What does being an Army Wife mean? Well, there is actually a handbook for Army Wifes and it is 392 pages long. It has all the vital information that a woman could need or does need being married to a man in uniform (don’t they look good in that uniform ladies?). It has instructions about meeting and greeting all the way to military funerals. Yes, there is a specific manner at which an Army Wife is to expected to act at all of these specific events and functions; you would not want to embarrass your husband would you? What the handbook does not cover is everything else that comes along with being the other half to a man in camo. The deployments; especially the waiting and the loneliness. The feeling that your life is on hold until he comes home safe and sound. No one can understand the emptiness that awaits you when you go to bed every night wondering if he is ok. You miss the pillow talk and everything intimate in your relationship. You miss the fact that something as simple as coming home every night is not an option. We pray that the guys in class A’s never come knocking on our door with bad news. There is a feeling of helplessness when they are gone; no way of knowing if they are safe. There is no way to prepare another Army Wife for the emptiness that comes when the one you love is taken away with a fellow swoop. The Army does not care what might being going on in your life at the time or, what events he might miss. When he gets back the rewards and medals await but, for us who were left behind, we get nothing, no medals, no parades, no pay….nothing; just the satisfaction that he made it home safe and sound. There is no vacation during war.

I am married to a man in uniform; actually he is a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army National Guard. He just celebrated his 10 year anniversary this last month. I have to say that I am very proud of him. I was there when he received his commission as an officer and most importantly I was the one that pinned on his “bars”. The ceremony was very special to both of us; Officer Candidate School was long and hard but, he made it through with flying colors. Right now Tim is gone; he was activated for training and will be deployed for 6 months. All of a sudden the household that took two people to run is now down to one, me. Sometimes I wonder what did I get myself into. I did not sign up for this; he did. I am the one left behind with everything to worry about and take care of; it is not that easy. I have done it before and I will do it again. I know that my husband is very good at his job; he is great in the Army and he has lots of medals and achievement awards to prove it; even a Bronze Star.  He is one of those people you want defending our country and protecting us at night while we sleep. He takes his Army responsibilities very seriously. I can not count how many times the Army has come first and our marriage second. I was there when he raised his right arm for the second time to re-enlist and there were tears of joy, pride, and fear in my eyes. I thought to myself he had made it though a deployment over seas and made it back safe; why were we doing this again; why risk it? Tim is a lifer. He will be in the service until they kick him out. I have a great sense of pride knowing that but, a great sense of fear knowing that he can be taken away with one phone call and then gone forever with a bullet or a road side bomb. I know that it is the ultimate sacrifice to die for your country but, I am not quite ready to give my husband up for it yet. The Army can throw some sucky things your way and you can either be bitter or proud. Like, when I had major surgery at Mayo and Tim could not reschedule his drill so he could be with me…that really sucked. For the first year of our marriage he was deployed; I never got to be a bride or even a newlywed. That really sucked. For the first 2 years of our marriage I was bitter about the Army but, now I am proud. You can be bitter and resentful or be proud and supportive. I am proud all the way from my house covering American Flag to my “Army Wife” tattoo. Sometimes it is hard to suck it up and put on a smile but, it has to be done; I am the only person he looks forward to coming home to. The house is lonely, quite, and my bed is empty at night but, I know that it is for a good cause! Please support our Troops!

The length of a springers tail is important. It can tell you a lot about the dog. If it is short and stumpy it means that it is a bench cut dog. Bench cut dogs are the ones that you see in dog shows like The Westminister Kennel Show.  If it is a long tail that means that it is a field cut dog; it is bred to hunt and work in the field.  My dogs are field cut dogs with long tails and, hopefully with a little white tip on the end.  The tail tels you a lot about what the dog is feeling and what they are thinking.  For example if a dog has its tail in between its legs it might be scared, unsure, or uncomfortable.  When a dog has its tail up and wagging it might be happy, comfortable, and self assured.  When out in the field you will learn to read your dogs “tail talk.”  You will know when it is working a bird or excited or frightened.  It is important to pay attention to your dog and its tail when in new situations so you know how the dog is reacting.  Every dog is different but, all remains the same, their tails convey their emotions and thoughts so, pay attention!

