Dayton Bound

After months of waiting and twiddling our thumbs, the Air Force finally released our Enter Active Duty (EAD) date, June 6! We didn't want to go active right after graduation because we wanted some down time to spend with friends and family, and the AF heard our wishful thinking. This means that after June 6th, I start accruing pay and vacation days and Kit and I are officially on the government's healthcare. We finally have a light at the end of our tunnel. We haven't been informed on what day we actually have to be in Dayton, OH yet, but I assume it will be shortly after June 6. I am also scheduled, for the time being, a six week training course at Maxwell AFB in Alabama starting June 9th. Usually with training like this, Kit wouldn't be able to come with me. Luckily, this specific training session he will be able accompany me! We are definitly excited about it. We both decided a long time ago that the less time we're apart, the better. The only situation that Kit wouldn't be able to come with me would be that he landed the police job he's been putting so much effort into. Either way, a win-win situation!

I thought knowing these dates would bring a sense of ease to the chaos that is our life right now, but if anything, it made things even more unpredictable. We can't move forward with plans until we have a hard copy of our orders from the AF. Once again.....thumbs are twiddling.....but at least this time we can do it with excitment!

Yard Sale!

Spring is here! And along with spring comes SPRING CLEANING!! I absolutely love spring cleaning! It's a chance to go through every drawer, shelf and closet place for items our little family hasn't seen or used in a year. Usually we make Salvation Army happy campers by dropping our load off at their place, but instead this year we decided to try our hand at a garage sale. First we placed a three day ad in the local newspaper and posted some signs. Then came the tedious task of pricing all the individual items. I found this kind of challenging because I know what I paid for these items and it was a bit hard pricing them low enough to attract a buyer's eye. We mostly wanted to get rid of all our college furniture. You know, that cheap coffee table from Wal-Mart with the screw-on legs, the computer desk made from particle board and duct tape, and all the clothes I could gather. Finally, my mom and I (Kit was out of town all weekend, lucky guy) loaded up the drive way and waited for the people to come. Our friends, The Houghs, even pitched in some highly desired baby clothes and gear! We made roughly $400 from our items! Definitely worth taking a weekend to play saleswoman. We even set some pretty cute bait to lure in the buyers :)

Hustling Is My Game

    For those of you not in college, money can sometimes be scarce. My husband and I both work two part time jobs, but have many bills. (Sigh) We have many plans for this summer and brainstormed on how to inflate our savings for our upcoming adventures. My husband has no room in his schedule, and since I have a pretty easy semester it seemed more logical that I earn some extra dough. I thought about waitressing a couple times a week, but with our busy life, I think I would frustrate my boss with all the days I needed off. I interviewed for a bar tending job, but no luck.

    So, I started my own tiny business. I'm my own boss and only employer. I choose my wages and days/hours I work each week. The work isn't glamorous, but isn't embarrassing either. I house keep! For those of you who don't know, I LOVE to clean and organize, so this wasn't a stretch for me. I got started by placing an ad in the Sunday paper and from that received about four calls. I interviewed each house by asking them what they wanted done, how many hours a week they needed me for and if they could pay what I wanted. I set my wage at $15/hour, stated what I wouldn't do (like clean cat litter boxes), and selected what day I would come clean. Sounds a tad overwhelming, but truly isn't. As it is now, I only clean twice a week, and earn an extra $120/week. No late smokey nights, no stiffs that don't know how to tip, and best of all, no working weekends. This is only temporary because we are due to move this summer, but for the mean time I'll enjoy being boss!

Dance First. Think Later.

Dancing is a huge part of my past. From the age of 9 to 18, I took belly dance classes and fell in love with dance! I've performed in shows, workshops and even taught my own classes. When I entered college in 2008, I couldn't juggle work, full-time school and dance. Sadly I had to put it on the back burner.

