I have my best friend from elementary school, Maegan, who I can go weeks without talking to and when I pick up the phone and call it’s like we just talked yesterday. I have my best friend Pamela, who I grew up with and spent almost everyday after school with. I have my best friend Molly, who has been there through my toughest life moments and was my maid of honor when I got married. All of these women mean a lot of me and keep me grounded to my life back home.

Of course, I also have my best friend Cait, who I met while my husband was walking our dog and who has been a constant help in my new “marine dependent” life.

I can always talk about deployment and field operations with my other friends, but it takes a lot of explaining and they try but still don’t really understand. The second I tell Cait about these things she laughs and we rant and we both feel much better. I know I helped her get through her husband’s deployment and I am so thankful I have her to help me get through my husband’s current deployment. When I am worried she listens to my fears, and lets me complain about things I have no control over with a non-judmental ear. She also lets me know when it’s time to put on my big girl panties and suck it up!

While my husband is deployed I have a lot more free time on my hands and Cait is always there to include me in her plans with her husband. They’ve brought me on shopping trips to Raleigh and countless outings to the beach and for that I am very thankful. Neither of us can cook for less than 4 people (our husbands’ single friends love us) so she invites me over for dinner very often since I don’t cook very much while I’m alone. Of course friendship isn’t just about what a friend can do for me, but more about the feeling that you are not alone in your struggles. I’m reminded of a favorite quote, “Joy shared is joy multiplied, while a sorrow shared is sorrow divided”. We revel in each others’ joy (homecomings!!) and help bear the burden of each others’ load together (long deployment nights spent worrying). And who else will look at me and say, “Ooh-Rah”,  with sweat pouring down their face when we have a great workout at the gym?

Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful for all the spouses I’ve made friends with!

It’s just that Cait and I share that special something that will keep us friends even when my husband and I move back to Maine and are once again considered civilians. She’s told me time and again if I ever missed this crazy life I could always come visit her at another duty station. She will always be on my Christmas card list, and I will always think of her when I lay my head down at night and review all the reasons that I’m blessed in this life.

She’s not just a friend while my husband is active duty, she is a friend I will cherish and love for the rest of my days. I can only thank the Marine Corps for bringing us together.

When my husband is home I want to capture as much as possible.

I want a lot of pictures to hold and look at after he has to leave.  It’s such a great idea to have that camera out capturing time with daddy!  Take it to the park, the zoo, on a walk or anytime your family is together. Capturing even those everyday moments such as a family dinner is such a great idea too.

When he is away, I want to capture what we are doing so I can share it with him.  I want to be able to send him picture after picture. I want him to see how the kids are growing and all the fun things they are doing. I want him to still feel apart of the family as much as possible.

Looking for a fun photo project to get motivated to take more pictures?

Commit to taking a picture a day.  This is a great way to get use to having your camera out more often.  And it can be a lot of fun!

Time moves by quickly and kids grow very fast.   Isn’t it so great that we can capture life on film?

Yep that’s right—we now have a Candle of the Month Program! You can find all the details about it here!

Each month you’ll get a 16oz 100% Natural Soy candle delivered right to your front door! Not to mention a 15% coupon for any of our JW Gear (all product lines included). How awesome is that??

Hey Guys – Mother’s Day and Military Spouse Appreciation Day is right around the corner!! This makes a great gift for your favorite girl!

To join the program or find out more details – click HERE!

* Our May Scent will available till May 31st *

We are very excited to be participating in the Military Spouse Appreciation Twitter Party May 7 (hosted by our very own @TammyMunson) – click here for more information! Hopefully we’ll see you there!

Happy Birthday Rox! We love ya!

Please feel free to leave Roxanne a birthday wish  in the comments section!

photo by Tammy Munson

picture courtesy of loldogs.com

picture courtesy of Tammy Munson

Retail Therapy anyone?

Jane Wayne Gear is having a HUGE Handbag Sale  this month on our online shop!

Flat rate shipping of only $4.99 lasts until February 1st!

You can GEAR UP ladies if your sweetheart is gone and push away those deployment blues with our comfortable tees and casual pants…the perfect gift to spice up your homecoming!

Don’t forget your candles – they make any event special!

Nothing makes an evening more romantic than candles…and we have the perfect blends for you!

Did you know that Vanilla and Apple Pie scents are considered an aphrodisiac for men?

The guys will LOVE that you wrapped your home and yourself in PRIDE this Valentines Day so come check out our great products – Designed by Military Wives for Military Families!

Happy Valentines Day!

Day 2- Trunk Show at Oceana NEX

We hope that everyone had a great holiday season! All of us at Jane Wayne Gear took advantage of the break to relax and get ready for 2010! So we are all back are ready to kick off 2010 with a bang!!!

To get 2010 started off right – we are starting a new weekly blog series called Project52 Every day for the next 52 weeks,  we’ll post a new picture here on the blog. At the end of the project, we’ll put it in a nice video to share with everyone.

If you’d like to participate by sending in one of your pictures , we’d love for you to do so. It can be of your husband, boyfriend,, your family,  BFF”s , pics of YOUR Jane Wayne Gear. You can email it to tammy @ janewaynegear.com (please include name, post/base and branch)

So here is Week 1 –

Tammy's favorite 2 bags