USMC 101

Welcome to USMC 101, a family and military friendly blog, Semper Fi!

Here you will find all kinds of topics from the musings of a Marine’s wife. Stuff about my kids, how I save a buck, road trips, taking care of the animals we own or have owned in the past, gardening, education, and general household living all will have their place in my blog posts. I know that the expert bloggers say to focus on a subject but I just can’t, it’s not my nature! My husband often says “look, you saw a bunny, didn’t you?” because it seems I never finish one project before I start a new one.

With all the different topics though, it’s easy to find one that you know something about, or that interests you in some way. If you land on a topic about say, traveling with children, your comment should reflect that you actually read and either agreed or disagreed with my reasoning or something in the blog article. It is OK to disagree with me, but it is not OK to say something like “I googled this subject (what subject, hunny?) for 30 minutes and you’ve finally answered my question (what question, dear?). I delete those. Why? Because it is clear you’ve put no thought into your comment, and that you are posting this same line on as many blogs as you can today.

If you would like your comment to appear and not be deleted, read the article first, then write something thoughtful about it. I keep those, and hopefully you and I can become a sort of partnership. I’ll scratch your back (with back links) if you scratch mine (with well thought comments).

Now go find an article and read it! I’ll do the same for you.

Tags: comments, internet etiquette

For about a year, I’ve been hating on all my Oceanside peeps who have been showing off their beautiful family beach photos, and saying that soon I’d go get some done too. But as time crept along and the move became more and more ominous, I started to think there would be no time to pull it off. My friend Susan Wingate came to my rescue!

Earl Family on Oceanside Beach

Susan met us in downtown Oceanside just before we left, and looky what a wonderful job she did! She called me a couple days prior to make sure I was well prepared with coordinating clothes and a time schedule so that we could catch the sunset. As we chatted and walked toward the beach together, Susan handled the bathroom breaks with the greatest of ease, getting shots of those left behind – appearing as if we planned it that way! Our boys also had great fun playing in the sand and surf, so it was the best photo shoot we’ve ever taken part in. I highly recommend this photographer!

Here are some more of the great pictures she took of our family:

Tags: beach, boys, Camp Pendleton, children, Oceanside

Our cross country part of the trip is over and now we are enjoying some down time with Tammie’s side of the
family. We woke this morning with an alarm at 7am for good reason. We are tired, yes, but sleeping in would have wasted the cool hours in the morning when mosquitos and deer flies are less threatening. Aunt Judy joined us, and thankfully showed up with dryer sheets she professed would HELP reduce bug annoyances. Poppy provided us with swat/sweat towels and a jug of ice cold well water. Mimi sent me back to my room to change, since the shorts and flip flops were ridiculously unsuitable for the walk I personally requested. It seems I’ve been citified to the extent that I’ve forgotten how many blackberry bushes and poison oak and ivy plants there are on the hike around the lake.

I’m not sure how long that hike took, but it was sufficient enough to get the boys groaning and moaning that they were hot and ready to go back. If you ask them now if it was worth it though, they are sure to say yes, since picking and eating wild plums and blueberries would be hard for anyone to resist!

After our walk, we drove to Jade of China, my favorite Aiken restaurant, for lunch. To our dismay it was closed, but we were able to eat until stuffed at eastern buffet, so it all worked out fine. I was able to get a sushi fix while Colin pigged out on chicken on a stick.

Now on to the subject of Richardson’s Lake. In reality, I guess it’s not really a lake but a nice sized pond. It’s a great swimming hole though, equipped with a very tall water slide, two diving boards, and a fantastic area for the little kids to play. I noticed two teen-age boys there who apparently were supposed to be life guards, but they really only stood around looking at the girls. Every once in awhile you’d hear one whistle but no one ever really knew why. The place was much too crowded so my husband stayed with one of our kids and my dad with the other. We managed to hang out for a couple of hours but the men were worn out from chasing the kids around, since they really had to stay right on top of the kids because it was hard to tell which kid was which! I was useless too, since with my glasses on I couldn’t really swim, and without them I can’t see past the nose on my face!

Tomorrow we are headed to Clark’s Hill, since Stuart and Poppy managed to get the boat running today. Hopefully the adults will be able to enjoy this trip as it will certainly not be as crowded as Richardson’s.

Tags: boys, lake, swimming

At the KOA in Abilene, Texas, my oldest son was sitting on the porch swing chattering away as I cooked dinner on our little propane grill. If you know us at all, you know that the boy can go on and on and on and on for hours. Sometimes I wonder if he’s even taking a breath, or if he’s adapted to talk without extra oxygen. You know, akin to the way Kevin Costner adapted to life on the open seas in Water World?!

