Far From "Square"

Let me just start by saying that being home is amazing! All of the tears and changed dates and Army drama were more than worth it if we get to spend the rest of our lives just as we are now, surrounded by family and friends. I have never been so thankful for my home.

I'm also thankful to be home because now I can go to Michael's and Hobby Lobby whenever I want! No more limited supplies from the one tiny Hawaii craft store when I'm trying to make things from Pinterest! So in celebration of this blessed event, I decided to make a fall wreath.

Imagine my surprise when I walked into Michael's to find a Christmas explosion, with not a fall color in sight! Since I was not about the let Michael's ruin my craft store fun, I took Husband by the hand and forced to him to search high and low for fall crafting supplies. After Husband started to whine, I broke down and asked a Michael's worker where they all of the fall supplies were hiding. Her reaction was nothing like I expected. As soon as the word "fall" passed through my lips, Michael's worker got the most disgusted look on her face, as if she could not believe I had the audacity to even ask for such a thing. She then proceeded to tell me that I was crazy for waiting so long and if there was anything fall left, it would be in the clearance isle.

Husband and I tore through that clearance rack like there was no tomorrow and we managed to scrounge up just enough supplies for my fall wreath. And it only cost me $4.37. Not a bad reintegration into the crafting world if I do say so myself!

Here's how it's done:

Step #1: Get Dad to give you a board of some sort. Then make him cut it to the shape you want.

Step #2: Separate the weird package of leaves and iron down the crinkly ones.

{Do not put the iron directly on the leaves! Iron through a towel or you will be sorry.}

Step #3: Hot glue the leaves to the board, just however.

{Notice I'm working on Mom's ironing board, which happens to be older than I am.}

Step #4: Hot glue any decorations on top of the leaves.

{I got carried away and forgot to take a picture. Dang.}

Step #5: Hang it proudly on the door! 

Now in some cases, there may be a step #6: Get made fun of by your family for making a square wreath.  I don't mind it though, because at least I'm home. :]

It's All About Point of View

A little over a year ago, Husband and I moved out of our apartment, packed all of our goods into storage and checked into the Inn on post. That night, Husband would leave for deployment and I would spend the first of many nights alone.

That room tormented me from the moment I walked in the door. Just knowing that it was the last stop on the countdown to deployment would have been enough to make me hate that hotel room. Of course, with my luck, that wasn't all that made me hate it. Not two minutes after we had stepped foot into the room, a innocent bug flew from the corner toward Husband's face, causing him to throw his phone in defense. Sadly, his phone split in half upon impact, therefore keeping his command from contacting him if necessary. On a normal day, Husband would have cared less. But 4 hours before a deployment and he was a stressed out mess. Not wanting to miss any important information, Husband decided that we should head over to the Battery early, ending whatever couple time we had left.

I can't even begin to describe how I was feeling as we loaded his bags in the car and took that short drive across post. I do, however, remember every detail of that drive, from the street lights shining off of the newly formed rain puddles to the look in Husband's eye: a mix between pride for the mission and the devastation of leaving the one you love behind. As we pulled into the parking lot, all the strength I had left disappeared because for only the second time ever, I saw a tear run down Husband's cheek. Remembering that one tear and those last moments we spent in the car together before Husband had to walk away will always bring an ache to my heart, even if I'm wrapped in his arms. Thankfully though, we will never have to relive those moments again as we are now staying at the Inn on post for a different reason.

Husband is 5 days away from calling himself a civilian!! 

So now, for a very different reason, Husband and I have moved out of our apartment, packed all of our goods for shipment and have checked into the Inn on post. This time around, there is nothing sad about this hotel room because Husband and I are about to start a very exciting new adventure, together.

Patience is a Virtue

Sometimes being a Milspouse housewife waiting to get back to the mainland sucks. 

But if my time as an Army wife has taught me anything, it is this:

I have no patience. 

And it seems I never will. 

The Swing of Things

When your husband comes home from deployment, it's like falling in love all over again. 

He'll buy you presents...

You'll hug and kiss...

He'll take you on adventures...

And take you out on dates.

Then, when you think it just can't get any better, this starts...

