Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life

Julie

The Art of Work by Jeff Goins Book Review

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The Art of work

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. affiliate links were also used. 

The Art of Work A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do by Jeff Goins

I had the opportunity to review the book Art of Work by Jeff Goins. In his book, Jeff Goins explains how to abandon the status quo and live a life that matters with true passion and purpose. Through personal experience, a lot of different stories from people in different parts of the world and research done on the mysteries of motivation and talent, the author shows readers how to find their vocation and what to expect along the way.

I really enjoyed this book because I am not quite sure yet what my calling might be. This book helped me think about figuring it out in a different way. I took a lot of notes when reading this book and I don’t always feel like I need to do that with a non-fiction book. One of messages I got that really stuck with me was that having a calling doesn’t mean that it would be easy to follow it. Sometimes I think that if something is meant to work out it will be easy to get there but that isn’t always the case. I loved the personal examples he gave to back that up.

Another great truth I read about in the book was that every calling is marked by a season of insignificance. A period of time when nothing make sense. How many times have I felt like this?

I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a little help of help figuring out what they want to do in their life and needs to read about other people who have figured out what their life purpose was going to be.

Have you read the Art of Work yet???

 

 

A Simple Thanksgiving

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A Simple Thanksgiving

A Simple Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving! The time of year when everyone is running around trying to get it all done. When I was in college I always flew home for Thanksgiving the Tuesday or Wednesday before. This was fun because I would usually see someone I knew from high school flying in to our home town and it just felt like everyone was trying to get home for the holidays.

When I got married we decided we would switch and every other year we would spend with each of our families. In 2002 we went down to see my family for Thanksgiving and then 2003 we hosted it at our home, my sister-in-law made the turkey since I had not learned how to do that quite yet. In 2004 we were back with my family with our two month old son. By 2005 we were in a totally different place. Ben was in Germany, I was in Kentucky and I spent the day with a friend.

In 2006 I was in Germany and spent the next four Thanksgivings over there. I learned how to make my own turkey, which was a fun and silly experience. Some years my husband was deployed and we spent it with friends. Other years it was our little family. Those years we had a simple Thanksgiving. In 2008 we had Thanksgiving a week early because he was going to deploy on Thanksgiving day, thanks Army.

We moved back to the US and for a few of the years since we have gotten together with friends. Other years I made a simple Thanksgiving dinner for my little family. That is what I plan to do this year as well.

How do I have a simple Thanksgiving?

I buy a smaller sized turkey, I only make what I know we will eat, sorry no cranberry sauce here none of us want it. I am not a big cook, most nights I really don’t like to cook but I do enjoy cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my family. There is no stress because I don’t have to worry about cooking the perfect meal. I just make what is going to work for us. I put the turkey in when I want to, we snack if we get hungry and then we eat when it is done.

I see people rushing, heading off to see family, planning big get-together and I admit, I get a little jealous about that. I would love to spend a Thanksgiving in California again, doing what I did growing up, being with my family, enjoy time with friends I don’t get to see very often. However, it just wasn’t possible for us to do that this year. This year we are going to have a simple Thanksgiving and that is okay. It can be a time to relax a bit with my boys, remember what we are thankful for and eat a good meal.

I know that in the future Thanksgiving will become busy again, especially once we move back to the West Coast. We will have family to visit, bigger meals to cook, more things to. So when I start to feel sad that I miss too many people over Thanksgiving, or sad that we are not spending it in a crazy mix of family fun, I remember that in the future, when this holiday becomes more stressful, I will look back to these simple Thanksgivings with fond memories.

How will you be spending Thanksgiving this year? Will you be having a simple Thanksgiving too?

 

Military Family Appreciation Month And The MetLife Tricare Dental Program

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This post was sponsored by the MetLife TRICARE Dental Program as part of an Ambassador Program for Influence Central!

Military Family Appreciation Month And The MetLife Tricare Dental Program

November is Military Family Appreciation Month!

It’s a great time to think about life as a Military family and everything we have gone through. Ten years ago my husband joined the Military. In 2014 we became a National Guard family. It’s been an interesting road for us. We have experienced so much over the years. First as an active duty family and now as a National Guard one. There are big differences between the two but through both of them we have been apart of the Military world.

