Baby Update

Just went to the doc for our 4 week check up and everything looks good! Although, when it was time to listen to the heartbeat there was complete silence - I was nervous - then, the nurse moved the thingy, (excuse the medical terminology), and there was a huge BA BOOM BA BOOM. Our baby's heartbeat startled the nurse because it was so loud. Already sounds like a typical Sullivan to me: surprising, loud, and strong :-D The heartbeat was relatively high (159) - this has made some of us suspect that the gender is a girl - although, research confirms that heart rate gender prediction is solely an old wives tale. Soooo, we really have no clue. BUT we may have a clue on August 9th! That is our next ultrasound date. OH BOY! OR GIRL! By the way, we are at about 19 weeks...

The Texas Newt

Brian and I flew back from Kansas City this past weekend in the Saratoga. KC to Southern TX is a solid 5 hr flight plus a little change due to the major storm cells that were brewing over Oklahoma. We arrived Sunday night in Kingsville - completely exhausted. It was midnight and Brian had a morning military "watch" at 0530. To wash off the travel, Brian ran into the bathroom, shed his clothes, turned towards the shower and yelled, "Ohhhhhhhhhh My GOSH....." mixed with an expletive and maybe another expletive.
"Brian...are you okay?" I asked. His response, "There's a newt in our shower." At that very moment, I knew why God had blessed me with Brian: he was meant to slay a newt. Just like a skilled surgeon requesting a scalpel, he said, "Get. Me. Tupperware." A couple screams later, (from both of us), and this is what he captured:

ew. We released it far from the house. I want to move.

Two weeks of the North

I am in love with a place that is non other than the mitten-shaped Michigan! The smells of pine and water, the familiar and comforting faces of family and friends, and the endless blueberries and peaches that the Michigan fruit belt provides made the trip simply marvelous! Here are a couple famous views and movie stars I saw along the way...

Our first stop was in the Amana Colonies in IA. The Zuber house is a fantastic B&B with unique rooms and a great Fireside winery down the road. The feature I like most about Iowa is the fact that my best friend, Jenna, and her Sig O, Tray, (significant other :-) live in this state. We met up with them for dinner and had the most amazing conversations. I wished 2 am didn't arrive so quickly!


The three women in the middle rocked a contemporary christian group in St. Joseph, MI and have stayed lifelong friends. Lisa and I can't get enough of these fun women!
After St. Joe, we jaunted up to Tawas, MI - the town where my parents were raised. Sadly, our hotel room smelled like old sneakers, but it barely mattered because we spent the majority of our time on the dock, checking out the shops, and eating G's Pizza and Marion's Ice Cream.


The picture above best embodies the pure excitement one feels when taking a ferry over to Mackinaw Island, MI.


A bahama-like view minus the heat, deadly fish and salt water - this is Lake Huron!


Even though Mackinaw Island only has a 9 mile circumference, there are always new things to discover no matter how many times you've been there! This view, for example, was the first time I had seen the island from this angle - that's what you get when you climb an untrodden and steep path on this island - BAM - an incredible lookout!


High class meal for high class people...


A beautiful day concluded on the porch of our B&B Windemere. Then a random lady asked us, "Excuse me, where are the fireworks?" HA - this chick is crazy, the fourth of July was a couple weeks ago! Then all of a sudden - KABOOM! A surprise fireworks display over a great lake never disappoints...


After spending time in Mackinaw, we saw my Uncle Ken, Aunt Lori and Cousin Brian in Cheboygan, MI. We all happened to be hanging out on my Grandpa's Birthday so we shared our favorite memories of him. I'm especially fond of the one I heard about Grandma disciplining Uncle Ken and then she hurt her wrist - so, she had Grandpa come in and finish the job - he ended up hurting his ankle trying to give him a good butt-kicking. This is when they knew Uncle Ken was getting older and bigger. Even though I never lived in Michigan, I always feel at home when I'm here. And every time I see sparklers and eat pumpkin pie (Grandpa's favorite), I think of him!

Our first week of travel was over and the second part of the "Hibbard" vacation was beginning in South Haven, MI!






This is my dear Michigan friend and Angers roommate, Sam! We are standing outside of our South Haven rental - and may I add, the screened-in deck in the background was the most amazing feature of our rental experience, (aside from the close distance to Lake Michigan, of course).


Nuclear fall-out!? Luckily NOT - just the reflection of the sunset on everyone's face while a monstrous storm was brewing in the southwest!



