Waka Wake (this time for Africa!)

Let's just start out by saying happy _ weeks left!!! i can't believe i've made it this far! and with no major breakdowns... i'm pretty dang proud of myself!

Alright So this last week or so i've been super busy, but the crazy thing is... i haven't done much! i've been really trying to focus everyday on my job... being HOT, so i am still working out 2-4 hours a day, trying to hit my calorie mark everyday, and eat as healthy as possible... now when you are cooking for ONE it can be a little depressing, so sometimes you just opt for some Dino-nuggets.... don't judge me, that was lunch today :) i was recently informed that you have to NAME the dino's before you murder them with your teeth, so Prudence the Triceratops and Vincent the Velosaraptor  were quite delicious! my check marks are adding up!!! however the scale must be lying to me cause it's telling me that i'm doing NOTHING... ya hours and hours of zumba and running does not add up to a zero loss... not if you are actually EATING within your calorie mark... it's bullcrap and i'm pissed... so i'm giving up on the scale, and working out for the pure pleasure of the PAIN!

i had my first Zumba-thon on friday, it was nearly 3 hours of zumba, ya i for SURE hit my calorie mark that night! i was POURING sweat, i used to watch Riley do insanity in our living room and think it was DISGUSTING how the floor with be covered in little sweat puddles... but at the same time i'd be jealous, cause you can't deny that he was working hard, and when i'm at the gym and i'm all sweaty, i feel HOT, and like every guy in there is looking at me like i'm a super model... hey don't mess with my delusions :) but at zumba i could look down and there were sweat drops ALL around me :) AAAAAAND my shirt was a COMPLETELY different color when i finished, and when i got home, i had to actually WRING out my sports bra haha i know it's gross but i was sooo proud! you can even ask Kat, i'm pretty sure it was yesterday when i flashed her my sports bra to brag about the sweatiness :)

if i'm not tiny by the time Rye gets back, i'll be the fittest fat girl i know! i'm working on walking to and from the gym (equaling 4 miles) working out for at least an hour at the gym, and THEN taking Dee on about an hour walk at night, i just have to work on NOT sitting and watching netflix in between the two :)

Speaking of Deezul, my little man is 11 months old today... CRAZY huh!!!

i was rocking the bright red lipstick and decided to cover my little guy with kisses :)

this was taken at... i think 5:30 or 6 am, Dee was PISSED because i decided after Rye called at 4:30 that i should just stay awake instead of sleeping in till 7, i skyped Kat after hanging up with Rye and thats when i decided that wearing bright red lipstick in bed was a good idea... wow after typing that it sounds a bit inappropriate... anywho, i kissed Dee, then went to go cook myself a few eggs, he curled up on this blanket, and then i took this picture :)

So last week it rained ALLLLLLL week! and i gave Dee a bath, unfortunately he had to pee at some point, and sadly my puppy is no longer afraid of the rain, so he went and jumped in the mud puddles out back, and continued to try and dig up the ugliest tree on the island (i'm kinda hoping he'll succeed on that one!) so this is 3 hours after said bath, ya i wanted to CRY!

uh huh, THEN the little butthead tried to get on MY bed... he got spanked.

So i tried a new recipe this weekend, i made cream puffs for the first time ever! i didn't have all the ingrediants handy to make chocolate mousse filling so i just used lemon pudding for the filling.. pretty dang good if you ask me! or anyone that tried them. i cannot WAIT to make them with the chocolate mousse filling!

i am TOTALLY jumping around tonight, it's been awhile since my last post :) so i took Dee on a walk just an hour or so ago to return some movies i rented (yup, they're late) and he was EXHAUSTED he again laid down in the middle of our walk and stretched out trying to nap. only 2 people pulled over today to see him, one being a single Sailor that isn't stationed on our base, from his insignia i'd guess he's an e-5.. ok so i'm on a military base, wearing a wedding ring, i MENTION that my husband is deployed and suddenly that gives this guy the go ahead to ask me on a DATE! he apparently pulled over cause HE has a shar pei as well, and hasn't seen another one on the island, plus Dee is a good lookin pup... so THEN he asks if i'd want to bring Dee to the dog park by his house and he'll make spaghetti... haha not even kidding. Military guys are ridiculous. but at least i know working out is paying off eh?!back on track! so i get Deezul home, and he PASSES out on the tile after drinking 2 full bowls of water

can you see his 3 kiss marks :)

he's so smiley after long walks!

as far as Rye goes, he's doing his Gray belt training, GO BABE! i know, i'm proud of him too! he called this morning, wasn't in the best mood... called so his lil' wife could cheer him up :) i'm pretty good at that! just think Rye only __ weeks until you get to have me all to yourself! except during zumba hours!

lastly, you may have seen this on my facebook, it is my new ALL-TIME favorite you tube video, i can't even count how many times i've watched it. this poor guy is running on 3 hours of sleep in 3 days, trying to keep himself awake on post... he's delusional and losing his mind, and i laugh EVERY TIME. so here ya go! MAMA DOG!

You Make Me Happy!

