Deployment 101

Deployment 101: Whatever obscure, weird, random thing that could go wrong- WILL. Save yourself the added headache and just be ready for it. If you're standing next to your printer/copier and you ask your soldier to please make a copy of his ID for your deployment binder, just grab that ID from him and do it yourself. Fifth deployment and that man still forgot to leave me a photo copy of his ID and guess what! I needed it the week he left to mail off his drivers licensed renewal stuff.  Luckily, he was able to copy it and email it to me within hours of asking for it. But the point is, try not to rely on him/her being able to send you what you need. YOU, as the spouse, need to make sure you're ready for what ever comes your way.


Here is a quick run down of a few things that you are going to want to start a handy dandy deployment binder.

 

You can request a Deployment Kit from USAA here. Some FRG's will provide this for you. I didn't want to use this big bulky thing, so I used some of the info and put into my binder.

Power of Attorney: You want a General POA for sure. Don't forget a Special POA if you are planning on any major purchases while your soldier is gone.

I had my man get a special POA specifically for taxes and one for anything dealing with the house. We own our home and I just wanted to have it JUST IN CASE something was to happen.

Passport: I still haven't taken the steps to do this, but I do recommend it. If your soldier gets hurt in combat, they are most likely sending him/her to Germany. If you want to be with them, you need your passport!

Customs forms: You know how friends and family are always asking, "Hey get me ________'s address & I'll send them a box!" but when they get to the Post Office many are faced with the challenge of figuring out a customs form. Filling those babies out are second nature to many mil spouses, but not all civi's know what its all about. What I do at the beginning of each deployment is go to the Post Office and grab a handful of forms and fill out the addresses in advance. I try to keep them in both my binder and in my purse. This saves the lovely friend wanting to help out, the headache at the Post Office and its a lot easier on me as well.

 
Soldier's ID: Copy his/her Military ID front and back as well as their drivers license. You just never know what you will need! {{{Having a copy of military ID is against DOD, do this at your own discretion. We have needed it in the past, but often times you are fine with just having a copy of his/her state ID}}}

Red Cross Info: In case of an emergency, before calling your local Red Cross chapter make sure and have the following information handy: servicemember's rank, address (unit, company and location where he or she is stationed), social security number, and branch of service.

I keep a copy of all this in my binder just in case something was to happen to me.  I have also told a trusted friend where my binder is if she needed to be the one to contact him.

FRG info: I, for one, am not big on the whole FRG thing. I know they are there for a reason and they are a very important part of the military. They are there to help! I recoment keeping the phone tree roster in your binder as well. You may need to contact someone if they have not contacted you about Home Coming information. No one wants to be the spouse not at the dag/hanger/field when your honey gets home. TRUST ME. It almost happened to a friend of mine a few deployments back. Right, Rain.

There you have it. A few tips that have helped me in the past. This is a tried and true method of keeping all info right where you know where it is.

Reminder: You will have sensitive information in here. Keep it in a safe, but convenient place.

The 2012 Debate

No, I'm not talking about these debates. Nope, not at all. I am talking about something much more important. Much more entertaining. And so much more fun...

The 2012 Costume Debate

On Redds list:

• Russian Soldier
• Jack the Skeleton
• Indiana Jones
• Darth Vader
• Spy
• Viking
• Ninja

On Dallface's  list:

• Sally (from The Nightmare Before Christmas)
• girl Darth Vadar
• girl Ninja
• girl Viking
• Monster High - Ghoulia Yelps
• Vampire
• Egyptian Princess

(apparently adding 'girl' on Dollface's list was a must...) So far the ninja's are winning, which is completely fine with me. Ninja costumes can be easy and inexpensive to make.

Really, I think they just want to be ninjas so they can add the cool ninja swords to their random toy/warrior collection.  Can't blame them there.

I would love to have a really great, spook-tastic,  hauntingly amazing Halloween bash this year, but quite a few of our friends here will be on leave and probably out of state. (click here if you are confused) If we do end up having a huge bash, like I want, here a few great ideas I found on Pinterest.

This one we will be doing for sure. I have an extra wreath at home, + Dollar Tree snakes + black spray paint also already at home = BAM  Too Easy and you'll have a front door that even Madusa could be proud of.

 source

This one I have actually been doing for years. This usually has a good response at our Halloween get-together, but not always. I swear, some adults just act to grown up. Grow Down! Since I am not entirely sure where my photos are of it, here is an example that I found. 

source

Covering your chairs in black tulle. Hello, how easy is this and why haven't I thought of it on my own! Face Palm!

I don't think I will use orange as the ribbon color though, rather purple or black. 

source

 If I have learned anything about preparing for Halloween decorating, it is to stock up on cheesecloth and tulle and LOTS of it!

If you want to follow my PARTY: Like a Goblin board on Pinterest, you can do so here.

[ Stewart / Stuart ]

Blogging is one huge 'LOOK WHAT I CAN DO' from the Madam Martha types all the way to the MadTV types. If the phrase 'Look what I can do' is lost to you, check out this video to bring you up to speed. Its ok. I'll wait. I know its a 7 minute long clip, you can fast forward to 4:15 to jump right to the reference.

now that thats done.

Look What I Can Do ~ with a Chi!