I think that there's no doubt in this belly shot that the baby grew over the vacation. The fruit, fudge, Marion's ice cream in Tawas, and home cooked meals really showed my baby some lovin'!


Ahhhmazing last evening in South Haven - and an amazing end to our two week vacation in Michigan!

The Cravings

The Cravings have begun and I'm afraid that they all aren't health foods...Everything in moderation, right!? So far I've gained about 3 pounds and am closely approaching the weeks where I'll gain a pound a week. Whoo hoo! So here goes my Top Ten:

1) Buffalo Wild Wings Medium Hot Wings with lots of ranch and celery - I normally do HOT but I notice that my body isn't loving the spiciness. Since there isn't a B Dubs in K-ville, Brian and I have only been to Corpus once to gauge ourselves - I know where I want to go for our next date night!

2) Nilla Wafers - simple and fantastic

3) Sour Patch Kids - anything sour and gummy

4) Pepperoni - I bought some slices of it thinking we'd throw it in some of our sandwiches to spice them up but then I ended up eating it all.

5) Orange Gatorade - This is typically Brian's favorite, but I've staked my claim on that large Gatorade bottle in the fridge.

6) Pop-Tarts - This only happened for about a week. My preferred flavor (because they're the best) frosted cherry.

7) Snow Cones - at a $1.25 up the street, these little treats make me so happy in this Texas heat. So far I think I've had about 8 snow cones since I discovered it about 4 weeks ago.

8) Pretzels - the Big Soft Bake in the oven and dip in mustard kind...

9) Crispix Cereal - plain=yum

10) Ritz Crackers with fake squeezie cheese - Can't remember the last time I have ever eaten this until now...

Don't worry, I am still eating lots of apples, cedar plank salmon, wheatfield's salad and homemade bread...I just love food. :D

Lil' Jumpin Bean

Interesting day at the Doctor's....Brian and I are all geared up for our 3 month check-up/ultrasound and the first bit of news we hear when we arrive is, "your doctor is no longer here." Nooooo! This was the Doc that military wives applauded and he is no longer in Kingsville!?! The faces in the office clearly conveyed that I wasn't the only one displeased with his abrupt departure...but c'mon, couldn't they have called me first before my appt just for a heads up? We got to spend our check-up bringing the interim Doc up to speed - the lil' one's heart rate was checked (156) - and then we were escorted to the front desk to schedule our next appointment. "uhhh, 'scuze me, but we were supposed to get an ultrasound today?" "aahhh, yes, I'll give you this piece of paper and then you can head down to radiology."

So, Brian and I headed down to radiology. Radiology looked at us and said, "do you have an appointment?" To which we replied, "Yes, for this morning in the Doc's office where we had our first ultrasound...but now I guess we need the ultrasound to be done down here..." "Well...okay Mrs. Sullivan...we are extremely busy but we might have time at 1:00." This is where Brian and I filled out a bunch of hospital paperwork and sat there completely baffled as to why we were jumping through hoops at month 3. We had been to the hospital 3 times before this and never had to do this before...We gave the necessary paperwork back to radiology and then went home to kill time before our 1 o'clock. It was quite a blessing that Brian didn't get scheduled that day and I didn't have to cancel out on any work.

Finally, time for our ultrasound! We waited in Radiology about 45 min and when they came out to us, they told us Brian had to wait outside. We stood there baffled. "Uhh, mam, this is our ultrasound...we'd like to see the baby together..." "WEll, we're on a tight schedule and you are supposed to get in here STAT...we might be able to bring him in later." "Thanks for nothing, bi#ch" Is what I felt like, but kept myself from saying. We went into the dark room and did the drill - goopy stuff and wand to the belly...but the screen wasn't directed at me...just her. This is where I started to almost lose it in my head,
"Brian's out in the waiting room, we feel rushed, what if he can't see it....why is this gal not talking to me?...STAT...why am I in here STAT? Is there something wrong? What are they keeping from me...and if they are keeping it from me...why take me away from my husband....he took a day off for this and he's not even involved...I am ticked...really really ticked...I might cry...am I going to cry? don't cry...be strong..." After 10 minutes of letting myself go into a panic in the dark room, the radiologist left. Then she came back with Brian. HALLLLELUJAH!!!
Here's your baby, she got the goop and the wand and showed us a little dude or dudette. Here's what we saw...

It was complete with little jumps. The lady said that the baby was just moving, but Brian and I would have put money down on the fact that it was hoping in my belly. Very Cool.

