God Box

C25K Update

Tue, 03 May 2011 12:46:00 -0400

Last week, I ran 2 out of the 3 days that I had planned on running, so I decided to walk the track yesterday while I was waiting for Alex to get out of class. I ended up walking a mile. I try to space out my workout day and not run back to back so that I don’t get burnt out, sore, or strain something, which is why I walked the mile instead of just running it. Today will be Day 1 of Week 3! I’m going to get hydrated, eat a light lunch, head out to the track, then go grocery shopping (I’m making a roast for dinner). The schedule suggests running 3 minutes, then walking 3 minutes, for 20 minutes total, but I don’t know whether I’m ready for that yet, so I may end up repeating last week’s, which was run 90 seconds, walk 2 minutes. We’ll see I guess. Maybe I just need to suck it up and stop being a wimp.

Alex and I are currently trying to conceive. Does anyone know whether exercising like this will negatively affect fertility? Everything I’ve read says ‘strenuous’ exercise will make it harder to conceive… I don’t consider this strenuous, but I’m just curious about someone else’s perspective.

This is an aerial view of the tornado damage in Cullman,...

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:16:08 -0400

This is an aerial view of the tornado damage in Cullman, Alabama.

“I feel good with my husband. I like his warmth and his...

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:15:00 -0400

“I feel good with my husband. I like his warmth and his bigness and his being there and his making and his jokes and stories and what he reads and how he likes fishing and walks and pigs and foxes and little animals and is honest and not vain or fame-crazy and how he shows his gladness for what I cook him and joy when I make him something, a poem or a cake, and how he’s troubled when I am unhappy and wants to do anything so I can fight out my soul-battles and grow up with courage and a philosophical ease. I love his good smell and his body that fits with mine as if they were made in the same body shop to do just that. What is only pieces, doled out here and there to this boy and that boy, that made me like pieces of them, is all jammed together in my husband. So I don’t want to look around anymore. I don’t need to look around for anything.”

- The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

The same storm that hit my hometown also hit the city that I...

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:32:06 -0400

The same storm that hit my hometown also hit the city that I went to college in, Birmingham. The point where the camera man is standing is about 1/4 mile from Alex and I’s first apartment.

These are just a few of many pictures of the destruction to my...

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:25:31 -0400

These are just a few of many pictures of the destruction to my hometown, Cullman, Alabama. I’ve contacted all but two family members and they’re all safe, but please be in prayer for those who weren’t so fortunate. They have 70 confirmed deaths and plenty still missing. This is absolutely devastating.

It looks like it should hit North Carolina next, so my thoughts and prayers are with them as well. Hopefully the storms will break up and die down before it reaches them - they’re all still trying to recover from the last tornado that hit that area.

There have been a record breaking number of tornadoes this season (over 260) and we still have months of the ‘tornado season’ left to endure.

One down. . .

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:49:55 -0400

three to go!

I finished week 1 of c25k today. :)

The first of many things that my husband should have told me...

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:05:00 -0400

You have to stop whatever you’re doing when they play the National Anthem over the loud speaker on base.

I was driving along the other day and everyone just stopped - in the middle of the road! I’m looking around like, “WTH is going on?! Have you people lost your minds?” Then I hear music playing, realize it’s the National Anthem, and put two and two together to come to the conclusion that apparently this is what we do on a military base. Who knew? Not me!

I was later informed that security forces can arrest you if you don’t stop while it’s playing. I’m glad they didn’t see me ‘cause I was weaving in and out of traffic, staring people down for being insane (or so I thought).

Oh, the joys of being the new military wife. -_-

Week 1, Day 1 of C25K - Ok, I lied. . .

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 21:23:58 -0400

I said this wouldn’t become a fitness blog, but I’m proud of myself and I want to share it with someone, so I may end up talking about fitness for the next 4 weeks anyway.

It was 99 degrees here today! When I checked the weather this morning, I almost had a heat stroke right then and there. I thought about putting my workout off, but drove my lazy self to the track anyways. (I plan on going in the morning next time to avoid the heat.)

