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March 31, 2008|
This is one of those posts that I've put off writing for many, many months. It's a post which will garner a lot of discussion through comments and email, or very little. It's also one of those posts which may cause me to get into trouble with my husband. But hey, I'll take one for the team here.
It's a post about....
March 31, 2008|
After receiving a few e-mail in response to a post on my personal blog encouraging me to post here, I will oblige.
I suppose the news broke faster in my area because this soldier's parents live near. I have carried this young soldier's photo/prayer card with me for nearly four years--the title of my post is taken from it. I had prayed for his family and for him and hoped with them that he would be found.
The Army says now that he has.
I'm sure many of us will be holding thoughts of this soldier and his family in our hearts today. And, although words are truly inadequate, I hope some comfort can be found in the fact that thousands of people will be joining us in our thoughts, prayers and gratitude for Matt. Godspeed, SSG Maupin.
March 30, 2008|
I work in a place that has over 200 employees and multiple departments. The other day I had a chance meeting with a milspouse. She works in a different department and we "met at the copy machine."
We started chatting and I found out she is a spouse of an Army Reservist. Her husband was in Iraq when the war started in 2003. She has two kids close to my kids' age. She has a female yellow lab, we have a male yellow lab. She lives about 3 miles from me. Who knew?
March 29, 2008|
Burned out?
Stressed out?
Feeling overwhelmend?
Ready to pull your hair out?
Yeah, we've all been there. I just finished listening to our recent show with Ellen Miller, and boy does she know how to motivate a person by providing some pretty simple and sensible advice. Sometimes, the solutions to simplifying our lives are more basic than we might think. Click here and see if our chat with Ellen does you as much good as it did me.
p.s. I said "no" yesterday, and it felt good...
March 28, 2008|
And I just saw a great music video...it made me think of you all.
Who doesn't love Bruce Springsteen? And just wondering...would you all like to have a Friday Free for All with links to great music videos? Doesn't have to be the Boss...:)
PS: Lancelot looks quite a bit like the Boss...must be part of the reason why I like him so much.
the boss, I mean...
March 28, 2008|
This past week, my son deployed. Lancelot and I went down to the base to see him off. This particular base is one I have lived at for two assignments and a total of 7 years.
Ahhh, the memories. A whole lot of firsts occurred down at Camp "Swampy".
March 28, 2008|
Looking for an inspiring story or two to perk up your Friday?
Then THIS is the post for you!
March 28, 2008|
Okay, this last week will not help my thighs any. On Easter Sunday I threw caution to the wind and ate whatever I felt like. Yes, that means marshmallow brownies. And egg rolls. Oh, and somewhere in there some crepes. It was EASTER, people! I think I can hold it in again until 4th of July, though. And wherever I am on July 4th, there will the buffet be also.
Also, today is AFG's birthday, and while I'm not eating any cake, he still wants to go out to eat somewhere, and I quote, "Yummy." Which means I'll be taking the bun off my hamburger and ordering a side salad with it. Even worse - Wednesday is my birthday (ack! I'm getting old!). I'm not sure how I'll manage to celebrate that with no sugar or flour.
Okay, now you HAVE to follow the jump, because I have something very cool to introduce you to!
March 28, 2008|
Every so often, we learn of a new wave of folks that have found SpouseBUZZ and are making those first, tentative steps into our corner of the blogosphere. You've been around probably and seen many of the other wonderful and informative blogs that while they piqued your interest, just maybe missed the mark.
Please allow me to say to you, Welcome! As a military spouse, this is your place to listen to, and read about, and relate with other spouses of military members from all over the place. Here you'll soon see just how we transcend Service, rank, branch, and yes, gender. This is your place to come together and relate your experiences with others as who knows?, you just may hold the key to someone else's brighter future. Laugh with us, cry with us, but most importantly, stay the course with us, for the authors will keep it humming, but it's you that makes it worthwhile for all of us.
Some of you see your turn "in the bucket" being less than 60 days away. Hug your mate and be with them like never before until they step to their "chalk," then come back to see us. We'll be here to keep you company until they return.
Welcome to the BUZZ; and know that all of our prayers are with each of you who are about to send your mate into harm's way. With hat-in-hand, I'm Over & Out, MaintenanceToadOne
March 27, 2008|
Yesterday, Homefront Six talked with Secretary of the Army, Pete Geren. It was an interesting conversation in which Secretary Geren addressed many home front issues. For you Guard spouses, he touched on topics of concern to you as well. You can listen to the audio by clicking here. It's worth your time to listen in, you will hear some information towards the end that I believe will be new and relevant to most of you.
