The Best Concert We Never Went To

You know, this weekend turned out nothing like I expected, and yet it's leaving me quite satisfied. The problems started when we almost had to cancel our dinner plans due to Will's flight schedule, but miraculously, he got off early. That meant that not only did we go to dinner, we also got to visit the kickoff Fourth Friday event downtown that we enjoyed on our anniversary last year. The weather was perfect, the food at our favorite restaurant was divine, and the company was the best in the world. Both my dates ;)

Saturday, was the big day for the Toadlick Music Festival, so we packed everyone up and took the gang to one of the biggest parties in Southern Alabama. We knew the weather might be a problem, but we were mentally prepared for gettin' muddy. We didn't expect the music to stop as soon as we got there, but that just meant we had an excuse to tailgate. Tailgating was NOT allowed, but there wasn't much they could do about it while the concert was on hold. 

When the actual storm got close things did get a little hectic. We were ushered into a pavilion, and minutes after all hell broke loose with one of the worst storms we have seen since living here. We were cozy inside and had coolers full of goodies, but it definitely got intense for a bit. So intense that there was ZERO power in the surrounding counties when we came out. You'd think we'd all be pissed because we had yet to see a single artist and hadn't even made it into the festival through the mud, but we were enjoying each other's company. Eventually, a few of the artists played acoustically and we got an AMAZING sunset, so all in all...I call it a win.

The gang was a little boisterous this weekend, which I had no patience for, but I just focused on spending time with Will and it made for the perfect anniversary weekend. I love it...almost everything went wrong, but we were together and had the BEST time. 

That's what it's all about, folks.

Five Years Of Marriage

I was never the little girl that dreamt of a wedding growing up. Sure, I played house when my friends wanted to, but that was the extent of my outlook for the future. For some reason, I never saw myself growing up or becoming an adult, so marriage was the last thing on my mind. Maybe if Pinterest had been around back then I would have a wedding board with a million pins, but as it were, up until I met Will...I could NEVER wrap my head around marrying someone for a lifetime that I couldn't even see myself in.

Seven years later and five dedicated to a marriage with the man better than my dreams, it's impossible to imagine life without him. Even though we were both young and all over the place when we met, some outside force took two kids on completely separate paths and turned our lives upside down. Using the word 'love' doesn't seem good enough, and 'true love' is uber cheesy, but unless you know the effect that love has on two people firsthand,  it's impossible to comprehend the connection it creates between two strangers. From strangers, to our own family unit and now our love and our family are still growing...

Dear Will, 

I could never tell you enough how proud I am of you, and I hope you know that no one in the entire world compares to you in my eyes. With each passing year you continue to amaze me, but most importantly, you still manage to love me and we continue to grow together. We make the world's greatest team {IMO}, and surpassing each milestone, each set of goals, and tackling every new adventure with you makes marriage, and life in general, more fun than I ever thought it could be. We are embarking on what I think might be our greatest {and scariest} adventure with CQB, but I know that we have an immeasurable amount of love and dedication to each other and her that will get us through. There will be times when she takes over our hearts, but I hope, no I PROMISE, to remember that I'm a wife first. Always and forever. Happy five years, lover, and cheers to 50+ more!

Military 'Entitlement'

Yay! I found something non-baby related that inspired me! I started this blog to remind myself that 'Perception Is Everything' no matter what we go through during our military life, and this is the perfect example of just how important that is. This post may be geared towards the military, but I think you may find that it can translate based on the entitled society that seems to be taking over these days. Unfortunately, entitlement is a problem much larger than this particular article, but that's a topic for a different day.

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Someone posted this article on Facebook knowing that it would incite a wildfire among military families, but it did the opposite for me and I think I'm the only one that agrees with it. As the title states, I do think that {some} military families need to reevaluate their sense of entitlement, and this Carl fella made some good points. As I discuss these points, remember that none of you lovely bloggers fall into the entitled category. You are all the most amazing military spouses that I have come across, and I think you can agree that there is a difference between appreciating community support and demanding it.

Point #1: Civilians don't 'owe' service members anything. Sure, a 'Thank you for your service' goes a long way with the soldiers, but Will would never even expect that and half the time we forget to ask for the discounts available to us. He receives a paycheck and some pretty okay benefits, and that covers what we are 'owed' by this country. On top of that, I don't know many jobs that foot the bill for things like career training and flight school. The flight school alone would cost us beaucoup bucks out of our own pockets if he trained in the civilian world, and he's also had countless other training and schools in the last five years. That adds up to a lot of extra compensation the way I see it, and for that we are thankful.

