It's Friday!!! And even better - it's the Friday before a long three-day weekend. And even even better - Jake and I have got some really great things planned. Let's start with tonight. At 5pm, our best friends on base Ann & Derek are getting their new assignment. O.M.G. that's crazy! Derek is only three classes ahead of Jake and I remember thinking a year ago that when it was time for their assignment night it would mean that we were almost to ours. I'm so nervous and anxious for them but Derek has done extremely well in UPT so I have no doubt that they'll get one of their top choices (and what's awesome is that our top choices are the same so maybe if we both get what we want we can be stationed together). Poor Ann has been going crazy with the anticipation of finding out where they'll be moving and when. I think she's holding it together well considering... I know I'm going to be a wreck on the day of our assignment night (July 30th!!). My hope is that they get their top choice, which is C-17s to Travis, but they won't have to leave until after July. I know that's selfish but I just can't imagine being here without Ann. Anyways, I am so excited for them and can't wait for tonight!!
But the fun does not stop there, oh no no. Right after assignment night is over, Jake and I will be jumping into our pre-packed car and driving straight to Alabama to spend the weekend with our good friends Katie & Kevin (and of course their sweet baby Drew). Kevin used to be in Jake's UPT class but at Track Select back in February he got the helicopter training track which moved them to Ft. Rucker (about 5 hours away). They were some of our closest friends on base and its been months since we've seen eachother. Katie was so sweet to invite us to spend the weekend with them and of course we jumped at the chance!
So with all this fun stuff going on, I don't plan to be on my computer at all until Monday (I know, I know... thats crazy for me). I don't intend to blog or email or anything, but I figure everyone else will be out enjoying their holiday weekend too so I doubt anyone will notice my short leave of absence.
Memorial Day Weekend here I come! Now if only I could fast-forward through this long workday ahead of me...
Hoops
- - - - Tuesday, May 25, 2010 - - - -
As usual, I have experienced another area of life where the military is making me jump through hoops. In the past I've battled the hoops of the AF with everything from getting married to finishing school to stressing about how the heck I was ever going to have a career while moving around whenever they say "go". Thankfully, I have since found a career suitable to my life as a military spouse and could not be more thrilled about it. And since I do plan on making Lindsay Nicole Design Studio a long-time career, I've been careful to gather all the information I need to get this business started on the right foot, including web research, buying books, and racking the brains of successful small business owners; not to mention the time and money I've invested into my site and logo branding as well as enrolling in school to provide myself with the advanced technical training that I need. And while all that is great, there is a whole other legal side to starting a business that can be quite overwhelming - Business licensing, tax preparation, home occupation permit, DBA registration, getting a business bank account, etc. Yeah there's a TON of stuff that goes into doing things right.
I decided to just start at the top of the list and work down and that's when I ran into a majorly confusing issue courtesy of the Air Force... where do I even register this business? Okay follow me here... I am still technically a resident of California but have a current address in Mississippi. My business is online but technically run out of my home, which again is in Mississippi. I pay taxes in California, Jake pays taxes in Oregon (where he is still a resident), and we both pay a small amount of taxes in Mississippi. If I were to register the business in Mississippi, I would have to change all the information and repay all the licensing fees as soon as we move in a few months, and would have to continue to do that every single time we changed locations. No thank you. You'd think there would be tons of information about military spouses starting businesses all over the internet since that is such an ideal career for us, but there is really nothing.
Well being the "go-getter" that I am, I decided to make some calls and figure this thing out. After several phone calls to random government offices (and too many times repeating the spiel in the paragraph above) I finally met a really nice and helpful lady at the City Hall in my hometown in California. She listened to all my concerns and then we addressed them one at a time. She took the time to list out all my legal options and even put dollar amounts to each one. Finally we got it figured out... I will register my business in California and receive my business license and DBA through Stanislaus County (being that I pay taxes there, that is the easiest way to go tax-wise). I'm able to use my parents CA address for my business and home occupation permit, which is fine because I conduct business solely online, and will open a business bank account with that address, which I can also run and control online. With this setup, I will not have to change my information every time we move and can avoid a lot of unnecessary confusion and fees. Whew!
