Monday, March 21, 2011
New Site!!
I've moved!! My blog is now located at www.thearmywifelife.com! Still under construction, but be patient and pretty soon it'll be better than ever! This site will stay up for anyone who wants to read old posts...:-)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A Little Sunshine
I've decided to bring a new twist to an old theme. We've all read the various lists of "How to Piss off an Army Wife", in fact I've written one myself. But in an effort to remain perpetually bright and sparkly I've decided to give a helping hand to all those out there who want to bring a smile to our faces. Rather than telling you what NOT to do, I'm going to give you some ideas that'll bring in a little sunshine. Since we're gearing up for a deployment here, I'm focusing on that aspect, so most of these are things to do while they're gone.
*Disclaimer* I realize that I usually refer to spouses as "wives", and leave out those husbands out there who are also dependents. I can't help it, more than a decade in Combat Arms creates habits that are hard to break. Most of these ideas will probably be slanted toward a female perspective, (I can't really help that either...) but I'm sure with a little thought and creativity, they'll work for the guys, too.
-If you know that our husbands are getting ready to deploy, or leave for a long training exercise one of the best things you can do to perk us up a little is to watch our kids so we can go on a date. And don't worry...my children behave much better for other people that they do for me. I'll even drug them if necessary.
-Deployments are long. Even those of us with the sunniest of outlooks tend to get down in the dumps halfway through a 12, 15, or 18 month deployment. If you stop by during that time...bring chocolate. Chocolate works wonders on the female disposition. In fact, if you're planning to see me at anytime during a deployment, bring chocolate.
-We may be in a miserable state of mind for a while if our other half is gone, but that doesn't mean we expect you to be. If you're happy about something, please tell us about it. We want to be happy for you, too! Sunshine always dries the rain.
-Remind us that tomorrow is another day. Sometimes we get caught up in the little things that seem to grow exponentially during deployments. When you have to do everything yourself, even the dumbest thing going wrong can become a disaster of epic proportions. Once I got so upset about my mountain of laundry that I just sat down and cried. My mom came over the next day while I was at work and helped me get caught up, and suddenly the world was no longer ending.
If you haven't been in our shoes, we don't expect you to magically understand what we're going through. We don't expect you to be full of wit and wisdom. We just want you to be there, and be you. If you're my favorite coffee buddy, then keep having coffee with me, I need you now more than ever. Don't worry so much about saying the "wrong thing", or pissing me off. If we're friends, and I know you're trying, you're not going to piss me off.
One thing guaranteed to bring a smile to any Army Wife is the knowledge that someone else is supporting our husband, too. Send him a card, or a care package. Cheer him up, you cheer us up. If you don't know what to send him, just ask. We've got all kinds of ideas. Or just think about what you would want if you were far from home in a hostile war zone full of sand and grit. Send that.
And there you have it. I hope it helps. If you're an Army Wife, what makes you smile? Tell me something nice that someone's done for you.
*Disclaimer* I realize that I usually refer to spouses as "wives", and leave out those husbands out there who are also dependents. I can't help it, more than a decade in Combat Arms creates habits that are hard to break. Most of these ideas will probably be slanted toward a female perspective, (I can't really help that either...) but I'm sure with a little thought and creativity, they'll work for the guys, too.
-If you know that our husbands are getting ready to deploy, or leave for a long training exercise one of the best things you can do to perk us up a little is to watch our kids so we can go on a date. And don't worry...my children behave much better for other people that they do for me. I'll even drug them if necessary.
-Deployments are long. Even those of us with the sunniest of outlooks tend to get down in the dumps halfway through a 12, 15, or 18 month deployment. If you stop by during that time...bring chocolate. Chocolate works wonders on the female disposition. In fact, if you're planning to see me at anytime during a deployment, bring chocolate.
-We may be in a miserable state of mind for a while if our other half is gone, but that doesn't mean we expect you to be. If you're happy about something, please tell us about it. We want to be happy for you, too! Sunshine always dries the rain.
-Remind us that tomorrow is another day. Sometimes we get caught up in the little things that seem to grow exponentially during deployments. When you have to do everything yourself, even the dumbest thing going wrong can become a disaster of epic proportions. Once I got so upset about my mountain of laundry that I just sat down and cried. My mom came over the next day while I was at work and helped me get caught up, and suddenly the world was no longer ending.
If you haven't been in our shoes, we don't expect you to magically understand what we're going through. We don't expect you to be full of wit and wisdom. We just want you to be there, and be you. If you're my favorite coffee buddy, then keep having coffee with me, I need you now more than ever. Don't worry so much about saying the "wrong thing", or pissing me off. If we're friends, and I know you're trying, you're not going to piss me off.
One thing guaranteed to bring a smile to any Army Wife is the knowledge that someone else is supporting our husband, too. Send him a card, or a care package. Cheer him up, you cheer us up. If you don't know what to send him, just ask. We've got all kinds of ideas. Or just think about what you would want if you were far from home in a hostile war zone full of sand and grit. Send that.
And there you have it. I hope it helps. If you're an Army Wife, what makes you smile? Tell me something nice that someone's done for you.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Real Me
Everyone gets it from time to time; it comes around every so often. You know, the "25 things you didn't know about me" chain letter. Or various themes on the subject. Using the second letter of your middle name, write down 412 things you like to do on vacation (I would, but there is no "S" anywhere in my name)...list a favorite food for every letter of the alphabet (really, how can you have 26 favorites? Doesn't that sort of negate the whole concept of a favorite?)...and of course the crazy lists of completely random questions that nobody cares to know the answers to (what's your favorite legume? Who CARES?).
Anyway, I've decided to create a list of things about me that might actually be interesting and worthwhile if you want to get to know me better. If you know me well, then you probably already know some of this stuff. If you don't care, then skip this post. I won't hold it against you. And just for the record - I pretty much dislike all legumes.
1) I am a voracious reader. Books are as necessary as food to me. I don't read, I devour. I will go slightly nuts if I don't have a book to read. I've had a Kindle for about a year now, and it's the best purchase I've ever made. My current literary obsession is the Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning. Awesome books, but not at all for the faint of heart.
2) I have traveled to 20 countries, to include the United States. They are, in approximate order, as follows: US, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Netherlands, Italy, Bulgaria, England, France, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece and Canada. It comes out to about 10% of the countries in the world. That means I have another 90% to explore.
3) I have yet to visit the two places that have long held the most appeal for me. Ireland, and Israel. I WILL see Ireland before I die. I'm not sure my terrorist-hunting hubby will allow me anywhere near the middle east, but I can dream.
4) I have a huge sweet tooth that I inherited from my Grandpa. He got it from his mother and gave it to me and I have now passed it onto my youngest son. Hey...family legacies are important.
5) I'm fascinated by vampires, and have been since long before Bella met Edward. I'm not one of those "hey look at me, I'm pale and pierced and wear black all the time and walk around with an eternally depressed disposition cause I want to be a vampire" type of people. I like my pink and sunshine too much for that. Plus it's just plain weird. But still...something about them draws me.
6) Paul Newman is my favorite actor and always will be. He was classy. My husband married me with the full knowledge that if Paul ever came to the door and asked me to run away with him, all bets were off. I guess he figured it was an acceptable risk. At the end of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, when he looks at Liz Taylor with those blue, blue eyes and says, "lock the door", I just come unraveled.
7) My close friends and family will tell you that I'm a walking encyclopedia of useless facts. Nobody will play Trivial Pursuit with me. But knowing when the Battle of Hastings took place (1066), the first line of Hamlet ("Who's there?"), or that the Pyramid of Giza is the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world still standing will come in really handy if I ever try out for Jeopardy.
8) I got mugged once. In Germany. To make a long story short - he attacked me, I got pissed, we fought, I won. Never underestimate the power of 4 inch stilettos.
9) I make a killer giant cheesecake. It's huge. Tall, thick and about 80,000 calories. It takes about 2 days to make and It. Is. Fabulous.
10) I don't like to drive. I consider it a necessary evil. I prefer to be driven around. I think it's a throwback to my past life when I was Queen of Everything. I'm pretty sure I had a chauffeur.
