Thanks to:









for my blog award.

Wish you were here

Our daughter is playing on a traveling softball league this year. She has been playing rec ball for the past 2 years so we wanted to step it up this year and get more competitive. Last year her dad coached her team and they did awesome. This year she is on a traveling team that does lots of tournaments and she gets lots more play time and her dad is not here.

So bummed he is not able to be here and see her play and help coach her. She was used to his calm and positive coaching skills and now she gets a coach that yells a lot and says a lot of " great win but.....". The team has been improving greatly. It is wonderful to see them getting better on little things that need improving.

These past 2 weekends they played in the championship game for the tournaments. She plays 1st base and has turned out to be quite the hitter when she can get over her nerves. Her team won 2nd place both tournaments.  So wonderful considering how they played when we started.

He called during this last tournament and I was giving him some play by play info. It was great to let him know when it was happening what was going on. I take lots of pictures and videos but it just isn't the same.

Here is my daughters team with there medals.

SO PROUD!!

Win a BLOG Makeover and HUGE Oakley discounts

Just wanted to share a giveaway.  Head over to:









to check out her Blog Makeover giveaway.  :-)  Good Luck

Also, if you were not aware of it Oakley gives a HUGE discount to ilitary on a wide variety of products. Their website for this is HERE   The discount is so good you do have to prove you are military. They have some great boots and I bought replacement lenses for my Oakleys for only $20. Check it out.  :-)

Have you gotten your Groupon yet??????????

I am all about saving money. Well, there is this company where they send out AMAZING discounts on restaurants, museums and more. I just bought tickets to a museum near us that I have been wanting to see but the tickets are too pricey. They have a sale right now for $4 per ticket! That is so wonderful. You can only buy the deal of the day that day but they are wonderful.
Check them out here---------------------> GROUPON

SAY WHAT!! Flags on the ground!

My fabulous daughter had a softball tournament this weekend (like every weekend it seems ). Anyway, it was in a town about 30 minutes from ours. We arrived ready on a Friday night for some games. She played and won her first game so we didn't need to return until Saturday morning.

We arrived Saturday around 11 to the complex. The ball fields were beautiful with shaded bleachers and all. They decided to line the walkways with American flags. OK- that looks nice and all BUT and the is a big BUT --there were 2 that were lying on the ground. OMG this is of course not ok. So I pick them up and notice the sticks are broken. Not Cool!

I take the two flags and start to look for someone in charge. I find a women and  ask her if she knows the rules for flags.

She says " yes, these are our flags".

I said" I know, I just want to know if you know the rules for US flags. These were on the ground on the walkway".

She says  as she takes them from me " Yes- I do know the rules. The wind probably knocked them over".

I said" I don't think so because the sticks are all broken. I think they are getting trampled on because there are so many people here".

She walks away.

I go back and sit down.

OK- so, I can't stop thinking about our interaction. I start to feel bad because maybe I came across too strong. I wasn't trying to be mean or aggressive towards her but I am a LITTLE sensitive to the fact a flag is on the ground especially since my hubby is currently in Iraq. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!

Anywho- part 2!!

I see her again and walk over to her to apologize for coming off too strong. As soon as she see's me she starts to walk away from me. So, I stop her and say-
" I wanted to apologize if I made you angry. I wasn't trying to be rude."
She says ok and starts to walk away.
I say "wait, please don't walk away. I am trying to apologize here because you seem upset."

She says " well, I am too busy to make sure the flags aren't on the ground".  AND WALKS AWAY!

Oh holey hell!!!  You have got to be kidding me!!!!!!!!!!!    I so wanted to go to her and just say a thing or 2 to her about what the flag means and if she can't watch them then don't put them there. They are not meant to be a decoration so that your complex looks nice. I was so furious. So I took a DEEEEEEEEP breath and calmed myself down. I know that she OBVIOUSLY does not truly know what that flag means. She has never felt that pride that military wives and husbands feel when they see that flag knowing their active duty spouse is overseas fighting for our country. She has never had her husband away in a foreign country in adverse conditions. She has never had to explain to a crying child why their daddy isn't there. She has never had to take care of the house, pets, kids, cars, bills...... and so on while her husband is gone.

