Life is finally calming down.  I finally feel like we are settling into it.  Its normal now to live in this house and in this city.

Speaking of our house, living in it has just gotten a lot more comfortable.  We still felt like we lived in a hotel because out of our entire house we still lived in one room of it. We met some new friends and they gave us a fabulous dinner table, among a few other things.  I love sitting down to dinner with my husband, not holding my plate in my lap and not eating over a tv.   We are finally using our whole house!  

We had lunch with these new friends on the 4th of July. It was the first thing we’ve done since getting married as far as socializing with another Navy couple.  We had fun, and yes I did say WE.  It can be so hard to find even one person we both like, let alone two.  When we left my husband said, “That was fun, I’m glad we did that.”  He made me a happy camper.  We skipped the fireworks that night in favor of cooking some steaks and homefries, but when I pulled the steaks out of the fridge they were growing blue mold!!  I checked the date, it was almost five days expired, which means it was expired when we bought it.  We were dissapointed for sure, but it was still a nice night.

I read the posts on being transparent.  A lot of you wonderful ladies have more to teach me than I can offer you because you have experience under your belts already.  So if anything, I want to be transparent for the sake of your past.  I know everyone remembers when they were in my brand new shoes.  If there’s anything that makes me appreciate where I am now its reflecting on my past, so hopefully as I go through the things you’ve all already conquored you can look back on your laughs and your tears and gain new perspectives on your everyday life.  And as you do, be sure to share it with me!  I look forward to the day I can go back and read my old posts about my beginings and appreciate how far I’ve come.

Just a follow up post to Cristin’s great post below.
We have so much to be thankful for, despite all our problems and struggles, the USA is the greatest country in the world.  Today when we celebrate with friends and family, take a moment to remember those to fought for the freedoms we have today.

Be safe this long weekend!

God Bless the USA!

I wanted to take a few minutes out of what is sure to be a busy Independence Day to express my gratitude to those who allow us to live in a wonderful, free country.  Thank you to all of those that currently serve and have served honorably in our military.  I would love to be able to celebrate with my husband today, but I know that he and all the other servicemembers who are separated from their families are doing their jobs so that we may continue to live in an independent country.  I am so grateful that their service allows my daughter to grow up in a place where she can truly do anything that she wants to do. 

There are some other people I would like to acknowledge today that you may not neccesarily think of on July 4th.  As a military wife, people often say to me - “I don’t know how you do it”.  I’m know many other military wives are constantly told that too.  One reason we are able to thrive is because of those around us who support us.  Everyone who supports a military family member is in turn supporting the servicemember.  When a servicemember knows that their family is taken care of, they are able to focus on their job and do it more effectively.  There is no way that I could list all the people who have helped me but I will try to mention a few.  My extended family, among other things, helps take care of my daughter sometimes.  This allows me to have a short break every once in a while that is very much needed.  My friends have been there to help me have fun and take my mind off the stresses of everyday life, but they have also been there to help me up when I’ve been down.  The ladies at the post office encourage me by always being so friendly when we go to send my husband his regular care packages, and they always ask about him.  The staff at the vet’s office would always help me when I showed up at the clinic with a dog and baby in tow.  I appreciate the people who just stop to ask me how B is and tell me that they are praying for him.  Those few words have the power to lift my spirit immensely.  Thanks to all of you who encourage and uplift a military family member.  When you bring a smile to our face, you are serving our country in your own little way.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed 4th of July weekend!

I read Just a Girl in Port’s post below and it started to get my wheels a turnin’. So here is my response to her post. Thanks so much for sharing your feelings here and being so “Transparent”

Here is what I wrote:

OH My GOODNESS! I feel like you just described me in detail! Everything down to the T! My eyes are actually tearing up over this. Not in a bad way but in a happy way because I don’t feel alone in my thoughts and feelings.

I love the stay at home life but I miss the power and “in control” feeling of my past professional career. I was single during that time too and when I tried the whole career thing again with two small children it just wasn’t the same for me as it was when I was single. Maybe when they are older it will be different.

I have had the whole June Cleaver fantasies too! HA HA! I LOVE to entertain but it seems these days everyone is too busy with their own lives to be graced with my entertaining abilities. LOL!