11) I absolutely love the smell of sandalwood. I don't know why, I don't know what kind of repressed, sensory memory it evokes in me, but the smell of sandalwood magically transports me to another place. One that is rich, luxurious, soft and warm. And quiet. I had a perfectly scented Tibetan Sandalwood candle once, and when it got too short to burn I would just pick it up and smell it. I'm pretty certain that Heaven smells like Sandalwood.
12) I am displaced in time. Born in the wrong decade. I should have lived in the 30's and 40's. I love the music, the style, the class and the grace. I love the simplicity of the pride we felt in who we were as a country, as a people. No insane politics, no misplaced guilt. Just the determination to go on, to fight the bad guy, to go where we were needed and to rebuild. Plus - great hats.
13) I absolutely cannot handle people touching my feet. It just weirds me out and gives me the willies.
14) I once broke a finger doing laundry. Not a fingernail, a finger. I was in Korea and I was taking a belt out of one of my husband's uniforms. This belt was slightly elastic and as I was pulling it out of the belt loops I lost my grip and the metal buckle snapped back and cracked me on my ring finger. It started swelling and turning purple pretty much right away. The medic said it was fractured and made me wear a splint for 6 weeks. Who knew mundane housework could be so dangerous?
15) And last but not least...my natural hair color is brown. Who knew, right?
And for all of you gutter minds - my favorite thing to do on vacation is to go SIGHTSEEING. :-p
Anyway, I've decided to create a list of things about me that might actually be interesting and worthwhile if you want to get to know me better. If you know me well, then you probably already know some of this stuff. If you don't care, then skip this post. I won't hold it against you. And just for the record - I pretty much dislike all legumes.
1) I am a voracious reader. Books are as necessary as food to me. I don't read, I devour. I will go slightly nuts if I don't have a book to read. I've had a Kindle for about a year now, and it's the best purchase I've ever made. My current literary obsession is the Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning. Awesome books, but not at all for the faint of heart.
2) I have traveled to 20 countries, to include the United States. They are, in approximate order, as follows: US, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Netherlands, Italy, Bulgaria, England, France, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece and Canada. It comes out to about 10% of the countries in the world. That means I have another 90% to explore.
3) I have yet to visit the two places that have long held the most appeal for me. Ireland, and Israel. I WILL see Ireland before I die. I'm not sure my terrorist-hunting hubby will allow me anywhere near the middle east, but I can dream.
4) I have a huge sweet tooth that I inherited from my Grandpa. He got it from his mother and gave it to me and I have now passed it onto my youngest son. Hey...family legacies are important.
5) I'm fascinated by vampires, and have been since long before Bella met Edward. I'm not one of those "hey look at me, I'm pale and pierced and wear black all the time and walk around with an eternally depressed disposition cause I want to be a vampire" type of people. I like my pink and sunshine too much for that. Plus it's just plain weird. But still...something about them draws me.
6) Paul Newman is my favorite actor and always will be. He was classy. My husband married me with the full knowledge that if Paul ever came to the door and asked me to run away with him, all bets were off. I guess he figured it was an acceptable risk. At the end of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, when he looks at Liz Taylor with those blue, blue eyes and says, "lock the door", I just come unraveled.
7) My close friends and family will tell you that I'm a walking encyclopedia of useless facts. Nobody will play Trivial Pursuit with me. But knowing when the Battle of Hastings took place (1066), the first line of Hamlet ("Who's there?"), or that the Pyramid of Giza is the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world still standing will come in really handy if I ever try out for Jeopardy.
8) I got mugged once. In Germany. To make a long story short - he attacked me, I got pissed, we fought, I won. Never underestimate the power of 4 inch stilettos.
9) I make a killer giant cheesecake. It's huge. Tall, thick and about 80,000 calories. It takes about 2 days to make and It. Is. Fabulous.
10) I don't like to drive. I consider it a necessary evil. I prefer to be driven around. I think it's a throwback to my past life when I was Queen of Everything. I'm pretty sure I had a chauffeur.
11) I absolutely love the smell of sandalwood. I don't know why, I don't know what kind of repressed, sensory memory it evokes in me, but the smell of sandalwood magically transports me to another place. One that is rich, luxurious, soft and warm. And quiet. I had a perfectly scented Tibetan Sandalwood candle once, and when it got too short to burn I would just pick it up and smell it. I'm pretty certain that Heaven smells like Sandalwood.
12) I am displaced in time. Born in the wrong decade. I should have lived in the 30's and 40's. I love the music, the style, the class and the grace. I love the simplicity of the pride we felt in who we were as a country, as a people. No insane politics, no misplaced guilt. Just the determination to go on, to fight the bad guy, to go where we were needed and to rebuild. Plus - great hats.
13) I absolutely cannot handle people touching my feet. It just weirds me out and gives me the willies.
14) I once broke a finger doing laundry. Not a fingernail, a finger. I was in Korea and I was taking a belt out of one of my husband's uniforms. This belt was slightly elastic and as I was pulling it out of the belt loops I lost my grip and the metal buckle snapped back and cracked me on my ring finger. It started swelling and turning purple pretty much right away. The medic said it was fractured and made me wear a splint for 6 weeks. Who knew mundane housework could be so dangerous?
15) And last but not least...my natural hair color is brown. Who knew, right?
And for all of you gutter minds - my favorite thing to do on vacation is to go SIGHTSEEING. :-p
Sunday, January 16, 2011
A Dirty Secret
Hello, my name is Jennifer, and I'm addicted to HGTV. I can't live without my daily dose of style advice, renovation tips and ideas to boost my curb appeal. I'm now chock full of ideas on how to dress up my foyer, give my kitchen a make-over for under $1000, and plan a garden party for 12 on a limited budget. I have dreams about installing recessed lighting, laying tile and re-purposing thrift store cabinets.
I've actually learned quite a bit about myself through the feeding of my addiction. I've learned that I love red doors, I hate subway tile and anytime Jamie Durie feels like stopping by with his Australian accent to fix up my backyard, he's more than welcome.
But my all-time favorite poison is House Hunters International. It makes my heart beat just a little bit faster to see all that foreign potential. Who wouldn't love to go condo shopping in Turks and Caicos? You can get a nice one-bedroom with beach access for $500,000 US. Or there's the 200 year-old Czech farmhouse with no indoor plumbing, but it's stuffed full of antiques - included in the price! And my favorite possibility and new "if I win the lottery dream", a turn-of-the-century rustic French chateau in Brittany. Did you know you can buy one for about $250,000 US? Let's throw caution to the wind and move to Northern France.
I simply can't get enough. It's all so fascinating. Who would have thought a can of paint could make such a difference? Or that turning an old window frame into a headboard would look so fabulous? If you're an addict as well, I'm here to tell you that it's okay. Let your secret out. Together we can take a deep breath, focus and become a useful member of society and actually do something constructive with all that knowledge.
Like re-purpose the dining room table.
I've actually learned quite a bit about myself through the feeding of my addiction. I've learned that I love red doors, I hate subway tile and anytime Jamie Durie feels like stopping by with his Australian accent to fix up my backyard, he's more than welcome.
But my all-time favorite poison is House Hunters International. It makes my heart beat just a little bit faster to see all that foreign potential. Who wouldn't love to go condo shopping in Turks and Caicos? You can get a nice one-bedroom with beach access for $500,000 US. Or there's the 200 year-old Czech farmhouse with no indoor plumbing, but it's stuffed full of antiques - included in the price! And my favorite possibility and new "if I win the lottery dream", a turn-of-the-century rustic French chateau in Brittany. Did you know you can buy one for about $250,000 US? Let's throw caution to the wind and move to Northern France.
I simply can't get enough. It's all so fascinating. Who would have thought a can of paint could make such a difference? Or that turning an old window frame into a headboard would look so fabulous? If you're an addict as well, I'm here to tell you that it's okay. Let your secret out. Together we can take a deep breath, focus and become a useful member of society and actually do something constructive with all that knowledge.
