WoF: Twelve Days of Christmas

For our final two posts, Wives of Faith changed the rules and I decided to go along - you can check out my last two comments at their site!

I enjoyed getting into the Christmas spirit with all of the wives! It's just in time for The Man to get in town to celebrate. He may even make it before Christmas Day is over! For those military families who are not together this Christmas, my heart goes out to you. Whatever your circumstances, may our Heavenly Father fill your heart with hope, peace, joy and love this Christmas and in the year to come!

Have a very Merry Christmas!

WoF: The Perfect Military Spouse Care Package

Today's 12 Days of Blogging topic is the perfect military spouse care package - and I really was coming up with things that I send to The Man. Then I realized that it might actually be about the other spouse...you know, the one who isn't in the military!

I don't even know where to start with this one. Here are just a few items that top my list!

1. I'd like a best friend, neighbor, church, and community filled with people who understand military life and it's ups and downs so I have trusted experts to go to when I'm not sure what to do! I am pretty lucky in this area, but it's still on my list as necessary for a military spouse.

2. A language guide small enough to fit in my purse, but big enough to house all of the acronyms and phrases that often create a communication barrier between The Man, me - and the rest of the world we live in. Or maybe just a translator to help the civilians in my life (yes, that includes me!) get past the language barrier.

3. A watch in military time. Not "actual" military time, I can tell the difference between 0800 and 1600 - but a watch that shows what the real timeline is to eliminate some of those hurry-up-and-wait or plans-changed-again times!

4. A giant bottle of patience! This one goes with #3.

5. Oh, forget the language guide - I need an entire "How to be the Best Military Spouse Guide" that lays out all of the potential things we'll run into and how to best deal with each situation. I mean EVERYTHING. From deployments, to FRGs, to everyday life...all in one place, fun to read and with great layout and design! Just because we're connected to the military, doesn't mean we have to have poorly designed pieces to work from!

6. A loving husband. This one tops my list, actually. If it wasn't for The Man, military life might be not such a grand adventure!

WoF: What the First Christmas Means to Me

I think I said what the first Christmas means to me in this post, but I will elaborate.

That first Christmas was the beginning of the bridge built to close a deep divide. Without Jesus, we never would have come close to God. The divide was so large, so deep, so wide, that there wasn't a way to get to God without a Savior. Jesus didn't have to do what he did, he had no good reason. There is nothing we could do to convince him that we were deserving of his saving. Nothing.

What gets me is that it was all out of love. Not just the feeling of love, but the action love. I can't begin to grasp what that kind of love is. Goodness knows that I need a lesson in loving the tough-to-love more often than not. When I get a case of that mindset, all it takes is a good look in the mirror to remind me that I'm not so lovable myself. And, still, God sent His son to this earth, to live a common man's life, so we would no longer be separated from Him, because He loves us.

The first Christmas was just the beginning to an entirely new life. It's no wonder the Angels were singing praises!

Hear more from other military wives!

WoF: What I Want for Christmas

Easy. The Man, in person, in our home, happy, relaxed and full of yummy food I've cooked for him.

More here!

WoF: The Best Christmas Tree

No pic of a tree to post because I don't have it up! The Man said he wanted to put ours up when he gets in which, at that time, was much earlier than the ETA we have now. It's artificial, so we really don't have to worry about Christmas tree lots closing before he gets here!

I didn't want him coming home to an undecorated house, so I hung real garland in our living room this year. It smelled wonderful for about three days. I might have to go pick up an evergreen scented candle to restore the complete mood!



Join the fun!

WoF: What Christmas Means to Me

Christmas means to me...

...knowing that the deep joy of this season doesn't come from gifts exchanged, lights shining bright, beautiful trees, mailboxes filled with Christmas greetings, special songs, a table full of food, a house full of family and friends and the invisible heart-strings that connect us to those separated from us due to duty stations, war, and other military barriers.

It's knowing that the reason for the celebration is that we are free. Free because of a baby born one starry night 2,000 years ago to redeem us and bring us back to life - eternal life with our Heavenly Father.

If you're missing that joy, I don't want you to be without it another moment. Leave me a comment and you can bet I'll be in touch.


Join the conversation here.

WoF: My funniest Christmas memory

My funniest Christmas memory may not be all that funny to you, but it sure taught me a good lesson that Christmas is what you make it!

My parents are volunteer firefighters and EMTs on their local volunteer fire department. I grew up in a rural part of Wisconsin and they have been doing this since I was a baby, so rescue and fire calls are natural in our family. It never fails that there's a call during Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, etc...and generally right in the middle of getting the food out of the oven and having a house full of people.

This particular year it was Christmas Eve, my parents had planned on taking my sisters and me out for dinner. As we were getting ready to head into town for dinner, there was a rescue call. My parents threw on their gear and tore out the door. By the time they got back home for dinner it was pretty late. I don't know why one of us didn't just make dinner, but it must not have crossed our minds. We headed into town and the restaurant we had planned on going to was already closed for the night. We headed down the road to another restaurant. And then another. All closed. Even McDonald's was closed!

