Rewind.

Well! It's been far too long since my last blog, but let me tell you, a lot has happened since late November. I went to San Diego and watched my baby graduate as a United States Marine. The entire trip was amazing. Being able to hug him again after 3 months was a feeling and memory I will never forget. The ceremony itself was different than I had expected, but I did really enjoy it. After graduation I gave Aaron his graduation/birthday/Christmas present. I got him an iPhone 4, and I am happy to say that he absolutely loves it (how could you not?!). While in California I also got a chance to meet Lauren in person. Lauren and I had been talking since right when our boys left back in September. It was nice to be able to put a face with all of the conversations! Also, shortly after getting back into Wisconsin, I turned 21. It was one hell of a weekend to say it simply! Aaron's birthday was 4 days after mine and we spent that celebrating in Holmen with his family and friends. Now I am back in Madison finishing up the semester and taking finals. Tomorrow is my last day of class for the semester and my last final is Tuesday the 21st. I can't wait to go home after finals and spend more time with Aaron before he goes back to MCT first of the year. I'm extremely thankful that I get to spend the Holidays with Aaron and our families. I know a lot of Military families are without their loved ones this holiday season. Please be sure be thankful for who you have with you this Holiday because I know a lot of Marine significant others that would trade places with you in a heart beat. 

Lauren and me before USMC Graduation 12/3/10

Graduation

Aaron and myself after graduation

My 21st birthday dinner

My Marine and Myself on my birthday 

Until next time, Semper Fi!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

Hey guys!
Today's blog is a little different! As I was cruising around Facebook one day, I heard about this crazy promotion going on for Bloggers through the company Shutterfly! I've never used the website before, but being an employee at Apple, I had heard customers talk about it in the past. WELL! I decided to look into the promotion a little bit more! Come to find out, the company was offering 50 free Christmas/Holiday cards to bloggers! I started playing on the site and got super pumped to make a card for 616 1/2! If you've never been on the site you should definitely take a minute or two and check out this link riiighhhttt here. That is a link to the Christmas photo cards. They have 100's to choose from and they are all completely customizable! If you don't celebrate Christmas or you're looking for a more well rounded holiday card, check out this link! Honestly, I was really impressed with the site and I can't wait to get my cards in the mail super soon! Also, because I wasn't a member of the site before this, I also got 50+ free picture prints! This was great considering I'm going to California in 2 days and will have tons of pictures to print! Also, if you're in need of a great holiday gift idea, check out there customizable calendars! Always make a great gift for anyone on your list :)

My card is filled with photos of my roommate and myself since we moved in together in June! We pooled our favorite pictures from Facebook as well as some GEMS her mom took on a visit down to Madison! I can't wait to see how they turn out! 

If you're interested in also participating in this promotion check out THIS link. It has all of the details :)

Until next time, Semper fi!

Time Crunch

Every so often, reward yourself for being a rockstar. Being a Military significant other is not an easy task, at all. Whether you're going through a deployment, living in another state/country, or just surviving boot camp, the Military lifestyle takes a toll on you! Whenever I make it through a rough patch stronger, I reward myself with a mini shopping trip. Most of the time I will buy myself new makeup or shoes that I wouldn't normally buy myself. I view it as a little, HEY Congrats on being a strong ass women. YOU ROCK! So, consider it :)

WOW! A lot has happened in the last five days! The days are all blending together and time is flying by! I couldn't be happier about it! I went home for about a day and a half for Thanksgiving with my family. It was a great time to spend with family. I got to see my sister quite a bit plus I got to drive up to my Step Mom's and see my niece and step siblings! It was amazing. My first Black Friday at Apple honestly was a disappointment. It was busy but there were so many employees that I found myself standing around a lot. They day dragged by and after 12 hours my feet calves were throbbing. The the next day I did a 9 hour shift and I was just beat. Today I had a nice short 4 hour shift. I've got a ton of homework done in preparation for being gone this week in California!!! I figure I have about 7 major homework assignments to complete before flying out Wednesday. As of now I have 5 done. One I need to speak with my accounting TA about and the other I am waiting on some responses from my group to go about completing it! Hopefully they get back to me soon so I can get going on it!

