12 Things Learned During Our Cross-Country Move

1. Check every cabinet, nook and cranny before letting the movers leave your house because there could very well be an entire kitchen cabinet that they missed FULL of bulky kitchen appliances. That was fun...but on the bright side we had tons of homemade waffles and burgers cooked on the George Foreman grill during our move! (Not really)

2. Hope and pray that your landlady has already made out your deposit refund check when she comes to do your final walk-through, because otherwise she will try to charge you for not mowing the "lawn" (a.k.a. weeds...this is Arizona, people!).

3. Audio books from The Cracker Barrel are life savers for getting through a cross country drive. (I listened to The Hunger Games and The Island and both were excellent!)

4. Driving across West Texas is really, really, REALLY boring, but you can drive really fast (80 mph). And it hurts me to say that since it's my home state (but we don't claim the Western half).

5. It is possible to sneak a 36 pound dog into an indoor-entry hotel (in middle of nowhere, Texas) that technically doesn't allow pets. Picture this: Dog wrapped in a blanket, tail sticking out conspicuously, me on the lookout. It was reminiscent of the scene in The Hangover where they sneak the tiger out of the hotel room....and it was hilarious.

6. Arkansas is really freaking hot in the summer. Like, 115 degrees, hot. It felt like an oven. Thank goodness we only spent one night there. (Sorry, Arkies)

7. Your husband's bladder is even smaller than you originally thought. Another bathroom stop?!?! No more liquids for you until we arrive!

8. Big rig trucks should not be allowed to pass each other on highways where there are only 2 lanes. I swear it's like a pissing contest for them to see who can get in front of each other and it SLOWS ME DOWN and ruins my cruise-controlled contentment! Just get the heck out of my way!

9. Having walkie talkies while you're driving cross country seems like a great idea at first, until your husband proceeds to interrupt your attempt to listen to an audio book no less than 357 times during the most intense part of the story to tell you about random things he sees on the road (such as roadkill) via his walkie talkie. Apparently he was bored (see #4). He should have rented an audio book!

10. Tennessee is a pretty state, but I hate the highways (see #8). Coming from Arizona, I was in green landscape OVERLOAD with all the trees, rivers and rolling hills.

11. Your household goods delivery men will have at least one lazy one amongst them who will refuse to actually read the label on the boxes and will just put them wherever he wants. Such as boxes clearly labeled "office" or "master bedroom" being lovingly placed in the garage. Thanks, dude.

12. Moving is fun. (not really...see #1-11)

Have you experienced any of these pleasures? Do tell!

This Week in Fitness/Moving Time!

Monday 7/18: None (traveling all day)

Tuesday 7/19: None (recovering all day...who knew a 3 hour time difference could cause jet lag?!)

Wednesday 7/20: Jillian's Best Moves from Exercise OnDemand...I didn't do all of it. It's a KILLER workout and would take about 2 hours. I did about 1 hour worth of it.

Thursday 7/21: 2-mile jog + 1-mile walk

Friday 7/22: 1-mile jog + 2-mile walk

Saturday 7/23: Xtreme Timesaver Training (Jackie Warner) DVD

Sunday 7/24: None (although I was organizing for packers/movers to come all day so I still got in some movement!)

The move has officially begun!! The packers arrived this morning to start putting our life into boxes. Today and tomorrow are packing days, then on Wednesday they pick everything up. Friday we leave Arizona for good and start making the long trek towards Tennessee!

Time for a new chapter in our Army life!!

Mil Spouse Friday Fill-In #48

Howdy friends! If you're looking for more information on the Fill-in go to Wife of a Sailor's blog.

1. Does you significant other read your blog? Is this a good or a bad thing? Yes!! He is probably my number one blog supporter. He scolds me if I haven't blogged in a while, gives me ideas, and tells me if I make a mistake. He has even considered writing a couple "guest posts" but never got around to it. I'm still working on it though. :)

2. What is one item in your house that holds the most sentimental value and why?
We have a large frame that holds a photo from our wedding, a copy of our wedding invitation, and a painted likeness of the church where we got married (painted by a friend who is an amazing artist). I would be devastated if I ever lost it because it is so special and personal to us. (I would put up a photo of it but it has our last names on it so for privacy reasons I'm not going to.) I feel the same way about a pearl necklace that I have because it was given to me by my mother but once belonged to my great grandmother....plus I also wore it on my wedding day. :)

3. When it comes to water fun in the summer do you prefer the beach, pool, lake or sprinkler? I tend to really like pools because there is no sand going up my crack (haha) and there are no creepy animals lurking in the water underneath me. Plus there tends to be more shade around a pool, and I need a lot of shade to avoid getting a horrible sunburn. However, I LOVE beach vacations so there is definitely a time and a place for that.

4. What is the one special thing that you do for yourself to get you through the first week of a deployment/separation? The night after Alex deployed I went to get drinks and dinner with some of my fellow Army wives. This was such a huge help because I went there straight from work and didn't get home until late so I hardly had time to think about things. Plus, my girl friends made me laugh and I had a great time. I also rented a bunch of girlie movies that Alex would never watch to help get me through the first weekend.

5. What is your biggest guilty pleasure website? PerezHilton.com. I know he's a loser but I just can't stop reading his celebrity updates!

Did We Just Buy a House?

