Money doesn't grow on trees

I have been under a lot of financial stress lately. Jason came home in May and we moved into our new apartment in June. Since Jason was gone for 6 months he no longer had a job. It has been very hard for him to find one. Not only is no one hiring but Jason is a reservist in the Marine Corps and I think that is keeping alot of employers from even considering hiring him. There is no other explaination for Jason not being hired. He has an excellent resume with years of managing experience. We are going on 3 months of him not having a job. That has been very rough for both of us. Our only fights have to do with money. We moved into our apartment assuming we'd have two paychecks to live off of. Instead, its just been mine and the very little money Jason makes for report in for duty. It is so bad that we have considered the option of Jason going Active Duty. However, he has to wait a couple years before he can do that. Right now Jason is gone for 2 weeks for summer duty. When he gets back he has a couple weeks to focus on the job search again. Then, school starts. Luckily, Jason gets his schooling paid for by the government so he is going full time! I hope he can find a night job so that he doesnt have to drop classes.

I have spent years saving up my money. I have always had savings and have never been in debt. I take pride in the hard work I've done to make sure i have some financail security. However, over the past few months my savings have slowly been dwindling away. I have to pay for rent, gas, food, utilities, furnishing the apartment, my dog Oakley, entertainment, clothes, school, etc. All of this is on top of working 40 hours a week. Now, I need to start planning a wedding. I feel like this summer has been more work than play. Thats depressing when summer is so close to coming to an end. Okay, maybe I am being dramatic... I guess I actually did have alot of fun this summer. I turned 21, been to some bars/clubs/concerts, went to Park City with some friends, had bonfires, spent time with friends and family, and got engaged! I guess just the realization that I am growing up isnt exactly fun in itself. I wish I could rely on my parents again. I would give anything to be in alot of my friends position where they can still have their parents pay for the majority of their expenses. I hope they know how lucky they are to still have that!

The only way to get rid of that stress is to fix it. I havent been spending much money lately. Basically it has all been on bills, gas, and food. I have stopped eating out and have been preparing every single meal. Its been 10 days of this routine. It is very time consuming but I'm saving money and eating healthy and that makes it worth the extra time. Its also been easier since Jason is gone and I have more time. I feel bad when friends have asked to hang out and I feel that all I can say is "No". Unfortunately, going out means spending money. So, I stay home cleaning, cooking, reading and swimming. (I can't wait till Jason is home to entertain me).

I hope that my continued hard work will all work out in the end. I hope that Jason will find a job and help take some of the financial burden off my shoulders. I know that things wont be like this forever so I guess my final hope is just that we can get thru it without too many bruises!!

I'm Engaged!!!

Last Thursday, July 22nd, it seemed like a normal day. After a long day at work Jason and I went to the pool at our apartments. It was so nice to sit back and relax! After about an hour we were getting pretty hungry. Jason thought Chinese food sounded good so I chose Cafe Trang for dinner. We went back the the apartment and got ready. I really wanted to eat inside the restaurant because it had been awhile since we'd eaten out. But Jason strongly felt we should eat outside at the park. I was imagining us sitting at a picnic table and it did't sound fun. But luckily I had a blanket in my car! So... after we got our dinner we went to Draper park and found a nice quiet area underneath two trees. We ate all the Chinese/Vietnamese food we could handle. It was sooo good!! After we ate it was nice to lay down in the nice weather and just talk. Finally, Jason cracked open his fortune cookie and was reading his fortune as he tossed me mine. I took it out of the wrapper and was about to crack it open when i realized the cookie was not normal. It wasn't "cracking". Instead it was slowly coming apart. I pointed out to jason that there was something wrong with my cookie! He said he noticed the same with his. I proceded to open the cookie. Then, I noticed something I'd never seen in a fortune cookie before... It was a ring!! Without taking the ring out I just sat there for a few minutes completely confused. I kept asking him over and over, "How'd you do that??". He thought it was funny that I had no idea what he'd done! I then took the ring out and put it on. Jason told me to take the fortune out. I did and read it to myself. I began laughing and tearing up. I was so happy. He gave me a hug and a kiss and then I demanded he tell me how he did it. I was with him while we ordered dinner so how could he jam a ring into a cookie? Haha! I gues he'd planned it all day long. I guess it worked out that Chinese food sounded good to me that night! It really was the cutest proposal ever! I am so excited!! Jason and I have been together for over 4 years now and I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else! He truely is my best friend! :)