Oh man, I really should start packing! I hate waiting to the last minute to pack but it's one thing I truly dread doing! I've made a list of things that I keep adding to so I don't forget anything. At this point I hope everything fits in my suitcase!!! Three days till we fly out. Four days till I get to hug my boy again. I'm stoked, for sure!

Well I guess I should progress more on packing/listmaking/homework

Until next time! Semper Fi!!!

SINGLE DIGITS!

Find good books to read! There are so many great books being published all the time, it's impossible to not find a few that spark interest to you! For my Marine ladies, I highly recommend Confessions of a Military Wife. It's hilarious and from what I hear, it's highly accurate. The author is a Marine wife that does stand up comedy around the country. I highly recommend picking it up from amazon! Also, make sure you have a Bible in your home. His word always gives encouragement and strength when you need it. Sometimes the things you need to hear don't come from family or friends but from our Father up above. Keep that in mind!

So today I finally hit the single digits! This has been 78 days in the making! Today, I also hit 10% left! THANK GOD! It's easy to be optimistic from here. California next week! HOLLA! :)

Tonight I am doing my first overnight reset at work. I am really pumped to see the changes that Apple is making in our retail stores first hand and before anyone else gets a chance to. :) Plus we're ordering pizza, which is always fun!

Tomorrow morning I am going home, which has been hard since Aaron's left for Boot. Aaron and I are from the same hometown. I would always spend a lot of time with him whenever I was home, but with him being at Boot, he obviously won't be there. I am excited to spend time with my family and friends that I haven't seen in a few weeks though. I hope I get to see my niece. I haven't seen her in months! Fingers crossed she'll be at my step mom's house when I'm up there!

It's now that time where I start getting ready to head to class. Hopefully the next week flyys! Pray for the men in Golf Company as they finish up the Crucible tomorrow! I can't wait to be able to call my baby a Marine! :]

Until next time, Semper Fi!

Another Week Down!

It's OKAY to break down sometimes! I feel like a lot of girls think crying is bad because it shows a weakness, but we have to remember regardless of what we're going through, we are still human beings. Breaking down is normal and honestly, I'd say it's a good thing. Breaking down means that you actually have someone in your life that's worth missing and crying over! Use the experience to reflect on what an amazing individual God has brought into your life! It's okay to eat Ben&Jerry's, watch The Notebook, go through a box of tissues, never get out of your PJ's and stay in bed all day every once in a while!

So today is Sunday and as Aaron says in all of his letters, this means another week down! It's weird to think that next week I will be packing to go to California for Aaron's graduation! We fly out in 10 days!! TEN DAYS! So bizarre! I think I have just about everything I need before going to California, I just need to put it all in a bag and go! I am so happy that it is only 10 days away. I sent my last letter out yesterday. I was able to express a lot of my emotions in those letters now I'm just in this phase where I randomly get choked up. It's frustrating because it happens at random times. 

It's been a great weekend so far! I worked 10-7 yesterday. Initially I was supposed to do 10-2 but someone was ill so I worked a longer shift! I need the money anyways! Last night I went out with Jessi, Jared, and TJ. We all haven't hung out in a while so it was much needed!

So I've been on this massive wedding kick lately. I would like to point out that I am not even engaged. In the past week I have tried on rings, spent at least 5 hours looking at dresses online, and at least a few hours looking at photographer pages on Facebook. This is a very bad addiction! Arg! I wonder what Aaron would say if he knew! haha!

Since my last post, Aaron's graduation picture was posted on DevilDogs.info! He looks so handsome! I've got some positive feedback from my friends too in regards to how I "picked a good one." Carly was also very happy I left her video on her computer! :) He looks so much different in the picture compared to when he left. I can't wait to see him in person and see how much he really has changed. He looks so tan! I think that is the #1 difference I can notice so far! It's going to be so weird seeing him with no hair! I guess I shall be getting used to it because that won't be changing for a few years! 

So the rest of today will be spent working on a few homework assignments as well as possibly making a run to EyeMart. They gave me really uncomfortable contacts and I can't stand them.

I'm so happy there is only one more Sunday to go! In these next 10 days I get my hair done, Thanksgiving, and Black Friday. That's a lot for 10 short days! Fingers crossed they FLY! Please God make them fly by!

