3 Years!

Hi folks! I know I am not doing the best job at keeping up with this blog, I'm sorry!!

Today marks exactly three years since we arrived in Hawaii! These three years have been (for the most part) really wonderful, and we are grateful that we got such an awesome opportunity to live in a place that most people dream of visiting. As I write this, I am sitting on the back lanai on our swing, enjoying the last few days we have here on island. On Wednesday, our stuff gets packed up and shipped to our new home at Fort Campbell. While I am sad we are leaving (understatement of the year here!! Lol), I am excited for the new adventures we will have in Tennessee. At first, we were planning on living on post for a year, then moving off post, but we have decided to try and rent a place off post right away. We have gotten some wonderful advice from both the folks on the Campbell Facebook pages, and from Kevin's co workers out here who have been to Campbell. We are excited to get settled in and continue our journey :)

Today, Kevin had his going away lunch at our local Chili's, which is the main "going away lunch" spot for many units here. His co workers gifted him a personalized ukelele, and said some really sweet words about him. I really love his co workers, and to be honest, I am going to miss them too! It is always entertaining being around those guys, and given how small the Army Aviation community is, I can pretty much guarantee I will see them again at some point down the line. I wish I had gotten some pictures, but I was too busy laughing at the stuff they said about Kevin. I will try to post some pictures of the ukelele soon though :)

Another thing I will miss about Hawaii is my volunteer time at the post museum. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful curator to work with during my first experience working in a museum environment. The staff there is wonderful, and I have learned so much--not only about running a museum and the various projects within it, but about Schofield Barracks and the long and amazing history of the 25th Infantry Division. Schofield has been around for over a hundred years now, and the soldiers who have been stationed there have fought in every single war and battle since World War I. The building itself is a historical landmark! I have enjoyed my time there--so much so that I have logged over 400 hours in that building in the year and a half I've been there! I am going to miss it terribly! I am also honored to have gotten the opportunity to work in such a cool place :)

I hope to post more soon!

I hope you guys are doing well, and if you want to, you can follow me on Bloglovin'!

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Life since I last blogged...and lots of pictures!!!!

Hello! Long time no talk! Things have been really, REALLY busy around here since my last post. Alot of times I am just so done with the computer after I do my schoolwork, so sadly my blog has gone by the wayside. I'm really sorry guys! This may be a long post--in fact, I am SURE its going to be a long post, but please bear with me as there is so much that has happened! So much has happened in the last 11 months. Kevin deployed, as you all know, and in January I welcomed him home!

 However, about a month after I wrote my last post, the Buzuleciu's took a huge hit to the heart. Kevins dad was diagnosed with stage four cancer in his lungs and brain. Kevin was able to take leave from Afghanistan to be in Ohio with his dad while he was in the hospital. He arrived in Ohio on August 25th. He was able to spend two weeks with his dad before having to go back to Afghanistan. I was able to be in Ohio with him, which was nice. In those two weeks, we spent so much time with "Big Kevin" and told him we loved him at least a million times. Four days after Kevin got back to work, on September 11, his dad passed away. Kevin's family is super close. His dad was his best friend. It hit fast. 21 days between diagnosis and death. Kevins unit, who was under new command, was absolutely wonderful to him throughout the whole process. They even pulled strings and allowed him to go home for the funeral. They were wonderful to me as well. I was able to get back to Ohio again so I could be there for my in laws and for Kevin. The funeral was beautiful. Big Kevin served in the United States Marine Corps, and was given a burial with full military honors. Kevin wore his Blues for the event, and was presented with the flag that draped his dad's coffin. It was such a sad time, but a wonderful celebration of the life of a guy who put his family first (even after divorcing Kevins mom 20 years ago--they were still the best of friends and even told each other that they loved each other before he died), could fix anything, and would give you the shirt off of your back if you needed it. He was a fabulous friend, dad, grandpa, and an amazing father in law. This hit Kevin pretty hard, and he had a pretty rough deployment because of it. The family is doing much better now, but on some days, especially today--Fathers Day-- its really been rough. We all miss Big Kevin!

