"Be the Change You Want to See in the World" --Gandhi

    My proactive military career began when my fiance was suddenly sent out to train for military duty 3 months before our wedding. We had been promised this time together and then my fiance(now husband) received a call from his commander that he was supposed to be at this base training YESTERDAY. That's right, he was supposed to leave for training the day before he had actually received his orders. In other words, he was in trouble for not instinctively predicting orders that had not been planned yet.
   We were devastated! We had planned our wedding around the military and now they were going back on their word. When we made calls to find out what was happening, NO ONE KNEW. We called every one of my fiance's superiors and no one seemed to know what was going on.  My fiance received 4 calls within that same hour, each time changing his orders to a new time and new place!
  After this, I had had enough! The military was messing with both our lives and there was no organization involved. I expected more from the military! After this I decided I was going to be very proactive and a pain in the military's butt.
  While in training my fiance was not being paid for two months of work. I was furious! When he inquired as to what steps he could take to get paid he was chewed out and threatened.
  So I took charge. I contacted my local congressman and told the whole story. I said that I knew my rights and I would not put up with this garbage. Amazingly, that congressman responded within 24 hours. The pay problem was solved within the next 24 hours!  I spent many times on the phone with a military lawyer and we spoke about how important it is for military spouses and families to be proactive. The problem is, most don't know what they can do. So we need to promote proactive and educated military families. Take a step, get involved, learn your rights!

ProActive and Educated Military Families

  For a while now I have been trying without success to get other military spouses and family members to be more aware of their rights and to become more proactive.
  Since that hasn't been working well I am going to use this blog to spread the word!
   Please leave comments and show your support by becoming proactive in any way with military concerns! Please check out Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden's wonderful link! They are trying to get military families more support and education, so be proactive!http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces/

The Genius of the Unconventional Wedding Photographer

   




 


   When weddings or special events come around, there is one law I live by: A good photographer is worth the money!!!!!

   Justin Hackworth was our genius! He has done weddings, concerts, albums for musicians, and an incredible annual art exhibit called "30 Strangers for 30 Days".

   It is so important that a photographer captures honest, meaningful moments on that special day, whatever it may be.

   I was so tired of wedding pictures that all looked the same! I wanted someone who could actually show how much my husband and I had been through to get to this event. After all, we weren't at all your typical couple so why should we do anything like anyone else?!

  Luckily my sister knew this genius, Justin Hackworth, whose work in photography was so genuine. All of his photographs show people as they really are and they are beautiful. They aren't overdone or photo-shopped to death.

   I wanted pictures of my family and friends as they really are, not posed like dolls with very low blood sugar. Which is usually how families look in wedding pictures.


 I was so happy with Justin's photography. He gave me so many memories that I will cherish forever.

 Link to Justin Hackworth Photography

My Cupcake Chic wedding Cake!

So even though it has been 7 months, I am finally now writing about my wedding reception!
  The picture on the left is our wedding cake. Both my husband and I don't like frilly wedding cakes. In fact, we tried to find a cake topper of Jack Skellington and Sally for the top, but they were too expensive. Luckily we knew about this incredible shop called Cupcake Chic. http://www.cupcakechicutah.com/

     They were the best cupcakes I have ever tasted. The recipes were so fresh and the cupcakes actually tasted like what they were named!

  As an added bonus the owner and manager let me pick out the cupcake tower I wanted to use. She let me pick the ribbon I wanted for my wedding, which she then glued to the tower.I picked the pleated mint green ribbon, which you can see. 
   I also had the option of pics to go on top of the cupcakes that I could pick out from a website. I had some gorgeous craft butterflies from Michael's so I used those instead. She also offered to change the frosting color to match my wedding colors, but I really liked the mismatched colors.

  My favorites were; coconut, cinnamon, lemon(which has real lemon peel in it), and the oh so delicious peppermint! The owner was awesome and let me choose as many flavors as I wanted! So I picked about 8 and I was able to pick summer flavors. She then printed the flavors on a sign and framed it so that my guests would know what they were getting. 
    I was beyond pleased! Everyone got a choice of their flavors and they LOVED the cupcakes. I still love going to the shop, especially to taste some of the seasonal cupcakes!
These photographs were done by Justin Hackworth.http://justinhackworth.com/

Is it really spring?

   It is supposed to be springtime, but I live in the mountains of Utah.... So today the weather was: wind, followed by a brief cold hour of sun, followed by snow, and then followed by snow. Hoorah!
  Not that it matters that much, it is also time for midterms! So the cold weather forces me to stay inside and hopefully work on many, many papers.
  In the offtime I devote myself to Netflix and their fabulous selection of "MST3K" or "Mystery Science Theater 3000" films. If you are having a terrible day just watch their version of "The Pod People" or "I Accuse My Parents". 
  Oh, my sister has started a fabulous blog reviewing cosmetics! http://www.peacockgirl.com/
If there is one thing my sisters and I know its makeup, and books.