Ready, set, go!

It seems as though this entry didn't post...uh, duh. Kinda important since the REST OF THE BLOG MAKES NO SENSE! LOL! Apologies and please carry on.

Hello 2010! *tap*tap* You out there? Everyone hungover? Hello? Well, when you are able to peel yourself from the sheets and get that cup of coffee in your system...I have what you've been waiting for.

My pantry challenge menu for the month of January; I know you've been on the edge of your seat in anticipation. I dunno how to do that fancy shmancy stuff so it actually looks like a calendar, so you will just have to deal with my "list" format. Oh, and I'm missing 4 days so feel free to comment and leave me an idea!


1-taco night
2- chix dumpling soup
3- chili
4-pot roast
5-BBQ beef sandwiches using leftover roast meat
6-grilled cheese/tomato soup (duty night)
7-teriyaki chicken/stir fry veggies
8-mini meatloaf
9-burgers/baked beans/deviled eggs/fried potatoes
10-
11-artichoke & caper slow cooker chicken/rice
12-breakfast casserole
13-bruschetta chicken/garlic rolls
14-beef portabello stroganoff (using ground turkey 1/2lb)
15-skillet lasagna using other 1/2lb of ground turkey
16-kalua pork/rice/mac salad
17-frozen pizza (I have a TS party)
18-birthday/anniversary restaurant dinner
19-
20-
21-fried chicken/mashed taters/green beans
22-pancakes/sausage
23-
24-tarragon chicken/lemon parm penne/green beans
25-deli sandwiches/mac n cheese
26-grilled chicken kabobs/rice
27-spaghetti w/meatballs
28-chicken enchiladas/spanish rice/refried beans
29-teriyaki pineapple chicken meatballs/rice
30-frozen pizza (I have a TS party)
31-BBQ chicken/baked beans/deviled eggs/corn on cob

The year in review

It is over done and cliche, but I am ALL about that stuff. Here is our year in review through pictures...ENJOY!

January, living in Hawaii - Deegan and his BFF doin' what they do best :)

In February we moved to the mainland and my baby rode the bus to school!

In March I flew to LA to pick up my car and drive it across country with a few stops.

In April I caught up with old friends and their new additions.
In May, DevilDoc came home!

In June I prepared for a new sibling.

In July my baby brother got married....

....and we went to Disney World!

In August we moved to Great Lakes, IL.

In September DevilDoc pinned on Chief Petty Officer :)

In October we took Magoo to see Miley Cyrus.

In November I went to see the Pioneer Woman!

In December we had our first white Christmas in a loooooong time.

It's not official yet

but I just wanted to give an update on the pantry challenge. It doesn't "start" until January 1 but today we went to the commissary and Costco. My commissary trip was WAY more than it normally is because I had to replace darn near everything that was in the fridge since it went "kaput" last week :(

Commissary: Before coupons $179.95 After coupons $163.76 (that includes the "surcharge") for a savings of $16.19 or 9%. I'm kinda disappointed b/c I usually am in the 20% and above savings range. I am blaming it on having to buy lots of replacements.

Costco: $74.77 Purchased pork tenderloin, golden pineapple, frozen chicken breast, shrimp cocktail, chicken meatballs and dentyne gum. Definitely could have done better but I feel good about it nonetheless.

Off to build a monthly menu :)

The pantry challenge

Okay...new year, new ways. DevilDoc and I are turning a new leaf financially and one thing I want to do is use what we already have in the house instead of purchasing new things. So, I was really excited today to find Money Saving Mom
doing an "Eat from the pantry challenge". I'll try to keep up here weekly so check back to see how we are doing.

**I should note that we have to make a MAJOR trip to the store in the next couple of days to replace everything we lost the weekend before Christmas when our fridge quit working.

We are cutting fast food out of our lives. If you don't order it from a server and leave a tip; we don't eat there.

We are cutting out soft drinks...period.

We are cutting out bottled water. We have enough re-usable water bottles to go around and we will fill those and throw 'em in the fridge.

I will add to this as I think of more, but that's it for now.

How am I supposed to live without you....

now that I've been loooooving you soooo loooooooong?! I'm pretty sure that is what DevilDoc meant to say when he called me from La Guardia to let me know that he missed his connecting flight to Boston b/c he was delayed leaving O'Hare. And I'm pretty sure what he meant to say when he called from Boston to tell me that they had lost his luggage was "I'm sorry I left you alone AGAIN with the kids for a week with the house still not unpacked, travel vouchers still outstanding on top of everything else you do while I play battleship in BOSTON". Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what he meant to say.

Ummm, hello? You are flying BY YOURSELF! You packed YOURSELF (no kids), drove YOURSELF (no kids) to the airport, checked in YOURSELF (no kids) and might I add that you didn't even make your travel arrangements? The nice people at SATO did that! But, yes dear...I'm so glad you called me while I was settling the travel vouchers, taking Pookins to the 1st day of 1st grade, doing laundry, unpacking boxes and chasing a 4yo to let me know they lost your luggage.

I love that man...I really really do. I can't wait 'til the roles get reversed and he gets all of my duties put on his plate :)

Love you honey.

Dear Parms in Paradise

I promise I am going to update the blog with the remainder of our Disney adventure. Baby A may be driving by the time I get around to it, but I promise nonetheless :)

I interrupt your regularly scheduled blog....