Always In My Heart

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my aunt Heather who passed away in September of 2007. Sometimes I forget that she is gone because it still doesn’t feel right. I miss going up to Oakley to visit her. She was one of the funniest people I will ever know. I have so many memories of her and hold each one close to my heart.

It’s been almost 3 years since she passed. I remember when I found out that she was in the hospital. I was driving to work and my dad called me. He told me that he didn’t know much but that he knew it wasn’t good. When I got off the phone I thought I would just continue driving to work but then reality hit me like a ton of bricks. I think I ran a red light or cut off everyone when I was making a left hand turn. I don’t know what I was thinking. I started panicking and all I could do was cry.

It wasn’t unusual for Heather to be in the hospital because she had Type 1 diabetes. She had been thru so much! Dialysis, kidney transplant, heart attack, you name it… I think that is why when I first got the call I just figured everything would end up being okay. There were many times people thought she wouldn’t make it but she always surprised everyone. But when I got off the phone nothing felt right.

I think visiting her in the hospital was very hard. I got to see firsthand just how bad she really was. She was basically brain dead and her body was shutting down. I am not sure what had happened but I think the doctors said she had a heart attack and no one found her for over an hour. It’s hard because you still have hope even tho you see the helpless body lying in front of you. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her. I’m still not ready. Although I had many good times with her- I felt it wasn’t enough. I still need her.

Even though she is no longer in my life I can remember her by the memories I have. There are so many that come to mind at once. When we visited her in Oakley she would let us ride her four wheelers on the property in front of their house. It was so much fun. She was always up for having fun. Even when you knew she wasn’t feeling very good. She didn’t let it get in the way of having fun too often. I have this image in my head of her sitting on the floor or bathroom counter curling her hair. I have early memories of her perming her hair too. I can hear her laugh. It was a laugh you will never forget. I can see her eating Arbys and drinking a Dr. Pepper. Sometimes when I am thinking about her I will go get an Atbys sandwich and put my “fat pants” on. She always talked about putting her “fat pants” on. Its funny because she was TINY! I remember going on frequent road trips with her down to St. George. There were many times where she couldn’t see where she was driving (symptom of diabetes) so my sister, Chelsea, would take over the wheel while Heather pressed the gas and brake. I plan to share more memories of her in the future.

Becoming a Marine

So 13 weeks after Jason left for Boot camp he finally graduated and became a Marine! I flew to San Diego so I could see him graduate and spend some much needed quality time with him. I was kind of nervous flying to a place I've never been, finding my way to the hotel and around town, and spending a night alone in the hotel. But I was too excited to let the nerves stop me. The plane ride SUCKED to San Diego because it was the smallest plane I have ever been on. It felt like a step above a helicopter! I usually enjoy the window seat but not when I feel claustrophobic! It was so small that I could barely move! UGH! But I made it safely so I shouldn't complain. After I picked my bags up from baggage claim I called the hotel and they came and picked me up. The hotel was very nice! It was clean and tidy with a king sized bed, fridge, and microwave. The people who worked there were very nice too. I spent the night alone which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I actually slept better than I have in a while!