Today was a busy day. i was planning on going to my favorite zumba class of the week at 8am. but i stayed up late talking to Rye so i knew it was going to be hard to get my butt out of bed. so when my first alarm went off at 6:10, i shot Kat a text asking her to call me at 7 to get me UP!so i wake up to the sound of her ringtone... only to roll over and see it's my "normal" alarm at 7:30 going off.. so i FLIP out, jump out of bed, put Dee outside to go to the bathroom, fill up his food and water, track down some work out clothes, and get OUT the door in 10 minutes, at this point i have 18 minutes until the class starts.. so i start to jog, i'm not very good at running "off" the treadmill, and i had 2 miles to go, so i did take a few walk breaks... BUT i made it to the gym only ONE minute late! and i blame that minute on having to stop at 8 for "colors"

after zumba i had a nice walk home, showered and got ready for the day, made myself some eggs and a smoothie... i was REALLY craving chinese food, and decided to meet up with some girls at the food court on base... so i walked another mile BACK down to there... then decided chinese food was NOT worth the calories, and had one of taco bells "healthier" choices (less than 340 calories)

I picked up a new xbox game for Rye, i pre-ordered it a few months ago and it came out last week so i ran in and grabbed it, and bragged to the girls that i won best wife of the day award for that one. as i was sitting in the salon waiting for my turn to go get my bangs trimmed i got a text from my next door neighbor that someone dropped off flowers, and she brought them inside so they wouldn't get all withered. i had NO idea who would be sending me flowers on a random tuesday... curious i hurried and drove home (after getting my bangs all trimmed up)

he sounded pretty proud of his choice cause of the smiley mug :)

i sure do love him!

Sure enough they were from that awesome husband of mine... seriously, how did i get so lucky with him?! i don't deserve him, and i am NOT just being humble, i honestly lucked out with him! so what was the occasion you may be asking... well the card said "just because i love you, hope you have a happy day. love the nugget" so here i am thinking i'm the best wife for getting him a video game, and PRE-ORDERING another one for us, and he goes and blows me out of the water! goodness!

on another note, since last monday i have not only hit, but KILLED my calorie burn goal... 7 times! 7 out of 9.... that aint bad, and on those days i was EXTREMELY close to hitting my goal. i am keeping check marks on my chalkboard and i think once i get so many, i should get a reward.. what do you think my reward should be? and how many check marks do YOU think i should have to hit before i get it? maybe shopping money for clothes for each check mark? i don't know... lemme know what YOU think!

oh so tonight i found the CUTEST dishes at ross... i wasn't GOING to spend any money, but i kind HAD to get them. i didn't spend much but i absolutely LOVE the look of them, i might try to get some more.. i really love them!

and here's the pitcher that goes with

also i had a brunch yesterday, so i made a few recipes from the "our best bites" cookbook (which i know i've mentioned, but seriously it's AMAZING, and you should buy it!) i made the buttermilk caramel syrup

and the strawberry sauce

and look how cute i bottled them for my brunch! now this is mostly cause i had extra jars laying around... and i didn't have any lids for them and i was out of tinfoil, so i had to come up with something cute!

anyway, i'm going to have some frozen strawberries and keep on watching season 3 of Army Wives (ya, don't judge me, i'm pretty much POWERING through this series.)

Candle on the Water

first off... i HATE the song candle on the water... yup i said it! and i haven't seen "Pete's Dragon" since i was young... but last time i saw it i HATED it.

alright so i know you all have been on pins and needles to see what my chandelier in the bathroom turned out to look like! are you ready??!?!?! i am SO ready to show you all.. the ONLY bad thing about Rye reading my blog is that i can't keep any of this a surprise for him... not that it'll make it any less sweet to be HOME. oh and in case my father in law reads this... "I REALLY DO LOVE YOU AND I LOVE HAVING YOU AROUND ANYTIME!!! SERIOUSLY!" just wanted to make sure he knew i wasn't just trying to avoid confrontation earlier :)

alright here we go!!!

i would give you a "whole picture" kind of picture, but the bathroom is a MESS, and i still have a few other things to do... but isn't it CUTE!!!!

ok so this NEXT project, i've been working on for a WHILE, and i FINALLY got them hung up today! so these are the day time pictures of my back porch lighting!

HOWEVER, i just went outside to light them... and it's too windy, ya i'm a little upset... especially after i told my husband he was being a jerk for saying we should "electrify" them... haha i have a feeling he MAY win that battle :) anyway i am going to get to painting...

i just got done from helping with this funeral for a family at church, it was an ALL day thing, but i hung out with some AMAZING women and we had more than a few laughs... plus serving someone else always seems to be worth it. when you serve your fellow man, you are serving the lord. and although today was stressful, and SOO many things did NOT go right, i cannot say it wasn't worth it. so what are you waiting for! go out and serve somebody!!!! :)

quote of the day, from oct 2010 conference
Choose Faith!  Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and the unseen, and choose faith over pessimism

All you need is love

i'm realizing as i near the 150 blog post mark, that i sometimes almost double use a blog title... but dont' fret, i'm being cautious and creative :)

just wanted to blog real quick, i have kind of a busy weekend coming up here. i'm helping cook for a funeral today... hey my husband is gone, what else do i have planned on a friday night :)

i realized last night, that Rye will be home soon... i have a really busy __ weeks planned and he'll be back before i know it! so for now, i will continue to do what i'm doing, cause it seems to be working alright.

