Vacation!!!

Just wanted to let everybody know that I probably won't be updating until I get back from my trip to Tennessee. Randy and I are going to Chicago to pick up his kids and then driving to Gatlinburg, TN to spend Christmas in a cabin in the Smokey Mountains. Yeah!!!

Also, I would like to say welcome back to my friend Elizabeth who is returning from 15 months in Iraq...Today (Thursday). Welcome back sweetie!!!! And also a welcome back to Ross, my former boss! I miss you and your families so much and can't wait to see you again soon. Thank you for your friendship and support.

FSC

I have the coolest channel ever on my TV. I just wanted to share that with everybody. Oh yeah, it is called Fox Soccer Channel. Nothing but soccer programs, who needs ESPN.

A funny story (from my mom)

A nursery school teacher was delivering a station wagon full of kids home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmation dog.
The children started discussing what the dog's duties might be. 'They use him to keep crowds back,' said one youngster.
'No,' said another, 'he's just for good luck.'
A third child concluded. 'No silly, they use the dogs to find the fire hydrant!'

Nana ka maka; ho`olohe ka pepeiao; pa`a ka waha.

Translation: Observe with the eyes; listen with the ears; shut the mouth.

Meaning: Thus one learns.

I was looking on the internet and found that there are many interesting phrases in the Hawaiian language. I found the one above to be amusing so I decided to share it with all of you. I think that many of us, including myself, could use this advice at times.

A few weeks ago we went to a Lu'au and oh what fun it was. We went with our friends Rob and Nellie and three of their friends who are visiting from the mainland (continental United States). When we arrived we were greated with a Mai Tai and a flower Lei. There was Hawaiian music being played and it was beautiful. We got shown to our seats, which were right in front of the stage, but it wasn't time to sit down yet. We of course walked over to the beach area where I got to be the Queen for 2 minutes while 3 men took me for a canoe ride.




After that the girls made Lei's for our wrists, ankles, and hair. It was so much fun! The men were showing off there skills at spear throwing. Well I don't know if you can call it skill but they sure were doing there best. After that we all got 'tatooes'. We even got to see them bring the pig out of the ground that we ate for dinner that night. The food was great and the show was even better. We got Kalua Pork, fish, fried chicken, rice, and desert...and oh year 4 drink tickets. This ones for you mom...we had Long Islands, Tropical Itches, and MAI TAI'S.







It wasn't until the sun set...


...that the real party started. The show was great! I don't know if I can explain in words how beautiful the hula girls and guys were. So, I have pictures for all of you. The best part of the whole show though was at the end when our waitress grabbed Randy and dragged him to the stage. He got to dance the hula with one of the girls, just him on stage with her. It was the best show ever! He was wearing...well, just scroll down and you will see.







Keep scrolling...







Wasn't that the best show ever!! We had a blast and I highly suggest that if you ever come to Oahu that you go to the Paradise Cove Luau. Great food, great entertainment, and great memories!

Just a few pictures

Here are few pictures of last Sunday when we went out for Banana Pancakes with Macadamia Nut Sauce. I was going to take pictures but they smelled so good I had to eat them right away (plus I forgot). I will take a picture next time because I will definitely be back for this delicacy again. We went to a little beach and took a few pictures. The water was very calm and it was beautiful as most of the beaches have been. It was also our friend Rob's birthday. It was the third day that he had celebrated...I think that I am going to start celebrating my birthday like him!

Bellows Beach

I went to the beach in Hawaii for the first time ever! We went to Bellows Beach which has a private area which is on the Air Force Base. Well, I had been to the beach but I hadn't been swimming. We went with two of our friends Rob and Nellie. Randy works with Rob and Nellie is the one that showed me around when I first got to Hawaii. Rob brought 3 boogie boards so we had lots of fun trying not to get crushed by the waves. Randy yelled over told me and said that he was treading water...which he cannot do...but when I turned to look at him he was holding onto his board. So, I am going to have to continue to work on that with him. I had a blast swimming! I love the water and can't believe that I hadn't made it out there until today. We are going to purchase some boogie boards of our own now also. Here are some pictures from our day today!

