Stress is the trash of modern life – we all generate it but if you don’t dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life.
~Danzae Pace

I’m going to DCO school folks. I’m going to try to suck it up and deal with still being sick. It’s best for the family because if I don’t, we’ll lose about $1200 (my work pays my regular salary while I’m on military leave and if I go in April, I won’t be working, so I’ll lose that… plus we’ll have to pay for someone to watch the dogs whereas I have someone here who will watch them for free).

So it really is in my best interest to try and do it now. Please pray for me because I’m not sure I have the strength. I still feel ill and weak, but I’m going to give it my all.

So, while I’m at DCO school, you will not be seeing any posts (we have no access to Internet… unless we get liberty next weekend and I can get off base). You will not see any Tweets (again, the liberty thing).

However, to keep us all looking forward to something good (okay,  ME looking forward to something good), here’s some tickers:

A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.

~Grace Pulpit

I can’t believe I didn’t see this earlier. The Household Diva over at HouseholdDiva6 has a really neat idea going. See, many of us bloggers can’t get to any blogging conferences for one reason or another so she’s devised a way for us to virtually meet. You can read about the details here.

So welcome Blizzard Bloghoppers. Here’s a little bit about me:

I’m in my mid-20s (okay, a bit closer to 30 than 25, but whatever!) and I

Our Wedding

married my active duty Sailor last March. Since then, we’ve lived together for only 7 1/2 weeks.

He PCSed to Washington state back in May leaving me here in Michigan to sell our house. During this time, we went through our first deployment. I currently haven’t seen him for five months. But that will all change in just 23 days (well, as long as the Navy cooperates) when he comes to Michigan to help me drive our three dogs to Washington state to live (which will be another adventure since I’ve never lived anywhere but Michigan).

Skah, the 125lb Great Pyrenees

Yup, we have three dogs. Two Greyhounds–Chase and Lulu–and a two year old Great Pyrenees named Skah. That’s 285lbs of dog right there between all three!

But I have another connection to the Navy. Last June, I raised my hand and become a Navy Reserve Officer.

So this blog is all about my journey as a newlywed, a new MilSpouse (that’s Military Spouse) and a new Navy officer. Things are fun and frustrating, but I love my life!

Leave a comment and I’ll be sure to visit your blog!

If I had my way I’d make health catching instead of disease.
~Robert Ingersoll

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that not only do I have my two weeks of officer training school coming up, but you also know that I’ve been ill off and on for a while.

A week and a half ago (on Sunday), I thought I had come down with the ‘flu, even though I had both the seasonal and H1N1 ‘flu shots. I had severe headaches, muscle/joint pain and a low-grade fever. I was really fatigued and could barely stand.

By Tuesday, I had decided I was okay enough to go to work. I was feeling much better and figured that since I’d had the shots, I had avoided the worst of it. I took the morning off to make sure I was strong enough. I was feeling much better. I got ready for work and was blow-drying my hair when I almost passed out. So I decided not to go into work that day.

I made it into work on Wednesday and have been feeling okay on and off. I’ve been exhausted and extremely fatigued the entire time, but wasn’t feeling “sick.”  I even got up, went to the gym and did a 10 minute run on yesterday (Tuesday). Today, I started really feeling unbelievably exhausted.

Of course, the Navy hasn’t been making things easy with getting to my DCO school. My orders just came in this week and I can’t get DTS to work  (the Defense Travel System… I have orders, but can’t get travel itinerary so far). I needed my CAC reader to continue to work on it, so I decided to take afternoon off work.

However, I went to the mall to pick up the 1st anniversary present that I picked out for Huzzy (totally cool… have to take pictures and show you later!).  While driving in, I decided that I really needed to go to the doctor to see if there was anything that could be done. Surprisingly, my doctor had a 2:30 cancellation and they could get me in.

Anyway, to make a long story a bit shorter, the doctor listened to my symptoms (and they checked and I have a 99.2 degree fever and since my body temp runs a full degree lower than most, that’s like a 100.2) and voiced concerns that I might have one of a couple of viruses that are going around. Ones that mimic the ‘flu but instead can make your body stop producing blood and therefore make you anemic. And beyond that, they can also start causing liver and kidney failure.

So, yeah, he sent me on for blood tests and they should be back tomorrow morning. The whole “liver and kidney failure” thing scared the crap out of me. Now I’m questioning everything. Wait, is my pee a orange/brown color? Does that mean kidney problems? I really had more joint pain than muscle pain last week… does that mean it was this virus instead of the flu that generally produces muscle pain?

Oh, and to top it all off, I’m pretty sure a sinus infection is starting. So I’m on an antibiotic for that.

Ugh. So yeah. I’ve taken off work tomorrow. If the blood tests come back clear tomorrow, the doctor said I should start feeling better within 48 hours. He said if I feel better I can still go to DCO school on Sunday but if I wasn’t feeling better I needed to postpone it.