Silly Civilians!!!  Some just don't get it.

So as we walked away that evening we picked up another flag on the ground and took it with us. SHAME on her!!!!

Respect The Flag
by Linda Todd
Respect the Flag and let it always be,
Enjoyed by all in the land of the free.
Soil not the Red - White - and - Blue,
Preserve the colors - oh so true.
Evidence of the Nation that we love,
Calling down a blessing from God above.
Treat our flag with tender loving care,
The privilege we have in America of prayer.
Hang it proudly for everyone to see,
Emotion when it flies always engulfs me.
Fly it high and fold it - oh so right,
Let it be preserved with care each night.
Always a symbol of freedom that was earned,
Gladly should it wave and never be burned . . .

My Hubby

Here's my hubby somewhere in Iraq.

 And the song that breaks it all down!!

BLOG HELP

Ok- So I have emailed the lady who did my blog 3 times and am not getting a response. Can someone tell me how do I separate my main post area from the sidebar area??  I don't want it separated just by the dotted line. I want it separated by space.  Also, on my scrolling marquee I cannot get it to scroll continuously. After the last blog it has a large space before it starts again.

ANY help would be SOOOOO aprpeciated. Thanks a bunch!!  :-)

I am trying to make a space between the sidebar and the main post area. Or just a wider space between the two so theya re not so close together.

Summer Fun (chaos)

Well, my mom and son left earlier this week. My mom was able to come out and visit for 5 weeks. It was great to have her around and the kids really enjoyed spending time with her. When she left my son went with her. He will be back in 4 weeks. WOW- that is a long time. I really missed him last night when I had to mow our backyard that is 10K sq ft. YIKES- talk about tiring. We have a self propelled mower so that helps big time.

So my daughter and I are keeping real busy with her softball. She is playing 5 days this week and that includes a tournament on Sat which will probably be 3 games. I love that it is keeping us busy so time goes by faster. My brother and niece are coming to stay with us for 4 weeks starting next week. I sure love having company over- plus my brother can mow the lawn. wink wink

After my spider incident I have been on alert. LOL  Last night I went into the garage to get my mowing shoes. I am always paranoid that something started living in them since the last time I wore them so I always step on them and bang them to make sure I have no new friends in them. As I was grabbing my shoes I saw a BIG BLACK thing. Oh No- It can't be!! YES- it was huge and REAL! UGH All I had near me was wasp spray. You know how wasp spray is- it shoots really far and hard. So I spray the spider and it gets shot across the floor. Luckily I think it was already dying from previous perimeter spray I had done. It was moving slow before I shot it with wasp spray. I grabbed the broom and swept it out of the garage. YUCK!! That thing shriveled up and got on his back. My daughter started freaking out when i told her to be careful.

Spider Paranoi In Full Affect!!

AAAAAHHH Spiders!!!

OMG  I thought I was going to die and my kids find me in the laundry room. I was doing the laundry- Like always- when I pulled a shirt out of the dryer. THAT is when my heart stopped beating!!!
This is what flew on my arm and then to the ground

I HATE SPIDERS!!  I remember our first deployment and towards the time when he was going to be coming home, due to weather changes, we started having lots of spiders in the house. Sometimes they would be crawling on our carpet and I would grab a coffee cup and place it over the spider. When he came home he had several cups with spiders in them waiting. again- I HATE SPIDERS!

So- after my heart stopped and I lost all sound- I realized it was my daughters plastic spider she got out of the candy machine. Well, I don't think I need to explain where that went next- THE GARBAGE!!

Spouse Conference

Today I went to my first ever Military Spouse Conference.  WOW- it was SO fun!! The conference started at 930 am and was over by 330pm. Before the conference started there was an information fair in the hallway. We were able to get information on the various things the base has to offer and get some freebies.

