Journey to the Alamo, Part 2

Last Thursday I began a little recap to get everyone up-to-date with the on-goings of our lives over the past month and hope to wrap it all up here today.  I know I had mentioned my intentions of following up with part 2 the day after the original post, however life intervened and I lost my free internet access before I was able to complete the post.

Two weeks ago on Monday the 5th, we picked up all of our fur babies from boarding and said goodbye to Georgia as we began our journey west.  We decided we wanted to cram as much of our stuff as humanly possible into our smaller sized sedan since we had decided to do a partial-DITY, which included 90% of hubby's gear.  The trunk was packed to the brim.  We had items covering half of the back seat as well as in the floor behind both of our seats.  There were a few items at the floor at my feat on the passenger's side of the car.  And lastly, we had a soft-pack roof top carrier loaded up above (and tied down to our car with ropes that wrapped around and were knotted inside).

It made for a cramped car (especially with three animals and the two of us inside) and kind of sucky gas mileage, but we've had easy access to most anything we'd really need or want until we are able to move into a place and receive our household goods delivery.

On our first night we stayed at a hotel in Mobile, AL, and the next morning as we went outside to load the car back up in prep for check-out, we stumbled across the Batmobile nestled in the back of a Warner Brothers Studio truck.  And upon further inspection of the truck, we also saw Batman's motorcycle inside.

Guests and employees of the hotel, along with employees of the neighboring hospital, all made their way outside to get the same pictures we snapped.  It's not something you see everyday!

For the most part our pets were fairly well behaved over the course of the three day drive.  When we first began on day one, the dogs kept bouncing around and the cat wouldn't stop crying, but eventually they all calmed down and were good until the end of day three when we finally arrived in San Antonio.

We made it to Fort Sam Houston last Wednesday the 7th, and before we even checked into a hotel, hubby decided he first wanted to check in with his unit to let them know he arrived and to find out how everything was going to work from then on out.  This meant that I was then stuck in the car for a couple HOURS with the kids, getting funny looks from all of the soldiers who walked past our car.

Hubby got a quick orientation with his unit before being told he didn't have to report until Tuesday morning PT, following the four-day weekend for Veteran's Day.  We were excited by this as it meant we could get a jump start on house hunting on his unexpected free days off, well before he would be approved for permissive TDY to secure housing.

After meeting with the housing office first thing Thursday morning, we started hitting the town and looking at houses available for rent that we had found online.  We quickly crossed off several houses after seeing the upkeep of the exteriors and the neighborhoods, or rather lack thereof, and then also found several houses we were interested in looking at further and began contacting realtors.

We looked at the inside of four or five different houses in different neighborhoods over the course of two days (not to mention drove by and checked out from the outside another 15 or so places) before we decided on one that we absolutely love!  It has over twice the square footage of our previous apartment and met our requirements of a minimum of three bedrooms/two bathrooms, fenced-in backyard, nice kitchen, and garage.

After deciding that would be the house we'd submit an application on, we decided to relax a little bit and do some of the touristy things in San Antonio before officially becoming residents.  Friday afternoon and most of Saturday were spent in downtown San Antonio, checking out the Rivercenter Mall, The Alamo, and the Riverwalk.

We ended up spending the full 10 days of temporary lodging we were authorized living out of our suitcases in a hotel room before we finally received approval on the house we applied for.  After two weeks of hotel stays and eating out at just about every chain restaurant out there (and getting absolutely tired of it), we were very excited to escape nomad life at the end of this past week and finally move into our new home!

We got into our house this weekend, and the movers were able to quickly come out and delivered our HHG shipment yesterday morning.  So now I am absolutely swamped with unpacking our house, scheduling appointments for various items (we won't have internet set up at the house for over another week still), updating our residence with all necessary parties, and oh yeah, that pesky little item of trying to find a new job.  After two months of unemployment, I am going rather stir crazy and miss being a contributing member of society.

Journey to the Alamo, Part 1

We have been in San Antonio for a full week now, and we're still working on getting all settled in here.  The past month has been a crazy little whirlwind of sorts!

When hubby finally arrived home for good last month to begin his hometown recruiting duty, we quickly fell back into a nice and normal routine.  It also helped a bit that his work schedule was short and easy, only having to work 10a-2p Monday-Thursday for two weeks!  It was then made even easier on him because of how quickly he delivered results and brought in contact information for 5 potential new recruits after his first day of work, when they only expected 8 leads out of him the entire time.

The movers came to pack us up on Monday the 22nd, and they were in and out with everything loaded onto the truck in about 6.5 hours!

When I met with the pre-move inspection guy the week before, he thought we had way too much stuff for the packers to be able to take care of everything in one day and said they'd likely pack on that Monday and then finish some packing & load up the truck on Tuesday.  I thought two days to pack up and load a 1000 sq ft apartment sounded a little crazy, and I was right.  They didn't even need a full 8-hour day, and they even took some breaks in there as well!

