Thank a Veteran and Make a Wish!

Happy Veterans Day to all those who have served, and are still serving this great nation of ours! And congrats to my cute hubby for getting his warfare pin (big deal in the Navy). Good job sweetheart!

 And now for my 11/11 wish... I wish it was DECEMBER already!!! Do you think if I say that enough times it will magically happen?

home sweet HOME

I am procrastinating (did I put blogging in my last list??) I have a test tomorrow morning but I dont feel like studying. I have severe senioritis. In fact I am more into the fact that Grey's Anatomy is on in 20 minutes...super excited. But I just thought I would announce real quick that it's official! We will be residents of El Cajon California at the end of December.  I am so excited about our cute two bedroom we got a great deal on! Finally some more space!  I am really ready for my husband to be back and to have an actual home again.  Things aren't quite right without him around. I think we will be in El Cajon for awhile so I am open to (and really pleading for) any decorating tips. :)

sharing my talents

In church we discussed talents and how we should not hide them from the world. So here I am to share one of mine (also I keep being told I need to update my boring blog). So take it from an expert...these are THE BEST ways to procrastinate...

1. Color coordinate your closet.  Take everything out and put it back in rainbow order. Shirts, pants, shoes, dresses...the works. My closet is always in correct color order. (PS...I wish this was my closet)

2. Watch TV...Fall shows have arrived. Might I recommend Modern Family or Private Practice. I get much more done in the summer when there is nothing good on TV.

3. Facebook- I spend waaaayy too much time online. But I mostly use it to talk to my husband who is very far away. sad face.

4. Bake something. Even if you don't intend to eat it...which if you are a professional procrastinator like I am, you cannot eat everything you bake. Give it away. Provide some service in your sin. Pick something that has a complicated recipe just to try it. Then at least your brain gets a little bit of exercise.

5.  While we are discussing putting on some weight lets discuss taking it off. Go to the gym. Make a crazy fun playlist and work out til its over. And if you are really daring, hang out around the big buff guys and watch them laugh at your baby weights. 

6. Make "to-do" lists. For when you are done procrastinating. Or maybe you could make a list of ways to procrastinate. hmmmm....

7. Give yourself a pedicure and/or manicure. Pick a happy color. This will make procrastinating that dreary thing you have to do so much better. 

8. Watch a musical. And sing along.  Sometimes its just fun to let loose and go for it. :) Or go for a drive, turn the radio all the way up, and sing the whole way to nowhere.

9. Write a blog. Share your thoughts about nothing in particular.Or read someone other pointless blog...like mine!

10. Take a long bubble bath. Then try on different combination's of things in your closet, and try a few new styles of hair and makeup. It wastes time now, but it could save time later when you are in a rush to get somewhere and need a glam go-to look.

The Philosophies of BYU

As I finish up my first term back here at BYU, I cant help but think about how different the culture is here, and how, oddly enough, it is also an accurate representation of the world. We all have similar beliefs, but the philosphy each person carries with them could not be more different. Some say "lo here" and others "lo there" and sometimes that is just downright confusing.  There are times that I chuckle to myself  (like when my Physical Science professor compares the concept of "tunneling" to "hieing to Kolob in the twinkling of an eye") and times that the confusion makes me cry ( like when people tell me my military husband does the work of Satan and if he could love more like the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's then he has a shot at getting to heaven) but I just have to remember to keep telling myself that people are people no matter where they are or what they know. It just teaches me how to better humble myself and communicate with my Heavenly Father about what is right and what is wrong and then act accordingly.  "The World is Our Campus". How and what we choose to learn from that world is totally up to us as individuals. 

Blessed are the Meek...

Got to talk with my wonderful husband over the past couple days. It was pretty much the highlight of my month (once again I looovvee skype).  Inspired from those conversations...here are some of David's photos with some of my thoughts.

 This is a little island in the South Pacific....

It is small and the people are poor.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven"

This is the view as you come around the corner. (Note the tiny statue on the top of the Hill.)

It is pretty, but life here is hard.

"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: For they shall be filled"

They put up a banner and threw a welcome party.

