My military life moments...

Moving every few years means always having to go through your "stuff"; weeding out what you no longer need, want or have a use for. Even though our last duty station was only a 2 year assignment, I swear that we has aquired at least 1500 pounds of "stuff"- if not more!

Yes I've been in this house almost 3 months now and I'm "still" unpacking boxes. Heck my entire Scrapbook Nook is still packed in cardboard packing boxes. I'm not even going there until my new and improved scrapbook nook is finished. I still have quite a few boxes in which I have not opened from our South Dakota storage delivery. There's no way I'm going to open that can of worms any time soon! Not until I can properly go through it all, sort out what I want to keep and what I'm going to donate.  
  
It's funny how I go through things and purge until I feel as if can't purge any more. Then we move into a new place and I suddenly feel compelled to purge some more. I swear I've turned mental with all of this purging! So here I am today, looking at the cardboard boxes in my basement and giving a HUGE sigh as I shrug my shoulders and walk to where I have cake plates stored and I put yet another one on the shelf -that makes 14 in total (most were gifts). The sad thing is, that number doesn't reflect the ones that are a part of my china and dinnerware patterns. It's an illness, it really must be! Why oh why can I not just say, "Thank you for the lovely cake plate but really I have so many already, wouldn't you like to keep it for yourself?" Maybe if I'm lucky there will be some Charity Event in the very near future where I can make some scrumptious desserts and donate some of these cake plates along with it! Oh I can only hope! I know I've got a problem when I look at the latest cake plate and say..oooh I really like this one!
Now to go back to getting this place sorted and put together. We're having friends and neighbors over this weekend to celebrate our moving into the last house we'll ever buy!

Moving Day

It's day 2 of part 3 of this crazy move...the final part. Am I ready for it? Yes and No. I'm sad to be leaving so many wonderful friends here in England, but I'm also ready to get on to living this next part of my life called retirement. Sure it's retirement from the Air Force for my husband but it's also retirement for me as in all of that volunteering that I do.

Just a couple more days until the retirement ceremony, then we have the weekend here with my husband's family (some are flying out for the ceremony).
w leave this aea on Monday, fly back to the USA on Tuesday. I'm sad that my friend Renee wasn't able to make it out here, I think that she would have really enjoyed England. HOWEVER...that does not mean that she and I could not come out here together for a vaction in the future! I'm all over that idea! Heck, i Hannah and I can plan a trip to Paris and fly out from Boston, then why can't Renee and I plan a rip to England? Anything is possible and nothing is written in stone. The future holds so many possibilities! Many advntures are waiting right around the corner :-D

I'm drinking my last cups of coffee made by this coffee maker as it's about to move to a new home this afternoon. Oh to many sad toughts,I need to get happy thoughts going on in my head!

Wow, what a week!

To say that my life is busy these days is a bit of an understatement!


Wednesday- The shopping trip to the antique shop ended up not happening. Simply put, the heat went out in a friends house and it she was waiting on repair people to come over and fix it. Long story short- I packed up all of my ingredients and cookware and made lunch for us at my friends house. When life gives you unexpected bumps, adjust your plans! Needless to say I was able to turn a very possible bad day for my friend into one where we sat around the table having a delicious lunch and fantastic conversation. When I left her house several hours later my ribs ached from laughing so hard and so much! These are the people and the times I treasure and value so much. I will miss my girlfriends (Alisha, Jackie and Sunny) more than they will ever know!


Thursday- Okay the same ladies from lunch on Wednesday pulled off a MAJOR surprise on me today! I thought that it was just Alisha and I having "Tea" at this wonderful Inn in Aylesbury. Just me and Alisha- we have such a shared history here at RAF Croughton and we arrived here around the same time and we were instantly thrown into the insanity of this place, LOL! Both of us having teens attending Kingham Hill School, both of our husbands being commanders etc. So just Alisha and I hanging out together didn't seem odd to me at all. As we wander through the Inn, I'm looking at the rich furnishings, the art work was exquisite, the fireplaces were enormous (with fires burning in them). The place was historic and romantic and just plain wonderful! Then I turn a corner and SURPRISE! There's Sunny, Jackie and a whole lot more! I was very touched by the show of friends there. They were all in on the surprise, even my husband was...they all get an A+ in being sneaky! The "Tea" was wonderful. You could not have asked for a better place or better food or better company!

