Rollin' with the big Devill Dogs

Its official, my husband is in recruiting school now. He is doing SO well; He's getting A's on all his test and presenting his speeches with ease. I cant tell you how proud I am of him! On Thursday he found out where is RS/RSS is (Recruiting station/recruiting substation).

We got.... drum roll please....

Vancouver, Washington!!! We are so excited! All Zack's aunts, uncles and cousins are in that area, so we will be very close to them. Zack wanted Fairbanks, Alaska because that's where is family just moved to; Don't tell anyone but I was hoping that we didn't get AK. I love Alaska but Fairbanks..... it is WAY too cold for me, it not only gets 0* but it gets to like -20* or below and I'm not equipped for all that nonsense!

We started looking up houses for rent but we cant call around or really do any in depth, incase next week he gets switched to another station. He was told that after next Friday they will know for sure!

In other news; My brother in-law Jack will be staying with us for a while. He will get here late evening on the 12th, and stay with us for our move to WA. From there, Jack will enlist to the Air Force and will continue to stay with us till he ships out! Zack's cousin Savannah will also be moving in with us, along with her Doberman pinscher named Lucian. We are very excited to have family living with us and expanding our in house family :D

We will be moving in the middle of September which is only a little more than a month away. I am super nervous because I know how stressful this is going to be, but I also know that Zack wont be deployed for another 3 years, so that makes it all worth it.

We are having movers that the Marine Corp provides for us (TMO) so they will pack up everything for us, deliver it to where ever we are moving to and they put it in a storage unit for us until we have a place to live. The only thing we would have to pack up is the items we will need for the drive up and a for a few weeks incase we cant find a house. We will pack it all in my tiny little Hyundai with 3 adults and 2 animals, not too hard... right?

No matter what, I am ready for this next adventure and I know that everything will go smoothly... it has too! Oh man I crack myself up!!!

Wish us luck

Love you all,

The few inbetween

It's getting closer and closer till Zack comes home. Oh boy am I ready. In the beginning I felt excited because that's money to pay off our credit card (which is only for emergencies or plane tickets) our TV,  mattress and my student loan (which we did... cue the happy dance) but there is a lot of anxiety, what if's and the unknowns (HATE the unknowns) that you feel before they leave. I know for Zack and I, the past 2 deployments we would kind of distance ourselves a month before he left, and we would get into fights about silly things. This deployment I had to pack up the house pretty much by myself. He work 12 on 12 off (12 hrs of working straight, sometimes 13hrs) which meant when I got off work of my part time job I had to go straight into packing up our 2 story house, which was a fight all its own. On the weekends him and his friend would fix up his truck so he could sell it, which seemed like a month of them taking it apart, cleaning everything and rhino lining the bed of the truck. I was getting very annoyed, sometimes I even caught myself saying "will you just deploy already?", then leave to go to the gym or work. That sounds horrible but the hole situation was very stressful and this was his 3rd deployment; I was over him leaving me for 10+ months at a time... I just wanted HIM! The last week was emotional on another level... kind of felt like a break up. I was packing my stuff, he was hauling it all away, and we were hardly talking. My heart ached. After he left I was at the house cleaning up everything... again I was stressed out because not everything got done the night before and I felt like he left me with EVERYTHING, I just broke down and started crying while cleaning. It wasn't fair I felt, I had to clean the hole house, I had to make the last minute storage unit runs, I had to sign back over the house, I had to take care of the animals now by myself, and I had to move to another state that I've never been too (I was moving to NJ with my dad). I felt alone and miserable and no one in the world could ever possibly know how I was feeling.

*Let me tell you, everything you feel is perfectly normal even if you feel alone, there are thousands of spouses and significant others who are going through the same thing as you.

After I got on the road I was doing ok, I got to see my family and I was ready for this new adventure! As the months progressed I got a job, made a friend or two and hung out with all my family up here in NJ. I was having a good time, hated my job, but having a good time. I got on a new schedule day to day, visited my sister in CT a few times, and met up with a few military friends who were in NYC, so, we got to hang out all day and have dinner. I went on a train for the first time, went on the subway, took a million pictures, met a few celebrities, went to a live showing of a tv show, and saw time square... life was good

Such a beautiful city

Kelly Ripa

Michael Straham

 1st subway ride 

 Grand Central Station

 Christmas tree

 Time square

 My friends I met up with

 Fathers girlfriend and I on the FAO piano floor

Family friend works as the manager so we got to try all sorts of goodies :D

 

*Sometimes I felt guilty that I was having fun and couldn't email Zack right off the bat but that's perfectly normal too. They want you to have a life while they aren't there, they love hearing stories from you... they are living through you!

