Day 177

I am sooo glad I bought insoles.

I usually don't invest in stuff like this.

And at $5.50 spent, I still haven't.

However, my salon job had me sitting all day.

My new serving job will have me running all day.

How can I reasonably expect my feet to handle such a transition?

Hence... Insoles.

All said and done, I had a great first day.

I look forward to great bosses, great coworkers, great guests, and great money.

**thumbs up**

I have my second shift tomorrow evening, and until then I'll be studying my new menus.

All four of them.

And in a car update:

$650 later, my baby girl is back in shape and doing well.

Zee calls her my "monster."

But I wasn't able to find a ride to the garage, so I had to walk the mile there.

It took me about 45 minutes. In the heat. Around traffic. In a world with no sidewalks.

How did people survive in the days before cars were common?

In other news, I need something creative to send Zee for our one-year anniversary package. We agreed nothing extravagant, but I still want to send something special.

All I've come up with is face-wash.

Any ideas, ladies and gents??

Day 256

I am basically an amazing girlfriend. Not only did I wake up early on my day off to model the lingerie I got for Valentine's (Thank you, Skype. Thank you, Zee.), but I also put together a package for one of Zee's best friends, who is also in the Army.

I'd been meaning to send a package as a way to introduce myself, but, when Zee expressed a desire to send her something, it was the extra motivation I needed to hop-to!

And since first impressions are everything, I put a little extra effort into my decorating. I'm not very crafty... Or imaginative in that way... But it's the effort that counts, right? :-/

My amazing block letters...

And my incredible construction paper skills...

It was sometimes frustrating and disheartening, and I did glue my fingers together on several occasions. And the experience ended with me going to the Post Office today, only to find it closed!

Damn President's Day.

But this little girl kept me company the entire time!

Look at that smile! :D

Playful Margo

Sleepy Margo

Cuddly Margo

In other news, I've been madly in love with Swagbucks. It's a search engine that randomly rewards your internet searches with points, as well as awarding points for participating in polls, filling out surveys, and "watching" videos.

After you gather up enough points, you can redeem these points for a variety of prizes. The goal of my points is a $5 Amazon Gift Card, worth 450 points. I've already earned one $5 Amazon Gift card, and in the past 12 days, I've already won 332 points!

You can also earn points by referring people, so here I am! Referring! I told myself I would find a way to earn some extra money this year, and this is a step in that direction.

If you click the banner above and sign up, you automatically get 30 points (also called Swagbucks), and, for their birthday celebration this week, they're offering extra points when you enter the code below:

"If a referral enters the code BirthdayFun while signing up they'll get an extra 25 SB to go with the 30 they already start with. This code is ONLY good for people who haven't joined yet - existing members won't be able to use it."

Day 291

17 Days of the New Year are gone! Yes!

This Saturday, I'm seeing the Barnum & Bailey Circus with my mom and sister!

Next Saturday, I'm seeing my wifey Heather in Knoxville!

And I've lost weight!!

I was feeling disheartened, because it seems like, the more I workout, the harder it is. I feel like I'm just getting wimpier, and I don't know how that's possible. But usually when I weigh myself, I'm hovering around the 140 range. Today I was much closer to the 135 mark.

Which means that I will be one hot mama when I see Zee in a few months!

The only blight on the awesomeness of these things is that I only thought I'd included everything in Zee's package.

Nevermind that post doesn't run on MLK Day (I didn't realize this until about 4:00 when the mail guy still hadn't shown), I refuse to untape and retape that gorgeous little box. I'd rather just pay for a flat-rate envelope thing. It's only an iPod protecting case thing. Little and not that important.

Just irritating that it hid from me.

Not that I can be blamed. It got knocked into the floorboard of my car right around the time my car collided with another.

Speaking of car wreck, the owners of the car I hit wasted NO TIME in calling their insurance. I'm pretty sure that as we walked into our respective apartments, they were already ringing them up. I got a call from their insurance on Sunday, and they asked for my agent's contact information. I said that I wasn't sure, but that I was calling my agent on Monday, and I would be back in touch with them on Monday around five.

I was true to my word. I called my insurance around 1:00 or 2:00, only to hear that their insurance had already been in touch with my insurance.

I feel unreasonably irritated about all this. I've already apologized personally, and I immediately insisted that my insurance would cover everything, no problem. But they won't even give me the chance to be an adult and do the right thing. I feel like they've completely gone over my head.

Perhaps it's because I hit their mother-in-law's illegally parked car on Thanksgiving, and refused to pay for it...

Oh well.

