The easy part

When meeting new people, I often get that look of sympathy when I tell them that my husband is in the Army. The "Im sorry's", "It must be so hard", "but dont you miss him when hes gone", "I dont know how you do it", and the worst is when they tell me how "hard" it is when their husband goes out of town for a business trip for a weekend....right....Now, I dont think they are trying to annoy me on purpose, but sometimes I just want to slap them. OF COURSE I miss him when hes gone, it IS hard at times, and honestly, Im not sure how I always do it either - I just do. But recently, I've come across a little saying that I absolutely love and just HAD to share!

"Loving a military man is not hard. The distance is hard, the worry is hard, the sacrifices are hard. But loving him.... thats the easiest thing I've ever done."

Now THIS is something I can get behind! This makes sense. This says what so many of us are unable to articulate! So fear not fellow wives - the next time you are face to face with someone who clearly doesnt have a clue - please resist the urge for (your)hand to (her)face contact - and remember the easy part, the BEST part, the reason we do what we do - we love an amazing man, and that man is lucky enough to have our love too. After all, such is the life of the Army Wife!


Dinner Suggestion:

Spinach and Artichoke stuffed Chicken breasts


Take four boneless skinless chicken breast and butterfly them or pound them til they are flattend some.

Take your favortie spinach and artichoke dip (mine is from wal mart - in the deli section, the "market fresh" type - YUM.)

spoon the dip onto the chicken breast - usually one or two spoonfuls is PLENTY.

Fold the chicken in half and secure with some toothpicks.

Next, dip the chicken in an egg bath, and then into some bread crumbs. (I have used whatever is on hand - to include Italian bread crumbs, panko bread crumbs, crushed croutons, crushed left over stuffing mix... all worked great)

then I bake at 350 for about 45 min, or until done. I like to take a cookie cooling rack, put it on a cookie sheet, and bake the chicken on top of the cooling rack - so the air can get to the bottom and the breading gets crispy all around!


This is such a big hit in my house, and my husband thinks I slaved away all day - and hey, who am I to tell him otherwise ;)

Enjoy!

~ the army wife

that awkward first post...

I suppose the best place to start is the beginning... bare with me, once its over i promise to never bring it up again! ...maybe ;)

I would like to start by stating that I LOVE the army, and couldnt be more proud of all the men and women in uniform, particularly my Darling Husband! Like most things, if it wasnt hard, it wouldnt be worth it - and life in the army is just that - hard, but so worth it! ( I mean ladies, who doesnt love a man in uniform?) with that said - as much as I love being married to the army, it doesnt mean that it doesnt also frustrate the hell out of me sometimes! Its during those moments that us wives need to put on their big girl panties, pour a glass of red, and learn to deal with it (or in my case, share that frustration through a blog in between funny stories, recipes, and daily happenings)!  ok...back to the beginning...

I grew up as an Army brat - moving all of the time, attended three different high schools (yay!... -_-) and the longest place i have ever lived was the four years in GA attending college... But for whatever reason, I caught the bug, and - not wanting to join the army myself (never really cared for being yelled at) I decided the next best way to support my country would be to give my love to a man in the army! Now dont get me wrong, I didnt do a search and hunt and only date men in the Army, nor did I marry DH (darling husband) purely for the fact that he was in the Army - I just knew that I was totally open to the idea of continuing to live my life one military post at a time! So after meeting DH - he proposed 4 months later, we got married 7 months after that, and then 2 weeks into the marriage, the never failing Army deployed DH - and while 4 months is a very short deployment, for a new bride - it felt like a lifetime! After he returned home, we adopted Fur Baby #1 - Zoe - our Australian Shepperd / Poodle mix. After a trip to my parents (who are stationed in west texas) we returned with Fur Baby #2 - Simba - our long haired, and VERY sweet chihuahua! All that was left was to move on post - and once that happened in July, we were a regular ol' Army Family of four! Although I loved living the life of a housewife - baking, cooking, trying new recipes - something was missing - so I got a job as a mentor for elementary aged school kids. Its the most wonderful job and I couldnt be happier! After going to DH's home for Christmas, and celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary right after - I beleive that yall are officially caught up! Being married to the Army is not always easy, but fire pits, battle buddies, and wine seriously helps - after all, such is the life of the army wife!

~the army wife