Life, Lately

Howdy, all!

Sorry I don't update this nearly as much as I used to. I really need to get better at that.

So, I'm going to cram the last month or so down your throats all at once. Enjoy. :]

First off, today is March 1st. It's Self-Injury Awareness Day.

Source

 I know it's late in the day, or else I would remind everyone to wear something orange or to draw a butterfly on their hand/wrist, but please be aware that self-injury is a terrible thing. You may not self-injure, but there are so many who do. They need hope, they need help. Be there to listen. Reach out.

That being said, let's get into life. :]

About a month ago, I moved! I'm moved in a bigger house on base. It is absolutely beautiful and so much roomier. I actually feel like I can spread out here. It's an awesome thing.

We found out that L.B. is a boy! His name is Jasper Gregory. We can't wait to meet him. For more on our little guy, visit my pregnancy blog.

Husband is doing well overseas. We hear from him anywhere from one to three times a week. I'm extremely grateful for that, as I know that there are some Marines who are not able to call home as often.

Bear is doing well. He has his 18 month check up tomorrow! I'm excited to tell the doctor that he knows a zillion words. :] My Little Bear is so polite. He shakes hands, says please and thank you, says hello and goodbye, and so many more words and phrases. Other than the occasional tantrum, he's an absolute angel. I'm so blessed.

In May, there is a craft fair that I'm 98% sure I'm going to be participating in. I have about two months to get everything made. I'm a bit nervous, but I know that if I just put my mind to it, I can do it. :]

The plan is to start blogging at least once a week now. We'll see how that goes.

I still have a tutorial to photograph and post. Sorry, Miss Bee! I promise that will be up soon.

Thank you all for sticking with me through my long absences. Y'all rock!

Til next time!

Deployment Update - Week 1

Husband is safe and sound in Afghanistan. Well...as safe and sound as he can be, I suppose.

We got to Skype with him tonight, and it was amazing, if not a little awkward.

It's a bit weird trying to carry on a conversation when he is surrounded by loud, obnoxious Marines. Oh well. I'm used to it by now.

It's cold there, he says. About 30 degrees. Brr. I can't even imagine, what with being in 29 Palms. The coldest it gets here is about 60 degrees. Woo. :/

He's going to be staying where he is for about five days to get integrated, then he's being transferred wherever he is needed.

Bear was super excited to see Daddy. He was all smiles and waves and "hi" and shyness. Now, however, he's sad, and hasn't let me put him down since we were done talking with Daddy.

I can't wait til we get on a better schedule for talking. All this constantly having my phone on me (for FB texts) and having the volume on my computer up at max in order to hear Skype ringing is getting a little old.

This last week has gone by both slowly and quickly. Slowly in the days seem to drag by, but quickly in that I can't believe he's already been gone for almost a week.

I hope it goes like this the rest of the time he's gone.

♥

Dear Deployment: Day 1, Week 1

First off, deployments, you suck.

I only saw him off this morning, and I'm ready for him to be home.

It was really hard...It took all I had not to start bawling in front of everyone.

I hope he is able to sleep on the bus/planes over there... We didn't get much sleep last night, because he had to be on base at 3:45 in the morning. Yuck.

He left me his wedding ring...Didn't want anything happening to it, and just in case "something happens," he said. Jerk.

Poor Bear...He knew something was up.

It's not very often he gets woken up in the middle of the night to see Daddy in uniform.

It was really cold, so we spent the last two hours in the truck. We just talked to Bear and spent time together.

I don't know when I'm going to hear from him...I hate that. I've got my phone ringer on the loudest possible setting, just in case he can call from the USO at the airports...I'm refreshing my email every half hour or so, and Facebook and Skype are always open. Just in case.

Watching him get on the bus was so hard. I didn't want to let him go. But I had to. I had no choice.

But...I think watching the bus pull away was even harder.

I hated seeing him go.

And so, deployment...You can go and do several unmentionable, inappropriate things to yourself.

Just bring him home safely, and in one piece.

Note: All graphics are courtesy of Pretty Little Graphics.

Oorah!

[What I Love] The One He Fights For

I'm going to just let the video speak for itself.

"This is not a world for weak women." - Alexis Jovan Chervony

Semper fi, Husband. Always faithful.

Come what may.

[What I Did] Mall Trip

So I've decided I don't do enough "everyday life" posts. It seems like all I do is crochet and complain and listen to music. No more, I say! Now, I will be a human being who goes out and does things.

Like this:

At the mall with Becca and Toni.

And this:

Olive Garden. Yummy <3

And some more of this:

I love the glasses I'm wearing. They have Cookie Monster on them.

I'm finally having fun here in 29.

I've met and become friends with these two awesome girls:

Olive Garden!

We do crazy things, like make rainbow cupcakes and color our hair pink and purple and blue, and hang out till 12:30 in the morning. Plus, our Marines all work in the same shop, so we get to hang out as a group as soon as Mojave Viper is over with. Yeah!

