Adjust the sails

If I could choose one word to explain the past month and a half, it would be adjustment.

Adjust verb  To become or make prepared.

Acclimitize I moved back to San Diego, into a new apartment, in a new area.

Adapt After six long months, my husband finally came home. Other milspouses know how much of an adjustment homecoming can be. When my husband leaves, I resort back to the independent woman I was before he came into my life. When my husband is gone, he copes by leaving his emotions at the door. It takes some time for us to get back into our routine of being a couple.

Reconcile Deployments are hard on a marriage. Making an addition to the family also puts new stress on a marriage. Without going into detail, I can say that my husband and I haven't stopped working on our relationship since he returned, and we were in desperate need of some work. All of that work is really paying off, our marriage feels stronger now than it ever has.

Accomodate For some reason, I thought pregnancy would be easy, but I was so wrong. I have a hard time slowing down and asking for help, so this has been a learning process for both me and my husband.

The adjusting is going to stop now- our little one will be here in just over a month, and that is going to be a whole new world full of twists and turns!

friday's letters

He was sleeping so awkwardly on my body pillow, I had to take a picture

Dear Baby Boy, You are really growing now! I'm sorry you feel squished, but you can't push my ribs out any farther! I'm starting to think your half vampire and going to just break them in half any day now.
Dear Accounting 201, please be nice to me. I haven't faced accounting in two and a half years, but will start this class on Monday. We didn't have a good relationship the first time, so I don't know how its going to work when we take it to the next level.
Dear Jack,  I guess you decided that you needed one more spot because one morning you woke up with a new one on your back. Or maybe your trying to tell me that you just pretend that you don't like baths because it appeared two days after your last bath.
Dear husband, is this deployment almost over?

Deployments are a drag

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So often have I found myself looking at my deployment countdown and saying, "X days left, I wish time would go by faster" or "I wish it was (insert date that seems forever away here) already!" Thinking like that will drive a girl crazy. I definately have days where I am unsuccessful, but I try to remind myself of this quote at those times (and this week I have been having a lot of those times, I don't know if its the pregnancy hormones or what!) . I love my husband, and I love our time together.. which we will have again one day!

Friday's Letters

Frocking ceremony in November

Dear Friday, I can finally be one of those people who say, "Dear Friday, thank goodness you're here!" because I'm back at work and this Friday means no work for 4 days!

Dear Jack, I'm sorry that you have to be home alone while mommy's at work once again. I wish I could take you with me, but I don't think the customers would appreciate your constant yapping, let alone your hair that finds it way into everything.
Dear Baby Caden, you are starting to put so much pressure on mommy's ribs, and you still have so much more to grow!
Dear neighbors, why oh why must you stomp your feet to walk up the stairs? This annoys the crapppp out of me.
Dear hubby, this week was your 21st birthday, and you got to celebrate it by making a 5 minute phone call to me in between working your ass off and getting very little sleep. I'm so very proud of everything you have accomplished in the past year, including making 3rd class, receiving a NAM (actually, I think two.. thats how difficult your awards are to keep track of), and sailor of the year. Oh, and doing your part in making a baby! : )

Baby Shower

Last weekend I had my baby shower.  While my mom and sister were the hosts, I did most of the party planning and decorating because thats just how I roll : ) I decided on a cowboy shower, since Baby Caden's nursery is going to Woody from Toy Story themed (Hubby loves Toy Story haha).

Heres some of the pictures of the tablescape I did:

Dessert and Snack table



'place cards' I set in front of the different areas

'Caden's Candy Favors'

Fondant 'Sheriff Woody' cake

I had a lot of fun getting ready for this party! Last year I was seriously considering being a party planner before I decided to go back to school for business, so this really brought back those feelings. I also had a lot of fun decorating the cake, and I think it is my best one so far!

Friday's Letters

Dear Walmart, thank you for providing a $3 woody-esque onsie after I spent $20 on the real thing at the disney store. Dear California Weather, thank you for being so pleasant! You are a warm welcome after being in a 115 degree oven for the past few months. Dear Obnoxious Neighbors, thank you for letting your kids (or hopefully your friend's or family's kids) run up and down the outside hallway yesterday. Let's just say your lucky that my baby is still in my belly and not affected by those things yet. Dear Man Sitting Outside Last Night, thank you for making me laugh by telling your dog about a cocker spaniel who chased a cat. I thought for sure you were on a blue tooth, and then I realized the story was definately meant for your dog. Dear Husband, thank you for missing me as much as I miss you.

San Diego!

I am now living in my new apartment! Sunday night (after watching Big Brother) we made the drive to San Diego.. I drove my car, and my sister followed in her car with my mom and nephew. Let me just say, road trips are not fun when your pregnant! We stopped 4 or 5 times so I could pee, when normally I maybe make one stop. Baby Caden does not like the seat belt AT ALL, so I kept having braxton hicks contractions that made me really really really have to pee! That may be TMI, but pregnancy throws TMI out the window, so welcome to prego world. Anywayy, I have lots and lots of boxes to unpack (mostly kitchen stuff) and lots and lots of time to do it before the hubby comes home. I'm not posting any pictures because the place is a mess, but once everything is decorated I will. In our last apartment, we never took the time to decorate, so we are very excited to make this one a home!

