Category: Army
Hilton Head: Day 1
| March 22, 2013 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Army, Restaurants, Travel |
I can’t believe our first day in Hilton Head Island is already in the books and we are on to day 2! Time flies when you’re having fun right? ;) Yesterday we all slept in to 7:30AM and I made the mistake of going into Em’s room thinking she was up. BIG FAT NO. But my entering roused the beast haha. Poor thing has 5 teeth coming in at once and woke up with a fever. A dose of motrin later and she was good to go. One of the best things about our house at HHI is that there is a full kitchen. I whipped up some eggs, bacon, and bagels for a cheap and nutritious breakfast before we started our day.
After breakfast we loaded up the car and headed to shop. I seriously LOVE shopping. The fact that there are some awesome outlets up here helps my cause. Since the Tanger outlets in Hilton Head are split between I and II we hit up Tanger I in the morning. Em scored the most out of all of us haha.
After shopping for a few hours and emptying my wallet at Carter’s and Gap Kids it was time for lunch. One of the nurses I work with the ER suggested we eat at Robert Irvine’s Nosh which is conveniently located in the Tanger II outlet center. There were several craft burgers to choose from and a nice drink selection. The atmosphere inside was nice and cozy with a lit fire. Em though was at the end of her rope so Chris and I alternated playing outside with her until our food came. I ordered the Augusta burger which have pimento cheese, braised bacon, lettuce, and tomato on it. The pimento added a different but tasty flavor to the burger.
By the time lunch was over Em was in meltdown mode so we went back to the house for her nap. While she snoozed, I ran up to the fitness center for a quick workout while Chris watched March Madness. I did a 2 mile run on the treadmill and a quick CrossFit WOD of 21-15-9 reps of push-ups, bench dips, and sit-ups. It felt good to break a sweat and work off some of my burger 
When Em woke up we headed back to the Tanger I outlets so I could hit up J.Crew and BCBG. I ended up scoring some awesome deals at both … Maybe a fashion post is in my future?
For dinner we hit up one of the restaurants associated with Operation R&R. Hudson’s on the Docks is located right on Port Royal Sound and has some killer views. They also give 50% off of food to Operation R&R guests! SCORE. When we pulled up I was immediately impressed with the views and naturally insisted on taking some photos
For starters, they bring out an entire basket of hush puppies and oh my goodness they were addicting! We definitely had to watch ourselves so we didn’t eat them all. In lieu of an appetizer, Chris and I shared 1/2 pound of snow crab legs. Crab legs are one of our favorite foods and these were by far some of the best I have had. For my main course I had blackened wild Alaskan cod with sautéed spinach, lump crab meat, and cheese served over a cheesy grit biscuit. The sauce it came in made the dish. Finally, for dessert we had bread pudding. While the taste was there, I like my bread pudding warm and this was cold. Intentionally? Not sure.
After our meal we spoke with the manager and thanked him for providing that special to military families. Turns out he is a former Marine so he gets it
Unfortunately, Em’s fever returned with a vengeance as we got home. After a quick bath she and I snuggled on one of the extra beds. She actually fell asleep on me for about an hour which she never does. Here’s to hoping that she is feeling better today and we can continue with the fun adventures we have planned!
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
Operation R&R: Hilton Head
| March 21, 2013 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Army, Travel |
Hello from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina! We got up here last night and have settled in quite nicely. For my Fort Stewart friends you need to check this out. We are here with Operation R&R. Operation R&R is a nonprofit organization that works to provide an opportunity for Service Members to spend quality time with their families upon return from deployment. Local property owners donate their homes and villa to fulfill this purpose. Operation R&R Hilton Head serves Service Members from Fort Stewart, Hunter Army Airfield, Fort Benning, and Beaufort Marine Corps Air Base. To qualify, your Service Member must have been deployed at some point over the last 2 years. Chris’ 2 year anniversary of coming home from Afghanistan is next month so we made it in by the skin of our teeth.
Hilton Head Island is a convenient 1-hour drive from where we live just outside of Savannah. Chris and I hit up the noon CrossFit class yesterday, grabbed groceries, and loaded Em into the car and hit the road. Going into it we knew we were getting a 3-bedroom house in a timeshare community but didn’t know much more. When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised! Jack met us at the club house and showed us around. The complex includes lounging areas, a pool table, a (small) fitness center, and pools. We then headed to our house and were SHOCKED.
