Merry Christmas

Michael and I didn't go to Utah for Christmas because of his work.  Instead we got to go to Los Angeles and spend the holiday with other family.  It was so fun to wake up on Christmas morning with little kids again.  They are so excited about santa coming and it makes the whole holiday that much more fun.  

We were a little sad about not going to Utah so we wanted to try extra hard to make it feel festive here.  We had a bit of a challenge on our hands, making it feel like Christmas, when the weather is still like warm enough for short sleeves and snow hasn't failed in over 10 years. So we went a little over board in decorating our apartment.  Here are some of the things we did

You can't really see in the picture but there are little wrapped up boxes in the red bowl.   Plus my tiny tree I bought at Trader Joe's

Happy Holidays

We painted our own ornaments, that is a mustache, Michael and I still don't understand what so great about them but we figured we would jump on the wagon

We wrapped our pictures hanging on our wall, cheapest decorating trick

It was fun decorating our apartment and even though it wasn't the same as going home we both still had a great time staying here.  

Christmas Spirit

Michael and I live in California.  He works all the time as a Marine and because of his crazy work schedule we don't get to travel (travel to Utah especially) as much as we would like to.  This year is no exception.  We were hoping that we would be able to come to Utah for the Christmas holiday but we had no such luck.  He was denied liberty and that means we are grounded here in California.  There are worse places to be stuck obviously.

This news was especially hard because there is a new little baby that I desperately need to go see.  My amazing sister just had her first baby and all I want to do is give him a big hug and a kiss.  We both wanted to go and see our family and friends,  tell them how much we love them and miss them, but it will all be ok because I think they already know those things. 

Michael and I are going to have our own little Christmas here.  We bought a Christmas tree, went shopping yesterday for each others gifts and are making traditions of our own.  We will also go see other family in Los Angeles.  

It was initially hard to hear that we weren't able to go to Utah for the holiday but, we have both accepted it.  Even though there isn't snow or cold weather, fireplaces or hot chocolate, it still feels a lot like Christmas.

Thanksgiving weekend

Thanksgiving was a fun holiday here in San Diego.  Michael and I didn't go to Utah for the holiday but Michael's family came here!  They were all really excited about the warm weather, apparently blizzards aren't as fun as the beach...?
I cooked Thanksgiving for 10 people.  Michael and I, his family (3), my favorite neighbor, and four Marines that showed up last minute.  Thank goodness I bought a lot of extra food.  I have come to find that jello served on Thanksgiving is a total Mormon tradition.  A lot of people were confused by this side dish but they all loved it, thanks Mama Mara for the recipe!
On Friday we decided to go to the San Diego Zoo!

 We spent the whole day there, we saw birds, gorillas, lions, reptiles, polar bears, and of course the pandas.  San Diego Zoo is the only zoo in the world that had a complete family of panda bears.  The new baby just got here a few weeks ago.  There were tons of people waiting to see the panda family so the only pictures we got were photo bombed by people with poor style, bad haircuts and a lot of satchels .  Enjoy!

We also saw this handsome creature.  Still not quite sure what it is, but I do know that he moved super slow and when he finally stopped his feet were in his water supply.  A worthy goal.

We ended the day with some much needed soft serve.  And yes documentation is also needed because I haven't had a good twist cone in years.  

It was a really fun weekend and even though it was hard to say bye to Michael's family we were still so grateful that they were able to come visit us.  Who's next?

The Color Run

A few weekends ago Michael and I did a 5K in San Diego.  We drove down and as we approached the stadium where the race was held the traffic started piling up.  California always has bad traffic but this was ridiculous.  These are just some of the people there.

All those tiny little dots are people and we came early!  We stood in line for a long time and got our number, t-shirt, and really cool sweat band

Michael is a great model for the sweat band.  We waited with lots and lots of people to start our race.  For safety they only allowed groups of 500 people start the race at a time.   Michael and I waited our turn and finally got the the starting line.

The color run is a race that as you run every kilometer you get colored powder thrown at you.  It sounds really weird and under any other circumstance I would not appreciate strangers throwing things at me especially while exercising but, it was actually really fun.

We finally made it to the finish line.  We were both tired and really thirsty.  After running through 5 different powdered dust clouds we needed the water!  The blue station really piled it on me and orange station piled it on Michael.  (As the pictures below illustrate.) Overall, it was a really fun adventure that we got to do together.  Maybe we will do it next year for anyone that want to join us!

Don't mind my Bob Ross hair being accentuated by my sweatband

Marine Corps Ball

November 10th is the Marine Corps birthday.  Every year all around the country Marines and guests are invited to a big ceremony to celebrate.  This year was the 237th birthday, Michael and I went last night and it was full of fun, patriotism and emotion.
I have been excited about going for the last few weeks,  I bought a dress, had my neighbor practice my hair, and I even bought red lipstick for the occasion.  My dress was the only short dress at the ball but I didn't care because I am not really the ball gown type.  Even my wedding dress was short.

This is my dress.  Short, lace, 20's style

He is the most handsome man ever, I love when he is in dress blues!  