We stopped at a gas station which was still open. We all got to pick out a tv dinner (which was pretty neat in itself because our parents NEVER let us have tv dinners!) and we headed home and enjoyed our frozen dinners! Those dinners were awful.

I'm not exactly sure why I find this story funny - when I read it, it's kind of sad. But we laughed so hard that night. And I'm still laughing at it as I think about it.
Maybe that's why I stick it out as a military wife. Each crisis could become a tragedy if we don't choose to laugh it off. After all, as The Man says, "Why worry about it? No one is shooting at you."

Read more military wife experiences here!

Apology!

My sister called me out. I used her twice in my blogs...stealing her favorite cookie recipe and claiming that Molly was a family gift when she was really a gift to Kendra (due to the Haley vs. Kendra war). She is right! She's way cooler than I will ever be, so I had to steal her identity!

Sorry, Kendra! :) You win this round! Hope this super cute pic of you and Jess makes up for it. Now you are the real star of this blog!

Love ya!

WoF:You must be a military spouse...

You must be a military spouse at Christmas time if you...keep a sense of humor!


This is only my second Christmas as a military spouse, so I don't have a whole lot of experience to fall back on. What I do know is that if I didn't have a sense of humor, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't make it through Christmas (or any other day!).


Last year The Man was in training for the first few weeks of December, he popped in for about a week or two for Christmas, then headed to Florida for the majority of January to assist with a deploying group. During the time he was gone, we had boatloads of snow. I can't tell you how many times I shoveled our driveway last year. Each time I shoveled, I thought to myself, "Next winter he's shoveling it all!"


HA HA!


The joke is on me!


The Man was deployed in March of last year...and just last week the snow season began. We had about a foot of snow fall in a handful of hours. I pulled out my trusty shovel. Actually, two trusty shovels (one is better for the heavy wet snow that fell last week, and the other is exceptional for the light, airy stuff - yeah, that's right, I know my tools!) and I got to work.


Yep. Joke's on me.


It was a similar story with the Christmas decorations, we decorated together between his schedule, and then, The Man was off to Florida and the decorations were still up. We had purchased an artificial tree that was really marked down right after Christmas. It sat in the box in our kitchen until February! I said to myself, "Next year the Christmas decorations will be put away in a reasonable time!"


....but I think we might be in the same predicament this year. The difference is that I'm smiling about it now. What's a few weeks or months!?!


Join the conversation at Wives of Faith!

WoF: The Best Gift I Ever Gave

I am the worst gift giver known to man. I don't mean to be so crummy at it, I generally put a lot of thought into people's gifts, but they never are really all that great.

Every year, I try to do better, but usually end up bummed out and days away from Christmas knowing that I've fallen short another year! I haven't given up, yet! Maybe next year?

So, Wives of Faith bloggers and readers, I'm sorry for coming up short on this one!

I'm excited for tomorrow...I have two really great gifts I have been given (well, one might be this year!). To find out what great gifts other military wives have given, click here! You just might find a good idea for this Christmas!

WoF: The Best Gift I Ever Received

I haven't received my Christmas gift yet this year...but if all goes as planned, The Man will arrive sometime around Christmas this year for his R&R! Dates don't mean much to me, so Christmas Day 2009 will be when I pick him up from the airport, whether it's the 25th or not!

Because this Christmas isn't here quite yet...I'll take you back in time...

The best gift I ever received for Christmas was a black lab puppy. My parents gave us Molly for Christmas and I won't forget it! Maybe someday when we have kids, I can surprise them the same way.

That Christmas morning, I woke up and I hopped in the shower before my sisters woke up (four girls in one bathroom, you take the shower when you can get it!). While in the shower, my parents kept banging on the door and saying, "First one up gets to open the first present!" Which, didn't make any sense to me. We always waited for everyone and opened gifts in an orderly fashion.

Out of the shower, I got dressed and headed downstairs. As I was getting a glass of water, my parents were really starting to drive me crazy with their, "First one up gets to open the first present!" mantra...

...and that's when I heard scampering.

It didn't sound like the familiar padding through the kitchen from our dog, Haley. I whipped around and there went a little black thing scuttling across the kitchen floor. A pudgy little black puppy!

We brought the puppy upstairs to wake my sisters up. First Amanda and Jess, and finally Kendra. Side note: Kendra and Haley didn't really get along (baby of the house syndrome maybe?).

We plopped the wiggling puppy onto Kendra's bed and Kendra shouted, "GET HALEY OFF ME!" as she tried to pushed the puppy off her bed. It only took a second for her to realize that this wriggling thing wasn't Haley...the mood changed dramatically :)

Kendra and Molly...


