Photos!

Well the trip to the library was a bust but I may have found a job opportunity.  Keep fingers crossed!
However, that is not what this post is about.  I realized I've talked about our trip to Texas but have not posted any photos.  So here are some wedding and trip photos for your viewing pleasure.  Don't forget to look for the Baltimore Ravens gnome!

 Our nephew Jack

Would you like to be my friend?

So one of the reasons why I’ve been so lonely here is because I have no friends here.  I’ve spoken on the phone with family and friends.  I even had lunch with my homestay mom from St. Croix who has now moved to the Houston area.  But I don’t have any friends here in Friendswood. This got me thinking.

When you’re a kid you make friends without even thinking about it.  Katerina and I became friends in first grade simply for the reason that we shared the same name.  You find things in common and you become friends. You can just walk up to someone and ask them to be your friend. Being in school together obviously is a huge factor.

School helps as you get older as well.  High school and college; both places to meet new people and make new friends. After college you get a job.  You meet people and make friends at your job.  You do the bar scene when you’re single.  You meet new people through people you already know. 

How do you make friends when you are 27, married and living in a new city?  I still haven’t found the answer to that.  But it got me thinking how much easier making friends is as a kid then it is as an adult.  You can't really just walk up to an adult and say "would you like to be my friend?"  I mean I guess you could lol. Has anyone ever experienced this? I’m sure other military wives have.  I thought I’d ask about this on a military spouse forum.  All the responses I got were from women with children.  Their common denominator seemed to be making new friends with other women who also had children.  They met at playgrounds, mommy and me classes, daycare etc. I’m not there yet, the only kids I currently have are of the four legged variety lol.  I know once I get a job I’ll make friends.  But it’s kinda like, well what do I do until I get a job?

Please don’t think I’m feeling sorry for myself again or being a downer. I'm doing much better than the first time Patrick was gone. I’m truly intrigued by this from a social aspect.  How do you make friends as an adult?  

Ironically last night on a rerun of The Bing Bang Theory, Sheldon was trying to work on his social skills to make friends and even went to the book store to find a book to help him. Obviously unlike Sheldon I do have “normal” social skills lol but it did make me think maybe the library would be a social avenue.  I haven't been to the library here yet (did find out it's like 2 blocks from my house) so I’m going to visit the library either sometime this weekend or this week.  Will I meet anyone while I'm there?  Will I make any adult friends?  Stay tuned for the results of my first "test" in the adult friendship social experiment!

Why the long face?

It’s been almost a month since I last posted.  Quite a few things have happened.  I had contacted a realtor before we left Maryland (he happened to be a former Coastie) and told him what type of house Patrick and I were looking for.  We went house hunting the weekend after we arrived in Texas.  Houses are definitely different than back home!  We found one we liked, three bedrooms, two baths, a garage for Patrick and a big backyard for Duke.

We signed the lease and on June 27^th we “officially” moved into the house.  Our stuff would not arrive until the following week.  Our realtor let us borrow two chairs and gave us a futon that he was getting rid of.  There was a table in the garage that we brought into the house.  Thank goodness for Goodwill, we went and got a TV for $10 and got our cable, internet and phone set up.  We also had to buy a washer, dryer and fridge.  We tried to get all that done quickly because on July 1^st Patrick left for work.  We both thought he was going to be gone a week and found out it was actually going to be for two.  (I was not happy about that one!)

Patrick’s truck was back in MD, so my parents drove it down, arriving July 4^th and were here to help me with the movers who arrived on July 5^th with all our stuff.  Unfortunately a few things were broken on their way to Texas, including two of my bookcases. In the blink of an eye, my parents were headed back home, I drove them to the airport that Sunday.

So there I was alone again, just me and the boys.  Mom helped me unpack most of the kitchen items while she was here and some bedroom items.  After they left, I continued with the unpacking and that’s what I’ve continued to do.  I still haven’t found my blender but I’m sure it will turn up.  After all, I opened a box labeled pillows and found a colander.  So I’m sure my blender is in some random box labeled something other than kitchen.  There was one tub that only had the couch pillows in it but one of the boxes (labeled girl stuff lol) was filled to the max.  It’s kinda like Christmas with unpacking because even though the box might be labeled with a particular item, you never know what you may find once you actually open the box.

It’s been fun setting up my first house.  I was very excited about the kitchen at first.  Then all our stuff got here and I realized I don’t have as much cabinet space as I did at the apartment.  I’ve taken a little break from the kitchen and using the dining room table for all items I have yet to find a home for lol.  

The hardest thing about this move is having Patrick be away for so long and being by myself.  He was gone for two weeks, came back for 3 days and is gone again for two weeks.  He will be back again for the weekend and then gone again.  

I’m used to him being gone for a few days, even a week when he left for training but all this occurred while I was in Salisbury, in my apartment, with my parents and friends in the same zip code. Not him being gone while I’m in a new place and know nobody. I’ve driven around the area to explore a bit and become familiar with the roads etc.  I’m looking forward to Patrick being home so we can explore the area together.

You’re probably thinking I’m feeling sorry for myself and you’re right.  I have been feeling sorry for myself and been sad and depressed where I have just sat on the couch all day doing nothing.  But then I received an email from my god sister that put it all into perspective.  She is an Air Force wife and her husband did 2 tours in Iraq.  She spent holidays and months without him.  It made me realize that I can survive 2 weeks without my husband.  There are women like my god sister who have gone months and months (and still are!) without their husbands.  And they didn’t just sit around moapping all day.  I have so much respect for all the military wives out there.  It truly is one of the hardest jobs out there!

I found a CG shirt with a quote on it that pretty much sums it up:

“When you love a Coastie, nothing can compare to the complete joy you feel when he’s home, the pain when he’s gone and the unconditional love and support you have for him”

P.S.  One of the things I’ve done is started gardening.  First day doing it I encountered a snake which I killed but was completely terrified the whole time!