Craft Marathon

The week or so before Rachel's visit (I'll start the recap/picture posts tomorrow-ish), I was really busy doing things around the house. 

I got more of my kitchen command center done, redid the outdoor table and chairs (that Joanna so generously and awesomely gave me,) made a sign, made a hanging thing (a coat rack but not since we don't wear coats here,) put up curtains, etc.

Before

  

Before

Before

So much potential! I sprayed on this rust converter stuff, then did two coats of brown-with-metallic-bits spray paint, then reupholstered the cushions. Brand new patio set!

That white chair was one we inherited with the PCS and it had a godawful red cushion on  it before

Not too shabby for my first time 

:)

I made a sign for my entryway to let people know to leave their grubby shoes at the door

I'm considering starting to sell this stuff

THEN I got sick of David never having anywhere to put his PC, our beach bag ending up on the floor, etc. so I painted a board and put some hooks on it. Easy peasy

I made a chalkboard out of a picture frame--painted the frame, painted the glass with chalkboard paint, decorated it with burlap roses. 

I got staple gun happy and covered a cork board with fabric and a burlap rose to make it pretty

I forget if I blogged about it but this dry erase board was redone by just painting the frame and decorating it with a coffee filter flower I dyed with water and acrylic paint. 

Annnd my paint chip calendar!

It's shaping up nicely I think  :)

Photography Class!

Awhile ago I was contacted by Brandy over at Bella Pop.com and she asked if I was interested in taking part in an online photography class...for free.

Um, YES!

She saw that I was into photography and had said how I wanted to take classes so she offered me a really amazing opportunity to try out her class. She picked some people of all skill levels and with all sorts of different cameras (only requirement: they have to be able to be used completely manually) to test drive her Shooting in Manual class while she refines it, and all we have to do is give feedback and review it.

So far we're just beginning Week 3 (of 4). We start out with just basics--get those manuals cracked open and LEARN YOUR CAMERA. Know what all those little buttons and options are and get clickin'. We then proceed to specific lessons focusing on different aspects of getting jussst the right exposure and a terrific photo: aperture, shutter speed, etc.

We get our lessons on a private part of her website and submit photos/talk with other members/get feedback on a private Facebook group. Everyone is really nice and Brandy is knowledgeable, talented, and really sweet. You can tell she knows what she's doing and she works really hard to make sure all of us feel comfortable, all the techy stuff is working, and the class is great for everyone.

I'm really excited about this opportunity and so far it's been amazing. I'll let you know how it goes as we head into the second half!

I AM COMPLETE!

Ok that's silly and I am a nut. HOWEVER, my life got a whole lot more awesome recently.

I NOW OWN A DSLR. A REALLY SPIFFY DSLR. THAT IS MY NEW BOYFRIEND.

I got a really great deal and used part of our refund to get a Canon EOS 60D. I felt guilty about it because of all the other things we could use the money for--there's ALWAYS something more practical--that's how it is for us (and the vast majority of people) right now.

When it got here and I opened it my hands were shaking. I sound like such a weirdo but it's true. I've been wanting one for years.

The second I started snapping away I no longer felt guilty. I would probably sell a kidney for that camera. Ok, not really. And um, that's illegal. And kidneys go for more than a camera on the black market...

YOU GET THE POINT.

These are some of my favorite pictures from the first few days of having it :). This is going to make pictures of my friend's and cousin's visit so much more fun to take!!

A toad (frog? I feel like it's probably a toad) that was on my back porch. He just sat nicely and posed for me :)

Miss Nani girl

Turtle. OF COURSE I HAD TO GET A PICTURE OF A SEA TURTLE FIRST THING!

Koa's little chin. 

My handsome man. I wish his eyes were more in focus :(.

A flower in my front yard

These are all from the first 2 days of having it so I'm really excited to master it and get better at knowing all the ins and outs. I'm in a photography class right now so that's helping motivate me to jump right in and really learn it.

Dreaming of Hawaii

While I'm enjoying hanging out with my friend, the super awesome Mrs. Y wrote a guest post for me. 

Hello my name is Mrs. Y and I have been given the wonderful opportunity to guest blog for Beckie while she's busy.

I blog as well, Miles Behind Me, and a while back I posted about PCSing because my husband is in the Navy and we are switching from sea to shore duty.

Our top number 1 dream location is Hawaii. 

I mean besides the normal reasons... sun and sand... which honestly we have those where we are stationed at, Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia. 

