Happy New Year!

Well it is better late than never! Sorry I have been rather absent, I would blame Christmas, but even I can't drag the festivities out that long so I will be honest and blame my utter laziness, and life, but mainly the fact that the less I do (not going out to work, long dark days equal less dog walking etc) the less I want to do, that old saying of "If you want something done ask a busy person" has always been true for me, the more I have to do the more I achieve!

On that note I have been job hunting for a few months now, admittedly the lazy version of job hunting (on-line!) with absolutely no success, I have limited my search field by wanting to work part-time, but there really is very little out there, and the jobs that are out there are completely oversubscribed ... as a result I have joined the gym! If I can't go out and about in the workplace I will be working on me instead, typical NY resolution I know, but in my defence I have been a couple of times and am off again today, hopefully my extra stone will bugger off and when the husband gets back from the sandy place he will be pleased to see a super sexy version of his wife waiting for him! Failing that I'll take the dogs and distract him by letting them mug him!

On that note I am going to take the boys out for a lovely long frosty walk, and then I'm going to go to the gym, I may even follow up all of these endeavours with a bit more job hunting *gasp*!

Bits & Bobs

Busy month so far and we're only two weeks in! MOT & service for my car, house insurance sorted out, I have started tweeting and the in-laws have been up to stay. Plus hubby has been away more than he has been here, including disappearing half way though his parents visit lol, as much as I love them that was a rather long and stressful 24 hours!

Tonight (I started writing this last Monday!) I am watching The Choir: Military Wives on BBC2. It is fabulous and seems like a really good idea, despite the fact that it is making me cry! Gareth Malone wants to give the wives a voice, a very good and noble intention. Sadly, as far as I can tell we don't have a room with a piano! Plus I think that the small sense of community we do have on our patch would evaporate in a millisecond if I subjected the other wives to my singing voice!

Since taking over the newsletter and helping to organise events, I have realised that there really is not any sense of community here, the Regt is very spread out, not everyone is on the patch as there aren't a huge amount of quarters, but still, transport if available - although not well advertised! - and previously there have not been many events on that the wives have wanted to attend .. I am hoping that will change and we'll build up to being a true community, but we'll see!

However,  the army seems to want a community whilst being in charge of what comes out of a non-regulated part of the Regt .. opinions vary as to whether or not the wives are part of the army, as a 'wife of' I think we are a part in a support 'Rear Party' role, but we do not come under the army's authority, however much they wish we did!

All in all I am finding army life really good although slightly isolating. I don't feel a part of 'normal' life anymore, but as someone who lives on an army patch but who is not serving in the army I don't really feel part of army life .. somewhat stuck in the middle! The other wives I have met have all been lovely but - why is there always a but?! - being true British wives, we all tend to put a brave face on it as we don't want it going around the Regt that so-and-so's wife isn't coping and isn't she a bit pathetic! We know that people would be supportive, but just in case we keep our game face on and get on with it, just as our boys do.

White Rabbits!

Happy 1st November everyone! 

I have done my first of the month ritual of phoning my mummy (before midday or it doesn't count!) and shouting "white rabbits!" to which she replies "grey hares!" it is just how we do things in my family!

Life As I Know It

I have spent almost a week now trying to write this post under the title 'Life As A Wife Of'. In the end I have given up. I think part of the problem was that if I wrote a post under that title I would be, in a way, speaking for other wives who happen to be married to someone who is in the British army, knowing a fair few of them now I can safely say that I would be shot down very swiftly! We wives are all different, our experiences are different and our views vary wildly. From what I have seen and read, some wives choose to go into full-on, flat-out army wife mode, others make their point loud and clear that, although they may be married to a man in the army, they are in no way, shape or form a part of the army.

Keeping all of the above in mind this post is purely about my life. I believe - hope! - that I have managed to keep to the middle ground, I am ridiculously proud of my husband and what he does for a living and I am determined to be an asset to him not a hindrance, and yes, even in 2011 an army wife can have a positive or a negative effect on her husband's career, admittedly that fact is now whispered, but it does not stop it being true.

It seems that the majority of my time is either spent waiting in for the latest Modern Housing Solutions (MHS) guy to arrive to fix something, generally the heating - I have had them out 6 times so far and it still isn't working! - talking to the Welfare guys about various bits and pieces or walking/playing with the dogs, talking of which, how handsome are our boys?!

I digress - mainly because it is absolutely blinking freezing and I had to get up to make more coffee in an attempt to keep warm which meant that the boys woke up and reminded me how utterly gorgeous they are!

Speaking to Welfare is, if I'm honest, an utter pain in the behind. They have asked Sarah and I for help and - as a result of Sarah volunteering me! - I have taken over the Regiment's Welfare newsletter which was, quite frankly, utter pump (I am trying to not swear, too many of my friends have children now so if you see pump insert something rude!). It is now smart, easy to read and flows well, the old newsletter didn't engage and contained far too much lecturing, wives are not employed by the army, therefore the army has no right to lecture us, helpfully giving them information to make their lives easier on the other hand ... I am hoping that the new format will engage the family community, I have asked for people's pictures, any recipes they want to share and set up a 'Pet of the Month' - our boys were November's pets, I figured that I'd written it and the boys could therefore win, not that they had any competition! - plus saying happy birthday to the Regiment's children. I have also set up a Facebook page so that we can remind people of events etc. I am trying to engage the community, fingers firmly crossed it works!

