The Air Force Wife: June 2012

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Something In The Water?

What has gotten into all of the military spouse groups lately? I mean really! I'm more than tempted to just up and delete my Twitter these days. Among the bickering, the pointless drama, and the oh so evident (and sad) political misinformation, I sometimes find myself wondering if I am in some alternate universe version of Gangland featuring Obama, Romney, and the psycho military spouses. Is it really your place to be calling out other military significant others and telling them that they aren't fit to be Tweeting about certain things because their husband has never been deployed? Do you think you are so much better than the rest of us that you can band together with other military spouses and, no kidding, cyber bully other spouses? Really, guys? High school called...they want their drama back.

The whole beauty of social media is that it enables us to connect with spouses that we would have never had the opportunity to meet otherwise. It is not to brag about how great of a military wife you are. It is not to "promote" your husband. It is not to make other spouses feel inferior to yourself. It is for encouraging, uplifting, banding together, and becoming a closer community! Let's get real here!

In other news, Instagram AND Pinterest were down this morning and I am shocked to announce that the world is still spinning 'round. I swear there must be something in the water...either that or I'm losing it.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Debby's Kicking My Butt

For those of you who aren't already aware, whether you are a hermit, news boycotter, or just flat out don't give a deuce about the news or weather, let me introduce you to the newest cause of stress in my life: tropical storm Debby. She's a real witch, let me tell you. Don't get all worried sick or anything (I've done enough worrying for us all, trust me!) - it's not really what you think. When anyone mentions the word "hurricane", my knee-jerk association of the wretched word is with the worst of the worst of hurricanes: Katrina. And I get scared out of my mind (or what's left of it from all of the worrying). After all, it seems like the only hurricanes we are all really informed about are the queen bees. The big kahunas. The devastation ripples across our entire country as our hearts ache for the effected people. We as a nation all feel the hurt and band together to try to piece these people's lives back together. So as you can probably predict, to say that I'm freaking out would be an understatement.

Tropical storm, soon to be hurricane, Debby has been making her presence known in Florida for the past couple of days. I haven't seen the sun all weekend and probably won't for another week or so...it's so depressing! It's crazy to me how these tropical storms work, though. They start out as a little speck, swirling and cycling their way around way out in the ocean, and they somehow begin to grow and make their way towards land, all the while growing stronger and larger. I've been told that a category 1 hurricane isn't too much to worry about: 60-80 mph wind gusts, lots of rain (and the resulting flooding). But still - it's a freaking hurricane. I'm going to be scared. And if the hurricane element isn't enough to really get my heart rate up and tummy turning, there is all sorts of funk going on across the nation, resulting in a few strange air currents contributing to our chaos by putting the treat of tornadoes on our plate. Awesome! If I haven't already made it crystal clear that tornadoes are by far my numero UNO fear, I will do my best to try to demonstrate how terrified I am of these suckers (ha...;-P). Beyond. They pretty much just appear with little to no warning or time to prepare yourselves. They destroy everything in their paths - all of your memorabilia, your home, your neighbor's home, your family member's homes, and they take lives. Needless to conclude so obviously, I have been on pins and needles this entire weekend.

We took a trip to the beaches south of us yesterday to check out the huge waves and found that a lot of other people had the same idea. There were tons of surfers there, over joyed to finally have some decent waves. In a way, I was kind of excited too. I'm not sure that "excited" was the best word to describe what I was feeling, but I was more the less overtaken with the utter awe of the storm. We really aren't in control. No matter how hard we try to squeeze life into our perfectly planned schedules, ultimately it's out of our hands. Everything is out of our hands. It's pretty humbling to watch this storm cycling it's way towards Florida. It's even more humbling to know that there is nothing we can do about it. Sure, you can move your car into the garage. You can bring your lawn decorations inside. You can have your flashlight and canned food ready for a power outage. But at the end of the day, it's not going to make a hill of beans difference: we are not in control.