Friday's Letters

shirt: Robins Nest Maternity pants: Fashion Q (I can't read the brand but they have an elastic waist like maternity jeans!) shoes: Dollhouse

Dear Baby Caden, You have been so active lately! I don't think I will ever get used to feeling your kicks, punches, and twists! Dear father-of-my-child, I wish wish wish wish you could feel these movements so bad, but we are lucky that you were here when he first started getting strong enough to let us feel him. I remember when you started to get upset that you wouldn't ever feel him kick before you left, and Caden kicked your arm so hard we both jumped! I wish someone would have got our reactions on camera. Dear body, on Sunday night we are going to make the 6 hour drive back to San Diego and move into our new apartment. Please don't get too mad at me. Dear Jack, please do not pee in our new apartment!!! You don't need to mark your territory, no one will try to take it from you! Dear husband, these underways are really taking their toll on our relationship, but at least we recognize it an are willing to work on us. I miss you.

Chin Up Butter Cup

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I have been needing this reminder lately, and I bet someone out there needs the same reminder, so I thought I would pass it on!

Friday's Letters

Dear Arizona heat, you are brutal, especially on a pregnant woman. Dear downstairs neighbors, you don't deserve your puppy. Seriously, who leaves their 2 pound dog outside in a bare kennel in the Arizona heat? I am so tempted to steal him.. He is tiny enough to fit in Jack's padded kennel with him! Dear Jack, I know you already have to deal with the idea of sharing mommy and daddy with a new baby, but would you mind also sharing with a new puppy? I know, I know, your answer is "Are you crazy?!" Dear husband, I'm so jealous that you are in Hawaii again, but I'm glad that you are being so adventurous. And plus, its greattt to get to talk and text every day instead of occasional emails!

My hubby's view from the ship last night

Announcement

Hi there blogger world. I have a perfectly good explanation about why I have been MIA, and the first of which is a big, exciting announcement..

I'm expecting!!

I'm more than expecting, I'm 22 weeks prego with a lively baby boy. So, why did I take so long to share the amazing news? Well, I planned from the beginning to wait until after the first trimester to tell the world, because of the high miscarriage rates until that point. At my first appointment, I was at a higher rate for miscarriage because of a hemmorhage on my uterus and didn't get the okay that it had cleared until after the first trimester mark, and by that time my husband was coming home in a few weeks so I decided to hold it in a little longer so we could share the news together. Hubby came home over a month ago, we told our friends (I couldn't hide it from family), and posted our announcement on facebook. Since my hubby was home for less than a month weeks in between underways, I forgot about the rest of the world and focused only on us. Our crazy schedule didn't help either, let me demonstrate:

I drove to San Diego on a Friday morning, the day after the ship pulled in because Chris had duty. We stayed in a crappy hotel until Tuesday, went to a doctors appointment (where Chris got to see the baby!) and drove back to Phoenix. Hubby took 10 days of leave, drove back to San Diego on a monday afternoon, went to work on tuesday, and drove back to Phoenix that night. He took 4 days of special leave (for being sailor of the year!) and flew back to San Diego Saturday night to make it in time for duty the next morning. I stayed in Phoenix while Chris stayed on the ship for the next week for work, and then flew back to Phoenix friday night. THEN we left for San Diego at 2 am to make it in time for my ultrasound at 9 am. Yes, I have that sweet of a husband that he insisted on flying down and doing the driving for me since I get so uncomfortable doing the drive myself. We spent 4 days together before yet another underway, and I made the last trip back to Phoenix.

Whew, if you got through that, thanks for sticking around!

I can't explain what a blessing this baby is, and I can't wait to share our journey!

Pinterest Love

How Many of you are addicted to Pinterest? C'mon, I know you all are. Pinterest is awesome. It's like a mix between facebook, photobucket, and instragram, on steriods.



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When I first started using Pinterest, it was for wedding planning, and I found some amazing ideas. Plus, I could save all the ideas in one place, and instead of saving the pictures to a folder on my desktop, I can pin them to one folder so that I still have the source with the picture.



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Wedding is my most used board, but I also have future family, for the home, daily inspiration, my style, and more.



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If your interested in following me, don't be afraid to stop by! I'd love to see what your pinning as well!

Friday's Letters

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Dear Hubby of Mine, I wish I could be with you to take care of you when your sick and have a hurt shoulder. I know you wish you could be here to take care of me also. Dear Jack-Jack, we are going through another one of your anti-obey-mommy-spells and I hope it passes soon. Otherwise, grandma is going to make you stay locked up during the day. Dear Global Management Class, I wish you didn't have so much homework. I want to get back to my newest Jodi Picoult book, but since you want me to read so much of your textbook, I haven't been able to pick it up in a week. Dear Phoenix, thank you for transitioning me back into your hot weather by throwing in a couple days of not-melting temps. Dear Hubby/Sailor, ___ days until you come home!