Anyway, the boy was talking my ear off. I think it might have been bleeding. He talked about Star Wars, DS games, the KOA’s pool, the tether-ball that Austin broke at the KOA in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and more. I don’t know how but the conversation drifted over to lost souls, but somehow it did and we began talking about his Great Grandmother, Rachel Greer who passed away a couple of years ago. He was telling me that he really misses her, and Baby, our 17 year old Peek-a-Poo that died exactly a week later. We chatted together about how lovely it must be in Heaven, with Rachel Greer sitting on a porch somewhere and Baby by her side. Then I had this epiphany to express to my son in words he would surely understand, how wonderful Heaven must be. I said “son, did you know that in Heaven, you can talk all you want, and someone will always be listening?”

He sat quiet for what seemed like forever. I don’t think he’s ever been that quiet unless he was playing a video game or sleeping. Actually, he even talks while he sleeps sometimes. Wait, he also talks while he’s playing video games. So yeah, that moment of silence was something to behold. It was so long that I had time to wonder what was going on in that marvelous little brain of his. Was he contemplating a fast track to Heaven? Was he planning a conversation with his Great Grandmother? Finally, with the most serious look on his face he said “Well Mom, I guess I’ll have to be careful not to say any bad words in Heaven.”

Tags: chatter, children, heaven, talking

If you live in Texas, you are probably used to the pterodactyl sized dragon flies, huge and beautifully maincured front yards, the rolling hills of cattle ranches, and mosquito swarms that look big enough to carry off one of your Texas sized grown men. But even those of us raised in the south, well, when misplaced for awhile, we forget. I’ve been living in California for almost 8 years and those horse fly bites were fading memories. I was rudely reminded a couple of days ago at the North Dallas KOA, when one of those monstrosities chewed on the back of my leg. OUCH! Those things HURT!

One other big thing my family found in Texas that was much more pleasant and worth the occasional pterodactyl bite, was the Texas sized salt water pool at that same KOA. My skin is very sensitive and chlorine causes miserably dry skin, but somehow the chlorine that is generated from a salt water pool is much more gentle – for me, at least. What a treat for us and another military family we know who live only an hour and a half away. They just moved from Camp Pendleton a few months back and we were thrilled to have a place for our families to play together. After the sun faded and our bellies were begging for a Texas sized meal, we walked over to our Texas sized camping area, where we cooked brats and dogs and watched the sun set over the pond.

While in Texas in the summer, one should look into buying a Texas sized water chest that I found at the Texas sized Walmart just over 8 miles away. We were going through more bottled water than we could stand to recycle, so we decided to find a way to keep hydrated. Four stainless steel water bottles now adorn our truck, replacing cheap plastic bottles. For us it’s a great trade-off since now we have something we will use over and over again, and we are also drinking a lot more water to boot. There’s something about that cold ice water pouring out of the cooler that just helps you drink the water more frequently.

This KOA, officially called Dallas NE (North East, I think)/Caddo Mills was the best one we’ve been to yet, and we’ve been to a few. The Texas sized pool, as mentioned earlier, was beautifully kept, and was equipped with volleyball and basketball nets, noodles, and beach balls. Coffee in the morning was complimentary, the laundry room open 24/7, and they also had a game room available during business hours. The staff was very friendly and even went out of their way to help me get a huge ice chest out of my truck because hubby’s back was broken. He overdid it playing with the kids in the pool in Abilene. I didn’t even ask, they just did it! If you’re looking for a great overnight stay or even a vacation in Texas, we highly recommend this KOA.

I have one more thumbs up for this particular KOA. They are very friendly, not only to the guests who stay there, but also to their community. So many times I see business owners on the selfish side, not willing to budge or bend for the locals, catering only to their own business needs. Not these owners though! The pool is used by the locals as well as KOA guests. The owners have a $5 per person fee, and yesterday I saw one local boy, probably about 14, riding his bike with a towel over his shoulder toward the pool as I drove away to do some quick shopping. Kudos Caddo Mills KOA!