Hubby and I then got to spend four nights sleeping on the floor of our largely empty apartment until that Friday when we finally checked out with the property manager and hit the road to Virginia for the wedding of hubby's brother.

We spent over a week in Virginia with family and helping out with wedding preparations over the course of the week.  Our first full day in town that Saturday was when the bachelor and bachelorette parties were held.  For the bachelorette party, us girls got together at an apartment and spent the night in enjoying drinks, games, yummy snack foods, and a wedding movie marathon.  The bachelor party was a longer affair and began with a late morning trip to the shooting range, followed by lunch at Hooter's where my brother-in-law was made to get up in front of the restaurant and spell out "I Love Hooters" with his butt, and ended with an overnight stay in Washington D.C.

Halloween night a bunch of us got together at my mother-in-law's boyfriend's house for a bonfire he holds each year.  The night was spent eating tons of food while hanging out at the end of his driveway in front of two fire pits that were so hot and bright I felt as though I was getting a tan at 9pm.

Lighting of the fires (hubby is on the right)

Our host decided to dress as the Green Lantern (as well as don a horse mask he loves to break out at any and all occasions, including weddings...)

Blurry photo of me, but proof I was there!

The wedding day was the following Saturday on the 3rd, and surprisingly I don't have any pictures of my own from the big day.  I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't snap any shots from their day or get any pics of me and my hubby together, but I suppose it is what it is.

The morning after the wedding, hubby and I said our goodbyes to all of our family, not knowing when we'd get to see them all again, and hit the road to begin our journey to Texas.  As luck would have it, we got a flat tire about an hour down the road that Sunday, and as we hadn't yet replaced our full-sized spare tire from a flat I had a month prior, we had no spare in the car and were delayed a couple hours on our drive back to Georgia in order to get the car towed to get the tire replaced.  The most unfortunate part of this meant we weren't able to get our dogs that night from where we had boarded them and had to wait until the next morning to be reunited with our babies.

Check back tomorrow for part 2 of our trip!

Westward Bound

I've been all sorts of horrible with keeping up with social media these last few weeks with everything I've had going on, but I hope to be back to a more regular blogging routine in the next week or so as we begin to get settled in San Antonio.

For right now I will leave you with a picture of something we saw this morning as we left our hotel to continue our journey west. It was nestled in the back of a Warner Brothers Studio truck.

Our First Homecoming

After my husband learned of his (original) report date for our move to San Antonio, I put in my notice at work for mid-September in order to have a couple weeks at home to take care of all of the final things necessary for our move.  It then turned out to be the perfect date, as my husband returned back to the states just one day later!

The Army decided to fly my husband back commercial as they didn't want to keep him there the extra days it would have taken to get him on a military plane back.  So I got to meet him at the airport and greet him the moment he stepped off the plane (yay for gate passes!).  I was so excited about seeing him that my whole body was shaking from the moment I saw his plane pull up to the gate until well after I was back in his arms.  That first hug and knowing I had him back safe and sound was the best feeling!

My husband's deployment was part of a program where they deploy you after AIT and before reporting to your FDS to basically give you a jump start in your MOS.  Before he left, he had been on TDY at Ft. Bragg for a few weeks.  Since he deployed from Bragg, that's where he returned to in order to return gear that he had checked out from one of their units, so we spent much of the last two weeks together in Fayetteville.

After leaving the airport together, we immediately returned to the hotel I had checked into so he could drop off his bags, and of course see his babies Kiba and Saki.  The dogs were so excited to have their daddy back!  We're still not sure if Saki really even understood what was going on, but Kiba went crazy when she saw her daddy and was so happy to have her parents back together.

Sleepy corgis

Since he was on TDY status there with nothing to really do, simply waiting for his gear to return that was sent back after him, hubby and I got to spend practically 24/7 together from the moment he returned until earlier this week.  We ate out lots, spent time shopping, and I even managed to drag him to see Finding Nemo in 3D with me!  We lived out of suitcases in a hotel, dogs in tow, until late last week when he was approved for a pass to travel back home for a long weekend since we live just five hours away.

A happy Saki getting a mid-car ride head rub from his daddy

We got to spend a few nights at home in our own bed (which we seriously need to upgrade btw... after a week of sleeping in a king-sized bed at the hotel, it became even more apparent that we need something larger than the full we've had for years).  We got to visit one of our favorite restaurants/bars in town, got to visit some family down in middle Georgia, and also got to go to our church together for the first time since July 2011, all before heading back to NC on Monday.

Originally hubby was only supposed to be at Bragg for no more than a day or two, but since the return of his gear was unexpectedly delayed, it basically threw off timelines for everything else for us for the next month or so.  After hubby received and turned in his gear, he was then on the next plane out of Fayetteville to get back to his AIT location, as technically he was still attached to his old brigade there throughout the deployment and had to return there for meetings, briefings, and ultimately out-process for our PCS.