Yesterday i again hit my goal on the bodybugg, more like blew it out of the water again! 3400 calories burned! YES!!!! that is 3 out of 4 days this week! and the one day i didn't hit it, i was only 220 calories shy, overall i'm doing pretty dang good! i just hope to keep this up, because i am feeling fantastic!

Gravity

Do you sometimes feel like you're being PULLED? I don't know if it's because i've been with him for so long... could be, we have been together for 7 years almost. When Riley walked away from me and got on that bus, i felt like i was being ripped in two... i had never cried so hard in my entire life. And my dear sweet husband pointed out to the facebook world that he was worried about me, cause he'd never seen me cry so much. :) it's hard to embarrass me though... i think until you actually go THROUGH a deployment, you only understand a small part, the part that spouses CHOOSE to show the world. so for those of you non-military wives, here is a little insight into what my life is now. to everyone, i am this woman who puts a smile on my face day in and day out, it doesn't matter what is going on with me, i'll be smiling and making light of a situation.

However that night, i didn't care if other girls were looking at me like i was being dramatic, i didn't care if they were looking to ME for strength, and for the first time in our relationship, i was not trying to be the strong one. as most of you may know, when Riley left for bootcamp, i shed no tears... i knew he was scared, and i was NOT wanting to add anything on top of that fear, i wanted him to know that i was going to be ok... that he had an amazing woman standing behind him, who would wait for him faithfully. it hit later that night that he wasn't there. and i would not get him back, for 13 loong weeks. Those weeks were the longest of my life. i was an absolute mess. and the crazy thing is, i was around friends and family. i had the best people possible around me, lifting me up, and carrying me when all i wanted to do was listen to Josh Groban and cry.

And now here i am, completely alone... doing this all by myself. during Bootcamp i had to re-learn how to live by myself, how to make decisions based solely upon what I wanted... and during all of his trainings when i was traveling for HOURS upon HOURS, i learned to be by myself and embrace my alone time. When he was done with training and we were living together again, it was another massive adjustment... suddenly i again had ZERO alone time, i couldn't see the newest chick flick without bribery and agreeing to watch 300 and Fast and Furious...

My good friend Jesse is a seasoned Marine Wife, she's amazing. she told me something while Rye was gone the first time. i asked her if it ever got easier having him be gone. she replied with something that is proving to be soooo true. "it doesn't get easier.. ever. you just get used to feeling sick to your stomach with worry. you learn to make the days pass, you learn to cope with your bad days, and you learn to separate yourself from people when you are about to break down"

I continue to smile each and every day. but don't think that my smile is hiding misery, because it is most definitely not. i really am happy. i have the most amazing soul mate... one who is willing to make fun of my nose, one who i can make laugh so hard he starts coughing. I'm married to my very best friend, and there is not a person in the world that i look up to more than him. he is an AMAZING man, and AMAZING Marine, the most AMAZING husband, and one day he'll be the most AMAZING dad a kid could hope for.

My husband is not a wuss, and he is not a crier... he's like his dad. he's so much a MAN. but when it comes to his family (me especially) he turns into a big ol' softy.  when it comes to leaving me, he doesn't do so well. Nothing brings a man to tears like family. When we first found out the exact date of his deployment, he came home from work, we had already been told a day... but he was informed it was moved up 3 days, and he would be leaving "day after tomorrow". my entire world at that moment seemed to be crumbling. i don't think i really said anything. i just went and started the shower (as i've said before that's where all our deep discussions happen) i remember he got in and i started bawling, i wasn't ready. it was finally hitting me that he was really going to leave for __ months. now this entire deployment i've "known" that he is coming home to me. there is not a doubt in my mind that he is going to come back to me. i've felt that way ever since that shower. i remember as he was holding me and i was sobbing into his chest, i just remember thinking over and OVER "please don't let this be the last time i get to do this. please, i just want to hold him again." and after i felt that peace that comes from the holy ghost giving you your answer to the prayer you've just uttered. Riley is going to be back in my arms in __ weeks, and as i've already promised Marylin there will be LOTS of tongue :) but just tasteful tongue of course haha.

Knowing he is coming home to me, keeps me going every day... but it doesn't make his absence any less known. i think of him every time i wear his gym shorts (his high school ones that i'm not supposed to wear) or when i find random socks of his in the most random places. he's the center of my world. or more like our relationship is the center of my world. everything i do, directly revolves around the center. i'm spinning a little lopsided right now, trying to keep my world on the right axis and spinning like normal without my other half. haha did that even make sense. wow.

 i really hope this blog isn't too mushy or depressing, and hopefully it comes off the right way. i just kind of felt like i needed to vent, and as i've said before, this blog is my outlet, i won't sugar coat anything. and somehow Rye will read this before anyone else, ya, he's my personal stalker (i don't mind). but i am so proud of him, and me for that matter! i'm doing pretty awesome! don't be fooled, it's not easy, and it's not for everyone... but i'm the right kind of woman for the job...

alright here is the song of the day. it's been stuck in my HEAD!!! haha ya i am aware i think it's kinda a break up song... but just ignore that part! i think it's GORGEOUS!


and the lyrics.

Sara Bareilles--- Gravity

Something always brings me back to you.
It never takes too long.
No matter what I say or do I'll still feel you here 'til the moment I'm gone.

