Moving 6 times in 7 years, I’ve come to pick up a thing or two. And every freakin’ time we have to move again I think, “there’s got to be an easier way”.

[This is where a good spiral notebook comes in handy - small & portable.]

The first step to figuring out just what that easier way is, is to break it down in chunks – think through every step of the journey. So for example, here’s how our move back to the States is gonna work:

1. Getting ready to move
2. Getting Maggie on a cargo plane
3. Our flight back home with Kitten (the howler)
4. Arriving at DFW & picking up Maggie
5. Staying in a hotel in DFW with pets
6. Fixing up Eric’s Jimmy that’s sat for 3 years
7. The road trip to our next base (wherever that is)
8. Staying in a hotel with pets while we hunt housing
9. Moving into our new place without a lick of our stuff

Fudge, that’s a lot of steps for this move.

But once you’ve got the steps listed – written down one step per page in your spiral notebook – start imaging yourself in the middle of that step.

What has to be done before this happens? What has to wait until the last minute? What could be done in advance? What would make this portion of the journey easier on me, on Eric, on Maggie & Kitten? How am I going to feel by this point – exhausted? Frustrated? Ready to scream? What am I going to be responsible for?…and if the PCS Fairy granted me one wish, what would I ask for?

So rather than go through each & every step…let me just give you an example using the “hotel in DFW” segment of our trip.

At this point everything is still high-level – you don’t have to get into the absolute details of everything – just a good overview.

So #5 – staying in a hotel in DFW with pets.

• We’ll need to find a hotel that takes pets close to my mom’s
• We’ll probably need it a minimum of 3 days – more likely a whole week while we fix up the Jimmy
• The room will need at the very least a mini fridge & microwave – this way we can save money on food
• We’re going to be really tired, so let’s spring for a room with a king size bed
• The earlier we book, the better deal we’ll get – especially considering we’re moving in December
• Kitten will need a litter box (w/ litter & scoop), food & bowls – on arrival
• Maggie will need food & bowls – on arrival
• Kitten will do better if she has her hidie-hole to sleep in (it will remind her of home)
• Maggie will do better if she has her pillow & blanket (to remind her of home)
• I will do better if I have my feather pillow, a good book & my sound machine : )
• We’ll need wireless internet
• Need to decide if Maggie stays in the hotel with us the whole time or if we find a kennel to put her in.
• We could do our laundry at mom’s
• We’ll need to set aside time to spend with friends & family before we hit the road
• We’ll both need prepaid cell phones until we get settled in our new base.

And that’s just step number 5!

By this point it can look really overwhelming – and that’s ok – because for me, I’ve figured out how to keep from feeling too stressed out. I make a wish.

[ahem]

Oh Great & Powerful PCS Fairy! If I could have one wish during this time it would be…

…to have an over-flowing gourmet gift basket of fruit & cheese & chocolate & bread and all other kinds of amazing you-can-only-get-this-in-America foods waiting for us in our hotel room as we check in

…with a travel candle & maybe a potted orchid to take to our new home

…with a litter box & food waiting for Kitten & food for Maggie, too

…and a pre-arranged appointment for a massage at a nearby spa the following day.

In U-Haul’s name I pray, amen.

Ok…so it’s a little more than one wish. But the thing is, by thinking of it I can now figure out a way to make it happen – especially this far in advance.

So what needs to get added to my list?

• Order a gift basket from Central Market to be delivered to the hotel
• See if they’ll throw in an orchid
• I can bring a small travel candle…add that to the packing list
• Order a complete set-up for Maggie & Kitten from Petsmart & have it delivered to the hotel the day before we arrive
• Find a nearby spa that offers a reasonably priced 30 minute massage & book an appointment

The massage trick is something I picked up in the move from Virginia to Oklahoma – courtesy of my sister. Well, that and the gourmet chocolates.

[pick a road trip, any road trip]

She got me a gift certificate to a local spa & I decided to use it the day before I hit the road to Oklahoma – with then 3 cats in the car.

