The Underwear Caper!

Ben's undies went MIA in Iraq last Sunday. 

LOL...I've been dying to use that line all day!

He claims they were "stolen", but that man has said the same thing about the last 5 missing wallets and his original wedding band. 

So since I am slammed at work this week I didn't have time to pick up new undies for Ben (I can't wait for the "I am a man I do NOT wear undies" line :) I asked my mom if she could take care of it.  Pft hahahaha!  Btw thanks mom for that rush shipment of undies to Iraq!!!

So the underwear was returned to Ben earlier today and order has been restored to the universe once again.  Although, Ben now has double the underwear.

I got a nice surprise phone call from cutie pie soldier this afternoon at work.  He called just to tell me goodnight and that I am his beauty queen!

Yep!  That man knows a good lookin' woman when he sees one!!

Got Milk?

This is my Boston Terrier Lemon....rockin' the milk stache!

She makes this look good!

....and here's how she looks the rest of the time:

With a pretty smile like that you can see why they would want to use her for the Got Milk ads.

And this is my other Boston, Molly, she never smiles, she never jokes, and she thinks milk staches are for puppy's only.

If Molly were to choose an occupation it would be accounting or something in the legal system.  She really likes following rules.

A change in routine...

I scrapped my usual Saturday routine to accomodate a skype date with my handsome soldier, and also have lunch with my parents and Irma. 

The dogs were excited to see my mom....molly needs to wipe that big smile off her little puppy face!

Notice the smile on Molly's little puppy face?

This is a motion photo.  Lemon is jumping on my mom's lap.  These dogs are wackadoodle!

 This is Irma my 102 year old grandma playing with the wildest dogs you have ever seen.

Then again this is the wildest 102 year old woman they have ever seen.

Irma was inspired to dance for us with her cane.

Irma the original poser!  This is documented proof that posing is one of my genetically inherited traits.  I'm just going to hang on to these photos for posterity.

She needed a little rest after all that posing!

Then we went to Golden Corral where I spotted someone for Irma to flirt with:

No not the big guy directly behind her head.  Look back a little further to the right and by the window.  You can't see it but he's hooked up to an oxygen tank...harder for him to run...which makes him the perfect target for Irma's attentions!  She may be 102 but she is not dead!  This woman knows how to flirt.

Breaking point

I am so close to the half way point of this deployment I can almost taste it.  I have mostly good days with only a few bad days.  Yesterday and today have been bad days.  I decided my deployment diary wouldn't be completely accurate without at least addressing some of these bad days.  Plus I have a hard time being my usual witty self on days like these...hard as it is for everyone to imagine :) 

Seriously though every now and then these days hit where I cannot shake the situational depression that comes with deployment.  There's no getting around it, and the only way out is through.  I just keep doing my usual routine until the depression passes.  I manage the anxiety and the depression with lots of exercise.  When it gets really bad I will work out in the morning and the evening to try and shake it.  My husband is my motivation. 

I'm also afraid that if I quit moving, I won't get back up again.  I have to push through these awful lonely days.  Routine is everything for me.  I'm merely going through the motions on these days, and I am completely numb to everything and everyone around me. 

It is physically exhausting missing someone for so long with no end in sight. I never get a break or a rest from missing my other half.

 I have heard that a pregnant woman burns as many calories as a woman hiking in the mountains...I would like to add military wife with a deployed hubby to that category!  That's how it feels all the time, like I am physically climbing a mountain.

Regular physical exercise is a key component of my routine.  On these particularly difficult days I can hear my dance teacher's famous line "when you feel like you can't take another step, take 2 more, because that's when you get strong."  She coached me all the way to the top.

I owe Melissa for my husband!

I am married to that handsome man in the picture because of my amazing friend, Melissa. She encouraged me to write men in the military who were members of our church, and because of that simple request I ended up writing James (among a handful of others). While I enjoyed writing these other members and learning of their experiences, James is the one that unexpectedly became my best friend, and before I knew it we were married. :) Of all the things I expected to happen in my life, meeting my husband the way I did was not one of them. But I wouldn't change a thing, and both James and I are forever thankful to Melissa for introducing us. It's been a whirlwind romance, and my life has sure changed quickly. A year ago I was venting to Melissa about the awful dates I was going on, and now I'm calling her for advice about being a military spouse. :) She's sure helped me through a lot of my stages in life. Because of her and her family I graduated college, and now again because of her I married the man of my dreams. :) Thanks, Melissa!



Right now I'm in Oceanside, CA spending time with James before he deploys end of March. I have to say it's been a really funny experience going from spending time with boyfriend James and new-husband-on-our-honeymoon James to marine James. There is quite a difference. :) I've had the opportunity to chat with other military wives on the base here about what to expect, and certain characteristic behavior of our husbands. For example, if we are not 15 minutes early than we are late, according to James. That's been a shift because if I'm only 15 minutes late than I feel like I'm doing pretty good. :) It caught me by surprise a little to see that stern and straight face and straight walk he gives while on base dressed in his uniform, versus the casual laughs and smiles I get when it's just us two together. :) All in all, it's been such an amazing experience and although I've had my moments where I felt overwhelmed, I feel incredibly blessed. With James...and good friends such as Melissa...I'm ready to take on this new world and see where we go with it. :)

Zumba Therapy!

Zumba is all the rage here in our town. They have two classes in the evening and they are always packed!! Some people have no sense of space and crowd me. I do not like it.





As many of you know I was a competitive dancer, dance teacher, and toured with a semi professional dance troupe. I wacked a girl in the face during a performance one time, it broke my hand and her eye was swollen shut for a whole week. You just don't want to get in my way when I'm dancing...er zumba-ing as the case may be.






Well some days I just don't feel like moving out of the way for some people. Today was one of those days...I am ashamed to admit it!! Another lady came into my Zumba class late and got in my dance space bubble. I decided to teach her a lesson. Honestly I am embarrassed!!!! Why can't I just be nice and move out of the way??? Did I mention it was Zumba toning with weights? Don't worry I didn't hit her! I just didn't move out of her way. At one point my hand was right in front of her face...she moved...rather quickly I might add! I'm sure it's all those years of teaching...I have a certain set of rules and when these non-dancers break them...I have to teach them a lesson. It's so wrong...I know!! But I just can't help myself. I should go back to playing soccer...at least then when someone gets in your way you can just knock them down!


FYI to all Zumba-ee's in the area...I can still dance with a broken hand.   
 
*Kidding! 
 

116 days without my husband...

It has been 116 days since I last kissed my husband or held his hand.  I feel like I'm going through a Benjamin Brubaker Detox program.  Except I don't know what the 12 steps are to living without your husband.  Then again maybe I do!

1.  Watch Army Wives all 4 seasons.
2.  Repeat all 4 seasons in preparation for season 5.
3.  Create facebook deployment countdown group to connect with real Army Wives.
4.  Find a military man to marry my best friend so we can go through detox together...sorry Cass!
5.  See a counselor...yes I did. 
6.  Zumba!!  3-4 times a week.
7.  Make deployment countdown paper chain...ugh!  How depressing, why did I do that???
8.  Leave the blow dryer out on the counter all year.
9.  Start a blog to help me re-new my zest for life!
10.  Have an awesome roommate to keep you company...good work Maren!!
11.  Let puppies sleep on the bed...hey they snore just like he did...it works kinda like a nicotine patch if you think about it.
12.  Call Tami.

Yup I think that just about covers it.  I might have to make this into a brochure and start my own 12 step Ben Brubaker detox program.

Only 6 more months and 24 days to go.

I eat deployments for breakfast....GRRRRRR!!!!!    :)