Kevins Dad in the USMC. How handsome is he????

We were so thankful that Big Kevin (along with my sis and bro in law) were able to visit Hawaii before he passed. He had a wonderful time!

Also, Kevin lost his Uncle Tom and his Aunt Evelyn, who both passed away in November. I felt so bad for him having to deal with that much death in the family and I couldnt be there for him. Skype was something, but he really had a rough deployment.
Okay, thats enough of the sad stuff! While I was in Ohio, I took up running to keep my exercise schedule up. When I say running, I really mean jogging as I am not that fast. Well, I really started to get into it! Jogging at a moderate pace did not irritate my hip, and it kept me in shape. Since August, I have ran a few races--The Tunnel to Towers 5k in September ( I was home just long enough to do that one), The Color Run 5k in November, The Warrior Dash Obstacle 5k in February, The Ford Island Bridge Run 10k in April, and the Pineapple Run 10k last month! Between races, I would get up at the crack of dawn and run 3-6 miles around post....even on holidays and weekends! My running has gotten much better, and I can now complete a 5k without stopping to walk on a regular basis, and right now I'm clocking around a half hour to complete it.

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers 5k- Sept. 8, 2012. Time:Around 41 mins

Color Run- November 3, 2012 with my peeps! I'm the one with the car wash sign!



Warrior Dash AFTER picture! I came in at an hour and like 2 minutes. February 23, 2013

Warrior Dash BEFORE picture with some of the gals I work out with and our amazing trainer Katie (She's third from left)

Ford Island Bridge Run- April 6, 2013. This was the first 10k I actually ran. My time was 1 hour 14 mins on this one

Pineapple Run- May18, 2013. My time: 1 hour 7 mins! My best 10k time yet!

Getting my pineapple after I completed the run. Please excuse the bad pics, it was really foggy and rainy that morning!

I am so proud of myself for consistently improving my run times. Although after the Pineapple Run, I actually did not run until yesterday, when I ran in Waikiki because we were down there for a marriage retreat.

Lets see what else....well, when Kevin was deployed, he found out he would have to go through another Medical Board because the first one wasnt done right. It only took two weeks last time, so I was not suprised that something got screwed up. Anyway, the board found him fit for duty! This means he will be able to retire from the army after he completes his 20 years, instead of getting discharged. He is really happy about it and so am I. We were stressing on what we would do if he had to get out. So the med board is done, and thats one thing we dont have to worry about again.

Our one big stressor for the last few years, as you all know, has been getting pregnant. I am STILL not pregnant, but this past Monday we moved up in treatment, and I have to give myself follicle stimulating shots until they get big enough, and then I will be given a shot to make me ovulate. Then we will go in for our 6th IUI. The shots are supposed to greatly increase our chances of getting pregnant, and I am remaining confident that it may happen this month!

Other than that, I have still been volunteering at the post museum, and last month marked a year since I have been doing that. I really love my job there, and I am going to miss the curator and admin so much when we leave!!! I am also still in school, and since Kevin got home I have had straight A's in all my classes. I am in the brunt of my history degree major classes now, and am LOVING it!!! I will start my Cultural Anthropology major courses soon as well. It is going to take me a while to finish, but when I graduate, I will have TWO bachelors degrees. I am really excited about that!

Speaking of leaving, we now know where we are going next!!! While I will miss Hawaii something fierce, I know that the army needs Kevin elsewhere. These last three years have been great, with the exception of the old command in Kevins unit, and its certainly going to stink not being able to go to the beach on New Years! So where are we going???????




Drumroll please.........

FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY! This is cool because its only a few hours drive from Kevins family and about 12 hours for mine! I will post more on this when we move, but we are slated to leave this beautiful island in October.


