valentine's day I've become the WORST type of blogger

The kind that doesn't blog :(

Its upsetting to me, but its become a fact of life at this point. I have a ton to write about but unfortunately zero motivation to do it. I'm sure ever blogger goes through a similar rut. I feel like my rut is life induced. I have a feeling this blog will once again become a refuge for me like it was went I first started.

Right after Mr. Jetplane and I got married we lived apart for almost six months while he attended T-38 school and EWO training. I stayed in Pcola during his stays in MS and TX to continue to work.

I have a strong feeling you'll be seeing me more often in the coming months as we head into the deployment.

So I know its Pug Friday and I have been a very bad blogger so I leave you with a picture of my most favorite puggie....Milo and his (big) lil brother Charlie, my 2 loving companions while Mr. is gone.

Picture was taken before we left Pcola and before I traded in my sweet Jeep Liberty. I loved that ride.

valentine's day Preparing for the Unknown...

Thank you all for the kind words and well wishes as the Jetplanes prepare for the great unknown ahead of us. We still have some time before he leaves, and I'm trying to treasure every moment that we have together.

I'm not going to turn the next few weeks into a time where I continually blog about how nervous, upset, pissed off, confused, angry or whatever emotion I am feeling about this upcoming deployment but I'm going to be honest about this stage.

The past week or so I've read countless blogs where bloggers list their resolutions for 2011. As I look ahead into 2011, it all seems so unknown to me. 2011 will be quite a year for the Jetplanes. So much is going to happen or we hope may happen in the next year.

We will experience our 1st deployment.

We will both turn 31.

We will celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary.

We will deal with being seperated for atleast 6 months.

We will learn to live and be able to thrive without each other every day.

We hope to be lucky enough to get pregnant.

We hope my mother remains cancer free.

We hope (and pray) Mr. Jetplane returns from war.

We hope to finish renovating our home in Idaho.

We hope to learn to live and be able to thrive without each other every day.

The next year will be tough, no doubt about that. But I can look to and aspire to be like the many wonderfully couragous military wives out there in the blogosphere. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and prayers with you all during this time. I'm not looking for sympathy so please don't think that's what I'm after.

But this is my blog and there will be days when my blogging might be pretty depressing or days when it is non-existent. But there will also be days when it will be happy and carefree.

But (wow I've used but 3x in a round..whatever), this is real life and this is my husband preparing to go to WAR. WAR...WAR...is not something you really think about every day even if you are married to someone in the military. WAR is something very real that my best friend will be experiencing every day. WAR is something that I will think about every day while he is away.

WOW this is happening....I know I sound like someone that must have been in denial...well that's probably because I feel like I have been in denial. I'll fully admit that one. Its easy to be in denial when your husband has been in training for years and you are now looking ahead to your 1st deployment.

valentine's day Pug Friday

Hello everyone...its me the bad blogger. A lot has been going on with the Jetplanes lately. We are knee deep in home renovations, Mr. Jetplane is trying to get in as much snowboarding as humanly possible, and we just got back from some time with family over the holidays.





It was great spending time with our families, but it sucked having to watch Mr. Jetplane say goodbye to people knowing and acknowledging that he's heading off to war this year. He won't see them again before he leaves, and that's heartbreaking to me. I know it is to him too, even though you would never get him to admit that.





So there's a lot to do before he leaves and it makes me crazy and sad at the same time. Please accept my apologies in advance for having to be vague about a lot of this. I have to be, even though I don't want to be.

So in honor of how I've been feeling lately...

Have a good weekend every one. We'll be hitting the slopes on Saturday and the Lowes/Home Depot and non-stop home improvement on Sunday.

Happy Pug Friday!

XOXO

valentine's day Even the United States Government Likes Cupcakes!

How awesome! Cupcakes For The Troops! Hosted by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen and Mrs. Michael Mullen.




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Images by Department of Defense Mass Communication Specialist Derrick Ingle, released here.

valentine's day Pug Friday - Getting in the Holiday Spirit

Hello hello...is anybody out there?

Is everyone getting ready for the holidays? Thanksgiving flew by and I can't believe we're already in December.