How cute is this place? Inside, it is a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom house. Operation R&R is for the Service Member and their immediate family so there is plenty of space for several kiddos. When we walked in we were greeted with a spacious living area.
One of the best things about staying in a timeshare home is that there is a full kitchen. When we got settled in last night I whipped up some oven baked tacos. We also brought some food from home so we could make breakfasts in the morning and have healthy snacks on hand. LOVE.
In our house, there are two master suites with attached bathrooms and then an extra bedroom and separate bath. This is so much better than staying in a hotel with Em in the room with us. Here, she has her own room (we brought our pack-and-play) and we should all get a good night sleep 
I am really excited for the fun things have planned during our stay. Shopping anyone?? ;) Word on the street is is that there is a Wing Festival and you all know how much I love buffalo wings.
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
Hunting the Good Stuff
| March 11, 2013 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Army, Family, Wellness |
*There’s still time to enter my Sunglasses Shop giveaway! Enter HERE.
My parents divorced when I was pretty little so I grew up living with just my mom. She’s a pretty incredible person and I am lucky to call her mine. That being said, it was eleven years before she married my step-dad which meant for eleven years it was just her and I. Well, except when my brother-in-law Mark lived with us before my sister’s wedding and when Heather lived with us while Mark was at Notre Dame for his MBA. I cherish a lot of the family traditions she started with me and plan to carry on many of them to my own family. One thing we always did was eat dinner together at the dinner table. Naturally she often had candles and classical music playing (she’s super mom I swear). We would talk about our day and she would ask what random act of kindness I did for someone else, and what was something awesome that happened to me. Half the time I would roll my eyes and come up with something but looking back I realize she was teaching more than I ever knew.
As you guys know, I recently attended Master Resiliency Training through Army Community Services on Fort Stewart. I am loving sharing some of the things I learned in the hopes that it touches your life the way it did mine. One of the things we learned was to hunt the good stuff. Hunting the good stuff means taking stock at the end of the day about what good things happened that day. The best way to reflect on the good stuff is to sit down and journal it. Hunting the good stuff helps reinforce the positive in our lives and cherish the moments that matter. It’s absolutely key for putting problems and situations in perspective.
Little did I know that I have been hunting the good stuff all my life thanks to my mom. Her daily dose of positivity is probably why optimism and hope are high on my character strengths. Granted my mom holds a masters degree in counseling so it doesn’t surprise me that she was training me to be a resilient person I still take a special moment before bed to sit down and count my blessings from the day.
So I challenge you to think about hunting the good stuff today. When your day is over and before you go to bed, sit down and take a moment to reflect. Our lives get crazy busy and between the hustle and bustle everyday memories and moments can be lost. Hold on tight to those and use that positive energy to keep you centered and your outlook bright. Teach your kids to hunt the good stuff now to help them be more resilient later.
Here is a some of my good stuff from the weekend:
Emmie playing in the bounce house at the Bark for Life event.
Emmie coloring and playing with dad.
A picnic in the park with my family.
A great church service … homily was on the prodigal son which is a favorite of mine.
Emmie after our group run on Sunday.
Not a surprise that so much of my good stuff involves the Emster
What is some of your good stuff?
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
Knowing Your Strengths
| March 4, 2013 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Army, Wellness |
Happy Monday friends! I hope you all had a great weekend We sure did over here! A lot of it was spent getting our house back together after my busy week last week.
On that note, I had an incredible week last week attending the Master Resiliency Training offered by the Army Community Services branch on For Stewart. In a nutshell, MRT is a program designed by the University of Pennsylvania that teaches (or enhances) you to bounce back and not break when faced with adversity and problems. I learned a TON of information, techniques, and things about myself in the process. I consider myself lucky in the sense that I have a platform to bring some of this incredibly helpful information to others (YOU!). So over the next couple of weeks I intend to write a little bit about some of the MRT concepts and techniques.
Part of the MRT course is dedicated to learning more about yourself by drawing on your strengths. We took an online questionnaire that then ranked 24 character strengths. Your top five scoring strengths were considered “signature strengths” … or the strengths you draw upon most often and come naturally. My signature strengths are:
- Zest, Enthusiasm, and Energy: Regardless of what you do, you approach it with excitement and energy. You never do anything halfway or halfheartedly. For you, life is an adventure.