....to bring you the latest news on the US Navy front.

Selection results for FY09 E7 were released today.....

HMC - CHIEF HOSPITAL CORPSMAN AJEL FERDINAN ALLIE TYRONE ALVIA JAMES A BACA DARRYL D BAISDEN TRAVI BALLESTEROS A BANKUS JILL B BARKSDALE IVO BEARD JASON B BEASON DAVID BEATTY TARA C BECKFORD JASO BEDIA JESSE R BELK BRIAN RA BELL CORY DUS BELL MARIA RA BIA SHANNON BIBERA MICHAE BLAESING GIOV BLAKE ERIC MI BLIEFERNICH K BLOSSER NATHA BOITER AMANDA BONNETT MATTH BORDERS RHOND BORJON REYMUN BOW DONALD AL BRANNAN EDWIN BRESKE MATTHE BRINKMEIER JA BROOMES DAVID BUSH KENNETH BUSSCHER GEOF CABANLIT WARR CABRAL DEXTER CABRERA CELSO CADANG JAIMER CANTORNA JERR CARBONELL ARN CARDENAS ANDR CHATMAN KELVI CHILDRESS TOM CLAIRMONT JOS COATES MIKEL COLEMANNORTHE COLLIER RAYMO COMERFORD DYL CONLEY CHRIST CONROY GEORGE COOLEY DANTE COOPER BLAKE COOPER JAMAAL CORRAO BRENDA CORTADO GERAR CORTESMORALES COUSAR MICHAE CRANDALL STEV CRAWFORD WILL CUNNINGHAM DA DALTON ANDRE DAVIS BYRON L DAVIS CHRISTO DAVIS KEITH R DEGUZMAN MICH DEGUZMAN OLIV DELACRUZ BRAN DELARESMA WIN DELAROSA AUGU DELEON BREENA DELROSARIO EN DELSANTO CARL DENMAN JOHN K DIEDERICH JER DILBECK JONAT DONATO EMETER DUFF MICHAEL DUNCAN APRIL DUNLAP MICHEL DURAN CHARISS EASON VAUGHN EBIYA JEFFREY ECK EDWARD RO EDMOND ESTREL EISON C J ELLIOTT CHRIS ENDERTON JOSE FAMILIAR ELWI FELDER DEVRON FERGUSON KARI FIGUEROA ADRI FINCH CORY SC FISHER LOGAN FLINT VIRGIL FLORES ROGER FOSTER GREGOR FRANCOM JOSEP GAMBOA FRANCI GARCIA GILBER GARDNER LUKAS GEISER JEFFRE GEORGE JEFFRE GERFY THOMAS GEUY TARA YVO GIBBS NATHAN GLASS ROBERT GOFF KRISTINA GOMEZ MARK A GOMEZ MELISSA GOODSON RONAL GRAETTINGER K GRAY KATHLEEN GREEN ROSHUN HAGMAN NATHAN HANCOCK SEAN HARBISON HEAT HARDING JEROM HARGROVE MERC HARNISHFEGER HARRIS DAVID HARTANTO GUNA HAUPTMANN TRE HEINTSCHEL SC HENDERSON JOS HERNANDEZ KOR HERNANDEZ TOB HILDEBRAND RY HILL CHARLES HILL JAMES RO HILL TOMMY LA HITT JULIE AN HODGES BENJAM HOVDE LISA AN HUFF LINDA JACOBSON BRIA JACOBSON DANI JOHNSON CHRIS JOHNSON SHANN JOHNSON VENIT JOHNSON WARRE JONES DAVID L JORDAN JEREMY JORGENSEN JUL JUDEH ASHRUF KAEBISCH RICK KEPLINGER CHR KFOURY ELIAS KRIEGER BRAND LAMBETH COREY LAXA RICHARD LEE GERALD WA LEMAS KEREN M LEWIS ONEIL O LIGHTNER JOLA LITCHFIELD SY LIZARRAGAPLAS LLOYD GENTRY LOESCH MICHAE LONG SEAN CRE LUGO MIGUEL A LUJAN MONICO MANRIQUE PHIL MARCHANT CHAR MARTIN JOSEPH MARTIN TROY B MARTINEZ CARL MASHBURN RONN MAWANAY FREDD MCBRIDE MAURI MCCARTER DAVI MENCHACA DANI MESZAROS STEV MINIX STEPHAN MISTICA PETER MITSCH JESSE MONROE MICHAE MONTGOMERY RA MOORER CASEY MORENO BENJAM MORGAN RICHAR MOROSINI RODD MURPHY JAMISO MURPHY SANDRA MURPHY STACY NAGY THOMAS D NEAL ROBERT D NESS JEFFERY NEVILLE KENNE NEWKIRK TRAVI NEWSOME JOHN NUDELMAN JOSH OH JEREMIAH T ORTMEYER KIMB PACHECO LAWRE PADILLA CHARL PAGCALIWAGAN PALACIOS HUMB PALKIN RUBEN PANGCO GLENN PARRA FREDDY PARROTT CHRIS PATRICK CARLE PATRICK CHI M PEAU FEALOFAN PELLEGRIN CHA PENAMENJIVAR PEREZ RENE PIERCE KATHLE PLETTNER ELIZ POLLOCK JASON POPP RANDY WI PORTER SHAWN PRITCHETT JEF PUCKETT JOSEP PUROG EDINITO REID JOSHUA G REYES ELMER M REYES ROMARRA RICHARDSON TA RINSCHLER HOL RIOS FELIPE ROBERTSON ARO ROBERTSON TIM RODRIGUES RYA RODRIGUEZ MIC ROGERS AMYLYN ROGERS TORRIE ROSCA RICHARD ROUSH MICHAEL RUDY LISA MAR RUSSELL ASHLE SALAPANTAN AR SALAZAR VALEN SALES ARVIN F SAMBE MAMADOU SANDY BRIDGET SAPPENFIELD W SAUNDERS ERIK SCHEINERT EDW SCHULTER JOSE SHAW JON SHERRILL MONI SHOCKEY RENA SISON TIRSO R SITTON TERRY SKIBSTED ROBE SMALLS KENDA SMITH AMY MAR SMITH BRIAN C SMITH ERIC SMITH JAMES C SOTO VINCENT STALLINGS STA STANISZ MARTY STEVENS DANIE STILLFORD MIC STRASSBURG CH SUTTON JUSTIN SWANSON RANDY TERUKINA KAWI THAO BLONG THIBODEAUX JA THOMPSON RICK THOMPSON YAHA TILO ITIELU N TORRISI JEREM TOSSETTI JESS TREVINO RICAR TURNER CHRIST TURNER RUSSEL UNTALAN RICHA VALINE ERNEST VARNADO SHANN VAUGHT THOMAS VOLKART CLAUD WAGNER EARL J WALDORF JAMES WALKER JOHN P WALKER LEILEI WALKER MATTHE WALKER THOMAS WALLACE HEATH WALLEN KELLY WALLS MICHAEL WARD DANIELLE WARDLEIGH AMA WARREN NATHAN WASHINGTON TA WATFORD KEITH WATTS TANNIES WEBB DUSTY AL WEBER ROBERT WHITE DARWIN WIDOW ORLANDO WILLIAMS SHAW WILSON KEVEN WORTHINGTON W

