I feel like a CELEBRITY!

Thanks Skinnie Piggie for my FIRST EVER bloggie award!!
She was kind enough to think of ME when she awarded the "Circle of Friends" award.  I'm TICKLED! Skinnie Piggie (whose name I think is awesome and hilarious) is a crafty lady who loves to bake... and she's a Marine spouse (OORAH!).  Check out her fun blog NOW!


So here's the award! 

Wait, what am I supposed to do again? Oh, here are the instructions:

1. Click and save the image to upload on your own blog (no direct linking please!) OK Done.
2. List five things you absolutely love to do.
3. Then list five friendly bloggers (be sure to comment on their blogs telling them you've given them an award!)

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I love to:

1. Be at the beach.  I love warm, sun and water all in one scene. BEST!
2. Spending time with Dave.  He is an awesome combination of fun, goofy and relaxed that balances me out! Oh and the puppy. She's also a keeper, and a good cuddler!
3. Hanging out with girlfriends. Spending quality girl time is a new thing for me, but I LOVE it. It's amazing! Sex and the City had it right. 
4. Planning surprises for people!  Did you see my blog the other day? I also categorize planning my wedding under this one... my wedding is a surprise for all of our guests!!
5. Read.  I'm such a book worm sometimes! The last book I read was: Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrel.  I'm currently reading: 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman.

I'd like to pass this bloggy award on to:

1. Emily G. at Wild and Crazy Pearl- AMAZING, I do have friends who are NOT military!
2. Shannon P. at This Army Life
3. Tiffanie G. at My Domestic Niche
4. Jaye D-R. at My Semi-Charmed Life -BFF since High school!
5. Heather L. aka Noelbelle at Devil Dog & Litigation Love

I wanted to give it to 10 people but maybe I shouldn't break all the rules on the first go around, eh?

All my love!!
R

Engagement Photo (#2) Sneak Peek!

So, earlier this week, I told you about our Engagement Photo situation!  Well, we finished session #2 and had a blast with Olympia! You can read her version of our photo shoot here on her blog!

She had us laughing and smirking the whole 3 outfit changes! Dave was SUCH an amazing sport, being cooperative and lovie.  I love the man so much!  You're not here to read my post, you're here to see the pictures, so these are the 3 that Olympia teased us with yesterday! I hope you like them! I can't wait to see the rest...

Hooray for beautiful pictures!! Thanks Olympia!

How I LOVE surprises!

I love surprises. The kind that you don't expect or know to expect.  Not the ones where somebody tells you "I have a surprise for you but you can't know until Saturday."

I love doing surprise parties for people.  I love it when people are genuinely flabbergasted when they find out their loves puts the time and effort into doing something really special. This is a skill, folks.  You need to think like the person you're trying to surprise and think of every possible thing that could go wrong to do it right.  So planning for somebody who worries about all the small details (like me) are the hardest ones to surprise.  I'm not sure how on EARTH he surprised me with the engagement (and having Emily G. there to capture the moment) is way beyond me...

For me to surprise Dave isn't a huge challenge.  I like to do things that makes him smile.  He doesn't expect much from me (except the cooking a warm meal every night bit, but he still says "thank you" every time... precious).  So when I do something, he gets so stoked.  When we were starting to date, he went out with his buddies and had a good time.  He asked me to pick him up from the Metro in DC.  But I surprised him by washing his car (aka his baby).  Yes, I spent my free afternoon washing his car.  Silly but true!  That's small potatoes compared to what I was able to pull off for his birthday last year!

It was the first time back to the US that he was celebrating his birthday.  He spent his 21st and a few subsequent birthdays in Japan where the norm with his Marine buddies was going hammered or scuba diving.  If you know his love for scuba diving you know that I can't really beat that... especially in Oki where the water is amazing.  Instead of planning a weekend (birthdays should be an entire weekend... it's the standard, it should be the same for mine too!) of booze and turquoise waters, I planned a sequence of surprises.

Thursday afternoon, I picked his best friend from high school up from the airport.  I had never met this man.  I'd exchanged emails and he seemed nice enough! He was ready to surprise Dave too!

Friday evening, after another long drive up from NC, he arrived at my apartment.  I had arranged a "scavenger hunt" of sorts and he went off looking for his surprises about the house.  His best friend was on the balcony behind a closed door armed with a camera!

(L: Dave's Buddy, R: Dave in front of the White House)

Then we had a lovely day in DC and nothing crazy happened that day.  That evening, I asked Dave to call his dad to wish him a happy father's day.  Well, his dad was at a noisy restaurant so he couldn't really talk.  No biggie right?  We continued our journey to a restaurant that he had been dying to go to (ever been to Fogo de Chao?).  He was SO excited and super surprised that I had remembered that he wanted to go to this steak and meat heaven!  The fun doesn't end there!  The hostess made us wait just for kicks to throw Dave off because the rest of his party (his family all the way from Boston) were already seated and ready to surprise him!!  The look on his face! I'm sad I didn't have a camera.  Dave's parents will forever get a kick out of the look on his face. It was EPIC.  We hung out at the restaurant for 4.5 hours! It was an incredible meal!!

 (Thanks for helping me surprise him!!)