I had the pleasure of learning how to change my transmission fluid yesterday in the COLD!  I needed to change it because my Jeep was shifting weird; I know that the cold has a lot to do with it but, I did it anyway with the help of my trusty friend Andy.  No, my husband was no where to be found.  When it comes to vehicle repair he is about inept about it as I am at cooking.  I do most of the vehicle repair stuff myself, grease under the fingernails and all.  We pulled the Jeep into the barn and used the pits to change the fluid but, it was still soooo cold that it took us a while to do it; we went up to the house to take much needed breaks to warm up.  I could not feel my fingers most of the time which, I might say makes it difficult to hold onto the bolts.  Now, the Jeep is shifting well and I feel a lot more confident in it; I just wish we would of done it the day before when it was 38 degrees instead of -20.  Thanks Andy; I appreciate you sticking it out in the cold with me to get the job done!

What a guy and I don’t mean my husband. Who am I referring to you might wonder, well, it is my awesome web designer, Andy. He has been the know all and do all of putting this website together for me and I have to say I think the website is FANTASTIC. Right now he is feverishly slaving over a keyboard to make my photos page perfect for you all to view. He has also do a wonderful job teaching me how to write, edit, manage, and post pictures for this webpage, which, I might add was probably no easy feat! I think I might have drove him crazy with all of my questions and, “Will you show me how to do that again?” So………………..hats off to Andy and all his hard work! I know that I apperciate more than words can say right now. What a STUD!

I HATE my kitchen floor!  It is composed of that wonderful sticky tile that, I might add is not worth the 9.99$ you pay for 24 tiles.  The idea is that it is a quick, extremely cheap, fix to any flooring needs that you might have.  The individuals that owned my house before me put it down in the kitchen.  What they did not do is prep the floor right and stuck the tiles directly to the hardwood floor.  When I say hardwood I mean not finished/ sanded floor.  So, over the years the tile has molded to the peaks and valleys of the hardwood floor beneath.  Now, the tiles are chipping up and the floor underneath is being revealed and it looks HORRIBLE, never mind the pink flowered tile that is my kitchen floor.  So, now I have dark wood flooring in places in conjunction with my pink tile which, I might add my husband bitches about all the time.  I have to constantly remind him that I did not choose the wonderful sticky tile that is my current kitchen floor.  I have what I want in mind but, then I think about all the work it is going to be to scrape all of the still stuck on tiles off of the floor, I cry.  I guess I will just have to suck it up and do it, hopefully I will get some help from my friends, hint hint Dan.   

Well, Tim had to replace the battery in the truck; need one with lots of cold cranking amps here in wonderfully freezing Minnesota.  The problem was that the truck battery died in Starbuck in front of the post office so, he needed the Jeep to get a new one and replace the old one.  He did so leaving the old battery on the sidewalk.  He came home with the Jeep so we could get the vehicles straightened out.  Went back to Starbuck only to find that someone had swiped the old battery off the sidewalk so, the joke is on them!  They got a dead battery and, not a new one!

Well, there is so new stuff going on in Tim and my life.  We just bought our house on the 28th of Decemeber, yes, we did sign away our lives.  Tim’s job is going great with Farm Bureau Finacial Service (hint if you need any assistance he can help!).  I am waiting for the doctors to decide what they are going to do with my arm. I am taking care of puppies and everyday catering to their every need.  I wish that it was not so cold right now…..-20 degrees.  Tim and I are getting ready for him to go on deployment for 6 months to Maryland.  I am a little nervous about being alone again but, that is what all those guns in my house are for….     My dad is over seas in the middle east working for Dyna Corp; he is gone for a year.  A little weird to go home and not have him there.  Mom stays busy.  My sister probably driving her nuts while my little brother of the ripe age of 13 tries to stay sane in a house with two women….poor guy! We are a vehicle down; Tim hit a deer with my blue Ford Contour, which hade 265,000 miles on it.  It was a buck; he drove home with antlers protruding out of the wind shield needless to say we did not fix it.  Tim let a training pigeon fly around accidently in our living room; lets just say the feathers were flying as Brooke and Shay(puppies of Bill Boeckmans) enjoyed the chase.  Boys are dumb!!  Well, nothing else in new.  I am looking forward to the spring field trialing season with SoBe, Mini, and Ace all in the Amteur.