I'll never forget that Christmas! We love our little Molly. Although she's pretty old and her muzzle has greyed, she's still our Christmas Pup. And no one has better Christmas spirit than that dog!

She loves to "hand out" the presents (she usually picks out the presents under the tree that are hers before Christmas arrives!). She helps unwrap the presents. And, she loves to play fetch with wrapping paper balls!

Here's Haley covered in wrapping paper. We'll miss her this Christmas!

Read more great gifts other military wives have received!

My Favorite Christmas Recipe - Take 2

This blogging carnival might have caused me to go a little crazy...I just baked up another favorite Christmas recipe for my cookie exchange at work tomorrow. I thought I'd post it too!

Another recipe with an ambiguous name. I've heard them called Mexican Wedding Cakes or Russian Tea Cakes. No matter the name, they melt in your mouth!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cups finely chopped nuts
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Additional powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Whip butter for 30 seconds.
3. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar to butter and beat until light.
4. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
5. Stir in flour, nuts and salt.
6. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheet with about 1-inch spacing.
7. Bake 10-12 minutes until set but not brown.
8. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar. Place on wire rack to cool.

(This recipe was from www.bettycrocker.com - but you can find variations - sometimes I add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon almond extract)

WoF: My Favorite Christmas Recipe

We are in day two of the Wives of Faith Christmas Carnival Blog. For more favorite Christmas recipes, visit the blog and read the comments. I really thought that these topics would be easier! I love cooking...but to pick a favorite recipe is impossible.

One of my favorite cookies to make is for my sister, Kendra. She lives almost 2,000 miles away in sunny Arizona, so I am looking forward to having a big batch of these prepared for when she makes it home for Christmas this year.

It's a simple recipe - no measurements or baking! Our family calls them "Wheat Thin Cookies". They sound strange, but true to using chocolate and peanut butter, you can't go wrong!

Ingredients:

• One box of Wheat thins (I use reduced fat...I know, what's the point when you are using PB and Chocolate? I'm not sure. I just feel better about it.)


• Peanut butter (I recommend creamy)


• Chocolate bark (white chocolate bark also works well)


• Sprinkles, coconut, non-perils, any other favorite decorations

1. Make mini wheat thin sandwiches with just a little dab of peanut butter between each.
2. Melt chocolate in microwave. Be careful not to burn! (Or, if you're a heath weirdo like me and you don't use a microwave, you can melt in a double boiler on the stove.)
3. Dip cracker sandwiches into chocolate and coat. Using a fork, gently remove from chocolate and place onto waxed paper.
4. Decorate using sprinkles, or simply drizzle the opposite color of chocolate onto the semi-cooled cookie.

Watch for a photo during the next couple of weeks. I haven't made mine yet and can't find an image online...it'll give you a good reason to stop back!

Enjoy!

WoF: My Favorite Christmas Song

I’m blogging again! Well, at least for the next 12 days as part of the Wives of Faith Blog Carnival.
Today’s topic: My Favorite Christmas Song


I thought that this would be an easy one to start out with…until, I started some research. I don’t have a favorite Christmas song.


This year, I’ve found new respect for The Little Drummer Boy. I was watching my 6-year old niece, Kayla and 18-month old nephew, Jake. We were on our way to church for a Bible study. We had the radio on and The Little Drummer Boy started playing. It’s not one of my favorites, but I decided to leave it on. Before I knew it, Jake was singing along! His version went something like this, “Pum Pum”….”Pum Pum”…so he may not have caught all the words, but he sang right along with the music!


Not to be outdone, on the way home, we were having a singing contest, a normal happening when we get a handful of us in the car. Big sister Kayla sang her first song, then she helped Jake sing a song. They were right in the middle of Old McDonald and big, fat snowflakes started to fall. Kayla gasped and then jumped right into her own song…”I’m Kayla and I’m going to sing a song about Snow”…


Snowflakes falling down
One snowflake falls down
Two snowflakes…
(I’ll spare you the rest, but impressive that this spontaneous song was written and produced by Kayla herself. )


My takeaway: Choosing an all time favorite Christmas song for me isn’t possible because each has its own meaning, often driven by what I’ve experienced while singing the song.


Pum pum…pum pum…

Working Girl

The past month has flown by! I have been working two jobs and have not had a whole lot of down time. The new "real" job is going really well. It's great to be back into a routine!

I still recognize that not everyone is as lucky as me, and that there are companies still laying off employees. I just heard of a friend at my first "real" job who was laid off due to the stagnant economy.

Being laid off isn't a good feeling. Although you were not fired, it's hard not to feel bad about it. I went through many emotions as I chugged along in unemployment. In the process of understanding what life was without a job, I think I found more of myself. I learned a great deal about who I am and that my job does not define me. Prior to the unemployment, it did define who I was and I hope to never go back there. A job is something that I do, but it does not make me who I am.

