Day 20

Wherein I write about the time my husband went to Alaska to work on a commercial fishing boat...

So here's how the last four days have gone:

One day was spent productively, doing yard work, baking, that sort of thing.
One day was spent with my boys, going to pizza and a movie, that sort of thing.
One day was spent at church, playing piano, teaching Sunday school, that sort of thing.
One day was spent on the couch in my pajamas, cancelling plans, eating chicken nuggets, that sort of thing.  (Just keepin' it real)

If the past three weeks has revealed anything to me it is, simply, don't take any moments with your husband for granted.  It is those little moments that I miss the most.  Ok, sometimes he is really corny, like really corny and I roll my eyes and tell him how corny he is and he deflates a little.  But I'd rather have him here and corny than not.  And I realize how much he is my comfort, my safe place so without him here I am often directionless. 

So, do I like the single life?  No.  Not.  At.  All.  I'm over it.  Sure, I get to watch as many chick flicks as my heart desires.  I share the bathroom with 2 males rather than 3.  There is a lot less going on day to day.  But, it's not worth it.  I'd rather have him here.  I want him to kiss me for no reason.  I want to know he's sleeping beside me when I wake in the middle of the night.  I want to be interrupted by him while I'm putting on my makeup just because he wants to look at me.  I want to bake things for him.  And cook for him.  And drink coffee with him.  And watch Jeopardy with him.  And go for walks with him.  And hold hands with him.  And hear him breathing.

There are some jobs I have to get done while my husband is away.  One of which is to pull ivy.  We have ivy for days.  For days.  It covers fences and climbs trees and roots itself down deep into the ground.  I chug away at it.  Get blisters.  Get scratched up.  But it's a good distraction.  Today after church and after taking my puppy dog for a walk (he needs to lose a bit of weight) I spent some time getting blisters removing ivy.  Then after I was sweaty and bleeding I laid down in the grass and had a bit of a photo-op with my chickens and my dog.  Cause that's what we do.

The evening sun was shining through the leaves of the cherry tree, the insects were flying low and the chickens were foraging near the garden....

Nuggets, Pearl, Minty, and Elsa (Braveheart was behind me, digging near the ivy I had just pulled)....

Charlie was quiet.  I thought he had gone inside the house but I soon spotted him....

He gets in the garden but never can figure out how to get out.  So, he'll wait.  Sometimes he'll give a little bark just to get my attention.

 

 

So I open the gate and he's so happy that he comes out with tail wagging and a big smile.  He doesn't even mind that I was taking pictures of him in his predicament.  And he doesn't mind that I continue to take his picture.  This dog loves me.

 

 

 

 

 

And my chickens.  Here's Braveheart.  She was being very social.

 

 

And Pearl.  Very inquisitive.

P.S.
My husband is doing fine.  He misses home.  He asked that I send Peanut M&M's and homemade Gingersnaps. 

Day 17

Wherein I write about the time my husband went to Alaska to work on a commercial fishing boat...

It is a wet and rainy Thursday.  I woke today and half-heartedly pulled the blankets up to resemble a made bed.  I'm on my third cup of Tony's coffee.  My place on the couch is marked by a fuzzy blanket, a spread of art supplies, and a mystery novel.  This is my place today.

My husband is "at sea" for the foreseeable future and communication is sparse.  It could be another month before we are together again.  Sometimes I torment myself by imagining that he's just gone to run an errand and any moment he's going to pull up to the house and come inside with his bright smile like he was never even gone.  I like doing life alongside him so much.

Our eldest son is now a licensed driver.  And legally insured (be still my racing heart $$$).  His first licensed and unsupervised venture was a joyride with his brother all over the back roads of our island.

  Pictures from Day 9.... my 38th birthday

Flowers from my husband

 

Ice cream cake

 

 

And my sister was here.  We spent a wonderful week together.  We did a lot and we did nothing and both were equally great!

 

I did a photoshoot with my birthday flowers....

 

 

  Photos from Day 14.... Friday Harbor

My sister and I took the ferry to Friday Harbor and had the BEST day of exploring and chatting and shopping and coffee drinking.  I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

See the kitty??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until next time...

Day 7 and some of my favorite things

Wherein I write about the time my husband went to Alaska to work on a commercial fishing boat...

My phone is my constant companion...even more so than before.  I never know when he might text me or even call.  But that communication with him on a daily basis has been a life buoy.  We might not get to text daily in the coming weeks, as they are getting closer and closer to being out on the water fishing.

