The Cute Blogger: Guest Post by Chambanachik

My guest blogger today is Erika from Chambanachik! She is one of my absolute favorite bloggers. She is the sweetest person and her blog is the perfect blend of honesty, humor and good, down-home feel-good! I have a special place in my heart for a fellow Midwestern girl. Plus, have you seen her beautiful daughter? 

I am pretty honored to have Erika here today, so please give her a warm welcome!

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Sometimes, I wonder what it would like to be her. You know the one.

The cute blogger.

She wears her hair in a tight knot on the top of her head. She has nerdy glasses that probably aren't prescription. She wears lots of vintage clothes mixed with J. Crew, indie labels, and a dash of Urban Outfitters. Mustard yellow looks fabulous on her. She has a small apartment in New York City, but it costs thousands of dollar a month and looks like it. She's likely never seen the inside of a Wal-Mart. She plays the piano perfectly. She's a whiz on the sewing machine. Her makeup and red lipstick are immaculate when she wears them, but she's also the sort of rare breed who can be bare-faced and still look darling. She has lots of cute friends who meet up with her at coffee shops, and she takes pictures of every outing. She has so many friends, she is never really alone.

The cute blogger has a cute husband, who she sees as a great accessory. He wears cardigans, has slightly disheveled hair, and brings her flowers on a weekly basis. The cute couple go on frequent dates because they always have a babysitter and plenty of extra cash. They drink wine and know a lot about it. They do things like go to a ballet, stay out late at a local pizza place, and take lots of photos with huge, open mouth smiles and loving looks. They kiss a lot.

The cute blogger and her cute husband also have a cute daughter. She always has a little bow or flower in her hair, because she is a patient baby who doesn't tear them off right away. She doesn't really cry or need a diaper change. She has outfits as stylish as her mama. She has a designer nursery, and plays with fancy toys that never come from places like Target. Everything she has is customized and embroidered with her name. Everything in her room looks handmade by her mama, but wasn't. She loves rolling around the city in her expensive stroller while her parents socialize and shop.

Blogger envy is everywhere, and occasionally I find myself comparing my little blog to the girls who seem to have it all. But it only takes a minute to remember she doesn't have what I do- my husband, my daughter, my family and friends. She doesn't have a messy house to remind her that the people she loves the most live there. She doesn't have a husband who looks darn fine in ACUs, or a daughter who has the world's most contagious giggle. She didn't ever drive a beat up Honda out on country roads lined with cornfields. She doesn't have crazy Muppet hair that makes me laugh when I wake up.

Glamour is all well and good for a few hours here and there, but Pinterest doesn't have the pictures of what I want most-this life. Perfection is overrated. So cute blogger, keep your cuteness.

This reality is a better home for me.

Crafty: Guest Post by Ashlee

Today, I have a blogger relatively new to the scene who I started following not that long ago. She is a milspouse and she recently added a second little boy to her beautiful family! Despite some medical complications, they remained strong, loving and positive. Her (healthy, yay!) little boy is now home with his big brother and mom and dad! 
Even on top of all that, she took the time to write me a wonderful guest post. 
Please make her feel at home here!

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Hey All, 

I am Ashlee over at Our Little Fam! I am so happy to be guest posting for Mel, she is so sweet! 

Recently I have dedicated Thursday nights to craft nights. I decided I had been spending too much time pinning things on pinterest instead of actually making them. I have started with pretty simple basic crafts, but hey it’s a start right? 

Here are a few of my recent projects. 

Fun and cheap, clipboards with scrapbook paper and vinyl letters. My sister is a teacher and I made one for her to have in her classroom. For mine I put magnets on the back so I can keep it on the fridge and clip notes or shopping lists to it.

This next one was fun and simple as well.  

I bought the clear frame from Walmart and used left over scrapbook paper. Decorated it with a simple ribbon. Cute for leaving notes, you can pretty much use it for whatever you want. 

This next one has been one of my favorites.. 

 

Who hasn’t washed something in the dryer?? I have done it and realized once it was too late. Guilty, I have even washed my cell phone in the dryer before. Haha. I love this because it helps me remember now to check all pockets before throwing something in the washer. 

Have any of you made something you found on pinterest, or were you like me and only pinning? ;) 

Come visit me at Our Little Fam and share with me some fun project ideas you have found. Would love to hear from you.  Always looking for fun new crafts. 

Thanks Mel for letting me guest post for you. I hope you are having a fun time in Colorado!! 