In any case, getting things organised through Welfare is rather like pulling teeth. They want the events organised, they want help with producing flyers/newsletters, but they want to be in charge of it all, progress is very slow and, quite honestly, very irritating. My plan at the moment is to produce next month's newsletter and then email the template to them and let them crack on with it. According to the conversation I had with Welfare this morning, I need to phone and ask permission before I post anything on Facebook, as a result I want to remove myself as an admin and watch them try to keep it up-to-date, seeing as they can't make a flyer and I'm not sure whether or not they understand the concept of saving something as a JPEG to then upload it as a photo onto the Facebook page ... 

Whatever happens with the newsletter and the Facebook page, I have done my bit to drag Welfare into the 21st century, whether or not they stay there is up to them ... I understand the fears over using Facebook, but if it is properly administered it can be a brilliant tool to connect with those who can't make it to the coffee morning's on the patch.

We had our first Mess do together which was lots of fun, I wore this dress from John Lewis which I love, actually bought it for my bridesmaids in a different colour and loved it so much that I bought it in green for myself! 

We then went to a ridiculously posh army dinner which was brilliant, it was held here:

We had a fantastic night again, amazing food, the place names were written on a mini version of the menu so I have kept mine in case I am ever feeling the need to do a very yummy dinner! Oh and this time I wore this dress:

In any case that is life as I know it, staying in to wait for various bits & pieces to be fixed (you can't get in outside contractors, everything has to be done via MHS), trying to help Welfare get the community spirit going and attending various dinners! Add to that the normal stuff; baking, cooking, cleaning, training the boys, meeting up with friends and trying to stop myself looking like swamp thing and I honestly don't know how I ever found time to go to work! 

Loving Our Life Up North

We've lived up here for about 2 and a half months now and we're both loving it. Hubby is working ridiculously hard bless him, leaving home at 7:30 and home by 20:00 if he's lucky, but he is loving being back in regimental life and doing 'proper' army work instead of being surrounded by us civvies all the time as he was in his last posting!

I've met some really fantastic people and made a couple of lovely friends already in Sarah & Lou. They are my next door neighbours and 'wives of' lovely blokes who do the same job as my hubby so we're all in the same boat, going to the same things or being home alone when our hubbies are going to stag do's together. The only difference is I'm bringing up my furry babies and they're bringing up non-furry babies lol.

We have our first Mess do coming up and I can't wait! Have booked in to the hairdresser (got to cover up my grey hairs!) and on the day Sarah and I are leaving the boys to look after our furry and non-furry babies whilst we disappear off to beautify ourselves, it won't take her long but I may need all day! I am really looking forward to it though, particularly because the Mess is a 2 minute walk from our home so the heels won't be causing too many issues!

We finally finished our home this weekend - obviously not painting or anything like that, magnolia walls throughout are here to stay! - but all of our furniture is finally here and everything is put away, we're having one of my hubby's boys over to dinner this week now and I can't wait to finally be able to entertain! Just need to make sure the dogs are tired out before he comes over so the poor sod doesn't get mugged ... 

My parents have been up to visit which was lovely, didn't have the best weather but was great to see them, am hoping to get back to the 'Shire before December one weekend so I can see my girlies before Christmas and then next year I'll be annoying everyone to come and stay!

Talking of which ... I can't wait for Christmas! I start getting excited about August time as we're in the right half of the year and I try and keep it in as long as I can but I've reached my limit and I am now officially excited about Christmas! 

Marne

Marne has officially landed, well he landed two weeks ago now, it has flown by! He was very good on the way home, I picked him up using Sparks' cat carrier so he could get used to her smell before he met her, I felt rather guilty taking him home as he was the last one to leave from the litter, he has been very loved and will be missed, not so much by Wysiwig (his mum) but definitely by Geraldine! He yodelled for 5 minutes once in the car and then settled down to the serious matter of sleeping.  I have never heard any dog yodel before, apparently it is a Border Terrier speciality!  It is absolutely hilarious, he has done it a few times since when I have shut him in the kitchen (stair gates are a must when you have a puppy in the house!) to do something and each time it just cracks me up, endless entertainment!

Sleepy Marne learning how to take over the sofa!

Jack has been an absolute star, possibly the best big brother in the world I think. He wasn't too sure what exactly I'd brought home when we first turned up, sniffed him and then jumped on my lap and turned the "What have I done wrong? Whatever it is I'm sorry and please take this smelly thing away!" eyes on me bless him.  48 hours later and the racey chasey games and the wrestling started ... they haven't stopped since!

