COT Day 1

I just got a text message that said he was alive and trying to go to bed. While I was tempted to ask him more questions I decided to suck it up and just tell him to kick butt, take names and message me when he could. Sometimes I think being a good wife is about just letting things go and not wanting details.

I sent him off this morning with two suitcases, a gym bag full of towels and his briefcase. I hope he didn't show up looking like a pack mule. Again...sometimes you just need to let it go.

He called about an hour from Maxwell when he realized he forgot some paperwork. It was paperwork he may or may not have needed but to be on the safe side I made a lovely dash to Maxwell and got there about 10 minutes to spare. (Almost three hours in driving with the traffic from Atlanta and the overturned syrup truck...I-85 was sticky...Ha!) My phone was dead, I hadn't showered and I was a hot mess. I was also in my pajamas.

I tossed him the paperwork, he took off and then I went in search of a charger for my iPhone 5.  It's a new phone and I needed a charger but never got around to it. Nothing says needing a charger like being almost three hours from home and wearing pajamas.

I came home, opened a 750ml bottle of Blasphemy beer and hung out with my neighbor, Jason.

Jason's wife is traveling abroad and we've committed to grabbing a meal or sharing leftovers since we're both solo for the next several weeks. Jason's mom is a retired Colonel and he's familiar with the nuttiness. Another neighbor has offered to cook dinner the nights the movers are packing us up. I've had two other neighbors offer to come by for mover oversight duty while they pack our goods.  Living in a condo has its perks.

Lesson learned: Wait until after he leaves before starting the task of purging and cleaning closets. My house needs a good torching, as with a bomb or big set of matches. I started buy had to stop halfway through. I couldn't get anything done last week as we were prepping for COT. Now I'm stuck with piles of clothes, hangers and assorted random all over my house. I don't know which end is up and I would bang my head on the table if I could find it.

Good news: We got the antique furniture out of storage in SC.

Bad news: It's a dusty mess and I needed more time to get it cleaned up. It took longer than expected and we both got sick from all the dust and crazy schedules.

Lesson learned: Check the calendar and plan an early celebration for any big dates he'll miss. We made dinner reservations and celebrated our anniversary last night since he'll miss it later in the month. A nice steak at a great restaurant meant he could relax and I didn't have to cook. I'm guessing Maxwell has great restaurants but taking him to a REALLY great restaurant was a nice send off.

JAG and Military Life Questions...Your Comments and Wisdom are Appreciated

There is a tremendous amount of information on the internet about somethings and a lack of information about other things. I thought I'd toss these questions out there in case someone happened to know. Any advice you have can be left in the comments. Lay it on me!

Help me, Yoda...show me the force.

1. When do we move?  He won't get orders until November and we'll meet with the travel office after that. Just looking for educated guesses as I know it can vary. I'm just trying prepare myself. AF Jag used to have two weeks between COT and JASOC but it looks like hubs will finish COT on a Friday and report to JASOC on the following Monday in Feb. I know people have blogged about moving during this two week window. I've also heard of people moving before COT begins and others while the spouse was away. I would appreciate a ballpark idea as well as what your timeline experience was with this.

2. Do lots of people move while the spouse is away at COT and JASOC? I suspect it will be more difficult in some ways but easier in other ways. I'm pretty independent and self-sufficient so it will work out either way.

3. What did you find yourself lugging around that you wish you'd donated? Just wondering if it's on my "OMG...can't forget to pack that" list.

4. Will they let me pack my opened spices if I vacuum seal them and then store them in a seal-able container? I'm very attached.

5. If we find out we're staying CONUS I want an SUV with ample cargo room. Good plan? Will it make moving me and the dogs easier? We live in an area with minimal (less than 1 inch) of snowfall each year. All wheel drive is very appealing since there will be traveling done over the next several years. 

6. How much food should I send with him to COT? Any thing you or your spouse wish you had while there? How about supplies or comfort items?

7. Base housing? We think immersing ourselves in the culture will be a good experience. We'd like to do base housing. What was your timeline and experience getting into it.

8. We've been married for almost ten years. We've got stuff for days and a house full of furniture...and three chihuahuas. I'd like to hang on to a respectable amount and donate or sell the rest. From your experience in base housing, will a 0-2 with a wife and no kids get a two or three bedroom? Is there a long wait?