The radiologist finally put down her guard and she opened up about some major communication issues going on between radiology and my doc's office. This makes me a little nervous to continue with them but my other option is Corpus Christi - and I don't think I'm game for a 45 minute drive while I'm laboring.
Here's the last little kicker...(sorry mom...) but the radiologists thinks the due date may be off a bit...she's thinking it'll be more around December 24th - but how do they determine that - size? Brian and I are both 6' tall...hmmm (maybe we should call it Jesus :-D) Overall, it was a little bit of a stressful day but it all worked out - the baby is good and we saw it, Praise GOD!

Belly Shots Part I

The highly requested belly shots!
The first two pictures are us around 6 weeks.


This is Brian and I at 3 months! Very little pooch - I like to call it my Thanksgiving belly...

June in K-ville

This is our wild kingdom. The tallest plants on the left are sunflowers...

Brenton and Kerri came to town and ended up mending those sunflowers because there were a billion little black furry catapillars demolishing them. Brian and I were ready to cut 'em down but with Brenton and Kerri's endless patience, they picked off all the little black furrballs. Sadly, this is the only picture I took the whole time they were here. Don't let those sad looks deceive you, we had a wonderful weekend - trip to Corpus Christi beach, base pool swim, snow cones, great conversations, and a little bit of King Ranch. Loved relaxing with family!

The Schroeder's came the following weekend and like Brenton and Kerri, we put them right to work with making the key lime pie! If you can tell, Chris is using a wrench to squeeze the key limes. These engineers make sure things are efficient! We had an awesome time filled with catching up, swimming, trip to base to see the T-45, a tour of the USS Lexington, mexican food, and outlet malling!

Here are the boys in front of the Lexington. It was a hot day! That's why we concluded the rest of the day in AC...

What a great start to the summer!

Goshawk Ball 2010

We are attending a mandatory ball!? I have to get all dressed up? We have to leave Kingsville and go to Pensacola and be surrounded by handsomely groomed servicemen (and women) - with my husband standing out as the most handsome in his whites? Ohhh brother....how will I ever go on?

Okay, so it didn't take much arm twisting to leave Kingsville this past weekend. After all, it was our first Military Ball experience - thrown in honor of the T-45 Goshawk. A great number of people who created, maintained and continue flying the Goshawk enjoyed an evening of formal wear, food, and speeches. To be honest, there's not much more to say about it. Since Brian and I are only a couple months into his training here in Kingsville - and because he did his primary training in Enid at the Vance Air Force Base, we didn't know a lot of people at the event. We did meet a lot of cool people but I didn't really want to stay out until the wee hours clutching my bottled water.

One of my personal favorite parts of the trip was the day after the "events" - SATURDAY. Brian and I borrowed a friend's jeep, drove with the top off (...the jeep's top of;-), and went to Destin to get some of our favorite seafood. Dewey Destins is fabulous hole-in-the-wall restaurant with some of the freshest fish I've had in my life...and their hush puppies - mind blowing. Afterwards, we went to a pool and fell asleep for an hour.


Our evening concluded with shish-kebop's and friends that also did their primary in Enid. Finally, people we knew and loved :-) Overall - a great trip. Thank you, John, for watching June-Buggy and Tommy the terrorist. :-)

The Realization of the Little Jellybean

The Long Version of the Story: (skim below to find the short version...)
It all began after an evening of drinks and wonderful food at a place called Brewsters. Brian and I were out with our dear military friends where we discussed everything from politics to the environment and then airplanes (surprise surprise ;-). As the evening was wrapping up, my friend Meghan and I joked about how when we tell people we have "good news," people always ask, "are you pregnant?" I mean, c'mon people, there are other things that happen in life. We also couldn't resist making fun of people that broadcast what-should-be private information on facebook. Among my favorites are, "we are trying for another!" (don't really need to know that) or "my baby's poo is green, what should I do?" (eww) Will I ever pose awkward questions or comments to friends and family? Yes - but on facebook? I hope NOT!