I know I've been kind of MIA lately, but I have a good reason....

We are in the process of buying a house!!

It's actually kind of a crazy story as to how it all came about so I figured I would share it here.

A few months ago, we found out we were being sent to Fort Campbell as our next duty station. We were thrilled with this because we've heard lots of great things about Fort Campbell and the surrounding area.

So as the move approached (we're moving at the end of July), we started discussing whether to rent or buy a home. In the past, we've always just rented because we really didn't even think of buying as an option for us. In my mind, buying a house was something we would do when we got out of the Army.

But as we started looking into options in the Clarksville area (the town outside of Fort Campbell), our views on buying started to change. The idea of purchasing a home still scared the bejeezus out of us, but there were too many advantages to it for us to not at least consider the idea.

I decided to book a trip to fly out to Tennessee with my mom and attempt to find a home (my husband couldn't get away from work). My mind was still pretty much set on finding a rental, but we went ahead and got pre-approved for a loan just in case we decided to buy.

The trip to Tennessee was this past Monday and Tuesday and we looked at a whole bunch of rental homes on the first day. About half of the rentals were immediately ruled out when we toured them because they were just disgusting/dirty/unlivable. We did find two rentals that would have worked for us, but one of them was already rented out (to someone else) by that evening and the other was located really, really far from Post.

At this point, I started to revisit the idea of buying. We were down to only one viable rental option and it was located super far away from where we wanted to be. It was also really expensive. Rental homes in Clarksville are in high demand so they charge a hefty premium for them. I just couldn't stomach the thought of how much money we'd be putting into a house that wasn't even ours.

On the second day, I asked our realtor to show us some houses in a price range that we were comfortable with just to see what we could get. That was the beginning of the end. :)

We looked at a couple of houses for sale on the second day, but still nothing was really jumping out at me. I was determined that if I was going to purchase a home it had to really WOW me. I wasn't going to settle just because I was desperate.

That is, until I found the house.

The moment I saw this house, even just from the outside, I felt like it was home.
It felt warm and comforting inside and it had a lot of the features that were important to us.

Possibly my favorite part of the house is the ginormous backyard with a lovely deck and tons of trees. I could see us throwing a party out here and having a blast with our friends.

The master bedroom could use a paint job and it's smaller than we're used to, but I know we'll make it work.

Now here's a shocker...the kitchen isn't perfect, but somehow I still love it.

The cabinets are a lighter stain than I like. It's not an open floor plan. There aren't a ton of cabinets or counterspace. The pantry is smaller than I'd prefer. The appliances are old and need to be replaced. The backsplash is boring white. Etc, etc, etc.
I thought the kitchen would be the thing I would be the most picky about, since I do spend so much time in it. But, surprisingly, those things didn't deter me. Instead of looking at those things as a negative, I saw them as potential. We can improve those things ourselves and potentially increase our resale value.

(Sidenote: I think my expectations for kitchens were also too high. I was sorely disappointed with almost every kitchen I saw, so this one seemed like a huge step up! I don't know why, but it seems like people don't put the same importance on kitchens in this area as they do in other parts of the country. Most of them were TINY and I simply can't work in a tiny kitchen. )

After we finished touring the house, I knew I wanted to put an offer in right away. Coming from the Queen of Indecisiveness, this was huge.

I still had to convince my husband, who was back in Arizona and still thinking that we were going to rent. Luckily, once I talked to him over the phone and told him to look at photos online, he (somewhat reluctantly) agreed that we should put in an offer. Poor guy was probably blindsided by the whole ordeal!

So we did. That same day we put in a offer. Talk about a whirlwind!!

We received a counteroffer by that same night from the seller, slept on it, put in our own final counteroffer, and then waited and prayed that things would work out.

As I was about to step on the plane to head home I got a call from our realtor letting me know that they accepted our counteroffer (!!!!).

So that's pretty much where things stand as of now. We're awaiting our inspection next week to see how that goes, but we're hopeful that it will come back without any major issues.

I have lots to say on the subject of buying a home, but this post is long enough already so I'll leave it like it is for now.

I never expected this to happen in such a whirlwind so it's been a bit of an emotional journey thus far, but I'm confident that things will work out the way they're supposed to.

If it's meant to be, it will be!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #46

Check out Wife of a Sailor's blog for more information.

1. Are you a different person than you were five years ago? I don't think I'm a different person at the core (i.e. values, beliefs, personality), but I've definitely done a LOT of growing up in the past five years. Five years ago I was still in college, dating my (future) husband and my biggest concern was how I scored on my Finance test. In the time since then I graduated college, found my first post-college job, got married (almost four years ago...crazy!!), Alex commissioned into the Army, we moved FOUR times (into our first apartment in Houston, then to Fort Huachuca for a short stint, then to Fort Hood for 3 years, then to Fort Huachuca again for 8 months, and we're gearing up to move again next month!), Alex deployed for a year (probably the time that I grew up and changed the most), and my dad was diagnosed with cancer last September. That's A LOT of things that have happened in five years so how could you not change/develop when all that's going on in your life?

