Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life

Julie

The 3 Social Media Sites That Bloggers Should Be Using

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The 3 Social Media Sites That Bloggers Should Be Using

The 3 Social Media Sites That Bloggers Should Be Using

When you start a new blog it is important to also set up social media accounts to go with it. I actually did this differently. I had a Twitter account before I had my blog. It came soon after but still. I decided to join Twitter on a whim back in 2009. I am not even sure why. I started connecting with others, mostly photographers. It was fun to share my work there and see what others were doing.

Once I started my blog I ended up finding other Military Spouses on Twitter and connecting with them. I also started a Facebook page for my blog and a few years later a Pinterest account.

There are a lot of social networks you can join but there are 3 sites that bloggers need to make sure they are on and using on a regular basis 🙂

Twitter- Twitter is a great place to connect with others and share your blog posts. I also like to find other blog posts to read on there as well. It moves very fast and has the biggest learn curve but it is worth checking out. I don’t just tweet about my blog. I tweet about pretty much anything that comes to mind. I use lists to keep up with the people I follow and I also set it up to share my blog posts on there throughout the day.

Facebook- Starting a Facebook page for your blog is pretty easy. You can just use your blog’s name and get it going. Start off sharing the page with your friends and family members. Then their friends will see it and you will start to get likes. You should then talk about your new page on your blog as well as other social media sites. You can join Facebook groups to help get you likes. The Milspouse Blogger’s group I am in is great for this. Growing your Facebook page can be difficult. I still haven’t totally figured it out but there is a lot of advice out there on what to do. I really like Hollie Homer’s videos about how to grow your Facebook page and different tips and tricks to use.

Pinterest- If you are not on Pinterest yet you should get on over there, especially if you have a blog. It can be a great way to generate traffic but it is also a great way to share other’s work as well as find new ideas. I try to always have a photo in my posts that could easily be pinned. Then I make sure to pin it myself to get it started. My hope is that others will repin it either from Pinterest or from my site directly. I started off with a personal account on Pinterst but switched to Business once they started offering that. Changing over is easy to do and you should do it if you are using Pinterest with your blog.

I also really like Instagram and although I am following a lot of people I have met through blogging, I don’t use it as much for my blog. Some people do and have great success with that. I find that because I can’t post a link when I post a photo that it is hard to connect the two. I enjoy sharing photos I have taken, quotes I enjoyed or anything like that. I didn’t include Instagram in my list because I think you can get by without it as a blogger but it can add to your social media experiences when it comes to blogging.

What about you? What are your favorite social media sites to use with your blogging?

Halloween, Your Teeth And The MetLife Tricare Dental Program

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Halloween, Your Teeth And The MetLife Tricare Dental Program

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

I love Halloween! Our whole family does. We always have a good time but in the back of my mind I think about all that candy. I am not sure there are many moms that don’t at least think about it. When thinking about Halloween candy it is a good time to make sure your family is doing what you are supposed to do when it comes to dental health.

It is important to make sure that you are going to the dentist every six months, that you are brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing everyday as well. Taking care of your teeth can go a long way in preventing gum disease as well as other issues that can come up like tooth loss.

As far as your toothbrush goes, find a soft brush and replace it every three months or as need be. Make sure no one in your home is sharing a toothbrush. I try to get different brushes for each of my boys, usually in their favorite color so that we always know whose brush belongs to who. You should also be storing the brushes in an upright position and rinsing them off after each use. Unless you are traveling, it is not a good idea to store the brush in a closed container. Also, try to find a toothpaste with fluoride that your kids will like the taste of. It is harder to get them to brush their teeth if they can’t stand the taste.

With Halloween coming up I know my boys are going to be eating more sugar. That is why I have to make sure we are following that with brushing our teeth each and everyday. I don’t want them to go to sleep with all that sugar on their teeth.

The Metlife Tricare Dental program offers excellent preventive and diagnostic dental care when you visit a network provider. This is what we have used since my husband joined the Military in 2005. Even as a National Guard family we can still use it. For everyone in your plan you will get two cleanings and two exams per year, within a consecutive 12-month period, at no cost, when a network dentist is seen.

To enroll you need to visit www.tricare.mil/bwe. You can also call 1-855-638-8371 Sunday 6:00 p.m. – Friday 10:00 p.m. (EST) except holidays.