Now for the surprises...Lisanne gave me this platter. It's by Peggy Karr Glass and it's handmade in the USA. I have always admired these and have secretly wished to receive one as a gift some day. And now I have one- I am one happy girl! Now for more surprises...

Jackie, Sunny and Hope are sneaky! They know my love of Burleigh Pottery and bought me these canisters-

I almost cried right there on the spot! Talk about some VERY thoughtful friends! I can hardly wait to use these in my new house! Every day these will serve as a reminder of the wonderful and thoughtful friends I have made while living here in England.

Now here is where the tears started ...Alisha, what can I say about that woman. She is kind, thoughtful, generous, compassionate and best yet she lets me vent, LOL! She is the most amazing friend I've had in quite some time! Alisha gave me the most amazing Bracelet by jewelery designer Judith Ripka. I had a hard time choking back the tears. This bracelet represents my husband and myself- both of our birthstones not to mention the Fleur dis lis and my husbands French last name. Friday- That was the Hold Baggage pack out day. It was a 2 man crew and they were in and out in under 30 minutes! Damn! Husband and I got to spend the remainder of our day together- I can get used to that very quickly! Had lunch out, did some shopping and back to the house to work on the next part of our move.

Saturday- My husband's 44th birthday! It was a sad little birthday as his present is back in the states and his mother will be bringing it with her. I bought my husband a kindle. At least he'll have it before our trip back to the states. We spent the majority of the day going through things for the non-temp storage
pack out.

Sunday- went to church and did more sorting for the move

Monday- more sorting

Which brings us to today...

The moving company sent only 1 guy today. All I can say is what were they thinking? The poor soul will be so sick of seeing dishes he'll be eating take away for the rest of his life, LOL!

Now for me to get on with cooking up these cheesecakes! I've been busy this morning and to relieve my stress I had to cook something. So what's better to bake than New York Cheesecakes? Seriously, I've got 14 mini cheesecakes to put into the oven!

The beginning of the end...

...has begun. How so you wonder? This week is the week of the real kick off to my husbands retirement from the Air Force and our move back to the US of A.

Our reason to be at Lakenheath was for Hannah. You see, Hannah got her braces off yesterday! Oh my gosh that girl of ours was smiling and laughing and just being so her...beautiful and funny! When I told her last night that she's smiled more since getting her braces off than she has since Christmas she denied it. But to myself and her dad, it was clearly obvious that she was happy to finally be done wearing braces.

The Corvette has started it journey back to the USA. We left it with the moving company that will put it on a ship and it will be ready for us to pick up by the 28th of March (or there about). This is my husbands "baby" so to speak. He loves that car! He loves me even more since I gave him the kitchen pass to go to Denver to buy that car on Mother's Day. AAahhhh, the things I do to make my man happy.

Now today...I had plans to go to the antique cellar with my girlfriends and then come back to my house and make lunch for them all. BUT...life being what it is, it's not without things happening unexpectedly. Some days when things don't go according to plan...it's time to come up with a new plan! Knowing that you can change a dear friends outlook on what could have been a bad and rather disappointing day...priceless! So with the boiler being out at my friend J's house and her still waiting on it to be repaired- lunch has moved to her house! I'm all about my friends and I'm not about to worry about where I cook this lunch for them! Lunch today is about letting my girlfriends know that they are special and if moving it to one of their homes is an example of the love that I have for them then so be it!

an epiphany of sorts

I've finally figured it out, all of the mixed emotions about the retirement and the move and the crazy dreams I've been having. This sudden realization of the feelings I've been having washed over me I was reading a passage in a book- what I'm feeling is very similar to a break up, not quite as bad as a divorce (I've held enough hands of girlfriends through those to know it's not that bad). But still it's this slow winding knot in the pit of my stomach, letting me know that things are not right, that something is about to change in a drastic way and there's nothing I can do about it to make it go away, there's nothing that I can say to make the pain go away- it's going to happen whether I'm ready for it or not.

