Julie

Guest Post: Ft. Rucker Army Post

July 14, 2012 by Julie 1 Comment

Hi guys! I am in California for vacation and wanted to have a few guest posts share with you about where they call home at the moment! If you would like to guest post about your duty station or location, please email me at soldierswifecrazylife (at) gmail (dot) com

Chantal blogs over at Scattered Seashells. She is an Army Wife stationed at Ft. Rucker with sweet little baby girl.

I wasn’t so excited to go back to the South. We had been living in Hawaii for two and a half years, and well, what can I complain about? It was the perfect amount of sunny, there were beaches, there was delicious food, and plenty of stuff to do. Though by the time we were supposed to move, we were ready to leave. It was time to go somewhere else.

But the South?

My husband got accepted into flight school shortly after returning from deployment, so we were headed to southern Alabama – Fort Rucker, to be exact. While we were excited over his new career path, our only experience of the South had been Fort Benning, Georgia, and we hadn’t liked it there much. That was all we could think about! Would Alabama be the same?

I changed my views about Alabama (http://cshels.blogspot.com/2012/04/alabama.html) shortly after we arrived. Goodness, it was so different! Sure, it’s still as hot (probably even hotter…) and crazy humid, but I can’t help but love the scenery. It’s so green. We come from Colorado, where it’s brown, so seeing green everywhere is so refreshing.

There isn’t much to do here unless you look. A lot of people head down to Panama City Beach or Destin on the weekend since it’s a nearly two hour drive, but to us, spoiled by the Hawaii beaches, it doesn’t compare! Also, we have a baby, so it makes it a bit more difficult to head down there for the day. However, it’s the place to be for a lot of people.

If you’re not beach goers or don’t want to do the drive, what can you do around the area? There’s Dothan, the biggest city, about thirty minutes away. There you’ll find your chain restaurants and shopping – Target, Kohl’s, Old Navy, etc. Closer to home are three cities bordering the post: Enterprise, Daleville and Ozark. Not much to do except Wal-Mart!

But the area has its charms. There are some local farmer’s markets and farms where you can get some fresh produce. There are events on post for kids. There’s even a lake on post to check out!

We like it here and are even considering coming back at some point. It’s quiet and the people are so friendly. Fort Rucker has definitely changed my views of the South!

Guest Post: Ft. Bliss Army Post

July 12, 2012 by Julie 7 Comments

My next guest post is from Sarah who blogs at My Life, Army Style.

I have been an Army wife for 5 years now and I definitely view this life as an adventure. I currently live in El Paso/Ft. Bliss, TX with my husband and 3 adorable cats, and my blog is quite a random mixture of food, life updates, opinion pieces, and the military.

Hello from Ft. Bliss!

I’m excited to be participating in this guest series introducing various duty stations, and I will go ahead and announce up front that this review is going to be mostly positive. =)

Ft. Bliss is definitely an Army post that has gotten a pretty bad rap over the years. I got quite a few “Ugh, I’m sorry” responses when I found out we were moving there. I think part of this came from back when it was just a small, old Air Defense post, but it has grown SO MUCH in the past few years.

Last year they finished a brand new PX/commissary/theater/restaurants/shopping plaza called Freedom Crossing, and it is unlike anything on any other military installation at this point in time. Check out the link for it below and prepare to be jealous! The theater is fantastic and shows movies as soon as off-post theaters do. Restaurants currently include Buffalo Wild Wings, an Irish Pub, Dairy Queen, Smashburger, and a sushi place, along with the usual PX food court options, and Texas Roadhouse will be opening a location soon as well. It is always a happening place to be on weekend evenings, reminding me of a mini downtown city center. The gyms are all new or recently remodeled, nicely outfitted, and offer outstanding options for fitness classes and events. None of them offer childcare but there are CDCs nearby. Bliss is very good at planning fun events throughout the year and there is always plenty going on for families to do.