Marines wear their most formal uniform for the event.  Michael has a very serious face on because the jackets are super uncomfortable apparently

We arrived at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, where the ball was held and took our seats in the ball room.  Before dinner was served they always have a short presentation where the Commanding Officer speaks, they have a cake ceremony, and a short video is played from General Amos (he is like the President of the Marine Corps).  But before all those things they always have a colors ceremony where everyone in the hall stands as the American flag is brought through the room.  It was so interesting to watch the demeanor of the Marines in that room as the National Anthem was played and the American flag was brought out.  Every single Marine in that room, without any prompting or instruction from their superiors, snapped their feet and legs together, straightened out their back, put their arms by their sides with their hands in fists and watched as that flag moved through the room.  Every. Single. Marine.  All the joking, talking, and boys being boys stopped in a split second.  There was such a respect, patriotism and sense of duty in the air.  I started to tear up a little because I was in awe.  Even now as I am writing this I can still feel the love that those men and women have for their country.  There is nothing more patriotic than seeing 300 Marines stand at attention out of respect for what they fight for. 

After the color ceremony a video was played that showed fighting done years ago in World War II and the current fighting that took place only a few weeks ago in Libya.  If you remember the news they said that a Marine unit specifically was responding to the bombings in Libya, that is because Marines are always the first to respond.  They showed real footage from Afghanistan and had interviews from Marines that were severely wounded over there.  The whole video made everything a little too real.  I am more informed now than I have ever been before but I still love my bubble.  I don't like thinking about the fighting over there, I wish there didn't have to be fighting at all.  I got very emotional thinking about the friends we have over there right now and the possibility of Michael being over there sometime soon and it became a lot to handle.  After the video the guest of honor spoke about the brotherhood and sisterhood that is created through military service and the mood of the room changed.  The feeling of camaraderie replaced the feeling of fear for me.  The whole night was a huge mix of emotions for me that I am still trying to sort out but I do know one feeling without a doubt.  I love my husband!

Dinner was served after that and the night went on but I will always remember the feeling of love and pride I have for my husband, not only because he is an amazing person, a great husband but also because he is my hero.  He decided that he owed his country 4 years of his life and even though it is hard, and demanding, dangerous and uncertain he does it because he loves this country, and he loves his family.  I am proud and honored to say I am the wife of a Marine. 

Mason Jar Light Tutorial

 Michael and I have a little porch at our apartment.  There isn't a whole lot of light out there and because we are getting patio furniture soon we wanted a way to have lots of light so we could eat dinner outside in the evenings.  We decided to make jar lights.  We used Mason jars, wire and Christmas lights.  They turned out really cute!

This is the view as you walk up the stairs to our door

This the view from on the porch sitting on the chairs

To make them you will need Mason jars, the lids- not the tops (not the part that seals the jars when canning but the actual lid part that screws on) and wire.  We used 19 gauge stainless steal wire, and pliers so twisting the wire is easier.

I wanted the wire to be secured onto the actual lid so that we could take the jars down and clean them without having to take the whole assembly down, so Michael came up with a great system.

                                     

First you punch eight holes (four set of two) on the jar lid.  In the picture above it just shows two but they will be three more sets of two around the jar.  You twist the wire on itself in order to make it more secure and strong.   Do this three more times with each pair of holes made in the lid.  If the lids were the face of a clock the holes would be punched at 1:00, 5:00, 7:00, and 11:00.  The picture below shows a better picture of the hole placement.

Then you attach the jars to each other and depending on the space you are using you will need different amount of jars.  We used eight for the space we were working with.  These are the jars before we put lights on them.

This is the final product.  Michael did all the handy work, I just supplied the idea.  I think we make a great creative team!

Great Military (and other) News

Yesterday Michael told me some of the greatest news I have heard in a while.  Before I share the news I want to address some military terms to make the story more clear.  There are a few different types of units in the Marine Corps,  some are combat deployable, some are non-deployable and some are MEUs A MEU is a Marine Expeditionary Unit,  this is the unit that Michael is in.  A MEU is a unit that doesn't deploy to combat zones, instead they get on huge boats and sail the Pacific Ocean.  They are a global presence, taking up port in various Oceanic and Asian countries.  MEUs are much easier, emotionally, to deal with for spouses because you have much more of a guarantee of safety on a MEU as opposed to a combat zone.  MEUs are usually deployed for around 6-7 months.  Ok a lot of background but now you will understand why the news is so great!

We were really lucky that Michael got put in a MEU unit, but over the summer they told him that he would be deploying on a MEU in August,  this was obviously devastating news but Michael fought it, told his superiors that he didn't want to go and by some stroke of luck they decided to pick someone else to go on the MEU.  So he dodged one bullet.  Yesterday Michael came home and told me that there is a second MEU scheduled for next summer.  And again, they decided to take someone else on the ship!  So what does this mean... Michael is for sure (as sure as military life gets) not deploying for the next year and a half at least.  He may not deploy at all!  

I am so happy and grateful that we have been so blessed with the timing of everything.  

In other news I am dominating my chemistry class, highest score in my class,  sorry I just have to brag a little.  And also we have been getting very festive lately.  We have been making fall desserts,  decorating our apartment and trying to pretend it feels like fall here even though its 75 degrees and so sunny I haven't worn pants all year.  This is the wreath that I made, with Kate's help- to be fair all of Kate's help and her idea and her materials, its very festive and I'm quite proud.