If You Could Choose...

Yesterday on the Army wives forums I'm a part of someone posted a question about where would you want to be stationed and not want to be stationed. Just kind of a fun little question to think about. Of course everyone had their different opinions and some people's list of places they would not want to go were my top picks!

So for you military gals out there where would you want to be stationed and not be stationed? Where have you been that you loved and were their places where you just wanted to leave ASAP?

Actually I'd love to hear civilian answers as well. So everyone feel free to share!

Here's my list of where I wouldn't mind being stationed:
1. Fort Carson, Colorado
2. Fort Richardson, Alaska
3. Fort Riley, Kansas
4. Fort Benning, Georgia
5. Fort Stewart, Georgia
6. Fort Lewis, Washington

Here's where I really do not want to go:
1. Fort Bragg, NC
2. Fort Hood, TX

Mainly I don't want to go to either of those because they are so big! I've also heard a mixture of bad things about Fayetteville outside of Bragg.

There were a lot of people that said they wouldn't want to go to Fort Polk, but other than it being a smaller post, I love it! Bigger cities are only about 45 minutes away with malls/ bigger restaurants and that's very similar to where I grew up. Plus Louisiana is an awesome place to explore and they have wonderful food.

So let's hear it everyone. Where would you choose?

Wordless Wednesday- Home

These are from my home in Oklahoma, but they aren't from my recent trip. These were taken last summer.

When I think of home these are two images that usually come to my mind. The beautiful sunsets with the long grass waving in a slight breeze.

And my mom's flower gardens with hummingbirds constantly buzzing about

Scared Thoughts

I just got back from an amazing lunch with my co-workers. I had a delayed birthday lunch of my choice today and so I picked the local Japanese steakhouse so I could have some sushi. I had two delish rolls of sushi and now I'm stuffed!

I meant to put up my pictures today from home, but after I uploaded them to my home computer I couldn't find the flash drive that I usually put them on so I can mess with them at the office, so I guess those will have to wait for another day.

Sean and I were watching a special last night on the National Geographic Channel about Special Forces in Afghanistan. I had seen parts of it before, but at the end an IED kills/injuries several National Geographic camera men, an interpreter and one of the SF guys. It really got to me...alot. I had to leave the room when they started playing Taps. I didn't want Sean to see how much that bothered me. Just thinking about it now really chokes me up.

I'm not trying to be Debbie Downer, but sometimes I think of what possibly could happen when Sean deploys and it just seems so overwhelming and horribly scary. Granted most of the time I try to remain positive and not think of the "What if's" but sometimes I just can't help it. I know thinking about what could happen is not going to do anything for us right now and will just make life harder for me and for Sean. I try not to share my fears with him, I do try to be strong and show him that I don't dwell on all these thoughts everday.

I've never been through a deployment before. Sean was deployed once before we were together before I even knew him and I see how much it has affected him. I'm scared, sometimes terrifed to be quite honest. Most likely we will go through one or two deployments while we are Italy, his unit here, although on standby, will most likely not be deploying while we are still here. Sometimes I would almost trade going to Italy to stay here just so I don't have to be without him or risk losing him. How selfish does that sound? I think as time goes by I'll start or I hope I start dealing with this better.

Most days I love being an Army wife, I love the benefits of being involved with the military, but watching that show yesterday just rocked me to my core.

I'm Still Here!

I know it's been a few days since I've been around, but I was busy with a trip back to Oklahoma and that has kept me away from the computer, but I am back and ready to blog.

I had an amazing time with my family, had a delicious birthday dinner and even got some shopping in. Oh..and of course I took some pictures that I will hopefully get up on here tomorrow.

I need to catch up on all the blogs I missed while I was gone, so prepare to read some comments from me!

Get To Know Me

I know that I have some new readers and so I just wanted to do a fun little get-to-know me post.

1. I am a great lover of peanut butter. I love crunchy peanut butter on my toast at any time and my favorite candy happens to be these.



Best candy ever!

2. I've never broken a bone in my body (knock on wood!) I've come close to breaking my wrist when I tripped backwards over a bicycle, but luckily I ended up with just a sprain.

3. I'm a natural blonde. My hair is currently highlighted, but it's very close to my nautral hair color. My hair used to get white in the summers. I guess I can thank my Norweigan ancesters for that!

4.I've only been associated with the military for a little over a year now. None of my family were military and I'd never dated any ROTC or military guys before I married Sean.