I imagine my blog may take a new turn. I am tossing a few ideas around in my mind - possibly a National Guard focus...or maybe digging into small changes we can make in our lives to make the world a little greener. We'll see what comes of it!

At long last...

I have been offered (and have accepted!) a job with the American Lung Association! It's great news and I start next week already. I must say, that there were a few times when I thought I wasn't ever going to find work again. But, thankfully, I have some great contacts (The Welch Group) who passed on the information to me and I am back in business!

Out of this I have also learned an important lesson. My top new goal, both personally and professionally, is to really dig deep and develop my networking skills. I have not always fully grasped networking opportunities - but I plan to brush up my skills and incorporate it into my life.

I'm going to start digging up some resources next...any advice is welcome!

Sharing The Man

I just got an email from a woman who is a part of the Pease Greeters. They welcomed the guys and sent them off with a fantastic farewell as they left the United States (read blog about them here).

The woman who emailed me today was emailing regarding some other stuff, but I was really moved by something she wrote about The Man:

"Thank you for sharing him with his Country."

Wow. Truthfully, I'm kind of selfish about The Man! But this wonderful woman (who is part of a wonderful organization!) really hit home.

I'm glad that there are people who recognize and act upon their support for our Soldiers. And who go above and beyond. It helps make it worth it to share The Man!

Landscaping project

When The Man was home we tore up the front yard and did quite a project...in three days!

I still have to get one more truckload of stone, paint our steps, and put in some plants - but here it is!

Before...big dirt pile, messy plant beds...what a disaster!

The Man consulting with the Pro...

What a mess!

Final product (almost!) - pretty planters, pretty stone, so neat and clean!

The Man after all the hard work!

News!

Just heard news that The Man is at Kyrgyzstan. What peace of mind it gives me to have heard his voice. Such relief!

Going crazy

The past month has been pretty crazy. I spent time in with The Man in Kansas where he was training. We drove home for about a 10-day leave. During that time we spent the majority of it with family and friends. Even though we saw many people, ]we missed out on seeing so many more friends that The Man would have love to have spent time with before heading back.

We also managed to do a huge landscaping project somehow! I'll post pics soon.

The Man headed back to Kansas for one more week of training and left the country yesterday. We should be getting confirmation sometime, hopefully in the next day or two, of their arrival.

This waiting game is tough. I am so anxious to hear something, from anyone, that they are actually in country and hopefully getting a bit of rest after the long travel.

Refreshing!

I have the greatest family!

I decided to paint our bedroom this weekend and my sister and my parents showed up and got right to work. The Man's aunt was going to help me out, too, but I think we got too much done!

After just a few short hours, the bedroom walls and ceiling had been primed and have a good first coat of paint. I need to do a quick second coat tomorrow and it'll be all set! The Man doesn't really know yet...hopefully he likes it!

Here are a few pics - unfortunately they don't capture the color too well, it's either too light or too dark. Oh well. You get the idea!

BEFORE: I didn't get a good picture of the "before" version. So you'll just have to get a glimpse from this pic. It was a good look for photographs, just absorbed too much of the light for a north-facing room.

AFTER: Well, pretty much anyway...one more coat to go!

Doggie Birthday!

Here are a few pics of the Dog themed party.

Invitation...

Kayla and Jake with their Brewer's t-shirts.

Birthday Boy hanging out during Pin the Ear on the Puppy.

A modified version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey: Pin the Ear on the Puppy. What fun!

Doggie Birthday!

Check out the model below with her puppy dog ears!


Dog bones and Puppy Chow for snacks.

Dog dishes to serve the food. Don't worry, they're new!

Can't forget the Doggie Bag with frisbee, tennis ball, whistle and pet stickers!

Happy Birthday Jake!

Today my nephew, Jake, turns one!

His birthday party is tomorrow and is sure to be a doggone good time (according to the invitation, anyway!).

Jake is pretty good at doing some baby signs, particularly "dog". He loves dogs. What could be more fun than a dog-themed birthday party?!

As the (self proclaimed) event planner for his party, I designed a dog-themed birthday party invitation and everything else has fallen into place from there.

Jake's cake will feature the dog I designed for him. He is giving out "Doggie Bags" for the other kids who come. Inside the kids will find a ball, frisbee, whistle and some pet-themed stickers. On the outside of the Doggie Bag, the friendly little pup who is gracing his cake, will also be spotted!

The food will be served from dog dishes (new of course!). The guests can munch on puppy chow straight from the dog food bag (well, a paper bag with a real puppy chow label!). And I made some yummy sugar cookie bones to stick inside the bags and extras to share with the other guests.

The kids get to wear little hats with floppy ears and googly eyes that Grandma and I made.

To top it off, the kids will play an exciting game of Pin the Tail on the Puppy! This is really my only hang up of the party planning. I'm hoping the guests find humor in it. I couldn't find a way to print the dog big enough to play the game. Instead, I bought a dollar-store Pin the Tail on the Donkey and I am putting the dog head on the donkey! We should get some laughs out of it at the very least!