You hold me without touch.
You keep me without chains.
I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love and not feel your rain.

[CHORUS:]
Set me free, leave me be. I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity.
Here I am and I stand so tall, just the way I'm supposed to be.
But you're on to me and all over me.

You loved me 'cause I'm fragile.
When I thought that I was strong.
But you touch me for a little while and all my fragile strength is gone.

[CHORUS]

I live here on my knees as I try to make you see that you're everything I think I need here on the ground.
But you're neither friend nor foe though I can't seem to let you go.
The one thing that I still know is that you're keeping me down
You're on to me, on to me, and all over...
Something always brings me back to you.
It never takes too long.

 oh p.s. i burned 3680 calories yesterday.. YES nearly 4 THOUSAND!!!

Burn Baby Burn!

So i've been trying to go to as many Zumba classes as i can, and holy cow... i am SOO sore! there is another class in about 90 minutes, that i am going to try and make, if i can't i'll just have to run and lift weights. my really good friend Kristy is the one that got me turned on to Zumba, when our boys were at bootcamp she would go to like 2 zumba classes a day!!! ya, she was TINY! and her arms are so freakin toned, pretty much i would not mind looking like Kristy! now she's "with child" so zumba twice a day wouldn't be the smartest... but point being, she is a genius and i am so glad she told me what an amazing work out it is.

A month ago i was shopping at Charlotte Russe, and they were having a massive sale. i ended up buying a pair of pants for like $5... yup, a pair of jeans. but the only problem was, i couldn't wear them because they were too small.... a week ago i tried them on, and no luck. but YESTERDAY, i wore those bad boys to the MALL! woooooo i'm pretty excited! i just need to keep this motivation. cause if i can keep up with doing zumba or lifting everyday and hitting my calorie burn goal, i'll be in good shape! literally.

speaking of calorie burn, my body bug told me that in order to hit my goal weight, i need to burn at LEAST 2700 calories a day, which i have been unable to hit until now. it feels amazing to plug that guy in and see that i'm hitting what i need to. especially since the goal is soo high! anyway i'll quit blabbering, i have to get out of bed now anyway :)

BLECK!

This title today is not the name of something or a real word... it's a noise. as in UGH, done for now!

i officially finished all 5 seasons of bones... not sure i should brag about that. but i started when i got sick, and i watch an episode or 2 every night. NOW i have just started season 1 of Army Wives... ya probably not the best show to start when you're all hormonal and moody... GOSH, so THEN i find myself cuddle attacking poor Deezul and telling him how much i wish Rye was here. cause he doesn't smell like BUTT! (usually)

and just when i'm about to break, he, as usual... saves me. swoops in at the right moment and says my favorite words "hey babe!" and suddenly i'm on cloud nine... yet i'm still in this odd mood. and Deezul can smell my loaf of bread from great harvest "potato cheese garlic" and has been SCREAMING at me for 15 minutes cause he's a FATTY!!!

well on another note. Riley is now ahead of me in the Book of Mormon... so i need to get on top of things! i mean the kid is on deployment... i should be waaaaay ahead of him... yet he hasn't finished the hunger games yet... ya i see his priorities :)

Spring Forward!

The nice thing about living in Hawaii (among many things) is that we do not recognize daylights savings. so i don't ever have to lose sleep! haha with having to get up for that job i have of course :) however i do have my alarm set for 7:30 everyday, but without fail (except when i was sick) i somehow wake up at 6:43, don't know how that happens but it does. not that i'm complaining, i like getting up early... make the day feel longer. now being the wife of a Deployed Marine, you would think i would want the shortest possible days... however, i like long days (except when i am totally DONE with a day and it won't seem to end.

I started my first ever calling at church today, in the nursery... yup starting at the bottom :) plan on workin my way up :) for the most part though, all the kids are so cute and GOOD! These parents are doing a good job. and i hope that they know that.

towards the end of nursery, 3 of us were talking about kids standing up for their beliefs at church and such. how their kids will tell their friends when words and phrases are offensive, and how it really offends them to take the lord's name in vain (with the whole OMG phrase) i mean they are impressive the way they stand up to their friends. i'm such a people pleaser i wouldn't be able to do that. i should be better about that. challenge to myself there:)

but seriously, i need to be more like those brave high schoolers and middle schooler's who surround themselves with things that will uplift them, and better them.

I am so grateful for the Man that i have standing next to my side! (of course not literally as he is still deployed) he pushes me to be a better woman every single day, and thats the only way to do it! Riley was able to call and make sure i was not at the bottom of the ocean. we didn't get to talk for very long at all. but we had a very brief conversation that i've been thinking about since... i really just love him so much, and i love when he brings up hopes/dreams/goals... he gets so passionate and he's such a visionary, he can just imagine EVERYTHING. so i absolutely love to hear him paint me pictures of how things will be :)

i definitely married the perfect guy for me :) i'm really fond of him.

Go Big Or Go Home.

Yes this title is a quote from the disney movie "Johnny Tsunami"... what could this post POSSIBLY be about... my first ever tsunami experience! what else :) before i begin, i want to let you all know that EVERYTHING i put in this story is absolutely true. and is NOT made up to make my blog post more interesting.