Like re-purpose the dining room table.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Winter Wonderland
It occurred to me this morning that I haven't really posted any pictures on here yet. I bundled up the kidlets and we went for a walk up the street, to take a look at the Chena River. Jack wanted to see some ducks, but I had to break his heart and tell him that it's a little too cold out for the ducks right now. I managed to get a few good pictures in between Aiden's bouts of whining about how cold he was. It seems he needs more time to acclimate. We might just have to get out there and take a walk every day! This was at about 1:30 in the afternoon, we have roughly 5 hours of daylight now, and increasing slowly every day. It was about 0 degrees, and you'd be surprised how good that feels after experiencing -40! Enjoy the pictures (click on the image to view larger), and take special note of the dog sled design in the fence bordering the river. Sweet, huh?
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
All I Want for Christmas is...a House
Life always seems to get in the way of all my great intentions regarding this blog. Part of The Army Wife Life is being busy, I guess. Oh well.
After spending 25 days in the hotel on post, we rented a small, 2 bedroom furnished apartment off post, on a month to month basis to wait out housing. We moved in here on the 18th of December, and exactly 10 days later we got The Call. We have now accepted a house on post, it will be ready for us around the 28th of January! I can't tell you how excited I am! This little apartment is perfect for our short-term needs (and tons better than living in a hotel room), but it's pretty small and my kids need some space to run, especially as they can't really go outside and do it. So having over 2000 square feet at my disposal will be really nice!
That's the good news. The bad news...Chris won't be here. He'll be leaving either the day we move in or the day after for a month of training. While he *should* be able to help me move out of the apartment, he won't be around to help me unpack our household goods. Again. I swear, the man is paying somebody. He's never here for the unpacking. I'm lucky if he's around for the delivery. I have unpacked with the flu, in the snow, in the scorching heat, and now I get to add extreme sub-zero temps to my repertoire. The bright side to that is I get to put everything where *I* want it.
We had a great Christmas, I baked up a storm in my little apartment, I was just so grateful to have an oven! The boys were thoroughly spoiled and now our living space is full of toys that we don't have room for.... Santa brought Aiden a Batcave (think Barbie Dream House for Batman) along with assorted villains and accessories and Jack got what he was asking for all month long - a choo-choo and a dump truck. I got a free-standing wine cellar that I have a feeling will be coming in quite handy during the upcoming deployment!
All in all, life is good. I'm enjoying Fairbanks so far. It's not a big town, it's easy to get around and find stuff, and everyone we've met has been super-friendly.
Happy New Year to all of you!!
After spending 25 days in the hotel on post, we rented a small, 2 bedroom furnished apartment off post, on a month to month basis to wait out housing. We moved in here on the 18th of December, and exactly 10 days later we got The Call. We have now accepted a house on post, it will be ready for us around the 28th of January! I can't tell you how excited I am! This little apartment is perfect for our short-term needs (and tons better than living in a hotel room), but it's pretty small and my kids need some space to run, especially as they can't really go outside and do it. So having over 2000 square feet at my disposal will be really nice!
That's the good news. The bad news...Chris won't be here. He'll be leaving either the day we move in or the day after for a month of training. While he *should* be able to help me move out of the apartment, he won't be around to help me unpack our household goods. Again. I swear, the man is paying somebody. He's never here for the unpacking. I'm lucky if he's around for the delivery. I have unpacked with the flu, in the snow, in the scorching heat, and now I get to add extreme sub-zero temps to my repertoire. The bright side to that is I get to put everything where *I* want it.
We had a great Christmas, I baked up a storm in my little apartment, I was just so grateful to have an oven! The boys were thoroughly spoiled and now our living space is full of toys that we don't have room for.... Santa brought Aiden a Batcave (think Barbie Dream House for Batman) along with assorted villains and accessories and Jack got what he was asking for all month long - a choo-choo and a dump truck. I got a free-standing wine cellar that I have a feeling will be coming in quite handy during the upcoming deployment!
All in all, life is good. I'm enjoying Fairbanks so far. It's not a big town, it's easy to get around and find stuff, and everyone we've met has been super-friendly.
Happy New Year to all of you!!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Lessons Learned on the Alaska Highway
Let me start off by saying that I'M SORRY I haven't blogged sooner. It really was my intention to keep as up to date as possible during our move, but it just didn't happen. To make a very long story short - we made it to Alaska.
Rather than tell the story in boring, minute detail, I've decided to compile a list of things I've learned from the experience of driving to Alaska. Even though I've PCSed five times now, each move is different and presents it's own unique challenges.
1) Your cell-phone charger is one of those things you should really make sure you put in your purse before the movers come to pack your stuff. Thank you Kristi for saving my butt. :-)
2) On a road trip of 3500 miles, no matter how many rest areas or gas stations you stop at, your 4 year-old son will have to pee about 5 minutes after you're back on the road.
3) 32 degrees is cold. -25 degrees is colder.
4) Canadians really don't understand the concept of a "rest area". To them, it consists of an un-plowed turn-out and a wooden porta-potty or outhouse.
5) Toilet paper DOES freeze.
6) If you bundle up in your warm coat, boots, hat and scarf when it's only 10 degrees outside, the natives will laugh at you.
7) "Highway" is a relative term.
8) In Yukon Territory, Miller Genuine Draft is their idea of an imported beer.
9) When the sign says, "Next Services 150 Miles", what it actually means is, "No Signs of Civilization Whatsoever for 150 miles".
10) There are still places in this world that are untouched by man...and cell towers.
11) Five channels in a hotel room is considered Cable TV.
12) Driving a fancy white Hummer and sporting an attitude the size of Jupiter won't keep you from sliding off the road into a snow bank if you drive too fast on the Alaska Highway. And when a 5-car convoy of soldiers comes along and pulls you back onto the road out of the kindness of their hearts, the appropriate response is "Thank you" and an effort to slow down. Because the next time we see you buried in the snow because you're an idiot, we're not going to stop.
13) Studded snow tires are worth every penny.
14) No matter how many times you hear the words "Are we there YET?", it's still annoying.
15) It's worth the hassle and preparation. Alaska is beautiful, and unlike anything else I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot.
We pulled into Fairbanks on November 24th and we're currently living in the on-post hotel awaiting a house. We're next on the list, so hopefully it will be soon. I'll try to update more often now that we're semi-settled.
Happy Christmas Shopping! :-)
Rather than tell the story in boring, minute detail, I've decided to compile a list of things I've learned from the experience of driving to Alaska. Even though I've PCSed five times now, each move is different and presents it's own unique challenges.
1) Your cell-phone charger is one of those things you should really make sure you put in your purse before the movers come to pack your stuff. Thank you Kristi for saving my butt. :-)
2) On a road trip of 3500 miles, no matter how many rest areas or gas stations you stop at, your 4 year-old son will have to pee about 5 minutes after you're back on the road.
3) 32 degrees is cold. -25 degrees is colder.
4) Canadians really don't understand the concept of a "rest area". To them, it consists of an un-plowed turn-out and a wooden porta-potty or outhouse.
5) Toilet paper DOES freeze.
6) If you bundle up in your warm coat, boots, hat and scarf when it's only 10 degrees outside, the natives will laugh at you.
7) "Highway" is a relative term.
8) In Yukon Territory, Miller Genuine Draft is their idea of an imported beer.
9) When the sign says, "Next Services 150 Miles", what it actually means is, "No Signs of Civilization Whatsoever for 150 miles".
10) There are still places in this world that are untouched by man...and cell towers.
11) Five channels in a hotel room is considered Cable TV.
12) Driving a fancy white Hummer and sporting an attitude the size of Jupiter won't keep you from sliding off the road into a snow bank if you drive too fast on the Alaska Highway. And when a 5-car convoy of soldiers comes along and pulls you back onto the road out of the kindness of their hearts, the appropriate response is "Thank you" and an effort to slow down. Because the next time we see you buried in the snow because you're an idiot, we're not going to stop.
13) Studded snow tires are worth every penny.
14) No matter how many times you hear the words "Are we there YET?", it's still annoying.
15) It's worth the hassle and preparation. Alaska is beautiful, and unlike anything else I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot.
We pulled into Fairbanks on November 24th and we're currently living in the on-post hotel awaiting a house. We're next on the list, so hopefully it will be soon. I'll try to update more often now that we're semi-settled.
