SO many movies, SO little time...

So today is April 19th, right? Yea, I'm pretty sure. Anyway.... there are tons of movies I'm looking forward to:
Starting with

Breaking Dawn, Part I.
I know this movie isn't going to be released until November 18th of this year and I'm super sad that I'll be missing the release in the states (by a mere 13 days).. yes there are theaters in Germany and I'm sure I'll see it. I'll have to wait a couple of weeks but at least I'll still see it!
I started with Breaking Dawn because it's the movie I'm most looking forward to seeing.

Water for Elephants.
(22 April 2011) only 4 days..
You may be thinking there is just a Rpatz/Twilight theme.. but I promise that isn't my motivation there.
But it legitimately looks like a good movie. I was considering reading the book... but why would I do that when there's no Rpatz in the book? (haha)

Abduction. 
(23 September 2011)
I know I'm not doing much for my case on this post not being all about Twilight and/or the Boys of Twilight. I was shocked when I saw the trailer. This also surprisingly looks really good.

Friends With Benefits.
(22 July 2011)
Because who doesn't want to stare at Justin Timberlake for an hour and thirty minutes?! Plus it looks hilarious!

Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
(11 July 2011)
Because I'm committed to the series now. Although, I am really wanting to see what they say about Makayla (Megan Fox) being gone?!

The Hangover II. 

(26 May 2011)

I think I've been saying RA-tard since I saw the first movie. It was hilarious! Hoping the sequel lives up to the first movie. 

Fast Five.

(29 April 2011)

I've been watching this serious since I was 16, and who really needs more of an excuse than Paul Walker. The man is hot. 

A few other movies that deserve a mention: Rio (I know, it's already out but I do wanna see it), Something Borrowed, Cars 2, Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides, and Madea's Big Happy Family (I <3 all the Madea movies, they're hilarious).

I couldn't end this post without 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.

(15 July 2011)

Nuf said. 

Joining Forces

Did you catch The View today? First Lady, Michelle Obama and Second Lady, Dr. Jill Biden were on with the other ladies of The View to discuss their new initiative to gain support from the other 98% of Americans for our service members and their families. Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden created this new initiative called Joining Forces.

"Joining Forces is a national initiative that mobilizes all sectors of society to give our service members and their families the opportunities and support they have earned." 

I'm down for spreading awareness about what we military families experience and encouraging more more American's support. But honestly I have my doubts about this program. The website for Joining Forces is great, it's user friendly and easy to navigate. It provides links for people to share their messages of support and (my favorite part) to the Serve.gov website. Serve.gov is great as well, you can type in your zip code and find out what the opportunities in your area are to get involved with supporting the military within your own community. You can initiate your own project to help support the military and gain support within your community. I love the options that are available.... I can only hope that people will take advantage of these sites and find ways to get involved.

I have my doubts because we all too often here "well, they volunteered" which, obviously I know... but I hate the meaning behind it. They volunteered, so why should I care... so why should they get special treatment... so why should I pay for their healthcare...! I think each of us military spouses have complained about the same topic in one way or another. All the same... this attitude is the same reason why I'm apprehensive about Joining Forces. Still, I'll remain hopeful that these program will inspire someone to get involved that wasn't so moved before.

Day 36

I just wanted to share something about myself with the group:

I'm a person who likes to be honest with myself and with others around me. I tell it how it is. However, as a reasonable minded person I know that telling it, how it is, is based on my opinion, and what I know to be true. This being said, I always try to give my opinion in a sympathetic manner. I don't force my toughs upon others. Nor do I judge them for viewing the world differently than I do.

This personality trait often causes a lot of problems with people. Often because I have unpopular viewpoints; and evidently I have high expectations of myself and others. Silly me.

Now you all know.

A message from Deputy Secretary of Defense

I know there is a lot of division and misinformation out there in regards to the impending government shutdown- well, hopefully Congress will do what the hell they're supposed to and reach an agreement on their (WAY) overdue budget. We can't count on that because they get paid out of emergency funds (just as the President would) if there is a shutdown. Anyway... back to the message from the Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III. You can find it in it's entirety here. Basically the Deputy lays out what can be expected for both active duty and civilian personnel if there is a shutdown:

“Operations and activities that are essential to safety, protection of human life, and protection of our national security, are ‘excepted’ from shutting down.  The DoD will continue to conduct activities in support of our national security, including operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Japan; Libya-related support operations; and other operations and activities essential to the security of our nation.  The department must also continue to provide for the safety of human life and protection of property."

