2nd Annual Marine Birthday Bash!

This giveaway is now closed.  Congratulations to the winner, Simply B!

The Marine Corps Birthday (a sacred event for Marines) is almost here!  Semper Wifey is hosting the 2nd Annual Marine Birthday Bash from November 6-10 November 1-November 14!!!

This year, it's all about the giveaways!  Each day of the Birthday Bash, I will be hosting fantastic giveaways that are open to everyone...not just Marine families!

If you would like to donate a prize for the Birthday Bash, please contact me!  In exchange for providing a product, Semper Wifey will give you 3 months of free advertising on my site and numerous mentions in Facebook posts.  This is a fantastic opportunity to advertise your product.  Or if you just want to provide a prize for the giveaway, it's also a great way to showcase your blog!     

In the meantime, let's get this party started RIGHT NOW!  I am giving away a set of note cards from the Semper Wifey Shop!  All you have to do is grab a Birthday Bash button, put it in your blog's sidebar, then leave a comment letting me know it's there (please leave your website and email when commenting).  Voila!  This giveaway ends October 15. 

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My annual ode to fall...

Summer always feels oppressive to me.  It’s hot.  Every place is crowded.  Friends and social activities disappear.  And I’m left hot, frustrated, and bored.  But then along comes fall in all of its glory! 

The chill in the air refreshes and creates an excited buzz of a new season. The first taste of fall is like a splash of cold water on a hot day--it takes your breath away and leaves you feeling invigorated, alive, and ready to take on the world.

After moving to a place where the climate is typically “perfect” year-round, I wondered if I would ever have that rush of feeling the first wisp of a cool fall breeze, that excitement over the first glimpse of pumpkin decorations in the stores, or that cozy feeling of putting on a hoodie and watching some football. 

My wonderings were recently answered.  After more than a month of a heat wave with temperatures in the upper 80s (don’t hate…we don’t have air conditioning and I’m pregnant), there was recently a day with much cooler temperatures, cloud cover, and even a few sprinkles (gasp!).  It was on that day that I knew that I could and would have those feelings of fall that I desperately longed for.  While I haven't put on my college hoodie yet, there have been cool breezes outside and lots of pumpkin decorations inside.  So we're on the right track!

But if summer insists on depriving me of fall-like weather for much longer, I will create my own autumnal bliss by going to Barnes & Noble, sipping a pumpkin latte, and reading fall books with Baby.
 

 

Praying for my husband...

I made this for myself and the other wives in my husband's squadron as a reminder for us to pray for our husbands daily, especially when they are away.  Feel free to take this and bless your husband!

Carrier playtime...

When the older sons of carrier jet pilots come over to play, they mean business.  They know exactly how to load a carrier hangar.  And it doesn't include shoving it full of balls or puzzle pieces (Baby's favorite).

 

 

  

 

Top 5 ways to deal with difficult people...

Sometimes the military forces us to be around people we might find difficult for whatever reason.  (If you don't have a few people in mind right now, you must be a saint and should share your secrets with all of us!)

I'll readily admit that I have encountered my fair share of difficult people while tagging along with the Marine Corps.  I think I've handled some with grace.  Others, I might have disgraced myself while interacting with them.  I consider each difficult person and interaction a life lesson and an experience to evaluate as I try to better myself.  In dealing with the difficult person, what worked?  What can I do differently next time?  How am I presenting myself to this person, and, in turn, the world?

In evaluating how I have handled difficult people, I have learned five key points:

1. Be patient.  With the person.  With the situation.  Just.  Be.  Patient.
2. Sometimes people are only difficult to me because our personalities and/or values are very different.  I have to remember that if I consider her to be a difficult person, I am probably a difficult person for her.
3. Don't let her get to you.  If we're talking about the blatantly mean type of difficult person, realize that that might just be who she is.  Shrug it off.
4. Surround yourself by un-difficult people.  Prevention is key! 
5. When all else fails, walk away. It's so much better to ignore or physically walk away from a difficult person.    

Quiet weekends...

When Hubby is away, weekend nights otherwise spent on a romantic date or snuggling on the couch with him are now spent (only sometimes, I swear!) with Audrey Hepburn, Jane Austen, McDonald's, and mint Milanos.

I'm curious how other military wives spend their quiet weekends.  Please share!!!

PCS blues...

When I started my first professional job after college, I was unexpectedly uncomfortable.  Before graduating, I had fantasies of taking my new workplace by storm by being so on top of things, so creative, and so hard-working that they wouldn't know what to do! 

The reality was that I was shy, awkward, and unsure of myself or my job.  I wasn't quite sure where I fit into the company, how exactly I was supposed to do my job, or know the little quirks of the company.

After about six months on the job, I suddenly had a new found vigor for work.  Time and experience allowed me to figure out exactly how my job fit in with the company and gave me the confidence in myself and my job to be creative and take the initiative on projects.  It was only after six months of feeling blue that I finally took my work by storm and fulfilled my pre-college graduation fantasy! 

I wish I would have taken that life lesson with me into the military lifestyle from the beginning.  Looking back, I can see that each duty station has required a six month (ish) adjustment period.  After each move, I inevitably had the PCS blues--saying goodbye to the familiar, feeling overwhelmed by moving into a new house in a new city, trying to meet new friends, figuring out the "quirks" of Hubby's command, and just trying to figure out where I fit in to a new group of military wives. 

But, like clockwork, the six month mourning/whining/uncomfortable stage has always ended, and I have found myself feeling confident, relaxed, content, and joyful about our "new" duty station.  Next time we PCS, I should remember to allow for those six months to shake the PCS blues.  And remember that the best times are just on the other side!