Tags: koa cabins, Texas, Walmart

We are on the road again! A couple months ago as I started planning the next PCS move, I started worrying about my sweet guinea pigs. My first thought was that I’d bless another military family with these wonderful creatures. I mean, they are delicate little critters, right?
But I was having trouble with the idea, since I’m absolutely smitten and my oldest son has a very strong attachment too. He’s created a Guinea Pig Club at school. All members of the club have 1 special guinea pig power and a nickname. My son, as the leader of the club, has all the powers so that he can properly lead the group, and has plans to open a new chapter at his new school.  Knowing all this, I thought that I should at least consider trying to move WITH the pigs.
I found answers to all my questions on <a href=”http://www.guinealynx.com”>Guinea Lynx</a>. There’s a forum there for guinea pig lovers and although they are a little on the extreme side with their pig lovin’, the information was very helpful. I learned that plenty of people have moved their pigs for thousands of miles without casualties, so I decided to give it a go.
Food: Today is our first day on the road and so far, Chippy Wippy Nippy Gippy and Muskrat are doing GREAT. They both seem to be quite comfortable, although they aren’t eating their usual timothy based food pellets. It was recommended that while traveling, you bring lots of water laden goodies like celery, tomatoes, lettuce and the like, but I forgot that today.  While at Subway, I managed to sweet talk the sandwich artist into slipping me a few extra slices of tomatoes for my babies into a cookie sleeve. I’ll go out tonight and grab some goodies for them before we hit the road again.
Water Bottle: The water bottle was questionable. I was planning to leave it in the cage for them, hoping that on a straight stretch of road it wouldn’t be too leaky. I think if we were in a car we’d be fine but we are pulling another vehicle and there are more bumps and jerks so the water bottle leaks a good bit. I took it out and placed it in a cup holder. When we stop for gas or food, I’ll put it in the cage for them.
Bedding: Instead of a loose bedding like wood chips or carefresh, which would surely be strewn all about the vehicle by the end of one day of travels, I’m using towels. Even better would be something absorbent like a towel with a piece of fabric that wicks away moisture such as fleece. I’m just using the towel though, and it’s working fine. Bring enough towels so that you can change it out every evening before you go to bed. I’m tossing the dirty ones into a walmart bag which I’ll launder separately next time I go to the laundromat.
Socialization: Against the advice of all those very hard core guinea pig lovers, we are socializing our piggies on the road! My kids love them and our dogs are small and have never shown any aggression. If you have big dogs or terriers, I don’t necessarily recommend this idea, but one of my dogs is a yorkie! He doesn’t show any type of desire to hurt the guinea pigs though, since he’s about the same size as they are I guess! My other dog is a poodle mix and she’s content to sit in the driver’s lap and sleep.
Lots of animal lovers would have their critters more contained, which is surely more safe for them. With the dogs in a crate and the piggies always in their cage, I’m sure there’s less room for dangerous circumstances, but for us, this is really working. I suggest you read a few more articles on the subject though, and make up your own mind.

Tags: cavvies, cavvy, cavy, guinea pig bedding, guinea pig food, guinea pigs, traveling with pigs

The Journey Begins, USMC Family PCS’ing – Moving Again!

I guess it’s fitting that on Memorial Day we start our road trip toward our new home. This past weekend we went to Mataguay with Cub Scout Pack 790 where a great time was had by all who attended. The ceremony was precious, Cubs became Boys, rain was felt, and as we parted ways with outstanding friends, tears were shed. We are, on Memorial Day, living out the sacrifice but so thankful for the men and women who gave all. Thank you to them and their families left behind. We salute you as we serve this beautiful country you’ve made for us.

Yesterday we spent a beautiful afternoon and evening with another great family, the Rios’. Hubby is deployed to Afghanistan, but Zulie and Zea managed to hold down the fort and welcomed us warmly with open arms. During the day, our boys played in the pool with Zea while Stuart dried out all our gear and Zulie helped me get our sleeping bags and laundry washed and dried. Well, that was mostly Zulie, I must admit, as I spent most of the day under the freshly laundered covers on Zulie’s very comfortable guest bed! I hardly slept the night before, listening to the pitter patter of rain on the tent.

Breakfast was lovely, at Moes Egg House with fluffy pancakes, bottomless coffee, and some of the finest company you’ll ever find, the Rios’! Had the Ford F150 loaded with guinea pigs and doggies, pulling our little truck, and although the weather is nice, had to leave the engine running so the pigs didn’t get too hot.

Tune in tomorrow for another page in the life of a Marine and his family on the road to their next duty station! Remember those who gave all, and don’t forget to thank the family members of the ones left behind as we enjoy another day of life of freedom in this beautiful USA. Semper Fi!

Tags: Camp Pendleton, camping, cub scouts, mataguay

We move  frequently.