The plan for this week was as follows: “Do a brisk five minute work out walk, then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for 20 minutes total.”

I hate running. I hate sweating. I hate being out of breath. I hate that my mouth gets dry from being out of breath. I hate getting cramps in my sides. I hate being sore the next day. I hate the way the sweat and wind make my hair tangly. I hate being outside when it’s extremely hot (or cold, for that matter). Period. So I was not digging the idea of doing this three times a week, but it actually wasn’t that bad. At one point I looked at the timer I had set and realized I was only 10 minutes into the workout and wanted to quit, but I pushed through it and kept going. I actually broke a sweat! I haven’t done that while exercising since high school, I think. That sounds horrible, but it’s true. I hate exercising, but that word ‘hate’ is slowly being replaced by ‘tolerate.’

I want to be healthy. I want to feel better. I want to have more energy. That’s why I’m doing this. Hopefully I can stick it out.

This isn't going to become a fitness blog, but I thought you guys might enjoy this.

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:18:00 -0400

This isn't going to become a fitness blog, but I thought you guys might enjoy this.:

It’s a fitness program called ‘Couch to 5k’ that breaks up running into more manageable chunks. It’s isn’t rocket science or anything (I don’t know why I never thought to do this.), but it makes getting in shape/being able to run 3 miles seem doable and not so overwhelming. I absolutely HATE running, but I’ve always wanted to be a runner (stupid, right?), so I’m going to try to stick with this for the next 4 weeks. If I still hate running by the end of it, I’ll just accept it and move on (and maybe try yoga). Anyway, I’ll keep you guys updated on how it works.

It's official.

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 01:17:52 -0400

We are ‘trying to conceive.’

I stopped taking birth control in November, and my cycle has finally returned to normal, so it’s just a waiting game from here on out.

Some people may think that it’s a little premature for me to start a blog about a child that doesn’t exist yet, but I believe in talking about your dreams like they’re already coming true, and my biggest dream is to be a mother.

Alex: [talking about the ‘rent a cop’ checking IDs at the gate] ‘He seems like a nice young man… I...

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:39:00 -0400

Alex: [talking about the ‘rent a cop’ checking IDs at the gate] ‘He seems like a nice young man… I used to be a nice young man until I joined the Air Force, then they turned me into an arrogant asshole.

Me: ‘Nice! I’m quoting you on that.’

For the record: My husband is not really an arrogant asshole - he is a comedian though. :)

My Honey Bear’s Dorm. :)

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 19:00:08 -0400

My Honey Bear’s Dorm. :)

Air Force Airman Mark 'Alex' Jacobs

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:04:13 -0400

Air Force Airman Mark 'Alex' Jacobs:

This is the news release for Alex’s graduation from BMT that was printed in our hometown’s newspaper.

I got my MacBook as a high school graduation present, so these...

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:57:47 -0400

I got my MacBook as a high school graduation present, so these pictures had to be taken sometime around the end of 2008.

The first time that fate intervened and brought Alex and I into the same room, we were eleven years old. Looking back, it seems absolutely crazy that as I stood at the front of a classroom full of strangers, nervous and shaky, introducing myself as ‘Andrea Murray’, the man that would eventually change my name to ‘Andrea Jacobs’ sat just a few desks away. I grew up on a dead end, once gravel, county road and he lived, grew, and experienced life just seven minutes away in his own home, but we had never met until that moment.

Alex claims that he fell in love with me at first sight, but his best friend (we’ll call him H) beat him to it. At eleven years old, ‘dating’ was nothing serious, just innocent note passing and hand holding, but H asked me to be his ‘girlfriend’ and I accepted. This boy and I were together for over a year and with nothing interesting happening on the horizon, I ended it the summer before eighth grade, the same summer that the story of Alex and I began. I usually spent my summers in Phoenix, Arizona visiting my dad. We had become fairly good friends, so Alex and I exchanged addresses before I left and promised to write. (I still have these letters tucked away in a box, along with all our notes from high school, and love letters from college and Basic.) While I was away, our seventh grade class went on a summer trip together to Six Flags. During the drive there, H mentioned that I had ended it and Alex said something along the lines of me being a catch, to which H responded with, “If you like her so much, then you should date her.” Little did he know, that’s exactly what Alex had planned to do.

