Happy Birthday Mom!! (1 day early!)

Well tomorrow is my wonderful moms birthday! Ill be out of town away from my computer and pictures, so I figured its better to post a day early, than a day late! For any of you who know my mom, you know how great she is. But for thoes of you who dont, I'll try to give you a little piece of my mom. with pictures :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

Oh gosh, I dont even know where to begin! Mind you all these pics are in no order, so bear with me!

First I want to say thanks for being so good looking! Its because of you I have my stunning good looks :) You always taught me to be grateful for the natural beauty I have. I'm so glad you always thought I was pretty enough, whenever I would say there was something I didn't like about myself, you would quickly tell me how beautiful I was.

Thank you for making such a great family life for me. I am also so proud to tell people about my parents, but especially about you. And for being such a great mother. You are always there for me no matter what I need. Even if you cant give me the advice I need, hugs work just as good!

Thanks for always being so funny, even if only our close nit family gets to see this part of you. We have so many inside jokes and I love everyone of them. Also thanks for allowing my to have the best graduation party ever! (Side note: in this picture, it looks as if shes being nice and kissing me, but she's telling me something very funny that she didn't want everyone to know lol)

Thank you for always taking me places to see new things. I am very lucky to have you to introduce me to other cultures and life outside of our box. I loved going on vacations with you and Rich even if it was just a drive to the ocean.

Thank you for always telling me I can do anything I want all by myself. That I didn't need a boy to function in life or to be happy. Thanks for helping me get ready for prom with Liz as my date and for encouraging us to have a great time without boys as dates.

Thank you for always pushing me to follow my dreams and be what I want to be. Thanks for letting me make choices for myself and not for what you think is best.

Thank you for loving Eric. You took him in with open arms and most days I think you both love each other more than me lol. You are both very similar in your personalities and I love how well you get along. I love all of us being together, Rich included, having so much fun. I cant wait for Eric to get home so we can be together again.

Also, thank you so much for being OK with the fact I married into the military. For taking me on base when it was time for him to go, and being there to love and hug me and tell me it was going to be OK after he left. I love you so much for your support to both of us all the time.

Thank you for taking pictures of me at my worst time. Maybe with this Ill remember not to drink so much then I wont have these embarrassing pictures for everyone to see. Thank you for allowing me to make life choices when it come to drinking and other things. I love that no matter what I do, you still love me just the same

Thank you for always being there for me at anything I had going on. Weather it was soccer, cheer leading, volleyball or taking me to concerts. You were always my number one fan and now we both get to go support Eric together in everything he does.

Thank you for sitting with me in the rain 3 hours before Eric deployment ceremony started.

Thank you for allow Eric to blend in with our family and for showing him the side that only Rich and I usually see. He loves you so much I think its great. Thank you for loving him with your whole heart and being his support when other people aren't.

Thank you for being so artistic and creative! And always carving the best pumpkins every single year without fail. You make me so proud when I see the work you do when it comes to painting, drawing or whatever. I think your so talented and you should do it more often.

I love that I never had to go with out anything I needed. No matter how much you may have struggled as a single mother when I was younger, I never knew any different. I always had anything and everything that I needed. And thank you for always having the best birthday parties for me a girl could ask for!

Thank you for creating such great traditions with me growing up. I always look forward to Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Halloween, whatever. I love going to cut down a tree as a family, or going to the pumpkin patch. I still run around like a little kid and that's because of you!

One of the biggest things I have to say thank you for is the relationship that you and Rich have. Its a great example for Eric and I as we begin our life together. You and Rich love each other so much its insane and you always have fun together. I hope that Eric and I can continue to follow in your footsteps to loving each other as much as you and Rich do.

I could go on forever about how great you are. I love you more than anything and I couldn't have asked for a better mom. We are so much alike, its scary sometimes but I wouldn't have it any other way. I hope you have the most wonderful birthday ever, even though I'm not there to share it with you! I love you mom :)

The joys of having a deployed husband!