The conference started off with guest speaker Ellie Kay. She is a former Air Force spouse whose husband has since retired. She is also a financial consultant for Wal Mart and other places. She gave everyone a FREE copy of her book "Heroes at Home". She was a great speaker who talked about different aspects of the military life. Here website is HERE

During the conference we had 2 breakout sessions where there were 4 rooms to choose from. I went to the travel room and learned all about how to get discounted tickets and hotels through our base plus they gave us online military websites and phone numbers.

Here is what I learned today in my breakout sessions:

TRAVEL

call these numbers for installations near you to get lodging at a great rate
AF- 1-888-AF LODGE
Army- 800-GO ARMY1
Navy- 800 NAVY INN

Sandals and Beaches Resorts have the best deals for military. Their rates are usually 65% off.
Carnival has the best cruise discounts

Armed Forces Vacation Club offers weekly accommodations for $369 at over 3500 locations. You can call them at 800-724-9988 or visit AFVCLUB online. The fee is for 7 night condominium lodging for the condo NOT per person

COUPONS

A local mom who is not military came and talked to us about how she saves money. She had a receipt for $300 worth of groceries she bought for $15. You can find her in yahoo groups under couponsanddeals. She watches ads and uses triple and double coupons.


After the breakout sessions lunch was served. Outback donated chicken Caesar salads and their yummy wheat bread. For some lunch time entertainment 13 of us did a skit on the little black dress. It was tons of fun and the audience loved it.

After that we had a game show skit and our final speaker came out- Mollie Gross.

Me and Mollie

She is a comedian and a Marine Wife. She was hilarious. Very off the cuff and no holds barred. She talked about being a military wife and all the funa dn interesting things we go through. In out goody bag was a CD from her.

For Dessert they had set up a dessert bar. OMG It was yummy. They had lots of choices and it was a buffett- that could be real dangerous!!  :-)

Over all it was a GREAT day. Just what I needed to get me pumped up and remind me how special us military wives are.

CAUTION- I may cry at any moment

Oh goodness. I'm feeling so weak, emotionally drained, tired, frustrated,tense, sad...................



The list could go on. It's been just one of those days where I know I need to cry and let it out but I just keep hanging on. I feel so sad and lonely even though I am surrounded by family. I have all these emotions building up.

UGH  I hate that feeling. I wish I could just fly to hubby and get a quick rejuvenating hug to last me these last couple of months. My son is not helping with the stress part. He's 13 and a great kid but he can send me to the end in a flash.

Several times today I just wanted to cry for no reason. I keep busy so the days will go fast but maybe were too busy. I don't know- every time I think we are going good it doesn't of course change how much we miss him. Another hard thing is that my son is going to fly home when my mom does next week and spend 4 weeks there. I had planned that me and the kids would go but financially that is not going to happen. Plane tickets nowadays are so expensive plus to add the baggage fees. It's N-O-T gonna happen.  :-(

I love how they offer spouses of deployed members a free flight on  military aircraft anywhere---OVERSEAS! What- my family lives in the US. This does not help me. Apparently it is so that the airlines do not lose money from the spouses who do go home. Geesh! Give me a Space A flight that I can actually use and will boost mine and my children's morale.

Yesterday  I had to talk to my daughter's softball coach about something and I couldn't get through the conversation without crying. I hate showing weakness and people thinking I'm losing it.

So- on to other things (lol)  here is a great poem :

I AM A MILITARY WIFE

I am a military wife -- a member of that sisterhood of women who have had the
courage to watch their men go into battle, and the strength to survive until
their return.

Our sorority knows no rank, for we earn our membership with a marriage license,
traveling over miles, or over nations to begin a new life with our military
husbands.

Within days, we turn a barren, echoing building into a home, and though our
quarters are inevitably white-walled and unpapered, we decorate with the
treasures of our travels, for we shop the markets of the globe. Using hammer
and nail, we tack our pictures to the wall, and our roots to the floor as
firmly as if we had lived there for a lifetime. We hold a family together by
the bootstraps, and raise the best of "brats," instilling in them the motto,
"Home is togetherness," whether motel, or guest house, apartment or duplex.

