Addicted..

I got sucked in people. Most of my friends have talked to me about all The Real Housewives; everyone was watching. Well, everyone except me that is. I tried with Atlanta and Orange County... I wanted to punch myself in the face. I couldn't hang with those bitches. I caught an episode or two of New Jersey in past seasons and just really couldn't stand the Danielle broad. She ruined it for me.  Thankfully she's gone now. I was staying a my sisters a few weeks ago and she was watching the new season with the NJ cast... I watched... I found myself caring about whether or not Joe made up with Teresa and admiring Melissa's hot bod. I was sucked in. Addicted.

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Do you watch? Which cast is your favorite?

Straight Up!

I wish we could just go back to marveling over the pomp and beauty that was Prince Harry the Royal Wedding. Recent news has given folks memory loss. Well, not all people (my Cultural Diversity class is teaching me its BAD to stereotype) but some. For goodness sakes. They other I pointed out on a non-milspouse bloggy that I love that I wasn't celebrating (but that I get why other people are) because I was scared and concerned about my husband in Afghanistan. I went on to say that I get why it is a much simpler issue for some people though: he's bad, he orchestrated 9-11, now he's dead and you celebrate. But it isn't that simple for me. His death has the ability to affect the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. Maybe I'm just banging my head against a wall. But I felt attacked afterwards. Egh... such is life in blog-world.

Forgive me while I abruptly change the subject:

The dress:

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First and foremost, I think Catherine was just stunning. Gorgeous.

Everyone said the dress was reminiscent of Grace Kelly's:

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Lace. Got it. Similar.

My first thought was:

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You know, Maria from The Sound of Music. No lace. Fine. Cut is very similar though. Either way.
Just occurred to me he only real similarity here is the neck line, all the same it was my first thought.

Compare it to whatever you like. Catherine's choice was timeless, beautiful and just stunning (yes I know I already said that).

While these two:

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were the stars of the show (can I just say this is a very stuffy picture but it does show off their attire quite nicely), I gotta tell you my eyes were glued to Prince Harry! 

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Obviously I'm into soldiers/man in uniform.

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But really, c'mon people. This is one Ginger I'm totally on board with. PLUS!! You can just see his wheels spinning and you know he's thinking dirty thoughts. I know I wasn't the only on who took notice.


If you're one of the people who didn't care for Catherine's dress... please tell me why. Honest, no retaliation here. I genuinely want to know why people weren't into it!
Please and thank you!

Day 1: Staying Busy

Today, I hit the ground running. Not literally, of course- I loath running. I got up (always a good start), watched Army Wives (color me unimpressed), worked out, mopped floors, fixed myself for the day, had a friend bring me a box of brownie mix (yes, just the mix, for me to bake later, haha), went to the Commissary and PX and then I ate.

Best part I heard from the hubs. He's good but still knows nothing.... we're waiting to see where he'll end up and who he'll be with ect... Hurry up and Wait, such is life!

Today, I accomplished my goal to stay as busy as possible. Thankfully, I have some other friends to visit with and other chores to complete this week. Here's hoping, I'll have plenty to keep me physically and mentally busy over the course of the next few months!!

Teen Mom

Lets have it out... I'm so confused. I get being sucked into the trashiness because you just can't help but watch- I <3 Jersey Shore not like that's too many steps above Teen Mom right? Well my problem is for the other teens out there having sex (with or without protection) thinking that pregnancy, having babies and raising babies is glamourous. I've gathered from my few experiences actually watching this filthy show that it's all about the drama (the couples)but very little attention* is paid to the responsibility that comes with being a parent, who pays for the birth, the babies food and diapers, clothes, crib, car seat, hell who pays for the car the baby will be carted around in?

From what I've seen sex is carefree and fun for the teens (not that it shows that part), babies are a (hopefully) cute accessory to daily life on mom's hip, collar popped and hair spiked. It's sick. Not every teen mom gets paid by MTV; on the contrary I have a nagging feeling that our tax dollars support most of these kids in one or more ways: WIC, Medicaid... This pisses me off. Anyone else? I have a feeling that the trend will only continue because teens are given epidurals so birth doesn't cause discomfort or pain and well, the entire process and new life are free because someone else pays for pre-natal care, birth and hospital stay and formula.