Sorry it's so ugly...but guess which one is my DevilDoc?! Congrats to all the CPO selectees and their families; hang on tight I believe we are in for a bumpy ride?!

Allbluezoo vs. Hollywood Studios

Monday July 20, 2009

Remember how I said I wanted to be up and at the park at 8am? Yeah, so much for that. We did arrive at our new Disney Resort (Caribbean Beach Resort) at 0745, but by the time we got checked in and put all of our stuff in the room it was 9am when we walked through the gates at Hollywood Studios. Not too bad if I do say so myself!

When we checked in I picked up a stroller that we are using this week from a www.disboards.com stroller swap. It totally rocks, if you need a stroller for a vacay but don’t own one (we got rid of strollers awhile ago, but Disney would be HELL without it!) look into a stroller swap. Lots of them are free or have a nominal charge ($5-$10). Our main goal at DHS was getting Pookins into the Jedi Academy for Jedi training. If you have met Pookins you know that this is a MUST DO, no ifs ands or buts about it. Well, we went for the first training and they chose every single kid around him BUT NOT HIM! My poor baby was crushed, I was crushed and DevilDoc was crushed. It totally broke my heart to see him so upset. We assured him we would come back and try again. Yeah, well….it started raining. No Jedi Training in the rain. CRAP!

I was ready to do a sunshine dance so that he could do the training! Lucky for us we had lunch reservations to divert our thoughts and we headed for Sci-Fi Dine In Theater. It’s a really neat concept; all the seating is in convertible Cadillacs. Some seat 6 some 4 and there was even a stretch one that seated 10! Our server was AMAZING (Ask for Tony if you ever go!) and the kids really enjoyed it. We are using the Disney Dining plan during our visit so our meals are paid for up front. The kids got to choose an appetizer, entrée, drink AND dessert ALL INCLUDED! We adults get an entrée, drink and dessert. OMG, so much food it was unreal! I took some not so great pics, it is REALLY dark in there and the plate was white so I got a horrible glare with the flash. Just pretend you don’t see that part.

Earlier in the day we had gotten a FASTPASS for Toy Story Mania so we went to enjoy a ride while we waited for the next round of Jedi Training Academy…it stopped raining! Lemme just tell you that the next two attempts at Jedi Training were unsuccessful. Pookins was seriously devastated. I was trying so hard to cheer him up and keep him motivated to keep trying.
We decided to split up because Magoo wanted to go to Playhouse Disney Live! But there was another Jedi Training session starting at the same time. We decided to meet at 50s Prime Time Cafe where we had dinner reservations. I guess I was some kind of bad luck charm because on this trip to training he was selected!! I am so sad I didn’t get to see it in person, but my wonderful DevilDoc got it all on video for me.

***I tried to upload the video but it was taking forever and a day...I'll try to put it on YouTube if I can figure that out-then I'll throw the link in here later.***

They joined us for dinner as soon as they were done and we had a raucous good time! Prime Time Cafe is like a cross between Ed Debevik’s and I Love Lucy. You are seated in kitchenettes decorated from the 50s and the servers get on you for “having your elbows on the table”, “getting up from the table without asking to be excused” and for “not eating your vegetables”! It was a hoot. Our server Debbie was awesome and she got the boys to eat more by holding their ice cream sundaes hostage. She also kept giving DevilDoc a hard time about having his elbows on the table (I get on him all the time too)!