So sadly after a week and a half of being back together, we're now separated again.  But at least this time it's for a much shorter period of time!  Our time together was great and we pretty much fell right back into our natural rhythm with each other.  Before he left, I had people tell me that this deployment would change him and he wouldn't be the same person, basically trying to instill fear in me in hopes that I would/could somehow talk him out of going, however I pretty much see the same man I've always known.  The only difference now is he has a clearer picture of where he'd like to go and how he would like to advance his career.

After months of uncertainty, we finally have some dates for how the next month and a half are going to pan out and confirmation that we will actually be in our town about a month longer than originally expected.  Since timelines were thrown off and it was beginning to look as though I would ultimately be responsible for cleaning and checking out of our apartment and driving our car and pets out to Texas by myself, meeting hubby there with his early October report date, hubby's LNO from the deployment decided to help us out a bit to make our move easier and now hubby's orders have been tweaked so that he will now be coming home for two weeks of hometown recruiting duty before we ultimately, and FINALLY, report to our first duty station.

It has been a VERY long journey, with way too much time spent apart from each other since hubby originally left home for BCT August of last year, but we're now finally getting our time back together!

While I Was Away...

I've been rather neglectful with my little blog here over the past couple weeks.  I also have been really bad about keeping up with all of my favorite reads as well.  But I'm sure everyone will understand given the fact that my husband arrived back stateside from his deployment in Afghanistan just over a week ago!!   So of course we're spending just about every minute of the day together that we can and enjoying being reunited!

I hope to be back soon to share a little about our homecoming/reintegration and posting more frequently again, especially as we go through some new twists and turns that the Army just gave us.  In theory this brief change in orders is supposed to make our upcoming PCS easier on us due to change in timelines... only time will tell if that actually turns out to be the case!

Updates

As my final day at work is quickly approaching, I'm beginning to get more and more excited!  Most of the stress that has put me in a not-so-pleasant place for much of the last month and a half or so has been pushed aside as I prepare for my husband's homecoming.  Many things for us are still very much up in the air (thank you, Army), however we finally have a target return date for him!  And I think much of what has helped to allow me to be in a better mood is hearing my husband's growing excitement about coming home that he's finally begun to express over this last week.

My personal demons/issues are still hanging around for the most part, I'm just not dwelling on them as much right now.  I got so low that any and all motivation to continue on my workout plans went right out the window, and I haven't been to the gym in about two weeks now (and I've only worked out at home a couple times in that span).  I was hitting such a dark place of self doubt and frustration with things that I was even beginning to doubt my husband's desire to return home to me (which thankfully he quickly squashed after I finally opened up to him a little bit about some of what's been bugging me).

Lately I've been doing A LOT of cleaning and organizing around the house.  The other day I took what will probably be my last load of donation items over to Goodwill, and it all filled not only my entire trunk, but also the whole backseat of my car as well.  I have purged tons of items that we no longer need or want, and I hope that others will find good uses for them.  In total, I've donated about $500 worth of items, based on the lower-end estimates from Goodwill's donation value sheet.

I have also been putting together an in-depth home inventory of everything we own for both PCS and insurance purposes.  Currently, my Word document is at 9 pages long!  It was after typing and tallying it all up that I realized just how many DVDs we own... it's a lot!  I'm very thankful that much of my organizing came during back to school/college sales, as it allowed me to nab some neat little storage totes for really cheap.  They especially came in handy for organizing and storing my baking & decorating supplies -- one of my shoe box sized plastic containers is completely full of nothing but cupcake liners (yes, I may have a small addiction).

Lastly, I recently began watching The Big Bang Theory.  I had heard a lot of good things about the show, but hadn't ever seen it.  I fell in love with the show rather quickly!  After a solid week of watching several episodes a night while doing things around the house, I am near the end of season 4 and should have completed all five of them before the premiere of season 6 later this month.

Things are about to start getting all sorts of crazy for us, and after thirteen months of sitting back and waiting, waiting, and waiting some more, I'm more than ready to get this show on the road!

Winding Down

We're finally hitting that point in my husband's deployment where the end is starting to come into sight.  I have to say, I'm more than excited about his return home, as I'm sure you can all understand.  Last night I had a very real feeling dream in which he was finally back with me again, and in it I didn't want to let go of him.  We're one of those couples who usually holds hands most of the time when we're out walking together, and in my dream I was pretty much attached to his arm, not wanting to leave his side.  After all of the time we've spent apart over this last year, I'm fairly sure I will actually be like that when he returns and we're finally together for an extended period of time, at least for the first couple weeks or so back together.

We know his estimated return time-frame based on when he left and the number of days the deployment is set to last, but currently he hasn't been told any date as far as when they're definitely going to try and get him out of there (not that I could share it if I knew in respect of OPSEC).  And knowing how many attempts it took for him to get in, "boots on the ground" and all to officially begin the deployment, I wouldn't be surprised if it takes several days from when they say he's coming home to actually get him out of there depending on weather & safety conditions.

