I have been known as a Navy spouse, wife to Nathan Winters, advocate, entrepreneur, volunteer, supporter, Winters family chef, friend, colleague, peer, mentor, workaholic, daughter-in-law, aunt, sibling, and the list goes on. The one thing I never really claimed as part of my identity was “STEM.” In 2002, during our first permanent change of station (PCS) move, I walked into a facility that offered to help military spouses find employment. I asked about jobs in the STEM field. They handed…

I don’t know if I told you that our home here in Florida was built in 1971. It is a home we purchased from family. The last month and a half has been interesting. We have met the neighbors, seen the guts of the house, and gained a better understanding of this community we live in. Our neighbors range in age, background, and length of time in the neighborhood. Everyone we have met is pleasant and acknowledges others, but they…

Another week of house projects, work, and getting acquainted with local businesses. My sailor has been busy organizing the garage, trying to fix the broken garage door, disassembling the leaning toilet, and of course, raking more leaves. In between those tasks, he successfully earned his Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, had several interviews, and spent time editing his resume. This past weekend, he turned 50. I have been working on the covered patio, cleaning off everything, including vacuuming the screens,…

After that interesting moving weekend experience with the late household goods delivery, we welcomed ourselves back into a home we actually own. It feels good to shift from living out of suitcases to focusing on the work needed to make this place feel truly comfortable. We started with some practical fixes around the house. We secured loose floor transition pieces, cleaned layers of leaves off the roof that had not been touched in quite a while, and cleared out the…

1st Delivery? On Monday, we received an email notifying us of a delivery scheduled for April 1st. We responded to the email, and my husband confirmed that we would be ready. Later Tuesday morning, we received a confirmation email with a delivery window of 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Exactly two hours after that, we got another email changing the delivery day to April 2nd. We were confused. We assumed we would receive a new delivery time the…

Time to Travel I didn’t write last week because we were on the road to Florida. I’ll try to cover some of the interesting things that happened and how, even during a transition, military spouses continue to wear multiple hats. The last week in Arizona was hot, 109 degrees on our final full day in the state. I went for as many early morning walks as I could and captured some beautiful sunrises. On the evening of March 18th, we…

In Workcation: What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas? I shared that I had an interview with a wonderful organization. During the interview, I had an opportunity to share how I have advocated for military families, my employment challenges and how Referrals Led to Business at Home, and my work supporting nonprofits to include My New Role as Executive Director with SMSS: Stepping Into Leadership for Military Spouses in STEM. Today, I am truly excited to share with you that…