Military Circle of Friends

I have often spoken about my military friends ... how much i value their input in my life, how they help keep me sane through the hard times & how they're always there for you no matter what! Well i made some wonderful friends through etsy ... military wives, veterans & family members ... ladies who i know simply through the internet but who are constantly pushing each other & supporting us in our chosen "professions". & these friends have become a kind of "team" ... not quite in the etsy sense since we're not all on etsy but a team who are promoting each other & helping us to achieve our goals. They give advice, make suggestions, help me step outside of the box & no matter what are always there when you need to talk. This group is know as "military circle of friends" & i am incredible grateful to be a part of it. 


Anyways here is a list of the shops so you can check out that & find yourself some new pretties!! 

yummy goodness ...

Dancing Bears Tea House

Nicole's Homemade Treats

cleaning for you & the home ...

Essentials by Sondra

The Nature's Thread

Lilac Ave

pretties for your home ...

The Chameleon's Attic

Memories to You

Sew Little Time in NC

Wandering Whimsies

Niki's Knick-Knacks

business ...

Orgnizd by Sondra

jewelry ...

Bad Cat Jewelry

Sue Runyon Designs

Army Chic 4 Lyfe

Reyna Red

Wind Dancer Designs

DB Designed

crocheted clothing, accessories & photo props ...

Two Seaside Babes

TSB Accessories

Moose Threads

The Yarn Chick

accessories ...

A Stones Throw

Hold It!

pretties for your walls ...

Beth JT

ooh pretty shiny ...

love.laugh.believe

Creations Anew

little green bird ...

supplies ...

Army Chic 4 Lyfe 2

gifts & party favors ...

Elegant Monograms

for your little ones ...

Fray Baby Bibs & More

something to be proud of ...

So this post is a little different, it's a little bit more about me, my life & about being proud of my world so to speak. Recently someone asked me what i'm proud of & it was a no brainer ... my husband. I am proud of the job he does, i am proud to say he serves his country, i'm proud of him every time he puts on his uniform. Seeing him & all the guys at our wedding in their blues was special, knowing he made a choice to give up how ever many years of his life & be at the beck & call (literally) of uncle sam makes me proud.

But i forgot to talk about another group of people i'm proud of ... the military wife's & families who sacrifice so much & often get forgotten in return. They're the people behind the scenes, the men, women & children who would have been described as "keeping the home fires burning" back in World War 2.

This is my life, a choice i made & i would never take it back, for all the time apart the time together makes everything worth it. I'm not asking for sympathy & none of these men & women would either just a little understanding of the life we lead & why we do the things we do.

Me & my husband are stationed overseas, i would love to say our life is "exotic" but it's far from it. Where we live there are approximately 140,000 US personal & their families, our base is like small town American. Yes i do get to experience living overseas & see things i wouldn't normally, i do have health care provided to me. I can't book a vacation until 2 weeks before we go because my husband may not be able to take leave, any plans that get made can  & often do get cancelled at the last minute because something came up, there is no such thing as a 9-5 job in my world. & this is just the simple stuff. Sometimes i swear we have to fill in forms just to fill in a form & i know my husband's social better than my own phone number. Oh & many of you have heard the joys i have for the post office but basically take one average sized post office & 20,000 people & imagine that on your average day you spend 15 minutes in line ... now image the hours & i do mean literally hours i spend in that place shipping presents & picking them. Oh & for the record we're still waiting on Christmas presents to arrive! Anyways this is just the day to day stuff that we deal with, the small things that frustrate us. 

So back to those women & families ... they give up literally everything for those they love. They move across country & overseas at the drop of a hat, & can have more homes in a year than you will have in a life time. Finding work can be hard due to the moving, deployments, children & knowing that somewhere in the midst of it all you want to spend time with the one you love so imagine how hard it is to have an actual career. Everyday they make sacrifices for the one they love, & many of them turn to their passions as a means of making a living. I've mentioned the Homefront Team on Etsy before & many of the members use the skills they have to work from home & are able to pack up their business along with their household goods to open shop 2 continents over. For me though ... the hardest thing is the goodbyes. Saying goodbye seems like  a daily thing as the people you surround yourself with leave for destinations new, deployments, tdy's, & of course heading to their new base. These are the women (in my case) i tell everything to, who understand the small things & stand by you through it all. They've been there, they get it & they continue to stand by the ones they love. 

I am so incredible proud to be a member of this group & i hope you can walk away from this with a little more understanding of who i am & the life i lead. 

Mrs Z's Designs ...