Housing is decent on post. Availability is low right now due to some units being moved here from overseas, but it is beginning to level out. A few neighborhoods are old and need remodeling, and do not seem to be worth BAH from what I have heard. But higher enlisted and officer housing is very nice. An advantage to Bliss is that finding nice, affordable neighborhoods off post is not very difficult. There are many parts of town that are safe and nice-looking, within 15-20 minutes from post. Schools on post and off seem to be rather hit or miss, just like any post or large city, and seem to boil down to individual experiences most of the time. I do not have any kids though so this is an area I’m not very familiar with.

The city of El Paso can be a little difficult to get accustomed to, but if you go into it with an open mind and a determination to appreciate something different, it is very likeable! There is plenty of shopping, including 3 malls and one outlet mall, a thriving downtown area with lots of events and concerts, incredible food (and not just Mexican, although there is certainly plenty of that!), and plenty of outdoor opportunities in the immediate area and within a few hours of driving distance. The city takes safety very seriously and as such there is very little to worry about despite being so close to such a turbulent border city as Juarez. Some people find the scenery here to be ugly and the weather intolerable, but I personally think the mountains and desert views (and the sunsets/sunrises!) to be breathtaking, and the dry heat is so much easier to take than the humid summers elsewhere in the country. And you will certainly never be low in Vitamin D! =)

I hope this gives you a little peek into what it’s like at Ft. Bliss, TX and if you ever get orders here, remember this Army wife has no horror stories to share! =)

Links:

https://www.bliss.army.mil/

http://www.blissmwr.com/

http://www.ftblissfamilyhousing.com

http://freedomcrossingatfortbliss.com/

http://visitelpaso.com/

Guest Post: Langley Air Force Base

July 10, 2012 by Julie 1 Comment

Hi! I’m LC from Faith & Deployments (link: http://flightlinefightline.blogspot.com). I was born and raised in what is known as: Hampton Roads Virginia. For 24 years it was my home. It’s where I went to school, college, got my first place of my own, my first full time job, met and married my husband, bought a house, and started our lives together.

Living in Hampton Roads Virginia had my incredibly spoiled. I used to hate it before I realized how much there is to do in the area. My husband was stationed at Langley AFB for six years and even he misses it.

If you’re getting stationed at:

Norfolk Naval

Fort Eustis

Yorktown Naval Weapons Station

Coast Guard Training Base

JEB Little Creek

Dam Neck Naval

Fort Story

Langley AFB

Then you are in for a treat. They are all within an hour of each other. Langley AFB to Norfolk Naval is a whopping 10 minutes (without traffic). It is a highly heavy military area, however the stores/restaurants are not as “military friendly” as many others. Since the area survives on more than 1 billion dollars of income because of the bases, few stores and restaurants offer discounts.

But don’t let the lack of discounts discourage you, the area is home to more historical significance than I have ever seen. Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown are all there. The birth of our USA began on these very lands.

During the summer the local area is flooded with outdoor festivals (food & beverage), concerts (free & cheap), the beach, amusement parks, and anything else under the sun you came dream of. The area from Williamsburg to the North Carolina Border is flooded with things to do 8 months out of the year. From spring until fall, if you are willing to be adventurous you will not be disappointed.

The one disclaimer I will say is that the traffic sucks. There is no way around that. VA has wacky road systems and to get from one peninsula to another (Langley AFB to Dam Neck, JEB, Norfolk Naval) you have to go through tunnels. Now ladies and gents these are always, always, always backed up. This area is full of tourists and military members all on the same schedule of work and there is no avoiding the traffic. But if you can get over that simple fact, there is no reason why you can’t make the most of what the area has to offer. So many military members complain about the traffic and never go out and experience this amazing area surrounded by the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Don’t be one of those families. You will hate Virginia and the area if you do that.

