catching up?

Wow, I can’t believe it has been over 6 months since I have blogged. Obviously, a lot has gone on already this year.

Taco returned safely home from his deployment in early February. We’ve gone on TWO block leaves – the first one being jump-started by having to leave town early to detour through to central Texas for my Grannie’s funeral. Then we headed west to spend a couple of weeks with family in California. While there, my Mom’s brother passed away very unexpectedly. That was a rough trip, but we did have good times. We even went to Disneyland – both mine & the Boy’s first time – and we got to meet Mickey!

For our second block leave, Taco and I decided to take some time for ourselves. After a long year of being separated, we were very excited at the thought of time spent with just the two of us. So we finally took our honeymoon – almost 6 years post-nuptuals! We spent a whole week in beautiful Daytona Beach, Florida. My Mom and Sister were awesome enough to take the Boy for a week and a half. I know he enjoyed his summer vacation just as much as we did!

All this other time has been spent just trying to catch up with life. Some days, I still feel like I’m adjusting to having my husband home again. I have yet to find my groove of getting things done around the house. I’m just so exhausted, it is so hard to find motivation for anything. I also get tired of sitting at the computer, so I’m totally behind on everything else going on in this world.

This Stella needs her groove back.

best of 2010

My BFF MeganDubYuh is starting up a nifty little End of Year meme that I wanted to be sure to participate in. Here’s the deets for you to follow along:

“It is so easy to focus on the negative things in our life. Let’s all take a minute to talk about the best moments of 2010. In the five categories below list out your #1 from 2010. Post it on your blog and link back to this post (and post to Mr. Linky at the end of the post). We can use this as a blog hop and to review the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century.

The categories:

Best song to sing along to in the car.
Best movie.
Best TV show.
Best website to waste time on.
Best memory you made.

My Answers:
Best song to sing along to in the car
hard to pick a Best song, but the most frequently listened to was “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas – Sidney absolutely LOVES that song and would request it for each of our MANY road trips

Best movie.
Toy Story 3

Best TV show
What Would Brian Boitano Cook? (thanks @ajuribe for the super laugh-fest recommendation!)

Best website to waste time on
Facebook. Seriously, I couldn’t begin to tell you how much time I’ve wasted on there.

Best memory you made
There’s no #1 best but here’s a few amazing memories that were made: first official deployment ceremony, sending off my man;
becoming a Scentsy Independent Consultant;
road tripping from NM to WA w/ my BF MeganDubYuh;
the ups and downs of R&R;
visiting my high school BFF for the first time in 9 years;
seeing The Black Crowes for a second time – woo!;
meeting some of my Tweeps, @sara0120, @ajuribe, @tammymunson and @armywifebethany;
making friends with some of the lovely other spouses of Taco’s unit, and the Twitter MilSpouse community…and finding that we really can make it through one of the most difficult events of our lives

I must say, this year has not been a boring one!

a vicious cycle

Ahhh, the deployment cycle. That never ending process that looms in the back of the minds of Military Spouses. For your entertainment value, I made up my own MilSpouse version of the deployment cycle (seen at left).

I started thinking about the cycle tonight, remembering a few of my fellow MilSpouse Tweeps (wow, I really just used that word), who are gearing up to face a deployment of their own. It makes me think back on when I was getting ready for our deployment. Thinking of who was getting into their stages of Excited or Ooo La La. I think how I felt a little pang of jealousy at those who were welcoming their men home just as mine was leaving. I wish I hadn’t felt jealous, because I was so excited for them to be reunited with their men but still, it is only natural. As this deployment cycle clicks to the next stage for all of us, I’m going into Excited now and others are soon to be Emotionally Unstable. I will be doing my best to keep the excitement low-key and remain a support to those facing their hardest moments.

Please remember each and every one of our MilSpouse Family just as we remember their spouses who serve.

how low can ya go?

This is a new recipe I invented tonight. I call it “Lazy Mom’s Pig-in-a-Poncho.” Amidst attempt to cook dinner tonight, I suddenly saw the utterly obvious lack of ambition there was. I’m not kidding, I’ve done so many dinners this deployment where I am literally struggling for inspiration on something that I could cook for basically one person. I mean, let’s face it – the way The Boy pecks at his food, he can barely count as a second person.