For now I am going to start my homework, 

Until Next Time, Semper Fi!

Magnifico!

Make smaller countdowns to help may the big countdown go by faster! When Aaron first left for Boot all I could think about was, omg, 87 days till I get to see him again! These 87 days are going to drag on forever, I am going to be so miserable, etc! NO! You can not let yourself think like that! As soon as I started making short term countdowns of events to look forward to, it seemed as if time flew by! I'd have little stickie notes on my desk saying: 20 days till Halloween, or 4 days till the next Badger football game! It was much easier to tackle little countdowns compared to the huge scary countdown! Baby steps girls, they make everything easier!

Today was an overall an average day. It had some highs it had some lows. High! I got my American Apparel T-shirts that I ordered! This to me is always a highlight! I love having new shirts, especially amazingly soft colorful shirts! High! I went to dinner with the lovely Carly. We talked about normal girly stuff - our friends, boys, sexual things, weddings, jewelry, etc. We went to Granite City and oh boy did we have a very fast speaker waiter. High! After dinner Carly and I went to get my ring finger sized, just in case! :) Following we just looked at rings for a while. It was overall a great time. Low! I didn't get a letter today from Aaron, which is particularly sad because I've been pretty consistently getting letters on Thursdays. Hopefully one will come tomorrow! Either way, if one never comes, I get to see my boy in 14 days - 2 weeks - and that's a reason to be happy and thankful! Low! I ran out of Midol. For anyone that knows me very well, you'd know this is a very bad thing. :( 

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances - Philippians 4:11 NIV

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been temped in every way, just as we are - ye was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. - Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV

I found those two verses in my Faith Deployed book. Even though Aaron is technically not deployed I find that a helpful book to keep me optimistic and know that God is always on my side, through thick and thin. He will never let me down and He is truly amazing. Never forget your relationship with Christ, even when you're weak. He is only here to help. Accept Him and let Him do beautiful things in your life!! :]

Until next time, Semper Fi!!!

Act the part and you will become the part.

After taking some time and rereading my first two blog posts I came to the realization that my blog really had no true focus but was merely me rambling on about my life. I am sure my life is entertaining to a lot of people, but for the people that want to get a little more than my life story out of this blog I figured I would come up with a focus! While discussing this matter with the lovely Miss Leslie, I came to the idea of starting each blog by posting a daily tip (or 2) for Marine girlfriends, fiances, and wives. Even though I am myself a young and new Marine girlfriend, I figured I've gained some wisdom over the past 73 days Aaron's (my Marine Recruit) been gone! So today we shall start with our regular tradition of providing a helpful tip!

Join an online forum or support page! The day after Aaron left I found myself googling "Marine Girlfriend" compulsively trying to find someone to talk to that understood what I was feeling. Through an online forum I was able to find a wonderful girl named Lauren who actually has a boy in the same Company as Aaron. Lauren and I are very similar in age and have a lot of similar interests and personality characteristics. Lauren has been my rock through this whole boot camp experience. We were able to keep each other strong on our "bad" days and geek out together when we got our first letters. I honestly couldn't imagine having gone through this experience without her. Since joining that forum, I also found a facebook page called USMC Love. The girls are this page are the most supportive and wise girls, ever. There's girls in virtually every stage/position of the Marines so it's a great resource when you have a question or just want to vent! So that is my tip for today: find an online forum or facebook group and ACTIVELY participate in it. It makes everything easier!

Now, back to my normal rambling about my life! :) This morning I finished my last midterm for this "round" of midterms. I could not be happier about this. I truly feel like I am now able to relax and take a break. Tonight I think my roommate and I are going to have a few adult beverages. It is much overdue! For now I am compulsively watching for the UPS man. The TOMS I ordered are currently "Out For Delivery." I have a hard time with delayed gratification and as soon as I order anything online I feel as if I need to have it in my hands RIGHT THEN! It's honestly a problem. Earlier today I had my routine yearly eye exam. I learned the same thing I do every year: I'm blind, seriously. This year I finally hit the -7's. Woo! I actually had to switch my type of contacts because the kind I've wore since 7th grade doesn't make contacts in the strength I need because it's too strong. Ha! All I have to say is, thanks mom and dad for giving me the worst vision, ever, but more importantly, thank you to whomever invented contacts so that I don't have to wear glasses every single day of my life. You are a true scholar! Tomorrow is Thursday. I always look forward to Thursdays because I've been pretty consistently getting letters on Thursdays. For now I need to get my stuff together to work on my MHR Group project at 5:00pm. 