But you'll still love him anyway <3

The Girl Who Cried Ghost

Sometimes, Husband likes to play tricks on me. Most of the time I find them slightly more annoying than funny but Husband really loves them. The ghost incident that occurred yesterday was much worse than a normal trick though; it was 99% terrifying and 1% funny [although the more time that passes, the funnier it becomes]. It started like this:

Laying in bed at approximately 0510, Husband wakes me up to inform me that he thinks he heard something. He then goes on the tell me how he woke up way before his alarm because he was convinced he saw something moving in the room. He then leaves for PT, leaving me cowering under the covers, trying to decide if he was lying or if I should seriously consider we have a ghost. I eventually fall back asleep and don't think twice of Husband's story when I wake up.

A few hours later, I decide to jump in the shower so I can have plenty of time to get ready before Husband gets home for lunch. [On a normal day, I would have at least an hour before I would expect him home.] So I'm in the shower, shampooing my hair and singing louder than necessary, when I open my eyes. As my eyes adjust, I realize that there's a face colored blur on the other side of the curtain but with all of the steam and soap, I can't really tell what it is. Instantly, Husband's story comes rushing back to my mind. I immediately begin to question my sanity. To prove to myself that I am not really crazy, I blink my eyes a few times and lean a little closer to the shower curtain to get a better look at the "face". The closer I get, the more I realize that there really is a face on the other side of the shower curtain. For a second I just stand there, frozen in terror, trying to decide if there is a ghost or a kidnapper in my bathroom. I decide neither is good, but either way I'm going to have to face it.

Bravely, I tear back the shower curtain to find Husband standing on the bathmat with the biggest smile on his face. And then I cried. Not just normally tears, but uncontrollable sobs of relief. I hadn't even realized how truly scared I had been until I realized that I was not actually being haunted. Naturally, Husband felt absolutely terrible and promised never to play a trick on me again.

I'll let you know how that goes. 

:]  

The Season of Learning

My favorite time of year is fast approaching and I couldn't be more excited! As a future Kindergarten teacher, the back to school season is pretty much cause for a party in the Liberato household. Husband is helping me celebrate this year with the best back to school gift ever:

A brand new Mac laptop! 

If I wasn't excited to start classes before, you can bet I'm beyond excited now! I have my classes picked out, my pencils sharpened and my thinking cap on. I'm going to kick this semester's ass!

Happy New School Year!

Island Adventures

Husband and I go on outings we like to call "island adventures". On these adventures, we head out of the house with water bottles, music and some tennis shoes, just in case. We buckle our seat belts and go wherever the road takes us. On our last adventure, we were driving down a random road along the coast when I looked over and saw the peak of a lighthouse peaking out from behind a mountain.

[See the tiny lighthouse behind the palms?]

Naturally, we needed to hike the path that brought us closer to it. So up we went! We climbed and climbed, twisted and turned along a path that seemed to go on forever. Along the way, we stopped to enjoy the beautiful scenery (and to catch our breath):

And then finally, we made it to the top! Much to my surprise however, we did not find a lighthouse at the end of that path. Instead we found a miniature lighthouse decoy!

For my first real lighthouse, it was a bit of a disappointment. Luckily, the view from the top made up for it because it was absolutely stunning up there on that mountain top.

After enjoying a view like that, how could we keep the smiles off of our faces?



Even with the lighthouse disappointment, we still had an amazing adventure together. And really, that's all that matters. 

Date Day

A week or so ago, Husband and I decided to have a date day and my first place of choice was Dole Plantation! All I had on my mind was the pineapple ice cream but Husband had other plans for us. He had his heart set on completing the giant pineapple-shaped maze that happens to be the largest in the world. Normally, I would have been all for adventure but having previously been in that maze, I knew it wasn't going to be as easy as Husband seemed to think it would!

As soon as we got our tickets and stepped through the turnstile at the start of the maze, Husband realized what he had gotten himself into:

The purpose of the maze is to get a stamp from nine different hidden stations hidden throughout the maze. After ten minutes, we ended up right back where we started without even one stamp on our cards. So we went in again...

Twenty minutes later we had found the same station 3 different times. So we decided to change our plan of attack:

We crept through bushes...