5. I was raised on a cattle-ranch. We are by no means a huge ranch, but we've been raising and selling cattle since before I was born. In fact, I paid for the first couple years of my college by selling cattle I had acquired over the years.

6. I got my nose pierced in March. Most of my friends and family were shocked. It's something that I've wanted to have done for awhile though. I love it! It was very painful when I got it done though, I'm not going to deny that.

7. I HATE going to the dentist with a passion. I'd honestly rather go have a yearly exam then have anything done to my teeth.

8. There are two talents I wish I had. One is singing. I have an awful singing voice. The other would be to be able to sew anything. My mom has tried to teach me to sew...and I'm just not good at it. I wish I took after her and my grandma in that department!

9. I would love to live in Alaska one of these days. I absolutley fell in love with it when I went there on a vacation. I cannot wait to go back!

10. I am actually quite a shy person. I've improved since I was little, but in some social situations it's still difficult for me to start conversations with people.

11. Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I love the traditions of that time. I start listening to Christmas music right after Thanksgiving and that's pretty much all I listen to until Christmas Day. I go all out decorating too.

12. My first car was a 1982 Corvette. My dad had one in high school so he let me get one. I saved up money and also worked to pay it off. I drove it for seven years. It was an amazing car! It still sits at my parents house.

13. I know the entire soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever by heart. I also love all 70's era music. When I'm at work that's all I listen to on Internet radio.

14. I would like to get my Masters in Library Science and work as an elementary librarian. Summers off with my future kids would be great.

15. I've never had a massage, facial or pedicure which is something I plan on rectifying soon. Maybe that will be my reward when I lose another 10 lbs!

Honey I'm Home!

When I got home from work yesterday this is what greeted me.

Gorgeous flowers from my sweet husband. He knows exactly what I want. Pink roses and stargazer lilies are my two favorites!


He also bought me some Nina Ricci perfume I've been eyeing at the PX. It smells heavenly!



This is everything he got me. Part of it was my late birthday present, which I didn't mind a bit. He's been really busy at work the last few weeks and so I didn't mind waiting an extra week for my presents.

He did get me the Break-Up DVD, which I asked him if that was some sort of hint. Ha ha...he just laughed and assured me it wasn't.

The kitchen was also spotless when I got home and dinner was on the stove. Do I have the best husband or what?

He completley made my month with that little gesture yesterday. I'm a very happy wife!

Grillin and Chillin

This weekend was lazy for us. Basically Saturday we spent all-day preparing to grill and then grilling.

A friend of Sean, Matt and his wife Lindsey and their baby Boston came over too. I got plenty of practice with the baby feeding, changing and even getting him to sleep. I felt pretty good about it since when I was younger everytime I held a baby it started to cry.

Here's a pic of the boys:



And a close-up of Boston chillin:



Boomer was jealous and very interested in the baby, you can tell in this picture:



Here's another shot of Boston. He has the cutest little cheeks!


Sean, the grill-master at work. He's grilling the bacon-wrapped shrimp. They were amazing!



Kisses right here! (Oh and if you're wondering about the longer hair and stubble, Sean is on relaxed grooming right now) :)



That was my weekend. Just how I like it too. Plenty of quality time with Sean and some fun and food to boot!

Home Alone

Ok..not exactly home alone, but I am the only one in the office until 3:30. I considered slapping the sides of my face and screaming a la Mcauley Culkin in Home Alone, but I thought better of it.

I do have a lot to get done today so it's not like I can just prop my feet up and surf the Internet all day, but I thought stopping for a brief blog wouldn't be that detrimental.

Can I share how excited I am that it's Friday? Sean has a four day weekend and I don't think we have any big plans, but it will be nice to just relax and enjoy being off work.

I made my green enchiladas last night. Not to brag, but they were fantastic. I consider green enchiladas to be one of my signature dishes. I'm not sure if I've shared the recipe for them before, but here it is.


Green Enchiladas

1 lb ground hamburger meat
1 small chopped onion
1/4 cup Velveeta
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 or 2 cans of chopped green chilies
2 cups milk
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
Corn tortillas

Brown meat and onions in skillet. Drain. Add cheese to hamburger mixture, stir in. In pan, melt butter, stir in flour until smooth. Add milk stirring constantly. Add green chilis and Velveeta until smooth.

I prepare the enchiladas a little differently than I used to. I used to roll each one indvidually by briefly warming the tortilla in vegetable oil and patting dry. Now I just layer six tortillas in a 13x9 pan, spread the meat mixture over that, layer 6 more tortillas on top of that and then pour the cheese mixture over it. I also add a healthy sprinkling of red pepper to the sauce as well as the meat while I am cooking them and add salsa on top of the cheese mixture in the pan.