Put me in a blizzard and i'm fine. stick my in 120 degree heat and i'm gonna be alright... but put me on an island and tell me that there is a possibility that a bunch of waves are coming at me, i don't really HAVE a plan set in place.

Last night i had a meeting for the spouses of Riley's unit. After the meeting i stayed after to talk about a few things that i have to go into the office on Monday and get all squared away. So Steph drives me home, we say goodnight have a few more laughs and i go inside to crash. now at this point it's about 8:45, so i decide to put on an episode of Bones (since i'm now on season 5!) about 30 minutes in i check facebook real quick, and see that in the past 6 minutes 3 different girls had posted about a tsunami Watch for our island. So being rational i check weather.com... absolutely NOTHING on the matter... so i check around and 5 minutes later it's on weather.com. i call Steph and give her the heads up, she tells me that she thinks we should get stuff together just in case we have to evacuate. i tell her if it's bumped from a watch up to a warning... THEN i think we should do just that... 5 minutes later, it's bumped up to a warning, expected to hit at 3 am. I then hear that I am in one of the neighborhoods to be evacuated. so Steph and i start scrambling to get whatever we think we'll need. she packs up her stuff then heads over to my house and we load up my crap.

now the second i think about leaving my house in preparation for a possibly natural disaster i was pretty proud of myself, the FIRST thing i grabbed was my hard drive (has every picture on it!) and all of our important documents (socials, birth cert, marriage cert) all Riley's Military papers. Then i may have lost my mind a little bit... here are a few of the items i packed... and WHY i packed them... keep in mind i didn't know what to expect or how bad to prepare myself for!

• Dog food (totally justifiable... right! ya how about ALL the dog food i had...)
• my perfume (ok steph packed this one.. cause it smells pretty)
• both pairs of rainboots (one for each of us! in case we had to go tromping around in the aftermath of a possible flood)
• canned foods (plus a can opener)
• matches (to cook my canned food of course)
• massive tub of licorice (i knew Dee would be sad if it got destroyed!)
• onion soup mix (ya umm just go with me.)
• 5 jars of almond and peanut butter (haha FIVE.... really???)

ok so thats part of my list... the BEST two items i can't even put on the list, because i need a bit more room to explain my thought process... alright i grabbed 2 onions... now yes thats just an odd thing to grab but the best part is WHY i grabbed them... ok, so i'm planning for worst case scenario, in which a massive wave comes (like Indonesia)  and we are all foraging and scavenging and surviving for a few weeks until everything gets back on track...so i figured... if i brought two onions i could TRADE them... if need be. Ya i mentioned this to Kat, and she almost fell down her stairs and peed her pants from laughing so hard. i also grabbed a box of tampons... now neither Steph nor i needed them... i figured i could sell them... again kat almost died laughing. BUT had it come to that... i would have been prepared!!!

So we had the trunk FULL, we had 3... count them THREE puppies in the back seat and then us in the front. we stopped by walmart and grabbed water... and then headed to Tripler to sit in a parking lot on a hill and wait for the a-ok to go back home... we arrived around 11 pm... by this point my phone was BLOWING UP with texts from anyone who had woken up and had any idea what was going on. and my phone was quickly running out of battery life. i knew that as soon as my mother in law woke up, she'd see the knews and start FLIPPING out, so i shot my father in law a quick text letting him know my phone was DEAD but i was ok, and i'd call when i could. i kept expecting Rye to get online, see everything and call... but as of right now i have still not heard from him.

So we're sitting in the car, listening to the radio trying to get as much info as we can. and they mention that we are expecting 4-6 ft waves... at this point i feel like a BOOB for evacuating.. FOUR FOOT WAVES?! we get 30 footers on the north shore! then they explained WHY 4-6 ft waves were bad. these waves (which is a long series of waves) were coming at us from Japan moving at 500-600 miles per hour, or as the radio host put it (as fast as a jet plane) so imagine a 6ft + wall of water moving at you at 500 miles an hour... umm no thank you! so once again i was just fine with sitting it out on top of this hill.

close to 3 am Kat called and wanted to stay on the phone with me while it "happened" now Kat is my best friend, so i admit things to her that go through my head, and sometimes the second they come out of my mouth, i KNOW they sound ridiculous... but i can't help my thought process... i mentioned that even though i KNEW it wouldn't be like this... part of me expected the whole island to SHAKE when the waves hit... like a mammoth was charging into the island. she laughed, and asked if i could see anything... ok it was 3 am... it was pitch black outside... so no everyone i could NOT see what was going on. part of me kinda thought it would be a couple waves and we'd be home by 4 am if there wasn't too much damage. i didn't expect that the waves would continue for hours, and i would not get home until long after sunrise.

Deezul is extremely protective of me. especially at night time. so while we were trying to sleep. he decided to growl and bark at EVERY single person who even LOOKED our direction... so i stayed up the entire night and had to keep reassuring him that i was ok, and trying to calm him down. as a result of this, when we DID get home... he passed out and hasn't moved since (that's my boy)

All in all it was an interesting night. i think the craziest part, was listening to the tsunami sirens go off constantly... the sound of them reminds you of like world war 2.. you kinda feel like you're in the london bombings or something the damage to Oahu was minimal, some of the other islands were hit harder, and watching those videos puts into perspective how differently things could have gone last night.