I still miss him, my heart aches,  that won't end until he's home.  But for now, I'm doing better.  The days are pretty empty and sometimes feel pointless, I didn't realize how much of what I do, I do out of love for him.  But I haven't cried today.  Well, that's not entirely true.  I cried watching this performance from the Tony Awards, particularly from 1:50 on.  All the feels!!

 

 

Thank you, Sara Bareilles, for writing one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.  And thank you, Jessie Mueller, for knowing how to personify your character in song.  Amazing!

 

So it is day 7.  One week down.  That actually feels quite good to say.  And do you want to know what happens on day 9?  My sister is coming to visit me!!  Yeeeeeeeee!!  Bring on days 9 through 15!

 

 

 

___________________________________

 

Some of my favorite things at the moment:

 

1.  wet n wild 1 step wonder gel 

 

I have "Under My Plum"

The color pictured is "Left Marooned"

You can buy this stuff at WalMart.

 

 

 

2.  Joanna Gaines

 

 

~~ Magnolia Market

 

~~ Joanna on Pinterest

 

 

3.  Jewelry Cleaner

 

I wear my wedding ring every day.  The only times I take it off are when I'm kneading bread dough or wrist deep in meatloaf.  This homemade cleaner works like a charm!  You can halve this recipe or just eyeball it.  Let your jewelry soak for about 15 minutes then use an old toothbrush to gently scrub  if needed.

 

Mix together:

• 1 cup hot water
• 1 T.  baking soda
• 1 T. salt
• 1 T.  dish soap

 

 

4.  Stitch Fix

 

If you've never heard of this let me explain:

 

This is an online personal stylist.  You fill out a questionnaire about your typical style and what things you look for in your clothing.  Then you sign up to have a stylist send you pieces to try.  There is a $20 styling fee for each shipment of 5 pieces.  You can choose to keep all the pieces or just one or two.  The $20 fee is applied to the cost of your items.  If you don't keep any of the items they do keep your styling fee for their services.

 

Pros:

• You are in control of when you get a shipment.  They aren't sent automatically unless you choose that.
• It's so fun to have a stylist pick clothes for you!
• The boxes come filled and packed with care and it feels like Christmas!
• You're going to get to try things that you wouldn't normally choose for yourself.
• Shipping is included in your $20 styling fee (this includes return shipping).

Cons:

• The pieces can be pretty expensive if you're a penny pincher like me.
• If you don't keep any of the pieces you are still out your $20.

So, yeah.  That's Stitch Fix.

 

Even though I sound like a commercial, I'm really not trying to sell you anything.  I'm not associated with Stitch Fix in anyway except that I signed up for their service and I'm really having fun with it.

 

If you did decide to try it they have offered me a $25 credit for any referrals if you follow this link:

 

Stitch Fix Referral

 

 

There you have it.  Some of my favorites.  Until next time!

 

 

Day 4

Wherein I write about the time my husband went to Alaska to work on a commercial fishing boat...


Today was a good day.  I've barely even cried!  It's kind of a sad existence when you get used to the feeling of a fresh cry on your face, the stuffy nose, the puffy eyes.  But today is not that day. 

After taking the boys to school I drove to Bellingham and had a friend at Les Schwab work on our new car.  We've known this great guy and his amazing wife for 13 years.  And they are gems, let me tell you.  They are those friends that you may not get to see often but when you do, you pick right back up where you left off.  They are warm and honest and genuine and I just love them.  And I think, seeing them, being out in the world today, kind of helped me over a little hump.  So, thanks friends.

Anyhoo, the day I took Aaron to the airport we decided we needed new tires on the car.  He called up our friend and made an appointment for me.  Later, unbeknownst to me, he also picked out some slick wheels.  So that was part of the reason for my trip today.  Some girls get a bouquet of roses while their husband is away on business...this girl got wheels and tires!

 

 

My sweet ride...

 

 

I had some free time after Les Schwab (who am I kidding, I have a TON of free time) so I went over to the mall.  Retail therapy....ahhhh.  I bought a couple things but really just being in public and not stewing over my emotions was therapy in itself.

But the day is not over!  I also took my son's out for Chinese food.  We have interesting conversation and they always surprise me.  We laughed and laughed over Blake's fortune:

I've thought all day about writing about my husband.  There's a history to our relationship that I wanted to write about but I just don't think I can put it out here on the internet.  So maybe someday, when we're talking face to face, the conversation will come up and I'll tell where I was in my life when I met this amazing guy that loved me so deeply and cared so much that it challenged everything I knew of love up until that point and helped me to grow into the woman I am 20 years later.