 I felt a few times I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs... I tried to pay the bills and one time I needed to talk to the company and they refuse to talk to me because I'm not on all the accounts just yet, So I couldn't get anything done that I need to because its a hassle driving 20 minutes to the library or staples to fax over my POA in a busy town. His 2nd deployment I was trying to buy a car and I faxed over the wrong POA (I faxed the housing POA first) and I got red flagged, so even when I faxed over the correct POA they wouldn't help me. When calling navy federal, your POA only last 24 hours so I had to constantly send them the POA. Finally, after yelling and screaming and calling them a thousand times I gave up and just drove with my sister in law to Miami (3 hrs away was the nearest navy fed from my house in FL) walked in, showed them my ID and POA and then got the loan right then and there.... I wish I would have done that first. That was a ruff week and my husband wasn't able to call because he was on a boat with 3,000 people and 2 working phones.

Coming up to the last couple of months of deployment is ruff again. I miss him like crazy and we only have a few months standing in our way. Today was my last day of work. My mom and sister are coming up from FL to help me move back to NC. Im so excited... the quicker we move back the quicker he comes home. I am so irritable right now; Everything makes me mad or upset. I am such a happy person so this isn't in my character to act like this. I just want to sleep all day and never get out of my bed.

Sister and I in central park

 

On the way home to NC we stopped at Washing DC for a few days. It was A LOT of fun!!

 



 

 

 Easter egg hunt at the White House

 Science museum

 Hope Diamond

 My beautiful mom

Pretty church with all the Cherry blossoms

 



*It is crucial to keep your self busy; the busier you are the less time you have to think about your situation. that's the key... ALWAYS stay busy, time will go by fast and you'll spend less time thinking about him. Its ok to not think about him every two seconds, I promise!

*Don't ever feel guilty for any of these feelings. This is all the process of deployment. When he comes back, its normal to say things like MY stuff, MY house, MY kids etc. you spend the last X amount of months fending for yourself, making a new schedule/routine, and doing things by yourself. Just remember that it will pass and you'll have a new routine INCLUDING your significant other. Remember he will be stressed and not the same when he comes back, just as you wont be the same to him either. It will take some time but everything will be ok! Keep your chin up and there are numerous way to fix that and people who are willing to help you and talk to you after deployments. Talk to your FRO (family readiness officer) and they will help you with any feeling that your feeling or any thought that you have. They've heard everything, don't be afraid to express your thoughts and feelings, they will help! Also, if possible try and surround yourself by family and friends during this time, even though they might not know what you are feeling, they will listen and that's what you need to do, talk about it, be open with yourself!


I found this online and it breaks it down for you

If you have any question, comments, or a story please let me know :)

Love you all,

As a house wife....

  I am a cleanaholic... sometimes... mostly when I know people are over. I don't like anything out of place. I kind of go a little bit insane when I don't know someone is coming over. Sometimes my husband comes home from work and says "by the way [name] is coming over for a minute, but don't go all crazy, they aren't coming inside" by the time he says "by the way..." I'm rushing around the house like a maniac picking up pillows, folding blankets, quickly Swiffer vacuum the living room (we have a husky and she sheds like nobody's business). Even though he says they aren't coming in, I don't want to take the chance. Even when I'm by myself and I actually notice that the house is getting dirty, I kind of lose my mind. I think everything needs to have a place, and not scattered around. I hated when I worked because the house gets slowly dirty and I'm so tired that I don't clean. The dishes pile up, the mail and random papers pile up all over the kitchen and coffee table, it sucks, I feel dirty. Luckily I found a daily checklist off of Pinterest. It helps me a lot because when I don't know people are coming over, I already have a lot done through out the week, so all I have to do is pick up a bit.

I don't have a kids room so I edited it to say mudroom and added the things I need to do on mine but other then that it really comes in handy. Its ridiculously simple if you keep up with it. I've noticed the pet hair doesn't pile up, the laundry is easier to do, and the dishes take only a few minutes because I do them every night now. I also found that if you are lazy (most days I am) you can do them in between your shows; instead of fast forwarding through the commercials let them play and do one chore at a time... by the time the show is done, I'm pretty much done. There is no excuse... anyone can find time to do at least one thing in between anything that your doing.