Some days, I too just sit down for a good cry and wonder why did I marry into the military. I told my husband I didn’t want the military life for my own and didn’t want to raise a family like this but I know deep down that no matter how much I want to pass the blame on him for marrying me and giving me this life. I signed the marriage papers, said the vows and well, sometimes true love makes the choices for you and “calls the shots”. I know I love him more than anything and love seems to have that affect on most of us.

I also know deep down in my heart that I am so PROUD of what he does and I have come to the realization that I can either embrace this life that has come to be my own or fight it, The second choice just brings depression, despair and discontentment. Embracing what we have and appreciating the life we have and call our own is much easier to come to “terms” with.

I still have my days when I feel as though I could curse the day he chose to re-enlisted for yet another six year and how I cannot stand being away from family etc etc etc. 

However, convinced of the reality that this IS my life delusional by love or not. I still chose it just as much as he did. What we share is very real and there are so many numerous & wonderful things that we can discover when we take our eyes off of ourselves and our self  loathing and actually realize that as a Military Family we have so much more opportunity in this life than most people will ever see or do in a lifetime.

We are always going to have “Those Days” but life never promises to be roses, peaches and cream. If we look at each day as a new opportunity to be a blessing to someone else, an encouragement or a help. We will then begin to see the positive benefits our “Military life” affords us. It is certainly something we can find much joy in and truly find peace and contentment with despite the “quirks”!

Thanks for being so real and so “Transparent”! It really has been an inspiration to me in so many ways and this spouse can completely RELATE to you! HUGS!

On this week’s live Navy Wife Radio show (be sure to see the archives), Wendy talked briefly about how she hoped this blog could exhibit some transparency. Here I am thinking, She wants me to be see-through? She wants people to think I’m shallow? No, no, she wants us to be relatable.

Well, what could I tell you about me to draw that connection? I suppose I could tell you that despite my being used to this military life that I cry. Yes, I do break down and have my really horrible moments. I have even been known to want to throw the towel in. These moments are few, but they exist. I’m no different than anyone else. I love the opportunities that we have but I detest many of the struggles. No one said this is easy, and it surely isn’t. I know that there are some folks out there who get fed up with the chain of command and rules and regulations. Count me in your corner, I’m there too. Yes (here’s comes the pun), we are all in the same boat.

I imagine some of you stay at home moms can relate this: I miss the working world, even though I love my children with all of my heart. Truthfully, though, what I would give to don my high heels and suits again and sit through a boring office meeting in lieu of changing diapers or doing yet another load of laundry. I know, I know, I still do this when I’m gainfully employed. Sometimes, I wish a maid would just magically appear before my eyes though. A girl can dream, can’t she?

Oh, here’s another! I have a fantasy about lavish formal dinners where I’m the hostess-with-the-mostess, and my DH is proudly seated at the head of the table regaling people with sea stories. Fat chance! My husband, while he enjoys his coworkers and many longtime military friends, detests formality. He loves to separate work from home and vice versa. Me, I actually have romantic daydreams about a bygone era where the military wife actually did host such gatherings and appear a bit like June Cleaver, Bree Van de Kamp/Hodge or any other fictional woman of perfection. Yes, I would like to work and be the perfect housewife too.

So, there you have it, some random thoughts of a loony military spouse. Maybe I’m not all that relatable, but it’d be interesting to see if I’m not alone.

Sarah Smiley’s new book I’m Just Saying is now available for preorder on Amazon.com

The book is a collection of her columns, so if you are an avid reader you are going to love having all your favorites in one place. I think this book would be a great gift for any milspouse.

You might also know Sarah from her articles in Military Spouse Magazine or her book Going Overboard: The Misadventures of a Military Wife.

Sarah will have you laughing, crying and saying, “I can’t believe she wrote that!” Her transparency is refreshing!

Pre-order the book here.

More Praise for I’M JUST SAYING…

“Sarah Smiley’s columns are funny, smart and real. If military-spouse humor writers had ranks, she would be, at minimum, a general.”

- Dave Barry, syndicated columnist

“Sarah Smiley’s columns read like amusing dispatches from your favorite friend…[she] writes with the kind of three-beer honesty that seems both amusing and brave at the same time.”

- Frank Cerabino, columnist, The Palm Beach Post

“Sarah Smiley captures military family life like no other - with endearing and descriptive writing that brings both laughs and tears.”

- The Bradenton Herald

“Hilariously documents the misadventures of a military family. Each column is a carefully polished gem.”

