How Time Flies!

It has been FOREVER since I have written on here! I totally thought coming here I would have ample amounts of time to blog to my heart's content...WRONG! I am so busy all the time and I swear I have more free time at home working full time and taking care of the kiddos than I do here kiddo free! But I will say that I have actually had a pretty good time so far on my deployment and I can't really complain because there are far worse places to be! So here is the run down of things I have gotten to experience since the last time I blogged.

1. Met the Secretary of State John Kerry

2. Experienced the culture off base

3. Got to work with the Singapore Air Force

4.My hubby came to visit!

Until next time folks! Which I promise won't be another month and a half :) Enjoy!

2 weeks down!

You know that song "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall"...yea that should be my theme song on this deployment. Maybe it will make the time go by faster. 

I feel like I should give you all an insight into my "deployment." It isn't really that hard...really the hardest part is being away from the family (a no brainer) and finding things to do to fill the time. 

I am at a pretty nice base with quite a bit of amenities such as a movie theater; which by the way we get new releases just as you guys do so that makes it nice. We also have an outdoor pool, a gym, and a bunch of restaurants in case the chow hall gets to be bland. And it does fairly quickly I might add. And there is free wifi...yes I can't really complain about where I am at considering there are worse places I could be. 

One of the perks of being where I am is that we can take a cultural tour off base. I can't wait to do one but I might add that I'm a little nervous because I hear that the drivers here literally have the world's worst road rage and accidents per capita. Yikes! But it will be an adventure non the less and I can't wait to see how other people in this world live so differently than us. 

So this is a picture of my small abode here. 

So this is small abode here. 

It is my part of the room as there is also a bathroom and two other bunk beds. I am just now getting a roommate so 2 weeks without one has been pretty nice. 

So I am adjusting fairly well to the time difference and to the heat...it has only been 108 so far!! It is strange because some people think that since I am a "weather girl" that I am used to this heat...umm negative. When I left Arkansas it was only high 70s!

Well as most of you are starting to wake it is actually bedtime for me so until we write again...see you soon!

I Have a Secret!!!

Don't you just love having a secret or finding one out?!?!? Well after reading this you will know my secret (and of course then it won't be a secret anymore)!

I have been given an opportunity to review Mia Mariu Mineral Cosmetics! When I got the email I was very excited because I love makeup and anything girly and also because I might find something new that I love and be able to pass it on to you all!

Of course I went to their website and read through what the company is about and looked through all their products and I must say I am impressed. 

1. They are from Dallas right near my hometown of Arlington. 

2. They offer women the opportunity to become an entrepreneur and own their own business. Girl Power!

3. It is natural mineral based makeup with vitamins and antioxidants in it that help your skin.

4. I absolutely fell in love with them when I read this...They support the Wounded Warrior Wives! Being that I am a military wife and in the military myself this couldn't hit any closer to home!!

So let's just say with all this that I have found out I am beyond excited to be apart of this review. And what is also good about doing a review...a giveaway! It is currently in the works but there should be a giveaway of the products in the near future! So go tell all your friends to stop on by and look for the review in the near future! 

Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day!!

Today is an especially important day because it close to my heart! Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day! I am doing a blog hop started by Household Diva 6 and Rollar Coaster for military spouse appreciation day! I love this day because one I am a military spouse (and so is the hubby since I am also in the military!) but also because it recognizes the strong spouse behind the military member. They are the ones that stay home and make sure the house and family are still going while the military member is off on a deployment. They are the glue of the family in my opinion! Not only does the military member make sacrifices but so does the spouse. You go where the military sends you and you learn to make the most of it and sometimes it may not be the place you want to go but I know that if I have my family with me then we can make it fun!

So for those of you that are new to my blog here is a little bit about me.

 

I come from a whole line of military and am the first girl in my family to join. I am a meteorologist in the Air Force so my job always stays interesting. I have been in for 10 years and my current assignment has me only 6 hours from home which is the closest I have ever been yet. I love being back around family since I didn't get to see them as much at previous assignments.

Like I said I am also in the Air Force like my hubby so we are the rare "dual military family." 

(on my way to deployment 2009)

My hubby and I have been married for almost 8 years (next month!) and we have an absolute blast together! He is definitely my best friend! He is a crew chief and has worked on fighter jets and now cargo jets. 

We have two adorable girls that are 8 and almost 7 months. Most people gasp at the age difference but I think I would have lost my mind had I had them any closer in age...lol 

On my blog I write about recipes to try, crafting, family and anything else that I find interesting in hope to pass along to other bloggers like me!

 

Feel free to stop by and show some love! Let me know your site so I can follow along too! 

 

Love to all!

The Life of a Military Wife

It's that dreaded time of year again...deployment time. Ugh. My heart has been heavy all day and quite frankly haven't had much of an appetite. Every other time Justin has deployed it has been relatively earlier in the day but not this deployment. They left in the evening, which is good because we had longer to see him today but it also made the day seem to drag on because we knew the inevitable was going to happen. 

 

I definitely am not a wife that complains about deployments...we both signed up for the military so we knew what we were getting into when we did. And when I say we both that is also because I am active duty. We are one of the rare dual military families it seems. Not only do we have to deal with him deploying but there also comes a time (albeit very rare) when I have to deploy. Either way it isn't fun!

 

And while this sucks completely to be separated I thank god that Justin's job keeps him behind the wire and at a relatively safe base so that keeps my nerves down a lot! Regardless it isn't a goodbye but rather a see you soon! So to all those other military wives out there I know what you are going through (4x now..eeehh!).

 

 

The girls love their daddy!

 

So until he comes back us girls are going to be running the show!

Deployment Care Package Ideas

Like I said in my "About Me" section both my husband and I are active duty in the Air Force. It is definitely challenging at times with having two kids and trying to work out our work schedules so that way someone is home with the kids in the evenings BUT I wouldn't trade it for the world!

I am definitely one of those moms that would love to be a SAHM but I know that I would go stir crazy so bad. When I was on maternity leave it was wonderful til about the last week because I just felt like I needed to be back at work and being productive in my job. So let me say I am jealous of all you SAHM because you all can handle the daily home stress way better than I can!

My husband is currently deployed but actually in transit back to the states so I should be seeing him in the next few days and I am so very excited. While he was gone I sent him quite a few care packages of things he needed and then of course things I wanted to surprise him with to spoil him a little bit. So I thought I would share my ideas on care packages.

1. DON"T go online and order a prepackaged care package from a website- for 2 reasons. One they can very easily get lost on the mail. I had sent one to my husband back in 2009 and it never made it there and I was out 50 bucks. And secondly they aren't really that personable. Our spouses like something that you have put thought into. Even if it is a small package with just a few things they really enjoy that you took the time to go out and buy those things for them and send it instead of going online and in 5 seconds ordering the first package you see.

2. Put a card in the package. It doesn't have to be a novel that you have written it can just be a simple note or a "Miss You" Hallmark card. They are sentimental and lets your spouse know you are thinking about them. 

3. Send their favorite snacks! You can never send too many snacks for them. Most of the time if they don't want every snack in their care package they will put it in the community pile so that anyone from their work can have it they want. This deployment that my husband is on the chow hall had horrible food and I think I heard him complain about that more than anything else. So I knew he loved tuna so I sent him a huge box of tuna and some mayo to mix it with. I have never seen my husband so happy over something to menial but it is the small things that they love!

4. If you have kids have them draw pictures for them. I think this is by far the best thing you can ever put in a care package for your spouse if you have kids. My husband and I both deployed at the same time in 2009 and my mom had my daughter draw pictures and I cried when I saw them because they were so cute and I loved how she would draw a house with all of us in front of it. She also would write little notes on her pictures and that just tugged at my heart strings!

5. I am torn whether to put this on my list or not because each unit and person that deploys is different. When I deployed I asked people NOT to send me baby wipes. The reason being is that is the first thing that people think of to send someone since it is the desert and it is dusty. Well I had baby wipes coming out of my ears because there were so many already there. I did like when people sent the disinfecting wipes though. Those made me feel like something was cleaner than when I just used a baby wipe.

?????

6. For women that deploy: Send them girly stuff! So when you are at your deployed location most everything is tan. NOT a cute girl color! Yes we are at war but we still like to feel like girls at the end of the day and pamper ourselves. It can be something simple like some nail polish or a small pedi kit to keep your feet looking pretty. I loved when my best friend sent me a cute pink VS blanket to put on my bed and when I would get cute new eye shadows from my other friends in the mail. Really made my week!

7. Lastly send them some funny stuff. My boss got sent 8 small water guns so we went out and had a water gun fight one day at work. Made us laugh and for a moment forgot that we were in Iraq doing the same every day. 

Hopefully these ideas help because I know how sometimes you can draw a blank on what to send someone!