My friend Kaitlyns fiance is currently in Japan, so it was so relieving to hear that ALL military personnel in Japan were accounted for! my sister informed me that most if not all missionaries were also accounted for. The videos of the tsunami in Japan make your heart skip a beat, the death tolls are continuing to rise. i will be keeping them in my prayers, and i'm sure you will too! it is such a tragedy, i can't imagine not having any time to flee... i mean it caught them COMPLETELY off guard.

i am now home. and trying to get at least a little sleep, while also replying to texts and phone calls so that anyone worried about me knows i'm alright. but i mean c'mon i'm tough. you really think i'd let some water take me out while my husband is deployed?!

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, i appreciate each and every one of you. Deezul and I are fine, we're still on alert... but i can't wait to go see what kind of shells the waves brought in!

Power of Prayer

To all who have been reading/stalking my blog... most of you know about my 3 1/2 yr old nephew Jaxon, he was diagnosed with stage 4 of a rare cancer Nueroblastoma... they have been going in for chemo and such to hopefully shrink the massive tumor in his "tummy" since early November...Earlier today Jaxon went under for surgery to remove the shrunken tumor, and as the text i received read, "Jaxon is out, surgeon said it couldn't have gone smoother" woooooooosh and a HUGE weight was lifted of my shoulders! i had been stressing about this surgery for MONTHS! i called and talked to Michelle she told me a little more about the surgery and when i asked if Jaxon understood what happened today she told me the CUTEST thing... he knew that they were going to get the "bad guys" out of his tummy... while on the phone with me, Jaxon woke up and complained about pain (i mean the kid just had MAJOR surgery!) and was complaining about the bad guys in his tummy, to which Michelle put him at ease that they got all the bad guys, he just has to get better now. so there's that. next up he has another round of Chemo and then they have some major bone marrow surgery (which Michelle said is way scarier than this one, so we're not out of the water yet! prayers are still MUCH appreciated!)

onto my story of the night. and the real reason for the title.... although i'm 100% sure that everyone's prayers played a part in Jaxon's smooth surgery! Every wednesday night, i drive my friend Steph to work. she has to work the graveyard on Wednesday's and she is working on getting her permanent license but until than she's got the next best thing, a permit. So i drive her to work and then make the trip back home... SOLO. So Steph's car has a taillight out, it's not the bulb, there is like a short in the wiring ( we suspect from when one of the single marines felt confident enough in installing her Sub and next thing she knows half her wiring is on the fritz) Anyway, so usually we get pulled over and they inform us of the taillight.. now we are pretty enough that SO FAR we have just gotten warnings and such (i'm REALLY good at looking all innocent and somehow "forgetting" everything being married to a mechanic taught me) i'm also really good at flirting with the cops. the awesome thing about the military police, is that they don't have quota's (as far as i know!) so they aren't REQUIRED to write out so many tickets... so if you are sweet as pie to them (since most are single marines, and they deal with other douchebag marines all day) you can usually get out of it. now i don't speed, and i ALWAYS follow traffic laws ESPECIALLY on base... and i know PLENTY of other wives who are always complaining about the MP'S(military police) and how much they hate them and yada yada yada... now if they were to just slather on the charm a bit, they wouldn't have to complain so much! now i know i get alot of crap for "flirting" with the cops from other wives... but guess what! my insurance is REALLY cheap. between Rye and I we only have ONE ticket, and that is when i was caught going 7 OVER... ya, i got a ticket for that... but i was speeding and it was towards the end of the month... i got caught speeding, so i technically deserved it... but we have ZERO wrecks on our record so insurance is reasonable... i can't say the same for some other wives... my husband LOVES getting paid. and as LITTLE as has to go to insurance the better for his mood, and my own! so i will batt my eyelashes, and bring my voice up half an octive... dont' judge me :)

ok so tonight i was getting ready to take Steph, and we both know our luck with the taillight is running out.. as we've been pulled over for it nearly weekly since the start of the year. and last week around midnight this cop tells me he SHOULD give me a ticket because i'm DRIVING her car with the taillight out. but he didn't (usually if you can make them laugh/smile, they cut you a break!) but i was kinda stressing out because i'm REALLY sleepy tonight (i mean obviously... i'm blogging!) and i didn't want to deal with getting pulled over, and trying to sound charming. while also trying not to slur my words from sleepy-ness. so i said a quick prayer before i left that i wouldn't have to deal with being pulled over tonight.... so on my way TO Steph's work, a cop was going to pull out behind me, but instead pulled out right in front of me. 2 cops passed me going the other way as well. On my way back 2 more cops passed me BEFORE i hit the base, there were 2 cops at the gate (i may have kept my headlights off a little longer than i should have..shhh) then i passed a cop that was pulling out right behind me, but he quickly changed his blinker and went the other direction... seriously, SOMEONE was answering my prayers. so then i get home, get Dee back in bed but can't fall right to sleep... so i start writing this blog, and Rye gets online... someone is watching out for me :)

