Financial Crisis

Okay. This is pretty real and we have the power to do something about it. For once, I am stepping out of my political bubble and putting this out there because putting our country $700 billion dollars further in debt thus increasing our taxes and decreasing the value of the dollar really doesn't sound very good to me. 

Dave Ramsey has come up with a Common Sense 3 Step Plan that will have immediate ramifications and boost the economy. It should also help us in the long run. Please check out the plan and if you agree with it take action!!! 

*Note: The Senate and House of Representatives pages are running very slow because so many people are emailing. Keep hitting refresh or try again later. 

Dear Mr. Recruiter man

Dear Mr. Recruiter man, 

It has come to my attention that you have not followed through with your end of the bargain. First, you put my husband in a unit that we were very excited about and we were thankful. Then you took it away because you hadn't done your research and there actually wasn't a "slot". After that, you promised to email my husband with a list of other units in the area so that we could move forward and make a decision. We've waited... and waited... and waited... No email. No call. We do have lives and we would like to move on with them. 

Your inconsistency didn't bother me so much until today when I realized that I HAVE to go to the doctor. You see, blacking out or getting REALLY dizzy when working out is NOT a good thing, especially when you have tried every remedy possible. We are supposed to have insurance through the National Guard but because you have not done your job, we don't. And we aren't sure if we have insurance at all which is a VERY VERY bad thing. I understand that we are not your responsibility, I wouldn't want to be. But can you please PuhLEASE call my husband so we can move forward? Hey thanks.

A distressed military wife

The Artform of "NO"

Do you ever agree to do something only to find out that it was a really BAD idea? You just wanted to help or do something nice for someone and it blows up in your face? I have done this to myself several times and I find myself in that place right now. I thought I had mastered the art of saying no. I have done what I can when I can and have been very happy. Well, I stumbled across an opportunity that seemed like a good idea at the time and once I was immersed in the situation I realized it was really DUMB. 10 more days until I am freed and I am determined to make the best of it. 

Saying no is okay and I highly recommend it. Yes we should be there for others when we can, but if your situation is already a little crazy or your plate is getting full, don't be afraid to say no.

When you are sad, upset, or stressed

1. Take a steamy hot bath.

2. Lock yourself in a room away from everyone and watch your favorite movie. Office Space is definitely up there for me when I need a good laugh. 

3. Nap.

4. Drink a glass of wine or coffee. 

5. Indulge in your favorite dessert. 

Repeat... Oh yeah and taking a few deep breaths couldn't hurt either!

Politics

I don't really like to talk politics, particularly when I am so frustrated with the situation that I can't really choose a side. I also feel like there is so much crap out there that I can't find the truth. That bothers me too. I have not had a chance to dig for the facts and educate myself. That is so important, now more than ever. Oh yes, I've listened to the news, read articles, and have even searched the alleged "fact" websites that are supposedly unbiased and all truth. I'm sorry, but I don't really buy that. I've read things on those sites that are clearly not true. 

The election is in 40 days and quite frankly, I find myself scared and confused. I know who I am NOT voting for, but I can't, in my own good conscience, vote for another at this point. I also do not want to not vote. Voting is a privilege that I enjoy, and I would not be exercising my right if I didn't vote. I need something profound to happen where I can make a clear decision. This is a big deal. 

Completely off topic, yet positive, I was able to fill my car with gas today and I got a haircut. Yay!

Gas Crisis

Me: So umm there's no gas in Nashville.

Dad: What do you mean?

Me: I mean, we're like out of gas.

Dad: You're kidding right? 

Me: Nope. I just got stuck in traffic because people were lined up for over a mile in the ghetto of Franklin to get gas. 

Dad: *chuckles. Wow.

Me: Yeah, Ben said fights keep breaking out all over downtown Nashville over gas and who was in line first. 

Yeah, so I am completely naive. My husband told me to fill up my car and I didn't listen. After all, I still had about a quarter of a tank and I didn't believe we would ACTUALLY run out of gas. OOPS! Hurricane Ike struck Texas which is where TN gets the majority of their gasoline. So now people are going absolutely crazy because its been nearly a week and we still don't have gas. Not joking... 

I still have a little gas in the car and I am not too concerned because I have the privilege of working from home. Ben has enough to get to work for the next couple days and we're just hoping and praying the stations get gas in soon. 

BUT I would like to know why we don't have a back up plan. You would think there would be... Makes me wonder what else we don't have a back up plan for. Sigh.

Americana Music Fest

Ben and I spent a few evenings this week out at the Station Inn and Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville. We saw and heard some GREAT artists. Of course there were a few that I was not impressed with but the amount of talent in one venue of the course of a few nights was absolutely phenomenal. 