Like I said, hoops. Thankfully I'm just about done with that whole process and now feel like I finally have all my bases covered. Yes, Lindsay Nicole Design Studio is official and I can't wait to start designing full time come August :) And speaking of the studio, I have already filled over half my summer design slots so hurry and contact me if you still want to grab one!
I decided to just start at the top of the list and work down and that's when I ran into a majorly confusing issue courtesy of the Air Force... where do I even register this business? Okay follow me here... I am still technically a resident of California but have a current address in Mississippi. My business is online but technically run out of my home, which again is in Mississippi. I pay taxes in California, Jake pays taxes in Oregon (where he is still a resident), and we both pay a small amount of taxes in Mississippi. If I were to register the business in Mississippi, I would have to change all the information and repay all the licensing fees as soon as we move in a few months, and would have to continue to do that every single time we changed locations. No thank you. You'd think there would be tons of information about military spouses starting businesses all over the internet since that is such an ideal career for us, but there is really nothing.
Well being the "go-getter" that I am, I decided to make some calls and figure this thing out. After several phone calls to random government offices (and too many times repeating the spiel in the paragraph above) I finally met a really nice and helpful lady at the City Hall in my hometown in California. She listened to all my concerns and then we addressed them one at a time. She took the time to list out all my legal options and even put dollar amounts to each one. Finally we got it figured out... I will register my business in California and receive my business license and DBA through Stanislaus County (being that I pay taxes there, that is the easiest way to go tax-wise). I'm able to use my parents CA address for my business and home occupation permit, which is fine because I conduct business solely online, and will open a business bank account with that address, which I can also run and control online. With this setup, I will not have to change my information every time we move and can avoid a lot of unnecessary confusion and fees. Whew!
Like I said, hoops. Thankfully I'm just about done with that whole process and now feel like I finally have all my bases covered. Yes, Lindsay Nicole Design Studio is official and I can't wait to start designing full time come August :) And speaking of the studio, I have already filled over half my summer design slots so hurry and contact me if you still want to grab one!
Get Well Soon
- - - - Monday, May 24, 2010 - - - -
Poor Jake got hit with a bad cold yesterday :( Thankfully he had this great little nurse named Bailey to help him feel a little better... Oh yeah, definite photo op below. Jake rarely gets sick but when he does it seems to hit him hard. He was still feeling awful this morning but had a test to take and a flight to prepare for so there was no sick day in the cards for him. I'm so proud of how hard he's been working and how dedicated he is to doing well in this training program. Just think Jake, three more months and (fingers-crossed) we'll be out of Mississippi... Now if that won't make you feel better I'm not sure what will!
May Flowers
- - - - Sunday, May 23, 2010 - - - -
Well it was a great weekend here at the Pruitt house! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend as well. On Friday night we went to a party with Jake's classmates and as always had a blast. They are a very entertaining bunch! Yesterday Jake and I were super productive with housework and homework so we treated ourselves to a date night out to go see Iron Man 2... great movie! And today we went to a great service at church and then spent most of the day relaxing and finishing up some work. Nothing too special about our weekend but sometimes that's just what we need. But hey, we've got big plans for next weekend (Memorial Day)! More details on that later...
For now I thought I'd show you some of the lovely flower decor that has entered our house this month. First let me say that I LOVE flowers... I mean, who doesn't right? They just make everything pretty and happy and fresh. Since we will probably be moving at the end of the summer, I didn't want to invest a lot of time and money into planting a garden out front; instead I decided to just do pots this year. I won't show you all of them but here are my favorites. The first picture below is of my front porch pots. The one on the left is the pot of flowers I got with Allison a few weekends ago and the pretty little one on the right was a "get well" present from Ann from the day I got my braces on. I can't wait to see these beautiful flowers bloom and grow! The second picture is of my pretty new wreath for the front door and the third picture is of my begonias on the back porch, which are growing so fast that I think I'm going to need a bigger pot for them! I just can't wait until we have a little bit more permanent home so I can plant a real garden - Martha Stewart style :)
For now I thought I'd show you some of the lovely flower decor that has entered our house this month. First let me say that I LOVE flowers... I mean, who doesn't right? They just make everything pretty and happy and fresh. Since we will probably be moving at the end of the summer, I didn't want to invest a lot of time and money into planting a garden out front; instead I decided to just do pots this year. I won't show you all of them but here are my favorites. The first picture below is of my front porch pots. The one on the left is the pot of flowers I got with Allison a few weekends ago and the pretty little one on the right was a "get well" present from Ann from the day I got my braces on. I can't wait to see these beautiful flowers bloom and grow! The second picture is of my pretty new wreath for the front door and the third picture is of my begonias on the back porch, which are growing so fast that I think I'm going to need a bigger pot for them! I just can't wait until we have a little bit more permanent home so I can plant a real garden - Martha Stewart style :)
Photoshop Assignment 1
- - - - Friday, May 21, 2010 - - - -
As you know I have started design school as of May 1st. The first two weeks of school were actually just an orientation to the program so last week was my first actual class and assignment. With the certificate program I am in, I basically start a new course every six weeks and turn in one project a week. I plan to document a lot of the work I do in my program on this blog so I can look back and see how my skills have grown over time.
