In Training

Project Valour IT!!

Hey y'all!  I'm so excited to be a part of the Project Valour IT  fundraising drive this time around! For background information, check out Blackfive  (I'll wait...) I'm going to be on the Army's team - thought about the marines because of Royal, (my fiance, Royal Marine Commando) but decided on Army because I'm so familiar with Matt. (the following from Blackfive):

WHAT: Friendly fundraising competition for Valour IT.
WHEN: October 30th through Veteran's Day, November 10th.
WHERE: Based in the blogosphere, spreading everywhere else.
WHY: Because giving wounded warriors with hand and arm injuries access to a computer supports  their healing and puts them back in touch with the world.
HOW: Blogger teams will be divided along military branches, with civilians "up for grabs."
The lines are drawn by service rivalry:
Jarheads (Marines) will be led by Villainous Company
Zoomies (Air Force) will be led by Op-For
Squids (Navy) will be led by Chaotic Synaptic Activity
Doggies (Army) led by Matt & Jim of Blackfive
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PLEASE PLEASE donate to help a wounded soldier! 

SpouseBUZZ Live!

I just arrived home after having one of the most wonderful experiences - attending the first ever SpouseBUZZ Live event in Killeen, Texas!  It was amazing, the discussions were informative, people were willing to ask questions, there was laughing and crying, AND I (I know, ME, right!!) got to meet Andi of Andi's World, AirForceWife, Carren the amazing wife of Chuck (CPT Z), and almost all of the SpouseBUZZ bloggers: Sarah, RedLegMeg, Guard Wife, Molly Pitcher, MaintToad1, Love My Tanker, GBear, and ArmyWifeToddlerMom!  Thank all of you a million!

There was not a single person there that wasn't the sweetest most kind person in that room.  The panelists were welcoming and listened intently to the questions being asked.  I was told, or overheard, so many in the audience say just how much SpouseBUZZ and the live event meant to them.  They have a place to go now when they need help.

The Military.com team was fantastic, and so nice and genuine.  There were lots of free give-aways and freebies - from Sears and USAA to name two.  My mother was nice enough to go with me (it's a least a 2 1/2 hour drive from where we live) and by the time it was over, we didn't want to leave!

I sincerely recommend that you check out SpouseBUZZ, and if a live event comes near you, you grab at the opportunity!!

For Live blogging of Panel II
For Live blogging of Panel III

British Military Support

Ever since Royal & I began "getting serious," I've been looking for British military - specifically Royal Marine - support websites, RM Commando or significant other blogs, ANY information I could get my hands on!  Surprising to me (being an American) I didn't have much luck.  This was very disappointing.

Luckily, as you can see in the New Additions post below, I've found a few friends that are living the Royal Marine life!  In the past, I was also pointed in the direction of the ARRSE site (British Army Rumour Service, with forums and information) and the Rum Ration site, basically the ARRSE site for Royal Navy & Marines - more Navy than marines, unfortunately!

But the reason for this post is the British Adopt a Soldier website I found through Rum Ration.  I couldn't be happier to see that the British military men and women have a program like this - finally!  Their service members deserve it. It's run by another support site called Squaddie Wives.  Haven't had much of a chance to look at either site, but I'm brightened to see they exist.

Just a taste of American support sites:
Any Soldier - Send your support to a Soldier in harm's way
Soldiers' Angels - May no soldier go unloved
SpouseBUZZ - The best from the military spouse blogosphere
American Snipers - Help real snipers get the real gear they need to help keep us safe
Military.com - Benefiting the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corp & Coast Guard
America Supports You

New Additions!

I'd honored to introduce a couple of new military blogs I've added to my blogroll:

Baby Life Dog Days : Details of my day with a toddler and a dog and a husband whose often away. I have to vent somewhere! "The back bone of the armed forces - the wife and mother. The bravest of them all" anon
Charlie's married to a Royal Marine Commando, with an adorable toddler son and another on the way (congrats!)! Husband is set to ship off to Afghan soon.  Been so special getting to know Charlie, and knowing there's another RM spouse I know!

Royal Blue : Accept the challenges, so you may feel the exhilaration of victory - George S. Patton
Royal Blue is also involved with a Royal Marine Commando!  Her Marine has recently left to serve (for the second time) in Afghanistan.  It's so wonderful to find another RM "other half" to share with!

SpouseBUZZ : The best from the military spouse blogosphere
Many of you have already heard of SpouseBUZZ, and whether you're American, British, or Australian, as a Military Spouse you need all the help you can get.  And you can get it there!

Y'all please go show your support for our brave military families!

Shook hands with a digger

Via Blackfive and Seawitch, I ask you to please watch the following! 

Australian singer Beccy Cole answering her critics on supporting her troops - a digger is an Australian soldier.
Update: the video can also be found here if it doesn't show up properly above!