I got up early in the morning and got ready for the Graduation. MCRD (Marine Corps Recruiting Depot) wasnt far from my hotel but it took atleast 30 minutes to actually get there! The guards wouldn't let the shuttle thru a certain part of the base and then we got stuck behind a bus that wouldn't move! Some redneck got out of his car and yelled at the bus driver threatening to call the cops and get him deported. The whole thing was kind of funny. When we (me and 2 other people in the shuttle) finally got to the wrong entrance of the base again we jumped out and the guards let us walk in instead of drive. We weren't supposed to walk thru so it was nice of them. We just had to show our ID's and we were good. Once on base I had absolutely no clue where to go. MCRD is huge! Somehow I found my way to a gift shop which ended up being one of many of base. I didn't have much time so I bought myself a hoodie and keychain... Then I hurried over to the Parade Deck which is 6 football fields long! They had bleachers set up by platoon so that you could somewhat see the platoon that your Marine was in.

Jason was platoon 2108 which was the last of the 7 that were graduating that week. The Graduation process was slow and since it was soooo big you really couldn't hear what was being said. They should invest in some kind of PA system or something! I spent the whole time trying to zoom in on my cameras to see if I could find Jason but I couldn't zoom in far enough to see any faces! When each platoon did their last march close to the bleachers I finally found Jason! I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry a little during graduation. It was mixed emotions of seeing Jason for the first time in 13 weeks and the reality that he, along with almost 500 men, just became Marines that week to serve our nation and protect our freedom. Marine Corps graduation is definitely a big deal. I think it was almost 2 hours long. The band played a few songs, prayers were said, and a ton of very slow marching was done. It was awesome to see 500 people in complete unison with every movement. You could tell that it took a TON of discipline to get that accomplished! When they finally ended graduation you could see every Marines face go from seriousness to complete happiness. It was awesome! They looked like robots that turned into humans haha!

We hurried off base since Jason was "finally FREE" and went to the hotel so he could get out of his uniform. He tried putting on his civilian clothes that we wore on the way to boot and they didnt fit! Jason lost 20 lbs haha. Not even his belt fit! Luckily I brought him his gym shorts so he wore those! We went out for lunch to a popular mexican restaurant called Coyote Cafe. Apparently everyone else had the same idea because almost every table had a Marine sitting at it! haha. After lunch we walked around the Historic Park. The next day we packed up and headed to the train station which we took to Los Angeles. The ride was really cool because it was along the coast most of the way so we just watched the ocean. In Los Angeles we visited his family, went shopping, and to the beach. Every single meal we had except breakfast was Mexican!

Those 10 days spent with Jason were the best 10 days ever! We had so much fun and I didnt want it to end. But it was time for Jason to leave again. He reported into Camp Pendleton 2/9/10 for Marine Combat Training which is about a month long. He only really gets part of Saturday and Sunday off and has to stay on base. If they behave they get their cell phones tho! I got to talk to Jason for a few hours today! After MCT he begins his job schooling which is 96 days!! But during that training he can go off base on the weekends. I am so proud of Jason. Sure it sucks not being able to see him and talk to him whenever I want but he is preparing to protect my freedom and that is pretty awesome. I am looking forward to what the future has to bring and then next time I get to see my Marine!


(sorry the pics are out of order. It is a pain trying to upload all these pics and sort them)
How cute! lol
Chillin at the beach. If we had been standing there 5 min later we would have been soaked from a huge wave that crashed into the rocks!

Not many people at the pier that day

Thought this was funny

nummy

My sexy Marine

He had to make his bigger than mine

almost got washed away

Jason and his siblings playing a game. I caught this when they "froze" lol

Hope, Josh, Jason, and Holly
Jason said this crab was making fun of me... wtf
We couldnt see the sun set at dinner because of the clouds :(
I love the ocean



Recruit- This is what Jason was doing before becoming a Marine

Private First Class J. A. Smithson

MCRD is huge! The middle is the Parade Deck which is the size of 6 football fields

All lined up. I couldn't see that far away!

I thought this pic was cool of their white hats
I begged Jason to stop and let me take a pic. He was so excited to get off base we were practically running.

Jason's sweet tan line from his "cover"


Still too far away

As the flag passed thousands of people in the bleachers stood

Coyote Cafe- Jason's first meal after boot.

The band

Rows and rows of bags and Recruits guarding them

Platoon 2108