I am used to cooking for several people at once – at a minimum, 3. I cook in bulk and freeze what is left over (we don’t do leftovers very well at our house). These leftovers go toward the nights that I forgot to get something prepped for dinner or just don’t feel like cooking that night. However for the last 9-ish months, I have had no reason to cook a big meal so there are never any go-to leftovers in the freezer to grab. I am slowly getting better at it but tonight was a ground zero night.

So I want to hear it from you girls (and guys, if applicable) – what’s the LAZIEST but CREATIVE “meal” that you have ever cooked for yourself or your family during a deployment? Was it the Lazy Mom’s Pig-in-a-Ponchos with hot dogs and cheese rolled with a tortilla? Was it Enchillada Stacks with stacked tortillas, cheese and katsup? Was it Green Eggs and Hammmmburger with green chilles, cheese and eggs and browned ground beef scrambled together? Spill the beans! If nothing else, it will give everyone some ideas for the next time you’re having a lazy night cooking for one during a deployment.

Frontierville (not)Anonymous

Pre-ramble: I have an addictive personality, and relish the thought of living in a virtual realm. RPGs are the bane of my existence and I forbid myself to touch The Sims again until The Boy (and future children) are graduated and out of the house.

Sometimes I wake up early (i.e. before The Boy) only so that I have quiet time while I feed my cows and geese on Frontierville. That’s right, I’m a Frontierville junkie and it seems to be the only thing that I look forward to in the day. As John Lennon put it best, “whatever gets you through the night, it’s alright.”

As sad as it seems, this is what gets me through the night. Once this deployment is over, I have full intentions on cutting the habit – cold turkey – and deleting the wretched program. Honestly, what is wrong with me that I would rather feed some virtual chickens and harvest imaginary potatoes than wash the dishes in my REAL sink? It’s such a waste but at least there is something I actually have motivation for.

It started on R&R, when Taco was home. Rather than going out of the house and doing things together, we opted to save money and have a stay-cation. (FYI: I hate that word.) Where did we stay? Our dining room table. It was a pretty sad sort of set up, I had my laptop and Taco had his netbook and we sat there for hours at a time feeding animals and harvesting crops on Farmville. I had tried the game before, but decided it was the biggest waste of time I’d ever made and let my animals starve and my crops whither. Taco, however, has been obsessed with it almost the moment his foot touched the South Asian sand. No, there must not be more gratifying things for him to do over there. But again, whatever gets him through the night.

Naturally, these crops of his could not be laid to waste for two weeks while he was at home, so I decided that if I couldn’t beat the addiction, I’d join it…temporarily…or so I thought. We sat there at the table together where we discovered a new addiction: Frontierville. Oh joy! Now there were TWO virtual wastes of time to harvest! I even became ecstatic when Zanga announced the release of the free Farmville application for the iPhone/iPod. Now I could harvest my strawberries while spending productive time on the shitter!

I have since deleted Farmville because it took up entirely too much time to plant, harvest, plow and plant again. Frontierville? Yeah it’s still there and my frontier is bigger than ever. I’ve strategically planted my crops not only where I know I’ll have enough energy to harvest at once, but also I’m planting for the most pay-out. Same for my animals: I will feed 50 Ox over 50 chickens because the Ox give out more food when you sell them.

Besides the mental distraction for myself, it has continued to be something that Taco and I are able to do together. It’s better than getting back into Word of Warcraft, and we don’t have to depend on his crappy internet connection. On the very rare moments that we are online at the same time, our conversations will always lead to what the other needs help with on their Frontier. What items do we need to complete missions? What crops do we need harvested or the likes? It’s quite ridiculous that this is how we are spending our precious time talking and of the things I look forward to the most, it’s the moment where I delete the application from my Facebook and put my foot down that he does the same thing. It’s bad enough how much time he spends on the Playstation, God help us if the Farmville/Frontierville addiction continues on top of that.

P.S. Anyone want to be my Frontierville neighbor?

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In vol. 14

Here I am almost a whole month since my last post and even a few weeks behind on Wifey of A Sailor’s MilSpouse Friday Fill-In. I have been dealing with what I’m going to call the Deployment Blues. Absolutely nothing tickles my fancy, especially sitting in front of the computer. I’ve mostly been reading books or knitting, which suits me just fine. There’s a “real” blog post brewing in my brain, I will probably post that here in the next week or so. But for now, you’ll have to be satisfied with another MilSpouse Friday Fill-In (I’ll do a catch up for the past missed weeks later).