Now that we're living in Idaho, I experiencing REAL winter. I haven't experienced a REAL winter in years. I am not prepared for this :)

I hope today's Pug Friday puts you all in a festive mood. valentine's day

This is just about how I feel today :)


P.S. Thank you all for the prayers and support for our friends. He is slowly coming out of the coma. He was taken off sedatives earlier this week. His eyes are open, but we don't believe he can see as of yet. He is reacting to his wife's voice and making movements with all his limbs.

That's the good news, the bad news is they are PCS'ing to Bethesda to be closer to family and for him to receive the rest of his treatment and therapy. They might be leaving as soon as next week if everything is in order. And course...we're in Florida for the majority of next week.

We are having dinner at their house to tonight with another couple. All of our husbands went through the B Course together in North Carolina. I am so sad to see them go but I know its for the best.

Please continue to keep them in your prayers. There is still a very long road ahead of them.

valentine's day My new family...

The Jetplanes have been 'in' the military for a little over 4 years now. A lot has happened in those four years, we have had huge successes and monumental failures. We loved, we laughed, and we've cried for ourselves and for people in our community.

For the majority of the past 4 years, Mr. Jetplane has been going through training and we've been part of various training squadrons. Some of these squadrons are very accepting and welcoming, they make you (i.e. the wife) feel like they are one of the girls...some are not so accepting, especially if you are just a girlfriend or fiance. (FYI that has just been my personal experience)

I adored the women in our last training squadron. It was the first time we were in an actual "fighter" squadron and I felt I like belonged. That was most definitely attributed to our wonderful commander's wife. Even though my husband was just a 'lowly Lt. student' I felt like I was just like any other wife in the squadron, and trust me that's a good feeling.

When we arrived in Idaho, I was sad to leave those women, the women and the community that I had grown to really love in those short 9 months. Its amazing the friendships that you can build in 9 months isn't it. Its amazing that these women and I are so different but so alike at the same time. Its amazing that some of these women are without a doubt, going to be my friends for the rest of my life...9 months people. I made those life long friendships in 9 months.

We have only been in Idaho for a few months and I'm just starting to get my bearings with in our new squadron. Luckily a couple of people came with us from our previous squadron and we have strong friendships already. But making friends with the rest of the spouses sometimes feels like a daunting task. I don't have any children. Most, like 90%, of the spouses do. I have a full time job, most of them don't. I can't attend day time activities at the squadron, I can't do a lot of things due to my job and activities that I schedule for myself during the weeknights. But with all that being said, what I have witnessed in the past 7 days has erased any and all doubt I had in my mind about our new squadron.

I have always been told that fighter squadrons are close, probably one of the closest in the military. Sure we've been told that a million times, but never truly felt it..until now.

When the accident occurred last Monday night, our squadron moved into high gear. From the top down, the selflessness and true love for others poured out of these men and women. It makes me tear up just imagining the support my friend was given last week. The commander dropped everything and drove my friend to the hospital. He and other higher ranking officers in the squadron arranged travel and accommodations for their families. People stayed in 24 hour vigil with his wife. We have arranged meals to be delivered to the hospital for however long it takes.

Its truly an outpouring of love that warms my heart. We are proud to be part of this wonderful community. You see in this crazy military life there are only a couple of constants - you have your spouse, his job, an upcoming deployment, and your military family. The players in that family may shift here and there, but they are always part of your family. Its a wonderful realization, unfortunately it took a horrible accident like this for it to show itself to me.

The outpouring of love doesn't stop with our squadron. Our sister squadron, the maintainers, and the foreign squadron stationed here have all pitched in. The love is being sent in masses from other fighter squadrons back in North Carolina and in England. People that trained with the pilot and went to the Academy with him, its truly amazing the love that has surrounded he, his wife, and their families.

But prayers are still needed. We've hopefully turned a corner but we're not out of the woods by any means.

Thank you all for the kind thoughts and prayers for our friends I mentioned in the previous post. If you follow me on twitter you most likely know a lot more about the situation. Since I'm generally anonymous on this blog and throughout this 'space' I prefer to not disclose his name or information. If you are in the military community or have a strong and true desire to pray from him, I would be happy to share some additional information, including his caringbridge site.

valentine's day Reason for Absence

As some of you may have noticed (or not) I've been MIA for a week or so. That was not intended and there have been a couple of reasons.

