Alternative Lifestyle

That term can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To us, it's about getting to a slower pace and a simpler life. It's amazing how difficult that can actually be. Early returns show that it is well worth the investment of time and energy so far. We have learned so much already.

#1 It is amazing how much better meals taste when you do homemade instead of ready made from the store. Yes, it does take a little bit more time....not much is faster to make than frozen pizza. However, the end result is something worth sitting down at the dining room table to eat instead of stuffing it in our faces in front of the TV. It's way better than just about anything in a restaurant too, and for a fraction of the cost.

#2 Making your own jams and jellies is a whole lot less difficult than you probably think, and, again, the taste is amazing. The hardest part of it is telling yourself that you're going to spend some time in a kitchen that it totally filled with steam. Plus, if you happen to have fruit growing in your yard, you get both fresher than you could ever dream of finding in the store and free! (Free has always been my favorite price.)

#3 Gardening done well is a constant science experiment (and it has more useful results than the experiments that happen on accident at the back of the fridge). Some of our stuff this year grew pretty well. Other things we will need to do differently next year to try to get better results. Constant learning is a really good thing, and having practical applications for it makes it even more exciting.

#4 There are few things in this world that can improve your mood like walking into a house that smells like fresh baked goods. Breads, muffins, brownies, cookies, pies - it doesn't matter which one you bake. When you come back from running to the store because you ran out of ingredients (again), you can't help but inhale deeply and just enjoy the aroma.

#5 If you tell people that you make your own meals from scratch, can things, have a garden, or bake, they will often tell you that you're crazy. Most will tell you that they "don't have enough time to do any of that stuff." Very few will be able to relate anything that you have said to anything that they do in their own lives. It really is an alternative kind of life, but one that we have been enjoying as we have started to experience it.

God Bless!

Boiling Point

Do you have any idea how long it takes for a pot of water to boil? We do. A water main burst here in town, and we're under a boil water advisory for a few days. I don't know that we've ever truly appreciated potable water as much as we do now that our tap doesn't have it. Hopefully, it will just be another day, and we will be back to a new normal.....one where we have just a bit more gratitude for the tap in our sink.

God Bless!

Time Flies

A scientist would tell you that the days between December 26, 2010 and November 19, 2011 passed at exactly the same rate that the ones between November 19, 2011 and today have passed. It seems impossible to believe that this is true. (There are probably some super nerds who would have some advanced mathematics to dispute this. Let it rest folks.) The latter have passed so much more quickly than the former did. As a matter of fact, the last 12 months since Lloyd stepped of the plane have just sped by us.

The last year, we have spent a good deal of time adjusting to not just living in the same state but actually living in the same small apartment. Add that to working, spending time with family and friends, and some occasional relaxation, life has been full. We have also been spending a lot of time talking to the Big Guy and trying to figure out what He has planned for us as well as when and where. Those are some pretty big questions, and we would appreciate prayers for discernment as we go forward.

On the upside for all of you.....we now have actual internet at our apartment. There's a chance that the blog will be updated more frequently. We'll see how things go.

God Bless!

Still alive

It's funny how having a life in real life makes it hard to keep up with your online one.The last few months since Lloyd returned home have been crazy for us. We had Thanksgiving, Christmas, our wedding anniversary, two weddings, moving, and job hunting for both of us. It has not been easy, but  through it all we have been reminded of how richly blessed we are. We are finally just beginning to settle into some sort of a routine, and maybe will be able to update a bit more frequently again.

God Bless!

Plenty to Be Thankful For

It has been a busy couple of exciting and fun filled weeks.

Lloyd got home on November 19 for keeps and forever. We have decided that we are going to name this as a family holiday. From now on, 11/19 will be on our calendar as "Home Day," and we intend to celebrate it every year to remind us of all that "home" means to us. It's especially cool that Home Day is 11/19 since that was the address of the house where the Braatz family grew up in West Allis, WI. (Extra hugs and such go out to Mamaw, Uncle Dave, Uncle Richard, and Mom.)

Since then we had a fantastic Thanksgiving at the Rose home eating delicious food, enjoying time with family, and celebrating a Packer victory. It was amazing to have Lloyd home for this as we knew without a doubt what we were thankful for that day.

The following weekend, we headed to LaCrosse for the traditional Blakeley Fake Family Christmas get together. We had a great time just relaxing with family and friends, and Lloyd got to experience Exploratory Surgery at Pizza Doctors for the first time ever. As an added bonus, we also got a lesson on how to use a cast iron waffle maker, so we should be able to make them now without making a mess. We'll see how it works out the next time that we try to make them.

Since then, most of our time has been spent with work, putting the apartment together, and getting used to being able to actually live together. Lloyd has been tracking down leads for a job and enjoying the whole "being a civilian" thing. (He grew a beard. :) He plans to shave it for job interviews but is having fun with the idea until then.) We did make a trip down to the VA regional office in Milwaukee to start the claim process for Lloyd last Thursday. The expectation for the trip was that we would drive down there to get an appointment for him to start filing paperwork at a later date, but he did bring all of his medical and service records with him just in case they could do a bit more than that. It turns out that we got a pretty amazing surprise.....he was not only able to meet with someone about the claim - because he had such complete records with him, he was able to submit a fully developed claim last Thursday. According to the guy at the VA, the process should take around 3 months instead of the 6 months to a year that we had been anticipating. We're pretty happy about that news.

Right now, our major project is to finish moving into the apartment and getting everything set in it. We're looking forward to being able to have friends and family come to visit us soon.

God Bless!

Drop. Your. Sword.

The Dread Pirate Roberts has passed the eel infested waters and climbed the Cliffs of Insanity. He won duels of all sorts. The DPR and his princess have survived the Fire Swamp with its rodents of unusual size. (Commonly referred to as battle "buddies" who cause more trouble than they're worth.) He managed to get out of the Pit of Despair and storm the castle. Right now, he is threatening the powers that be with a duel to the pain. We all know that in the end, he and the princess will ride off into the sunset for a beautiful life together. However, in this moment, it's a little tense about how that happens.

Lloyd does not have the official date for his return home yet. Tomorrow, he will be pushing through the paperwork and threatening to duel anyone who slows him down in any way shape or form. Hopefully, there will be a call tomorrow that all is ready to go.

God bless!

Jumping for Joy!!

The current saga of Army related shenanigans will soon be coming to a close. While a lot of endings can be described as bittersweet, this one is not. It's just SWEET!!! On Thursday, 10 November 2011, Lloyd received his discharge orders. He did a couple of celebratory laps in the barracks and then called his wife who burst into tears of relief at work. (They are getting used to this at the Dousman Street Express. Management will likely breathe a sigh of relief when this saga is finally done.) He then began the task of tracking down the necessary parties in order to get his final "send me home now" paperwork. (A DD214 for those who are military minded.) It was delayed a bit due the holiday weekend, but he took a bit of time to rest up and prepare for a flurry of activity to get him on the first possible plane home. Hopefully, the date of departure will be set sometime today.

We thank you for your prayers over these last 23 months of challenges and ask you to keep praying for safe travels home.

God bless!