9. Did you inventory your house? Is there a good way to do it? It seems a lot like climbing Mt. Everest to me. (And I wouldn't climb Mt. Everest if it were made of chocolate and cash.)

10. I'm thinking about ditching the older mattresses and getting new once we move. No sense moving old mattresses around. The cost of moving the weight vs. the actual value of the mattress or taking something I'd rather have. We'll really have to reduce our household goods to get below the weight. Happy anniversary to me! (He'll be gone for our 10th anniversary. I want a nice present...something sparkly.) Good idea or am I over-thinking it (the mattress, not the present)?

Thank you for reading this and sharing your wisdom!

L

JAG Base Assignments

The hubs received a email about Air Force JAG base assignments. In the past they would offer new officer candidates an option of two bases. The Air Force has stopped offering two base choices and now only gives you a take-it-or-leave-it base. While I am disappointed they have removed a choice, I do see their point of view. There just aren't that many openings available. I suspect it is also a way to find out which candidates are serious and eliminate some of the fence-sitters. Go big or go home, right?

I've been looking at this as a great adventure and I really don't care where we are assigned so long as the hubs enjoys his job. My sense of wanderlust is the stuff of legends. I'm not sure why the military lifestyle didn't appeal to me sooner. The idea of moving every 2-4 years is so perfectly aligned with my personality it's comical. I think it would be interesting to live in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest (or is it just the Pacific northwest?), the desert or anywhere overseas. I've never been to North Dakota. The weather is supposed to be dreadful but I think it can be as good or as bad as we make the situation. I'd love to live somewhere with mountains, four seasons and measurable snow fall.

I grew up near an Air Force base and it's the one base I have absolutely zero interest in ever seeing again. My avoidance of the area borders on hostile. I still have friends and family there and I try to visit occasionally. The visits usually involve a good sense of humor, patience, beer and less than 24 hours in town. There is also the part about avoiding all ex-boyfriends. "Anywhere but there" is the mantra I've been using every time we talk base assignments. Please keep your fingers crossed. Ugh! Been there, done that. It's just one base out of many so I'm hoping for the best since the odds are with us.

My family is smart and they can work email and buy plane tickets as easily as I can. We did pick bases close to my brothers because I'm a good sister and no fool when it comes to living near the kitchens of my sisters-in-law. (Awesomely good cooks!) Most of the choices on our dream sheet are places we've never lived and many places we've never seen. 

A few months ago I added all of our dream sheet bases to the weather app on my phone. It has been interesting to follow their weather and see the photos that people have posted about the weather. It has given me the chance to see how the weather differs from where we are now. I'm really jealous of the current conditions in quite a few places. Many places with notoriously bad weather aren't like that year round. Just looking at the high and low temps today helps ease the upcoming culture shock as I know about long springs, crisp falls and snow plows in their natural habitats. 

Housewife Approved: Travel Accessories

I thought I'd post information about items that I've purchased that I've been very happy with. Here are two items that fall into the travel accessories category. One I purchased for my husband and the other for myself. 

Housewife APPROVED: The LL Bean Personal Organizer

Housewife APPROVED: The Vera Bradley Hanging Organizer

The LL Bean Personal Organizer:

The hubs did his internship with JAG and had to live out of a hotel for ten clean house lonely weeks. Prior to his internship I did lots of shopping for items he'd need on his summer away. I completely forgot about the LL Bean's travel bags and I'm geeked I rediscovered them while shopping online. I ordered a blue one for him and got it monogrammed. I do wish there were more options for the monogramming colors. His bag is the Royal color and the monogram was done in black. It was very well done and as ordered but I would have preferred a more contrasting color that could be easily seen.

These are the options. I selected a large since he needed regular sizes and was driving to his destination. 

Here's another close up. The mirror attaches with a piece of velcro so it can be removed.

I really like this one. It's the smaller option  and I think it would hold travel sizes well for shorter jaunts like overnight stays and car trips. There may be one in my future. :) The larger bags would require taking a bigger suitcase and not an overnight bag.

I ordered him the large size that LL Bean suggest for 3+ days. I thought he would get more use out of it and it wouldn't be too big to take on most trips. I really like the hanging hook so the bag can hang instead of cluttering the small hotel counters.