...notice the one of me sitting in the water and Randy standing over the top of me. He was not following the rules while we were swimming but I did my best to take him down with me.

New Apartment Pics, Halloween, and Herbs

Hey Everybody, so here are the long awaited furnished apartment pictures. I also got a few Halloween/Fall decorations to make the place a little more like home. I have also decided that I am going to grow a few herbs instead of more flowers...they are more functional plus my Cinnamon Basil has grown tremendously since I got it a month ago. I added some pictures of some plants that are outside my gate and a shot coming towards our house. Hope all is well with everybody!!! I will put some more pictures up soon and maybe a video of the area.

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My Puppies!!!

Oops...time went by quick

Well, I just looked at my blog and realized I hadn't posted anything in a few weeks. Now normally that would be no big deal but considering I am home all day, not working, and just doing homemaker stuff I should have put more stuff on my blog than I have. Oops! Things have been going well in Hawaii and the apartment is coming together piece by piece. The last piece of furniture we really have to get is a computer desk. I will put up pictures in the next day or so of all the new furniture and my basil plant that has grown a lot since the last picture. Hope all is well with everybody! The weather here has been awesome and if any of you are planning on visiting one of the islands let me know...maybe I will get to come visit! Love you all!

Ceramics, Girl Time, and Volunteering

As many of you know I really enjoy doing different types of arts and crafts. Whether it be scrap booking, card making, knitting, cross stitch, and now ceramics I am there. This morning a few of the other spouses that I have met since I got here got together at the craft building on post and painted ceramics. We got there at 10:00 AM and didn't leave until 3:15 PM. We had a great time and for my first time working with ceramics I have to say I didn't do to bad. I have been meeting new people already (no surprise). I have met many of the people that live in my cul d sac and a few spouses of soldiers in Randy's company. We plan on going back to do ceramics again next weekend so stand by for more pictures of my beautiful work (I am going to paint the boy that goes with my girl). I even bought my own brushes to make some of the detail work a little easier next time. I also went up to the elementary school that is just up the street and volunteered if they need me. As of right now I will be helping to tutor some kindergarten students on numbers. It will be twice a week as of right now but I am really excited and the lady said she would write me a letter of recommendation when I am done! That is it for now...not exactly sure when Randy comes in yet but I will keep ya'll posted.

Hawaii...I made it!

Well, I made it to Hawaii on Wednesday with only one minor glitch. When I went to get my rental car I found out that only tourists can use a debit card at Alamo car rental. Unless you have a return ticket you have to use a credit card. So, needless to say I didn't have the money on my credit card at the time. I know it is business but I was a little frustrated with the whole thing. It all got worked out though and I got a car and found my way to my new apartment. (Slideshow at the end of the post) It is very nice! I spent my first day basically going to Wal-mart for a few things and sleeping. The next day I ventured out and found Home Depot and Costco and made it back to my apartment without getting lost! I know, it's an island, I can't get to lost or I will be in the ocean. I also planted a few flower pots so that it looks a little more like somebody lives her since I have no furniture. I am sleeping on an air mattress which is also substituting as a dining room table, couch, and chair. So all in all things are going well. I have met a lot of my neighbors and they are all very nice and have already invited me and Randy to the Halloween block party they have. So...here are the pictures of the apartment and my flowers. Randy should be back by the middle of next week so I have a few days to relax and just hang out in beautiful Hawaii. Thanks again to everybody for a wonderful summer!

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A few pictures from my summer!!!

Here are the pictures I promised were coming. The first ones are from the Tacoma Rainers game that I went to with Lorae, her parents, and some of her co-workers. The next ones are ok Kristen and I at Camp Indianola. Indianola was the camp that I went to growing up and I met Kristen there when we were 8. The next ones are from when I went horseback riding. Bandit was a little reluctant at first but he warmed up to me. The rest of the pictures are from dinner at Maggianos Little Italy in Bellevue. It was a great restaurant and Lorae and I had a blast catching up with our friend Adair from SPU. My friend Chris ordered a 'full' size Spaghetti and when it arrived we were sure that they had given him a meal for 4. I have been having a great summer and been spending some quality time with my friends and family. I will be leaving on the 19th to head to Hawaii to meet up with Randy who should be back in about 2 1/2 weeks!!! It has been a long road but I sure do miss him and am very excited to start living as a 'normal' married couple. Hope all is well with everybody and thanks for the great memories from this summer and the past years!!!