The meek and the humble...sharing what they have.

"Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy"

"Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God"

And this is the statue that was seen from the distance.

Christ with outstretched arms.

These people have so little in the ways of earthly possessions, but they truly know about that which is eternal.

"Ye are the light of the World.  
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid"

I feel so blessed that I grew up in a country and with a family that always had the necessities of life.  But sometimes I wonder if those people on that little island are better off than I.  They share everything with each other, which is not much at all.  They understand the spirit of brotherhood and charity. They love their Heavenly Father and they believe that Christ is their Savior and Redeemer and they stay true to that faith no matter what trials come their way. It makes me sad to see so many that are so blessed forget to give thanks to their creator. It was lesson to me to always be grateful and always look for ways to serve and help others. Pay it forward. Share some of your blessings today.

"Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth"

loooovvvee to skype!

Just skyped for the first time this weekend! I know what you are thinking... its 2010 and you just discovered skype. But dont you worry, this was not my first time dabbling in video chat.  I have used ichat for macs several times but my husband who was in Guam did not have a mac so we downloaded skype.  Definitely worth the 20 bucks for the year.  Not only did I get to hear him, I got to see him too! Its amazing what that can do to lift spirits a bit.  The only bad thing was I have been terribly sick for the past few days so he got my gravelly man sounding voice instead of my normal one. And it didn't help that the time difference is so much that half the time we talked it was the middle of the night for me and he woke me up to chat.  So not only did I have a beautiful voice, I had a lovely hair style and no makeup on.  He still thought I was cute though and then I remembered that's exactly why I married him!  And my mom pointed out that things could be worse and we could just have to write snail mail back in forth all the time.  Yeah that would be bad!  Sorry no pictures with this post.  I tried to get David to send some from Guam but he didn't take any!  I threatened him for pictures in the next port stop though so hopefully I will have some in the future.

dating me!

So I took a poll on facebook about going to the movies by myself.  It has been decided that since my husband is deployed (and that is clearly a noble reason to leave me) that I can take myself out on the weekends if I can't find any friends to accompany me.  So I asked myself out for tomorrow afternoon. And myself said yes. And that annoying song from girls camp "im a nut" has been resonating in my head for the past 3 hours because of it.

"called myself upon the phone

just to hear my golden tone

asked myself out on a date

picked me up at half past eight."

 

I'll make sure the next verse of the song doesn't happen. I'm hoping this little experiment in dating myself will feel liberating...like sound of music, running through the hills in wide open spaces, not a care in the world (until you find out about the ensuing war) liberation and not lame and embarrassing. Guess we will find out!

trip down memory lane

I havent posted in awhile so this may be a bit long...sorry.  A few weeks ago David and I got sealed. It was the most amazing day.  The temple sealing was greater and more beautiful than I could have imagined.  And the day was so pretty. The sun was out and the skies were blue (I totally got a sunburn though...oops) Last week we had to move out of our apartment as we prepared for an upcoming deployment (which actually started today but I will get to that later).  As I moved the last boxes out of the apartment and scrubbed every nook and crannie in the place, I couldn't help but smile at the memories that tiny one bedroom apartment had.  We didnt have any furniture when we first moved in. We slept for 3 days on the floor until a mattress could be delivered to us with all the blankets and sheets we had(which was not very many) piled under us for "padding".  We didn't have a table either so we ate off a cardboard box covered in a blanket while seated cross legged on the floor. And the first time the ward missionaries and the bishop came over we all had a little pow wow session on the floor because we had no couches lit by one tiny lamp because that is all we had. At the time it was a little ridiculous (and uncomfortable) but looking back I think those were my favorite things about it. It was kinda sad moving out of a place with so many memories.  But I'm sure we will not settle down in one area for many many more years because of the military so I'll just have to keep all the memories locked in my mind. And now for the big news. David left today. For 7 months.  I kept it together on the ship until the very end when we were saying our last goodbyes and then I lost it. I got back to the hotel room we had been in for almost a week together, now empty, and immediately flung myself across the bed and bawled.  And then I decided that I really did want to see the ship leave the pier (after I had convinced myself that I did not want to see that) so I got back in the car and rushed back to base just in time to see them sailing off maning the rails.  It was quite a site.  And underneath my tears and sadness I did feel a little bit of pride. I know the next 7 months will be hard but it will be a learning experience also.  Already I wish that over the past couple months I wouldn't have picked some pointless little fights over things that didn't really matter and when he gets home I will work harder on not sweating the small stuff.  Good luck Mighty Iron Nickel! You will be missed!