This week’s questions…
1. What characteristic about yourself has either been strengthened or weakened due to your experience as a Military Spouse? (from The Albrecht Squad)
I would have to say that I have more confidence as an individual. I have never been the type to rely on other people or feel the need of being around people all the time. Yes, I miss my husband like you would not believe, but I feel accomplished at not being a sobbing ball of mess 24/7 with him gone. And let’s face it, girls/guys, but we’re pretty much on our own with our men/women gone. I am just super blessed to have an awesome support system that I know I can lean on when I am just having one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.

2. What is your favorite vacation spot and why? (from ‘Tis the Life of the Army Wife)
Well that’s a tough one. I am going to throw a generic answer out there and say anywhere with mountains and lots and lots of green trees. I have gone visiting a ton of people over the last year, but I can’t remember the last time that I had an honest to God vacation. i.e. no agenda, no responsibilities other than the daily Triple S (shit, shower & shave).

3. If you could have any fast-food restaurant in the food court on base/post what would you pick? (from The Only Pink in a House of Blue)
Like if I could name what restaurant to be put in place? Hmmm…that is hard because the Ft Bliss PX is going through a major overhaul and will contain a shit-ton of stuff already. I suppose I would pick something that you can only get back home, Taco Box.

4. Where did you go on your honeymoon? (from Pennies from Heaven)
Non-applicable. Still waiting for our honeymoon…maybe this coming summer?

5. If you could have any job in the world regardless of money, degree or experience, which job would you have and why? (from Proud to Be a Navy Family and The Calm Before The Storm)
I’m going to refer back to a previous question/answer from MilSpouse Friday Fill-In vol. 2, question #1

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In vol. 10

Wow, I can’t believe it is already the 10th week of Wifey of A Sailor’s MilSpouse Friday Fill-In! I have really been enjoying reading the other spouses who are participating in this weekly meme. Be sure to check out Mr. Linky on Wifey’s blog so that you can also “meet” some of these fantastic fellow spouses!

This week’s questions are:

1. What secret indulgence do you act on while your spouse is away? (from Devil Dog Darling)
Sleeping in the MIDDLE of the bed! We have a california king sized bed, but when he is home, there never seems to be enough room. I can’t stand being hot when I sleep and when he lays right next to me, he feels like a furnace and I find myself hugging the edge of the bed because I’ve moved away so much. Mind you, we still get plenty of cuddle time when he is home, but it’s a rare treat for us to actually fall asleep touching!

2. If you were a spice, what would you be? (from New Girl On Post)
Nutmeg – few people actually like that spice

3. Where do you go for support when your significant other is deployed? (from Texas Meets Washington)
First, I usually reach out to my mom. We’ve definitely gotten closer in the last decade and I also know that she’s one of those who have been in the shoes as a military spouse. Other than that, I know I can always rely on my BFFs like Mindikins and MeganDubyuh. And, of couse, my AMAZING ring of milspouse friends I know through Twitter.

4. What is the oldest thing you own? (from A Troop’s Girl)
Hard to say, with all the moving we have done, I don’t even know what I still own. I am going to say my Nirvana t-shirt that I got back in the 8th grade. That thing shows its wear, but I freaking love that shirt!

5. How did you vision your future pre-military? (from Daddy’s Duty)
The only thing that I have ever really envisioned for my future was to be working in the animation field. As far as the school girl’s dream for her life? It has been way too unpredictable to even attempt to envision anything.

6 months down

Today we check off another big milestone in the deployment – month #6! Theoretically, this means that we are halfway done! WOO HOOOOOOO! (By theoretically, I mean that we’re going off of only a 365 day count-down. I know better than to count on exact numbers with the military. For all I know, Taco could come home a month early but he could also get extended.)

A lot has happened in the past six months, and each little event has helped the time pass by faster than I had anticipated. However I am trying not to dwell too much on all that has happened because it makes me think of the big chunk of time we still have yet to conquer. Now that school is back in session for The Boy, I am hoping that the time will continue to whizz right by and the beginning of the year will be here before we know it.

I think I shall celebrate over a big plate of sushi for lunch!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In vol. 9

Holy cow, I’m actually posting the Q&A on it’s debut day! My apologies to those who read/follow my blog that I haven’t posted anything other than these fill-ins for the last several weeks. Trust me that there is a lot going on in my head, but unfortunately so much that I can’t seem to sit down and wrap my head around any one thing in order to blog it. So for now, this post is again dedicated to Wifey of A Sailor’s MilSpouse Friday Fill-In (which I am seriously loving, btw). Don’t forget to check out Mr Linky on her page so that you can meet/read about the other amazing MilSpouses who participate in this weekly meme!