Spring Break '07 in Destin...definitely done some growing up since this trip!! :)

2. If you could go on "Amazing Race" who would you take with you and why? We were just discussing this last night because we were watching ABC's new knock-off version of the Amazing Race called Expedition Impossible. I told Alex that I think if we were to go on a show like that it would probably be the end of our marriage. I know that sounds bad but I just know how I work and I can be a VERY difficult person to live with when I'm under major stress/exhaustion/fear/etc. I am afraid I would reach my breaking point, quit the show, and possibly let Alex down. Alex's response was "Don't worry...I wouldn't pick you as my partner on a show like that anyway." LOL....at least we're on the same page!

3. Does Facebook or Twitter actually bring more stress or good into your life? I'm a big lover of Facebook and Twitter. I like being "in the know" and social networking allows you to do that. I'm also a TERRIBLE phone person...talking on the phone just never has been one of my favorite things and therefore social networking is a great alternative way to keep in touch with those you love. The only major downside for me is that Facebook/Twitter does sometimes bring on jealousy/envy for me personally. For example, when Alex was deployed many people on Facebook would post complaints about how their husband/significant other was leaving for a week long business trip or something of the sorts. Those kind of comments really stung and made me angry because I wanted to scream "DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW GOOD YOU HAVE IT?!?" Obviously I had to realize that they weren't writing those things to purposely make me jealous, but it was still pretty hard.

4. June is National Soul Food Month. What is your soul food? Hmm...I love food so I'd say ALL food is my soul food. I really love chicken fried steak with lots of gravy and mashed potatoes but I rarely order it (for obvious reasons) so maybe that would be my #1 soul food.

5. If you could live in any other era other than the current, which would it be and why? The 1940's and 50's!! I've always loved the fashion of that era. It was so glamorous!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-in #45

1. Underwear Parties: How old is too old? I didn't even know what an "underwear party" was but I just Googled it and it said it's "a party where everybody strips down to there underwear. the party goes on as a usual party ,but can turn into a sex party if the people are willing." Umm....I'm gonna say anyone with any self-respect is DEFINITELY too old for this type of party. I wouldn't have even been comfortable with this kind of party when I was in college, but maybe that makes me a prude....?

2. What was your favorite class in high school? Spanish! I LOVED Spanish class and I was actually good at it so that made me love it even more. :) (Plus, my mom is a high school Spanish teacher so maybe I had a leg up?)

3. Have you ever convinced packers/movers to pack something they aren't supposed to for a PCS? I've never "convinced" them persay, but we always try to kill our packers/movers with kindness in the hopes that they'll go easy on us. It worked the last time because they packed a few things they weren't technically supposed to (i.e. candles) AND nothing that they packed broke in transit! Woohoo!

4. Blogging plays a growing roll in the media. If you were asked to embed as a blogger with a deployed military unit, would you go? What do you think your blog would be like? No, I probably wouldn't go. I leave the dangerous work to my husband. :)

5. Do you think kids should attend year-round school? I've only ever been in schools with summer breaks, so I'm gonna go with no. I think kids (and teachers!) really look forward to their summers as a nice, long break so I would hate to see that go.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #44

1. When you vacation, what type of vacation do you like to take (beach, historic, adventurous, food oriented, etc.)? I like to seriously relax when I'm on vacation, so for that reason I love beach vacations. I don't really enjoy sightseeing or museums all that much, unfortunately. The funny thing is that although I love beaches, I shy away from the sun a lot due to my extremely fair skin that burns easily. So usually you can find me under an umbrella, slathered up with SPF 85, and reading a book or napping. And ALL of our vacations revolve around food. I'm a total foodie (obviously you know that if you read this blog) so I live for eating and drinking on vacation.

2. What is your best memory associate with a song? I associate a lot of songs with a lot of great memories. Obviously the most prominent one is the song that Alex and I danced to at our wedding: "Feels Like Home" by Chantal Kreviazuk. I love the words in that song and I'm surprised more people don't know it. Beyonce's "Single Ladies" always will bring back memories of deployment since it came out around that time and my girlfriends and I would always dance and sing along to it (even though we were only geographically single at the time).

3. If you had six months with no obligations or financial constraints, what would you do with your time? I would probably go live somewhere tropical where they also speak Spanish like Costa Rica or Dominican Republic. I would live in some amazing vacation rental for 6 months, explore, eat and most important of all, practice my Spanish.

4. What is one thing that people do NOT typically notice about you that you wish they would? Uhhh this is a weird question. I have no idea what people normally notice about me, aside from my staggering beauty of course. ;-)

5. It's a summer of sequels, and if you had to live in one of each of the following worlds (3 total) which would it be and why?
- X-Men: Be a mutant, what would your power be? Invisibility.
- Harry Potter: Be a witch or a muggle? Witch, I guess. I don't really get into HP so I don't even really know what a muggle is exactly.
- Twilight: Be a vampire or a werewolf? Werewolf, because they are still alive and warm instead of dead and cold. Also because they don't have to kill people to survive.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #41

For more info on the MilSpouse Fill-In check out Wife of a Sailor's blog.

1. What is one of the things you always do special when your husband returns from a deployment?

You mean besides in the bedroom? Bow chicka wow wow! ;-) (sorry, Mom) No but really, I don't do anything all that special. Just the normal stuff like "welcome home" signs, stocking the fridge/pantry with his favorite things, etc.

My "We Survived Deployment" sign.