Point # 2: 'Toughest job in the Army/Navy/Air Force/Marine' stickers aren't cool. I would NEVER think that my military...er...situation is harder than Will deploying, training, or going through flight school, so the thought of displaying one of those stickers makes me cringe. Plus, as Carl stated: Are there sacrifices involved in a military lifestyle? "Yes. But especially when that military family chooses to re-up for another tour, they are like the hunter going after the bear the second time. They have voluntarily chosen that life with full knowledge of what they are getting into and decided that the pros outweigh the cons." I hadn't ever thought of it that way, but it's funny how many families you see that have re-enlisted, and yet still have the same complaints. The only reason I can think that people would do that is if they are the type to complain about any situation they are in.

Point #3: Military families complaining about not making ends meet are causing their own financial hardship. It's public knowledge that the soldiers receive a decent wage when you include BAH, BAS, Benefits, etc., and that wage even goes up during deployments. You can't put a price on being separated and the soldiers being in harm's way, but the military isn't the only career field that has a dangerous environment. Barring that, if a family, any family, can't live off one salary then I suggest the spouse goes and gets a job. I managed to find jobs each time we moved, worked until we could save up enough money to have a decent savings and investment money, and we also learned to live within our means. WE control our financial situation instead of complaining about what the military pays or demanding support from others. "The hard, unpleasant truth is that many of the problems some military families have are at least somewhat self-induced- by having kids too young."

I think the main point that is lost in the article while he brings up such hot button issues, is that we shouldn't be looking to civilians or communities for our 'entitlements'. The government signs up soldiers at such a young age that they need to be mentoring and preparing these soldiers for the deployments and hardships to come. Getting married and starting a family right before you deploy is romantic in the movies, but in real life love {and/or lust} is not enough to carry a family through without proper strategy.

I'm a firm believer that it's not what you say, but how you say it. Should this Carl character have had a better, more compassionate approach to this topic? Of course. But he wanted a reaction and he got it. With my opinions, I hope to show that if you want more, go out and get it. If you don't have enough 'support', go out and find it. There are jobs out there, and there is more support within the military community than any other community I've ever seen. Be grateful for what you have, and if it's not enough...what are you going to do about it?

Seven Year Itch

On this day seven years ago, Will and I had our very first date and according to the old adage 'the seven year itch' we should begin declining interest in our monogamous relationship pretty soon. Psychologists call it a titular phrase {which is way more fun to make up the meaning than the real one}, and still I must say I think the seven year itch isn't going to be an issue.

The other day, I realize I've told you about the actual first 'date' we had, but I never told you one of my favorite parts. On Will's way over, he called a bit nervous, and said "Don't judge me for my truck." With no clue what that meant, I simply replied "Don't judge me for my house."

You see, I was living in the "Mother-In-Law Suite" at my grandmother's house, so as my automatic wrought iron gate cleared to reveal his 'GEEP' pickup with the top cutoff...all we could do was laugh, and not a single judgement was made on either side.

I'm thankful that we were two crazy kids that appreciated our differences as much as our similarities even though that was hard to see at first. No, I'm not talking monetarily because a) that would be repulsive and b) he wasn't poor and I wasn't rich in spite of first impressions. What I'm talking about comes from his use of logic and my habit of er...a more emotional approach, little things like my love for Jack Johnson which he didn't share, and especially his free spirit that had him moving every few years while I never wanted to leave Florida. Those things could have and almost did end things before they even got started, but I am truly grateful everyday that the very things that could have torn us apart actually brought us closer together. Well with a bit of compromise, of course.

"Who wears the pants in our relationship?' We prefer when neither of us wear pants." That, my dears, is the secret to it all.

Just Like Riding A Bike

It is true that you can never forget how to ride a bike, however, it isn't near as easy as when you were young, energetic, and fearless. If anyone tells you different...they're liars.

I've been wanting a bike for awhile now, so when my dad offered me one I jumped at the chance. Since I had a bike, that meant we needed one for Will too, and two weeks later we had two bikes for a total cost of $25 bucks. You know how we roll. We are ready to hit the trails, bike around town, and more importantly...we can now go hang out with our friends and I won't have to DD! Just kidding, I still probably won't drink, but it's nice to have the option.

But just so you know, the first day on that bike KILLED my ass...literally. We went about ten miles, and it was aaaaall hills. I expected a lovely afternoon ride, indicated by my casual outfit, and instead I was huffin' and puffin' trying to keep my hat on. In spite of that, we laughed as we walked up a few of the steep ones, edited our route when we needed to, and really enjoyed the smoothies we picked up along the way.

I now think everyone should have a bike!

