European Road-Trip with Mel's Mom

{Hey all! I am currently driving to Texas, with my car stuffed to the windows, blasting old Backstreet Boys while my sister and I sing along. I'm going to be out for a couple of days to account for travel, recovery and unpacking time. Oh, and to shower my husband with kisses and other signs of affection. In the meantime, you are lucky to have a couple of my favorite bloggers making guest appearances in my absence.}

That's right, on my last day of guest bloggers you get the most special blogger of them all: my momma! I asked her to write a post about her time growing up all over the world. She did precisely that, and yet, I think the post turned into so much more.

Without further adieu...

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I think most of us have moved at one time or another…

Maybe with our parents to a new home or to college and the dorm? Or you’ve PCS’d?

It’s funny how moves are fun AND scary at the same time.

I grew up all over the world, Bermuda, Japan, Germany…obviously you can’t do that without moving, and moving, and moving again, seven times before I graduated from high school. If you’ve read all of Melissa’s blog, you know there’s a recurring theme here.

With the view of the world that many of you have I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re thinking, “Military brat!!” Nope, but not too far off.

My father was a teacher, coach, athletic director and later a principal for the DODDs school system. So I grew up WITH the Military brats and I liked it, most of the time.

I’m sure things have changed, what hasn’t? Back then, the Military families typically moved about every four years. So, between our moves and the moves of those around me, not many people were there for the long haul (that’s the part I didn’t like!)

You learn to make friends fast, and how to say goodbye. But you also have an opportunity to create a family bond that is amazing because those ARE the people there for the long haul.

As a child, I saw the world with my family close to my side. I’ve seen the Tokyo tower, the Eifel tower, Neuenschwanstein castle, the Mona Lisa, the statue of David, the Swiss alps, the Mosel wine valley, Dachau concentration camp, the Arc d’Triumpf, Normandy beach, and those are just the places that come to mind first. Castles, Churches, war memorials, beautiful miracles of nature all over the world from Africa to Asia!

We skied, golfed, walked, ate dinner and generally lived our lives together as a family. What an amazing way to live your life, yes, I am blessed.

When I came home, yes the USA is home and always has been. Throughout the world we attended every 4^th of July air show, every parade and patriotic event we could. We watched AFN and got the culture etc. so mostly we were American. My father said, “It’s time to go home and become an American!” I think he was worried that I would marry a German boy and not go home to the USA.

Off I went to college for my first move by myself. This is where I think we, my family and I went wrong. Suddenly, no family, where was the milk and cookies when I came home every day? The culture shock of not having my family resulted in me getting married as fast as I could! I wanted that family and closeness that had been so important to me…what I got was Melissa & Megan! The greatest gifts that God has given me! The man, not so much. He’s a good guy but not for me.

I did the single mom thing for a lot of years, my parents and sister came home, and eventually I met the man that I want to see the United States with…MY family man! Melissa too has her man and we’re growing our family, it’s amazing to be me now.

So, what is the moral of this long history of my life?

Spend time with your kids, show them the world, even if it’s just your part of it (when my girls were little we did what we could with no money, Duluth, nature reserves, the zoo, science museums, etc. ~ The girls may not remember all of it but they know they are loved!) Prepare your birdies to leave the nest as best you can, and mostly, when you move, and move, and move again…hold on to the ones who will always be there for you.

An Old School Road-Trip Mix with Caroline

{Hey all! I am currently driving to Texas, with my car stuffed to the windows, blasting old Backstreet Boys while my sister and I sing along. I'm going to be out for a couple of days to account for travel, recovery and unpacking time. Oh, and to shower my husband with kisses and other signs of affection. In the meantime, you are lucky to have a couple of my favorite bloggers making guest appearances in my absence.}

Today is really fun for me because my guest blogger is my best friend of over 13 years!

If you want to check out her blog, do so here. In the meantime, enjoy her great list of songs reminiscing of our lifelong friendship.

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Fall 1997. I'm in my first year in junior high school; a seventh grader with a thirst to make new friends. I go to a predominantely black school and as a 13-year-old white girl from the suburbs, I was having a hard time finding these new friends to make.