Xoxo, 

Ashlee

Saturday Share: Moving Edition

As you read this, I will likely be elbows-deep in boxes and fighting with Al over where to put the kitchen utensils. I compiled this list of moving-related shares before I left Minnesota because I don't expect to have much time in front of the computer over the next couple of days.

{Which reminds me, be sure to make my guest bloggers feel special. I really appreciate their time and want y'all to show them just how great they are!}

READ: Why a PCS is like having a baby via SpouseBuzz


BUY: A sign like this for your new home


LEARN: How to Acclimate to a New Altitude

WATCH: This video...I hope none of these happen to us!


And finally...
REMEMBER: This post from my archives? Michelle's Brilliant Packing Strategy


Don't miss me too much while I'm gone!

Grad School and the Military: Guest Post by Dani

I want to welcome Dani to my blog today. When I first read her blog, we instantly bonded over the similarities of our school and dating situations. She works hard and has a great sense of humor about how crazy life can get sometimes and I am thrilled to have her here today! Please show her some love...

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Hello all! Mel was asking for guest bloggers, so I thought I would give it a try.  I’m Dani over at My Heart is in the Army, My Brain is in Grad School.  I’m a long time Army girlfriend and pursuing my clinical Doctorate in Audiology, yay for ears!  When Mel was asking for guest posts, I was at first a little nervous seeing as this would be my first one.  So I hope you enjoy.

I was going to start off this post by talking about graduate school and how wonderful of a life decision it is, but I’ll save that for a time when I’m not as bitter about my workload.  It’s also a whole additional level of stress to throw a military relationship into the mix.  Then on top of it, when it comes time to graduate and find a job there is that sneaky little piece of paper that complicates everything even more.

I’m talking about licensure.  In my field, I have to maintain a state license to practice and some states also require a separate hearing aid dispensing license.  In other fields you have to take and pass school certification if you are going to be working in the school in any capacity.  There are some states that offer reciprocity, but they are few and far between. 

With Mel going into law, she recently mentioned about taking and maintaining the bar in multiple states, which is very expensive to do.  While I don’t have it nearly as difficult as lawyers or some medical professions, I may still have as much as a 6-month dwell time between when I move to a new state and when I can finally practice there in addition to all the costs of reapplying.  I’m currently going through the process of where to apply for my license, so that is why this topic is on my mind.  There are some states with reciprocity agreements, but they only number in the teens.  Then wash, rinse, and repeat the whole process in another 3 years when you are reassigned.  If that reassignment happens to be overseas, that is an entirely different animal.

Many spouses/SOs talk about issues with the licenses and maintaining certification.  My question for those of you who have been through all this red tape is: why aren’t more states doing this?  Those of us in military relationships want to work and do the jobs we have spent so much time studying for, why not fill these positions?  And have any of you benefited from these reciprocity agreements?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and advice!

Passion: Guest Post by Whitney

My first guest blogger is Whitney, from Everything Happens for a Reason (linked below.) She is a sweet, Southern gal with a new-found spark for life. Below, she tells you why: ~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~

My names is Whitney from Everything Happens For a Reason. I'm glad that I am able to guest post for Mel. She is a fellow military spouse, and I have been following her blog for quite some time.

I want to discuss something very important; passion.

While growing up, it seemed that everyone, but me, knew what they wanted to be when they "grew up." Everyone, but me, that is. After high school, I went to college. I wanted to because a) that is what society "tells" you do and b) I wanted to be more educated.

 Throughout college, I did not know what I wanted to be when I "grew up." I had no intentions of using whatever degree that I was going to pursue. I was deadset of moving to California with my boyfriend at the time to attempt to break out in the acting industry. Seriously, no joke. We both had acted in numerous independent movies and that's what I wanted to do. The only thing that I wanted to do was act. It was like I hadn't "grown" out of the "little girl" fantasy that a lot of us had as kids. In 2006, I ended the almost two-year serious relationship. Over time, my priorities changed, but I still did not know what I wanted to be. It seemed like everyone else did, except me. In 2008, graduated college in four years with two bachelor degrees. Five months after graduation, I moved to another city and lived on my own. (Where I went to college was in my hometown, and I lived within walking distance. It only made sense that I live at home).