Having that opportunity to relax after so much stress (I had sold our house by owner) – still knowing there would be more to face once I got to Oklahoma, made the whole process easier. It also didn’t hurt to hit the Williamsburg Chocolaterie on the way out of town. They made the best swirled mint liqueur chocolate truffles.

And just those two little steps in the midst of all that Army life chaos made the trip that much brighter.

So here me now all you Army wives!

Only you & I know how much work & stress & pain & turmoil it is to move time and time again & I don’t even have kids to drag around in the process!

Find your PCS Fairy, make your wish & then find a way to make it come true. Find someway to take care of yourself, to reward yourself – DURING THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL – to help keep your sanity intact.

Trust me – you’ll thank me later & you’ll never skip this step from here on out.

[the back alleys of Insadong]

I’ve been struggling to find things to blog about. It’s just not easy these days – especially when I’m so burned out. The bigger question is why am I so burned out…but that’s another subject for another day.

Today I’ve had a bit of a brainstorm…

my upcoming move.

There’s a lot involved with moving in the Army & so much more involved when you’re moving halfway around the world with a 135 lb dog & a cat that hates to travel. This isn’t the kind of move that you can put off till the last few days. Nope. Got to get organized. Now.

So I’m going to do a whole series of posts on my own tips & tricks for PCS’ing, along with soliciting your advice on things I hadn’t thought of and just in general try to get everything out of my head & down on internet paper. Did you know…

I have moved 6 times in 7 years.

[I'll let that sink in for you.]

6 times, 7 years.

And we’re not talking moves 10 minutes across town. Nope – out of state, out of country moves.

(And seeing as how I lived in the same town for 34 years before this Army life of mine, you can imagine it’s been quite an adjustment.)

So yes, I’ve learned a thing or two and I’m a firm believer that with every move you learn something new to add to your bag of tricks. So I’ll share what I’ve learned along the way & what I will learn with this latest move.

But this series needs a creative name…and I’m drawing a complete & utter blank.

“Operation Homeward-Bound” ?….sounds like a cheesy Lifetime movie.

“OCONUS No More” ?…(pronounced “oh-ko-nus”, OCONUS is Army for outside of the continental US.)

“Take Me Back to Texas” ?….crossing fingers on that one. Still no word on where we’ll go yet.

Hmm….c’mon. Surely someone out there has had more chocolate than me this morning & can come up with something clever.

In the meantime, here’s tip number one, my personal mantra & every Army wife’s goal in life:

1. You can never be too organized for a PCS move.

So I’ll end it there & hope to hear from all you creative types soon.

“Exiting Anjung-Ri” ?…hmm…”Exiting Incheon” has a better ring to it – Incheon’s the airport.

This is outside the KATUSA Snack Bar.

KATUSA – Korean Augmentee to the US Army (cah-too-sah): Like it sounds…Korean boys who’ve decided to serve out their mandatory military service as part of the US Army. It comes with perks – like the snack bar.

You’ll see these on every base here.

There’s actually 2 at Humphreys – this is the prettier one.

But it’s a story I want to save for tomorrow when I am not so exhausted & frustrated.

Eric & I just got back from the monthly FRG meeting for the battalion.

FRG – Family Readiness Group: It’s meant to be a support group for all the spouses of a particular unit. But I’ve not yet experienced it that way. They tend to be drama-filled cliques & rumor mills.

Because of all the recent news coming out of South Korea, tonight’s focus was NEO.

NEO – Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations: The process by which the military will snatch us families up & send us somewhere safe should any natural disaster or military action occur.

And let me just say this…

Soldiers are very much accustomed to hearing the blunt, in-your-face, pull-no-punches reality. But what they tend to forget is that most wives are not.

So when they give the impression that “war is imminent” (when it’s not) & race through the amazingly complex 25-step process to put on your gas mask without letting us actually try it ourselves…it tends NOT to be such a good idea.

They might as well have yelled “FIRE” in a crowded theater.