Happy Christmas Shopping! :-)
Friday, November 19, 2010
The Twilight Zone
When I started planning our road trip north I decided I couldn't pass up a trip to Forks, WA. I'm a big Twilight fan and I just couldn't resist passing through the town where it all started. My husband indulged me and agreed to an overnight in The Twilight Zone.
My first thought upon entering this sleepy little town was how pretty it was. Forks is a tiny little hamlet on the Olympic Peninsula in Northwest Washington State. It's very isolated and pretty much comes up out of nowhere on the 101. My second thought was that it's literally been taken over. Every single establishment in town has some sort of homage to Twilight. While you may think that's a bit of overkill, it's actually pretty smart. The people of Forks have figured out what's keeping them on the map right now and they're capitalizing in the biggest way. They've whole-heartedly embraced their transformation into American Pop Culture and they're having a great time. The people of Forks are friendly and outgoing and love to talk to the tourists. From the Twilight inspired menu at The Lodge Restaurant to the Twilight gear and souvenirs available in every store, to the vintage "Bella" trucks on every corner, Forks is every Twilighter's dream.
If you ever find yourself in the vicinity of Forks, it's worth a stop. Even if you're not a Twilight fan, you'll enjoy the friendly people and the quaint little slice of the Pacific Northwest.
My first thought upon entering this sleepy little town was how pretty it was. Forks is a tiny little hamlet on the Olympic Peninsula in Northwest Washington State. It's very isolated and pretty much comes up out of nowhere on the 101. My second thought was that it's literally been taken over. Every single establishment in town has some sort of homage to Twilight. While you may think that's a bit of overkill, it's actually pretty smart. The people of Forks have figured out what's keeping them on the map right now and they're capitalizing in the biggest way. They've whole-heartedly embraced their transformation into American Pop Culture and they're having a great time. The people of Forks are friendly and outgoing and love to talk to the tourists. From the Twilight inspired menu at The Lodge Restaurant to the Twilight gear and souvenirs available in every store, to the vintage "Bella" trucks on every corner, Forks is every Twilighter's dream.
If you ever find yourself in the vicinity of Forks, it's worth a stop. Even if you're not a Twilight fan, you'll enjoy the friendly people and the quaint little slice of the Pacific Northwest.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Going, Going, Going...
I was really hoping to be able to blog more on this trip, but so far I've either had no time or no internet. I finally have a little of both so I thought I'd post an update.
We are still alive!
We left Fort Irwin and drove to Lemoore, California to visit with Chris' grandma and some aunts and uncles for a few days. While we were there we got a remote start system installed in the car. It's great, except for one thing - it included a car alarm that for some reason I keep setting off. It is really fun to scare people with it though. I started it in the check-out line at Walmart today only to come out to the parking lot to find some dude staring at my car like it was possessed. Good times.
After Lemoore we drove up to Sacramento to see Chris' brother. We also took the boys to the California Railroad Museum and had a good time walking around Old Sacramento. A day there and then we headed up to Crescent City to my inlaw's, which is where we are currently. We all went bowling today and Jack managed to score a 91. How is it possible that my 2 year-old beat my best score? We are having a good time with the family and Aiden is getting so worn out every day playing with his cousins that he just collapses in the bed each night without telling anyone and I have to go search him out!
I've also discovered that Dramamine is wonderful and I will never be without it again. It manages to keep both my little travelers from getting sick. It knocks Jack out for several hours, but of course Aiden is immune to all sleep-inducing drugs and I've gotten a combined 30 minutes out of him the whole trip.
Anyway...a few more trip details to iron out and then we'll be on our way again on Tuesday. Hopefully I'll get a chance to blog more and keep you all updated on our progress!
We are still alive!
We left Fort Irwin and drove to Lemoore, California to visit with Chris' grandma and some aunts and uncles for a few days. While we were there we got a remote start system installed in the car. It's great, except for one thing - it included a car alarm that for some reason I keep setting off. It is really fun to scare people with it though. I started it in the check-out line at Walmart today only to come out to the parking lot to find some dude staring at my car like it was possessed. Good times.
After Lemoore we drove up to Sacramento to see Chris' brother. We also took the boys to the California Railroad Museum and had a good time walking around Old Sacramento. A day there and then we headed up to Crescent City to my inlaw's, which is where we are currently. We all went bowling today and Jack managed to score a 91. How is it possible that my 2 year-old beat my best score? We are having a good time with the family and Aiden is getting so worn out every day playing with his cousins that he just collapses in the bed each night without telling anyone and I have to go search him out!
I've also discovered that Dramamine is wonderful and I will never be without it again. It manages to keep both my little travelers from getting sick. It knocks Jack out for several hours, but of course Aiden is immune to all sleep-inducing drugs and I've gotten a combined 30 minutes out of him the whole trip.
Anyway...a few more trip details to iron out and then we'll be on our way again on Tuesday. Hopefully I'll get a chance to blog more and keep you all updated on our progress!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Friends in All Places
It's our last night here at Fort Irwin, and I'm feeling sentimental. As excited as I am about hitting the road tomorrow to head out on our latest and greatest adventure, I'm also sad. I have loved my time here in So Cal, and there is a lot that I will miss. The great weather, the shopping, Disneyland...but most especially I'll miss the wonderful friends I've made here. I love moving to new places and experiencing new things every few years, but it's bittersweet at times.
The absolute BEST thing about Army life - in my opinion - is that we end up with friends all over the place. I feel like I'm part of a special sisterhood, and I've been lucky enough to have met some truly special women. To all of my Fort Irwin Sisters-in-Arms, I'll miss all of you and I hope we can meet again somewhere!
Okay, enough with the sappy Hallmark stuff. Time to get this party started! I'll try to update as much as I can from the road, but I'm not sure how much internet access I'll have once we get on the ferry. I can't imagine there being a lot of wifi along the Alcan Highway. Anyway, I hope you'll all follow along with me here and on Facebook - it's sure to be a heck of an adventure. After all, where we go - craziness follows!
Alaska or bust!!
The absolute BEST thing about Army life - in my opinion - is that we end up with friends all over the place. I feel like I'm part of a special sisterhood, and I've been lucky enough to have met some truly special women. To all of my Fort Irwin Sisters-in-Arms, I'll miss all of you and I hope we can meet again somewhere!
Okay, enough with the sappy Hallmark stuff. Time to get this party started! I'll try to update as much as I can from the road, but I'm not sure how much internet access I'll have once we get on the ferry. I can't imagine there being a lot of wifi along the Alcan Highway. Anyway, I hope you'll all follow along with me here and on Facebook - it's sure to be a heck of an adventure. After all, where we go - craziness follows!
Alaska or bust!!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Glad That's Over!
We are still alive!! I've been wanting to update for a few days, but I've been without internet until last night. I've been surviving by checking my Facebook on my phone, but that's it. Talk about withdrawal! Anyway, the movers have come and gone, and all of our "stuff" is on it's way to Alaska. Aiden was super-thrilled to meet the real "Imagination Movers" (if you don't have little kids who watch Disney Channel just disregard that), and it actually went very smoothly. They were allotted three days for the pack and load, but only ended up needing a day and a half, so that was nice to have it finished up quickly. The first morning they came I opened up the door to four familiar faces - the same crew of guys who came to pack us up were the guys who moved us in two years ago! Fort Irwin is a small world...:-)
Anyway, since Wednesday night we've been on air mattresses in the living room of our empty house, basically camping with a bathroom. It wasn't so bad, but I'm very happy to finally be in the hotel! We are here 'til Thursday or Friday and then we take off on our journey north. And for the record, we are STILL waiting for passports, which they are insisting will be here in time. Uh huh, sure. They also can't figure out how to pay for our ferry passage, which is causing me a bit of a headache, since it doesn't strike me as that hard to figure out. Just give me another bottle of wine, it's all good.
It struck me that I'm going to be living out of a suitcase for the next month and a half. What fun. Although there is one advantage to not having any of my stuff. No coffee pot means that my daily Starbucks habit is now perfectly justified.
Tonight I'm having one last girl's night with my friends. Mary Kay facials, drinks and girl talk. Sounds like exactly what I need. Followed by more cleaning as I'm frantically trying to get the house spotless in order to pass our housing inspection on Wednesday. It's so much easier to get stuff accomplished when the boys are sleeping, even if that means I'm scrubbing the fridge at midnight. At least I don't have to stop every 10 seconds. I'll be really glad to leave the cleaning to someone else for a while!
