So close

It's been quite a while since my last post. In my last post I mentioned going to Universal with some of my closest friends. Here's a few pics.

After I came back from my few days away, I had the opportunity to sing in a voice studio recital. This was the first time I sang "The Doll Song" in public. It went pretty well. Here's a pic of everyone who performed that night.

A few days later I saw that there were auditions at the Titusville Playhouse for the Sound of Music. I decided to audition just for the hell of it. I auditioned for Maria and Mother Abbess. Well I got a call a few days later that I am cast as Mother Abbess. I am so excited to be singing at the playhouse. I've seen shows there in the past. I think this is going to be a very good production and we have such a large cast of 41 people! Since the audition, I have been attending rehearsals and practicing.

I have been so motivated since Keith has been gone. I have been dieting and exercising at the gym. My diet has been consisting of 1400 calories a day and it seems to be working. I have lost 19lbs as of today. Here is a recent pic from a week ago. I can see the difference in my face and I have been getting a lot of compliments too.

A few days ago, I finally received a call from Keith for 30 minutes. It was wonderful. I hadn't spoken to him since Memorial Day. It felt so great to hear his voice. He was doing much better then he was on Memorial Day. He was still sick and stuffed up from having bronchitis. He's much better now and he passed his PT Test no problem. I can't believe how quick time has passed by. I'm going to drive up on Tuesday, July 5 to Fort Benning. Sally Jo, Keith's mom, is driving separately so that after the graduation she can drive back home. When we arrive on Tuesday, there will be a social event, but unfortunately the soldiers will not be there. Just the families will be attending. Wednesday is family day so I get to see Keith from 9am to 8:45pm. He has to return to his barracks for the evening. Graduation is on Thursday. As soon as the ceremony is over then I can see Keith until 8:45pm. On Friday, he will be transferred to AIT which is his tech training that's located at Fort Gordon. It's only a 4 hr drive from Ft.Benning so I plan on following him. I found out a few days ago that our soldiers could be signed out on a pass for the weekend as long as they are returned Sunday afternoon. Fine by me!!! That gives me two extra days with my honey bunny.

Here are some more pictures that have been posted on the Alpha Co. facebook page.

This last pic was sent today from a friends phone. I also forgot to mention that Keith has lost 15lbs since he has been away. He was 198 when he left and now he is 183. I am so proud of him, but there is going to be barely anything to him. I was able to talk to him twice today since there is this big 4th of July celebration at Ft. Benning. I informed him that I will be staying the weekend with him and he was very happy with the news. 

I have already been to the store to buy new things for the trip, including new undergarments ;). I did buy him a new bathing suit and comfy clothes so we can actually enjoy some sun while we have the free time. I will be bringing his laptop, so he then can update his blog again and finally respond to facebook messages. I also bought a bunch of movies that are still in theaters...tee hee which he has missed because he has been at BCT.

This is all the info I have now. I just posted two more letters on Keith's blog. I have two more to go and apparently there is another one on the way. Ugh!! I'm so behind.

Waiting

It's been quite a few days since my last post. I have received 2 more letters from Keith this week. It's been almost 3 weeks since I have had a phone call from him. That's to be expected especially that I was sent a general letter from his commander stating "expect only 2 phone calls that will last 5-10 minutes in these 10 weeks." Great...I actually missed Keith's phone call on Mother's Day. I could kick myself. In his last letter, he asked me to send him a care package of toilet paper and a combination lock. I sent him those things, plus a magazine and cards signed by my family. Earlier this week I was pretty depressed about him not being here, but I just kept my mind busy so I just don't think about it. I miss my husband so much.

This last week I have been working in my sister's salon to help her out. I make a little income so I have some spending money while Keith is away. We received his first paycheck which was a nice surprise. Luckily it arrived when it did because I just sold my car two days ago. Well the day I sold it, Keith's car decides not to start. The battery was dead and the contact with the starter was acting up...go figure.