Brian and I left our friends by continuing a heated debate about the government on our 45 min trek from Corpus back to Kingsville. As soon as we arrived at our house, I fell into bed - exhausted - and then woke up at 1 am. "What the...?" I couldn't figure out why I was awake. So I did what any nocturne human should do; I grabbed a hand full of york peppermint patties and watched a perfectly mindless movie called "Confessions of a Shop-a-holic." Meanwhile, my black lab looked on in sheer confusion. Actually, he couldn't stop staring at me. First I took him outside - then I filled up his dog bowl - checked his water dish - and still, to no avail, he wouldn't stop staring at me! This is what made me realize something must be going on with me. It was somewhat easy to conclude this because I'll never forget my step-mom telling me about how close their family dog, Reilly, would stick to her while she was undergoing chemo treatments. Rielly knew something was up - and now my dog, Juneau knew something was up. So despite the late night sweets and silly movie, Juneau talked me into taking a pregnancy test the next morning.

Sunday morning, 8 am - Pregnancy test #1 - Holy crap - positive. Inner monologue "we've moved three times since I've gotten these EPT thingy's so they could be flawed....I'll do another one later....but if it's true...wow"
Church at 9 am
Back home at 10am - Pregnancy test #2 - Holy crap - still positive. Inner monologue "oh my word, this is incredible...how do I tell Brian!?"

With shaking hands, I threw together a French toast breakfast - and while Brian wandered throughout the house, I hopped from room to room, trying to avoid suspicion, in order to wrap my EPT tests for him to see AFTER the French toast. (...because who want to see a tink stick with food on the table...c'mon...) After eating 3 bites of my breakfast, I cleared the table and told him to unwrap a little brown box. He went from a quiet, non-conversational, morning stupor into pure elation! We hugged, we laughed and we cried. My nerves were instantly at ease.

For the record - everything I had read said that it takes 6 months on average for a couple to conceive. It didn't take that long for us ! It seems that God has blessed us with child-ready bodies :-) So while the possible 2010 due date is a bit of a surprise- we were hoping to start our family soon. (We thought we would go for a 2011 due date...) What's that one saying: "I showed MY plans to the Lord and he laughed." I think it goes something like that....

The Short Version of the Story:
We're expecting! I'm currently 2 months pregnant and due on December 30th - Who in the family wants to spend Christmas in Kingsville, TX!?! This little dude or dudette could be quite the holiday blessing! Currently, I am getting close to the end of this blasted first trimester - the sleepiness and nausea makes me feel like my body is being taken hostage. I have yet to find out why some women love this pregnancy thing. It sure is a great reminder of denying oneself (coffee and booze) and sacrificing (feeling like crap) - I'm a "babystep" towards understanding what it means to make it "more of You and less of me" (John 3:30). God is quite the pro at blessing and humbling me at the same time.

In conclusion, my uterus is the size of a grapefruit (when it's normally a fist) and the little one is the size of Pinto bean. I weigh two pounds more than I normally do - and I have promised to have eating contests with some of the military boys once I'm supposed to gain a pound a week. (watch out, Greg and Tim! HA) We go in tomorrow morning to measure the heart rate and get my lab results. We're praying for nothing but pure health! Can't wait to see the little beaner on the ultrasound again :-D

Shop Class is MY Soulcraft!

It's hard to read a book about work when I'm unemployed, but I must admit, it was well worth it - "Shop Class as Soulcraft," by Mathew Crawford, was an eye-opening read. I love books that allow me to view society in a different way, and this book was definitely one of them. Being a certified teacher, I have fallen victim to hoping my students become a doctor or a lawyer - heck, I wanted to become a doctor or a lawyer! Yet as I've gotten older, I've realized more that it doesn't matter what you call yourself, it ultimately matters what you enjoy doing. And by "do" I mean, what are you getting out of your career pursuits? Is it fulfilling? rewarding? Are the rewards measurable by more than your paycheck? Crawford expands the mind by tackling what careers bring real rewards - the answer may be surprising for any "climb-the-ladder" American.

Crawford is a fellow through the University of VA and owner of his own Motorcycle repair shop. His "must-take-everything-apart-to-know-how-it-works" mentality reminds me of some of the greatest men in my life, my grandpa and my husband. A mind like that should be put to use by several years in upper education and a career at a prestigious think-tank - that would be the best use of intellect, right? He would disagree. Crawford argues for the trade careers to make a comeback as our society continues to look down on such options. He argues that it's only when a plumber is fixing a sewage problem, an electrician is wiring a building, or a repairman is repairing a vehicle that one really practices the full range of problem-solving skills. He gains ground on this point by sharing personal motorcycle repair stories (a modern day Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance if you will...) and quoting academic theories - for example, intrinsic value (inner value) is more deeply gained when not affected by external praise but more so from visual results. If one can observe how one made an impact, then there is a greater chance that he or she will continue excelling in that field. And this brings me to Crawford's crux and best quote in the book,

"...any job that can be scaled up, depersonalized, and made to answer to forces remote from the scene of work is vulnerable to degradation, even to the point of requiring that the person who does the job actively suppress his better judgement."

