getting settled.. sort of

Well, hard to believe, but we've almost been in California for 3 weeks already. And Mick has been gone for almost 2 of them. We got here on a tuesday, Mason got sick on wednesday, so we werent able to get much done, because he obviously needed our attention. thursday night, Mick and I both came down with the same thing... so the entire weekend was basically shot. We did manage to get all the furniture together and set up, but other than that, the house was a disaster and Mick had to leave early that next tuesday morning for a school in Norfolk, VA until the 27th. So I was left with the mess haha boxes and bins everywhere. I did get a lot accomplished, but there is still a lot to be done. Mick comes home late wednesday night, thankfully, so he'll be able to help me finish the rest. I'm so ready to get all the boxes out of here for good, get all our pictures and mirrors up and start making this house look like a home! I've hung up some pictures, but if it requires two nails and measuring the distance and making sure they are even.. i just leave it to mick, because i'll end up with 10 nail holes in the wall before I finally get it right! haha and some of our nicer pictures are too heavy for me to do myself. I did mow for the first time in my life today! haha Wish somebody would have told me i needed to hold BOTH levers :( It was a self propelled mower (like I knew what that was.. i never mowed before) and all I knew was that I pushed that thing as hard as i could and could barely get it to move. After I fought with it and about killed my back and got majority of the backyard done, I finally figured it out and the last little bit was much easier haha I'm sure i'll pay for that tomorrow. I'm gonna be so sore. oh well. You live and you learn. I've never had to mow until now, but I decided I better figure it out, because I'll have to do it when Mick's deployed for 7 months.

YUCK. I cringe everytime I say that. 7 months seems so long :( (and that's like a mini deployment compared to others.. esp Army deployments) and we've already heard rumors that his NOV deployment could turn into an OCT deployment instead. Am I suprised?? Not in the least bit. Am I upset??? ehhh .. at this point I just want to get it started so it can get over with. All the anticipation is driving me crazy. I hate that it's hanging over my head like a big ol' rain cloud. We've been together for 3 1/2 years and this will be our first deployment. I'm curious to see how i'll handle it all. I tend to get overwhelmed VERY easily and let tiny things bother me and ruin my day, so I can see me totally freaking out and ending up on medication by the time it's all said and done haha It seems like the second he walks out the door is when the sh*t always hits the fan and i hate it! It's hard enough to deal with it all alone, but having to worry about my husband's safety on a daily basis on top if it might just put me over the edge! ughhh if anything happened to him, I dont know what I'd do.

enough of that talk though. everything will be fine :)

Anyway.. aside from all that craziness, California is beautiful! I've heard some people say they didnt like Oceanside, but so far, I really like it here. We live in a really beautiful, quiet and safe neighborhood. There are walking trails and "tot lots" all over, so Mason and I have been going on plenty of walks and stopping at all the little playgrounds we can find! Our house is only 8 miles from the beach, which I LOVE!! I feel like we really lucked out. Our house isnt perfect, but aside from the few complaints I have about it, I'm really happy with where we chose to live. Right near the beach, especially at this time of year, is crazy busy and full of tourists and it only takes me about 15 minutes to get there, but in just the 15 short minutes it takes to get home from the beach... it's quiet and peaceful, there are palm trees, bushes and flowers lining the streets of the neighborhood, bunnies and ducks in the middle of the road, because of the nearby pond, quite a few benches that overlook the mountains for a beautiful sunset view in the evenings... it's like the best of both worlds! I cant wait for my parents to come out and visit, so that they can see it. I think they'll really like it here!

Apparently we had an earthquake today, but I didnt feel a thing. It was a 4.9 and there was a 4.8 aftershock shortly after. It hit further south, but they said it was felt as far as oceanside, fallbrook, temecula and san clemente (which is even further north). A few friends in Temecula said they felt it, but no one i've talked to here in O-side felt a thing. I can honestly say that if I dont feel a single earthquake my entire time here, I would NOT be heartbroken haha however, if it's just a SMALL one, it would be kind of neat to experience and see what it felt like.... but only if it's just a small one! I'm almost afraid to hang anything above Mason's crib for fear that it would shake off the wall and hit him in the head! I'm probably being overly cautious and over protective, but I love that lil guy and I dont want anything hurting that handsome lil face :)

This week I'm excited to finally meet some friends (other Marine wives) that I've talked to online for years, but never got the chance to meet. I know them either through random "Marine gf/wife boards" or a "friend of a friend" kind of thing. One girl I've talked to since my ex fiance and I were dating, so we've talked for over 5 years! This meeting is long overdue! haha So i'm excited to see her tomorrow! The other girl I've talked to for about 3 years and I'm finally going to meet up with her on Tuesday! It's crazy how close you feel to someone you've never met. I remember when they both got married. One of the girl's has a baby and I got to see her pictures and watch her belly grow and see the pictures in the hospital when the baby was born. We've kept in touch through the rough times when their husbands were deployed. I remember when they both graduated college and one girl has even started her own photography business now (and is amazing at it!) So even though we've never met yet, we've been there (online) for so much of each other's lives, that it just kinda feels like we've known each other all along, so i'm very excited to finally get to chat face to face! Plus, I'm gonna need these deployment vets around when Mick leaves so I have someone to give me a good swift kick in the rear end and a nice, loud "suck it up" when i start whining about everything and how lonely i am haha!

Well.. that's all for now! I'll probably have more to post by the end of the week :) I'll eventually get around to posting some pics too, although I'm sure almost everyone has seen them all on facebook anyways :)