I hope Jake has a happy birthday and many more to come!

Check back after tomorrow for some photos of the bash!

Reasons The Man Rules

The Man helps around the house with things I recognized while he was away for a couple different work trips earlier this year (i.e. record snow falls in December meant that the shovel and I developed a great drive-way clearing system; dinner? ahh, who needs to cooks when it's just me?; and cleaning the litter box? I could deal with it when I could count the weeks on one hand).

I am beginning to realize more than just the basics of what he does around here.

The Man has a green thumb. He can grow anything and he enjoys it. I am trying to keep his plants from dying. But a whole year? When I see all of his plants lined up in our spare bedroom I often wonder how they are going to survive.

He has taken care of the majority of the bills. We did most of our financials relatively separately until we found out about the deployment. Now I am supposed to handle it and I don't even know where to begin (other than the spreadsheet he created for me that perfectly maps it all out). Numbers and I have never gotten along, but prior to being married it was just me I had to worry about. Now it's two of us I am responsible for! That is intimidating. If I mess up, it's not just me who has to deal with the fallout.

The Man also lends some regularity to the house. When he is gone, nothing is routine. Nothing is normal. I tend to work best on a fairly rigid schedule, but I haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet. In the same way, I don't want to get into too much of my own routine, because it will definitely change when he gets back.

The Man also completes our home. I hate the clutter around this place. I would prefer it to be perfectly clean when he is here. With him gone, I thought it would be easy! I just haven't been able to get it there and I think it's because I don't want to erase him.

My list of Reasons The Man Rules is quickly growing. I can't wait to have him back!

It's never easy...

Although I have the basics of military life down, there are so many times that I feel like I'm never going to get the hang of it! I understand the time and date system. I can sit through a conversation and understand the majority of the acronyms and the rest of the military language. I am still working on companies, divisions, units, ranks and how they all fit together. But for the most part, I can follow along when two or more soldiers are in the room.

However, just when you think you're starting to get the hang of it, you're reminded how much you still have to learn.

I took the truck for a drive to visit The Man for a long weekend he had. After driving all day, I finally pulled in and the visitor's center was closed (1800 hours...I arrived at 1900).

No big deal, right? I headed to the visitor's line at the gate.

It's never easy. This was no exception.

I called The Man to let him know I was at the gate and should be in soon. Turns out, I was at the wrong gate. But, once again, thought to myself, "No big deal, I'll just ask for directions, the place is only sort-of huge..."

I pulled out the documents and handed them to Gate Guard for review and entrance to the gate.

Our insurance card was out of date by about a week (we had insurance, just not the new card) . Without updated proof of insurance, I wasn't getting in. I ended up driving down the interstate a few miles to a truck stop recommended by Gate Guard. I called our insurance company, they faxed the updated info to me and I was off to the post again.

Back at the gate, Gate Guard scrutinized the paperwork and finally, I made it through. Fortunately, Gate Guard was nice and he gave me directions or I would have gotten lost trying to find The Man! I made it to the camp that The Man is living at and I was home free.

Or so I thought.

The Man led me to his barracks and I stopped outside the door, he turned to me and said, "Come here". So I tagged along after him like a little puppy whose owner just got home for the day. As The Man headed down the aisle between the packed-in bunks the thought crossed my mind that it was weird to just walk into a room he shares with 39 other men. When, half-way into the room he turned around and said, "What are you doing in here?!"

Turns out he had said, "STAY here" not, "Come here"...so the poor guys in his barracks trying to enjoy a quiet night got a nice surprise from The Man's wife.

Sorry guys.

Fortunately there weren't many in the room, and they were all clothed and very nice about my mistake and invited me back into the room. I tried to not move and keep my mouth shut until we were home free and off post!

I don't know if it ever gets easier.

We were in the visitor's center parking lot the next day when we bumped into a woman who looked like she knew her stuff and had her act together.

As she walked out of the Visitor's Center a flustered look spread across her face and she sighed, "It's never easy, is it?"...

32nd Brigade

The Wisconsin National Guard is facing the biggest deployment since WWII.

3,200 soldiers from the 32nd Brigade left the States for Iraq recently.

I am so proud of our soldiers and their families.

Job Hunt Continues

With all the excitement in the past couple months, I admit, my job search has not been my top priority. I have not had much luck on finding interesting positions to apply for and it's becoming really frustrating.

Truthfully, I don't know what I want to do anymore.

I was doing pretty generic "marketing" in my prior positions. I found it a frustrating field for a number of reasons, but primarily because most people tend to see marketing as "fru fru" and a position where you don't need any skills or knowledge to "market" a product. Marketing was often the last to hear the news, rather than a co-driver of a new product or service. The marketing department was seen by the rest of the company as a dumping ground for routine, mundane tasks that needed to be completed in order to stick with the competition.