Obviously teen pregnancies were on the rise before MTV dipped their toes in the pool, so don't get me wrong I'm not holding MTV (or show participants) solely responsible for the trend... I'm just saying it's a drain on our already weak economy. Also, I know many military families that partake in government assistance as it pertains to their children, I've even had civilians in my family throw this fact in my face and to that I say: we sacrifice for our country and the fact that these sacrifices warrant so low pay that our service members even qualify for these programs is asinine, nevermind a CHILD who probably hasn't even paid anything into the tax system they're taking full advantage of, by birthing spawn because it's cool it's even more asinine and again a drain on the economy. I'm just saying- it pisses me off!

*with the exception of the one couple who gave up their baby for adoption, seemed to realize what a child costs and would (selfishly) cost them in life experience.

ps: I just don't think all teen or young mothers suck at life or take advantage of our government...

Things to come

Have you been reading the news lately? Bad things are on the horizon.

Most recently the Koreas began their hostilities once again. Did you know that the Korean war never really ended; they're still technically at war with each other, technically there has been a "cease fire" since 1953. Click here to read CNN's coverage.
Hubs: Holy expletive!
Me: Huh, what's going on?
Hubs: We're going to War with Korea.
Me: (saying nothing out loud, think to myself: O.... how wonderful........... I'm sure they'll work it out on their own.. HA.... unlikely.)
True story, which took place less than 30 mins ago.

Have you been following the recent recommendations on Military benefits, concerning retirement, pay-freezes (for three years including BAH, Base Pay and COLA) and raising Tricare out-of-pocket costs? Well I hope you have. It's completely asinine. I mean need we really get into the strain the military has been under or the past 9 (almost 10) years? Beyond that can we all just agree up until now folks joined the military under the assumption that they'd serve but be rewarded with GI Bill Bene's and a pretty rockin' awesome pension plan. I love how this "Presidential "Blue Ribbon" Debt Panel, aka Debt Reduction Panel is co-chaired by Former Republican Sen, Pete Domenici (funny, I thought those Repub's were "usually pro-military"... allegedly) couldn't find any other way to reconcile our national debt than to tell our hardworking military to yet again- PAY UP! As if the military community haven't done enough. I suppose we haven't according to them. Some changes include possible retirement after 10 years of service- yet not collecting retirement checks until the age 60. After 20+ years of service checks wouldn't be available until age 57 (vs. the current way of doing things, retirement checks are available immediately upon separation). Also, retirement is currently computed based on the active duty members most recent 3 years of pay, the committee recommends changing it to the most recent 5 years of pay. Which in theory you've attainted a higher rank between years 15, 18 and 20 (at that) so the average would now be lower. Great. Additional recommendations can be found here, and here.

If you do nothing else please click here, to contact your local reps and tell them how you feel about these changes. It's the beauty of our country you have the ability to speak up and voice your opinion but doing nothing will likely get you an outcome your aren't in favor of.

A big thank you to Military.com for keep our community informed and making it easy to contact our representatives in Washington.

Click here to read more from Military.com.

I Want it Wednesday...

I want... Bristol Palin OFF Dancing With The Stars! It's ridiculous she's on this long. Can we just talk about how she was considered a "star" in the first place? She got knocked up at 16 or something and is the daughter of one of the most radical Republican/ Tea Party politicians ever. hmmm. Star. Right. I get it now. Is nothing sacred anymore? It's Dancing With the Stars for goodness sake! I think people forget it's a dancing competition not a political arena to pass you vote for underage pregnancies. Hello, Teen Mom I'm lookin' at you! If she wins the show, God help me I'll boycott! 

I want... whoever thought up my BF Jesse McCartney's newest music video wiped off the face of the planet. It's awful. But he's still friggin' adorable! 

I want... to get organized. I miss my own space... you know the idea of multiple rooms (living, bed, bath, ect) of my own. I'm kind of over this living in someone else's guest room. It's wearing on me. 

I want... everyone to know that my father has volun-told me to handle this year's Thanksgiving feast for ummm, a measly 16 people. Me and my 22 pound buddy, Turk, got this! Gobble Gobble!