2. What do you do to help your spouse and/or yourself re-adjust after a deployment or long separation?

I try to give up my typical control-freak ways (yes, I can admit it) a little and let him decide how he wants to spend his first few days at home. I try not to make him do anything (like go to a party or whatever) he doesn't want to do, since he did just spend a year at war and all. Other than that we just try to go back to life as normal as quickly as possible.

3. Are you a crazy coupon clipper (I’m becoming one, so share your secrets with me)?

No. I suck at couponing! I always have the best intentions but then I forget the coupons at home, don't take the time to clip them, or buy things I don't need because of the coupons. It's just not my thing, unfortunately.

4. What’s your most treasured memory of you and your spouse (not counting your wedding – that’s a given)?

Hmmm....this is hard because there are so many. I guess one of my most treasured memories is our first date. We were both brand-new freshmen in college and he asked me to be his date to the very first football game of the year. I remember being so excited when he called to ask me out because I just felt differently about him than I ever had about anyone else before. And on the date, he kissed me at the end as part of a Texas A&M tradition. I vividly remember the feelings of awkwardness/butterflies/elation. Good memories! :)

This got me reminiscing so I just dug up some old photos...

This is I'm pretty sure our first photo ever taken together. It was 80's night at Fish Camp. I'm on the far left in pink and he's in the back with the bandana (obvsies, since he's the only dude). He asked me out on our first date a few weeks after this photo was taken.

First Date. Man we were young!!

Thanksgiving 2003. This is the weekend that we first said "I love you." to each other. :)

I think this was Junior Year Formal.

We look like we know what we're doing on those horses.

I forgot about this photo until just now but I love it. This was taken at a football game our Senior year. We were newly engaged at this point.

Okay enough with the flashback photos. Sorry I got carried away! :)

5. If you could live anywhere overseas, what would you pick and why?

Greece. Hands down! It's probably #1 on my list of dream places I'd like to visit, and I think living there would be so fun (but bad for my waistline).

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #40

Check out Wife of a Sailor's blog for more info on the Fill-In!

1. Which was the best day of your life- Wedding day or Homecoming day?

Definitely wedding day!! There's just nothing else like your own wedding. It was such a special day and I cherish every moment.

2. Were you a part of the joining the military question or did you sign up for the relationship when your man was already in the military?

When I met my husband we were freshman in college, and he had already accepted a full scholarship from the Army in return for joining after graduation. So I knew going in that if I ended up with him I would be an Army wife someday, but we were so young and it didn't seem real at the time.

3. What is your favorite Disney movie and why?

The Little Mermaid!! I love all Disney movies though.

4. What is your favorite family activity to do on the weekends?

Hiking, playing tennis, going to the gym, trying new restaurants and watching movies are some of our favorites.

5. Where do you secretly wish you could be stationed with you/your SO’s line of work (realistically speaking, not everyone can be stationed on NAS Fiji)?

Monterrey, California would be my #1 dream place to be stationed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, it's muh 26th BIRTHDAY today!! Yeehaw!

We're going to see the movie Bridesmaids tonight and I CAN'T WAIT! It's the little things that make me happy. It's already been a great day, though! I opened my presents at 5 am this morning because I was so excited. I feel very blessed and loved today!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #39

Here we go, time for another Milspouse Fill-In! For more info on the fill-in visit Wife of a Sailor's blog.


1. Have you and your spouse agreed to live in separate locations (a geographical bachelor tour) knowing that the short-term inconvenience would have long-term benefits for your family? How did it work for you?

We have never lived apart since joining the Army unless it was required (i.e. deployment). For us, not having children means that we can pretty much pick up and move without too many consequences, other than me having to leave my job. Although the decisions may have been more difficult if we had kids in school, we still firmly believe in keeping our family together as much as possible. What that means for our future, I don't know. It would be a tough decision!

2. What is your favorite thing about being a MilSpouse?

I love the relationships that I have formed through being an Army wife, because they are unique and different than all my other friendships made in normal circumstances. The high-stress environment meant that we all grew closer a lot quicker than we would have in the civilian world.

I also love all of the lessons that I have learned along the way. This lifestyle has challenged me in more ways than I ever imagined, but I have been able to overcome every obstacle.

3. If you could still have your spouse/significant other and your family, but take the military life out of it…would you?

This is a tough one to answer for me. I certainly wouldn't change the past because, as I mentioned above, I'm thankful for those experiences! However, for the future, we aren't sure whether we will make a career out of this Army thing or not. The main factor for this decision is our desire to start our family, and the thought of adding children to the mix worries us. We just want what's best for our family and if the deployment schedule continues to stay as frequent as it is now, we're not sure the Army is the best thing for our future family. We still have 3+ years left before we face the decision of whether to stay in or get out, so we're not coming to any conclusions right now. We'll just evaluate things when the time comes.

4. What have your homecoming experiences been like after a year long tour of separation?

Our longest separation was for my husband's only deployment thus far: just shy of 12 months. The homecoming experiences was, in one word, AMAZING. I know a lot of people talk about how there is an adjustment period and things start out rocky, but for us things just got right back to the way they were, if not better! We appreciated each other more than ever, we cherished every moment spent together, and every night was like a date night even though we were just hanging out at home. It was so nice to have him home and I honestly think the months following his redeployment were one of the best times in our marriage!