A Little Venting Sesh

“A happy woman is one who has no cares at all; a cheerful woman is one who has cares but doesn't let them get her down.” - Marie Dressler

Man, Fort Rucker is keeping BOTH of us busy these days. I know, I know, the whole world is busy. What's new. However, I was so busy that I ended up with 'severe dehydration'. I'm on a new stupid medicine (for hormones) that is a diuretic a.k.a. 'drink tons of water or you get kidney stones', and I guess I didn't take them as seriously as I should have. Thankfully, I do not have kidney stones {yet}, but I did start puffing up like a blow fish with pain so bad in the mornings that I couldn't use my hands. It's official. I'm getting old.

My truck broke down twice last week, and three times if you count last month. I just typed out a paragraph about what was wrong with it, but realized no one would read it or understand, so all you need to know is that I correctly diagnosed my truck twice! Toyota-0, Janna- 2

Everyone keeps giving me crap now that Will is an 'officer' saying I need a fancy car, but I am still rocking the shizz out of my truck, and I have a sexy mechanically inclined husband, so there is no way I'll buy a new car that will eventually have repairs that will cost more money than my whole truck. Ain't she a beaut'?

We've been so busy that we forgot to celebrate We-Man's birthday. Just kidding, we've never actually celebrated his birthday. However, it did just pass, and we should have celebrated it because of the heart murmur we recently found out he has. It's not life threatening, but we are now spending more for him in meds than an eighty year old man. I'm just happy that we figured out his heart problems were what was causing him to have coughing fits where he sounded like a seal. Poor thing was pitiful, and we felt helpless.

He's SO lucky to have his Aunt Katie here in Enterprise to take care of him. How cute is this? They put his picture on his meds, and she writes little love notes. I just love this girl. If you love animals, you should check out her Instagram.

Somehow I've managed to have dinner on the table every night, but I'm loving when I can find an easy option. I've been craving a Cobb Salad lately, so I decided that would do. It covers most of the food groups, it's purdy to look at, and you can make it your own.

Romaine Lettuce || Ham ||Turkey || Bell Pepper || Onion || Cheddar || Bacon
 ||Avocado ||Dressing || Optional: Hard Boiled Egg, Cucumber, Tomatoes, etc.

You are welcome, and more importantly, thank YOU for allowing me to ramble today. It's just one of those days that I need to get it all out. You know? Now don't forget about the Blog Auction. It goes live at 9AM Central Time, and on that note...Good night, moon.

We Don't Even Have A Target In This Town!

  When we first moved here, I thought my life was over when we didn't even have a Target! No mall, no Starbucks, no Costco, middle of nowhere, and they still smoke in restaurants. I may be from right down the road, but it was a culture shock coming from progressive Colorado. I was going to post an inappropriate picture about just how progressive it is, but Will vetoed it. It's really strange when he's the responsible one, but alas...I need a reel-in every now and then too.

Alright, so if Perception Is Everything, I had to find ways to like this town real quick. Luckily, it has been easier than I even imagined, and it fits like a perfect pair of new pumps which I still haven't found. Living at a lower altitude {from 6,000' down to 358'} has all kinds of perks- our vehicles run better, baking is easier, less dehydration, friends won't get altitude sickness when they come to visit, and my eyebrows have finally started growing again! It's also nice to be in a small town. Going from a population of 439,886 to  27,775 makes life so much easier! No waiting in line to eat at a restaurant, I haven't had to use my horn a single time, there are no strangers- only neighbors, and this is the kind of place that you can leave your door unlocked. We don't leave it unlocked, but it's nice to trust your neighbors, ya know.

Why do I think you care about any of this? Well...you may or may not, but it's my blog and I want to remember how wonderful this place is. I can't believe we've only been here since February, but it feels like we have made years worth of memories. We will most likely return here throughout our military career, and I want it to always feel like a home.

Sidenote: Can you believe Will is now flying those things? He has a solo flight on Tuesday, and yours truly is freaking out. I know he's amazing and all, but two weeks of flying doesn't seem like enough to take over the whole thing! Please pray for us.

Fort Rucker is the "Home of Army Aviation", which basically means that it is our home away from home. Aaaand the Southern food doesn't hurt either. Just remind me of this when I get the itch to move again. I hate PCS'ing, but I always love a new adventure.

Have you guys lived in the same place your whole life or have you moved around?

Baby Fever Or Birth Control?

Have I mentioned how amazing it is to be living close to home? Not only did my wonderful In-Laws come to stay with us recently {FIL made me a coffee table, more on that soon}, but while laying in bed Friday night, we decided to pop down to Pensacola for the weekend!