If you are a military family, you probably relate to that first sentence well and giggled a little. This article is for those frequent movers or not so frequent movers who are trying to make the best of it and not tackle the project willy nilly. It’s written with Lincoln Housing at Camp Pendleton, California in mind, but is certainly relevant to anyone living in a rental.

Tips:

• Start Early. Start planning and putting thought into the move at least a month prior to packing day. Don’t wait until a week before the packers are coming to start collecting your thoughts, boxes, and planning the move. If you only have a week left and you are just reading this article, bless your heart. You are going to have to work very fast or you will not be ready come moving day.
• Get Organized. Because of The Planner - namely, my husband- we are pretty well organized all the time.  If you are not, I recommend that you spend a few weeks trying. Put all the packing tape in the same drawer, for instance. Get little cheap containers and try to put items together. Use ziplocks in childrens’ bedrooms to organize toys.
• Put Away Hardly Used Items. If you rarely use something, go ahead and put it nicely away. If you are boxing yourself, then by all means, get some boxes and start packing. If a moving company is going to move you, being organized will make unpacking and arranging the new home much easier.
• Fix Things. If you’ve got some small damages in your home, get those fixed right away. Do not procrastinate on those items. Once you know you are moving it’s time to take action as some fixes SEEM simple but are time consuming. If you wait too long you may end up paying Mr. Fat Pockets three to five times more money than if you’d fixed it yourself. One item in particular that we had fixed was a very big red marker stain on the carpet. No amount of cleaning was getting it out so I bleached it and hired a professional to dye it back to the original color. I don’t really recommend this process as it cost us $110 for a little bitty spot, but we have only been in the house a little over a year and the carpet has a 5 year lifetime. If we’d left that spot we might have had to pay hundreds to replace that carpet.
• Clean, Clean, Clean. We had a pre-inspection and the gal said my house was lovely and complimented me on my housekeeping skills. I’m thinking ok, but you aren’t the actual inspector! Later that week we were talking to some friends who just moved out, and they got dinged for over $1300. It seems at pre-inspection they don’t tell you that they may check the carpets for urine stains with a black light! Pretty shady, right? As awesome as it feels to hear that you are a great house keeper, don’t forget that someone else will probably do the actual inspection. Clean your house from top to bottom before you leave. Don’t let Mr. Fat Pockets force you to pay for something that you could have taken care of for much less money.
• Carpet Black Light Inspection: If your landlord is going to black light inspect and you have pets that peed on the carpet, you’re probably out of luck. I could NOT get the pee out. Believe me, I tried. I followed the directions to the letter and tried the following products with NO luck: Urine Gone, Nature’s Miracle, Spot Shot, WD-40, vinegar and water, boiling hot water, and detergent. I did not try Urine Out Powder and if I had it to do over again, I’d certainly give it a go. I ran out of time on the other products. Don’t waste your money paying a professional to clean the carpets, they don’t care and charge you anyway.
• Think Ahead: Not only do you have to get organized, clean the house, and fix things, you also have to think ahead to the travels and new living arrangements you face. If you are going to be living in a motel for a month or more, planning for that and packing appropriately will save you lots of money and hassle once you are on the road. We like KOA cabins, since they are more often than not, pet friendly, and honestly since they are made of wood and simple plastic covered mattresses, I feel they are cleaner too. No carpet, bedbugs, etc. The downfall to cabins is there’s no bathroom in the room, but they are a short hike down a path, with hot showers to boot. They are generally cheaper than hotels and much more fun. If the weather is decent you could even opt to camp in a tent but you’ll need more gear.
• Good luck on your journey and Semper Fi!

Tags: black light, camping, koa cabins, moving

Colloidal Silver Generator Supplies

Colloidal Silver is one of the most versatile sundries you can make at home for just pennies a batch (really, it’s almost no cost once you spend $20 or less to get started). It is a fairly simple process to make a generator and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to create one from scratch! What’s more, you probably already have most of the materials needed in your garage or storage. I did!

Things you’ll need:

• An electrical power supply (a plug). Mine is a telephone class 2 power supply, input AC117V, 60hz, 6.5W, output DC 9V, 150mA. In layman’ s terms, it’s a power supply to a cordless telephone charger.
• 2 Alligator clips. If you don’t know what they are, print the picture and take it to radio shack, the salesperson will help you. These will set you back about 2 bucks or less.
• 1 popsicle stick.
• A ruler.
• 1 ball point pen.
• 1 Mason Jar.
• 1 plastic lid for jar. You can get these at Winco, the Commissary if you are military, and probably Walmart during the summer canning season.
• Knife or some other method to get two holes in your plastic lid.
• Two 99.999% pure silver rods. I bought a couple feet of silver wire off of e-bay and cut the wires to fit perfectly in my jar.
• a piece of floral wire.