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Check Back In Soon

Hello Everybody!!! I just wanted to write a short note to let everybody know to check back in soon because I am going to put another slideshow of pictures on the blog. I have had a few adventures lately so I thought I should share my wonderful times with you all! Hope everybody had a great summer and hope all my teacher friends are ready for their new school years!!! Here is a preveiw of what is to come...

CHICAGO!!!!!

Well, it has been a great summer at home in Washington. I have got to spend time with my friends and family and it has been awesome! One of the best parts of the summer was that I got to go to the Chicago conert with my mom, dad, and best friend Lorae. The concert was at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville, WA. We had a great time sitting on our blanket eating cheese, crackers, fruit, homemade humus and pita bread (Thanks Jill), and drinking great wine. It was to dark to get videos of my dad's 'original' dancing. Needless to say, if they ever come back to WA or wherever I may be living at the time I will be flying home to see them. I hope you enjoy the pictures! I will try and get a little clip of the concert on the blog soon also. Oh yeah, Lorae and I got some silly string at the store and surprised my parents!

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MY GIRLS!!!!

I just had to put a couple pictures on here tonight before I went to bed. My mom and I traveled out to the 'boonies' to see the 3 girls that I have held since the day they came home from the hospital. They are growing up so fast and I was so excited to see them!!! Aren't they beautiful!!! Some of you also know that the youngest had leukemia. She is doing great and is currently in remission.

Such a Small World

So today I was very lucky to be able to get a massage at InSpa. It was a great 1 1/2 hours that I got to relax and not have to think or do anything. I was able to stick to the not doing anything part but the not thinking part lasted all of 10 minutes. Then I would start thinking about different stuff and when I realized I was thinking about all sorts of things I had to remind myself to stop thinking. Eventually I relaxed enough that I was able to just lay there and enjoy. Thanks mom for the gift card!!!!

So, to explain how my new craft got started I have to explain a short encounter. So here goes it; About 3 days after I got back into town I went to have coffee with my Pastor. When I was leaving I had a young lady give me this story of how they ran out of gas and so on. So I decided to go against my better judgement and buy a gas can, fill it with 5 gallons of gas, and go back to give it to them. To my surprise...THEY WERE GONE!!! So, I was turning around in the parking lot when I passed this young lady with two kids and asked her if she wanted the gas because I didn't want to keep it in my car. So, I emptied the gas into her tank, we said our Thank Yous, and we went our separate ways. The following Sunday when I went to church guess who was standing by the front door but the lady I had given the gas to. It turns out that she goes to my church! So that is my story of just how small this world can be sometimes. SO...as we got to talking she offered to teach me to knit. As my first project I am sure you can imagine what I am making....A POTHOLDER!!! I would like to be able to get to the point that I can make some more advanced projects but I am working slowly in order to make sure that I learn correctly. So thanks Vanessa for teaching me to knit and being such a great listener and sharing your experiences with me. I will be back to learn more.

I also got to enjoy some scrapbooking time with another young woman from my church. I took a picture of my LO (layout for those who don't know scrap speak) I know it is difficult to see but I don't have a scanner right now. We had a great dinner and some great conversation. We have to get together again soon so that we can make some more pages and of course catch up on the rest of the happenings in each others lives. Thanks for stopping by Paula! All in all, I had a pretty good day and really enjoyed getting to spend some time with two amazing women.

For You Jenny

So, I took some pictures of food on Brian's and my trip from TX to WA. I can only find one right now but I will find the other pictures that I took and add them to this post.

Brian and I went to a Flea Market in New Mexico and the only thing that we bought was some Fry Bread. Basically, you drop the dough in some really hot oil and then cover it with a topping of your choice.

A.K.A The Elephant Ear

We also had a variety of other foods that were a little better for us but most of those pictures are missing at this time. We did have some very good Rainier Cherries.

We also filled our tummies with...