Which means the operations themselves will be financed. The personnel are a different story:


“Military personnel are not subject to furlough and will report for duty as normal during the shutdown.  Reserve component personnel should refer to the DoD Contingency Guidance document and to their chain of command for more specific information. 


“If the government shuts down due to the absence of funding, the DoD will have no funds to pay military members or civilian employees for the days during which the government is shut down.  However, both military and civilian personnel will receive pay for the period worked prior to the shutdown.  Military personnel, and civilians occupying excepted status positions and required to work, are entitled to be paid for work performed during the shutdown, and will be paid retroactively once the department receives additional funding.  Congress would have to provide authority in order for the department to retroactively pay non-excepted employees for the furloughed period.  

I hope this is helpful to my milspouses out there. It appears grim to me but if the posturing continues in Washington and a shutdown takes place we can all hope that it'll be short-lived and have a relatively low impact on all those effected; lets not forget this is a Government wide shutdown affecting not only the Department of Defense but all others as well, families who rely on pay from their positions in the Department of Energy, or Transportation (for example) will also be affect.

I just keep reminding myself to count my blessings: I have a warm place to sleep and food in my belly. When the food runs out I have a savings (what's it for after all?) and a credit card. My pops always told me "Failure to plan is planning to Fail." Sometimes it sucks being a grownup because you have to be prepared with contingencies for the worst case scenario. Lucky for me I had great advice from my father. :)

We'll suck it up and drive on like we always do, right? I would remind everyone to get your news from reliable sources, as well as verify and research what you do find.

PS: I got an email from the FRG in Baumholder that some services on post would be affected by the shutdown, check with your FRG to see if services in your area are also going to be canceled/delayed or otherwise affected.

The Great R&R Debate

Since the opportunity to stick around in CO came up Kevin and I have had to adjust our plans for R&R. Originally I was looking into a Mediterranean cruise. Considering that is far less accessible from Colorado we've been talking through all of our options: visiting family all over the West Coast (including Brody in San Diego) or another vacation spot. Considering last R&R we traveled to Portland and San Diego and it was exhausting to do both in only 2 weeks. So we're now considering: 

LOS ANGELES!!!

I mean, it's not the Mediterranean, but hey there is a lot to see and do there. I'm hoping to get to a taping of the Ellen show, maybe Jay Leno...? Kevin wants to tour Universal Studios. I'd like to see the Walk of Fame, Hollywood Sign, The Santa Monica Pier and so much more. 

We're still in the planning stages, I'm going to contact a travel agent tomorrow and see what they can tell me. Maybe all of this will be affordable? (haaaa... right, LA... usually affordable riiiight!?) We'll see if it works out!

Who Needs Teen Mom

You remember when I ranted blogged about the TV show Teen Mom? Yet another reason I don't need to watch that crapola is I have a front row seat to all the real life drama one girl can handle. I said front row, as in not my own personal drama but close enough to watch, gossip about and worry about the people involved.

In other news, I start my new gig tonight!! I'm looking forward to being closer and closer to a debt free lifestyle! Bad news: forecast is calling for SNOW tonight. yay- that's always makes things fun for the commute home at 1-2 AM.

Thats all for today (:

Change of Plans

About four days after I arrived home to Colorado my moms neighbor (who is a realtor and takes care of all of our realtor related needs) calls and says that the commissary on Fort Carson is hiring for stockers at night which pays like $20/hour. So I figured, "what the hell" I can at least apply and see what happens- nothing saying I'm actually going to get it. So I applied and turns out I got it. Yesterday I was a mess about the decision. My place is in Germany. But I feel like it's time to contribute where I can; sadly there aren't job opportunities for me in Germany. Staying here for the next 7 months will allow for my husband and I to start the next chapter of our lives completely debt free. Sacrificing my independence, missing my bed and my things is worth it in the end.
For the record I know how this will be perceived, I know that it'll look like I just can't hang with the deployment... but it just so happened that this opportunity came my way- why would I pass it up???

I'll miss Germany and Baumholder, and the opportunities to travel... on the other hand we'll have two more years there and TOGETHER!