Tricks of the trade:

Mirrors: spray pledge on a rag and wipe down the mirrors, it actually clean better then Windex
Windows: use a vinegar and news paper... the newspaper leaves no streaks or fuzz behind.
Hard water stains on faucets: cut a lemon in half and rub it on the faucets, the citric acid cleans it
Dishwasher: take vinegar and put it in a microwave safe container on the top rack, sprinkle baking soda on the bottom of the dishwasher and run on the hottest setting
Microwave: fill up a microwave safe bowl (I use my measuring glass) with water, turn on high for a few minutes and the steam will loosen the grim
Baseboards: take a bounce sheet and clean the base boards, it cleans them amazingly and it repels lint and dust from coming back longer
Drain: sprinkle baking soda down the drain and add white vinegar and it will naturally clean the drain and reduce smell. Also, you could throw lemon/lime wedges down the garbage disposal and turn it on and it will reduce the smell.
Cut down on dishes: after you eat rinse off you plate... easy
Heat rings on wooden table: they say coat the ring in mayo and leave for about 12-15 hrs... I haven't tried this one yet but I will shortly and get back to you :)

Love you all,

The beginning

1st of all,  my life is pretty boring, I had a really good blog befor but I forgot to write for a while and I guess blogspot deleted it.. I was sooo mad bc it had all my poems on there... but its my fault I guess, Thats what I get for not comiting to the blog.

2nd of all.. the begining.... So where to begin where to begin. Lets start off with my name. Cheyenne. I am 21 years old and I am a newly wed. I married a LCpl in the Marine Corps.  He is my everything I wouldnt be where I am today if it wasnt for him... literally, I live in AK because of him. Im living with his parents untill he comes home from Afghanistan. Hes on his 1st deployment over there and it sucks

I feel bad for every spouse/fiance/boyfriend/girlfriend/child who has to go through this. This is the hardest thing I think i have ever endored. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, Our 1st thanksgiving as a married couple and I have to spend it without my mom and dad. Im here in AK spending it with my husbands family. Not that im complaining I love my in-laws, they are the funnest people ever and super super nice. I just really miss my fam and my husband. I have never been away from my family this long and I have only been gone for 3 months. Its really hard. I remember growing up I always got mad at my ex-boyfriends if they ever said that after high school they were going to enlist. I got mad because if we were still together I would want them to be close by me forever, I mean thats the point of being married is to be with that person forever, why would I want them to go away into the war? I didnt and I wasnt going to change my mind for anything, untill I met Zach, my husband. Man, everything changed as soon as I layed my eyes on him. WOW! He is such a positive influence on my life. Ever since we met nothing in my life has been the same. He has truly made me a better person and I love him for that, hes also not that bad on the eyes lol. Which really sucks when I go to get mad at him, he just looks at me with his big blue eyes and I melt... every... single... time. ARG! Isnt it supposed to be the girls who bats their eyes and gets everything that they want (lol)

Well back to the begining... The day we met. ok lets begin a few months before we actually met. My best friend Brit was dating a Marine named Austin that she knew from her hometown. She flew to NC, where he was stationed, so she could go to the military ball that he invinted her to. At the table was a few of Austins friends that Brit had never met, of course she striks up a convo with them, after 5 mins of talking to Zack she told him that she had the perfect girl for him, He was like... "oook, you just met me" well when Brit came home she didnt waist any time, she told me that she found a perfect guy for me to be with. I was like... "ok thanks?" we looked him up on facebook and I thought he was sooooo cute. I was dating a Jerk at the time so I didnt really do anything about it, I was positive that I was never going to meet him so there was no point in getting his number and talking to him. A few months later Austin was diagnosed with a brain tumor so Brit and I flew up to NC to spend the weekend with Austin to see how he was doing, little did I know Brit and Austin called Zack to see when he was going to come and visit him in the hospital to meet me. The hospital was 2 1/2 hours away from their base so Zack got a couple of his friends to drive up there with him. Zack kept asking what I looked like, if I was nice...ect no one told him anything. It was a completely blind meeting for him and I kinda had an idea of what he looked like but not really because the pics on myspace was post-Marine, shaggy hair, civilian clothes (a high school pic). So it was pretty much a blind meeting for me too. As soon as he came to the hospital, we met, we both couldnt stop looking at eachother. He said that my eyes and my smile was the 1st thing he noticed about me, and same with me, his teeth are sooo perfect and he has gorgous baby blue eyes that are to die for. after that it was history. He invited me to the movies the next night, then the day after that he drove Britt and I to the airport. Everyday since then we've talked every day. We met Jan '09, he flew to FL that feb for valentines day, and March of '09 he asked me to marry him right before he left to go over seas. Sept '09 we got married on his R & R from afghanistan. Its been so perfect.

I really really miss him. He got his shift changed so he gets off at 530a my time but his time its 6p and thats when alot of the guys get off so the phone lines are 3hours long . im used to him getting off at 12pm which is like 1130am and he got to call every other day because there wouldnt be a line so we could talk for an hour. It really sucks, I want to hear his voice. it keeps me sane to hear his voice and just knowing that hes doing ok makes me ok. I know I just have to stay busy, thats what helps me. I have 4 jobs so I have no time to think which is good bc when I think about it I get sad and quiet, and let me tell u, I am a veryr loud person. Im Italian so everything I say is very loud (lol) I always have somthing to say so when im sad everyone knows.

Well Ill write prob tomorrow! If not, Happy thanksgiving.