March 27, 2008|
The funniest PCS story I've ever heard didn't come from a military family, it came from a Department of the Army civilian contractor who my husband once worked with. My husband and I recall the story from time to time and still get a good laugh out of it. I think you will too, although it's much funnier to hear the stars of the story tell it. We'll call them Steve and Suzie in an effort to protect the innocent guilty.
Steve and Suzie's disastrous move came many years ago when they were a young, recently married couple. This was before everyone, even eight year-olds, had cell phones. When Steve and Suzie got to the U-Haul office (using that in the generic sense because I am not sure if it was a Ryder or a U-Haul) to pick up a truck for their DITY move, all they had were manual transmission trucks. Steve didn't know how to drive a stick shift -- something which earned him an inordinate amount of grief from Mr. Andi -- but Suzie did, so it fell to Suzie to drive the moving truck to their destination.
March 27, 2008|
When taking a roiling horde of children to get passports done, be sure to take some kind of calming medication. Valium might work. Or large quantities of wine.
For you, or for the kids. It really doesn't matter much. Either they will be quiet and good for the ten hours you wait in line, or you won't care how they're behaving.
I wish someone had told me that before we had to go to the Post Office for our passport applications this morning. One way or another, it would have kept my blood pressure within acceptable levels.
Also - the Post Office won't let you use their bathroom. I'll throw that tidbit in for free.
March 27, 2008|
Are you willing to give of yourself in order to help a child? Are you willing to mentor children of our fallen heroes?
March 26, 2008|
Some of you (one of you?) may remember my opportunity to speak with the then-acting Secretary of the Army, Mr. Pete Geren when he visited Schofield Barracks back in July of 2007. This morning I had yet another opportunity to speak with him on a variety of subjects including the Army Family Covenant and the Army's work on transforming warrior care for it's servicemembers.
There were 6 other bloggers involved so I was only able to ask one of the questions I had prepared. My question was:
With regard to the Army Family Covenant, can you clarify the Army's position on the use of paid FRG (Family Readiness Group) positions? Will this be a global policy? A regional one? And how is the decision made to hire versus when to rely solely on volunteers?
Mr. Geren clarified that this policy is global and will be implemented all the way down to the Battalion level throughout the entire Army. In the past these paid positions were only instituted down to the Brigade level but the Army is beginning to realize (finally) the strain that multiple deployments places on it's volunteers.
The Army is increasing the amount of money it is spending on family support programs from $700 million to $1.4 billion in FY2009 and a large percentage of that will go toward these paid FRG positions.
Here in Hawaii, we have already seen evidence of the Army Family Covenant in action - at the level of Children and Youth Services (to include free registration, increased respite care hours, free or discounted classes, etc.), increased services at physical fitness centers, etc. Hopefully this trend will continue (us military spouses are a skeptical bunch, especially when it comes to promises made and often broken) and the money will be put to good use.
March 26, 2008|
I think the blog Non-Essential Equipment is one of the most cleverly named military spouse blogs out there. How did she come up with the name?
When a soldier is packing up for a mission, he is often instructed to leave all non-essential equipment behind. This includes a soldier's family.
Anyway, she posted a little story about her toddler son recently that had me in stitches. Her husband apparently talks on the phone often with the First Sergeant, lovingly referred to as "Top" by many soldiers.
This morning, after a series of phone calls ... my speech-delayed son picked up my husband's cellular telephone. He likes to play telephone and just babble on but we were amazed this morning when we heard the following:
"Hello, Top. WHAT?! NO!(insert stern random babble)...You're kidding me. ...(more angry babble)...No way. See you later. Bye, Top."
Bwahahaha.
You can read more from Non-Essential Equipment here.
March 26, 2008|
In the comments of Sarah's latest post, "SweetestSass" asks a tough question...is it normal to have mixed feelings about and during R&R?
Completely normal if you ask me.
March 25, 2008|
UPDATED and BUMPED: Tonight's show is canceled as there is a scheduling conflict for one of our guests. We will let you know when the show is rescheduled. We apologize for the inconvenience, but these things happen from time to time.
SpouseBUZZers - I've been out of town for a while and it's good to be back home. I'm just now catching up on all the BUZZ I've missed while I was away. Looks like I missed a lot...
March has been a tough month for SBTR given that our March shows departed from the usual Thursday evening slot. We've had some radio/switchboard glitches on top of it. This is March Madness, after all. The madness continues tonight.