My first six-week course is Photoshop and I was really happy to start out with this because I already have a pretty basic understanding of it (so hopefully this will help me sort of ease into the challenge and stress of school). Our first project was pretty simple but I had a lot of fun doing it and definitely learned some new tricks and tips along the way. For this assignment, we had to take the yellow taxi cab you see below and alter it into a basic ad for an unknown client who wanted to see the cab in multiple colors. The details of the assignment were pretty specific and did not leave much room for creativity but I still tried to add in extra touches where I deemed appropriate. For the first part of the assignment, we practiced using different selection techniques to take the taxi cab out of the street scene, black out the windows and ads, and clean up any rough details (such as making both tires rotated the same way). Then we had to take the selection further by duplicating it and recoloring it several times. The final step was to place the cars in a "colorful cabs" layout with a basic gradient background.
Anyways, like I said, pretty basic but still it was lots of fun and I have to say that it's so amazing to be in a school program that has no tests or papers, just hands-on projects. The instructor seemed to like that I did a couple things in the assignment that were not required (such as adding the text, flipping the orientation of some of the cabs, adding sample text to the ad boxes, etc.) so I think that means its safe for me to go outside the bounds of the instructions and go farther with my creativity next time. This weekend I will be working on my next assignment which focuses on image retouching. I'm really excited to learn more about that because its something I can never quite figure out how to do right. Hopefully after this next lesson I will be a pro and will be fully equipped to erase the braces off myself in Jake's upcoming graduation photos :)
My first six-week course is Photoshop and I was really happy to start out with this because I already have a pretty basic understanding of it (so hopefully this will help me sort of ease into the challenge and stress of school). Our first project was pretty simple but I had a lot of fun doing it and definitely learned some new tricks and tips along the way. For this assignment, we had to take the yellow taxi cab you see below and alter it into a basic ad for an unknown client who wanted to see the cab in multiple colors. The details of the assignment were pretty specific and did not leave much room for creativity but I still tried to add in extra touches where I deemed appropriate. For the first part of the assignment, we practiced using different selection techniques to take the taxi cab out of the street scene, black out the windows and ads, and clean up any rough details (such as making both tires rotated the same way). Then we had to take the selection further by duplicating it and recoloring it several times. The final step was to place the cars in a "colorful cabs" layout with a basic gradient background.
Anyways, like I said, pretty basic but still it was lots of fun and I have to say that it's so amazing to be in a school program that has no tests or papers, just hands-on projects. The instructor seemed to like that I did a couple things in the assignment that were not required (such as adding the text, flipping the orientation of some of the cabs, adding sample text to the ad boxes, etc.) so I think that means its safe for me to go outside the bounds of the instructions and go farther with my creativity next time. This weekend I will be working on my next assignment which focuses on image retouching. I'm really excited to learn more about that because its something I can never quite figure out how to do right. Hopefully after this next lesson I will be a pro and will be fully equipped to erase the braces off myself in Jake's upcoming graduation photos :)
Air Force Thunderbirds
- - - - Thursday, May 20, 2010 - - - -
With all the excitement of launching my new site, I never got a chance to tell you all about the super fun weekend I had! Last Saturday and Sunday our base hosted an air show featuring the amazing Air Force Thunderbirds and on Friday night, we actually got to go to a party at the Club on base to welcome the Thunderbirds! It was really cool to meet the people who pilot the jets and do all those crazy flying maneuvers. On Saturday, Jake and I spent the whole day at the air show and had a blast! Tons of planes flew in (including Jake's top two choices for his assignment) and we got to walk around and check them out. I love looking at planes and always end up asking Jake a million questions about each of them. Planes just really fascinate me and it still blows my mind that Jake gets to fly one every single day. Maybe if we win the lottery one day I will take some flying lessons :) Later that afternoon, the Thunderbirds took to the sky and I stood there in awe watching them. There's something so inspiring and patriotic about seeing them fly. And it was really cool on Sunday watching them fly again right over our backyard.