1. Late last Monday night, a close friend of ours and a pilot in our squadron was in a car accident leaving base. He suffered serious injury and had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital. He is stable but currently in a drug induced coma.

2. Unfortunately I had a planned work trip that left early Tuesday morning and consumed my entire week.

As you can see those 2 issues didn't allow me to be with my friend and more importantly his wife during this horrible ordeal. I felt and continue to feel horrible that I have not been able to be here for them.

So please accept my apologies for my absence. My heart hasn't been in the blogging mood. Please keep our friends and their family in your prayers, they need all the support they can get.

valentine's day Pug Friday

valentine's day To continue from yesterday celebration of Veterans Day...Happy Pug Friday.

Have a great weekend... someone's hubby surprised her and showed up (i.e. scared the crap out of her and the dogs) at 12:30 this morning. Mr. Jetplane is home, too bad I'm leaving for Pcola on Tuesday for the rest of the week :(

valentine's day Home of the Brave

Thank you to all those that have served and continue to serve our country. We are forever in debt to you and your families.

My thoughts and prayers are going out today to all of those who are currently in harm's way fighting for freedom. Special thoughts to our fellow F15e squadron that is currently making us proud over there right now. Fly Safe Guys.

And to my favorite Fly Boy...

Proud doesn't even begin to explain my feelings about you and your decision to serve your country. Fly safe today and I can't wait for you to get home tomorrow. xoxo

valentine's day Did you ever imagine you'd be a military wife?

If I had a nickel for every time I get asked this question....

Well the simple, short answer to that question is NO. To be completely and brutally honest its not something I ever thought nor wanted to be. Mr. Jetplane and I met before he was in the Air Force. When we met he was thinking about trying to get into Officer Training School (OTS). You want a lil more honesty... when he told me he had started the process I thought to myself, "This relationship probably isn't going anywhere so I have nothing to worry about"...yeah I know.

Mr. Jetplane didn't go into the Air Force with the idea of flying jets. He has a background in finance and he had envisioned doing something in the military associated with that. But when he took his 'tests' he scored high in math and science, which isn't hard to believe since he started college as an engineering major. (FYI - he switched to finance because he liked to party and engineering classes were at 8am and at the other side of campus TRUE STORY).

Mr. Jetplane joined the USAF a lil over 4 years ago. He is now a Captain and I have officially been a military wife for about 2 1/2 years, but we've been going through this together ( i.e. living together aka living in sin) the entire time. There is ALOT of schooling and being selected through various tracks in order to get where we are now, which is our 1st operational squadron.

I'm not gonna sugar coat anything here. Its tough stuff. If I didn't move down to Florida to be with him during his first year of flight school, we wouldn't be together now. We know a lot of couples that didn't make it out of flight school before breaking up and/or divorcing.

But you can make it...heck we made it. We learned a lot about each other, we learned that we have to be a team. We have to support each other and push each other along.

As a spouse or significant other of someone in the military you have to come to terms with the fact that the needs of the military will always supersede your needs. ALWAYS PEOPLE. It doesn't mean your husband doesn't love you...he doesn't have a choice.

You have to be strong and independent. You have to be willing to let some things slide and be able to go to bed not knowing exactly when your spouse is going to get home from work.

Now we're headed into unknown territory for us...the D WORD....DEPLOYMENT.

He was suppose to deploy before the end of the year but it got pushed back, which I was more than a lil thankful for. But now each day that goes by makes it one day closer till when my hubby leaves. I'm trying to prepare myself for it, that's a work in progress.

But to stay on the honesty train we've been riding, being a military wife its not necessarily all that different from being the wife of a lawyer, doctor, fireman, police officer, or even a business owner. Sure there are some big differences...one of which is my hubby goes to work in what he likes to call "glorified pj's" and his office is a fighter jet. But there are plenty of jobs that require long hours, tons of training, and a huge amount of patience from family and friends.

I still and probably always feel awkward when someone thanks me for the work that my husband does. It always makes me feel strange but it makes me feel proud at the same moment. Did I ever envision this being my life...well I think I already answered that....no. Am I honored to be married to my gorgeous fly boy...of course.

Sometimes people ask me for some sage advice about becoming a military wife, which I find humorous. What do I say to people...well... I think you need to develop 2 things a thicker skin and a good sense of humor...both will come in handy...oh and I find a stocked liquor cabinet handy...but hey that's just me.

valentine's day Safe Travels

We have to say good bye and good luck some of our buddies in North Carolina this week. Good Luck Rockets. Come home safe.