Now I've made room for it in my life again, and I have the pleasure of my husband's company! We both wanted to take a dance class this year, but the hard part was selecting one that we both felt comfortable in. We gave in to our spicy side and every Monday night we have salsa dance class for 1.5 hrs. We both love it! In salsa, the man leads with hand-felt pressure, the woman follows with counter-acting pressure. This is a little of what we've learned so far http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJtWyfFWfrA&feature=relmfu  Our instructor has his PhD in psychology along with 20 years dance experience, so not only can he dance, but he can obtain a sense of a couple's relationship just from watching them dance. I know this because he pulled us aside and just from watching us dance these past weeks, knew us pretty well. He looked at Kit and said, "Now she's one dominant pistol, so to lead, you have to make sure she can feel you. You must give her something to follow." Then came my turn, "Now you have to learn to follow, don't take the lead even when he needs help, you have to let him figure it out." He told us he could tell I was the more dominant personality and he the more submissive. That I needed to take a step back and Kit a step up for us to be able to dance well together. We accepted the challenge and over the last couple of weeks have experienced real chemistry dancing together. Within our relatioship we have also worked on taming my personality a little more and allowing more of Kit's to shine through. Who knew salsa class could be such good relationship counseling?

Every Man Dies, Not Every Man Really Lives

Monday morning I woke to a call from my mother. She never calls me at 6:30 a.m. unless something important happens. In turn, I always sort of dread answering her early calls. This was definitely an important phone call. My maternal great grandmother passed away that morning. She had lived the last five or so years in a nursing home, so it wasn't totally unexpected. She was a very kind, creative and crafty sort of grandmother. Every time we'd visit she would give us some crocheted piece she'd been working on. I treasure those items a little more now.

I'm not the usual case when it comes to death. I'm one of those people that gets hit late. I'm strong when I hear the news. Strong when I sit down in the church surrounded by tears and black clothing. Still strong when all the family members I haven't seen in years whisper soothing words in my ear while they hug me. It is only way later, that it becomes my turn to cry. I have never been a very emotional person.  My dad even jokes that I'm a Snow White Queen, because I appear to be cold inside. I'm not quite the Ice Queen, I do feel and express my emotions, just not for the world to see. When my Grandmother June passed, I didn't shed a tear for seven months. Then all of a sudden, I came across my collection of porcelain dolls she gave me and let go.

My dear mother is very emotional. She cries at Hallmark cards, ASPCA commercials, and of course, funerals. I have many people in my life like this and I love them all for it. Through the years, and many deaths, I've taken the unemotional stance and have learned to be there for people like my mother at distressing times such as these. I am very much a rock for people in times of emotional need. So this week, my family will head up to Nebraska to pay our respects to my dear sweet Grandmother Duncan. God rest her kind soul.

I Have a Dream

The dream is this, that we will finally be happy once we finish our goals. After we find the perfect spouse, attain the perfect job, and live the perfect life we will feel complete. Then we get there, and since we’re human, we immediately start dreaming of something else. Because if this is the dream, then I'd like to wake up, now please.

At some point, maybe we have accepted the dream as a nightmare. We tell ourselves the reality is better. We convince ourselves maybe it’s better to never dream at all. But the strongest of us, the most determined of us, we hold on to the dream, or we find ourselves faced with a fresh dream we never considered. We awake to find ourselves, against all odds, feeling hopeful. And if we’re lucky, we realize, in the face of everything, in the face of life, the true dream, is being able to dream at all.

I Get Taxed for What!?

It's tax time and that means extra money to start the year off with! Woohoo! I got curious to see where my tax money that I didn't get back went to. Here is what I found.

A U.S. taxpayer earning the 2009 median income ($34,140) and paying $5,400 in federal income tax and FICA ponies up for the following:

Social Security             $1,040.70

Medicare      $625.51

Medicaid       $385.28

Interest on the national debt   $287.03

Combat Op in Iraq/Afghanistan $229.17

Military Personnel   $192.79

Veterans Benefits   $74.65

Federal Highways   $63.89

Health-care Research (NIH) $46.54

Foreign Aid   $46.08

Education Funding for low-income K-12 students $38.17

Military Retirement Benefits $32.60

Pell Grants for low-income college students $29.75

NASA Space Program $28.09

IRS $17.69

EPA $11.67

FBI $11.21

Head Start $10.91

Public Housing $10.50

National Parks $4.27

Drug Enforcement Administration $3.14

Amtrak $2.23

Smithsonian Museum $1.12

Funding for the arts $0.24

Salaries and benefits for members of Congress $0.19

Interesting......very interesting.