Thursday, January 27, 2011

Blizzard Blog Hop!



Hi!  My name is Army Blogger Wife, and I have been married for 16 years to Gunner, who is active duty Army. We have three kiddos, Em, Abs, and Junior, who keep me on my toes and provide plenty of blogging fodder.



We are currently stationed at Fort Carson, CO, and not snowed in.....yet.

I love triathlons, crossfit, swimming, reading, and reality tv.  All more than I probably should.



Gunner is currently deployed to Afghanistan for a year, and has previously done three year long tours in Iraq, and one in Bosnia.

We are currently on the cusp of retirement, and some days I think it can't come soon enough, and other days I realize how much I will miss this lifestyle, although not the deployments.

I love homecomings.

I am currently hosting a great giveaway that you should enter!

Make sure and leave a comment so that I can visit your blog too!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Cute Idea--Brat Town Bugle

I don't remember how I stumbled on this, but I wish I had found it sooner.  I still might try to find some time for the kids to do it before Gunner gets home.  (Boy, you have less than 10 weeks left, and it's almost like they are coming home tomorrow!)

Anyway, this is a free site, and you can print the pages off, and have the kids create their own newspaper!  What a cute idea, and would have been great to do over Christmas vacation.

Check it out here: Operation We Are Here

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Stella and Dot Giveaway!!


Stella and Dot Giveaway
With
Army Blogger Wife

When Tracy contacted me about hosting a giveaway, I checked out her items, and fell in love with these earrings.  

Then I looked at the girls section and found this cute necklace that "screams" Abs.  

Thankfully, Tracy has provided a beautiful necklace for my readers to have a chance winning!  

Avery Chains and Pearls Necklace (Retail Value $69)
(Pictured Left)
5 antiqued silver plated chains dripping with freshwater pearls.  The combinations of pearls with chain in this necklace updates the classic pearl for a rocker chic look.  Approximately 18 ½” – 24"



TO ENTER:
 Visit http://www.stelladot.com/tracyt and browse around, then come back here and leave a comment on this post telling me what OTHER favorite piece of jewelry is on the website

EXTRA OPTIONAL ENTRIES: (Leave 1 comment for each entry on this blog)

·         Become a fan of Stella and Dot on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stella-and-Dot-Independent-Stylist/144453258946980

·         Follow Stella and Dot Stylist Tracy T Hall on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/tracythall

·         Follow Army Blogger Wife on Twitter:  ABW26

·         Tweet about this contest.  Leave 1 comment for each tweet with the link to the tweet.  Copy and paste the following:  GIVEAWAY!  I entered to win #Stella&Dot Jewelry from @ABW26 and @TracyTHall http://www.stelladot.com/tracyt 

·         Blog about this contest and link back to this post and http://www.stelladot.com/tracyt

You must leave 1 comment per entry.  Extra entries will not be counted unless you leave a comment for each one.  Contest runs until Monday, January 31st, 2011.  Winner will chosen with random.org and notified by email on or before 1/31/11  and asked for full name, address.  If no response, a different winner will chosen.  Must be 18 or older to enter.  Contest open to USA or APO/AE.  Prize will be shipped directly by Tracy T Hall, an independent stylist for Stella and Dot.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Military Housing

Military Mondays Family and Spouse Carnival at Army Wives' Lives



Besides a few apartments when housing wasn't available yet, we have always lived in housing.

I like that I don't have a lease, that I can leave when I want, and that there is always someone to call if something goes wrong.  I like that there is always a fenced in backyard.  It's awfully convenient to have someone come unlock your door when you manage to lock yourself out, with no fees.

Housing will mow my yard when Gunner is gone.  They will come pick up a dead animal in my yard if I call them.

We have lived in stairwell housing in Germany, "townhomes" at Fort Lewis & Fort Hood, a duplex at Fort Hood, a duplex at the Academy, and now we are in a townhome type situation once again.

I currently LOVE our house.  It's not big, but there's room.  I like having a garage.  There are enough bathrooms for us, especially since Junior doesn't use one.

I like being close to a shoppette, the commissary, the px, and hourly daycare.

Some of the drawbacks are that you are very close to your neighbors.  Last week I had the crap scared out of me because someone rang my doorbell at 11 pm.  I answer the door and it's the MP's asking about a domestic disturbance.  I explained that I had three sleeping children, a barking dog, and a deployed husband. They were looking for my neighbor.

At Hood, our neighbor (in our duplex) tried to kill his wife.  He went to jail for about a month till he was bailed out, and he came back and within minutes we were surrounded by MP's.  Housing moved her out the next day to an undisclosed location.

Gunner once found our neighbor's kid in a diaper, down the street, in freezing weather, playing near a storm drain.

So anyway, all this leads up to me being addicted to House Hunters.  Maybe it is the fact that we have never owned a house and I dream of one day (not anytime soon) buying our first house.  Maybe it is because I like to see how other people live.  (Surely I'm not the only one who is out walking the dog and will glance over if a window is open to see what it's like.  Really, I'm not a peeping ABW!)

What I have a hard time with is people that turn their nose up at the houses they are shown!  I know people want their "dream house" with the big master bathroom, walk in closets, an island in the kitchen, and all the things that they have dreamed of.  Maybe it is so many years of just taking what is offered, that I can't imagine being THAT picky?  We do have a master bathroom and a walk in closet in this house, but many haven't had those features.

I sometimes think if Gunner and I went on that show, they would show us the first house, and we would sign for it.  Having alternatives?  Unheard of!  A garden tub?  Never had one, but was at my mom's house and discovered that it is hard to bathe a child in one.  A gigantic kitchen?  I'd probably just fill it with appliances instead of having the bare minimum.

We have never looked at a house and said "the rooms are too small" but instead say "we'll give Junior the smallest room since he is the youngest" or "Em can have the small room this time because it has a door to the bathroom".  We don't look at a kitchen and think about all the baking we are going to do and the lack of counter space, we are just relieved if there is a pantry to put food in!

What's the best housing you have ever lived in?  (Ours is here at Carson)

Have you ever bought a house at a duty station, and was it worth the trouble when you moved?

Have you ever had crazy neighbors like mine?

How has living in military housing changed the way you view your future home?

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Quiet

With Em gone for the weekend, things have been so quiet here.  

The phone isn't ringing off the hook. 

The kids are getting along.

No one is pestering me to cook, they like oatmeal and ham.

 Junior didn't get out of his pjs.  Now that I think about it, Abs didn't either.
He's at such a sweet age.  (Minus when he turned himself into the Incredible Hulk one night when he was supposed to be sleeping!)

Tomorrow I go get Em from her weekend youth retreat, and I can't wait to hear how skiing, tubing and all that went.  We're also meeting my friend Dave for pho.  

Tuesday is another trash day, and it can't come soon enough!