With the deployment quickly coming to an end, that also means that my time at my job is nearing an end as well since we'll finally be PCSing after hubby returns.  Starting today, I'm beginning the process at work of passing on many of my duties and training my co-workers on how to do many of the things I'm currently responsible for.  Because of the way things tend to work at the university, replacements for positions typically cannot be hired until after the incumbent has left the position, so I will not be able to actually train my replacement and have to teach/refresh people who currently work in my office well enough so that they will then be able to train my replacement when he/she is eventually hired.

One of the biggest items I'm passing on are my payroll & personnel duties.  Right after I began working in my current office, we switched over to a new payroll system for all of our hourly employees, so no one else here (not even our business manager who trained me on our old payroll system) truly knows all of the ins and outs on how to use the system.  Even though I still have several more weeks left at my job, I'm starting that training process now in order to give the guy who is taking over that aspect of my job a few pay periods of experience using the system before I leave so I'm easily accessible for any questions he may have.

I have a feeling that during my last two or three weeks here, my days at work are going to be pretty long and boring, as at that point I will have passed on pretty much everything I do on a daily basis.  But I know I will certainly be able to fill much of that time with continuing my house & job hunting searches.  Plus I'm sure I'll be making daily lists of things to do to prep for the move/hubby's homecoming.  One thing's for certain, I'll most definitely be bouncing off the walls of my office with excitement over my husband coming home!

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today... my husband began his military career.

One year ago today... I drove to Ft. Gillem in Atlanta to go to MEPS to see my husband swear in and get a final little bit of time with him before seeing him off.

One year ago today... I had to say the hardest goodbye of my life (as of that date... the deployment goodybe in April was MUCH more difficult) as he loaded the bus that would take him to the airport to catch his flight that would ultimately result in his arrival at Ft. Leonard Wood to begin BCT.

One year ago today... both of our lives changed significantly.

One year down, twenty-nine years to go!
(At least if my husband's current military career aspirations pan out - it's always subject to change, depending on effects on our relationship and quality of life with future children)

Deployment Countdown

Before we had even learned of the deployment my husband is currently on, I had seen and read about different ways spouses will countdown the days in deployments.  One of the ways I saw that I liked the best is this one I found on Pinterest.

Source: Uploaded by user via Andrea on Pinterest

It uses two glass containers, with stones inside to indicate the number of days that have passed and the number of days remaining.  I liked this idea because it is something that can be dressed up a little bit and serve as additional decor for the home.

Since I have TONS of extra vases around the house from flower deliveries I received while my husband was in basic, I decided to re-purpose two of them and turn them into my own "days down" and "days to go" jars.

I picked up some red & clear/white stones at Michaels and quickly counted out the number I needed.  I had also purchased some sticker letters to place on the front of the vases with the words "Days Down" and "Days To Go" to match my inspiration picture, however I decided to wait to do this until deployment #2, which will inevitably be longer whenever it rolls around and likely require larger containers.

We're quickly approaching the two-month mark into the deployment, and this past weekend I found out that my husband's time there has been extended for another month, so on Saturday I got to add in another 30 stones to my "days to go" vase.  I was not too terribly happy about that of course, though I had a strong feeling it would likely happen.  At least now with his official return/new PCS orders being cut, hopefully it'll be easier knowing the "official" ballpark return date.  I just hope they're able to actually get him out of there roughly around the target date and that it isn't delayed too much more.

Special Delivery

My day was made yesterday as soon as I pulled into my driveway after work to find a package sitting outside of my door.  I actually squealed when I saw it (and my husband laughed at me on the phone last night when I mentioned the fact that I squealed).  Now, I have been very lucky that my husband has made sure to call or Skype me or send me a quick Facebook message all but one days he's been gone on this deployment thus far.  While it has been hard with him gone, the communication has made this whole thing a million times easier than it could be.  Even if it is just for a few minutes, just getting to hear his voice and having the ability to talk with him, laugh with him, or even cry to him is amazing!  However, there was just something extra special about receiving a package from him.  I think it kind of brings back memories of receiving letters from him while he was in basic, just knowing that I was receiving something that he had just touched.  It just kind of adds a little personal connection to make the distance seem like it isn't as much.

I had mentioned previously that I already knew I had something heading my way full of items hubby has purchased -- I just didn't think it would take nearly as long to receive it as it did.  All of the care packages I've sent out so far have each taken just 6 days to reach my husband, so I was a little surprised when the 6-10 day delivery window they had told my husband for the priority mailing shipment turned into 13 days (he started getting really nervous when last Friday came & went and it hadn't been delivered).  But it's okay because I still received it :)

The box more or less exploded open when I cut the packing tape, as hubby stuffed so many items inside of it.  And he actually ended up using the box that I used for sending him his first care package.  I was pretty impressed with the condition of the box having made it half-way across the world and back!