Just a day on The Iron Nickel

Yesterday was family cruise day on the USS Peleliu.  It all started off at 1:30am with an obnoxious phone call that dragged my sleepy husband out of bed and into work.  I followed him to the ship a few hours later with a few kids and some extra friends in tow.  By the time we got on board around 6:30 am I was worn out!! And there was still a very long and full day ahead of us.

These helmets are super heavy and have the stuff that bullet proof vests are made of inside them.  hardcore!

This is the entrance to where David works on the ship.  Its super secret.

On the flight deck of LHA-5.  It was cold and rainy in the morning but ended up being a BEAUTIFUL day.

I guess we are not cut out to be sailors.  By the end of the day my hair was a mess, my sweater was dirty, and my neck hurt and this little one just had to take a nap.  Overall though, the day was pretty great.

Hold to the Rod...yeah the one made out of rope

T

This is what happens when you cross an out of control fog machine with a very sensitive smoke alarm.  The idea was pretty awesome...the execution not so much.  Too bad when they figured this out there were already about 20 children gathered for the primary activity entitled "red is for courage".  I think the big red fire truck was quite appropriate for the day actually and they should have just claimed they did it on purpose.  And honestly it made waking up early on a saturday sooo much better.  The best part was overhearing perplexed firemen discuss the rope that was running throughout the building.  "Apparently," they said, " this rope is not here all the time and is somehow part of the activity for today and has nothing to do with their church".  Ahh yes Mr. Fireman.  That is in fact the iron rod.  AKA the word of God.  And we hang on to it so we don't get lost in the building (thats what we told the kids anyway). (Oh by the way the fog was for the part of the dream where they pass through the mist.  It worked fine without it though) Thankfully the rest of the activity went smoothly and even more thankfully there are such things as primary songs to occupy bunches of children dressed in red while the firemen figured out how to turn the alarms off.

 

This happens to be Head, Shoulders, Knees and toes in Spanish!  Who knew they were that smart!?

In the spirit of Hooyah

I did a google search on "military spouse" and this is what came up.  Quite telling if you ask me.  (and arent you proud I figured out how to post a picture?)  Lately I have been feeling like this far too often.  I have found that a lot of my prayers are devoted to asking for assistance to calm my angry feelings toward this crazy job that I am ashamed to admit are often times misdirected at my wonderful husband. My health is declining both mentally and physically and sometimes I sit down and cry as my mind convinces myself I cant do this anymore. Then right before I total annihilation of body and spirit occurs a tiny bit of strength offering a small glimmer of hope rises from somewhere in my being and I wipe off my tears and move on with my day.   This life that is dictated by something other than myself is exhausting but I am trying my best because I love my spouse and he loves what he does.  And I suppose if he wasn't doing it someone else would have to be and I would not wish that on anyone I know.  On a happier note the military in a strange way has led me to what I want to do with my life.  And has made me appreciate life more. Things can change in an instant and I wont be the only one to tell you that they often do.  In fact, I cant remember the last time David told me something related to work that didnt change by the end of the day.  And even though I spend lots of hours mad, I would be lying if I didn't say at the end of the day I'm not proud to see this... HOOYAH!

