Operation Gym Coup: Final Review

The whole month of June I had been gearing myself up for the last week and shuffling plans around in my head to find time to hit the gym on Friday, the last day of the month. After all, how can I finish the mission strong if I don't even go to the gym on the last day? The problem was, my man is coming home on Friday! It had only been a month since I'd seen him, but it had been two months since he'd been home and I could not wait! So I had been playing out the day in my head...should I go before work which I hate doing or should I go after work and be stressed out because I gotta get ready to pick him up at 8 pm from the airport.

After all of that stressing, I got pretty excited when I found out what you probably already know. Did you say, "huh?" when you read that Friday is the last day of the month? Well, you should have. I was checking out the calendar during that week guess what I learned. Thursday was the last day of the month! Not Friday. I totally knew that Stud was coming home Friday, July 1st, but for almost the whole month I kept thinking that Friday was still part of June and therefore, part of my mission month. I think this happened because I associated my husband being gone with Operation Gym Coup since the mission took place the (almost) entire length of time between my visiting him in San Diego and his coming home. Makes sense, right? Either way, I will have completed the mission on Thursday and wouldn't have to worry about squeezing in a gym visit on Friday after all! Halelujah! That was a good surprise.

Officially, I have to say that I really shouldn't get so excited about not having to go to the gym just because the month is over and, technically, my mission only lasted one month. I mean, that makes it look like I didn't learn anything, doesn't it?

Officially, I should want to go to the gym on Friday anyway...and most days after that as well.

I got so excited about not being required to go to the gym on Friday that it really reminded me that my attitude about working out isn't where I want it to be. Granted, most of the reason that I didn't want to go on Friday is because, frankly, I didn't care about anything that happened on that day except seeing my husband.  However, there was still a big part of me that wanted the mission to be over so I didn't have to go to the gym and that's the part of me that I'm trying to transform. Like any lifestyle change, one of the hardest parts is establishing new habits. I figured that if I made myself go to the gym enough to make it a habit, after that I would actually want to go to the gym. Either I was too preoccupied during the month of June for this to take a effect, or it just took a little longer than expected.

At this point, I know I am a month late in writing this review, I feel like I am much closer to that ideal "workout attitude" than I was at the end of my mission. So I guess it's a good thing it took me so long to write this because back at the end of June, I would have still been just hoping for it. Yeah, that's why I didn't update you right away. Ha.

So if you've been following along on this mission, you're probably wondering if I succeeded. Did I get my name on the list of Top Ten Biggest Users?

Take a look: 

Are you hearing that pathetic game show music when the contestant loses? Yeah. I was hearing that too when I saw it. What made it MUCH worse was that it was my bright idea to run by Anytime and check with Stud on his last day home. I was already either crying or thinking about crying most of the day since Stud would be leaving that day and then I had to go and check the stupid list. Man, I was disappointed. And frustrated. And angry. I had missed the list by two gym visits. Stud tried to give me a pep talk on the short ride home, but I knew I could have done it...I just didn't. My husband is super good at helping me keep a healthy attitude about fitness. He's challenging but understanding. He told that I had had a lot going on and that I couldn't get down about it because that would probably keep me from going to the gym the next month. Luckily (sort of), saying good-bye to him later that afternoon put the whole mission-failure woes right out of my mind.

When I came back to focus on it, I decided that it was already too late into the month of July to try to start over the very next month and log enough gym visits. Stud was here from the 1st through the 10th and though we did workout together twice, it was not the focus. On top of that, I was in San Diego the weekend after that (to read about that awesome last weekend check out this post). So I decided that I wasn't going to push the issue during the month of July. I did, however, get right back on the horse and have been to the gym several times in the last couple of weeks and it has felt great.

It is still my goal to make it on the list one of these months. It just may be August too so stay tuned!

Oh, and by the way, when you saw "Andrew B." on the list did you have to look twice? That's the second miserable time that that name has crushed my spirits. Waaaaay back in 4th grade we were getting ready to end the school year and my teacher was giving away prizes of things that we had used during the year but weren't needed for the next year. When each item was to be given away he would draw a name and then write it on the board with all of us watching. I don't remember what the item was but I clearly remember my teacher writing "A-N-D-R-E.....W." UGH. Stupid Andrew. What a letdown. That last letter was suppposed to be an "A"! You know, you see five out of the six letters of your name it and it never occurs to you that the 6th letter won't be what you're expecting. At least, those are my feelings. Sorry to anyone of you named Andrew reading this. It's not that I don't like you, it's just that your name has caused a decent amount of disappointment in my life. But perhaps so has mine for you so I guess we're even. 

