This is Reality

Hello Friends!
Last night I was looking around on Pinterest (a guilty pleasure of mine) and I found the link to a blog post titled "100 Things I Want To Teach My Daughter"
I read it, and it was the most wonderful thing I've ever read. So heartfelt, and just genuinely sweet. While, I am NOT planning on having children anytime too soon, I did see a few of them that really hit home to me.
One said "a husband needs a wife, not another mother," and that simple statement got me really thinking about these past 3 weeks. I've only been married a short time but I can tell you that I've learned a crazy amount of things in this short time. So, I've decided to make a list of my own.


10 Things I've Learned About Marriage (so far):

1. You're husband will annoy you more than you thought anyone could ever annoy you. It's just because he loves you.

2. Saying your sorry doesn't make you weak, and you shouldn't feel embarrassed for having to say you're sorry. It's actually a very humbling thing to do.

3. You do things for your husband, not for any reward, but because you want to. (cooking, cleaning, laundry)

4. Before marriage, you're so used to going to your friends for advice; After getting married, confiding in your husband is always number one.

5. If you want something, saying it out loud is the only way to go. "I want...." instead of beating around the bush.

6. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. My husband has seen me at my best, my worst, and everything in between.

7. Don't act too grown up to have fun. My husband is my best friend. Maybe sometimes, playing a game of hide and seek is what I want...being married doesn't make you a "grown up"

8. Be willing to take the blame more often then you are willing to blame. Most of the time it's both of our faults.

9. There's no rush to do anything. Except pay bills...

10. If you're too mad to lay cuddled up with your feet touching, then you're not ready to go to bed. Never ever go to bed mad.

I'm not a marriage expert, I know. I've got so much more to learn. I'll keep learning for the rest of my life, but living with someone new, you really learn a lot about them, and yourself. The blog I read last night (which I'll post a link to below) just got me in a very good mood. I keep thinking about how sweet and heartfelt that was, and I just wanted to think about the sweet things in marriage too.
I never really take the time to thank those who read my blog, but I will now. I really can't tell you how much it means to me. I know I never have anything really important to say, but I love doing it. I'm so glad that people continue to read. I've gotten a little over 3,000 views so far, and the number keeps climbing every time I post something new! It makes me so happy! So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you guys!
And of course,
Stay Excellent!

here's that link!

http://lisajobaker.com/2012/07/raising-a-girl-100-things-i-want-to-teach-my-daughter/

Aloha Diaries: questions?

Hello friends,
I figured since I'm sitting here watching a movie not doing much of anything, I'd take a second to post and answer some of the questions I've been getting. A lot of you are very curious about Hawaii, ie the food, the language, and just general questions.
To fill you in as much as I can, I live in a town called Kailua. It is about 20-30 minutes outside of Honolulu. There is a school here, a public library, quite a few little shops, and a few places to eat. Compared to Texas, I'd say it's just a bit smaller than Lufkin. Everything here is within walking distance, so there's a lot of people on foot but also many cars. If you've ever been to Destin, Florida, it kind of reminds me of that. A lot of buildings very close together. We have similar things to Texas like Jamba Juice, Starbucks, Macy's, and Whole Foods, but we also have some things that I haven't ever heard of...little shops and things.
A big question I've been getting..."is there a Walmart?"
Ha! Yes, guys. There is in fact a Walmart. Not in Kailua. I believe the closest Walmart is in Honolulu. I haven't been to it yet.
Another big question I get is, what language do they speak?
This question is a little difficult for me to answer because I am not really sure myself. For the most part, what I know is that the locals speak English with a very thick accent. Some of the older locals speak a different language and that's where words like "aloha," "mahalo," and "ohana" come from. Aloha and mahalo are very often used though. In English sentences. For example, flying over here the airlines would say "aloha, and mahalo for flying with us" which of course means hello, and thank you...
Although Hawaii is part of the United States, it feels like a completely different country over here. I love hearing all of your questions! It helps me explore everything down here!
If you have anymore questions feel free to ask! I miss and love you all.
Another frequently asked question: does it cost to text you?
No! So text and call me whenever!!
Stay excellent!

