When we began this crazy army life, our plan was to go into the National Guard stay in South Carolina and be there forever... 3 years later, of course that is not where we ended up because, well Army. I went to graduate school, got a degree in marriage and family counseling, my husband opted out of the guard and went Active Duty.
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I have not posted in a while because (I have been pretty busy!) and I have been trying to figure out exactly what I want the focus of this blog to be. I have a lot of things I am interested in and passionate about: cooking, family life, army life, my dog, Christ, mental health field, fashion and style, and attempting to live a healthy life style. But how do I choose just one and have something to consistently write about.
So sometimes I think the Army gives their soldiers body image complexes, forget about the gymnast and the dancers. Soldiers also have strict body regulations that they must make sure to maintain in order to keep in line: height, weight, and random other measurements such as the circumference of their neck. As such the hubby and I (well not so much me) eat on a pretty healthy and for the most part carb free diet.
I have a sweet tooth that can never be satisfied, i love rolls, biscuits, potatoes, basically all foods. This is not helpful when trying to maintain a low carb diet. So I have been on a quest to find delicious chocolate chip cookies and fudgey brownies, and other low carb substitutions like cauliflower "risotto", "rice", and mashed "potatoes." I think the biggest success has been the sweets because that is what I crave the most! SO if youre looking for great low carb alternatives that are tested and approved by a person with the largest sweet tooth I have ever met than try these! http://www.bakingoutsidethebox.com/low-carb-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe/ http://www.diabeticconnect.com/diabetic-recipes/general/2341-flourless-brownies Today I read a blog post titled, "Suicide is Attention Seeking." At first read of the title I was a bit outraged. In all my clinical training and life experiences I have been taught that suicide is a big deal and a real problem. Nobody is immune to it. But after I passed the blog twice I finally decided to read it, if for nothing more than to learn about those views contrary to mine.
However, as I read I found myself agreeing with the writers opinions. Suicide is a desperate cry for someone to pay attention to them. It is not a lessening of the seriousness of suicide. Since this is Suicide Awareness Month I thought this was an appropriate time to share. Never be afraid to ask, never be afraid that you can do anything. All it takes is compassion, care, and concern for those in our world that we interact with daily. As a family counselor this is my mission: to provide support to those in need, however that support looks like. Right now it is to support soldiers and their families. I am more grateful than I could imagine for the opportunity I have been given to serve those who serve. Moving to a new city, state, anything can be extremely difficult. Especially if you don't know anyone there. This is exactly what I did a few months ago. Moving to Fort Benning, the farthest away I would ever be away from home knowing nobody but my husband and my puppy.
Plugging into a community is so important. My first resource when I got there was the FRG. I was hesitant because I had heard some negative things about the FRG and nobody had reached out to me. So I sucked it up and put my big girl panties on and made the first move! And boy am I glad I did. I met awesome fantastic girls! Not only did I meet great friends but I have also found a wonderful Godly community at PWOC (Protestant Women of the Church). I am so glad that I found a place to plug in. However, I wouldn't have found any of this if I hadn't said yes to attending a few uncomfortable events, social, and mixers by myself. So my advice, put yourself out there, no matter how uncomfortable it makes you! So He finally did it after 5 months and a 3 month break medical rehabilitation break, B has finally finished IBOLC. I have never been more proud of my husband for all his hard work! However, him working so hard often left me home alone many weeks while as far as I could tell all he did was run through the woods. It was a challenge to say the least, be in a strange new home with the only person I knew here gone just about every week. Yet here I was... what was I going to do with all my time, I wasn't working and couldn't get a job in the field I had spent 2 years studying in.
But I quickly made friends that made all the difference for me over the last 2 months! Without them I would have been lonely and miserable. Having a group of people to be a family away from family makes every place in life better. So here is to my husband, an Infantry Officer!! And to here are to Army Wife Sisters, the women who kept me sane! Hi! I am starting a blog in hope that my experiences can help reach someone else and make their day whether its a recipe, a funny picture, an insightful story or a helpful tip!
So far I have been on a crazy adventure I never thought my life would take; its crazy but wonderful. By sharing my experiences I hope that I am able to shed light on a rather unspoken about part of military wife life that I have been thrown into, the world of training and constant field exercises. Things nobody warned me about, but how I have been able to slowly but surely make it through and am about to come out on the other side as my husband prepares to graduate from Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course (or IBOLC) soon. We have both grown so much as our time as husband and wife, and mostly have spent that time apart while I finished my graduate degree and he began training in a different state. Now we are together and after many attempted, and some successful furniture DIY's we are slowly building a home together. So I just want to say thank you for anyone who may ever read this blog. |