Check out their website or social media accounts to find out more!
MetLife TDP website: www.metlife.com/tricare
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetLifeTDP
Twitter: https://twitter.com/metlifetdp

The Road Back From Broken By Carrie Morgan Book Review

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The Road Back From Broken

The Road Back From Broken by Carrie Morgan is a brand new book which comes out today, October 20, 2015!

I had the opportunity to review the book and I was very impressed!

The Road Back From Broken:

For Fitz, having survived means being haunted by the very memories he wants to forget…

Four months after surviving an IED blast in Afghanistan, Army sergeant Jacob Fitzgerald has recovered from his physical injuries but his invisible wounds continue to fester. Devastated by the loss of his friend Peterson, a gifted medic who was killed in the IED attack, Fitz turns to alcohol to dull his pain. But his solace proves short-lived when a DUI crash leaves Fitz one screw-up away from a court martial and he comes home to find his wife Jenn packing her bags.

Desperate to save his marriage and his Army career, Fitz is befriended by Remy, a young Army chaplain haunted by demons of his own. Fitz leans on Remy for support when sobriety proves a mixed blessing, bringing the clarity of mind needed to reconnect with his family while unleashing a flood of vivid, searing flashbacks. As the haunting memories of the IED attack and his fallen comrade send Fitz into a spiral of anguish, he must choose between numbing the pain and losing both his family and his career, or coming to terms with his role in the death of his friend.

Written by Carrie Morgan, whose husband is a an U.S. Army infantry veteran, this book touched on something a lot of those who have been to war or are married to someone who has been to war have been through. This book is a well written strong story about a man who is not dealing well after coming back from his latest deployment. I loved the ties to family and the history of the main character’s family. She touches on the different people who are affected by a soldier’s deployments and the hard years that Military life can bring. She brings up modern issues that those in the Military might be facing and it is a real look inside a soldier’s world.

The Road Back From Broken is available in Paperback and Kindle form from Amazon.

 

  • I received a free copy of this book for review. Affiliate links are used. 

 

Celebrating The Holidays When Your Spouse Is Never Home

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Celebrating The Holidays When Your Spouse Is Never Home

Celebrating The Holidays When Your Spouse Is Never Home

I don’t want to count up the amount of times I have been alone with my children during a holiday. It is not fun. It really takes some of the joy out of it. However, I have learned how to deal with it and how to make the best of it. One thing our family has done that has really helped is deciding to celebrate certain holidays on a different date.

Now for some holidays, when my husband is gone, there isn’t much I can do. Holidays like Halloween and the 4th of July are more community events so I can’t exactly plan to celebrate those on a different day. We just have to enjoy them without my husband, be a little sad about it and hope that next year we will be together. Last 4th of July my husband had his two-week National Guard drill and was gone. We missed him but we enjoyed a pretty cool fireworks show courtsey of my neighbors. We didn’t have as much fun as we would have if he had been home but we still made it work.

Other holidays that are more family centered are easier to change. The two main ones we have done this with for our family are Thanksgiving and Christmas. One year my husband was supposed to deploy on Thanksgiving. The nerve of the Army doing that to us! Well, the mission comes first and that mission said they must leave on Thanksgiving. We could have just decided to skip Thanksgiving that year but I knew my heart would be sad if we did. So we celebrated a week early.

I got up that morning just like it was Thanksgiving. I made most of the dinner, my husband helped with the rest. We were lazy, had fun together and it felt exactly like Thanksgiving even though it was a week before. So when actual Thanksgiving came, it felt like a regular Thursday. We dropped my husband off and we were sad but I didn’t feel like we were missing Thanksgiving together because we had celebrated the week before.

Last Christmas my husband had to be away for work. We didn’t know this until December 18th. So what did we do? We celebrated on December 19th. We told the boys that we would have to celebrate Christmas early, that we notified Santa and that everything would be okay. That night the boys went to bed very excited because it was their Christmas Eve. They woke up the next day to presents under the tree. We did everything we normally did on Christmas from watching the boys play with gifts, to making a nice meal, to just being together. It felt exactly like December 25th! It was great!

Now I know this method won’t work for everyone. And it won’t work for everyone every year. If your husband leaves for deployment in August and won’t be home until February you are probably not going to celebrate Christmas that early. In some cases you will just have to go about the holiday without them knowing that they might be home the next year.

