Lady from 29 Palms

I was procrastinating today from working on my final exam for class (done on Sunday....YES!), and decided to Wikipedia "Twentynine Palms," to see what came up. Wouldn't you know it, there is a song called "Lady from 29 Palms"! And it gets better...not only are the lyrics awesome (and something I bet a lot of heartbroken single Marines could relate to out here), but the best singers recorded it! Recordings I found on iTunes were by (a very young) Frank, The Andrews Sisters, and Doris Day.

Now how many of you (other than you New Yorkers) can claim that these singers sang a song about your town (ok, I'm technically in Yucca Valley, but 29 is close enough)? I thought so :) Even Hollywood became enchanted and delusional when it came to the Mojave Desert...

"Lady From 29 Palms"

She left twenty-nine broken hearts
Broken in twenty-nine parts
Now there are twenty-nine fellas complainin' to their moms
About the lady from 29 Palms
She got twenty-nine Cadillacs
Twenty-nine sables from Sach's
They came from twenty-nine fellas who never had their arms
Around the lady from 29 Palms
She's a yip-yip-yippy-eyed dolly
A new kinda gal of the west
And yip-yip-yippy by-golly
Whatever she does, she does her best
She rides twenty-nine trails to bliss
Knows twenty-nine ways how to kiss
She is a gal that you dream of, you'd love to have your arms
Around the lady from 29 Palms

She left twenty-nine broken hearts, baby
Broken in twenty-nine parts were their broken hearts, mmm oy-da doy-da
Twenty-nine fellas complainin' to their moms
About the lady from 29 Palms
She got twenty-nine Cadillacs, baby
Twenty-nine sables from Sach's and them Cadillacs, mmm boy-da doy-da
Twenty-nine fellas who never had their arms
Around the lady from 29 Palms
(instrumental break)
She's a yippety-yippety-yippety-eye-oh, what a dolly
A bronco that no one can break
And yippety-yippety-yippety-eye-oh, by-golly
She's never giving, but how she takes
She's got twenty-nine diamond rings
Got, got, got 'em without any strings (Wow!)
A dynamite dream-boat, a load of atom bombs (Who?)
The lady from 29 palms
The lady from 29 palms

(Unexpected) Deployment Superstars

All of my friends and family have been so wonderful to me this deployment, and I am SO grateful to everyone for all of the support they've given me. On top of this, there has been another group of people I did not expect to hear from (and may not even regularly keep in touch with) who have totally surprised me with going the extra mile. It is as if people I just used to walk past and say hi to on the way to class have reached out to me to provide support. It truly has proven to me that people are inherently so supportive, and many times shyness or feeling that reaching out would be weird may stop them.

Many of these people found out about our situation by reading my blog, and so I wanted to thank them here. Again, this is not a shout out to everyone who has provided immense support, but just a thank you to those whose support was really unexpected - and who I was pleasantly surprised to hear from!

1) Kyle Eisenmann. I've mentioned this earlier, but Kyle called me by chance the very afternoon that Greg left, because he was driving home from work and wanted to say goodbye to Greg. Bad timing on his part, but it turned out to be great, because he decided that he would call me once a week to check up on me. This has given just the tiniest bit of structure to each week (which is CRUCIAL in a deployment), and has become a good link between Greg and his friends from high school.

2) Mary Yonkman. Mary was an acquaintance in college, and besides working with her on a charity fundraising event she started at UVA, I never really interacted with her. She just married a Navy grad, and stumbled upon my blog, and wrote me a sweet email this summer about how she was thinking of me. I thought it was so nice, and since then Mary has checked in periodically and even sent Rocky, Caroline, and myself a real care package (something that was sorely needed when I received it, too!). So thoughtful.

3) Zella Page. Zella was in my Distinguished Majors Program at UVA, and outside of class we really never saw each other. I loved everyone in that class, and we had seminars together for two years straight, but upon graduation there was sort of an unwritten "good luck in life" feeling, that so many close classes have at the end of school. When Zella found out (via Facebook, I believe) that I was pregnant, she wrote me an email saying that she wanted to make Caroline a baby blanket. It was so out of the blue and so sweet! The blanket arrived this winter and is beautiful - it's handmade (crocheted/knitted, or something along those lines) and gorgeous! It sits on our couch and Caroline loves to cuddle in it.

4) Brian Guest. Brian is Greg's friend from Navy. He is stationed in Hawaii, and was in Coronado for a few weeks to prepare for his deployment. He called me out of the blue two weeks ago and asked if he could drive to Palm Springs and meet me for lunch on a Sunday. I of course said yes, and we had a great time catching up. He even brought us leis and macadamia chocolates from Oahu!