***************

One of my little sisters came for a visit after my trip to Missouri. You see, she was suppose to be here while the hubs had surgery on the nerves in his ankle. However, his surgery was pushed back a week and he ended up having it just three short days ago. He's recovering well (more on that later.)
Where is my entertainment now, sis! The hubs is laid up in bed sleeping most of the day away and she is now back in Mo. So what do I do to pass the time? I'll blog about what we did :)

While she was here, we did a little quality bonding, sister time playing with hair.  I got this idea off Pinterest, but I chose not to do it quite as she has done. Look at me putting my own twist on things.. so punny. My sister recently had her hair trimmed and braiding just didn't sound like something I wanted to do with her shorter layers. I ended up pulling together small bunches of hair, spritzing them with some Redken fabricate 03, twist, then use the Chi to warm things up a bit. I used my fingers to move the hair around a little and pull apart the heated up twisties. I think the finished product was perfect.

She had some waves, some volume, some sass and some texture. Not to shabby for a first try.

As far as my sisters visit- we chatted, we bonded, we watched the Game Show Network, we fried potatoes at midnight,  we laughed, we goofed off, we thrifted, we shopped, we swam, we ordered delivery. We had a much needed visit with each other. Its hard to believe that she (and her twin) were just 8 years old when I left home. Wow. My son is 8 years old now. Its crazy to think of how much of their lives that I missed out on while starting my life. {insert sad face here} and my little brother too. Can't forget about him... err I say little, but really he is going to be a senior in high school. He's no longer little. He's a big kid.

I love my life. I do not regret 'running off and getting married' and moving away when I did, but I do regret not being there for those three. I am 12 years their senior. It is still hard to say good bye to them. 

2012 Summer Olympics

Today is the eve of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and my household is over the moon excited! We love watching the Olympics and cheering on the underdogs. I had never really paid much attention to the Olympics in the past, but my non-sports-watching man enjoys them and has inspired us all to get involved (from our sofa.)

Yesterday, in the midst of summer boredom, my little sis and I sat down with the kiddos and helped the them pick out 6 countries each. Of course, their only criteria on country choices stemmed from how 'awesome' the flag looked. She helped them draw out the flags, then the kids colored them in. When finished, it was my job to attach said flags to a stick... or straws since I have an abundance of them on hand. Now we have 12 random country flags to use to cheer on teams. YAY! Bring on the official start to the Olympics!

This festive & educational little craft took about 30 minutes and minimal supplies while sparking their attention to countries they may not of heard much about before. *Win/Win*

• paper cute into 1/4
• colors
• we used straws as our sticks
• staple flag to straw
• countries participating in the 2012 summer Olympics

easy peasy.

DIY Day

Today, I am determined. 
I will do something. 
I will do more than one something. 
I will finish each project I start.

Confession: I'm posting this from my Draft's. 

I didn't even finish the blog post last night. Whoops! 
Oh, and my 'Pinteresting Canvas Art' is not complete either.
I'll finish it up today and post my results. So far, I have a few Pinterest Fails under my belt and no real success stories.

Lookie what I got! A complete color chart thingy from Behr. How awesome is this?!

Flowerpot Makeover:
$1.98 flowerpot from Lowes
$3 scrapbook rub-on's from Michael's
Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Clear Gloss Finish from Wal-Mart

Disclaimer: I can not vouch for the longevity of this little DIY, but I will update this post when/if they start to come off. So far so good.  

 This damn thing both infuriated me and completely grossed me out. I did learn, however, that the next time I buy a house (if there is a next time) I will require the previous owners to remove their own black garbage disposal thingy because holy freakin nasty! I couldn't even get the damn thing out. There was so much grossness that I had to soak it with Goo Gone for a good 20 mins and pried it out with a butter knife and scissors. Gagging the whole time. But...

VICTORY IS MINE

and yes, because of my struggle, I deemed this blogworthy.

Next up, the guest bathroom. 
This is a job for the Mr.
Changing out the ugly old faucet and adding a way cute new one.  
P.S. How bout the $2.99 Pier 1 toothbrush holder.
THRIFTED - Score!

(ignore the mirror - thinking about 

doing this to it later, but that's a whole other post)

 

Its going to be

HOT HOT HOT!

I'm so going to love it!!

Cannot wait to post the AFTER pictures of this Home DIY.

 Aww, My Mr. hard at work! ^^

Handy Dandy

I used to consider myself a fairly creative, outside the box, thinker.  Since the popularity of Pinterest, I find myself in a constant state of ‘why didn’t I think of that’. Well, without going on The Pin first, to see how many other people do this, I am going to add my own little handy dandy tip of the day. 

Ya know all that gross excess grease you end up with after cooking some things, especially bacon?! And we all know pouring grease and/or cooking oil down the drain is a HUGE no-no, right?! Wouldn’t want to cost yourself tons of cash when the pipelines get backed up causing both health and environmental hazards!! 

So here's what I do:

 I reuse a tub that ice cream came in as my spill safe zone and an old jar with a lid for the grossness. 

…and if you wanna get all bedazzled about it, you can pretty it up, take a picture, and post it to Pinterest. Personally, I’m not wasting my craft supplies on it ☺

((please pay no mind to under my sink. this house is a DIY in progress!))

 I would also like to add, after seeing how much grease bacon produces, I no longer eat it. G-R-R-R-O-S-S!