Below are some pictures from the air show. I'm trying out a new javascript photo gallery for my blog posts. To see what I mean, click on one of the pictures below... Cool right?
Below are some pictures from the air show. I'm trying out a new javascript photo gallery for my blog posts. To see what I mean, click on one of the pictures below... Cool right?
Lindsay + Braces
- - - - Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - - - -
Welllll here's the new me! Braceface. But can I just say that I am so thankful to have gotten the porcelin kind? I mean I still have metal ones on my bottom teeth but having the top be almost clear makes a big difference. But don't be fooled by my smiles in the photos below... yesterday was a really tough day for me. It's amazing how getting braces on can give you a full blow to your self esteem just about instantly. It's not so much the look of them that bothers me but more so how I talk with them on. I just don't feel like me. They also had to put spacers on the back of my front teeth so that my top teeth don't sit on my bottom brackets and those are very strange; in fact, my back teeth don't even touch now, making it very hard to chew anything. And unfortunately the spacers have also given me a lisp although the dentist says that will go away once I get used to talking (hopefully soon!). My boss asked me if I wanted her to answer the phones at work today but I think forcing me to talk will be the best way to get used to having these things on my teeth. Especially when I am saying "QueSt Group, thiS iS LindSay"... notice how many times my lovely new lisp comes into play when saying that greeting! Oh yeah I'll get these things figured out in no time.
What's funny is that I went home and pulled out some pictures from when I was 14 and had braces and the similarity to how I look now (in the picture below) is uncanny. Seriously, I am 14 again... except for the fact that now I don't have acne and my clothes are definitely cuter. I know this will all be worth it in the long run but now it's not fun. I do have to say though that I have the best support system ever! Before even going into my appointment, everyone on facebook gave me lots of love and encouragement. If you were one of those people, thank you so much. It may seem silly but it really, really helped. And then when I got home yesterday, Allison brought me over a macaroni casserole, hot out of the oven, knowing that I wouldn't want to cook and would only want to eat something soft. It was sooo yummy and really made my day that she was so thoughtful. Thanks Allison! Then when Jake got home he was really great too. He assured me I was still beautiful and that they weren't actually so bad, and then for the rest of the night he just acted like nothing was different about me and we didn't talk about them anymore... I'm not sure how he knew but that was just what I needed him to do. And I came to the conclusion that if he doesn't think its a big deal, why should I? Now if I can just learn to talk right, I will be just fine. Thanks for listening to my braces vent... I'm sure there will be many more to come over the next year.
What's funny is that I went home and pulled out some pictures from when I was 14 and had braces and the similarity to how I look now (in the picture below) is uncanny. Seriously, I am 14 again... except for the fact that now I don't have acne and my clothes are definitely cuter. I know this will all be worth it in the long run but now it's not fun. I do have to say though that I have the best support system ever! Before even going into my appointment, everyone on facebook gave me lots of love and encouragement. If you were one of those people, thank you so much. It may seem silly but it really, really helped. And then when I got home yesterday, Allison brought me over a macaroni casserole, hot out of the oven, knowing that I wouldn't want to cook and would only want to eat something soft. It was sooo yummy and really made my day that she was so thoughtful. Thanks Allison! Then when Jake got home he was really great too. He assured me I was still beautiful and that they weren't actually so bad, and then for the rest of the night he just acted like nothing was different about me and we didn't talk about them anymore... I'm not sure how he knew but that was just what I needed him to do. And I came to the conclusion that if he doesn't think its a big deal, why should I? Now if I can just learn to talk right, I will be just fine. Thanks for listening to my braces vent... I'm sure there will be many more to come over the next year.