I really want... to know WTF this is about:

Seriously?! ugh... Here's praying to God this is nothing more than a publicity stunt. I'm so sick of Taylor Swift. I'm happy for her success on some level. But, I'm not a fan of hers. I find her voice annoying. She's made a name for herself regardless of my lil' ol' meaningless opinion so good for her. But really Jake... oiy! 

I want... to know when the craziness will stop, Bristol, Jake and Taylor.... This world is a crazy place. haaaHA

Dear Qwest:

The battle wages on...

Refer to this post please.

So my internet service is SHOTTY, at best. I stay with Qwest because I'm too lazy to deal with finding another company: canceling Qwest, returning equipment, getting new equipment, scheduling installs, paying for installs... you get the picture. It's all just too damn much for me.

About two months ago I called and added long distance/local phone services to my Qwest account. How dare I, right? You'd think I committed some hanis crime! The bill following my account change was $5- and some change. This was obviously too good to be true, but as we were about to embark on our post-deployment vaca's I took this "gift" from God, paid my $5 bill and moved on with my day. BIG mistake! Today I get a bill and it says "Disconnection notice" and that I owe them $193-someodd dollars! Huh, who you think you are?

I'm totally taken aback by this! I paid every and all bills I received. So what they totalled $5. Not my fault. BUT! Let's pretend just for the sake of argument that I hadn't paid last month's internet bill of $40. That would mean my total bill for this month is $125 (plus taxes and fees). PS: Taxes and fee's are 20/month now. Because after an hour on the phone I received approximately $48 in credits and now owe somewhere in the neighborhood of $145.

The best part you ask? All this is due BEFORE payday. Swell.

Somehow through all of this nonsense I have been assured that going forward my bill will only be $39.99 + Taxes and fees.

Interesting, don't you think that this month I owe $150 (give or take, from $200) but next month will only be $50... Doesn't make much sense to me. Maybe I'm just not that bright!

Dear Qwest:

I've about had ENOUGH of you.

E.N.O.U.G.H!

~~~

To top that off, my Nephew hurled on me this afternoon.

:(

Hope he gets to feelin' better soon!

I Want it Wednesday...

I want... Halloween to have come and gone already! Refer to yesterday's post!

BOO HUM BUG!!

I want... my bod to work itself out, so that I don't actually have to do anything. Hmm, maybe I should get those EasyTone shoes? teehee

I want... this office manager position that I am being considered for with SRC! I think it would be a great opportunity for me. SRC is a Government contractor on Peterson AFB (as well as, all over) so if and when Kevin PCS's I'll be able to if not transfer to another location with them but take my new knowledge to any other installation! I'm stoked about it. I'm hoping it works out. I WANT IT!

I want... for people who claim to be my friend, miss me, love me to actually be there for me, miss me and love me. Prove it *bitches! If you aren't going to be a tru-blu, honest-to-god friend to me then take your BS, your games and your meaningless forwarded text (about how great our supposed/non-existant friendship is) messages and be out. I'd rather stay out home and play with my husband than waste my time on people who are flaky and could care less about me and mine. DUCES!

I want... make that NEED to shower. Got back from the gym... I should really, re-prioritize my life. Shower before blogging.

*~~~*

In other news:

These ladies: Hil and Lauren (who, ever since The Hill's came back on I want to call "L" for some reason) sucked me into the non-sense! What Non-sense you ask? Well, I'll tell you! They are involving themselves in this evil "to blog, is to run" state-of-mind going around. Really, they are just taking care of themselves; setting goals and doing what they can to reach them. We like to call it: From the Couch to 5k. Basically, it's a 9-week plan that teaches one to run- without killing ones self. I dig it. Really, what happened is Hilary DARED me to do it. She said "No Excuses". Aight... I got your "No Excuses"... ugh huh. WATCH ME RUN. RUN LIKE THE WIND! Wooo.

You see what had happened was: While the hubs was gone (making sand castles in the dessert) I lost 20 lbs. Since he's been back, I've gained 12 back :( (woah, is me!) and been REALLY slackin' on my gym attendance. Prior to the slacking, my routine needed some spicing up anyway so I figured I'd give this a whirl. So far... so good! :)

Disclaimer: just as I refer to babies as "spawn" I often, lovingly refer to my friends (both male and female) as "bitches". Please refrain from being offended. I didn't mean it. Love. Love. Love.

The Stuff: GI Joe. FR-Useless!. Chick-pea Salad.

Yesterday was a fairly good day: Pool in the AM with Nathan and sister. Then came home to bathe and fix myself for the day. Then my sister forced me to go see GI Joe! You see, her and Mr. Channing Tatum have this 'thing' going. So she had to go support his career. Does anyone else find it completely LAME that there were Army Recruiters set up in the lobby of the movie theater?? I thought that was lame. All the same, the movie was about as corny as you would assume it was going to be. However, there were some legitimately funny parts (Funny- HAHA. Not Funny- "are you kidding me"-funny.)There were also little pot shots at the Air Force through out the movie... which I guess is half-expected I mean the movie is titled "GI Joe" after all. It was all in good fun people. I have to concede looking at Channing Tatum was a great way to spend the afternoon. Although, all of the movie theater snacks didn't set well with my tummy (after dieting and such)! All and all it was enjoyable (but wont be taking home Oscars. What a shocker huh?).