The silver lining (once I'm finished with the pain stage) IS ... unlike in a divorce or a break up, we get to keep all of our friends. This has all been about us- that after over 22 years we're leaving the Air Force and that way of life, it's not as if we're leaving the planet and leaving everyone behind. WOW! All this and I've only had 1 cup of coffee.

My being able to write about this has made my burden not feel so heavy. Granted I still ache inside but the pain somehow is not as sharp as it once was. Will I cry at the retirement ceremony? Of course I will! Heck I cry at all retirement ceremonies why wouldn't I cry at the one that effects the person that I love, the one who means the most to me?

Now lets see how much I can do with this, my last month left here in England!

First stop...London's theater district and Phantom of the Opera! I'm taking my daughter to dinner and to see the play tonight- a mother daughter event!

It's the little things...

Have you ever had a friend who is simply for the lack of a better term- Having a Bad Day? I'm pretty sure that most everyone has experienced a bad or off day. Heck, I've experienced them from time to time.

But what do you do for a friend who is having a bad day? Me, I decide to do something about it, to take matters into my own hands! You can't take away what has happened BUT you can take a step to let them know that they are special, that they are loved. It could be something as little as bringing them a card to let them know that they are loved or baking them a special treat (brownies and cheesecakes are my speciality) or giving them something that you made with your own two hands. Whatever it is, never miss an opportunity to let your friends know that you care about them.

So with that said, I've already got my wheels in motion!

Nerves...

My nerves are frazzled, it's to do with all of my thinking about the future and what it has to hold...for me and for us as a couple and a family. Retirement from the Air Force is a big step, it's all I've known with my husband for the past twenty plus years. The continuous cycle of making new friends when we move and my jumping right in and getting involved the various military spouse social groups is about to come to a close and it makes me a little sad. All of this is a new adventure I tell myself and moving is an adventure all unto it's self.

Now for me to look at the calendar and choose dates for the movers to come pack up our stuff, when to ship out our cars, making travel arrangements for our family and guests to attend my husbands retirement ceremony. Then there's the ceremony it's self. As you know this kind of thing always puts a huge lump in my throat, they're my favorite kind of ceremony to attend and now I'm planning one for my husband...for us. All this I am preparing to do while my heart is pounding away in my chest like a freight train and tears stream down my cheeks.

There are still so many things I want to do while we're here and well I have a feeling that they are not going to come to fruition. Silly things like a trip to Stoke on Trent with my girlfriends for one last shopping spree (yes my thing is pottery and not clothing, weird right?). I wanted for the the 3 of us (me, my husband and daughter) to be able to spend a 4 day weekend in Paris- not sure if that will be possible with the time crunch now upon us. I wanted to take Hannah to see Phantom of the Opera in London, still waiting on that one- although she did see it in New York in October, I still haven't seen it. I want to host a luncheon/afternoon tea at my house for a select handful of friends- I hope I can wing that one! As I said, it's silly things really.

I suppose that I should get back to things...back to organizing and rearranging my china cabinet. Usually mindless little things like that give me pleasure- today it just makes me feel, well rather melancholy.

making room for the tree

My lovely British military house was not designed in the modern era that's for sure! Even with the 10 month renovation it underwent last year, it's still the same size -okay so a laundry room/mud room was added on, that still doesn't add anything to the areas of this house that need to be larger. Basically the rooms of my British house are small in comparison to American rooms. Trying to fit a Christmas tree in the living room is like trying to put on a pair of shoes that are one size too small- you can do it but it doesn't feel good and you're not going to wear them for very long. That's pretty much sums up how I feel about cramming a Christmas tree into this living room.

