It's Crunch Time (Day 121)

It's almost September, it's almost another month closer to him coming home. Of course time flies by when I have a lot to get done, but hey, I'm not complaining - I'll be late, behind, and in a crunch for the next 3 months if it means time going faster! I have 5 days until I leave for California and I'm so ready to be busy all week. Let's get to Day 150 already!

2 more days until Weikle is officially "Sergeant Weikle". I am soo stoked about this still, we've been waiting and waiting and now it's just 48 hours away. I know I have said it a million times but I am just so proud of my husband. He has worked his butt off to get where he is. I miss that about him, I miss seeing him so motivated - ready for anything and everything. It is such an admirable trait.

Weikle was stuck at a base for over a week waiting to be picked up and although he wasn't too happy about it, I definitely was. Not only was he a little more safe than he previously was but he had a lot of time to think. Time to think about me, the things he misses and overall think about us. I know he didn't want to have to sit and think about these things, he wanted to keep his head in the game. But let me tell you, after 118 days, I really needed to hear him say the things he had said. Without a doubt, we always say I love you at least twice before getting off the phone...I will always know he loves me. But after 4 months, I needed more. I needed more than just "I am doing alright...I love you...bye...". I never doubted that life would be amazing when he came home, I never doubted that time apart makes the heart grow fonder. But to get an email with a list of things he misses about our life together - completely indescribable. I laughed, I cried, and I read it over and over. It truly can't be described how good it felt to read that email.

Before I start getting emotional I am going to change the subject...Our ottoman came in this week and my dad and I went and picked it up yesterday. It's still in the packaging but here it is, absolutely amazing. I even think my husband agrees that we needed it now, imagine that. It looks white but it's technically "hazelnut" which is kind of an off-white creamy color. It is also big enough for a tiger to sleep on...I believe it measures 5 feet by 5 feet.

These are the before pictures of the hope chest I have been working on...with a little help from my dad - he is a life saver! A few hours in the garage, a few beers later (him), and a couple of small mistakes and you get this! I think I am most proud of this project, mostly because we had to do so much to it in order for it to be usable again. The top of it was one long lid and it was broken, the padding on the so-called cushion was horrible and it was pretty much falling apart on the bottom. Now it has new hardware, it's antiqued - hard to tell in the picture, and it now has two lift up lids with actual cushions on the top. The inside is cedar and it smells amazing. Can't wait to use it for storage (after it's been sitting outside for the past 3 years!).


I also have another smaller bench that I recovered with the same fabric, and a few other projects that I will post pictures of once I am in California. 5 days! Bring on the decorating, I have my game face on.

Hope everyone has a great week!

116 days.

Feels good to type a three digit number every time I write a post now. It also feels good to know that we are almost 4 months into this deployment. I haven't written much because this deployment has sort of seemed like it is at a "stand still". I don't know how much more I can write about missing him without repeating myself and it is way too soon to talk about him coming home, sooo I'm sort of lost with what to say these days.

I can say that I have had a few interesting conversations with Weikle, and yes I said "interesting". Things I never thought we would talk about, things I never thought either one of us would ever have to tell each other about - and well it's been pretty funny and interesting.

We have also talked (for the millionth time) about when we first met, the day we got married, what we are going to do the day he gets home, what Christmas will be like, what the house is going to look like, where we will be moving...etc. It's funny how no matter how many times we talk about it I still smile and feel like it will never get old or boring.

I spent the weekend at my grandparents house scrapbooking our trip to Newport Beach and Disneyland. Soo much fun! Here are a few pics of what I did...

And I finally finished our dresser...well still a few minor things to do but overall it is done. Probably around 10 hours went into this baby, with heat advisory warnings the entire time. Soo I am pretty relieved that it is done. Before picture...After Pictures...

Exciting News (Day 112)

You see that? THAT will soon be my husband's rank; that's right...he's picking up sergeant! I was going to try and contain myself and not announce it until he "officially" picked up, but I am way too proud of him to keep it a secret. This man deserves this and I couldn't be more proud of him. So on September 1st, 2010 it will be official and he will also be reenlisting that day. His package went through and he will be reenlisting as a recruiter. We both will be enjoying him being home more often, no more field opps. every two weeks. I know that everyone is going to want to know what this means in terms of us moving...but unfortunately we will not know for awhile. He still has to come home and go to school and all that. But I do know that we could be sent anywhere or we could stay in California...who knows. But I am so excited for him, for us, and I wanted him to know I am so proud of him. The only downfall is that I can't be there to see him get promoted. Bummer. But I am hoping they take pictures so I can see.


