When it Comes to Care Packages, I'm Kind of a Big Dill!

Yay! Care Package fun! :D

And if you caught it in the title, I said "Dill'. There is no typo or confusion of words- this is a Pickle themed box! Fun right? You betcha!

I got the idea from my husband- he just doesn't know it. He requested Dill pickle flavored sun flower seeds after trying some from a friend. My husband is slightly obsessed with Pickles.. just slightly. He's is known to eat a huge jar of the HUGE pickles in one sitting and occasionally drink some of the juice. [gag]
If it's not pickles he's eating, then it's Pickled Okra. [gag more]

Slightly obsessed is an under statement.

SO.. why not do a pickle box? Perfect right? exxxcellent (in Mr Burns voice as a twiddle my fingers).

First, I bought everything Pickle flavor that I knew for sure he liked.
We have tons of Pickle sunflower seeds, dill pickle chips, pickled sausage, big mamas, big papas, jar of pickles, jar of wickles (wicked pickles/ pepper pickles), 2 jars of pickled okra- the box was jammed packed!

And for shits and giggles, I threw in a couple air fresheners in hopes that his division won't hate me too badly when he receives this box. If you have never been around a man who can down jars, yes jarS, of pickles in one sitting, be thankful. they stink! I learned too quickly last deployment that those smells were NOT coming from the dog as he blamed them 90% of the time!

And of course, you know I had to be super cheesy and decorate. I didn't go all out on the decor, but I figured such an abundance of pickles didn't need much. So, We have, "Just so you know... when it comes to Care Packages, I'm kind of a big Dill". Hence the title.

Of course, I had to include something with the air fresheners, and all I could come up with is, "If the air fresheners aren't enough to mask your pickle farts, then tell your division to just Dill with it". ewwwie. 

The other sides, I just kept simple. I was out of creativity and I was tired! 

However, just TWO days after I mailed the box, I found a "Pickle" I miss you card. It would have been the topping on the cake. Le'sigh, too late now! It's somewhere in it's travels to a very hot place. 

It took him over a month to receive his Zombie box, here's hoping the pickles get there sooner!

Blogging

I have a million things pop in my head that inspires me to blog. Problem is, I'm never around a computer when the idea pops in my head. I've come to the conclusion that I'm in need of a small notebook to carry with me everywhere. Then, maybe, I will be able to jot down my thoughts and ideas as they come. But then again, a lot of ideas come to mind while I'm driving. That would be a fail. So, maybe a voice recorder? That might just work!


You would think, that since I spend so much time on the computer as is, that I would blog more. Nope, not the case. I spend so much time editing and "working" I don't always have those random thoughts pop in my head.

I do a lot of thinking in the shower to, probably a little odd, but I think many people think a lot in the shower. I can't exactly bring electronics or a notebook in the shower with me. That would just be too easy! And, I'm very scatterbrained. So, by the time I'm out of the shower, I cannot remember any of the bloggable ideas that pop in my head.

I'm only blogging right now because It's late and I took a nap earlier and now I cannot sleep. But yet, I'm too tired to have something truly worthy of blogging about. This post is also scheduled to post in the AM because, if I do so happen to fall asleep, I don't want my email dinging if I so happen to receive any comments. And as anyone who has had a loved one deployed knows, the phone doesn't go on silent (Although, sometimes I will if I know he's been super busy and I'm exhausted, I'll put it on silent in hopes I sleep through the night).

I think over the next couple months I will be blogging more often. Lots of exciting things, dates, etc will be happening- well, they are exciting to me and since this is my blog, you can decide if you want to be excited with me or not. :p
Like what you say?
August= Boudoir session, several years ago I met my Mr. Amazing this month!
September= I married the perfect guy for me
October= Navy anniversary, Halloween
November= Thanksgiving
December= Ship Decom., Christmas

AND somewhere in there is homecoming. :D
But also in a few of those months, there will be themed carepackages! Chyeah!

Later this week/ weekend.. sometime soon.. I will post my most recent themed package to my husband.

If you would like to keep updated on my packages as I prepare them, shop for them, etc. Follow me on instagram @christinarush (http://statigr.am/christinarush)

Emotions, Projects and Homecoming- Oh My!

