Something I should probably just get used to

So as some of you might know, I had planned this whole birthday surprise and I was going to go to Annapolis on Aug. 16 so I could surprise Ben and pick him up from BWI on the 17 because they didn't have to be back for reform until the 18...well, typical military...plans changed. Ben now has to be back on the 17, so it looks like I will be staying by myself :( If anybody wants to meet up to hang out or anything, please let me know since I will be there. I would love to meet some of you girls and hang out while I'm there.
It's probably a good thing that I did not write this last night because when I found out, I was very upset and actually started crying. I thought I had this fool proof plan, but there is never a fool proof plan when it comes to the military and this is just the first of many more things that will not go my way when it comes to the military. It's the first thing that I can say I have had to deal with. Up until now, everything has worked out in my favor in our relationship, but now, when I had this awesome surprise planned, it has to be messed up. I guess, though, if I'm going to be in a military relationship, I really need to get used to this. There's nothing I can do about it, there's nothing I can say about it, all I can do is get over it...it just really sucks :(

Something that I found today:

I am thankful for...

...the mess to clean up after a party

because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

...the taxes I pay

because it means that I'm employed.

...the clothes that fit a little too snug

because it means I have enough to eat.

...my shadow who watches me work

because it means I am out in the sunshine.

...the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot

because it means I am capable of walking.

...all the complaining I hear about our government

because it means we have freedom of speech.

...that lady behind me in church who sings off key

because it means that I can hear.

...lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing

because it means I have a home.

...my huge heating bill

because it means that I am warm.

...weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day

because it means that I have been productive.

...the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours

because it means that I am alive.

Just a little disappointed

24 days ago, Ben left for a 20-24 day camping trip with his group of midshipmen at NOLS....well today was day 24 so I thought all day I might finally get to hear from him. Well as it approaches midnight, I still haven't heard from him, so I guess I just have to wait another day and hopefully I will hear from him tomorrow. He leaves NOLS Sunday to head to Philmont (New Mexico), but I just really hope I hear from him before Sunday. I work doubles Sundays (10:30 am - about 10 pm) so I'm hoping I might get to talk to him before I can't talk to him at all. I really really really hope I get a phone call tomorrow...I miss the sound of his voice :( I miss getting "good morning beautiful" texts, I miss him.

Stay Creative!

Cool Websites

So while stumbling, I found some cool websites that I just figured I would share :)

So you've graduated from college...now what?

The truth for mature adults

Cute necklace!

21 pieces of advice

What all self help books say

7 ways to change your life in 7 days

50 things everyone should know how to do

Make employers notice your resume!

Enjoy! :)

No bake...cupcakes?

So I can't take 100% of the idea, but my mom found this thing in a magazine. They're CANDY CUPCAKES!

What you'll need:

• Paper tube cut 2 1/4" high (from bathroom tissue or paper towels)
• 2 1/2" Styrofoam ball
• Elmer's Tacky Glue
• 6 "fun size" candy bars
• DecoArt acrylic paint to match candy wrappers
• 18" narrow ribbon
• Elmer's CraftBond Glue Spots, Thin Medium 
• About 1 cup of bright colored candy 
• 11"x11" plastic wrap
• Clear packing tape
• 1" gumball

Here's how you do it!

Slash the paper tube every 1/4"-1/2" at one end, continuing slashes to 1/4" from tube's other end. Fan out tips. Apply glue around the Styrofoam ball from 1/3 of the way from the bottom up to the middle; insert it halfway into the fanned-out end of the tube. Press slashed tube against glue.

When dry, paint ball and tube to match your candy bar wrappers. 

Use Glue Spots to attach a candy bar, vertically, to tube. Attach a second one directly opposite. Fill in the spaces on each side with two more candy bars.

Wrap ribbon around the base and tie a bow.