Instructions:

1. Screw the plastic lid on the mason jar. Make two holes, 1 1/2 inches apart inthe middle of the lid. I did this by turning a knife with a sharp point around and around until the holes were formed, but if you have a drill that would be better.

2. Take a popsicle stick and lay it across your lid. Secure the stick on with the floral wire. (What you are doing is giving your 99.999% pure silver wires something tohang from.)

3. With your ball point pen, mark the popsicle stick so you know where it lines upto the holes on your lid. This is where you will secure your silver wire.

4. Straighten your silver wire. Attach a piece of silver wire to the popsicle stick, then cut the wire so that it is near, but not touching the bottom of your jar. Repeat, because you need two silver wires attached to the popsicle stick.

5. Place the popsicle stick on the plastic lid, secure with the floral wire, allowing the 99.999% silver wires to hang down into the jar. You want them freely dangling from the popsicle stick, and they should be about 1 1/2 inches apart. They should not touch the glass jar or the bottom.

6. This next step is the assembly process of the electrical power supply. Keep the end of the power supply that plugs into your wall. Cut off the end that went to whatever appliance the plug was intended for.

7. At this point, you will have a power supply with two little wires. Strip about an inch of the plastic insulation off each end. Attach your alligator clips. Mine clamped on, but if your alligator clips came without clamps, you can bend the wires together and then wrap black electrical tape around them.

This concludes how to make the generator. Check out my other articles about how and when to use your homemade colloidal silver.

Tags: cheap, colloidal silver, how to

Unrefined Raw Shea Butter

Unrefined Shea Butter is the only moisturizer I use for my severely dry skin. It soaks right in, doesn’t clog pores, and is free of synthetic preservatives. One of my children has very sensitive skin as well, so we use this as a lotion when he gets small little scaly patches of skin. Buying it at health food stores is expensive though (I’m all about saving a buck!), and since we use so much of it I’ve learned how to buy it raw and filter myself. Raw, unrefined shea butter is gluten and dairy free, making it perfect for the other kid that can’t tolerate dairy.

Things you’ll need:

• Raw, 100% unrefined shea butter. I buy mine from Shea n More but you can find other suppliers online or on e-bay.
• A double boiler. I use two stainless steel pots but any double boiler method will work.
• A lid for the smaller (insert) pot.
• A thin mesh strainer. I use stainless steel because it’s non-corrosive but you can use whatever you have on hand.
• If you want the Shea Butter completely free of particles, you’ll need cheesecloth or a paper towel.
• 

  Stainless steel mesh strainer

  An extra container, anything to pour the melted Shea into. Just make sure the strainer is a good fit. Mine’ s not, which is why I secured it with a pipe cleaner!

• A stick blender. Walmart has them for around $10.
• Storage containers.
• I use Avery 8160 address labels.

Tips & Warnings:

• If you let the shea pill, you might actually like this consistency. It is easier to get out of the container but a bit harder to get all the pills to melt during use. It certainly saves time because you can pour directly after melting!
• If you are planning to sell your shea butter, your customers expect a creamy butter.
• Shea butter is quite hard at room temperature. Keep a popsicle stick nearby so you don’t have to use your fingernails toget it out of the container. If you sell your butter, be sure to add a popsicle stick with the order, your customers willappreciate it.
• If you want your shea butter to be more of a creamy consistency and easier to use at room temperature, consider adding small amounts of 76 degree melt point Coconut Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Safflower Oil, Jojoba Oil, etc.
• If you don’t like the sweet, campfire scent of Unrefined Shea Butter, consider adding essential oils (more natural and true aroma therapy oils) or fragrance oils (synthetically processed but less likely to cause allergic reactions in my family) that will compliment the existing scent. Just remember, if you start adding fragrances, you are also adding possible irritants so test small batches until you are sure you can tolerate the addition. Over time, you will probably grow to love the raw scent as much as I do!
• Shea butter has a long shelf life but if you don’t know how long it has been since it was first processed, keep your extras in a cool place, or even in the refrigerator.You CAN remelt your butter, but after a few melts, it can get tired. It’s best to melt and pour smaller batches, keeping your original raw butter cold until you need it.

Read more about raw unrefined shea butter and the <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade“>Fairtrade initiative.</a>

Tags: do it yourself, unrefined shea butter