Veteran's Day

I know as a Military Spouse Blogger this is one of the big days people blog about... but I don't think I can say any more this year than I have in previous years. Thank you to my husband for being willing to do what you do. Thank you to my grandparents, uncles, inlaws, friends... all of you amazing men and women who do this often thankless job because your heart motivated you to do so. I cannot tell you how many times my husband has gotten flustered by someone thanking him for his service, but I know it touches him deeply when someone does.




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So thank you to all the Veterans who have served this great nation.

Thank you.

Mother's Day

 

My Mom before I existed, about the same age I am now, we look so much alike!

My mom is an amazing woman. I am so thankful I have the relationship I do with her. I can call her and talk to her about anything. She gives the best advice and is easily considered my best friend. My teenage years had some rocky moments but we survived stronger than I ever expected. For all the sacrifices, the sleepless nights, the heartache, the laughter, the tears, the tantrums, the fights, the phone calls, the holidays, the birthdays, the heart to hearts..... thank you. For putting up with me, loving me, and being the best mom in the world.

Stefan's JROTC Ball March 2014



And you had a pretty great teacher too. Babci, I am so blessed to still have a grandmother at my age and I am thankful for that every day. I love our weekly check ins via the phone and I am always so happy to have the chance to visit you and Poppy. Thank you for helping raise me into the woman I am today and for doing such an awesome job with my mom too. Also my godmother, my aunt Eileen, even though she is far away (California) I am glad to have the relationship we do, she reminds me so much of my mom too!

Thanksgiving 2012

I also have a wonderful mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law, Skeetsie. Thank you for welcoming me into your family and being such a big part of our lives.

 

I am very blessed indeed.

 





Veterans Day

Thank you to my husband who has served his country and is currently serving in Afghanistan.

Thank you to my grandfather who served in the Pacific Campaign of WW2.

Thank you to my grandfather who served in Japan during the Korean War.

Thank you to my uncle who served in the Navy.

Thank you to Ryan's grandfather who served in the Air Force.

Thank you to Ryan's uncle who served in Desert Storm.

Thank you to all Veterans. Thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your amazing and upstanding moral character. Whether you served one term or five, whether you deployed or served stateside, whether you were active duty or reservist.... thank you thank you thank you. We could not live the lives we do without your sacrifice.

Thank you.

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Also, my husband and I were selected to be finalists in the Helzberg Diamond We Just Click Photo Contest. If you could vote for us I would really appreciate it! You can vote once per day here.

Better

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 

- Isaiah 41:10

Things are better. My family had not one but two miracles this weekend. At least in my opinion. I won't share too much for the sake of privacy but one diagnosis for my aunt went from the worst possible to a fighting chance and the other for my poppy is amazing. My poppy, my beloved poppy, was not doing well. Yesterday he had a pacemaker put in and he is doing a thousand percent better. All the symptoms he's had for months are fixed from this miracle machine. It's incredible. So please keep my family in your prayers a little longer. We aren't out of the woods yet but we are getting closer to the other side. With my medicine my back has been feeling more manageable too, I can only hope it continues to get better. 

All last week my mom was visiting. It was a blessing. Friday we drove down to my mother in law's house and spent the night all together. I loved spending time with them both. My dad and brother came yesterday and we had dinner together before my family went home. I'm still at my mother in law's until tomorrow and I have loved my time with my family this week. It made things much more bearable. Thank you all. 

I am hopeful again. I'm thanking God for helping my family. I will continue to pray and say thank you. 

Thank you thank you thank you. 

 

When it Rains

It pours.

And I don't just mean the weather. 

I know I haven't blogged a lot lately. I'm working again with hopefully back pay coming later, but no paycheck in sight. I pulled my back out and may have a herniated disc but won't know for weeks. Lots of pain meds. Luckily my mom is here this week. 

For other reasons too. We have a lot going on in my mom's family right now. I don't want to go into detail yet even though some if you know. Thank you for all the kind words you have sent my way. 