Dot top of Styrofoam ball with Glue Spots spaced about 1" apart. Pour small candies into middle of plastic wrap. Bring ends up to form a 5" round and twist tightly; tape securely. Turn over and place on top of "cupcake." Put two glue spots on gumball and place it at center of "cupcake." 

Totally ghetto

So after the past month of sweating while doing nothing but sitting in my room (our AC is broken in my house and my mom can't currently afford to fix it), I decided enough was enough. While at school, I have a window unit to put in my bedroom and the unit was just "chillin" in my basement here at home, so I decided I was going to figure out how to put it in my window here. The only problem, my windows open side to side instead of up and down, so I attempted to rig it in the window with a few random pieces of wood I found around the house.

So this is what I've got. There are a few leaks, but my room is 10-15 degrees cooler then the rest of my house. Now I live in my little cave and only leave to go to the bathroom. lol I offered to mom that she could hang out with me, but she turned me down, so I am enjoying the nice cool air all to myself on my days off work :)

Inspirational Quotes

My new "littles"

So since Ben has been gone, I have found a few group of friends. The USNA Girlfriends on facebook! They are awesome and can literally answer any sort of anything question that I might even ever have. It's nice to know that I can express anything and there will be SOMEONE who knows exactly what I'm going through. And while I have never met any of these girls, they're awesome. One girl created this idea of pairing girls together who have same interests or activities and what not (sort of like a sorority) and gave us names. Just tonight, I started talking to my girls (Kim and Nat) and they're awesome! Hopefully I will meet them sometime in the near future, but for now, it's really nice to have someone to talk to! :D

Most awkward couple EVER

So today, Lauren and I shot a wedding. The bride and groom were honestly the most awkward couple I have ever seen together in my life. It was honestly like they almost didn't want to be together. Their first kiss...well let's just say it was like he was kissing his Grandma goodbye...it was so short, Lauren completely missed it, I barely got it, and the pastor said "really? That's it?" afterwards. And then the best part (dun dun dun) during pictures, he wouldn't kiss her, and wouldn't smile and kept making really stupid faces. It was like pulling teeth to get him to do anything for pictures. Granted, we're not going to be the ones to tell you that you have to act a certain way, but when you're paying a significant amount for pictures (we're not exactly the cheapest photographers on the block), you would think you would at least like for your pictures to be nice. They were just so awkward together, Lauren and I really didn't know what to do about it. Thank goodness for the wedding party (they were all really cool and fun to work with) was there to crack jokes to get them to smile a little so we could get a few good pictures, but I could tell Lauren really wasn't 100% satisfied with what we got.

To make matters even better, at the reception, we do this thing called a "photo guestbook." We have people come over, we take their picture and it prints out on an 8.5x11 piece of paper and they write a note to the bride and groom and we put it in a leather bound book at the end of the night to take with them for their honeymoon to read...

This image is NOT from tonight. It's from:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-PhotoGuestbook-by-808-Studios/185927608097418

Well, none of their guests wanted to do it. It took FOREVER to get anyone to come and get their pictures taken, and then neither set of parents wanted to. They would tell me "well we already got our pictures taken today so we don't need anymore..." Ok, you're paying for this, get your picture taken one more time and write some sort of advice to your child and their new husband/wife. That honestly annoys the CRAP out of me!

I guess I just don't understand how you could/would want to marry someone who you're not 100% comfortable with and someone that doesn't make you smile and someone who doesn't even want to kiss you. It was just one of the weirdest days I've had in awhile and definitely one of the most awkward couples I have ever had the "privilege" of working with.

Weddings are supposed to be "the happiest day of your life" (even though you should get happier every day after because if it's the best day, then it just goes downhill), and I just am not very sure that they were 100% happy to be together, and if they were, they sure didn't act like it!

Naval Academy Photo Project

I did these photos for a photo project that I did in one of my classes. My grandma went to Annapolis for her senior trip in high school and the black and white pictures were hers and I scanned them and went to the same places and took different photographs to put this image together. Hope you enjoy!