But enough of the area. I’ll give you some insight on Langley AFB since I know it pretty well. It’s home of the fighter jets and one of the biggest Intel headquarters, so the base is giant. One whole side is offices alone and the other is housing. Langley is tearing down their old 40s 50s housing and putting up brand new: Officer, Senior Enlisted, Junior Enlisted housing. These new houses are gorgeous and well worth your BAH in gold. The local area is expensive and many places are not very safe off base, so if you can, live on base. It’s worth the fact alone that the area around the base is pretty sketchy. Wonderful, but some low income families make the area not what it used to be.

The base has separate enlisted and officer spouses clubs and both of them are incredibly active in the community and on base itself. I would definitely check them out if you get a chance.

The base offers tons of things to do for families, but you have to go out and find the information. The biggest complaint I had about the base was it’s lack of communication, even to the active duty members. So if you want the information you will have to work for it, or make friends with the right people: First Shirts, Squadron Commanders, Spouses Club board members, Flight Chiefs, etc.

All in all I loved the area just as much as the base. I lived in the area for 24 years and I miss the area so much more than I thought I would now that I am in the desert.

Guest Post: Goodfellow Air Force Base

July 8, 2012 by Julie 5 Comments

Hi! I’m LC and I blog over at Faith & Deployments (link: http://flightlinefightline.blogspot.com). We recently just had our first PCS from Langley AFB to Goodfellow AFB. For those of you who don’t know, that’s in Texas, inside San Angelo to be exact. San Angelo is the largest “town” in Texas that is not located near an interstate. In fact the closest interstate is over 2 hours away in any direction. The town caters to the military and even the liquor stores give discounts to military. The graciousness of the town is heartwarming and the locals are more than generous on their hospitality and help.

I absolutely love this town, but the base has been more than an adjustment. It is strictly a training base for all branches of the military. There are no planes and the only permanent party members (here for longer than 6 months at a time) are the instructors. Few families move here and only 240 base houses for all 5 branches of the military. So base housing is almost impossible unless you have special circumstances.

That’s okay though because the entire town is teenie tiny (maybe a 20 minute drive from one side to the other) and renting an apartment or house is dirt cheap. Well worth living off base under your BAH limit. Which is a plus since GAFB has the lowest BAH rate of all the US bases.

Getting information on anything is rare and hard to get. Since 80% of the people in the offices are just students waiting for their classes to start they aren’t trained on information of the office they are volunteering in. Be prepared to do lots of research and get a lot of wrong answers. My suggestion is to take names and what branch they are from and when you find the individual you need to speak to, you can give them solid information to try and correct the issue.

Offices and activities on base are on odd operating hours, most of the entire base shuts down 2-3 times a month for “trainings” and this can create a problem with needing doctors’ appointments or papers signed during in-processing or out-processing.

Since the base is a training base the gyms are flooded with military members straight out of basic, lots of marching troops, which create long traffic jams; as the military members are required to march everywhere they go and have their meals at certain times during the day.

Fraternizations of different ranks is strictly enforced on the base as well, regardless if your husband is prior service or not, so be forewarned that it is incredibly hard to find a social group outside of personal interests or a spouses group.

They have a brand new combined spouses club that has been working to do more and gain membership. They mainly cater to moms and mid day activities, but are working hard to do more.

The one blessing and yet it’s a curse about this base is that it is in the middle of Texas. But it’s hours from any airports of awesome cities: 4.5 hours from Dallas, 4 Hours from both San Antonio & Austin, 6 hours from Houston. But it makes it nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

There are so many family-owned businesses that give San Angelo huge amounts of character. Surrounded by a town that idolizes the military, who couldn’t ask for a better base to be at?

Guest Post: Fort Stewart Army Post, GA

July 2, 2012 by Julie 3 Comments

Hello there! My name is Madeline and I blog over at Food, Fitness, and Family. I tend to write about my three favorite things: yummy food, sweaty workouts, and life as a family of three. Beneath the exterior though there is one important aspect of our lives that makes it onto my blog as well: our life as an ARMY family. I am thrilled to be guest posting for Julie today on our amazing duty station of FORT STEWART, GA.