Marne sleeps in a crate (in our bedroom) and Jack sleeps wherever he wants, generally on the bed but sometimes under it, depends on the temperature, now we are up North he is mostly on the bed bang smack in the middle!  Jack likes having us to himself at night, Marne wakes up earlier than he is used to (6 rather than 7) and he refuses to go outside with him & the hubby, and has an extra hour of cuddles with me instead.  I am trying to give him a lot of time with just him and me but it is more difficult to turn it around and let Marne have the attention he needs/deserves as Jack doesn't need half the amount of sleep and tries to join in whenever I'm training/playing with Marne bless him.

Talking of training, puppy classes begin on the 6th September! I cannot wait to start, Caroline has been recommended to me through a rescue friend of mine, Mogs, she is a bit further away than the local classes ... the last time I did local classes I ended up in a rather large argument with the "trainer" because he was an idiot ... so this time I am going with recommendations! I can't wait to start, Jack is 6 in September so I have completely forgotten what a puppy needs to know! Marne already responds to his name (recall is iffy but there are far more interesting things than me in his world still at the moment - I must make more tuna cake!) and sits like a star.  Luckily he appears to be like Jack and an absolute foodie so he should be rather easy to train ... although he is a terrier so we'll see!

Foster dogs & rescue bits and bobs

I have had a few foster dogs in the past.  My first was Smudge, who is now called Marni, a collie x spaniel (sprollie).  She was roughly 9 months old when her then owners posted an advert on the Gloucestershire Freecycle that they didn't want her anymore and she was free to the first person who wanted her.  Yes people do this.

Luckily a lady who worked for Teckels (an animal charity in Gloucestershire) and I spotted this advert, managed to get in contact with each other, and arrange that she would get Smudge out and I would then foster her, anything to make sure that she wasn't in a home with people who didn't want her or that some horrible person would take her and use her as a bait dog or something horrific.

Smudge came home with me and stayed for almost 2 months, I fell utterly in love with this wiggly, utterly adorable ball of fluff, she was twice the size of Jack (legs wise in any case, width wise she was tiny!) and a mad bundle of energy who could not corner! Jack and her had mad playing times and lots of cuddles, Teckles managed to find a fantastic home with a lovely lady called Anne who still stays in contact with me after all these years (5 years now!) and after a few tears (ok bucket loads of tears!) off she went with her new mum and collie siblings.

Since then an adorable black lab x called Sunny had a few weeks bed and breakfast with me via the Irish Retriever Rescue (IRR) before being homed to friends of mine (he is now called Guinness and is their much loved, rather large and clumsy baby!  Then two adorable little Lhasa Apso ex puppy farm bitches came to stay for a couple of months, they were little cuddle monsters who jumped onto my lap as soon as I sat down and spent the rest of the time peeing everywhere (poor girls didn't know any better having been confined to cages and used as breeding machines for their first years) or trying to chase Sparks! Sadly I didn't have them until they found their new home, I couldn't cure their desire to chase Sparks and didn't feel it was fair to her to not be able to relax in her own home so they went to another fosterer and soon found a new home with a lovely couple who adore them.

On top of the fosters there have been long drives after a day in work (after taking Jack for a run, don't panic!) the first to Abergavenny to rescue a 9 week old black lab x husky bitch (so sweet, all black but with one blue and one brown eye!) whose owners had decided they didn't actually want another dog ... when I got there the owner asked me if I'd take their 6 month old golden retriever too ... obviously I couldn't leave him there so in the car he jumped ... cue some mad phone calls on route back to Cheltenham trying to find a rescue who would take him, IRR stepped up (which is how I met Pauline and how Sunny came to stay for a few weeks) and I met Pauline outside of Oxfordshire, dropped the gorgeous boy off with her and headed home with the pup who then went up to Wiccaweys with Jack and I the next day and was homed very quickly.  An apparently aggressive german shepherd was my next rescue, I had to plead with the owners to let me help instead of having her PTS, thankfully they agreed and again Teckles stepped up and took her on, I picked her up and set off down the M5 with her in the boot, halfway there the dog guard fell down on her, quick stop on the hard shoulder and I dismantled it from the back seat around her head, she didn't flinch or move a muscle, just gave me a kiss once I'd move it all away.  She now lives on a boat in Bristol harbour and goes swimming most days!

Basically I love animals, particularly dogs and sometimes, well if I'm honest most of the time, I love them more than people, other than my family and friends obviously!  They never do anything out of hate, malice etc and despite some of the horrific things people do to them they always want to forgive, reconnect and love.  I think we're all better off when we have animals in our lives.

Once we're properly settled up here (realistically this probably means after the husband is back from building sandcastles) I would love to have another foster dog/s.  It absolutely breaks your heart when they go off to their new home, but if they don't go you don't have the space for another foster which in turn frees up a space within the rescue for them to save the life of another dog.  I couldn't run a rescue, I don't have the patience to deal with some of the cruelty they come across or some of the excuses people come up with to dump their previously loved pet, the most horrific one was (honestly someone said this whilst giving up their dog) that the dog no longer matched the carpet ... but by doing the odd bit of fostering or a home check now and again I can do my (very) small bit to help dogs out.