just a bunch of side notes

Now I think would be the perfect time to post pictures. David came home after three weeks of being away, Easter happened, spent conference weekend with the family.  Yes this would be perfect for me to figure out how to post pictures...except I didnt take any.  Once again I failed to take pictures. I brought my camera. I brought a freshly charged battery (my camera battery dies super often) and I still did not take a single picture. I once upon a time took pictures of everything (not as good as some of my friends or family members...cough cough aunty jade) but I was always there with camera in hand to snap at least a few.  If I plan on making it back to Europe in the next couple years I better start learning to take some pictures! (random side note...I was kept up late last night by a party in the apartment above me...on a Monday yes I know that's weird...so I watched the travel channel.  A channel I flip to on occasion but have never before watched this particular show.  It started off in Edinburgh.  I didnt realize how well I knew those streets. I found myself talking to the TV...turn left there! you will find the cutest and most delicious pub or turn right there if you fancy a quaint little shop with amazing chocolate soup! And when the people on the show started to climb Arthur's Seat (I think the only hike I have ever really enjoyed) I started to realize that my heart just loves Europe.  Sigh. Some day.) ok back from the side note. On to another. I have a serious problem saying no. My husband was gone for three weeks and had to work another 24 hour shift last night so we planned an "us day" for today.  When my friend called and asked for a babysitter for later tonight I didn't want to say no. After discussing it with my wonderful husband and he sweetly reminded me I promised him a date day/evening and that since we have not had the chance to spend this sort of time with each other in some weeks and wont for over half of this year due to a deployment I knew I was going to have to do my unthinkable. say no.  the word is shorter than yes but for some reason still harder to say for me. The guilt over saying no sticks with me for days. (Oddly it lasts longer than the guilt at saying yes even if I happen to be saying yes to something I knew I should have said no to). I wish I could just say yes all the time!  I keep promising pictures (and to be funnier but that is another problem entirely).  I think I need help in that area.  Can anyone tell me how to post pictures or how to do a click here for more info type thing?  I swear I am the only one left that does not know.  And now it is time for me to go get ready for "Us day" with my love :).

magic fortune cookie say...

I got home tonight and felt like rambling on for a bit so here I am.  I got a fortune cookie with my Chinese dinner tonight.  My fortune said something like "you and your spouse will have a long happy relationship". How great!  If only fortune cookies were like fairy Godmothers and because it was said it shall be done.  While I do expect that my amazing husband and I will have an eternal happy relationship I don't think it will be because of some magic fortune, but rather a lot of hard work from both of us. I am headed into week three of David being gone.  It's still not easy even though we have done this a few times now.  Every time we go through it, it surprises me that its all the little things that I miss the most.  Having someone to comment to about the show that's on TV, having someone to eat dinner with, having someone to laugh with about the day.  I guess it all comes down to sharing. Life is sad when there's no sharing.  Friends are nice (though I don't have many of those in San Diego) but no one can be him, no one can be my best friend like he is.  That just may be the secret to marriage. Friendship. How many people forget that once upon time their spouse was their best friend.  That's why they married them. And that is where the romance comes from.  I hope that 50 years and a few kids down the road that David and I both still share the same playful, warm, comforting friendship that we have shared for the past few years.  We aren't afraid to disagree.  We have before and we will in the future, but as long as we remember and respect our friendship things will always be just fine.  Its interesting maintaining our relationship over e-mail. Its not ideal for sure.  But this year its what we will have.  And next year we will probably have some other obstacle in our path.  That is just how life is. And boy is it exciting.  I don't think I would have it any other way. Maybe my next post will be less serious and more humorous.  I'll try to think of some jokes.  Oh and maybe I will learn how to post pictures :)

where we find our courage...

Ugghh... I am in the middle of the longest 2 days of my life.  And I have 15 more to go.  Yuck! I had a bit of a good thought while I was reading my scriptures today though. I was thinking I really love that we read these stories over and over so that we can act like these amazing faithful people when we are in tough situations.  I can learn to be brave and have courage from them so when I need the strength most of all it's there.  I can stay calm and put my faith in my Heavenly Father because so many have done it before me and it has worked out just fine.  Being pretty much confined to bed is a bit of a bummer.  Ive been eating out of a bag of fishies, and up until this morning they tasted pretty good.  I don't think I imagined when I got married that it would mean being alone a lot more than I was before I got married.  And I don't think I knew I had the type of strength that I have.  In fact I think I fell apart more at the Doctor's office when David was with me than when I was alone.  Because I could.  Because he was there for me to lean on.  But I have learned how to be the one he leans on as well.  I'm proud of my husband and the work he does to keep not only our family safe but others safe as well.  Somebody has to do it and the fact that he volunteered is amazing to me.  Of course I have my moments where I throw myself a pity party and cry about how I have to go through all this sickness and pain alone and sometimes he whines about the hardship of being in the military but I notice on the days where we care less about our own hardships and more about each others hardships that things go better. I notice that I'm less afraid and he is less stressed.  And we end up strengthening our relationship instead of being angry at our situation.  I'm thankful for all the people who came before us...both our heroes in the scriptures and our heroes in the military and for what they have taught me about being brave and what truly are tough situations. But most of all I'm thankful for what they have taught me about turning to my Heavenly Father and the peace and comfort that can be found.