A Mississippi Weekend
- - - - Sunday, May 9, 2010 - - - -
Wow, sorry I went all MIA on my blog this weekend! I was surprisingly busy even though Jake was away. On Friday after work, I headed over to assignment night on base and then met up with Ann for a girls night. There was this "Ladies Night" thing on base so we went over to check it out and got some wonderful free pedicures... yes! Afterward we headed to town to grab some Mexican food at our favorite place and then went back to my house to watch a chick flick. If you remember, the book we read for our Book Club in March was My Sisters Keeper... well, we had never seen the movie so we wanted to watch it and see how similar it was to the book. I have to say that we were shocked at how the ending is completely different! Its funny how they will change an ending to make it more pleasing to a movie audience.
Yesterday, I actually didn't have any plans at all but then all this fun stuff kind of fell into place and it turned out to be an awesome day! I was lazy until about noon (love it!) and then Allison and I decided to walk the dogs to the park for some playtime. It was such a nice day out and she mentioned she was going to get some flowers and plants at the Caledonia nursery. I was thrilled when she asked me to come along because I've been meaning to get some flowers for the porch for a while now. Here's a picture of us on our way back, so happy about all the beautiful flowers we found. Mission accomplished!
Then we heard through the grapevine that there was this festival going on downtown in Columbus. Being that we had nothing better to do and did not really want to sit around the house by ourselves for the afternoon, we decided to go check it out! Hmmm it was definitely interesting! Mississippi is just a totally different world, but we really had fun just walking around and taking random pictures (and laughing at just about everything!).... Good times :)
While we were walking around the festival we both started to get hungry and so even though it was only like 4:30 we decided to go get some dinner. One of my favorite restaurants, Harveys, is downtown so we were able to just walk over and eat. I ordered the messiest, yummiest pasta with peppers and onions and diced veggies... mmmm something I will NOT be able to eat easily once the braces go on (which oh yeah, that's tomorrow... ugh). But yesterday was really fun and we had a good time exploring the crazy little southern town that we live in.
Now about Jake's weekend. As I mentioned, he was on his T-1 cross-country trip this weekend. I was really excited for him to get to go because of what happened with his T-6 cross-country trip. He was gone Friday to Sunday and went to Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Tampa, and a few other amazing places. He basically flew all day, every day this weekend and when he got home this afternoon he was exhausted! But no time to relax for Jake tonight... he has a test tomorrow and another flight on Tuesday so he's been studying basically since he got home. Poor guy :( I'm glad he had a fun time though this weekend, getting out of Columbus for a few days, flying with friends, and seeing new places. It's really tough work but its amazing to see how much he truly loves his job!
Anyways, another new week starts tomorrow and its sure to be a challenging one for me. Please pray for me that tomorrow goes well as I go to the orthodontic appointment I've been dreading. Having braces again will definitely be something to get used to... time to get going though and get it over with! On a different note, I have 4 new blog designs I've been meaning to post for you and will try to do that tomorrow. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!
Yesterday, I actually didn't have any plans at all but then all this fun stuff kind of fell into place and it turned out to be an awesome day! I was lazy until about noon (love it!) and then Allison and I decided to walk the dogs to the park for some playtime. It was such a nice day out and she mentioned she was going to get some flowers and plants at the Caledonia nursery. I was thrilled when she asked me to come along because I've been meaning to get some flowers for the porch for a while now. Here's a picture of us on our way back, so happy about all the beautiful flowers we found. Mission accomplished!
Then we heard through the grapevine that there was this festival going on downtown in Columbus. Being that we had nothing better to do and did not really want to sit around the house by ourselves for the afternoon, we decided to go check it out! Hmmm it was definitely interesting! Mississippi is just a totally different world, but we really had fun just walking around and taking random pictures (and laughing at just about everything!).... Good times :)
Crawfish everywhere... yuck...
Allison with the random boxes of junk for sale... You call this a festival Columbus?
On the porch of Tennessee Williams' first house! Very cool!
Walking through the Columbus riverwalk...
