Tag, your it!

Hi all! This is not my usual post, but sometimes I like to shake things up! I was tagged by my friend, Meari and now get the share seven random facts about myself. I then have to tag seven people. Here are the rules ...

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the Rules on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged

Seven random things about me:
1. I am the fourth of 12 children
2. I spent 5 years in private school, 3 years homeschooled and 4 in public school. I've seen it all.
3. I was a volunteer firefighter.
4. I have a degree in Chemistry, Journalism/PR and soon a masters in Military History.
5. I am scared of frogs.
6. I am a certified scuba diver, but cannot swim.
7. I am often compelled to buy books to feel smart, even if I don't need.

Seven friends tagged:
1. Army Blogger Wife, one of my dearest blogging friends. This fellow milspouse has a unique view on life and her little angels will leave you smiling.
2. Smile~n~Sigh, always has a beautiful outlook on life and viewing the world through her camera lens is breathetaking.
3. Alice @ Tea in my Cup, has become a special friend as well. Her collection of recipes is amazing.
4. Tommy Gunn, is mt blogging mentor. Though he has cut back on his blogging to renew the realtionship with his wife and children, he's outlook on the world is definately one of a kind.
5. Lime, is one of my favorite people though we don't chat nearly daily like we used to since I started my new job. However, this is one of the coolest chicks I know and it's not becasue her name is Michelle and she LOVES chocolate. Check her out.
6. Stitcherw, is a fellow sticher who does some amazing work. Check out what has her life in stitches.
7. Army Wives Connected, is a new blog for me, but since Amie and I are milspouses in the same unit, that makes her tops in my book. Check out what she has to say about Army life.

You're a military wife if ...

...you can unpack a house and have everything in place in 48 hours.
...you string concertina wire to keep the neighbor's kids out of your flower beds.
...your husband's work and dress clothes cost more than yours do.
...you've changed more oil and mowed more lawns than your husband because he's never there to do it himself.
...you use a crook-neck flashlight with a red lens during power outages because it's the only one you can ever find in the house.
...your children say "hooah" or "roger that" instead of "ok".
...your husband does a route recon and takes a GPS for a trip to the mall.
...you only write in pencil because EVERYTHING is subject to change.
...you need a translator to talk to your civilian friends, because they have no idea what DFAS, AER, TDY, ACS, NPD, PCS, and ETS mean.
...you have a larger selection of curtains than Wal-Mart does.
...you can remember where you kept the Scotch tape in your last house, but unfortunately, not in this one.
...you mark time in duty stations, not years.
...you refer to friends not only by name but by the state that they live in. .
..you know that "back home" doesn't mean at the house you live in now.
...you tear up when you hear "Proud to Be An American," even though you've heard it 50 times by now.
...you know that a 2 month separation IS short, no matter what your civilian friends say.
...you ALWAYS know when payday is and get ticked off if there are more than 2 weekends during that pay period.
...you know better than to go to the PX or commissary between 11:30 and 1:30 unless it's a life or death emergency.
...you show your military ID to the greeter at Wal-Mart.
...you know that any reference to "sand" or a "box" has nothing to do with your kid's backyard toys.
...you know that "Ft. Puke" is a completely accurate description of any military base you are currently at.
...you find yourself explaining your husband's LES to him.
...you don't have to think about what time 21:30 is.
...you've ever been referred to as "Household 6".
...you're the TC, not a backseat driver.
...you start ripping open MREs and looking for the M&Ms when you run out of Halloween candy.
...you can't remember the last time you saw a doctor who wasn't wearing ACUs.
...you've ever had a pet named Scout, Ranger or Sergeant.
...the local dry cleaner knows you by your first name.
...it only cost you $25 to have a child.
...you find that a large number of your clothes and household items are olive drab or loam, even though you never planned it that way.
...you pick apart uniforms on TV and in the movies, even though you used to yell at your husband for doing the same thing.
...you know what "pogey bait" is and which kinds everyone in your husband's platoon prefers.
...you wish you could go to CIF to DX your old stuff like your husband can.
...you've learned to sleep through the sounds of tanks, planes, helicopters and artillery simulators
. ...you give your kids a hand receipt when they take your Tupperware to school.
...you can hate military life but be terrified to leave it all in the same breath.
...you defend your lifestyle no matter how bad things get because you know there's no other life for you! AND WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR THE WORLD!

Breathless with anticipation ...

I guess from the title you'd never guess I was talking about new teacups, but then again, depending on how well you know me, that might've been a top guess.

Yesterday was a late day at work, but despite how tired I was, it still couldn't deminish my excitement when I realized the package waiting for me was the set of teacups I'd ordered from one of my favorite shops, Roses and Teacups.

It's been a link on my page for over a year now, but I had to share about my newest aquisitions.



You may have seen the cup on the left before, it's been here before. It is one of a set of two, the first teacups in what would eventually be a collection. So I was "window shopping" a week or so before my birthday and came across these and couldn't believe my eyes ... they are "Rose with Buds Demitasse Child Size Tea Party Teacups" according to the web site. I was so excited and of course ordered a set (of 6).