Bake for 22-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Before I indulged in my delicious enchiladas last night though I did start my first workout with Turbo Jam. I can say that I am defiently aware of muscles in my abs that I was not aware of before. I am intending on starting Crossfit, as it has been explained to me very well by When In Rome, but I wanted to find a trainer to kind of get me started with it. It appears though the only one trained in it on-post is very pregnant and won't be back for awhile. So, I might try it on my own..slowly of course. I'm not planning on taking on anything big.

So, a question for all you crafty types out there that can sew. I have a ton of old t-shirts from college, high school, vacations and my sorority days that I really don't want to throw away, but I want to make them into some sort of quilt. Well, let me rephrase that. I want to find someone who will make them into a quilt for me. Has anyone ever seen one of these quilts? I've found a few websites of people that do them. However, does anyone know anybody who does them? I would love to have a quilt that reminded me of some good memories in my life, plus I just think it would look neat. If anyone has any leads on that let me know. At times like this I really wish I could sew.

Well, I suppose I better get back to work. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Ran Off and Got Married: The story of Melissa and Sean

So, I've had a couple of people mention wanting to know the back story of Sean and I "running off and getting married". Well, it's not a story I'm sure I want to tell my children, simply because I'm not sure I want them following in our footsteps, but it does make for an interesting story and kind of romantic too.

It all started in November of 2006. I was living and working in my hometown and just having gotten out of a two and half year relationship I wasn't looking for anything serious. I was dating a few different people and knew the relationships weren't going anywhere.

At this time I had an account on the ever-popular MySpace. I used it mainly to keep up with my friends. However, a guy started messaging me. He was in the Army and from the same hometown I was. I had never known him though because he was four years older than me and we had attended different high schools. I kept talking to him because unlike a lot of the messages I got from random people at that time, he wasn't hitting on me or sending any sort of raunchy messages. He seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. I kind of dismissed him at first. Sure I enjoyed talking to him and I knew he was different then anyone I was seeing at the time, but he was in Louisiana and I was in Oklahoma, seperated by over 9 hours so I really didn't see the point.

A couple of months went by and we were still talking through emails and by now I'd given him my phone number. We talked a few times and I was so nervous everytime we talked but really enjoyed our conversations. He would jokingly ask when I was going to marry him and I'd just laugh it off. I couldn't deny the feeling though that I knew this one was special. This guy was different then all the other men I'd been in relationships with, yet we weren't even really dating, how could we when we were so far apart?

There were several times when he would try to come home and visit me, but not having a car that was hard to do. Eventually we just planned to meet up on his block leave in June. That seemed a long time to wait, but the months went by and I by now as odd as it seemed I knew I was going to marry this man that I'd never met, just spent huge amounts of time on the phone with.

June came finally, I met him in Dallas and we drove back to our hometown, we spent 2 weeks together and in one of his last days there he asked me to marry him. We decided to run off to Texas and do it since active-duty didn't have to wait any days to have the ceremony once we applied for our marriage license. We broke the news to my parents the day the met Sean and of course they were less than happy. They didn't speak me to me for about a month and a half after that. It did seem crazy to everyone but us.

We got married in Gainesville, Texas on July 5th, 2007 by a Justice of the Peace. I planned on wearing a dress, but the JOP was running late so I didn't have time. It was just us in our causual wear. Our "honeymoon" was nothing special. We spent the night in Dallas and ate at a Grandy's. Very low-key and very low-budget! The next day Sean had to go back to Ft.Polk so our time together got cut short. We spent the next five months in seperate states since I had a work contract to finish before I could move to Louisiana with him. We did eventually have a bigger ceremony in December since we both decided that was something we really wanted to have, but we consider our anniversary to be in July.

I am by no means an impulsive person, I think everything through, I plan ahead, but I knew that this was something I had to do at that time and I've never regretted doing it. A lot of people thought we wouldn't last six months, but we knew this was forever and we love proving people wrong that doubted us. My parents eventually came around and I know they really love Sean. I don't tell this story to everyone because some people find it odd we met online and then got married without really even "dating", but it works for us and that's all that matters!

WWWAT- July/Summer Days

It's finally that time again! I've been looking forward to Wordless Wednesday With a Twist for the last few weeks. Today's theme is July/Summer Days. I decided on a collection of photos that reminds me of the lovely month of July.