This is the first time fellow F15e classmates of Mr. Jetplane are getting deployed soon. If we would have stayed in NC this could have been his squadron. It could be him deploying.

This deployment makes everything feel very real. I know I say that alot but its an odd feeling to have and to explain. This deployment means Mr's deployment is one huge step closer to happening. Its there in the back of my mind on my mental calendar. Counting down the months till he's gone, till he's home, and how we might be able to have a baby somewhere in between that time. Its an overwhelming thought, its a sad realization that you have to consider... you may be planning on having a baby and being pregnant knowing your husband wouldn't be there (or even in the country) during the majority of your pregnancy. But that's where I find myself today...and I know I'm not the only one.

But enough about me...pray for a safe and speedy return for these guys and gals.

valentine's day Hey there Idaho...

You don't suck like I thought you would... Yeah, I'll be honest I was really worried about the move out to the wild wild west, but surprisingly its going well.

The weather (so far) has been great and we are loving the new house. The no humidity and my new found seasonal allergies take a while to get used to, but its going pretty well out here.

Its really beautiful out here. On Saturday we went on a hike, here's the view. P.S. cattle also roams free through this area. We may have had a close call with 2 cows on the road and one about 200 yards away from the hiking trail. Oh...and we had to buy hiking boots...we learned this on the steep hike. When Mr fell and on the way down...may or may not have punched me in the stomach...ummmm yeah, that was nice.

Final thought for today... My thoughts and prayers are with our friends in NC. One of the 2 operational squadrons is preparing for deployment. A lot of our friends are heading out on their 1st deployment. This means our future deployment is fast approaching. Please pray for their safe return. And please pray for all the families, spouses, kids, etc. affected by this deployment. Stay safe guys/gals!

valentine's day Keep it in perspective...

I read this today on a friend's (a female F15e pilot's) Facebook page and I thought....YEAH you are totally right.

"I cant believe the all news coverage being given to a 20-something addict actress Lindsey Lohan. Here are a few 20 year-olds worth knowing about: Justin Allen23, Brett Linley 29, Matt Weikert 29, Justus Bartett 27, Dave Santos 21, Chase Stanley 21, Jesse Reed 26, Matthew King 23, Christopher Goeke 23 & Sheldon Tate 27. These 20-somethings gave their lives for you this week."

I'll be honest, I love a good celebrity sh!tstorm just as much as the next girl...probably more to be completely honest...but this much attention shouldn't be paid to Ms. Lilo.

valentine's day What up Idaho...

We are here... well we've been here since July 8th. Alot has happened since we last 'spoke'.

Mr. Jetplane began a Captain and turned the big 3-0.
We bought our 2nd house and we love it. It honestly feels like we live on a compound. It has a veggie garden and the sellers planted everything before they moved out.
We have already started a little demo and remodeling.

Oh and we already have our first house guests...and we don't even have all our belongings yet...truck comes tomorrow!

Heading to my 1st coffee tonight to meet all ladies in the squadron.

Hello Idaho the Jetplanes are here!!!!!

P.S. Thank you for all the Twitter love while we were traveling. I'm going to try to do a post about the trip later next week.

XOXO

valentine's day Proud to be an American

I've always loved the 4th of July. The cookouts, the fireworks, and the day off of course... But to be completely honest with you, before the military became part of my life, I saw this day as a day to enjoy a day off work, to enjoy the sun, some beer, some hotdogs, and fireworks.

It has a much deeper meaning to me now... Take the time to enjoy the day, but take a moment to pause a reflect and thank all the men and women that gave and continue to give the ultimate sacrifice for our independence.

Have a great and safe Independence Day!!

image found here
p.s. I did a kick routine to the Neil Diamond song...I will always love this song.

valentine's day Peace Out Shady J

The Jetplanes are leaving North Carolina today...thank you NC, we've enjoyed our brief time here.


We'll definitely miss all the great people we're leaving behind. The fighter community is really small and we look forward to seeing you all soon again.

We're off on to start this new adventure and are pretty excited about it.... wish us luck :)

valentine's day Into the great wide open...