~~~~~

Today was my final FRG Meeting. WOOO HOO! Right? WRONG! I wish that somebody, anybody would have had more specific information to give. That would be nice right? Instead they provided me with an 8-day window; the 16th-24th!?? Huh- Seriously?? You have got to be kidding! How is that helpful... in anyway? I guess that is helpful for females that don't speak to their husbands (for one reason or another) but that absolutely does not help me in the slightest. When I'm done blogging about my complete and utter disappointment in this FRG I will have to pow-wow with my MIL, as her and my FIL are road-tripping it out here for the Homecoming ceremony!

~~~~~

Tonight I made the chick-pea salad I blogged about last week. The lemon juice really stole the show here! It is fantastic! Try it folks!! :)

~~~~~

Who likes give-a-ways?? I DO! Please go check out my friend Jen! I love her blog and I want her free stuff! :) LOL!

I'm sure I'll have more to add later... But at least now you're caught up. ;)

Driving is a cluster-"f-bomb"

Dear Jeep (up in the front there):

Why must you insist on holding up traffic? It is rush hour; move the hell out of the way!!! Please. The 6 six cars behind you are highly disgruntled! Grrr...

Love Always,
Me

So, I busted out my blackberry the day before yesterday when I was caught on the ass-end of this nonsense! Why seriously wouldn't this person just move into the right hand lane versus holding every one else up??! If any of you ever happen to glance into your rearview mirror and find something similar to this, or a line of cars behind you, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MOVE THE HELL OVER!!!! =)

Are you for real Google?

This is the image on Google.com today. Today, the 6th of June 2009... On the 65th Anniversary of D-Day. GOOGLE is not honoring the scrifices made by our military on this infamous day... nope, instead they are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Tetris. Classy. While I'll continue to use google as my default search engine and did once-upon-a-time enjoy hours on end of Tetris... this is very disappointing!

6 June 1944: D-Day- The largest single-day amphibious invasion of all time, with 160,000 troops landing on a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

I find this a bit more deserving of recognition than Tetris.

Ut oh.... Here it comes!

PEOPLE! Here is yet another video on BitchAssNess! Keeping in mind the current outbreak of the Swine Flu this made me laugh and giggle! If you are needing a pick-me-up today please check this out!

Pettiness... Stop Bitchin

I reached out to her, (army)wife so that she once again could see that while I didn't invent the "guardsman" title it is not meant with disrespect.... well she then attacked the ACTIVE duty Army... you know the guys who all serve EVERYDAY yes the "full-time" Army stating that the National Guard deploys both overseas and stateside so they in some way serve more than that of the Active Duty Army.... Well you can all read for yourselves what started her completely irrational, ridiculous rant directed at me and the military masses who know that not all service members are soldiers- regardless of what dictionary.com tells. Well after she so vagrantly offended me, my husband, and really all forces that serve everyday all day I told her I had no respect for her opinion and with those kind of comments and her defensive attitude it is no wonder she has ran into other people who have lead her to believe her GUARDSMAN husband don't serve in the same capacity as those who choose a full-time position within the Army. I also asked her "Please do not comment to me personally or publically on my blog on this issue." Well, then her husband as you can all read weighed in... really, I stopped reading after “this is (army)wife's husband"... honestly your wife has already proven what she knows about day-to-day military life publically. Marines want to be called Marines- not soldiers... same for Airmen same for Sailors and so on and so forth. While this is a non-issue for our troops actively fighting this war- it chaps my ass when the mother of a sailor (who knows her son is a sailor, based on the title of her own blog) refers to her sailor as a "soldier". They are not the same. This was the purpose of my original post. I would prefer going forward as I stated in my olive-branch email that we just agree to disagree and leave it alone.

