17 Days into deployment.
Not that I'm counting.
Nick left on April 26th for his deployment. I couldn't talk about the date beforehand, and I can't talk about what he will be returning or where he is. But he is gone.
I've actually been doing pretty well. Of course, he was gone for 2 weeks shortly before leaving so 2 weeks is tolerable. I'm not sure how I'll be when 2 months rolls around.
Not that I'm counting.
Nick left on April 26th for his deployment. I couldn't talk about the date beforehand, and I can't talk about what he will be returning or where he is. But he is gone.
I've actually been doing pretty well. Of course, he was gone for 2 weeks shortly before leaving so 2 weeks is tolerable. I'm not sure how I'll be when 2 months rolls around.
View of Waikiki from the catamaran
We had a really great couple of days together before Nick left. We did that sunset cruise in Waikiki...it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. The food was just okay (at best) and it was super awkward they sat us at a table with another couple.
Mini-moon before Nick left for deployment
I wouldn't have had a huge problem with that but the other couple like didn't even look at us and just kind of ignored us when we introduced ourselves. Awkward. The cruise itself was pretty though. And we got a good laugh when they got an old Japanese tourist up there to dance with the Tahitian hula dancers. :)
Fun with the new camera- Bella & Winston
The last day he was here we went to Lanikai with our friends Molly and Sam (Sam is also on the boat and Molly and I have been hanging out a lot). They brought their two dogs Winston and Bella and I got to break in my new camera.
Lanikai beach=Perfection.
Lanikai is definitely my favorite beach on the island. Calm, clear, gorgeous. It's on the other side of the island though- a 45 minute drive from where we live. Ko Olina will remain my favorite beach on this side of the island.
Anyway, Nick and I had a great last few days together before he left. It gets me excited about planning a honeymoon for when he gets back.
And fortunately, since he left I’ve been keeping super busy.
And fortunately, since he left I’ve been keeping super busy.
From underwater :)
The week Nick left I ended up picking up extra hours at work. With working fulltime, and driving an hour or more each day to and from work, I really didn’t have time to do much but eat, walk the dog, water the lawn, and sleep. Not much time to think.
Also fortunately, the other Navy Wives have been awesome. They really are such great friends to have…and we’re all on the same boat (pun intended).
Also fortunately, the other Navy Wives have been awesome. They really are such great friends to have…and we’re all on the same boat (pun intended).
Nick brought his new skimboard to the beach
I got to talk to Nick a few times since he left. He doesn't have a calling card to talk on the phone but he bought a netbook before he left and when they pulled into port only a week after leaving, he was around WIFI so we were able to Skype- way better than the phone anyway. We Skyped about 3 or 4 times before he left that port today...well, technically tomorrow/Monday (they are a day ahead of us).
That was great. Nick even got Maggie to SIT via Skype. She looked confused when he said the command but she followed instructions.
That was great. Nick even got Maggie to SIT via Skype. She looked confused when he said the command but she followed instructions.
Now that he has left that port, it will be a few weeks at least before I get to talk to him again.
I have a bunch of little goals set for while Nick is gone. One of the major ones (which I haven’t started yet) is that I really want to start writing a book. I also really want to learn to play guitar but I don’t currently have a guitar. And there are way too many other things I want for the house before a guitar comes into play.
The most important (and most accomplishable) goals involve the house.
We got grass seeds planted before Nick left since the 6 inch “plugs” of grass are taking so long to spread. We hoped this would help move things along a little. They’re all starting to shoot up, and it’s just so darn cute!
When I was little I loved to plant and grow things..it happened accidentally when I made an acorn-sawdust pie and it started growing. I thought it was the coolest thing! So I loved to grow catnip, Chia pets, aloe vera, and whatever else my mom would let me. When we moved to Charleston I was super excited to get a fern. I don’t know why. I just was. And I brought with me some peppermint plants from my grandma’s house.
Both died pretty quickly. It didn’t help that we were in apartments and they were out on the patio we never went out on. And I don’t think the severe humidity in the summer there helped either. The whole fern-killing experience kind of discouraged me.
I have a bunch of little goals set for while Nick is gone. One of the major ones (which I haven’t started yet) is that I really want to start writing a book. I also really want to learn to play guitar but I don’t currently have a guitar. And there are way too many other things I want for the house before a guitar comes into play.
The most important (and most accomplishable) goals involve the house.
We got grass seeds planted before Nick left since the 6 inch “plugs” of grass are taking so long to spread. We hoped this would help move things along a little. They’re all starting to shoot up, and it’s just so darn cute!
When I was little I loved to plant and grow things..it happened accidentally when I made an acorn-sawdust pie and it started growing. I thought it was the coolest thing! So I loved to grow catnip, Chia pets, aloe vera, and whatever else my mom would let me. When we moved to Charleston I was super excited to get a fern. I don’t know why. I just was. And I brought with me some peppermint plants from my grandma’s house.
Both died pretty quickly. It didn’t help that we were in apartments and they were out on the patio we never went out on. And I don’t think the severe humidity in the summer there helped either. The whole fern-killing experience kind of discouraged me.
Bob & Gizmo
But now that I’m seeing little baby grass shoots everywhere it got me excited again!
I bought a fern a few weeks ago- which is still alive!- and named it Bob. He sits perfectly on top of our little Tiki man named Gizmo (doesn’t he look like a Gremlin?) They make a perfectly matched couple.
My garden!
Yesterday I bought herbs and veggies to plant in the garden area we have sectioned off. I also bought hibiscus plants (bushes?) to put in a really sunny corner of the yard where the grass is dying from too much sun.
Today I dug right in. Literally. I also made 3 trips to Home Depot this week and got cute patio furniture.
Today I dug right in. Literally. I also made 3 trips to Home Depot this week and got cute patio furniture.
Patio furniture! Well, some of it.
After the yard is a bit more together, I’m going to work on the house. We got blinds last week (on the day of my birthday actually) and the house already looks…well, like a real house.
The hibiscus bloomed today. :)
I have some great ideas for splashing the place with some color and some decorating designs I can’t wait to work on. It’s kind of crazy that Nick will be coming home to a completely different looking place- but that’s why I’m excited. This week I’m going to go to Ross and utilize more giftcards by picking out some wall hangings and random decorations. So excited!
It’s still a bummer in some ways to live here though…I know what you’re thinking. “Don’t complain about living in Hawaii!” But when you’re living here- not vacationing here- it really is different.
I mean the cost of living is a given. It’s insane. The isolation is a big downside to the island. It was cool living in Charleston because if I needed to get back home, it was a10 hour drive and Maggie could come with me. Or the plane tickets, in case of emergency, weren’t insane.
Not here.
Having the dog (not that I’m complaining because she’s my best friend and my bed mate right now) limits a lot of things with the island because I can’t take her with me off the island. And plane tickets? Whew. So expensive to get back to the mainland.
It’s still a bummer in some ways to live here though…I know what you’re thinking. “Don’t complain about living in Hawaii!” But when you’re living here- not vacationing here- it really is different.
I mean the cost of living is a given. It’s insane. The isolation is a big downside to the island. It was cool living in Charleston because if I needed to get back home, it was a10 hour drive and Maggie could come with me. Or the plane tickets, in case of emergency, weren’t insane.
Not here.
Having the dog (not that I’m complaining because she’s my best friend and my bed mate right now) limits a lot of things with the island because I can’t take her with me off the island. And plane tickets? Whew. So expensive to get back to the mainland.
View from Tiki's in Waikiki on Cinco de Mayo
But I think the biggest thing with it isn’t that it’s Hawaii- it’s that it’s living in Hawaii while being in the military. As long as we’re in the military, everything is temporary. I was looking at different things I could plant in that sunny corner of the yard and the garden store had lemon trees, lime trees, and navel orange trees….but with our time here I wouldn’t get to appreciate having something like that.
And it’s saddening to think of fixing this place up and putting money into it- knowing that someone else will be living here in 3 years or so.
And it’s saddening to think of fixing this place up and putting money into it- knowing that someone else will be living here in 3 years or so.
Yummy pina colada
I definitely appreciate my time here. But I look forward to having a forever house one day, hopefully. A house that I can continue to buy things for it knowing they will be able to stay put. Or picking out patio furniture based on “Do I like it? Is it pretty?” and not “Will it break during our next move?”
Taken right before Nick left
But home is home. Despite what Luther Vandross says in his song- a house is not a home when there’s no one there to hold you tight.
My house is still a home. It’s up and coming but it’s still a home. Maggie and I will wait patiently- well, maybe not always patiently but mostly, hopefully- for the day Nick will come HOME.
My house is still a home. It’s up and coming but it’s still a home. Maggie and I will wait patiently- well, maybe not always patiently but mostly, hopefully- for the day Nick will come HOME.
Blonde at the beach :)
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