Today is the last work day before the move. The packers/movers were suppose to be here today...Haha...but that appears to not be happening until tomorrow...gotta love Military moves.

So I'll be hitting the road mid day tomorrow to head to Illinois and Mr. will get on the road when the movers finish packing up the truck. Its not ideal, nor what we want, but its the best solution. We'll be staying in Illinois for a few days, so he'll meet me at my parents house.

I remind myself over and over again that very soon I'll be calling this place home...

I'll be able to see the mountains every day...to me that's alittle surreal. I'm a Midwest girl, it took me a while to get used to seeing the water everyday when we lived in Pcola.

See you all on the flipside...I hope to be able to blog alittle over the next 2 weeks, but no promises.

XOXO

valentine's day Pug Friday - Peace out NC

Today is our last Friday in North Carolina. To be totally honest with you, my life is so crazy right now that I didn't know it was Friday until 10 minutes ago. And to make matters even worse...I wish it was still Thursday or better yet Wednesday, yeah I know I've lost it. This week has moved way too fast for me.


So for today's Pug Friday is my new Twitter picture. If you don't have a Twitter, well its probably better than way. I'm totally addicted to it and spend all damn day on it, so you've been warned.


Anyway....I digress. The packers are going to come today or Monday, yes that is what TMO said. For you non-mil, that the office that runs and oversees all the moving...don't ask me with TMO stands for, I don't know and I don't care. All I want to know is they won't lose our paperwork anymore, computers should be working 5 days a week, and stop giving us lame ass excuses. In our last move, we had an agent come out and access our 'stuff' to determine if we were a 1 day or 2 day pack, then move. Well obviously that's not what is happening here :)


I hope they show up on Monday and can pack everything in 1 day. Honestly, they should be able to, but you never know what type of crew you are going to get in here. Here's to an easy pack/move....


Well I gotta get back to work, I'm taking 2 weeks off for this move so I have a TON of work to do...shoot me now...


Happy Pug Friday!!!

valentine's day In just 8 short days...

The Jetplanes will be hitting the road and leaving North Carolina in our rear view mirror. We're moving to Idaho people...

We're heading to Illinois the first day and spending a couple of days with both my family and his, then heading out to the wild west...

So please forgive me for my current and potentially continued status of MIA, as one could expect its pretty crazy over here right now.

valentine's day The END but just the BEGINNING!

Friday was a BIG day for us, Mr. Jetplane graduated from flight school. It was the culmination of years of hard work...really hard, stressful work. I have said it before, and I'll say it again...I am so proud of this man that I lovingly call my husband.

If you would have told me 6 years ago when we met that I would be a military wife I would have laughed in your face. But here I am the wife of a guy that freaking flies in fighter jets....yeah I know, crazy stuff, right?

Its not like I need reminding but when I am at a military event I get overly emotional. Sitting in a room full of high ranking military personnel, listening to 'war stories', and receiving sage advice for our futures.... I can't help it, I CRY!

I cried during the prayer before eating....I cried as a retired general spoke about what we can expect....I cried when Mr was awaiting to graduate...I almost cried when they gave all the wives bouquets of flowers as a thank you.

Its a scary world out there folks and my hubby is going to Afghanistan, he's going to be flying in hostile air space and protecting the lives of the folks fighting on the ground. This ISN'T a movie, this is real life...this is going to be my life. Everything got "real" real last night...yes I'll admit that I might have been living in denial, but its kinda easy to do when you've been in training for almost 4 years.

But as this big, heavy door is closing, we're walking into a whole new world. We're heading to Idaho. We're heading to our 1st operational squadron. We're heading to our 1st deployment. We're heading into this new chapter of our lives excited and obviously a little nervous. But I know we can do it... But now onto more important things....Pictures!

Here is my hunky husband awaiting his graduation certificate. Sorry the lighting was horrible, luckily they had a photographer there.

He is receiving his certificate from the Squadron Commander. Here is the whole class....don't they look happy?

But don't worry folks it just wasn't all pomp and circumstance...there was free booze.... Here I am with a fellow wife and Crud team member. That's our trophy and picture behind us!

And with a lot of free booze and a big, blue, beautiful limo driven by a DD...you get pictures like this one...Congrats to all the guys and their families... We'll see you all again in Idaho, England, or back in the Shady J.... Once an Eagle!