So i was asked last minute to help out a friend & photograph some of the gorgeous designs of one Mrs Z. Perfect for well anyone with an ounce of style (i'm a jeans & t-shirt kind girl but as you can see here Nelou my wonderful model is well stunning & has more style in her little finger than i have in my entire body)... & you know Christmas is just round the corner! Anyways back to the fabulous Mrs Z ... she is a fellow military wife & designs & crochets hats, cowls, mittens, tote bags & diaper hats, & the quality is exceptional. To view more of her work you can check out her website or her facebook. 

saying goodbye ...

There are many many things i hate about the military, but it's the life i chose & i accept that. My husband is in the AF & will be so for a while longer so I live with those things. But there will always be one thing i hate more than the others, the thing that i will never get used to & sucks every single time ... saying goodbye.

I sometimes feel like all i ever do is say goodbye ... goodbye to a country, goodbye to my husband as he goes TDY or deploys & goodbye to my military family. Those people who help me through everything, the friends who have been there & get those random tiny & frustrating things that can ruin a perfectly good day.

These are the military wives ... the girls i turn to at a moment's notice ... the women who hug me when i cry & cry with laughter alongside me. They've been there, seen it, done it & got the t-shirt.

& then down the line they're gone. Not gone forever, not gone from your life but gone from your everyday. The military up & moves them somewhere new & here you are left behind waving goodbye to the people you love ... & then the circle starts over again.

Well in my short time as a military wife i've gotten used to many things but this is not one of them. I have people i love now living literally all over the world ... & whilst you hope that you will see each other one day the world is a really big place, & whilst the military can be a small world at times more often than not, when you want it to be it isn't!

So PCS season has come around & this time i get to say goodbye to some of my favourite people. A family i have grown to love & to put into words how much i will miss them isn't possible. They're part of my military family & i love them.

I think Hannah knows more about me than anyone ... she's been there for me no strings attached, she's listened, she pulled me through some tough times & i know no matter what she's not going anywhere. The bond between military wives is something else. & then there are her girls ... the girls i want to have myself who can always put a smile on my face.

To list some of my favourite memories would take forever ... but running round the flight line in the middle of winter as a wind that feels like it could be gale force pushes you backwards with every step has to be one. It might sound weird but i think that's my best run ever because it hurt, because it sucked & because we didn't stop.

& Hannah is the kind of person who will keep you going through it all ... she's tough ... & smart (way smarter than me in every sense) ... & strong ... & well you just have to see the kids she's raised to know what a great person she is. She's that person who listens to what you don't say as much as what you do.

& she's going to hate that said all that because well that's the kind of person she is but anyone who knows her can tell you it's true.

& her girls make me laugh & smile & when am sad they'll wipe the tears & make me giggle & for at least a moment none of it matters because that's what family does.

Minot will be their new home ... 4487.7 miles, 7222.2 km & 3899.7 nautical miles from me. That's a really long way. No more dinners or early morning runs. We'll have to share books & dvds through the mail & eatting dessert on your own really isn't as much fun as sharing.

& yes i know we have telephones but i don't like telephones & i know we have email but well it really isn't the same but i plan to make the most of snail mail. Old fashioned letters. I right a mean letter ... my hand writing kinda sucks & my spelling & grammar is pretty bad at times but it's personal. You can tell what someone's feeling as they write that letter, & there's something special about waking up to one.

& so i will write ... i will tell her about the goings on over here, how the weather hasn't changed & the cats are as cute as ever. I will find pretty paper on etsy, & search through stationary stores & start a whole new collection to drive my husband nuts. & when i read a wonderful book, or found some chocolate i think she has to have i will put it in the post & whilst it's not the same it's something because i will miss my friend.

So on Monday we had lunch & then we walked up the hills behind my house to take these photos. Photos i've been wanting to take for so long (& there will be more to come) & i'm sorry there are so many but i couldn't choose because there is no favourite. & then we iced cupcakes & laughed at Madagascar 2 & then they went home & i sat & looked at these photos & it made me happy & sad all in one.

& i'm making the most of the time we have left to laugh & smile & take as many photos as possible of these wonderful people because all too soon it will be over.

leave part two: Duxford Imperial War Museum

So we headed up to Cambridge ... the M25 (otherwise known as the largest carpark in the world) was thankfully quiet, & then straight up the M11 to Cambridge. Well in the midst of our planning & good traffic we had reached Cambridge by 1000 & couldn't check into our hotel until 1200 so we decided to stop at Duxford Imperial War Museum.

Now i grew up a couple of villages over from Duxford, i have been there many a time & i can honestly say i love it. As far as museums go this one is full of all kinds of wonderful military related stuff, plus their exibits are incredible interesting & well thought out.

