Army Translations for all my "civy" folks!!

So this was not the original topic of this blog, but I took a few minutes to read my comments and saw a request for simple translations to the "army terms" that I tend to use....and well since my blog is entitled "Combat Boots and Flip Flops" I thought it was a good idea...so here is your reference tool for all future blogs!!

Battle Buddy or just Battle --> close friend, someone who's back you always have

Hooah--> this is universal answer when nothing else will do, it can mean yes, no, roger that, understood

Roger--> another word for yes

Fubar--> Fudged up beyond belief ( being as this is an army term, the fudge is really just a substitute  for  I am keeping this blog PG)

FML--> Fudge my life

Shoremaster-->  I belong to the 241st, this is the Unit with in the 7th Sustainment   Brigadee (Brigade is the overall group of battalions) we call ourselves "Shoremasters" so when someone asks what Unit I am in I simply say I am a Shoremaster and they know 241st.

Platoon --> Is simply another break down within the Unit (our Unit has 4 platoons...Headquarters [maintenance, supply, clerical] 1st platoon, 2nd platoon and 3rd platoon... while I am injured I am in 3rd platoon, when I have my health I will be back in 2nd platoon.

Squad--> My assigned work group within the platoon (our platoons typically have 4 squads and when are not at deployment status we typically have 10 people per squad).

Con Leave--> short for convalescent leave, this is "free" leave from the Army, leave given to a solider so they have proper time to heal....in the Army, this is the BEST leave to have!

Combat boots--> the tan boots worn with our ACU's

ACU--> Action Combat Uniform (what we wear every day)

Baret --> the black hat I wear with my ACU's

Patrol Cap or PC--> the soft ball looking cap.  This is worn in the motor pool or when our company is in deployment status.  When you see someone wearing the patrol cap you know they are in deployment status [this is the hat you see troops in when they are leaving or coming home from war]

So here are a few "army terms" that I use on a regular basis!!

All I wanted to do was go to the doctor and offically "non deployable"

So today was my first post op appointment for my foot....I had set the appointment late in the day because with me not getting much sleep right now, mornings are even more of not my thing!!  So a "battle" or friend as the civilian world knows them stopped by for lunch and check in on me....mind you this is the FIRST person from my platoon to check on me (and she is a personal friend so that doesn't  even count!!) and she delivered the jaw breaking news....I had officially been moved to the non-deployment roster....UM YOU THINK!!!! I AM ON CON LEAVE UNTIL JUNE 25!!!!  Oh the might "SHOREMASTERS" never cease to amaze me!!!

So back to my day....J spent the morning getting enrolled in summer school...he has two classes, one of them is pretty much on line so that's not bad and the other takes him away on Tuesday nights.

But he gets home just in time to take me to my appointment and we drop Moo off at a neighbors and off we trek...we don't even get out of Virginia Beach before I see a car accident and EMT had not responded yet...so I reach in the glove box hand J his gloves and begin to call the doctor's office to let them know that we are going to be late to the appointment because J has to stop and render aid!

He goes and takes care of a British woman who happened to be 20 weeks pregnant (he is so hot when he is working!!!) and finishes up and we are FINALLY on our way to see my favorite foot doctor.

After a brief office visit of less that 10 minutes I have learned the following....

    1.  I am only the patient.. J and Dr. Diaz are really the ones who have this whole foot thing under control.

    2.  J is in total control of what medication and I am on and how much of it I need or get....Dr. Diaz  simply  goes along with what Nurse J says.

    3.  The pain is normal and it will go away....IF I HAD A DIME FOR EVERY TIME I HAVE HEARD THIS!!!

     4.  I must stay on the crutches for another 7days....boooooooo

So with this being said, I got more pain pills (going down in the whole strength scale), muscle relaxers, and AMBIEN....oh my sweet sweet ambien...I will finally have a good nights sleep.

So the day is almost and I am counting the hours until I can enter my sweet ambien bliss!!!