Off and on, I noticed a teeny tiny girl that rode in the first seat of the bus and chatted up the bus driver on our way home. Her blonde hair was down to her butt and sometimes she had too much make-up on for a junior high kid, but she was always smiling and cheerful.

One chilly fall day, I board the bud to find every seat taken except for the first one, straight across the aisle from chatty blonde girl. I sit quietly and zone out thinking about homework, or the Backstreet Boys, and suddenly notice over-make-upped blonde girl putting on dark purple lipstick. Needless to say, I judged her and wondered why she thought that was cute. Blonde girl notices me staring, puts down her compact and lipstick, smiles and says, “Hi! What's your name?”

“Caroline.” I replied hesitantly.

“I'm Melissa!” She exclaimed.

Fast forward 14 years and here we are. Still best friends, still enjoying telling the story of how we met and still making new memories to share.

During Melissa & I's college roommate days, we got a wild hair up our asses to make themed mix cds. Of course, these were the days before iTunes playlists. Our cd themes ranged from 'Even Better Than Chocolate' (songs about sex – though we were still as virginal as the day we were born) to 'It's All In A Name' (songs with a name in the title).

We've had an amazing friendship that has only grown stronger as the years go on and I am incrediby proud of her and all that she has accomplished. She inspires me to do more and be better. She is like a sister I never had.

In celebration of our amazing friendship, I have compiled a playlist of our most favored and memorable songs so far. And without further adeiu...

Peaches & Skittles – Greatest Hits – Vol. I

1. Everybody (Backstreet's Back) – Backstreet Boys

2. Wild Thing – The Troggs

3. Miss Independent – Kelly Clarkson

4. Get Naked – Methods of Mayhem

5. Shake Ya Tailfeathers – Nelly/P. Diddy

6. Dirrty – Christina Aguilera

7. Pour Some Sugar On Me – Def Leppard

8. Toxic – Britney Spears

9. We Danced Anyway - Deana Carter

10. This One's For The Girls – Martina McBride

11. Slow Motion – Juvenile

12. Walking in Memphis – Marc Cohen

13. Lady Marmalade – Christina Aguilera, Lil Kim, Pink & Mya

14. Home – Michael Buble

15. Whiskey Girl – Toby Keith

Bonus Track:

16. Then – Brad Paisley (My dedication to Melissa and Al's future together)

    
    

Road Trippin' with Grandma from Just a Girl

{Hey all! I am currently driving to Texas, with my car stuffed to the windows, blasting old Backstreet Boys while my sister and I sing along. I'm going to be out for a couple of days to account for travel, recovery and unpacking time. Oh, and to shower my husband with kisses and other signs of affection. In the meantime, you are lucky to have a couple of my favorite bloggers making guest appearances in my absence.}

Continuing with my lovely lady bloggers, I've got Just a Girl. She's an ex-Army-girlfriend, turned super-Army supporter and a good friend. Because, really, once you're part of the Army family, you never really leave, do ya!? Anyway, she was also one of the first gals I met on the mil-blogger block. Today, she recalls one of her road-tripping adventures.

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I’m so honored that Mel, one of my first blogging friends, asked me to write a guest post for her while she’s busy road-tripping it down to Texas to spend the summer with Al.

When I sat down to write this little post for her, I started thinking of all the road trips I have been on (and believe me there have been many). My family went on at least one major road trip every year, but there is one trip that sticks out in my mind: Our family road trip to Canada.

This trip was masterminded by my grandma (yes, the infamous grandma for those of you that are familiar with my blog). We drove from Idaho to various places within Western Canada and we were gone for 3 weeks. Oh, and did I mention we were camping in my grandma’s 5^th wheel the whole time? Now I’m not princess, and camping is definitely fun… for a few days at a time. A week, at the most. Three weeks of camping was not something I was on board for, even at the age of 10. I was also the one that got stuck with sleeping in the same bed with grandma since my parents got the “master” bed and my brother “couldn’t sleep with someone else.” I would like the record to state that I told him I was going to use that excuse and that little brat stole it from me before I had the chance. Sorry, can you tell I’m still a little bitter?