Okay, I am going to wrap this up, and if you made it this far, I love you! I know its alot of stuff, but its been way too long since I last blogged, and I wanted to share our life lately! I promise it wont be that long before I blog again!!!!

So far, so good....

Hi guys (and gals)!

Now that Kevin has reached his destination, I can really get my blogging going again. I didn't want to post too much last week because I was afraid I would give too much information. As of tomorrow, he has been gone one week. It's actually flown by for me! I hit the ground running from the moment he left and I have been focusing on staying busy! Well, except for yesterday when I lounged on the couch all day in my PJ's watching movies! I didn't go outside once--it was kinda nice! I have gotten to Skype with Kevin twice since yesterday, and it really improves my peace of mind when I can actually see him. I'm not used to having that kind of technology for deployments. When I was married before, the internet was still in dial up or DSL, and there was no such thing as Skype. Those deployments suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked. I'm grateful that technology has allowed us to "see" each other, even 11,000 miles apart from one another.
As for Kevin, he is doing good and getting settled in to his new home for the next 6 months. He told me (very excitedly) that his room is within walking distance to a 24 hour coffee shop, and if you know Kevin, you would know that he LOVES his coffee! He is excited to start working and helping out the guys in his office, who are swamped right now with like 4 people and tons of aircraft
As far as daily life goes, I have been settling into a routine. I still go to the gym every morning, come home, do some cleaning until lunch, then work on whatever schoolwork I have going on. I may continue to work on my list of household projects too. This morning was actually fabulous! I got to Skype with Kevin before he went to bed, I got to talk to my brother for about an hour (It's his Birthday today--the big 30!), had an amazing workout in step class, found out the replacement headphones I had to purchase (I'll go into detail in a minute about that one--just say it was my ditz move of the week) were 50% off, AND the smoothie place actually had raspberries, which I'm obsessed with right now, after being out of them for weeks! Add to all of that that it's a beautiful day outside, and the mood meter goes up!!!
Now, here is the headphone story. I bought some new headphones with a speaker on them a couple months ago, so that I would have a hands-free device for driving ( I HATE bluetooth). Well, they produced good sound, so I used them for my ipod as well. The other day, when I was out working in the yard, I was clipping weeds, and my headphones cord swung in front of me and I snipped  it right in half! Oops.... Ditzy, I know! At least the lawnmower started for me that morning (eventually....). If you are friends with me on Facebook, you will know that I absolutely hate that mower, and it hates me right back! I dont know why-- I'm the one who mows the yard! Anyway, thats why I had to buy a new set of headphones. It all worked out, because my new set is pink, and produces really good sound :)
So that is life lately here! My donut of misery says we have completed a whole 3% of this deployment, so I'm just going to keep chugging along, and taking it day by day. That's all you can do, right?

--Jennifer

And it begins.....

Hello!!

So, deployment has officially started. Kevin left this week to join his unit downrange and I think I held it together pretty well! I thought I would cry, but I didn't! Not even when I got home! I credit that to the fact that as soon as I got home from dropping him off, I immediately got to work on 2 papers for school. That took up the rest of the afternoon. I had some dinner, and got a chance to talk to Kevin for a few minutes (very late call) before heading to bed. He then called me at 215am the next morning! We got really lucky and he ended up staying in the U.S. for about 8 hours after he was supposed to, due to an extra flight to Alaska! I got to talk to him that afternoon as well before he had to board another flight out of the country.
It's only going to be 6 months, but I miss him terribly already! The cats have been moping around and occasionally they will go and sit at the door. It breaks my heart :( The good news is that I have a HUGE list of stuff I want to get done during this deployment. Plus, I am going to keep up with my gym schedule, and I have picked up an extra day at the museum. Add in the millions of house projects I have, and school, and these months will FLY by! I'm also going to make a valiant effort at keeping up with this blog!

*The dates are vague until Kevin arrives safely at his destination, for security and safety reasons!*

--Jennifer

Hello!!!!!