We had FASTPASSES for Tower of Terror that were open during the time right after dinner. I thought it would be better to do something low key to let our food settle first. We went over to Prince Caspian’s Adventure…don’t waste your time. I won’t.

Off to Tower of Terror, which Pookins has ridden before at Disneyland. Magoo passed the height requirement so we all trudged along with our passes. Pookins kicking and screaming the whole way that he was scared and Magoo not even flinching. We all made it out alive and although Cameron wasn’t scared on the ride at all he did declare afterward “I do not want to stay in that hotel tonight mommy, there were cobwebs on their lights”. Good to know.

By the time that was all over with the clock was striking 8pm and it was time to get our tired rears back to our Pirate Room so we could be rested for the next day’s adventures! I threw in some laundry, the boys hit the pool and now I am gonna hit the sack and hope they remember to get the laundry out before they come back.

I leave you with a picture of us under the hat...it's rare that I'm in a picture so now you know I really went on this vacation!

Disneyworld...installment ONE!

Oh goodness, we aren't even CLOSE to being at Disneyworld yet but I've already got enough material for a blog entry!

Day ONE by the numbers-
4-McDonald's 96 gallon sweet teas consumed..okay, they aren't 96 gallons, but darn close!

7-number of times Magoo asked me when we were going to be at the airport, even after we'd been in the car for 8 hours! Poor kid thinks when you go on vacation you HAVE to go on a plane (island baby!)

4-number of times Pookins asked me if we were "at" Florida yet. He asked for the first time at 6:32; we left the house at 6:11 :)

1-entry into the "unintentional porn" portion of MAXIM; we passed by Cox Smoker's Outlet...say it out loud..but not around kids!

1-phone call from friend's 3yo son while she and daddy were "taking a nap". Learned all about his new Storm Trooper gun :)

2-random thoughts from DevilDoc that cracked me up (1) Me-"honey, I think the speed limit is 45, that is why we are FLYING by everyone" Him-"chickens!" and (2) In downtown Atlanta while stopped under an overpass bridge "ahhhh, we're in a 'shady' part of town" hardy har har!

2-viewings of Xmen on the DVD player

3-potty stops

Lastly, not by the numbers but quite a coinky dink if I do say so myself...while driving through Louisville I had my iPod on shuffle and it played Ministry, Depeche Mode and Bjork in a row...10 points if you can tell me WHY that would be a coinky dink?!

I did take some pics but I'm way to lazy to find my camera and do all the work involved, so I'll share them later...k? K!

Oh me Oh my...it's been too long

Ugh, again with the not keeping up the blog! I apologize profusely for my lack of updating, but if you were wearing my shoes over the past few weeks you would be much more understanding!

Once we were back in Hawaii with DevilDoc we lounged around for about 47minutes before we had to start preparing out house for pack out. For those not military lingo inclined that means putting everything in its correct room so when the packers come you don't end up with laundry in your dishes! We dealt with pack out for 2 days and opted to pay off the man, aka Forest City, so we didn't have to clean our house!

We headed on down to Waikiki for 5 days at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It was SO nice to just relax and enjoy each other's company. No rushing off to work, taking kids to practices or school...heck, I didn't even have to do laundry OR cook! It truly was a VACATION!



I also had a chance to enjoy an "Aloha Farewell" with some of the MOST WONDERFUL people that God could have put in my path...I tell ya, military spouses are a whole different world of friend. They are babysitters, housecleaners, cooks, girlfriends, best friends, substitute husbands, party animals...I could go on and on but I'm sure you get the picture! They are everything and I feel blessed to have such great people around me.

My bunco girls!


My NHKS 'Ohana


That's all I can give ya for now. We are in the throws of going to see THE MOUSE so I need to get a move on with the packing. Next installment, my baby brother gets married :(

Falling in love all over again

Just a little tease for now...I'll spill all the beans later :)

Thank you Northwest Airlines, Delta, KLM...whoever you are

they seem to be having a bit of an identity crisis right about now. My tickets said Northwest, but the plane we boarded said Delta. Who knows? All I know is I arrived at my destination HALLELUJAH!

Part A-Thank you Northwest Airlines for changing THREE tickets to accomodate my husband's supposed arrival time WITHOUT charging me a penny. Even though the husband did not arrive at the time initially given, we will roll with it...it's the miitary.

Part B-Thank you fantastic flight attendants on the flight from Indy-Minneapolis who entertained my children, allowed me to use the "lavatory" ALONE and gave us some coupons to use for lunch at the airport between flights. Mahalo, gracias, danke sien?

Part C-Thank you mind reader on the flight from Minneapolis-Honolulu who realized when I was holding my head in my hands that I needed just a moment to collect myself. I appreciate you beckoning another flight attendant to deliver me a beer STAT! It may have been the tastiest beverage I've had this millenium!

We made it to Honolulu safe and sound, I didn't even have to lop off any appendages from the boys! We arrived to our house, dropped our bags and hit the road to visit our good friends the Parms in Paradise...she's over there along the sidebar, I'm too tired to do the linky thing :) We visited for a bit and the kids played like they had just seen each other yesterday. On the way home we made a pit stop for some milk, cereal and juice since there is NOTHING edible in our house. All I could muster was a quick trip into the mini-mart, I'll save a grocery trip for later....much LATER!