We made our own paths...

And after an hour of searching, we had still found less than half of the stations! Accepting out defeat, we strolled out of the maze and straight inside for pineapple ice cream!

Two minutes after I got my ice cream, my cone decided to crumble into a million pieces and a giant blob of ice cream landed right on my leg. Husband and I locked eyes for just a second before he reached over, grabbed the scoop off my leg and popped it right into his mouth! It was definitely a date day I will never forget!

Hawaiian House Pets: Husband Edition

Let me just begin by saying I had almost forgotten how disgusting and weird Husband really is. In the year we spent apart, all of the burps and farts and wet PT socks in the kitchen faded from my mind. Within the first week of Husband being home, I quickly remembered. Of all the things that Husband has done in the last few weeks, his "house pet" is by far the worst.

In our apartment, we have two bathrooms. This means I get my own bathroom where I can cover the counters in makeup and hair products without having to worry about Husband messing it all up. While I was busy reveling in the glory of personal space, I neglected to realize how concerned I should be about giving Husband his own space. When I went into Husband's bathroom to collect his towel on laundry day, I looked down to discover the world's biggest spider living on the baseboard.

After bravely snapping a picture, I ran from the room to get Husband so he could kill the beast. When I frantically told him about the monstrous spider living in his bathroom, I was not at all prepared for his response which was, "Oh yeah, I knew it was there. I'm keeping it, like a pet." I'm sure the look on my face was a mixture of disgust and disbelief. Even for Husband, this was a new level of gross and weird.

Obviously I was not about to let Husband keep a "pet" spider in his bathroom. So I grabbed the can of Raid and ventured back into his bathroom. But in the few minutes I was gone, the spider escaped. In an attempt to keep the spider from returning, I sprayed every inch of that baseboard anyway. With Husband's track record, I'm sure I'll walk in to find the spider's dead body on the next laundry day.

Deployment Can Kiss My Ass...

...because Husband is home!!

It still feels like a dream but as I look over at his sleeping face as I type, I remember that I'm the luckiest girl in the world! Of course, Homecoming pictures will be up as soon as I can tear myself away from my Loverboy.



The Preparation

It took me a while, but I have finally decided on a homecoming dress.

The homecoming sign was a little harder. For a while, I just stared at the blank board. I didn't want it to look like every other homecoming sign, now did I?

But after quite a bit of thought, a few spills and more paint on myself than on the sign, I was finished! My sign is like no one else's:

[Don't worry, my sign will not be leaving the house!]

With my dress and signs, clean house and beer, I am now more than ready for Husband's homecoming!

Can we fast forward now?

Mustache Face

I have never been good at entertaining myself. Even as a child, I never liked to do things alone. My ability to become instantly lonely has carried over into adulthood and makes living alone quite difficult. During the times that I'm not running around on island adeventures...

 [My first sea turtle encounter]

 [Hiking at Kolekole Pass]

*Photos by Beckie

...I'm doing anything I can to keep busy inside the apartment. Since cleaning is boring and obviously out, I've come up with an array of activities to keep myself occupied until Husband makes his appearance. Today, my activity of choice was waxing...

[My wax mustache face.]

Let's just say, waxing and boredom do not mix.

Lesson learned.

The Man of the House

With Husband gone, I have taken over the role of Mr. Fix It.

First, I changed the shower head in the bathroom, which was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be.

Then, Mom and I built a grill. Not nearly as easy as the shower head, but we still got it done!

More recently, I tackled a much larger project: the car. You see, the AC in the car was broken. The first quote I got to fix it was $150. The second quote, which I got from the place on post, was only $39. Little did I know, the mechanic there thought he could pull one over on me because I'm a girl and would not actually be fixing the AC for that price. Even though I asked for confirmation of the work I was getting done, he only checked the AC for that $39. To actually fix it would be another $200. Naturally, I was not happy when I discovered he had flat out lied to me and I let him know it. I also let him know that I would be taking my business elsewhere. And that place was Checker.

After a phone call to my dad, I decided that I would just fix the AC myself. So one trip to Checker and $35 later, I found myself staring at the engine with absolutely no idea what I was looking for.