Anyway, since Wednesday night we've been on air mattresses in the living room of our empty house, basically camping with a bathroom. It wasn't so bad, but I'm very happy to finally be in the hotel! We are here 'til Thursday or Friday and then we take off on our journey north. And for the record, we are STILL waiting for passports, which they are insisting will be here in time. Uh huh, sure. They also can't figure out how to pay for our ferry passage, which is causing me a bit of a headache, since it doesn't strike me as that hard to figure out. Just give me another bottle of wine, it's all good.
It struck me that I'm going to be living out of a suitcase for the next month and a half. What fun. Although there is one advantage to not having any of my stuff. No coffee pot means that my daily Starbucks habit is now perfectly justified.
Tonight I'm having one last girl's night with my friends. Mary Kay facials, drinks and girl talk. Sounds like exactly what I need. Followed by more cleaning as I'm frantically trying to get the house spotless in order to pass our housing inspection on Wednesday. It's so much easier to get stuff accomplished when the boys are sleeping, even if that means I'm scrubbing the fridge at midnight. At least I don't have to stop every 10 seconds. I'll be really glad to leave the cleaning to someone else for a while!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Somebody Hook Up a Caffeine Drip
I am soooo going to need it. We spent all day at Disneyland yesterday (we left at 6:30 and got home at midnight), and I'm paying for it now. I'm more exhausted than my kids, I mean it's not like *I* get to ride around in a stroller all day. So I got to bed at 1 AM and then had to haul my butt out of bed again at 7 this morning. We have one set of movers coming today, but I don't know what time they're going to be here. You know if I assume they'll be here later in the morning, they'll show up at the crack of dawn. It's 8:30 now and they're still not here. Grrr....
This afternoon we have our housing pre-inspection. I hope they don't care if my house isn't completely picked up. I'm too tired to follow my kids around all day making sure they don't make a mess...
Then...we get to spend all weekend getting ready for the BIG movers, which will be here Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week. Sometime on Saturday I have to pick up some stuff in Victorville, which is 90 miles each way. Then we're trick-or-treating on Friday, cleaning ALL next weekend to get ready for our final housing inspection. Somewhere in there I have to do all my laundry (I hear the laundromat calling my name), pack, get the oil changed, hopefully pick up our passports, move my family into a hotel....and sleep.
Starbucks will be getting a lot of my money in the next couple of weeks.
This afternoon we have our housing pre-inspection. I hope they don't care if my house isn't completely picked up. I'm too tired to follow my kids around all day making sure they don't make a mess...
Then...we get to spend all weekend getting ready for the BIG movers, which will be here Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week. Sometime on Saturday I have to pick up some stuff in Victorville, which is 90 miles each way. Then we're trick-or-treating on Friday, cleaning ALL next weekend to get ready for our final housing inspection. Somewhere in there I have to do all my laundry (I hear the laundromat calling my name), pack, get the oil changed, hopefully pick up our passports, move my family into a hotel....and sleep.
Starbucks will be getting a lot of my money in the next couple of weeks.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Can I Take a Breath, Please??
Somebody hit Fast-Forward and forgot to tell me.
We went to our transportation briefing on Friday, and booked all of our moving appointments. We've got three separate shipments to get ready for: A safe-keeping shipment that we are using to ship Chris' project 1946 Jeep Willys to his parent's house in Northern California. A non-temporary storage shipment for my piano and all of our "stuff" that I can't bring myself to get rid of yet, but I don't think I'll be needing in Alaska. Stuff like the box of baby clothes I can't part with yet. Chris actually marked the plastic bin they are stored in with "Throw this stuff away and you die, Chris". He's a good man. :-) THEN we have our main household goods shipment for the rest of our stuff. That's everything that will go to Alaska with us. The Jeep is going this Friday, the storage shipment next Tuesday, and HHG on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
PLUS we are going to Disneyland on Thursday. Couldn't leave Southern California without saying goodbye to my old pal Mickey. Somewhere in there we have to have a pre-inspection from housing, and then a final out of housing the beginning of November.
Oh yeah, and I have to pack.
We went to our transportation briefing on Friday, and booked all of our moving appointments. We've got three separate shipments to get ready for: A safe-keeping shipment that we are using to ship Chris' project 1946 Jeep Willys to his parent's house in Northern California. A non-temporary storage shipment for my piano and all of our "stuff" that I can't bring myself to get rid of yet, but I don't think I'll be needing in Alaska. Stuff like the box of baby clothes I can't part with yet. Chris actually marked the plastic bin they are stored in with "Throw this stuff away and you die, Chris". He's a good man. :-) THEN we have our main household goods shipment for the rest of our stuff. That's everything that will go to Alaska with us. The Jeep is going this Friday, the storage shipment next Tuesday, and HHG on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
PLUS we are going to Disneyland on Thursday. Couldn't leave Southern California without saying goodbye to my old pal Mickey. Somewhere in there we have to have a pre-inspection from housing, and then a final out of housing the beginning of November.
Oh yeah, and I have to pack.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Expect the Unexpected
Nothing in the Army ever goes according to plan. It's Uncle Sam's Law. Nothing is for sure until after it's happened. I should have known better than to assume that just because they told us we'd have a report date of no later than January 10th, doesn't mean that's actually the case. Once again the proverbial monkey wrench has been thrown, and we found out yesterday that our report date has been changed to November 10th. Yep, you read that right - November 10th. As in, less than a month from now.
Time to freak out? I'd love to, but I don't have time. They're working with us as much as they can and *say* they can extend our report date to November 30th, but that's the best they can do at this point. So now we're in a hurry to get our stuff packed up, clear post and figure out how the heck we're going to get up there. If we get our passports back in time, I think we're going to drive. If not, we're going to fly.
So yeah, I don't know what's going on now as far as our leave and Thanksgiving is concerned. We may be driving the Alaska Highway instead of eating turkey. At least it will be a Thanksgiving to remember!
Here's to the US Army, where life is never dull!!
Time to freak out? I'd love to, but I don't have time. They're working with us as much as they can and *say* they can extend our report date to November 30th, but that's the best they can do at this point. So now we're in a hurry to get our stuff packed up, clear post and figure out how the heck we're going to get up there. If we get our passports back in time, I think we're going to drive. If not, we're going to fly.
So yeah, I don't know what's going on now as far as our leave and Thanksgiving is concerned. We may be driving the Alaska Highway instead of eating turkey. At least it will be a Thanksgiving to remember!
Here's to the US Army, where life is never dull!!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Tricks of the Trade
So, if all goes according to plan (yeah, right) in approximately one month and four days we will be leaving Fort Irwin behind. That means it's time to get serious with the prepping. While yes, the Army does pay for professional movers to come in and pack our house up, there is quite a bit of prep-work involved if you want it to go smoothly. I decided to put my ten years of PCSing to work and make a list of things that are good to know. For those of you who are new to the world of PCSing, listen up! :-)
1. Organize, organize, organize. In order to make life a little easier for yourself on the other end of the move, make sure all of your things are fairly organized before the movers come. Decide how you want things grouped together - by room or by item. The movers usually pack by room, not by item. So, for instance, if you want all your bedding in the same few boxes, make sure it's all in one place, not split up between bedrooms. Take a day or two before moving day to make piles of things you want packed together.
2. Packed By Owner. Most of us ladies have certain, er, unmentionables that we aren't comfortable having a group of strange, sweaty men paw through. Totally understandable. The solution to this problem is called Packed By Owner. Before moving day, pack yourself whatever you want to keep hidden. Seal up the box and write "PBO" on all sides. The box will be marked on the manifest as "packed by owner" and won't see the light of day until you open it back up. Keep in mind - anything in a PBO box will NOT be covered by the government insurance, so if whatever you pack is fragile, make sure you do a good job.