We have a very interesting show for you this evening so please plan to listen and join us in the chat room. Tonight, we'll feature two segments. Our guests for both segments will be experts from USAA. We're devoting one segment to a growing problem, identity theft. Tune in and learn how to protect yourself from identity thieves. Because military families move so often and many of us are serial renters, we'll also feature a segment on the merits of purchasing renter's insurance. This is an important topic for everyone who is renting a home or an apartment.
USAA has donated an incredible prize for us to give away on tonight's show. One lucky caller will receive the prize, so get your questions ready. Trust me, you do not want to miss a chance to win this prize! Note: Previous prize winners are not be eligible.
Click here to listen to the show at 9:00 EST tonight.
Beginning April 3, SBTR will go back to the Thursday evening line up.
March 25, 2008|
Andrea Downing Peck, a writer for Military Spouse Magazine, has a request for those of you who may be interested. If so, you can contact Andrea at canwrite4u@yahoo.com.
I am currently working on a story for the magazine called "A New Definition of Normal: How Should a Parent React to an Empty Nest." Not only am I looking to interview an empty nest parent or two, but I would love to interview someone whose spouse has retired from the military at about the same time their child has left the nest. That double whammy of changes would seem like a particularly difficult transition - and one that few outside the military would ever endure.
My deadline is April 7.
March 25, 2008|
Noteworthy items from this week's Military Report:
March 25, 2008|
This morning I thought, "Wow! Things seem to be going really smoothly lately! How nice!"
That is a very stupid thing for airforcewife to do. Very stupid.
March 23, 2008|
This post has been a long time coming. My husband is deploying. No, for real, I mean it this time. Seriously. Why don't you believe me?
In 2006, I wrote about giving my husband permission to switch assignments with a guy so my husband could deploy in his place. But it didn't end up happening; he got assigned to an Army school instead. He went to school for a year and was told he'd be deploying as soon as he finished school. Nope, didn't happen. It got pushed back a few months, and then, as soon as we were given a deployment date, he was told he'd been made Rear Detachment.
March 23, 2008|
Apparently, I offended a neighbor last week. I was working on a volunteer project and I was looking for help. In true "action oriented" style, I left a succinct and probably directive message on her answering machine. It seems that the kind, concerned side of me didn't get through on the message and she was miffed.
Now I've got to do something about it and I would really rather not put myself in an uncomfortable situation. However, to get past this, I've got to put myself out there and into that uncomfortable situation. It has been eating away at me for days. When should I go talk to her? Should I call first? What if I get her at a bad time? Am I going to make things worse? Can I just avoid her until we move in two months? (Not actual option - that would just kill me!)
You can't get through life with perfect communication all the time, and I think that military life makes miscommunication even more likely. You're thrown into a new world every couple of years, you're working on multiple crazy projects with people you've never met, and you're balancing a fairly complicated home life. Under the best of circumstances, this is a recipe for interpersonal challenges. Throw in a deployment, or a family problem, or some poor interpersonal skills (mea culpa), and the possibilities for misunderstanding multiply faster than Easter bunnies.
Even more frustrating, it seems that several mutual acquaintances knew that I'd offended her, but didn't tell me directly. I didn't pick up on their cryptic comments, and it was several days before a friend explained the situation to me. What a lot of energy wasted on miscommunication.
Wish me luck - I'm off to call on the neighbor. And next time I offend you, please just let me know!
March 23, 2008|
Today is another Holiday. For those of us who practice Christianity, one of the most important holidays of the year.
So I wish you each well today.
I am reminded once again that many of those in the "Sisterhood" or "Brotherhood", will be spending today without a loved one.
My Husband used holidays as a way of measuring his time away.
He had calculated all of the holidays, and instead of dreading them, with each passing holiday, he would think of it as a step closer to being home.
What are you doing today to celebrate Easter?
March 23, 2008|
Military families can register their children for Operation Purple Summer Camps beginning 24 March. Registration ends 5 May.
What is Operation Purple?
March 22, 2008|
Our weekdays are usually packed. School, Awana, gymnastics, errands, doctor and dentist visits, homework, night classes, gym time...it goes on and on. I've found that by the end of the week, we're literally craving some downtime.
Which is just what we gave ourselves today.