Beyond the scope of personal job enjoyment, Crawford extends his argument to reach the very way in which we treat the jobs in which we find little value: with depersonalization. I'm left to consider companies that continue to outsource work, wall street's lack of accountability and how people within the government can pass laws that won't affect them. Through the great advancements of technology, we have become less connected to our work - ask anyone in HR, companies are having a hard time finding employees that can keep allegiance to their company. Yet, it isn't just the employees, companies aren't faithful to their employees as they ship their careers away. How more depersonalized can it get when we are put on a hold with a computer asking us to say "yes" or "no" into our phones? It's a dangerous path we're on as workers within the United States - whatever shall we do?

The answer is a bit simple - but people thought that careers in the trades were simple - support trade educational programs within our schools. If one really wants the next generation to have any opportunity in the world, that doesn't mean that we funnel them into college and years worth of educational debt - instead, let's allow more students to experience welding, fixing, repairing, and creating instead of dreaming about an "intellectual career" that may prove to not be as intellectual as one thought. Hats off to Crawford for truly emphasizing what "opportunities" can really mean.

What's Next

The box cutters are still on the counter and yet the speed of Naval Flight training has made Brian and I wonder if we should ever put them away. So what's going to happen? We could be at the Kingsville NAS for a year OR move within 5 months if Brian gets an E-2 or C-2 - if the latter occurs, we could get a PCS for the east or west coast while Brian stays to train in Corpus. Have I lost you yet? No worries, sometimes I lose myself. This is why I have included pictures!

The first picture is of the EA-6B prowler. The EA stands for Electronic Attack which means that the majority of what the Prowler does is jam radars - it can disrupt everything from cell phones and garage door openers to forms of detonators.


The second picture is an E-2 Hawkeye. The big disc on top serves as a long distance radar where the crew can receive weather, serve as air defense, air traffic control, and the control for search and rescue missions. It seems like this is the most low-key plane in the bunch...Brian would take off and cruise....then land.


This third picture is a C-2 Greyhound. This plane is mostly land-based because it brings cargo from land to the carrier. If Brian got the E-2 or this C-2, our time in Kingsville would be cut due to the training that would be required for these propeller driven planes - instead of a 12 month stay, we would be here 6 months and Brian would continue his training in Corpus Christi. Meanwhile, our PCS (permanent change of command), could be in Virginia, California, or Washington State. If I understand this correctly, this would mean that all of our stuff would go to our new PCS while Brian would be training 45 minutes from here! Crazy


This jet is called the FA-18F Super Hornet which replaced the Navy's F-14 Tomcat, (the jet the pilots were flying in the documentary, Speed and Angels). The Super Hornet is pretty much like the FA-18 Hornet (pictured below) except for the advancement in technological stuff and it's a bit larger.


This jet is the FA-18 Hornet. Uhh, have you seen Top Gun?


So far Brian isn't preferring any one of these planes to the other - he has just finished ground school and has recently started his simulation flights. In a matter of weeks, his training in the T-45 (jet trainer) will begin and he can make a better-informed decision about what plane he wants down the road.

These pictures were taken at the Air Show in Kingsville, TX at the end of March. It was awesome to have Avie and Mariah join us to peruse the air craft and watch the Blue Angels do their thing! I highly recommend going to a show if they ever come near you - the noise, the community - it's a part of Americana at its finest! For most of you Fam and Friends in KC,near St. Joeseph, MO, they will be there May 1st and 2nd.

Lastly, for those of you who never saw what Brian flew in Enid, OK, I've included a picture of the T-6 Texan. T-45 pictures to come!

Book Review: "The Way the Crow Flies" by Ann-Marie MacDonald

I seldom read novels, but when this 800 page read was given to me by my book-junkie-mother-in-law with the phrase, "this reminds me of you," I couldn't resist. I began....and then I began again....it's hard to get pumped about a massive book sometimes. It all begins with a young Canadian Air Force Family relocating to Centralia, Canada from a base in Germany. Jack McCarthy is a high ranking military person, (will I ever remember the ranks!?), and Mimi is an Air Force wife and mother of Mike and Madeline. The car is loaded and the family is scurrying along the Canadian countryside in order to arrive at their new duty station. Mike and Madeline hit and tease each other, Mimi yells in French from the front, and Jack offers to pull over and get some ice cream. The set-up is quite surreal but anything seems surreal when it's set back in the 1950's and 60's. The family discusses the Wall, the space race, the possibilities of nuclear disaster, and ultimately, what their neighbor country, the United States, will do about all of it.