all the random OCD...

     This blogging thing is getting better I think.  I am starting to grasp that I can pretty much say whatever pops into my head.  I have a tiny band of followers...about 3 I think... so I will try my best to provide entertainment.  Im currently trying to find housing in Provo. It is probably the most annoying thing in the world.  Everything is overpriced and ridiculous and requiring an obnoxious amount of money up front.  Like I just have thousands of spare dollars lying around to secure a contract.  Give me a break!  sheesh.  I dont even REALLY want to live there but I have to finish school.  Its a crime to rip students off like that!  Anyway enough on that rant...just had to get it out.
  On a different random note... David and I practically live in our car...well not really but since he works so much and we only have the one we are constantly driving it to wherever we both need to be.  We decided today to wash it because it has been months since it has been cleaned and we expected some punk child to write "wash me" on the back of it at any second.  So David takes it to the gas station car wash...it turned on, sprayed the car down with suds, and then decided to shut off.  Great!  So since we live in an apartment and our car looked worse than before I decided we should live big and pay 15 dollars to get it vacuumed out and rewashed at the car wash down the street.  so worth it.  And since Outback Steakhouse was right next to it and I knew they were giving out free appetizers to the military in March I suggested my husband take me out.  Aww so sweet of him. I am determined this week to learn how to post pictures on here so hopefully I can start including those. 
   Third random note...I'm in a debate as to whether or not to go to palm springs...to go or not to go.  Sounds like an easy question right?  And it seems Go would be the correct answer but I am having this debate in my head.  Ever since I moved to San Diego I have discovered my OCD is worse than I thought.  The blankets have to be straight before I can do to sleep, snapping fingers bother me, kids running around screaming at church with parents that don't care drives me downright crazy, the music in the car cant be too loud or too soft...oh goodness someone put me in a crazy house now! Time to go straighten the blankets, turn on House, and relax for the night.

finally...sheesh!

So I am now officially a Wallace.  CAARRAAAZZYY!!  New legal name: Marissa Deyon Wallace. They said I could change my middle name while I was there if I wanted to but I like mine just fine. I moved further back in the alphabet though...something I (a child always at the end of the line in school) promised myself I would give my kids a better life but alas I guess I jinxed myself and they will be worse off than I was...unless the class decided to line up in reverse alphabetical order and then they are golden! Not that I am thinking about having kids anytime soon...thought I would throw that out there in case people start getting the wrong ideas from me.  David is still gone and I think this has been the longest week and a day of my life.  I guess it hasnt been made better by the fact that I have been so sick and practically living in the Doctor's office.  It was nice to take a break and spend the weekend in Corona at home.  I needed a little bit of stress taken off.  I have not been doing well this time. I thought I was getting so much better too. darn.  Lucky for me I have the most amazing husband in the world and he sacrificed who knows what at work to be able to call me tonight and let me know that even though he isn't physically here with me that he cares and will always be my shoulder to lean on.  I am so thankful for the way that my Heavenly Father has been taking care of me and helping me mend a life that a year ago I considered to be very broken. I cant wait for our sealing in May because that will be the start of a forever of togetherness.  I love being in love.