However, if you can work with the dates and celebrate early, do it. It will make the actual day so much easier. You will feel like you already celebrated it. You won’t feel like you are missing as much. You can make your memories for the year and it really doesn’t matter if you celebrated on the actual day. All that matters is that you had your family time together and made a special day before your spouse had to leave.

What do you do about the holidays when your spouse is away? Any special tricks for getting through them?

Amsterdam & The Netherlands

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Amsterdam

While we were overseas we were able to do a little bit of traveling. I am glad we were able to do this.  In May of 2008 I took a USO tour with some friends to visit Amsterdam & The Netherlands. It was a two-day tour but you were supposed to sleep on the bus. I think I was one of the only ones that couldn’t do that but it was still worth it, even though I never got to sleep.

Amsterdam

We were able to go to a cheese farm, a place they made wooden shoes, the Keukenhof where we got to see all of the tulips and beautiful flowers, we took a canal right around Amsterdam and visited a diamond shop. We also had exactly one hour of free time where a friend of mind was able to see the Anne Frank house. The rest of us didn’t think we had enough time to do the tour, although we did get to see the outside. I wish I had been a little more adventurous and done it even if it meant getting on the bus five minutes before we were supposed to be there.

Amsterdam

The USO is a great way to travel if you don’t want to plan the trip yourself. It is good for traveling alone, with your spouse or your friend. You sign up on post, pay the fee and then go where you need to go the day the trip starts. They have day trips, overnight trips and even week-long ones. You can also meet new people on these trips which is a lot of fun. If I didn’t have children when I was in Germany I would have gone on as many trips as I could afford to do but that just wasn’t possible.

Amsterdam

 

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I thought Amsterdam was amazing. I want to go back with my husband and spend a week there. In some ways it reminded me of what New York City would be like, although I have never been there myself. In other ways it reminded me a bit of San Fransisco. It was just big and amazing. Very different from Bavaria and maybe that was why it stood out to me so much. I was used to the German countryside and not a big city.

Amsterdam

I loved looking at the tulips at the Keukenhof.  They were simply amazing and thinking back to that reminds me to look for tulip festivals in the states. I know they probably won’t compare but they would be great to see too.

Amsterdam

When we were in the canal on the boat, I thought it was amazing to think of living on one of those house boats. What a different life that would be from my own. To be that close to water and to have to depend on it. To have a bike and no car. It feels like a different world and I find it fascinating.

That is what I like the most about traveling. Seeing first hand out other people live in different parts of the world. Understanding that my normal is not everyone’s normal and that is a good thing.

Amsterdam

The only part of the trip I would have skipped was the diamond factory. It really wasn’t interesting and they kept us there longer then they normally would have. A diamond went missing and they had to figure out what happened before we could leave.  I wish we could have spent that time in the city, walking around, visiting the Anne Frank house or doing something else more interesting.

Amsterdam

 

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Have you ever been to Amsterdam? What did you think? Have you been on a USO tour?

 

 

 

 

When Being Stationed Overseas is Hard

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When Being Stationed Overseas is HardWhen Being Stationed Overseas is Hard

It’s been 5.5 years since we have returned to the US from Germany. We were over there for four years. In some ways, it seems like a lifetime ago. I look at all the photos from that time and they warm my heart. I think about how simple life was then. How beautiful everything was. How much I got to see. It is easy to forget that our time there wasn’t always easy, especially since my husband was deployed twice for a total of 2 years and 3 months.

I tell people that if they ever get the opportunity to go overseas, they should. Being overseas is an amazing experience and you never know if you will ever get the overseas option again. You might not and this could be your only chance.

What to Expect When You Are Stationed Overseas

It is important to know what to expect when you get over there and how sometimes being overseas can be hard. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go, it just means that you should be aware that when you are over there isn’t necessarily going to be 100% wonderful all of the time. If you think being overseas is going to be like that, you might get really disappointed when life doesn’t work out that way.

Living overseas can be difficult because you will start to miss certain things about the US. You will miss your family and might not be able to see them for the years you are over there. Yes, for some people being overseas means going years without being able to see your family. Not everyone can afford to visit home and not everyone has family that can come visit. You can sometimes feel like you are stuck in a Military world and it can be difficult to take a break from that. You might have small children that are hard to travel with and a spouse who is always gone.