Please pray for my family. We desperately need it right now. It feels worse without Ryan here to lean on but I know he's sending lots of love across the world to me. So please, send prayers, karma, good thoughts or whatever you believe. We need it. 

Thank you all so much. 

 

How the Birthday Went

Nothing like a birthday to brighten your spirits! I've hit the point in this deployment where I'm pretty stressed and emotional and it was nice to get some extra love. My Facebook blew up, phone calls and texts came in from friends and family, and the best husband ever FaceTimed me from the desert. 

I did have work but my coworkers were terrific both Sunday and today. My one coworker gave me a huge Hershey bar and my other gave me a card catalogue box with peanut butter m&ms and soaps from the farmers market. Awesome!

My husband emailed me an amazingly sweet poem and pictures of the present he got for me and plans to give me when he gets home...

Gorgeous! When we were dating and he was in Iraq he got me two painted wooden jewelry boxes and I love that he kept that trend. He also one upped himself...

He shaved his mustache!!!! Now that's love ;)

My parents sent me a box of goodies... A bone for the Dup, pop tarts and a carrier for them as they are my breakfast of choice as well as moonshine peaches, a charm necklace and other odds and ends. 

Plus I woke up to this cute picture from Dippy!

After work I met some of my friends to watch the Giants game. I was a tad peeved they lost (6 TOs. Seriously!?) but it was a great day. 

Thank you all for the birthday wishes, on my last entry, on Facebook and every other way. Here's to hoping this is a great year!

 

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

To all the wonderful Military Spouses out there, I just wanted to say thank you. To my blogging friends, thank you for getting me through some of my lowest lows and celebrating my highest highs. To my real life military spouse friends, thanks for the drinks, the movie nights and the general gripe sessions you've endured at my side. I never realized when I met my husband that being a "military spouse" would become a part of my identity, but it has. Now, don't get me wrong, I take no credit for anything my husband does... he does his job and he does it damn well. I am proud of him and his accomplishments... and that is what they are. His. But I am proud to be on this journey with him.

Sometimes that means spending a holiday or a birthday or anniversary alone. Sometimes that means going to Walmart at midnight to get baby wipes so he can "shower" in the field. Sometimes it means living 3,000 miles apart for nine months while he goes to school and you hold down your "good" job and save money to buy your first house. Sometimes it means a tearful goodbye knowing he is deploying for the next 6-8 months. But it also means cherishing every moment we have. It means enjoying each holiday, from Thanksgiving to Saint Patrick's Day, in case you are apart next year. It means long, bone crunching hugs and sweet kisses that have to either last awhile or make up for lost time. It means phone calls long into the night ignoring the fact that you have work in four hours. It means your heart skips a beat when you unexpectedly get a text message or an email. It means having so many first kisses that you lose count.

There is something to be said for being a military spouse. They are some of the strongest, kindest and most adaptable people I have ever had the honor of knowing. Near and far I am proud to consider them my friends. Thank you. Thank you for being there for me when I needed you, for advice when I was lost, and for just listening when it was necessary. I appreciate every one I have met and I know these relationships will last a long time. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you

I just want to personally thank all of you for your support the past few days. All of the comments, both here and on facebook, mean the world to myself and my family. The picture has FINALLY been deleted. I know 15,000 people have seen it, 2,000 people have commented and over 7,000 have shared it but at least the original source is gone. The amount of people who showed their support truly overwhelms me. Once I saw it was gone I literally dissolved into tears at work. My coworker and manager were so kind and let me take a moment to collect myself and also showed unending support.

I created a second facebook account and comment on the picture my legal copyright to the photo. I emailed it originally and it was ignored but the comment on the picture itself must have finally reached home. That photo is legally MINE and copyrighted to this blog. Please bloggers, copyright and protect yourselves and your families. I don't have the time to go back and watermark four years of photos on this blog but from here on in I believe I will start to do so.

My husband was also wonderful in all of this. He is active duty and even though I am just his wife he pulled support from so many amazing friends and coworkers that our gratitude cannot even be expressed in words. Thank you Ryan for dealing with me when I was sobbing in the bathroom at 3 in the morning. You are truly a remarkable man.