We have been through four deployments and each one has been very different for us. From the amount of time he was gone to what he did while he was there to how old my kids were and how they reacted to it. A baby is going to be different then a five-year old with how they deal with the deployment. No matter how old the child is, it is hard to have to comfort them when they miss their Dad. They don’t quite understand why he would have to be gone for so long and I had to remind them that he would be home soon. As an adult I can understand his mission but it is hard to explain that to a child. I often times would tell them that he was off “protecting the United States” and as they got older that was easier for them to understand.

Growing up my Dad was home all the time. I often think about how different it has been for my own boys and that makes me a little sad. I have to remind myself that being married to someone in the Military can be difficult and I am not always going to be happy about it. The best thing for me to do is be there for my boys when they miss my husband and help them understand why he is in the profession he is in.

I also want to make sure that my kids have what they need, including dental care. We signed up for the TRICARE Dental Program (TDP) back when my husband first signed up for the Army. Then in 2014 we signed up as a National Guard family.

There are a lot of great benefits to those who sign up for Metlife’s Tricare Dental Program. You and your children will receive two cleanings and two exams per year and zero cost when you see a network dentist. A long with this you will have two topical fluoride applications that are covered in a consecutive 12-month period and you will also have a $1,300 Dental Program Annual Maximum per enrollee per plan year. You can read more about the benefits by going to the Metlife TDP website.

If you are a Military family, go to the Beneficiary Enrollment website and enroll your family in the program. Those in the National Guard or Reserves can be enrolled themselves too. Your dedicated Military service entitles you to this benefit.

Don’t forget to find Metlife TDP on Facebook and Twitter as well…:)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetLifeTDP
Twitter: https://twitter.com/metlifetdp

Enjoy the rest of Military Family Appreciation month!

Shopping For Toys With Groupon Coupons

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*This is a sponsored post. I wanted to promote this topic with my readers. All opinions are my own. 

Shopping For Toys With Groupon Coupons

Shopping For Toys With Groupon Coupons

The holidays are coming, Christmas and Hanukkah will be here before we know it. I am already trying to figure out our budget and what we will be getting the boys. My three are pretty into Legos and Minecraft these days. My 5-year-old is also a huge Power Rangers fan. I have been asking my three boys for their Christmas lists so I have an idea of what they are most interested in.

I like to find deals on the toys we get our boys whether it is for their birthday or Christmas. I never want to pay full price unless I can’t find a deal. We also like to buy toys from Toys R Us. I find that they do have a lot of the toys we are looking for. I have recently found out about Groupon Coupons. You can use them to get special deals from places like Toys R Us. How great is that?

Right now you can get a $10 gift card to Toys R Us when you spend $75 or more between 12/1/15-12/24/15 by going through Groupon Coupons. That extra $10 can make a difference in your holiday budget.

You can also head on over and check out some of the deals of the week. Some are online and others are in-store only.

For example:
Lego Dimensions“Free $10 gift card when you buy any regular-priced LEGO Dimensions Starter Pack and any LEGO Dimensions Team, Level or Fun pack“

 

Lego Dimensions

“2 for $24 ALL LEGO Dimensions Fun Packs reg $16.99 ea.“

Discount toys for Christmas

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“20% off ALL Star Wars 3.75″ figures & vehicles“

You can check out the rest of the deals on the Groupon Coupons Toys R Us page or take a look around at other Groupon Coupon pages if you are looking for other types of gifts. They can change often so make sure to check back throughout the next few weeks to find the deals that can help you save some money this holiday season.

I plan to keep checking to see what deals they have and if I can save money on toys I was planning on getting my boys anyway.

Have you started your holiday shopping yet???

 

 

 

 

When Your Youngest Child Turns Five

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When Your Youngest Child Turns Five

Today my youngest son turns 5! If you have been with my blog for a while you might remember that I got pregnant with him right after we moved back to the US after four years in Germany. In some ways I just can’t believe we are here. My youngest child is now five years old! I feel like I hit a bit milestone there.

When your oldest child turns 5, there is celebration. There is something about that number that means your child is no longer a preschooler. They are a regular kid, getting ready to start kindergarten. As each of my kids have hit 5 I have felt that we have graduated to a new stage of parenting. But now that the “baby” is five, it is a really big deal.

When your youngest child turns five you feel like one big part of your parenting is over for good. Diapers and baby food and preschool choices and long sleepless nights are very much in the past. You think back to those years and wonder how you got through them. You see friends going through those years and want to tell them that they will get though them too. But you are not experiencing that time of life anymore. You have graduated. You are in high school looking back at your junior high years.