This upcoming week I will be going to Universal with some of my closest friends. Since she works there, we can stay at the Portofino for a very cheap price. I will post pics in my next post.

Keith notified me that there is a facebook page called Alpha 2-47. It's great because the army takes pictures of all of the soldiers in boot camp. I have found a few pictures of Keith. There are some pics that I think might be him, but these guys all look the same.

Marching to Basic

Keith is the 2nd to last person in the line.

Climbing over the wall on the obstacle course.

He's the third person on the left with his head down.

Gigantic monkey bars.

As soon as more pictures are posted on facebook, I will post them on this blog.

A few letters

It's been a pretty crazy few days. I enjoyed staying at my friend Lesly's house for this last week. I went to his graduation ceremony on Friday and on Saturday I went to a graduation party. I'm so proud of my friends graduating and moving on to bigger things. I'm so glad to have these people in my life. I also attended a dinner for the scholarship students that sing at First United Methodist Church of Winter Park. These wonderful people invited us into their home and made an exquisite meal of Steak, potatoes, salad, and some homemade apple pie...delish! I'm glad I will be around this next year because I feel so blessed to sing with these people.

I finally got to my parents house in the early afternoon on Mother's Day. We went out to dinner and then celebrated my sister's and her mother-in-law's birthdays. Since I have not been home all week, I had three letters for me from Keith. Mostly everything that was written in them I knew about since we were able to talk on the phone most of his first week. He also sent an anniversary card which was so cute. I missed his call yesterday though. He left me a voicemail with his address and I accidentally deleted it. I'm such an idiot. I guess I will have to wait until I can speak to him again.

Between yesterday and today, I have done so much cleaning and organzing. My parents are not the most healthiest people and it seems they never have the energy to clean. Well since I have moved out almost 6 years ago, my mother filled my room with furniture that was left to her when my grandmother died. Also, some of my childhood things were never given away. Last night took me about 3 hours, but I went through and tried to clean and organize. Also, did I mention that I'm sharing a closet and some room space with my parents friend who has been staying at the house. Aye that has also been a challenge. When I moved everything in my room, I just threw my stuff anywhere until I could sort out everything. Well here is the before and after:

 

Today, one of biggest problems of clutter in my parents house is the garage/storage room. For years this room has built up with clutter from crap for yard sales and my mother's jewelry business.

My brother and I finished this in 8 hours. Don't mind the baking soda on the carpet.


I will be uploading Keith's letters momentarily.

1st Week

So much has happened within the last few weekends. Keith and I have been anxiously awaiting his departure. I decided to throw keith a going away party on Easter Sunday and it was so much easier to do it today rather than earlier. All of the family could attend and some Keith’s friends. Here are some pics:

Skipping ahead after my last post:

Tuesday 4/26

Well amazingly I slept through the entire night. I woke up around 8am and got breakfast at the hotel. Keith texted me and said I could come to MEPS around 9am to see him. It's kind of funny my hotel was located closer to MEPS then his hotel. When I arrived, I waited out front of the office.

At about 9:30, I got inside and sat with Keith for a few minutes until he was called for processing. I did not see him again until an hour later.

Later, after some more waiting, Keith was called to "Swear In." I eventually was called to witness and I took some pics and videos:

 Finally, when the small ceremony was over, I gave Keith one last hug and kiss and then I left. I did not have much time to stick around since I had to work. The whole ride home was not too bad. I was able to talk to Keith for quite a while. He told me that they finally left MEPS around 3pm and then stopped to eat around 8pm. That was the last I had heard from him that night. I decided to hang out with my friends because they were well needed.

Wednesday 4/27

 I was sent a text from Keith at 3:36am that said:

"It looks like as if I am getting no sleep at all tonight. Yay! What's worse is there was a group in after my initial group got in. We atleast got to put our shit away. Here are some pics for the blog so far...

I woke up early and starting cleaning and moving what was the remainder of my apartment. My mother-in-law and cousin came over and helped me clean the entire place. I even left to go to rehearsal and when I came back, they finished a great deal of the job. 