Friday's letters

Dear Jack, I know you miss your daddy.. Everytime a car honks you run to the window like he is going to walk up the stairs, and you have done this for over a month now. I hope your play date with your girlfriend, Pookie, cheered you up a little. Dear husband, I miss you also. I hate that between your schedule getting busier and comms going down, I don't get emails from you as often. Dear self, don't worry yourself with things you cannot control. Your faith in God has gotten you this far, so keep it up. Dear ex-apartments, get ready to fight me over my security deposit, because I am going to win.

Wednesday wishes (45)

One. Pretty nails. I wish I had the patience and talent to paint my nails like this.

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Two. Iphone case. I love the vintage pattern of this one.

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Three. Donuts. Home-made, still warm, cinnamon surgar donuts. My mouth is watering

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This is my first wednesday wishes in a while, so glad to be back in the swing of things! Visit Brooke to share your own!

Its me, Ashley

Hi everyone!


It has been months since I have posted.. What can I say? I wasn't enjoying blogging, life got busy, and I put my blog aside.
So why I am  back? You can probably guess it.. I missed you guys! My husband left on deployment about a month ago, and it has been getting me down. I thought blogging might be a little bit of a mood lifter, so here I am!


In case your interested, heres a recap of what has been going on in my life:
I celebrated my 21st birthday!
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
I quit my job.
My husband left on deployment.. on valentines day.
I packed up all my belongings and moved back home.
and more : )


Life is never a dull moment in our household, and we are constantly getting used to new changes. Mind you, I don't handle change well. I am a planner to the T, so I constantly have to readjust myself to new situations. In the past few months, I have tried my best to be aware of all possibilities and be prepared for any situation, but as you can see, major changes are not uncommon for my husband and I! I'm excited to get back into the swing of things, and catch up with everyone else as well!

Little letters (2)

Dear husband, you have been home one day, and you already made the house a mess. Dear man who caused the black out in all of San Diego, you made thousands of people mad yesterday, including me. However, you did make me realize how spoiled I am, and for that, I'm thankful. Dear downstairs neighbors, I don't want to listen to your rapping all night again. Dear hubby, I love having you home, and I am so excited for our roadtrip!

I'm alive

I'm sorry. I'm a terrible blogger, but at least I admit it.

What can I say? Life got in the way.. (and I also became a poet in the mean time)

I have quite a few post idea's, including a green series, but I think it's only right to tell you about all the goodness thats been going on in my life the past month or so:

1. A couple months ago, I mentioned that I landed a job at a sub shop even though I had been putting off applying for so very long. Well, all my sandwich-making expertise finally paid off because I am now a supervisor!
2. Before I moved out here with my hubby, I was going to UofA for business. My first year didn't go so hot, so I decided to take a year off and find out what I really want to do before I waste any more money, thinking I would switch to culinary school. Well after a year of back and forth, I am finally totally confident in my decision! I am starting school at the end of this month to be a financial counselor, and thanks to National University, I will be receiving my bachelor's degree at the same time as I originally planned!
3. I also mentioned on my blog a few times about desperately needing a new car.. So when all the stars aligned- me finding a job, a big enough down payment saved up, the perfect car, surprisingly low financing.. We purchased this beauty for my hubby, which he occasionally shares with me : )

What has been going on in your life lately?

Recession blues

I'm going to say something that everyone is feeling... This economy sucks.

Our country is trying to crawl its way out of a recession, but we are just getting deeper.

The stock market fell hard, unemployment rates are still high, the housing market is still low.

I work in the food industry, and since the day the stock market fell almost 500 points, we have been slow. As in, a couple hundred dollars a day slow. Some people lost money when the market fell, but even more people are just plain scared, so they are holding on to their money a little bit tighter.

You know what I'm doing? I'm living my life without paying attention to how bad the recession is. I put a little extra money into savings, and then I make my normal every day purchases. Because I believe that the more people get scared, the less they are going to spend their money, and the worse they are going to make our economy without even realizing.

Don't think for a second that I am not affected by this recession. I am completely grateful that I have a duel-income household to pay my bills. I don't spend like crazy; in fact, I stick to a tight budget, work hard to pay off debts early, and help support my unemployed mother. My husband and I have been planning to buy a car for over a year now, and we finally have enough money saved up for a down payment. Just because the economy has taken a downturn doesn't mean that I am going to be too scared to make a big purchase.

I understand that everyone's situation is different.. All I ask is that you look at yourself, your income, and decide what you can do to help this economy, because we are all in it together.

Construction

If you have looked at my blog lately, you would see that my layout has changed.
I've been messing around with it.. I liked the old look, but I want something a little more simplistic.
So just be warned, I will probably continue to change things around until I get it just right!