Problem is, my place of work pays my salary and allows me to get my Navy pay on top of it when I do Navy work. If I postpone the school until April (the next available) when I’m on unemployment, I will lose that salary that my employer pays. That’s upwards of $1000 that we’d lose. Not to mention the fact that since Huzzy will be deployed at the time, we’d have to pay for someone to watch three dogs. That would cost $300-$500.  Yeah, so we’d be losing out on a lot of money if I don’t go now.

So yeah, please think good thoughts that these blood tests come back negative for kidney and liver failure. Anemia isn’t that big of a deal but the other two… scare me.

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.
~Andy Rooney

It’s Wordless Wednesday again!  Leave a message and I’ll try to return the favor.

I just found these of Skah while looking through my thumbdrive. I can’t believe it was only two years ago (he was born 21JAN08) that he was this small!

8 1/2 weeks old:

3 months old:

5 months old:

11 months old:

21 months old (and he still looks like this now):

I feel a very unusual sensation – if it is not indigestion, I think it must be gratitude.
~Benjamin Disraeli

The other day, Ashley from Raising Brats gave me a very sweet bloggy award. It’s my second on this blog. Woo-hoo!

Thanks girlie… and you really need to make it so those who don’t have a Google account can still post comments on your blog! I’d love to comment on your posts!

Rules for this one:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Paste the award on your blog.
3. Link the person who nominated you for the award.
4. Tell 7 interesting things about yourself.

-I got my first horse when I was 5 and started showing when I was 8. I love animals and have even been an animal demonstrator at a zoo!

-One of my Greyhounds, Chase, wears 4 legged pajamas in the winter because he’s always cold.

-I planned our wedding in 5 weeks. It cost less than $3,000 (including the tux rental, my wedding gown and all our rings… including the engagement ring). We had a historic chapel, professional photographer, DJ, catered dinner and everything. I’m frugal like that.

-I made it through college in 3 1/2 years while working full time through it. Even graduated from the Honors College with a 3.7. I’m pretty proud of that.

-I met my husband on the Internet. The first time we met in person, I was flying high on Oxycontin and liquid Lortab (both doctor prescribed) because of a complication of my tonsillectomy. Story to come on our anniversary… March 21st.

-I have worked a job since I was 15 (and full-time since I was 18) and the thought of going on unemployment next month both terrifies me and totally thrills me.

-I have never smoked ANYTHING in my life. Never even thought to try a cigarette let alone anything else. Of course, I’ve never done any sort of drugs, either.

5. Nominate 7 bloggers or less.

I nominate:

A Southern Belle and Her Officer

Hellcat Betty

Megan Writes

The Ever-Changing Life of a Military Wife

To the Nth

Under the Sea

I Heart Change

Humor is just another defense against the universe.
~Mel Brooks
It’s time for the next “Friday Funny.” As a Navy wife with a husband who isn’t home much (haven’t seen mine for 5 months and he’s about to get deployed again!) sometimes things can get a bit melancholy.

Please join me with the “Friday Funny” meme. It can be anything from a comment that made you laugh or a funny story or even a funny photo/video you have seen.  Leave a comment if you post one and I’ll visit your blog to see!

This week is another video. It’s a YouTube video called “The Best Cat Video Ever” and is a compilation of funny cat videos. No, I didn’t create it. But enjoy it yourself!

Every survival kit should include a sense of humor.

~Author Unknown

It’s time for the Thursday Thirteen again (okay so I missed a week or two… or month, whatever). If you have a Thursday Thirteen of your own, leave your website in the comments section and I’ll try my darndest to visit it 

This week’s TT is dedicated to a site that makes me smile every day., mostly because it scares me how some of my family photos could easily end up on there (though more on the “wow, she has a mullet” side, than the “why is the dad naked in the family photo” side). It’s a newly-found site. I hope you enjoy it.

My 13 Most Recent Favorite AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com Postings

1. Jerry decided to pitch a tent a little early (from awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

2. My Best Friend's Sweating (from awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

3. Hockey Mom (from awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

4. Just a little closer to God. (from awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

5. Sweet dreams. (from awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

6. Perhaps Candy Apples would have been a better choice for this family. (from awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

7. Reminds me of the Harlequin masks. (from awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

8. Screw Jolly. (from awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

9. It's not easy being in a room with no corners. (from awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

10. You may now smoosh the bride. (from awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

11. Deck the Halls. (from awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

12. Merry Christmas from the Swingers. (from awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

13. They couldn't wait to get their own choker. (from awkwardfamilyphotos.com)

Where thou art – that – is Home.

~Emily Dickinson

–updated with yard and kitchen photos!–

Well, we found a house to rent. It’s a bit farther away from everything than we’d like (I’d have at least an 75 minute

Back of the house

commute to Seattle) but we think the house is worth it.

We put a listing on Craigslist advertising ourselves. With three large dogs, it’s hard to find someone who will rent to us. I find that mildly amusing and highly annoying since a family with three kids (or even one or two!) have the potential to make as much or more mess than the dogs. Our dogs won’t be spilling grape juice on the carpet or writing on the wall with a magic marker

Anyway, we were contacted by a couple that have a 2,300 sq ft 3-4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home that sits on nearly two acres, half of which is fenced with a brand new 6ft privacy fence. It has a two car garage, a storage shed in the fenced in area, central heat and air (yeah, air conditioning in Washington, ya’ll… the fuzzy dog will appreciate it), a monitored alarm system, a 5-piece master bath with jetted tub, a 6′x6′ master bedroom walk-in closet and what my husband calls a “gorgeous” kitchen.

