Milspouse Friday Fill-in #39

1. Have you and your spouse agreed to live in separate locations (a geographical bachelor tour) knowing that the short-term inconvenience would have long-term benefits for your family? How did it work for you? submitted by When Good People Get Together
   For a short time while I was pregnant with our first boy, I lived in Hawaii by myself while he was on the boat, transiting from Virginia to Pearl Harbor.  It was a little nerve-wracking to be in a brand new place by myself while pregnant without knowing neighbors or even the other wives, but it worked because I have big girl panties.  Yes, I said that.
   
   
2. What is your favorite thing about being a MilSpouse? submitted by Sarah Ruth Today
   I have no idea.  There are many plusses, but I can't think of my absolute favorite thing. 
   
   
3. If you could still have your spouse/significant other and your family, but take the military life out of it…would you?  submitted by Trust. Love. Believe. Bake.
   Yes.  We are counting down the days!!  Have my husband home and not face long deployments and have a choice in health care?  Sign me up!  (Don't get me wrong- the military has been very good to us, and I'm very thankful, but it will be nice when he's retired)
   
   
4. What have your homecoming experiences been like after a year long tour of separation? submitted by Army Soldier, Army Wife
   Fortunately, we have never been separated for a year due to deployment.  We've gone over a year between seeing each other because I was in school, but seeing each other after being apart for so long was always fun, wink wink.
   
   
5. If you have a child(ren) why you chose their name(s)? If not, why you would name your child something?  submitted by Tiara’s & ACU’s
   Our oldest was named after family, and our youngest's middle name is after my father.  His first name was a name we both liked.
   

I'm just allergic to everything

After trying nearly everything under the sun to help my allergies, I saw something at Walmart that I hadn't tried before.  So I bought a box of Alavert.  It promised 24 hour non-drowsy relief from allergy symptoms.

After I took it, my sneezing and itchy throat ceased.... for about ten minutes.  Then, as usual, my body said, "Ha, nice try, I don't think so" and I began sneezing once again.  Several hours later, I'm sitting here with my symptoms as bad as they always are, as if I hadn't taken a single thing.

You know, it doesn't surprise me.  I've tried Allegra, Claritin, Zyrtec, Benadryl, Advil Allergy, ChlorTrimeton, etc.  Nothing besides Benadryl works, and that stuff puts me out.  I took some on Friday- thank god Hubby was home because I fell asleep from 1pm to 4pm!!  So if I want to be conscious and able to function, I won't take Benadryl.

I suppose it would help if I knew what I was allergic to.  I know that grass pollen does it for me.  So does tree pollen, so pretty much anything green that grows outside.  Yeah, that sucks.  Fortunately, I don't have any food allergies, but I am allergic to pregnancy hormones, apparently.  Oh, and sunscreen... yeah, that sucks, too.  Oh, and most over-the-counter facial moisturizers (btw, the Clinique line is awesome, I love it).

Anyway, it doesn't matter at this point what makes me sneeze or drip from my nose or burn my skin or whatever.  What matters is I'm friggin sick of it!!  Does anyone have any advice or know of anything that I haven't tried??  I'm getting desperate.  Snotty, sniffling, watery eyes desperate.  Help!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-in #38

1. How many pets do you have? And what type? submitted by Life and Times of a Displaced Jersey Girl
   We have zero.  :(  I love dogs, but with all the moving we do (which is a lot, even by military standards), I simply can't do that to an animal.
   
2. What are your favorite projects to do while hubby is away? submitted by my-inspired-nest
   Bake buns in my oven.  That seems to be the trend with us!  :)  But my other hobbies to do while he's deployed are playing in community bands, work on his scrapbook, and bake (food, not little buns).
   
3. What are the must-haves in your deployment care packages?  submitted by Christine’s Little Blog
   Chocolate and candy.  That seems to be the only stuff Hubby wants in his halfway night box.  We a friend who is in Baghdad right now, and we sent him stuff like sunscreen, magazines, and his favorite candy bars. 
   
   
4. If you could star in any TV show, which would it be? submitted by Just a Girl
   The Big Bang Theory, because I'm sooooo a geek, and that would probably be the most realistic show I could be involved with!
   