Day 292

Okay, folks, this is seriously an awesome deal that they having going on at Eversave. I caught this through the blog Crave To Save.

For One Dollar ($1) you can purchase a personalized calendar through Vista Print! You buy the coupon for a buck, go to Vista Print (through the link listed on your coupon), personalize, apply coupon, pay 50% of shipping and done!

Save Highlights

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Choose from wall, desk, wallet, or poster calendars which can be personalized with a over 100 themes or your own photos

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50% off all shipping options - shipping as low as $2.84

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Upload photos from Facebook, Flickr, Picasa or your own computer

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Expires: Apr 16, 2011

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Use one coupon code per purchase at Vistaprint

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Coupon code will be valid for use at Vistaprint immediately upon purchase

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Shipping is Free on any orders over $20

www.vistaprint.com/eversavecalendar

Other than browsing deals, I've spent my day preparing Zee's next care package! I might have gone slightly over budget, but it's nothing I couldn't handle. :)

My girl has been wanting to make her inner fat child happy, so, when I asked what she would like in her package, her instant response was, "Twinkies, debbies, cookies, chocolate."

So, four boxes of Little Debbies, two bags of candy, three types of cookies, and some beef jerky later...

Oooh yeaaaaaaaah. I got all that in there, plus some electronics, toiletries, and air fresheners. How did I manage such a feat?

I opened everything.

Even the individually packed Debbies. Opened, got the air out, and re-taped them shut.

I felt badly about opening them, but how else was she going to get all her cookies?? To open them, I just snipped off a corner of the package. All the air instantly came out, and I just folded it over and taped it back down.

And air-tight is the key to getting all that junk food in. I utilized my own suction method to make sure it was the best vacuum I could manage.

Oh, the power of suction.

Oh, how my lungs hurt now.

My sister watched me practically the entire time I was working on this package, praying that there wouldn't be enough room.

I consoled her with a single chocolate chip cookie.

Day 324

46 Weeks Remaining

Getting my Christmas Package ready for my giiiiiiiiiiiiiiirl.

And I think I might have over-committed myself.

But in good news, I am feeling almost like a Care Package Professional! I'm double-bagging, keeping track of items for customs, and have plenty of tape on stand-by.

The night is getting late, and sadly I must go back to work tomorrow. So for now, instead of writing in here, I need to get back to my knitting and preparing sappy love-notes for my boo.

Have a good night, world.

Love!

Day 350

Day 8: Someone Who Made Your Life Hell

I'm in too good a mood to deal with a question like this. I don't believe anyone can make my life miserable. That is something only I control.

Even God couldn't make Job hate his life.

Instead, let's talk about care packages! Because mine got to Zee today - a mere 24 hours late for her birthday!

And as I'm getting ready to send her a second package, let's review what I've learned.

1. Brownies are good. They can make the journey, arrive mold-free, and please many tummies.
2. There are two customs forms. Be-ware.
3. When using flat-rate boxes, as long as it doesn't weigh more than 70 lbs, you can really fudge the weigh portion of the customs form.

Now for me, the stressful part of sending the package wasn't what to pack, it was how to address it. The customs form is daunting, and you feel like even the slightest error will result in your package being thrown into the Atlantic (or Pacific, whatever...).

In case anybody else had these same stresses, I will put them into easy steps:

Step 1: Supplies

I love how everything you need is free at the post office. Above is a customs form and what I shall affectionately refer to as the "customs baggy." Find your favorite post office (watch out for the mean-spirited ones...) and just ask for some. They should know what you mean by "custom baggy."

You need the customs baggy, customs form 2976-A, and a flat-rate box. They currently have ones that are specifically geared towards soldiers. Oh, and you'll need tape. Lots of tape.

I might be mistaken, but I believe that these ship for a lower price, but don't quote me on that.

Step 2: Putting it together

Tape box together. Fill box with stuff. Tape box closed. Tape all corners. Tape all seams. Tape anything that looks at you wrong. Tape your heart out.

Step 3: Attaching Customs Form

Now if you like, you can fill everything out with pen in hand, and for that check out Skip Cares on how to exactly fill out the form. Very handy. Of course, no information on how to attach it to the box. **Ahem** Enter free baggy.

Place the customs form in the baggy, then attach baggy to the closed box. (Just to be clear - before you put the forms in the bag, your copy of the customs form is the very bottom one. I made that mistake the first time.) Make sure that the soldier's address isn't covered by the baggy, of course. Other than that, it's not crazy important exactly where the customs forms go. But preferably, it will go on the opposite flap of the address box.