I disagree.

Many marketers are dynamic, innovative and insightful. Ideas are created not only based upon the strengths of the company, but also the wants and needs of customers.

I have found that most companies are focused too much on themselves.

In the world of advertising and promotion, successful companies spend extraordinary dollars on marketing products. Product name, understanding the target market, placement of the product, price points, and so many more details are critical elements to the success of an item. Consumers are bombarded with a ridiculous amount of promotional materials every day. Without a strong marketing plan, your product will be lost in the Profit-Sucking Sea.

Sounds logical.

But top management just do not seem to "get it" at most companies I have worked for. They miss the mark every time by dismissing the marketing department.

Wake up! You have a powerhouse at hand if you would just make use of your employees and allow them the freedom to utilize their talents and knowledge. A good marketing department is not worried about making him or herself look good to the other employees, a good marketer is focused on building the company in the long run.

So, as I struggle to find marketing opportunities, I also struggle with the idea of going back solely into a "marketing coordinator" position. I could pursue public relations, or graphic design, or event planning, which are all "tactical" forms of Marketing that I am experienced in. But would those positions really be any different than "Marketing"?

Maybe I should pursue an entirely new career path. Nanny? Chef? RN? Tour guide?

I'm not sure. But I do know that after my current list of experiences, I'd like to do something good. Something that helps people or makes them smile. Something where my input is actually valuable.

Yard Work 101

The weather has been beautiful and giving me the itch to do some yard work. We had this horrible weed patch next to our garage. It was impossible to control as the summer went on. I decided to tackle the problem before it began this year.


First I raked the area. Then, I dug a "trench". I laid down a weed blocking mat. And finally, topped it off with mulch! Ta daaa!


There is an ugly old stump that I decided not to mess with. My neighbor had a fantastic idea (she's so clever!). She suggested drilling a hole into the stump and then putting flowers in it. I love it! I might ask for help on that, though.


I'll admit, it's not a project done by The Man. His projects usually take longer and turn out better, but I'm pretty pleased. Now let's hope the weeds don't come back! Maybe I'll put in some plants one day, too.

Coaxing Cats

The Man has two cats. Two large, sort of fat, definitely long-haired and shed-everywhere cats. If you haven't guessed yet, I'm not a huge fan of them. I tolerate them. They tolerate me. But when The Man is gone things get ugly. They turn into naughty little creatures who are out to get me.

Usually Sam and Gyzmo get to me by jumping on the counters or tables (where they are not allowed). Or getting into my bedroom (where they are not allowed). Or running away from me when I am trying to put them in their area for the night. But today, Sam has officially beaten me.

He escaped out of our front porch door and he ran away. I searched for him. My neighbors searched for him. My mom came over and we walked around the block searching for him. And he was nowhere to be found.

I left our front and back porch doors propped open. I went out a few times tonight calling his name with no luck. I even left a can of tuna for him.

Finally, I was on the phone with Phil tonight and decided to try once more. Sam showed up - and then ran again!

Finally, I coaxed him (with Phil on speakerphone) out from under our neighbor's deck.

No matter how hard I try, these things aren't going to magically turn into dogs, are they? I keep on hoping...

Update: Kayla's Skittle Jar

Just a quick update: When making a countdown skittle jar be sure to inform everyone in the household what it's for...or Daddy might eat a handful of skittles on accident! :)

Kayla's Countdown Jar

I have been babysitting my niece and nephew, Kayla and Jake, while they are on the waiting list for their new babysitter. They are a riot. Jake is 10 months old. Kayla is 5.

Kayla has been asking a lot of questions about The Man's deployment. She told me she is sad about him going and that she is really going to miss him. She doesn't quite understand time so we decided to make a skittle jar for her.

We decorated a container. Then we counted out skittles - one for each day that Phil is gone. We also filled out a customizable calendar that she was given at his send-off ceremony so if she forgets a day or two she can catch up.

Every day she gets to eat a skittle and mark an "x" on her calendar. As the skittles dwindle, she'll know that Phil is getting closer to coming home!

P.S. I can't take credit for this great idea, I stole it off the internet, and changed a few things to suit Kayla's personality (like decorating the jar and using skittles instead of M&Ms...).




Decorating...





Counting...




Doesn't look so long when you view in terms of Skittles!

Time out to eat a few!

All done!

Fabu-light

The Man leaves in just a few days and I thought he would spend his last couple days relaxing. I was wrong.

I now have a completed bathroom (we remodeled the bathroom awhile back and had some odds and ends that needed to be finished - maybe I'll do a post showing our yucky old bathroom...another time). Among the odds and ends, the light fixture that we purchased didn't work out.

He moved the bathroom light fixture to the kitchen where we didn't really have a light fixture. He bought a new fixture for the bathroom and put that in. Then today he installed a ceiling fan in our bedroom! You should see this place now!

He added a handy little feature to our bedroom fan/light - a remote control. Now I can dim the lights slowly or shut them off immediately. It's pretty cool.

See a few bad pics below...one of these days I'll get some camera skills!

Kitchen...

Steamy bathroom...

Ceiling fan...with remote! It looks okay here, but really awesome in person...next is a new wall color. Any suggestions?

Army Wife Life

This weekend The Man had drill and I went along to meet the other wives and kids of the guys deploying.

We've also learned a little more about what and where The Man and the guys will be. I am going to have to come up with a name for the team because, as far as I know, they don't have any names or numbers associated with their team.

As we learn more, I'll be posting on The Adventures of Phil.

It was so nice to meet the other wives and their kids. They are all so friendly! Most have been through this experience before, so I am looking forward to learning about army wife life from them.

I met the husbands, too. I think Phil is on an excellent team with a vast pool of experience. It was interesting to learn their backgrounds and gives me some confidence sending The Man off to Afghanistan with them.

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

The Man's deployment news was a big surprise to both of us. We have a lot to prepare before he leaves at the end of the month. There is paperwork and packing to be done.

Which leads me to the title of my post - an Albert Einstein quote.

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."

In all this deployment chatter and activity, there are some opportunities!

We don't want to let The Man go without a proper send-off.

My mom and sister began planning a going away party while we were out of town. When we got back, I quickly created a invite for the party and started passing it out (I changed a few things to protect my parents address).

It was really fun for me to put my job skills to use on a project where I didn't have constraints!

Now, we just have to come up with a recipe for the Infantrynis.

Anyone have a yummy recipe for a light blue martini? We tried one last night that was not good.

I'll happily take suggestions!

"...all battles and all wars are won in the end by the infantryman"

This year has gotten off to quite a start.

I shipped The Man off to Florida for a month right at the beginning of January. The day after he left, I was laid off.

The Man returned at the end of the month and mid-February we got a phone call.

Turns out, one of the head guys that The Man was working for in Florida requested him for a deployment.

At the end of March, he's headed to training for few months and then after that, he'll be off to Afghanistan for a year or so.

Then throw in the normal helping out family and friends through a few rough patches already this year. Whew. Is is really only March 1? I'd say we have had enough excitement to last the whole year.

Hot Valentine Ideas from Whitebox Blog

I had to respond to one of my favorite blogs: Whitebox Blog.

These women are hilarious...and have a fabulous photography style!

You need to visit their site to check out their sweet Valentine ideas...

I really think the matching swimsuits are the way to go.

Ewwww. I can't even say it with a straight face!!!

What's for dinner?

It's been awhile.
The job hunt is still on.
And I'm still not quite sure what I'm going to do with my life.
Not a whole lot has changed since I wrote last!

I'm working on my pro-bono clients. Just some graphic design and public relations work to keep the days passing by.

And the highlight of my day is to have dinner ready for my husband when he walks in the door. After working long hours at my previous position, dinner could not always be my priority. It has been really nice to be able to have a nice dinner for The Man when he gets home.

Although The Man could eat the same thing every day for a week, I need variety.

I have also been working on purging my freezer and pantry and I'm getting pretty creative.

We had a bag of frozen shrimp, purchased on sale awhile back (I'm a seafood junkie! Frozen suffices when I can get the fresh stuff...). I normally would make a classic shrimp and grits dinner but I thought I could do better. So onto the internet, my favorite cookbook, to find a good shrimp recipe. I like using http://www.allrecipes.com/ and http://www.foodnetwork.com/.

And, like most nights, I hit the jackpot recipe at allrecipes.com!

Coconut shrimp. I pan fried them , but next time I might try baking them to make them slightly healthier. I should have taken pictures, so the fake below will have to do!

I love allrecipes.com because the reviews are great! I generally read a handful of the reviews before I make changes to whatever I'm cooking. It's a valuable resource!

Now for tonight's dinner...any ideas?!

















Ohh...yummy coconut shrimp...I picked this photo because I, too, had one or two darker ones (i.e. burned!). Oops!

America, The Beautiful

Beauty pageants never were my "thing".



The thought of parading around on stage in a gown or bathing suit so someone can judge my appearance always seemed too shallow.



Yet, here I sit on the couch, watching the Miss America pageant.

I'm not really sure why. In fact, when The Man called tonight, he laughed at me.



I know that these are 52 well-rounded, intelligent women. I just wish there was a better way to showcase their depth.

I was still drawn to watching it tonight for some strange reason.



And, just like the Inauguration earlier this week, it's larger than life.



And purely American.



Ehh. What can I say? I've been feeling a little pride in our country this week.



Maybe it's because I've been digging into my new role as FRG Lead Volunteer for my husband's unit. I have a lot to learn about Family Readiness Groups (FRG), but I'm excited to jump in. I am excited to give a little of my time to our Soldiers - to help them know that their families are taken care of.