5. What was the biggest hurdle that you faced during your/your significant other’s first deployment? submitted by The Pavlik Perspective
   Well, not much.  We were living in other states at the time, so the deployment wasn't that big of a change for us.  I was only able to send one family gram (holy cow, remember those?), and the only other communication was if he called me during a port call, so I suppose the lack of communication was the biggest hurdle.  This past deployment was the hardest, though- there were many things going on that I needed him and only him for.  I ended up leaning on the CO's wife, my neighbor, and my family for those times, but it was extremely difficult to need him and know that I couldn't even tell him what was going on.

Hotel NH Girl

Did I say April was going to be crazy?  Hm.  I must have understated that.  It's been cah-raaaaay-zah-haaaaay!

My brother and sister were here for several days, as you know.  I love, love, love having them visit us because they are so much fun to be around and the boys go nuts when they're here.  After they left, I had a day of downtime (and an awesome concert, woot!) when Hubby said, "My friend H***** is coming back to the states from Japan, and he's in Oregon right now, and he'll be here in two days and staying with us for however long."  So I went running around, trying to clean the guest room and all that goes along with it (with no dryer, washing the linens and towels took forever).  When he got here, LB literally jumped all over him.  The kid adores visitors.  Of course, single guys are easy to please, especially former submariners (going from those tiny racks to a queen-sized bed all to himself must seem like the friggin Four Seasons), but I've been a little stressed making the place look nice and clean.

I think H***** is leaving tomorrow for Vegas, making his way to DC.  After that, the craziness of Easter will hit.  The Easter bunny is bringing the boys baskets and will be leaving eggs in the yard for them to find... which you all know means that I, of course, will be stressing over that, too, haha.

I may have a girly date next Saturday, and of course, the royal wedding the Friday before, which is airing at 2am here in CA and I'm totally waking up early for it.  Also, this weekend is some dirtbiking racing manly thing that Hubby bought tickets for.  Oh, and did I mention Hubby traded in his fuel-efficient Versa for an F-150 gas guzzler?  Let's not get into that right now.

My point: this month is ridiculously busy and stressful.  I've needed more coffee than ever.  And beer.  And chocolate.  My waistline is exploding.  My whole diet has been put on the back burner for now.  I keep saying things will slow down in May, but we're supposed to PCS in June (btw, still don't have orders, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...).  I guess one of these days, I will get a moment to breathe!

It's my party and I'll be deaf if I want to

Today is my birthday.  Not too excited about the number of candles on the cake this year, but I thought I'd celebrate anyway.  Hubby bought me a ticket to see Cut Copy up in San Fran last night, and it was amazing!

If you haven't heard of them, check them out.  They are kind of 80s synth pop, and the crowd totally reflected that (I swear I thought I saw the lead singer from Flock of Seagulls about a million times).  Holy Ghost opened for them and they rocked just as much- I immediately downloaded their album on iTunes last night when I got home.  I had a spot right in the front next to the booming speakers, and even though I had a great view, I'm a little deaf in my left ear.  Not good for a musician, but it was a good show!

I know I've been MIA lately.  My brother and sister came here to visit after our ski trip in Tahoe.  They boys LOVED having them here- when LB saw the car come down the driveway, he was jumping up and down and raced outside to greet them.  We went around downtown, watched the Sea Otter Classic, hiked a little bit, had the fire pit going, and spent some time with Dr K.  It always so much fun when they visit, and LB misses them like crazy, but hopefully if we ever get orders, we'll be much closer really soon!

Anyway, so it's my birthday.  Leave me some love!  :)

Milspouse Friday Fill-in #37

1. With PCS moves happening every few years, do you take the time to paint and decorate your home? submitted by Life as Mrs. JPT
   Hell no!  Although, I desperately want to.  I'm really looking forward to when we can finally personalize our home, but with all the moving, it just doesn't seem worth it.  Besides, with two little ones, it almost seems crazy to do that to myself!
   
   
2. If you could live in any home on a television series, what would it be? submitted by Standing By Him
   I liked Monica's apartment on Friends, although Hubby would hate living in NYC.  I also liked Superman's farm house on Smallville (never watched that show enough to know the specifics of it, but I remember thinking that house was exactly what we wanted).
   
   
3. What inspired you to start your blog?  submitted by Pink Combat Boots
   My family.  After LB was born, they were dying for up-to-the-minute updates, and I was exhausted, so I created this for them to read, instead of calling every family member all the time (I know, it's the lazy way out, but I was pooped).  It's morphed into a family / Navy life / rant blog.
   
   
4. What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen on base? submitted by Adventures in Life
   A handicapped motorcycle license plate.  Think about it.... if you're handicapped enough to require a plate, how are you going to drive safely on something with two wheels, shifting with your left foot, rear braking with your right foot, operating the clutch with your left hand, and front braking with your right hand, all while keeping your balance and your eyes on the road??  I didn't even know you could get a handicapped motorcycle license plate.
   
   
5. Which historical figure (politician, writer, artist, scientist, actor, etc…) would you like to have dinner with?  submitted by Army of Two
   Ah, I never know what to say to this question.  It would be cool to talk with Albert Einstein, or maybe George Washington (I'd love to get his opinion on the clusterf*ck that is our government today), and of course, getting direct answers from Jesus would be pretty cool... although I could never repeat what he would say, because people would think I was some kind of quack!  Imagine this: "Yeah, I had dinner with Jesus last night.  He had the fish.  He also told me that we should stop eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."  I'd be tossed in the loony bin in two seconds!
   

My weekend

At the top of Heavenly, looking down on Lake Tahoe.  It's so gorgeous, I'm jealous of myself.  :)

See ya!

So, the impending gov't shutdown... I could blog about that clusterf*ck.  But I won't, because....

I'm going to Tahoe!!!!!!

I'll be skiing all weekend with my brother and sister from the east coast, and the only thing on my mind is how to fly down the mountain without killing myself.  :)

See you all next week!

McDonalds is NOT the devil

I recently learned that NYC is making health guidelines for Happy Meals, asking that the meal contain no more than 500 calories and 600 mg of sodium.  This comes after San Francisco has banned the Happy Meal, stating that meals with toys should be healthy.

Sigh... where do I start?

First, McDonalds is meant to be a once-in-awhile guilty pleasure.  We all know the food is not the best for you.  I see nothing wrong with letting my kids enjoy their french fries and chicken nuggets, as long as they're eating well the remainder of the time.  My kids eat McDonalds about once a month, sometimes twice, like when we are on road trips. The article says the average child eats Happy Meals three times a month, nearly once a week!  Personally, I think that's too much.  McDonalds should be a treat, not a weekly part of a child's diet.

Second, forcing a business to revise their menu is not going to solve the problem.  Buyers will just order an extra side of fries when their children inevitably start screaming for french fries.  Or, parents will buy larger sizes that come without the toy and with the fries, which will lead to more overeating by children.  Or, parents will opt to not go to McDonalds any more.  This decision is going to hurt McDonald's business and do nothing to stop the consumption of junk food.

Third, and I may get crap for this but, how is it fair to allow adults to eat Double Quarter Pounders with Cheese and large fries, while withholding the same treats for kids?  I'd feel pretty guilty eating fries in front of my child, while he only gets apple slices.  As a once-in-awhile treat, that kinda sucks.  It would be like being the child at the lunch table in school who gets carrots, while everyone else has a cookie.  As the parent, I make the conscious decision to allow my boys to eat McDonalds.  And when I am ordering for them, there had better be a guilty-pleasure option on that menu.

Fourth, it's not necessarily McDonalds fault for offering these choices.  The parents need to make healthful decisions for their kids, and that means frequenting McDonalds a little less.  They know the food is junk, so the obvious answer to stop including junk food in their child's diet is to stop buying it for them.  It's that simple.  Parents need to wake up and take charge instead of blaming corporation after corporation for their own stupidity and laziness.

And lastly, the article did not mention what the children were eating the remainder of the time.  If the families go to McDonalds, then they are more than likely going to Burger King, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell, etc.  McDonalds is shouldering a lot of responsibility for just being one piece of the puzzle.  If the kids can't get the regular Happy Meals, then they will move on to the next place that will give them what they want.  The idea here isn't to withhold the bad food- it's to educate the parents on how to consume that food.  People are going to get what they want from somewhere.  Wouldn't it make more sense to teach parents how much is appropriate?

Annnnnnd, done with rant.  :)  I'd be interested on your take of this situation!  Is McDonalds the devil?  Who should take responsibility for childrens' health?  Should they be to blame for providing food that is known to be unhealthy?  If so, what about other business who make money selling items that are harmful to our health?

Military Life from Alpha to Zulu

This is what the military means to me, from alpha to zulu.  There are more terms I could have used, but I tried to pick just one that was the most meaningful.  If you want to play (I'd be interested to see what civilians come up with, too!), link up here.


Alpha: Amine
Bravo: Bull ensign
Charlie: Commissary
Delta: Deployments
Echo: Eng
Foxtrot: FRG
Golf: Gunney (has nothing to do with subs, but it's relevant to us)
Hotel: Hurry up and wait!
India: IA
Juliet: Japan
Kilo: Khakis
Lima: LES
Mike: Moving (aka, PCS, but I already had a "p" that I liked)
November: NPTU
Oscar: Ombudsman
Papa: Poopysuit
Quebec: Questions
Romeo: Reactor
Sierra: Submarines, duh!
Tango: Torpedos
Uniform: USO
Victor: Vets
Whiskey: Wardroom
Xray: XO
Yankee: Yeoman
Zulu: Zulu time

Da da-da dum, da da-da dum...

The music from the Toy Story game for Xbox is running in my head.... probably because Hubby's playing it right now, and has for the past four hours.  The boys haven't minded, especially LB, who loves video games and loves anything Toy Story.

Who writes the music for all this?  Who performs it?  And why am I not that person?

When I was in high school, our band took a trip to Disney World.  We performed in the Main Street parade and competed in cool competitions (okay, cool to a band geek!).  But you know what my favorite part was?  Getting the chance to perform the background music for the movie Aladdin.  It was the parade scene for Prince Ali Ababah (however you spell that), and our director would watch the silent movie and conduct us at just the right tempo to sync up with the movie.  One of the coolest experiences EVER.

Why don't I do that for a living??  Oh, right- I move all the time.  And I would need, like, way more talent.

But given the right circumstances, I would totally do that.  Either perform the background music for a movie (think John Williams or Danny Elfman) or video game... or anything else that needs music.

Um, yeah, my inner geek is showing.  So what?  :)

Milspouse Friday Fill-in #36

1. What romance movie scene reminds you of your s/o or spouse and the LOVE you share? submitted by Simply Sunshine and Daisy’s
   Hm.  Well, the movie that most closely resembles our dating was Meet The Parents.  But I have no idea what to choose for our love in the present.
   
2. If you were allowed to deploy with your husband to a war zone would you and why? submitted by I & J
   No.  We have kids.  Neither of us would want to put our children in that situation, so the practical thing would be for me to stay with them here.  We've talked about it- I'd live in NH near our families with the boys.  If we didn't have kids, I'd consider it, but I know there's no way he'd want me to put myself in danger just to be near him!
   
3. Have you ever done anything (intentionally, or unintentionally) to embarrass your spouse/significant other in front of his military cohorts?  submitted by Marrying the Navy
   I don't think I have.  Correction- I hope I haven't!
   
4. What is your most irrational fear? submitted by Eights on the Move
   I don't have irrational fears.  I am very afraid of snakes, because they can kill you with one bite and they creep me out.  And I'm a little afraid of needles, because I've had bad experiences with them (one hospital stuck me nine times and hit a nerve before finding a vein).  But there isn't anything that I'm afraid of for no reason.
   
5. If you could only live in one kind of climate for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?  submitted by Many Waters
   Another tough one!  I really liked the winter in southern Spain, but let's be realistic.  :)  Hubby and I enjoyed AZ while we were there recently.