I can still vividly remember the night we became an item. I remember the sweet smell that surrounded me as I sat atop bales of hay in my best friend’s yard, the sound of crickets that filled my ears as I paced back and forth on the gravel road beside her house, the uncomfortable numbness that I felt on my ear because I had been clinging to my little Nokia cell phone and hanging on every word he was saying, giddy with the prospect of new love. As our conversation was coming to an end, he shyly asked me to be his girlfriend and I immediately accepted. I don’t remember his exact words or what I said in response, but I do know that August 22, 2003 marked the day that our lives as we knew it changed in that brief exchange. We were inseparable after that.

We ended up going to two different schools, but persevered through the crushes, drama, and stresses of high school and college. There was a time in between, during our Senior year of high school, that we spent exploring relationships with other people, unsure of whether we would find our way back to each other again or not. We would text each other every now and then during the eight months we spent apart, but never call, so it came as a surprise to see his number appear on my caller ID one Saturday morning. The phone woke me and I answered in a sleepy, groggy voice, but was immediately awake after sensing the panic in his voice. His cousin had gotten into a motorcycle accident and they didn’t think he was going to make it. Alex wanted me to come to the hospital. I didn’t even ask why or hesitate in the least bit - I jumped in the shower and stormed out of the house with a wet head. The hospital his cousin was sent to was over an hour away, so I had plenty of time to ponder during the car ride, but I don’t remember thinking about anything other than the fact that I needed to get there as fast as possible.

As soon as I walked up to him in the hallway of the hospital, he hugged me and began to cry. He cried, and cried, and I sat and held his hand, trying to be strong for him and fight back my own tears. Eventually the unspeakable happened, his cousin passed away, and I went home under the assumption that Alex would call. Seeing him break down had opened up a host of emotions inside of me. All of the arguments we had been in, the lies he had told, how he had broken my heart by kissing another girl, none of it mattered after that - I knew that I was undoubtedly still in love with him. I couldn’t deny it, and I thought by him calling on me in a time of need, that he couldn’t deny it any longer either.

I was a cheerleader in high school, and a few days later, our basketball teams played each other. He was never the type to go to school functions, so I was surprised to see him when I glanced over at the visitor’s stands. He stared and smirked at me up until half time, which is when I got out of the stands to get something to drink. As I walked back to the home side of the gym, he passed by me. I don’t remember what he said, all I remember is that he was smiling and flirting, so I flirted back, but still played a little hard to get by continuing to walk away. The night ended and we both went home without saying anything else to one another. Another week or so passed without hearing anything from him. The college football game between our state’s rivals was coming up and a friend of mine was having a get together at her house to watch the game, so I swallowed my pride and built up the courage to text him and ask him if he would like to go with me.

The response I got was the the single worst text message I’ve ever received in my life. He told me that he already had plans to go to another girl’s house to watch the game with her and her family, and that they had started dating a few weeks ago, around the same time that he had led me to believe that we were slowly working our way back to each other. I remember my heart sinking as I read those words. I threw my phone across the room and cried, and cried. Oh, I nearly cried myself out of tears. I was truly heartbroken, and angry. I felt like he had played with my heart and emotions and led me to believe he still had feelings for me, as he pursued another girl’s heart.

I tried to forget about it, about ‘us,’ and move on. I spent time with friends trying to keep my mind off of him. I still went to church, even though I knew he would be there. I kept my brave face on as much as I could. I couldn’t let anyone know I was hurting because A.) I was the one who had ended it in the first place, and B.) everyone had warned me that this would happen. They all said I should just leave it alone and move on, and I tried. After a few weeks of ‘trying,’ I made a decision - I would tell him how I felt whether the stubborn ass wanted to listen or not, then let him make the decision, and that would be that. I approached him after church one Sunday and asked him if we could talk. He told me that he didn’t think that was such a good idea, which stung, I have to admit, but I swallowed my tears, ignored what he had said, and followed him out to his truck anyway. He tried to avoid me by getting in his truck, but I wouldn’t give up that easily, so I just opened his door and climbed right in with him. I swear fate was acting in my favor that day. Just as I got into his truck, it began to pour, so he had no choice but to sit and listen unless he wanted to kick me out into the rain.