While we were walking around the festival we both started to get hungry and so even though it was only like 4:30 we decided to go get some dinner. One of my favorite restaurants, Harveys, is downtown so we were able to just walk over and eat. I ordered the messiest, yummiest pasta with peppers and onions and diced veggies... mmmm something I will NOT be able to eat easily once the braces go on (which oh yeah, that's tomorrow... ugh). But yesterday was really fun and we had a good time exploring the crazy little southern town that we live in.
Now about Jake's weekend. As I mentioned, he was on his T-1 cross-country trip this weekend. I was really excited for him to get to go because of what happened with his T-6 cross-country trip. He was gone Friday to Sunday and went to Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Tampa, and a few other amazing places. He basically flew all day, every day this weekend and when he got home this afternoon he was exhausted! But no time to relax for Jake tonight... he has a test tomorrow and another flight on Tuesday so he's been studying basically since he got home. Poor guy :( I'm glad he had a fun time though this weekend, getting out of Columbus for a few days, flying with friends, and seeing new places. It's really tough work but its amazing to see how much he truly loves his job!
Anyways, another new week starts tomorrow and its sure to be a challenging one for me. Please pray for me that tomorrow goes well as I go to the orthodontic appointment I've been dreading. Having braces again will definitely be something to get used to... time to get going though and get it over with! On a different note, I have 4 new blog designs I've been meaning to post for you and will try to do that tomorrow. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!
Military Spouse Appreciation Day
- - - - Friday, May 7, 2010 - - - -
In honor of this day I thought I would repost the military wife poem that I posted last fall. The truth of this poem gets me every time. One thing's for sure, we military spouses are a breed of our own!
The Military Wife
Lots of moving...
Moving...
Moving...
Moving far from home...
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house; Moving curtains that won't fit; Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends;
Moving toward new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.
Often waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.
Waiting for him to come home,
For dinner...AGAIN!
They call her 'Military Dependent', but she knows better:
She is fiercely In-Dependent.
She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet...
She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes;
Sell a house;
Buy a car;
Or set up a move...
.....all with ONE Power of Attorney.
She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
She reinvents her career with every PCS; Locates a house in the desert, The Arctic, Or the deep south.
And learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.
Military Wives are somewhat hasty...
They leap into:
Decorating,
Leadership,
Volunteering,
Career alternatives,
Churches,
And friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.
Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:
They connect over coffee,
Rely on the spouse network,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
Record addresses in pencil...
Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands; his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a 'JOB'
He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...
He's on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long- distance link to keep them informed; the glue that holds them together.
A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.
Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has a HEART and a love for her husband,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs to deploy,
Who salutes the flag,
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband, She will remain his military wife.
And would have it no other way.
--Author Unknown
The Military Wife
Lots of moving...
Moving...
Moving...
Moving far from home...
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house; Moving curtains that won't fit; Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends;
Moving toward new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.
Often waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.
Waiting for him to come home,
For dinner...AGAIN!
They call her 'Military Dependent', but she knows better:
She is fiercely In-Dependent.
She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet...
She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes;
Sell a house;
Buy a car;
Or set up a move...
.....all with ONE Power of Attorney.
She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
She reinvents her career with every PCS; Locates a house in the desert, The Arctic, Or the deep south.
And learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.
Military Wives are somewhat hasty...
They leap into:
Decorating,
Leadership,
Volunteering,
Career alternatives,
Churches,
And friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.
Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:
They connect over coffee,
Rely on the spouse network,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
Record addresses in pencil...
Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands; his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a 'JOB'
He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...
He's on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long- distance link to keep them informed; the glue that holds them together.
A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.
Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has a HEART and a love for her husband,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs to deploy,
Who salutes the flag,
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband, She will remain his military wife.
And would have it no other way.
--Author Unknown
Its a miracle!
Badger has finally learned to walk on a leash without pulling! I know this seems like a funny reason for a post but most of you don't understand the trouble he has been giving me. He loves going on walks but seriously charges the whole way like a little bull. When he started to approach 60 lbs, he was literally dragging me as we walked anywhere, choking himself the whole way. Ooo I knew I was in trouble! I tried to work with him one on one and train him the same way I did Bailey but it did not work even in the slightest. That's when my wonderful neighbor Molly mentioned to me a little training tool called a "Gentle Leader". If you have a "puller" puppy like I do, listen up because this was a lifesaver for me. The gentle leader (as Badger is proudly modeling in the pictures below) is just a small harness that goes over their nose and around their neck. I know it looks similar to a mussel but its really not - With it on, Badger can still freely open his mouth and pick up sticks while we walk. Anyways, when he starts to pull even a little bit, the harness pulls his head back and while it doesn't hurt him at all it seriously drives him nuts. At first he started shaking his head trying to get it off and pawing at his face, but after a while he realized that if he just stopped pulling he would be fine. Just one block with the Gentle Leader on and Badge was walking like a champ. Now I'm able to walk both dogs at the same time, fully in control of the situation, even with a little slack in the leash... it's a miracle!!