Hey folks! I know its been a long time since I have posted anything, but I've been really busy! I am now in school full time, so there is homework and papers weekly, plus I volunteer at the post museum 2 (about to be 3) days a week! Add in the fact that I have been keeping up with my gym schedule and spending as much time as I can with Kevin before he deploys (yes, he is going :( ), I havent really had time for my blog.

So, Kevin is deploying after all. One of the guys in the TI office came back on emergency and ended up PCSing off the island. So the commander downrange called and said that Kevin has to join his unit in Afghanistan. He will only be gone 6 months or so, but I'm still not excited about it! He leaves VERY soon and I am going to try and post here daily once he leaves so that he can know what is going on with me and the cats ( you would be suprised at the shenanigans they get into on a daily basis! hehe). I am also going to try and do something different with the design of this blog, so be patient with me if it looks all wonky and weird! I still havent decided if I am going to change the name. I'm not really creative, so its been hard for me to find something catchy that represents our family, the Army lifestyle, and our big challenge--infertility.

Speaking of that, I am STILL not pregnant. We have now done 4 IUI's and I have done 4 rounds of Clomid (to try and have more eggs release each month). Now that Kevin is deploying, we are obviously on a TTC hiatus until January or February. Last month was our last month to try before he leaves, as I am not schedule to ovulate until RIGHT after he goes to Afghanistan. There is still a VERY small chance I could ovulate early this month before he leaves, but I'm not holding my breath on that one! I have decided to just focus on school and my workouts. I am getting stronger, but I gained 10 lbs back in March when we went to the Big Island (we finally got our "honeymoon! I will have to remember to tell you guys about that experience soon!) and I havent been able to lose it again. Once Kevin leaves, I am going on a clean diet, where I am not going out to eat, no fried foods at all, low sodium, no soda, and Starbucks only rarely. I am going to eat more fruits and vegetables, paired with high protein meats like chicken (skinless, of course). I am hoping to lose 15-20 lbs before Kevin comes home, which I totally think is doable.

Also, as of right now, I am planning a special trip to visit a dear friend...........in Italy! I'm so excited to have this wonderful oppportunity, and will be saving as much as I can before October. Family at home, dont worry, Kevin and I will be planning a special trip to see you guys once he comes home from the desert. Believe it or not, the trip to Italy will be CHEAPER than if I went home for a week! And I will get to be in Italy for two weeks! I cant wait!

Ahh, so what else is new? Hmmm, other than school, its been pretty normal stuff around here. I did mention that I volunteer at the post museum....and I freaking LOVE it!! Right now, for example, I am working on a project that requires me to scan pictures into our digital database. Some of the pictures I get to see are a hundred years old! It's a pretty sweet gig! :)

It is getting pretty late out here in the land of Aloha, so I will wrap this up!
I've missed you guys!!!

--Jennifer

Oh blog....

I have been neglecting you, sweet blog, and for that I am sorry.

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let y'all know I'm still alive! I've been spending alot of time with school and Kevin lately, and have been too tired at night to blog. We are doing alright though! I do have a few pictures I want to share with everyone documenting what we have been up to lately!
Since I last blogged, we have celebrated Thanksgiving (we went to the lovely Sarah's house and had a fantabulous dinner! (I forgot to bring my camera and take pictures, sorry!) ) and celebrated Kevins birthday!

I got him this for the PS3, along with a ginormous strategy guide! Boy does he love it too!

Seriously, he plays that game for hours. I have mostly been just going to the gym and Kevin has been working. We havent even gone to the beach since my in laws left back in October! We have been real homebodys lately. Last weekend, however, we tried something new and went scuba diving for the first time ever!

                                                                      "Under the sea,
                                                                      Under the sea,
                                                                     
                                                                       Darling it's better,
                                                                      Down where it's wetter,
                                                                      Take it from me.
                                                                     
                                                                      Up on the shore they work all day,
                                                                      Out in the sun they slave away,
                                                                     
                                                                      While we devotin',
                                                                      Full time to floatin',
                                                                      Under the sea..."