I told him that I had always loved him and that I might as well stop pretending that I didn’t, but that he had hurt me, that he had broken my heart. I also told him that this was it. I was willing to put it all aside for another try, if he was. I cried, and cried, and cried. Eventually his wall came down, and he cried too as he admitted that he was still in love with me. I told him that if he really meant what he said, then this was his one and only second chance. Once I opened this door and walked away, that was it. I wouldn’t see him again and I wouldn’t call or text again.

Well eventually we found our way back to being madly in love with one another, to being inseparable, crazy, ‘can’t get enough of you’ in love again, but honestly, it took awhile. I had trust issues with him for a long time. There was a time when the mere mention of either of the two girls’ names who he had dated while we were apart would put a lump in my throat. Running into ether of them would leave me sobbing in the bathroom, convinced he was going to change his mind again and leave. For awhile I held it over his head. He let me take my anger and hurt and insecurity out on him. He just listened and apologized and expressed his devotion to me. Nothing fixed this pain and anger except time, allowing him to prove himself, and deciding not to hold it over his head any longer. I had to come to the conclusion that people aren’t perfect in order to move on and fully enjoy being in love with him. By the time he asked me to marry him, my heart was fully healed. I knew where he stood. I knew where I stood. I knew he was my future.

So there you go - the extremely long winded version of how we met and conquered the time between ‘Happily’ and ‘Ever After.’ It doesn’t always work out this way, but we’re proof that sometimes it does.

Here I come, Wichita Falls! I’m leaving around...

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 10:25:04 -0400

Here I come, Wichita Falls! I’m leaving around 4:00 A.M. tomorrow, so I’m trying to finish up all my packing today. I can’t wait to see my husband! He has one more room inspection to pass, then he’ll have ATP (be able to go off base). So he should possibly be able to come spend the night with me this weekend. :)

Alex and I at my senior prom in 2008. I’m Texas-bound in...

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 22:47:33 -0400

Alex and I at my senior prom in 2008.

I’m Texas-bound in a mere 2 days. I left Washington D.C. and arrived in Alabama on Thursday. It was a 12 hour drive, but surprisingly wasn’t that bad. I just rode with my windows down and belted out my favorite songs. After spending two months with no husband and no job, entertaining myself comes fairly easy now.

I’ve been spending my days in a storage unit, packing and reorganizing all of our stuff. I wanted to get everything ready to move to our next base now, so that it would go smoother when the time comes and we could just take our time getting there. (We actually found out where we’re going yesterday! We aren’t officially announcing it though, because he hasn’t gotten his orders yet.) I have the majority of it finished and I just got to my box of memories and pictures from high school today. Alex and I have known each other since we were 13, so I have notes from him dating back as far as July of 2003. I read through all of our letters and things we’ve written each other over the years, and it brought back a lot of memories - some heartbeat-skipping and some down right embarrassing, lol. It was a memorable way to start this new journey in our lives together. Who knew I would end up marrying and moving across the country with the boy that had lived down the road from me basically my entire childhood? I still can’t believe our story is that cheesy, lol. I plan on sharing the extended version of how we met in the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

Lately, I’ve been feeling kind of… lost. I...