Duxford was one of the first Royal Air Force stations built during WWI, & after the war it became a training school. It was home to the elite fliers, the first Spitfires came here during the 30's & then when war broke out in 1939 pilots such as Douglas Bader. Missions were flown from Duxford all over continental Europe.

In 1943 it was handed over to the United States Air Force, becoming home to the Mustangs & Thunderbolts.

Duxford was decomissioned in 1965 & became home to the Imperial War Museum, including the East Anglian Regiment's museum, & the American Air Museum. There are exhibitions on airspace in general, the Battle of Britian, land warfare & even a 1940s operation room. You can even see original aircraft fly. Scenes from the movie "Memphis Belle" were shot here back in 1990.

Well as you can imagine i went a little nuts here ... so much to see, & of course so much history in everything. Whilst there are some replicas for illustration purpose the majority of the items on displace are original, down to the small stuff. Items going back all most a 100 years, survived a war zone & now of displace for us to see.

& midway round i found this gorgeous Jaguar, you know i couldn't resist!

The front ...

& the back ...!

Anyways back to the museum ...

Whilst obviously there are a lot of aircraft on displace, personally i found the various vehicles they had way more interesting. I think it's because it was easier to pick out the details, the small things that call out to me "take my picture ... take my picture" (ask any photographer ... you know what am talking about). The van above & below was used during the Battle of Britain, all the unique vintage details of it meant i could have been stood there all day taking photos.

But after 12 hours of travelling we were both in great need of some lunch & a shower so i will leave you with this photograph of my wonderful husband looking just all kinds of chipper, taken through a part of an Iraqi Supergun (& yes i had to ask said husband what this sub was).

it's the simple things in life that make me happy ...

my military family ...

more gorgeous ceramics ...

disappearing into a wonderful book ...

four days of all things photography ...

being back home with my husband!

Twas The Night Before Christmas ...

There are many versions of this but since my husband is Airforce i chose to post this one ...

Twas the night before Christmas, and he lived all alone;

In a one bedroom house made of plaster and stone.

I had come down the chimney with presents to give,

and to see what manner of person in this home did live.

I looked all about, a strange sight did I see;

no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.

No stocking by the mantle, just boots filled with sand,

And on the wall hung many pictures of far distant lands.

With medals and badges, and awards of all kinds,

Suddenly a thought so sobering came into my mind.

For this house was much different, it was so dark and dreary,

I was in the house of an Airman, once I could see clearly.

The Airman lay sleeping, silent, all alone;

Curled upon the floor in this one bedroom home.

The face was so gentle, the room in such disorder,

Not exactly how I imagined I'd find an airman soldier.

Was this the hero of whom I'd just read?

Curled up on a poncho, the floor for a bed?

I then realized the families I saw on this night,

Owed their lives to these airmen who were willing to fight.

For soon 'round the world the children would play,

And grownups would celebrate a bright Christmas day.

They all enjoyed their freedom each month of the year,

Because of the airmen, like the one lying here.

I couldn't help wonder how many more lay alone,

On a cold Christmas Eve, in some land far from home.

The very thought brought a tear to my eye,

And I dropped to my knees and started to cry.

The Airman awakened and I heard a rough voice,

"Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice;

I fight for our freedom, I don't ask for more,

My life is my God, my country, my Air Force."

The Airman rolled over and drifted back to sleep,

But I couldn't control it, I started to weep.

I kept watch for hours, so silent and still

Until we both shivered hard from the cold night's chill.

I didn't want to leave on that cold, dark night

This Guardian of Honor so willing to fight.

Then the Airman rolled over, and with a voice soft and pure,

Whispered, "Carry on, Santa, it's Christmas Day and all is secure."

One look at my watch and I knew he was right

Merry Christmas, my friend, and to all a Good Night!

On christmas day be sure to all take a moment & remember the troops currently deployed throughout the world & for the family they have left back home. I am lucky to have my husband by side this Christmas & know not every year will be this wonderful. I wish you all a very merry christmas & a happy holidays!

more military life ...

how many pairs of shoes does the average guy own ... well my plan for this photo was to shoe the number of pairs of boots the average military guy owns, unfortunately i gave up searching because well whilst finding military clothing in our house is pretty easy to do, finding specific items is literally like looking for a needle in a haystack! So instead here are the boots my husband insists on keep in our bedroom ... yes our bedroom! they have since been removed.

the "romantic" life of a military wife ...

Hollywood would have us believe that being a military wife is romantic ... for those of you who think my husband has carried me off from work in his uniform whilst everyone looks on & cheers well you would be way off. Being a military wife is anything but romantic, it's stressful & tiring & emotional & for me most of all frustrating. Saying all this i wouldn't change my life for anything.

But here begins a series of photos, taking using the technique ttv highlighting the not so romantic life we lead.