Look how far I've come

Nick's 5th deployment is just around the corner. I can't help but think how I'm not dreading this one, of course I'm not looking forward to it, but look how far I have come. This time last year my idea of a good night was sweatpants, nachos and chick tv, granted I still enjoy that from time to time, but it was lonely. Now I have a great group of friends (I'm talking to you Ashley, Liz, Erin, Jill) and two great sisterhoods in the FJWC and Pure Romance (Team Ramirez!)

I think about how much happier I am and how it really only took a couple leaps of faith (and perhaps a lack of manners with Ashley when I invited myself to her club's December meeting)

Some pictures of the fun I have been having lately (photos are in random order):

Pure Romance Team Ramirez at our "New Year/New Pay Plan" party.

The cast of the FJWC's Fall Social "There's No Place Like Home"
Guess who I am? Muhahahaha!!

Our new cabinets. Nearly 2 years ago Nick and I knocked out this wall and we are just now getting the cabinets in to finish it all (just in time for Nick to leave again...LOL) We are staining them a glossy black and adding a butcher block counter top as well as a small bar that will hang over into the dining room.

Nick and me on the Jamestown Ferry. Our first ride!!

The Lollipop Cookies I made for the social.

Ashley, Liz and me...we color coordinate our outfits for optimum cuteness in pictures!

We also color coordinate our shirts to our margaritas! Liz and me with our 45oz bowls. LOL
(Ashley your camera has the pic of the three of us!!)

Feeding the seagulls off the back of the ferry.

The Pure Romance symbol cake I made for my open house.

The Beach cakes I made for the FJWC summer social.

The salty wife has really come out in me in the past 10 months since Nick deployed last, I look forward to adding more spice to my life as a Navy Wife.

My name is Andrea Burgess and I am a bookworm.

Yes, it is true. I am a bookworm.

I have always been a fan of books. My mama used to take us down to the library and I always remember checking out more books than humanly possible to read in a two week period. The books I was most drawn to were far from the fairy tales other girls my age were reading. "Tiger Eyes", "Face On The Milk Carton", "Our Guys" and pretty much anything by Lurlene McDaniel. 

Today my reading habits haven't changed much. Sure I was drawn into the "Twilight" and "Hunger Games" series, and enjoyed them, but it is books about seedier things in life that keep my interest. Some books that stick out in my mind are as follows

"Me and Emma"' Elizabeth Flock

"Gods in Alabama" Joshilyn Jackson
"BoneMan's Daughters" Ted Dekker
"The Girls" Lori Lansens
"Trapped" Chris Jordan
"Mad River Road" Joy Fielding
"Whistling in the Dark" Lesley Kagen
"The Lovely Bones" Alice Sebold

This summer's book shelf (or Kindle collection as the case maybe)
"Thirteen Reasons Why" Jay Asher
"These Things Hidden" Heather Gudenkauf
"Summer of Naked Swim Parties" Jessica Anya Blau
"I'd Know You Anywhere" Laura Lippman
"Every Secret Thing" Laura Lippman

After reading "I'd Know You Anywhere" I became interested in Stockholm Syndrome and came across the book "Stealing Grace" It is an e-book about human trafficking where the husband chooses not to abuse his newly acquired wife, instead treats her with respect and she in turn begins to fall in love with him.

I will read any book that keeps my attention, but I will remember a book that has characters that I worry about and find myself thinking about days, weeks, months, years after the final page has been read.

I have taken our woman's club book club under my wing and have hopefully done it proud. I am looking forward to having new book suggestions brought to the table. Additionally, as far as the club is concerned, I was named Education Chairman. I will continue the book club and head up two library events.

The fall book event is going to be based on the "Twilight" series. This wouldn't have been my first choice for a teen book club series, but I plan to make it amazing. I want to have separate stations set up for each different different vampire clan. They will learn about the land and unique things about the culture. There will, of course, be a werewolf station. Then I plan to suggest other series similar to "Twilight"

The spring event, I hope to be "Tales of Desperaux" since it will be younger tykes and the book's setting is in a library and the adventures that can occur there. 

Oh, yes I am a bookworm and I'm proud of it.
Happy reading.

Nick is home!!

This entry is about 10 days overdue. Nick is home! I am thrilled.

Homecoming was a mess, thank God for one of Nick's good buddies. I got off work, got all dressed up and headed into town. My plan was to get in early, have some dinner, then get a good parking spot at base. I had just gotten to Virginia Beach when I get a text from Nick that they hadn't even boarded the plane from San Diego yet. My enthusiasm was totally lost. I messaged Nick's buddy to tell him the plane was delayed. He invited me to come hang out with him at the VFW. He kept me laughing for a good few hours before we headed over to the base. I was all anxious and excited. We pulled up to a stop light and see two totally destroyed trucks in the intersection and a guy walking towards another truck with a severe head injury. Plenty of people were already on their phones, so I assumed we would get stuck behind the police line. Thanks to Nick's buddy he flipped on his blinker and took some crazy back road to get us to the base.

Finally we were in the hangar bay, waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more. My OpLove photographer was laughing at my nervousness, and I was all too aware of her being there so I kept looking at the camera. However, once Nick sent me a text saying his plane had landed I forgot everything and everyone but him. True to Nick, he wandered off the plane in no particular hurry. I actually wondered if he was just teasing me and wasn't even on the plane.

I kept moving forward until I was actually standing outside the hangar bay. The photographer was great and just kept following me. Finally I saw him!!

I threw my sign to the floor and ran out to meet him!

It was amazing to finally be in his arms again after 7 months.

Then it was time from some Bromance.

 

The Saturday following Nick's homecoming we had a party at the house to welcome him home and to give him an opportunity to meet all my friends. We had a build-your-own shish kabob party.

 

Everyone had a great time, even though we got rained out for a couple hours. 

It has been so great to have him home. It is as if the past 7 months never happened. We fell right back into our comfort level. We will be heading "home" to Idaho, southern and northern, on Thursday for a week. It will be a quick trip as we are splitting the time between both families. When we return back to the east side Nick will be headed out to Fallon, NV for about a month then it will be time to start work-ups for his December deployment. Such is the life of a salty wife. For now, I'm just enjoying every minute I can with him.

Operation Love Reunited photo shoot!

I am beyond thrilled. There is a program called Operation Love Reunited (http://www.oplove.org/) where local photographers do free of charge photo shoots for homecomings. I was very late in contacting anyone to do photos via this program or otherwise and figured I would just go alone, but then was inspired by a friend's raving about her photographer so I took a shot in the dark and guess what? A fabulous photographer, Jenn Kelley, contacted me and has agreed to be my photographer. (http://jennkelleyphotography.com/?load=flash)

I am so happy, I actually cried when I got off the phone with her.This deployment has been a long and trying one, but I am happy to say it is almost over and I will have pictures to celebrate our reunion.

Thank you to everyone that has supported me during these past 7 months, you all mean more to me than I can express.