Healing America

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a courageous man who was diagnosed with mercury toxicity.

After battling his own "war" he has created a deeply inspirational DVD for recovering war veterans going through their own healing process. 

In this video he displays gorgeous scenery from our "Land of the Free" 

along with an acoustic soundtrack. 

This man's name is Jeffrey Gilliam. 

Now that he is officially mercury free, we would love it if you gave him 

& our veterans some much needed love & support.

To watch his video and find out more information on how you can get involved,

please visit ROCKETHUB.

Reflections of 2012

Looking back over this past year 
it feels like we have accomplished so much. 
Not only the fact that we survived a seven month deployment 
but our relationship has grown so strong, 
full of love and powerful blessings from above. 

For our celebration we kept it REAL simple 
and stayed with our traditions. 
See every year for New Years we: 
Order Chinese takeout.
Watch endless movies. Bake a delicious cake. 
Stay in our jammies. And end the night STANDARD 
with a toast & of course a big wet one
kiss.

Happy New Year from my sweet family to yours.
Hope 2013 started out marvelous, darlinggg..
Because it can only get better! 

Birthday Wish List

It is my birthday month!
Ladies, get ready to celebrate.
It is on.
One full month of birthday celebrations.
Seeing as my birthday is the last day of the month.

My birthday is the one day of the year that is designed to celebrate only ME.

My husband probably thinks this day is everyday.

He might be right.

I wish for:

My husband to be home to celebrate. 

This will be my third birthday with him and we have never spent one together. 

Fingers crossed it happens this year.

The day we said our "goodbyes."

Chanel Chance Perfume


Kitchen Scales



Black Turban



Roller Blades

 And of course clothes! 

Can't wait to see what I get!
And to celebrate the real reason,
all the fruits of my mom's labor. Hah!

The best part of August this year,
the hubby's homecoming.
Hopefully it won't be stretched out until September!
Hope you ladies have a great month!

Book Club Friday

I haven't participated in Book Club Friday for quite some time. 

So I thought I'd link up with Heather from the Blonde..Undercover Blonde.

I have read four books this past week. 

You Know When the Men are Gone

by

Siobhan Fallon

This is an interconnected Army story of the wife's of Fort Hood, Texas while their husband's are deployed. 

It shows what goes on away from the view point of television shows, news programs, or politician's speeches. The trials, tribulations, happiness, and all the twenty million emotions we feel as the people we love most are away from the lives we share for the majority of the year.

Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades Darker

Fifty Shades Freed

by

E.L. James

I know everyone has heard of these..

I hope you all read they are amazing..

Although I'm a little upset I've read them all now.

Wish James will write more in the future.

You can read the blurb here.

I am also in the process of making my own cookbook.

If you would like to pre-order one, comment below or you can contact me on the side bar.

(All my information is listed there.)

They will be sold for $15. 

And will be available this fall.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Tomorrow is my Blog-aversary!

So I will be posting a little something fun to celebrate. 

Stay tuned!

xOxO

Here's the Mail!

As most of you know, my husband Mr. Army Man is deployed right now.

I've tried to come up with fun care packages so he doesn't just get the same ole same ole.

I feel like all I ever send over is necessities. 

I got the idea from Kelly Ginn from this post.

I made a package from our dog, Libby.

She included:

A football

Frisbee

Animal Crackers

Yoo-Hoo

Dog Bones

Spiderman Bandaids

Cracker Jacks

And a handmade card... 

(Isn't she the sweetest?)

How fun was this?

You can see get ideas of more fun care packages for your loved ones here. 

Hope you check it out and get some good ideas! 

xOxO

Grocery Shopping For One

With a husband being deployed..
Sometimes I feel like grocery shopping for one is pointless. 

I buy a dozen eggs... I use 4.. Trash

Loaf of bread- Make one sandwich..Trash

Pork chops- Too many in pack.. Trash

See a trend.. Too much food for one person to eat.

OR 

I eat the same foods for TWO weeks to keep from wasting it..