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 22:57:00 -0400

Lately, I’ve been feeling kind of… lost. I don’t technically have a home right now, and I guess all the bouncing around (in the past two months I will have moved from Alabama to DC, from DC back to Alabama [briefly], then from Alabama to Texas, and I will have taken a trip to see family in Phoenix and San Antonio) is wearing on me. I’ve kind of been feeling like Alex has this whole other life now that I’m not really a part of, and that maybe he wants it that way. I know now that this isn’t the case, and for all the haters, I know my whole life shouldn’t depend on him (as in I should have my own career and hobbies to keep myself occupied with) but honestly, I sacrificed a lot of things and I put a lot of things on hold so he could do this, so yeah, he’s pretty much all I have right now - pathetic, I know, but somehow it ended up this way and sometimes (when I’m not losing my mind, like tonight) I find comfort in the fact that I can let myself lean on him this much, that I can trust him wholeheartedly. So yeah, I just had a big blubbering, gasping for breathe meltdown on the phone with him, but as you can tell from the text, it’s all okay now. This is proof that our relationship isn’t always rainbows, and unicorns, and glitter - it gets hard and people (mainly me) are unreasonable and imperfect sometimes.

Dear Alex, Get ready for this to happen every morning once we...

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 16:36:00 -0400

Dear Alex,

Get ready for this to happen every morning once we get to live together again. I miss pouncing on you.

As we ascended into the San Antonio sky, it hit me - the next...

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:24:00 -0400

As we ascended into the San Antonio sky, it hit me - the next time I’m on a plane, it will be with my husband, and we’ll be on our way to our new home (or on vacation - even better!). It gave me an indescribable feeling of relief and I smiled like an idiot for 20 minutes thinking about it, so I snapped a picture.

On a different note, isn’t it amazing that droplets of water can create something this beautiful? The fact that clouds, basically water vapor, can cast shadows on other clouds blows my mind.

The best weekend of my life . . .

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 23:00:00 -0400

We just said our goodbyes, and I’m sad to see such an amazing weekend end. I didn’t realize just how much I had missed him until I got there and actually saw him. The good news is that he is definitely going to Sheppard AFB for tech school and I am definitely moving there to be with him, so it should only be 2-3 weeks until we see each other next. That’s much better than 2-3 months! Here’s a rundown of the weekend:

- Wednesday was spent traveling. It was also my 21st birthday, and I have to say, I didn’t imagine spending it stuck in an airport. I missed my flight from Atlanta to San Antonio (due to the airline’s error, not mine) so I bought my first legal drink at the Chili’s in the Atlanta airport. I had to wait sic hours for the next flight, but six hours was nothing compared to two months. I was just happy that I would be able to make it to San Antonio by Thursday morning to see the events.

- Thursday I woke up at 4:30 A.M. to get ready for the Airman’s Run and Coin Ceremony. I only got like 3 hours of sleep because my flight got in so late. After the Coin Ceremony, I got to tap Alex out and we both cried like babies while my mom snapped like 30 pictures. After we finished crying, hugging, and taking pictures, we all hung out on base together. We went to the Gateway Club and ate, then we went to the bowling alley until 7:00 P.M. or so. After that, Alex and I got a bit of alone time and we walked around the parade grounds talking and laughing together.

- Friday morning we went to the graduation parade and it was really neat. Then we ate lunch at a barbecue restaurant on base. After that my sister and mom left for the airport, and Alex and I got to spend some alone time together at the hotel. Then we had dinner at a really good Mexican restaurant called Mi Tierra with his parents and younger brother.

- Yesterday (Saturday) was amazing. Alex and I had the entire day to ourselves. We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast (Alex wanted real bacon, not turkey bacon, lol.), then we hung out in the hotel room for a few hours. We went to the River Walk and ate at a steakhouse called Salt Grass, which was so good. After dinner, we went to a hockey game! Neither of is had ever been to a hockey game before and we loved it! Plus, Alex didn’t have to be back until 11:00 P.M. It was so nice to sit and talk and eat junk food like old times.

- Today (Sunday) was just a chill kind of day. We ran a few errands on base. He had to get a few things for tech school. We watched a movie (No Strings Attached), then ate lunch at Godfather’s Pizza with one of his friends from his flight and his wife. After that we grabbed a drink from Starbucks and hung out in the car until he had to be back in the dorms.

It’s hard to believe that it’s actually over. As soon as I have time to upload the pictures, I’ll be spamming your dashboard with tons of photos of my handsome husband in his uniform. :)