March 21, 2008|
As I stumbled around the internet, I came across a inspiring post about preparing to move. If you've got a PCS looming on the horizon, head on over to Life Lessons of a Military Wife for great tips to get your stuff together before the packers arrive. Even after numerous moves, I still look for new tips and ways to get myself motivated. Thanks to Veteran Military Wife for her suggestions.
March 21, 2008|
The DITY move progresses. I might add it is progressing at a snails pace. Between single parenting, and the extended illness, the unexpected bout of Southern snow (twice), well I am about 2 weeks behind schedule.
I keep trying to keep those things in perspective, and I have decided that my schedule is the only one that counts since I am essentially the person in charge.
I am really working at trying to create some sort of balance here.
March 21, 2008|
I am so darn bored. I really am. On Wednesday it took me three hours to stop dreading running up and down the stairs and force myself to work-out. I'm already dreading the stairs today.
I've been good - I only skipped Tuesday, and that is because after a morning full of errands and having to spend the afternoon shopping at Sam's, I was just too exhausted to even think about moving around. And since we walked for over three miles on Sunday around the monuments in DC, I don't consider myself a total failure here.
But I'm definitely at that point in the workout/weight loss journey when just throwing up my hands and saying, "I'm done! I'm not getting results fast enough! Why bother with that nasty sweat and stuff!" Trying to carve out time to workout without interruption from the kids (why do they ALWAYS choose when I'm working out to start their knock-down, drag out caged matches?) is getting irritating, and it would be a lot easier to just park my butt on the couch and surf the web.
March 19, 2008|
One of the hardest things for me to hear from people when my husband is gone or deployed is, "I'm sorry."
March 18, 2008|
Over the past week or so, there's been some talk of overflowing plates here at SpouseBUZZ. There are times when it seems there just aren't enough hours in the day and many of us feel overextended, overwhelmed, tired and just plain stressed out. Tonight's SBTR topic couldn't have come at a better time. Life is hectic, and military life has a way of lobbing curve balls in our direction. We're looking forward to speaking with Ellen Miller about how we can take steps to achieve some sanity and balance in our busy lives.
Click here tonight at 9:00 EST to join us. The chat room will also be open, we'll see you there.
You can read Ellen Miller's bio after the jump.
March 18, 2008|
Noteworthy items from this week's Military Report:
Do a TRICARE Checkup
'Give an Hour' Seeks Volunteers
Army Expands PTSD Screening Program
Army Launches Career Express
California Encourages College Attendance
Guitars for Vets
Marine Corps Family Conference
Marine Mom Launches Website
Operation Never Forgotten
Share Photos and Videos
TRICARE Formulary Update Announced
Wounded Warrior Pay Support Team
March 17, 2008|
I love holidays. I celebrate them all; Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, Cinco de Mayo, Bastille Day, Halloween, Twelfth Night, Oktoberfest, Fiesta (yes, we were stationed in San Antonio) - the list is just too long to include.
Yes, my dears, we do darn well celebrate Bastille Day. The kids and I eat French food and speak in french accents all day (my personal fluency in French has vastly deteriorated in the ten years I haven't bothered to really speak the language). We also build a Lego castle and knock down the walls. Which is really fun and makes me a heck of a lot less frustrated during that particular day of a deployment.
One of my favorite military family tendencies is the tendency to adopt the food, celebrations, and parts of the culture where ever we are stationed and take them with us when we move.
March 16, 2008|
Okay, maybe not stewing, but having a REALLY hard time finding my way out of Funk-ville!
Do you ever feel like you just can't catch a break? I'm sure you do. And in all honesty, my life is not exactly "bad," but I feel like I am riding this never-ending merry-go-round that has hidden "surprises" around every third turn. I don't even know if that makes any sense. I am writing as I type, which is not always a safe thing to do when lots of other people will read this. BUT, SpouseBuzz is about the good and the bad and all the in-betweens. So here's my in-between... I think.
March 14, 2008|
We're now down to a few days before the Dark Prince deploys to the sandbox. The light Twin is going back to school on Sunday and then we're going down to DP's base to see him off. I think I'm just ready to get the clock started on this deployment.
The time with family last weekend was pretty good. No meltdowns on my part or anyone else's, thank God. I think we had fun.
There WAS a weird development though...
March 14, 2008|
Last night, airforcewife and I had a wonderful chat with Babette Maxwell of Military Spouse Magazine and Marna Krajeski of Household Baggage fame. We learned a lot about what goes into the making of magazine and we got an update from Marna on the the status of her second book, which is due out in May.