Momma made us Dumplins, we had a sleepover at grandma's, and we got to play with lots of sweet, precious, little babies. I'm tellin' ya, these kids were so cute that I almost, almost felt my uterus flutter. Normally, I would avoid a toddler birthday like the plague, but I happen to love my childhood friend Carmela enough to play Minnie Mouse for the day. It's funny that we grew up playing together and now we get to watch Savannah and her little friends form lasting friendships like ours. Oh nostalgia...

I died when she put her tool belt on and immediately started working on her jeep. Can you tell she's a daddy's girl? All I know is that I'm proud they are raising her right, because girls can play tools and cars too. But even cuter...please meet Miss Lennon.

She's my other BFF's little bundle of joy that I finally got to meet on Sunday, and she was the cutest wobble baby that I've ever held. She's gorgeous, sweet, alert, and smart, but she is all malleable and soft to the point where you never want to put her down. Unfortunately, I did have to put her down because we had to drive two and a half hours home before it got too late. Why the random picture of a dirt road, you ask?

Welp, we tried a new route that lead to a closed road, and then got rerouted to a dirt road. We giggled a bit, but there was nothing much else we could do during one of life's little adventures. Welcome to sweet home Alabama.

Sometimes life gives you dirt roads...charge your gps and enjoy the ride!

Nine Months Or Three Weeks, I Still Miss Him

I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that this homecoming was harder than the last deployment. You'd think nine months would trump a measly twenty-one days, but I was able to talk to him throughout the deployment, had an idea of his mental state, and didn't have three weeks of irrational thoughts and fear running around my brain.

But let's go back, because the planning for the homecoming actually started before the school began. As we've been learning lately, his new position comes with spousal responsibilities that I have not had prior experience with, and one such 'job' finds us responsible for throwing a homecoming for the class. It was a little surprising to know that a group of about ten of us would have to come up with the funds, plan, and execute a homecoming for 80 soldiers, but it turned out to be a bonding experience and helped us pass the time while they were all gone.

As usual, I also spent weeks working on his pile'o goodies, and I may have outdone myself...The beer selection was impeccable, there were snacks galore, and I pricked my fingers a million times on those dang roses. You know my motto: "Let the wife make the husband glad to come home & let him make her sad to see him leave." 

Obviously, I take it seriously...

I found the banana idea on Pinterest, but my little sayings are the best part. Just sayin'. "Report for booty and peel me like a banana" and "Your Banana is banana's for you" are quite appropriate if I do say so myself.{ Insert self high five}

Okay, so after we spent a month and a half working on this homecoming, guess what happened? It stormed all morning. We were already extremely nervous picking up our husbands from the hardest training they will EVER experience, and we probably weren't even going to be able to show them what we had worked so hard on. You'd think after all the planning, volunteering, baking, and legitimate blood, sweat, and tears we would be devestated, but between the relief of having our soldiers home and realizing that the whole process brought us all closer together, we understood that it was all worth it regardless.

And you know what? Seeing the smiles on their faces when they laid eyes on us showed that we were what they were looking forward to, and then hearing that thoughts of us were what got them through the rough times made it ALL worth it. It was clear that the traditions and goodie bags were the last things on their mind, and we really can't complain about that. You can't complain about much of anything when they wrap their arms around you ;)

You'd think I couldn't love my husband anymore, and then he goes and slips the following into a conversation we were having: "As I walked through the woods talking to a Tech about being away from you, I told him 'I was thinking it sucks to be away, but then I get to fall in love with her all over again when I come home."

I mean, I feel this way every time he comes home, but I didn't know he did or at least that he would have voiced the feelings to a stranger in public. Just when I think he can't be anymore perfect on the scale of human perfection, he makes me woozy like a school girl... That's how you keep love alive, people!

One last final shout out out to thank Chik-fil-A for their amazing generosity in donating thirty gift cards to a bunch of soldiers that had to forage in the woods for weeks at a time. They were happy when they got to eat in the DFAC {dining facility}, so you can only imagine how excited a warm, hearty chicken sandwich could make them. And to the Army...you may take my husband away more than I like, but I can't deny that I enjoy falling in love with him over and over again. 

Passionate Sense

I found a quote a few months ago, and it has stuck with me ever since.

It actually takes me back to the beginning of our relationship where Will liked to look at everything 'logically', and I had to inform him on several occasions that  love transcends common logic. As anyone who has loved or dreams of love knows, there is no linear 'sense' in love, and that is part of the magic. When people ask me how I knew our love was real, I now tell them that for the first time, I was truly immersed in passionate sense.