I will post a couple of other food pictures once I find them! Hope you enjoy the first picture Jenny!!

Diesel Fried Chicken

"It was a bit greasy but it went down quick." - B. Van Houten


So, we started our road trip at 3 AM from Hutto, TX. We decided that we just wanted to start heading out of town while we were awake anyways. We ended up stopping in the hometown of Lyndon B. Johnson. We left around noon and continued on our way out of Texas. So now comes the first funny story:

Brian and I had been on the road for around 6 hours. I was driving at the time when we passed a sign for gas. I pulled in to the parking lot and the gas was kind of pricey but I asked Brian what he thought we should do. 'We should be fine, let's just go a little further down the road.' Okay I say...being the good obedient sister. As we get down the road the gas light comes on. Guess what, no gas stations. We finally get to one and gas was $3.39 p/gal. So being the smart kids that we are we decided to get 3 gallons and fill up further down the road. So we start back on our way and guess what....gas light, again. So we pull off and get 2 more gallons of gas for $3.25 p/gal. The next town is about 23 miles away. So I am driving, not stomping on the gas, going up and down hills trying to make sure that we make it without puttering to a fuelless stop. About 10 minutes away from Van Horn, TX...GAS LIGHT!!! So if I count correctly...3 low fuel lights in 45 minutes, approx. $17.00 for 5 gallons of gas, and the fact that I, the little sister, was correct when I said we should get gas and pulled into the gas station. :-) Needless to say we were laughing pretty hard. But hey, if we had run out of gas we could have just dropped my car off the trailer and drove to get some. So see, we had a plan.

Washington or Bust! Thank Yous First

Well, first things first. I am out of of the Army! Second, due to a few different circumstances I decided to move all of my household goods to Renton approximately 4 days ago (Tues). So, after realizing it would cost a small fortune to have somebody move it for me I decided it would only cost a smaller fortune to do it myself...with a little help that is. So first off, thanks to my parents for the gas money and all the help with making sure my car is safe for me to drive. (Even though it is sitting on a car carrier behind the Penske truck right now.) Next, thanks go to my brother who flew in last night (Thursday night at 1000) to help me drive this rig up to Washington. Even with getting lost on my way to the airport which I have been to many, many times in Austin. And then we got back to my Sister-In-Laws house to finish loading up the truck. Thanks to Megan who let me borrow her husband the day after their 2 year anniversary. A few more thanks and then I will make another blog with pictures and updates on our trip. Thanks to my Sister-In-Law Linda for keeping all of my stuff in her garage for so long, car included, and for helping me unload everything when I brought it down there and helping to load up half of it this time. Also, thanks to Nicole and Raven, two of my nieces who helped pack up the truck also. Almost done, I would like to thank Gail for being such a great listener and for helping to take care of me as if I was her own daughter. And thanks to Sami for always making me laugh. Last but not least, to Dedra, Ross, and my boys for including me in your family. I also want to say thank you to everybody who has been praying for me over the past years and especially lately as I have been going through so much change and start some new adventures in my life.

Plus, I am writing this post in the moving truck driving down the freeway. My brother set up his phone to be used as a modem so we have internet while we drive, as long as we aren’t going through an area without coverage. I still cannot believe how much technology has changed since the big gray phone that weighed as much as a small dog.

24!!!!

When I got back from Iraq last year I borrowed Seasons 1-4 of 24. I was so addicted to this show that I would watch it in the morning after PT while I was getting ready for work, I would watch it at lunch, I would watch it when I got home from work, and on the weekends. Needless to say I finished all 4 seasons pretty quickly. The only problem with this was that when I finished Season 4 I could not start watching Season 5 in the middle so I was stuck not watching it at all. What a shame that was and it was so hard for me to not watch the rest of the season on TV. Well, due to the fact that I am in Iraq and we can pretty much get any movie or TV show that you can think of. (Even if it has just come out in theatres...we can usually get it.) So I am now watching Season 5 and I am so excited that I can hardly stand it! I am switching to the night shift in a few days so I have to adjust my body to a different sleeping pattern and I thought it was going to be hard to stay up tonight but NOT anymore!!!

