When the Army says "move," you move.

The time is nearing quickly for our first PCS move. (to translate: PCS = Permanent Change of Station) It's been a whirlwind of learning new information and all the "rules" for moving in the Army. Moving is a pain, but moving in the Army is turning out to be a lot bigger pain!

Because it is my first "Army" move, I have been searching all the inter-tubes for tips and tricks to be in the know. Am I a perfectionist? ...nah.. (wink) I just don't want to miss anything or make any mistakes (HA!)

We are a little over five weeks away from d-day. (Holy crap, that makes me throw up a little) We will have at least a 19 hour drive from Kansas to Arizona with 2 cats, a moving truck, and two cars!! Eek. 

The to-do list is growing, as well as the pile of boxes waiting to be filled with our household goods. I plan to keep track of the links and compile a list of my own to pass along, with all the best of the best tips!

In other news, we attended our first Military Ball in December!

And my husband received an award for his volunteer hours!! So proud of him!

Stay tuned for all the moving goodness to come!

Fuel for my Soldier & Expanding my Culinary Savoir-Faire

Being an Army wife, at least for me, fills me with my own sense of "duty." I feel like I, too, am "serving my country," so what can I do?

I can't go with my husband on deployments and I can't go hang out on the flight line or hangar with him either... So, where do I fit in? I sometimes volunteer for FRG activities, but even so, I don't want the Army to define me as a person. I think the FRG is great, but I feel like I personally need a degree of separation at times. (that is a whole different topic!!) I am not "JUST" an Army wife. It is just a part of me and my life. That being said, I am my husband's wife, and therefore, want to do all that I can for my hubby! 

Okay, now that the disclaimer is out of the way, haha! (there are a lot of stereotypes in "Army life" hence my clarification) This Monday morning (today) I woke up full of energy - which is unfortunately fading fast - so I decided to [finally] make the breakfast sandwiches I've been meaning to make for a while. 

I used to buy packs of Jimmy Dean's breakfast sandwiches, but after both the hubs and I discussed eating healthier, we decided to fore-go the fatty, pre-packaged, processed croissants!! In the interim, I have been cooking breakfast almost every morning. For anyone that knows me, they know that 1.) I don't like to cook and 2.) I am not a morning person, so this arrangement was not ideal. It was especially not good when the hubby was in a hurry and I was tired so he would have to either not eat or grab something on the way back to work - which was costing extra money and definitely not healthy!

I found this recipe via Pinterest and modified it to fit our needs, here is the original website: 

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/mini-frittatas-687877/

I used a 12-cup muffin pan instead of a 6-cup, and changed the contents to: 1/4 cup of Eggbeaters with just a 1/2 teaspoon of skim milk, in each cup. 

I added cooked bacon pieces to just four of the cups (for variety,)  and cooked up sausage patties for the others. Obviously you could add veggies, mushrooms, shredded cheese, and make it as healthy (or unhealthy) as you want. This was my first batch, so I wanted to see how they turned out first. 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook for 12-14 minutes (or until cooked and fluffy - I used a toothpick to check them)

After assembling all the sandwiches, I wrapped each one in plastic wrap and put in the freezer. 

 

WAH-LAH! My husband will have a breakfast sandwich to pop in the microwave each morning when he comes home after P.T. (physical training.) .... and I won't have to cook breakfast..YAY!! 

 

Cheers to Spring, and a New Beginning!

It has been over a year since the days I typed away the days of deployment. I do not miss those days one, single, ounce!


Although it has been quite a while, and I originally started this blog to help get me through deployment, I am morphing the format a bit to accommodate our ever-changing lives in the Army.

My hubby and I have now been married for a year (and two days!), and have officially started the process of fertility treatments! So, here is hoping for smooth sailing.


There's a ticking clock in my head. It is counting down to the next deployment. I keep thinking... okay, so if we get pregnant now... the baby will be this many months old around the time he has to deploy again.. I think about the looming deadline, that if we aren't pregnant by a certain date, then he wouldn't be here for the birth, and I really don't want that to happen. He gives me strength and is such a wonderful motivator, that I can't imagine doing it without him here. Not only that, but it is such a special day; I would hate for him to miss it.

There is a part of me that wonders if we should just wait until he gets back from deployment. Also, we haven't had a lot of "just us" time during our marriage..so the ever present question is 'now or later?'  I am already at a higher-risk for pregnancy due to a blood clotting disorder and previous miscarriages. So it really has been a battle for us to figure out what to do. I figure that we will try this time and then decide what to do from there!

At this point I am just trying to take it one day at a time.

Post Deployment Journeys

It has officially been two months to the day that my soldier returned from deployment in Iraq! It really feels like that was a lifetime ago. When I go back and re-read my old posts, it seems like such a distant memory. Maybe I've blocked it out? I am glad I blogged during that time, however. It's interesting to re-live those moments through my posts.

So, I am not sure where to even begin. The last couple months have been packed with activities!!

