I'm Losing It!

And I don't mean in a mental breakdown sort of way. I've actually lost a few pounds! Not as many as I want, but the pace has picked up. In a previous post I mentioned that I hoped to be able to greet my hubs with an awesome new figure when I see him again. So I've been working at it, trying very hard to keep this promise that I made to myself.

I had to buy new jeans because mine got too big. They were really saggy in all the wrong places (not in the cute "boyfriend jean" sort of way, but in the "I swear my butt isn't half way to my kneecaps" sort of way). I've been eating healthier and been as active as I can be with all the crazy weather we've been experiencing.

I really want to do this for myself. Also, I want to do this for my husband. He loves me the way I am, but part of me wants to see him again and have it be completely obvious that I've been working hard while we've been apart just like he has.

My mom is being great about it and she says that right before I go to see him (end of May-ish) she'll take me on a shopping spree! I almost let out a woo-hoo..... almost...... if I were the woo-hoo sort of girl I totally would have let one rip. And my Dad is liking it too because ever since the kids and I moved in he has lost weight (now that I'm here I cook healthy food for him and he eats out a lot less during the day).

I have this dress picked out in my head that I would love to be able to greet him in. I'm considering digging through our storage unit to find my sewing machine and making it myself. Heck, my degree in costume design has to be good for something ;)

-His HH6

Umm, Have I entered the Twilight Zone?

Below are pictures of the hail today. It may not seem that weird to the general public who are used to living in places that have all 4 seasons. I, however, currently reside in California... and not Northern California.... Southern California. Thirty minutes from the ocean to be exact. We have maybe 1.5 seasons. Those seasons being summer, and just slightly cooler than summer. So let me repeat, today we had hail. Small marble sized. My dog almost had a heart attack!

So here's a glimpse of it, just after it finished after some of the shock had worn off and I realized the hubs may want to see pictures of it when I see him again:

On the grass in a section of the front yard

On the patio table

The patio furniture didn't know what to do with itself

Let's see what else late winter has to offer!

-L

Well Hello There

So, yah..... Me likey. It's retro with a modern twist.

Visual prettiness brought to you by Norman + Quaine.

The Demille Lounge

The Orwell Lounge

The Hudson High Arm Lounge

The Lulu Tables

I wonder how any of these would look in the new housing we don't have yet? If only they weren't all the way over in Australia. I don't even want to think of the shipping costs! But a girl can dream..... nay, fantasize of the day she can plant her rear on one of those lounges while setting her iced tea on one of the absolutely magnificent Lulu tables. **Sigh**

-His HH6

YAY!

I know in my last post I said I would wait until tomorrow to write a new post but I had to share. The Hubs got to call me today! Woohoo!

It was so nice to speak to him. I guess he was one of a handful of guys that got to watch the Superbowl then call their families today. After we spoke he used his last moment clutching his much adored i-Phone to send me the following photo:

It's funny that somehow even though he has been relegated to only consuming military chow he actually looks like he's gained weight. He looks just adorable :)

So, I have to admit something about my hubby. For as smart as he is, geography is not his strongest subject. He can talk on almost any subject with ease, but ask him about the location of a particular state, country or region and he falters.

In walks my mini nightmare. As you may or may not know, when a soldier arrives in Reception they are asked to fill in a "wish-list" of places they would like to be stationed. Since we knew this would be happening and we knew there was a good chance he would be going Airborne we wanted to be sure to put places on the wishlist that had airborne units. Knowing my husbands short-comings in the geography department I spent the months leading up to his departure naming the locations he should put on his wishlist. I named them over and over, spoke of them almost daily and hoped that it would sink in.

So imagine my surprise when the letter he wrote me said that he requested as follows:
*Europe (specifically Germany) - Perfect! That's the first choice we are hoping for. Good boy!
*North Carolina (Ft. Bragg) - that was actually one of my last choices. Hmmmm. We could have a problem, but at least they have Airborne there.
*Greenland - I'm sorry? What?! That was even hard to type, let alone wrap my head around. What in H-E-double hockey sticks was he thinking?! Even if we had been interested in that part of the world, Greenland is not the green one! Iceland is the green one, Greenland is the icey one! If you get stationed in Greenland we aren't allowed to go with you! Geez Louise man!

When I mentioned this to him he was very apologetic and actually got a little panicky. This stint in Missouri is the first time the man has spent more than a week in a snowy place..... ever. Now there is a chance he could be stationed in the Arctic Circle.

Dun-dun-dun! Things..... Just..... Got...... Interesting!

-His HH6

And So It Begins..... Well, Began

The Hubs left for Fort Leonard Wood (a.k.a. Fort Lost In The Woods) at the beginning of January. Surprisingly time has flown by. I thought I would be a wreck, and don't get me wrong I've had my moments, but for the most part the kids keep me so busy that I don't really have time to think about missing my other half. Part of me feels a little bad about that. I mean... shouldn't I be a wreck? My partner in crime will be gone until the end of May. In the movies don't the women either become total basket cases from the beginning or at least hold it together on the surface only to break down at the most inopportune time or in a very public and embarrassing scene? I haven't, I don't think I will. My hubby is my best friend, but really.... he's in Missouri. Not exactly war-torn or uncivilized on the standard spectrum of civilization.