5) The Holt Family. The Holts are my first cousins. Shannon also has a wonderful blog, and she has made a point of being so supportive of us! Her kids have also sent Greg so many packages of beautiful artwork, which he has hung in his tent and looks at every day. It's a unique fun thing, and has made Greg feel so close to his cousins. He wants to take Ward to a Blue Angels air show when he gets back!

6) Katherine Alford. My awesome cousin who sent me an email on Valentine's Day just to say that she loves reading my blog. Totally not necessary yet totally made my day.

7) Anna Gutierrez. Anna works in the childcare at Gold's Gym and is so wonderful. She has two kids and just LOVES babies. Caroline loves her, and Anna is truly the reason why I'm motivated to go to the gym every day! Whenever I return from a workout she is holding Caroline and talking to her, and Caroline is just in heaven. I am well aware that if Golds' childcare was not so good, I would not be going to the gym.

8) Chris Conanan. Chris is Greg's old roommate from TBS, who is now stationed at Camp Pendleton. He was deployed to Afghanistan from May-December, so he is four months ahead of where we are. I never hung out with him at TBS and he came to our wedding but obviously I was so busy I didn't get to visit with him, but he has kept a pulse on what's going on here in YV during the whole deployment! He has sent me emails of encouragement, wants us to come out and visit, and just constantly keeps me sane, as he was in the very place where Greg was only months ago. He gets it, and knows the system and how it works. So when he says "it gets easier after the halfway mark," I actually believe him, because he just went through it.

9) My Bible Study girls. I have been going to a Bible study every Wednesday night during deployments, and again, this has provided me with a weekly structure. There are some nights when it's hard to drag myself off the couch and go to base (the other three girls are all neighbors on base), but I am always so happy that I went. It's wonderful friendship and fellowship, and really helps keep things in perspective.

10) Christina Stavridis and Anne Craighill. Christina and Anne came to visit me this past weekend (more on that later, once I get the great pics we took from them), and they really didn't have to! I rarely keep in touch with them (unfortunately, because they're awesome) but we had such a good time! They are great sports and so laid back, and the weekend was both busy and relaxing.

11) Anna Brown and Caroline Batchelor. Just like CStav and Anne, Anna and Caroline B. came to visit me in Arizona. I can't believe that not one but two sets of friends have actually followed through and come to visit! I really hope I can do the same for all of them some day.

Thank you everyone - now go and perform a random act of kindness to a friend or acquaintance from the past, because I promise you it will mean SO much to them!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone is having a happy and festive Valentine's Day. Mine is going great, considering that I'm not with my Valentine. The weather here is fantastic (70 and sunny), and I've been keeping myself busy all weekend. Yesterday a bunch of 3/4 wives and their kids came over for a potluck dinner, and we had a great time! It's always fun sharing stories about how neurotic we get when guessing the homecoming date, funny things kids do, and looking forward to homecoming and the Birthday Ball, which will be in Vegas in June.

Our Valentine's Party last night (courtesy of the camera timer):

Today I am going over to my friends Todd and Crissy's house for dinner. I babysat for them Thursday while they went on their Valentine's date, and they asked me over for the real deal in return. It was really sweet of them - they have made sure I'm not ever alone when I don't want to be this whole deployment!

I also got a phone call from Greg last night, and an e-rose. What's an e-rose, you ask? It's this:

  ((^))

     II

     II

     II

This was at the end of my Valentine's email from Greg this morning. It was very clever, and I wonder how long it took Greg to do. I'm not even going to ask.

And finally, if you're in the mood let to me be self indulgent on this Valentine's Day, a few pictures of me and my Valentine over the years...

October 2003: Navy Homecoming Dance

(the first night we met - I was on a blind date with Frank Furman. Clearly didn't work out too well...)

November 2004:

UVA Football Game - A week before we started dating. I had the BIGGEST crush on him here!

September 2007:

Jefferson Vineyards, right after Greg proposed. Proof that you really should always look good around your boyfriend....what if he proposes and a photo op arises? I clearly wasn't following that rule here...darn Virginia humidity.

 

And finally, March 2008:

Our Wedding

TWO MORE MONTHS! This exercise is making me realize I basically have no photos of me and Greg together after our wedding - pathetic! I'll have to work on that once he gets home.

Goofy Happy Smile

Baby C is always in the best mood in the mornings (except when she has teething fits, which are happening more and more these days). Her smile makes me melt! I thought you all would enjoy these from this morning....

When she woke up (she does this every morning when I open the door to her room):

Before her bath:

 

Love this sweet girl so much!

Sibling Rivalry

Ever heard that song "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better?" That's the name of the game around here...

This morning:

And tonight: 

 

Superbowl Round-up

Here are my thoughts. Judging by what I've already read on the internet, I'm in the same boat with many others...

1) Best Commercials: Doritos (the one with Rocky, see previous post), Doritos (Kid Explaining House Rules),  Bud Light (T-Pain), and Google.

