Sailing on....

The moving truck is on it's way. My husband is just about done with checking out and we have a goodbye dinner planned for Thursday night. The end is here! Yet I find myself feeling wistful and a little sad, not because I'll miss the military or North Carolina (the heat? no thanks!). I think back of the beginning days of this journey when I didn't know a dang person in the whole state and how lonely it seemed. Now that I'm leaving all the amazing friends I've made here I feel the loneliness creeping in again. I know it's the name of the game with the military, you move away or your friends move away, but it doesn't make it any easier. So I'll get all reminiscent and post some old memory laden pictures.

I've never had a group of friends so fantastic. It's different when everyone's husbands are in the military because you already have that immediate bond of sisterhood. We are have the same things to get through and we can relate to each other like no one else. We've helped each other through deployments, field ops, family troubles, lonely holidays, and we've even experienced the joy of a friend having a baby. It's been a long, hard road these last two years but I wouldn't change it for the world. Without the hardships and heartache I would never have experienced the help and love of true friends. I will miss each and every one of you and I am forever thankful we entered each others lives. Know that there is always a hot meal and a soft bed waiting for you in Maine whenever you want them. We're only a phone call away. I love you guys.

Until next time,
xoxo Stacie

Farm Days (warning...PHOTOBOMB!)

We have just returned from a week home at my parents' in Maine so my husband could take his tests for the State Troopers (and so we could find somewhere to stash our furniture for awhile). In between random family visits and knitting group (!!!) I took a few hours one morning to walk around my parents' house and take some pictures.

There were amazing views (this is my parents' backyard, by the way)

Yummy jellybean tomatoes

Beautiful Zinnias

Inquisitive bunnies

Piggies getting ready for market

Gorgeous Sunflowers (complete with bumble bee!)

And crazy alpacas. Get out of the barn, Noble!

All in all we had a fantastic trip. I missed curvy mountain roads, cool weather, barefoot walks in the grass with old friends, my fantastic family, and just being around love, home, and family. We got everything done we set out to do and my husband is well on his way to becoming a Maine State Trooper. Keep your fingers crossed for him! I hope you enjoyed the photos (I sure loved taking them!).

Until next time,
xoxo Stacie

For the love of running

In middle school and high school, I was a fatty. There's really no way to sugar coat it (pleasantly plump? I had a pretty face?). After my grandmother died during my junior year I made a promise to myself that I would lose weight and would not spend my life overweight and sick like she had been (she was a diabetic). So I started logging my food intake, counting calories, and exercising regularly. Between the summer of junior year and the end of senior year I had lost around 30 pounds. Since then it's been a real pain in the you-know-what to lose more and keep it off. I've been yo-yo-ing between the 130 and 125 range for what seems like forever.

When I first got married to Mr. Marine I moved far away from home and everyone I knew and I used food to comfort myself. Since his deployment to Afghanistan I've lost the weight I gained and then some. Once again I've hit the 125 plateau! I've started keeping a food diary again so I can be accountable for what I'm eating and have been trying to exercise more.

One day while sitting on the couch watching TV with Mr. Marine I looked at him and said, "We should go running". He just quit smoking and is gearing up to take a PT test for a job so it's definitely beneficial for him too. The last couple nights we've been running at the park near our apartment and it has been MAGICAL. Somewhere along the way in life I've learned not to give up when I get tired (which has always been the issue with me and running) and to PUSH THROUGH. I have never felt this powerful and good in my entire life. I think I'm addicted! Hey, it's better than crack!

What about you guys? Yay or nay on the whole running deal?

Until next time,
xoxo Stacie

An Update

Things are getting very hectic around here! Our 30 day vacate notice has been put in, the movers are scheduled, boxes filled with stuff have taken over my apartment, and my husband is checking out of everything. Needless to say this poor blog has fallen to the wayside.

We are both so glad to leave the Marine Corps behind us and start a new life back home. I am so thankful for the many wonderful people I've met while we're been stationed here. I don't know how I would've gotten through so many lonely nights without them. I've learned things about myself and about my marriage I never would have if we didn't have this experience. Most of all I'm ready to leave ALL THIS MILITARY CRAP BEHIND. I am so sick of worthless field ops, long days of Mr. Marine at work for nothing productive, mandatory family fun days, and 24 hour notice deployments.

The most important thing is that I'm ready for us to buy a house. I've been saving for a house before I was married and since getting married the fund has grown and grown. It'll feel so good to have sheep, goats and chickens running around in my own yard. People laugh at me but all I've wanted to be since I was little was a homesteader. Looks like dreams are coming true.

I love all of you and appreciate you reading and I'm sorry I've neglected this blog for so long. I promise it'll pick back up once things calm down a little.

Until next time,

xoxo Stacie