The Secret to Making Healthy Dinner Choices During Deployment.
It was late, I was tired. And I was hungry. I dropped my purse at the door and shuffled over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Nothing. John was deployed, I was an emotional wreck, teaching was hard that day, and didn’t I just deserve Pizza Boli’s today? I reached for my phone. I’m […]
4 Ways to Make the Most of Your OCONUS PCS to Europe
Thanks to LeAnna Brown of the Economical Excursionists for guest posting on travel abroad today! Holding hands under the Eiffel tower… Being serenaded by a gondolier down a Venice canal… Walking along the Berlin Wall… Skiing down the Swiss Alps… Most people only dream about these activities in some far-off, never to happen vacation fantasy. But, for […]
71 Pop Culture Puns for Care Packages
There’s nothing like a goofy, good care package pun when you’re sending a box halfway across the world. And there’s nothing like a fun theme around a favorite TV show or movie to make a care package interesting and engaging. Here are a bunch of pop culture puns that are perfect for a care package– […]
The Scariest Phone Call I’ve Gotten as a Military Spouse
My phone rang on a snowy, cold, late January day two years ago. John and I had been married for just over six months and, financially, our first year was kind of tough. I was living the military spouse life– you know, being overqualified, underemployed, and totally underpaid– while we were trying to merge our […]
I Suck at Hiding My Tears (and Other Things I’ve Learned About Myself as a MilSO)
In April, I’ll have been a milso/milspouse for five years. I’m going to be completely cliche here, but I have no clue where the time has gone! Five years though. Half a decade. And those five years have given me a crazy ride that I was never anticipating. And part of that crazy ride has […]
31 Things to Say to a Milspouse Instead of “You Knew What You Were Getting Into”
I was standing in a LOFT dressing room when I heard it for the first time. John and I were engaged and John was deployed. I hadn’t seen him in months. I hadn’t had a phone call from him in months. And I had hit the Deployment Wall that sneaks up on even the best […]
Saving for Our Forever Home: January Update
Read about our financial challenge to save $15,000 in 9 months for our forever home. Today, I’m excited to share our first monthly update! What we learned: Saving for something particular is much more motivating than just saving money. I thought we were really good at saving money before, but this has given us a […]
A Manly Mini Care Package That Every Dude Needs
This post is sponsored by Milk & Co. All opinions are my own. When John was deployed, I spent a lot of time worrying. (Surprise, surprise!) I worried about the normal things… a lot. But I didn’t always worry about what you’d might expect– I mean, I never expected to worry about it either. I […]
11 Anniversary Care Package Ideas
Anniversaries are tough during deployments and separation. Instead of romance and excitement, there’s often loneliness and longing. It’s tough to mark the day by yourself, especially when you know your other half is in harm’s way. I’ve found that doing something helps make me feel more in control during those times. When John was deployed, […]
Saving for Our Forever Home: $15,000 in 9 Months
Our first year of marriage was hard, financially. I’ve told the story about a billion times, but within a month of getting married, both of our (poor, old) cars died, I was unemployed, and we had expenses– like a cross-country wedding and student loans– that didn’t let us take a break. We saved money, but […]
