Tag: navy life
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Choosing Military Housing
So. We’re moving back into military housing. If you remember the last time we did this, you might wonder why we made this decision again, so I’m going to walk you through the thought process. The pros, the cons, and why we ultimately went this route (at least for now) may help you through your…
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We’re moving in HOW many days??
Somehow even though I’ve been counting down the months until we would move away from Chicago since, oh, 35 months out (what can I say, winter is NOT my favorite thing and there’s a LOT of it up here), this move feels like it snuck on me. Maybe it’s because we just moved into the…
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Move.mil and the DPS System Make My Head Hurt: tips for setting up your HHG shipment
Okay. We have “Hard Copy Orders” in hand. This means that J is officially set to transfer to….. San Diego! Ta-da! But this also means that now it’s time to start all of the hoop-jumping that’s involved in actually, y’know, setting it up. This isn’t like doing a civilian move (which I just negotiated last…
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Re-Enlistment: take us to Twenty!
Early on Sunday morning we were first in line for the Willis (née Sears) Tower Skydeck. The doors opened at 8:00am and by 8:15 we were on the 103rd floor with a couple of other sailors and our families and Jared signed up for 4 more years* in the Navy. I don’t do well with…
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The “we” in a military career
One of the difficult things about being a military spouse is finding the balance between “his job” and “our military career.” It’s not my career. It’s his. But because of the nature of military life, it’s also “ours” together. Where we live, when we come and go, what kind of place we live, what my job…
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Applying For Orders, aka Hurry Up and Wait
The thing about applying for orders is that you spend months and months trying to figure out how the process is going to work and where the options might be and people ask you where the options might be (and you spend a lot of time explaining that you don’t actually know until you can…
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6 Things That Make Military Spouse Life Easier
Over the years, I’ve accumulated a fairly good repertoire of things that improve our lives between frequent moves to new cities and staying on a tight budget. Here are some of my resources, and feel free to share with whomever needs it, or to suggest more in the comments! 1. The USO The USO has…
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Things I wish I’d known 10 Years Ago (About Military Life)
So I have now been a “military spouse” for over a decade and there are some things I wish I’d known when this whole thing started that would make life a little easier. In case you might be a new military spouse, here are some things that I learned the hard way. As always, your…
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It’s March, aka Look At Possible Orders Month
Oh hey, it’s March! Around the middle of this month, we enter the “9 month window” for transfer where we get to look at possible orders that J could get. Do I know what they are yet? Nope! But that’s okay. We’ve got another week or so. I’m anxious…but trying not to think about it…
Joanna Volavka 