I got the boys to bed and they were so excited to play with all their "new" toys :) I think they finally gave up around 10pm HST...which would be 4AM for our bodies! At 430am HST Magoo was next to me wanting breakfast. I managed to fend them off 'til 730am. They ate and have been playing ever since, haven't really heard a peep. I'm just trying to get things put away and have the house look somewhat clean...organized....picked up??? before DevilDoc arrives. I still have no idea when that will be, but we'll be ready.

On the agenda for today...not a gosh darn thing. Wherever the wind takes us I suppose. I believe a nap will be in order before we do anything though, that's for sure. I'm thinking Dole Plantation, maybe Killer Tacos?! Oh, and we're picking up our Nani-girl from Miss Cyndi later on!!!

Remember this?

Man, it doesn't take much to put me back in that place....I can smell the salty air coming off of Kaneohe Bay and feel the crisp wind against my skin. The uneasy conversations going on all around us, trying to avoid the inevitable. Listening to everyone say their goodbyes and cry their tears, hearing "I'll be home soon!" and KNOWING that there is NEVER a guarantee. Devil Docs immediate unit has been blessed...they are returning as a complete unit, no one was lost. I almost feel guilty, because there are so many other units who come back without everyone :(

So, the boys and I are preparing to head to the little dot in the middle of the ocean for one last time. It will be bittersweet. I will so miss my friends, our school, our little piece of paradise. At the same time I will be so glad to have my family together again. A range of emotions.

We plan to eat malasadas, Dole whip, Shrimp truck, Longhi's...maybe some Kobe Steakhouse for good measure! I'm not sure what kind of connectivity I will have, the cable, etc. was turned of when we left so I'll have to try and "borrow" from the neighbors.

I can't wait to replace that picture up there with happiness.

Did you know

that when you eat M&Ms and then drink orange juice the resulting burp tastes like tequila? I discovered this during my cross country road trip. Enjoy that trivia!

A very quick road update

I am in Dalhart, TX. What? You don't know where that is? Well, neither do I! But Google did...it is in that little sliver of Texas really close to Oklahoma where the little panhandle part of OK is. Totally cleared that up, didn't I?

Anyway...a few picture teases

Scenes from the rearview



Rollin' through the hood, LOL!



I have LOTS to say about my trip so far...for instance, this is for all the people from Minnesota who seemed to be SURROUNDING me while I was driving. I'm not sure what they teach at Driver's Ed in Minnesota, but most places I've been the standard rule is that you DO NOT DRIVE in the left hand lane on the highway, it is for passing ONLY. GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!!

There is absolutely NOTHING from Lake Havasu City to New Mexico..well, pretty much. Where do you people go to the grocery store?!

More later....I'm going to bed.

I'm getting worse

at this blogging thing, aren't I? I make a promise to update more often and then I go off and don't post for the longest time. And...for no good reason really!? I mean, I have been doing things, but nothing so earth shattering to prevent me from blogging. I guess I just haven't felt that anything was interesting enough. But that's all about to end. I am on the beginning of a journey that will take me from the heartland of America to the west coast and back again! That's right, I'm blogging from PHX (for those that are travel challenged that is Phoenix SkyHarbor Airport). I am on my way to LAX (again, oh challenged ones...that's Los Angeles International) where I will be cabbing it to the Long Beach pier to pick up my car!

Then the real adventure begins as I make my way BACK to the Hoosier state all by myself....oh the SHEER JOY!!! No one yelling from the back seat that the movie is over, no screaming "he hit me!", no begging to stop at EVERY single McDonald's that comes into sight. Ahhhh....heaven!

So, I plan to stop this evening and get some good sleep in since the limo (yes, a limo picked me up for the airport this morning! I only ordered a regular car) picked me up at 345am! Whew, on a good night I'd just be coming home from the clubs at that hour :) I've brought my camera and my THIRD new lens (don't get me started!) so I will be sure to take LOTS of pictures of really COOL stuff that I find along the road. Where is that "world's largest ball of twine" anyway?!

Did you say 14 degrees?

I sit here holding my face in my hands wondering where to start? It's been over a month since I've blogged and BOY have there been some changes around these parts!

I guess the first thing to share is .... we're Hoosiers again! The boys and I are in Indiana for the time being. Without going into horrific and graphic detail - I got really sick AGAIN from my Crohn's disease. So sick that the teacher I worked with in Hawai'i came to my house and took me to the ER because I was in denial. Next thing you know I am admitted and my world slowly starts to turn upside down. Before Devil Doc left we had to establish a family care plan in case this type of situation arose. So, my dear friend Jai took over mommy duties with assistance from Susan and some ladies from our school. My mom hopped a plane to the land of Aloha and swooped in to save the day. We made the decision that when I was released from the hospital that the best thing would be to come back to the mainland to be near family for help with my healing as well as help with the boys.

So, that's where we are today. Pookins is in a new school with new friends and riding the BUS everyday!!! Magoo is at a new school and does NOT like the cold weather at all; we definitely created a beach bum there! Me? I'm trudging along. Trying to figure out all the logistics of our household goods, coordinating a PCS move from 1/2 way around the world, finding a foster parent for Nani and acclimating to our new surroundings.