5. If you have a child(ren) why you did you choose their name(s)? If not, why would you name your child something?

We obviously don't have children yet, but baby names are something we have talked about. We both love the idea of family names, but then you run into the issue of jealousy from other family members, so we're not sure that's the route we'll take. In general, we like classic and somewhat old fashioned names that aren't too crazy popular. I grew up as an Ashley when the name Ashley was at it's peak of popularity in the 80's, so I have a strong desire to not name my child something trendy!

March Favorites

First, let me preface this post by saying that I PROMISE there are some great food-related posts coming soon to Cupcakes and Combat Boots! I've been cooking as normal, but for some reason I've been procrastinating doing the posts. I've made it my goal to get three or four recipe posts done in the next few days so stay tuned!

Now, moving on, I thought I'd share some of the new things I've been loving lately. These posts always give me great ideas when other people do them, so hopefully they'll do the same for you!

1. Chia Seeds

(Source)

Chia Seeds are a great source of Omega-3's (even better than flax seeds), high in fiber, and have many other health benefits which you can read about here. I'd been wanting to try chia seeds for a while now but could never find them in stores (though I believe they do carry them in Whole Foods), so I bit the bullet and just ordered a package of them through Amazon. Since receiving them in the mail, I've been loving adding them to smoothies, oatmeal, yogurt, pancakes, etc.

2. Neutrogena Naturals Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover

(Source)

In this post back in January I wrote about loving Garnier Moisture Rescue face wash, but I started to change my mind about it after using it for a while. Yes, it did keep my face moisturized, but I couldn't stand the residue that it left behind on my face and the fact that it didn't do a very good job of getting my eye makeup off. I like cleaning my face and having it LOOK AND FEEL CLEAN, not have a layer of gunk leftover. I was on the lookout for a face wash that didn't leave a residue, but also didn't strip my natural oils too much. So I stumbled upon this new Neutrogena Naturals line of products and immediately plunked down the $6.99 to try the "Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover" face wash. And I LOVE IT!!! It's exactly what I was looking for (removes makeup, leaves me feeling fresh and clean but not dry), AND it smells fantastic!

3. Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo

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I love the idea of dry shampoo, but I hadn't been really impressed with the products I'd tried in the past. They left a gummy texture and usually a white residue in my hair that really didn't make my hair look or feel clean. Then I spotted this Suave Professionals version of dry shampoo and decided it was worth the $2.99 price tag to give it a shot. My verdict is: TWO THUMBS UP! I couldn't believe how good it smells (it reminds me of candy) and it doesn't leave any weird texture or white residue in my hair. Seriously, buy this stuff!

4. Intak by Thermos water bottle

(Source)

I've always been bad about drinking enough water, but as part of my new healthy living routine I decided to make drinking water a priority. In order to kick start my new priority, I bought an intak by Thermos water bottle (found it at Target). Turns out having a new water bottle DOES help me drink more water! I love this thing! It has a lid that snaps securely shut and locks so I can toss it in a bag and not worry about it leaking. It also has a "water intake gauge" on it where you can turn the dial each time you fill up the bottle so you can keep track of how much you're drinking throughout the day. Oh and the all-time best thing about it? It's dishwasher safe! :)

5. Tabbed Socks

(Source)

This is kind of a random one, but I swear by athletic socks with the little extra tabs on the back! Why? Because I've always had issues with my ankle socks falling down as I run or workout and then I end up with major blisters on the backs of my heels. Not fun! But these socks solve that problem because the tab causes the sock to stay put above your shoe and not work its way down your heel. I buy my tabbed socks from Target (the ones pictured above aren't the exact ones I wear, just the closest picture I could find) and they're pretty cheap!

There you have it! What are your March favorites??

Oh, and one thing I'm NOT loving lately? This potential "government shut down" that would mean our troops won't get paid for who knows how long (but still expected to report to work as usual). This is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE to me. Our troops are putting their lives on the line everyday and they should be the LAST people to have their pay cut off. President Obama needs to get his act together and PREVENT this from happening, instead of continuing to reject solutions.

End of vent.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #36

It's that time again! For more info on the Fill-In and to check out other spouses' answers to the questions, visit Wife of a Sailor's blog.

1. What romance movie scene reminds you of your s/o or spouse and the LOVE you share?

This was a tough one! But after careful thought and discussion with my husband, we have decided that we are most like the couple from The Proposal (played by Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds). She is neurotic, independent, assertive and a little demanding; he is sweet-natured, funny and easy-going. Despite their differences, somehow they just work together! (FYI I fully realize that this description of me makes me seem like the Wicked Witch of the West but oh well! I am who I am!)

2. If you were allowed to deploy with your husband to a war zone would you and why?
My husband says he wouldn't let me even if I wanted to (b/c of the danger), so I guess the answer is no. :) But if it was a deployment to a non-combat zone then I would definitely consider it!

3. Have you ever done anything (intentionally, or unintentionally) to embarrass your spouse/significant other in front of his military cohorts?
Besides just my general lack of knowledge about military terms and things, I don't think I've done anything to terrible to embarrass him in front of his military peeps. I'm usually on my best behavior when we're around his coworkers, but I'm SURE I've embarrassed him many times in other circumstances!

4. What is your most irrational fear?
I have a strange (but serious) phobia of lizards, especially geckos. ::::shudder:::: I don't even know where it came from but they make me have mini-panic attacks. It is SO IRRATIONAL and it makes me mad that I am so not in control of myself, so I've decided that this year is the year I'm going to get over this stupid fear. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it but I will do my best to overcome it!