Aloha Diaries: Well, This is New

Well, I made it. I'm unscathed and getting settled into my new home here in Kailua. I have to say that I am very happy that I won't be making the trip back to Texas anytime soon. The 4 hour plane ride to Seattle, and 6 hour plane ride to Honolulu was enough travel time for me. I got here at about 9:30 pm (Hawaii time) on August 22nd. And ever since then we've been going going going. We went to the courthouse on Friday to get all of our paperwork done. Then on Saturday we had a beautiful ceremony on the beach at Yokohama Bay. It was perfect. Very simple, but perfect. After that we have just been running around trying to get all of the military paperwork done and tended to, which if any of you know anything about the military, you know that paperwork is...A LOT. A lot of things have to be done in order for Sam and I to receive all of our benefits.
But, beside all of the serious stuff, I have to say it still hasn't really hit me that I am officially a Lacy. Sam and I share a home together, go to the beach together, and spend 24 hours of the day with each other literally, but it still hasn't sunk in that I get this man for...forever. When I stop and think about it , I get this awesome feeling in my stomach. It's a mixture of butterflies and just plain happiness. I love him so very much, and I'm glad that he's my forever.
For those of you that don't know, Kailua is a small town on the island of Oahu. They have a school, grocery stores, a library, and actually a lot of fun things to go do, and to see. It's the perfect town to live in! Especially when Sam has to go back to work, and I'm stuck at home alone. I will have plenty of things to keep me entertained.
We live in a small one bedroom apartment that is a block away from a laundromat, and surrounded by several grocery stores (including a Whole Foods, which Sam loves for some reason) and we are just about a mile from the beach in Kailua. It's so beautiful here! I wish pictures could really capture it, but I don't feel like pictures do the town much justice.
So, all in all, I'm married. I'm happy. But it really hasn't hit me yet!
I appreciate everyone who has wished me well via Facebook and text message. I really love hearing from you all back home! I hope school is going well, and I want to hear all about it!!
As always,
stay Excellent 

Aloha Diaries: Let's GO!

Hello dears!
Alright, so I said I wouldn't write again before I got to Hawaii, but I figured that I would update you guys really quick while I'm waiting on my laundry to get done. So, I just thought I would let you all know my busy schedule over the next few days.
Tomorrow, I will finish all of my packing, and getting all of my ducks in a row. (which by the way, if you ever plan on moving halfway across the country, get ready for some serious bag squishing)
Then, on Wednesday my in-laws will be coming to get me and take me to Dallas to visit my sister in-law! I'm super excited. I'll be staying the night in Dallas, and flying out on Thursday!! Yay!
I am so very excited, but I have 10,000 things to do in order to get this all going! I know all these posts are kind of short but I just want to keep you guys updated, because people ask me questions all the time, so I will just let you guys all know whats going on!
In other GREAT news, I have been off of my depression medicines for about a month and a half now, and I feel absolutely amazing. I had been getting extremely frustrated with my medicine, because it was giving me a headache every single day, and the days when I would forget to take it, I wouldn't have a headache. So I just stopped taking it cold turkey. And I haven't had a single headache since then, at first I was a little depressed, and stressed out, but with Sam's help, and a ton of prayer I started getting better and better, and now I am just so ready to get married and live in hawaii that I haven't ever thought about the medicines.
So, this post is just really an update on everything, but I figured you guys would like to know whats going on
I will write soon, and as always
Stay Excellent!

Aloha Diaries

Hello all!
As most (if not all) of you know, I will be getting married extremely soon! I am so excited!! Words can't even explain how excited I am! But, on top of that I will be moving to Hawaii to be with my sweetheart while he finished out his time in the marine corps, so I've decided that I want to write this new section of my blog called "the Aloha Diaries" to document my time in Hawaii. Cause, let's be honest, it's pretty freaking cool that I am getting to live there!
So, this is just a short entry letting you guys know what's going on. I am leaving August 22nd, and I will be living in Kailua in an apartment. I hope to get to experience a ton of great things in my short time there! And this blog will help me document all that so I can remember, but also so you guys can keep up with me.
So! I won't be writing again until I get to Hawaii because the stress of the wedding is just about to kill me. (Almost) but, once I get there and get settled be expecting a couple posts a week!
I will miss you guys all so much, but I'm still super excited about going!
As always, stay excellent

my struggle; part 2

Hello again people,
I just wanted to give an update I suppose on my previous blog post. If you haven't read the first one, you might want to do that before reading this one.
I have depression. I have been struggling with it for 2-3 years now, and every time I start a new medication this thought passes through my head of "it's almost over. you're almost to the end"
but then I end up with a whole new batch of symptoms and all new problems to deal with.
Lately, I have been feeling very "stuck." I am always sleeping. I sleep until about 2:00 in the afternoon, and then I just lay in bed for the majority of the rest of the day. I didn't even have enough energy to paint a bookshelf this week. I do have my good days, where I can wake up at 10 or 11 and get up and shower. I might go do some things, but mostly I just lay.
I feel like my mind, and physical body is really just stuck in a place where I am perpetually angry and frustrated, and no one is trying to understand me. I'm very angry at my doctor for putting me through this, I'm angry at my family for not being able to understand where I'm coming from, and I'm angry at myself for needing the medicines in the first place.
I started this blog called "Let Us Begin" as a reminder to myself, that every day is new and fresh. But honestly, instead of slowly building up, it feels like each day is a new struggle even worse than the last. I feel like I'm sort of back tracking.
I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for last week, but it got canceled because my doctor was out of town. So, I spent the whole week trying to reschedule. Now it's rescheduled for the 14th, which means I still have 6 days of miserable just to try a new medicine and be miserable again. It feels very much like a dead end that I just don't have the energy to travel down.
I'm sorry for my absence writing recently. I just haven't really had the drive to write. I will keep updating you guys every so often on my struggle.
Once again, I'm not writing these things to make anyone feel sorry for me, by any means. I just really hope to help someone out there that is having the same problems as me.
I know one day it will all be okay, and the thought of that day keeps me pushing.
As always, Stay Excellent