We are more than halfway through deployment. How exciting right? I'm extremely excited.

Yesterday, I had the honor of photographing the USS Arleigh Burke homecoming for a client. Homecomings are SO exciting- especially when you know that in a few short months you will be where she is, waiting on him to walk to you (or you run to him) and the camera turned on you. Photographing homecomings is one of the most rewarding parts to my job. So much emotion and excitement.. sometimes, even tears (on my part too!).

I am now nearing the point where I might feel a little stress. We are on the home stretch and I'm determined to finish my to-do list. As I have mentioned in a previous blog, I'm notorious for making my list of goals and things to achieve far longer than I have time to complete them in. AND, sometimes things happen to change your schedule or add more must-do's to the to-do list (like having to cut out a tree and then buy a new shed, etc!).

I feel like my list is a mile long and I'm getting nowhere with it.

I just keep telling myself, "The day he comes home, he's not going to notice anything you have done to or around the house. He's just going to be glad to be home!". Although, he might notice the love seat is gone.. Oops!

Now, I'm at the point of prioritizing my list, and the "big" projects I was going to do, will now become projects WE are going to do together. I haven't told him that just yet- so, here's hoping!

In a few months, none of this will matter. I will be waiting on the pier to welcome him home and for my heart to be completed. It's at that very moment when the world stops and all that matters is that very moment. It's that moment when you know that the month's apart were worth it. Shaking, scared, excited, nervous and maybe a little nauseous- full of so many feelings, all leading to that one moment when you see him walking to you. It's all worth it.

But for now, my ass is kicking in overdrive!

I have to finish the back yard (have the shed and fence installed, patio, hammock, grass, etc), re-do our bedroom, finish my office, Find curtains for a couple rooms and put them up, organize, organize and more organizing- the list is about a mile long. I have LOTS of painting projects to start. I need to get busy!

Today= Project day!

Now I will leave you some Arleigh Burke homecoming sneaks :)

This was their first deployment, and the first time they had seen the ship in 6 months.
They were extremely excited and fighting tears. 

 

The moment that the world stops and nothing matters anymore.
He's home, he's safe  and you feel complete again. 

Childless

Irritated is an understatement- maybe not even irritated, I feel sick and hurt. Maybe I shouldn't, but some things are "Touchy".

When you're on a page- and you don't know WHO or ANYTHING about the moderator(s), don't make judgements. Especially dumb ones.

Saying, "I know whoever runs this page is childless"- because ONE event didn't cater to those who have children, is kind of sad. AND, to associate that with ONE person who replied to your post- calling them "Childless"? It struck a nerve with me.

You don't know me, you don't know who I am, you don't even know my name AND you don't know that I have had Multiple miscarriages. Calling me, "Childless"... just rip my heart out.

Because I don't have any "born" children does not phase my ability to take part in a group that caters to FAMILIES. Being married to my husband.. makes me HIS FAMILY. Just because I don't have kids, and I only have angel babies doesn't make me any less of a family- even if I didn't have angel babies, I would still be a family and apart of the group.

Being "Childless" doesn't hinder my ability to help moderate a page, participate in an organisation, help make decisions with the group or volunteer my time with it.

I'm Proud of You

One of my favorite things about deployment is all the things we set ourselves to accomplish. As most of you know, I tend to overdo it and make my deployment to-do list far longer than I have time for. However, I do accomplish a lot during deployment.

Another of my favorites about deployment is my husband. He notices how busy I am and little things. Even though he is not here physically, he is very aware and as much as I don't think he always pays attention, he does.

Getting an email from my husband just to tell me how proud of me he is, means absolutely everything to me. It's nice to be noticed, especially by him. If I needed any more motivation to get things done, the email from him was it.

Although, he does think I'm overdoing it some times. He is always worried about me. Which is one way my husband is able to show he cares. He's not one of those, "Wear his heart on his sleeve" kind of guys. I'm ok with that.

Four years ago on the 13th, my husband proposed to me. It seems like every day I'm reminded why I said yes. He's perfect for me. I think he and I balance each other out a lot. We are extremely alike, but at the same time, he and I are so very different. Our relationship may not be perfect- others may not see us as the perfect couple, I'm completely ok with that. We work well together and neither of us are perfect, but together we are complete and we are happy.