5. If you could only live in one kind of climate for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Somewhere mild. Ideally I would live somewhere with 4 distinct seasons, but where the winters aren't too brutal (though I still want it to snow a couple times a year!). I'm okay with heat, but I'm a wimp in the cold.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #35

It's that time again! For more info on the Fill-In and to check out other spouses' answers to the questions, visit Wife of a Sailor's blog.

1. What is your must-have gadget?

I don't think I can decide on just one! It depends on the category we're talking about.
Beauty = Hot Tools curling iron
Fitness = my iPod
Kitchen = Cuisinart Food Processor
Blogging = DSLR camera (Canon Rebel)

2. How does your adulthood compare to what you imagined it would be like as a little kid?

As a kid I thought I would be a veterinarian, married to a Texas cowboy, and have 2 kids by now! I definitely never thought I would end up married to a Kansas-born soldier and be living as an Army wife with no kids at the age of (almost) 26....but I wouldn't change anything! I love my life and I'm so happy I married my non-Texan guy. ;-)

3. What is your favorite chocolate recipe?

Double Chocolate Caramel Cookies were the bomb! As a quick and easy option, I'm also loving Single Serving Healthier Brownies these days.

4. How do you deal with military life when it gets to be too much or too hard?

I vent about it and get it out, either to my friends & family or on my blog. Here's a link to some of my venting-about-Army-life posts. Also I do something to get my mind off of it, such as working out, reading a book, hanging out with friends, etc. And finally, I try to remind myself of all the blessings in my life (easier said than done) and that "this too shall pass".

5. What piece of advice would you give a new military spouse facing their first deployment?

Oh gosh, there's so much I would say (and do say, when given the chance)!
~I know it's scary, but you WILL GET THROUGH IT. Have faith in yourself that you are a strong, independent woman and you will be fine. I doubted my ability to cope with a deployment wayyyy too much before our first one and it just made me (and him) miserable in the weeks leading up to his deployment.
~Stay busy and make sure you plan things to look forward to. A fun trip, a party, a night out, a spa day, etc. You still need to get out and have FUN while he's gone...don't feel like you have to stay in and be miserable!!
~Communicate and stay connected! If his phone access is limited, try sending him a daily email or send him weekly care packages with a hand-written love letter. Just try to stay connected in each others lives as much as possible. At first my way of coping with deployment was sometimes to try and shut him out of my life so I didn't have to feel the pain of him being gone. That is NOT GOOD! Learn from my mistakes! :)

Okay I'll stop there...it's a topic I'm passionate about obviously! :) Great questions this week!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #33

It's that time again! For more info on the Fill-In, visit Wife of a Sailor's blog.

1. During military separations (whether short or long) how do you keep yourself positive and motivated?
I can't say enough about FRIENDS when it comes to getting through a deployment. Friends, especially fellow Army-wives who know exactly what you're going through, are crucial. When one of you is down, the others can lift you back up. Friends also keep you occupied, distracted and laughing.

Also, I try not to focus on how much time is LEFT in the deployment, but rather how much time we've already accomplished. It may seem silly, but for some reason that really helped me.

2. What is your favorite concert you have ever been to?
Michael Buble. Hands down! That man knows how to entertain (and he's dreamy)!

3. What do you miss most about your “hometown”?
I think I really just miss my family the most. I can find positive things in any new place of living, but I can't replace the void created by my family being hundreds (or thousands) of miles away.

But if I'm forced to come up with a less-mushy response I would say I miss the MEXICAN FOOD the most! It just isn't the same anywhere else. Tex-Mex RULES! :)

4. If you could run in any race, which charity would you choose to support?
I wish I could support all cancer-related charities but I have a soft spot in my heart for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society because my cousin, Thomas, was diagnosed with Leukemia a couple years ago. It's such a scary disease and no child (or anyone really) should ever have to deal with it. (Luckily, Thomas is doing GREAT after a successful bone marrow transplant, which you can read more about in this post.)

5. You find out Willy Wonka is your father, what 3 course meal do you INSIST he create in that stick of gum?
Fried Pickles, Cheese Burger w/ fries, and a Banana Split. Why? Because that's a suuuuper fattening meal that I love and it would be great if I could get it in one piece of calorie-free gum. :)

What was YOUR favorite concert ever?

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

Here are my MilSpouse Friday Fill-In answers! (For more info on the Fill-In visit Wife of a Sailor's blog.)


1. Do you or your {spouse} ever wish your {spouse} was in a different branch of the military?
Sometimes I wish he was in the Air Force because of the shorter deployments and because I think Air Force has some of the best base locations. But Hubs would probably not be happy in the Air Force...he's an Army guy all the way! Hooah!

2. What duty station(s) are on your “No Way, Hell No, Not Going, Have Fun Unaccompanied” list and why?
The only one location that I would probably not accompany him to is Korea, but those are usually unaccompanied tours anyway (from what I've heard). If we're talking about duty stations that I reeeeeeally don't want to ever go to that would be Fort Drum, NY & anything in Alaska....I don't do cold weather very well. :)

3. If you could be one age forever, what age would you choose and why?
Ohhh this is a good one! I guess I would be 29 (I'm almost 26 now) because I'd still be in my twenties, but old enough to have lived a little.