I think being away from family can be the hardest part about living overseas. You can’t go home for the weekend. You can’t even go home for a week. If you go home, it is going to be a huge trip.

Missing Your Home Country

When we were in Germany I started to miss a lot of the restaurants and stores I loved that were in the states. Although there are a lot of great opportunities for new food experiences overseas, sometimes you want something you are used to having on a regular basis. There is a Chilli’s at Ramstein and ended up being closed when we were there. Thinking about that right now with one just 5 minutes away makes me laugh but I was pretty bummed out at the time. The PX will have American food. Ours had Taco Bell, Popeye’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut and a Subway. I told myself I would never eat from those places again once I moved back but that didn’t last too long.

The Military Community Overseas

When you are overseas you are going to have access to the Military community in a way you don’t in the US. I never really understood that until we got to Fort Campbell. In Germany, we had to depend on the post for a lot of things. Our mail, all our healthcare, any American items we needed, etc. The Military post was “home” in a place that wasn’t home. The military installation was a little break from having to be the outsider. Because of this, the Military community is a lot closer than it is in the United States. This was even truer when we were at Schweinfurt because there were only about 3,000 soldiers who were stationed there.

Embracing Overseas

When being overseas is hard, try to remember the bigger picture. Yes, you will miss things about the United States. You will miss your family and all of that can be so difficult. But if you are able to get out and explore, even in your Germany city you will start to see the benefits of being stationed overseas. If you can truly embrace being overseas you will make memories that will last you a lifetime even when being stationed overseas is hard.

 

Have you felt like this when you were overseas? What did you do about it?

 

 

 

On Living At Fort Huachuca, Arizona

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On Living At Fort Huachuca, Arizona

Glad to have this guest post by Rebecca on living at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Please visit my Duty station guest post page for posts on other locations or more information about how you can write a guest post about where you have been stationed.

Fort Huachuca is often referred to as Fort “We Gotcha,” and as the home of the Military Intelligence Corps and a few thousands students, it’s very true. It’s not uncommon to be stationed here two or three times throughout a Soldier’s career. Often underappreciate, at least the first time, Huachcua is truly a gem tucked away in the Southeastern corner of Arizona.

This is our second time at Fort Huachuca, we were here in 2007, newly married while my husband attended a year-long school. In short, we hated it. There wasn’t much to do, Tucson is about a 90 minute drive and we really didn’t have the time nor money to explore.

Fast forward 5 years and we received orders to come back. Honestly, we were ecstatic. We knew what to expect, we had friends here, and we were more mature. We moved here with a dog, two kids, and about 6,000 more pounds than we left with the first time. In a way, it felt like we were heading home. Back to where it all started for us, back to the beginning.

When we arrived back on post it was almost shocking to see how much had changed. We looked at our house, which is amazing for army standards and knew this was the place we were supposed to be. The views are spectacular. Our house amazing. And the friends we’ve made? Outstanding!

So what is it really like at Fort Huachuca? It depends on the job. Most of the people here work a nice 8am to 5pm kind of job. Which is pretty perfect because that’s what the installation can support. Those unlucky few who work the long hours are those AIT Platoon Sergeants (think Drill Sergeants without the funny hats) the days are long. But overall, the place is pretty low key.

We’ve been here three years now, and are banking on two more. Which is a long time most places, but not as much for here. People have been known to spend the majority of their careers here, and I can understand it.Fort Huachuca

The neighboring town, Sierra Vista, is incredibly hospitable to military families. They show their American pride several times a year and are actually quite cultured. The Sierra Vista Symphony is a wonderful evening of music and society.

Don’t just take my word for how great it is out here, here’s what some of my friends have to say:

“Garden and Huachuca Canyons are our favorite places to hike and the amazing friends we’ve made here in two years are the best part overall,” –Leia

“The weather! I love that you can drive a few hours and see snow in the winter, or a few more hours and be on the beach. And then come home to consistently amazing weather,” –Christi

“The friends I made, the sunrises and sunsets, the view of the mountain, and nearby Bisbee.” –Jenny

“I love the unique wildlife. Where else can you have a group of javelin by night and wild turkeys by day in your yard?” – Missi

Not everyone loves Fort Huachuca as much as I do, but I truly think this is a fantastic place to raise a family, make friends, and enjoy the great outdoors. It’s hard to leave each duty station, each place you call home. I know that this will be the hardest, but I’m hopeful we’ll be back one day.

