Chapter 43: Hello, 2014! [+video]

"Today is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one"

—Unknown

A friend of mine posted that on her Facebook & I absolutely loved it! It's a new year. Start it off right by always striving to be a better YOU. Sure, that sounds cliché, but who cares? Do what makes you happy. Focus on the GOOD, not the bad. Kick off the new year with positive energy. In the words of Oprah Winfrey, "Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher." Leave whatever may have been dragging you down in 2013, in the past. Start off fresh in 2014 :)

My husband & I celebrated most of our NYE in St. Augustine—the oldest city in the nation! Then we rang in the new year in the comfort of our home. I put together a little video of our day. It would've been nice to celebrate NYE with all of our family, but my husband & I definitely enjoyed our quality time together. He's currently on leave, so I get him all to myself for a few days :) However, it's not enough time together when the visual of the clock ticking closer to our 2nd deployment is on the surface of my mind. We survived our 1st deployment of 6 months in 2011, but this time he'll be deployed for over 9 months.

I try to live in the moment as best I can, but sometimes that's difficult to do. Just the other day I couldn't help but start crying. We were cleaning our apartment, but whenever a favorite slow song would come on Pandora we'd both stop what we were doing & start slow dancing with one another. Whenever I think to myself, "this is something you'll have to live without for 9+ months," I can quickly come undone. These mini-breakdown moments are what fuel me to capture & document our life. I know they'll help me get through the lonely nights while my husband is deployed.

Hello, 2014! from Darlene Montgomery on Vimeo.

Some interesting facts about our video:

-Did you know that balisong knives [aka butterfly knives] are illegal to carry in CA, but they're legal to openly carry in FL? I was impressed with the tricks my husband was doing. I later found out that one of his uncles had one that he used to play with [& ended up breaking on accident]. My husband tried to teach me how to use it, & lets just say that I'm glad we didn't get him a real one with a blade. In other words. I suck at it :P

-Pizza Time was actually a restaurant in Brooklyn, NY! They had photos on the wall of their restaurant in Brooklyn. It was so cool to see a younger photo of the man who handed my husband our pizzas! We definitely recommend that pizza place. It's legit!

-I got my new purse for 80% off :D Such a steal! That shopping trip was a surprise, but I'm happy we stopped at the outlet! I blame one of my best friends for introducing me to Coach purses. I'm glad she did though! Her & my husband both bought me Coach purses as a wedding gift, so I got to start my collection quickly! I was never into designer purses until she showed me hers & told me that they're really good quality. I had a tendency to break most of my purses, especially the small zipper pouch on the inside. The lining would tear or the strap would break because I would stuff my purses with too many things :P I'm happy to say that all of the Coach purses I own are still in mint condition, even with how much I stuff them! I'm definitely sold. However, I don't think I'd ever buy one for regular price! Good thing outlets exist!

-We didn't make it in time to watch the fireworks on the beach, but traffic did come to a complete stop, so we got a nice view from our car & even stepped outside for a little bit. We left before the finale to beat the traffic & make it back home early!

-There are roughly only about 10 alcoholic beverages that we will drink [we're not much of drinkers], & Roscato is one of our favorite wines!

-My husband caught me on camera as I took a photo of an inside joke about being a "rebel" to send to my friend.

Now, if only I video taped our FaceTime with my family [& extended family] in CA! We got to watch them play some sort of charades type of game & stayed up until 3AM to help them ring in the new year! I just wish we got a better view of all the funny gestures they were making during the game :P

Photos from the day...