MIA

Tonight was the Officer ball, which I was ecstatic about! I havent gotten dressed up since prom and it was a wonderful experience. Then tomorrow is graduation and then DH and I are going home to visit for a week. I will try and post as much as I can, but I just wanted to give a heads up if I am MIA for a few days. I will definitely be posting some pics when I get back though! Ciao

Snowbirding anyone?

This is how I felt yesterday trying to figure out what was going on!

So yesterday I met some of the other Officer's wives for lunch. We have all been messaging back and forth for 3 months now, but it was the first time we actually had met each other, which was very exciting. We were talking about our husbands class dates and plans for the summer and fall. Two of the other women's husbands have the same class date as my husband and since graduation is tomorrow and the next class doesnt start for another 6 weeks, I was curious as to what our husbands would be doing in between time. One of the other wives, who is much more experienced in the ways of the Army, told me that her husband was taking leave the first week and then would be snowboarding to his next training location and then would take another week of leave for the 6th week. I thought it was a little strange that her husband wanted to go snowboarding in between all this crazy training, but I didn't say anything. Then I asked her, "Well what do you think my husband will be doing?" She said, "He will probably snowboard to his next training location as well." Okay, so now I was really confused. I wanted to tell her, "My husband doesn't even know how to snowboard! Why would the army let him go snowboarding instead of letting him spend time at home? This is crazy!!!" But something in me stopped my own self from saying anything. So, the conversation continued with more talk of our husbands snowboarding before I realized what she was actually saying was "snowbird." Apparently there is a term in the military called "snowbirding" which means that you go to your next training location and just kind of chill out there (I am sure they do something, but it is pretty laid back compared to normal military training) but unfortunately it is required that you go. After putting the pieces together in my own head without making myself look like a complete ditz, I could only laugh for how silly the whole conversation seemed to be there for a while. You gotta love "new" military life!

There's more to me than the Army :)

I have been sitting here at work, thinking (and I have plenty of time to think, blog, eat, drink, etc. at work!) about how I have created this blog about the Army, which is a huge part of my life right now considering that it is moving me all around the country. It is hard to explain to other people who live "normal" lives what it is like not knowing where you will be next month. Right now for us, the anticipation of the unknown is thrilling. Some people live their lives having to know the plan for the future. I couldn't have that even if I wanted to, but I love the fact that I don't even have that option! Point being, I like, no. . . I love living the "Army Life" thus far. However, even though I like the army way I wanted to make it clear the Army is a huge part of my life, but it isn't my life in its entirety. Okay, so to the real point of this post: I have a life outside of the army and here is the preview of that life. I love the artsy things that use the right side of my brain (apparently) and since the left side is never working, I am only left with my right. I am my mother's daughter (except she knows how to use her entire brain). like to sew, even though I havent done much of it lately. I have also recently found that I enjoy cooking including the entire process in which it takes to get the food from its frozen state to the point where you can put it on the table, however I dont like the mess "it" makes. I like looking up recipes and craft projects online. My mom introduced me to the website "Etsy" which is incredible if you enjoy artsy things. Coffee is wonderful, and I am wondering these days if it is because of the taste or the company you get to enjoy while you drink it, but more than likely it is a little bit of both. I also like watching reality TV, it's my only flaw (haha). There are about a million other things I like, but I won't post them all. I did create this blog to tell you about my life as an Army sidekick, but occasionally I want to tell you about life outside of it, so if one day I post a picture of a plate of food, a homemade apron, or a bracelet I attempted to make from polymer clay, you can resort back to this thread and know exactly why. Ciao for now.

Around the Base

This is a beautiful base, I love the huge trees

These are the actual OCS Barracks, pretty retro

Here are a couple of photo's from our Easter excursion on base

For my friend

So this is for my friend! I was at the base on Sunday and thought it would be nice to take a picture to show her where her husband was staying until he went over to the OCS barracks.

Happy Feaster!!!

The "Feaster" guys

Well, I call it Easter, however my husbands friend who is also in the Army corrected me and told me it was indeed "Feaster." After I thought about it, it made complete sense. How many of you had a huge feast yesterday? :) Although feasting is not the meaning of Easter, it is a great plus. This was the first Easter that I didn't have a "feast." My family is in Virginia and my husband and I are here, in Georgia. We actually went to Panera, weird right? It made for a very unique and memorable day though. After Panera, we went to "Feaster" at my husbands friends apartment. It was a beautiful day! The pollen was terrible and half of my face felt like a brick was sitting on it, but even with that it was a perfect Easter Sunday. The guys made BBQ chicken and had other food. Later we went to base and did our laundry and I looked around at all of the other soldiers who weren't able to spend Easter with their families either. It was so sad. But thats part of the sacrifice all these guys make for America, no "thank you" could suffice. When I sat in church yesterday it was great to be reminded of what Jesus did for us. I can't even imagine the pain Jesus went through for all of us and when I think about it I am overwhelmed with gratitude. As soldiers give their lives for our freedom, God gave His son and Jesus gave His life so all of us could be free of our sins. I hope you all had a great feast... I mean, Easter.

What I Forgot

I forgot to tell you why my husband took so long to go back in the house and get whatever it was he had forgot. When I got back home from dropping him off for boot camp, he had stuck post it notes with sweet and funny "I Love You's" all over the house. I found what I thought to be all of them that day on doors, mirrors, tables. However, as the days went on I found more in my drawers, my closets, and even my freezer! Needless to say, I lost it, yet again. Everything that happened the week he left seemed to make me cry, even if it wasn't something that sad! Oh, what a world :)

The tough days

Our wedding in July 07', 3 months before our Army journey began.