3. Open First Box. Nothing is more irritating than unpacking your boxes in your new house searching for something that you need and having to open 32 boxes before you find it. I recommend an "open first" box. Put together a list of things you think you'll need when you first move in. Things like a few towels, a sponge, bars of soap (not liquid), toilet paper, paper plates and plastic silverware, a frying pan, a few cooking utensils...etc. Put it all together and tell the movers you want this stuff in one box. Mark it "Open First". Now you've got the essentials to get you through the first few days of unpacking without having to open every single box while you look for a frying pan.
4. Ziploc Bags are Your Best Friend. A friend of mine mentioned this to me during her recent move and I thought it was a great idea. Put all your small items - silverware, junk drawer items, magnets, into Ziplocs before moving day. The movers will just lump everything together and wrap it all up in paper which usually ends up making a mess during unpacking. Ziplocs will save you from having to dig out all the spoons that fell out of the paper during the move.
5. Watch Your Valuables. They'll tell you this during your transportation briefing, but I'm going to reiterate it here. When it comes to valuable items - WATCH THE MOVERS PACK THEM. Make sure they are careful, make sure the boxes are correctly labeled, and make sure it goes on the manifest. While I personally like to believe the best about people, the fact remains that not everyone is honest and the possibility of your things disappearing is a big one. Remember, if it's not on the manifest, it doesn't exist. Make sure the movers write down your flat screen, your blu-ray player, your thousand dollar antique bell collection...etc. Above all - make SURE you hand carry all your money. Do not allow the movers to pack cash or coins - it WILL disappear, and money is not covered by the insurance.
6. Do Your Own Labeling. If you want, follow behind the movers and mark the boxes with your own labels after the movers are done with them. Don't cover their labels, but add your own. I'll tell you why. During my last PCS I opened up a box that was marked "kitchen". In the box was a bunch of sheets and blankets and one drinking glass. Don't ask me how that glass got in there, but according to the movers that made it a kitchen box. If you want to avoid this type of unnecessary confusion, you might want to write down what's actually in the box on your own.
7. Purge. This kind of goes along with #1. Before moving day arrives, go through everything and get rid of what you don't need. There is absolutely no sense in moving stuff you want to throw away. Not only will it eat up your weight allowance, but you'll just end up having to get rid of it when you get to your next place. Throw it away, donate it, sell it, whatever. Just get rid of it. Most posts will allow you to schedule a special bulk trash pick-up when you're moving out, so if you have big items to get rid of, that's the way to go.
Hopefully this helps you, and gives you some ideas to make moving easier. If you have other tricks or things that aren't mentioned here, please write me a comment and let me know! I'm always on the lookout for new ideas.
1. Organize, organize, organize. In order to make life a little easier for yourself on the other end of the move, make sure all of your things are fairly organized before the movers come. Decide how you want things grouped together - by room or by item. The movers usually pack by room, not by item. So, for instance, if you want all your bedding in the same few boxes, make sure it's all in one place, not split up between bedrooms. Take a day or two before moving day to make piles of things you want packed together.
2. Packed By Owner. Most of us ladies have certain, er, unmentionables that we aren't comfortable having a group of strange, sweaty men paw through. Totally understandable. The solution to this problem is called Packed By Owner. Before moving day, pack yourself whatever you want to keep hidden. Seal up the box and write "PBO" on all sides. The box will be marked on the manifest as "packed by owner" and won't see the light of day until you open it back up. Keep in mind - anything in a PBO box will NOT be covered by the government insurance, so if whatever you pack is fragile, make sure you do a good job.
3. Open First Box. Nothing is more irritating than unpacking your boxes in your new house searching for something that you need and having to open 32 boxes before you find it. I recommend an "open first" box. Put together a list of things you think you'll need when you first move in. Things like a few towels, a sponge, bars of soap (not liquid), toilet paper, paper plates and plastic silverware, a frying pan, a few cooking utensils...etc. Put it all together and tell the movers you want this stuff in one box. Mark it "Open First". Now you've got the essentials to get you through the first few days of unpacking without having to open every single box while you look for a frying pan.
4. Ziploc Bags are Your Best Friend. A friend of mine mentioned this to me during her recent move and I thought it was a great idea. Put all your small items - silverware, junk drawer items, magnets, into Ziplocs before moving day. The movers will just lump everything together and wrap it all up in paper which usually ends up making a mess during unpacking. Ziplocs will save you from having to dig out all the spoons that fell out of the paper during the move.
5. Watch Your Valuables. They'll tell you this during your transportation briefing, but I'm going to reiterate it here. When it comes to valuable items - WATCH THE MOVERS PACK THEM. Make sure they are careful, make sure the boxes are correctly labeled, and make sure it goes on the manifest. While I personally like to believe the best about people, the fact remains that not everyone is honest and the possibility of your things disappearing is a big one. Remember, if it's not on the manifest, it doesn't exist. Make sure the movers write down your flat screen, your blu-ray player, your thousand dollar antique bell collection...etc. Above all - make SURE you hand carry all your money. Do not allow the movers to pack cash or coins - it WILL disappear, and money is not covered by the insurance.
6. Do Your Own Labeling. If you want, follow behind the movers and mark the boxes with your own labels after the movers are done with them. Don't cover their labels, but add your own. I'll tell you why. During my last PCS I opened up a box that was marked "kitchen". In the box was a bunch of sheets and blankets and one drinking glass. Don't ask me how that glass got in there, but according to the movers that made it a kitchen box. If you want to avoid this type of unnecessary confusion, you might want to write down what's actually in the box on your own.
7. Purge. This kind of goes along with #1. Before moving day arrives, go through everything and get rid of what you don't need. There is absolutely no sense in moving stuff you want to throw away. Not only will it eat up your weight allowance, but you'll just end up having to get rid of it when you get to your next place. Throw it away, donate it, sell it, whatever. Just get rid of it. Most posts will allow you to schedule a special bulk trash pick-up when you're moving out, so if you have big items to get rid of, that's the way to go.
Hopefully this helps you, and gives you some ideas to make moving easier. If you have other tricks or things that aren't mentioned here, please write me a comment and let me know! I'm always on the lookout for new ideas.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
The Right to Mourn in Peace
For a long time now, the Westboro Baptist Church has been stirring up trouble and pretty much pissing off every member, family member and friend of the military. It's coming to a head now with the Supreme Court hearing the case of Albert Snyder vs. the Westboro Baptist Church. Mr. Snyder has leveled a civil lawsuit against the church for disrupting the funeral of his son - Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder - who was killed in Iraq in March of 2006.
The Westboro Baptists say they have a right to do what they're doing, as protected by the First Amendment. That's true, the First Amendment protects the right of free speech, as well as the right to assemble. It's the second part of that statement that I feel the Westboro Baptists are violating. The exact wording of the First Amendment reads,
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
See, the problem I have with the Westboro Baptists is that they are not "peaceably assembling". Gathering outside of funerals with signs and shouting hateful things like "Thank God for dead soldiers" is not a peaceful assembly. Everyone has the right to their opinions, and I personally don't care what they are. You also have the right to express your opinions in a peaceful manner, according to this country's constitution. What no one should ever have the right to do is inflict those opinions (notice I said inflict, not share) on others by desecrating a sacred event.
Peace is defined in the dictionary as "In a state or relationship of non-belligerence or concord; not at war." Also, "Untroubled; tranquil; content." Does this describe the gathering of Westboro Baptists outside of various military funerals? Not in the slightest.
The Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The right to Life, Liberty and Happiness should include the right to bury our dead in peace. That to me is an unalienable Right. And it's not an American Right, it's a Human Right.
Death leaves all politics and nationalities behind. No matter what our beliefs, or what cause we die for, or what country we call home, death is still death. It grieves those who are left behind. The passing of a human soul from this life into the next should be regarded as sacred and those who are left behind should be allowed to lay their dead to rest in peace. The parents of Lance Cpl Matthew Snyder were not burying a soldier, or a hero, or a veteran. They were burying their son. That has nothing to do with politics or religion or the holy war the Westboro Baptists are waging against whoever it is they think they're fighting.
We treat prisoners of war better than we treat each other. According to the Fourth Geneva Convention:
"Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and practices, and their manners and customs. They shall at all times be humanely treated, and shall be protected especially against all acts of violence or threats thereof and against insults and public curiosity."