As military wives we soon realize that the only good in "Good-bye" is the
"Hello again."

For as salesmen for freedom, our husbands are often on the road, at sea, or in
the sky, leaving us behind for a week, a month, an assignment. During
separations we guard the home front, existing until the homecoming. Unlike our
civilian counterparts, we measure time, not by years, but by tours -- married
at Knox, a baby born at Portsmouth, a special anniversary at Yorktown, a
promotion in McDill.

We plant trees, and never see them grow tall, work on projects completed long
after our departure, and enhance our community for the betterment of those who
come after us. We leave a part of ourselves at every stop. Through experience,
we have learned to pack a suitcase, a car or hold baggage, and live
indefinitely from the contents within: and though our fingers are sore from the
patches we have sewn, and the silver we have shined, our hands are always ready
to help those around us.

Women of peace, we pray for a world in harmony, for the flag that leads our
men into battle, will also blanket them in death. Yet we are an optimistic
group, thinking of the good, and forgetting the bad, cherishing yesterday,
while anticipating tomorrow.

Never rich by monetary standards, our hearts are overflowing with a wealth of
experiences common only to those united by the special tradition of military
life.

We pass on this legacy to every military bride, welcoming her with outstretched
arms, with love and friendship, from one sister to another, sharing in the
bounty of our unique, fulfilling military way of life.

Author Unknown

Summer Freebies

I LOVE free stuff!!!!!!  It makes me so happy to get free stuff and when I save money using coupons.  Just wanted to pass along these FREE things in case you didn't know about them.

Krispy Kreme gives FREE doughnuts for grades each semester. Have your kids bring in their report cards and they recieve1 free doughnut per A. Even if they are in elementary school and don't get actual A's they still get doughnuts.  This is not on their website but I have several friends who use this in different states.  :-)

Two free bowling games every day in the summer!  Kids Bowl Free lets you sign up your kids to get 2 free games EACH day in the summer. You can also buy a family pass for 5 adults for $24.95 to get 2 free games EVERY day as well. These people DO NOT need to be relatives. You can even sign up your babysitters. It is wonderful way to cool down and get out of the house.

Air Force DePLAYment pass. If you are an Air Force family with a member deployed or currently returned from a deployment you can go to FREE shows and other events through the base. Go to the website at My Air Force Life to check it out and then visit your Airman and Family Readiness Center to get the goods. We even received a FREE large soft cooler filled with goodies- camera, mouse pad, 2 puppets, 2 kids books and more.

FREE movies at Regal Theaters- They have free movies on certain days of the summer. Check out their site for all the info: ----->  Free Family Film Festival

AMC has movies but they are not free just $1. Can't beat that.  Plus they have cheaper kids combo packs for their summer movies. Check out their website:  --->  AMC

FREE Outdoor Film Festivals.  Have a picnic and enjoy the beautiful weather while you watch a movie. How fun!!  Check it out---> Free Outdoor Films

Free Book from Barnes and Noble. They offer a free book when your child reads 8. Visit their store to get the form and then turn it in before it expires to pick up the free book.

Well- that is all I can think of for now. Do you have any freebies to share????   :-)


Many Blessings

Military Life Survey

Well- I finished my Military Life Survey. It was interesting to say the least. I was glad to give my input but wish sometimes they would have more choices for answers. I left comments for them about older children of the deployed. Everything in the Air Force for supporting kids through deployment is geared for really young kids. I find it harder for them now when they are older rather then when they were little. It seems a little unbalanced as far as support goes in that area. My kids don't watch Sesame Street or Mr Po, nor do they use coloring books and those are what they have for kids to deal with deployments. The only older age thing is a writing kit that I have found.

We are signed up for the new DePLAYment and have been using that. So far we have gone to "Walking with the Dinosaurs" for free and are signed up to go to a wildlife center next month for free. They had "Star Wars" in concert as well but that was the day of my incentive flight and I was SO not going to miss that.

But- I am so appreciative of all the progress support has gone. I know that there is so much more support these days than there ever was for past wars.

