A Series of Unfortunate Events

Hey y'all!

    I know... Some of you probably want to put my head on a spike and march around town. Please don't! I know I didn't give you any warning about it nor did I even update you guys on what was going on during this period of time. (Awesome Blogger Award goes to me.... not)

    First off, I am so very sorry for not updating you. The whole point of a blog is to tell the story of our day to day lives and talk about things that bother us and what not... And I knew that I would have felt so much better during this time if I had blogged, but I would open up a new post and stare at the screen. I had no idea what to say... or how to even put my feelings into words.

    Secondly, I promise to update you all more. I am going to work on posting every morning again. Because, when I did that Challenge, I actually felt better. Like, my heart was content with everything that was happening.

    Thirdly, (Is that a word? Well... Now it is.) I am still dealing with some emotions and feelings that I can't express appropriately.... So, please, if you are reading about one of these things, have some patience... 

    Now, where to begin.... well, my last update to you guys was that I hated Hawaii (still do)... and that I really need to learn to not drink sweet tea anywhere near my bed time... Back in March... So... yeah. I have a lot to tell y'all about. 

    Shortly after my last post, Trent deployed. Yep. Deployed. Back in March. Right at the beginning of the PCS Process. Lucky duck. But he left with the ship and just because he's gone doesn't mean the world pauses here. So I had to get the move process started and get organized for it. I mean, moving across country doesn't exactly equal a cake walk.

    Then I started training for the Ford Island 10k. That was a struggle to begin with because I kinda love-hate running. But I signed up with a bunch of friends to do this with and I didn't want to let them down. So there I was, running on a treadmill and praying that I didn't bail and end up on YouTube in one of those gym fail videos. Oh, and all that training? It went down the drain day of the race because all those times I prayed not to bail? Well, apparently I forgot to pray, because I totally face planted/action rolled/rolled the ever living life out of my ankle at the 2 mile marker. Lost like, all of the cool points. Ended up gimping the rest of the 6 mile run. Ended up having to wrap my ankle for like a week and stretch it. #FunTimes

    After that ordeal, I went ahead and made the appointments to have my move inspection done and an appointment to ship my car all the way to SC. Once I get relatively organized and feeling like I was ahead of the game, I wake up and find a swarm of ants have infiltrated my home via the window in my stairwell... My stairwell. Not the kitchen, not the living room... the freaking stairwell. So I call the office to have someone come out because, at the time, I thought that it could be termites. (Which at the time was totally plausible in my brain seeing as a house was tented behind me...) While I was on the phone with this super nice lady, I realize that my downstairs bathroom sink is leaking. So I mention that to her as well and she sets up the appointments and I go on with my day.

    Basically, at this point, I was pretty much in the "Bring it, stupid deployment" mode. 

    *Now, let me interrupt my "catching you up" story... Do not, under any circumstances, ever say/think/write out/draw/do an interpretive dance "Bring it" when it comes to deployment. Why, you might ask? Because, my friends, it does "bring it". *

    My grandfather has a heart attack, (survived thank God), but now sounds like the Godfather... Which I am totally okay with. Then, my great grandmother has a severe stroke at the age of 93. (She is okay. She has trouble with certain words and has to use a walker now.) My Mom was super sick with some stomach bug... and I was stuck out here because with a move coming up, I couldn't just up and fly home and back. We literally couldn't afford it. This has all happened the last month-ish. 

    And then, May 21st was Mine and Trent's 2 year wedding anniversary. It was our first one where we weren't together to celebrate. Which was very weird for me. But he surprised me by sending me a video of him saying Happy Anniversary and that he loved me. :) It may not have been flowers or chocolate, but being able to see his face and hear his voice... It really made it special.

    That's pretty much all that has been going on during this unexpected hiatus... I promise to be better about my blogging. But know that it might get a little bit spotty in the end of June/through to July area as we will be traveling.

    Moving Tip #1: When you are moving, make sure you go through and clean out and organize ever room. That way you aren't carrying any extra weight, and anything that was broken or maybe damaged from the previous move isn't still hanging around! 