My grandfather honorably served his country. He has been proudly married for 65 years, has six children, fifteen grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Being tied to an old, dirty joke is not something he needs to be recognized for. His service, his morals, and the amazing person he is are what should be recognized.

Again, thank you all for your support. It truly means the world to me.



PS - I will catch up in the Doctor Who March Madness link up in the next few days. As much as I love the Doctor this has definitely taken presidence and I will catch up soon.

Memorial Day 2012

Today, while you are at the beach or the bar-b-que, sitting with family and friends, take a moment to reflect on those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Those who have died serving their country, in the line of duty, from the effects of war, or veterans past. While it is important to thank those who served (everyday) today is about remembering those who are no longer with us. Last year Ryan was in South Carolina for the weekend and I was in Virginia. I went over to Arlington Cemetary to walk around and give my thanks. Every single grave has a flag, similar to the wreaths at Christmas, but they also give roses. If you go into the visitor's center they have a plethora of red roses that they ask you take and put on a grave as you walk through.

 Seeing those flags and the beautiful red roses made me cry. I sat under a tree for awhile and prayed, offering up whatever one person can, hoping it reached someone who could hear it.

Please remember those men and women today. Although I am in North Carolina this year and not able to go to Arlington, my thoughts have drifted there all day. There are some remarkable people in this world, in this country, that I just cannot thank enough. To the widows and orphans and parents and family and friends left behind, I thank you too. You too have made a greater sacrifice.

Thank you.

Don't forget!

My give away ends in just seven hours! Did you enter? Good luck!

And thank you all for the very kind comments on my last post. It really helped and made me thankful for what a wonderful community this is. I appreciate it very much.

Not much to write today... except the husband has us starting a working out/eating healthy plan. It has only been a day and I am sore and dying for a brownie. Not a good sign!!!

eShakti Review

Recently I was contacted by an amazing site for a blog review and I eagerly jumped at the chance! eShakti is a unique women’s apparel store online that allows custom changes in the style of the garment – sleeve, neckline, length can all be changed by the customer to her preference.



You can order clothing in the standard S, M, L, XL etc (0-26W is their selection) or you can customize the garments to fit your shape! As someone who has always been curvy/top heavy I find it immensely difficult to find clothes that fit both my chest and my waist, if I fit my chest it is too big on my waist and if it fits my waist that thing will not zip all the way up! So this site is a godsend for those of us who have more tempermental body types.



All clothes, including the custom designs, are shipped within three days to the US and Canada. These clothes aren't the average dresses in your local stores either. They have an array of unique designs that stand out thanks to their print, embroidery and fabric texturing choices.



Everything is always in stock. Every garment, every size, every color, every time.



Shakti means power in Sanskrit. eShakti therefore means the power of the Net. They believe the internet empowers customers and helps companies be customer-centered. Pretty awesome right?



My dress is super soft and comfortable. It is fit to me. I picked that I wanted the side zipper and knee length. I picked my color and my size to my body measurments. I can wear it as is or throw on a fun belt or even a blazer to wear it all to work.



It was a little chilly last night but I had fun taking pictures in my new dress! Thank you eShakti! I am not much of a model (and thanks to work only photographing at night makes me look extra white!) but I higly recommend this site to all of my readers. Especially since you receive 50% off a gift cards and 60% off your purchases until Christmas Day AND free shipping! Go check them out (:



Note: I was given a garment of my choice from the site for my review of the product. All opinions are strictly my own and I was not offered monetary compensation for this review. Thank you eShakti for contacting me for this and to Carrie for being my photographer.

Wreath Laying at Arlington Cemetary

Most of you who know me know I am not in any way, shape or form a morning person. But when my neighbor Carrie sent me the link to Wreaths Across America and asked me if I wanted to do wreath laying at Arlington Cemetary I did not hesitate for a second when I agreed. Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman, Morrill Worcester, in 1992. Every year huge tractor trailers filled with boxes and boxes of fresh, beautiful wreaths arrive to Arlington and volunteers lay them on every grave. Wreaths Across America now lays wreaths at cemetaries across the country to honor veterans and those who have served. Please feel free to look at their website to learn more!



