Real life begins

Today Anthony officially begins his training which means he will have steady working hours for a while. This also means that today I really cracked down on my job search. It turns out that the job I applied for at the youth center here on base is not hiring right now so I have to look elsewhere. I called the Great Falls School District and found out how to apply for sub positions. I have finally given-in to the idea that I have to sub here first before I can get a full time job. Even though I was told multiple times that I would have to sub first, I was still holding out hope that something would come up. Oh well! Such is life! Now its just a matter of filling out endless paperwork for my teaching license and submitting it to the Department of Ed here in Montana. Then I can apply as a substitute to the school district. One step closer to using that degree! 

We are adjusting to life here on base pretty well. I love being so close to all our friends here! We had our first book club meeting on Friday and it was a ton of fun! We got together with the group, had some delicious food and talked about a huge range of topics. Our first book was American Sniper by Chris Kyle. Although I have not yet finished it, I love it so far. The book follows the life of the most deadly sniper in American military history. It is amazing to read about what this man went through to train for this job and how much he loved this country. I would strongly recommend reading this! I will happily loan out my copy once we finish reading it here! 

There are a few things on base that I was not expecting: 

1) Every day at 4:30pm the trumpets sound through the loud speakers followed by the National Anthem. Thank goodness I was inside when this first happened because I was told later that if you are driving during this time, you are expected to pull over until the anthem is done! Interesting. Also, twice at night we have heard Taps played over the speakers. I am not quiet sure what this means but the first time I heard it, I thought I was going crazy! It is quite haunting to be in a quiet house and hear the faint sounds of taps in the dark! My goal is to find out what this means!

2) On Saturday nights they show free movies at the auditorium. Although these are not brand new movies, you can't argue with free! A few weeks ago we saw Red Dawn (AWESOME!) and I believe the Life of Pi is coming this weekend. Last time, I almost started yelling at the kids in the theater though. Who goes to a movie just to talk through the whole thing! Next time my plan is to sit in the back and throw popcorn at teenagers. Don't worry, I am not this mean to my students!

3) The gym and all the fitness classes are free! On Monday, we go to Zumba and I am hoping to make it to Pilates this week. I am so happy that these are free to anyone because I get to try out a few and see what I like. Also, I have discovered Wallyball is way more fun than basketball! We played wallyball for a few hours last weekend and although it is an amazingly fun game, I had to take a few days off to allow my bruises to heal. 

4) I am not made for homes with rules! Living on base is wonderful but I am nervous about the list of rules they gave us when we moved in. We are not allowed to leave outdoor lights on during the day, leave the trash cans out overnight, and we are given days that we are allowed to water in the summer. I am skeptical that they will strongly enforce the book of rules they gave us because everyone puts out their trash the night before but I do not want to test them! I love the house they gave us and I love not having to worry about rent but I don't like this many rules!

5) Finally, I love the security of living on base. I was nervous to move to a new location, especially if I have to stay in this house alone, but I feel so much better knowing there are armed guards watching the gate 24/7. I love knowing that anyone who comes on base is either affiliated with the base or has a guest pass to be here. It may not be perfectly safe but it is better than just a random neighborhood here! 

While Anthony was away, I tried to hang curtains:

I ended up with 6 very large holes in the wall. However a little of this: 

And I finally figured out how to drill a proper pilot hole! The only thing Anthony saw when he came home was our beautiful new curtains!

After a lot of HGTV watching, I am a lot more handy! 

Well, that should catch you up on our life here. A special thank you to everyone who has sent us a care package in the mail. Grandma, those chocolates were some of the best that we have ever had and they went very quickly! The Chocolate Escape can do no wrong! And Mom and Dad, thank you for the spices and Twin City coffee! I am slowly building up the spice cabinets and any little bit helps! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family!! Love you all!