What college has taught me.

College has taught me a lot.  Not only in the classroom but outside of it too.

 I think the most important thing that I have learned is that people don't need to be blood related to be family.  I have hands down met some of my best friends that I plan on staying in touch with for the rest of my life.  Moving 8 hours from home 3 years ago wasn't the easiest thing I've done but it was definitely the best decision I've ever made.

Some days I miss my family, dogs and boyfriend more than I could ever explain.  But then I spend time with my friends and teammates and those feelings are minimized.  Being on a team here automatically gave 28 new family members and friends.  I would do absolutely anything for any girl on my team and I know they would do the same for me.  I can call them at any hour of any day and they're there for me.  They listen to me complain about missing Ian and let me cry it out.  They support me while I'm injured and let me know it'll all be okay.

 

    

 Even outside my teammates I've made some really great friends.  I never thought it would be possible to get so close to people I've only know for a few years.  But I have an I'm so very thankful.  I've learned so much about myself and grown more than I thought I would.

I'm not really sure why I wrote this post.  But I think it's important to let your friends know how much you love them and how much they mean to you.  I'm so blessed and thankful for my Mason family <3

California!

One week ago I came back to the east coast after spending almost two weeks in sunny San Diego, California. Two of the best weeks ever!

The gorgeous view of Downtown SD

There were a lot of reasons those two weeks were so awesome.  But hands down the best one was spending time with my boyfriend!!!! I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted, but I'll share the ones that I do have :) 

I flew in on the 30th and Ian flew in on the 31st.  We spent the last hour and a half of 2013 together with Kam, Nic and their families.  The next day we lounged around and spent time together.  The following few days we went apartment searching! We looked in a few different areas around San Diego which was cool because I got to see the area.  It also felt super grown up! I've apartment searched before, but that was looking for a place to live, near school, with roommates...I really wasn't very picky!  The things Ian and I were looking for now were much different.  We had to think about location, price, size and a bunch of other things! We eventually found the perfect place! Ian moves in this week.

 Ian trying out a new mattress!

Less than a week after I got out there Ian started a class, the whole reason he was flown back from his deployment.  Luckily his class got out in the early afternoon each day.  That gave me time to hangout with Kam and the puppies until Ian got home then spend time with him!  One of the best (and my favorite) things Ian introduced me to was The Shout House.  It's a dueling piano bar.  I have never been to one before and it was one of the coolest things ever!

At the Shout House!

These dogs are great! Eevah gives the best snuggles :)

Driving around town with Kam!

The rest of the time I was out there Ian and I spent time shopping for apartment furniture, spending time with friends and enjoying each others company.  We spent a lot of time driving around with the windows off the jeep, singing country music. 

 Afternoon at the beach!!

I can't wait to get back out there soon! I'm not positive when it will be, but I know it will be just as great as the first time!

After being apart from Ian for almost 6 months, being back together with him made me one of the happiest girls on earth.  It was as though we had only been apart for one day and nothing had changed.  Distance sucks, but it definitely makes the heart grow fonder.

 

The last night I was in town we did a wine and cheese happy hour then had homemade steak Alfredo for dinner! It was a great end to an amazing trip :)

Deployment

Oh Deployment.  That dreaded "D" word that no spouse in the military wants to hear.  I have to be honest.  The day I found out that Ian was being deployed in 3 short months happened to be the same day of one of my best friends weddings.  I was down for a moment but decided not to think about it because it was an exciting day and we had only heard through word of mouth.  But the following day I was pretty bummed.  I was just starting to accept the fact that Ian would be moving to the other side of the country and now he was getting deployed.  I thought it was the most unfair thing ever. 

I let myself mope around and be bummed for a few days then I accepted the fact that it was something I couldn't change and it was going to happen whether I wanted it to or not.  I started of thinking of the "positives".  For example, I could make super awesome care packages.  I also knew I was going to be super busy with school, rowing, clinicals and nannying so even if he wasn't deployed I wouldn't be able to visit him in CA anyway. 

I started searching the internet and pinterest for different deployment care package ideas.  I wanted to make this the best possible experience for both Ian and I.  Even though this was his career, he had a ton thrown at him the past few months and I knew it wouldn't be easy for him.  One of my favorite ideas I came across was the "open when..." letters.  I contacted his family and friends and asked people to write him a letter and of course I wrote a ton! Then each letter was put in an envelope with a picture that said "open when..." and said either a specific date or a time when he was feeling down or homesick, etc.  I gave all of those to him before he deployed and I think I sent around 30.  It was pretty awesome for him to have something to open so often!

