Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life

Julie

What I Have Learned About Having A Husband In The National Guard

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What I Have Learned About Having A Husband In The National Guard


We are now three months into Guard life. So far that hasn’t meant too much as Ben has only had a couple of drills. However, I have learned some things I didn’t know. There were a few things I assumed about the Guard that I found out worked a little differently than I thought they would. I also almost titled this post, “What I Have Learned About Having A Husband In The National Guard: Part One” because I know that I will learn even more as the months go on.

So here goes:

1) How much you get paid. I assumed that every time Ben had drill, he would get paid the amount that is stated on some of the pay calculators. This is not true. They get paid by the amount of drill periods they complete. Each period is 4 hours. So if he works for 8 hours he would get two drill periods worth of pay. This is of course less than the full amount of pay we were thinking it would be.

2) How long they are gone on a monthly basis. When I used to hear people talk about drill weekends, I thought that meant they left Friday and you saw them again Sunday. Now I am sure this probably happens but it hasn’t been our experience so far. He has had two one day drills. As I look at the upcoming calendar I see a mix of different types of “drill weekends.” I really didn’t realize it would be like that. And even the first day he was gone I assumed he would walk in the door at 11pm that night. That didn’t happen although I am sure it could in the future. 

3) That drill can be cancelled. This hasn’t happened to us yet but I have been hearing that it has been happening in other states. I knew it had happened during the shutdown but I didn’t know it can sometimes happen during this time of year for budget reasons.

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4) How often they go. Once again, when I heard that, “Once a month” phrase, I thought it would be once a month exactly. That they would go the 1st weekend of every month. But,that is not true either. It is all over the place. Sometimes we have a few weeks in-between and other times it is a lot longer. It just depends on when the drill is scheduled for.

5) That I would slip right back into Army Wife Mode when he leaves. This is the weirdest thing for me. Even though I know he is only gone one-two days, I feel different on those days then I do during the rest of the month. Why? My husband is off doing something with the Army. It isn’t so much that I am sad or upset, I don’t exactly feel that way, it is more that I am reminded of times past. Of when he used to go away while he was active duty. It is probably because during the rest of the month, he is not in Army mode. He grows out his hair, I don’t see his uniform, we don’t deal with units or any of that. Then he gets ready for drill each month and it is reminder to me that he is still serving his country in this way. So I am sure the back and forth of it will take some getting used to.

 

Is your spouse in the Guard or the Reserves? What has surprised you about it? What about Active duty life? What did you assume before you became a Military spouse?

Believe in Heroes And The Wounded Warriors Project

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Our country has been at war for many years. Many Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen and members of the Coast Guard have spent time overseas fighting for our country. Many of them have gone back for a 2nd, 3rd, 4th or even 5th time. Some even more than that. Each time they return their family members can breathe a sigh of relief but homecoming doesn’t always mean everything is just as it was when they left. From minor injuries to life changing ones to PTSD, our Wounded Warriors need the support of the American people. Even more so now that so many of them have come home.

Did you know that you can support Wounded Warriors thorough grocery shopping? The Believe in Heroes project allows you to do just that. It was started in 2010 in collaboration with Acosta Sales & Marketing. They wanted to give back to those who have made sacrifices and helped protect our country. The campaign has generated $16 million for WWP to date and has helped enable the expansion of its critical veteran programs that now directly serve more than 40,000 injured service members.

Beginning September 7, 2014 and running through Veterans Day, November 11, 2014, Believe in Heroes calls on Americans to show their support and appreciation for our service members and newest generation of veterans in a simple everyday way — grocery shopping. Each participating brand and retailer will help raise funds and awareness for WWP through the Believe in Heroes campaign.

You can go ahead and get your coupons here!  These will be available through November 30th or while supplies last.

If your family is on a budget like we are, you will find these coupons really helpful. They can help you save a little here and a little there but overtime that adds up. The best part is, using them will help the very people who have sacrificed to keep our country safe.

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The Believe in Heroes campaign is important to me as a Military Spouse. I like knowing that there are ways to give back to those that have given so much. It makes me happy to see American people and companies finding new and interesting ways to help give back. It shows that even though a Military career can be a hard one, knowing that the American people support you can go a long way. It encourages the service members  with what they have to do each day to protect the country.