We have been blessed with a family that God gave us who are able to provide and help in so many ways. And we have been blessed with an amazing family of friends, both military and civilian, who have stepped in to help when they weren't even asked. I can't imagine what would have happened to my babies if I had not had such a wonderful 'ohana in Hawai'i. Mahalo everyone who chipped in and kept my kids afloat during that week!

And to my old friends here in Indiana...it's cold here!! But, I feel the warmth you are sharing with my family and I truly appreciate it. I cannot wait to catch up with everyone, I have a feeling that this 5 months is going to fly by way too fast.

Things to come...weekend slumber party with some DEAR sorority sisters I haven't seen in ooooooh, 13 years?! Then, I trek to Los Angeles to pick up my car and have a visit with Charlie my first HS boyfriend *blush*. Hopefully we'll have orders by then and I can go back to Hawai'i and pack up our house. And FINALLY, Devil Doc should be making him way home. We are missing him something terrible and cannot wait to be there to see him get off that bus/plane.

I'm back to blogging so I hope you'll be reading.

With this ring, I thee wed

For my husband...on our anniversary January 20

7 years ago today I took the plunge and married a Navy man. Whew, no one prepared me for the whirlwind that was to come.

Remember that you asked me to marry you TWICE on the first day we met? Remember tagging along with Christina and I for ice cream and I made you sit in the back seat? I know you remember what I was wearing because you haven't let me throw away those darn pants yet! Looking back at our pictures we were SO young...okay, YOU were so young...me, not so much!

Days after we were married we loaded up what was "ours" and moved across the country, literally! From San Diego to Pensacola we drove in newlywed bliss. Wasn't too long after that we found out we would be blessed with a son in the fall. Deegan came along and brightened our lives, but just as the fun began you were taken to Iraq. I am so proud of you and what you do on a daily basis, I really don't think you know HOW proud I am. Maybe I don't tell you enough...so here it is in front of ...well, 6 people that follow my blog, LOL I am PROUD of YOU!

You went above and beyond what a husband is "supposed" to do in caring for me when I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. I really thought I wouldn't live this life with you...thank goodness God came to his senses and realized you can't live without me :)

Hurricane Ivan came and went leaving behind a shell that was our home. Our marriage was tested during this time as we moved into a Red Cross shelter, prepared for you to go to Iraq AGAIN and found out that we would be blessed with another baby.

We've since been back to San Diego and now we are an ocean away from our families. Our blood relatives that is, because we have a wonderful military family here in O'ahu and I wouldn't trade this ride for the world!

Thank you for being my husband, a wonderful father, a random thinker, a forceful kisser and a hero. But most of all thank you for being you because I'm not sure I'd find anyone else to put up with me!

Then....


Now....

This is what is happening at my house

If you know the geography of Hawai'i then you know which island is O'ahu. For those not familiar...or those who think Hawai'i isn't "America" O'ahu is the tiny little speck 3rd from your left. There is a REALLY tiny one first (Niihau), the next bigger speck is Kaua'i and then my speck O'ahu!

There is no school tomorrow! I guess it is a Hawai'ian snow day, rain day , wind day bad weather day? I mean, no school...as in no private, public or charter institutions are open. Colleges and universities are closed...let's hope they have decided to leave bowling alleys and movie theaters open for the sanity of parents who are now stuck at home for a FOUR DAY WEEKEND with their children because of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday.

I hope, hope, hope, hope that we don't lose power on our side of the island. And if we do I hope it isnt' for too long! I just went grocery shopping today and the thought of having to do it all over is VERY annoying.

Oh, and I have cable running everything in my house...so you'll only be able to reach me via cell if we do go out over here.

I really shouldn't commit myself

to things like doing a weekly feature on the blog. Inevitably SOMETHING pops up and I just can't get things done!

I promised Pookins he could play his Wii tonight (he's been grounded from it for a looooong time) because he has had a REALLY good week at school and excellent basketball/taekwondo practices this week.

Since I am letting him play Wii (on the humongous screen of course) I cannot watch my DVR of "The View" to see what Whoopi "what the helled?" about today. Not only that, but right now the little red light is illuminated on the cable box just taunting me...something is being recorded and I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS!

And, to add insult to injury...one of my MOST favorite shows has apparently been back on for at least one episode, probably more with my luck! BIG LOVE has returned and I've MISSED IT!!! I just can't keep up with everything...if I set the DVR for everything I want to watch it gets full and can't remember everything so it stops recording. By the time these people (you know, the ones that call me mom) go to bed and I get the house the way I want it...I'm beat and just wanna watch TV. BUT, being the new gung-ho fitness gal that I am, I must force myself into the garage to torture...I mean better myself.

At any rate, I gotta figure out a new routine because what we have goin' on just isn't workin' for me. I've thought of waking up early to workout first thing in the morning, but DANG I just wanna sleep! If you have any suggestions I am open to them, just click the little pencil thingy down there and suggest to your hearts content.

Oh, and keep all your stuff crossed for us...Pookins has a casting call tomorrow :)

Questions to keep to yourself

borrowed/lifted/stolen from someone else.

"Aren't you afraid that he'll be killed?"

This one ranks in at number one on my "duh" list. Of course we're afraid, you dimwit. We're terrified.The thought constantly lingers at the back of our minds - but thank you so much for reminding me yet again. Maybe next you can go ask someone with cancer if they're scared of dying.