I'm a little heated at this moment so bare with me and remember I really really do love my husband. This is what sucks big time about him being gone besides the fact that hes not here. Some days we just have extremely shitty conversations and I just want to scream. And today was one. I haven't talked to him much because of how busy they have been over there which is fine since its a situation I cant control. But when I finally do talk to him I want to tell him everything that's going on and what I have been doing while hes gone. Now most days he really enjoys what I have to say (or at least hes really good at pretending!) but not today! The main purpose of this blog is to keep track of all the things Ive been doing and feeling while hes away. So I ask him if he read it lately and he said yes. I was happy, until he started lecturing me on what I chose to blog about! And it just made my fly of the handle or whatever that saying is! Its like please for the love of you know who, do not tell me what I can and cant write about. This is what keeps me sane while hes away and I was hoping he would see that. Maybe I was wrong, I don't know. With that being said, our allotted 30 minute Skype conversation was spent arguing. And that just annoys me even more.

Now I know your probably thinking, why couldn't you just let it go. And I agree...because almost 90% of the time I do bite my tongue if E says something that rubs me the wrong way or hes in a sour mood. I try to always be supportive and make sure we have a good talk that way he knows I'm still here being strong for him. Not to mention, hes in a more stressful situation than I will ever understand so I do what I can to make sure I don't add any other stress. But after a while, it kind of piles up and I explode, which is what happened today. I feel lost and alone. And I was truly hurt by the fact that he didn't read my blog and said he did. I don't think he sees how much I look forward to writing to keep him in the loop. My blog is turning into my husband and its the one I tell everything to when I cant tell Eric.

I just love him so much and I want to tell him anything and everything that goes on in my daily life. I don't want him to feel as if hes missing out since hes gone. I have a hard time doing fun things without him because it makes me feel guilty and I'm working on that. Its also hard because he never tells me how hes feeling or whats been going on. Eric keeps to himself and doesn't want to burden anyone with his problems. He likes to show me how strong he which in his mind means showing no emotion. If he was here I could read him like a book but hes not so its that much harder to try and see how hes really doing.

I know that when Soldiers are fighting in a war, they don't have time to grieve or feel anything when something happens because they have a job to do. So they have to keep on going regardless of what may have happened 10 minutes earlier. That breaks my heart. Here I am blogging about how annoyed I am by my husband but yet they all have it so much worse. Some of these men and women haven't even been able to call their families yet so really I should be thankful I get to talk to Eric at all.

I guess sometimes we will just have our days. Life isn't perfect obviously and we will still have days where we might argue more than usual and I think its normal. Sometimes I wish there was a manual telling me what is going to happen or how I'm going to feel or what our conversations are going to be like but there's not so I just have to go with what life gives me. It continues to blow me away how hard families of the deployed have it. Thanks for listening or reading to me being selfish and needing to let out a little anger. It helps put everything in perspective when I'm acting childish and it reminds me of how lucky I am and that it could be a million times worse.

And to Eric:

I'm sorry for arguing with you. I love you so much more than you will ever know and I'm glad to be called your wife. I try to be strong for you every single day, but sometimes I'm weak and I cant do it. I miss you so much. Everything about you. They way you look when you come inside from mowing the lawn. That half smile you do every Thursday when a new manga comes out. They way you look deep into my eyes every morning on the weekend when you wake me up. I cant wait to be together again. I think about you all the time and I'm so proud. I want to include you in everything I do and that's why I post on here. It makes it seem as if you were actually here instead of a million miles away. I'm sometimes scared of loosing you and loosing us in this whole deployment and that's why I act dumb. I'm sorry for acting childish and getting angry over something so little. Please forgive me and know how much you truly mean to me. Stay safe and continue to be the strong person I know you are and remember I'm here waiting for you :) Love you always and forever

The Grad!!

Before I got to California my BFF Amanda would tell me about The Grad. What is The Grad you may ask?! Its a bar/club/restaurant whatever...but every night of the week they have some sort of dancing. Well on Monday, Wednesday and one weekend night, its country line dancing. When she first told me she went, I laughed to my self with my mental image of that. I told her that I would go when I came down to visit. I was really nervous at first but I now look forward to Mondays! I am not even close to being good at a lot of the line dances, but I try my best! I have a blast and I'm so glad I still have 4 more Mondays to go :)

Kaitlyn, Me, Alyssa and her boyfriend Robert :) First time at the Grad!