  • Here is how you can help the Believe in Heroes® campaign:
    • Downloading over $25 in coupon savings by visiting http://goo.gl/X5dn6w.
    • Sharing social media posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
    • Purchasing Believe in Heroes® merchandise in stores or online at http://goo.gl/X5dn6w.

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I’m participating in the 2014 Believe in Heroes® blogger campaign and received compensation as part of the program. 

 

Vision To Share

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This post is about “Vision To Share” which was created by  with a mission to help people see. They created “Vision to Share” to change the life of a veteran through America’s VetDogs.

There are 21.2 million U.S. Veterans, 1.5 million of them has a vision-threatening eye disease. Many have low vision and 160,000 are legally blind. They can also be at risk of an eye injury during their time in combat.

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During this campaign, VSP will donate $50,000 to train and match a guide dog with a veteran whose vision is impaired.

  • How it works:
    • All you need to do is share!
    • Visit  and click on “Vision to Share.”
    • Every time you share the video, VSP will donate to the care and training of a guide dog – up to $50,000!
  • America’s VetDogs provides highly trained guide dogs to help veterans lead active, independent lives. It costs $50,000 to raise and train each dog, given to the veteran at no cost.
    • Puppies are trained from birth for two years.
    • America’s VetDogs matches each dog’s skills and personality to the disabled veterans’ needs.
    • Dogs typically work with the veteran until they are 10 years old.
    • Retired dogs are adopted.

You can see more at the hashtag #SeeMuchMore

K5 Website Review

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Summer is over! At least for us here in Clarksville, TN. Back to the regular routine of the school year. I was glad that I was able to review the K5 reading program over the summer. My nine year old was the one who used it.

To start I had him take the Reading assessment to see what level he was at. This was helpful so I could see where he was. He has struggled with reading so it was helpful to know where he was at the start of the program.

Each time he went into the lesson I had him do three rounds. This took him about 15 minutes. What is so great about it too is that as a parent I can go in and see how he is doing. I can look up the assessment results as well as how he is doing overall on the lessons. He also has his own login which is nice. There is nothing to download. You just go to the site and login.

Here is a little bit more information about the program…

The K5 program includes:

  • an initial online assessment of each child’s math and reading skills, 
  •  award-winning, curricula based reading and math content, 
  • over 3,000 online multimedia activities, personalized for each child based on his or her assessment, 
  • a highly structured environment which allows the student to proceed through the lessons in a logical fashion at his own pace,
  • ease of use which allows even 4 or 5 year olds to work independently, 
  •  attention to child safety with no external links, advertisements, chat or similar,
  • comprehensive reporting to parents, 
  • 24/7 availability and no downloads

Overview

K5 Learning (www.k5learning.com) is an online reading and math program for kids from
kindergarten through grade 5. Our intent is to help kids build reading, math and study skills
through independent study. K5 is designed for home use and can be used for after-school,
weekend and summertime supplemental study or in conjunction with a homeschooling program.
How it Works
Kids complete an online assessment of 8 key reading and math skills, and then work
independently at their own pace through over 3,000 online lessons and activities. The lessons
are animated, interactive and simple enough that a 4-5 year old can use them independently. We
automatically choose lessons for students (based on their assessment and past lessons), track
student progress and provide reports for parents.
Benefits for Kids
K5 helps kids learn essential reading and math skills, develop good study habits, and fulfill their
academic potential.
Benefits for Parents
K5 makes life easier for parents by allowing for effective, independent study by kids. Simplified
interfaces, automatic lesson selection, student tracking and reporting all contribute to minimize
the amount of daily supervision required.
Who we are

K5 Learning was founded by parents who wanted better learning tools available to their kids for

home use. In 2010, we licensed the very best reading and math software, used by thousands of

students in hundreds of schools, from leading U.S. education companies. K5 Learning is
formed from the combination of this award winning software

 

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Program Costs
K5 is available on a subscription basis for $25/month or $199/year with substantial discounts for
siblings. Each subscription includes a free math and reading assessment and unlimited use of
each of K5’s four programs, K5 Reading, K5 Math, K5 Spelling and K5 Math Facts. A 14 day
free trial is available.