Hello Hello.... HELLOOO

 first things first! my best friend Kat survived a tornado this morning... ya intense huh! so congrats Kat, you're making progress... progress at what i don't know... maybe just another experience that you can say "i've done that" cause i can't say that... you're basically a BAMF!! Also, Riley called in the middle of the night (first time hearing his voice in entirely too long!) and he has been nominated for Marine of the Quarter! so unbelievably proud of him! he was voted by his fellow Marines... there are other people nominated (thats why it's a nomination and not a win.... yet :) ) he is studying for some test or something. And even if he isn't ultimately awarded the Marine of the Quarter... being nominated is SUCH an honor... and i couldn't be prouder. as i've heard many times "Deployments don't build character, they reveal it" Congrats babe! and to my other "boy" who was nominated! even if you don't win... it's like being nominated for an oscar! you are recognized.. and sometimes the academy gets it wrong and awards the "winner" to the wrong person... but being nominated is an EXTREME honor... BEAMING with pride :) can ya tell ;)

alright as promised here is your "crappy Sav tutorial"... cue applause! sooo in these last 2 boxes i sent, i have a few things in there i am quite proud of.... so brace yourself!!!

Let's start out with the awesome-er one... i saw this on a mom's blog (sorry i don't remember where!!!) BUT i decided i would make them for Rye and a few of the other guys, i mentioned it to Rye and asked how many i should make (i was expecting him to either tell me it was a lame idea... OOOORRRR that maybe 1 or 2 other guys would want one) however he got really excited and said "Sav EVERYONE will want one" so he asked me to make 10 total... and proceeded to give me their nicknames so i could personalize them... so here we go!

Marshmallow Guns
the way these work, you stick i mini marshmallow in one end... and blow really hard and it shoots pretty far... i know because i shot Deezul with each and every one of them to make sure they worked. You may try and say this is animal cruelty... but umm... has anyone thrown a mini marshmallow at you? NOT painful... PLUS he got to eat all the marshmallows... so he didn't seem upset at all!

ok so i started out with a 1/2 inch pvc pipe, i needed 12 inches for each gun, so when i bought the pipe i just asked them to cut them into 12 inch pieces... ya thats the smallest THEY would cut, so iiii had to do the rest of the cutting all by my lonesome (tip, spend the extra $10 and get the NICER pvc cutters.. cause mine left bruises and blisters all over both of my hands.) so i needed 3- 2 inch pieces, and 2- 3 inch pieces (wow did that make sense?! so i marked with a sharpie where to cut and set off to work.

the supplies

once all the pieces were cut i just had to fit on the caps, elbows and T's... sounds easy peasy... but it took a bit of finessing and sweat!

So at this point i wanted to make them seem a bit more "Sav made" so i used a cricut, cut out all the letters needed, and set to work with some modge podge to personalize them with their nicknames.

neither of these are Riley's... his nickname is far more lame :)

and this is the tool you do NOT want!!! please for the love of your hands, splurge and get a somewhat nice one!

worst $10 ever spent!!! worst tool EVER!!

so there you go.... i know it was a HORRIBLE tutorial... but i warned you with a name like "crappy Sav tutorials"

ok lets do another quick one! ok so this one i have been planning on doing LOONG before they deployed. however finding "mini mason jars" proved to be an adventure. i DID find them at a local craft store. they ended up being about a buck a jar... plus the mix was $1 (joys of shopping on base! it'll probably cost  you 3-4 for your mix.) and the frosting was $1 as well... again, it'll probably cost a little more OFF base.

The Jars

it's pretty simple. you preheat the oven to whatever your cake mix tells you to... and then you prepare the batter JUST like the box tells you to...
then fill the jar but NOT all the way!!

my tester

fill it a little more than this one... i would say to that line... the FIRST one. thats what i did with the others and it worked PERFECT!

Then bake the jars...put them all on a cookie sheet... makes it simple to take out! check them with a toothpick to know when they are done. while they are cooling on the stove put the tops of the jars in water and simmer (just the seal not the thing you spin on over it.)

fresh from the oven

simmering.

ok so this next part, figure out what works for YOU, you COULD use tongs to take these out... i chose to use pliers... cause i'm Sav and why WOULDN'T i choose a non-conventional method. then put it on the jar and spin on the other thing TIGHT! ok so after you do this i set them all on the other counter to cool and one by one they began to pop... thats when you know they are SEALED and safe to ship without fear of salmonella and crap like that.

before the "pop" can you tell?

after the pop!

ok so at this point i'm proud... but once again i REALLY wanted to make them a bit more personal (maybe just so my boys will know that i made them and i didn't just buy them... i dunno) so i made these labels.. and planned on modge podge-ing them on.

CUTE HUH!!!

so i did just that... and they turned out DANG adorable!!!

so there you have it! get to crafting! and send someone serving overseas something that will totally make their day/week/month! cause that's basically what i strive to do!