It's been such a long time...

If you aren't hearing Boston after reading that title...you didn't grow up with my dad. Loooove Boston! But, really, it's been forever since I posted. Sorry about that. The end of June and July so far have been pretty whirling for me. The last week in June I was preparing for my hubby to come home for his last leave before he deployed. Ten amazing days flew by and then he was gone again.We packed a lot into that time. We saw lots of family and friends, got to visit the newest addition to our family (my cousin's sweet baby boy), caught a movie, went to the gun range with our dads, had a party for Stud and saw fireworks on the Fourth, had a date night at the Melting Pot (yum!), managed to work out twice together, went to church, kayaked, played laser tag, hung out at the pool, finally picked out some wedding pictures (it's been a year and a half!) and just enjoyed being together. It was great. Saying goodbye, though, was really not great. Man, do I hate that part. Stud had to go back to CA for about a week before he actually left for Afghanistan.

By Wednesday of that next week I was in the swing of my normal routine, though still missing my husband terribly especially knowing that we were now in the long haul and that it would be several months before we would see each other again. That night on the phone, Stud casually mentioned that he had the weekend off and all I could think about was how much I wished I could be there to spend that time with him. Thursday morning I couldn't help but texting, "Would it be ridiculous to try to come out this weekend?" Expecting my much-more-level-headed husband to say something to the affirmative, his response of, "No, it wouldn't. Last chance to see me," sent me into a frenzy of surfing travel websites and making calls. Just a few hours later I had the approval from work to take a half day on Friday, the commitment from my dad to bring me to the airport and pick me up and a seat on a flight out to San Diego.

I gotta admit, I felt a little like a crazy person making such an impulse decision to leave the state, but that didn't last long. I was so excited to spend one more weekend together, and it was such short notice that I didn't even have to spend more than two days in aggravating anticipation!

I wasn't able to get a direct flight there (or back), but even leaving at 2:45 pm I got to San Diego at about 6:00 pm (I love gaining those two hours in the time change). The plan was for him to get a ride to the airport and meet me there, but he didn't get released until an hour and a half after he expected so he was running late. I decided to go ahead and take the shuttle to get our rental car and meet up after that. I had arranged to rent a Dodge Charger to surprise Stud because he is all about the Charger right now. I was pretty bummed, though, to learn that they didn't have one on hand when I went to pick it up. I was informed that one was supposed to be coming back very soon and, since I had to wait for Stud to get to San Diego anyway, I decided to wait at the car rental station and see if the car would come in. I waited FOR-E-VER. The lady who had helped me felt bad for me for waiting so long so by the time Stud was getting to San Diego (over two hours later than expected), she offered me ANY car in the place. "Take the convertible!" she said. Oh yeah! So out of the rental station I drove in a pristine, white Mustang convertible. They were so nice that they even said they would call when the Charger came in and we could switch out the cars if Stud still had his heart set on a Charger. The minute, though, that he got in the convertible he assured me that there was no way we'd be exchanging it for the Charger. Ha! We absolutely loved driving around in that baby all weekend.

That whole experience of waiting for Stud and not getting the car I thought I wanted was the only hitch in the entire weekend...and look at how it turned out! Free upgrade! The whole weekend was beautiful. Absolutely amazing.

Stud is gone now. He's in Afghanistan and I won't see him for 7-9 months. We've both been treasuring the memories from that weekend and letting the good times be our comfort when we're missing each other.

So, partly for my own therapy and partly so you can share in the magic, here are some pictures from our blissful final weekend. Oh, and I apologize for the crappy picture quality. They were all taken with my phone.

Our ride for the weekend: 

Ha! Just kidding. This baby was parked outside of a great restaurant we love called Escape Fish Bar in the Gaslamp Quarter on Friday night. It caused quite the scene. The owner, wherever he/she was, left it like that with the doors open for at least a half hour causing everyone to gather around it staring or get their picture taken with it. 

You seriously MUST go to this restaurant if you are ever in San Diego. The food is delicious and both times that we were there (we went there the first time I went to visit Stud), the owner was there working and mingling with the customers. It's a small operation but I think that's what makes it so good. Can't wait to go back there.

 

Check out their website here.

Ok, serioulsy. Here's what we got to drive all weekend: 

Who is that handsome man?!