Shouldn't we as a free people be entitled to the same dignities? We protect our enemies from insults and public curiosity, but not ourselves? The Westboro Baptists are hiding behind their "American Rights". But I say that American Rights do not trump basic Human Rights. Just because we're Americans with the right to free speech does not give us the right to desecrate the dead, or our rituals involved in laying them to rest.
The Westboro Baptists say they have a right to do what they're doing, as protected by the First Amendment. That's true, the First Amendment protects the right of free speech, as well as the right to assemble. It's the second part of that statement that I feel the Westboro Baptists are violating. The exact wording of the First Amendment reads,
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
See, the problem I have with the Westboro Baptists is that they are not "peaceably assembling". Gathering outside of funerals with signs and shouting hateful things like "Thank God for dead soldiers" is not a peaceful assembly. Everyone has the right to their opinions, and I personally don't care what they are. You also have the right to express your opinions in a peaceful manner, according to this country's constitution. What no one should ever have the right to do is inflict those opinions (notice I said inflict, not share) on others by desecrating a sacred event.
Peace is defined in the dictionary as "In a state or relationship of non-belligerence or concord; not at war." Also, "Untroubled; tranquil; content." Does this describe the gathering of Westboro Baptists outside of various military funerals? Not in the slightest.
The Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The right to Life, Liberty and Happiness should include the right to bury our dead in peace. That to me is an unalienable Right. And it's not an American Right, it's a Human Right.
Death leaves all politics and nationalities behind. No matter what our beliefs, or what cause we die for, or what country we call home, death is still death. It grieves those who are left behind. The passing of a human soul from this life into the next should be regarded as sacred and those who are left behind should be allowed to lay their dead to rest in peace. The parents of Lance Cpl Matthew Snyder were not burying a soldier, or a hero, or a veteran. They were burying their son. That has nothing to do with politics or religion or the holy war the Westboro Baptists are waging against whoever it is they think they're fighting.
We treat prisoners of war better than we treat each other. According to the Fourth Geneva Convention:
"Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and practices, and their manners and customs. They shall at all times be humanely treated, and shall be protected especially against all acts of violence or threats thereof and against insults and public curiosity."
Shouldn't we as a free people be entitled to the same dignities? We protect our enemies from insults and public curiosity, but not ourselves? The Westboro Baptists are hiding behind their "American Rights". But I say that American Rights do not trump basic Human Rights. Just because we're Americans with the right to free speech does not give us the right to desecrate the dead, or our rituals involved in laying them to rest.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Not Your Average Lifestyle
Something occurred to me today while I was out running errands. Life on a military post is really not normal. Don't get me wrong, I DID know that already, but it's just that the things we see every day - when you get right down to it - would really freak most people out.
For example:
1. Groups of guys walking down the street in body armor carrying large, nasty looking rifles. If you saw that in the civilian world, you'd probably run for cover and call the police. Me? I just keep driving.
2. Road signs that say things like, "Tanks have right-of-way" and "Watch for falling artillery". And seriously, do you really need a sign to tell you that the tank has the right-of-way? I mean...duh.
3. Sounds of gunfire, like, ALL the time. Whenever Aiden notices a particularly loud boom, he tells me, "Dad's out shooting the guns today!" Makes a mother proud, it really does.
4. For 2 weeks out of the month, you see a bunch of people walking around post dressed up like the Taliban. This is more localized to Fort Irwin, because we are the National Training Center, but still. It's kind of weird.
5. There are Humvee's parked at Burger King. And I'm not talking about your neighbor's blinged out H3.
6. There are signs with "Terrorist ThreatCon Level" posted outside all the public buildings. Word of advice - if it says "ThreatCon Delta", go home.
7. There are giant bunkers that are filled with hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition. It's like Unibomber Paradise.
8. You have to present your identification to armed guards every time you come home from Walmart. I would actually prefer to have an armed guard WITH me every time I go to Walmart, but...whatever.
I'm sure there are more that have escaped my jaded notice. But, you get the picture.
Want to come visit?? :-)
For example:
1. Groups of guys walking down the street in body armor carrying large, nasty looking rifles. If you saw that in the civilian world, you'd probably run for cover and call the police. Me? I just keep driving.
2. Road signs that say things like, "Tanks have right-of-way" and "Watch for falling artillery". And seriously, do you really need a sign to tell you that the tank has the right-of-way? I mean...duh.
3. Sounds of gunfire, like, ALL the time. Whenever Aiden notices a particularly loud boom, he tells me, "Dad's out shooting the guns today!" Makes a mother proud, it really does.
4. For 2 weeks out of the month, you see a bunch of people walking around post dressed up like the Taliban. This is more localized to Fort Irwin, because we are the National Training Center, but still. It's kind of weird.
5. There are Humvee's parked at Burger King. And I'm not talking about your neighbor's blinged out H3.
6. There are signs with "Terrorist ThreatCon Level" posted outside all the public buildings. Word of advice - if it says "ThreatCon Delta", go home.
7. There are giant bunkers that are filled with hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition. It's like Unibomber Paradise.
8. You have to present your identification to armed guards every time you come home from Walmart. I would actually prefer to have an armed guard WITH me every time I go to Walmart, but...whatever.
I'm sure there are more that have escaped my jaded notice. But, you get the picture.
Want to come visit?? :-)
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Breathe, Breathe, Breathe....
I've been looking through some of my old photos recently, taking a little walk down memory lane. There is a recurring theme in most of the pictures of me. Like...tank tops. Shorts. Skirts. Sandals. Skin that is visible and not hidden under 6 layers of clothing. When I realized my impressive sandal collection is going to be good for nothing except gathering dust in my closet for the next 3 or 4 years I started hyperventilating. It all came crashing together all of a sudden. WHAT am I DOING? I'm moving to Alaska? Am I OUT of my mind?? I'm a born and bred California girl! I love the beach! I love Disneyland! I love South Coast Plaza! What am I going to do in the Great White North in 40 below zero weather and nothing but a whole lot of snow and ice???
Breathe...breathe...breathe....
It'll be okay. I'll just have to take up snowboarding. Again. I tried once before in Germany, and all I managed to do was master the art of falling down. I woke up the next morning and felt like I'd been run over by a truck, trampled by a moose and rolled down a mountain. At least the rolled down a mountain part was accurate enough. I'll make some snowmen. Snow forts. Igloos. Wait a minute, I HATE snow! It's cold and wet and gets dirty and tromped all over the floor and makes everything gross. What am I thinking???
Breathe...breathe...breathe....
Okay. Enough is enough. Pity party over. I can't wear sandals? I'll just have to buy some super cute boots. And sweaters. Can we say Cashmere? Ooohh, and pretty scarves. I LOVE scarves. If I can't go to Disneyland, well...I'll live. The bright side of being stuck inside all Winter is that I have an excuse to scrapbook and have Buffy marathons. As for all this snow and ice? I'm just going to plan a vacation to someplace warm. Like Hawaii. Or the Bahamas. Or Mars.
I'll be fine. I'll be more than fine. I WILL flourish! I am an Army Wife after all, traveler extraordinaire and conqueror of impossible situations. Bring it on Alaska! You don't scare me...
Breathe...breathe...breathe....
It'll be okay. I'll just have to take up snowboarding. Again. I tried once before in Germany, and all I managed to do was master the art of falling down. I woke up the next morning and felt like I'd been run over by a truck, trampled by a moose and rolled down a mountain. At least the rolled down a mountain part was accurate enough. I'll make some snowmen. Snow forts. Igloos. Wait a minute, I HATE snow! It's cold and wet and gets dirty and tromped all over the floor and makes everything gross. What am I thinking???
Breathe...breathe...breathe....
Okay. Enough is enough. Pity party over. I can't wear sandals? I'll just have to buy some super cute boots. And sweaters. Can we say Cashmere? Ooohh, and pretty scarves. I LOVE scarves. If I can't go to Disneyland, well...I'll live. The bright side of being stuck inside all Winter is that I have an excuse to scrapbook and have Buffy marathons. As for all this snow and ice? I'm just going to plan a vacation to someplace warm. Like Hawaii. Or the Bahamas. Or Mars.
I'll be fine. I'll be more than fine. I WILL flourish! I am an Army Wife after all, traveler extraordinaire and conqueror of impossible situations. Bring it on Alaska! You don't scare me...
