Salute to Veterans!

ESPN is doing a Salute to Veterans this week.

And last night they were in Jacksonville for a boxing match.

Danny was "volun-told" that he was going to the event.

The next thing he knew he was making his television debut.

And I have a picture to prove it!

If you are a Time Warner Cable subscriber you can watch the entire video at the ESPN3 website.

Here are some more pictures from the night, thanks to Goossen Tutor Boxing!

Punctuation, Spelling...and Leading Marines?

Danny asked for my help with some "homework" that he was given. My first thought? "I know nothing about your job, how am I supposed to help?!" Then he handed it to me. A punctuation exam! Seriously?! Piece of cake.

I had to use Google to figure out what an essential appositive was. I must have fallen asleep during that course (you know..in middle school...)

Then, Danny gives me the spelling exam.Uh, I apparently don't remember the "silent e" rule. I know that a silent "e" makes the preceding vowel a long sound. However, when given a list of words...I can't figure out which one is the exception to the "silent e" rule! I said them all out loud...and still can't figure it out! And thank God for spell check!

Now Danny is at work and I have nothing to do. So I'm sneaking a peak at the "Leading Marines" exam. Looks more like a sociology class to me! Ethics, folkways, values...and buddy systems! Jeez, I should have paid more attention in my Intro to Sociology class!

I am not Smarter Than a Fifth Grader...or a Marine.

Til The Boys Come Home

Norman Rockwell's Till the Boys Come Home (1918) Copyright © 1918 Life Magazine

A phone call should never start with “are you sitting down?” Unless, of course, you actually have good news to tell. The first time Danny said that to me, he was calling to tell me he was going to Cherry Point. I was ESTATIC. The second time he said it, he was calling to tell me his future home at Cherry Point will probably be deployed in the spring.

SPRING? March is a spring month! More importantly, March 21st is the first day of spring…and the day we are supposed to be married! Granted, April, May AND June are also spring months. But OF COURSE my mind jumped right to that day. I’ll be honest. I cried. A LOT. What started off as me “being ok,” lead to me (once again) leaning on Katie for support. What started off as a friendship through our blogs has lead to a real friendship, one that I can’t imagine my life without.

What makes our Marines so strong? I don’t think it’s their training. It’s the women that stand behind them. While I, of course, would be a complete mess when Danny deploys…I am a strong enough woman to be able to survive it…just like so many other women have. I am PROUD to say I am a Marine’s fiancé and best friend. I am so unbelievably proud of all the girls who have survived deployments. And “Til the Boys Come Home” I will continue to be proud of each and everyone of them.

AMAZING DAY!

I am having SUCH a good day!

1) Got my ring back from the jeweler
2) Seeing Veronica for the first time since MAY
3) BOSTON TONIGHT!

and most importantly:
DANNY GOT STATIONED AT CHERRY POINT!!!!!

That means: NO CALIFORNIA OR HAWAII!

You have NO idea how excited I am!!!!!

To top off my amazing day, I just got a lottery ticket...here's to hoping I win 200 million bucks!

Disappointed In Myself

For three years I was the same weight. In three month I have gained TEN pounds. I went from (roughly) 126 to 136. I'd say that's a pretty major FAIL. My favorite skinny jeans don't fit, which means I can't even wear my favorite boots..because I only wear them with the pants!

I blame Danny for the weight gain. Which is funny because he blames me for his weight gain. All we do is eat out and drink. It's actually kinda sad if you think about it. But I keep saying "well..atleast we'll be fat and happy!" His come back, "they'll kick me out of the Marines."

Starting tomorrow...I will workout and eat right. My birthday is in eight weeks and my goal is to be my pre-Danny weight! Reasonable?

Update

*I'm 99.9% positive I can move out of the house I share with my two roommates.
*I'm 100% positive I can move in with Danny's Mom for a few months.

Things I'm concerned about: In Carrboro the public transportation is right outside my door. I have no idea how the busses in Cary work. I need my license, but in order to get it I'm pretty sure I need proof that I'm a North Carolina citizen. Which I'm not. And if I do the citizen thing..I lose my Massachusetts health benefits. Then I think, well..maybe if I go back to Boston for a little bit, I can work at the old place, get my license, save up some money to eventually move in. But I'm SO afraid that things would change between us. Obviously the pessimist in me is writing today.

I know these are things me and Danny need to talk about, but every time I try to bring them up my eyes fill up with tears and I decide not to do it.

It's even more frustrating because I don't even REALLY know if we could get a place together. He says yes because he has joint custody of his son. But for some reason I feel like once I decide to stay down here something will happen that I don't have a place to live..and then I'll just end up in Boston again.

I know plenty of other girls do the long-distance thing, dating a Marine practically guarantees long-distance at some point, but if I'm already down here..why not just stay??

This is the one and only time in my life I have wished I got my license when I turned 16!

Bad Day

And my first military disappointment. Danny can't come home this weekend because some of the other guys got in trouble for underage drinking. Remind me to send them 'thank you' cards.