Sally Joe had the carpet looking brand new. Afterwards, we went out to dinner and then I brought Phyllis home. Around 7pm, I talked to Keith for a little bit and he told me that he had been up for 41 hours. He was delirious on the phone. He only had 5 minutes to eat each meal. I don't know about you, but I would have horrible indigestion. Plus, they kept making the recruits drink water all night and only let them go to the bathroom twice. When people asked if they could go to the bathroom again, the drill sergeant said, "You will go when it is convenient in our schedule." After hearing this, drill sergeants started yelling in the background, so he had to get off the phone. I then got a text message about an hour later saying, "tornado." I was a little confused and I did not hear from him for the rest of the night. I talked with my aunt Laura for so long that it was 11:00 already. I was so exhausted that I just spent the night.

Thursday 4/28

I woke up at 8am and saw on the news that huge tornadoes had touched down in Alabama, Mississppi, Georgia, and North Carolina the night before. After being worried all day, not knowing if he was alright, Keith texted me:

" Hey my lovely wife. I don't know if I'm allowed to talk right now, but I wanted to let you know that I thought my phone was stolen. Turns out someone moved it. I miss you so much right now. I got 4 hours of sleep, straight with no stops. I'm doing ok. I will be trying to mail you asap. BTW you are covered on insurance now and should not pay co-pay."

I'm glad that he was alright. Apparently, he also heard tornado sirens and had to take shelter because the weather was getting bad. They had to move all their stuff from an upstairs bunker to downstairs. His phone got moved, so he thought someone stole it. 

On a happy note: Woohoo...I will have insurance. I can't wait to get my military ID so I can go down to Patrick Airforce Base.

Tonight will be the last night in the apartment by myself. Tomorrow will be busy with my last weekend of shows.

Friday 4/29

Well this begins my last weekend of shows. We moved to our 2nd venue which is the Darden theater at the Orlando Science Center. Here are some pics that I promised from my last posting.

This was my show "Everything Taboo." We did the opera Candide for Act 1 and Act 2 had various scenes from "Hello Dolly, Wicked, Spring Awakening" and more.


Once the shows finished the next day, I was finally able to relax...somewhat.


Over the next few days, Keith called me usually between 8-9. It seemed our conversations we becoming shorter since we seemed to not have as much to talk about. Reception seemed to be getting boring for him. Some nights he had to do some guard duty, but that was to the extent of his excitement.

Skipping ahead to...

Monday 5/2
Happy 2 year Anniversary to my hubby. I worked earlier today and then went with my friends to a voice studio party hosted by one of my professors. I was having a good time until I received a phone call from Keith. He was sobbing on the phone because he thought about me all day and when the drill sergeant ripped into him, he broke down. My heart sunk into my chest. I was so sad for him because he was not with me, but I couldn't let myself think about it, otherwise I would have made myself upset. I love him so much.

This was such a long post, but it was a good weeks worth of events.

Over these next few days, I finished working at Publix and after I take care of some things in Orlando, I will be moving home...Lucky me.

Goodbye for now...

Well...the day has finally come where I have to say goodbye to Keith as he heads to basic. I can't believe how fast time has flown by, considering when he enlisted November 5, I thought we had all the time in the world together. It's been quite a few months since my last post. I have been so crazy busy auditioning for schools and performing. I had two performances this weekend. At the Good Friday service, I was the soprano soloist for Dubois' "Seven Last Words of Christ." As soon as I get video, I will upload some clips.

Unfortunately, I will not be attending Graduate School this next year. I did not get accepted anywhere, but I feel everything happens for a reason. Since I am a soprano, I am in the most competitive category among opera singers, so the next 8 months I have to focus on myself since Keith will be gone. I will still continue to take voice lessons and study. I will not be working...Woohoo!!! I will be quitting my job at Publix Supermarkets, but I will continue with my paid church job.