groomzilla

Yep you guessed it.  I'm alone again.  And this time for two weeks.  Id like to say I'm sorta glad that I can graduate up to the big time eight month separation but I kinda just feel like I'm getting cheated out of time with him.  I am such a whiner.  I never thought this would be so difficult. I think its something you cant really plan for emotionally.  Im just as thankful for the families that get left at home and support their spouses while they go fight for America's freedoms as I am for the men and women that actually go.  This war has been going on for years now but it was never real because I wasn't personally affected but it has morphed into something totally different for me. I am glued to CNN on a daily basis because anything could turn our life topsy turvy.  Its an interesting way to live thats for sure.  Anyway enough of the grim...wedding plans are coming along.  The sealing day is set.  Invitations are being printed (I think) Trying to decide what style of cake I like (there are waaaayyyy too many) and David is way more high strung and stressed about it than I am. Especially about all of the little details. Im pretty chill on the whole thing.  Its kinda funny to me actually.  Im so OCD about a lot of things and he is so laid back about everything and somehow when wedding planning is being done we switch roles.  Its not the greatest though because we dont know how to handle each other in the reverse roles. I find the best thing to do is just laugh.  In fact im sure if you ask David he would say that too. He loves to make me laugh in what I see as the most inappropriate times but it ends up being perfect because I quickly forget why I was so stressed and mad.  I miss my best buddy. :(

double stuff oreos

So I decided that I dont really like double stuf oreos.  I used to love them. Because when you are a kid all you eat is the cream and not that crunchy chocolate cookie. But I realized today that there is too much cream in the double stuf and they are not chocolatey enough...and everyone knows I love chocolate!  With that out in the open I can move on. David is gone again.  People keep telling me Ill get used to it, but I dont think I ever will.  I try to stay busy. Today I took on watching the most adorable kids for a few hours.  They were cute but also demanding. I dont know how moms do it!  I babysat and then returned home to tons of housework and I was completely wiped out by 5:00. Weird because I had a pretty relaxing weekend.  David was off Friday-Sunday and we basically just caught up on movie watching and napping.  It was actually nice.  Tomorrow I am off to Corona to do some wedding planning and watch the kids while my parents are gone.  Its nice to have people to be around when Im all alone but I miss being at home too. Its comfortable here but really lonely too.  Anyway I have rambled on long enough now Im sure. xoxo

I love to see the temple...and someday has finally come

Once again...go me.  I have not updated in a very long time.  Now I have to remember what we have been doing for the past couple months.  We went on a cruise right before Christmas (if I could figure out how to put pictures on then I would probably put some up) and spent Christmas with my parents in Corona. It was nice to be with the family.  Since then David has been super busy with work.  Im kinda hoping it slows down a little bit soon...even though he didnt go out much in January he still was working a lot.  As of last week I am no longer working due to company cutbacks but I am enjoying just focusing on school. I have to say it is so much easier to get stuff done when I dont have to be at a job that drives me crazy and sucks out all of my energy for 9 hours a day.  I am much happier jobless and we only had to slightly tighten our pocketbooks so I think this whole thing is really a blessing.  I didnt even mention the biggest thing that happened to us recently.  Both David and I got to attend the temple for the first time.  It was such a wonderful and peaceful experience for us and when the temple opens again in two weeks we plan to be there often. David said afterward "I love that I now have a place that is quiet, that is safe, and that is out of this crazy world and I can go there any time to take a break and remember who I am".  I have to say I agree.  Ive never felt so much love and hope in my life and I was so thankful that we were able to be there together and that our family was also there during and after to share something that was really special for us.  We are now looking forward to our sealing in May so that we can be with each other forever.  Our Heavenly Father has already blessed us so much this year and even though we have hard times to come (like an 8 month deployment starting in May) I dont thing we will be able to complain too much because we have truly been blessed.  The gospel is amazing and something that has been so great for our relationship, our marriage, and our individual lives.  And with our newfound knowledge we have a greater sense of our purpose in life and are truly thankful that we know the things we know and get to live the way we live.  It is hard sometimes, but the blessings are so much greater than the trials and we love that we will be able to share our life and progress together forever.  So other than David being gone for the past few days (it does explain the post though since I usually only write when he is gone because I am bored) life is good for us.  We are happy.  And we cant wait to put that sealing stamp on what we have and make it more permanent than it already is. :)