Toxic people

So I am a firm believer that there are toxic people in our lives...ones that latch onto us simply to bring us down...they are miserable in there own being and as the saying goes misery loves company!!

Let me shed a little insight into the toxic people (wait person) that have walked through my life, some staying longer than they deserve!!

I take personal responsibility for my life when I turned 18 and moved out of my parents home, this was my first taste of independence and the first burn of toxic...I meet T.B. in a gym class in college, at class she seemed cool enough, funny...easy to talk to....a friend for the girl who left Kansas and didn't know a soul...so we hung out and at first T.B. appeared normal and non toxic...the laugh was clearly on me!!

About 4 months into the friendship the lie tracks were being laid for the train she so often liked to ride (you know the train that is always going somewhere but really nowhere at all?) She complained of living alone and so far from school, she said she wanted a room mate and to live closer to campus, I said sure, I have a job and would love a place of my own...lets move in together it will be "fun". I was the "good" girl, the one she could be like, of course I am not a whore, look at my room-mate would she live with a whore? I was always covering for Little Ms. Fucks a lot (really as long as you could get hard then yes she would sleep with you) at times I didn't even bother to learn the naked guy's name who was drinking the oj out of the container at 4 in the morning....I mean whats in a name when she was going to be bring the next one home in a few hours!!

Then it was the "I have to lock my door because I have no clue who you are bringing into our place and I can't trust them"...oh I loved the night that this was thrown at me....yeah, cause my new bff is a obese girl who I picked up walking down the street one day OR all the Harry's I brought home....

Needless to say it was a solid 6 months of DRAMA and me covering for the girl...I guess the straw that broke the camels back was when a friend who actually is more of a brother ended up with a Nasty (and falling hard for her)....I had to stop and think why be friend with a toxic whore? Why let her bring others down around me and why let them continue to risk the well being of themselves!!

So I moved out and married T.M.(story for another blog) and moved on with my life...I left her in the nasty apartment to fit the nasty her!!

A few nights ago, I opened a facebook and found a friend request from her along with a pleading message saying she NEEDED TO TALK TO ME!! So I took the bait....I am nice remember?

Well, you can't take toxic out of no one, yep she didn't change....and she was still trying to drag me down...thanks but no thanks...not buying your act not this time...but the real kicker...she is STILL trying to get at the bro man!! OH HELL NO YOU DIDN'T!!! I had about .5 seconds of that, long enough to fire off a hot leave him and the Mrs. alone and never think about them again...I am a solider now and won't think twice about hurting you!!

So I put the fire out there, talked to bro man's wife to let her know about all the damage control and how I would not let T.B. ruin their lives (I mean really did T.B. think I wouldn't go down without a fight?) I did and then called it good...

TOXIC GONE!!!

FOREVER!!

So while I once was "nice" and let Toxic in, I am strong, have a family of my own and few that I call friends and family and have found that no one messes with those I call mine!!

Going Veggie

So I have found myself in desperate need of self improvement....with all the health problems that I have had in the recent year, I have found myself spiraling into a unhealthy eating lifestyle, being on the mend was no excuse for the way I was eating and putting my body through. So I decided after a day at the beach with my family and dealing with my self image to do something about it.

I have dabbled in vegetarianism off and on through out the years and each time I have felt great, I don't eat much meat to begin with, but to do with out it all together and put lots of "good" food back into my diet, really how could I go wrong?

So this past week I once again became a vegetarian. I am finding it a little hard to adjust to this time around as I now have a family that I cook for, but its coming along. This is my third day and so far so good. I have cut out all meat and am allowing myself to have fish at one meal a day. Maybe I am mentally psyching myself out, but I am feeling pretty good and with the amount of stress the Army has me under, well that is truly a miracle!!

So if this is going to be a life change or just a temporary until I am back to the "old" me again I am not sure of, what I am sure of is that I am going to embrace this new lifestyle and learn lots along the way!!!