wanted to incorporate it into a Thankful Thursday post.

Warning: This post may be a bit Motarded.
Definition of a Motard (a la Mr. P): "Motivated to the point of retardedness."
A term often used to describe people who are overly excited about anything Marine Corps/military/regulation/American. Often associated with the "super motivational" haircut, the high and tight.

Photo Cred

Used in a sentence: Babe, you are such a motard, I am surprised you don't have a high and tight (Hubby to me when I was seriously rocking out to "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" by Toby Keith)

Ok, enough with the babbling, on to the thankfulness...

Photo Cred

Every day, I am thankful for my wonderful family. I'm thankful for the family which I was raised, my amazing parents who support me like none other, my crazy little sister that I am lucky to have no matter how annoying she can be, and my extended family at large, they're pretty neat. I am thankful for the family I married into. My awesome husband, who I don't know what I'd do without. I could seriously go on for hours about all the reasons and ways I am thankful for him so let's just leave it at he loves me no matter what, he takes care of me, spoils me, and is the bestest man I could have asked for ever. And my new extended family, they're pretty neat, too.
Also, the new family that we are creating. My beautiful little daughter baking away inside. I'm thankful for the opportunity to even be pregnant and the chance to become a mommy. I'm thankful for every kick, every symptom of pregnancy, and every little joy that comes along with it, because it really is a miracle.

I am also thankful for my friends. My wonderful friends I've grown up with who have been by my side regardless, all the women that stood by me at my wedding day, I don't know what I'd do without them. My friends from school that I still keep in touch with and the sorority sisters that continue to think about me even though I'm so far away. And my new friends, the Marine Wives I've met along the way so far. I would be a mess down here without the ladies I've gotten to know.

And *begin motivational section* in this issue of Thankful Thursday, I am thankful for our military. Without which America wouldn't be... well America. I'm thankful that there are men and women out there who risk their lives daily so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we do and feel safe and protected in the ways we do. I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to grow up in a military family and learn to appreciate all these things at an early age. I'm thankful that my husband is the strong and good Marine that he is, that he has the dedication to work his butt off for the Corps. I am thankful for all the things the military has provided for us, as well.

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So now I'm wondering what's up with my lack of readership? Is my life that boring or my posts that difficult to read (I know I tend to write in stream-of-consciousness fashion, so maybe I'm just too all over the place?) I'm beginning to get a bit depressed at the dwindling amount of comments I receive, it's kind of a blow to the ego!! So if you stop by and my blog sucks, feel free to let me know! Hahaha.
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And lastly, hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Also, in lieu of the Veteran's Day topics of this post, head over to Married to the Military for an awesome Build-A-Bear giveaway!! Run quick, the giveaway ends tonight!!

Training Day (Everyone Needs a Network)

Today I had my training to become a Family Readiness Assistant. Let me elaborate first, on Family Readiness and how important it is to a wife as any kind of military spouse.
When I first moved to Camp Lejeune (to be known here on out as CL), I was extremely lonely. I had my husband, a good friend I had made on a prior trip, Jess, and husband's friend's wife (who has become much more than that as we've gotten to know each other), Tamara. While both these ladies are fantastic (and Jess took care of my very sick newly pregnant self) I still ended up staying in the house moping for the majority of my first few months. I would call them on the phone or swing by their houses and that was about the extent of my social network. Neither of them were in hubby's unit, so while they could give me their tips and personal insights of being a Marine wife, they couldn't tell me what was going on with us, what exactly I was expected to do, or anything specific to us. They could both relate to the long days and late nights, or the nights where he doesn't come home at all. Jess has already survied a deployment and Tamara is preparing for her first, but has survived lots of seperation from her hubs before moving to CL. We have a lot in common just being Marine spouses and we have great times together, but I was still missing that network that I was used to, having come from an area where when I needed advice all I needed to do was walk down the hall to my mom or whenever I needed a sister I could drive 45 minutes at the most and several ladies would be there (one of the perks of being a sister of Phi Mu the second largest "Fraternity for Women" in the nation). I needed some kind of network where I could get busy. Preferrably a network that would somehow make me closer to hubs.

When Tamara started talking about events that were going on in the battalion for the families that would help spouses to meet friends and network, I started to wonder - is there something within hubs' batallion for me? Upon asking hubby this, I began to feel at a loss, there was no way I'd find a way to connect with his unit without feeling totally awkward (aka wife dates and large family days - sooo awkward to meet people that way!) That's when I noticed the card hubby had inadvertantly stuck on our fridge - the number for the FRO - Family Readiness Officer. I shot her an email, and within an hour, I was on the phone with someone from his battalion who could totally help me out. Finally, my existence at CL and as a Marine Spouse had been recognized! I was invited to come to the BN (battalion) the next day to meet the FRO, collect my Battle Book (a binder filled with sheets with blanks to fill in of all pertinent info - the if I had to leave and only had a second to grab my whole life what would I need book), and join her and her assistants on a tour around the base. I had an awesome time! I got to chat with girls from the BN about events, what was going on on base, and events the battalion family readiness team had to offer lonely spouses like myself. It was great. I asked how these girls got to come hang out in the office because it seemed like something I might be interested in - helping other wives (spouses) who don't have a clue what's going on and feel disconnected. I know that feeling and it sucks, what could I do to help out? I was invited to a Family Readiness Team Assistants meeting where I learned lots of goings on in the battalion and once again got to do one of my favorite things - chat! I decided that being a family readiness assistant was definitely a job I wanted to volunteer for.

Today was the training for the job. I learned lots of valuable information that will not only help me as an assistant but as a Marine spouse. I learned about TONS of resources that are available to us as Marines spouses, many I didn't even know about!! And then we got a sweet little graduation ceremony where I got an awesome certificate, that looks like a real Marine Corps certificate and I might just hang on the wall with hubby's certificates

Holding my cert. infront of hubby's, think it goes?

So while I'm not looking for sisters to replace my sisters or my family, it is good finding a sisterhood within the Marine Corps. Whether it be Tamara and Jess, my first CL Marine Wife friends, or Maggie my childhood friend who is now a Marine Wife, Maria (the wife who was there when our car got hit and who is basically pretty awesome - more on that story and Maria later), or the battalion network, it's nice to have people who understand. And of course all my oldest friends are always only a phone call away. It feels good to be unlonely and back to my social butterfly self again.