So here I am, I'm taking a break from moving our furniture here and there. I've had to put a couple of pieces of furniture in the formal dining room that were in the living room- all because I want to have a Christmas tree. Now both rooms are packed with wall to wall furniture. Oh there's nothing quite like that claustrophobic feeling of furniture closing in on you for Christmas, LOL!

On a lighter note, my husband did get the Christmas lights strung on the house before the temperature dipped into the teens last night. Brrrr, it sure is nippy out there today! We're expecting some snow tonight!

Sunday

My husband and I spent the better part of our Sunday in the little community of Aston-Clinton. What a wonderful community it was too! My husband was part of a ceremony that honored the fallen during WW1, WW2 and the current war in the gulf. It was amazing to see so many from the local community turn out for this event. After the wreath ceremony there was a procession up to the local church where we attended church (this was my first time attending a Church of England service). Afterwards we got to talk with many of the town officials and got to learn some more history of the area and of a US plane crash that happened there during WW2.

Afterwards we dined with a British Army commander and had a tour of a historic weekend house that was built by one of the Rothschild Family back in the late 1800's (it's now used as an Officers Mess). The place was fantastic!

Now if I could figure out how to get pictures off of my cell phone and onto my computer I'd be set to share some with you!

Hellos and Good Byes

Being a military spouse isn't an easy job. We're the ones that go through the constant heartache of losing friends to a PCS (military move) year after year. I used to let myself get upset about this thing that I couldn't control- those damn military moves taking my best buds away! I'd throw myself a little pity party as I hated "losing friends to a PCS" and the worst part was being the one that was left behind. I got tired of the constant heartache and that's when I decided one day to look at it from a different angle. God has given me a fantastic opportunity to show new people the wonderful places that I've discovered- the little places to have lunch with a girlfriend (or my kids), the places where to buy those hard to find items, a yummy place for a cup of coffee or tea, where you can get yourself a cool scarf, the places to take your family to set up a great back drop for a family photo, etc. Look at all of the wonderful things you've shared with your "old friends" that you can now show to "new friends". And when YOU leave, all of those wonderful things will continue to be passed on. It's like you're leaving behind a legacy. Look at it as never really saying good bye but as always saying" Hello".

I made a miscalculation

It's NOT seven months until retirement as I had said before, it's SIX! No need to panic, just move my time frame up one month. Good thing I started now with the cataloging right?

Now for me to make a list of the places I want to go to (that means shop at) before we leave. I dare say that a trip to Stoke on Trent is a MUST! Burleigh and Portmeirion are #1 and #2 on my list!

Remembering 9/11

I still can't bring myself to turn on the TV today. I'd rather keep it off and not have to listen or see the gruesome events that took place on this day. I know where I was and I think about it and am ever so thankful that my husband was not at the Pentagon that day. I still grieve for the lives that were tragically cut short and for the families who lost loved ones.

Instead of being angry about what happened do something to honor those that are gone. Don't wait for an opportunity to help someone, make one happen! have an elderly neighbor? Mow their lawn, or rake their leaves or even take their trash cans down/up to the curb for them. Know of a single mom on your street that's always busy with the kids and work? You could do the same for her too! What I'm talking about is called "Being Neighborly". Try it, you'll be hooked!

Storage Space or the lack of it

I know what I'm going to do after we retire from the Air Force (yes it's a "we thing")...it's to design closet organizing systems and help people to organize their storage spaces. Oh am I feeling more like ME again! All I need is a little challenge and I'm all over having something organized and working well!

When you move as much as military families do, you need something that you can take with you to help you stay on course and stay organized. I've decided that I'm going to design something to help us frequent movers to stay focused and keep our belongings more organized. I've got great ideas now to put pen to paper and to get them out of my head and onto something that I can look at. I love a new challenge and I'm giving myself one!

