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A few weeks ago I started hearing about a book called Dinner with the Smileys. It was written by a Navy spouse about how her and her family spent her husband’s yearlong deployment by inviting a new guest to join her and her 3 boys for dinner. I was intrigued as soon as I heard that. My first though: what an incredible idea. I couldn’t wait to read about their story, and journey.
There have been some crazy articles in the Military Spouse world lately asking for benefits that I have NEVER EVER heard of. And they are sounding like crazy people so let’s break them down (and apologies in advance but I rant a bit):
An officer’s wife wrote into a Navy publication upset that she/her car were no longer being saluted at her duty station when she drove on post. Personally I’ve never experienced this when I’m in the car by myself. When my husband is driving us onto post he is saluted, but salute a wife? I didn’t even think this was a thing. Apparently it is…kinda.
Continue reading “Military Monday: Are spouses entitled to salutes, extra pay?”
This is repurposed from my “old” blog. Enjoy!
The town of Bremerton, WA is located in the Kitsap Peninsula. You can reach it via Highway 16 or ferry from Seattle. This waterfront town is home to a Naval Base and Shipyard. It’s also home to Olympic Gold Medalist Nathan Adrian, member of the U.S. Swim Team. Driving into the town you see large Naval destroyers and aircraft carriers that are either in port for repairs or are retired. We headed up there on a Sunday, which I would not suggest, most of the town’s stores and restaurants weren’t open, so try to go on a Saturday or weekday if you can.
First off apologies for my lack of posts. It’s been a busy few weeks and now that we are in garrison life – life seems pretty normal with not a lot worthy of blogging about happening. Let me know if you’re interested in guest blogging or if you have something you’re dying to know!
Now onto the post. Last week a whole heck of a lot of excitement happened in the political and policy worlds. The biggest being that the Army announced a HUGE reorganization plan and the Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional, and that a lower court ruling stood that California’s Prop 8 was done-zo. Let’s break down what this all means for us Army families: Continue reading “The Reorganization of the Army + End of DOMA”
This post has been repurposed from my previous blog. All photos by Jessica Hall.
Before deployment last year we took a mini-vacation to the charming Bainbridge Island just west of Seattle. The island feels like a small town and has breathtaking views of Seattle along its shores, as well as on the ferry ride over.
This post is repurposed from my former blog Hall Pass and an article I wrote when I used to work for the local base paper (you can read that as well on their website) when I attended the media day prior to opening last year. I haven’t made it back since so some of the photos may be outdated. All photos by Jessica Hall.
In downtown Tacoma is the new LeMay America’s Car Museum. I won’t lie to you, I love me a beautiful classic car, and the museum does not disappoint. But they also had cars that the average person today has owned or driven at some point, like station wagons and hybrid cars. And that is part of what makes LeMay America’s Car Museum special: it’s relatable.
I know Thursdays is usually reserved for food and drink posts but I’m making a slight exception. I mean this is about ketchup…but it’s mainly military.
Some of you may have heard about Ketchup-Gate, it’s on about every military spouse related website out there. It was named by NextGen Mil Spouses after this article from the Washington Post about how commissaries are a huge part of defense spending and basically how some are trying to eliminate them. It focuses on the apparently 12 varieties of Ketchup at the grocery store. But there have been others, like this one from HuffPo which cost some uproar in March.
There have been lots of responses to these, but the most recent and a great argument is from Amy Bushatz on SpouseBuzz with her open letter to those that are so vocal about the “lavish” benefits military families are entitled to, from pay to on-post grocery stores. After reading the whole article from Washington Post – I can say that I think looking for a better financial model for the commissaries is a good idea but fully eliminating them would not go over so well. Let me share a story:
When we moved into our new house there was one element that I was really excited about: our breakfast nook. The only thing missing was the perfect table. Instead of looking for a brand new one we decided to look for an antique table to paint/refurbish. The hunt took us to a lot of antique stores in the area (and there are are a lot), we saw refurbished furniture, furniture that should have stayed in the 70s, and furniture that was just overpriced or too big. But we finally found the perfect table.
Apologies for the lack of military-esque posts lately. To be honest I’ve been a bit busy. But also, since James isn’t in school or deployed I have realized that we are living the garrison life. One that includes training at times but just feels like a “normal” life, since he is home around dinner time and on weekends. In some ways it just seems like what life would be like if we weren’t military, except his days start wayyyyy earlier than most work places thanks to PT. We’re each busy with work, me with school, and both of us with keeping up with our friends. But let’s see if I can explain what life is like stateside.
One of the things that I love about Joint Base Lewis-McChord is it’s proximity to cities and culture. Coming off years of living in NYC where I lived down the street from museums, film shoots, great restaurants, this is a huge plus for me! HUGE! I had been meaning to go to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma since we arrived but one thing or another always came up and I hadn’t gone yet. They hosted a Military Appreciation Day in February so we headed on over to enjoy a free day at the museum.
