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It didn't go off with a bang, but a whimper.  Veteran's Day.  Dillon was out of school but spent the day on the family farm with his grandparents.  My husband worked, as usual.  This year, however, work is not usual. 

For 22 years, my husband was in the United States Air Force.  This year, is his first year as a Vet. 

In the morning, Dillon made a point of telling him thank you and "happy Veteran's Day."  In the afternoon, he got a call from him mom thanking him, too.  I told him how proud I was of him and personally thanked him for watching out for our family.

I did stop several times on the day to remember part of "our" military service.  Living on military instillations, being part of that exclusive community of people who know exactly how it feels to be seperated from the people you care about, extending and recieving holiday invitations to be with strangers when a military member is deployed. . . and shopping.  Shopping at places civilians can't go.  I miss that a lot.

This weekend, my husband and I spend a weekend in Atlantic City to celebrate our 3rd Anniversary.  I had never been there (being new to the area) and we thought it would be quick, fun escape from everyday normalcy.

We walked along the boardwalk, lost $200 in the casinos, ate at a couple of great restaraunts, ate a couple of dives, and generally enjoyed each others company.

This is how normal life works.  If all is well in your world, you swim along with the stream in happiness. . or at least in contentment.

And then. . . something happens to disturb the steream.

This was Sunday.

We were checking out of the hotel and there were a crush of people, as we were told there are EVERY Sunday with those leaving and those trying to check in for the week.  It was madness.  We were standing in line to get the luggage we had left at baggage claim when the most unbelievalbe drama unfolded.

Instead of giving the bellhop the claim ticket, moving to the other side of the counter to wait for the trolly of luggage to appear (as about 50 people had done before us quite smoothly), one lady decided it was not good enough.

Many moons ago, my family consisted of my mom, dad brother and I, two sets of grandparents and various aunts and uncles. 

It was easy to remember what to call my mom and dad.  They were mom and dad.  When anyone asked who the kid was sitting next to me in the car was, I would say he was my brother.  I lived a pretty simple life.

Oh, how things have changed.

Today, I look at the child that I take to daycare almost every day and tuck into bed every night and I wish his life were so simple.

We have endless conversations about "what do I call _______.  Is he my half-brother or my step-brother?  Is _____ my step-dad or is he my my ex-step dad now or is just nothing now?" 

That trip to the dressing room is never fun, but it doesn't have to be as stressful as most tv ads make it out to be.  The keys to making it a not-so-traumatic experience are to make sure you KNOW your body.  Take it from someone who went from a size 36W to a size 14. . I've been through it all!  So, when I saw this great little guide from Yahoo! I thought it was worth the time to re-organize their thoughts for the AVERAGE woman.

Warning:  These pictures are straight from Yahoo!  So, forgive me if they don't represent woman of the real world:

Boost a Smaller Bust

Being new is hard.  New at work, hew at school, new at church, new at an organization or even new at the gym or new in a group.  My husband, stepson and I moved here in February and we are new to NEPA.  Well, let me re-state that.  I am new.  My husband is RE-new.  He grew up in the Lake Silkworth area outside of Dallas in the Back Mountain.  He moved away and joined the Air Force and then, 20 years later, we met.

That's how a girl from Texas got to NEPA and to this blog.  It's hard to find balance in your life when your WHOLE life has just been thrown into chaos.  Especially when you are living with some pretty tough issues!  How do you find a job?  How do you leave the place you grew up and your family?  How do you adjust to a totally new environment where no one knows you?  How do you fit into a new work place that already has everything "just so"?  How do you bring the balance to the chaos, especially when everything is so unfamiliar?