Just Say Julie

I know it has been a few days since I have posted anything but that has been because I haven’t had anything to say. We have to attend a Hail & Farewell this evening. It kind of feels like a death march going to your own farewell when you don’t know what your next move is. Branch is still giving us the run around on Shawn’s next assignment. Every time he has talked to them we have been pushed back a week on getting a real answer. So it has now been two months and Shawn still doesn’t have a job. I am frustrated because I am staring a promotion in the face that is pretty much mine if I want it. However, I have to tell my boss that I might not be able to take it because I might have to move. The thought of moving is both scary and exciting. I am trying to look at it as an adventure for Shawn and I to go on but I don’t want to leave my friends and my job and have to start over again. I am just now adjusted to this place. I am not ready to pack up and do it over. But then the

Shawn missed my birthday by 25 minutes. I arrived at the gym to pick him up at about 12:45 on Thursday morning. We finally got home an hour later. I was exhausted Thursday at work. However, I was excited because part of my birthday present was a trip to Fredericksburg for a little R & R for us. So we got the plans in place and headed out of town after my doctor’s appointment on Friday. It was nice to escape for a couple of days. Fredericksburg is a great little German community about 2 hours from here. We had no idea prior to moving here that there was such a strong German influence in Central Texas. It is actually quite interesting. Shawn did the husbandly duties of carrying all my bags while we shopped on Saturday. I think we both enjoyed the laziness of the weekend sleeping to nearly 9 each morning. I was ready to head back on Sunday since I missed Maverick very much. He has been having a hard time being boarded recently and was very happy to have Shawn home. I was

OK…so today is the day I have been dreading for the last year. I am officially 30 today. And you know what…it isn’t so bad. As a matter of fact, I think everything is going to be OK. It will actually be better than OK. I got a reminder why I married my husband today. Shawn is not the best when it comes to picking out gifts for me so I didn’t have high hopes this year with him being so busy before he left for NTC and currently being gone. Recently things have been tense between us due to job stress and not enough time together. But he made me forget all that without hardly trying. He hid my birthday present in his closet before he left for NTC last month. So when he called this morning and gave me the location of my present. I must say I was surprised that he had been able to hid it so well since I never saw anything clear the bank account or the credit card. So I ran home from work and this is what I found hiding in the closet: He did really well this year! Also, we are

This is going to be one of those random blogs that is just me talking about something that makes me happy. I obviously live in a military town. Fort Hood is the largest military installation in the United States. I grew up having respect for the military but not ever really thinking much about it. Then my brother joined the Army right before I graduated from college. I then was able to stand a little taller because I was the sister of a soldier. After 9-11, fear hit me. I realized then that war was inevitable and I was scared about how it was going to effect my brother and my family. Then I met Shawn and my whole perspective changed. Clay went to war in OIF I. During the time he was gone, I got engaged and married to Shawn. Shortly after our wedding, Shawn deployed for the first time. It was during that time that I began to get frustrated with the lack of understanding from those in the civilian world over the life we lead as a military family. Shawn and Clay overlapped in

I already posted a blog about my trip to Mobile last weekend. I am happy to report that the rest of my stay was much better than the process of trying to get there. It was so great to see Ronda and her little one as well as Auntie Martha and Suzanna. We stayed busy but we still found time for wine and popcorn as well as a lot of girl talk. I got some much needed perspective on some things I have been dealing with recently. That is the great thing about being around people who really know you. They understand you enough to know how you truly feel about things. I am not going to say I got all the answers I needed but I am at least headed in the right direction now. Baby Scout and I hit it off and became fast friends over the weekend. After all, she takes after her Auntie Ju Ju in so many ways. I do miss being home and being around all those I love. I will have to plan a trip home again sooner than this one was. Mom and I headed back to the Lone Star state on Sunday afternoo