We survived

I'm sitting in Qdoba in Norfolk taking advantage of the free internet.  Right now I'm eating my three cheese nachos so I'm not going to type a long post but wanted to give you all some pictures to enjoy from yesterday :)

My husband going to see how high the water was

I might have gotten my feet a little wet

Big waves!!!

Earthquakes, and Hurricanes, and Sunshine...Oh My!

Earthquakes
So everyone is all a-buzz with the news of the earthquake last night in Colorado and the one this afternoon in Virginia.  So far everyone I know in both areas is ok, thankfully.  When you aren't prepared/used to hurricanes the devestations from even a minor one can be extreamly bad.
Hurricanes
Of course I am a super bright person and didn't even realize the looming hurricane is headed straight for the Norfolk area this weekend until I visited weather.com this afternoon to look up information about the earthquake...a little out of touch am I?  Not only is the hurricane scheduled to hit this weekend, I am also supposed to be in Norfolk visiting hubby this weekend...YAY my first hurricane experience...Wish me luck :)  I'm actually a little excited by this (yes I know I'm crazy!) but where Adam's apartment is I will be able to sit on the beach and watch the storm assuming it isn't too bad and current weather forcasts have it down to a level 1 by the time it reaches Norfolk. 
Sunshine
Today was a beautiful day.  It wasn't to hot, there was almost no humidity and the sun was shining.  It was perfect.  My boss bought us pizza and we sat outside to eat lunch...It was wonderful I am so lucky to work in such a beautiful building in such a beautiful town where our back yard is a southern plantation style verenanda with a lake and trees!

So--If you could re-write Lions and Tigers and Bears to describe your day today what words would you use????

ugh!!!

I just read over 200 blogs...needless to say I didn't comment.  For this I apologize because some of the posts were commentable--but I am now caught up so I should be a better blog friend now
love you all
hugs and kisses
kthxbye

Four Days!

In my short time as a milspouse I have learned that countdowns are always looming...everyone is constantly counting down to something, days until the next deployment, days until this deployment is over, days until we PCS, days until we get out!  It seems like everyone has a ticker somewhere counting down.
A few days ago I was talking to a friend and mentioned that I really wanted last week to hurry up and be over with because I get to go visit Adam this week.  She asked me if I ever feel like I am wishing my life away by constantly counting down for the next event.  Since Adam enlisted I have counted down:

Days until he moved to Louisville temporarily

Days until he left for boot camp

Days until graduation

Days until A-School was over

Days until he went to Norfolk

Days until I could visit the first time

Days until I can visit this week

AND I am already counting

Days until the boat Christmas Party

Days until the boat leaves the shipyard

Days until the boat is deployable for humanitiarian efforts

Days until the boat is rumored to deploy

Days until Adam can strike for a rate

The list goes on and on.  Her question really got me thinking though. Am I really wishing my life away?  I don't think so.  If anything having these constant count downs has made me appreciate the days more.  Plus is it really any different from before he enlisted?  Then I was counting down days until the weekend, Christmas, trips to visit grandma, graduation, my birthday...Now I am just counting down different things. 

Needless to say my current counter is down to four days!  Thursday after work I get to head to Norfolk for a long weekend with my husband.  Yes he has to work but at least I get to spend every night with him and a couple of days full of sun, sand, and laughter. :)


PS-Have you entered my giveaway? It ends next week!

The Help

Have you read "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett? If not, you should...I should...I have not yet read the book, but I do own it...and I have seen the movie so that is something right?

 

"The Help" is an amazing story about a white woman in the 1960's in Jackson, Mississippi who decides to interview the "help" in the town about what it is like to be a black maid.  The women share with her stories about the things they have seen and heard, the names they have been called, the way they have been treated.  Ms. Stockett leaves no viewpoint untouched.  She points out both the good and the bad in people, her characters tell stories about good employers and bad ones, the kind and the rude.  The movie doesn't come out until August 10th and you should run to see it!  I was lucky enough to attend a free pre-screening of the movie and was absolutely amazed.  One warning though, don't wear mascara, you will cry!  If you have not yet heard about this amazing story then you must live under a rock but I promise you it is touching.  I was with a group of about 20 women, all white, ages ranging from 23-50+ in a prominently black theater, this story truly touches all races.  Everyone in the theater joined in the utter joy and laughter of the characters at some scenes, we all reacted in shock and disgust at others.  I promise you that not a single person left the theater without wiping at least one tear from the corner of their eyes.  The theater was full of men and women, black and white, the story is one of unity and community.  It is about standing up for what is right and telling the truth.  In reality I don't think the story is about the battle against racism, though that is the most predominant and obvious theme, for me the true message is about the HUGE difference one person can make when they take the time to see the viewpoint of people who are not like them, then tell the story, the true story, about what is going on in the world.  I am trying not to refer to the actual plot to much because I don't want to ruin the story for those of you who haven't read it and since I know most of you won't have seen it yet at this point but I do want all of you to know it is a truly amazing movie that was extremely well written.  The book, will be my reading on the plane when I go visit hubby later this week and I will let you know if it is as good as the movie then.  (aren't the books ALWAYS better? I'm sure this will be no exception!)

