Nikkilooch

Can I be real with you folks for a minute?

When am I ever not real with you?  But that’s besides the point.

I do not get excited about military functions.  Usually there’s a lot of ma’ams and sirs and stand, sit, stand, salute.  I’m a down home kinda girl.  I’d much rather have everyone over for dinner than worry about if my dress is fancy enough or if I waited to let my husband introduce me in a receiving line rather than introducing myself.

I’m an army wife.  If I can take care of myself during deployments I can certainly introduce myself.  Duh.

But readers, I promised I would keep it real.  And the real truth of it is, I had a good time.  A really good time.

Since we’re keeping it real I feel obligated to tell you: I also had 4 glasses of wine.

xo, nikki

There’s something different around here.

There are man things around.

Piles of man things.

I’m really happy about it.

I don’t talk about being an Army wife or an Air Force brat a lot on this blog.  I’m not sure why because the former certainly affects my life in a gargantuan way.

My father served as a pilot in the United States Air Force for 20 years.  He retired when I was just a kid but you can tell he’s a military man.  On clear days with blue skies he still says to me, “Today would be such a good day to fly.”

My grandfather, who unfortunately I don’t have any digital pictures of, served in the United States Army during World War II.  He fought in France along side his bother, my great uncle, who didn’t make it home.  My father is named after this uncle.  My grandfather died when he was 87.

My husband is an officer in the United States Army.  He’s currently serving a 12 month deployment in Afghanistan.

Side note: He’s coming home so soon!  Hopefully in the next few weeks I’ll have the welcome home photos for you.  Squeal!

I wish I was close enough to one of my favorite vets to give them a squeeze today and say thank you in person.

Happy Veterans Day.

My husband is an excellent gift giver. For our anniversary in March he gave me the food processor of my dreams. For Christmas a few years ago he got me a charm bracelet then bought me new charms in addition to other gifts for Christmases and birthdays to follow. Each charm had special significance that he explained when I opened them.

This year for my birthday he outdid himself.

He bought me a 6-month subscription from Persephone Books. This company publishes out of print books each with their own unique endpaper. The endpaper is carefully chosen to “fit” the book: theme, feel, etc. Each book also comes with a matching bookmark with a quote from the book written on it.

My first one, Greenery Street, came this week. I don’t know which books he purchased. Every month I get to be surprised and reminded how much my husband loves me and loves to celebrate me. He said he picked this book first because in his words, “It’s about a married couple that is happy and stays together. I thought that was quite nice and something we could appreciate.”

Today’s a very special day for me. It’s my husband’s birthday. Probably my favorite day of the year. Without today happening my life as I’m living it now wouldn’t be happening. I wouldn’t be in Italy or an army wife or in love. The list goes on.

As it so happens (lots of happenings), my hubster’s birthday is exactly one week before mine. So for a week I get to tease him for being an old man because he’s a whole two years older than me. Hey, I know we’re in our twenties… just go with it.

Anydangway, in honor of our birthdays I’m having a giveaway!!!

I’m giving away a spot in Elsie and Rachel’s online art journaling class. To enter please leave your a comment telling me your favorite birthday memory and a way for me to contact you. The last day to enter is next Friday, April 9th on my birthday.

Posts had just gotten back to a regular rhythm, but they are about to be interrupted by this guy. My husband is coming home for R&R today!

That’s the love of my life. He’s saying hi to me, our niece, and my mother-in-law. He makes my heart go pitter-pat. Doesn’t he look hot? He looks kinda badass too with that gun strapped to his leg. Which, in my completely unbiased opinion, makes him hotter.

Oh, dear. I better stop before this post moves up from a PG rating.

I have been absent this past week because I’ve been trying to soak up every last moment with my love. He left for Afghanistan. He will be gone a year which I am so thankful for. The last deployment he went on was 15 months. It’s going to make such a difference when 3 months of the deployment have gone by and we only have 9 months left instead of a year.