The project itself was inspired by the photographs that I found on this website: www.designfloat.com/blog/2011/04/25/wwii-photo-sergey-larenkov/

Another lonely night :(

So tonight, as I'm at the bar with my friend and her new boy, it really hit me how much I really miss Ben. It's been 37 days since I last saw him and I've still got 42 days until I get to see him again. So I guess you could say we're halfway there, but it feels like it's been forever since I've seen him :( I guess I got a little spoiled by seeing him about once a month during the school year, but this is killing me :( Seeing my friend all cute and kissy with her new boy at the bar, I really just wished Ben was there. We never really just get to go out and hang out with friends, it's always just "us" time when we're together, or family time and I kind of realized, he really hasn't met some of my close friends, and I've met some of his Academy friends, but I've only ever heard him talk about his high school friends a few times when he says he wishes he got to see them while he's home. It's really hard to balance us time with family time with friend time and I value every second I get to spend with him, but sometimes, I feel like I'm being selfish by wanting him to just spend time with me. I'm only missing him, while he's missing everyone. And he'll tell me up and down that he doesn't mind and wants to spend the time with me, but I wish there was an easier way to get to see everyone.

I really don't even know where this is all coming from, but it just kind of happened. I miss him more than I know how to handle. I like to think of myself as a strong woman, but when it comes to him, I melt. I know I need to be strong because like I said, I'm only missing him while he's missing everyone, but it's hard. :/ The worst feeling is when I get off work after a long shift and I have no text or anything. I feel like I've been forgotten by the world when I can't talk to him.

You would think after so long, I would be used to it. Used to being away from him. Used to not getting to talk to him. Used to missing him. Wrong. I try to keep myself occupied with friends and work and family, but sometimes, it's just unbearable. I think the worst is when I see my friends with their significant others. I wish Ben and I could do that. I wish we could be normal for once. I wish I could show him off to my friends. But, while this is hard, I'm thankful. Not thankful that I have to experience all of this, but thankful that I get to. Not everyone gets to fall in love and not everyone has a strong relationship that is rooted in passion and trust like I do and not everyone has the communication like we do. I sometimes find myself reminding myself that I am lucky to have someone to miss and someone who I know is missing me too.

Our relationship isn't easy, and I knew it wasn't going to be when we decided to start dating, but it's hard. I miss my best friend. But I know, that once we get through this, we will see each other again. I will be able to hug him again, kiss him again, be wrapped in his arms again. He really has taught me what love is and I know we can go through anything and come out on top.

After writing all this down, I feel a little better. It kind of makes me realize how great our relationship is. It makes us stronger as individuals and stronger as a couple. It makes us realize what we have and that we really want to be with the other. I figure this is just another test that we'll have to go through together and when we come out on top on August 17, we'll look back and laugh and say "that was easy, bring on the next test," but until then, I will continue to miss him and want him.

I can confidently say that when I feel like this, especially after not getting to talk for more than a week (wow, has it really only been that long?!) that I know we'll make it. I love you Ben and I miss you! Hurry up and get back to civilization already!

Random

So while stumbling, I found some funny pictures that I thought I might share.

I also found a picture that I thought was kind of cute :)

So over that past few days, I have been working my butt off. Thursday, I had my first lunch shift at J's and I was a little disappointed. I walked out with $23. That's not even enough to fill my gas tank! Friday, I worked my first weekend shift. I walked out with $90 so I was a little more happy, and apparently it was even a slow night, so needless to say, I have some hope for Friday nights lol but, while at work, I slipped coming out of the kitchen with my hands full of clean plates and instead of dropping all the plates to catch myself, I landed on my knees and bruised them up pretty bad.