- Hope, Optimism, and Future-Mindedness: You expect the best in the future, and you work hard to achieve it. You believe that the future is something that you can control.
- Curiosity and Interest in the World: You are curious about everything. You are always asking questions, and you find all subjects and topics fascinating. You like exploration and discovery.
- Industry, Diligence, and Perseverance: You work hard to finish what you start. No matter the project you “get it out the door” in timely fashion. You do not get distracted when you work, and you take satisfaction in completing tasks.
- Spirituality, Sense of Purpose, and Faith: You have strong and coherent belief about the higher purpose and meaning of the universe. You know where you fit in the larger scheme. Your believes shape your actions and are a source of comfort for you.
Holy cow. I can totally see myself in all of those things. I didn’t necessarily like how low creativity, leadership, and self-control fell on my list though. However, we learned that the strengths that were lower on our list were still strengths. We just might have to work harder at them. Knowing what our strengths are and what puts us out of comfort zone helps us personally and professionally. I know that I can wear rose colored glasses when looking at the world. I need a dose of reality every now and then. Luckily, perspective lies high on Chris’ list so he keeps me grounded
After learning about the different character strengths I feel like I am better prepared to work with others in groups, the work place, or just when dealing with friends and families. I know what makes me tick and learning more about these helps me see how other people tick too. The takeaway from this is that we all approach things a little different because we all think different. It’s embracing the strengths in others, tapping on your own, and working to cultivate the ones that come harder that helps elevate us to a higher level of understanding.
If you’re an Army spouse, I highly recommend attending the MRT training through your local ACS! If you’re interested in taking the quiz yourself you can do so HERE. You will have to register and log-in but you shouldn’t get any spam. It’s called the VIA Survey of Character Strengths!
What is one “strength” you think you have? If you take the quiz, what’s your #1 signature strength?
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
Strong Bonds Retreat + The Nothing Box
| December 10, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Army, Family |
Happy Monday folks! We got back from Orlando and holy cow did we have a great time! We were in Orlando for an Army Strong Bonds marriage retreat. The Army pays for your room, seminars, and most of your meals … you just have to get there! On top of that, they hire a nanny service to provide child care during the event so you and your spouse can focus on the message. Since Orlando is a short 4.5 hour drive, we were all over it. Chris, Emmalyne, and I hit the road Friday at lunch and checked in by 5:30PM. We got lucky and our retreat was held at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress and we were given glasses of champagne upon check in. My kind of hotel
Rather than give a play-by-play, I want to break down the weekend and provide some information on our experience with the Strong Bonds program. This post is kind of lengthy … so read on at your own risk
THE SEMINARS
Our retreat was “Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage” with Mark Gungor (via DVD).
I really enjoyed the presentations. I feel like Mark Gungor is half pastor/stand of comic. While he presented the male vs. female scenarios as stereotypes (and says so) I found a lot of the situations to be relevant to my own marriage. First, he described men’s brains as being compartmentalized with boxes. A man has a box for each thing (IE: job, house, spouse, kids, etc.) and the boxes don’t touch. Women’s brains however were described as a ball of wire with everything interrelating and connecting. Additionally, men have a “nothing box” where they can literally think about nothing. This particularly resonated with me. Over the last 6 years I have never believed Chris when he said he said he was thinking about nothing because obviously he had to be thinking about something. HA. Mr. Gungor went on to give 4 steps to get a man to do what you want which I made sure to take elaborate notes on Overall I truly enjoyed these presentations and plan on borrowing my friend’s DVD to catch some of the parts we missed.
CHILDCARE
I was extremely impressed with the nanny service that was hired for this event. They separated the children by age into separate rooms. Each room was spacious, fully staffed, with tons of age appropriate toys. I felt completely comfortably leaving Emmalyne there while we attended the sessions. Additionally, on Saturday child care was available from 8AM-10PM so couples could have focused processing time together. Chris and I took advantage of this for a date night. Emmalyne throughouly enjoyed her time in child care and all the nannies knew her by name and would tell me stories about her antics when I picked her up.