The SteelDrivers. If you have not ever listened to the SteelDrivers you are seriously missing out. They're more of a modern bluegrass group with a ton of talent. Their songwriting and delivery is outstanding. Please do yourself a favor and check them out. "Blue Side of the Mountain" WILL be stuck in your head. (Oh and if you think they're good on CD, you need to see them live because really, they're that much better.)

Dailey and Vincent. I think they need to come up with a new name that includes the band as a whole, but the music makes up for it ten fold. They are a more traditional bluegrass band with 3 and 4 part harmonies, a fiddle, upright bass, guitar, mandolin, and banjo. Although I had a hard time getting past some of the sound idiosyncrasies (you would think for the hundreds of amazing sound engineers in Nashville, they'd at least have a decent one), they were pretty tight and very talented. They have been together less than a year and are up for 10 awards at the IBMAs.

Kathy Mattea. You have probably at least heard her name. She has an incredible voice and knows how to use it properly. Mattea has a new album out that, from what I've heard so far, is fantastic. 

I've been "memed"

I always find these things slightly awkward, amusing, and fairly entertaining. If you are not aware, a "meme" is simply used to "describe a concept that spreads from person to person via the internet." (I had to look it up so don't feel bad!)

The Rules:
1) Rattle off 6 quirks 
2) Then tag 6 more blogs leaving links to their blogs
3) Leave comments on their blogs to let them know that you intend for them to follow suit! 

6 quirks...

1) I do not enjoy wearing shoes, sneakers,... I would rather go barefoot anywhere... Well, maybe not in public because that's gross. 

2) When I wear socks, they have to be on just right. The stitching can not be turned under my foot. And I HATE when socks slide down in my shoe... YUCK. This all started when I was very young. My first year of school as I recall. And I was also late for the bus several times because of it.

3) I don't eat corn pops because of one bad experience I had as a child. It scarred me and several others who road the bus with me. My reputation was never the same... Just kidding about the reputation part... But word of advice: "Don't eat cereal really really fast to catch the bus because you spent too much time getting your socks on straight."

4) I am very anal about organization and cleanliness. I like things a certain way, BUT I rarely have time and energy to keep up with it. 

5) I clean my ears practically every day, because I don't like the feeling of water in them after a shower.

6) I used to LOVE driving. Probably because I had so many open country roads to navigate. Now I freak out on the highway, particularly when I am in a lane between 2 other vehicles. I ALWAYS feel like they are coming in my lane. Which to be honest, is true about 40% of the time. (Nashville drivers are crazy!)

I am racking my brain trying to think of 6 bloggers that I can tag that haven't already done this so I've branched into Myspace.

Ben is my husband and best friend

Ben

Shelby is my good friend and a fellow military wife.

Shelby

Allyssa is a friend, past roomie, and a great writer. She just moved back to NC and I miss her dearly.

Allyssa

Kaylei is my beautiful sister.

Kaylei

Lydia is a new friend and one of the most amazing people I've met in a VERY long time. 

Lydia

Kristi is one of my best friends that I met in college.

Kristi

Journalism

I think by now we have all realized that journalism is flawed. It is rare to find an article without some sort of misrepresentation, misquote, or bias. I get the bias part and know to watch out for it, so that is not my main issue. 

I am a part of a really cool military wives group called "Wives of Faith." In my spare time, I help the founder with publicity. One opportunity came through that I was very excited about. Tennessee's most prominent magazine, "The Tennessean" wanted to do an article about us and our upcoming events. I made the arrangements and while I was on the phone, she decided to interview me. Being a military wife that wants to get the word out about this amazing group and about the military life in general, I wanted to participate. Knowing the fallacies of the media, I subjected myself to potential disaster. What if I misrepresented something or someone? What if I gave clues that [I feel] the army is not all its chalked up to be? 

The interview itself went very smoothly. I was careful not to represent anyone or anything negatively. Here is the article. 

It is okay, but it doesn't really make sense to me. I don't think she really grasped what the group was about and she was confused about active duty Army vs. National Guard. Some of the quotes were not really what I said and there was a comparison that probably should not have been made. To someone else, the article may make complete sense. (I asked a couple friends just to see.)

We don't always know the truth or the "whole truth" behind a story or article.

Hmmm

There have been many posts mulling around my head over the last few days, but I have been too busy to let them out. So hopefully I will manage to recall some of them on a later date and post them then.

It has been a whimsical, fast week. My head is spinning from the hundreds of thoughts running through it at all times. I can't imagine if I couldn't think for a day... I'd probably be bored out of my mind! 