I wanted to do something special with them, display them in some unique way and then I remembered a chandalier that a dear milspouse gave me when she moved. The light fixture itself wasn't anything unique, but seeing it reminds me of her and the lessons that I learned from other military spouses about life and friendship.

So a bright idea formed, I am hoping to take these cups and attach them to the light fixture with the light bulbs inside of the cups. Neat idea huh!?! I'd see it done at lighting stores and stuff and figured I could do it for less than the $500-$1800 it would cost to buy one.

When I opened the box I found an unexpected surprise. The stuffing was shredded pink paper. Cute right!?! I put some in a glass vase and put an Easter egg on top. Voila! Instant centerpiece! There was a lot left over, so I put it in a zipper bag and will figure out what to do with it later. Now, for the price of some cute "Easter" ribbon, I've got a new table decoration.

Who said bored military wives aren't resorceful or creative. I've really been craving some craft time lately too, even organized the craft closet, but I'm on a mission to finish my masters this summer ... five more classes to go!

Well, I'm off to see if I've got enough teacups or if I need to get more.

Until our next cup of tea ...

The Wait is Over ...

It finally arrived. It was delivered to the unit's mailroom, so I had to wait for the clerk to arrive. I had some "friends" on the inside (thanks 1SG) so I got the call when she arrived from her mail pickup. The first package was waiting for me, the second I had to wait until after lunch for it to be delivered. The first was the chocolates, the second the flowers. I had never recieved flowers in a box, well never recieved them in any form via mail, but I always thought it was so romantic for a complete stranger to deliver you flowers fron your true love.

So I sent him an email of course, welling him I got it, but will have to wait until he calls to tell him. I'm trying to eat them slowly, and am saving one box for when he gets home so we can share it together. I must get mushy and say once again, I am the luckiest girl in the world.



And lastly, what would Valentine's Day during a deployment be without a little patriotism ...



Until our next cup of tea ...

Love worth waiting for ...

I have found that Valentine's Day without my love is harder than Christmas. We've never waited for the holiday to show our love to each other, and in most cases we just stayed home, had a quiet dinner and watched a movie or something together. This year, I had to do it alone.

I've posted stories about our relationship before, so I doubt any long term reader would doubt our love for each other.

I did get to talk to him yesterday, he called to see if I got the package he had sent. Well, those of you who know of the birthday fiasco with FedEx, can laugh a little because it has happened again .. for those who don't know, here is the story.

For my 30th birthday my husband sent me a package, the beautiful necklace in the previous post. The thoughtful husband that his is, he thought I would rather open it at my party in Houston with our friends, so he had it shipped 2-day to Houston to arrive about two days ahead of the party. Unfortunately, either FedEx or Zales was worried about the fact that it was ordered from Iraq and being sent to a stateside address so they held it, meaning it would not arrive on time.

He had to have it re-rerouted to our home and their said it would arrive Jan. 29. On the 29th they called and said the 30th, on the 30th they called and said the 31st, then Feb. 1. Appharently, they had lost it somewhere in Houston for a few days. Finally, after 11 days, I received it.

Well, this time he sent my Valentine's pacakge to my work at the MP Bn HQ. It was suppose to arrive yesterday. I stayed until 5 p.m. waiting after the unit had been granted an early release at 2 p.m. George emailed me today to say that one package had arrived and the other still had yet to be. I assume the first package was sent to the mail room (for the Soldiers mail) instead of the command group where I work. Staff Duty is waiting for the other package and will call me if it arrives.

Needless to say, this deployment is making me re-evaluate my patience! I'll post pics when I get it!

Until our next cup of tea ...

I'm back ... I think

Well, it's been a while. Life seems to have caught up with me in the last few weeks. There's a lot going on around here and I'm just trying to keep my head above the water.

My birthday was amazing. I went to Houston for the weekend and had a blast. A milspouse whose husband is with George lives there and she joined me and some of our "hometown" friends at Dave and Buster's. We had a great time and I walked away with a few cool things from my friends as well as a bright pink D&B martini shaker.

G&MD got me a massage (I'm so going to enjoy a day of pampering) and D&C/T got me a rose candle that I absolutely LOVE! I got to talk to George a few times that week which was the best present of all of course. He felt so bad. He had ordered a gift and wanted it delivered to G&MD's house but FedEx messed up and we had to reroute it. It took 11 days to get a two-day package. But it finally arrived. After much "discussion" with FedEx, they agreed to deliver it Saturday instead of making me wait until Monday.

First, there was the black box from Zales. I slowly opened it and found this beautiful necklace. It was breathe-taking. So beautiful. Not even 10 minutes later George called. I was so excited. Of course, the puppy was happy to tear into the FexEd box and I could understand.

Well, I'm off to enjoy some down time before the next wave of life hits!

Until our next cup of tea ...