So here’s a tip for all you wives out there considering or already coming to Korea:

Don’t bury your heads in the sand. Don’t be that wife that has no idea that South Korea is still technically at war with the North.

Don’t be the wife who didn’t take the time to actually READ her NEO paperwork before asking the Colonel what to do about her special needs kid.

Don’t think “Oh, it won’t happen to me” & just let your husbands fill out all the paperwork for you.

Watch the news or read it. Stay informed with what’s happening around you.

Because God forbid, should something ever happen…and if tonight’s any indication…it’s going to be utter pandemonium.

Attention – Attention – Can I have your attention, please?

Would the owner of the big-ass, over-sized, jacked-up, red mid-life-crisis pick-up truck please come to the podium & explain to the rest of us what you were thinking?

Really?…This is the vehicle you brought to South Korea?

Have you SEEN South Korea?

Koreans are tiny people. They live in tiny houses.

They drive tiny cars on tiny roads.

Really?…

So yes, while stumbling across this proud Ford owner today for a quick flash it was deja’ vu & I was home.

But it was only for a second & then I couldn’t help but shake my head at the ridiculousness of it.

To make matters worse, it’s a Texas Edition Ford.

[head hanging in embarrassment]

Please don’t equate this one man & his truck with all Texans. Not all of us need to…shall we say…”overcompensate” for our short-comings.

But there he is…with his truck fresh off the boat.

He’s probably been here all of 60 days.

 [channeling Marisa Tomei]

“Oh yeah, you blend.”

(Dare you to name that movie.)

So here’s my public service announcement for any & all military coming to Korea.

Leave your big-ass trucks & SUVs at home because the only place you’ll be able to drive them is on base…and even then you’ll be taking up two, highly valuable & quickly dwindling parking spaces. And try…please for the love of God try…NOT to look so much like an American…flaunting your fortunes in front of a very humble, but proud people who have never imagined such wealth & can’t fathom the needless extravagance. Not to mention the fact that you’ve just painted a big target on your back for anyone who feels like protesting America & their policies. Did you not pay attention during your SEDA briefing?

SEDA – Subversion & Espionage Directed towards the Army:All kinds of information provided to us by Military Intelligence that’s meant to keep us safe…especially when moving to a foreign country who’s technically still at war…Ahhh, hello?

[stepping off the soap box]

That’s all.

I just wanted to get that rant out.

Thanks for listening.

The Army Aviation Association of America 2010 Army Aviation Birthday Ball.

 It’s the end of next month up in Seoul and like Cinderella…I have nothing to wear.

 Wives PCS’ing to Korea Tip #1: Bring at least one formal dress, with shoes & accessories. Preferably two, if you got ‘em.

 And since a multi-colored leopard print peasant skirt doesn’t really qualify as “formal attire”, I’ve been stumbling around eBay this afternoon looking for dress deals.

For those who’ve actually seen my gargantuaness in person, what do you think of this one?

Please be brutally honest. I don’t want to look like the stay-puff marshmallow woman because there’s bound to be photographers there.

(I know, I know…my big, fat, freakish arms – I hate them.)

But it comes with a little lace bolero-style jacket which should pose somewhat of a distraction. You can check it out here.

And I still need to contact the seller (in London) to see if their manufacturers (in Hong Kong) would ship to an APO & if it could get here in time. But I would then be on the hunt for shoes & everything else – which should be no problem to get online.

The ball is going to be at the Grand Hyatt and the only way to make going feasible would be to get a room for the night & put the dogs in the kennel at Osan.

It’s 3 hours one-way & I’m not sitting in traffic in a formal ball gown for 3 hours.

Ain’t happenin’.

But check out the room we might be able to get!

It’s a corner room with your choice of a mountain view or city view.

I’m just waiting to hear back from the unit if they’re offering a room discount for us.

And at this point if you have any suggestions of where else to look online for a good deal on a evening gown or even a style you think would look better on me, I’ll take it.

I just hate the thought of buying something sight-unseen without trying it on first.