The first part of July is important because not only is it our nation's birthday, but also my husband's birthday.



Next up is our anniversary, this is our marriage certificate from Texas. We pretty much "ran off and got married"



My birthday was always a hightlight of July, I may have missed out on the celebrating it with my classmates during the school year, but I more than made up for it with warm wather and wonderful birthday parties.



With all the holidays out of the way we can get down to the summer essentials!

Tanning:



Grilling:



Enjoying lazy days at Grandma's with the cousins:



After all those activities you have to cool off!

Birthday Weekend Recap

My birthday weekend was great. Nothing terribly excited happened. No big trip to New Orleans...yet. Instead we went down to Lake Charles which is one of our favorite places to go around here.

Since it was my birthday I got to choose what I wanted to do for the day. I had originally thought about going south of Lake Charles on the Creole Nature Trail, but I opted to save that for another day.

Instead it was a day of shopping and good food for us. We went to Target first. (My how I wish Leesville had a Target!) I was looking for a specific lip gloss from Max Factor but apparently Target or at least this Target doesn't carry that, so I had to make do with the awesome pale pink nail polish I found. Sean and I also bought some basic baby stuff for a friend of ours. He and his wife are new parents as of yesterday and they had no baby stuff. He said they could use anything so we got them a diaper genie, which happens to be one of my favorite gifts to give, some bottles, 3 onesies, a couple of pacifiers, and a baby medical kit that had a thermometer, measuring dropper, and a few other things in it. I love being able to do stuff like that for people, it always makes me feel good to be able to help someone. I told Sean I'd keep an eye out for baby clothes at Goodwill too.

We stopped at our favorite sports bar for lunch and a couple of spicy Bloody Marys. If you're ever in Lake Charles stop by Pappy's on Ryan Street. They have a deli on one side and a bar on the other. Usually we just sit in the bar because the deli is so busy and order what we want. The Po'Boys are amazing there as are the Spicy Bloody Marys. I've never been one for Bloody Marys, but these can't be missed. We like to play Buzztime Trivia while we are there too, so I enjoyed an hour or so of that. Few things I find as fun as beating my husband on multiple rounds of trivia! Muah ha ha.

Next up was Books a Million, which also happens to have a deal with AAFES online, so remember that all you military gals! I have never been in such a wonderful bookstore! They had the most magazines I've ever seen in a bookstore. The selection of books was also amazing. I ended up with a travel book about Europe and I bought Sean a book about the history of paratroopers.



We also hit Goodwill and Hobby Lobby. How I miss Hobby Lobby too! I cannot go in that store without buying at least one thing. They were having great sales on summer stuff so I grabbed a couple of picture frames.



We ended the day with a feast at Olive Garden. I had the Tour of Italy and a strawberry bellini and thought Sean was going to have to roll me out of there, I was that full!

I have a feeling that my 25th year is going to be simply amazing!

A Cool Freebie

I hope everyone had a pleasant Monday. Mine wasn't too bad. It was cloudy most of the day which led to cooler temperatures. Our boss is gone the entire week and since it's just me and another lady we decided to dress casual the rest of the week. I have to say I'm pretty excited about that. I did have a minor occurence yesterday though when I came out in the afternoon to find my car had a flat rear tire. That led to me having to purchase new rear tires today and I'm a $150.00 poorer, but I'm just thankful this flat didn't happen while I was driving or while we were in Lake Charles this past weekend.

Sean is at the ranges all this week so he won't be getting home until late and then leaving early in the mornings. So, it's just been Boomer and I this evening, even though I did go to the gym for awhile with my friend Lauren. After eating so much Olive Garden this weekend it was imperative that I got myself to the gym!

So I know many of you out there probably like to travel as much as I do, so I'm going to let you in on a great deal that I just happened to run across. I love taking road trips and there's a program called the American Scenic Byways program. There are scenic byways all over and I requested what I thought was a brochure about them. This is what came in the mail.



That's right folks. A full-color National Geographic Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways. It didn't cost me a dime! I just got it off of this link. The price on the back says $25.00. To say I was shocked to get this is an understatement. I had to call my Mom and tell her about it since she loves travel books like I do. Do yourself a favor and go check it out!

I'm still planning a post about my birthday weekend and a few of my cool buys, but I'm going to save that for another day.

Thank You

I wanted to say thank you to everyone for the kind comments and birthday wishes. I have had a wonderful birthday weekend and I'm sure I'll be writing all about it tomorrow.

Thanks again!