A year ago on Friday (the 13th), we successfully completed his first deployment. Now, we are working on completing his 2nd deployment. I'm proud of him for how well he has done with the separation because of the job he chose to provide for our family. Last deployment he had his struggles, and doubted making a career with the Navy. He did not like being away from me and not being able to talk every day. This deployment, He has not expressed any doubts. I think the first deployment is sometimes the hardest, as you learn to adjust.

People say you never get use to it- the military lifestyle, or being separated due to deployment. BUT I think it is possible. I think there are some who can and do get use to it and there will be those who don't. Just like I have heard from different people that having kids makes it harder, and I've heard some say just the opposite- kid's made deployment easier. It's different for everyone.

I'm proud that I feel like I have adjusted and I feel like I am accustomed to this lifestyle. I'd love for him to be home more, but we've learned how to make "military" work for us.

I have to say, I'm pretty proud of all the things I have accomplished as well. I have a huge list to accomplish, but If I get halfway down it by homecoming, then I have more than enough to be proud of. What I don't accomplish before he's home, I will just have him help me.

What are you proud of?

Bittersweet

July 11 is bittersweet. July 11 is the anniversary of my Husband and I's first miscarriage. It has been 4 years ago.

My husband and I were not married at the time. Honestly, being unmarried and pregnant scared me so much. When my husband and I started dating, he didn't want any kids. I knew I wanted kids more than anything later in life. I wasn't ready at 21. In June of 2008, I found out I was pregnant. There was no denying the more than 8 tests that I took. I waited a couple weeks before I told my now husband. I was SO scared he would leave me,which was extremely idiotic of me. I knew better. He is far from that type of guy.

I felt distanced from him and felt as if we started to argue a lot. Truth is, we were both terrified. We were both under a lot of pressure to get married and just under a lot of pressure in general. Come to find out, he was in shock, he was excited and was scared to touch me in any way for fear of hurting the baby. He was distancing himself from me because he was scared of hurting the baby and he hadn't a clue what to do.

It finally came out that he was excited and we were finally able to talk about it. The marriage talk came up and I told him I wanted to marry him more than anything, but I didn't want to marry him because of the baby.  He understood, but told me he had planned to put a ring on my finger before the end of the summer baby or not. He also told me he had been talking to his mother about this for months. It did make me feel happy, but I told him I wanted to wait and he was ok with that. I didn't want people to judge us or our baby.

We finally told some of his family, WELL.. we told his sister while visiting and me meeting some of his family for the first time. Before we could even get back to our home town, his parents already knew (JESS YOU HAVE A BIG MOUTH! LOL). They didn't let us know they knew, they waited for us to tell them. We told my parents, and my mom went on Myspace and announced to the world how excited she was to have her first grand baby on the way.

My first official doctor's appointment came. I went alone, he had to work. It was the official, "YOU'RE PREGNANT" appointment.

They did 2 tests, both came back negative. A friend from high school is the one who did my tests. He didn't know I had already taken tests or that we were planning for a baby at that moment. He also knew I wasn't married and how I felt about this sort of thing. He came in and said, "Well, you're not pregnant!". I just starred at him blankly. Then he knew something was ripping me apart and I told him about the home tests.

The doctor came in and started asking questions, doing more tests. One thing she did was feel all over my abdomen. When she put pressure down, I came off the table and screamed. I had never felt such horrible pain in my life. I instantly felt sick and tears rolled down my face.

She sat down for a minute, started going over her notes from the questions she asked and they did a blood test, etc.

Then came the news that I wasn't about a month along like we all had thought. I had been carrying since April and it was now July 11, 2008. I was 3 months pregnant and finding out my baby was no longer with me.

According to the doctor, I started miscarrying in May. I actually remember asking my husband if I had had a period because I was late. Then, it came and it was ridiculously heavy. I didn't think anything about it. June, I was spotty. June is when I thought something was different. I felt different and was nauseous, a lot. So, I took a test, several tests. All of which said positive.

My body was miscarrying when I tested. My HCG levels were still high to make me test positive, even though I was miscarrying.