 That car was a blast. Driving around was fun all by itself...just had to remember the sun tan lotion! All the guys on base wanted a ride (partly just because almost no one has their own vehicle) and we had a ton of fun testing its limits on freeway.

Now here is a look at some of the fabulous food we ate at a restaurant in Seaport Village called the Harbor House: 

Check them out here!

We ate on the patio overlooking the water: 

Photos courtesy of the Harbor House website.

Oyster shots! What a kick!

After an amazing dinner we took a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, just like we did on our honeymoon in New York City. 

His name was "Doc"

And a little later that night...

Fireworks on the water.

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

And here is where we stayed: Camp Pendleton (45 miles North of San Diego).

Where Brandon was living; the front gate to Camp Pendleton.

Stud had to spend some time packing

That little roll is one day's worth of under clothes: shirt, shorts and socks.

And getting a haircut

Those guys can cut a head of hair in about 7 minutes! Haircuts are a weekly requirement for all Marines.

On Sunday, our last day, we visited Old Town again (we had gone there a couple times the last time I visited Stud). That area, and a lot of San Diego, is filled with beautiful, flowering trees.

 

It almost makes up for the fact that San Diego is sooo dry. I'm always happy to be surrounded by green when I get home.

I wouldn't know how to reproduce the shots below but I think they're kinda cool!

The nature here is so different from home. There's always something really cool to look at.

You can't really get more vibrant colors.

It is such a beautiful place and there are shops everywhere. It's the historic heart of San Diego so most of the shops have a Mexican theme to them and their are lots of Mexican restaurants from which to choose.
We happened upon a lovely wine bar with the most inviting outdoor seating.

We lounged there for awhile and shared a bottle of our favorite wine. It was so relaxing and lovely.

Even their bathroom was a sight to see, painted as a scene from the bottom of the sea:

I definitely want to go back to that place. We were the only ones there so it was marvelous. Of course, not many people are drinking wine at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, but, hey, it was our last weekend and we can't help what time of day we stumble across a delightful wine bar.

The fantastic thing about this weekend, other than the simple fact that I was with my husband 24/7, was that it was a bonus. Completely unplanned. We had no idea that we would get this time together and since we had already spent several days in San Diego a little over a month before, there was no pressure to "see" San Diego. Of course, no matter how many times you go to San Diego, there will always be new things to see and do, but we didn't really do anything new this time. It was low-key and perfect. It was comforting and romantic to visit some of the same places that we had seen the first time around, like they were "our" restaurants or "our" nooks. So to finish off our last day, we headed to La Jolla, a place where we had dinner with a view of the sun setting on the ocean that last time we were in the city. We were too early for the sunset this time, but that didn't matter. The restaurant is called Brockton Villa and it has a great patio that sits a couple stories above the road that runs along the coast. From there you can see and hear the seals sunning themselves on the rocks and playing in the water.

This was our view last time:

And this is where we sat this time:

Click here to see a virtual tour of this ocean-side restaurant.

After we ate there, we walked down to the coast and explored a little. It was really pretty.

I do wish we would have had a little more time there. There was so much to explore there and it was beautiful. They even had a little cave/tunnel down by the water that you could go in.

Here are some more pictures of the incredible wildlife.

We got a glimpse of the sunset at the very end. 

From there it was back to San Diego to drop off the Mustang and catch the shuttle to the airport. The USO at the airport conveniently offers rides from the airport back to Camp Pendleton so Stud was able to be with me right until I had to go through security. We got to the airport with about 30 minutes for getting checked-in and saying goodbye. Brandon waited right on the other side of security to wave goodbye at the very last moment that we could see each other, just like I had done when he left Minnesota and we thought we wouldn't see each other again before he left. That goodbye was super hard. You wonder if you're hugging him for the last time ever and seeing his face for the last time. Even if you try not to think that way, it creeps in. 

God must have known I needed a distraction because that flight (to AZ for a quick layover) was the first time I've flown where I chit-chatted with the person next to me. Without that person to talk to, I probably would have wallowed in the sadness the whole flight. In no time I was on the next flight on my way home to Minneapolis and was thrilled to learn that I had been upgraded to First Class so that they could seat a family together. I didn't believe it at first but after checking and double-checking my ticket I was delighted to sink into the extra big, leather seat where a pillow and blanket were waiting. I slept almost the entire flight home, even it was only two and a half hours. I had to work the next on only about three hours of sleep but I would have put myself through a lot worse than that for the chance to spend that last weekend together.