25 Years

I'm so pumped that it's Friday, this week has been pretty decent for me. I got a $1.00 raise yesterday at work and my boss told me I was doing a great job and they were so glad to have me working for them. To say it made my day is an understatment.

This Sunday is my 25th birthday! I haven't decided what I want to do for it yet, but I'm sure it will include a trip to Olive Garden. Hey, a girl's got to indulge on her birthday right?

Anyway, in honor of being alive for a quarter of a century I thought I'd put together a small list of some the best things I've experienced in my first 25 years.

1. Getting married to the love of my life



2. Graduating high school and college

3. Spending 25 years with an amazing family

4. Having the President of the United States speak at my college graduation

5. Having the opportunity to live in two different wonderful states

6. Being lucky enough to have friends that I'm certain will be there for me for the rest of my life

7.Getting to see such sites as the Grand Canyon, Niagra Falls, New York City, the Hollywood Hills, Yellowstone and countless other places

8. Seeing the highest point in North American, Mt. McKinley

9. Snorkeling in the waters of Mexico

10.Realizing my dream in life is to be a photographer

11.I've worked as a cashier, library reference desk assistant, program assistant for Girl Scouts, bakery girl, picked grapes for a vineyard, put together air conditoners and now I'm working for the Louisiana Sheriff's Law Enforcement Progam. Interesting jobs in a short amount of time!

12. I won several essay contests in high school that I was extremly proud of. They were through the VFW and provided me with some money for college.

13. I'm proud of all the other events in my life that has made me the woman I am today.

My Pre-Blogging days

Before I was a blogger, I was a journal keeper. No big suprise there huh? I started keeping a journal the summer before my 8th grade year. It was a journal from Sanrio, makers of Hello Kitty. It looked a little something like this:



That first journal is chock-full of innocent crushes I had in my early teens and the difficulties I had my eighth grade year.

I filled up that first journal pretty quickly and soon I had amassed a collection.



Those journals hold the highs and lows of high school, the adventure of setting off to college and some amazing family trips taken over the years. When I lived at home and it was tornado season, I kept a duffel bag of what was most important to me so I could make a quick run to the storm cellar if need be. What was contained in that duffel bag was my many volumes of journals, my photo albums and the stuffed bear my Dad had given me the day I was born. No clothes, no jewelry went in that bag, just my memories.

I once had a friend go through one of my journals when I was in college, it was one of the most humiliating things I had gone through at that point. To have someone go through your private thoughts and then call you on it? I was beyond mad and I thought for awhile our friendship would end, but we mended it and are still friends to this day. I always told my friends and now I tell Sean, that if I should die unexpectedly that they should burn all my journals immediately. I'm sure some might look at it as a great rememberance of my life, but to me, my journals are my innermost thoughts and confessions and I couldn't bare anyone reading them after I was gone.

I've been trying to keep a journal this past year, but I find I rarely write in it. I've gotten out of the habit of writing in it and with blogging online I sometimes don't feel the need to write twice a day in different forms. I love looking back so much on what I have written that I feel bad about not keeping a hard-copy of what I am experiencing in my life right now. It's just not the same to go back and look at my old Xanga, MySpace and Blogger posts.

So here's to many more years of online and plain old old-school journaling!

A Wednesday Stroll

No Worldess Wednesday for me, I'm ready for the return of WWWAT though, so I'm eagerly awaiting next week when that begins again.

I was on my way to the post office awhile ago, which is one of my favorite tasks here at the office. Probably because it is such a nice, picturesque walk and I enjoy the scenery. It's nicer when the heat and humidity don't knock you down as soon as you walk outside, but that's beside the point. As I'm walking a guy comes up behind me running, as in exercising running. Um...it's the afternoon in western Louisiana. The sun is beating down and it feels like I'm walking in a wet, hot blanket yet this man is running? I don't know how people do that in this heat. I'd keel over in the first couple of blocks!

I got to enjoy a nice lunch of Mexican food with my handsome husband today and that really upped the great factor to my day. Not much is better than a plate-full of enchiladas and sitting across from Sean! Two of my big loves in life!

Boomer is being an attention-hog right now. He's started whining which I hate. He whines mostly when he wants to share our people-food which is a big no and also whines when he wants us to throw his toys. He also doesn't like it if Sean is rubbing my back or we kiss each other. Sometimes just to annoy Boomer we will kiss each other a bunch and he gets right up between our faces and has to start licking us. It's really funny to watch. Although it can be annoying at times.