To this day, I cannot remember everything the doctor said that day. I was in total disbelief and shock. I got to the car, and I lost it. I called my mom and it was the hardest thing I had to do, was to tell her about loosing my baby.

I found it even harder to tell my husband, boyfriend at the time.

I somehow managed to get ready for work and attempt to go in. I worked with my husband at the time. I was fine, fine as in ready to fall apart at any minute. I saw my husband and he just hugged me and held me. I was ok. I kept telling myself everything was going to be ok.

I went to the bathroom, calmed myself down and then started to walk to the front of the store. One of the ladies I work with stopped me and asked if I was ok. My husband had already let everyone know, just so they wouldn't ask about the baby. He didn't want it to be any harder on me. When Diane asked if I was ok, I lost it. I was an absolute wreck. She walked me outside to get me some fresh air and then the assistant store manager came out, bringing my husband with him. When my husband saw me, sitting on the ground sobbing, he lost it. I've rarely seen him shed a tear, but him seeing me that day hurting and him hurting too, he couldn't hold back. He came up and grabbed me and just held me.

Our boss told us to go home, that he wasn't allowing either of us to work that day. I'm so thankful for how great everyone at my then job was. I was in no condition to work, especially when several customers and everyone we worked with knew I was pregnant.

At the same time that this was the hardest time in my life, it was also one of the most rewarding times, too. My husband didn't want kids, but this forever changed him. After he got over being scared, he would talk to my belly, kiss my belly and rub my belly every day. He wanted to be a daddy, and I knew he would make an amazing dad- and still will, one day. He confirmed for me more than anything how he was so perfect for me.

I don't understand and never will understand why God put us through a miscarriage (and many more after this one), but I do understand why he allowed us to get pregnant. It taught us so much about each other and ourselves. It made us closer and showed us so much more how we wanted to be together and to raise a family together.

Shortly after our miscarriage, he proposed. I said yes, and every day since, I would say yes over and over.

Even though July 11 is hard and emotional for me, it's such sweet sorrow to know I was carrying for as long as I was, to see my husband change, and to feel closer than I already was to him. One day we will be blessed with a baby. I don't know when or how, but when that day comes, he and I will be the happiest parents in the world.

Proud, Damn Proud

Happy Independence Day!

Today we celebrate our FREEDOM here in the great ole U.S. of A. Some people take what we have in this great country for granted.

Some times we get so caught up in complaining that we forget the luxuries we have here in America.

I for one, am grateful we have Freedom of speech, Freedom of religion and SO much more. We are given so many choices and options to have amazing lives here in this country and yet, we still complain or want to bash this day or bash this country.

I am one of those people who say, "If you don't like this country, then get out". It's a choice, ya know, you don't have to stay here if you dislike it that badly.

I'm extremely thankful to our Military who fights, everyday, to keep us safe and help prevent attacks. They are true heroes. Past, Present and Future.. I thank you.

Although there are things about this country I don't agree with, I'm happy here. I love it here. And although, it seems, many people's morals have changed for the worse, I cannot wait to raise children here.

Today is a day set to celebrate, so do it. Celebrate your freedom and remember why you have those freedoms.

I'm PROUD to be an AMERICAN, where at least I know I'm FREE. I won't forget the MEN WHO DIED and gave that right to ME.

God Bless the USA.

Whatever You Like

Today, I heard the song, "Whatever You like" by TI come on the radio as I was changing stations. I stopped flipping stations and finished listening to the song.

Sometimes I hear songs that remind me of my husband. "Whatever You Like" is a song that always makes me smile and always instantly makes me think of my husband.

The night before our wedding, my husband went out with the guys while my Maid of Honor and I worked on some final wedding stuff.

While my maid of honor and I were chatting and preparing for the wedding, I received a text from my husband. The text contained lyrics to TI's "whatever you like". Not so much the dirty parts of the song, but rather the parts saying, "you can have whatever you like".

Now, nearly 4 years later, I still smile and remember that same shy guy who asked me to marry him. I remember how young we were and how crazy we were about each other. He was and still is my protector, my rock, my best friend and the love of my life.