But then you also have exciting things like the wildlife and I mean there aren't any volcanos in Virginia ;)

There are glitz and glam about being stationed in Hawaii. But we have family there.

While no there is not a Naval base on the island of Maui where my sister lives, it would just be a hop and skip away to visit her. Versus now it would cost loads of money and as Beckie can probably tell you there aren't really visitors jumping at the bit to come and see you often. It is a visit you have to save and plan. So being on an island near her I could visit her more. And we do miss each other.

Oh how I wish I could batt my eyes at Navy and say oh please, oh please let us go. But that isn't how it works.

Currently we are at the beginning stages of transferring to shore duty. So that means that his window just opened up... and yes he's looking. 

But sad fact is there is a high chance we could stay in Virginia. He might not necessarily be stationed at Naval Station Norfolk.  My husband is an AO or Aviation Ordinance and there is a Naval Air Station here :) 

So now it's... we are dreaming of Hawaii. 

Is it a case of the grass is greener on the other side? 

That I can't tell you because I have NEVER been to Hawaii. But I can tell you I am sick of Virginia.

I am a tad envious that Beckie can enjoy Hawaii with D. We exchanged Christmas cards last year and ooh talk about picture perfect :) 

But I am sure Beckie is envious of me because she has family on the east coast... and we have family in Philly and it's just a hop, skip and a jump away. Maybe a 5 hour drive (just outside of Philly). So if my husband has the weekend off we can jump on the highway, drive up and spend the afternoon with his grandparents. 

But in a heartbeat I'd give up all that. My husband said he'd even take another sea rotation and skip shore duty. Just so we can be near my sister. The things my lovely husband would do just to make me happy. 

My brother-in-law vented on Facebook the other day about how he couldn't sleep cause it was soo hot, 75 degrees. I think I virtually punched him because it was probably in the 50s here. And honestly I don't think you've truly experienced Virginia until you've had that Virginia wind. The closer you get to the bay or the beach the higher the wind picks up. I left a friend's house who lives near Naval Station Norfolk and I thought it was gonna lift me up as I walked out of her house lol. 

And who knows maybe if we get Hawaii I can head on over to spend a day with Beckie for I sure do know she needs the company :)

So for Beckie's readers that are military, do you have a dream duty station? If you do please share.

And once again thanks Beckie for letting me guest post and a BIG THANKS to her lovely readers for reading this.

4-eva

Happy Valentine's Day.

I'm not going to write some annoying post about how much I hate today and how it's commercialized and blah blah blah. Those posts/statuses/tweets always irritate me. Stop being a grumblesnatch and wasting your time telling the world how this fake holiday is not worth your time.

I'm cool with mushy :).


I'd like to share this e-mail, sent almost ELEVEN years ago (yes I've held onto it this long) from when I was THIRTEEN. Please control your laughter over my e-mail address, David's choice of spelling, and the general goofiness that is young love.

He is going to kill me for this.

From: David
To: Angel_Princess2005@excite.com
Subject: Life without you....
Sent: Friday, February 23, 2001 1:46 AM

Beckie, Life without you is a fate worse than death.  To go through the rest of my life never hearing you talk, never hearing you laugh, and never hearing you "awwwww" is like going through life without actually living.  My soul, my whole essence, and my entire being is wrapped around you, constantly with you; constantly thinking about you.  To take away you would be to take away me.  [His friend] was worried about me cuz I just sat there...tuning out everything except for the thought of you.  I love you so much, and every second that ticks by, my love for you is doubled, no tripled.  *sighs* Who am I kidding?  Infinity could not describe how much my love for you increases by every second.  It's 2:00AM, I can't sleep cuz I wanna stay up and think about you; I want to sleep cuz I wanna dream about you.  Every waking moment away from you is an eternity of longing and lonelyness.  Every sleeping moment away from you is an eternity of wanting to wake-up and find out that being with you wasn't a dream.  I love you so much; not even the infinitely-complex word/feeling "love" could even grace the depths of this feeling I have for you.  I'm sorry for writing such a long letter that doesn't even come close to how I feel, but I had to try. Luv 4 Eva and Alwayz, David

 I don't know why he was thinking about losing me. I think 14 year old David meant "would be" instead of "is" because he hadn't lost me. Clearly. He's sort of morbid like me I suppose.

It's been over a decade since that ridiculous e-mail and I love him more than ever. A year ago I probably wouldn't have said that. We've been through so much; too much, really. Because we're both stubborn selfish turds sometimes. But now we're more solid than ever and prepared to get through whatever, together...

4-eva and Alwayz.


Bahahahaha