10460503_10100126370928701_2353812854519958557_nRebecca Alwine has been a military spouse for over 8 years, traveling the world and learning about herself. She’s discovered she enjoys running, loves lifting weights, is a voracious reader, and actually enjoys most of the menial tasks of motherhood. She is an avid volunteer, most recently as President of the Fort Huachuca Community Spouses’ Club and has worked as a career counselor for transitioning service members. She has a Masters in Emergency Management from American Military University and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from the University of Mary Washington. Her writing has been published both in AUSA’s ARMY Magazine, Military Spouse Magazine, on Many Kind Regards, and multiple digital magazines and blogs. You can follow her on Twitter at armywife1229.

 

5 Money Mistakes Military Families Make

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5 Money Mistakes Military Families Make5 Money Mistakes Military Families Make

One of the biggest benefits to a deployment is the extra money. I am not going to lie. If you are going to send my husband away, I am glad you are giving us extra money for it. With extra money comes choices. You have to decide how you are going to spend that extra money.

Some people spend all of it. Others save or pay off debt. Some use part of it for an after deployment trip. We have done all of thee above and during our third deployment we even saved for buying a house.

As I look back over the years, I know we have made quite a few money mistakes. Big ones. Small ones. I think it is easy to do when living the Military lifestyle. But the reality is you have to be smart about every penny that comes into your house. You can’t take anything for granted. You can’t assume that you will always make as much as you do or get too comfortable with any type of temporary pay. COLA, jump pay, deployment pay or anything else doesn’t always last forever.

Here are five mistakes Military families make when it comes to money.

  • Spending it all on extras during deployments- This is a hard one. Your spouse deploys and suddenly you have a lot more money in your budget each month. You are also pretty sad. So sad sometimes that you just want to do something, anything to feel better. So what better way to get happy then to shop, right? Well the reality is it can be way too easy to use shopping as a way to feel better. Retail therapy can be important but you really have to stick to your budget. Don’t overspend the deployment pay just to feel better. Having a plan about where you want the extra money to go is a must to help avoid this. If you know that most of your extra money is going into savings each month, you are not going to go out and spend it.
  • Assuming a promotion is right around the corner This was one of our mistakes. Assuming that a promotion was going to happen soon and planning for that. Then when it doesn’t come you can find yourself in a bit of a bad situation. I would also add that when that promotion does come you don’t immediately upgrade your lifestyle. That can get you in trouble too. A promotion doesn’t mean you get to upgrade everything. Focus on paying off debt, savings or anything to help your future when the promotion finally does come.
  • Buying big after a deployment- I remember that the PX in Germany always got a ton of new big screen tvs in towards the end of the deployment. They knew what the soldiers coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan after a year away would want to buy with their extra money. It’s so easy to want purchase a lot of big things when your spouse comes home. You feel like they deserve it. You feel like you can justify it. But think long-term. Can you find a smaller item that they would like just as much? What are your long-term goals and does buying a big screen tv fit in with them? It can be so hard to not want to buy something big after a deployment but sometimes it is wise not to.
  • Not saving enough for a PCS- Whenever you move with the Military it can be easy to think you don’t need a lot of money to do so. The Military is packing you up right? Well the answer is you do. You need to have some extra money. For anything that could come up. Not planning ahead can get you in trouble. Save as much as you can, especially if you are coming back from overseas, try not to overspend and stay under your weight allowance.
  • Not paying off debt with extra money- It can be hard to focus on debt sometimes. You gain a little extra money and you want to use it on something fun or exciting. Debt is neither of these things. But as a Military family, you have the chance to get ahead. Anytime your spouse gets extra money you should use it to pay down debt. I know we would be in a much better situation these days if we had done that from the start of my husband’s Military career. It is a lot better than buying more or thinking you make more than you do. Extra money is temporary and you should treat it like it will be gone the next day.

Paying down debt and then building up a savings should be very important to Military spouses. You never know when your spouse will have to transition out of the Military or when things will change.

What is your #1 tip for saving money while living as a Military spouse?