Although there were many life lessons learned on this trip one sticks out in my mind above all. When we pulled up to one of the various campsites we were staying at for the night my grandma decided it would be a good time for me to learn how to empty the “waste” tank of the 5^th wheel. If you’re not familiar, you have to attach a big blue hose to the tank and it empties out. I was not thrilled with being assigned this task, because really, who wants to be responsible for emptying out the poop tank? Plus at this point I was pretty disenchanted with being in a car for multiple hours everyday and my attitude was probably not the greatest. Anyway, there were some technical difficulties and the waste was not draining, so my grandma sent me to investigate the hose to see if I could figure out what the problem was. Well, I decided that it would be a good idea to pick up the hose and look inside of it to see if there was a clog in it or something (yeah, I may not have had a lot of common sense). Anyway, when I picked up the hose it apparently released a kink and with all the pressure that had built up well, let’s just say that there was a “waste” explosion all over my face. Lesson learned; never investigate the exit end of poop hose. Y’all can thank me later.

Oh, the trip culminated in my dad’s car breaking down on the second to last day of our trip in some intersection in the middle of nowhere Montana. My mom and I had to hop out and push the car through the intersection. Fun times.

And in case you were wondering; no, my family has not joined in on any “grandma” planned trips since.

~Just A Girl~

A Brilliant New Packing Strategy with Annoyed Army Wife

{Hey all! I am currently driving to Texas, with my car stuffed to the windows, blasting old Backstreet Boys while my sister and I sing along. I'm going to be out for a couple of days to account for travel, recovery and unpacking time. Oh, and to shower my husband with kisses and other signs of affection. In the meantime, you are lucky to have a couple of my favorite bloggers making guest appearances in my absence.}

Of course we are going to kick this off with one of my favorite bloggers: Annoyed Army Wife.

She is honest, funny and one of the coolest people I've never met! And in true Army-wife fashion she has moved as many times as the rest of us. Today, she is going to share her new techniques for packing and moving.

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When Mel asked me to write a guest post for her as she prepares to move down to Texas for the summer I was ‘Of course I’ll do it!’ First, here’s an intro for those of you who do not know me; I’m the annoyed army wife married to OccDoc, an Army doctor recently returned from a deployment in Afghanistan. As I like to say ‘I support the troops, just not always the one I’m married to.’ Now, on to my topic: PCSing/Moving Techniques.

OccDoc got back from Afghanistan at the end of February and when we went to pay our rent at the end of March we got this news: We’re selling your house, but you can stay as long as it takes to sell. Have you ever sold a house? Have you ever rented a house currently on the market? Well, if not both situations suck and the kicker if your renting is that it’s not even your freaking house and your life is completely affected. OccDoc and I offered to increase our rent and do some (costly) home improvement projects if the landlord would let us sign a new year lease, then put the house on the market after that lease was up. He turned down our offer. So, after having to move every year or two because the army makes us, we now find ourselves moving after two years for other reasons. I guess we were being unreasonable thinking we could live in the same house for three years. We should have known better.

We found a house to rent that is closer to the army post OccDoc works at (there is no on post housing there) and signed a lease to begin on May 1. Our move out date on our current house is May 31, one month after our lease ended. We could have stayed put until they sold our house, but we’re still a bit upset our landlord turned down our offer and that he waited to the last possible second to tell us he wasn’t renewing our lease. So, if the house takes forever to sell, which we’re pretty sure it will in our neighborhood with the ridiculous asking price they have on it, then our landlord is screwing himself out of a lot of income. Too bad, so sad for him.

Since we essentially have a whole month to move I will be debuting a new revolutionary moving technique. Okay, so many not quite, but we’re so used to packin’ up and movin’ out in a day or two that I feel like this technique is new and revolutionary for us. In the time OccDoc and I have been together (7 years) we have moved going on 6 times. So, it’s not like I’m a PCSing/Moving virgin; I’ve been around the block and around and around. You know how it takes forever to unpack? Maybe not, but for us it does. Like there were some boxes in our current house I just unpacked 4 months ago (if I would have known we were moving again I won’t have bothered). I suck at unpacking. Suck. Here’s my new technique: one room at a time moving, then the big stuff at the end. Let me break it down for you.

