And now a word from Jenn...

I am super excited to bring you this post today while I'm on temporary leave from the blogosphere. One of my absolute favorite blogs to read is Jenn's.  At Life With The Lietenant she talks about everything including life in the Army, being a mother, expecting another little one and everything in between.  I'm usually laughing by the time the first paragraph is done because of her amazing ability to say it how it is with no sugarcoating.  I asked Jenn if she would guest post for me.. she said yes, and here is what she has to say...


Hello Somewhere Over The Camo readers! (Does anyone else sing Amanda's blog title every time they click over, or is that just me?) My name is Jenn from Life With The Lieutenant and Amanda graciously asked me to write a little something for her blog so that it does not gather dust while she's enjoying her husband on R&R. If only she could see my house, she would know that keeping dust at bay is not really my forte, but I'm going to give it the ol' college try!


I honestly had no clue what to write about since I've never guest posted anywhere before, and while Amanda suggested I write about my experiences with the Army so far, I just couldn't come up with anything particularly USEFUL or even slightly interesting to write about. So as I was darting in and out of sleep last night (am seriously pregnant! Sleep does not come easily anymore!), I started thinking about what Amanda and I have in common, how we are different, and how that could somehow form a blog post. So without further ado... Ahem.


Amanda has gorgeous red hair.
Ain't she cute?

I do not.
Ain't he cute?

My son and husband have red hair, and so help me God, if this next baby comes out with red hair too, I am probably going to have to start scheduling appointments at the salon to make myself a redhead as well so that I look like I somewhat belong in this family. (Side note: I will not be a very attractive redhead.)

Amanda's husband is in the Army.
Mine is too! Similarity number one!
Amanda does not live near a military installation.

I live ON a military installation. I can see the pros and cons to this ("this" being living on or off-post). Everyone comes at it differently. Some people say that they want a separation between their work life and home life. Some people want the convenience of a five-minute drive to work. Some people think they can make money off of their BAH by living off-post. Some people can get a better house for "cheaper" on-post. We have tried both. On-post wins by a landslide for us. In our area, we get a much bigger house on-post and don't have to pay utilities. We have easy access to the commissary and PX. And having my husband home for breakfast, lunch and (sometimes) dinner beats out the "cost" of sharing a wall with our crazy neighbors. Our neighbors often provide some good dinnertime chatter for us and where else can I get a free, live performance of the latest Rhianna songs while sitting on my couch? (My attached neighbor has no idea that we can hear him singing through the wall. Yes. HIM. HE sings Rhianna songs. Quite talented too, I might add. Bravo.)
Amanda has a very large dog that is like a child to her.
I have a very small dog that is like a child to me. 
That is just a wee tennis ball, made specially for wee doggies. It is in no way close to the size of Piston's mighty tennis ball.

Unfortunately, this little doggy-person has had to take a backseat in the attention department once my son arrived, and she has made no bones about letting us know that she does not appreciate this demotion. I'm assuming these are her moody teenage years (she's four years old now) and we will get over this little hump soon enough.
Amanda appears to have the type of husband that will bowl her over with an unexpected kiss or twenty.
I do too. I believe this is a very nice quality to have in a husband.
Amanda likes to sleep in until noon when she can.
I would like to also! I really would! Evidence:
I present to you- the most flattering picture ever taken of me.



But other little people (and big people) have different plans for me. Those plans usually revolve around the hours of 6-7am. This is ok with me (for now) since morning time is when the rest of this household of mine is in their best of moods. I have no qualms with making their breakfasts, washing their clothes, doing their dishes, and cleaning up messes that aren't mine because I know that ONE DAY (in a galaxy far, far away) I will be able to sleep in again. Probably in 20ish years or so. I can do it. One day at a time...


Amanda is working and going to school to complete her degree.


About a hundred years ago (or maybe it was only three years ago...) I was doing the same. Not always easy (can I get an Amen?), but totally worth it in the end. Fortunately, it seems that Amanda is going to school for a degree that is useful in attaining a real, let's-make-some-actual-money job. Unfortunately, I did not have my wits about me in college and I settled for an Exercise Science degree. This has proved to be utterly useless so far, except for the fact that I know what I need to do to get back in shape after having these babies. (However, "knowing" and "doing" are two totally different things altogether....)


Amanda's husband has deployed.


Mine has not. So I can't imagine what she's going through and the emotions and feelings that surround her husband's R&R homecoming. But I do sincerely THANK YOU, Amanda, for your commitment to your husband and country and hope that you truly enjoy every second of having him home. You so deserve it. Thanks for letting me guest post for ya and I hope this didn't just drive away half of your readers.


Always,
Amanda

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6 comments:

  1. Thanks for letting me guest post girl! Hope you're having a blast on R&R!! :)

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  2. I totally sang her title when I got here, Jenn... out loud. :)

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  3. Yay for R&R! This is such a cute post. I totally sing her title too!

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  4. See I am torn over the on/off post thing here. We have a much bigger place than we would have had on post. But I sometimes wish I was on because of all the activities I see going on. If I went on post everyday I would spend way too much in gas.

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  5. awe! This is so super sweet! Love the comparisons!! Fun read!

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  6. Great job! We've lived on and off base...it really is just preference and I think it changes from station to station. What works one place may not at another. Deployments are hard...its hard to think of your spouse in danger (so I try not to...and he doesn't tell me until he gets home!) and its so hard to do it alone..by IT I mean LIFE! My husband has been on a year long remote, a 7 month Iraq deployment, and a 6 week school course all within the past 2 years. It's hard. But having other military spouses who understand and can support makes all the difference.

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