Skinnie Secrets #1 - Big Decisions

Secret #1

Big decisions are not my thing. And by not my thing, I mean I avoid them at all costs. In all honesty, they physically make me sick*. This is not a great characteristic to have as a military wife... but I have it, and manage (more or less).

I've been car-less since 2wks before we actually PCSed here, and my time at home I had to borrow my parents' car, to say my freedom of getting places has been small is an understatement. So... I purchased a used car. Without my father. Which is a HUGE thing for me. For my prior cars he was my go-to guy, he went with me, test drove it (even though I did too), checked everything under the hood, etc. But, now he's an ocean away...

I'm praying I didn't mess up.

Oh... yeah... it's a VW Passat, and if you didn't know (I didn't) you're suppose to use premium unleaded fuel, sigh, didn't think to ask about that. At least premium fuel on base is the same as regular unleaded off base.

*It's bad... ranges from not sleeping, stomach problems (involving diarrhea/throwing up), elevated heart rate, excessive sweating ...sorry for the TMI, but... does this happen to any of you?

Gearing Up

This is something I don't think I'll ever get used too.Thankfully, {for now} it's just for check-in.


How do you feel when your hubby/fiance/boyfriend starts "gearing up?"

It's quite the range of emotions, right?

First I get all anxious...
Helmet, Kevlar, etc.

But then I kinda want to play dress up...
Gas mask, vest, etc.

I guess that's how I "help" lighten my mood.

A Hotel Easter

We bought one decoration...
Our "Easter Bunny" treated us well... haha.

The sunrise service on base was beautiful, it was on the lawn directly overlooking the ocean. We had a group of hula dancers, the Chaplain gave a great message surrounding the story in Luke, and the sun peaked out from around the clouds at the perfect time.

The cross they fork-lifted to the beach!

It was interesting, not having a home... or a "home" church... but, it was a great day none-the-less!

Happy Easter

No bunnies or peeps here... not right now... I'll share our "Hotel Easter" later... for now, I hope you take the time to reflect on the true meaning of Easter.

Here is my favorite song dealing with His death & resurrection, not to mention His love for us:

Peeps & Co.

When we lived in Maryland we were fortunate enough to visit the Peeps & Co. Store a few times, it's the only store of it's kind around the world!

The last time we were there was with my sister in-law and our 2yr old nephew, we bought him one of these super cute keychains:Then we bought ourselves some cute peeps plushies (1 bunny, 1 chick) to decorate around Easter time, unfortunately they are sitting in a box somewhere with the rest of our household goods, but aren't they cute?This post is in no way sponsored by the Just Born company, I am simply a fan of peeps... I also love the following saying very much, because we truly are all the same on the inside. People are people. =)


If you don't live in the MD/VA/DC area and want some "peep-goodness" in your life, you can check out the online version of the Peeps & Co. Store here... =)


....hmmmm... maybe I need to make a exchange/commissary run for some dark chocolate covered peeps.... so good!

Peep fan?
Peep hater?

Vidrio del Playa

In the previous post, there is a picture of me at the beach towards the end... these are my "treasures" from that day:


My love for glass in general has been around for a long time. I used to get into trouble for sneaking into my grandpa's stained glass studio with flip-flops on... in retrospect that was an extremely foolish thing to do. In high school I was fortunate enough to take two stained glass classes before the funding for the program was cut. From there I bought my own supplies and sometimes my grandpa would mail me glass.

My love for sea glass came in 2006 on a family trip to Cabo San Lucas... we found this local beach (seriously- we were the ONLY white people there) with beautiful large grain sand and glittering colors. The colors turned out to be "vidrio del playa" or beach glass...and for me, a literal trash turned into treasure. I was hooked! When I wasn't snorkeling, I was scavenging. My dad & sister would join in and I took home 2lbs in my carry-on!

I've made many things over the years-mosaic, stained glass, even some jewelry. My parent's house is full of it, and throughout college I would sell pieces at art shows/flea markets. It was fun, then my senior year of college hit... internship, engagement, graduation, wedding, moving across the country, then a townhouse with no place to cut/break glass safely (all carpet).

Once we get a house I'm hoping this changes... I miss working with my hands, even occasionally bleeding, to make something beautiful. For now these pretties will sit in my hand crafted Philippines bowl that is seriously smooth as butter... I couldn't resist buying it, although the fact that it was $2.59 didn't help turn me away either!

Do you have any "forgotten" passions?
Or, just something you love to collect?

Starting Over... Again...