    Do y'all have any moving tips? Comment below!

    Would y'all like it if I did a "What's in my PCS/moving binder" blog? If so, comment below and I would be more than happy to do so!

    That's all for now! Talk to you all later!

-Haley 

Rabble Rabble

Hey y'all,

    It's midnight, and I. Can. Not. Sleep. I am just super antsy and tense. I hate it. But, it's a part of that "Pre-Separation" process. Yay for moving. Yay Navy... Anyway, this is going to be a babbling brook of nonsense to try to quiet the cacophony of things running through my head. Maybe then I can sleep? Who knows.

    I mean, it could have something to do with the ginormous thing of sweet tea I made today.... Psh. No. Sweet Tea cures everything. Right? I am going to be making baby blankets for a few friends of mine. It's definitely making my baby fever crazy intense. But, like the husband keeps reminding me, "We have a plan." I swear, if I hear that one more time I may punch him in the kidney. Even though I know he is right. #TheStruggle.

    That's another thing that I constantly think about or worry about... What if I am not a good parent? What if I screw it up? I have this idea of what I want my future children to have. The lessons I want them to teach them... Gah. I know that I shouldn't be stressing about it, but I am... I have always wanted to be a mother... One day... One day...

    Also, might I add, I might be absolutely bonkers. I spent a few hours today researching how to ship/fly with Stanley when we move. It's crazy, right? I ended up finding out that the only way we could take him with us would be to ship him. So I will have to talk to the husband and see if he thinks I'm nuts...

    We are going to be going to the beach and I promise to take a ton of photos and post them in here. :) 

    I have to confess something that I have been harboring for a while.... 

I hate Hawaii.

    Really, I do. I can't stand it. Here are 5 reasons behind my feeling about this dinky rock out in the middle of the Pacific.

• Once you have been to all the beaches, been to the plantation, been to all the tourist-y tourist spots.... What left is there to do? 

• The "Aloha Spirit" that you hear about wherever you go... I have two words for you: Semantic Satiation. If you don't know what that is, it's a psychological phenomenon in which repetition causes a word or phrase to temporarily lose meaning for the listener, who then perceives the speech as repeated meaningless sounds. 

• Shipping Prices. I won't even say anything else on that topic.

• Car Registration = The biggest headache/joke combo on the planet. 

• Traffic all the time no matter where you go.

    Those are the things that have stacked up over and over until I decided that Hawaii is like that smokin hot babe at the gym that you would give your left arm to talk to, only to find out that she has about the same amount of personality as a box of rocks. 

    It really makes me miss home. Arizona is beautiful. I miss the heat, I miss the wide open roads, I miss the grid system... I miss being able to go see my family. This chica is seriously homesick. 

    Although I am beyond excited to go to the next duty station: South Carolina or Bust! If y'all would like, I can take pictures and show you how I put together my PCS binder. :) It is such a life saver to have all those important documents in one spot... Especially if you are going all the way across the USA like we will be. Haha. 

    What are some moving tips that you do that work well for you?

-Haley

In Preparation

Hey y'all!

    I don't know what is going around the island... But it is something to be reckoned with. Nearly everyone on the island has either been sick, is sick, or starting to get sick. I guess you can say that being on an island, you tend to get sick no matter what you do. It's terrible. 

    Anyway, I have been starting the PCS (Permanent Change of Station) move to South Carolina this summer. Trent will be attending the Nuke School there. Anyone in or around the area? I wanna make friends! But be prepared for many tips, tricks, and ideas at the end of these posts. :)

    My first moving tip: Downsize. Yes. The capital D in the word is required. For example, I haven't updated my wardrobe since high school, and let's face it, I am not the size 6 that I was in High School... and I now realize that the weight I was at was anything but healthy, so goodbye nightmare pants. In all seriousness though, downsize. I have 4 boxes that are collecting dust because I haven't bothered to open them. It saves you on time and frustration when you are unpacking.

-Haley