What I can tell you is that in preparing to be away from his family, my sweet man assembled a list of phone numbers for me, people I could call if I had any sort of trouble, people he had talked to and trusted to help me out.  That is what love does, you guys.  He also cleaned the garage and made sure I could find the common tools if I should need them.  Love.  He made sure there was money in the checking account so I could pay bills and buy groceries.  Love.  And he cried with me when it was time to say good-bye.

I got one of the good ones folks.  For reals.

Day 1 and 2

Wherein I write about the time my husband went to Alaska to work on commercial fishing boat...

Day 1

We stayed in a hotel where we watched as a red and orange sunset acted as backdrop for the frequent planes taking off from the airport.  I wanted to stay awake all night, cherish every minute, watch the planes take off, but he convinced me to sleep since I'd be driving home alone in the morning.  So we slept.  Four hours of broken sleep.  Awake at three a.m. with tears, the big, silent ones that slide down cheeks and drip from chins.  I dropped him off at the airport at four a.m. and cried the two hour drive home then spent the rest of the day in a state of emotional fragility.  I know it's important to be strong and confident so he knows he doesn't have to worry while he's away.  But I just feel like mush.  Weepy, emotional mush.  Oh, I'll be ok.  We'll make it through.  It's only 6 weeks, unless it turns to 7.  42 days or 49.  But in the meantime, home feels less homey.  And my heart aches.  I breathe deeply, exhaling harshly, trying to rid my lungs of the heaviness that sits, like so many weights in my chest.  This man is my everything and I feel I must learn to live with only half of myself like an amputee learns to live without a limb.  Maybe I'm being dramatic, I mean, it's only 6 weeks.  Pull yourself together, woman!  So I busy myself.  Day 1 is filled with making hummingbird food, hard boiling some eggs, cleaning out the fireplace, doing laundry, washing the dining room floor, securing a tarp over our stacked firewood, cutting the irises back, and dusting.  And I've been up since 3.

 

Staying busy cleaning out the fireplace...

 

Day 2

Woke at 5, fed the chickens, and got back into bed.  It's unnatural to see one half of the bed unrumpled.  No more sleep to be had so I got up and brewed a pot of coffee and drove the boys to school.  Turned on some contemporary Christian music and set to work scrubbing the kitchen floor, the bathtub, the bathroom floor, the sliding glass door, the oven.  I showered and dressed and ventured to Walmart.  Less tears today.  I got to text with Aaron and he sent a picture of the cabin of the boat.  They are doing maintenance on the boat this week, getting it ready to take out to the Bering Sea.  Blake and I will head to church this evening, stopping for dinner at Happy Teriyaki.

 

I got dressed...

 

 

 

I got out of the house (so did Charlie - in the backseat!)...

 

 

I let him drive...

 

this, that, and the after

My hands are blistered but my nails are painted a soft lilac color.  I vacillate between wanting to do grungy yard work and wanting to look like a girl.  I wore my Superman t-shirt to the post office today, after doing yard work and a dump run, and caught the attention of a small human wearing a Spiderman t-shirt.  It was pretty funny to watch him try to figure me out.

I have a houseplant that my sister-in-law gave me about 10 years ago.  It's moved a few times.  Silas sat in it once.  And it keeps chugging.  Today it bloomed!!  I didn't even know it could do that!  Apparently it is a Peace Lily.  It's been so droopy the last couple of weeks, despite watering, that I thought it was dying and then it goes and blooms.  Why, plant people, why?

 

 



 

The insurance adjuster was out today.  He "totaled" our Jeep.  Hopefully the process of getting payment from the insurance and finding a replacement vehicle will go smoothly and quickly (like before my husband leaves for the Bering Sea!).  Aaron was rear-ended on Saturday on his way to hold an open house for a client.  The Jeep suffered impact in the rear that rippled clear through to the front.  I'm thankful that the Jeep bent and absorbed the impact and kept my husband safe.  It is sobering to understand how life can change in an instant.  I'm thankful that we are only dealing with the loss of a vehicle and nothing more.

Charlie keeps curling up on the bag Aaron has set out for packing.  I don't know if he senses the impending trip or if he just found a cozy place to lay.  If I was smaller I'd certainly try to figure out a way to fit in the bag too!

Except for some touch-ups here and there, the house painting is all done.  My awesomely talented and hardworking husband did a great job.  We are both thrilled with our color choices which took sooooooooo long to decide on.  What's funny is that the colors we chose are very similar to the original color of the house when it was built in 1969, evidenced on some of the siding that was removed during this process.  So, we went retro but modern.  And it just fits.

Before:

And AFTER!!

 

Until next time!