I kind of feel like my first month in Maryland is on replay... only this time I'm in a hotel, car-less, and pet-less...

For those of you that don't know, hubby and I got married fall of 2009 and I moved to MD in November to be with him (finally!). I didn't have friends yet, but I did have a town house to decorate, a car to escape when I needed to get out of the house, and guinea pigs to entertain me while job searching for endless hours.

I finally met some nice Marine wives at Christmas (company party) and started hanging out with them every couple of weeks. We had also found a church to call our home. March of 2010 we joined a small group for newly married couples without children... oh my goodness, talk about becoming best friends in one year. I miss these people terribly... 1yr was too short.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't know anyone here... I know two couples from MD, currently both men are deployed and both women are playing supermom. One has 3 children ages 7 and under, the other has two children ages 2 and under. We've had dinner with them twice, but honestly their focus is on (and rightly so) their children and any snippet of time their husbands get to contact them. One also makes me really depressed, always commenting on how her husband is missing everything, how she can't stand her base house (oh my gosh, I'd love to have her house!), and how she doesn't get any adult conversation time (but she refuses to leave the house or take her kids to a play group), and how she thinks that her husband will be volunteering to go back out as soon as he returns, if that happens she's moving home.

I just don't know.
Although, I didn't expect it to be easy...
My husband is also a higher rank than almost everyone in his shop other than his direct superiors, he said all the wives he's seen with the guys seem to be really young and catty. *sigh*

Tonight will mark 1wk here. I know that is an extremely short amount of time when it comes to moving, checking in, finding a home, etc. It's just felt really long. We got bumped on the base waiting list (big surprise) but we are still praying that something will change, we can't imagine living in town at this point. The houses we've looked at are disgusting (think mold, damp carpet, lack of any storage-not even bedroom closets) and so over priced!

I do have to say I love the fact that this is on base:


But...

I need to find a reliable used car and get the heck out of this hotel room!

Never Alone

I'm pretty sure I'm one of the last people in the group of MilSpouse Blogs that I follow to read Jessica's Goodbye Letter... but, it doesn't change how gut wrenching it was to read. How helpless I feel... hoping and praying that someone is there with her. Family, friend, heck- even a Good Samaritan at this point. [It has been said by a local MP that she is currently in the hospital].

I pray everyday that I will never reach that point. I know my family loves me and will be there for me, support me, assist me in anything. I also know I have a select number of friends who would do the same. Most of all God is there- to those of you who don't believe in God- I'm sorry.

Music has always spoken to me... here are some of my favorite songs on the subject:

"Never Alone" - Lady Antebellum


"Never Alone" - Barlow Girl


First of all... please take notice of the people around you! Be there for them, be real, don't put on a show. This is part of the reason large groups of women annoy me... usually it comes down to a competition, sadly enough even more so in the military community. To the women who use their husband's rank to make themselves feel better, or believe they are superior because their husband has been deployed X number of times, on & on... give it up. We're all people, we're all saying goodbye to loved ones at some point, and we all have to figure out how to live alone, then figure out how to make it "home" again once they return.

BE A TRUE FRIEND.
LISTEN, TALK, & PRAY
...TOGETHER.

Don't let anyone "slip through the cracks."

{Image Source}

I know that everyone else has offered their "listening ear" but please know I am available as well, esp. if it seems easier to be "anonymous"... skinniepiggie{at}gmail{dot}com.

My prayers are with you all...

I don't.

I don't have...

• a home
  
• a car of my own
  
• a job
• a new church
• a guinea pig(s)
  
• an honest group of friends

But I do have...

• an amazing, loving husband
• awesome, loving parents that call/text to see how we're doing
• and this...

So what if it's cloudy?
The water is beautiful, we might as well swim!
"Life's a beach!"

Be Positive.

Well my dear (bloggy) friends, we made it.

After 24hrs, we made it. Yes, 24 hrs... and the kicker, I was awake the WHOLE time. Although that actually turned out to be a good thing- now I'm on the right sleep schedule, hubby is all messed up.

Anyway, we woke up bright and early Wednesday morning (4:45am EST) and were at the airport at 5:45am. We went to check in with Delta and SATO never paid for our tickets! The reservations were made March 12th... March 12th and sometime within that span of three weeks they didn't manage to pay for the ticket. Hubs was mad, and rightly so, when he picked up the itinerary they looked him in the face and said "these are paid for, you're good to go."