He got some traditional outfits for his 5- & 7-year old little sisters, a jewelry box for me, and some cross pendents for his aunts.

Hubby asked me if I wanted him to purchase me any traditional clothing, but I told him that I would rather he just get me things I would actually use or wear on a more regular basis, or nice decorations for the home.  So he's been busy purchasing accessories for me and in this box he included some jewelry & cashmere scarves :)

Blue Fire Opal earrings & necklace

Also included was an outfit that he bought for himself that he said will be useful when doing training exercises in the future, and a copy of GQ magazine that he picked up there because it has Mila Kunis on the cover and we have a thing going between us about how we both think she's hot.

Military Spouse Appreciation Day Blog Hop

Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day to all of my fellow MilSpouses out there!

Link Up Hosted by Household 6 Diva and Riding the Roller Coaster

Welcome to Life Adventures of a New Army Wife!  I'm Andrea, and this is my very first Military Spouse Appreciation Day, as my husband just joined the Army last year.  You'll find that I refer to my husband on here simply as "hubby" or "my husband."  My husband and I are both graduates of The University of Georgia, where we first met just about 8 years ago and became fast friends.  We've been together for over 4 years and just celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary last month on April 1st!

We were married for all of four months when my husband left to go to basic training, and our lives have been a bit of a whirlwind ever since.  He went straight from basic, to AIT, then on TDY for a few weeks, immediately followed by his first deployment, which he's been on for about a month now.  Thankfully I've been able to see him occasionally throughout that time, visiting him for his graduations from BCT & AIT, as well as driving to see him on the weekends he was 5 hours away from home on his TDY -- however it has still been a difficult journey having to spend so much time away from him, all while not yet living near base and having that military community around me.

I began this blog just after my husband left for basic as a way to document our journey and to become better connected with the military community, at least by virtual means.  Thankfully my husband's deployment is on the shorter side and he should be returning home early fall, and at that time we'll be going through our first PCS and moving from our home in Georgia out to Ft. Sam Houston in Texas!

I have an affinity for wines, pasta, and all things sweet (my Pinterest is largely filled with pasta and baking recipes!).  I really enjoy baking, though while my husband has been gone I've found myself doing less of it in an effort to not have as much lingering around the house for me to consume alone.  I recently purchased a nice DSLR camera and hope to learn all of the ins and outs of using it so I can become a better photographer.  I currently have a full-time job doing accounting, purchasing, and payroll/HR work, but who knows where I'll end up after our big move!

We've got two dogs and a cat that we love to spoil.  Pictures and stories of them are definitely plentiful.  We do not have any children as of yet, but are looking forward to trying to start a family in the near future.

On my blog you'll find a random mixture of topics just covering my every day life as I try to make sense of this new life, including recipes, DIY projects, a Project 52 photo challenge I'm embarking on, and random musings about military life.  Please comment with a link to your site, as I love finding new blogs to follow and new people to meet!

A Care Package of My Very Own

I managed to last right about four months with my old blog design, which is about twice as long as the ones previous to it.  So here's hoping I can break my record again and make it even longer with this new one!

In more exciting news... hubby has been busy doing a little shopping while on deployment and I should have my own care package from him heading my way soon with some lovely accessories he's bought for me like scarves and jewelry, along with a handmade jewelry box :) Definitely more exciting than the two care packages I've sent to him thus far, and better than the next one I have lined up for him which so far just includes the variety of toothpaste he prefers to use, which they do not have available to purchase at the PX there.

He said he also found a beautifully made marble chess set for us that he fell in love with at first site, some pendants for three of his aunts for Christmas presents, a piece of artwork for his grandma, and dresses for hubby's two little sisters.  At the rate he's going, he'll have all of our Christmas shopping done by the time he finishes up this deployment, which he said last night has actually become a goal of his -- or at least to get a good portion of it complete so that way I have less to do come December.  He's just really liking the idea of getting gifts for everyone that we couldn't necessarily just pick up at a store around here, which I have to agree is pretty cool.

And Just Like That...

He's gone.

Deployment #1 has officially begun.  And it started a week early, might I add.

The Friday of Easter weekend, hubby found out that his pre-deployment training would be wrapping up earlier than expected, though he didn't know what exactly that meant for his deployment date.  Then Wednesday morning I received a phone call from hubby telling me he'd be leaving a week earlier than expected.  I immediately dropping everything at work to go spend his last couple days in the states with him, and before I knew it we were saying our goodbyes.