Sunday, September 26, 2010
The Reason for my Insanity
You ever meet someone who seems normal at first glance, but the more you talk to them the more you realize that there is something just not right? Their laughter is tinged with that slight edge of hysteria and you realize they're walking that tightrope of "almost insane, but not quite". This, in my opinion, describes all stay-at-home mothers of small children. Especially if everyone else in the house happens to have a Y chromosome. We're all just one attempted egg-juggling on the carpet away from the looney bin.
You ever wonder why?
I can tell you why. Because little kids - little BOYS especially - are specifically calibrated to drive their mothers insane. It's their sole purpose in life. I think they get an award if they accomplish it before they turn 5. My almost 5 year-old Aiden is on the downhill slope, so he's working overtime. We had this conversation last night.
Me: "Aiden, where's the remote?"
Aiden: "The remote? I don't know."
Me: "You had it last, where did you put it?"
Aiden: "Where did I put what?"
Me: "The remote, Aiden. Where did you put it?"
Aiden: "OH, the remote. I can't remember."
Me: "Think. Where did you put it?"
Aiden: "I know! Someone sneaked in our house and was really quiet and took the remote to change the batteries."
Me: "Aiden. What did you do with it?"
Aiden: "Ummm...I put it...wait, what are you looking for?"
Deep breath. Deeeeeeep breath.
Me: "The. Remote. Control."
Aiden: "Oh right. The remote. I think I lost it."
Me: "You think you lost it?"
Aiden: "Yeah, I lost it in the couch. It fell down in the cushions and it's gone now. Sorry."
I search the cushions...ah! Success!
Me: "I found it."
Aiden: "Found what?"
Almost exactly six years ago, I was lying on a beach in Mallorca, Spain. I was sipping some alcoholic concoction I couldn't pronounce, with Mediterranean breezes softly blowing around me. It was quiet. The sun was warm on my face. I had a book. It was QUIET. This is why I'm almost insane. I went from sunbathing in the Mediterranean and hiking up to the Parthenon and drinking wine in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower to looking my son in the face and wondering if he's had a brain transplant with Dory from Finding Nemo. And just the fact that the first thing I thought of was a cartoon character from a Disney movie proves just how far gone I am.
So the next time you see some poor, harried mother in Target or Panera Bread with small children in tow and a look on her face that says she's got one foot over the edge, be nice. Don't think to yourself, "geez, would it KILL her to put on some make-up?" because she used to be a person, too.
I'm hoping that eventually my sanity will return. I refuse to believe that it's gone for good, but rather that it's taking an extended vacation. It took one look at my kids and decided to get the hell out of dodge, but it'll be back. Probably when my kids get married and have kids of their own. Then I'll be able to laugh along with MY mother at the great karmic wonderfulness of the universe.
You ever wonder why?
I can tell you why. Because little kids - little BOYS especially - are specifically calibrated to drive their mothers insane. It's their sole purpose in life. I think they get an award if they accomplish it before they turn 5. My almost 5 year-old Aiden is on the downhill slope, so he's working overtime. We had this conversation last night.
Me: "Aiden, where's the remote?"
Aiden: "The remote? I don't know."
Me: "You had it last, where did you put it?"
Aiden: "Where did I put what?"
Me: "The remote, Aiden. Where did you put it?"
Aiden: "OH, the remote. I can't remember."
Me: "Think. Where did you put it?"
Aiden: "I know! Someone sneaked in our house and was really quiet and took the remote to change the batteries."
Me: "Aiden. What did you do with it?"
Aiden: "Ummm...I put it...wait, what are you looking for?"
Deep breath. Deeeeeeep breath.
Me: "The. Remote. Control."
Aiden: "Oh right. The remote. I think I lost it."
Me: "You think you lost it?"
Aiden: "Yeah, I lost it in the couch. It fell down in the cushions and it's gone now. Sorry."
I search the cushions...ah! Success!
Me: "I found it."
Aiden: "Found what?"
Almost exactly six years ago, I was lying on a beach in Mallorca, Spain. I was sipping some alcoholic concoction I couldn't pronounce, with Mediterranean breezes softly blowing around me. It was quiet. The sun was warm on my face. I had a book. It was QUIET. This is why I'm almost insane. I went from sunbathing in the Mediterranean and hiking up to the Parthenon and drinking wine in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower to looking my son in the face and wondering if he's had a brain transplant with Dory from Finding Nemo. And just the fact that the first thing I thought of was a cartoon character from a Disney movie proves just how far gone I am.
So the next time you see some poor, harried mother in Target or Panera Bread with small children in tow and a look on her face that says she's got one foot over the edge, be nice. Don't think to yourself, "geez, would it KILL her to put on some make-up?" because she used to be a person, too.
I'm hoping that eventually my sanity will return. I refuse to believe that it's gone for good, but rather that it's taking an extended vacation. It took one look at my kids and decided to get the hell out of dodge, but it'll be back. Probably when my kids get married and have kids of their own. Then I'll be able to laugh along with MY mother at the great karmic wonderfulness of the universe.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Close Enough For Government Work
With our upcoming PCS to Alaska, we get lots of what the government refers to as "entitlements". Meaning - benefits the Army gives you to aid you in your trek to wherever they are sending you. Since Alaska is considered an overseas location, we're entitled to a lot to get us there. One of these entitlements is shipping our vehicle at government expense, so we don't have to drive it up there. Sounds good, right? Drop the car off at the port and hop on a plane, easy as pie. As my 2 year-old says, NOT. We've shipped cars through the government twice before - once on our way to Germany and once on our way back. And you thought they made doing your taxes hard? Ha.
First of all, it has to be very clean. I don't mean vacuumed and emptied of all fast food wrappers and dead french fries. I mean, CLEAN. Absolutely no dirt, whatsoever. A toothbrush would be a good investment when cleaning your car prior to shipping. The phrase "close enough for government work" does not apply in this case. Not only does it have to be sparkling clean, but your fuel level has to be at a certain level, and your tires must be clean. Difficult to manage when you have to drive around to get your gas level at the right place. In light of this, Chris decided to clean the car this weekend. When he said, "I'm going to clean the car out so you can go to the commissary later", I thought he meant he was going to take his TA-50 (Army crap) out of the back and maybe gather up all of his empty Monster cans. After about 2 hours he comes inside and says he needs my help with something - my muscles, to be specific.
Now, considering the fact that my husband's muscles alone probably equal half my body weight, I couldn't imagine what he could possibly need me for. I walked out to the garage to see all the seats in my car scattered in the driveway. Yep, he unbolted the seats from the car and took them out. He needed my help in maneuvering them so we could clean and vacuum and scrub the heck out of the carpet and the interior. It took 2 days.
So now my car is super clean. I don't think it was this clean when we bought it. The trick now is keeping it clean for the next month and a half or so until we ship it. So the kids are going to walk EVERYWHERE. :-)
First of all, it has to be very clean. I don't mean vacuumed and emptied of all fast food wrappers and dead french fries. I mean, CLEAN. Absolutely no dirt, whatsoever. A toothbrush would be a good investment when cleaning your car prior to shipping. The phrase "close enough for government work" does not apply in this case. Not only does it have to be sparkling clean, but your fuel level has to be at a certain level, and your tires must be clean. Difficult to manage when you have to drive around to get your gas level at the right place. In light of this, Chris decided to clean the car this weekend. When he said, "I'm going to clean the car out so you can go to the commissary later", I thought he meant he was going to take his TA-50 (Army crap) out of the back and maybe gather up all of his empty Monster cans. After about 2 hours he comes inside and says he needs my help with something - my muscles, to be specific.
Now, considering the fact that my husband's muscles alone probably equal half my body weight, I couldn't imagine what he could possibly need me for. I walked out to the garage to see all the seats in my car scattered in the driveway. Yep, he unbolted the seats from the car and took them out. He needed my help in maneuvering them so we could clean and vacuum and scrub the heck out of the carpet and the interior. It took 2 days.
So now my car is super clean. I don't think it was this clean when we bought it. The trick now is keeping it clean for the next month and a half or so until we ship it. So the kids are going to walk EVERYWHERE. :-)
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