When Your Youngest Child Turns Five

When your youngest child turns five you think about how will never be the mom of the “littlest ones” anymore. Soon all of your children will be school aged and you will be away from them during the school day. You won’t have a mid-week lunch playdate, you won’t have to fill all those hours that used to be consumed with taking care of a child. It’s different and there is no going back.

When your youngest child turns five you remember when motherhood started and all the different challenges and phases you have been through. You think about how you used to have to rock your sweet baby to sleep and how you couldn’t decide whether to start them on food at five months or six. You remember worrying about what car seat you need to buy and whether your child would learn how to use the bathroom. Through learning to walk, talk and potty training has been replaced with other “big kid” skills that you know your children need to learn.

In some ways it is strange to be in this place. Kids grow up. I know this but to see our family shifting yet again seems so strange sometimes. To know that in about six months we will have all school aged kids and be passed the preschool years forever. It’s a strange feeling because it does not seem like that long ago that I was putting a 1 and 3-year-old in a double stroller and heading to the Commissary. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was waking up a few times a night feeding my small baby. It really doesn’t.

When Your Youngest Child Turns Five

As I look ahead I am excited. Every year brings a little bit more independence from my kids. Every year they get closer to the men they are going to be. I never wanted to rush that and I don’t think I have. Every year brings with it good things as well as challenges, some harder than others.

When your youngest child turns five you are reminded of everything you have done as a mom and think about everything you will do. You see your kids as children and not babies and yet still remember them that way as well. It’s an interesting feeling.

As I look at my sweet boys who are now 5, 8 and 11 and think about where we are in life and I just smile. We made it. Through the baby years, through the toddler years and through the preschool ones. We are now raising three boys, ready to take on the world in their own special way.

Did you feel similar when your youngest turned five???

 

 

 

Paris, War and the Military Spouse

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Paris, War & the Military SpouseParis, War and the Military Spouse

Paris was attacked on Friday. This was big news. I found out on social media which is where I find out about most worldly events, I am not a big tv news watcher. I started seeing people posting photos of visits to Paris and that we should pray for them.  I didn’t really understand why until I saw what had happened.

Paris was attacked by terrorists. About 130 people were killed that night. Such a tragedy.

I have had a few days to think about all this. I have read a few blog posts about it and seen so many social media posts about it as well. Everyone seems to have an option about what happened, about how the US is acting, about what we should be doing to support Paris and about why we didn’t do anything about other attacks in the last week, attacks in places like Beirut, Syria and Kenya. There is a lot going on in this world right now.

Is it fair to blame people who are supporting Paris but were silent on the other places? I don’t know. I for one didn’t know much about them until after Paris happened. I will admit I probably did see news articles about those things happening. And I am sure my thought was, “That is so very sad, yet another tragedy in that part of the world.” I didn’t do much else. I didn’t share photos praying for those places, I didn’t change my Facebook profile to their flags. I just went along in my day.

Paris gets hit and it affects me differently. Paris is close to Germany, where we used to live. People in Paris are more like me then people in those other places. Still, I can’t help but feel guilty about not really acknowledging what is happening in other parts of the world. I think focusing on Paris makes sense because we feel like Paris is like us. We feel connections to Paris that we don’t to other places. Is this the way it should be? Probably not but it is what happens. If you tell me that your friend’s sister’s neighbor’s house burned down, I am going to feel sad about that. If you tell me someone in my neighborhood’s house burned down, it would affect me much more. I would look into more tangible ways of helping them. I would feel more connected to it. This is just reality.

So what can we learn from this? That maybe we should look at what is going on everywhere. We should be aware of the World, not just the Western part of it. All of it matters.

There is another part of what happened in Paris that worries me. War. More war. More fighting. More deployments. I don’t know of very many Military Spouses that heard about Paris and didn’t think about what it could mean for their own spouse. If feels like the wars we have been fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are never going to end, regardless of what any politician says.

When you live in a community where people are still deploying, you know that things are not over, they are still happening and people are still going off to war.

I am not sure what the solution to ISIS is. It’s a scary thing to think that people would hate other people so much that they could go in and kill them. The thought of that makes me want to burst into tears. But what do we do about that? What should America do? Keep sending people to the same places over and over? Back in 2003 I thought that was the solution. That we should send our troops in to do what was needed. It is now the end of 2015 and I just don’t know anymore.

What can America do when we have been at war for so long? When the Military is tired?