Now that the deployment is over I've realized a few things.  But, as a disclaimer just like every couple's relationship is different, everyone's deployment experience is different.  This is just what I learned.
*You might cry at a random time in a random place.  It will happen.  Just let it out, don't try to hold it in.
*You can still have fun without them there.  Girls nights are acceptable and sometimes really needed.
*Stuffed animals and your signifcant others clothes are the best sleeping buddies.
*Your friends and family will be your saviors. Call, text, video chat them.  It helps.
*STAY BUSY.  It'll make your days go by faster.
*Do things for yourself. I trained for a marathon.  It kept me very busy and I had fun!
* Email will become your best friend. Even if you don't hear from him one day, send an email anyway.  It helps.
*Your relationship will grow and change.  In a good way! (for us at least) We're closer and better than ever.
*Make your own decision and opinion about deployment.  I heard a ton of horror stories and none ended up applying to me.  Deployment doesn't have to be a terrible thing.
*DO NOT compare yourself to others.  Try not to get upset when someone got 5 phone calls and you got none.  Ian's job kept him super busy and he had trouble with his calling card so I only got one phone call the entire deployment.  BUT I did get facetime calls every time he was in port.

That's just my opinion and I hope others have a positive experience as well!

Marathon!

So this post is very delayed! But this was such a huge accomplishment for me I can't not write about it. 

A little over a year ago I started running a few races with one of my friends, Nathalie.  First we did a 10k, then a 10 miler.  Then we started discussing maybe a half... then she suggested running the Marine Corp Marathon.  Whattttt?!!!! I actually thought she was insane.  But then I started thinking about and thought "What the hell.  I'm young and now is a better time than any!" Registration for the marathon was on March 27, my 21st birthday! After an hour and 10 minutes of the website crashing and re-entering my information multiple times I finally got in! I started my training at home over the summer with my mom.  September 1st Nathalie, my mom, my aunt and I (as well as some of my other teammates!) Ran the VA Beach Rock N Roll Half marathon.  After that Nathalie and I did our long runs together on the weekends leading up to the race. 

 

 At the race expo the day before

 Race day was October 27th 2013.  My parents had come into town the day before and were staying in Cystal city not far from the start of the race.  The morning of the race Nat and I met up and went over together.  Her parents had bought us these really adorable ;) sweatsuits to wear to the start since it was a little chilly!

 My mom and her friend made this amazing shirt for me since Ian was deployed and couldn't be there.

 Part way during the race one of the times we saw my parents

 We even saw Caitlin!

The race was awesome.  We kept a comfortable pace and had so many awesome people cheering for us the whole time! We saw my parents about 6 times throughout the race.. I'm pretty sure they walked/ran/metro-ed about 22 miles that day.  They're great! We also had a group of teammates come to cheer us on which was super awesome too. 

 Finishers!!!!

I can't say I plan on running a full marathon anytime really soon but you never know! Maybe Nathalie will convince me again one day ;)

I'm Back! And in Cali.

Well, I'm going to give this another go around.  I've blogged a few times before and I always let life get the best of me and stop writing.

So if you haven't already figured it out, I'm in San Diego! I'm out here for a few weeks visiting friends and of course my wonderful boyfriend Ian.  Ian reported to his ship a couple months after graduation and a few short weeks later he was deployed.  The past 6 months have definitely been a crazy whirlwind but we've officially survived our first deployment and have never been better.

I spent Christmas at home in NY with my family then drove back down to VA on the 29th so I could fly out on the 30th.  I flew out of DC at 11am.  I kind of forgot about the time difference and definitely didn't pack snacks accordingly.  But after a quick stop in Chicago and a layover in Vegas I made it!  The following day I hung out with Kam, Nic and their parents. 

That evening I finally got to see Ian!! I was a little worried about driving the jeep since it's standard and I haven't driven it in 4 months but luckily I survived and the jeep and I made it safely to the airport. After waiting (at the WRONG escalator) for about a half an hour I finally saw Ian. We were both pretty ecstatic! After getting lost because of the extreme fog on the way home, we got back just in time for the clock to strike 12 for the new year.

 At the airport :)

 Cheers to the new year!

Since I've been out here we've been apartment searching and soaking up every minute that we have together.  Ian started his class today (the whole reason he was flown back early from his deployment).  It stinks that he's gone for the day but luckily we're staying with one of my best friends so I get to spend the day with her and her dogs.  I can't complain about that!

 

First "real" Mexican food experience!

 

XOXO,

V