I assumed with two bachelor degrees that I would be able to get a job. I had almost ten interviews in one week. Some of the jobs were promising, others not so much. Instead of working in the field I majored in, I went in a different direction. The job that was in the field was not what I wanted, so I obviously chose the one that seemed like the better deal. It was doing technical support for Apple. To be honest, I was embarrassed. I never told anyone where I worked. Here I was, a college graduate with two bachelor degrees, and I got a job that anyone could get. Literally, anyone can get hired there. Seriously.

I was miserable and quit about a year later. I began a temporary job and just stopped going. Cue the misery. I then began another job similar to the tech support, except it was for people's insurance, prescriptions, etc. I thought people that called into technical support were rude, but I had no idea. Guess what? I quit that job too. However, I made the decision to get my master's degree in counseling.

Two years later, I do have my master's degree, but I have no intentions of using it. I mean, I'm never going to say, never. I just don't want to now or in the near future. All throughout graduate school, I worked in the counseling/social work/human services/case management field. To make a long story short, I absolutely hated it. I hated it with every ounce of my being. I know that it is possible, that it was just the agency that I worked for all that time. There was more going on behind the scenes besides me hating it. I felt singled out, treated unfairly, and I had proof of it. When I say, singled out, I mean, if you were to do something, it would be okay. If I was to do the same thing, I would get in trouble. Another instance, I would do as I was told and then get reprimanded for doing as I was taught (For example, I would not tell clients that we could spend money on them, because some would take advantage of that. I never told clients, unless there was an instance where I could help. A client found out that I could have bought them things, they got mad, and I got in trouble. I was doing what I was taught. Then later, management would tell the employees to not tell clients we could buy them things (but yet I got in trouble). Shady, I tell you. Make sense? I hope. I wish I could go into more detail. I could tell you all some stories.

So about two weeks after graduation, I quit. I know some may think I am crazy for quitting a relatively good paying job (it was twice as much as I made in 2008). Some may think I am crazy for not having any plans of using my master's degree. It's all about choices. I don't want to be at a job that I dread going to and one that makes me miserable. I was a different person, and now I am much happier. My husband and I talked about it, and decided that we had the last straw. Basically, they were getting onto me about everything. I felt that they knew I was graduating, they wanted to get rid of me. They wanted to find anything they could to "write" me up. So, like I said, I quit.

I realized there are way more important things than money. My mental health was suffering, and I was at my breaking point. I could not take it anymore. I would scream, yell, and cry. Going through all of this, it allowed me to rediscover a hobby and passion of mine that I had forgot about; photography. I have a website (but no one can access it at this time), business cards, and everything. All of this, I have had for about three months or so, but I never have told more than a handful of people. This is something I am serious about. This is something that I want to pursue and prove to be successful.

I now have the time to regroup and concentrate on what makes me happy; photography, "me" time, silence, and time to be with my thoughts. Trust me, I was not getting that. With all this babbling, I guess what I am trying to say is, don't let anyone or anything stand in the way of your passions. You may have to discover yourself and go through many paths to discover it, but once you do, you will never want to turn back. Not everyone is born knowing what they want to do. Also, if you have a passion, don't let anyone discourage you. 

It doesn't matter how you get there, it is just that you find your way there.

Toto, We're Not in Kansas Anymore!

As evident from the below conversation, we are clearly not in Kansas - erm, Minnesota - anymore!

AL: Holy s*@#, baby! You are not going to believe what I am looking at right now...!

Me: Uh, what?

AL: A bear...crawling into someone's car

Me: Really? Holy crap!

AL: Yea, the guy opened his car door to let the bear in and now he's just sitting there.

Me: What? Like, he knows the bear or something?

AL: I guess...he just drove away. With the bear in the backseat.

Me: What? Are you sure it was a bear? Maybe it was a dog or something?

AL: Honey, it was a bear. I promise you it was a bear.

Me: So, the guy wanted him in the car? Is it a pet or something!?

AL: I don't know...

From what I gather, the bear willingly and at the request (with very little urging) of the driver, lumbered into the backseat of the car, much like a dog would and sat down. The driver then got in the car and drove away. 

Does this guy own a bear as a pet? 

And if so, does his live in our apartment complex? 

What kind of pet deposit would you put down for a bear?

If not, was he a "bear-wrangler" or someone who is just really bear-friendly?

How do you train a bear to come when you call and do what you say?

Holy smokes, guys. Colorado sure is a new adventure!

Today is the Day...

...We become Coloradans. 

