Day 2- My parents

I have an interesting family, to say the least. I won't go into specifics- no matter what, they are my family, and I would never air our dirty laundry like that.
I used to think my mom was a superhero growing up. She did what all the other parents did, but there was only one of her and two of them. I think she loved me twice as much to make up for there only being one of her. However, we have gone through some pretty hard times. She gave me an awesome childhood, but I became an adult quickly. I was forced to learn a lot of life lessons all at once, and even though it wasn't easy, it made me a better person. Despite her faults, I can still say that she was a great mom and is now one of my best friends. I love her. 
My dad has been in and out of my life ever since I could remember. Right now, we are at the stage where we haven't talked in months, actually a year, if you don't include the merry christmas and happy birthday texts. I've tried so many times to tell myself that he hasn't affected my life, that I don't care. But after many many emotional moments, I have realized that it has impacted me significantly, in more ways than I could explain here. I don't think my dad is a bad person; I've met so many people who have nothing but good things to say about him. He works hard, and has overcome many things in his life. Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone knows how to deal with them. He made a few very big ones- and our relationship was one that couldn't be fixed.
My dad was never around, but my grandpa sure was. I was always closer to my grandmother, but when she passed away, my grandpa and I built an inseparable bond. He moved into our guest house, and I used to carry dinner back to him no matter the weather, and watch baseball games with him at night. My grandpa was the most stubborn man I ever met, but I was able to get to his soft side. In February, my grandpa underwent heart surgery. He made it through ok, but spent the next month in and out of the hospital because his body was too weak to recover. There were many times when I rushed home from school two hours away to be with him. When it was his time to go, my grandpa held on just long enough for all of my family to make it in time to say goodbye.
I never got to tell my grandpa that I got married. It was a few weeks after his surgery, and my family and I decided that it would be too much for him to handle. He knew that I was going to do it sooner or later, but he used to lecture me about being too young. I always planned for him to walk me down the aisle, so it broke my heart even more that I couldn't tell him. I am so thankful that I had him as a father figure growing up.
I know, this was a depressing entry. But thats my life. You have to go through a lot of sad times to get to the happy ones. Right?

Starting to feel like home

It's been a while since I have posted, so let me update you: I'm loving life.
Chris took a 10 day leave, and we enjoyed every minute of it. We shopped for our apartment, explored San Diego, went to the beach, and just enjoyed each other's company. Now, he is back to 12-15 hour work days, with a confusing work schedule that I just now figured out. However; his ship is getting ready for a big inspection so he won't be having any days off for quite a while.

We are putting our apartment together piece by piece. For the first few weeks, we ate on a box on the floor and used our bed comforter as a couch. Everyone has to start somewhere, and I know that we will have a good laugh about it in a few years. Plus, it encouraged our families to tell us their funny stories about their first place. Now, we have upgraded to bar stools at the kitchen bar, and the day before yesterday we got a couch.
I love taking care of the house and cooking dinner. I'm still learning how to cook, but Chris eats everything I put in front of him. Sometimes I don't know if its because he's not a picky eater or because he doesn't want to hurt my feelings haha. We finally found an internet company that will service our apartment (we need fiber optics) so that I can start my wedding planning certification course online! I'm also going to start looking for a part time job so that I can help save for our wedding.
Without the navy, we wouldn't be living in our beautiful apartment in beautiful san diego, so that's one thing I am grateful for : )