I have to get back in the swing of my good fitness routine. I've really been slacking this past week and a holiday weekend certaintly didn't help with that. I've neglected my body for long enough and if I'm going to continue shedding the pounds I need to step away from the Mexican food and back onto the treadmill! I have started writing down what I eat though so hopefully that will keep me on track as well.

I've really been missing my friends from back home lately. I had a great talk though with one of my best friends yesterday and I felt so much better. She talked about how she'd been canning and was going to send me some fresh fruit jelly she had canned as well as some spicy spaghetti sauce. The thought of some fresh jelly on a hot buttery roll sounded too good to me. This girl is a wonder at all things crafty. She cans, she sews, she quilts, she cooks amazingly too and she is one of the sweetest, most giving, prettiest girls inside and out that I know. I asked her if there was anyway she could just live with me from now on and move post to post with us so I'd always have a friend. I wish that could happen, making friends around here has been really difficult for me. I'm not sure why that is true here, since it's never been an issue before. I guess sometimes I feel like there isn't anyone around here that is similar to me and that can feel lonely at times.

High Matienence

I'm wearing this little number to work today:



Along with these:



I just got the dress yesterday along with 2 other dresses I ordered from Forever 21. They all thankfully are long enough to wear to work and they are so cute! Even Sean was impressed with my thriftyness and awesome taste in dresses. I couldn't wait to wear this to work, but I'm wearing it sans belt because I just didn't like the way the belt looked with it.

I'm still feeling a little under the weather today. It started suddenly on Sunday afternoon and I guess it's just allergies. I hate being sick in the summer though, its' the absolute worst! I just don't want to be sick on my birthday, that will really be the pits! I'm not a good sick person at all. I think I got that from my dad because he is absolutley pitiful when he's sick. My mom on the other hand functions for the most part as she usually would. Perhaps I'll get that superhuman gene when I become a Mom. I already have the superhuman ability to know exactly where something is that Sean is asking me for. I'm not sure how I remember where exactly all the different parts of his equipment and uniforms are, but I do. This morning he was asking me where his boonie hat was. I told him the exact location, yet he could not find it. I walk in the spare bedroom and locate it within exactly 3.5 seconds. Men! How silly they are.

I'm thinking about starting a food diary to keep track of all the bad and good things that I'm putting into my body. I think it might help me continue on my weight loss path which has seemed to plateau in the last few weeks. My goal is to lose 15 more lbs by September 30th so I need to kick it in high-gear if that's going to happen. Anyone do a food diary? If so do you do it online or on paper? Any suggestions?

I have a situation that has been bothering me lately and I'm not sure what to do to fix it. See, since I've gotten married and moved to Louisiana keeping in touch with all my friends at home has gotten harder. I still talk to my very best friend almost everyday, if we don't talk on the phone then we text at least some to each other. However, I have many more friends that I consider very close, but sometimes we go several weeks without talking. It doesn't mean we dont' care for each other, but I know they have busy lives like myself and to call each of them everyday would be almost impossible. One friend though confronted me today about the fact that I didn't often answer her phone calls. The thing is, is that she calls me at times of the day when I am often cooking dinner or trying to sneak in some quality time with Sean. She told me she feels as if I am ignoring her, but I am not intentionally trying to do so. I just can't drop everything I am doing just to talk to her. I wish she could understand how sometimes once you become married you have another person to think about and once I get home from work often I just want to enjoy Sean's company without interruptions. I've tried to kind of explain this to her, but she is still pulling the you're ignoring me card. Does anyone have any advice? I've handled this the best I know how and it's obviously not working. Has anyone dealt with this? She's the only friend who is doing this. The rest of my friends seem to understand that we all have busy lives and can't always talk everday. Maybe she is just a high-matienence friend? At any rate, I welcome your suggestions!

It's about time!

Saturday when Sean and I were in Alexandria we saw one of the most exciting signs of our very short lives.

It looked like this:



See, Sean and I love Taco Bueno with a burning, firey passion and unfortunatley for us until today there were no Taco Buenos within the state lines of Louisiana. That meant everytime I went home to Oklahoma I would take a cooler and fill it with our favorites from Taco Bueno, therefore giving us a fix of our favorite Mexican fast food.

Now, only a short 45 minutes away is a little slice of heaven.

If you have never experienced Taco Bueno and live within driving distance of one, do yourself a favor and go get a beef Combo platter immediately!

What a weekend!

I meant to get on here and blog several times this weekend, but it was so hectic that I never got around to it.