 

You can sign up for your free 14 day trial here!

 

* I was given a free six week trial of this product for review. Opinions are my own.

Our Honeymoon 12 Years Later

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I thought it would be fun to tell you about my honeymoon, 12 years after the fact. I might not remember everything about that week but I do remember enough.

photo 2We got married on August 3rd, 2002 in Santa Rosa, CA. The reception ended about 4 or 5 in the afternoon and after that we drove to San Francisco where we were going to spend the first night. We paid a lot for that hotel room but this was a once in a life thing. The room was tiny. I was kind of shocked but it worked well. We were starving, especially me. I didn’t eat anything at the reception. I should have as the food was really good. We decided to eat at Bubba Gumps. That was where we had our first meal as Husband and Wife.

The next day we drove down to San Luis Obispo for our 2nd night at the Madonna Inn. What a fun hotel! Our room was blue with a circle bed. I had heard a lot of stories of the place but it was the first time I had been there. I don’t remember too much about the area other than finding a buffet to eat at.

The next morning we drove to Long Beach to park the car. We got on a ship and headed for Catalina Island where we would spend the rest of our honeymoon. We thought a lot about where to go. We thought about Hawaii but being on a budget it just wouldn’t have worked. Catalina is an Island off the cost of Southern California and is the next best thing.

We checked into our bed and breakfast and thought it was too cute. Our room even had a book with all the other people who had stayed there. We had to add our names of course.

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We spent four nights on the island and it was so much fun. My bridesmaids had gotten together to buy us a few fun packages. I can’t quite remember all of them but one was a kayak trip which was so much fun we went back and did it again. We went out on it and found a small little beach. We had bought these amazing sandwiches, put them in a waterproof case and had a picnic on this little beach. It was the best. We also saw a movie at the old casino turned movie theator, I think it was the movie Signs. We also spent time at the beach and ate ate ate. I recently found an Instagram account for a Catalina Food Tour. I told Ben we should look into that next time and he told me that we already did our own tour and that was true. When you are there for that many meals, you get to try a lot of different places.

What I love about Catalina is just the laid back vacation like atmosphere. It was nice. It was such a great week to bond as husband and wife. We did not live together before we got married so staying together like that was new. I started to see Ben as my husband, not my boyfriend anymore. It was the time we needed to bond as a couple.

 

photo 3After those four nights we headed back to our car then drove back to Santa Rosa to really start our lives together. We returned home to a living room full of presents, a fridge full of cake and flowers and a bed filled with jelly beans courtesy of the wedding party.

Looking back that trip seems like such a long time ago. Getting married was such a long time ago. I was only 23! Now I am looking towards 36. Big difference.

We were able to go back to Catalina for our 7th anniversary that hit over R&R. That was an amazing trip as well but so very different from our honeymoon. It was also a little strange since Ben had been gone for 8 months before R&R. We knew each other but also needed to get back to being “us” again. It was also a time to regroup and bond but for a different reason.

I am hoping we can go back for another anniversary in the future. Maybe next year?

 

Why I Started A Blog

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It was fall of 2009 and we were almost at the end of our 2nd deployment. I was in Germany with an almost three-year old and a five-year old.

I was stressed out and ready for my husband to get back home. I didn’t know too many other Army wives at the time. Only a handful I had met over the few years in Germany. I knew I wasn’t the only one who felt tired and worn down from deployments with no real end in sight.

Awifehad tried starting a similar blog before but I didn’t really do much with it. I also had a blog for just friends and family that I started when I was pregnant with my oldest. Now that Facebook was getting more and more popular, I didn’t think I needed a blog to update friends and family anymore.

So when I decided to make this new blog, I wanted it to be different.  I wanted to share my stories and connect with other Military spouses. I had no idea how big the Milspouse blogging community was.

I found myself on Twitter and met a few other spouses and started visiting their blogs.

Within a few months I had several followers and I loved where my blog was going.

It’s been almost five years since that time. My blog has changed names, remember when I was Julie the Army wife? We have been through two more deployments, we left Germany and my husband got out of active duty and is now in the National Guard. We even had another baby.