Deezul and Dad

Riley grew up with dogs, most of his childhood he either had Beezly (Shar Pei) or Harley (also a Shar Pei) so when it came time for US to get a dog, he was kind of wanting another Shar Pei, When we walked into a pet store in June and saw little Shar Pei mixes i of course fell in love (seriously though, you'd have to be cold hearted to NOT fall in love with a 3 pound puppy!) Rye picked one of the 2 little boy pups and we asked to hold him. after we left, i didn't bring up the puppy again, because from past experience, it does me NO good to be mad at Riley for NOT letting me bring home a puppy. however later that day we were chatting in the shower (it's where all our deep discussions happen... don't judge) and he asked if we should get him... i asked who, and he replied "that puppy!" i looked at the clock and told him they would be closing in less than 45 min... so we hopped out of the shower and rushed back and bought little Deezul... his name was picked out long before we had him, we were puppy shopping and trying to find the perfect dog to fit the name. The name comes from one of our favorite shows "top gear" but not the american version.. the good ol' fashioned british version... funniest show ever!!! anyway when they are talking about a Diesel engine, they pronounce it DEEEEEE-ZUL... so Deezul :) Our agreement was that if he "let" me get this puppy, he would be MY responsibility, i would have to potty train, and be the one to take him out 4 times during the night, and get up early with him in the mornings... AGREED!

The first night we brought him home... Rye and Deezul bonded pretty fast, Rye had already fallen head over heels for the little guy.

i know, precious huh!!!!!

a few weeks after we got Deezul Riley had to leave for 10 days for a training exercise. when he got back he couldn't believe how much Dee grew... I however, see the little guy every day, so i don't notice ANY change until i look at pictures... or when he hits a milestone, like being able to jump on the bed, or being to big to slide under the couch.

Dee Under the Couch

Everyone knows that Deezul is a mama's boy... however he is EXTREMELY attached to "Dad"

4th of July

Dee LOVES to be held like a toddler.

he's a ghost... NOT the kkk... happy Halloween

 

 

 

 

Saying bye for the deployment.

See... they are quite attached... now for the actual story. so when Rye was still here, i would drive him to work every morning with Dee in the car, we'd go home and i'd wait for the call to go get him from PT, his ringtone on my phone is "lovebug" by the Jonas Brothers... so Deezul somehow put 2 and 2 together... every time that song would start on my phone, he'd whine and go straight to the door so we could go get dad. it was SUPER cute and i figured that with Riley gone for so many months, that Dee would forget Rye... at least a little... but without fail if i ask him "where is dad??" his ears perk up and he tilts his head... and then there is the matter of the ringtone, the first time this happened it was on accident, i was sitting on the couch listening to all my ringtones and changing things up, when i clicked on "lovebug" Dee woke up started whining and ran straight to the door. a week later i showed Sam what happens if i play the ringtone, and i tend to do it every few weeks... you may think it's cruel, but i don't want him to forget... so don't judge me :) i cannot wait until i get to film the reunion of Deezul and Rye... i'll totally cry... i already know that. until then.. here is a video of the Dee reacting to the ringtone

Blogging Hiatus

first of all... happy march! and happy fast Sunday! as some of you may or may not know... the first Sunday of the month our church has what we call "Fast Sunday" here is a small explaination for those of you who know not of this practice.

On Fast Sunday, members of the church are encouraged to fast for two consecutive meals; most members of the church choose to skip the first two meals on Sunday, though some skip the last meal on Saturday and the first meal on Sunday. Members are also encouraged to give the money they save by not eating as a fast offering which will be used by the church to help the needy. The Sunday date is in marked contrast to most other Christian denominations that encourage fasting but invariably exempt Sundays.

now i'll be totally honest... i'm not very good about fasting... HEY at least i admit this :) today however is different. Jaxon is going in for surgery on Tuesday... hopefully to remove the tumor that they have been aggressively trying to shrink... so today ALOT of our family (the Gardiner AND the Wynn side) are fasting and praying for him... so here i sit... in a towel (don't judge me) i just showered and am about to get ready for church HALLELUJAH!!!! I was soo sick the entire month of february, that i was not able to attend church. plus if any of you know how many babies there are in a Mormon church, i didn't think it fair to spread my bronchitis germs around.

I went to this store yesterday "reuse Hawaii" and i may have fallen in LOVE! seriously. it's far better than any thrift store. when homes are demolished, this place takes their windows, doors, fixtures, hardware yada yada yada you get the point.. they have soo many antique looking windows and doors, which was HEAVEN for me, with all the projects i'm currently trying to do.. and NOW i'll be able to complete them for FAAAAR less than if i were to just BUY them at like pier one... one project for instance, will cost me MAYBE $25...... if i were to buy the less cute but pre-done version at pier 1.... are you ready for this.. you MAY have a heart attack... $180... ya, my husband would KILL me... i don't know about yours. anyway, pictures to come! woohoo!!!

i haven't heard from Riley in a while, but last i did, he was doing fine. There has been some "boy drama" so communication has been on the fritz. i always love Sundays, cause it's another week down. So i know you are wondering how much longer on this deployment... well screw opsec i'm going to tell you... are you ready?



you sure?


ONLY __ weeks left!! BUAHAHAHAA you totally thought i was actually going to tell you :) lets just say, it's a week less than last week.

i ordered what i expect to be the most AMAZING cookbook this week. i also ordered Kat one, and she said it's pretty much AWESOME! check it out here our best bites cookbook   it's some good ol' fashioned Mormon mom cooking :) which is the BEST kind of cooking. i'm excited for it.

alright well i promise to blog more... Deezul popped off my b and v key... so i am having to type by hitting those two keys very carefully.. it's a bit slower.. so THAT is why i haven't blogged this week. anyway i hope you all have and AMAZING Sunday.