Our conversation was so interesting that we held Babette and Marna over for an additional half hour, so those of you in the chat room were not able to hear the last half of the conversation. Click here to listen to the show.
A reminder that our next show will be TUESDAY, March 18, rather than Thursday. We're so excited to welcome Ellen Miller to the program next week. Normal Thursday programming at 9:00 EST will resume in April.
I'm off to handle a PCS crisis this weekend. Can't think of a better way to spend a weekend.... Will probably have some blog material when I come back. What are the rest of you going to do? Any Spring Breakers out there? Whatever you do, enjoy your weekend!
March 14, 2008|
Okay, first things first. I'm so excited about the new uplift and roundness in my butt. Those stairs are really knocking my rear into shape, and it's NOTICEABLE. Air Force Guy (who deserves the husband of the year award for noticing work out results) even commented on it - something about "nice heart shape." Those are the kinds of things that keep me working out and avoiding those deadly foods.
My goal is to have butt cheeks like biceps by the end of the summer.
Unfortunately, there was one fiasco (well, two, but it was on the same day so I'm trying to minimize here) this week.
March 13, 2008|
A change in time for tonight's show with Babette Maxwell and Marna Krajeski. Rather than the usual 9:00 p.m. EST start time, tonight's show will air at 8:00 EST. Hopefully, it's not too much of an inconvenience for you. Many of the regular chatters tend to file into the chat room about 8:30 anyway. Speaking of chat rooms, we'll meet you there tonight.
March 13, 2008|
Have you ever noticed that when something goes wrong, it is never just ONE thing that goes wrong?
Because I had an experience in the kitchen today that will forever live on in the annals of cooking history. I think I might need to undergo hypnosis to get over it.
Also, is it just my son, or is wanting to wear the same ratty sweatpants every single day (dirty or clean) normal for a 5 year old boy? Honestly, this is getting ridiculous.
March 12, 2008|
This has nothing to do with milspouse issues, really, but I think it's important. I fell prey to an email scam several years ago. Since then, I've been incredibly careful when it comes to my email. I've recently tightened the screws once again because too many questionable emails were slipping in. Occasionally, email that originated from a legitimate source is discarded by me (or my spam filter) out of an abundance of caution. I prefer dealing with the problems that are associated with that (why didn't you respond to my email?) than the alternative. You have to be careful because the spammers and identity theives are so sophisticated today. It's easy to be fooled.
Landing in my junk folder recently have been emails that were from Hallmark.com. Hey, look, someone sent me an e-card.... But as I suspected, it wasn't from Hallmark.com at all. Even if I had believed that it was, I wouldn't have opened the link. I never, ever open a link that isn't from someone I know and trust. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Click here to read more, and pass the link around.
I truly despise people who do stuff like this!
March 12, 2008|
Tomorrow on SpouseBUZZ Talk Radio, we'll be having a discussion with military spouses who have blazed trails and discovered ways to connect with, and cater to, military spouses. Joining us will be Babette Maxwell, Co-founder and Executive Editor of Military Spouse Magazine, and Army wife and author Marna Krajeski. We may be joined by another pioneer in the milspouse world, too. Tune in tomorrow evening at 9:00 EST.
Speaking of SBTR, we have a special announcement to make. Katherine Fugate, series creator and executive producer of the hit Lifetime television series, Army Wives, will be joining us on SBTR April 24th at 9:00 p.m. EST. Katherine will be our guest for the full hour, and she'll be taking your calls, so get your questions ready. Production on the second season of Army Wives (which will include five more episodes than last year's season) was halted for a while due to the writer's strike, but production resumed last week.
How about a stroll down memory lane? I can't wait for these types of discussions to resume! If you want to get warmed up for Katherine's appearance on SBTR, she'll be involved in a live chat tonight at 11:00 EST. Details here.
Update: One more item - for SpouseBUZZ 411 members, you will continue to receive email alerts for big news, but I'm re-working the newsletter tool, so we will suspend the monthly newsletter until further notice. Hope to resume in late-April. Once we're done tweaking, it will be bigger and better. Thanks for your patience.
March 12, 2008|
The Military Child Education Coalition is gathering insights from youths who were ages 12 to 20 when their loved one deployed, for a book to be published for teens.
March 11, 2008|
I wear my pajamas and slippers almost EVERY morning, when I drop my 6 year old off at kindergarten.
March 11, 2008|
Until my mother-in-law lost her mind, I hadn't even heard of a "Sandwich Generation" - the people who are taking care of both their parents and their children at the same time period.