He has a shaving kit that can hold travel sizes and a few essentials and it works well for short trips. What he needed was an organizer that could hold full sized shampoo, shower gel, contact solution, razor with extra blades, shaving cream, bandaids, deodorant and other toiletries.

In retrospect, I was shopping while imagining him traveling to a third world country. I didn't know much about the town and I wasn't sure he would have time to shop or realize he was out of something before it was completely gone. (Men are strange creatures that way.) Honestly, it was just easier for me to pick things up a little at a time while I did the household shopping. It also allowed me to take advantage of sales and coupons. Score!

The LL Bean site says the following:

• Improved with innovative side-zip storage pockets, so you can quickly access toiletries
• Built-in hook allows you to hang it anywhere, from shower rods to tree branches
• Main compartment has multiple soft mesh pockets and includes a removable shower caddy
• Made of water-resistant fabric

And now on to the hanging organizer...which I also love.

Housewife APPROVED: The Vera Bradley Hanging Organizer

The Vera Bradley Hanging Organizer:

I am not usually a fan of anything floral or girly which is why this was my first Vera Bradley purchase. I opted for the color you see above because it wasn't as vibrant as the other patterns available. I was about to buy one of the LL Bean bags for myself but decided I needed a makeup system more than a toiletry system at that time.

This bag is large with four large compartments. As you can see from the photos, the two compartments in the middle are see through. I keep my eye makeup and my face colors in there so I can see what I'm grabbing. Having clear lids on my eye shadows, powders and blushes makes it especially efficient. The top zip container is large enough for my makeup brush bag as well as a 5" cosmetic mirror. There's a nice quilted divider in the top compartment that protects the mirror side from the brush side. Good thinking.

The bottom compartment is the largest compartment of the bag. I have several small bottles as well as my foundation, travel hair spray, a pack of makeup remover cloths, travel Q-tips and body lotions. There's even room to spare. It could handle the addition of travel sizes of a shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and my small puffy sponge.

I could easily covert this bag to handle full size shampoos, conditioners, etc. by removing excess makeup and accessories. I've used it for events where I tend to have multiple makeup options. By packing my everyday makeup, the necessary brushes (and not all 25), and eliminating the magnifying mirror I could easily make room for my full size bath items providing they are a normal size and not economy. I have some mid-size refillable bottles that would be perfect for this bag and could last much longer than the store bought 3 oz sizes.

I really like the cotton quilted fabric exterior. My last few bags have had very stiff zippers that often scratch my hands and wrist. I like the zippers on this bag. They move easily and have fabric pulls. It's a nice touch. I may treat it with a stain repellent (Scotchguard) the next time I go on a Scotchguarding frenzy.

The bags folds on to itself and ties at the top. The handles are long enough to carry it easily and the attached hook is sturdy and will fit around the shower rod in my bathroom.

I liked this bag so much I ordered a small makeup bag for my everyday makeup to replace the uber expensive one with the brutal zippers. I went wild and ordered something flowery and nuts. I like it. Now I'm wishing I ordered the hanging organizer in something wild like this. It grows on you.

While I will never be a fan to the point of collecting all of a pattern, I do like the quality of these bags. They usually have several patterns on sale as they launch new patterns. I'm not sure of their system so if you want to get a matching set, you may want to plan your purchases accordingly.

I do think this would make a lovely gift for a bride or an expecting mother. I think this would also be good for grandmothers. I know my mother could organize her medications in the clear pouches and have room for her beauty regimen. It arrives in a very nice box and wrapped in tissue paper with the paperwork tucked in a discrete envelope.

Here are the features listed on the Vera Bradley website for the hanging organizer:

• Metal hanger tucks away
• Top zippered, quilted compartment plus two taffeta-lined, clear plastic compartments
• Gusseted, plastic-lined bottom compartment opens wide when unzipped
• Easy-tie closure and two carry handles

They've launched sheets and bedding and I'm really liking the Indigo Pop. Cool, no? And I like the cotton of their fabric. I think it would be cozy.

Pinching Pennies and Shopping for Deals

Atlanta has some amazing shopping. There's Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Prada and about every other designer. While I appreciate quality, I'm a huge fan of being practical. This post is all about being practical...in my own insane little way. 