Busy Military Spouse Syndrome

Being the ever so busy wife and mother that I am, I do tend to neglect myself from time to time. This time being that I have hurt my wrist and it hurts A LOT!
I hurt my wrist last week, and to be honest with all what I had going on, I never really had time to attend to it. It hurts to touch it or move it.I've been bullied by my daughter all weekend long to make an appointment to have it checked out. So today I do have an appointment to have it attended to and I will let you know what's up with it after my appointment this afternoon.

Yup this is what you get with Busy Military Spouse Syndrome-it's self neglect. You don't take time out for yourself and you end up 'squeezing in" a doctor appointment only because after a week and the pain is getting more intense you're afraid it might be a broken bone. I did this a couple of years May 2008 (check out the blog postings on my foot surgery) with my foot- ended up being a MAJOR thing wrong and having to have surgery to repair the damage. So everyone, please keep me in your prayers that the doctor can assess what it wrong with my wrist and that I get the proper medical treatment needed for swift healing.

A side note- I'm just wondering what a broken wrist feels like because if this is what it is...well can I get some better pain medication please? Because Motrin is simply NOT cutting it!

Volunteer Appreciation

No matter what base we've been assigned to, I always go and show my support at Volunteer Appreciation functions. Today's military would be no where without it's constant stream of volunteers. Today's Volunteer Appreciation Ice Cream Social had a terrific turn out of men and women from RAF Croughton. All of whom have made a difference in the quality of life for the servicemen, women and families of RAF Croughton and the surrounding area. There were 3 special volunteer awards, not to mention certificates of appreciation for every person who has volunteered at our base.

Now for the BIG surprise...so not only was I nominated but through a selection process of my peers I have been given the Certificate of Volunteer Excellence. As it's written on my certificate...

for exceptionally meritorious

volunteer service to the

United States Air Force community.

I can't begin to tell you how it feels to be recognized for all of the volunteer work I've done at this base since arriving here a year ago. To know that others do appreciate the work I have done and continue to do. For me, it's validation that I have made a difference in the quality of life for others in our surrounding community. Thank you RAF Croughton and the towns of Bicester and Brackley.

Happy Birthday to Me!

wait...I post more later but for now the title will have to suffice.

The First Rose

The first rose in my newly planted rose garden. This was a true labor of love. After having to get housing here with a jack hammer to clear out the huge blob of concrete that weighed several hundred pounds from the flower bed so we could actually plant flowers...well here's the end result.





Soon, my little rose garden will be filled with roses as there are rose buds on every one of those small bushes. I made sure to get heavily scented ones...I so miss my flower gardens from our past homes. Every new place gives us the opportunity to start anew- be it in planting flower gardens, making friends or decorating a new to us house. Take every opportunity to explore your new surroundings and it's never to late to take in a new friend!

Happy Campers

What do you get when you mix... warm weather, a week long term break from British School, a big backyard and a bunch of teenage boys?


It's Camping out in the backyard in a tent!
We've been blessed with quite the backyard here and if our teen son wants to have a camp out what the heck- go for broke! Our camping equipment is (yes you guessed it) it's stateside in storage-ugh! Our son's friends came over with this large tent trust me when I say that they were quite "happy" with having a place to pitch this tent. If it's the normal crew of guys that our son usually hangs out with, then there's got to be at least 5 or 6 of them in there...now that's got to be crowded! They were up talking and laughing until wee hours but that's okay- they were having fun and that's what counts!