This week’s questions are extra special since they come from fellow participants, whose blog links are included:

1. If you could be a fugitive from the law for whatever reason, what would your crime be? (from It’s a Hooah Life)
I can’t think of any reason that I would WANT to be a fugitive, but one that I probably SHOULD be in trouble for is speeding. I have a serious lead-foot and can easily shave off 30-45 minutes (minimum) from suggested arrival time on any road trip that I take.

2. How long do you think you will be a military family? (from Julie the Army Wife)
Forever and ever, amen. My belief: once a military family, always a military family – even if your family no longer actively serves in it. It is an experience that makes such an impact on your life that there is no way to erase it. Our plan is for Taco to retire from the military, but we will always be a military family and a part of THE military family as well.

3. What’s your favorite recipe? (from Keep Calm and Soldier On)
Good grief, that is a hard one to nail down! I am gonna have to go with good old rolled dumplings for chicken & dumplings. I really don’t need any chicken or veggies, just the broth & dumplings is enough to keep me quite happy!

4. What would you want your last five words to be when you leave this life? (from My Goal is Simple)
“See you on the flip-side!” (from Boondock Saints)

5. Where do you hope to retire? (from Pennies from Heaven)
I always said that I would like to retire in Colorado, even though I had never actually visited there until a couple of weeks ago. It is still very high on my list but now the glorious state of Washington is a prime candidate, after the trip I took there with one of my besties, MeganDubyuh. All I really want is to live in GREEN, pine tree covered mountains on a nice big plot of land in the middle of nowhere, but close enough to a fairly large city/community for good shopping fixes. I have recently been considering the idea of opening a small bed & breakfast somewhere as well.

Mil-Spouse Friday Fill-In vol. 7 & vol. 8

One of these weeks I’ll actually fill out Wifey of A Sailor’s MilSpouse Friday Fill-In on it’s opening week. Last Friday I spent the day driving to beautiful Colorado Springs to visit some of my gal pals, @sara0120, @ajuribe and @tammymunson and one of my IRL BFFs, Biff! It was a great weekend, and we even did a Scentsy party! I’ll prob post a blog about that awesome trip some other time, but this one is dedicated to something else! Soooo….

Go on over to Wifey’s Blog to catch up on her posts as well as check out the other lovely ladies who are participating in this fun weekly meme. If you participate, don’t forget to add yourself to Mr Linky so others can find you!

Week 7′s Questions:
1. What is something you wished you’d learned to do earlier in life?
Pay attention during Spanish class in college. Trust me, I could be getting a LOT more use out of it now.

2. What is your biggest pet peeve with the military?
Their seemingly indecisiveness. It feels like they can’t make up their mind sometimes when events/dates change around frequently.

3. What tourist attraction near you have you never seen?
Juarez, Mexico….I really don’t think I’ll be seeing it any time soon, either.

4. What are you avoiding doing right now?
The Boy, who thinks he needs video game tutoring right now.

5. Wine, beer or liquor?
Depends on the event and my mood. Prob liquor because there’s nothing better than a Jack & Coke!

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Week 8′s Questions:
1. What is ONE thing you’d like civilians to understand about being a military family?
When we arrive at a new duty station, don’t get upset that I strive to involve myself in thmilitary community before I step out into the local community. We are all the closest thing to a local family we are going to have and can relate with each other to the struggles of a PCS, deployment, or any other kind of hardship. We NEED to be able to establish on-post relations for when there may be situations that come up. Even something as simple as who am I going to list for my emergency contact when I’m new to a location and my blood family is thousands of miles away…how am I supposed to know who I can depend & trust in that situation? Yeah, a civilian can step in as an emergency point of contact but they won’t have access to post as easily to help handle the situation.

2. What is your favorite mistake?
I would never refer to any event in my life as a mistake – only a learning lesson. But… getting pregnant out of wedlock…I came out of that with an amazing and supportive husband, and one heck of an amusing child!

3. What indulgence could you give up for a year?
When I was pregnant, I pretty much quit caffeine cold turkey for 9 months…so I guess caffeine.

4. If you could be a winged animal, what would you be?
My “real” nickname isn’t Butterflie for nothing

5. What is one question you’d like to see asked in a future MFF?
Name the biggest way that becoming a Military Spouse made an impact on your life.