We Remember

I never post on weekends anymore, but this is just different.

A year ago on this day, hubby and I were in the Del Taco drive thru picking up some dinner. It was around 5pm. My phone rang... my sister from another mister Ro was calling. I was going to let her get to voicemail, but hubby encouraged me to pick up. Sometimes when Ro and I chat... we can chat foreverrrr.

Once I said hello in my man voice, I knew something was wrong. I figured maybe they got into a fight or an argument.

That awkward silent pause before she told me "Oh Yeni, Iz is gone." In that time, my mind blanked and I asked her what did she mean.. She said "Yeni, Iz died." I think I might of laughed or thought it was a joke... Horrible joke really. I felt completely numb. My hands were shaking and I had to hand the phone to hubby. We got our food and the drive home felt incredibly long. We didn't speak about it. We just ate our fries and thought to ourselves.



Iz, Ro and us. We're close. Hubby met Iz at EOD school. Ro and I? We just clicked. We're the Nuanedkins! And we'll always be.

It has been an incredibly long and hard year. For all of us. I posted about Iz here last year. A couple weekends ago, they held the yearly EOD memorial/ball. It is one of the biggest EOD events. Tickets sell out like a Justin Beiber concert! We are not able to attend this year... for obvious reasons. One day though. One day we hope to head out to New Mexico to see you Iz. Maybe this fall.

We love you Iz and we miss you deeply.

To all our fallen EOD techs who made the ultimate sacrifice, We Remember.

He Made the List!!

Can I just say how incredibly proud I am of my husband?! He recently made the E7 (SFC) list. Re-enlisted and today (or yesterday his time), he got promoted to Sergeant First Class. All the while I'm out and about with my friend. Thank you to whomever took photos of his promotion. It literally means the world to me. Surprisingly, I don't think I have ever attended one of his promotions before. Fail. Maybe when he gets E8? *cross fingers*


I think he's kinda cute



He hit his big 10 the start of this year. HOLYMOLY. I knooooow.... I can't believe it's already been 10 years. Which means, next February, we'll be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary. Like whOa. He's come a loooong way from being a Private and a couple set backs, but here we are now. SO PROUD! I texted him earlier and say "Hi SFC Hunny Bunny" and he texted me back "Hiyah Mrs SFC Hunny Bunny". Guess he can be a cutey bear once in awhile :)


yea, I think he's pretty awesome

Military Spouse Tag

I saw this tag on Youtube awhile back and thought it'd be fun to add this on the blog. It gives you a small peek of the hubby and I and our life as a military family. I rarely talk about being a military spouse... plus there's already a gazillion and one blogs out there and my story is no different or more exciting.



1) How did you and your spouse meet? We met online. Now, back in the day... there were no online dating sites. If there was it was few and far in between. Meeting people online was a huge "omfg you're crazy". I got that a lot.

2) How old were you when you two met? I think we were 18 or 19. We're only a couple months apart.

3) How long have you been together? Together together? I think it's been 11-12 years. We've been married 9 years and almost 2 months.

4) Where are you and your spouse originally from? We're both from Orange County, California. About 15-20 minute drive from each other.

5) How did you feel about him joining the military? I think it's the best choice he's ever made (other than marrying me). When he came back from basic/ait, he was a completely different person and it has changed his life for the better.

6) Where did your spouse go to Basic Training? Ft Leonard, Missouri

7) Has your spouse ever been deployed? Deployed in a war zone? Once. Deployed to another country? Twice.

8) Ever been to his promotion ceremony? Surprisingly no. Hopefully I'll get to go this one. He recently made it on to the SFC (E7) list *WOOT* Not sure if he'll get it where he's at or get it when he's home later this year.

9) How long have you been a military wife? 9 years.

10) Did you marry him before or after he joined? After he joined.

11) How did your husband propose? Techinically, this is his second time proposing, but I won't get into that story. I remember he was in LA for MEPS leaving for Basic... me and his friend drove up to see him and hang out for a bit. We were sitting in my car in front of the hotel and there were lights stringed on the trees. I already knew he was going to ask cos he kept saying that he had something important to ask me. First off, I wanted to him to do it in front of everyone at the hotel lobby, but he got too shy, so he just asked me in the car. On top of that, I have never seen a man cry and he broke down and cried when he asked me. Which of course made me cry even more.

12) Where did you get married? At a courthouse in Santa Ana, CA. He was stationed in Korea at the time and flew home to get married to me.

13) How old were you two when you got married? We were both 20.

14) Did he wear his uniform on his wedding day? No. My husband refuses to wear his Class A's and even now when I asked him if he'd wear his dress blue's when we renew our vows, nope. But he did agree to taking photos with it.

15) Where are you and your spouse currently stationed? We are currently stationed at JBLM, WA. This is actually our second time here.

16) Do you live on base? Nope and we never have and probably never will.

17) How long were you married when you had to go through your first separation? We were married for about 2 weeks and he left to go back to Korea for about 6 months.

18) What is your favorite base so far? This is a tough one... we've been to quite a bit over the years and each has a special memory. I really liked Eglin AFB. Probably because we were there for the schoolhouse and not actually stationed there. As for Army post... I would say either JBLM (since we did choose to come back here) or Fort Drum (I loved our unit and the people I met).



19) Do you think your spouse looks good in his uniform? HELL YAHZ.

20) Do you think military life is more advanced than civilian life? Advanced? I'm not sure about that.

21) Do you like the benefits you receive as a military dependent? Sure. I mean, I get good health care and things. Plus there's so many great resources for spouses out there!