We recently PCSd to Fort Stewart and all I can say is: I’m in LOVE. This is our 3^rd duty station. Previously we have been located at Fort Hood, TX and Fort Leonard Wood, MO. While every duty station has its unique set of amazing attributes, Fort Stewart is by fay my favorite so far and here’s why:

LOCATION

For the geographically challenged (like me) Fort Stewart is located in the deep south along the Georgia coastline. It is a mere 45 miles to Savannah, GA which is one of the most beautiful places in the country in my humble opinion. Savannah is known for its deep historical significance, delicious food (Paula Deen’s restaurant is downtown), and family atmosphere.

Forsyth Park, Savannah

In addition to the close proximity of Savannah, the beach is also right there. Furthermore, within driving distance you have the entire east coast. Atlanta, Orlando (DISNEY!!), Hilton Head Island, Charleston, is all within driving distance. While we actually live closer to Savannah than to base it is an easy commute with minimal traffic. After the chaos of Fort Hood it’s a welcome change.

SOUTHERN CHAM

Fort Stewart is a BEAUTIFUL installation that oozes Southern charm. The buildings are gorgeous and coastal.

Source

There is just something unique about living in the Deep South. People are SO friendly and the entire area is incredibly family friendly. The MWR on post hosts a variety of activities for every member of the family. There is a swimming pool, bowling, and Corkan Family Recreation Area to keep you entertained.

LOCAL ACTIVITIES

Even off-post there is a never-ending supply of activities and festivals for your family to experience. Whether that is the abundance of local farmer’s markets or heading to Tybee Island for kayaking and paddle boarding everyone can find something that they enjoy. For those that like to indulge in retail therapy … there are 2 malls in Savannah, every home store you want, and tons of local boutiques.

I could go on and on about Fort Stewart … I seriously love it here that much! If you’re thinking about moving here or are on orders feel free to shoot me an email at foodfitnessandfamily {at} gmail {dot} com. I would LOVE to chat with you! Thanks again Julie for the opportunity for me to share my love of the south on your blog 🙂

The Clarksville Greenway

June 27, 2012 by Julie 1 Comment

A great place to go in Clarksville is the Clarksville Greenway! It is a great place to walk, run or ride bikes and the kids always love it. There are two paths you can take. Last time we went on the left so this time we went on the right. The boys had their bikes and the hills were too much for them. We didn’t realize that the right way is filled with hills. Next time we bring bikes we will go the left way. You can get to the Greenway by taking Peacher’s Mill Road towards Ft. Campbell Blvd. There should be a sign that says “Clarksville Greenway” and you will drive by a bunch of houses before you find it at the end of the road.

So pretty there!

Tired boy

Walking back after riding bikes for a while.

Cute baby!

Brothers!

Daddy and Baby J

Daddy and Drew

My boys!

Leading Lady Bra Review

June 25, 2012 by Julie 1 Comment

Leading Lady is a premiere intimate apparel company dedicated to creating comfortably functional, remarkably affordable, stylish and easy-to-wear bras, camis and sleepwear. A family owned and operated business, Leading Lady has been expertly tailoring nursing and full figure bras for top brands and retailers across North America for more than 70 years. Leading Lady’s comprehensive line of nursing and full figure intimates – including sexy stretch lace wire-free and underwire bras, supportive and seamless sport and yoga bras, and cozy sleep and leisure bras – can be purchased directly on LeadingLady.com.

Leading Lady is proud to celebrate “Leading Ladies” everywhere through its products, programs and philanthropic activities. Leading Lady is committed to supporting military families, as well as a variety of organizations and issues relevant to women across the country. Follow Leading Lady on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

I have always struggled with finding good yet pretty bras for my size. Usually if I am in a store and see some cute bras they either don’t have my size or are not comfortable at all. It is almost like the bra manufactures don’t like larger sizes for some reason. This is why I was excited to do a bra review for Leading Lady. I was able to chose two bras to try. I decided on the Molded Padded Seamless Underwire Full Figure Bra in “Deep Claret” and the Lace Cup Underwire Full Figure Bra.