They arrive and within a few short days, the moving truck arrives, Mike and Madeline meet the neighbors, and the McCarthy's are hosting parties. Their seasoned military neighbors cause them to drink, sing, dance, and speak German, French and English on a regular basis. I was quite allured by the strength of Mimi, the worldview at that time, and the similar military lifestyle this family was having compared to mine. (minus the country, rank, our lack of kids, and their lack of dogs). It was only a little more than a month ago that we moved from Enid, OK to Kingsville, TX and 6 months before that, we were coming from Overland Park, KS - and while I didn't get a "home" set up in a couple days, I did set one up over the course of a week. My time is improving with experience!

Then, Madeline goes to school and has to stay after with the teacher, Mr. March. To make an 800 page story relatively shorter, Madeline is sexually abused, a classmate of her turns up dead, Jack gets wrapped up in some top-secret defector mission that causes him to lie to his family, Mimi thinks he's having an affair, a neighbor of the McCarthy's is wrongly accused of the murder, and Mike joins the USMC and becomes MIA in the Vietnam war. The book holds the reader captive by the mere fact that you feel as though your witnessing a train derailment - by some supernatural force, I couldn't stop reading. The truth isn't exposed until 20 some years later when Madeline trudges through her inner psyche. It wasn't a fairy tale ending by no means, but it was an entertaining read. And yet, I am left wondering, I hope my mother-in-law was reminded of me just because of the military affiliation verses the "train derailment" aspects.

Lastly, a recurring theme that I savored throughout the read was the uniting hope in winning the space race during this time period. Forget NCAA bracketology or World Cup games, the world was really watching and waiting to see whether the boundaries of humanity could be pushed all the way to landing on the moon. As I relished and imagined what this excitement meant to people 50 some years ago, I was met with the current news that President Obama is cutting funds to NASA - our space program is now dependent on the Russians, or whomever would like to give us a ride to the space station. People that are still alive from the space race period must be having a heart attack today! We've gone from a democratic pride and uniting hope in testing the limits in 1969 to extinguishing a portion of a program that breed households of kids hoping to grow up to be astronauts and explorers. What do kids want to be today? What kinds of dreams are we pushing them to achieve? To be a consultant? An employee of a monster think-tank where at the end of the day, they have nothing to show for their work except a check and a headache from staring at a computer screen? To read more about the new space goals...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article7099244.ece

The next book I'm going to delve into is "Shop Class as Soulcraft" by Matthew B. Crawford - his research is geared towards understanding why our inner desires to produce something is in disharmony with the majority of our careers today. This may be the reason why people can be so dissatisfied with their jobs - what do they have to show for it? I have a couple more pages to go in that one before I can give you my complete review. After all, our military relocation hasn't proved too fruitful for my job opportunities - as for now, I will continue reading with a vengeance!

Hello Blogosphere

Is this too narcissistic? That is all I can think about as I sit down to write my first post. I guess I may be a bit too traditional - typically I like to talk about myself when asked, but since no one is asking, I guess my excuse is to partake in a societal phenomenon. I don't want the millennial generation boat to leave without me! After all, I am just so darn interesting. So let's get down to business.

I am a mid-twenty something stay at home wife - not exactly by choice, but by the frequent change of military station due to my husband's flight training. This means that I can daydream about being a bartender, a professional basketball player, a piano prodigy, fashion designer or a hippie from time to time while I realistically apply for anything and everything. It also doesn't help that my dominant area of education is a little specialized, (French), and we've gone from Kansas City with about 2 million inhabitants to towns like Enid, OK with 47 thousand and Kingsville, TX with 26 thousand inhabitants. This limits career opportunities a bit! I've been told that we will be in a more permanent command after the completion of my husband's training, but a quick lesson to learn in the military life is to not have any expectations. (Note to self: this is a good life lesson in general). This little morsel of military wisdom has only been gained through 2 years of military spousal experience, otherwise, I am midwestern civilian, born and raised in Kansas.

Stay tuned for stories on the unexpected, the transition from civilian to military life, soul searching, spirituality, job searching, book reviews, and the pursuit of community no matter where one is through lots of good food and beaucoup drink - Santé!