It may seem to you as though I'm seeing the bright side of this storm, but I can promise you I'm really not. I'm more the less just trying to calm my nerves by visualizing the pin-head sized light at the end of the tunnel. It's not working very well. If you think of it at all during your weekend and into the upcoming week, please pray for us down here in Florida.

Anybody else facing the wrath of hurricane Debby this gloomy weekend? What are your feelings/are you preparing for it in any way?

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Stolen Summer To-Do's

Rather ironic that my previous post (that went live like literally 5 minutes ago) was about how uninspired/unmotivated I was regarding ~~blogging, school, being social, life~~ everything and now I'm already here pecking away at my laptop keyboard, forming a new post. And a great post at that, thanks to Miss Amanda over at Somewhere Over The Camo. What better way to get myself motivated than with a to-do list? I mean really? There are few feelings better than the one you get after dramatically crossing a "do" off of your to-do list. Accomplishment. Pride. Satisfaction. Motivation. Something I need a lot of right now. So, this is me letting all of you know what I plan on accomplishing over the next few months. Keep me accountable! :)

1. Finish my course before my projected completion date in October. Will this mean being shut up in the house for many long, boring hours at a time for a matter of months? Most likely. But it needs to be done. Strangely enough, I am just itching to get a job!

2. Unpack all of our boxes in the new house within the first week of being there. Yay for actually having storage room and not having to use a spare bedroom as a dumping ground!

3. Meet up with some spouses in my area. I have only met one so far...I'm hoping to get to know some more of these lovely ladies soon!

4. Land a job. Kinda goes hand in hand with number 1. (and is rather contingent upon the completion of number 1. as well), but it is definitely something that I need to get done.

5. Find a lady friend Doberman for Diezel. I am already in love with the idea of getting a female doby of our own and having puppies!

6. Find a milspouse pen pal to encourage. Most definitely stole this from Amanda, but what a fun idea. Who doesn't love sending and receiving snail mail?

7. Have a house guest at our new home. Okay, you caught me: I am beyond antsy to show off our new home!

8. Get another tattoo. I have been playing around with a few ideas lately and, although I am not 100% sure of what I want, I do know where I want it to be and I do know that I definitely want one!

9. Have a game plan for my family coming to visit. So far, we are thinking Christmas, but nothing is set in stone. I am most definitely the planning type. Something about having plans that are set in stone makes me happy. And relieved.

10. Get a blog hop started up for the Military Spouse Bloggers Network. I love having the links to everyone's blogs all in one place, but I feel like we should do something to bring us closer and really give us that community feeling. Ideas, anyone?

11. Cherish each moment. Fully embrace life and live it to the fullest. Work on bettering my relationship with Hubby each day. Never stop falling more and more in love with him every day.

What are your goals for the summer? What things have you already accomplished?

Wanted: Motivation

I was searching for a legit motivational picture to paste somewhere in this post, but what I found was much better. You see, lately my motivation level to do really anything has gone from zero to negative five billion. No joke. I don't feel like doing anything. I feel like all of my posts are boring and uninteresting, I don't feel inspired to Tweet anymore, and worst of all, I haven't done any school work in weeks. I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things once our house is finished (which should be in a matter of a few weeks! Eeeeek!) So, rather than rambling and ranting, I decided I would devote this post to a bunch of "motivational"/funny pictures - yay lolcatz! (Can you tell I am missing my Grizzy Bear?) Check out these gems!

Soooo now that I've probably lost all of my readers do to lame-o lolcatz pictures, it's probably a good time to end this post ;-P Anybody else like lolcatz? I hope??

Friday, June 8, 2012

Today My Heart Is Sad :(

Before proceeding on to reading the remainder of this post, let me warn you that it may put you under the impression that I am a crazy, psychotic cat lady...this very well may be true. But if this is something you have no interest in/no sympathy for, this post ends here for you. :).