He's been allowed to call a few Sundays in a row. I talk to him in very brief phrases trying to get out as much important information and I-love-you's as possible before putting him on the phone with the kids. He is allowed only 10 minutes so there isn't a lot of idle chit-chat.

My daughter is handling it a lot better than I thought she would. After a few tries at getting out of trouble by busting out an ill timed "I miss Daddy" and me replying with the standard "You are allowed to miss Daddy but it's not going to get you out of trouble.", she now only says it when she means it. I guess you can't blame a 10 year old girl for trying.

I guess what I miss most is his companionship. I mean, he's my best friend. I not only lost my best friend, but I moved away from my other friends that lived anywhere near me to a place where I only know my parents. I haven't been able to find a new job, so that avenue for meeting new people is out. I take the kids to school, do housework, pick up the kids, do more housework while helping with homework, make dinner, make lunches for the next day, write to the husband, do a little reading, go to sleep. That's it..... lather, rinse, repeat. The only change to the routine are the 3 days a week I do lap swimming for an hour and a half while the kids are in school. Blah.

If I were in my own home I could at least decorate and spruce up the house. But being unemployed is only really bearable when you have other things to fill up your time. Right now I am unemployed, nobody to hang out with and no home of my own.

Aside from the loneliness factor, life has been fine. I can't complain. I've had a lot of time to come up with furniture I want to buy, refurbishing projects I want to take on, crafts I want to tackle. My husband has no idea what he's in for when he gets back ;)

I'll write again tomorrow! Until then.....

-His HH6

And It Begins

So I just had my first real pang of anxiety since all of this "my husband joined the military" madness began. I was sitting here reading blogs of seemingly "normal" families (read: non-millitary/civilian families) when it hit me.

The thoughts went a little something like this-

Average Wife: I would love to start doing some of the cute things together that they do.
Military Wife: We can't right now.
Average Wife: Ohhh, I'd love to redecorate... that dish set would be perfect for.....
Military Wife: Wait, we can't right now.
Average Wife: When the kids are in school next week the hubs and I should..
Military Wife: We'll be in different states next week...
Average Wife: Ahhh, that's such a cute Bed & Breakfast, maybe for my birthday...
Military Wife: He won't be here for my 30th Birthday in January....
Average Wife: The Hubs could totally take our son camping at this cool place.....
Military Wife: We can't right now....

It all came in at once at that last one. When I realized our son wouldn't have any bonding time with his father in the forseeable/planable future. It snowballed from there. My house wouldn't be my house anymore. We won't be living in the same state together. I'll be a guest in somebody elses home with my children for an entire school year. I'll have to be Mom & Dad all at once. The disciplinarian and the soft shoulder all at once. There is no more comfortable home to make our own. No romantic evenings we sneak after the kids have gone to bed.

I've always been able to calm down the butterflies. I just tell myself it will be fine and may isn't that far away. Even when I remember that he could be deployed right away and it will be a over 18 months before we'll have something resembling normal again I think I just push the thought away and I'm fine.

But I can't push this one away and I feel like I want to throw up.

Lord give me strength.

Channeling My Inner Betty

......Crocker that is! I have officially joined a Baking GALS group. I stumble upon Baking GALS while I was trolling the army wife blogs. I went to the Army Wife Network and their blog website, Loving A Soldier Living the Life, had an entry that mentioned the Baking GALS organization. And let me tell you I was EXCITED. There is nothing that this chicky loves more than to bake..... well, after hanging with the family and trying to get a good nights sleep. I love challenging myself with increasingly difficult recipes and I have won a place in the hearts of my co-workers by being the official baker of the office.

My fascination with cooking/baking began early. I come from a long line of women who won over the stomachs then hearts of their men through cooking (on my mother's side.... my dad's side, not so much). I have a great aunt known island wide for her fantastic cakes. My grandmother fed all 6 of her children on a tight budget and still came up with some recipes my mother passed on to me only after swearing me to secrecy. I toyed with the idea of becoming a professional chef but two things stood in my way. The first, my mother who was ever afraid that I would divulge family recipes in my quest for foodie praise. The second, while I like winning just like the rest of you, I'm not an outwardly competitive person. I like besting myself but don't really worry about how I stack up against others. I was told that the world of chefs is a competitive one, especially when you're a woman, and I wasn't sure I was equipped to deal with it. I find joy in cooking and didn't want my career choice to diminish that joy. So now I'm a wife and mommy and I share my love of cooking with my close circle of friends. And much to my mother's surprise and joy, I have managed to keep Pandora's recipe box firmly shut.

Although I turned away from a career in cooking I thought of participation in the Baking GALS group as a good use of the skills. Maybe one day, if The Hubs gets deployed, somebody will be kind enough to start a group for him.

So it's off to the kitchen for me. Hopefully I can make a good first showing :)

Have you thought of participating in Baking GALS? Any go-to recipes you think the troops would appreciate?