We had a great holiday weekend. Friday we spent the day grilling and hanging out at a friend's house and later that night walked over to Freedom Fest to enjoy the fireworks. We also happened to enjoy the homemade tamales and funnel cake. Sean swears he had a wonderful birthday, so as long as he says it was great for him then I'm satisfied.

Saturday was our anniversary and although it wasn't a grand affair we still had a lot of fun and enjoyed our day together. We started out in Natchitoches and planned on staying there the entire day, but due to the heat and the both of us not feeling well we headed to Alexandria for an early dinner and then back home to just relax and watch movies. Natchitoches was awesome! I'm going to have to go back there when it's a little bit cooler and I don't feel as if I'm going to pass out in the heat. I found the cutest magnets in one of the shops there. They are Cajun magnets and have things like an alligator, houseboat, accordian and other things on them. I'll have to take a picture of them to show how adorable they are. I did get to take some pictures there, although not as many as I would like. It's definetly a town worth visiting again though.

Here are a few pics from our fun-filled weekend




Sean and I at FreedomFest



An example of the fireworks



Me enjoying one of the neighborhood kids toy-four wheelers. It was so much fun to ride!



Trolley in Natchitoches



Beautiful flower at one of the gardens by the Cane River



One of the many houses in the Greek Revival tradition in Natchitoches



Beautiful church close to Front St.

Holiday Plans

I had every intention today of participating in Jessica's Real Life blog because it looks so much fun, but I didn't take pictures yesterday and quite honestly when I got home and looked at our bedroom I was embarassed and didn't want anyone seeing my horribly mismatched blankets that were currently on the bed or the clutter than is now consuming my bedroom, so I'm going to take a raincheck on participating until next week.

So what are everyone's plans for the 4th? We aren't sure what we are doing yet. Sean's birthday is the 4th and our anniversary is the 5th so it's a special weekend for us. We thought about going to New Orleans for the weekend, but unfortunately all of our friends are occupied and can't dog-sit for Boomer. So we are thinking of taking in the on-post fireworks show and maybe grilling with some friends. Saturday my vote was to go to Natchitoches and go eat at one of their nice restaurants. Did you know Steel Magnolias and Man in the Moon were filmed there? Neither did I until a few weeks ago. I've only driven through Natchitoches on the way to Ft. Polk, I really haven't taken the time to visit the town, so I think that would be a great way to spend Saturday.

Today I am picking up a Dairy Queen ice-cream cake for Sean. That was his request so please don't think I am an awful wife who doesn't cook a nice homemade cake for her husband. He and I aren't really big cake people and so this is what he wanted for his birthday. I'm also making potato casserole for him tonight as that is his favorite dish that I make. I should be packing on a pound or two from all this eating I will be doing this weekend!

It seems odd not to be celebrating these holidays with my family. We are big holiday people and usually try to get together for all of them. Usually for the 4th we'd be setting off fireworks and enjoying the pool. My dad would be grilling chicken, burgers and hot-dogs and I'd be hamming it up for the relatives. It made me sad the other day when I was talking to my grandpa and he mentioned how different it would be not having me around this year. I know that it's a part of growing-up and starting your own family though. I really am enjoying living in different places then where I grew up, it's an adventure to me, but there are times when I'd just love to be at home enjoying the traditions that my family has. Sometimes I think it's a little hard for Sean to understand how close I am to my family. His family life was not good growing up and he often says his parents should never have had children. His own father did not attend our wedding, so I can see where there is a vast difference in how we feel towards our families.

I think it's suprised him how much my family has taken him in though. He got 2 birthday cards from my grandparents with money and he seemed shocked that they would think of him. It was the same way when we celebrated Christmas, he seemed in awe how many presents he got from everyone. I just hope over time he realizes how important he is to my family and is comfortable with accepting that.

Wow! Got off on a big tangent there, guess it's just something that has been on my mind.

Wordless Wednesday

The top picture is one of my favorite pictures that I have ever taken. I don't normally take pictures of people, but children are an exception.

Is this appropriate?

Has anyone heard about this? It's an article that was in the June 16th issue of Stars and Stripes. I belong to an Army Wives Forum and this is currently being debated. What are your opinions on this?

Military spouse surprised by threats and vandalism over calendar
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Monday, June 16, 2007


KATTERBACH, Germany — An Army spouse says her attempt to boost troops’ morale with a sexy, military-themed calendar has made her a target of threats, abuse and vandalism that she blames on jealous wives.