For those of you who have a huge heart for animals, critters of your own, or have become unexpectedly enamored with a pet...hopefully you guys can catch the drift I'm trying to send with this post. Grizzly has been a part of Hubby and I's life since before we were engaged. We are talkin' way back in the day (as in 2010). Hubs and I lived in an apartment at the time, and after adopting a dog (who we were unable to keep), I was heart broken. We had already tried out a kitten once and, long story short, this psycho kitty ended up on Craigslist during her fist week in our home. She. Was. Psychotic. Or inbred. Or both. Don't know. Needless to say, I was not interested in getting another cat. I'd never been a fan of cats anyway, coming from a home where Mom is allergic and Dad used to find all sorts of fun ways to torture them out on the farm when he was growing up. My parent's motto in regards to cats has always been:

The best cat is a dead cat.

And I couldn't help but agree. I'd never met a cat that I really liked. Sure, I didn't mind them, but I'd never want one to be living in my home. Maybe it was the fear of them always weaving in and out between my legs conveniently at the top of a stair case, leading to my unforeseen demise. Maybe it was because I was so used to dogs...pets that actually want to please you and want to be around you. I just didn't like cats.

But Hubby insisted that we get a kitten. It wasn't until later that I found out that this was all part of Hubby's grand plan to help lift my spirits and cheer me up. I can still remember when we went and picked him up. Hubs had been scouring the online classifieds for kitten ads all evening, when finally he made a call on his cell phone. Next thing I knew, we were on our way to "just look" at the kittens. I hoisted myself up into his truck (trying not to rip my pants since it was such a long ways off the ground...and it wouldn't have been the first time I heard that humiliating riiiiiiiipppp!), and off we were. It was cold out and beginning to flurry. We drove for what seemed like forever before we finally arrived at the oddly arranged house. Rickety old fence, dilapidated front porch...story book creepy if you know what I mean. We cautiously proceeded. I, of course, made Hubby walk in front of me in case the porch decided to give way and eat one of us. The owner of the house (and the kittens) greeted us briefly, dodged outside onto the porch and snagged a black kitten by his neck. I can only imagine what the expression on my face was...sure, I may not be too big on cats, but I could never imagine inflicting any sort of pain on them, not to mention any animal. Grizzly crawled up under the seat in Hubby's car on the ride home - poor little guy was terrified. He wanted nothing to do with us. Or the noisy diesel truck. Grizzly spent his first night at the apartment curled up on the floor by our bed...for the first hour or so. He then found his way to my head, where he would spend the remainder of his nights at the apartment.

It was kitty love from then on. Grizzly was my baby. He has been there for me through everything - arguments with Hubby, drama with my family, Hubby being gone at BMT and tech school. Grizz suffered through the trek down here (4 days straight in a car) and, since we have been living with our friends for the past couple of weeks, has silently coped with being cooped up in a bedroom all day long. But, unfortunately, all hell broke loose last night. And I really am not exaggerating when I phrase it in such a way. A and M, Hubby, and I were startled to hear a loud tromping and ruckus last night...my heart sank and I flew up the stairs to the room Grizzly was being kept in. A and M's dog, Rocky, hasn't been around cats ever before, so naturally he is very curious. I began to think the worst as I reached the room and discovered that the door was open, and both Rocky and Grizzly were inside. Thank God Hubby and I had bought a kitty tower for Grizz to climb on, otherwise I am not sure that he would have walked away from this tuffle. The first thing I saw was blood. Lots of it. Grizzly's litter was everywhere, the floor was wet where his water had spilled, and my Grizzly Bear was trying to claw his way up a wall to escape Rocky. I was shaking. I didn't know if he had been hurt and I didn't know where this blood was coming from.

After devising a plan to remove Rocky from the room, I took Grizzly into the bathroom. I was thanking God with every inch of my being that my baby was okay - so thankful that I had (for some reason I will never know) let his nails grow out. I usually trim them down to prevent him from clawing up the furniture, but I hadn't cut them in close to a month. The blood was coming from Rocky - Grizz scratched his face, back, and mouth all up. So much so that his nails were gone - I mean completely gone to where his quicks are exposed. After all of the chaos, we concluded that Grizzly needed to stay in another home (somewhere safe) for the remainder of the time we are staying with A and M. It breaks my heart, but it's what is best for Grizzly...I can't bear the thought of him having to go through anything this traumatic again.

