235th USMC Birthday Ball

Last night I celebrated a great birthday. Two hundred and thirty five years of a great tradition and an even better Corps. The ceremony was perfect, everyone looked great, and for 700 Marines, spouses and guests it was a chance to let down our hair and celebrate.

I never celebrate my birthday for just a day, so it was only fair that we made this birthday extra special by making a weekend out of it. Me, Danny, Natosha and Dan spent the weekend in Myrtle Beach. To celebrate the USMC birthday, we put on some pretty fancy dresses and went to our first ball!

I'm not that tan, darker skin setting on my camera was apparently on!

The ball started with cocktail hour, we got our professional pictures taken, mingled and took advantage of the free kegs. We spent $5 total at the ball on alcohol, which I was very excited about! Soon we were called in the ball room and took our seats for the ceremony. I was expecting it to be much more epic, but it was still great. We watched a video message from the commandant and listened to our (kinda boring) guest speaker. Cake was presented to the oldest and youngest Marines...and then it was time for the fun to start!

Dinner came out, seriously one at a time. Natosha had the chicken, the guys had amazing looking prime rib, and I had the vegetarian dish...mushroom raviolis. Apparently people think vegetarians are not very hungry people...I had a grand total of four raviolis on my plate! I literally looked at Natosha and said "um...where's my dinner?"

After dinner the dance floor opened up! We only danced to one song....The Cupids Shuffle. And the most amazing part of the night was seeing SgtMaj dancing with everyone. Seriously, the man never smiles...and I've been told to never look him in the eye...but seeing him dance made me want to give him a big 'ol bear hug!

As the night started to wrap up, of course we took the obligatory group photos!

The ball was a lot of fun, it just wasn't as...ball-ish...as I thought it would be. Apparently I've just watched Cinderella one too many times! And speaking of Cinderella, I can totally understand how she lost a shoe...my feet were killing me by the end of the night! I was told to expect some pretty skanky dresses, but I seriously thought everyone looked so classy last night. I saw all kind of dresses, short and long, and all different colors. So, now I know for next year...don't spend as much money and wear super comfy shoes!

I have never been more proud to be part of this great family. I will say this, Marines certainly do know how to throw a great party! In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt  “The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!”

Happy Birthday Marines!

The Adventures of Dress Shopping: Part 2

Today was very unsuccessful.

To get the day started, we went to a movie. Eat, Love, Pray. I'm praying that the book is better. The movie was slooooow. The only part I liked was Italy, because the food looked so good! I wish I could throw caution to the wind and eat everything I want. But alas, I care what my pant size is....

Speaking of pant size, let's get to the dress shopping. Stop one was a major fail. Way too many beads, cutouts, and heavy dresses. I'd rather not add an extra 20 pounds to myself just by wearing a dress! We walked out, not happy.

The second place seemed very uppity. Mannequins that you couldn't touch and no cameras allowed! I didn't really see anything that I liked, and only tried things on because I was bored. Here are the results (yes, I took pictures when they weren't allowed!)

I am not a size 14, but that's what this dress is. What dummy sized these things?! It's not zippered in this picture, and looks kinda awful..but I kinda liked it. I could move in it. And, according to the lady, I have a nice figure in it!

We all agreed that we liked this on the rack. But I was sent back into the dressing room when I came out. Seriously, that slit is awful!

Not me, at all. But I kinda like that it's different. But because I'm so short, the strap didn't fit the right way. It would be more towards my shoulder...and not my neck!

I think after two days of shopping I definitely have an idea of what I want. Now there's only two more obstacles to cross...shoes and hair!

The Adventures of Dress Shopping

Today I went out on the first shopping excursion for a ball dress! I was joined by three great ladies, Breanna, Carmen and Natosha. We had such high hopes! But we were let down, not once, not twice...but three times!

The first store was the only store we planned to go to. Online they had an amazing selection. When we walked in the lady pointed us in the direction of all the red and blue dresses. They were awful. There was not even one that was a maybe. They all had cutouts, glitter and belonged on Dancing with the Stars.

The second store was much better. And there was a huge sale! I tried on three dresses and loved two of them. And, I'm so excited, one of them is the dress I posted a few days ago! Which one is your favorite?

This is the dress I posted the other day. I like it, but it's so hard to tell because it's not my size. I hate that!

The color on this one is so different than something I would usually go for. I wish I got a picture of the back, it was blue and gold ropes, really pretty. I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable in it though!

I stole this dress from Breanna only because she liked another dress more. Lucky for me, I love this one. It needs to be altered like crazy...because I'm a midget.

It was decided that everything looked good on Breanna. She even looked awesome in an orange dress!

My vote is that she gets this one!

This one was too cute!

Even though we found dresses we loved, we left empty handed. The lady who helped us  was super nice, she copied down all the info on the dresses we liked. I have a feeling I'll end up there to buy my dress!

After a light lunch, we decided we wanted to try on more dresses. Since we were in New Bern, we traveled two hours to get to Wilmington. We couldn't find one of the places and ended up in some hippie store with tie dye dresses...probably not where we were supposed to be. Then, we decided to go to the mall. Me and Breanna both remember seeing an awesome dress store there in the past. After scouring the store, we were told it closed. SUCKED. 

I needed a pick me up and caffeine. We got some Starbucks and got back on the road to Jacksonville.

It was the longest shopping day ever...but most of the day was spent in the car. I was just so happy that I found dresses that I liked!

The Ball!

Last year me and Danny missed out on the ball. He was in between graduating from school, getting new orders, and then everything changing. At the same time my Mom planned a trip down to North Carolina to visit me. The day before the ball they finally gave Danny the word that we could go to the ball. Too little too late.

This year, I'm really hoping that we get to go. But so far, I'm not sure. My Mom planned my grandparents 50th anniversary party. I booked my flight for a long weekend home. Two minutes after I clicked "purchase" I realized a few things. A) I'm such a dummy, why did I book the flight back to North Carolina the day BEFORE my sisters 21st birthday. B) I reallyyyyy hope that's not the weekend of the ball.

I'm crossing my fingers and toes that we get to go.

These are a few dresses that I really like. But since I have never been to a ball, I have absolutely no idea if they are even "ball-worthy." Help a girl out!