Kaitlyn and I busting a move on the dance floor...I look pregnant but I'm not and don't judge me for my skills lol

Amanda and Me taking a break, they always have suckers there and they are delish! **SIDE NOTE: Everytime Amanda and I take a picture, we have to try 45876 times before we get the right one :)**

Me in the car, don't mind my lazy eyes.

Me taking a break from dancing for a picture.

So while I have a blast at The Grad, its also just a fun place to people watch. Most of the girls wear cowboy boots, skirts or shorts and cute shirts. No big deal..Well some of them tend to come dressed very provocatively. So as proof I snapped a few pictures of people who were dressed horrible last night. (Sorry if you are pictured below and ever happen to fall upon my blog!)

Article #1: Both girls don't have the best fashion sense in my opinion but the girl on the left if wearing very very tiny shorts...It looks like a bathing suit! I was shocked when I saw this outfit that's for sure.

Article#2: I'm not sure what the heck was going on with this boys pants...for a long time Amanda and I were staring at his butt wondering what the hell is going on. I also had to laugh at his dancing!

Article #3: We are focusing on the girl in the middle. No offense when your skirt is so small that you cant move without it riding up, its to small! And not everyone want to see your boobs in their faces when your dancing.

I probably shouldn't judge what people are wearing when they go out but in this case I couldn't help it! Some people just need to look at themselves before they leave the house! I have so many great memories at The Grad! I'm going to miss it :)

A HUGE RANT!!!

So today my younger sister Lexus and I went to the commissary on the base that's close to here. She stayed home from school because her new braces were giving her unbearable pain. I felt so bad! Anyway, I always love when we get to do things together as sisters :) I love the 10 year age gap because she truly looks up to me and we have so much fun together! In a way its like having my own child but I can give her back at the end of the day! She truly enjoys going grocery shopping with me and often times helps me pick out things for myself or even what to send to Eric. We always have a blast!

The point of this blog wasn't really to talk about Lex but oh well!! Love you lucy :) (She reads this all the time!!) It was to say how shocked I was while driving back home!! The people in California never cease to amaze me that is for darn sure! This is what I saw... Two boys, aged probably like 3 and 6 or 7, hauling ass down a very busy street. No shoes, no shirts, no helmets and NO PARENTS IN SIGHT!! I about pulled over my car and told them to go home. I also wanted to find the parents of those boys and give them a talking to. I know that doesn't only happen here in California, it happens everywhere. I can stand seeing children who have parents that don't care about their safety and well being! In my opinion its one thing to let your children ride a certain distance alone but while being safe. Anyway that's my rant and I was just so annoyed by it!

How To Make The Best Care Package(s) Ever!!!

This post is for all you military wives out there! You know who you are lol :) Its also for any one else who want to know how to make the best care package ever! And this is for my sanity because I am so bored I could die!! Enjoy!!

Step #1: Gather a box or more depending on how much your going to send!

Step #2: Gather all your supplies for packing! Tape, scissors, pens, paper, bubble wrap, whatever you get the idea.

Step #3: Buy everything your husband needs, wants, asks for or you think he would like! Also talk your parents and or relatives into buy things for the person who is gone one!

Step #4: Line everything up nicely on your living room floor so you can proceed to take unnecessary pictures of everything your going to send for blogging purposes.

Shout out to my mom and Rich for supplying a lot of the things here for Eric

Step #5: Then attempt to take a half way decent picture of yourself with everything you have :)

Step #6: Pick a box to start packing...

Step #7: Dont forget to think of all the children while shopping. Then decide to send them America's gift...CANDY!! Buy some much that you have to dedicate one whole box for sweets.

Eric said the Afghan children don't know how to say much in English but they do follow them around saying: "Soldier....CHOCOLATE" while pointing to their mouth.

Step #8: Continue to pack your boxes as you see fit. This one is complete with only hygiene products with the exception of the gum. I had no where else to put it, so into that box it went! Make sure to send lots and lots of soap so that way your husband can donate it to boys who have somewhat forgotten what it means to shower while deployed!

