smile

Today's starting point? "Smile".

This sweet little pup is the one thing that will always bring a smile to my face. I love my Daisy so much, it's ridiculous. And she somehow knows when I'm having one of those days where I really need something to smile over. Like today. Like most of the "todays" lately.

I'm falling into the "deployment rhythm", I guess...all the days are rolling by steadily, blurring into one another, day after day. It feels like it's been forever since the ship sailed off into the distance, and then I look at a calendar and see that not much time has passed after all. It's a little depressing!

I've found myself using the weirdest things to mark time. Like, when I wrote my rent check the other day, I realized that I only have to write four more checks until I can move into another house. That doesn't seem very long at all! Or, the other day The Knot sent me a vaguely panicky email telling me that I only have 229 days until my wedding, and it dawned on me that it's only a little over seven months away and Adam will be home well before that.

It helps having a new batch of classes start every seven weeks. I've definitely got my hands full, and things will probably be hectic for the rest of the year, especially with grad school applications and all the fun stuff that comes with that next big step.

Today was just another groundhog day. Work, school, yoga, chores. Happy, frustrated, excited, sad. Now I'm just exhausted.

Neighborhood

So this is my neighborhood.

I wanted to live at the beach ever since I moved to San Diego, and about a year ago I found the cutest little cottage a half a block from the Pacific. It's teeny-tiny (390 square feet), but perfect...I have a little driveway to park in, a gorgeous backyard full of lovely tropical palm trees that the parrots love, and a washer/dryer. Parking, a yard, and laundry is pretty much the holy trinity of San Diego real estate, and I was stoked that I found it all so close to the water.

OB, as my neighborhood is affectionately known, is awesome. It's totally laid-back and mellow...Southern California beachy all the way. Adam and I love it, and while we're planning on finding something a little bigger when he gets home, we're trying hard to stay in the area.

The FRG had a "halfway to halfway" picnic today. It was a lot of fun...it's always good to get together with friends who miss their spouses as much as I do! And on the way home from the picnic, I got one of those precious phone calls from half a world away. It's amazing how deliriously happy I am to receive a too-short, crackly phone call from my extremely over-tired sweetheart...the sound of his voice is the most comforting thing on earth. It's like a warm blanket for my heart. The days are starting to tick by faster and faster, but I'm still so terribly lonely when I slide into our bed at night...that big cold empty space next to me makes my heart ache.

up

Today's word, according to the March Photo Challenge, is "up".

It's pretty much the perfect word for today.

February was a weird month: hot and cold and up and down and long and short and really just strange. The weather over the last few days, in fact, was record-setting cold. But this month began calm and clear and sunny, we broke 60 degrees for the first time in weeks, and I got a letter from my love. The temperatures are up, my spirits are up, and I have high hopes for March. I think I'm really just looking forward to April: a vacation, a visit from a beloved old friend or two, and the halfway point of this deployment? I'm definitely ready for all of that!

I took this picture in my front yard, looking straight up at the brilliant blue sky under one of my gorgeous palms. I think they're King Palms...they are gorgeous. Seeing them out my window while I listen to the parrots squawk and the waves pound against Sunset Cliffs makes me so ridiculously happy. I feel like I'm on vacation all year round.

I feel a lot more certain about the way things are going. I feel like I finally have good solid goals and a way to reach those goals. It makes me happy. It's amazing how wonderful life is when you have someone believing in you, y'know?