At our hearts, we'll both always be Minnesotans and technically, I won't be a Coloradan until May, but today is moving day! We have both been waiting for this day for a long time. It was a little over 10 months ago that Al signed his reenlistment papers containing his bid for Ft. Carson. It was over 6 months ago that we received "orders" for a March report date. And the time has finally come. 

Our entire Army life (actually, only since I've been in the picture), has been at Ft. Bliss. My immersion into the culture and "the family" happened in El Paso. My first summer as an Army wife was spent tooling around Freedom Crossing in the sweltering heat, talking movies, crafts, kiddos, and whatever else came up, with Jaci and Jess. We would inevitably stop at Starbucks for iced coffees to take the edge off the hottest days. We drank wine, scrapbooked, sushi'd, and lamented our common bond stuck in this love-hate relationship with the Army. 

Al and I were able to spend time together attending free outdoor concerts, hiking in the mountains, watching dirt-track car races, swimming, eating tons of Mexican food, exploring new places, and just being together. It was the best summer of my life. With my husband, new friends and many new experiences. For those reasons, I am sad to leave. 

It is especially hard because I can't be there to give a proper good-bye.

I can't hug my gals one more time (until we meet again, of course!) I can't squeeze Andrew's cheeks and watch him laugh incessantly. I can't be there to tell Al he's loading the truck wrong and then apologize with a cold Coors Light. And I'm not there to watch our home, the post, the mountain and that lighted star on the side of it, fade into the distance as we make our way north to a whole new set of adventures. 

But it will be a new set of adventures. For that, I am grateful to this life for giving me the opportunity to live in new places and to meet new people. I am thrilled to finally have a home, with my husband, that we will share (at least semi-permanently.) I am blessed to have such a supportive group of family and friends to make this transition that much easier. 

(source - public domain)

Please keep us in your prayers over the next few days. Al has some help loading the truck in Texas, but will be driving to Colorado by himself. I fly in on Thursday to help him unload, but the timeline is a pretty small window and we are hoping everything goes smooth. ('Cause, ya know, the Army has a tendency to throw a wrench in things - not to mention that fella Murphy and his laws.)

Colorado, here we come!

Saturday Share

Another week gone...and another round of great links I've gathered for you!


LEARN: How to unlock your car with a shoelace! {Seriously, no lie!} via LifeHacker


MAKE: Raspberry and White Chocolate Whoopie Pies
(I had them for a party last night = delicious!)


DO: Organize Your Entire LIfe via MPMK


STOP: Making these common grammar mistakes (Oops, I'm guilty of some!)


WIN: A trip to St. Lucia & a $1000 Tanger shopping spree c/o WeTV.com


And just remember...

Source: flickr.com via Mel on Pinterest

Original source

In a Song

In a crunch, this is my pick.


(While I've loved this song for awhile, I was recently reacquainted because it is on The Vow soundtrack. Seriously, who doesn't love The Cure?)

Nostalgic. Comforting. Good for a smile.

Happy Thursday!

The Story of Saint Valentine {and other stories}

What I love about today is not the candy and flowers and over-commercialized crapola, I love this story. A gruesome story about a fabled Saint who is martyred for performing marriages against the government's wishes. During his time in jail he falls in love and before his death writes her a letter, signed "From your Valentine." 

To me, this has a lot of relevance today, where around the country states are proposing laws to prevent same-sex couples from marrying. Around the country, the GLBT community is being denied the right to a ceremonial declaration of their love. Where is Saint Valentine when you need him? 

One of my favorite love stories of all time is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. If you're unfamiliar, the main character takes the place of another man in jail because that man happens to be the husband of the woman he loves. He says: "I would embrace any sacrifice for you and for those dear to you. Will you hold me in your mind as being ardent and sincere in this one thing? Think now and then that there is a man who would give his life to keep a life you love beside you? "

As you embark on your day of work, school and kids and as you prepare to celebrate in whatever special way you've planned, just remember:

"Love's not a feeling; Love's not convenient; But love will change your life. Love takes sacrifice; Love cuts like a knife; Sometimes love will make you cry. Love's not easy, but it's worth it." 

Worth It by Francesca Battistelli

"Life makes love look hard. The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours."

Ours by Taylor Swift

"Let us not love with our words or tongue, but with our actions and in truth."

1 Timothy 3:18

Finally, after sifting through a few of these lists today, I decided this one was the most realistic, sweet and right on the money! 

9 Lessons for a Long, Happy Marriage by Mandi Ehman

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all!