Overall I'm just feeling kind of numb at the moment as the reality of everything sinks in.  It's just weird to think that he's currently half-way across the world, while I'm sitting at home, back to the same "normal" life that I've been living ever since he first left over 8 months ago to begin basic training.  It's different now though, because now he's no longer just several hours (or several states) away, in the protective little bubble of a stateside Army base.  Thankfully I have a laundry list of items I need to take care of around the house in order to keep myself occupied for a little while right here during the beginning, though I know soon I will likely run out of distractions.

One fun item on my to-do list during his deployment is to finally take the cake decorating class I've been wanting to do for some time now but have never been able to work into my schedule.  I also have plans to get this house more organized than I ever thought possible, in addition to doing a little redecorating work on some rooms.  Then there's also things like finish reading The Hunger Games series (I just started book 2, Catching Fire, this weekend) and finally attempting to cook/bake lots of the yummy recipes I've stockpiled on Pinterest :)

AIT Graduation Trip, Part 2

Continued from yesterday...

On day 3, we decided to wake up at 5-something in the morning to get outside early enough to get some pictures of the sunrise.  It wasn't as pretty as many of the ones hubby has seen during his time there since there were no clouds in the sky for the sun to illuminate, but I think the view was still pretty gorgeous and worth the early wake-up.  We had a quick breakfast with his mother at IHOP that morning before she left to head back home, and then found ourselves waiting in a small line outside of Best Buy to pick up the new iPad that was being released that morning.  At first we were just planning on getting one for hubby to take with him on his deployment, but I managed to come away from the shopping trip with my own as well!  Then after running a few more errands around town & base, we headed out on the hour drive to the casino we were staying at for the next few days.

We fell in love with the place as soon as we arrived.  The hotel itself was gorgeous in all aspects!  From the lobby, the bars/restaurants, and room to the pool and spa areas -- all wonderfully designed and decorated.

I found the "mini-bar" assortment of drinks and snacks they had arranged on the coffee table rather amusing.  Needless to say, we didn't touch any of these items and just enjoyed the free chocolates and complimentary bottles of cheaper water we received each night with turn-down.

Our stay included some gambling at their blackjack tables, eating, relaxing, and enjoying some drinks at their bars.  We also took some time to pamper ourselves a bit and got a couples massage while there.

For signing up for the casino's free club card, we each received a voucher for a free meal at the buffet restaurant there and decided to use them for our lunch on day 4 of my trip.  After having one glass of wine too many the night before, I had said I didn't want anything other than water with my meal that day, even though one of the selections on the drink menu sounded good.

I should have known that hubby would have gone behind my back and order this for me when I stepped away from the table for a couple minutes to get another plate of food.  Thankfully it wasn't too strong!

Overall we really enjoyed our time there and were not the happiest when it came time to check out and head back towards base on the next-to-last day of my trip.  After checking back into our original hotel for that last evening, we decided to go to the movies and saw Act of Valor.  As would be expected, hubby was glued to the screen during all of the action sequences.  And I spent the very beginning and very end of the movie, the parts with the pre- and post-deployment scenes with the families, wiping tears from my eyes.  We both liked the movie though, so I have a feeling it will eventually find its way into our DVD collection.

When Monday morning rolled around, I definitely did not care to get up because that meant saying goodbye yet again in the matter of several hours time.  For this last morning, we decided to get up early again to try and capture some more early morning pictures as some freakish winter weather conditions had rolled into town and we were looking at snow-filled clouds and mountain tops dusted with white (it was 80 degrees just two days prior).

There were definitely some pretty views to be had out there, which is why I ended up letting hubby keep the DSLR camera with him for his final week there, in hopes that he'll be able to capture a few more good pictures (all but this last pic with the flag were actually taken with my phone -- the flag picture is one of many hubby took with our real camera, but the only one I had on me at the time of writing this post).

Goodbyes are still awful, and I didn't want to let go of him when it came time for me to leave.  I'm just thankful that I'll get to see him again at the end of next week.  I will have to say that one thing I love about our relationship is the fact that even after all of these separations we've had to endure thus far, every time we're reunited it feels as though nothing has changed and we fall right back into our usual routine and habits with each other.  I'm sure that will change to an extent when he returns from this deployment, but for the time being I'm loving the fact that we still maintain a sense of normalcy when we're back together, even though we did have a good conversation and laugh about how surreal it feels at times with him being in the military now and how different things actually are with our lives compared to this time a year ago.

AIT Graduation Trip, Part 1

I returned home late Monday night from my 6 day/5 night trip to see my husband for his graduation from AIT and to spend a long weekend together on a mini-vacation of sorts.  I'm not sure how long it will take for me to recover from my trip, but overall I have a feeling I'm going to end up fairly sleep deprived for the most part of this next month and a half or so, until after hubby has made his way overseas and we've figured out a rhythm to the madness, so I might as well get used to it now.