- Karin Gillespie, author of DOLLAR DAZE

“Insightful. Patriotic. Guaranteed to tickle your funny bone. This collection of stories shares the myriad of blessings universal to motherhood.”

- Celeste Palermo, author From the Red Tees

“Sarah Smiley’s frank writing offers an atypical perspective of military life…even those completely unfamiliar with life as a military spouse will relate and appreciate her witty accounts of being a wife and raising three children.”

- Bernie Grimm, Fox News Legal Analyst

Tomorrow night, July 1st, we welcome some of the bloggers here to Navy Wife Radio

Here are the show details, hope you can join us!

From Navy Wife Radio

Tuesday - July 1st - MyMilitaryLife Bloggers - A Day in the Life of a Military Spouse - Join us for a conversation with some of the bloggers from http://mymilitarylife.wordpress.com. We are featuring Submarine Wife Megan, Coast Guard wife “Just a Girl in a Port” Jenn, Army wife Cristin and new Navy wife Hillary. This is our lineup at press time, we are hoping to add to the list.

Have you thought about starting your own blog, but not sure how to get started? We will be answering that question and more. Plus, we will also be talking about how blogging can help you through a deployment and be a virtual scrapbook for your thoughts and experiences.

If you have a question for our authors, please email them to jessica(at)navywiferadio.com.

Show Details:

We invite you to join the conversation!

You don’t want to miss this show LIVE! Our call in # is 646-652-4629.

To listen live go to: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/navywiferadio

or

Show link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/navywiferadio/2008/07/02/Navy-Wife-Radio

This is exciting news for military families!

Bush signs war funding, GI Bill overhaul

By Rick Maze - Navy Times Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jun 30, 2008 12:27:54 EDT

A $162 billion war funding bill that includes a $63 billion overhaul of GI Bill education benefits was signed Monday by President Bush.

“The bill shows even in an election year, Republicans and Democrats can come together to stand behind our troops,” Bush said, predicting the GI Bill increases would be a boost to military recruiting and also a boon to families if educational benefits are transferred to family members.

The signing of HR 2642 brings an end to a Pentagon cash-flow crisis that threatened to disrupt military and civilian payroll, cancel or delay maintenance, and postpone nonessential training and travel.

And, for the first time since the Vietnam War, there will be a completely free veterans’ education benefit program that pays enough to fully cover the cost of getting a four-year college degree. read more

I wrote a post a month or so about a friend of mine moving back to the area and how the combat boots in her family are moving around a bit. Her husband is retiring from the Army and her son is heading off to the freshman class at West Point today.

I wanted to get something to mark the change in her life from military wife to military mom. I looked around for something online and I came across a website, Designs by Sandra Kay with a whole assortment of bracelets. One in particular caught my eye, it was a military mom bracelet. Perfect.

Even better is that she will personalize your bracelet for you, be it with a name, special colors, or another specific charm (within reason of course). Apparently West Point colors (which I got below) are pretty popular so she even has a bracelet for you West Pointers out there. I emailed her to see if it were possible to have a military wife charm added and she was happy to oblige (it added to the cost a few dollars but very worth it). All told with shipping and the extra charm it was only 35 dollars. Good God I love me a bargain.


I received the bracelet today and its fabulous. I’ve seen some beaded bracelets that end up looking hokey or tacky. The beads are too big or the coloring is off or something but not the case with this one. It’s gorgeous. Even flyboy, who balked when I said I wanted to order a red, white, and blue ones for myself, said that it wasn’t what he thought it would look like and he actually likes it. Its a major victory.
I cant say enough good things about Sandra and her business. She is an RN by trade but due to her health she is started something that she could run from home. She runs an great business, she responded promptly and oh so courteously to all my emails and was a joy to work with. When I spaced out and had it sent to my old address she sent it out again to me, at no extra cost, priority mail without so much as a fuss. Now days customer service being what it is, when I find a really great company I’m going to go back and I’m going to spread the word.

And now I know what to get my mother in law for Christmas this year. Not in West Point colors of course!

Pat is really getting fancy with this LONG AWAITED second episode of Hey, Shipwreck!

Funny episode Pat, I like the scene with the missiles in the background and going down the hallway…..getting pretty fancy with the graphics.

I am always forgetting my passwords too! grrr!
Interesting Fact:  On our show Navy Wife Radio, ET1 Pat Hrabe, the creator of Hey, Shipwreck! holds the record for our most downloaded show.