New Series: A Modern Woman’s (Non-FRG) Guide to Life + Love

modern-woman's-guideNEW-02For a while now you have read here and there about this new blog series i’ve been working on and i bet you’re very curious as to what it entails. Well, thanks to some major support from Crystal, this project slowly came along and i am so excited to share it with you guys. You may or may not know this, but i am a military wife and i’ve noticed that after blogging for a year i haven’t really shared much about this big part of my life (well besides our PCS to Okinawa).

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
About the series:
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The inspiration for this series came after i received a Facebook message from a lovely girl asking me for advice. Her boyfriend had joined the Marines and at the time only had a month before leaving for Basic Training. She wanted to hear my story and my experiences with the Marine Corps. I put myself in her shoes and decided to pay it forward, so i went back in time to the moment when G left for Bootcamp. I remember scouring the internet for information on what to expect during the next couple of months of training and let me tell you it was scary. Finally a couple of weeks into his Basic Training i found Tumblr and i met the most amazing group of ladies who were more than just a support group.

While i was pouring my heart and soul into a Facebook message a little light bulb when on in my head and i thought this would be a great blog series. So here we are! The goal of this series is to pay it forward and help other future/current significant others during the many stages of a relationship with a man or a woman serving in the US military.

But instead of just sitting down and writing about all the stages myself, i recruited the help of some lovely bloggers because let’s face it i am no expert. This way we have girlfriends and wives, to men from different branches of the US Military, we have students, mothers, and even expats living all over the world; with their own experiences and unique stories to tell. Thanks to them, a Modern Woman’s (Non-FRG) Guide to Life+Love was born!

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
What the heck is FRG?
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If you’re not affiliated to the military you’re probably wondering what the heck is “FRG”!! Well in true military fashion i added an acronym and didn’t explain it (oops!). In the Army the Family Readiness Group, is where spouses step up and come together to close the information gap between the military member, the command and the families. Their goal is to help families through the thick and thin of military life, by having newcomer orientations, classes and workshops, volunteer opportunities, meetings, fun activities and most importantly deployment support. Over in my neck of the woods (the Marine Corps) they call themselves “FRO”, Family Readiness Officer! They can be a great resource, but most of the times it isn’t available for all significant others, like girlfriends or fiancees who aren’t considered “family” yet.

The reason for making this a Non- FRG Guide, is that we wanted to break away from that and give you all a more personal guide to military life. Now don’t you feel better knowing the meaning behind the series! 😉

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Meet the Ladies:
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Series Calendar
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

I know this series is geared more towards military significant others, but the stories these ladies will share can resonate with any relationship, so be sure to stay tuned because later today Amber from And Yes to Joy will be sharing her story on how she became an Army Girlfriend. Are you as excited as i am?!

*Note: A huge virtual hug to Claire from Daisy Bisley for coming up with this beautiful calendar design! Go ahead and leave her some love!