 (Excited about his birthday cake!)

 (Happy Birthday and more to come!)

I'm not going to ask more people to fly around the country to surprise him for his birthday but I'm planning something fun for him again this year.  Perhaps his birthday will become a way to conquer "firsts." I'm not sure how we'll manage when he's 50 but I'm sure I'll still have some tricks up my sleeve.


So, to top the first birthday party will be a feat.  But I have 2 months and I'm well on my way!

Engagement Photo x 3!

Purpose of this blog: I want better pictures than ones like this... 

So, I am super blessed because I'll be able to have 3 SETS of Engagement Photos.  I know. Crazy! Why on earth would one need that many you ask? Here's why: the first set was taken without my knowledge... remember my engagement that happened on Christmas Eve where Emily G. took photos of Dave proposing? 

The second set is today, with Olympia Flaherty, she is a Marine wife and knows Camp Lejeune well.  The purpose of this specific set is because I have NO pictures of the two of us, with him in his cammies (that I didn't take with my arm stretched out).

The last set, we are super excited about is with Susan Solo, who is also shooting our wedding. (EEEP EEP! so excited!) In those photos, we are excited about getting "DC-esque" shots.  Less touristy and more about the city we love so deeply.  Just as a side note, before I contacted Susan about having her document our wedding, I had been stalking her blog for a good long while.  She takes some AMAZING pictures!

So, hopefully by the end of this, we'll have more than enough pictures that I'm happy about! :D

Happy Saturday!

Reina

Naughty or Nice?

Driving down Lejeune Boulevard, which leads to Camp Lejeune's main gate, there is a stream of color that draws the eye.  These signs are AWESOME.  It's the one thing I look forward to when I think of deployments (well and him coming home, of course).  The "Welcome home Cpl. _____" Signs with big hearts and yellow ribbons adorning them make me happy.  And recently, there have been many more than there were in the winter.

Well, since the speed limit along the Blvd. is 55 mph and people generally go about 65, it's hard to read the signs.  But since I noticed a particular sign, I've been slowing down. WAAAY down. Like "move it along, grandma" slow.

This one sign said "So happy you're home, LCpl ____!!! No need for the gym, I'll be your workout!"  I had to read it again when we left base.  Did it seriously say that??  I know there are bumper stickers that say "Sex deprived for your freedom" but this is blatant!

Fast forward to last week, I was pumping gas and I look at the car in front of me that has a bunch of cool looking stickers and a bumper sticker that reads "My other ride is my Marine."  Another jaw drop.  I'm not a prude.  I'm in the business of sex-ed.  I don't blush as easy as most... These admissions are bold and personal.

These two aren't the only ones! Between Dave and I we have seen about 8 signs saying things like "Capt. _____, get ready, it's baby makin' time!" or "1,2,3,4... can't wait till your cammies hit the floor." Clever? Yes. Funny? Yes. Honest? Sure... but I'm not sure that that's what I would do.

Since the Marine Corps folks are pretty conservative (not in the political way...) and formal, it strikes me as odd that one would say things like this.

Am I just being a party-pooper or a prude? Do Marines appreciate this, or would they rather have it be private? 

Thoughts?? What would your sign say? Would it be Naughty or Nice?

I don't run...

Running is not my friend. The whole wheezing and lack of air in my lungs is not my idea of fun.  I've been compelled to volunteer more than once for various causes that do fundraising through walks, like LiveStrong Challenge.  I've volunteered 3 years in a row with them. I've never walked/run/biked it though... I'm kind of a wuss (like my friend Henry likes to say when I can't swish Listerine because it makes me cry, but I digress).

When my bloggy idol Rachel of A Little Pink in a world of Cammo announced that she would be running in her late husband's (Cpl. Porto's) honor in the 5th annual Run for the Warriors, I was touched. First, to donate.  I rarely donate. Not because it's not important but because there are often too many important causes. Second, to register myself for the 5k.  Then to recruit friends to do it with me so I wouldn't chicken out.

I'll be running my silly self across the finish line on 5/15 with a few friends because this isn't about money or a good cause.  It is my physical effort to prove my gratitude for the people who serve this country.  You can show your support too!

"The mission of Hope for the Warriors® is to enhance quality of life for US Service Members and their families nationwide who have been adversely affected by injuries or death in the line of duty. Hope for the Warriors® actively seeks to ensure that the sacrifices of wounded and fallen warriors and their families are never forgotten nor their needs unmet, particularly with regard to the short and long-term care of the severely injured.

On their own, our service members and their families are awe inspiring in the face of their disabilities and hardships - courageous and resolute. However, it is with the support of a grateful nation that they remain unfaltering in their determination and find hope and purpose beyond recovery. As a united support network, all individuals, whether of great or small means, can find an opportunity to honor those who have willingly sacrificed to defend and protect our freedom. We invite you to take part in the inspirational lives of these young men and women and make it known that they never stand alone."

She has exceeded her fundraising goal of $1,000 but every bit helps. This is Rachel's Run for the Warriors Page.

If you feel compelled to support my entry, I am trying to raise a bit of change for the cause (significantly less than Rachel's).  Please visit my page to show your support!