I'm about to burst!

With excitement!

This weekend is Father's day, which also means that my Marine love is celebrating his birthday! When I celebrate somebody's birthday, I think it should be ALL OUT! I think they deserve a whole weekend or week of fun!  Rejoice! So, I'm excited to tell you what we're doing for his birthday, but I CAN'T tell you until tomorrow (for fear that he might, for once read my blog)!!!!  But I'm so excited and I'll tell you ALL about it later on.

(LOL we were celebrating... at the inaugural ball, no politics involved.

Just adult beverages and loud music!)

Whee!

Oh and do any of you have a rule about how many posts that you can put up in one day? Because I felt like I was breaking a cardinal rule yesterday when I put up TWO posts! tee hee, I'm such a rebel!

Dave's Birthday Weekend (Part 1)

Hi Bean!  

Happy Birthday weekend!!!!!! 

You've waited so patiently for this weekend! I'm always so amazed by your patience... I couldn't wait as long and hard as you do!

via Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce

So, today, we are headed down to Myrtle Beach for the weekend! Surprise (although I don't know if you're at all surprised!) Yay! I'm so stoked! Our first stop will be this address (make sure you write it down!): 1110 Celebrity Circle, Myrtle Beach, SC.

We have LOTS of stuff planned for the weekend and I hope that you're ready! Oh and I hope you packed your swim gear cuz tomorrow, we'll be doing something fast and wet! Any guesses?

I love you to the moon and back,
R

Wedding Ring!

We took a field trip today to purchase my wedding ring today! It's been a pain to find a perfect ring to match my engagement ring (first because my standards are SUPER high, but also because the base of my engagement ring makes it so that no straight band can fit it...see? pain)... but here's a crappy picture to show you what I purchased! It was also a GREAT deal! They are sizing it and such so I'll have it in a month or so! Wooooo!

I HEART IT!

The real meaning of a wedding

We are officially 15 months out from our wedding.  I know that seems like a "normal" engagement, or even still a bit longer.  Let's just say that we have luxury of time.  In that time though, people like me (read: detail oriented, every detail will be perfect) have a bit of a struggle relaxing... Literally.  I don't have nightmares of my wedding, yet.  But I do have random wedding detail ideas that appear in my dreams... side note, do you have dreams where you have a "good idea" but when you wake up and remember it, it's kind of crazy and would only make sense in your dream? Yeah, I get that a lot.

So, my craze goes in waves.  Some weeks I daydream a bit obsessively about my flowers, then the next I'll be dreaming about my dress.  This week, it's about the actual ceremony.  What on EARTH am I going to say to the man that I love?  in front of all the people we love! I've been going back and forth in my mind about vows.  These are the words that I will say (and him too,) that will bond us as husband and wife.  They are our words of commitment and affection. 

I would love for them to be personal.  Then I remember the "to have and to hold..." time tested vows.  I'll go back to both of us writing separate vows.  But he would struggle writing his.  Maybe we can write ours together, say the same vows...  In the end, this has to be the most thought out detail of our wedding.  Even if the reception food is sucky or the flowers are sort of wilty (WHICH THEY WILL NOT BE! Because those too are up to me!), saying our vows will be the most important part of the wedding.  It has the most depth. 

Sometimes I have to remind myself (and I think it's because of the whole wedding industry,) that the wedding is not the reception, it is not the flowers, the cake, the photographer.  It is a huge day in my life and I want those things... but the reason that people gather is to see us, the couple make a life altering commitment of faith and trust to each other. 

This isn't to say that I won't be planning every detail to a T! Because I will!

Oh and I think I found my wedding ring to go with my gorgeous engagement ring! I love my ring but it's been a pain to find one that fits around the base of the diamond... this ring still makes me smile every time I look down at my hand.

Did you write your vows? 

How did you involve your guests in your wedding? 

Did you do something that was unique to your wedding?

Did you have a memorable reading?

MilGirl Live and Learn: Samantha

Thanks Karissa at Being a Better Wife for my new MilGirl Logo!

Today it's all about Samantha of Navy Doll

(Aren't they just adorable? Nod... yep!)

Tell us a little about you: I'm 23 years old, married to a handsome sailor, stay at home mommy. I love to cook. Hate to clean, but somehow manage to keep the house under control. My favorite scent is cherry blossom and my favorite food is guacamole!!! :)

The branch of service: United States Navy

How long have you been together/married? We have been together for 3 1/2 years, and married for 2 years.

How did you meet your man? Was it before he decided to sign his life away?: We met in bootcamp, August 2006. We were interviewing to get stationed in Boston. I thought he was so adorable, and he thought I looked like Dora the Explorer. (I had this awfully short haircut, I'm Hispanic, and I have a pear shape....enough said) We were like bootcamp sweethearts!

Is he career military? He says he isn't, but everytime i ask him where he sees himself in 10 years, he goes straight to being stationed somewhere like Japan or Italy. ha ha! He's definitely a lifer!
How did you initially feel about him being in the military?: I love it! I'm so proud of him and he is such a hard worker. I've had the privilege of working with him. He keeps work as work. There will be plenty of time to play afterward.

What attracted you to him? Was it the uniform?: His smile and personality. He's got a sense of humor that is out of this world. His uniform not so much. When I first met him we were both wearing the same thing...nothing sexy about that! lol! But now, he works a pair of dress blues and whites like no other! :)

How does/did your family feel about him being in the military?: Nobody seems bothered by it. They are just glad that he has done something great and amazing with his life. My father, a Vietnam Veteran, couldn't be prouder.

Does the sexy uniform (or the sense of pride you feel) make up for the sacrifices you have to make?: Although he does look great in his uniform, that will never be the reason to make me feel better about a missed anniversary or birthday. Yet, the sense of pride I feel for him somehow does. I know he does it because he loves his country and he wants his family to have a good life. There's nothing better than that.

Have your plans been messed up thanks to the military? Tell me your horror stories!: He's missed so many holidays and birthdays! It's the pits, but you get used to it. The worst thing that has happened was this past Thanksgiving. He had come home from a 2 week underway a few days before. The week of Thanksgiving they called him to go back out. He came home late on Thanksgiving. Around 8pm. It stunk because last year he had duty on Thanksgiving.....I was more than a little peeved.

Does it motivate you as a couple to get married sooner if he is slated to get orders to leave you (go off to training/school, move to a new duty station –PCS, deploy)? Did you elope? We were lucky enough to get stationed together in Boston and our new Duty Station. We eloped because we couldn't wait any longer! I couldn't wait to become his wife!!!!!

What is one piece of advice you had received PRIOR to getting married or while dating? Never marry a military man....Here's what I say to that: Guess my honest, faithful, and loving husband wasn't the military man you were talking about.

Thanks Samantha for joining us for the 2nd ever MilGirl Live and Learn!

Come back and see us next week when we talk to a Marine Princess.

~

Do you want to talk about your MilGirl experiences?

I'd love to talk to you! Please email me at [date.a.marine@gmail.com] for details!