Here is what I keep in my fridge.. 

Pepper Jelly (2 jars)

Margarine

1/2 dozen eggs

Silk Light Chocolate Milk

Cranberry Juice (made with Splenda)

Raspberry Lemonade---Amazing stuff. Only 50 calories for a glass..

Turkey bacon

Yogurt

Cheeses (shredded cheddar, string)

Real UNSALTED butter--- Salt is just a preservative in butter. Use unsalted.

Tuna with water-- I keep cans in fridge.. So tuna salad is cold once I make it.

Corn tortillas

Cilantro- I eat this stuff on everything

Guacamole ingredients.. (I keep ingredients for recipes in baskets, easy for grab&go prep)

Oranges

Freezer:

I always have Popsicle's

Wine bag

Frozen berries

Chicken breasts

Burritos

Fish fillets

Meatballs

Steak

Bagged steamed veggies

Of course I have some inspiration to keep me from eating everything in the house. 

Stress eater=moi!

And my on-going grocery list... You can find a copy of here. 

This grocery list is amazing.. 

It organizes into categories and you will get everything you need all in one section. 

What are some of the things you always have on hand?

Re-Enlistment

Yesterday, Mr. Army Man re-enlisted for another 6 years. 

He still had a little over a year left on his previous contract but that is null and void.

 His 6 years began yesterday.

I am SO proud of him! 

His courage, leadership and the man he has become. 

More than that I am proud to call him my husband, soul mate, and best friend. 

I cannot wait to see where this new journey takes us.

Finding Your Life

Here lately I've been re-reading my ever favorite book Faith Deployed that I talk about here.

In the book it talks about finding routines & such. Today I talked with my husband about the future. Not years down the road but about his home coming. Everyone knows that's that's what all of us mil-spouses look forward too. Not just us but our soldiers too!

He was talking about trips, getting back into a routine with me, etc.

I've encountered some recurrent themes, in this time- I often question myself, "how can I fulfill all my duties and hurt myself the least."

I've taken on wife, full time student, a class tutor, yard mower, maid, dog walker, and so many more tasks/roles, And just because I constantly keep myself busy & entertained doesn't mean I don't run myself ragged and still get hurt by distance, altered plans, short phone calls, etc..

Instead of trying to micromanage everything I think to myself, "Am I consciously or subconsciously trying to "tweak" my time so everything will fall into place to fit my plans.. Am I frustrated, stressed or even anxious in trying to control every aspect/process of life. Or do I just need to roll with the punches to a certain extent and enjoy life?"

As I'm writing this I make a toast/vow to myself that I WILL be more free spirited and just sort of roll with it (so to speak) and let God and life lead me down whatever road they guide me too!


On another deployment related topic, Mr. Army Man found out he will be going to the board soon. For those of you not military, the board is for promotions. So for right now he is studying fiercely. I am so proud of him. He has only been an E5 for right at a year. Hopefully my man will get his rank as staff sergeant soon! 

Miss this, want it back?

I miss it.

I miss you.

I just want to have a home again.

I guess I just really miss it all..

Does any of this make sense?

Before..

It all seemed so simple.

First: Conquer the world.

Save the world.

Then..

Live happily ever after..

Right?

Okay. Well.

Let me ask you something..

What truly makes you happy?

Is it how you look.. The car you drive?

The people you know?

Is it money, celebrity status, power or accomplishments?

I have almost all of those things.. But it's still not enough.

What is, you ask?

LOVE.

I think?

It doesn't matter if it's from a boy or a girl, a way of life, a place or even for a family.

But where you find it.

Is up to you.

You also may wonder..

Why is this important?

It's what gets you up in the morning.

 And keeps you going throughout the entire day.

I just miss it.

I miss you.

I just want US to have a home again.

I guess.. I just really miss it all.

Twenty days gone. And still we're both going strong.

What to do?

Another military spouse sent me a comment asking for some advice on what to do while her man is away..

1.) Pray!
2.) Get into a routine. Even on the weekends. Wake up at a certain time and go to bed at a certain time.
3.) Stay busy.