Then Air Force Guy and I got shoved firmly (and with quite a protest, I tell you what) into Sandwich-hood with a bang. Air Force Family does everything with a bang, though, so that's not unusual.
What is turning out to make our Sandwich Generation experience a bit unique, though, is the fact that we're a military family sandwich. A military family sandwich with foreign parents. RUSSIAN foreign parents. Crazy Russian former parents. And the fact that we're 3000 miles away from her and moving every few years makes explaining the strange things that come up and the cultural idiosyncrasies of her friends just a bit more involved and difficult than if we lived close enough to do real damage control.
Case in point - our conversation last night with my Father-in-Law.
March 11, 2008|
Noteworthy items from this week's Military Report:
Commissaries Recall Products
New Recall Procedure for Commissaries
Exchanges Honor Students
Free Magazines for You
Learn About Homebuying
MBA Scholarships
Marines Seek Spirit of Hope Nominees
Military.com Classifieds -- Find Free Stuff
Must Read Blog for Anyone Transitioning
TRICARE Transition Assistance
Sites Selected for Operation Purple Summer Camps
March 10, 2008|
Looks like AWTM realized something this past week. So did I. I realized that sometimes you've just got to clear your head.
Last week was challenging, to say the least. It started off just fine, but by Tuesday, everything that could go wrong was beginning to go wrong. Everything I touched seem to crumble under my feet, and the trend continued until bedtime Friday evening.
March 10, 2008|
My own advice.
Geesh, have I turned into " THAT" person?
March 9, 2008|
I had a goofy memory last night as I was setting all the clocks forward, something I hadn't thought about in years. I remembered that my husband came home for R&R during OIF II right before it was time to "fall back" in October. And at the time, I got such a kick out of the idea that our R&R would be an hour longer than everyone else's. I love that time spent together was such a precious commodity that I was thrilled to have an extra hour invented out of thin air for us.
It's funny the things we remember and the things we forget. As I was spending time with Heather S this week while she was waiting desperately for her cell phone to announce her husband's arrival home from Iraq, I was trying hard to remember what I did to pass the time on the day my husband came home, three years ago yesterday. I can't for the life of me remember. He returned in the evening, and I remember every detail of being in the gym when he marched in and going to the barracks afterwards to share a beer with his tank crew. But the events leading up to his return, what I did with myself until 5 PM, those memories are completely lost to me. I don't remember if I was nervous, jittery, calm, or cool. I don't remember if I was at home or out-and-about. I cannot remember it at all, but for some reason I can remember being excited about an extra hour of daylight savings during R&R.
I find it odd that I cannot remember what I did on homecoming day, conceivably the happiest day of my life. It was so overwhelmingly important and life-altering at the time, and frankly I'm shocked that three years later it's a void in my mind. Memory is a tricky thing; stuff that feels deathly important one day can be completely forgotten the next. And though I was a blogger at the time, for some reason I didn't write about what I was doing or feeling that day. At the time, I probably never imagined I could forget homecoming day, but now I really wish I had preserved those memories. I'll remember to do better next time.
March 8, 2008|
At my grandmother's funeral, I bumped into someone I hadn't seen in over 20 years. She asked me what I'd been doing and I said, "Oh, Just Trying Out the World." I don't think I've ever uttered that phrase before so I'm unsure where it came from, but later when I thought about it, it made perfect sense. Because that's exactly what I've been doing throughout the years.
March 7, 2008|
An interesting thing happened to me this week. A news producer acquaintance of mine asked me to share some ideas with him about what might make a great home front story. There are thousands of those to be found so that wasn't the challenge, the challenge came when he suggested it tie in with the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. And no, that wasn't the interesting part. The interesting part was that after three days of deliberation, I had no ideas whatsoever.
None.
And I couldn't figure out why, until I sat down to write this post. That's when I realized the story had been right under my nose all along, and I hadn't even realized it.
March 7, 2008|
You know, you people are keeping me in check. Honestly. The very thought that I have to report in every Friday about how well I've managed to keep up does wonders to stop me from running through that drive through in a haze of addictive frenzy.
Accountability - it works.
Jeans are still getting looser, not as fast as I'd like, but enough to know that there's definitely a difference. To my utter horror, I had to drop bread from my diet this week, too. First fast food, then sugar, now bread. OH, THE HUMANITY!
And before we really get into the Fit Club post - we need to give a few shout outs! Army Blogger Wife and Aircrew Fiancee have made some great strides in their Fitness journey,