These were our pumpkins last year, Happy Halloween from my Army family!
Happy Halloween!
Tips for Cooking for One
Last week I talked about deployment and how living alone can have its pluses. One of the major downsides though: cooking for one person. The absence of one person who eats a bit more than me is a big deal, I think it took me months to get used to cooking for both of us, and having leftovers galore for lunch for both of us. And then boom, back to cooking for one! Here are my tried and true tricks:
Watching Sandy wreak havoc on my other hometown: NYC
Tonight as I watch news accounts, Twitter feeds, and my Facebook newsfeed about Hurricane Sandy wreaking havoc on the east coast, I can only be scared for NYC. After living there for 5 years, I can tell you that it will always be home to me. I can tell you that most places I lived would be without power. My junior year apartment: I would have had to evacuate. My university falls in the no-power zone (as I type this, below 39th Street). And the fact that NYU is closed, huge deal, it didn’t close for storms for years, because nothing as serious had happened I’m sure.
Continue reading “Watching Sandy wreak havoc on my other hometown: NYC”
Music Monday: “Home” by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros
This is one of my favorite songs hands down. It is fun to dance to and super catchy, but the message is simple “Home is wherever I am with you.” I find this so true in my life moving all the time. Anytime we are together it’s home. So while the age-old question “where are you from?” is difficult to answer, I know that when I’m with the hubby that that is home.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4306i99LMXo?list=UUTKz-AxzgeFYEx2wx8oN0pg&hl=en_US]
What do you think of this song? Any other personal favorite songs that describe your relationship?
Learning about myself during deployment
While the hubby was away on his deployment I had a lot of “me” time. Nine months of me time. And facing that prospect earlier this year was scary. I’ve always had roommates, I went from college dorms to a shared apartment to married life. The few months here and there that I was totally on my own, mainly a summer during college, I was miserable. I talked to a counselor to work through all of my feelings, something I am very glad that I did. So with the prospect of 9 months in my much larger space with a few friends was scary. But there was something about living in “our” space that actually made it soothing. And my packed schedule. I made sure that I had stuff to do, maybe too much, with work, volunteering, and now school. Plus my newfound friends. So over those months between girls nights, long drives, and self reflection, I started realizing what I truly need and want out of life. Continue reading “Learning about myself during deployment”
Care Packages 101
I am dedicating this week to the not so fun reality of deployment. And while it had its ups and downs, my absolute favorite part was sending my husband care packages! After sending them for months I got a system down, and my packing skills were impressive. While my hubby’s stop mail date has passed, I’m preparing to send more packages to our friends that are deployed. Here are my tried and true tips:
How I am making it through a deployment
I have been quiet about the fact that my husband is deployed to Afghanistan online. This is to protect his safety and mine (see OPSEC in the glossary). But as the deployment winds down (countdown is in double digits!!) I want to share what it was like for me.
“Me turns into we,” a friend shares her story
This is from my friend Jess. She emailed this to me after my post about my month of anniversaries, and more importantly, how over time her relationship with D has shifted from young love to something more, and that where his career goes could definitely be about her. Because well love is a powerful thing. Here’s what she said:
I met D when I was 14, the summer of 2002 as a high school freshman and that October we started dating. I remember when he left for Korea after boot camp in Fall 2004 and all I could think about was when I was going to see him next, I didn’t know. So I ended it 4 months later because it was getting too “tough.” I was 17 then though…and I remember as the years passed I told him I didn’t know if I would be able to date him if he was still in the military just because of how they took him away and how everything just “was” with the army. Looking back on that now, I realize how much of a baby I was at the time and how selfish I was thinking about only me, but then again I wasn’t looking towards marriage yet or anything along those lines. Now, here we are, 7 years later and back together, and back to being 9 months apart and long distance, but he’s still been the only one for me. There’s never even been anyone close so, like you mentioned, love is a big game changer, a big player in the deck of cards. This post literally made me cry because like James, D is asking me about how his next two years will pan out and how WE (not he anymore, we) will need to decide if this is it or to stay put or try for DC (which I would really love) and see OUR options. It’s crazy how me turns to we in the army, and he’s willing to make me happy as well because it’s important to him that I enjoy the crazy military ride.
Thanks for sharing your story Jess! If you want to share your story about being a military significant other feel free to email me: jessica@jessicanicolehall.com
Military Ball: What to wear
This is the most frequently asked about question, even for seasoned military spouses. What to wear, what to wear, what to wear? I have been to a few balls while my husband was at West Point but none since he’s graduated, our first is early next year. And I’m really excited, I’ve already picked out my dress!
It is ball season though, so in the spirit of picking out a dress, here are my tips: Continue reading “Military Ball: What to wear”
A Month of Anniversaries
October is a special month for me. Sure it means that fall is here, which I absolutely love, but more importantly it is the month that I met my husband, and a few years later, got engaged.
When we met (5 years ago!) I did not think the relationship would turn into what it did at all, mainly since it would be a long distance relationship, during college, sounds not so fun. But then you fall madly in love and who cares? You just want to be with that person. But, it is much more than that.