This is all for $150-$200 less than our BAH per month. So sweet. They had been asking $650 more a month for it and didn’t get any takers, so they dropped it to way less than they should for us. Why? Because we are a military family and they were BOTH previously in the military. How awesome is that? Plus, they are only asking for a $500 damage deposit and a $300 pet deposit. Seriously. No last month’s rent or deposit equal to a month’s rent. And even the pet deposit is refundable if we don’t kill the house (which we won’t, of course).

Deck being built

The family has told me that they will pay for garbage and for the alarm system. WOOT!  Also, they will let us paint the walls as long as we paint them white before we leave. No problem!

So here are some photos. There aren’t any of the kitchen because I was never given them. Boo! And none of the “yard” shot, just things in the yard (like the brand new deck and the new storage shed). And while I do have one of the front of the house, for PERSEC reasons (Personal Security), I won’t ever show the front of any house we live in. Just in case any of you want to try to stalk me

(Actually, this is a good idea, especially for those with kids… you don’t want someone to drive by and recognize your house and have your kid(s) be called by their name or be told that it’s okay to come with a stranger since s/he knows x, y & z about him/her– thanks to the information from your blog).

New Shed

Guest bedroom

Master Bedroom... but only part of it... it's huge

Part of the master bathroom

Other side of the master bathroom

I *think* this is the guest/ 2nd bathroom

Hallway. That much I can figure out. HA!

The backyard. They plan to put grass in this spring after the winter rain stops

More backyard. Looks like there's a screen door for the summer. Yay!

Uh, it's gonna be muddy until the grass is put in!

The kitchen. It even has the same stove I have in my current house! Yay, I love that stove and now won't have to miss it!

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.
~William Arthur Ward

I’ve said it before. No member of the military is in it for the perks. Because, honestly, “perks” aren’t worth the pain, sadness, frustration and everything else that comes with deployment… which is nearly automatic in the military.

However, perks are what makes us smile and know that what we do is appreciated. I don’t know WHAT I would do if what my husband and I do was thought of the same way it was back during Vietnam.  That would be hard.

So here are some new things that I have added to my Free Stuff & Discounts for Military Families page:

SitterCity.com – Do you need a baby sitter, nanny, elder caregiver, pet sitter, housekeeper, house sitter, etc?  Well, the DoD has arranged it so Sitter City will provide their services at no charge for active duty military members and those Guard and Reserve members who are recalled to active duty.

This is awesome because even though I don’t have kids, I definitely do need dog sitters every once in a while. And if I find a job in Seattle or Tacoma, it’ll be at least a 3 hour round trip commute, so we’d need someone to let the dogs out during the day. I’m definitely excited about this service!

Tutor.com – This is something I found just today. The link is for Navy, but I just put “army” in the URL instead of Navy and it apparently allows that too, so check for your service if you aren’t Navy. Anyway, this service will give FREE tutoring 24/7 to Sailors and their dependents and will help them with studying, test preparation, resume writing and more!

I think I’m going to check this out for resume stuff. I’m pretty sure I have a handle on it being in the communications/writing industry, but it never hurts to have another person to look at it!

So, do you  know of other perks I haven’t mentioned on my discounts page? Let me know!

Dory: Okay, he either said, “move to the back of the throat,” or he “wants a root beer float.”
~Finding Nemo

It’s another slow cooker recipe that I totally want to try. This one (from Betty Crocker) caught my eye because it involves root beer as an ingredient! The cafe at the museum where I work uses Sprite for cooking its chicken breasts and Coke for cooking its hamburgers… and it actually is fantastically tasty!  So I hope that this will be good too!

Slow Cooker Root Beer BBQ Beef Sandwiches

From BettyCrocker.com

Ingredients
1 boneless beef rump roast (4lbs)
2 cups barbecue sauce
1 cup root beer
Dash of salt and pepper, if desired
16 sandwich buns

1. In 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker, place beef. In 4-cup measuring cup or bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups of the barbecue sauce and the root beer; pour over beef.
2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 10 to 12 hours.
3. About 20 minutes before serving, remove beef from slow cooker; place on large plate. Pour juices from slow cooker into 12-inch skillet. Cook over medium-high heat about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until juices are thickened and reduced to about 3 cups. Meanwhile, shred beef with 2 forks; return to slow cooker.
4. Stir remaining 1/2 cup barbecue sauce into reduced juices in skillet; pour over shredded beef in slow cooker. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Spoon about 1/2 cup beef mixture into each bun.

Makes: 16 sandwiches
Serving Size: 1 sandwich
Calories: 310 (50 from fat)
Total Fat: 5g
Cholesterol: 60mg
Sodium: 570mg
Total Carbs: 34g