4. If you were a breakfast cereal, which one would you be?
I would be Special K Vanilla Almond because it's slightly healthy, but has a sweet side and it has a little something special in it (almonds).

(source)

5. What is your morning beverage of choice and why?
Definitely coffee with flavored creamer (a lot). I don't feel complete until I've had my coffee in the morning.

(source)

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

Time for my first official MilSpouse Friday Fill-In! Check out Wife of a Sailor's blog for more info and the links to other blogger's Fill-Ins.

1. Since most of the country has had nasty weather, what has your weather been like this week? We actually got pretty darn cold the past two days in Southern Arizona...lows in the single digits and highs only in the 20's. However, today it's supposed to be a high in the 50's so it looks like we are warming up! No snow for us though...I'm jealous of my Texas fam & friends who are getting a snow day today!

2. What is/are your best money saving tip(s)?
When it comes to grocery shopping, I am way too lazy to cut coupons, and then even if I do cut them I ALWAYS forget to use them. Always. So my only money saving tip is to plan your grocery lists and only buy what's on the list. Also, use up what you have before you buy more. I'm still working on this but it does help. :)

If we're talking about saving money in general, we always put any "extra" money that comes our way (birthday checks, tax refunds, etc.) into a special savings account (in our case it's into a "Home Savings" account). That way we aren't tempted to spend the money on something frivolous. It adds up pretty quick if you do this every time you get extra money!

3. What was your favorite vehicle you’ve ever owned??
I've actually only ever driven 2 cars in my lifetime and I didn't really pick out either of them for myself: the one my parents bought for me in high school (a '99 Honda CR-V) and the one I'm currently driving (a '08 Jeep Patriot that my husband passed down to me after he upgraded to a Truck...so kind of him). I'm actually not that fond of either of those cars. I'm still waiting for the day that I get to pick out a car that I love for myself....it will probably be something along the lines of a Grand Cherokee or a Highlander.

4. What is a question you’d like to see asked in a future fill-in? (Your question & blog just may appear one week!) (I have no idea what questions have been asked in the previous 27 weeks so apologies if these are repeats)

What was your worst and best duty station to date?

Pick your favorite deployment coping mechanism (or add your own): wine, girlfriends, chocolate, fitness, etc.

What is your favorite place to shop for clothes for yourself?

5. Fill in the blank: You might be a MilSpouse if….
(I will be including some of your answers in a future post (with a link to your blog, of course!)

You might be a MilSpouse if you give things to Goodwill just because you can't stand the thought of unpacking them AGAIN the next time you move.

You might be a MilSpouse if you have friends in more states than you can count.

You might be a MilSpouse if you answer "I have no idea" when people ask you what comes next for you and your husband.

MilSpouse Fill-In

I discovered a blog today called Wife of a Sailor. Each Friday she posts questions for all military spouses to answer and calls it "MilSpouse Friday Fill-in". I've decided to start participating, if for no other reason than to get me thinking from time and time. I also think this is a great way to get to know other military spouses and get their opinions and advice on things.

I know today isn't Friday, but I couldn't wait until Friday to start participating so I am going to post last Friday's questions and go ahead and answer them today. Then from each Friday here on out I will make an effort to participate.

If you were a famous movie star, what types of movies would you star in?

Romantic comedies, for sure! I love fluffy movies and can hardly stand to watch anything too intense. Plus, I would love to have an excuse to kiss someone like Ryan Reynolds (shhh...don't tell the husband).

What is a vacation you would like to take if money were no object?

I would travel around Europe for a whole month....my stops would include France, England, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and (the one I want to visit the most) GREECE!

Did you have pets growing up?

Yes! I've always been an animal lover so I suckered my parents into letting us adopt one of the kittens from a next door neighbor when I was in 1st or 2nd grade. That cat, Whiskers, just recently passed away....she was OLD and senile but we loved her! We also always had a dog. When I was younger we had a black lab named Maggie and then when she passed we got another black lab named Bonnie. They were my BFFs growing up and I miss them both!

What do you do for exercise?

I always try to stay on top of exercising but I tend to go through phases with it. Right now, I'm on a healthy kick so I am exercising at least 5 times a week. I get bored easily though so I try to mix it up as much as possible. I love doing at-home workouts with DVDs such as 30 Day Shred and The Firm series. I also have a treadmill at home where I will do walking/jogging intervals. If I'm not feeling up to doing a real workout I just take the dog for a long walk or do a yoga or pilates DVD. Lately I've also been letting my husband take me to the gym with him and he puts me through his kettlebell workout...it's a toughie! In the past I've really enjoyed taking Spinning or BodyPump classes, but I'm not doing those right now. (I told you I mix it up a lot!)

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received as a MilSpouse?

Keep your chin up, look forward to the future, control what you can but let go of what you can't and always, ALWAYS be prepared for change. (That's more like a compilation of several pieces of advice but you get the picture.)

Looking forward to doing more of these MilSpouse fill-ins!

{Edited to add some photos...sorry some of them are so big!}

Moving the Military Wife Way

I promised a post or two with my tips for how to have a successful PCS move, so here it is!