A little over a week after my soldier returned, we got married!!!!! So, yep, I'm a real-life Army spouse now! On March 18, 2011 we had a small ceremony to make it official! We actually wanted to go to the courthouse, but they don't do services on Fridays, and we later found out that there was a three-week waiting list for judge performed ceremonies.

Since he's not technically allowed to live off-post without being married, we couldn't wait too long. My sister flew in from New York and several of our friends here came to our very informal ceremony. We didn't have family there, except for my sister who pretty much insisted and gave me no choice. (which I was of course happy she could be there!) We didn't want to make it a big deal, and have to rent out a venue and that creates a catering issue, and it's just a snow-ball rolling downhill from there!

We were thrifty and only spent $50 on the minister, and $25 to rent out our apartment's clubhouse for an hour. Most of that hour was spent mulling around waiting for everyone to show up; the ceremony only took about 15 minutes. That being longer than we wanted, but when you "eeny, meeny, minie, moe" pick out a minister, you never know what you are going to get! In hindsight, I wish I had interviewed the minister a bit more to see how his version of the ceremony would be, but it got the job done. He was a bit long winded and did a few ceremonial things that we could have done without, but we'll always remember it, and it was still very special.

Afterwards we invited everyone to a nice sports bar & grill in town for dinner. One of my husband's fellow soldiers made us an amazing wedding cake and surprised us! She had only asked what kind of cake we liked, so I assumed it would be just a standard sheet cake. Nope. It was a three-tiered wedding cake, with topper (that another soldier had purchased for us) and decorated with red roses. I was so impressed and flattered that she would go through so much trouble for us!

We then headed down the street to the bowling alley and had some adult beverages, bowled and had a fabulous time! It was so nice to have a relaxed evening and a low-stress wedding!!!!

The next night we stayed in the next town over, which is larger, and went to a couple bars and got a hotel room that we could walk to. We had a great time!

Since then, I have struggled my way through class and finally finished my final project. Class is officially over for this semester! I have my new military i.d. so that is official! I still need to legally change my last name... that is a project for this summer! It's such a process and a pain in the rear!

I have to say that the "re-deployment" as it's called (which is when the soldiers come home and reintegrate back into "regular" life) was not exactly how I envisioned it was going to be.
I found that I wasn't always sure what to do with myself. (which is actually not all that uncommon for me....) I didn't want to hover, I didn't want to crowd his space, but I also didn't want to be too far away from him at any given time... At the same time, after about a week, I was craving my "alone" time... I missed the independence that I had when it was just me.  I also found myself getting frustrated with doing simple things, like making lunch or dinner. Let me explain.. When it was just me, I would eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. If I wanted to eat popcorn and sliced cheese for dinner, that was cool. If I wasn't hungry until 3pm and then ate dinner at midnight, that was fine too. So it was a big change to think, "Oh, it's 6pm, that means we better figure out what to eat...and do we want to eat the same thing?"

There were several days when I wanted to go "do something" outside of the house, and he didn't. He was perfectly satisfied with hanging out and watching t.v. and movies and surfing the web. I, on the other hand, had been doing this for months and was ready to go out and have fun with my guy.
He was also a little "antsy" (his words) for a while. It was a big change for him; He was used to being on edge all the time, in a heightened state of awareness.

Another thing he mentioned was the fact he was going from being "under the thumb" at all times, for example, they only had a few places they could go at certain times. (the dinning facility, computer center, the px, or work) Now that he was back "the world was his oyster" as the saying goes, and it was quite overwhelming.

There was one day in particular that I was just anxious and felt crowded and cranky in the house and decided I needed to go to Walmart. He started to get ready to go with me, and then stopped....He is good at reading me sometimes... He said, "Or do you want to go by yourself?" and then smiled. I felt bad, but I told him that it would be nice to go alone.

So all in all, it's been wonderful, but it is a challenge. It is definitely something that both partners have to work at, communicate, and make sure to stay on the same page! If not, insecurities are certain to build and misunderstandings of actions and words will eat away at the relationship. I feel extremely blessed to be able to share my feelings with my spouse so openly, and he does the same. In a military life, I think there would be no other way if you want to keep a good marriage. There are so many obstacles to face... you need to be on the same team. 

With that said, I have also had thoughts about the next deployment... I have lots of fears, worry, anxiety.. There is nothing in writing or even rumoring... but I know that he'll be eligible for deployment in 2013. It will most likely be a year deployment, and as the world stands now (but could easily change at any time) it would be to Afghanistan. I have to force myself to block it out some days. At the same time though, I have to keep it in my mind. If we want to start a family any time soon, we have to plan around deployments! Or do we wait? For how long? Time will tell, but for today I am relishing in the "honeymoon phase" that we are in at the moment. If there is anything good about deployments, as I've heard, it's the continual honeymoon phases after deployments.

This is the longest we have ever been together as a couple. It's so great to be able to know that, at least for a while, we can be together. No one has to fly back home, we don't have to wait for the next four-day weekend to see one another, there aren't restrictions of when we can talk to each other, we don't have to wait for a Skype call with a grainy picture and audio delay, just to glimpse our beloved.

Even on the worst days, we have each other!