It's 150 degrees in Atlanta with a gazillion percent humidity...that means I'm shopping clearance sales for winter coats and boots! 


And Flannel sheets...can't forget the flannel sheets.


Based on the locations of Air Force bases there's a 70% chance we'll end up somewhere that averages more than 7" of snow per year. That's about 6.50" more snow than we see in Atlanta. I also have family in the northeast and I always need winter goodies for those visits. Stores in the places with harsh winters really know their winter gear. Heck, they have brands that I've never seen sold down south.


I love digging through the clearance sections of websites this time of year. They're really making room for this year's winter stock. After last year's mild winter, they seem to have plenty on DEEP discount. I'm finding some really great deals.


Here are some of the goodies I've discovered. Please share if you find some of your own.

Bon Ton is a chain of stores in the northern part of the US. I stumbled across them last winter when I was obsessing over a pair of boots and did a Google Shopping search with the brand and style name. I got really lucky. They had the same boots for about 50% what I almost spent for them had the other store not run out of my size. I happened to catch them on-sale and got an additional savings by using a coupon code I saw on their site. 


Since then I've started looking for regional chains in specific climates. Stores (THINK regional chains or local businesses) found in Illinois, Michigan, or Montana, etc. are great for winter clothes. I also read the reviews and pay special attention to where people are from and how the product measures up. 


I found these sheets on the Bon Ton website. They had other color combinations including a solids and plaids. Who can't use blue plaid flannel sheets?

I thought these flannels would be cute for the guest bedroom. They were  $80-$120, now  $16-$21.

I'm looking forward to getting out of the big city and having grass and a yard again. I love sitting outside and reading year round. While this fire pit/stand is VERY tempting, I'm not buying anything I can't wear or eat until we've actually moved. (Hear me? That's me sticking to my guns!) If you have a yard and want a fire pit...this one is cute.  It was over $500 and it's now only $153. 

 This was $512 and now it's $153. 

 Cabela's is another on-line store I frequently visit for good casual clothes. (I've never purchased pants from there as the inseams are too short for my height, but I purchased jackets, vest and accessories.) They have a Bargin Cave on their website and it has some pretty decent deals. I found this rain coat. I had a tough time buying a decent rain coat this past fall. For some silly reason retailers thought rain coat meant trench coat. It. Does. Not. 


I went to 500 (maybe an exaggeration) stores one day and couldn't find a single rain coat with a hood. What?

Their Cabela's brand is actually very good. We've ordered 3 or 4 jackets from them. This rain coat is only $34.99 now, marked down from $79.

I'm also seriously in love with this parka from the Eddie Bauer website clearance section. It was $219 and it's now $65.70. OMG! It also comes in a Tall size which is hard to find. (I love that Eddie Bauer carries extended sizes.) A lot of clearance shopping is hunting and digging for stuff in your size. You may not get your first choice of color either. Since I have a tendency to buy everything in black or grey...not always a bad thing.

And it's rated for Cold: 20-40 degrees. Which isn't too unreasonable and could be worn on a cold winter night most anywhere.  They also say it was featured in Oprah's magazine. 

Tips:

Go to the clearance section and narrow your search by gender then by outerwear, accessories, shirts, etc.

Don't ignore web labels that say "further reduction", "final sale" or "bargin cave". Some sites may not show you the super-deep discounts with the regular section.

There's a big difference between sale and clearance. Make sure you check the clearance part of the site.

Filter the clearance page by Price: Lowest to Highest when you are just browsing for deals.

When it gets to a price over your price range...STOP.

Do a web search for the store name and the words "coupon codes". There are some sites that archive various coupon codes or tell you how to go about getting special discounts. (Signing up for their email is usually a good way to get a 10%-20% Thanks for Signing Up special.)

Check out the reviews. Sometimes a store will dump a problematic styles on the clearance page once too many complaints or returns happen. I saw a lot of bad reviews because the fabric of a jacket was "too noisy" and the jacket was deep discounted. I bet they'll revamp the design next year and use different fabric.

Pantry Confidential and Uses for Powdered Drink Mixes

A little area in my pantry is dedicated to drink mixes. You know, Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, those nifty instant coffees from Starbucks that I keep in case zombies stop by for coffee?