So standing off to the side of the counter he calls SATO, he waits 30min to even speak to someone... as soon as he does all they tell him is we have to fax him our orders. Seriously? We're at an airport! The nice lady at the counter faxes them for us (reminder: it is now 6:15am, our flight leaves at 7:45). 10min later we call back, put on hold AGAIN... after talking to another lady they tell us there is nothing they can do for us, at 7am. Excuse me?! PS: as we're standing off to the side the ENTIRE University of Maryland competitive cheer team is surrounding us and is checked in before we're off the phone with SATO.

We call his CO, they call admin, who calls SATO & I assume rips them a new one... SATO calls me back, a new guy, he's very nice... gives me info for another flight with Continental at 10:35am. Hubby passes the flight info along to the respective people... and we wait, and wait, and eat some dunkin' donuts, and wait some more. Come 9:45am I'm pissed... I am about to call SATO back (hubby is on the phone with his CO -again) when the lady at the counter yells out our last name. Thank you Lord!

So we get to the gate for our tiny hopper flight to Jersey - DELAYED. I'm about in tears at this point, I'd been awake for nearly 6hrs already and completely stressed. We get on this tiny plane with 16 other people and finally taxi out, 20min late. WORST FLIGHT EVER... my husband does not get motion sick, he was SICK by the time we landed. (I do, so you can imagine). Luckily the gate we needed to be at was directly across the terminal and that flight was also delayed.

Once we finally boarded our flight (now 40min past the original departure time) the tow bar snapped in two as we were being pushed back by the small truck..... We sat on the tarmac for 20min...

The flight, despite being 10.5hrs, wasn't too bad... I watched movies, read, played my DS, people watched, did some stretches & laps... the food was sad & way too expensive, and the bathrooms breaking with 2hrs left sucked! I can't believe I never fell asleep... I was so tired. We landed, picked up our rental car, got to base, and checked into our room at 10:45pm which with the time zone changes was a full 24hrs from the time we'd woken up.

---------------------------------

Today hubby did some of the check-in process and we went to the port to pick up his truck & return the rental. We visited a friend from our last base... but it kind of depressed me. They got here last year and her husband began training right away then deployed... now she's being told he will come back and get maybe 4-5mo together (minus field training) and he will deploy again for up to 13mo! I'm not looking forward to being alone that often... also the housing market is terrible, there are too many people and not enough room! We won't get a house on base we've moved to 475th on the list now... people with kids keep showing up. Rentals around here are far and few... and the ones that do pop up go quickly or are crappy/too expensive. The lodge can't keep us in the same room until April 11th... so here's to bed hopping & suitcase living for the next 3 nights...

I need to be positive.
I need to trust in God.
I'm trying.

Any of you have ridiculous PCS stories?
I think you should share them...

...and...We're off!

By the time you read this we'll either be in Atlanta waiting for our connecting flight or be on the connecting flight for 10.5hrs! So, you know, that's a lot of time for you to happen upon this blog post.

I saw it once, saw it again, then like 10 more times and figured... oh alright, why not? So may I present, the {in}famous "milSpouse Survey" ...Skinnie Piggie style!

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1. How long have you been a military wife?
It'll be 2yrs this fall, we dated for 2yrs before getting married.

2. What branch of service is your husband?
USMC

3. Active/Reserve?
Active Duty

4. What is his job?
Classified - No, seriously. I don't even know what he does.

5. How many deployments have you gone through?
Zero... lots of training/separations though.
I know it's not the same.
I'm going to hate it.

6. Camo or Dress uniforms on your man?
I love the USMC cammies, but I also love dress blues & charlies

7. What do you like about being a military wife?
It's harder being far away from family & best friends. But the travel opportunities are fun, making new friends, etc.

8. Do you live on base?
Not here, maybe there?
Doubt it though... no kids=no preference.
Haha.

9. What is your favorite base so far?
I've only been on one with him (one without him-my internship with the Coast Guard), this is his 3rd... we'll be going to his 4th.

10. What is the hardest part of the military life?
Separations.
Constant change.
Living out of suitcases.
Not knowing the next step.

11. Do you go to the grocery store or Commissary?
Commissary... even though I think we get cheated with a "surcharge" that equals 6% which conveniently is the tax here. Although, the prices are much more reasonable so it makes up for it.

12. Do you work or stay at home?
It took me 10mo to find a job here, the same day I was hired we got orders to PCS... I worked for 5mo and now we're on an airplane headed to a new place for me to be a SAHW looking for a job.

13. Do you have a lot of military wife friends?
I actually have more church friends, but some of the church friends run over into the milSpouse category and they tend to be my favorites because they have the best of both worlds for friendship... honest faith & shared lifestyle.