I only have one question for those of you who have seen this season...why is everybody dying so quickly? I mean I am pretty sure that I know but the suspense is killing me and I can once again feel the addiction to this show coming back. I thought that maybe it would take a little while for it to come back but I guess not. I was totally addicted within the first 5 minutes and 23 seconds. I just wanted to let everybody know how excited I was at this moment in time! Now, if any of you feel that it would be funny to tell me what happens later on in this season I will have to promptly delete your comment from my page. That also means don't tell me about Season 6 either. Well... on to Episode 2!!

My Toebee Layout

Well I wanted to put this layout on here tonight since I have not been able to use the internet lately. This layout if for Toebee obviously...hope you enjoy it. I am still trying to figure out the whole digiscrap thing but I am working on it. I will write an update in the next day or so. Hope everybody is doing well and I will talk to you soon. Thank you to all of those who sent me the wonderful birthday wishes and birthday boxes!!! I had so much fun reading the messages and opening the presents. I miss all of you!

The Finer Things In Life

I know, you are all thinking I am going to write about wine, beautiful jewelry, fancy houses, or something to that extent right? Well, turns out that I have realized that some of the finer things in life are the things that everybody takes for granted. Such as fresh smelling air, cooking what you want every night, being with your loved ones whenver you feel like it, not being limited to what you can do on any given day, and CINNABONS! Yes, I said it Cinnabons. Now not to discredit the things I said before that because those really are the finer things in life. Since I can't have those things right I have to resort to other things that make me happy.

When I got to work today I found out that a guy who used to be in our company sent us Cinnabons. Now of course some of you are thinking those would go bad by the time they got to us. Well, if you don't know...some of the bases in Iraq have places like that. Not full scale restaurants but fast food restaurants such as Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway, etc. I do not remember the last time that I had a cinnabon. One because they have so many calories that I don't think I can count that high (by the way, I ate 2 of them...mini cinnabons though) and two because I just didn't take the time to ever stop and eat one. Well, today I realized something, that first cinnabon that I ate was like a little piece of heaven for my mouth. So in eating that Cinnabon it just helped me to remember that it is not the car that we drive, the nice clothes that we can buy because we have tons of money, or that we have the most expensive hi-tech cell phone out there but the finer things in life are the things I mentioned in the first paragraph. So take your family, go do something fun, make a picnic, stop by a Cinnabon store and pick up some cinnabons for dessert, and enjoy the beautiful day that God has given you. You will see what I am talking about when you take a bite of that cinnabon, they are even good when they are a little bit cold. Oh yeah...eat dessert first, life is uncertain!

Inspired Scrapbooking...Well Once I Get Back

So I have this friend who is more into scrapbooking than I am. She also has a blog that I read on a regular basis. She had this book on her page as a book that she is reading right now. So, I decided to order the book and see what it was all about. It turns out that this is a great book! It has some great ideas in it and really gives some great insight into what scrapbooking is all about. It turns out...scrapbooking is not just about getting pictures into your scrapbook but about sharing your feelings at the time you make a certain page and about preserving lasting memories for your family and friends when you are gone. So I have started writing down all the people that I want to make pages about and all the everyday things that I want to remember. This book also has all sorts of project suggestions in it also. There are so many ways to express yourself and share your memories with others. I am really looking forward to getting back to the states and being able to scrapbook all my ideas that I have going through my head right now. I also got a digital program from the friend whose site that I saw this book on. So, I can start some of it right now! And...my wonderful husband is also going to get me some scrapbooking stuff for my birthday so I am super excited to see what he gets me!

Also, 42 days until Randy and I go on leave!!! Disneyworld here we come. I will keep you all updated on what is going on with what we are going to do on leave and I will make sure to keep a detailed journal of everything we do and don't worry...there will be lots of pictures! I am going to go and get to bed now so I will write again soon.

One more thing, if you guys get emails from me with a bunch of questions in them. Answer them honestly and be patient with all my question asking. I am going to start making lots of sketches of layouts that I want to make so I will need information on various things from all of you. Thank you so much for all of your help as I start on this very fun adventure!
I made this layout while I was playing with my new program that I got. I figured that my mom would like it...don't worry, Toebee has one coming soon.