 Let me just say that at first it was REALLY weird, but then I got used to it and it was super fun! I did get a little nauseous when we got out of the water and were leaving, but it didnt stick around too long. Kevin and I definitely want to try scuba diving again!!

Other than that, we have been just taking it day by day. I'm thinking of switching up the name of this blog, so if you suddenly see a different name on it, thats why! Now that school is out for the next 2 weeks, I will have some time to redesign this blog and refresh it a little! Kevin and I aren't going home for Christmas this year, and heck, we didnt even put up any decorations either! We just havent been in the Christmas spirit lately because of the whole infertility thing and the fact that we are trying to get our savings account back on track so shopping is non existent this year!
I am going to wrap this up, as I have to go over a zumba routine that I am giving tomorrow morning to Kevins platoon! Wish me luck, it should be a blast (and my first time teaching--AHHHH!!). I sure hope they like the songs!

I do want to wish you guys a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year though!!


See you soon!

A much overdue update

Sorry I havent been blogging much--er, at all! I really havent felt like saying much. I'm having a hard time dealing with infertility and have been keeping to myself (aside from the occasional visits with Annie :) ). I hope you guys dont take offense to this, but I've gotten to the point where I dont even want to be around even friends that have kids or are pregnant, it's just too damn depressing. I am hoping I come out of this funk soon, because its not fair to them....not to mention I feel like a horrible friend. This is definitely a low point in our lives, and it sucks...alot. It's a hard thing to go through, and I dont wish it on my worst enemies.
Since I last blogged, I did have a pretty good sized positive thing happen....I have gone back to school! I am now well on my way to finishing my much awaited and anticipated degree in History and I am excited to complete the program! Then its off to grad school.......... :)
Kevin is still non deployable, but instead of not deploying at all, the MEB is underway and he is considered a "late deployer"--which means he is definitely going to the middle east, we just dont know when yet. There is some good news about that though--he has been selected to be a platoon sergeant on Rear D, which is great because when promotion time comes up, he will have platoon sergeant time in (this is a good thing--you want to have that under your belt!), which gives him a better chance of being selected for promotion!
Hmm, what else.....
I celebrated (well, I'm not overly excited about it) my 31st birthday at the beginning of this month!
I've been going to the gym ALOT lately--even more than usual--and I'm still feeling pretty good! I did have a week where my hip wouldn't stop *painfully* popping, but off course after xrays were done it felt better. Go fig... Anyway, I have had to modify down a few times, but I've still been able to make it in and make it through class.
Kevin is almost back to his pre surgery self! He has been doing more PT and running more. I still have a hard time getting him to go to the gym with me, but in recent days its because he recieved his birthday present (the new Elder Scrolls Skyrim game for the PS3) and has been ridiculously occupied with it. I dont mind, though, I just love having him home :)
I will say, though, that he did go to the gym with me not this past Wednesday, but last Wednesday, and not only came with me, but PARTICIPATED in his very first step class!!! He did really good, too! He didnt give up and he didnt quit-- I was INSANELY proud of him!!!
Other than that, we have hung out with our friends Annie and Allen a few times, but have been mostly keeping to ourselves.
Last night, I had the awesome experience of seeing the midnight release of Breaking Dawn Part 1! We got to the theater around 5, watched Eclipse at 915, then Breaking Dawn at 12. I LOVED it, and it was worth the wait! I cant wait til part 2!!!! Kevin didnt go with us because he had to work really early this morning, but I'm thinking of talking him into going sometime next week :).  So thats whats happening in our neck of the woods.
Before I go, I wanted to share one of the many pictures our friend Annie took of us a couple of weeks ago! She's super talented. and we loved the way they came out!!

So I shared a couple... heehee. We loved them all though :)

Thats it for now, I hope you guys are doing good! I've missed blogging!!