Friends rock. :]

Source: google.co.uk via Anna on Pinterest

Top: Shade
Glasses in Photos 1 + 3: Hot Topic 

[Love Love] From Mojave Viper (Via Someone Else)

I love when people with Husband are capable of accessing our wonderful world of Facebook from out in the middle of the horrid desert.

Hilarity ensues.

[While Husband's Away] Journal and Photo Challenges

Husband left for Mojave Viper today. I'm distraught.

He'll be gone for just under a month (or so, it's all really on a need-to-know basis). But to keep me busy and distracted, I'll be doing some photo and journal challenges, as well as a [While Husband's Away] photo journal, which will have a photo of both me and Bear every day while Husband is gone to Mojave Viper and when he deploys to Afghanistan in September.

I'll be sharing some of the stuff on here, but if you want to keep up, feel free to friend me on Facebook, just make sure you mention you're a follower of Confessions of a Marine Wife.

Challenge prompt sources:
30 Day Journal Challenge prompts: Run With Scissors
100 Day Photo Challenge prompts: found on a friend's Facebook page.

And now, I would like to share our Day 1 photos from my [While Husband's Away] photo album:

Mojave Viper Day 1. Hat hair and cry eyes.

Mojave Viper Day 1. Bear and Seahorsey ready for nap time.

That's it for now.

Ciao!

[What I Did] Welcome Home, Daddy

So Husband is going to be home soon (either today or tomorrow), and I wanted to have a totally unique "Welcome Home" banner. So I painted it on my wall. :]

Yup, it's a chalkboard. A TURQUOISE chalkboard. I made the paint myself. I'm pretty proud. :]

It's in my dining/craft room, so when he sits down to eat the nommy chicken pot pie and vegan cupcakes I'm going to make him, he's going to see it and go "Aw, Darlin...You missed the edges." To which I will reply "Hon, you have to do SOMETHING. I'm not going to do all the decorating myself." Because I'm nice like that.

What do you think?

Ciao!

Military Housing…

The good thing: I can paint. There’s lots of natural light. Fun, oddly angled walls.

The bad thing(s): The carpets are brown. The linoleum is brown. The walls are textured.

Sigh.

Let’s begin the tour, shall we?

First stop: The full bathroom upstairs.

That’s all the counter space I have. I may go crazy. I don’t even have a drawer. :[

Close up on Husband’s razor, ‘cause I bought it for him.

My little shadow, Brigand, was ever so curious of what I was doing.

Now, the view down the stairs.

That’s a lot less than the 32 I was used to climbing when I lived in South Carolina.

My key hook, next to the hall closet and front door. Very first thing I hung up in here.

Now for some views from the entryway into the ground floor:

Here is the living room, with a peek into the kitchen and dining room.

Notice our lack of furniture? Yeah. It sucks.

Now down our “hallway”…

A quick look at the “hall wall"…

Our “dining” table (which I have taken over).

And a quick peek at what I’m working on…

Our neat little bar area. Thing.

And another view…

And last, but not least, our kitchen. Well…my kitchen.

Well…what do you think? What would you do to make this seem more like…I dunno…Home? Yeah. Home.

Ciao for now!

<3

Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day!!

Trust me, now that I’m actually experiencing how hard this all is, this is a nice thing to see.

If any of you know a military spouse, please, go up and give them a hug and tell THEM “thank you for all that you do.”

In other news…

I’m working on stuff for the shop. And when all my stuff FINALLY gets here from South Carolina, I will be back in business. Literally.

This post is going to be short for a few reasons: I’m not too sure how long this “free” internet is going to last before it decides to die again, and I’m dead tired.

Ciao for now!

<3

It’s Been A While…

Hi howdy hey!

Yup. I’m alive. Shocking, huh?

In the last three weeks, I have packed up most of our stuff, drove 2,400 miles in three days, and have settled down with Bear at my mom’s house in California while the husband finishes up his last two weeks of training.

I’m so tired. I miss my bed. I miss my stuff…I only have enough clothes to last for a week and a half (Tay and I thought we would be living together by now, not what’s happening), and I really just don’t like California.

The perks of living in 29: a gazillion antique, thrift and vintage shops. I’m so excited. I can’t wait to start scouring the clothing racks for awesome finds. Yep.

I turned 21. It’s not really that big of a deal, since neither Taylor or I drink.

Bear has learned how to roll over, and he can crawl…backwards. He popped out two new teeth yesterday (at the same time), except they are not the ones I was expecting. He now has his two bottom front teeth and his top eye teeth. Odd.

I can’t wait to find out when we get base housing. We should find out within a week, and then be moved in a week after that. I’m not quite counting on that timeline, since the Corps has a habit of messing our plans up, but it’s all I have to hold on to: in these next two weeks, I should hopefully get a house and a husband.