The best part about going through tough times in the military is knowing that you arent the only one going through them. The support that you find from other wives who are also going through the same thing is indescribable. Today, I was reading a friends blog and even though our circumstances arent exactly the same, I wanted to cry because it brought back so many memories of my the day my husband left for bootcamp. I remember the days before he left and the anticipation of it all. Like my friend, I just wanted him to leave so we could get it over with and so that I could stop worrying and being so anxious. It was a Wednesday morning and I took him to the recruiting station where he was supposed to meet to catch the bus. We walked out to the car and he said he forgot something, so he ran back up and finally came back down. I didnt really think anything of it at the time. We pulled out and headed to the recruiters. Those last few moments with him were terrible. It was like I just wanted to pull him back in the car and drive off, never to return, but I couldnt. I tried not to cry, but when I saw his eyes swell with tears, I couldn't fight it off any more. We said goodbye and I drove away. Thats when I completely and totally lost it. I cried harder than I had cried in a very long time. I drove directly to my pastors office and then made plans to meet my friend for coffee. After getting through the first few, very tough days, the rest I coped with. But days like those are not welcomed, and unfortunately there are many more ahead of us.

Barbie Dog

Here we are, just Barbie and muah!

So, the great thing about today is:

1. I get to return to Aerobics class after missing it 3 times in a row! My body can really tell the difference. Dont get me wrong, I DESPISE working out, but I have found that doing aerobics classes really motivates me, not to mention it gives me great nights of sleep!

2. My husband officially returns to me tonight! Oh what a world :) This is fantastic. I have never been more excited about cooking than I am now. After 5 months of not cooking (due to the fact there was no one there to cook for!) I can finally get back in the kitchen and this time we are trying some new dishes. I feel like we can be almost normal for a while (at least 6 weeks and thats a good amount of time to have hubby around according to us military wives)

3. My friend is dog sitting my 4.5 lb puppy for the night and day tomorrow so now she gets someone to play with while I am at work. It makes for a better day for me because I won't have to clean up after her or get up at 6:00 am to let her out! I guess that makes for a better day for her as well since she has someone to play with:)

Too much to say, not enough time

This is me and hubby on the night I gave him a surprise going away party before he left for boot camp!

There are so many new posts to make and not enough time! Who would have ever thought that I would be blogging? Okay, well I am thinking of all the funny things that have happened since I have joined the military (my husband does the training, but we are both in the army, haha). There are a lot of rules that you have to follow that you dont have to follow in the regular world. Like, where you are allowed to park without getting DH in trouble, or when not to speak your mind. I also have found that if I get a ticket for speeding, it will get my husband in trouble! Unreal, huh? But, you get used to all that. The best word to be as an army wife is FLEXIBLE!

Officer families. . .to the rescue!

When we came to Georgia, I had a very hard time the first week DH was gone. I didn't know anyone, didn't have a job and was bored out of my mind! I did end up finding a job pretty quickly, and with that job came a lot of time to spend on the computer (its a receptionist job!) So I was trying to find anyone else whose wife was also in Georgia. Thats when I cam across a wonderful site called officerfamilies.com. It has been my life boat! The ladies on there know just about everything you can know relating to the military. They have been there and done that, so who else better to answer your questions than someone who knows first hand what they're talking about? I can honestly say that the website was and still is a huge part of what has helped get me through the transistion of moving somewhere foreign (okay, Georgia might not be exactly foreign, but coming from a town where I couldnt go anywhere without seeing someone I knew, this was foreign!)

Moving, the NEW story of my life

Who ever thought that moving 2 people from Virginia to Georgia could be so time consuming, stressful, tireing, and most of all EXPENSIVE??? Not I. So here is the mushy truth, when my husband was in basic, we just missed each other too terribly much. I was not originally going to move to Georgia while he was in Officer school, but after being away from each other for most of October, all of November, and part of December, we made the mutual decision to pack up and move me down! We moved two days after Christmas, what were we thinking??? I really dont think we were thinking. Anyways, it cost us a lot of money, but it was worth it because I was able to see him every weekend except two for the entire training! Now we are off to Kentucky, Virginia, and maybe Kansas or Texas. Oh what a world! I guess I have a lot more packing in my future!!!

In the beginning. . .

This is my hubby and muah. Here is where it all began, it= army life. DH (lingo for dear hubby, something I have also learned as an Army wife) graduated basic training in December, 7 months after graduating college and 5 months after getting married, to muah. I spent 9 weeks, by myself, with little to no contact with DH, which was a huge deal at the time because we just finished college, just moved out on our own and just gotten married. There were so many "justs" that I "just" didn't want him to leave! But, he did. So here we are at graduation, a wonderful day because he got to come back home with me for Christmas!!!

So, what do you do? ... Well, my husbands in the Army

Is there anything anyone could have said that would suffice for a description of life as an Army wife? I think. . .not. Let me tell ya, there are some days that are killers! But for the most part, so far, things have been pretty "endurable." Here we are, my hubby and I, in the Army. When I think back to just last year at this time, I was a normal college student. How can two peoples lives become so drastically different in only a matter of months? I am devoting this blog to army wives all over, who have had it much worse than I have, but none the less, we are all in this together. I hope you will enjoy learning about my experiences as an Army wife, and that you can experience these days with me as I do all of "this" for the first time!