I was in the hospital with kidney stones this week, that wasn't fun at all. It was nice to receive all of the husband's good news after being in so much pain, funny how that works! My furniture projects are coming along. I spent hours and hours sanding down are dresser to find out that it just isn't going to work. I am going to have to paint it and not sure if I want to paint it off-white. Maybe black...or light blue. Hmm maybe gray? Who knows.


I also started restoring my hope chest that my Mama bought me when I was 16. I opened it up and found the furniture tag still on it from whoever had originally purchased it. Guess where it's from? The great Louisville, Kentucky. Where Weikle's aunt and uncle live, and where Weikle wants to live when he is out of the Marine Corps. How weird is that?! I guess it really was meant to be.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

The World is at My Feet

Although it doesn't feel like it at times (like most of this deployment) the world really is at my feet. I have the most amazing husband, an awesome family - including the new in-laws!, and so much more. I'm so excited to get back to California and start unpacking our lives and getting back to my "wife" routine. I've missed it terribly. And we are just past the halfway point of this deployment, that much closer to the homecoming day I am longing for. Our "home" is coming together, one project at a time. Overall, life is good. At times it is hard to be positive, I go into the "I want him home, I need him home..." mode a lot. It's easy to let my emotions take over but I'm striving to stay positive and look at the bigger picture. The last conversation I had with Weikle was so comforting and I have felt amazing since getting off the phone with him. I'm living off of his voice, his words (still wishing we could Skype...UGH). I can't help but think about what life will be like once he is home again. To look at him, to see his eyes...It sounds kind of creepy but just to see him "move" and not be still in a picture. Who would have thought I would want that so much? I can't even imagine the feeling of being in his arms, to have him kiss me, I tear up just thinking about it. It's funny, I used to kiss him every morning before he would leave for work and every time he walked out the door I would think, "What am I going to do for 7 months without that?". Now it is something I try not to think about. To know he hasn't touched me or looked me in the eyes for 109 days just kills me. It's amazing to think that we have communicated as well as we have for this long. I constantly hear him in my head, saying smart ass things, laughing at my jokes... That's love. To know that the only thing right in the world is when my phone rings with that weird 5 digit number...that is how I know the world is at my feet.

List, Picture, and a Conversation (Day 105)

Got this picture of my husband. First thing that came to mind was: Damn, that 5 o'clock shadow is sexy. Second thing that came to mind was: He's patrolling, that's dangerous, I do not like this. Then I went back to checkin him out, tell me this man isn't the definition of sexy? You can't!

I'm going to stop drooling over this picture sooner or later...I hope :]

And finally (after 11 days) I got to speak with my husband. We had one of the best conversations ever and it just felt amazing to hear his voice. We got to instant message each other for a little bit when we got off the phone and I wanted to share with you something he wrote me:

Me: Babeee I miss you so much its ridiculous.

Weikle: LOL I know trust me

At the check point I missed you

so bad for some reason.

(I was typing "Awww" and then received the following message)

Maybe because I thought we were gonna die hahha.

That's reassuring right? How many times have you heard your husband say that to you? Blows my mind how this man does what he does every day. It's amazing.

In other news...

This is my newest project. Ignore the wall quote and the green wall. I got a frame, painted the back of it off-white and then bought a 3 dollar stencil at Hobby Lobby and some blue paint and then just kept lining it up to look like one big pattern. I am planning on doing something with a clothespin and a large picture of Weikle and I in it...pretty sure I am going to hang it behind our bed.

This was kind of time consuming but pretty awesome to replicate things I have seen other places for a lot cheaper.

My list is looking shorter!