DATE NIGHT
Chris and I treated ourselves to a fancy dinner at the hotel restaurant Hemingway’s. The atmosphere was quiet and intimate. We were able to discuss some of the things we learned and brainstorm ways we could help the other and strengthen our marriage even more than it already is. I had the Alaskan king crab legs with boursin whipped potato gratin and steam asparagus. The potatoes were seriously heavenly and the crab legs were pre-split to be enjoyed without the mess. Chris had the cast iron rib eye with grilled asparagus. Our server surprised us with dessert … coconut ice cream encrusted with milk chocolate and key lime pie. Every bite we had was delicious and our time together was special.
I highly recommend married couples to attend a marriage retreat at some point … whether that be through the military, your church, or another organization. Being married isn’t always easy and a good marriage takes work. Retreats are a good way to arm yourself with the best tools to make your marriage and relationship successful. I would love to attend some sort of marriage-strengthening experience every year or at least every other year!
Before leaving Orlando we did have a chance to hit up the awesome outlets. More on my finds later but let’s just say Emmalyne takes after her mommy …
Have you ever attended a marriage retreat? What’s the best advice you have ever received in regards to relationships?
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
Happy Monday folks! We got back from Orlando and holy cow did we have a great time! We were in Orlando for an Army Strong Bonds marriage retreat. The Army pays for your room, seminars, and most of your meals … you just have to get there! On top of that, they hire a nanny service to provide child care during the event so you and your spouse can focus on the message. Since Orlando is a short 4.5 hour drive, we were all over it. Chris, Emmalyne, and I hit the road Friday at lunch and checked in by 5:30PM. We got lucky and our retreat was held at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress and we were given glasses of champagne upon check in. My kind of hotel
Rather than give a play-by-play, I want to break down the weekend and provide some information on our experience with the Strong Bonds program. This post is kind of lengthy … so read on at your own risk
THE SEMINARS
Our retreat was “Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage” with Mark Gungor (via DVD).
I really enjoyed the presentations. I feel like Mark Gungor is half pastor/stand of comic. While he presented the male vs. female scenarios as stereotypes (and says so) I found a lot of the situations to be relevant to my own marriage. First, he described men’s brains as being compartmentalized with boxes. A man has a box for each thing (IE: job, house, spouse, kids, etc.) and the boxes don’t touch. Women’s brains however were described as a ball of wire with everything interrelating and connecting. Additionally, men have a “nothing box” where they can literally think about nothing. This particularly resonated with me. Over the last 6 years I have never believed Chris when he said he said he was thinking about nothing because obviously he had to be thinking about something. HA. Mr. Gungor went on to give 4 steps to get a man to do what you want which I made sure to take elaborate notes on Overall I truly enjoyed these presentations and plan on borrowing my friend’s DVD to catch some of the parts we missed.
CHILDCARE
I was extremely impressed with the nanny service that was hired for this event. They separated the children by age into separate rooms. Each room was spacious, fully staffed, with tons of age appropriate toys. I felt completely comfortably leaving Emmalyne there while we attended the sessions. Additionally, on Saturday child care was available from 8AM-10PM so couples could have focused processing time together. Chris and I took advantage of this for a date night. Emmalyne throughouly enjoyed her time in child care and all the nannies knew her by name and would tell me stories about her antics when I picked her up.
DATE NIGHT
Chris and I treated ourselves to a fancy dinner at the hotel restaurant Hemingway’s. The atmosphere was quiet and intimate. We were able to discuss some of the things we learned and brainstorm ways we could help the other and strengthen our marriage even more than it already is. I had the Alaskan king crab legs with boursin whipped potato gratin and steam asparagus. The potatoes were seriously heavenly and the crab legs were pre-split to be enjoyed without the mess. Chris had the cast iron rib eye with grilled asparagus. Our server surprised us with dessert … coconut ice cream encrusted with milk chocolate and key lime pie. Every bite we had was delicious and our time together was special.
I highly recommend married couples to attend a marriage retreat at some point … whether that be through the military, your church, or another organization. Being married isn’t always easy and a good marriage takes work. Retreats are a good way to arm yourself with the best tools to make your marriage and relationship successful. I would love to attend some sort of marriage-strengthening experience every year or at least every other year!
Before leaving Orlando we did have a chance to hit up the awesome outlets. More on my finds later but let’s just say Emmalyne takes after her mommy …
Have you ever attended a marriage retreat? What’s the best advice you have ever received in regards to relationships?
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