Hubby asked one of his friends at work to watch Grizzly for the upcoming few weeks until our house is ready, and he agreed. This is probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Yes, I am fully aware that Grizzly is only an animal, but he has, no kidding, been my best friend through all of the ups and downs of the past year. I have no idea what I would do without him. I am just praying that he is taken care of, safe, and loved where he is staying. It really breaks my heart, but when everything is said and done, I know this is what is best for Grizzly. At least this goodbye isn't forever. :(

Do you have a crazy close connection to any of your pets?

Monday, June 4, 2012

Military Appreciation Giveaway - $25 Gift Card & Printables!

I know I am late on this being in celebration of military spouse appreciation day, but then I got to thinking: Why do we need a special day to celebrate our amazing spouses, not to mention the brave men and woman who sacrifice so much for us every day? I mean really. Whether we are aware of it or not, these passionate people are giving their all regardless of if we are taking the time out of our busy schedules to express our gratitude. So, what better way to celebrate than with a giveaway!?!?!? There isn't one. But really. Who doesn't like free stuff? I definitely won't object - after all, my favorite number is free! ... did I really just type that?

Anywhoooo, Patriot Surplus has generously presented me with a $25 gift certificate to be used towards any of the great military-related products found on their site. In addition to the gift certificate, I have decided to throw in a few of my military-themed printables of some of my favorite milSO quotes and sayings just for the heck of it.

Use the widget below to enter (contest starts at 12:00 AM on June 5th) and be sure to share this wonderful giveaway with all of your milSO sisters! Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Days Keep Rollin' By

You are probably wondering where the heck I have been...did I drop off the face of the earth? No. Was I abducted by a toothless hobo? No (thank God). Pushed into a Florida pond infested by blood thirsty gators? No...although I did have a dream like that last night. But that's beside the point!

I really miss you guys! You know that knot-like feeling you get in your gut when you suddenly remember you have something important to do, then can't remember what that very important to-do is? Well I've had that feeling all week. And I've finally remembered what it was. Blogging. Blogging has always been something I just automatically do to express my feelings and get everything off my chest...but now that I actually kinda sorta almost have a life outside of the bloggy world, I have found that it's sometimes tricky to find the right balance between the two worlds.

Let's get on with this post already, I'm boring myself. And apparently Diezel too - he's whining like a little baby. His life is so hard, don't you know? ;-P Anyways, I could ramble for hours on end (as I'm sure you are already quite aware of), so I'll just share pictures instead, beginning with the house:

Before you move on to the next set of pictures, disregarding the house since it still looks kinda icky (and not at all close to being finished), let me tell you that this photo is from just a couple of weeks ago and it is already wayyyyyy out dated. I'm talking the house is now painted, both inside and out, and there is tile inside...I've been driving by numerous times a day (creepin'). I get mixed emotions whenever I see the workers in there...for example, on Sunday afternoon, we drove past at 11:30 and they were in there working away. At this point I'm thinking Alright, no big, we will stop back later. Later rolls around (2:00 p.m.) at they are still there. I finally talked Hubby into driving me past one more time (it was 5 or so) and they were STILL there! I am pissed because we can't walk around in there and be nosey if the workers are there (insurance/liability issues), but then again I'm so happy that they are obviously kicking butt and getting stuff done. Quite the dilemma, am I right???

These are our pictures from the Clearwater Aquarium...if any of you have seen the movie Dolphin Tale about Winter the dolphin who is able to swim with a custom-made prosthetic tail, this is where beautiful Miss Winter lives and the movie was filmed.

These pictures are from Tampa's Lowry Zoo...so beautiful - we had a blast!!

This collage shows Hubby and I's first Florida beach sunset experience. Absolutely breath taking and I hope you are all able to experience it some day!

What fun things have you and your significant other been up to lately?