I'm also homesick today. I miss Boston like crazy.

All I want to do is cry today. This is pathetic.

Rumors Suck

I hated rumors in college and I still hate rumors. Danny went to formation tonight, when he came back online he said:

Danny: please tell me everything will be ok between us if i go to the west coast

It was so out of the blue that I knew something must have been said. He said there is a rumor that his entire class will be going to the west coast. So of course now, I'm mildly freaking out. That's far away from North Carolina...and even further away from Massachusetts.

UGH. I want time to stand still and have it always be September so he doesn't have to leave me!

One Year!

Today is Danny's one year anniversary in the Marine Corps! AND he started flying today!

Two Things

#1: Danny got in trouble for (what sounded like) having a messy room. He was kinda aggrivated so I only understood half the story. But what I did understand was that he had some sort of attitude and they threatened to take away his 96 for Labor Day. I would be PISSED because thats our Boston trip!

#2: My friend Jessica's husband is in the army..and gets to go home at the end of this month. For good. Not fair.

Sitting at the airport waiting for Lindsey to arrive..and I hear someone say "stupid Marine." Can someone please explain to me why this is such a common theme in NC, yet I never hear people talk like this in Boston?

It Hit Me

Today it finally hit me that "happily ever after" is going to be in four years when Danny is out of the Marines. As of right now he is not going to re-enlist. I know he could change his mind but for right now I like that decision.

Anyway, we just had a great weekend together in Myrtle Beach with a bunch of other Marines and some of their girlfriends. One of the guys was talking about how he leaves for Hawaii at the end of the month and his girlfriend just looked so sad. Hawaii is SO far away. I don't know what the hell I would do with that distance. Deployment is expected of course, but actually living so far away from the person you love...I think that will be the hard part for me.

Honestly, I'm hoping that by the time he deploys my lease will be up in North Carolina and I'll be able to go back to Boston. I think time will fly by with family, friends, my old job, Boston bar nights, and maybe going back to school.

We spent last night together in Jacksonville. I love waking up next to him. I can not wait for the day when one of us doesn't always have to leave.

I am feeling like a huge sap today. The Beatles "All My Loving" totally almost made me cry. Sometimes being a girl sucks!

Infuriating

I spend my weekend on buses and trains in order to see the Marine I love. Generally speaking, the people riding with me are headed to/from Camp Lejeune as well.

I'm sitting on the bus this morning minding my own business when this kid jumps over my seat and asks me to play Scrabble. I politely decline..I just like listening to my music and staring out the window. When we finally got to Raleigh I forgot all about this kid. Until he starts yelling at me for having a "non-Japanese phone." I just looked at him weird and kept walking.

In the station I noticed two Marines, one in street clothes and the other in his service uniform. A few minute later I hear this woman yelling at someone. I'm not gonna lie, I like fights..so it caught my attention. I look over and Scrabble boy is in the Marines faces giving them shit about being Marines and about the war and going on and on and on. The Marines just sat there, didn't even say a word. However, this other woman is yelling at Scrabble boy to shut his mouth and to show some respect. I honestly wanted her to hit this kid. The boy is so lucky I was not sitting closer, because I would not have been able to mind my buisness.

It baffles my mind that people can feel this way. Don't they understand that Marines and our other Armed Forces are the reason he has the right to say those things? They are the reason he can have his own opinions, even if they are HORRIBLE opinions. I can't imagine saying such harsh things to anyone, especially Marines!

The good news of this story is that both before and after this little incident I saw ATLEAST ten people shake these Marines hands. It might sound sappy, but I totally thought it was a beautiful thing.

The First Post

Not only is this my first post to this blog..but this is my first attempt at blogging (livejournal is SO different.) So, lets make this the introduction entry!

My name is Nicole and I am 23 years old. I am originally from Massachusetts and have recently moved to North Carolina. Most people don't understand why I moved here; I did not come for schooling or a job..I am just winging it. Some of my interests include cooking, eating, traveling, live music, shopping, scrapbooking, and anything fun and exciting!

Before I moved I jokingly signed up for a dating website. Mostly I was looking for people to show me where to hangout in my new neighborhood. Instead, old men sent me poetry and a few good looking guys sent me pick-up lines. There was only one guy who really stuck out to me. However, I thought it was weird that he sent me his phone number right away. I admit I was a little creeped out, so I messaged his number using AIM. That night I went out, got a little tipsy..and came home and actually used my phone to text him.

We hit it off right away..we were constantly texting, asking each other all sorts of questions and discovering things that we had in common. Before I even moved we decided that we would meet. I was excited to have a date before I even moved!

This boy happens to be a Marine. He was nervous to tell me because, according to him, Marine's get a bad rap. This is something that I still don't understand..everyone who I have told has nothing bad to say about that. However, according to message boards...not everyone is so lucky.

The reason I am writing this blog is to share my feelings, adventures, and life of a Marine girlfriend. I will probably also have questions for other Marines girlfriends/fiances/wives. I want girls to feel free to share their stories and advice.

I look forward to posting and sharing my stories with you!