I think it speaks volumes about a person's character that when someone reaches out to them whom never personally attacked them or their husband, and that person overtly offends the ARMY, her (my) husband and his service. This is my space, and while I don't mind contradictory viewpoints I do not appreciate being out and out belittled or having the same done to my husband. I am sure all of you can agree. Also, as I'm sure both Nikki and... Mr. Mootz (I can only assume that is their last name based on the fact that their son is "lil Mootz, anyway) can testify to I did not invent the "Guardsman" name/title... get used to it. DONT SHOOT THE MESSANGER. Furthermore, I won't stoop to the same level as these people because I was raised better and have more class. I never put the efforts of the National Guard below that of any other branch (or subsidiary) nor was I the one who singled the Guard out in this discussion...That was Nikki.

I think there is a lesson to be learned from all the negativity or "Bitchassness" as one commenter referred to it: Don't be so negative in your day-to-day life. Don't assume those around you (or fellow bloggers, strangers or military spouses) are attacking you or anything about you. Don't assume you have any idea what other people know- because you don't. Don't presume to change someone else' stance on any topic (present your argument in a respectful fashion and leave it alone. If you can't respectfully address another person keep your mouth shut!), differences' of opinion are Okay! When you read things... read it entirely. Don't see what you want to see or place yourself in the victim's chair when you haven't been victimized in anyway. Be more positive in your lives, and don't put others down just because you have the opportunity to. Rise above the pettiness and move on. I think I have set a great example today by not calling names, pointing fingers, having someone else fight my battle, screaming at the masses how the wives of national guardsmen are bad in some way shape or form (based on this series of emails). I could have chosen to bad-mouth Nikki but nope- I didn't... So please when people ruffle your feathers take a deep breath and find out how you can learn from that interaction, please don't intentionally hurt others! It's just nicer to be nice than it is to be mean! :) Oh- and lastly DONT SHOOT THE MESSANGER.

Last time I try to maintain long-standing history of the military... GOSH!

Response vs. Closure vs. Shut The Hell Up!

So here's the deal... My recent attempt to inform those who are less informed that those enlisted in the Air Force are thus Airmen, Marine Corp thus Marines, so on and so forth has fallen on deaf ears and the response is laughable. My readers are either worried about everyone else’s' feelings, being Politically Correct or the wife of someone whom enlisted in the Army National Guard and therefore don't appreciate, see, dignify the differences between one branch of the military to another. At this point I'm finished responding with fact, quotes, and concessions on this issue.

Let’s just summarize what I've learned since my original post (which was accurate, not meant to impune, or negative in anyway) that everyone in any branch of the military all fight for our freedom and are thus "soldiers". Now I know... I wonder how that will go over the next time I run into someone enlisted in the Air Force, or Marines for that matter to know that the opinions of those in blog-last have declared them no longer Airmen or Marines, but they are soldiers. But at least everyone is on an even playing field and we're all equal and live in a world made of marshmallows and love!! I thoroughly thank you all for your opinions, passionate declarations of my assumed ignorance, and for reading my blog! :)

Final address for Mrs. (army)wife... I do owe you an apology. I apologize that you assume "different" or "separate" to mean "less" or "diminished". Furthermore, I apologize that my pointing out the National Guard, Army, Air Force, Marine Corp, Navy are infact different and have altogether different titles for their service members, in some way upset or insulted you. I sincerely did not know that they were all to be referred to as "soldiers." Now I know and hence forth will refrain from dignifying any long-standing differentiations between services, specifically the National Guard and Army.

I hope we all have a joyous and enjoyable Friday, along with a blessed and equal weekend with those that they love!

As of now... I am personally done addressing the issue and will be moving on in my upcoming posts. I don't mind if any of you continue to post your thoughts and continue the debate... But I reserve the right to again address the issue at a later date. Tootles ladies! On to other bigger more important issues of the day... :)