For the most part these teen boys stay in a tight-knit group, not letting others really into "the fold" so to speak. I consider myself to be blessed that they brought our son into this group. He was having such a rough go of it with this move here to the UK. It's not easy moving away from everyone and everything you know- especially the summer before your Senior year of High School. These kids have gone through quite a lot, probably even more so than their military and state department parents realize. They too go through that roller coaster of emotions but feel them more deeply. They quite often leave behind the best friends they've ever known, their first loves and quite frankly we pull this all away from them. This group of young men have helped my son to get over that "painful" part and have opened up a new world of adventures to him. Even at his worst they still came and made him go out- to the Lord I am forever thankful!


There are ways of "surviving it" with your teen and how to get them to love you again. It's not an easy path and there were many times when all I could do was to cry with him when he felt so lonely- but I want to say that they have passed. Our son has racked up the frequent flier miles that's for sure! He's now surpassed his mother in overseas flights! Letting go and trusting your child is the key. Let them vent, and buy them an airline ticket to visit their friends. If possible, arrange for your child's friends to come out for a visit. Between flying 2 of his friends out here to England and then flying him state side a handful of times...I should be able to get a free airline ticket soon, LOL! Andrew flies to SD again this month for his college orientation, he'll be there for 5 days and then it's back here to Bicester until Graduation day or as it's called here "Speech Day". Then he flies back to SD later on in the summer. We've not traveled as much as we would have liked but then again our boy's happiness means more to us than anything. With him back in the USA this Autumn being among his old friends at South Dakota State University, we ALL will embark on a new chapter in our lives.

TGIF

And I mean that! Thanks be to God that it's Friday! I've made it to Friday and that right there is a miracle! My brother and sister in law arrived after a 22 hour traveling ordeal. They missed the Confirmation Mass but were able to make it to the reception.I'm just happy that they were able to get over here after all what they went through.

So the kids had to go to school today, my m-i-l and her sister are sleeping, I'm typing away in my jammies and the cat is meowing to get outside... yes, my life is back to normal. With coffee in hand I'm ready to conquer the world!

The confirmation Mass was lovely, with the Archbishop presiding, along with my 2 most favorite priests it was a most humbling and beautiful service. How moving? Well at one point I was crying tears of joy. You could feel the love from our fellow parishioners pouring out to our 2 Confirmandi. The dinner event after the Mass was extraordinary! The food, table settings- everything was everything that it should be. My whole hearted thanks go out to everyone who helped to make this event such a special one!

I'll have pictures soon as our Daughter's Religious Education teacher was taking pictures - he is out in residence photographer...Bob's photographic work is astounding! I am so thankful and feel so blessed that he did this for our 2 Confirmandi's for FREE! What a true blessing!

My busy life

As I try to get over feeling so sullen over what has happened in Afghanistan, I'm suddenly snapped into focus on my own base. There was a motorcycle accident involving 2 young military members on Thursday evening. They were taken to two different hospitals one was taken by helicopter. One of those airmen are new to our base, only been here a month. He has a wife-who I just in met in person at our spouses group bingo event on Tuesday and they have a small baby. That poor woman's world is now turned upside down.

Her husband went into surgery yesterday and she wanted to be with him- we had been talking about baby sitters and such before this sad event happened because she was so happy to have made some new friends at the Bingo event and they had made plans are were all going to meet up at the club on base. As we all know, life can turn on a dime and suddenly she doesn't need a baby sitter for Friday night, she needs childcare for her baby all day so she can be with her husband who is having surgery. Of course I step up, what is a friend if not there in another friends hour of need? I can not possibly even begin to imagine the amount of stress this woman has pumping though her veins- new base, new country, husband in a motor vehicle accident. A dear friend lent me a pack and play so baby had a place to sleep, others stopped by and played with baby.Another friend did the tag team babysitting with me while I got out and ran some errands. Our neighborhood pitched in and helped me out with baby- it was wonderful! I was also able to arrange to have a couple more ladies contact our new spouse and arrange child care over the weekend. We've got such a terrific group of spouses here at Croughton, I can't begin to tell how proud I am of them!
Please pray for the recovery of our airmen. We're still waiting to hear on the status of the 2nd person as that person had received spinal injuries.