A bittersweet aloha!

Aloha!!
If you guys have been keeping up with me, you know that I have been in Hawaii this past week visiting my boyfriend Sam before he deploys on May 2nd. I really went with the intention of seeing Sam, and I didn't even think about how beautiful it would be, but I have absolutely fallen in love with that place. It is literally, breathtakingly beautiful. Seeing such beautiful things made me just want to stop and thank God for everything. A week was not long enough to see/do everything I wanted to.
So, here I am in the Phoenix airport for my layover. I just stepped off of my 6 hour flight from Honolulu to Phoenix, and now I just have to board my 2 hour flight back home to Texas. I am super sad to say that it's over, and I don't get to see Sam for a long time, but 6 hours is a long time to just sit and think, and I have replayed all of the fantastic moments I had in Hawaii with him this past week, and I feel a very bittersweet happiness right now. I know that this next 9 months or so of deployment will be some of the hardest months of my life, but I also know that in the end it will be so worth it. I know that my God will help me push through this. I'm not saying that I won't have bad days and need encouragement, but I know that I can make it.
So! Enough of the sappy stuff, I just have to share some of my awesome Hawaiian stories with you guys! If you haven't ever been to Hawaii before...what are you doing reading this? Get on a plane right now and go...honestly. It is so beautiful!!
I stayed at MCBH (correct me if I'm wrong Sam) which is in Kaneohe. Which I believe is only 10-15 minutes outside of Honolulu. In order to get to Honolulu to eat or shop or anything, you have to take a drive through the hills and mountains. I really tried to take pictures, but pictures don't do it justice! I could have just ridden through the hills for hours and hours. I absolutely loved it.
One day Samuel got the brilliant idea to take a hike up a hill called KT hill. It didn't look too steep so I wasn't too concerned about it. We hiked the mile up and down this hill and were going to take a trail to the beach to spend the rest of our day there. I started to feel the heat about the time we got halfway back down KT hill. Then we still had to find the trail and walk all the way down it. Turns out, this "trail" led to NO WHERE. So, we had to walk all the way down the trail, and back again for nothing. We ended up going back to nap and then having someone drive us to the beach. Which would have been better in the first place. I'm not complaining though! It was super fun getting to spend time with Sam in the nice weather...even though my scalp is a little sunburnt now...
My favorite place that we ate on island was a little southern style restaurant called the Dixie Grill. It was so good! Just a tiny little hole in the wall barbecue place, but they had fried pickles...and you guys know I am a fan of pickles.
We also got to go shop a little bit at the Ala Moana mall, which is really cool! It's an "outdoor" mall, so you still get the beauty of Hawaii whilst shopping. We spent hours in that mall, partially because Sam likes to shop, but mostly because we forgot where we parked...hey, that place is huge!
I didn't plan on getting in the water at all, but I ended up doing it anyway. We went to Waimea Bay, (or North Shore. I get names confused) I decided to get in the FREEZING COLD WATER...oh wait, let me rephrase that. Samuel decided to THROW ME INTO THE FREEZING COLD WATER, and then my body adjusted so I was glad he did. The waves were really strong, especially for my weak body. I kept feeling like I was going to get sucked out to sea, but luckily I didn't.
All in all, it was the best week of my life, and I wish I didn't have to leave. Since I am in the airport I don't have all my camera things with me, so I can't post all of my pictures but they are coming soon. If you're interested, then get ready for some Hawaiian awesome all over your Facebook wall.
The one thing I regret about this week...not ever learning how to pronounce ANYTHING. It is so difficult to pronounce the highway names and town names.
for example:
Kamehameha...?
Likelike...(not pronounced how you'd expect)
Kaneohe...
Nu'uana...?
WHAT...
I tried so hard to pronounce things...but I just sounded like a weird mix of hillbilly Korean...
Anyway, I am glad to be coming home and seeing my family and friends. Can't wait to share more stories with everyone, and as always...Stay Excellent!