We’re moving one room at a time, so everything I can fit into my car from a particular room will be moved and unpacked immediately in the new house. Theoretically, we should have one empty room in the old house and one totally set up room in the new house. My first room is the office. I’m going to put everything from the office, except the giant bookcase, into my car then drive it 40 miles to our new house and unpack it AND set it up. After I’m done with all the trips needed to empty that room I’m going to clean the room in the old house and shut the door. We have a guest bedroom and our master bedroom, so we plan on moving our bed (it’s a Sleep Number that comes apart semi-easily) towards the beginning so we can make the new house ‘homebase’ and move all of our crazy animals there. That will make getting ready for showings at the old house way easier since I won’t have to sit in my car with two Chihuahuas and two rabbits. And we’ll just leave our guest room intact until the end in case we have to sleep over at the old house. Then towards the end of the move we’ll rent a moving truck to move our couches, washer, dryer, and other stuff I can’t fit into my Subie. A lot of stuff fits in the Subie – we put a picnic table in there one time.

I know my new and revolutionary moving technique probably sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but I’m pretty confident it will work out. And by spreading our move out we’ll need less help since I’ll be able to do most everything myself. I think we will be able to bribe our neighbors into helping us on our ‘big stuff’ move day. What do you think? Disaster waiting to happen or brilliant idea?

On the Road Again

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, (as early as I can get my sister out of bed) I will be on the road to Texas. On the road again.

{Side note: when I was looking for a video of Willie's song, I found this one. I have two observations: (1) Why is Kid Rock everyone's "friend"? and (2) None of his friends seem to really know the words to his song. Some friends they are!}

I am so excited that my heart is using my stomach as a trampoline!

I've mapped out the route we're going to take including the following cities:

{Ready for a Wikipedia random facts/geography lesson? - - If you're from some of these cities, know that this is all in good fun!}

Des Moines, IA - Whose name means "River of the Monks" and is apparently the #1 city for insurance companies

Kansas City, MO - Which claims several locations involved in the Civil War and the highest group of pathetic pro sports teams any one state can handle. (The Chiefs, c'mon!)

(Oh, and it's also home to the Westboro Baptist Church. I might have to stop by and give them some words in the shape of fists.)

Topeka, KS - Whose name means "to dig good potatoes" and was one of the first stops on the Oregon Trail after leaving Independence, MO

Wichita, KS - Which is the Air Capital of the World and home of the Wichita State Shockers. (I mean, if I had known the college mascot was "the Shocker" I SO would have applied there!)

Oklahoma City, OK - Which is home to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, which is perfectly fitting since Garth Brooks is from neighboring Tulsa and he practically invented cowboys, right?

Amarillo, TX - Which is cool simply because it's on Route 66 (where people get their kicks!) But additionally because they are the self-proclaimed Helium Capital of the World!

It should be a fun time. My sister is gung-ho about driving straight through, so it will definitely be an adventure. I don't really care what route we take or how we get there, as long as we get there. ("I don't care how you get here, just get here if you can!" ~ Oleta Adams.)

Of course, this means I will be away from bloggy-land for a few days.

Don't worry though, I have arranged for a small line-up of guest bloggers for your reading pleasure. And I'll be back soon enough.

Ciao, lovlies!

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

I was at school for a brief while yesterday and a friend of mine wished me a happy birthday...then he looked at me and said, "Oh, and happy military spouse day too!"

It was so odd that a civilian (who has no connections with the military) made that recognition.

I will say that it put a smile on my face.

I just finished my last final for the semester and have two days to move all the furniture out of my house, so I am brain-fried right now. Which means I don't have anything more eloquent or lovely to say other than:

Thank you! Thank you!

This is hands-down the best community of people I've ever been a part of. I am thankful everyday for being a part of it!

Happy day to all of you (us)!

Another Year...

Amidst finals and packing, I found time to have a birthday.

It was inevitable, I guess.

I even tried to pretend it wasn't happening and just go about my business, but it was unavoidable. Apparently it's like nature, or something.

Oh well.

I'm now 27 years old.
Which is perilously close to 30.

But it's going to be the year for me.

Just think, by the time I turn 28 I will:

~Have spent a summer in Texas with Al

~Graduate from law school

~PCS to Ft. Carson

~Set up a new home in a new state with my "old" husband

(Who will never be older than me, that jerk!)