• Workout
• Read
• Blog
• Have a girls night in/out once a week.
• Plan a party. Link up for a game night or host a Pure Romance, Scentsy, or Mary Kay party.
• Spend time with family.
• Get a job.
• Find a hobby.
• Go back to school, take a class. Like yoga, spin, cooking. Something fun and new.
• Go shopping but don't be rash. Make good purchases.
• Make to do lists. And complete it.

4.) Stay strong.
5.) Stay motivated.

Just whatever you do just keep living. Don't stay at home. Go out to eat. He/she expects you to keep living your life just as you did with him/her. The time away is what you make of it. If you want to be negative, and feel sorry for youself you do that but nobody else is. He/she is doing their job. Just support them and be so proud that their yours and their doing a great thing for you and our country. Stay postive it makes the time go by faster. And just remember everyday away is a day closer until your in his/her arms again.

Live today, like he/she will be gone tomorrow.
Hope this helps. Love, Morgan

That Crying, Almost Crap Your Pants Moment..

Yea, you know what I'm talking about... I had one of those last night.

Let me start at the beginning. I had plans to go to some friend's house near post (like an hour from our house.) But got a late start on the day and still had a ton of yard work/house cleaning to do.. So I ended up not going.. Instead I finished up.. Went and got care package items for Mr. Army Man and Boo Thang. And came home. I helped my neighbor with her twin's birthday party invites. And we decided to grab some dinner.

So far so good, we sit down at the restaurant and I immediately get a call from ADT. My back window had been opened and the asked if they needed to notify the police. I said yes and we all left the restaurant. J drove us back to the house at lightening speed and we arrived before the cops.

They checked out the house. Told me to come in to see if anything was missing and what do ya know. It was a false alarm. I have double paned windows. Meaning the top and bottom can be opened. The top had just fallen down. And the latch had been broken.

I was freaking out. The nice cop installed new lights in a few of my outside fixtures and all was good. Out to dinner we go again. This time we finally got past ordering drinks. Let's just say I had one of those crying, almost crap your pants scared moments. And the whole time I'm thinking, why does my husband have to be deployed. Selfish I know! But I thank God everyday for him being there. Someone has to do the job. I praise him and all the men/women who are over there. Anywho..

Thank God, a day only lasts twenty-four hours. I don't think I could have handled any more of that one. #deploymentproblems




Life as an Army Wife

Sorry I haven't posted this week. Trying to spend as much time as I could with Mr. Army Man.
Because..
The real task of my "Life as an Army Wife" begins today.

I dropped my husband off today for his "business trip." It will be a long 9 months but nothing that we can't handle.

"Distance between two hearts is not an obstacle, rather a beautiful reminder of just how strong true love can be.."

I believe in the above quote to no end. And in this one.. "Distance makes the heart grow fonder.."

Everyone says "how do you army/military wives do it, how do you spend so much time away from one another?" or "I wouldn't be able to handle that."

It isn't about being able to handle something.. It's about loving and supporting someone throughout anything and no matter what. If you say you 'I dos,' that's what you commit to. If you can do it when he's around, you can do it when he's away too. Your husbands all go on business trips. Well so does mine, it's just for long periods instead of just for a couple of days. I love and support my husband no matter what he does. He has the other half of my heart, and he will hold it forever.

Today, we didn't say our good-byes. We just said our "see ya later's..."

I dropped him off this morning around 4:00 am. And I've made it so far without crying. (I'll let you know how that goes.)

Up until this point my blog hasn't talked much about our "military life" but in the upcoming months be looking forward to seeing more of it. I will still have my day-to-day regular posts about what's going on, but look forward to seeing what a real Army wife life is about. Hope you will keep reading, but if not this blog is for me and the journal of our life. (Just saying.)

I'll leave you with some picture from this morning. BTW I had make-up on but my face is all red, because it was 24 degrees and freezing! Hope y'all have had a great weekend! I'll be posting more on our weekend later!