Alessandra Bosco, who’s married to Sgt. 1st Class Edward McCoy of the Katterbach-based 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, is selling a 2009 calendar that includes 12 photographs of her wearing a mixture of lingerie and military items.

The 32-year-old Italian has been a bikini model for 10 years and says she never had a problem with Army spouses before she came to Katterbach last year. But since then she has been the target of gossip, hurtful looks and negative comments from wives waiting at home while their husbands serve with the aviation unit in Iraq, she said.

"As soon as they found out that I liked to take pictures it was a problem. It’s a lot worse since the calendar," she said.

The other wives, some married to high-ranking soldiers based in Katterbach, want her removed from the community, Bosco said.

"I’m a symbol that makes them feel self-conscious if they are overweight or don’t have a job that brings them in the spotlight," she said.

After a story about the calendar appeared in Stars and Stripes last month, Bosco said she found threats posted on her Web page — www.alessandrabosco.com — and that she was awakened in the night by women banging on her front door and yelling abuse. Her husband’s car, a distinctive blue Chevrolet that sports an Italian flag, has been vandalized several times with side mirrors snapped off, keys dragged across the doors and the windshield smashed, she said.

These reactions are in stark contrast to those of soldiers who have deluged her Web site with supportive messages. A typical message from a 12th CAB soldier deployed to Iraq reads: "If only the wives knew how many of their husbands in 12th CAB have already bought your calendar they would explode with anger. The guys in my unit cannot wait to get their hands on your calendar (remember I asked for an autographed calendar). Can you please be at our welcome home ceremony?"

Her calendar has also been the subject of an exchange of letters — pro and con — on Stripes’ Letters to the Editor page.

Katterbach, where the somewhat-austere U.S. facilities are sandwiched into a cramped mess of rusty old German buildings, does not, at first sight, appear to be the natural environment for the glamorous lifestyle that Bosco aspires to. During an interview last week at the post exchange, she stood out from the shoppers in T-shirts and jeans in her tight black blouse.

Her husband, who stands well over 6 feet with a physique that suggests long hours in the gym, also cuts a memorable figure.

The veteran of deployments to Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa, who works as the 12th CAB operations sergeant major, said Army leaders have told him his wife is a disgrace.

"I’ve never been in this situation but I’ve been told my career is on the line," he said. "I’m probably going to be relocated because my wife is a disruption to the community and it is affecting wives’ morale and they can’t have that in [the 12th CAB] rear detachment at this point."

McCoy said leaders at Katterbach launched an investigation into Bosco’s behavior, something he characterizes as a witch hunt designed to dig up dirt on his wife.

The couple has also been barred from appearing in the local command publication, The Bavarian News.

In an e-mail to McCoy, U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach commander Lt. Col. Tammy McKenna wrote: "Bottom-line: USAG Ansbach will not be submitting any stories on you or your wife to the Bavarian News or any other media. You can include this comment in your next interview."

A USAG Ansbach spokesman said Bosco cannot appear in the Bavarian News, although she was interviewed by a garrison reporter earlier this year, is because command publications cannot do stories on for-profit ventures by Army spouses.

The irony of a bikini calendar generating so much controversy when thousands of adult magazines are sold by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service has not escaped McCoy.

"Downrange it is pornography with a capital P," he said. "There is hard-core pornography everywhere and nobody cares. Every soldier could back me up, but they don’t want their wives to know that and the Army doesn’t want the public to know that."

The problem is that Bosco is living in the community, he said.

"One wife said: ‘If my husband is in love with Angelina Jolie I don’t care, but if he is in love with Alessandra Bosco then I have a problem because she is in my community,’ " she said.

Here is my opinion. I may sound old-school saying this, but she is a Sergeant's wife. She is supposed to be an example in my opinion. Selling a calendar of yourself to men who are in your husband's line of work to me is just unacceptable. I realize her job is a bikini model, but why stir up a bunch of hard feelings because you are marketing it to soldiers, married or single? I do feel that the acts of vandalism against her or hateful messages aren't right, but I can understand why as a wife of someone who is in her husband's platoon/company you wouldn't want her selling racy photos of herself. Maybe I have a double standard, but a calendar of a celebrity is one thing, she's unreachable, unattainable, but a calendar of someone you see in real life? I just think it causes too many problems. I also don't agree with the fact that she says the wives are jealous because they are overweight. That's a big generalization to assume that wives are jealous simply because she is in good shape. I for one, think that I look good and I don't have a problem with anything but her crossing the line on this issue. To me personally, it is not a jealousy issue. It is a respect of others issue.

So what are your thoughts?