I decided to go with my normal size, 40D and received my bras in just a few days. After wearing both bras a few times I have to say I am in LOVE with these bras. I love that I now have a pretty lace bra that fits and is comfortable for me. I also love the bright color of the Molded one and would love to order a few more in other colors. Not everone is a fan of underwire and Leading Lady also has the wire-free options which is nice. If you don’t know your size there is a great calculator on the site.

The Leading Lady Military Friends & Family discount code is MBLOG20 and offers 20% off site-wide July 1-7. (The code cannot be combined with any other offer.)

If you are bigger on top like I am or are in need of nursing bras, I would really suggest checking out Leading Lady 🙂 I know I will be ordering from them again in the future.

* Leading Lady provided me with two bras for review and all options about product are my own!

The 10 Most Memorable Moments of Our Marriage

June 20, 2012 by Julie 14 Comments

On August 3rd we will celebrate 10 years of marriage! 10 years! A whole decade! During the last 10 years we have done things and lived places we never thought were possible. We have been through tough and challenging times and been through some pretty awesome times. I thought it would be fun to make a list of the top 10 most memorable moments from the last 10 years! I am not going to count our wedding day since it is a given that was pretty awesome 🙂

1. Finding out we were having a baby boy! In May of 2004 we had just gotten back from a really fun trip down to San Diego and Orange County. I still remember walking out of the hospital after the ultrasound with the name of our first child. As soon as they told us it was a boy, we knew he was going to be our Daniel.

2. The births of our 3 children. Having a baby is amazing, it really is. To know that we created these 3 little boys is amazing. I have always wanted to be a Mommy and will always remember the days that a new little boy join our family.

3. The homecomings. Over the last 6.5 years Ben has been deployed three times as well as a bunch of other times he has been away for different reasons. The homecomings are always so wonderful! Just to see him again and know that he is done being away from us for a while is so nice.

4. Packing up everything and moving from California to Kentucky. In 2005 we decided it would be best to head to Kentucky because of the high cost of living in California. It was so hard to say goodbye to family and friends and I do wonder what life would be like if we had stayed but I am glad we did it. Ben quit his job, we packed up everything and drove east to our new home.

5. Our Mediterranean Cruise. This cruise was amazing and our family got to see so much! I am so glad we decided to do this. It really was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

6. Our trip to Catalina for our 7th anniversary. Sometimes the Army does crazy things…like giving Ben his R&R over our 7th anniversary even though he didn’t request it and it was pushed back from his original date 3 weeks earlier. We were able to get away just the two of us to Catalina Island were we went for our honeymoon. It was amazing and we had such a great time! It was so different from when we went the first time. I would like to go again sometime and take the boys. I think they would like it too.

7. Buying our first home. We bought our first home in September of last year. When we were looking at this house we just looked at each other and knew it was what we wanted. It was perfect for us and our little boys.

8. Moving to Germany. It took Daniel and I 4.5 months to get there but once we did it was amazing to think about us living there for a while. It was one of those, “Are we really living in Europe?” moments when Ben finally took me to our new apartment.

9. When Ben join the Army. When I met Ben, the Army was apart of his past. It wasn’t something we even really talked about until we had been married a few years. He didn’t join until we had been married 3.5 years. Making that decision changed the path of our lives.

10. Our 15 month deployment. This was probably the hardest period of time during our marriage. We didn’t see each other for 11 months straight as the deployment kept getting extended. I still think about how odd it is that we lived apart for so long without seeing each other. During that time our marriage looked very different because it was long distance but we made it through and became stronger because of it.

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Julie

* Leading Lady provided me with two bras for review and all options about product are my own!

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