I used the Kool-Aid brand for this. You can use any brand of unsweetened  lemonade. You'll find the unsweetened kind in the tiny packets, not in the big packets or tubs.

I finally got around to trying a cool trick using Lemonade powdered drink mix to clean the dishwasher. Don't try grape or any other flavor. It's got to be plain unsweetened lemonade. It's the citric acid that does the trick.


Step #1: Pour powered Lemonade drink mix into door.


Step #2: Start the dishwasher and make sure the drying cycle is engaged.


Important: No dirty dishes or soap. Run this through an empty dish washer. The citric acid neutralizes soap scum and soap in general, so adding washing soap and trying to wash a load of dishes at the same time will just be like washing them in lemony smelling water. No bueno.


I haven't tried this method with a load of already washed plastic storage containers (they sometimes absorb odors) or a load of (washed and clean) soap spotted glasses. I did empty a packet into a load of hot water in my washing machine. It was too diluted and didn't really do anything. Instead of trying it again with even more lemonade I will use it to clean out my coolers. I hate opening a cooler and smelling bleach. Bleh!


I've mentioned before how I have to get my pantry under control for when we move. I'm all about planning for emergencies and having enough food to feed us for a few weeks in case of the zombie apocalypse or (even more unlikely) a snow storm in Atlanta.


I'm all about emergency preparedness. 


Until it's time to move and I have to deal with it all.


Where's a zombie or snow storm when I need one?


In addition to all of the other projects that need to happen, I'm trying to use the stuff in my pantry instead of making a ridiculous donation of capers, artichoke hearts and seven kinds of gourmet vinegar to the local food bank. (They'll get the more practical canned goods if there are any left.)

I have issues...and capers for days.

Big Pimpin' Tuna Salad and Fun with Condiments

I love condiments. (By condiments I mean toppings, marinades, sauces and pickled stuff.)


I don't recall meeting a condiment I didn't like and try to take home. So if condiments were like hookers and the grocery store was like a red light district...Well, you get it. I like them a whole bunch. Condiments, not hookers.

Hey baby, you wanna date?

I am overwhelmed. Almost everywhere I look there is a surplus of something that needs to be consumed or used. While it would be noble to donate the condiments to a local food bank, I'm thinking they won't find the jars of capers, marinated artichokes and hot cherry peppers as useful as other foods. 


I've heard mixed reports of movers either allowing or not allowing you to pack food. While it would be really nice if they'd pack everything, I think glass jars of picked okra and chow chow might make for a big mess once they break in transit. I'd rather eat it than pick it out of everything I own. Military wives are great at blogging their moving adventures (Thank you!) so I'm heeding some of their advice.


What's a pimp to do? 

What's a housewife to do?

I started thinking of dishes that use a lot of condiments. My goal is to use at least something from my awesome collection every meal. 

There's a whole shelf in my pantry devoted to condiments. The door of the fridge is also full.

The first thing that jumped out at me was the five cans of tuna. Helllllooo! Tuna salad may be the finest condiment disbursement meal of all time. I went digging. And ended up with a salad full of condiment-y goodness.


Big Pimpin' Tuna Salad 


1  small can of tuna (I love the kind packed in olive oil found in the highfalutin section of the store. It's not dry and it actually has flavor. Gasp!)
1 tbsp of the Hot Green Tomato Relish (pictured above)
1 tsp of Deli Mustard w/ Horseradish
1 tbsp of Mayo
1 Hot Cherry Pepper (pictured above) seeded and diced
1 hard boiled egg, diced
1/2 scallion, sliced thin
1-2 tbsp of diced bell pepper.
1 tbsp of sun dried tomatoes or 1/2 small tomato, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Best of all, it takes a cutting board, knife and bowl. No kitchen disaster necessary.

Stir and have at it. PS...it's super easy to double. If you only have water packed tuna, add a splash of olive oil. And start buying the good stuff packed in olive oil. It's tuna, not a Whopper with cheese, it will be okay. Trust the pimpness.


There are so many tuna combinations. Tomorrow I may try a Greek version with pepperoncini peppers, kalamata olives and more of those yummy sun dried tomatoes from Trader Joe's that I've been stocking up on like they're some antidote to the zombie apocalypse. 