Do not seal the customs baggy. Those puppies will be doing a lot of coming and going before it's finally sealed to go to your soldier.

From there, take the box to the post office, pay $12-something, and it's off! Easy as pie!

How could it get easier?

Why, hello sexy USPS.com! How are you today??

Step Easy: Click-And-Ship

Perhaps you are like me and work in a place where the mail carrier comes to you. Wouldn't it be easier to just go to work than to fight the lunch and post-work lines of the post office?

The answer to that is yes.

Apparently Click-And-Ship works both domestically and internationally, so it's essentially kicking ass every day.

To start, just go the website and set up a profile. Free. Easy. Amazing.

You'll see the Click-And-Ship option on the front page after you log-in. Go for it, All-star.

Now using Click-And-Ship for a care package is considered domestic. For further information on how to fill out the form, click the handy-dandy picture below.

From there, assign an approximate weight, approximate value, don't click batch, and continue on.

The next page wants you to select the type of box you are sending. If you can't figure this part out, God help you.

The best part of this, as you'll see this last screen, is that by using Click-And-Ship, they're actually charging you LESS than they would if you went to the post office in person.

Awesome.

Enter your card information, and "pay and print."

Use tape generously to adhere the shipping address label and the bit that says you paid. Do not tape over the barcode.

USPS is sweet and wants to know if it worked correctly for you. And if the labels and customs form didn't print correctly, it won't charge your card.

Finally, go back to the main page and select "customs forms." Then select the form 2976-A for APO/FPO. Fill out the information just as you did for the shipping address. For the recipients phone number, I listed my own. And in case of non-delivery, select "return back to shipper."

Next Page:

Contents - Gift

Total Weight - Make up BS

Delivery Type - Airmail/Priority

On the next page, you start adding items. You don't get many, so try to cram two or three items onto one line. Abbreviations work; generalizations don't. Be specific as possible.

When you are through with the process, it will print several copies. One is for you. Can you guess where the others go?

Customs Baggy!

The End.

Day 359

51 Weeks Left

Let us not forget this blog's main purpose is an active countdown of the approximate date of Zee's return! And one week is gooooooooone!

And I have to say, I am very grateful that I have such a sweet, honest, loving, beautiful girlfriend. The letters she sends me are the highlights of my days, even if we are only a week in. But if this week is what the following ones will be like, then I look forward to 51 more weeks of letters and phone calls.

And 51 more weeks of her safe, I pray every day.

In other news, sent Zee's package today, and I was so nervous! Was it taped enough? Were the labels in all the right places? Was it clear that I had paid correctly? Did I fill out the customs form correctly?

I googled all these questions, and what did I get? I got exactly what I got when I was looking for blogs and/or articles of gay & lesbian military spouses.

Zip, zilch, nada.

Peoples of the Internets - you have been very unhelpful to me lately.

So, here's what I sent.

Carefully white-outed, you snitches! Anyhow, I asked the lady who picks up the mail at our salon if it was all done correctly, and all she could say was, "I'm not a clerk."

So, we'll see, and then I'll post, and then maybe someone someday will google "how to correctly attach customs form to military care package" and my blog will have the answer.

... You're welcome.

Day 360

Today I was so busy sending my first care package, I almost forgot to write in here! And honestly, I'm so tired. Early shifts at work make evenings difficult for me.

I had great plans of writing this strongly opinionated, slightly controversial blog that would not surprise my girlfriend at all, even if the subject is something we've never discussed before.

Instead - a brief summary of my day:

1. Got the pictures back from my most recent photoshoot. I'm not allowed to post much, but I can give a teaser.

2. Rushed to take care of package. Learned that the Hendersonville Post Office is staffed by much nicer people that the one at Elm Hill.

3. Talked the guy at Walmart into letting me have my pictures, even though I didn't have the copyright. (Should've expected that after Heather's struggle.)

4. Figured out how to Click-And-Ship with USPS. But I am so glad I got to observe Heather make her care packages, else I would have been lost.

5. Spoiler for Zee, since I know she's reading - I made brownies. I did a little reading, and some places said brownies were ok to send. So... We'll see. I zip-locked them as airtight as I could. But I think there's still a good chance they could arrive all moldy. eeeeeeeeeeeeewww. I hope Zee appreciates my experiment. :D Also, I hope she appreciates that the edges are slightly burnt. I might have forgotten that they were in the oven...

That's it for today, folks! I am exhausted and hitting the sack. Glad that I get to mark another day off my calendar. :) Another day gone, another day closer to her.

Photos by Jenn Cady Photography