 OH--and don't forget to go enter my giveaway!  

Back to School Giveaway

How would you like a wall hanging honoring YOU?

I made these super cute signs (?) for some friends over the summer and thought that some of my blog followers would like one as all.  The one pictures was the first one I made so I promise that yours will be centered properly :) The poem on the sign is "The Military Wife"

When the Lord was creating a military wife He ran into His sixth day of overtime. An angel appeared and said, "You're having a lot of trouble with this one. What's wrong with the standard model?"

The Lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on this order? It has to be completely independent but must always be sponsored to get on a military installation. It must have the qualities of both mother and father during deployments, be a perfect host to 4 or 40, handle emergencies without an instruction manual, cope with flu and moves all around the world, have a kiss that cures anything from a child's bruised knee to a husband's weary days, have the patience of a saint when waiting for its mate to come home and, have six pairs of hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands? No way." The Lord answered, "Don't worry; we will make other military wives to help. Besides, it's not the hands that are causing the problem, it's the heart. It must swell with pride, sustain the ache of numerous separations while remaining true, beat soundly even when it feels too tired to do so, be large enough to say 'I understand' when it doesn't, and say 'I love you', regardless.

"Lord," said the angel, gently touching His sleeve. "Go to bed. You can finish it tomorrow." "I can't," said the Lord. "I'm so close to creating something quite unique. Already it can heal itself when sick, on a moment’s notice it will willingly embrace and feed total strangers who have been stranded during a PCS move and it can wave goodbye to its husband understanding why he had to leave."

The angel circled the model of the military wife very slowly. "It's too soft," she sighed.

"But tough," the Lord said excitedly. "You cannot imagine what this being can do or endure."

"Can it think?" asked the angel. "Can it think?! It can convert 1400 to 2 p.m.," replied the Lord.

Finally the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek. "There's a leak," she said. "I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model." It's not a leak," said the Lord. "It's a tear." "What's it for?" asked the angel. "It's for joy, sadness, pain, loneliness and pride." "You're a genius," said the angel.

Looking at her somberly, the Lord replied, "I didn't put it there."

How to enter:

First-Comment on this post (1 entry) with your military branch and what color you would like the canvas background to be.  Please leave some way I can contact you (link to your blog, twitter username etc) or send an email to shanonrenee@gmail.com and let me know who you are so that I can contact you when the winner is announced.

Addtional entries:

Blog about this giveaway (1 entry) comment on this blog with a link to your blog post

Tweet about this giveaway with a link to this entry and mention me (@shanonrenee) (1 entry per day) comment on this blog to let me know that you tweeted and include your username.

Are you not a milspouse but have a friend who is, is this not your style but you know someone who would love it?  Feel free to enter for your friends and family, just in your first comment tell me that you are entering for someone else, your connection to them (friend, sister, spouse, daughter etc.) and give their branch and background color (or pick a color for them!)

The giveaway ends on 8/31 at midnight and the winner will be announced no later than 9/4 I will try to do it sooner though! 

Good Luck!

Day Late but I'm Here

I totally forgot to post my Boohoo and Hooyah last week :/ after giving Mrs. Monkey a hard time for thinking about stopping it...I'm a bad blogger...bad bad blogger so here it is!

My boohoo--After two weeks of not calorie counting I didn't lose any more weight
My Hooyah--After two weeks of not calorie counting I didn't gain any weight...

Was that a cop-out??? ok here's another set
Boohoo-I have to go to the dr today to be established as a patient with my new PCM, hopefully she will give me a referal to the Ob/Gyn I already have here since they take tri-care (thank god! one less new doctor!)
Hooyah-I am flying through the prep stuff for our audit at work.  I think I will be ready to go on Friday and the audit isn't until the 15th!!!