Just remember...it's as simple and as complicated as a mathematical equation. You can't just present the solution, you have to show your work, and it takes both partners to reach a point of symmetry. Love is easy. It's the staying in love part that people have issues with. You must make the conscious decision to rip off the logic and make passionate sense above all else. Passion is what life is all about when you really get down to it, and I love making passionate sense with my husband, even on the odd days.

I Call BS On Conscious Uncoupling.

Dear Gwyneth Paltrow,
I have no problem with divorce. I would much rather someone get a divorce than remain in a bad or loveless marriage, but glorifying divorce so that you can make it 'cool' is wrong. You can tell the media that you are doing this for your kids until you are blue in the face, but it's pretty obvious that you are simply trying to validate your choice for the 'Big D'. It would be nice if people took your lead and had amicable divorces for the 'kids', but I forsee couples giving up on their marriages instead of putting effort in 'because Gwyneth Paltrow did it' and Conscious Uncoupling becoming the cool thing. Especially when you tell people that we aren't meant for monogamy. THAT IS NOT YOUR PLACE TO SAY JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE A CELEBRITY. You need to stick to following scripts that are written for you, because you are not the screenwriter for our society.

Dear Anyone That Ever Gets Married,

Be in a relationship that you would want your children to have. If you haven't found your life partner, look for the caliber that you would want for your children, and don't settle for what you think you deserve. I can guarantee that you deserve more than you think. If you have found your life partner, you {both} need to put the effort into have a good relationship, and you need to make sure that you are achieving a marriage that will show your children what they deserve. People say that our marriage is 'perfect', and even though there is no such thing as perfection, what we do have is because we WORK for our marriage. We put in 1000% effort, because the more effort you put into the marriage, the more love and happiness you get out. It's a proven fact, people.

Dear Husband of Mine,
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for sharing this magical adventure of true love. I really can't think of something to call it other than magical or true, because I don't know how we have reached this euphoric level of love, we have become one heart, one brain with two bodies, and we defy all odds. No matter what life has thrown at us: debt, distance, immaturity, ego, fear, deployments, etc., we have found a way to work through it, and I am happy that we can give hope to others. LOVE IS REAL, and I can honestly say we prove that. As my cynical friend Todd says, "If you two don't work out, there is no such thing as love. Don't f#$% it up for the rest of us." I know we will never let Todd down, and that is the most comforting bit of knowledge I've ever come across.

Feel free to forward this on to Gwyneth, I'd love to have a few choice words with her. If she can tell the world that monogamy isn't real, then we should be able to prove to her that it is. Mark my words, she will eventually find her soulmate, and she will be eating this crap she's spreading around. Mark my words.

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action. ~Mother Teresa

Dear Life

You know, I don't know if I've ever done 'Friday's Letters'. I've seen it floating around for years, but I guess it just never struck my fancy. However, I wanted to include a note I wrote to Will before he left, so it seems appropriate.

Dear Netflix,

You are my hero. Between you and eating my feelings, this month will go by just fine.

Dear dishes,

I MOTHEREFFIN' hate you with a MOTHEREFFIN' passion. We are not friends and never will be. Oh, how I wish this new dishwasher didn't suck. The joys of renting.

Dear me,

Don't rent the wrong movie from Redbox. Let me explain...I'm kind of behind on the Hunger Games craze because I really don't like children killing children and the message that sends, but Will talked me into watching it. He already had the first one on digits, so then we decided to rent the second one. Silly me didn't think that Redbox would have both of them at the same time, and I ended up renting the first one. I had a free rental, so technically it didn't cost anything, but I still felt like a big dummy. I will tell you that when we did watch the second one, I liked it better than the first since no children were harmed, and think I may even read the books before we see the third. I still won't watch or read Twilight, so let's not even go there. I really mean no offense, Twihards. I just don't do vampires.

Mi Amor,

The day has finally come...We are embarking on our biggest adventure thus far, and I have never been more proud of you. You have truly earned this step in your career, and I am honored to be standing next to you for this process. It's funny that six years ago you were searching for direction in all the wrong places, and now it's as if this job was made for you. You are the epitome of a soldier, and you are definitely going to make the HOTTEST pilot I've EVER seen. Just thinking about that...dayum. This next month is simply a means to an end, so I hope it flies by as quickly as possible. Try to have fun {without getting an Article 15}, and I'll see you at church! I love you with all my heart, and you are my everything. You won't truly be gone because you are always in my heart.

I really have no complaints {other than the aforementioned}, and I'm just going to make the most of the time he is gone. I'm just a lucky girl to have someone to miss this much. Hope y'all enjoy the first weekend of Spring! It's lookin' like we're gonna have a bit of one around these parts, and hopefully you do too. At least some of you?