14. Do you prefer Walmart or the BX/PX/NEX/MCX?
Whatever is cheaper. No other reason.

15. How did your husband propose?
On the beach in Ventura California...
I had just picked him up at the San Francisco Airport so he could make the 14hr drive home with me from my internship. 2hrs into the 7hr drive to my Aunt & Uncle's I got pulled over for "speeding" (remember my car?) he talked to my then boyfriend about the USMC for 15min, and STILL reached over him and handed me the $256 ticket.
I was so mad & crying.
We finally got to my relatives house, they had prepared a delicious meal... then my cousin took us down to the beach to watch the sunset....
And that's where it happened.
Needless to say my ticket didn't mean much after that!

16. Did you marry him after he joined or before?
After, he hit his 3yr mark right before the wedding.

17. How long have you been together?
Started dating spring of 2007

18. Any kids?
No, not even furbabies anymore...

19. Any kids yet to come?
Sometime in the future.

20. Is your husband one of those "I am Marine hear me OORAH" kind of guys?
Negative. Only with old Salty former Marines ;-p
I'm more "moto" than he is, haha...

21. Have you ever done combatives with your husband?
He tried to teach me the hip throw once... didn't turn out well for him.

22. How many bases have you lived at?
I lived on the Coast Guard base in Petaluma, CA
We live off base here in Maryland.

23. If you could change one thing about the military?
Less paperwork. I don't really like the whole "dependent" title either. Yes I am married and I depend on my husband for certain things, but... well, you know.

24. Do you like military balls?
I love the history behind them. I also love dressing up and having fun with everyone.

25. Where does your family live?
AZ/OH/FL

26. What do you do for a job?
I've done a lot...
Recreation Assistant, Event Planner, Photographer's Assistant

27. Have you ever gotten in a fight with an NCO's wife?
Uh, I am an NCO's wife...
I get frustrated with them.
I tend to ignore them.

28. Name one thing you do when your husband is gone.
Girl's nights!

29. Do you think other wives do that too?
I sure hope so... it's great to have other people around.
=)

Cake Boss Lovin'

So like I had mentioned before... we were planning one more day trip for our time here on the East Coast. Hubby, the couple we are currently staying with, and I jumped on a MegaBus and headed to the big ole' NYC for our first time ever (our friends have gone at least 4 or 5 times).

However, as the title says, this post is not about our time in NYC, that may or may not come later. This is about our time at Carlo's Bakery in New Jersey!


Halfway through the day we hopped on the PATH (Subway from NY-NJ) and got off in Hoboken, walked 3 blocks and ran into this:

We waited 2hrs... but it was worth it, just look at the yumminess:

3 cannolis, 2 lobster tails, 4 7-layer Italian cookies, & a mini St. Joseph's Day zeppoli

Oh, we also saw...

Mauro,

Frankie,

& Danny!

So, it's obvious we are Cake Boss fans... no lie that Duff from Ace of Cakes makes some awesome looking creations but I love how Buddy's cakes are made to be as edible as possible! Cereal treats for molding, none of that foam crap that you can't eat. FYI- we currently live near "Charm City" and you can't even go into their bakery unless you're getting a cake consultation, and their cakes start at $1,000... so not going to happen for us.

Not a good day.

We took our day trip...
I'm tired & sore, BUT it was fun,
I'll fill you guys in on it later when I'm in a happier mood...


Right now... I just want to give up.

I can't find a house.
Looking on the internet sucks & is depressing.
They seriously cost an arm & a leg.
(ex: 2br, 1bth, 900sq ft, no yard/storage, 1prkg = $1,950... then add utilities, internet...)
Fyi: our BAH won't cover that.
Base waiting list... still in the upper 200s... yes 200s!
My husband's old boss moved there...
Thursday his wife messaged me:
"We've been here for a year and still don't have a house, you'll be fine!"
Talk about comforting. Not.
I don't want to always live in transition.

I've been applying for jobs like no other.
Problems:
-don't have a house
-not sure where (city) I'll be living
-don't have a car so not sure where I can get to/work at
I got a call back... I called back, no answer so I left a voicemail.
I was excited, it was for a community relations specialist job on base... I figure there'd be a way for me to get to work there with hubby working there too.
I e-mailed.
STILL no call back. *sigh*


I'm praying once we actually GET there (within a week now!) and get hubby's truck from the port... we can find something acceptable within our budget. Then I can work on the job & deciding if we need a second car again. I definitely did here.

Sorry for being such a downer.
I hope your 1st day of April was enjoyable & no mean pranks were pulled on you.