"I don't know how you manage. I don't think I could do it."

Though this is really annoying, I feel bad about mentioning it because I know that it is intended to be a compliment. Still, it's not like all of us military wives have been dreaming since childhood of the day we'd get to be anxious, light-sleepers who carry cell phones with us to the bathroom. We're not made of some mysterious matter that makes us more capable, we got asked to take on a challenging life and we rose to the challenge.



"He's in Iraq/Afganistan? I'm sorry."

This comment, while meant to be helpful, is annoying! My husband is doing exactly what he wants to do. He is making a positive difference in the world, training the Iraqi military, and helping children who dream of growing up in a world free from strife. This is his job, this is our life, and this is how we choose to live it. We choose to live this life because of our ideology.



"Do you think he'll get to come home for Christmas/anniversary/birthday/birth of a child/wedding/family reunion, etc?"

Don't you watch the news? No. They don't get to come home for any of these things. No, they often don't get to teleconference as much as people assume we get to for special events. Please don't ask again.



"What are you going to do to keep yourself busy while he's gone?"

For one, try to keep my sanity. Maybe there is a military wife out there who gets bored when her significant other leaves, but I have yet to meet her. For the rest of us, we find ourselves having to fill the shoes of two people--husband and wife. On top of that we have to keep strong in public and ourselves in private. That keeps us plenty busy. We do get lonely, but we don't get bored.



"How much longer does he have until he can get out?"

This one is annoying to many of us whether our guys are deployed or not. Most of our men aren't counting down the days until they "can" get out. The military isn't a slave program they are sold into, it's a choice. Sorry to break it to you but many of them keep signing back up again and again because (gasp!) they love what they do.



"This deployment shouldn't be so bad, now that you're used to it."

I'm sorry, just how do you get used to watching your man go off to war? It's not a little business trip. There are bombs, bullets, and some very bad people who are bent on killing. My man and his guys are the barrier that keeps them from coming here and trying to kill us. Sure, we figure out ways to make life go smoother while the guys are gone. But it never gets easy and the bullets and bombs don't swerve around our guys just because they've been there before. The worry never goes away. It's not exactly conducive to easy sleeping. We learn coping skills. We never get used to it.



"Well, this is what you signed up for when you married him."

This is probably one of the most unthoughtful and brazen things you can say to a military wife. Not only that but it is the most common "insult" military wives come across. Firstly, thank you for showing a lack of common sense and compassion. By no means does a military wife faithfully commit to the lifestyle not expecting her husband to go to war and for his life to be put in extreme jeapordy however, how does that make us more or less prepared to receive his deployment orders? To tell him goodbye for 6, 13, or 15 months, or maybe forever? How does that prepare us for the random and unexpected battles we will face alone while they are away? We as military wives do not ask much from anyone, let alone civilians who have no idea what the life is like, but you can show a little compassion and support for us. We are the ones left behind as our husbands go to war. We are often more alone than you could ever know--show a little compassion and respect when you talk to us.



"My boyfriend had to go to Europe for business once for three weeks. I totally know what you're going through."

This one is similar to the one above. Do not equate your boyfriend's three week with a 7-10 month deployment to a war zone. Aside from the obvious trip length difference, nobody shot at your boyfriend or tried to blow him up with an I.E.D., your boyfriend could call home pretty much any time he wanted to, he flew comfortably on a commercial plane, slept between crisp white sheets and ate well, paying for everything with an expense account. There is no comparison. We do not feel bonded to you in the slightest because of this comment and, if anything, we probably resent you a bit for comparing a combat deployment to a business trip.



"Don't you miss him?"

No, not really... What do you think?! Of course we miss our men. If we didn't, we wouldn't be together!!!

Blogger note: I did not write this, I just wanted to post it.

1051

What does that number mean to you? Maybe it is the random number you always blurt out when you have done something over and over and over again? Like, "I've told you 1051 times to pick up those shoes!" Or, "For the 1051st time I said NO!"

Perhaps it is the number of steps it takes to get to your mailbox and back, the number of miles you want to run before May or the number of wine corks sitting in your kitchen junk drawer?

To me it is CALORIES! Yes, 1051 calories are in a PF Chang Lemon Chicken!!! What in the world?! That is redonculous (for CB!)!!! Good grief, that's enough calories for an ENTIRE DAY!

1051 is the reason I'll be SHARING lettuce wraps with someone at dinner instead!

First installment of "what the HELL?!" Wednesday

So, I have two "what the HELL?!" things to bring to your attention.

The first is the story making headlines here in Hawai'i about an elderly woman who was left at an ER by the long-term care facility where she resided because the bill had not been paid. You can read about it here. "What the HELL" was this lady thinking? She just STOPPED paying the bill? No phone call to try and make arrangements or give someone a heads up? We are talking about her MOTHER for goodness sake! Maybe more information will be available in the coming week, but for now this is on the top of my list!

And number two.."What the HELL" is wrong with the BRITA filter that I bought and/or my faucet?! I CANNOT for the life of me get the stoopid things connected to each other. Really, it doesn't look that hard in the instruction book and I've tried EVERY combination of washers/adapters/threading that I can think of to no avail. Seriously I want to throw it at a wall and be done, but I won't. Hopefully so totally awesome, great, thoughtful friend will comeoverhereanddoitforme!!!!! Or else it's going back to the NEX and I'll try the PUR one instead!