Until next time, Semper Fi.

Is it December yet?

Even though I hate the cold and snow more than just about anything, I can't wait for it to be December. December 1st is when I fly out to California with Christin (Aaron's sister), Carol (Aaron's mom), Rich (Aaron's dad), as well as Jon and Tato (two of Aaron's friends). Luckily this is only 15 short days away.
For now I will continue to study for my Management and Human Resources: Organizational Behavior exam that I have tomorrow morning. I have put off studying until now. Honestly, I don't think the exam will be that bad. I guess I will just have to wait and see.
As for the "big" announcement from iTunes that I was looking forward to, it turns out the "The day I'll never forget" was the day that The Beatles came to the iTunes store. In no way am I degrading what an era changing band The Beatles were, but to go far enough to call the announcement life changing goes a little bit too far. iTunes I am giving you one thumb down for this. Honestly, I think the new A Day To Remember album that came out today in the iTunes store was more life changing in my eyes than The Beatles, but that's just my opinion. 
Since yesterday's post, I received another phone call from Aaron at Boot. It appears as if he is one of the platoon's scribes. I guess they were off doing scribe like things and his DI had to make some travel arrangements and allowed them some phone privileges. He had a chance to call me as well as his mom. I'm sure it made her day. It was nice to hear his voice again! The most exciting part of the evening's phone calls was that he informed his mom (but not me) that he does get to stay home for an entire month versus 10 days because of the holidays. Clearly I am thrilled about this because I will get a chance to spend more time with him. Also, it'll be nice to be able to spend our first Christmas together. :)
I wish I didn't feel as crabby and stressed out, but I guess this is what a mixture of PMS, holidays, and exams will do to a student. I guess it's that time when I attempt to study again. Until next time, Semper Fi!

Hello, Governor!

I've always wanted to have a blog, but I never really thought I had a real purpose to have one. It was brought to my attention today by the lovely (and newly engaged) Leslie that I am worthy of having one. So here it starts - my journey of writing my thoughts onto the interweb and everyone getting a chance to read them and judge me. This sounds like the start of a great time. :)
This afternoon I spent time shopping with Carly finding an outfit to wear to Aaron's Marine Boot Camp Graduation December 3rd!

So far this is what I have for my outfit! A mint American Apparel Deep V Neck, a funky skirt from Forever 21, and new Ash TOMS! Accessories will follow when I figure out what looks the best. Woo! It was a successful shopping trip!
Today was a great day also because I finally have less than 20% to go till I get to hug Aaron so tightly I break his ribs. From the wonderful USMC Love Facebook page I was able to find this gem of an excel file. It's called Donut of Misery. It's a really nice visual (and COLORFUL) way to keep track of how many days we have down and how many we have to go! I was rather excited because recently the bottom bar changed to Hello, Governor! I'm not 100% sure why but it reminds me of someone saying that phrase in a British accent and I love British accents!
ALSO! Apple decided to be the tease that it normally is and put the following picture as it's welcome screen on it's webpage today.

Clearly this makes me extremely pumped for tomorrow to see what this shenanigans is all about! Fingers crossed it's something awesome and not something over hyped!

Sadly I didn't get a letter from Aaron today. Lately I have been getting letters on Wednesday or Thursday. Most letters I get he writes on Sunday's before Chapel. It's always nice to hear from him. Please pray that he's doing well as well as the rest of Golf Co and all of our Marines! :]

I DID get a camera cable I ordered in the mail today though! I found a camera on the street on Halloween so I just ordered a $9 cable and BAM I have a brand new camera :] Hello Awesome! It's actually a pretty fancy camera too! It has a touch screen on the back as well as a LCD Screen on the front! It's super nice when you're taking a picture of yourself alone or with others. You don't have to take 100 pictures to get a good take, which is just always fantastic! It also takes relatively wonderful pictures!

Well with that, I shall leave you all for today. 17 days till I get to see my boy again. I could not be happier!

Until next time, Semper Fi!