July 13, 2008 is when he proposed to me. He was actually scared I would say no. He's crazy for ever thinking that.
July 13, 2011 my husband came home from our first deployment, and he actually remembered that was the day he proposed to me. If you know my husband, you know his memory with dates is far from good (which is why he jokes about why he's with me because I remember everything!).

Basically the point of this blog is to say, no matter where he is... There are little things that make him feel close to home. No matter where he is, I will always have something here to remind me of him. And those things will always bring a smile to my face and added proof there can be bits of happiness during deployment if you allow it.

Timber!

I hate trees. I use to love them, but after the past couple weeks, I have decided the next house we purchase will not have trees anywhere near the house that are taller than our house. Seriously, Trees, You suck.

If you follow my Facebook fan page, Instagram or on Twitter,  you know I have been doing a lot of yard work this deployment. When my husband left, our yard wasn't as you would say, "Pretty".

The front yard was missing grass from the installation of our driveway after purchasing the house. I had finally got the grass to look good and planted flowers in the front. Yay for me!

The back yard was covered with leaves and was mostly just dirt. Every week I would get out there and rake leaves and work to make the yard look good. It was far from being my dream yard, but it was green and very few bald spots.

The left image is after weeks of work. Yard was green and I had filled some holes along the fence with top soil as well as bagged TONS of leaves. The right image was the project I was starting. All the grass (what was there) was going to be removed and I was going to level the area out and begin working on my husband's awesome patio surprise.

Then, when having someone come quote to finish off our privacy fence, I received bad news that the tree closest to our house was not only dead, but hollowed out. Problem? This tree was EXTREMELY close to our house and more than double the height of our house. If it were to fall, it would take out 3 bedrooms and 2 bathroom at the very minimum. Yikes.

Before believing this man, I sent photos of the tree to my father-in-law who is an expert with trees. He then told me what I expected, but didn't want to hear. The tree had to come down.

I had more than 5 companies give me quotes. The tree was so large and so close to our house it wasn't going to come cheap. Of course, I chose the guy I felt the most comfortable with, and just so happened to be the guy with the lowest price. Within 2 days, he had his team at my house to get the tree down.

The company is called Great Scott. And they were Great! They stayed until dark and had the tree down in one day. I was nice and made them Lemonade and cookies. I figured it was the least I could do with them being out in the sun all day and not taking breaks. Man, were they ever appreciative!

As you can see, my green yard was starting to turn to muck. 

They struggled with the stump with it being as large as it was. The bobcat spun it's tires when it tried to get under the chainsaw cut they put in at the base to pull it up. They ended up having to go from top to bottom with the chainsaw ans splitting the base in two. The tree ended up taking two truck loads to haul off, not including the limbs they turned into sawdust. 

My yard, a mess. But, when there is a bobcat and a tree falling in your yard.. what can you do? They even had to take out part of my fence to get the bobcat in the back yard. They did go above and beyond by re-installing the gate for me. My back yard has about a 10 foot section that is green. My front yard is also a mess, but nothing compared to the back. 

Before, my yard was very shaded. And although it is still shaded, there is a HUGE section to my yard that was not there before due to the tree and the sun is bright! I've noticed my house stays a bit warmer now too. Which, may be good for winter. Now that summer is here, my central air may be running a tad bit more. But, for the yard space, I'm OK with that. 

Now, my tree issues didn't stop there. Just a few days after having this beast of a tree cut down, I guess the Gumball tree, also in my back yard, felt neglected. A rather large limb from the top of the tree broke loose and crushed the roof of my husband's shed. The shed he finished building just 3 days before he deployed in March. 

Coming home from working to see this, my only thoughts were, "Really?!".
The limb even moved the shed over a few feet as well as ripped apart and through the metal on the roof. The limb was only inches away from hitting our lawn mower.

Thankfully for us, the tree company that took down the beast of a Red Oak for me, came by and removed the limb (which was inside the shed, over the fence and on the neighbor's garage. It was no little limb!). AND, they did it for me for free, saving me nearly $500. They even looked at the Gumball tree for me to give me a status on the condition of the tree. The tree is in GREAT health, however, they did tell me that Gumball trees are notorious for loosing limbs as the the limbs get so large and too heavy for the tree. So, now I'm debating as to cut down the Gumball tree or not. It wouldn't be any time soon, as we have had to shell out a lot of money in a very short amount of time. My pocketbook needs a break!

