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

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.

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.