Life & Love

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You Can Tell I’m From DC When…

… I make an unpatriotic ass of myself here in the South.

I was doing some last minute Christmas shopping at the Cotton Exchange downtown last night, when another young professional-looking girl stopped me to ask for some advice on her White Elephant/Secret Santa gift. She had a number of paper weights in front of her and couldn’t decide which to get.

I pointed at the red, white, and blue frog that said “Proud to be an American” on it, and without even thinking, said “Well I wouldn’t get that one.”

“Why?” she asked.

Just as I said something along the lines of “Someone may get offended,” I realized how ridiculous I sounded. “Oh…” she said, clearly dumbfounded, and slightly offended herself. “I would never think of that. You think so? I don’t think so.”

“I’m from DC,” I said defensively. “We’re overly PC up there…Sorry…You’re right.”

I was so embarrassed and scuttled away. Definite heartless Yankee moment. I’m disturbed that I’m actually that brainwashed!

It’s funny that with as girly as I am, I’ve always turned up my nose at the over-the-top bright Lilly Pulitzer dresses. Not too long ago, I wandered into a little boutique called Palm Garden, that sold Lilly almost exclusively. For some reason, it just hit the spot, and I was in love with everything – from dresses, to cashmere sweaters, to iPhone cases and day planners.

Of course, one of my favorites was the dress I tried above (not as loud as most Lilly) for $278. Grrrr. I’ve been trying to justify it by reminding myself how well it fit, and how versatile it is. I mean seriously – I could wear this to church, to work (with a cute cardigan or blazer!), or to one of my 10 weddings and all the subsequent baby showers.

But still… I never spend $300 on anything! And we all know I’ll want a new dress for all of those aforementioned occasions anyway…

Sigh. Frugality sucks sometimes. I’ll just have to stalk the sales, I guess!

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Speaking of Love…

… 10 of Chuck’s and/or my GOOD friends got engaged this year. The majority of those got engaged in the past few days, weeks, and months. Everyone’s in luurrrrvvve for the holidays, and I just love weddings 🙂

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The only “problem” is that all these new diamond-rocking couples are trying to get married between September and November, with most looking at October. A handful of them involve me or Chuck in the wedding party, too. I don’t see how we’ll be able to avoid missing some, especially if we move to the West Coast in the summer and it’ll cost a grand just to fly Chuck and I back East (all are on the east coast except for one, and that one is in Mexico.)

Never mind that I’ll also be unemployed again just in time for fall…

Fingers crossed, we’ll be able to make pretty much all of them! Then, I’ll tackle all the bridal showers/bachelorette parties/bridesmaid duties as they come… If we move back to the DC area, it should be more manageable (assuming no one plans the same weekend.) At least then, we can drive most places, or flights will be cheaper. We shall see!

BUT in all seriousness, CONGRATULATIONS to all!! ❤ And … wish me luck 😉

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What Love is Like for Me

My sister is such a good writer. She’s always been able to capture emotions and put them into words so eloquently. She wrote this about love and marriage, and it could not be more true for the way I felt in marrying Chuck:

“The moment I began to dream of the possibility of marrying you I was struck by the gentleness with which this hope swirled and enveloped me with courage and joy. I do not fear the commitment and obstacles as I always have, but feel devoted to facing the wonder and challenges that a life partnership entails. I still marvel at this realization. It is not fireworks, a thunderclap, or a lightning bolt. It’s peace. It’s a serene quiet that comes with the knowing that your heart has met its compliment and softly whispers, ‘Yes. Devote yourself to him forever.’ “

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General Updates

I am officially half way through Chuck’s month-long training escapade – woohoo! It’s flown by and I feel a little guilty admitting I’ve barely noticed. I think I may be keeping almost as busy as he is. In reality though, I think I’m just in that be-strong-and-focused mode. Full gears ahead….

I am REALLY loving my new job. I love how it gets me out in the community, and how I’m learning to provide services to area businesses. The girl I’m replacing officially left yesterday, so as of Monday, I’m “in charge”.  I really want to do well there. The Chamber has been so nice to take me on even though I won’t be around long, and I want to make sure I make it as awesome for them as they have made it for me.

I’m ready to move into my new office on Monday. I already have a bag full of silly decorations in tow! I realized I haven’t had my own “space” at work in years. We did hoteling at PwC… a different cubicle every day.

When I’m not busy at work or staying late/arriving early for events, I’m prepping for weekend activities. Weekends are generally the hardest to be alone, and when I miss Chuck the most. Last weekend I attended the Commanding General’s holiday reception on base, courtesy of an invite via the Chamber. It was so nice! I watched a football game with friends (gasp!) and got lots of Christmas shopping and cleaning done.

This weekend I hosted a lunch for the ladies attached to the men in Chuck’s unit. I always stress myself out taking these things on, but they are generally worth it in the end. I’m glad we had an opportunity to get to know each other a little better.

I’m about to head to dinner at “Bemily’s” (Ben + Emily) and tomorrow I’m hoping I’ll be motivated enough to get up and go to church. We’ll see… 😉

Sunday afternoon walk in Holly Ridge. Looks like a place Bonni and I would have explored when we were little! We would have ridden our bikes and made our own fort and civilization. Oh, to be a kid again!

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Christmastime is Here

Chuck and I managed to get the house decorated for Christmas before I dropped him off for pre-deployment training on Saturday morning… 3:30 AM came awfully early!! I always envy the beautiful themed Christmas trees (like the ones with ivory and gold ribbons and coordinated ornaments), but there’s something extra special about a tree that has all your old favorite trimmings on it. Needless to say, I never end up going the themed route 🙂 I opt for the nostalgia instead.

Anyway, the house is very quiet without Chuck. And clean!! Minimal laundry and dishes build-up too! But it’s lonely already. It should be interesting to see how this month goes with him gone, as a precursor to the big one in January. I do wish this month was part of that, and it was started already. By the time I get into a routine, he’ll be back, and then we’ll have to start over again! Ready to get the countdown started…!!

Regardless, Bean and I will stay plenty busy 🙂

P.S. Those two ornaments in the bottom right corner of the photo collage = Chuck’s and my baby’s first ornaments! 1984 babies all the way!

Had a lovely Thanksgiving here in Holly Ridge. Our friends Shane and Katy welcomed us into their home to celebrate with their family in town. Plenty of calories consumed and laughs shared! Lots to be thankful for this year. I feel like we’ve come a long way since our initial weeks here, as newlyweds!

Shane leaves for Djibouti next week, and Chuck leaves for 29 Palms tonight. It was good to get some time together before things change…

Now… off to get a Christmas tree! I’m making Chuck decorate with me even though he won’t be here most of the season, and we are spending Christmas in NoVA. But I love Christmas, so here goes! 😀

…a Facebook post from one of my fellow military wife neighbors that suddenly warmed me up. Her husband Steve was injured in Afghanistan last year. His leg injury stubbornly refused to heal. Finally, this fall, he was diagnosed with lymphoma and is currently undergoing chemo treatments. They are a beautiful, young, upbeat couple of just a few years, and they’ve already been through so much together. We can all learn a great deal from an experience (and subsequent attitude) like theirs!

P.S. Sorry for the crappy blurring job – I was in a rush 🙂