Giving My Condo Bulimia--Pre-Move Purge

Things are a little less unknown on the hub's new job and move front. From what I understand, we won't know where we are moving until November or move until early 2013. There are a thousand things that need to happen between now and then, and any one could alter that plan. Overall, I'm really geeked! Five years ago I was so career driven I wouldn't have tolerated talk about moving to parts unknown. It was all about market size and income. To think of the adventures I would have missed. *sigh*

Adventures like cleaning out all the junk I can't take and still make the weight limits.

Oy!

Yes, the Air Force gives you weight limits based on your rank and dependents. Too bad they don't adjust the weight by numbers of dead relatives giving you furniture...

Or random collections of things you never use but couldn't stand to part with...

Or your level of pack-ratness on a scale of 1-10...

Or the number of states where you rent storage units...

Or just the fact you are 40, have been married for going on ten years and have STUFF. For. Days.

I vow to make sure I am out of a product before buying a new one! These were found in my laundry/utility room. Let me say that again...LAUNDRY ROOM! Not the CDC and not in the camping gear. (I don't camp.) There's also a can of spray in my BBQ basket, another in my beach bag and at least two more in the bathroom. I live in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the US and have to walk a block to see grass. Impressive, no?

I decided to start small with a few self-imposed ideas or tasks.

*Drum roll*

Task #1: Don't buy anything I can't wear or eat.

I'm bad about shopping and convincing myself my life will be a billion times easier...better...more efficient...cooler...thinner...if I just get that whatever item. I've been talking myself out of a food processor and new pots and pans for months. Now I am trying to stick to a bigger purpose. Which brings us to...

Task #2: If something comes in, something else must go out.

This is probably common sense for most folks, not me. Aside from the financial ramifications of buying things I don't need, I really don't need more stuff to sort through come move time. If I absolutely must talk myself into buying something, it needs to replace something and that something needs to go to Mr. Dumpster or Goodwill. I'd like to only replace things that need replacing because it's broken or I'm out of something. I got a pair of hiking boots on sale. I'm about to go into the bedroom and play Pin the Tail on the Shoe Rack and get rid of at least one pair of shoes. I'm also going to use every drop of lotion, conditioner, body spray, etc. before I step foot into Ulta or Bath and Body Works. *sigh*

Task #3: Start now and don't wait until the last minute.

This is harder than it seems. We won't know where we are moving until November and then we won't actually move until 2013. Hubs could be sent to Florida or Alaska or anywhere in between (or possibly some place over seas). Two years after that we could be moving to an entirely different climate. While it would be tempting to wait until we know more, I've decided to start small and purge the unnecessary.

What could possibly be unnecessary you ask?

90% of the contents of my various junk drawers.

The last time I moved I didn't address the junk drawers. On move day everything got tossed in a box and I had to pick unidentified keys out of an impressive collection of ketchup packets, menus from our old city and batteries knocking on death's door. Not pretty.

Other hiding places for unnecessary items seem to be:

Medicine cabinets: toss expired medicines, diet pills (they are so unhealthy),  anything without an expiration date (blister packs can be so mysterious) and toss the pain pills you got when you had your wisdom teeth removed in frickin' 1999. I also tossed some cold medicine that would have expired next month. Maybe I'm tempting the cold and flu gods but I'll risk it so I don't have to toss it this winter. We had a few boxes of bandages with a few band-aids left in each one. I'm not moving 4 boxes of 2 band-aids each. I refuse! I combined those band-aids and I'm sticking them in a plastic travel soap container so I can see them and they don't get squished or just float around in medicine cabinet land.

Laundry Room: You know those little samples of detergent you get in the mail or stuck to a bottle of laundry soap? They were forming their own little colony in my laundry room.

I used them ALL yesterday when I was doing my laundry.

There were some dog treats my dogs never cared for and I'm never going to eat. TRASH!
The cellophane with four clothes pins floating inside. (I saved the clothes pins!) -TRASH! 
They yucky duster wand-TRASH! 
Orphan socks, crusty flip flops, old dog bowls...TRASH! 

Sample packets and trial sizes seem to multiply in my house.  I tried to use every one yesterday 

while I was cleaning and doing laundry. Next week I may try to tackle the supply of toiletries. 