PS... This weekend is Jake's big cross-country trip in the T-1. I'll write a post on that later today with details!
PS... This weekend is Jake's big cross-country trip in the T-1. I'll write a post on that later today with details!
Its booked!!!
- - - - Tuesday, May 4, 2010 - - - -
It's officially official people... I'm taking a vacation to California at the end of June!! My work schedule has been cleared, reservations have been made, and I'm going home to see all my family and friends in just a few short weeks. My sister and her boyfriend Stephen are even flying down from Seattle just to see me! Oh my goodness, I'm ecstatic right now :)
Back to school shopping.
During my online shopping venture, I also started to research for a new computer (yay!). Right now, I'm actually using Jake's MacBook for all my designing and schoolwork (my ancient little iBook finally hit the dust). For now, this is working out fine but I really do need my own computer considering how much time I spend on there. Being that we are Apple people (not to mention the fact that we have majorly invested in Apple stock...), I've now got my eye on the brand new MacBook Pro. Jake's on board with this decision but wants to wait until the end of the summer to purchase because there are typically back to school specials (usually Apple will bundle in some free products). I'm just so excited!
Anyways, my first class in my design program is Photoshop and it started on Saturday. I'm really thankful that this is my first class because I'm already very familiar with Photoshop and I think it will help ease me slowly back into the challenge of school. I plan to share on my blog my portfolio of design work as I go through this program and I hope you all will cheer me on in my schoolwork as I am stretched as a designer and pushed out of my comfort zone. School has begun... no going back now!
Always thankful for the weekend.
- - - - Sunday, May 2, 2010 - - - -
Well it was another busy and fun weekend here in Mississippi! I had a really good time at the grad meeting and at Kristi's baby shower, and Jake and I had a blast last night going out to celebrate Ann's graduation with her masters. Her family was in town so we all went out to dinner and then went back to her house for dessert and drinks. I am just so thankful to have made a friend like Ann here. We have so much fun together! I know she will be one of my lifelong friends and I really hope we can get stationed near eachother at our next assignments. Her husband's assignment night is in just 3 weeks so unfortunately we might have to say goodbye pretty soon :( Anyways, here is a picture of us from yesterday. Congrats again Ann!!
Tonight we are in the midst of more severe storms and tornado warnings... not fun! I absolutely hate these southern storms. I've been trying to stay busy doing stuff around the house and not pay attention to the nasty weather outside. I've actually been very productive today being that our cable has been knocked out... haha! I cleaned the house top to bottom and then tethered myself to the computer for hours to get work done. I have officially started school (more on that tomorrow...) and have booked blog designs through the beginning of June so all that is keeping me really busy. Not to mention I'm still working on my new business and getting ready to launch that hopefully within the next week or two. Oh and I'm also in the midst of planning a trip to California for a week in June to see everyone... verrrry excited for that! Now, I'm gearing up for another busy week and feeling thankful for a fun and productive weekend.
Tonight we are in the midst of more severe storms and tornado warnings... not fun! I absolutely hate these southern storms. I've been trying to stay busy doing stuff around the house and not pay attention to the nasty weather outside. I've actually been very productive today being that our cable has been knocked out... haha! I cleaned the house top to bottom and then tethered myself to the computer for hours to get work done. I have officially started school (more on that tomorrow...) and have booked blog designs through the beginning of June so all that is keeping me really busy. Not to mention I'm still working on my new business and getting ready to launch that hopefully within the next week or two. Oh and I'm also in the midst of planning a trip to California for a week in June to see everyone... verrrry excited for that! Now, I'm gearing up for another busy week and feeling thankful for a fun and productive weekend.