After finding out so late that my husband would be deploying, I was faced with purchasing a last minute plane ticket to fly out and see him in an effort to get in as much time together pre-deployment as the Army will let us.  As a result, I ended up crossing off another item from my 101 in 1001 list, which was to fly first class.  The plane tickets for coach weren't too much less than the tickets for first class when it came time to book my flight (plus coach seating on the flight I needed to take home was sold out), so hubby told me to go ahead and treat myself and I got to fly in first class for the first time ever.  Free checked baggage, spacious seats, a power outlet to charge my phone during the flight while watching a movie on it, continual offerings of snacks and free drinks, plus this yummy meal at lunchtime -- a Philly Cheesesteak with a fresh side salad and blondie.  I think one of my favorite parts of this were the tiny little salt & pepper shakers that came on the tray.  They're just so cute!  The free glasses of wine were also great :)

Day 1 on my trip included a short late-afternoon awards ceremony for the members of the company that had successfully completed training and were graduating.  Afterwards my husband got to change from his ACU's into civies and I got to take him off base for the night for dinner & time together (which included my MIL as well).

With day 2 came graduation day!  The ceremony was short and sweet, and then shortly after I found myself at hubby's barracks, helping him to move all of his duffels/sacks/bags of clothing and gear out of his room and over to the new set of barracks he's staying at temporarily before leaving his current base to head back towards my way on TDY for his deployment prep and briefings.  One of those 40 pound duffel bags actually got to come home with me!  I'm sure I looked quite humorous, or possibly pathetic, toting that thing around the airport with my own luggage.  This day was pretty nice though, as after we finished everything we needed to take care of on base, hubby was released on a pass to stay with me for the rest of my time there.

Part 2 of my trip to come tomorrow.

Get Ready and Wait

Most anyone who has any sort of association with the military has heard of the phrase "hurry up and wait".  I read on a blog post one day not too long ago where someone said rather than "hurry up and wait," she likes to use the phrase "get ready and wait", since it sounds a little more positive and proactive.  Well, that is precisely what my husband and I are doing now concerning our expected move next month.  Getting ready and waiting.

After getting the official orders for our move to Texas just before Christmas, we were excited to start prepping for our move and to finally get out of the town that we've lived in the for the better part of a decade.  I had begun the process of cleaning up and cleaning out our apartment to slim down on things we no longer really need or want so we have less clutter to deal with for the move.  I had started doing research online to scout out places to check out when we arrive there for housing.  And I had cut back dramatically on our debt-reducing plan to save as much money as possible to prepare for having to survive living off of only one income for a period of time post-move until I am able to find a new job.

Turns out, our plans could be changing.  We found out a couple weeks ago that there is a chance that our move could be delayed until the fall, as my husband could possibly end up going on a short-term deployment shortly after he graduates AIT, which would delay our move until his return.  The really sucky part is we won't find out if we'll be moving or he'll be deploying until less than a week before he graduates.  So right now I have to continue preparing as though we'll be moving in just over 4 weeks, while dealing with the fact that we could end up having to cancel it with about a week's notice (as well as then book a very last minute trip for me to fly out to see him for his graduation and extended weekend pass he would then receive as a result of this change so we can get in as much time together pre-deployment as the Army will let us).

Thankfully my job is extremely understanding about my situation and will work with me to where if we don't move when expected, I'll be able to keep my job until we do actually move.  The biggest positive we have found to tell ourselves to help deal with the stress of the uncertainty we're facing is the fact that one way or another, we should be able to be together for our first wedding anniversary on April 1st.  Either we'll be living together again, or he will be at a base back here on the east coast to prep for deployment, close enough to where I'll be able to drive and see him on the weekends he would be there before shipping out.

Valentine's Day Care Package

Since we're currently in the middle of the largest span of time without seeing each other since basic (two-and-a-half months), I decided to put together a little care package for the hubby for Valentine's Day.  Basically, this is a trial run to help prep me for the day when he gets deployed and I am faced with putting on my creative thinking cap each month to give him little mood lifters and encouragement from home.

I started gathering items for this right after he left home to head back to AIT following Christmas leave.  It was at this time when I discovered how truly awesome the Target $1 Spot is.  I nabbed a small variety of candy from these bins, as well as a couple little toys for him.  Somehow over Christmas, we managed to get on the topic of a classic toy that most of our generation had as a child, the Slinky, and how much better the metal ones are at going down stairs than the plastic ones.  I of course found it very ironic that I then found junior sized versions of this iconic toy at the $1 Spot at Target.  I had a good little chuckle to myself when I saw them and then immediately picked up a metal one to include in the package.  Then right around the corner from the Slinky section was a bin full of Silly Putty, so I decided to nab one of them as well.

Other than these two little toys, I filled the rest of the box with lots of goodies -- tins of freshly baked brownies and white-chocolate macadamia nut cookies, chocolates, Skittles, Warheads, Moon-Pies, gum, and beef jerky -- and topped off with a cute little Valentine's Day card with a "hug from across the miles".