Lots of people were there!

Saturday Carrie and I got up early, (just like a work day!) and made our way to the metro. We are only a few stops from Arlington, but the train got packed fast! Girl scout troops, boyscout troops, college kids, veterans... tons of people! We almost could not get onto the metro platform since it was so packed. And I am glad we took the metro, because traffic was waaaaay backed up.



Isn't that great thought? SO many people coming to volunteer and say thank you. Amazing.



Helicopters did fly bys all morning in between the various ceremonies



ROTCs and all sorts of members of the armed services came in uniform.

We made our way into the cemetary and saw most people were going up the main hill towards the center, so we instead took a quick left and walked towards the side of the cemetary I have not been to before. On one of the first roads we saw our first truck, but it looked pretty busy so we kept walking to the next one.



Approaching the truck.



Once you made it to the truck volunteers were emptying the boxes of wreaths. You basically got to an open box, grabbed one or more, and then went on your way. Some trucks got a little crowded, but mostly everyone was just trying to help where they could. Some boyscout leaders would just grab a box and take it to their kids instead of having them go into the masses, which I thought was smart! The first time we each only took one wreath, the other times we took about three each.



People then got down to work, laying wreaths. They asked if the headstone had a Star of David on it that you skip it (I heard that after I laid one on one), but I don't think those people would have been insulted! I wish I had some rocks I could have put on top of them or something, I felt bad just skipping those.



My first wreath



Carrie's first wreath



My first wreath was laid at a Marine's grave from WW2. Purple heart, Silver Star. They ask for each wreath you lay that you take a moment, read the headstone, and say thank you. Some of these graves have been unvisited for years, and this is a moment for them to be honored and showed respect.



Carrie laying her first wreath. Later on we actually found David McCampbell, a medal of honor winner. I was walking by and I saw that on his headstone and I just stopped. It seems surprising, the medal of honor winners have the same headstone and are in the same place as anyone else. I thought perhaps they'd have a special section, or a larger marker, but they are just mixed in. I hope I don't sound disrespectful or weird saying that, but it was very humbling to walk by and see that. Carrie laid a wreath on his grave.



Wreaths stretched as far as the eye could see.



I'm not going to lie, I got quite choked up.



Especially when I saw headstones for men (and women) who died in Iraq or Afghanistan. Those were a lot harder for me to see. Men and women who died fighting where my husband fought. Beloved sons and fathers and husbands and wives and daughters and mothers. Seeing that made be go from beyond choked up to actually having tears fall.



Those in uniform were also very emotional to watch. They all saluted and laid their wreaths with such ceremony. Many people just stopped and watched them do row by row.



People were all across the cemetary anywhere you looked, paying respects, heads bowed and hands brushing marble in whispers of thanks.



Patriotism was definitely high. Motorcycles and cars with flags were a common sight. Obviously cars outnumbered parking spaces so people were actually able to drive into the cemetary and park on the sides of the roads.



We were so far down we were actually pretty close to the Air Force Memorial. As we were finishing up in all our sections we got a text from a friend of Carrie's. His father was a Marine who died in a car accident in 2003, and he wanted us to go over and see if he had a wreath yet.



When Carrie laid the wreath on his grave and said her thanks I definitely lost it. Tears and all flowing down my face. We both were definitely wrecks at that point but so so honored for what we had just done.


We decided not to go to another section of the cemetary as it was pretty full at that point. People were coming and going constantly so we decided to skip the metro in Arlington and cross the bridge and walk up the mall towards DC and the yellow line to get home. Six miles, some cold faces and a potbelly sandwich later we made it to the metro to get home. By noon I was parking at home and getting my slightly frozen self into the shower to defrost. Then I took a two hour nap. Maybe three hours.

Overall it was a beautiful, emotional day and I am so honored I was able to be apart of it. Thank you to all those who organized, those who attended, and to Carrie for getting this girl up before 7:30 on a Saturday morning.