Under the kitchen sink: I got rid of anything that I hadn't used in 365 days and had less than 1/4 of the product left. I'll spare you the details.

When it gets closer to moving day I'll need to be a little more exacting with getting rid of partially used stuff (many professional movers won't take any cleansers, candles or liquids in general.) By purging and going through stuff now I can get a better handle on what's here, what I have extras of and what I need to use up before I buy more.

The housewife arsenal. I found a few boxes of Glad Press n' Seal. While I love the stuff, I had no idea there were multiplying like bunnies in the kitchen cabinet. Who knew?

Now that I've made several trips to Mr. Dumpster, I can't help think of the same thing when I look at boxes full of stuff. I spent money on most of that stuff. It's a box of money that is going down the trash chute.

Tonight I'm going to tackle some shelves in the master closet. I have a bit of a catch-all going on in there too. If I can get past all the junk zones it should make things much easier inside the move-prep window.

Planning for the Unknown

My husband is finishing up his last year of law school and is applying for jobs in the military with JAG. 

I grew up in a military town and met lots of military kids as they started another new school and tried to meet new friends. I wondered what it would be like moving from place to place and meeting friends as an adult. Because I was a teen in a military town my experiences with the military involved me avoiding airmen like the plague. These underdeveloped airmen with overdeveloped egos would move into town and use the sensible local girls for target practice. They looked at all the local girls as if we had bulls eyes on our foreheads and the chase ensued. They wanted a girlfriend, a wife or someone to pass the time. It was a bit of a shock when my 30 something year old husband declared joining the military after law school was what he really wanted to do with his law degree. I couldn't picture him as the 21 year old neanderthal that would swoop in and run off with the sensible southern girl tossed over his shoulder. I admit, I freaked out. Military? Him? Wait...what? 

I did what I do best, I researched and asked questions. I talked to my friends in the military, my friends that were swooped off their feet by 21 year old airmen and are happy military wives today and I spent weeks reading blogs and researching bases. After my initial hesitation I am now completely on board with it. He did his internship with the Air Force and loved it. I could see it cement in his brain and anything that gets him this excited gets my seal of approval. How did I not see the perfect fit before? Ah, that's right, I was biased.

The application and selection process is more competitive than ever and I hear there is about a 5% acceptance rate. Hubs is a smart cookie. He's in the top 11% of his class, an editor of Law Review, on Moot Court and a long list of other things that boggle my brain to keep up with. I can't imagine him ever being an ambulance chaser or just doing something for the income. I really do think he'll make a great judge someday as he's probably the most levelheaded and fair person I know. He's started the interview process and I'm as anxious as he is to get the results. 

Since I'm a planner I've been doing lots of research on what will happen if he does go this route. Don't laugh, may as well do something with the nervous energy (other than the laundry piled up from my trip last week). There may be lots of moves...lots and lots of moves. I've already started a spreadsheet. My sister-in-law, Mary Beth, laughed and said it's my OCD kicking in. I say if there is a chance you may have to stop, drop and move to parts unknown with very little notice, you'd better start running some scenarios in your head (or spreadsheet) or it will be your own fault if you crack and get tossed into a rubber room. We have pets, a full house of furniture and have been married for going on nine years. We're established. We've got lots of stuff that needs to be sorted, donated, packed, moved, transferred to family, etc. It's not like we live in a one bedroom with a milk crate for a coffee table. I'm a very good consumer and the contents of our home are proof. 

I'm a housewife, albeit not a great one, but if I can't do anything to help with school at least I can start worrying about the little things that need consideration. Who knew some moves involving pets need micro-chipping and rabies records for 6 months prior to the move? Seriously. My pets aren't micro-chipped. It's not an enormous hassle to get them micro-chipped the next time they're in for their shots. If I get it done now I won't be wishing for a wormhole later to get those six months of records I'll need to have. No harm and no foul if he ends up doing something else post-law school. I'll just have iron clad vet records and a few spreadsheets to delete.

There are so many amazing blogs out there by military members, military wives and I wondered how they managed to do it before the internet and the sharing of ideas on blogs and message boards. Just reading the blogs has made me more comfortable with the possibilities.