Scheduling Your Move:

The first thing to decide is what kind of move you want to do. There are 3 options:

-DITY (Do It Yourself) Move: Basically this one means you do everything yourself. Packing, hauling, unpacking, etc. is all your responsibility. The plus side is that afterwards you get reimbursed by the military for the move and you can actually end up making money in the end. We did a DITY move for our first PCS (permanent change of station) because we didn't have that much stuff accumulated yet and we were moving things from several different locations (storage room, apartment, my parent's house, etc.) It worked for us at that time but I don't think I would do it again now that we have so much more in the way of household goods.

-Government Move: The military hires a moving company to pack, move and ship everything to your new station. You do not get reimbursed for any part of it, but everything is taken care of for you. A downside is also that you are trusting someone else with all your household goods and you have to accept that fact that some things WILL get broken/lost/stolen. You can get reimbursed for those things that are broken/lost/stolen but it is a pain to file the paperwork and such.

-Partial DITY Move: This is a combination of the first two options. Basically, the military will still contract someone to move/pack/ship everything that you ask them to, but you also have the option to move some things yourself and get reimbursed for the cost to move those items. This is the option we chose this time because we have a long window in between when we checked out of our old location and when we check into our new location (about a month). Therefore, we have a lot of things that we are carrying with us to get us through the month-long homeless period (clothes, a few kitchen items, etc.) and we might as well get reimbursed for those items.

As I mentioned, we chose to do a Partial DITY so we were contacted by a moving company who was contracted by the military to set up our move.

The first thing the moving company will do is schedule you for a time to get packed and moved. You request a time period and they do their best to fit you in during that time. Our moving company had to schedule us a week sooner than we wanted, but that worked out okay in the end.

After you are scheduled, the moving company will set up a pre-move consultation, in which a representative will come to your place of residence to do a scan of your household items. The purpose of this is to answer any questions you might have and to make note of how many large items, fragile items, etc. that you are requesting them to pack and move. The representative should also tell you how to prepare for your move and what they will and will not move for you.

Prepping for the Move

Prepping for the packers and movers is probably the hardest part of doing a government or partial DITY move. Here are some important things to do before they show up on your doorstep the day of the move:

-Go through your house and get rid of everything you don't need. Moving is the perfect time for purging your clutter and unused items, and there's no need to move something that you're only going to throw away when you get to your destination. Donate it, trash it, give it to a friend, just get rid of it if you don't love it.

-Remove all items above arms reach from cabinets, shelves, closets, etc. The packers will not touch anything they can't reach so you must move everything above that down to counters or tables.

-Take everything off the walls (pictures, art, etc.) and place on the floor.

-Place all your silverware in a large ziploc or small container of some sort and ask the packers to just pack the container/bag as-is. If you don't do this, the packers will individually wrap every piece of silverware and it will take forever to unpack. You can apply this method to other small, unbreakable items too such as hairbands and clips.

- Place all your clothes into garbage bags and ask the packers to pack them as-is.

If you don't do this, the packers will touch all of your clothes (including unmentionables) and have been known to use your clothes to help wrap other household items. It's also a good idea to toss a dryer sheet into the garbage bags with your clothes to keep them smelling good (or just use the Febreze brand of garbage bags like we did).

-Move everything that you do not want them to move into a designated closet or room.

It's too much for them to try and remember not to pack certain things that you tell them to, so just make it easy by only leaving out items that you DO want them to move. We had a lot of things that we were moving ourselves, so we cleared out the entire guest room and then used that as our "off-limits to packers" room. It turned out to be really nice to have a separate room that they didn't need to go in at all because we were able to hang out in there while they were packing and not be in their way.

-Unplug any appliances and electronics that you want them to move. If you have a deep freezer, you need to unplug, empty and defrost it at least 3 days before the move.

-Drain all oil and gas out of anything that would contain it (i.e. lawnmowers).

There are some things that the moving company will say that they won't move, but I recommend just leaving those items out because sometimes they actually WILL end up packing and moving those items. Their job is to pack as quickly as possible so they just want to get it done, and often won't bother with fishing through the items that they aren't supposed to pack. Just take your chances and hope that they pack it.

Here are some things I recommend keeping with you and not letting them move:

-Cleaning supplies, vacuum, broom, mop

-Paper towels and toilet paper

-Bath towels, hand towels, washcloths

-Food for your pets (you don't want to starve your poor pets do you?)

-Shower curtain (I forgot to keep this one and I regretted it immediately...it's hard to shower without a shower curtain)

-Air mattress, bed linens, and pillows (for sleeping on after they take your bed and/or when you arrive at your new location but don't yet have your furniture yet)

-A plastic bin or two (This has a double purpose...the first is to use them to pack your items that you are taking yourself, the second is to use them as a table when all your furniture is gone.)

-Fold out chairs (so you don't have to sit on the floor)

-Firearms (In my opinion, it's just better to move these yourself. Less liability.)

-Pots, pans, baking sheet, knife, cutting board, wooden spoon, etc. (Just the bare essentials of what you will need to do basic cooking in the kitchen. You will get really tired of eating out and/or fast food so it's nice to have the option to cook something yourself.)

Okay well that's all I have time for right now. I'll try to do another post in the next week or two with the rest of my abundant knowledge on moving. ;-)

I have to give credit to my friend Angie for a lot of these tips. She is an expert Army wife and several of these tips came from a blog post she made about moving.