Looking back over the changes in my life I am so glad I blogged through all of them. I can look back and read about it and remember those times.

When it comes to why I still blog, it is because I enjoy having a place to express myself. I also hope my readers can relate to what I am talking about whether it is something about having children or something about a deployment or a new book I read.

At this point I am not sure what the next three years will look like Military wise. Most likely we won’t be going through any deployments. Because we still live near Ft. Campbell, we still have a lot of Military in our lives. From the Commissary to the people I meet and hang out with. It will be interesting to see how my blog changes during these post Active duty years.

Do you have a blog? Why did you start it and what keeps you going?

My Trip To St. Louis And The Scentsy Family Reunion

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I just got back from St. Louis and had an amazing time! I was there for the 10th anniversary Scentsy Family Reunion!

I had SO much fun!

I got to spend time with Scentsy sisters, see a new city, learn about new products and get inspired. I was also able to go to lunch with a high school friend I had not seen in years!

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I arrived on Tuesday and met up with one of my roommates. We hadn’t met before but had connected on Facebook. Since our other two roommates were getting in later, her friend picked us up and took us to the hotel. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and it was great. I was impressed by the free breakfast that they had each morning. We dropped our stuff off and headed back to the airport to pick up the other two. One of them was my Scentsy “niece” I had met last year and the other was a friend of our other roommate.

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Later that night I got to go to a Sarah Bareilles concert. Now I knew some her of songs but I didn’t know a thing about her. I loved the concert. She was a lot of fun. Found out she is exactly my age and from California too. I am claiming her song Brave as my theme song for the rest of the year 🙂

On Wednesday morning we had a 5K put on by Scentsy. My group walked and made it in about an hour. We all had to wear silly socks which was fun. After the walk I didn’t take the bus back with everyone else. I waited for my friend Heather to come pick me up. I met Heather in high school. We were both on the swim team but she moved to Rhode Island when we were 16. We have kept in touch and my mom and I got to visit her when we were 19. We also got to go to her wedding in 2005 and that was the last time we had seen each other. I am so glad it worked out to visit with her. She is now a mom of three kids too and I love that. It is a great feeling being friends with someone for so long.

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We went to eat at Fitz’s which was great. You can watch them bottle the drinks while you are eating. We then walked around a little and went to the Arch. We didn’t go inside but it was nice to see it up close.

Fitz's Rootbear

She dropped me off at my hotel and I met up with my Scentsy friends again. We had a dinner together and then went to the Scentsy pep rally and Train concert. We got to see a lot of the new warmers and scents coming out in the fall. In Oprah like fashion, they gave everyone in the audience a set of mini testers for the fall. That was super fun and exciting! Train was amazing too.

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Thursday we started all the sessions. This year in addition to the general sessions we had “breakout” ones too. We got to pick which classes we wanted to go to based on what we wanted to learn about. It was great! Thursday was free night but I had gotten some free tickets to the Cardinal’s game so me and three others went together. After the game we decided to hit the Scentsy store again and then a friend and I went to have a very late dinner at the pub under our hotel. We sat there looking through the new catalog which was nice.

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Friday was a bunch of inspirational speakers including John O’Leary. If you have not heard of him, go like his page. He has been through a lot but he is so encouraging and has a great sense of humor too. We got to listen to a few consultant speakers as well. I love that. I love hearing from people who have had so much success with the company. It really inspires me.

After the last session it was time for me to head home. I had to go early because Ben had drill the next day. It was hard to leave but in the end it worked out okay. They still hadn’t announced where the new Reunion was going to be and what our incentive trip was. I was waiting to hear from friends and got the news right before I boarded the plane. It was pretty much all I thought about on the flight.

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Next year the Scentsy Family Reunion will be in Las Vegas! I am SO excited about this!

Our incentive will be a cruise in Puerto Rico which is super exciting! I love cruises so I will be trying my hardest to win this one.

I would really encourage anyone in direct sales to try to attend their annual conference. It is investing in your business, allowing you the opportunity to meet and bond with others and inspiring you for the next year. And learning about the new products ahead of time is also a big plus.

I also loved that I got to visit St. Louis. My Mom lived there for a few years and it was great to see party of a city that my Grandparents called home for a time.