Today, though, I will try to take at least 20 minutes out of my busy day and have a cocktail.

And maybe a slice of cheesecake.

So You Want to Go To Law School...

Mostly just for laughs (because God knows I need one) I am posting this funny video.

Some of it will only be funny to those of us suffering the torture, but I think you will appreciate it nonetheless.

"Are you prepared to spend three years in an institution that in no way, shape or form prepares you for anything resembling a law career? Plus, you will probably develop a coke habit."

Hard and Soft

I am sitting up because I can't quite calm myself enough to sleep.

Al starts WLC tomorrow, which means we won't get to talk much the rest of the week.

How did we spend our evening?

Arguing.

Early in our relationship we had very distinct roles.

I was this tough-as-nails girl who "didn't need a man" and wasn't planning on slowing down anytime soon to find one. He was this straight-forward, down-to-earth guy who was just playful enough to catch my eye.

That playfulness and his sense of humor was what drew me in.

He was goofy and a total sap. I was "too busy" to be emotional.

Usually, he would make some gushy comment and I would scoff, roll my eyes and move on.

Perhaps I should have appreciated that more...

Fast forward a few years.

His job is excruciatingly busy and increasingly difficult. Law school is considerably more work and seems like it will never end. This last year has pushed us to our emotional extremes.

To cope, he has "toughened up." His mechanism for dealing with the stress is to put on his [emotional] armor and "embrace the suck." I, on the other hand, have decided to feel absolutely everything - to "soften" my shell.

He closes off. I cry a lot.

The harder he got, the softer I got.

The less he felt, the more I did.

This left me demanding a lot from him and he couldn't understand.

He is so patient and tries so hard to get me. He doesn't see why this independent, resilient woman is crumbling. (Truth be told, I'm not crumbling. I am perfectly healthy and still working very hard. But extreme displays of emotions are hard to comprehend. Even from the person displaying them!) I don't see why this goofy, laid-back man is turning into a robot.

And it wasn't until tonight that I realized it.

The more he sees what he thinks is my weakness, the stronger he feels he needs to be to keep us going. He wants to be that man for me.

(And yes, I am searching for the balance between allowing myself to feel and neurotic over-expression.) But mostly, I am not weaker. What he sees as my inability to cope with increased stress, I see as a healthy release of emotion.

I got tired always bearing the cross alone. It's hard keeping up the facade.

So it's refreshing to not have to do that anymore. For the first time, I am comfortable enough to let my guard down and be honest with my emotions.

And while I'm doing that, he's pulling back. It scares him.

He is a great man and a good husband. And it's not fair to expect him to understand.

It is fair to expect him to listen. And to try. And to keep trying.

And it is fair to keep talking, to meet in the middle and to love the hell out of each other along the way.

Because the perfect balance between hard and soft is knowing when to fight the fight and when to love the love.

My thoughts

Our troops, particularly the special forces involved in that mission, are the true victors.

The true heroes. They, and they alone, are deserving of credit and respect.

Those forces, over there, giving so much of themselves, should be proud of their work today.

I am proud of them. I am proud to be an American.

And while I am proud, I cannot help but remember that this is simply a feather in the hat.

This is a morale boost and a moment of pride.

It is not a signal of the end.

It is not a sign that the troops can come home.

It does not mean the war is over.

In fact, the war may never be over. We will likely be involved in the Middle East for decades. Just like we still have forces in Korea and Germany.

We've killed one bad guy in a sea of many. We stopped one man, but not his entire empire.

We may have slowed them down, but they will keep going.

And knowing that we have troops over there making it just a little easier to sleep tonight...

Well, that's good enough for me.

No matter who is Commander-in-Chief...

No matter who the next president is, or the president after that, or the president after that... Our fighting force is the best around.

It is the men and women, with their resilience and resolve and courage that will continue to keep us safe.

They are proud of the work they've done and yet, they know the work is hardly over.

And while we celebrate the victory, they start another day and begin another mission.

While we go to bed tonight, feeling patriotic and inspired, they get up and do it all again.

For that I am grateful. For that I am proud.