I went ahead and put the package in the mail on Tuesday, since U.S. Mail, as well as mail on post, can be a little unpredictable at times.  I wanted to be sure he definitely received it before Valentine's Day, and surprisingly all mail systems were quick and he received it on Thursday.  His favorite item out of everything in the box was the Slinky, followed by the Silly Putty and the beef jerky.  And apparently the box was man-handled a little bit during transit, as the tin full of macadamia nut cookies was all crumbled into bite size pieces.  But thankfully everything else arrived intact.

Back to Reality

It really is amazing how quickly two weeks can fly by.  Fifteen days ago the hubby came home for Christmas leave.  And now here I am, sitting back at my desk at work after yet again saying goodbye at the airport this morning.  I am just very fortunate that my job gives all of the staff 1.5 weeks off for the holidays each year, so I only had to add in another few more days of leave time in order to be off from work for the entire time he was home.

Much of our holidays were spent traveling to see family and was very reminiscent of our vacation we took at the end of the summer right before he shipped off to basic.  We had Christmas weekend down in Florida visiting his mom, step-dad, and two little sisters, then followed it up back in Georgia with a couple days seeing his dad's and step-mom's sides of the family, and then finished up the grand tour with an evening with my parents and brother.  All throughout, our time was filled with lots of shopping and lots of food, leaving our wallets a little lighter, and our stomachs much fuller.

We each were able to spend more on the other for Christmas this year and each got some things we had been eyeing.  This meant a lot to both of us because this was the first year of not living paycheck-to-paycheck at the holidays, so it was like we could reward each other for making it through the more difficult times from the past four years.  I got him several video games that he had mentioned to me over Thanksgiving that he wanted, and then we also ordered him a pair of prescription Oakley sunglasses that he has wanted for probably about two years now.  He got me a North Face fleece that I've wanted that matches the one he received last year, a really nice cookie sheet from Williams-Sinoma (I've been in need of new ones for a while), and then surprised me with a beautiful watch as well (I'm pretty sure my jaw about hit the ground when I unwrapped this one).

Overall we had a fairly chill time off together, including a very subdued New Year's Eve at home that had us in bed by 11pm and very fast asleep by the time the clock struck midnight and we entered 2012.  And I do have to say, I am kind of in love with how TSA has approved family members of Military who are arriving or departing to receive gate passes to get past security at the airport.  I was able to both meet the hubby at the gate as he landed two weeks ago as well as see him off as he boarded his plane back to AIT this morning.  Extra time together is wonderful and I will certainly take it however I can get it!  Now the countdown begins until he graduates in 2.5 months and we are finally reunited after getting to experience our first PCS and move out to Texas :)

It's Official

We're moving to Texas!  The hubby received his official orders this weekend, and he's expected to report for duty in early April.  I about had a fit when he told me yesterday that he didn't see on the orders where I'm authorized to go with, until he finally realized it was one of the very first things listed at the top of the paper.  I'm not necessarily looking forward to living in Texas (I was hoping for a place that actually experiences all four seasons -- or at least has milder summers than Georgia has), but I'm very excited for the change and to be living under the same roof again!

You're Giving Up Your Career for Him?

Aside from a family member or two who cannot stand the idea of the hubby and I moving away to who-knows-where (currently Texas) at some point in the spring because they are worried about how they will be affected and what the change means for them, most people whom I have told about my husband joining the Army have been very positive and respectful of his decision and the new life we're beginning.

That was until I had a brief conversation with the woman who is currently performing an audit on our department and mentioned how I will only be in the office for another 3 or 4 months because come the end of March or so we'll be moving to our FDS.  The very first thing out of this woman's mouth was "you're giving up your career for him?"  Well, not that I consider what I'm doing right now a career so much as just a job, but damn straight I'm giving up what I'm currently doing for him!  Given the sacrifice he is making, it's the least I can do to show my support and be with him.  And it's not like I'm not going to try to find a new job, and hopefully I'll be able to get on board in the federal GS system so I can secure a position that will better allow me to move around.

It's been a good month since this conversation occurred, but I still cannot get what she said out of my head.  It probably doesn't help that her follow up to that was "why do you want to have children at such a young age?" when I mentioned wanting to start trying to have a family next year.  Since when is your late twenties too young of an age to have children?  This was then proceeded by complaints from her about her kids.

I'm sorry if you're not happy with how things are going in your life and/or you do not agree with how my husband and I are choosing to live ours, but please do not project your view points on me.  I have always been of the mindset that whether or not I agree with how you live, the choices you make, or what you believe, I'm not going to tell you what I think you should do because if there was one correct answer, then that's what we would all do.  This is not to say that I don't believe there are inherent rights and wrongs concerning some things, I just believe there's a reason why God gave us free will and with His guidance we're all able to choose the path in life that works best for us.

I apologize for the little rant here, but this is just something that has been bothering me for a while and I needed to get it off my chest rather than letting it continue to fester inside as I tend to do.