Saturday, Nick and I worked a reception in Piqua and it was miserable. It was outside in a tent and the sides were all closed so there was no air moving at all and it was hot, and it was just horrible. Then on Sunday, I had my first double. It was the longest day of my life. During the lunch shift, I made $30. I had a 7 top table that had a $225 bill and he left me a $25 tip. Needless to say, I was a bit irritated. Then for the dinner shift, I made an additional $60. Let me just say, I had to $100 tables and they both left me more than the $225 guy did. Then, yesterday, I had to close. I was a bit annoyed because I was hoping to get off work early enough to go see the fireworks, but nope. I only made $30 because, let's be serious, who is going to go to a steak house on the 4th of July instead of grilling out themselves? Oh yeah, NOBODY! I was stuck at work last night until about 11:15 because nobody helped clean anything before they left and just peaced out to leave the mess for Meagan, Heather and I. Luckily Mike and Adam stuck around to help us or we probably would have been there until midnight.

Today, I went and got my oil changed, painted my nails, and now I'm kind of just relaxing because I've got a headache, but that's what I've been up to the past couple of days. I'm already falling behind on this thing! haha

Happy 4th to everyone!

For all of our other military personnel, where ever they may be. 
Please
Support all of the troops defending our Country. 


And God Bless our Military 
who are protecting our Country for our Freedom.
Thanks to them, and their sacrifices, we can celebrate the 4th of July. 
We must never forget who gets the credit for the freedoms we have, 
of which we should be eternally grateful. 


I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze. 
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease. 
I looked at him in uniform;
so young, so tall, so proud.
With hair cut square and eyes alert, he'd stand out in any crowd. 
I thought how many men like him
had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil;
how many mothers' tears? 
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free. 
I heard the sound of Taps one night,
when everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant 'Amen.' 
When a flag had draped a coffin 
of a brother or a friend. 
I thought of all the children,
of the mothers and the wives,
of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives. 
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea. 
Of unmarked graves in  Arlington .
No, freedom isn't free. 

Enjoy Your Freedom 
and 
God Bless Our Troops.

When you receive this, 
please stop for a moment
and say a prayer for our servicemen.    
Of all the gifts you could give a U.S. Soldier, prayer is the very best one..

Ben's adventures during June

So today I was checking out the United States Naval Academy facebook page and actually found some pictures of Leatherneck training in Quantico that Ben was at during June. Unfortunately, none of the pictures were of Ben, however, I kind of got to see a bit of what he was going through. He would tell me things, but I don't think I really got the full appreciation until I saw some of these.

 

Even the Army guy can get through it! 

These are just a few that I thought showed a little bit of everything the pictures showed.

Also, today was I-Day for the plebes. For those of you that don't know what that means, it is the first day  of training for the class of 2015. Their summer is now taken over for the next 6 weeks by training. According to the USNA website:

Purpose of Plebe Summer

The purpose of Plebe Summer is to lay the foundation of the Academy's four-year professional development curriculum. At the conclusion of summer training, each Plebe class shall:

• Be indoctrinated in the traditions of the Naval Service and the Naval Academy;
• Understand basic military skills and the meaning behind them;
• Appreciate the high standards and obligations inherent in service as a Midshipmen and Naval Officer;
• Be dedicated to excellence in a competitive atmosphere that fosters leadership, teamwork, character, and a passion for "winning;"
• Appreciate the importance of mental, moral, and physical toughness in all aspects of duty and service; and
• Be prepared to execute the rigorous academic year routine.

Get the point? 

Well today, plebes (as they're known by everyone for the first year at the academy) get to say their goodbyes to family, significant others, and yes, even their hair as they begin their journey in the United States military. Here's just a few pictures I snagged from the Academy's facebook page. 

"See ya laters" start today. 

"See ya later hair"

They are issued uniforms, covers, shoes, even classes to wear for the next six weeks! 

They should also probably get used to this ;) (I secretly laughed a little when I saw this the first time)

About 1400 plebes being sworn in. Good luck of 2015!

Maybe this will give you just a bit more respect for our troops and midshipmen at the Academy and even though Ben likes to think he's not really "doing anything yet," I have to give them all credit, it's more than I would ever do, so I think it's "doing something!" 

GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY!