Who's With Me?
August 31, 2007|
It's a holiday weekend. Yippie! Or not...
I have no plans. None. Think I'll just haunt the SpouseBUZZ halls and torture you with my sick sense of humor. Well no, that probably wouldn't be good, especially for site traffic, which will be in the toilet anyway because many of you will be off sipping drinks on a beach somewhere. Yes, there's a twinge of jealousy there, but I do hope you have a great time and enjoy the long weekend.
So, who's sticking around this weekend, and what do you want to talk about? You name the topic.
I'm just getting over a cold, and the hubby is gone again, so I have no plans this weekend either. I'll be haunting right along with you! My only other plans are finishing my copy of "Army Wives" and maybe doing some of the housework I haven't done in a week....
Posted by: Ann M. | 08/31/2007 at 17:36
Andi,
Wanna come do my laundry? That's my big plan!
Posted by: Shanna | 08/31/2007 at 18:27
I'll be around all weekend mostly because I'm laid up... but I will be making lists. I don't know about anyone else but right after the kids go back to school, I start planning for the holidays.
Depending on whether DH is deployed makes a difference on my lists only in that I have to watch the shipping dates and whether I will have the time to do extra volunteer work.
I would love a discussion thread on the best places for military folks to shop on-line since many times there is no way to get to favorite stores or even be able to handle the crowds.
I know I saw a web page somewhere that also had links for sending stuff to deployed loved ones. For the life of me I can't find it at the moment.
I think I'll share one of my favorites and one I just found. Both give military discounts through the link provided...
Barnes and Noble - http://btob.barnesandnoble.com/home.asp?z=y&btob=Y
(BTW - you can also use discounts found at http://www.wow-coupons.com/search.php?Search=barnes+and+noble
IN ADDITION TO the military discount AND the members card if you have it! Savings range from 31% to 56% on average not including their book sales! I once ordered a book in which there was a 40% off sale since it was a special best seller, then I added a 40% off coupon they occassionally have from the coupon link, the 6% Military discount and then added in my 10% Members card discount and had the thing shipped to me for a few dollars. Worth watching for.)
The store I just found online is Hot Topic which my kids and I love to shop at in town (they give a 10% military discount) but there is a bigger selection on-line. We especially love their t-shirts! Go to the AAFES Mall at http://www.aafes.com/ and click on the Hot Topic Store. (You will have to register to use this site but it is VERY easy)
This is all probably TMI but I have a good excuse... Serious prescription pain killers... It's a good thing DH is home and has taken away the credit cards huh?
Hope everyone has a safe Labor Day Weekend.
Posted by: Lemon Stand | 08/31/2007 at 18:49
Thanks for sharing, LS! I always love to hear about places that give military discounts...they are hard to find around here (in MT). I did find out that Champs sports, lady footlocker, and kids footlocker give a military discount...may help for buying athletic-wear for kids!
I'll be around this weekend, too, since I'm going out of town for a wedding next weekend! I'm happy to chat about most things. Right now my hubby is deployed and I'm at the not-quite-half-way horrible wall of really missing him and feeling like it will never end! Leave is coming up in October, though, and that is something to look forward to! I've never done a deployment this long, so it is getting tough. And I've never done leave in the middle of the deployment. We decided to meet up in Germany instead of dealing with all the family stateside. Any suggestions of places to go things to do? Any travelling suggestions? Suggestions on what to expect for hubby on leave? All advice, stories, and ideas are appreciated always!
Posted by: Heather S. | 08/31/2007 at 19:04
Yup, Im here. No plans. DH is still deployed so its life as usual around here.
Laundry, mowing the lawn, and cleaning house etc. Everything I didnt get done during the week.
Posted by: MedWife | 08/31/2007 at 19:06
I wanna talk about why Semper Fi wife doesn't have an icon up yet. I see a space has been made.......or is that a Space A accomodation?
*sicker*
>;~}
Posted by: Sly2017 | 08/31/2007 at 19:16
to Heather S.
I know this sounds cheesy but I would really recommend the travel videos by Rick Steves. He does a good job of showing you the ins and outs of traveling in Europe. Plus there is a little town on the Rhine River called Bacarach, that gives an extra discount if you mention his name. He did a whole special on it. Most libraries carry his stuff. We are gonna rent a house in Myrtle Beach for my husbands leave!
Posted by: plc | 08/31/2007 at 19:34
No plans. Just returned from 30 days in Colorado to find papers on my husband's desk for Iraq. Sipping some wine and looking at spousebuzz.
Let's talk about clothing in September. Do rules apply in Texas? I have an casual event on the 12th. A tank top would be comfortable, but is it appropriate after Labor day?? It's happy camper green, super punchy with an anthropologie sensibility. I've always had 4 seasons this whole heat thing is new.
Posted by: wiese | 08/31/2007 at 19:45
Okay, let me see if I can catch-up here...
Ann - Army Wives is a great read, a perfect thing to keep you occupied this weekend.
Shana - How much do you pay? I'm not cheap, no matter what Sly says...
Lemon Stand - Pain killers and credit cards? Not a good idea. Yes, good thing you have some supervision. But it is a perfect weekend to get that holiday list going.
MedWife - Same here. Life as usual.
Sly - Please get off my back about Semper Fi Wife's logo. *snort* You're not allowed back on SpouseBUZZ until we get the logo thing resolved.
Speaking of, it'll be worth the wait, you should see the logo - it's *so* cute... (keep scrolling, by the way)
Wiese - Wine and SpouseBUZZ, what a perfect combination.
Sly - I take that back, you're allowed back but only if you want to post some drinking rules for us? Blame Wiese, she started it.
About the tank top, I lived in Texas (Ft. Hood) for 3+ years and yes, you can wear tank tops after labor day. Perfectly appropriate for that region. Just don't pull a Roxy and have your bra straps hanging out. If they are hanging out, try to match the bra color/tank top color as closely as you can. Heh...
Posted by: Andi | 08/31/2007 at 20:01
Great site!
Would you consider a Link Exchange with The Internet Radio Network? At the IRN you can listen to over 29 of America's top Talk Shows via FREE STREAMING AUDIO!
http://netradionetwork.com
Posted by: Steve | 08/31/2007 at 20:46
Oh my. Steve showed up just when I was about to talk about something only the ladies might appreciate. Now, I just don't know....
Posted by: Andi | 08/31/2007 at 20:47
I'm here, Dh is still deployed and I was just thinking back about what we were doing this time last year.. Sitting around watching tv.. lol.. Oh man, fun times. The only *big* thing I have is that our tires came in and I have to be at the store tomorrow at 7 am to get them put in. Along with a baby(mine) and a 6 yr old (younger brother).. Should be interesting.
Question about the B&N coupons.. do they only work online or can I print them off and bring them to the store? Or can I just show up and ask for a military discount? Oh the $ I would've been savings since Dh started requesting books, btw he never read willingly before this :p
Posted by: Penny | 08/31/2007 at 21:15
Penny (and anyone else) - check out these coupons and this guide to business that offer discounts to military families:
http://benefits.military.com/misc/DC/DealCategories.jsp?cat_id=300
Posted by: Andi | 08/31/2007 at 21:25
Found this...
http://benefits.military.com/misc/DC/DealCoupon.jsp?deal_id=22787
...and had to laugh, but really, it may not be all that funny. Anyone need a quick thigh makeover before the hubby comes home?
Okay, so thigh-masters aren't on the list, but the Suzanne Somers connection made me think about thighs.
Posted by: Andi | 08/31/2007 at 21:29
Ok.. you're going to laugh.. but I actually thought about getting one about a month ago.. lol.. Squats just weren't giving me results and the first thing I thought was " I wonder if they still make thigh masters? They would've had to have work with all the popularity surrounding them." .. hehe..
Posted by: Penny | 08/31/2007 at 21:49
Actually, not laughing, Penny. Whatever works. It's just funny that whenver I see Suzanne Somers, the first thing that pops into my mind is the thigh-master. Guess that's some great marketing!
Posted by: Andi | 08/31/2007 at 21:52
I am at home all weekend too. I think I am blowing off my normal weekend activities to focus on IMing with Jack Bauer and to pick up around the house. Hang out here, read blogs, and heaven forbid, yard work. Just taking it easy the best I can.
Posted by: Butterfly Wife | 08/31/2007 at 22:06
"Oh my. Steve showed up just when I was about to talk about something only the ladies might appreciate. Now, I just don't know...."
Gee, I wonder what brought that on.....
*snicker*
Posted by: Sly2017 | 08/31/2007 at 23:27
Oh, and posting the "Rules for Drinking" would eat up a lot of bandwidth in the comments section, don'cha think?
Posted by: Sly2017 | 08/31/2007 at 23:30
Got nothing planned here. The Dh is working the whole weekend, so I'm going to do the one thing I put off this week that crept up on me: Laundry. I went all weird these last few days and didn't do any of it. Now I get to spend my holiday weekend cursing at my psychotic washing machine.
And I might rearrange my son's room. The feng shui in there is nightmarish. Of course, it's a boy's room, so maybe that's how it's supposed to be.
Posted by: Nikki | 09/01/2007 at 01:52
Plc...thanks for the recommendation! I will totally check that out at my library!
Posted by: Heather S. | 09/01/2007 at 02:21
Oh look at all the fun I missed last night..
And lookie!! I'm up!!
Yayyyy!! It's a vintage image, just like me :)
Plans for the weekend? One of the little Semper Fi's came home for the weekend and we're getting ready for a big unit reunion at the casa next weekend.
Oh and my Tastefully Simple order arrived yesterday.
Can anyone say Aye Caramba cheeseball?
Posted by: SemperFiWife | 09/01/2007 at 07:19
I hate doing laundry, and my husband doesn't really understand why. He thinks it's the easiest household chore to take care of. It's not. Especially when you forget about the load that dried hours before because you got busy with something else, and now they are all wrinkled again so you have to dry them once more to shake the wrinkles out, then you forget about them again, and on and on.
Then, it's bedtime and you wonder why you've not been able to put one load of laundry away even though you started doing laundry early in the morning. Grrrr...
Posted by: Andi | 09/01/2007 at 10:32
Andi, I am totally with you on the laundry thing. It is definitely not the easiest household chore. I cannot wait for my husband to come home and take that task back.
Posted by: Butterfly Wife | 09/01/2007 at 10:40
I need a good book recommendation. I've been bookless for about two weeks now and I miss my bedtime reading. Anyone have a good suggestion?
Posted by: Andi | 09/01/2007 at 10:52
Oh for Goodness Sake, Andi! You had to know I was going to tell you to go read some Brad Thor!
Posted by: airforcewife | 09/01/2007 at 12:44
Let's see--no plans this weekend. I should clean and organize but I probably will not. Long weekends just aren't fun with DH gone.
Germany--we did our "honeymoon" there during a mid-deployment break and we went everywhere, Munich, Garmisch, and Stuttgart. When I was a little girl we stayed in Bergesgarten.
Shopping--my favorite online place is QVC...not military discounts, but the customer service is good and they will ship to APO addresses (I believe).
Have a good weekend everyone!! Can you believe its September?
Posted by: NavyChiefSqueeze | 09/01/2007 at 14:17
I recently read a couple of good books:
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
In Cold Blood
Lady's Maid
A clock without hands
The Power of One
Some of my all time favorite books:
Three Cups of Tea
Franny and Zooey
Things Fall Apart
There are a few recommendations! I also heard that Water for Elephants is really good...I'm on the waiting list for it at the library!
Posted by: Heather S. | 09/01/2007 at 15:15
PACKING!! we finally got notified WHERE and WHEN we are PCSing. And being glad DH is home for a holiday (first time in a couple years) Plus.. learning to be the passenger on the new motorcycle (sit STILL!!!)
So.... any hints about Ft. Belvoir? where shouldn't we live?
LAW
Posted by: liberal army wife | 09/01/2007 at 16:46
LAW - I've missed you! I've got to duck out right now, but can offer you some help on the Northern Virginia area. I'll touch base with you tomorrow. Glad to read you've finally got some wheres and whens...
afw - Thanks for the reminder. Will get started on that tomorrow, what's the name of the first book so I'm sure to read them in order?
Posted by: Andi | 09/01/2007 at 18:51
Book recs: Jasper Fforde's "The Big Over Easy" followed up by his "The Fourth Bear." Seriously funny. For non-fiction (not a big reader in that area), I recently read "Band of Sisters" about American service women fighting in Iraq. It was a good read and, like I said, I'm not much of a non-fiction reader.
Posted by: Marine Wife | 09/01/2007 at 18:53
I'm having a girlfriend over for dinner tomorrow, but that's about it. Otherwise, I'm sticking around here. Even though I'm close to the beach, it's no fun without DH to go with. Speaking of him, any ideas on how to get past this giant, very well built wall I've just hit? We may be on the downward swing, but it's feeling tougher to get through than the first half. (Hence my sometimes testy comments of late...sorry!) Oh, I just finished a book I found very enjoyable. It's called "Good Grief", although I can't remember the author. It's about a woman who loses her husband to cancer (I know, bad subject while DH is deployed), but it was very funny and heartwarming. I totally got her sense of humor!
Posted by: Jewel | 09/01/2007 at 21:42
sly needs to post a pic along side semperfi, don't you think?
Books-
heavy-Indoctrination: David Horowitz, although must read.
excellent writing-women out of Harvard-Song of the Exile: Kiana Davenport???
page turner-Beethoven's Hair: some dude I can't remember. Maybe...ahh, not there.
At this point it's the end of my Friday.
Did some fall shopping, test drove the Honda Fit and dinner at chipolte. Attempted a family tennis match, but we laughed and ran around instead. S
Staying around isn't too bad.
Posted by: Wiese | 09/01/2007 at 21:58
I took my kids to the scottish fair. All they seemed to do was cry and complain. I did get a free marine tshirt for my ANG DH I will send to Irac. I think it will be a great gag. I wish I had stayed home or went somewere cool. We are all hot and cranky. I see the wall.
Posted by: phyllis | 09/01/2007 at 22:06
We had some friends over to grill. Baby back ribs, seasoned rib eye chunks, baked beans (my *special* ones we'll all pay for later), potato salad, grilled corn in the husk......and brownies for desert. Chased down with cold beer.
Now if someone would just roll me on into bed......oh, and leave the window open -- wiiiide open......
Posted by: Sly2017 | 09/02/2007 at 01:57
This will teach me to sleep in... it is now about 1:30am and I still can't get to sleep... Sigh.
Andi and Penny - concerning Barnes and Noble and the coupons...
If you go to Military.com's web site (or Army/Air Force/Navy Times) and sign in, then look at the military discounts section there is a link for Barnes and Noble this will automatically discount your final purchase price an extra 6% AFTER all other deductions. For instance... I purchased the CD's for the latest Harry Potter book. Normally $79.95, currently on sale for $59.96 which is 30% off (online only. In stores it is 20% off)
My Members Card gives me an additional 10% off to make it $50.36.
Then I went to Wow Coupons (link in above post) and chose one of the online coupons (there are online ones AND ones you can print out and take to the store for a discount) I selected a 15% off coupon and after applying that the cost was now $44.06.
After an additional 6% off the final total is $41.96. Did I also mention that the military discount includes FREE ground shipping?
Warning: coupons from Wow Coupons are good for only one item. Not an entire order.
Note: I can't remember if the military link automatically takes 6% off before or after the other discounts. I seem to remember that the site lists everything 6% less than the normal web site but don't quote me because I am tired and still on pain pills... :o)
I have found that if I buy my books online like this they are pretty much about 50% off list price or more. That is better than even Wal-mart and it gets delivered to my door.
I did look for Army Wives on DVD but it does not list them yet... :o)
Posted by: Lemon Stand | 09/02/2007 at 02:27
LAW, you're moving to the Belvoir area?
Marine Wife...:) Once a year dancing indeed!!!
Posted by: Semper Fi Wife | 09/02/2007 at 08:07
yup, Belvoir! I am getting quotes etc from apartments in Lorton, Springfield and Woodbridge as well as Alexandria.
LAW
Posted by: liberal army wife | 09/02/2007 at 10:55
Allright, Andi...I was thinking about your laundry wages, but now that you've admitted you leave them in the dryer to get all wrinkly...well, I can do THAT just fine by myself. Sheesh.
Posted by: Shanna | 09/02/2007 at 16:12
Shanna - What? I don't have a job with you any longer? But think of it this way, I may let the clothes get all wrinkly, but at least you don't have to walk to the dryer and discover the wrinkles yourself. You can pay me to groan for you...
Deal?
Posted by: Andi | 09/03/2007 at 16:18
You made me an offer I can't refuse.
Posted by: Shanna | 09/04/2007 at 17:37
oh how weekends stink when you are not single and childless...boring boring
Posted by: newbeenavywife | 09/05/2007 at 00:36
Sometimes I think I could use a healthy dose of adult conversation
Posted by: newbeenavywife | 09/05/2007 at 00:37
LAW...don't listen to Andi. She'll have you living in Bohemia and you'll never see your husband, he'll spend all his time driving!!!! Live in Kingstown! Definitely! It's minutes from Belvoir, minutes from the metro, minutes from Alexandria. Incredibly convenient and yet, oddly enough, still maintains a small town feel!
I can't tell you how nice it is to have the husband home early or to be able to meet for lunch!
Posted by: GBear | 09/05/2007 at 05:25
LAW - GBear does have a point about Kingstown. It is convenient to Belvoir and the metro station. You should check that area out as well.
Newbeenavywife - Adult conversation? That's what we're here for, and most of the time we even act like adults.
Posted by: Andi | 09/05/2007 at 08:02
I have a couple of apts in Kingstown we are looking at! Dang, I can't tell you how much your help means to me..
LAW
Posted by: liberal army wife | 09/06/2007 at 11:16