1. Stain dresser.

2. Recover huge leopard pillows with a more suitable fabric.

3. Finish the hanging "W" sign.

4. Make hanging rose balls. (Sounds weird but it's cool, trust me).

5. Paint two picture frames from Goodwill and attach ribbon to hang them.

6. Paint wooden tray from Goodwill.

7. Paint another picture frame from Goodwill.

8. Attach signs together with chain..

And just when you thought my husband couldn't get any better....
He gave me a shopping spree to Victoria's Secret as one of my birthday presents. This husband of mine needs to come home to me, because it doesn't matter where I lay my head tonight, when I'm in his arms - I'm home.

The List is Getting Shorter (Day 103)

I'm only half buried in projects now. As great as it is to get a bargain on all of this, it's not easy work! It does feel good to look at it when it's done and say, "I did that!?". I give myself a lot of credit and expect the husband to give me even more - I'm workin like a dog to turn this house into a home! Now if only I could get paid to do this... hmmm. I'll work on that.

So TA-DA! Here is the "new" bookcase. I kicked out the back of it - literally. Took my foot to it and it came right off. Spent hours sanding it. You really have to make sure all of the old stain is off of it so that the new stain goes on consistently and looks the same. That is the tricky part. It's hard to get into corners and such. And then applied three coats of Cherry Mahogany stain. Three coats with six hours in between...whew! It's not completely done yet, still have to coat it with polyurethane so that it protects it from watermarks, scratches, etc.

- You can see where I cut corners on this one (my husband would be calling me a PFC right now, low rank in the Corps). So I didn't stain the underneath of this, or the underneath of the shelves either. But no one is going to see them, right?


So this is going to be the nightstand for Weikle, no drawers because he doesn't really need them. So it was probably about 10 bucks at Goodwill. Not in very good condition. But I tightened up the legs with a screwdriver and sanded the whole thing down. I now officially hate sanding. But it is totally worth it when it's done. Because THIS is what it turns into! I couldn't help but paint the legs white... but he won and got the dark wood too. So we're even. This is stained the same color as the bookcase it just looks darker because it is in the shade. Hopefully the husband likes his new nightstand, because there will be NO MORE sanding and painting this thing!



Only 3,247 more projects to do. I'll type the list up and post it tomorrow, if I don't end up staying outside all day doing these projects.

And P.S. -- This is what you look like after staining furniture all day. Not pretty.

Buried in Projects (Day 102)

I was going to wait and post these tomorrow with my finished bookcase, but I couldn't wait. I had to show off my hard work to someone. I mean, its 110 outside and I was out there all day long, I need some credit here - even if it is just posting pictures on the Internet.

So I forgot to take a before picture of this mirror, horrible I know... but picture 1960 dark wood. Seriously, it was bought sometime in the 60's! Please ignore the rest of the crap around the mirror, I'm in the middle of moving and my room looks like a storage closet. Not great living conditions right now. But doesn't the mirror look great!?

This is part of the house warming gift I received from my friend Kelli, thanks again Kelli! The arrow part hangs on the wall and then I painted this "W" to hang from it, I just have to attach some chain to it. It will be a cute little sign when I'm done. She also got me a sign to hang from it that is Fall themed with a little turkey and pumpkins. Adorable.

This is a nightstand that my Mama got from Goodwill about a year ago. I don't think she paid more than $10 dollars for it.

And this is what it looks like after I got my hands on it. It's amazing what paint and new hardware can do! I sort of splurged on $7 for each glass knob. But overall, this is a $14 nightstand. And yes, it's white. The husband will have to deal with it because I'm not staining the nightstands, just the dresser and bookcase. Way to much work.

I decided I would share some of my tips when it comes to fixing up old furniture. Some of you may be experts (I'm definitely not) but some of you may want to know. So here it is.

1. Sand, sand, and sand some more. The more you sand, the better. Just don't sand away all of the wood!

2. Use an air compressor and blow off the furniture, then use lacquer thinner on a cloth to wipe off any thing left on the surface.

3. Use a roller, not a paintbrush. This is the difference between it looking good and great. Only use a paintbrush in the places a roller won't get.

4. Use the least amount of paint possible. Doing two or three coats looks better than one thick or two thick coats.

Bookcase will be posted tomorrow, it needs another coat of stain. Staining is very tricky, I'll let you know how to stain furniture once I figure it out! I will be scrubbing all night to get the stain off of my legs, it's not a good look for me.