When that happens, I can finally start crafting again. I miss it. I’m so…bored. It’s sad…

Anyone who lives in or near 29 should tell me of any…entertaining things that I, as a Marine housewife, can do.

PCSing...

So...It's been a while since I have been on here. Been SUPER busy.

I'm in California at the moment, visiting my Mommy during the week and the Marine on the weekends.

Also getting to know my new home for the next three years.

Yup. 29 Palms, here we come...

We already have a house that we are looking at renting, which is good since Taylor was told that the waiting list for base housing is like...6 months long (yikes).

If any of y'all live in 29, or Southern California in general, hit me up! We will be here by this time next month, and I need friends!

We (Taylor, Bear and I) went to Hollywood on Sunday, and I got some pretty awesome pictures:

These are just a few of the ones that I took, but they are my favorites. :]

Ciao for now!

Let The Countdown Commence!

Okay.

I am starting up my to-do list again. Cuz, well…I need to.

I have the next 9 1/2 days to do the following:

• Finish up all my sewing projects
• Paint, stencil, and distress my desk
• Finish making my Mom’s bouquet; mail it out
• Get my hair cut
• Pack a bag big enough to last for 12 days
• Sort through Matheson’s clothes; box up what is too small
• Pack up as much stuff as possible

Why only 9 1/2 days, you ask?

Well….

I’m going to Cali!

My mom is getting married, and I figured it was the perfect opportunity to see my family for the first time in FOREVER.

Also, my mom only lives an hour and a half away from my husband and also my possible future home: Twentynine Palms.

Yup. I get to see my Marine. *insert girly scream here*

I am beyond excited.

I’m gonna wear my Shabby Apple dress, and my love is going to wear his Blues. I’m almost scared we will look better than the happy couple (well, I won’t; Taylor might).

Unfortunately, by being in California, I’m gonna miss some awesomeness hosted by Miss Bee and Elise happening in SLC on the 10th:

(These girls have been busy planning neat-o parties, huh?)

Not that I would have been able to go anyway, what with living here in South Carolina. Sigh…I hate being away from the center of the bloggy universe. :[

What are y’all excited for?

Ciao for now!

<3

Slow and Steady…

I have had an Etsy shop for about a month now. I have made no sales, but I’m not complaining. I know it’s possibly from lack of advertising. Possibly.

So I did something to solve that problem. I made a Facebook page. 8 whole people like it. :]

I’ve been working on some ideas for new things to put in my shop. As with most of them, they aren’t exactly Marine-themed, but I’m hoping they are unique enough to get some attention.

Also, within a few months, I plan on increasing my advertising, and hopefully getting some more traffic to both my lovely little blog and my shop.

I’ve set up an email account for my shop, which you can use to contact me about creating a custom item (more of which will be listed soon).

sempergumbyshoppe{at}live{dot}com

I’m also giving you all 10% off any item in my shop. Just enter code SEMPER10 at check-out.

Spread the word!

Ciao for now!

<3

Wow…He Really IS Spoiled…

The husband is in California. He eats “cafeteria food” and fast food. No good home-cooked meals for my love. Sad day.

I hate that I can’t make him dinner every night. Like…I hate it a lot.

So, I do the next best thing.

Chocolate covered strawberry marshmallow pops.

From-scratch snickerdoodles.

Homemade peanut butter cups.

Homemade Oreos.

I’ve been baking up a storm. Then I box it up and ship it out. He has not gotten any of them yet, but I can’t wait till he does. He is gonna be the most popular guy in his company. :]

Ciao for now!

<3

Covet and Love It!

So.

My birthday is coming up in a couple of months, and tonight Taylor told me to start making a list of all the stuff I want.

My list consisted of one thing.

Yup. That little beauty.

So…Taylor said that if I wanted it, he would get it for me.

And I told him no. Cuz it costs an arm and a leg and the soul of my firstborn.

I could kick myself. Cuz I really want one. Really bad.

Some other things I really want:

• This gorgeous skeleton key necklace from Love Spell Jewels. This shop has some of the most gorgeous vintage-style jewelry I have seen in a long time. And, it’s actually affordable. Another plus.

• This pillow from Letter Perfect Designs. For my bed. Because, I have decided: it’s okay to have 70 million pillows on your bed. Especially if you are sleeping alone for months on end. But, instead of the ‘a’, I would ask for a ‘b.’

 

• This adorable little critter from Camillam. Marine Corps turtle? Oorah! And, yes, it would be for me, because turtles are my thing. Now, if someone could make a Marine Corps moose, then Little Bear could have one.

 

• This gorgeous headband from Vintage Wanna Bee. And, well…just about everything else in her shop. Especially the sequin headbands. I bought the Vanilla one, got it in the mail on Saturday, and have worn it every stinkin’ day. That’s how awesome her stuff is. :]

Well…That’s it.

Ciao for now!

<3