I wanted to say a big THANKS to

Sarah @ Diary of a Navy Wife and

Elizabeth @ The Young Retiree

For giving me the following award:

Head on over to their blogs and check them out.  :-)

Many Blessings

Rainy BBQ

I had a BBQ at our house this past weekend. Of course it was a beautiful day BEFORE the BBQ. When it came time for the BBQ a storm rolled through and it rained and rained. I had rented 2 bounce houses from the base and we never got to use them.  :-(  Amazingly though- 27 people still came over. It was fun even though we were in the house. The kids went downstairs and played games while the adults chatted upstairs. When the rain paused the kiddos went outside and jumped on the trampoline and ran around having a blast.

It just goes to show that you can have fun no matter what.

Here is a picture my Mom took of the sunset. ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!

The next day was a gorgeous day and would have been perfect for a BBQ. We still had the 2 bounce houses in the garage in the back of the truck. It ould have been great if we could have used them. My kids kept asking me to get them out BUT I knew I would never be able to get them back in the truck. They are SO heavy. Such a bummer. Hubby is always the one to take care of the bounce houses and it would have been so much fun to use them.  Our daughter was very dispointed that she didn't get good use out of them. I learned not to rent them unless I had someone to help me put them back. LOL

Into the groove

Well, I think I am at that part of deployments where I am into the groove. Kind of used to him being gone now and just living day by day. Trying not to really take the time to think about him being gone. I keep us pretty busy so that our days go by quick. Anything to help time fly. Our daughter is on a traveling softball team so she has tons of games.

Even though we keep busy it never fails that when night time comes it gets hard. I am sick of sleeping with an empty space next to me. Sometimes when he calls just his voice makes me cry. It's hard when I have a daughter who is real sensitive so I can't show in front of her that I am sad. I think I just kept letting it build up and then one day I lost it in the shower. Not a good thing.  I felt like I just needed a real good crying to let it out. Unfortunately I just couldn't get it out. I had lots of streaming tears but it was a weird feeling of knowing there was so much there but it wouldn't release itself. I just wanted it to be over with so I could move on.

On a good note- another month is down.  :-)

Skype/ Magic Jack/ Post Office Kit Questions Answered

I have been getting questions about Skype , Magic Jack and the free post office kit.

Magic Jack information is here:

Magic Jack

You can buy them at Best buy, Wal- Mart and other electronic places. We bought ours for $30 at Best Buy. It has been wonderful except for a small time when it didn't work
_________________________________________________________
Skype info is here:    SKYPE

You download the program from your computer and use it to video chat with a webcam, regular voice chat with no camera or just instant message. When we use skype we also can play games against each other. My daughter loves this- they play backgamon.
 _______________________________________________________
POST OFFICE


You can read what is included HERE

I received several boxes, huge roll of first class tape, mailing labels and customs forms. You can reorder by calling the number back and they will send more supplies. 

To obtain a free kit of shipping supplies, simply call the USPS' packing supplies order line at 1-800-610-8734 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1-800-610-8734      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, select option #1 ("Express Mail, Priority Mail or Global Express Guaranteed products"), and ask a customer service agent for CAREKIT04 (or a "military kit"). You need supply only your name, address, and phone number, and they'll get a kit off to you that should arrive within 7-10 days. We've tried this service ourselves: it was easy to use, the USPS customer service agent we dealt with was courteous and efficient, and we were supplied with a customer ID number to expedite the process of ordering additional supplies. (This offer includes only packing materials — senders who use these materials still have to pay the requisite postage themselves.)

Skype/ Magic Jack update

Ok- so the Magic Jack is working again. With the Magic Jack he can call us for free from his computer. You set it up with a local US number and then he call any local number for free including cell phones.

We do have Skype but it is only free if you talk computer to computer. The monthly fee was if he wanted to call my cell phone.  So we have video chat and free calls to my cell phone.

Any ladies with deployments coming up- feel free to ask any questions.

You can also call the post office and get a free package kit with tape, boxes and labels to mail.