Deployment Life

Well... this week flew by. I was busy with work travel, so the week seemed shorter than usual. Tuesday and Wednesday last week I mowed the lawn and worked from home, getting ready to head to Goose Creek, SC for a training with MCEC. I was there Wednesday through Friday. It was cold and uneventful, but I learned a new training that I hope to facilitate soon. Thursday evening I worked from the hotel and had room service. It was a nice, quiet trip. When I got home Friday, I was exhausted. I had a great call with Lindsey about our book chapter, which is due by the end of this month (EEK!). We (mostly Lindsey) crafted a survey for military spouses to answer some questions about disclosing whether their spouses are in the military or not to potential employers (and when they do so). I posted the survey link to about 15 military spouse Facebook sites and within 24 hours, we had almost 900 responses! After my call with Lindsey, I dragged myself to the gym. I have been really sticking with ...

I cannot believe it's Monday again. I swear I feel like I just sat here writing a blog! It's been another crazy, hectic week. Last Tuesday I headed out of town to Newport News, VA to facilitate a training for Military Child Education Coalition. It went really well, and the campus we taught the class on was absolutely beautiful. It made me wish I was back in college (but not really). I flew home on Thursday. I love airports. Watching people in airports is one of my favorite pasttimes. You can sit and make up a whole back story about someone's life based on what they look like, what they're eating or wearing, and where they're traveling. On Friday I had a great call with my co-author, Lindsey. We are finally making headway on our book chapter and I got a lot of research done this week. Be on the lookout for a survey from us soon on Facebook military spouse pages. I also had an assessment for a state government job on Friday. I was told 160 people applied for t...

Whoosh! This week has been BUSY! I took on A LOT! Work has exploded. I'm working multiple part time jobs, but it feels good to be working again. I'm just extremely busy now. Between Value of a Veteran, Military Child Education Coalition, writing a book chapter, a couple side hustles, and a new opportunity that I can't announce yet, I'm burning the candle at both ends. In other news, I got my hair done and went a little blonder since it's warming up here. I took the Jeopardy test, which will likely result in nothing. If you don't get chosen for an audition, you never hear how you did, and they don't tell you your score. I had a key spouse meeting today to start discussing homecoming plans. Finally, I spruced up my office by organizing and getting this sweet new table: Bryan is still doing fine. He's getting ready to CLEP another class for college credit, working hard in the gym, and studying to test for Senior Master Sergeant. He also became an ord...

It's the first week of spring break here on the Emerald Coast. College kids are flocking here and will continue to do so for the next four weeks. This weekend felt like spring (almost like summer) and it lifted my mood dramatically. I guess it's a lot easier to be underemployed when you're sitting on the beach. This week, I started working with The Value of a Veteran. So far it's easy work and my coworkers and program managers are super nice. I continue to do work for Military Child Education Coalition, and am heading on two trips this month. One of my part time projects was canceled, so now I'm trying to find another part time job to fill some more hours in the week, but I'm at least earning what I was with unemployment, so I'm making ends meet. Bryan continues to be busy. He finished a literature class and is starting to talk about coming home. He became an ordained minister this week. I know, right? But he's going to officiate a wedding, so he ...