Here they are:

Doritos "House Rules":




T - Pain:



For those of you who don't know T-Pain, he's a rapper who is featured on a lot of hit songs, and is famous for using a voice box synthesizer thingy, which makes this really silly sound. My sister Katherine's a big fan :). It's always fun to see people poke fun at this.

Google:




2) The Who was HORRIBLE! The #1 rule of the halftime show is to choose either a) a legend that's still amazing, like U2 or Bruce Springsteen, or b) the hottest ticket of the year, whatever that may be

3) The Focus on the Family commercial caused so much hype, and I really think that the anti-abortion message was so implicit, that maybe it didn't even exist. I can't tell whether I only thought it was there because newspapers wrote about it before the big day.

4) With a record-breaking budget bigger than ever before, the U.S. government paid for a Census ad on the Superbowl. Just in time for tax season. Disgusting.

Rock was on a Superbowl commercial!

It looked like him, and acted like him, so it must've been Rocky. So that's what he does when I go out of town. I still haven't seen a dollar.

4th Month Birthday

Today Caroline tried rice cereal for the second time, and is slowly but surely getting the hang of the spoon! All while making a huge mess and showing her Eagles' pride:

Other than that, today was pretty normal. Caroline stared lovingly at Rocky, who stared lovingly at me. Pretty much the way things work around here...

"How Do You Do It?"

"How do you do it?" This is a question I get ALL the time. Every time Greg's gone for a week, a month, or a deployment, when Caroline was born and he wasn't there, or when people realize that I am taking an MBA course while dealing with a nearly two year old lab and and infant. Here's the magic answer, that every single military wife out there will tell you: "You just do it. You have to."

I know that sounds like a strange answer, but I actually love it. I love the commitment that military wives have to the lifestyle, their husbands, and their families. I love the commitment that the husbands have in return. So many people (including some of my friends and family) have told me, both in direct and indirect ways, that they feel that being apart from a spouse weakens a relationship. Just today on the phone, I was asked, "Do you ever talk to Greg about how you feel about deployments? I can't even imagine what it's like for your relationship!" When I heard that, I realized: so many civilians outside of this lifestyle view deployments as a setback to a relationship. I would argue that it is 100% the exact opposite.

On March 1, Greg and I will have our second anniversary. This is the second anniversary we've spent apart, as well, but hopefully third time will be a charm. In any case, we both feel like we've been married for much longer than 2 years, in a good way. We have gone through more than most couples go through in 10 years, and we have grown together and grown to depend on each other to support our strengths and lovingly help each other through our weaknesses. Being in the military forces you to grow up - that's why you see an 18 year old Pfc. acting like he's 25, which is unheard of among most boys. Layered on top of this maturity is an increased appreciation for life and for each other, and truly not taking each other for granted.

Every couple has a fear that a deployment is going to cause an emotional separation, in addition to the physical separation. While that unfortunately happens to some couples, for most, it doesn't. When communication is unpredictable and short when it does happen, each person in the relationship has to learn to communicate how they feel in succinct, meaningful ways. This means no petty fights, no cutting remarks, and articulating how much you love each other in ways other than just saying "I love you" by rote. When you say it, you actually are thinking about what it means and why you are saying it. All of this results in an amazing strength that I'm pathetically failing at trying to put into words.

The point of this post is to answer the many questions I get regarding "how I do it," or "how I am dealing with this." This is how. And when Greg comes home, yes, it will be a transition, and at times bumpy because of all of the changes that have happened in the 7 months he's been gone, but because of the incredible strength of our relationship, it won't be a big deal at all.

This is why I love the community of USMC and Navy wives that I've become close with. The values, strength, and loyalty within most families and marriages is one that most people only see by watching 1950s TV shows. Old fashioned American values still live on in this crazy, fast-paced world, and as hard the lifestyle is, the outcome is amazing.

Learning to Laugh

I've gotten a lot of compliments about the last video of Caroline I posted up, so I thought I'd add another one from this week. Caroline is learning to laugh, and every once in awhile when she's really in a goofy mood she actually laughs for an extended period of time. You can kind of see a bit of that in this video...enjoy!

And Her Daddy

Turns out, I found a pic of Greg when he was about C's age, too! And wouldn't you know it, he's giving the EXACT same face that's on his passport, driver's license, military ID, and every time he stands at attention! Some things never change...I wish Caroline, Greg, and myself could all be the same age and play together. It looks like we'd get along.

Wayyy cuter than her mommy

I found this pic of me today as I was going through my computer. I must be about Caroline's age, because my mom is wearing a sweater (= winter), and I was born in the same month as C. Plus, I look about 4-5 months. Anyway, I'm not that cute! Much to my dismay. And so today I will concede that Caroline is way cuter than I was (but for the record, Katherine's pretty irresistible here...).

Me: 

 

Baby C: