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! :)