22) Do you have a lot of military wife friends? I have a lot of military wife acquaintances. I only have a small handful of close military wife friends.

23) What is the hardest part of the military life? Having your spouse leave all the time. I think it's different from job to job, but as an EOD tech, mine was gone a lot and there would be random VIPS too.

24) Do you own military wife stuff? Just an Army Wife t-shirt. I never wear it out in public though. I don't own anything else. I do live in my wounded EOD warrior foundation hoodie though.

25) Do you support your spouse as a member of the military? YES! We've gone through everything from the start and I am extremely proud of everything he's accomplished.

IF YOU’RE A MILITARY SPOUSE, TAG YOU’RE IT.



I was browsing through old photos when I came across photos of Frankie when he was itty bitty. *cries* Can't believe this little guy is 4 now and stubborn at times. He whines and cries when you don't make enough space on the bed, he farts up a storm, but he's the best snuggler.

Still Grieving

Let's be real for a minute. My intentions for this blog is to be happy and carefree, but with recent events I feel like I want to dig a little deeper and show a side I usually would never show, especially on a public forum like this.

I know I have relatives who has passed, but I was either young or I honestly just didn't know them well enough. I have lost a friend or two, but we weren't friends, more like acquaintances. Two were girls I went to school with it and they were tragically killed in a car crash just months after we graduated high school by a drunk driver. Another one was from my old best friend's close friend, but her story is a little complicated to tell. I also mourned. One of the biggest blow to my heart was the death of a close friend of my husband and I's. SGT Darby T Morin, who will forever hold a special place in our hearts. He passed away August 2009 in Afghanistan. We met the Morin's at our first station in Fort Eustis, VA and we were about to reunite at Fort Drum, NY. I miss you Darby!
And currently, my heart is heavy again. It is painstakingly hard to write about and I can't help but to bawl at the same time. So, sorry if everything is so jumbled up. I first met Iz at a friends poker night where I must say, I totally won allllll their money *wootwoot* I didn't meet Rosina til we moved to Drum and they followed a month later. Let me just tell me, Ro & I hit it off quick and she quickly became my best friend at Drum. When our men deployed, she was my rock. When our husbands were gone at training or VIPS, she was my date. When her and Iz moved to a new station, I was so devastated! She is like a sister that I've never had and she always will be. But I am so blessed to have N meet Iz at EOD school and for me to meet Ro and have her be my sister. I am very very blessed to have them in my life. His funeral is being held this Friday on May 25, 2012 and I feel like it'll be that much more real. And I really don't want it to be. I didn't get to know Iz as Iz and I wish I got more time to. I do have a few memories... like how he and Ro came over for Thanksgiving and cooked because my husband was gone. My favorite was him letting me ride on the back of his motorcycle!! It was absolutely terrifying, but I felt like that was my special him with no one else around. Just the other day.. the sun was out, it was gorgeous and I spot a white butterfly flying around my backyard. First off, this is the first butterfly I have seen since we moved back and it was completely white. I honestly felt like it was Iz making his presence and blessing our home. And flying all over the weeds to show me that I need to learn to do some yard work haha Oh Iz... Wherever you are, please know N & I are always thinking of you, missing you and you have left a huge imprint in our soul. I love you and can't wait to see you again ♥ ♥ ♥

Alright, enough crying for tonight! I need to clean and do some late laundry because my babbbby is coming home tomorrow!!

Life in Instagram

I must say, it has been quite a week. My emotions have been like a roller coaster and I am still deeply saddened by the lost of a close friend. Actually, today marks one week since his death occurred and I have contacted his wife every day just to tell her I love her. She has been an important part of my life for a few years now and I can't imagine the pain she's going through. I am definitely proud for our husbands to go through EOD school at the same time and being stationed at Drum together. I honestly cannot imagine my life without her. She was a great rock when our men deployed and great company when either one or both husbands were away. I know deep in her heart she knows I love her and I'll always be here. Services and things will be held soon and due to financial reasons and N's schedule, we will not be able to attend, but one day we will go to La Cruces and see you Iz.

Aside from lots of over thinking and lots of crying... N left on Wednesday to go on a VIP (mind you he just got home Friday afternoon from being away for 2 weeks) and he won't be back til next week. I miss him so much every day! The one advice that I can give to brand new and future EOD wives, is that it can get really really lonely sometimes. Depending what battalion you go to, sometimes you go on a lot more VIPS and Incidents and just be prepared for extremely short notices. I'm not saying other MOS' (jobs) aren't like this, but when we were a Chem family, there wasn't any VIPS or Incidents. This is just my personal opinion. Come to think of it, when N first decided to join EOD, someone else actually advised me to be strong because he will be gone a lot. As long as you have a great support system, you'll be alright. Sadly, I do not have that here, but I am ever so grateful for my friend Jenny who has kept me sane these last few days.

This week I picked up some pretty awesome things. I am so excited for my ring haul I got from Target (top right pic)!! Anything chevron is very in right now and Asos had very similar rings on their site and I was so glad to have found them at Target instead. The other 2 stackable rings are just so dainty and cute. They were all $7.99 too. I also picked up a couple China Glaze nail polishes at Sally's Beauty Supply store. The blue is called Sexy in the City and it is absolutely gorgeous! I'm more of a pink/neutral girl, but I went out of my comfort zone and purchased this blue and also a neon yellow. YES, a neon yellow. Which neon is also very in right now.

Alright my lovelies, time to end this post and I hope you guys have had an amazing weekend! I am just praying for the weekend to be over and move onto Tuesday :)


Follow my blog with Bloglovin