The Silver Lining

The Christmas leave ticket change  didn't work out as we had hoped.  We tried everything, bar going to the papers (thank y'all for all the advice and support!!) and neither the travel company or the airline could/would do anything to change the ticket.  We've spent two days fighting the travel co., and it's just one of those things.  Now, on to the good news!  Royal has booked his second ticket and will still be coming - we're just giving each other a very VERY expensive present this year, but one that is worth it!

When I contacted the airline - Northwest Airlines  -  I was blessed to speak with the sweetest, most genuine man in the world - Vincent.  I explained our situation, that Royal is in the military and will be deployed soon after our wedding and he has been given extra leave and we wanted to change the ticket (in a nutshell!) and he immediately said (not word for word, but I tried!):

"Thank you both so much for what you're doing!  You must be so proud of him!  [yes sir, I am, very much so!] I admire the soldiers so much, they're out there doing more than I have in my life.  I don't believe the troops get enough recognition, I was at my son's homecoming game, and there was a man there in uniform.  I went up to him and shook his hand, told him thank you.  We spoke for a short while.  No one else the entire time went up to him!  Everyone should have thanked him. My son asked me later why I did that, and I sat him down and told him - these men and women are out there protecting you, risking their lives for you every day.  For this country. They deserve every bit of your respect and admiration. Every bit of it.  I love hearing from military families, I will certainly do everything I can for you."

Somewhere in between, I started to well up, and just said thank you thank you over and over again!  He was so nice, and supportive.  I believe he felt genuinely sad when he couldn't  help us (has to do with the fact that Royal originally booked with a travel wholesaler and if Northwest changed the ticket for us, they wouldn't be paid for the ticket by the travel co.)  He said that if there was one time he wished he could help someone, it was now. Vincent then not only gave me some great options and information, but also reminded me that my man is amazing and it will be very much worth it to see him!  It really touched my heart. What a great guy, huh!

I can't tell you if Northwest Airlines is pro-soldiers, but I can tell you that Vincent-that-works-there is, and he made our day so much brighter!  I prayed for him yesterday, and I'll always remember the conversation we had!

Christmas leave!

Just found out minutes ago that Royal is getting an extra week of Christmas leave (attached to our two weeks during which we're getting married) and will be spending that extra week celebrating Christmas and New Years with my family!!  I could not be more excited, we are so blessed to have these wonderful things falling into place!

This also means that after I see him in mid-November for a couple days, it will only be just slightly over a month until I see him AGAIN!  That is the shortest time EVER we have EVER been apart!

I'm unbelievably speechless - besides everything I just typed - I could go on and on with "WOWs" and "oh my goshs" and "yays"  But a lot of y'all know how that goes, so I'll save it for my daily phone call with Royal this afternoon. 

YAY!

*** 10/18 UPDATE: First Hurdle
Turns out that the travel company Royal booked his wedding flight with will not at all allow him to change/move the dates to two weeks earlier - he can cancel, but they are keeping all his money and a new ticket will cost over 660 pounds (around $1,200) which we don't actually really definitely have.  Not sure what is going to happen, though I certainly do not feel as 'YAY' as yesterday.  He'll be talking with the travel co. in more detail tomorrow - y'all be praying!  :o)

I need to shoot

I have been sick since last Friday, finally having to miss two days of work this week.  I'm back now, though probably shouldn't be.  I pretty much had to come back as the place would fall apart without me.  In the past three months, my boss, marketing coordinator, AND our marketing coordinator quit, we got a new boss, new boss needs me to do everything because she knows nothing, new boss hires new chick who starts Monday, new boss hires another new chick who starts a week from Monday.  New boss never even gives an interview to my co-worker-who's-been-working-here-two-years who applied for marketing position.  This girl is upset, as I'm sure I would be if the boss had done that to me. 
So, you see, I had to come in to get ready for next week and calm down my generally lovely co-worker.

All I know is, that with everything going on in my life, sickness included, I need to go shooting.  Pretty please. 
Well, after the headache goes away.  No one likes to shoot with a headache. 
This is where Royal is lucky, he gets to shoot for a living.

Today is a happy day

Looks like this blog is the number 2 (why not number one you ask, well I'm trying the best that I can, give me time!) search pick for Yahoo Canada transexuals in wedding dresses. 

As the Royal Navy/Army would say, this is what happens when you blog about marriage and/or marrying a Royal Marine Commando.

Just kiddin' darlin'

Sick selfish smoking freaks

How could you do this? 
I have an answer: selfish immature idiots. 

-- "Pregnant teenagers are deliberately smoking in the hope of giving birth to smaller babies, making labour less painful, a Government minister claimed yesterday."

What really happens when you do?

-- "Undernourished babies are less able to control their temperature and deal with jaundice and are at a greater risk of cot death. They are also likely to suffer ailments such as chest and ear infections and delays in physical and intellectual development. Smoking hinders the growth of an unborn child by reducing the amount of oxygen and nutrients it receives via the placenta and umbilical cord."

I just... have so many not nice comments running through my mind right now, I can't even separate out one to type. 

Found at Hot Air