Puerto Rico & Justin Nozuka

This post shall be known as the "one with all the photos"*. Seriously, there are a lot.

A couple days into our trip, J and I got into conversation about what we thought Puerto Rico was going to be like and what it actually ended up being like. We had both had a weird idea that it was, honestly, kind of slum-like and that it had a lot of gangs. (We watch a lot of movies and are apparently all-around misinformed.)

Actually, it was like this:

Our hotel is that tall, fat building back there. This is what the place looks like just wandering around!

He was so excited to be in the water!

We decided to wander around and see what tourist-y things we could find. We scaled Fort San Cristóbal and found this amazing view of the city. I think it's so cool because it has this giant historic structure surrounded by plush greenery with a modern backdrop. It was just a cool place.

Oh we totally went on a Bacardi Tour. Instead of booking a trip through our hotel (for $60 per person! highway robbery!), we decided to wander around, get lost, find help, get on a $0.50 ferry ride that was extremely sketchy, hop in a taxi where the driver HOTWIRED HIS VEHICLE, and arrive at the Bacardi factory to take a FREE tour including two free drinks!

It was an adventure, and a total scene. My favorite way to travel!

Look how happy this man of mine is with his bottle of rum he drank by himself! Lol, he's so crazy. It was right around this point he told me his thoughts on modern religion, lost his prescription sunglasses in the ocean, and weighed the pros and cons of digging himself a puke pit.

He's such a scene- totally love him. <3

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Ok, so I had one other major surprise for him. We both love this singer/songwriter, Justin Nozuka. He was going to be playing in Boston while Josh was here, so of course it was a sign that God thought we should go see him live. I really wanted to do one more special thing for him, so I contacted any email/number I could find in connection to him and sent them this note:

Dear Mr. X,

I don't know who to reach regarding this request; if there is another person I should have contacted please let me know!

My husband and I will be going to see Justin Nozuka in Boston on September 28th. We are both huge fans of Justin's and my husband will be so excited to see his concert.

Once he knows.

My husband, J, is an active duty soldier in an "undisclosed location" for the year. All I can say is that it is VERY hot where he is! He is coming home for mid-tour leave on September 20th and I am surprising him with tickets to Justin's show. He has no idea we're going.

I met my husband during his first deployment to South Korea; he was stationed at Osan while I was teaching English for the year. The first time we saw one another was in a busy train station in Seoul. As soon as I saw him, it was like something from a movie scene; time stood still. On our first date he stopped in the middle of an antiques street market, looked down at my hand in his and said, "You know we're in a relationship, right?"

At the beginning of our relationship I introduced him to Justin Nozuka's music. (I had found it while browsing Last.fm) I absolutely loved "After Tonight" and then he loved it, too. A month later, he had found the album and we played it constantly when we were together. When he returned to the US while I still had a few months left on my contract, he sent me the link to "Be Back Soon".

Now that he's deployed again, we're back to sending each other love songs. He just sent me "My Heart is Yours".

So I am asking, is there any way Justin could dedicate this song to J, my husband, at his concert next month? Since we could not have the wedding we were planning because of the deployment, we have never had the first dance as husband and wife.

I can't tell you how much it would mean to me.

Thank you so much for your time.

Very sincerely,

C

Ok, now this is so crazy I still can't believe it happened: not only did he dedicate our song to us, he wanted to meet us backstage before the show! I was such a psychopath trying to keep it secret this whole time, but it was worth it when all of a sudden someone came up to us and led us to the backstage area. J had no idea what was going on until we were ushered into the room and Justin Nozuka was reaching out his hand, saying hello, and asking J if he'd like a beer.

It was amazing!

Justin Nozuka= most fantastic musician in the planet and a super nice person

I love J and I'm so thankful to so many people who came together to make his two weeks so great for him. It was a gift beyond any words I could conjure up.

*= also referred to as "longest post known to man"

R&R

Well, I completely fell off the planet there! I have no regrets though- I was in perfect marital bliss.

I just got to see my husband for 2 weeks! And I love him, and it was amazing, and the dog was so excited, and I love him, and...

It was amazing. All the worrying and freaking out was completely worth it, because I got to

see him, but not only that, somehow all my plans actually came together and I got to surprise him with a few things!

So the first night I got a hotel for us right on the water close to the city, so we didn't have a big trip coming from the airport and, since he's been stuck in a very hot and dry desert, I thought

he would like to see the water.

(This was the view from outside our little inn!)

It was just so good to actually see him. I know that I love him all the time, but to actually see him in person and touch him and hear him say all his crazy things- love just hits me like a ton of bricks.

Ok, so then the next night we went back to my parents' house and he got to see our little pup Q:

I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but that little dog's paws are barely touching the ground he's so excited!

And then...the BIG surprise.

I'm talking, pack your bags, this is something that had to have been blessed by the grace of God because I really don't know how this actually got pulled together so perfectly, BIG surprise...

Me: "So hun, where was it that you said that you always wanted to go again?"

Him: (wild-eyed) "Baby, where are we going?"

Me: "Where did you say you wanted to go?"

Him: (child-going-to-Disney-face) "Where are we going?!"

Me: "Where did you say?"

Him: "Oh my God. Are we...are we going to the Caribbean?!"

Yes! I love giving surprise gifts, and his excited reaction was adorable!

So my husband has never been, and he had said it in this "one day when we're rich we'll go" kind of way...but I really wanted something nice for him while he got a break. The major issue was (besides the money, obviously) was the fact that he does not have an available passport. HOWEVER, as PUERTO RICO is a US TERRITORY, you don't need one!

YES! And it is amazing. Absolutely so romantic, best vacation ever.

Our hotel room at the Marriott was beautiful, and the view...

absolute perfection.

So of course we got into a plush little hotel robes and immediately took glamor shots!

Rain, Job & Sara Bareilles

It's raining today. It's strange to think that summer is really almost gone. I started the summer with J in Oklahoma, and now it almost feels like that was another lifetime.

I am so excited to see him for mid-tour leave! He's actually coming home sooner than expected, so he'll be home in less than 4 weeks! I am trying to plan something great for when he comes home, but I'm not telling him anything about it until we're closer to the date and know he'll be home/can swing it financially. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to jinx it...

Also, I start the new job next week. I'm working as an inclusion aide and I'm excited to get involved in something new. I've worked with children with special needs before but only in an informal way, or as the teacher in an inclusion classroom but my role was not specific to addressing those students who needed additional attention. You know when you walk into an interview and everything just clicks? It's like, yes, I am supposed to be here? Well, I definitely had that feeling immediately about the school so I'm pretty excited, and nervous. (I mean, it is a new job.)

Final random note: I'm into Sara Bareilles "King of Anything".