[my view]

So I googled it. After I knew what I was looking for, I spent the better part of the afternoon staring at the engine, trying to figure out where the mystery part was. And then I found it. Twenty minutes later, I was in the car, cold air blasting, on my way to Taco Bell for a celebratory taco.

I'm sure Husband never thought he would be coming home to a plumber, builder and mechanic!

I sure hope he knows how lucky he is to be married to a badass like me.

Hawaii House Pets

Since I've come back to the island, I have had quite a few uninvited house guests. It stared with the spiders. They like to creep in the corners of the apartment and scare the heck out of me at random intervals throughout the day. This morning, as I took a drink of my water bottle, I looked up and locked eyes with a monster of a spider. In my moment of pure fear, he seemed about the size of my palm, although looking back, he was probably a lot smaller. Thankfully, I've come to be very aware of where I keep the Raid and sprayed that mammoth of a spider. He immediately fell off the wall and did a death crawl into my favorite boots. After shaking him out and them crushing him with that same boot, the spider would just not die. So, I bravely picked him up and flushed him down the toilet.

With Hawaii roach situations, I am not nearly as calm or brave. Just last night, as I was sitting on the couch enjoying some chocolate covered macadamia nuts, the king of all roaches squeezed under the screen door and took a flying start for my face. Luckily, that Raid bottle was within arms length and I sprayed and sprayed until that roach was in a puddle of poison. With tears in my eyes and my heart pounding, I picked it up with a paper towel and tossed it out the door. For the rest of the night, I had to breathe through my shirt because the Raid stench was unbareable, but there was just no way I could keep the door open in case his roach buddies decided to avenge his death.

Not all Hawaii house pets treat me so badly, however. Just this afternoon, it seems I've finally adopted one that I can live with. Meet Derek:

My own personal dino! He lives in the side burner of the grill on the balcony, which is the only reason he is allowed to stay. He's the biggest lizard I've seen to date and for my sake, I hope it stays that way because he doesn't seem to be afraid of me at all.

He even let me take a close up! As long as he stays outside, I think we are going to be great friends. Maybe he can even help me with my bug problem...

Army Wife Style

You know you're a badass when you have camo band aids on your matching running blisters.

Husband would be so proud.

Grown-up Girl

Sometimes being a grown-up isn't fun at all. Like when I have to move 3,000 miles away from my home with only the essentials. As if that wasn't stressful enough, when I got here, I realized that the condo I rented was dirty and disappointing. Then I went to pick up the car and it wouldn't start. So I had to buy a new battery. While I was waiting for AAA to install it, I noticed that the tags were expired. I ended up having to pay for new tires and an alignment before I could get them renewed. Top all of that off with moving our stuff out of storage in the constant rain and the last week has been pretty hard.

Thankfully, I had Mom with me. She's the only reason I didn't have a full blown mental breakdown. She was absolutely amazing and helped me make the apartment feel like a home. She helped me pick out my pretty, new couch and even bought me a dining room table, rug, coffee table and vacuum. My apartment that started out as a disappointing mess ended up feeling a little bit like a home.

[Sorry for the crappy pictures]

Sadly, Mom had to go back home and now I'm forced to become a real grown-up girl and live on my own for a while. Some moments it doesn't seem so bad. Others, it feels absolutely impossible. Hopefully I survive.

Hawaii Time

I'm finally ready for Hawaii.

And now I have the beachy hair and slight tan to prove it.

Bring on the sunshine, beaches and hopefully sooner rather than later, Husband.

The Crazy Army Wife

Sometimes, when your husband is deployed, you turn into a giant loser and you just go a little crazy. You spend your Friday nights sitting around watching Say Yes To The Dress and thinking about the beautiful wedding you had. You think of how happy you were that day and how your husband was actually home. Then you think of your wedding dress upstairs in the closet and you want to try it on. So you do.

You twirl and realize that your dress is about 3 sizes too big so you have to sit down. Then you become the crazy Army wife sitting around in her wedding dress missing her deployed husband.

Man, I'm such a loser.

Wordless Wednesday

Now I remember why I hate bikes...