Day Eighty One.

This is it! This is the day! The day I have been waiting for ... for Eighty One days! I just didn't know what exact day it would be way back then.

It has been a journey, let me tell ya! Today I was putting away the dishes and thinking of the last time my soldier was here. It was before Christmas.. and I think of all the days that have passed without him, and the things I have done since he's been gone, it is a different kind of feeling that I don't quite know how to put into words. In some ways it seems like just yesterday... in others it seems like such a long time ago.

While I was getting ready this afternoon, I was thinking of how it will be when he gets home. It too is a strange feeling. I have gotten so used to doing everything on my own.. talking to myself or the cat while I'm puttering around the house, being on my own schedule and eating odd things at all hours of the day and night.. sleeping when I can or when exhaustion has finally taken over.. it will be so different in about 4 hours from now, when we are BOTH back in the apartment!  It's not a bad thing, it is actually a very good thing, but also will take some adjusting for both of us.

For him, he's been so used to having no privacy, staying with two roommates or in a giant tent full of fifty other soldiers. For me it's been almost solitary confinement in my own apartment. I've been alone in the eight small rooms that I call home, with a little four-legged critter, trying to make sense of each day. He has had each day planned out for him, reporting this time or that time, staring at the same four walls and desert landscape. We are merging from two very different places! It funny to me that this really occurred to me just today. I mean, I've thought about it briefly at times, but never like, whoa! 

I am anxious, even though for us it has been barely three months, to get to know each other all over again. Again, I am thankful that we only had to endure this short deployment this time.. and maybe we'll get lucky and there won't be another one...but I won't hold my breath.. So at least we had a good practice run, and will both know a little more what to expect the next time around. Until then, I plan to hold tight and enjoy every moment we have together!

I can barely stand to sit here right now. I have been sick the past few days, and I know I should be resting anyway, but I want nothing to do with anything related to sitting still. If there was something left to clean around here.. I would probably be cleaning it. I will be leaving in a few minutes, to go and wait some more! But we want to get there early for good parking, and seating!  If I wasn't already sick, I would probably feel sick! Haha. 

I'll try and continue blogging, but I'm sure it won't be as frequent. I am thankful I have been able to share my raw feelings on here without fear of judgment. It has been a huge help to bring me to face my feelings head on and address them and move on, and allow myself to really grow throughout this journey! Cheers to our Soldiers! May they ALL come home safe!! <3

Day Seventy-Seven, Eight, Nine and Eighty!!

Oh wow! I have really been a slacker!
So Saturday through Tuesday is what I haven't written about. Let me think... Saturday I have no idea what I did. Sunday I had dinner with two Army wives that I just met. My professor at school introduced me to one of them. Her husband is in the same brigade as my boyfriend. She is my age, and the other lady is a little older, but she is the leader of the other unit's FRG. So they were both very informative and really fun to be around!

The past two days I have been sick! My boyfriend was actually supposed to be home tomorrow early in the morning, but due to a sandstorm their flight was delayed. So now the homecoming is tomorrow evening! I am still sick, but my to-do list is pretty much complete! All I have to do now is wait....

It's a little bit strange to think that in 24 hours, my honey will be here in this room with me! I can hardly believe it!  I am sure it won't be truly real until he's here in my arms, in the flesh... even then it may seem like a dream! 

I haven't talked to him since Sunday, and even then it was only Facebook chat. I'm not sure why I haven't gotten an email or anything. My guess is that it costs money to purchase internet and he probably assumes I will get the information from the other girls. I am glad that I have the other ladies to communicate the info to me. I haven't actually heard from the "official" channels yet. Not certain that I will. But as long as I am getting the information some how, I am okay with that. I just miss talking to my honey!  We'll have plenty of time for that here soon! Just one more day to get through! I can't wait!!!!

Day Seventy-Five & Seventy Six.

Thursday March 3, 2011 & Friday March 4, 2011

It has been a busy couple days for me, which has really been a blessing! I am so glad to keep busy and make the time go faster, even though I am exhausted. It's a good kind of exhausted. I've been running errands and hanging out with some of the ladies here, as well as going to class, etc.
It is actually about 2am on Saturday that I am writing this. I just got home from a little get-together. It is probably the last one we will have before all the guys are back home. So it was nice to have some girl time and talk about what we still need to do to get things ready, what we want to wear for the homecoming, and share all our hopes and fears of the adjustment period.
Luck for us it probably won't be too much of an adjustment. It still will take a little getting used to, but definitely not as difficult as the people who had one-year or more deployments. But no matter how long they were gone, they were still greatly missed and all of our lives were turned upside down during that time. We all had to learn how to do things without our "better half" and figure out a new way of living, with the ache of our certain someone missing from our lives.
I actually feel really fortunate that we were able to communicate as much as we have. There were only a handful of days that we did not get to communicate. It will be so nice to be able to see his face in person though!
I am getting a little ahead of myself because we still have a short time to wait, but it's close enough that I am allowing myself to really dwell in the homecoming and how wonderful it will be to have him present in my daily life... in person!