Step #9: Pack the next box with all of your favorite snacks as well as his. Make sure to send things that remind him of home!

Step #10: Write a note and or letter for every box you have. I tend to use markers so that way Eric remembers what colors look like. Stay away from green and brown since its what they see all the time!

Step #11: Kiss everything that's inside, tape them up, hug them a few times then cover the boxes if necessary! That way when they are opened, the love just floats through the air!

Step #12: Make a huge pile of trash and try to figure out what to do with it all!

The following day take it to the post office and spend $86.00 to send him all 4 boxes!

I had so much fun getting all of this stuff ready to send to Eric. I think it makes them have a little piece of home with them while they are so far away! A huge thanks to my mom and Rich again for buying Eric a lot of this stuff. Sending boxes is the least I can do to make Eric happy even if its just for a few moments! I hope you enjoyed my semi-silly post and please leave me a comment!!!

***Editors note: I do not usually send Eric this much stuff at one time! I send a small box a week, this week it just so happened I had so much to send out!!***

On the road to...

SPEAKING SPANISH!!

So thanks to my wonderful husband and the Army, I officially started Rosetta Stone today. It has been waiting for me to start learning for month, but I haven't had the time or motivation. As you may or may not know, Eric is fluent in Spanish. He lived in Mexico for a short time during his youth and was forced to learn. I am Mexican and have always wanted to become fluent but it never happened.

I have to laugh at my self because I sound so funny talking to the computer. I love the way this program teaches and I highly recommend it! Not sure how long it will take but I'm having a blast so far. I cant wait for Eric to call so I can show him what I have learned! Its mainly about colors, clothes, animals and other basic things. I'm so proud of myself! Wish me luck :)

Great America!!

Finally after lots of effort, I got all of my pictures in the right order! I need someone to tell me what the trick is to loading them, because I had to put the from the bottom to the top! So anyway, last Saturday, my dad was nice enough to take Lexus and I to the San Jose area for an over night trip. I must say I had a blast! It was nice to spend some time with just my dad and Lexus. We stayed at the embassy suites in Santa Clara I think! Saturday night we went to dinner at Bennigans then we went back to the hotel for time in the pool. Sunday we spent the day at Great America which was awesome!! I hadn't been there in almost 7 years, maybe longer. A huge thanks to Lexus for taking pictures. My dad has some too but I haven't gotten a copy of them yet.

We stayed in room 413, very nice hotel I must say! Amazing breakfast in the morning and the beds were comfy too :)

The view from our room, beautiful parking lot! lol

Lexus and I in the parking lot at Great of America! I have yet to figure out how to rotate pictures, but you get the idea!

Lexus was trying to make it appear as if I was holing the Star Tower in my hand but we couldn't get it right!

After waiting at the front gates for about 15 minutes, we finally got in and who did we see... SPONGE BOB! He and I have a thing going for each other, hopefully Eric wont mind lol!

My dad with my new boyfriend!

After hanging out with Sponge Bob, we headed over to ride Top Gun. It actually has a different name, but my whole life its been Top gun and it will always be that to me! We went on the ride 2 times and it was great!!

This picture is purely on here to show that I actually drooled all over myself while on Top Gun! Embarrassing I know, but I couldn't help myself.

Here's a picture of Lexus driving a little car. We couldn't have picked a better day to go, this ride had the longest wait time of all the rides!

This is Drop Zone! Its 22 stories tall and you fall at a rate of 62 miles per hour and it only takes 3 seconds! Talk about intense, it had a beautiful view from the time but when you finally fall you don't even have time to think!

This is my favorite picture of the day! We are waiting in line for the Sponge Bob 3D ride! Notice we are soaking wet. That was from the rafting ride that we went on before!

Lexus and I with the Fairly Odd Parents. They were much shorter in person than they look on TV.

There is a carousel that's 2 levels. We rode this at the end of the day!

Along with all these picture, we went on a lot of other rides but I have no pictures for those. I had so much fun spending time with my dad and Lexus. It hasn't changed a whole lot and it took me back to being a kid!