Now, sometime in the very near future, there will be a pretty little wood shed where this mangled metal shed still currently sits until I figure out what the heck I need to do with it. 

I wanted the wood shed to begin with, but he wanted to save a couple hundred dollars with the metal. Now, I am making the investment to get the "Prettier" lawn ornament. 

So, Here's to no more tree issues, PLEASE!

I love trees, I really do. But I do not like when they add to my deployment to-do list and when they cost as much as they do. Now, I'm back at square one for working on my yard. Grass seed has been poured, now, finger's crossed it will grow. I really want a pretty yard. 

Thankfully, there are no trees that are a major threat to our house in our yard. My biggest threat is my neighbor's kids. But that's for a whole different blog. 

They're coming to get you Barbara!

This deployment I have been pushing my creativity. I have a long list of projects I plan to conquer, decorating my house, making my yard beautiful and so much more.

My favorite project lately? Care Packages.

Last deployment I always decorated the box and even did theme boxes. However, the box I'm about to show you, I'm unsure that I can ever top it.

My husband is a HUGE fan of The Walking Dead as well as any Zombie movie. When all the "Zombie" news articles started popping up (man eats homeless man's face off, college kid eats roommate's heart and brain... true stories), my weird and twisted thoughts automatically went to, "Hmmm.. Zombie box!".

I'm a bit of an overachiever, so, of course I went all out on this box with decorating and EVERYTHING inside.

Instead of me rambling, I will let the pictures (tons of them) do the talking.

 So, You're wondering what all is in the box? How about I just list it all!

• Movie, Zombieland
• Zombie Blood Energy Potion Pack
• Zombie Mints
• Bag O'Zombies (similar to bags of GI Joes)
• Zombie Survival Energy Drink
• Zombie Jerky- Teriyaki
• Zombie Survival Playing cards
• Zombie Pea Brains- Wasabi Peas
• Zombie Skin- Salted Dried Seaweed
• Crusty Zombie Toenails- Sesame Sticks
• Sour gummy worms
• Movie, 28 Days Later & 28 Weeks Later
• Movie, The Zombie Diaries
• Zombie Gum

I'm sure I left something out. But you get the idea!

I couldn't wait to blog about this box. And because of my impatience, there are a few items missing from the box that I ordered online (They will be here in a couple days). So, here are some of the things that will be in the box when it is sent out to my husband.

Work gloves, slippers, brain suckers, and a zombie arm bottle opener
Photos courtesy of  neatoshop.com

Water bottle and sleep mask
Photos courtesy of  neatoshop.com

To decorate the box, I used Spray blood we had leftover from Halloween. My right hand is stained pink from covering it in the dye to put a "Zombie hand print" in the bottom of the box. I then continued with my care package obsession of using Duck brand duct tape, and created the caution tape. I decided to buy solid yellow tape, as I didn't want to purchase a caution tape pattern because I use the Duck tape to wrap the box shut- I assume caution tape on the outside of the box would raise some eyebrows!
I took a black sharpie to put the patterns on the Duck tape, as well as write on the box. I also used a white paint marker to fill in on one flap of the box to create a Warning sign. Being that the paint pen was used on the cardboard and not the tape, it dried extremely fast as it absorbs into the cardboard.

After I finished with the Duck tape, drawing and writing on the box, I then use the spray blood to put "splatters" of blood over the tape.

This box wasn't cheap. I will not go into detail to how much I spent because I'm not exactly proud of it! Ha! However, I know my husband will absolutely love this box and it will make him smile. AND I HAD A BLAST MAKING IT!

If you are interested in creating your own Zombie theme box, check out Amazon for some awesome Zombie treats, as well as the site, NEATOSHOP.

I'll be making a trip to Hot Topic this weekend sometime to see if I can snag a couple other fun goodies for this box as well (If I have any more room!). I do know that Hot Topic carries a "blood bag" which is actually an energy drink. I might pick up a couple of them to throw in as well.

Now, how in the world am I going to top this one? Hmmm...

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