What I find most difficult about Keith leaving is the fact that I will be moving back home with my parents for the next year. I don't know how I will keep my sanity. I love my family, but after living away from home for 5 years, it's going to be a little rough. Once he starts AIT, I will probably make it a point to visit him atleast once a month. On a positive note, we will save some money since I won't have to pay electric or rent.


I know I will miss my husband very much, but we are in a secure place in our relationship that being apart will only make us stronger. I did cry this morning as we were eating breakfast together. I dropped him off at the recruiter and then drove down to Tampa to stay in a hotel. When Keith arrived in Tampa, I picked him up and then spent most of the day together, doing...well...enjoying what we call "Hotel PT" ;). I dropped him off at his hotel before 10pm since he has a curfew and then I returned back to my hotel around an hour ago. I haven't cried yet, but I think when I see Keith to say my final goodbye tomorrow, I will need a few tissues.


I will try to post more frequently now and as I receive letters from Keith in basic, I will be posting them on his blog.

Goodnight for now.

Moving along...

So it has been quite some time since I have posted last. Well I have lost 3 lbs. Usually I can lose 7 lbs. in a week, but I haven't been so drastic. If I decide be strict I never can stick to a diet. I have been eating what I like, but it has been in more moderation. I have made it a goal this week to cook at least 4 times.

 As of right now, Keith is on a no pay status from his job. This is going to make things a little tight financially around here. I'm hoping someone can hire him for a few months. I have been trying to pick up hours at work, but my boss only gives me 20-23 hours a week. How can we live off of that? I kind of wish he could ship out earlier for boot camp because then we can do better financially. One good thing is my cousin moved into our 2nd bedroom. She will be staying with us until May and then I'll be moving with my parents because Keith will already be at boot camp.  Starting next week, I begin my auditions for graduate school. Next weekend is Tennessee. Luckily, one my girlfriends is also auditioning because the hotel room was ridiculously expensive. That's all for now.

A choice

Well my husband has made the choice to go into The Army. As he is preparing to go to basic, he has been reading blogs from active members in the military. This gave him the idea to post a blog, starting now. He also thought it would be a good idea for me to also attempt to start a blog from my point of view. I plan on posting blogs about my feelings and what I will have to endure through this process of much time I will spend alone. I will also probably include a focus on my weight loss. Yes, everyone makes a New Years Resolution and then usually falls off the wagon a few weeks later. During the summer, I was a little over 200 lbs. I was not happy and took it upon myself to start dieting and swimming everyday. I ended up losing 21 lbs. I was starting to look great, but as the semester went on, I started gaining weight again and of course, the holidays were around the corner. My weight went back up to 193. My husband is also making it a priority for us to eat a healthier diet and exercise regularly. My goal is to lose 30 lbs. by the time he leaves for basic, which is the end of April. His start date coincidentally is May 2. That date marks our 2nd year Anniversary. I'm not very happy about that, but what can you do?

I remember when my husband first came to me with the idea of going into the military a few years ago. I immediately thought he was crazy and I was not going to be with someone in the service. "I am not going to lose my husband in a war." I eventually looked past that. I accepted the fact that my husband is not happy in his current career. He is an insurance salesman and before that he worked at Publix Supermarkets, with me. We always seem to be just making ends meat. It's hard when I'm the type who loves to go out to dinner and a movie on Saturdays or get out of town for a few days, away from this college town. We currently live in Orlando, a mile from the University of Central Fl. I just graduated with a B.M. in Vocal Performance. In other words, I'm an opera singer and I hope to pursue a career as a performer and teach lessons. Anyways, I love my husband unconditionally and I know how much the serving his country would mean to him. Also, having a better income does not hurt either.  A lot of people ask, "Why would you let your husband go into the service at this time?" Well when is it ever a good time? I know he does not intend on going into a career in infantry. He is choosing a field that deals with computers and satellite systems. I stand by his decision just like he stands by me with my opera career. It's going to be a bumpy road, but I think this will only make our relationship stronger.