I don’t know the answers to these questions. I don’t know what would be right or moral or what should happen? I don’t know if what we are doing is going to help or make things worse. I have to trust in those that have the power to make those decisions but it is a difficult thing to do. Especially when my husband could be dirrectly affect by the choices those people make.

I know so many people who have been affected by war because I have been a Military Spouse for 10 years now. I know how some don’t come home and some come home broken. I see how marriages can break up and things are never the same after time over there.

I think of all of these things when I see that more war might be needed and all I can do is pray.

Pray for those areas, all of them, in Europe and Asia and the rest of the world. Pray for the innocent people who might die because of everything that is going on. Pray for the Military families that will see more war than any other generation. And hope that the US and our allies can make the right decisions that in the end will lead to a more peaceful world.

Lil’ Troops Review And Giveaway

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*I was sent some of these toys for review. 

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Have you ever heard of Lil’ Troops collectible sets? I had the chance to review these two sets.

Lil’ Troops are the ultimate collectible military action figures officially licensed by the U.S. Army.  Each figure stands at 3″ tall and comes with a non-violent accessory such as the American flag, night vision goggles, or water canteen, etc.  A portion of each Lil‘ Troops sale also goes to support to U.S. Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs aka the MWR.Lil’ Troops

I gave these to my four-year old to play with and he loved them! He knew right away that the “Infantryman” was Daddy. I thought the accessories included were super cute too. I think it is great for kids to see toys that look like what their parents do for a living. These would be perfect for any Military kid and a great gift for a child whose parent is just starting out on their Military journey.

Lil' troops

The Alpha Squad includes:

The Infantryman

The Rescue Pilot

The Urban Trooper

The Bravo Squad includes:

The Desert Trooper

The Recon Scout

The Recruit

You can find them at Toys R Us for $19.99

Visit The Official Lil Troops Facebook Page or their Website.

Want to win your own set of the Alpha and Bravo collectible sets? Enter the Rafflecopter below and good luck 🙂

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

Keeping You And Your Military Family Safe

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lifelock

Keeping You And Your Military Family Safe 

As a part of a Military family I am aware of the chance of identity theft. It has happened to us in the past as well as finding out that one of our bank accounts was compromised. When someone steals from you it can feel surreal like it wasn’t supposed to be something that you would ever have to deal with. The reality is that it can happen and you should do what you can to keep you and your family’s information safe. You don’t want to end up in a situation where someone has gained access to your personal information or has been able to take money from you.

A few years ago I visited my bank online like I do every morning and saw a few charges that I was not familiar with. They were all for purchases from an online site. I thought this was strange because even though I do work online I was not aware of the company that my money was going to. It wasn’t a ton of money but I knew something strange was going on. I called my bank and we were able to get it figured out. I ended up having to open a new account and had to close out the old one. That took some time and was quite a hassle but it was the safest thing we could do.

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I hated the feeling that someone stole my card information and thought they could get away with it. Just like how you would feel violated if someone broke into your home, you feel that way when someone has broken into your bank account. Ever since that experience I have been a lot more careful about my information. I use a special card for online purchases and I make sure I am aware of who is getting my bank information.

It seems like the more that technology advances the more ways there are to steal someone’s information or their identity.

Identity theft can be a huge problem for military families. With all the moving around and traveling we military families might do, sometimes things get overlooked and it can make it easier for a thief to steal information. One way to to reduce the risk of identity theft use LifeLock. 

 

 

LifeLock offers three layers of protection:

  • Detect- They use advanced technology to constantly monitor over a trillion data points to help detect suspicious uses of your identity information to get loans, credit and services in your name.
  • Alert-LifeLock uses a very good alert system. LifeLock will send you a potential fraud alert by text, phone or email*. If you confirm that the suspicious transaction is fraudulent, your LifeLock team is on it.
  • Restore- LifeLock’s US-based Identity Protection Agents are ready to help with identity theft restoration. If your identity is ever compromised, an Identity Restoration Specialist takes charge.

 

As you can see, LifeLock will have your back! They understand what identity thieves do to gain information and how they plan to use it. 

If you are interested in signing up, LifeLock has a great special offer for Active and Retired Military personnel and their families.

Their military offer is 30 DAYS FREE, 15% OFF, PLUS A FREE AMERICAN FLAG. Promo code to take advantage of this offer is WESALUTE3.

Make sure you and your family’s information is safe and secure and go on over to LifeLock to sign up.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of LifeLock. The opinions and text are all mine.