I won't ever be Miss America. The Presidency is probably out of my league. But someone has some confidence in letting me take care of some of America's VIPs.

Ehh, yeah, maybe a bit of American pride is pouring out of me...

Inauguration of the President

On the verge of the swearing in of our new President, I wonder what to expect during the next four years. I imagine the rest of the country and world are too.

I'm swept up in the details of the Inaugural. The bands. The speeches. The prayer.

The luncheon. The menu. The painting.

The floral arrangements.

The gifts. The dishes.

The parade. The balls.

I love tradition. However, I can't help but see a paradox.

On the verge of a Presidency filled with promises of change, the theme of this Inaugural just doesn't seem to fit.

I look forward to watching the Inauguration of the President tomorrow. I hope that America's past is not simply lost in the details. Yes, America is change.

I just don't want America to be lost in the change.

Before and After

I have managed to avoid my home organization projects for almost a week now. This afternoon, I decided to begin tackling the disaster.

It's pretty ugly right now.

Fortunately, things tend to get worse before they get better.

I have limited storage space, causing me to get creative. My mom and dad stopped over right about the time that the disaster was at its worst. Thankfully my parents had four daughters are used to messy rooms. What's even better is that I got an outside perspective on my "office space" from my mom. I'm hoping to carve out a little nook.

In my nook, I am going to set up a little creative area where I keep my issues of Before & After magazine (http://www.bamagazine.com/) and other inspiring items for easy access. B&A is one of my favorite ways to get out of a design rut and spark my creativity.

Now I just need a favorite way to get out of my unorganized rut and spark some storage creativity!

Damn I look Good!

Still a bit bummed over the Unemployment Compensation, I thought starting the day with a good yoga workout would be helpful to yesterday's clinging attitude slip. I headed off to class bright and early...

After a sweat-inducing pain session, I did some cleaning and online job hunting. None of which brightened the day. I also checked on prices to visit The Man next week (my husband is in the South for the month enjoying 80 degree weather while he works on an Army assignment). No luck finding a cheap flight.

Bummer.

This evening, however, turned my attitude around.

I went to see The Midnight Swinger, my husband's favorite comedian and entertainer (www.themidnightswinger.com) . It's too bad The Man missed such a good show tonight.

Who am I kidding? It's always a good show when The Swinger is in town!

The Man thinks The Midnight Swinger is pretty much the coolest guy on the planet. I can't even begin to describe The Swinger...where to begin? His catch phrase is "Damn, I Look Good" - that pretty much sums him up.

Hilarious.

Not only did The Midnight Swinger provide excellent entertainment tonight, he'll also serve as some good ammo to use on The Man when he starts in to me on the toasty weather down south later this week.

Which reminds me...

We are preparing for the coldest temps of the winter. I may have to pull out the YouTube link of The Swinger to cheer up on the cold days later this week...join me for a good laugh!

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+midnight+swinger&search_type=&aq=f

Rocky road

Yesterday was a bit challenging on my positive attitude.

I woke up and began the bright, snowy day with my new work out session (plus some snow removal), and headed to my sister's house to work on a project for our mom. On my way, I picked up my niece from school. What fun!

These tiny little people come marching out the door. I saw my niece scanning the waiting moms and her eyes lit up as she saw me and ran to give me a big ol' hug. I really have the best niece and nephew a girl could ask for. And both are dang cute, too. Definitely the bright spot in my day!

On a not so positive note, I finally got through to a Claims Specialist to sign up for Unemployment Compensation. Not exactly the proudest moment of my life. Oh well, it's life, right?

Day one without a job

Oddly enough, I woke up before my alarm clock this morning. So I stayed in bed deciding which exercise program to start this morning.

Did I mention I have gotten fat since starting this job?

I was thinking about going out for a brisk walk, but when I got up, we had snow. Shoveling my driveway may serve as my workout. It's probably less than an inch of snow, so it would be a slacker workout.

I decided to check the weather to see if any more snow is in the forecast and ended up messing with my blog.

Oops.

On to workout plan number two: Find a way to avoid leaving the house to workout.

My favorite in-home workout is www.yogatoday.com . Yoga Today has a full one-hour workout every day (and more if you're really ambitious!).

There is beautiful scenery that makes me forget about the snow. And I'm definitely sweaty when we're finished. What could be better?

Off to do some hip openers...

Laid off?

Today I was laid off. Lost my job.

No official warning was sounded. No heads up from top management.

There were rumors.

Definitely rumors. I was called in and given a letter. And out the door I went.

Rather than let it get me down, which would be pretty easy to do, I've decided to use it as a launching point.

I had allowed my personal life to slide when I started this job. It's embarrassing to admit. I have a cluttered house, my kitchen has been neglected, and my professional growth stunted.

Join me on my journey to reclaim a life. My house will be clean. My husband will once again enjoy a healthy dinner (and occasional cookies). And my professional skills will be evaluated, honed and put to use again.