Little tangent here, but I fell off the resolution wagon. I could totally not reveal this on my blog and none of you would be the wiser (well, most of you!) but I just can't. I didn't realize I had a staff meeting today after work. Which means that I didn't prepare accordingly for my children OR myself. The answer for them was McDonald's but what about me? I folded, I crumbled, I am ashamed. I had a salad from McDonald's and I am embarassed. But, ya know...that salad could have come from Chili's, Ruby Tuesday's or any other sit-down restaurant and been WORSE for me than the McDonald's version. So, I hope you can forgive me and I still vow to not eat fast food in 2009...I mean it wasn't a BIG MAC, right?! My McSalad with 1 ounce of Newmans Caesar dressing cost me 315 calories, 14 carbs and 15g of fat. BUT, it also gave me 31g of protein!!! YAY, I have been trying to pack more protein in and that was a great addition.

New weekly feature

I think I am gonna start doin' a "what the hell Wednesday" like they do on The View. I like The View, I know alot of people hate it, but it entertains me and I DVR it so I can fast forward through all the crap that bores me to tears.

Whoopi started doin' what the hell Wednesday and it cracks me up, so I think I will totally copy her idea and have my own. BUT, the cool thing about mine is we will have reader participation. So, I'll blog about my own "what the hell?!" stuff and then in the comments you can leave any "what the hells?!" that you have come across! Sound like fun? Good, I thought so too!

PSA

just a friendly reminder that you can click that little button down there at the bottom..see it? The one that says "comments"? Yeah, click on it and you can leave me a little note! Doesn't have to be anything earth shattering, just tell me you stoppped by, k?!

Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Partial year in review

So, lots of my blogging friends have done a year in review through photos. I thought to myself, "self, that is a good idea...you should do that." Getting myself prepared for the endeavor I went looking through the photos on the trusty laptop only to discover that my year starts in February! Up until that point all the pictures are stored on DevilDocs laptop or on the external hard drive, which currently resides in Afghanistan because it also contains 1,000 or so movies in DVD format for entertainment purposes.

With that said, I present to you 11 months in review of my ALLBLUEZOO...drumroll, curtains open and tah-dah!

In February we went to Maui and enjoyed hiking


and daredevil stunts


Nothing says celebrate like a picture of me in intensive care, am I right?! I'll take ya back...remember, I got that nasty blood clot? Then my white blood cells decided to take a vacation?! Yeah, so blood thinners for me and changes to all kinds of everyday stuff for the rest of my life.


And thank you to Susan for being there to basically save my life. In apprecation I will share a picture of your box car! Everyone enjoyed an Easter egg hunt before they came to visit me in the hospital.


Moving right along to April...my computer says this is the only picture I took and loaded in April. I think it is lying, but I don't have the patience or will to go searching and prove it wrong. Plus, I love this picture of Magoo's piggies!


In May my Magoo turned 3!


My Pookins graduated from PreK!


And Leahi Swim School!


We also spent Mother's Day at the zoo, Memorial Day at the beach with the Burkett's and my dad/his wife came to visit!

And then June rolled around, I went to Vegas for 5 days with my mom. While we were there we went to a taping of "The View" where we saw Jessica Simpson and I met Elisabeth Hasslebeck.


I also hit a $900 jackpot on a penny slot!


We went to the Navy Corpsman Ball


We celebrated Father's Day at Cheesecake Factory


And went to see my friend Daena play with her band "Missing Dave" in their farewell show (she moved to the east coast)! Me, Daena and Cristina


I'm realizing that we do alot of stuff! Dang. Or Daaaaaaaaaane as my brother would say :)

July..as any good military family should we had a big FOJ bash at our house with peeps from DevilDocs aid station and some other friends. Bob, of
PasstheChopsticks fame, was in port and came over to share in the festivities!


My friend Jill had a bachelorette party, I went bowling with my bunco girls and my babies had their first days of preschool and Kindergarten!


In August we said Aloha goodbye to our friends the Burkett's, Greg headed for Iraq and Cristina and the kids went home to Texas


We went to Sea Life Park with the Becker girls


September brought Magoo's first filming for LOST


We did the Nike 1mile/5k


The boys went on an adventure hike, we hit the north shore for Dole Whip and some sea turtle stalking, Pookins had his first football game and DevilDoc was recognized as Senior Sailor of the Year


October brought the winds of change. DevilDoc was gearing up for deployment so our time with his was few and far between. A family vacation we had planned got scrapped, but not all was lost as I gained a wonderful friend/long lost sister in Jai. A family photo shooot, an aloha goodbye to DevilDoc and Pookins celebrated his 6th birthday Indiana Jones style!








*tap*tap*tap* Still there? I know it's been a long read, thanks for hangin' in there! You're almost done!

In November Pookins finished up football, we had Thanksgiving dinner at the Silver Dolphin Bistro and lit our Christmas tree.






And finally, December! Whew, what a ride it has been. I hosted a cookie swap, both the boys had holiday performances at school, Magoo had his Sunshine Generation performance, Pookins started basketball season and my mom came to visit!! This pretty much sums up our year...

We are excited at the prospects for 2009 and look forward to a year filled with new adventures, lots of love and welcoming DevilDoc home!