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Ben WON TICKETS today! We will be spending 3 days next week going to showcases and such at the Americana Music Fest. Yeah, its true. I can somewhat enjoy "roots music" these days! (Thanks for clarifying, Allyssa!) Pretty sure that's not because of Nashville, but because my husband MADE ME. ;) I am pretty excited about seeing The SteelDrivers and Ben is excited about Steve Earle. What better way to end this crazy week than to win pricey tickets. Okay, I know they're comps but still.

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In other news... well, I'll just save that for later.

Spiritual Warfare

So often I try to make everything about me and the battle within me. "Afterall, its happening to me. I'm the one in the situation. I have to deal with this." When, really, a lot of what goes on in my life, in our lives has nothing to do with us. 

Ephesians 6:12

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." 

Married to a soldier - Deployment I

It was March 2007,  just a couple weeks before my birthday when I ventured down to Ft. Benning, GA to spend the week with Ben before he had to leave. I had high expectations. I wanted everything to be perfect, like always. Us madly in love with each other, holding hands, talking with one another, hanging out like best friends, and enjoying each other's company. I didn't want to put any extra undue pressure on him. There was plenty of that already. 

No one told me what would take place that week. No one explained to me just how difficult it would be or warned me about anything. I wish they had.

I arrived at Uchee Creek in Fort Benning with my 3 month old, very sick puppy. Uchee Creek is a campsite on post on the border of Georgia and Alabama. We loved staying there, because it was still close to Ben's unit and yet it was set in the woods. The cabins were equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom and were kept very clean. They were also VERY affordable with no taxes. 

I believe Ben met up with me later that day, and I was thrilled to see him. We met with our usual tight embrace followed by a sensational, passionate kiss. I will never forget those moments. We went days and weeks without seeing each other and when we reunited, my heart raced and skipped beats. His hugs... There is nothing in the world like being embraced by a strong soldier. Ben held me so tight and I got lost in his arms. I will never comprehend how I could feel so much love from an embrace. 

We had dinner and everything seemed somewhat normal, or at least we tried to pretend. A big black cloud was slowly creeping over us and we knew it, but we tried our hardest not to let it.

More to come...

A confused girl and a very cool verse

I am in a frustrated state. I really don't know how else to put it. I am content with where I am and what I am doing but that makes me restless. I feel as though it is time to move on, move forward to new territory wherever that may be but the direction is not entirely clear. I have an idea and know where I'd like to go, but I am half there. I feel as though I have one foot on the old side of the line and one foot on the new side of the line, but I can not move because my feet are cemented down. The situation is out of my control...

This morning before my interview God gave me a verse...

1 Corinthians 2:9 "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him."

What an incredible promise! It gave me joy and hope that God not only has a plan, but he has the perfect plan. A plan for good and not harm. That I can't even conceive what he has prepared for me. No matter what today holds, he has prepared something marvelous for me! Little ole' me. A speck on a VERY LARGE picture. Amazing.

Okay, but here's the catch. I also felt compelled to read the verse that followed.

"but God has revealed it to us by the Spirit"

Ummm... So I thought to myself. I don't get it. I don't know exactly what God has in store for me. I don't know what tomorrow will bring or where I need to be or what I need to do. I feel slightly left out. I don't think anything has been "revealed," not recently.

Then I realized no one knows what will happen tomorrow, we're not even guaranteed tomorrow, but we are told that "God holds the future." God will reveal his perfect plan or part of his perfect plan in due time. I need to rest on the fact that "He has a plan," "He knows what's best," and "He knows the desires of my heart better than I do."

As you keep reading this chapter, you will start to notice that we really can't know what we're supposed to do unless we tap into the Spirit. If we live our lives without his help and hope, these things will not be revealed.

I have a feeling this is not the end of this discussion/blog. I will add later... Maybe.

I never thought...

I NEVER in a million years thought I would say this, but I'm starting to miss being around the military. AHHH. I know. I really can't believe that came from my mouth. Does anyone have a bar of soap?

But seriously, when Shawn (sort of my big brother at the time) went into the army, I sort of entered that realm of life as well. I eventually became close with "the guys" and met my present husband. Then, while Ben was gone on this tour, I got closer to some of the other military wives. Its a bond we can only share with each other, because we have been there, in each other's shoes and its something we are not able to share with other friends. I think its probably somewhat similar to those who have had a disease or experienced the loss of a loved one. When you go through something that significant, you bond with others in that situation. 

Yes, military wives get a really bad wrap, but I promise we don't all fit the stereotypes.