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!

Goodbye, Farewell, Adieu, Au revoir!

Yes, you are reading it right. I am saying SO LONG to fast food in 2009! I am not, however, saying goodbye to it for my kids. I cannot even imagine the pain and agony of hearing two young children screaming from the backseat that they NEED the new happy meal toy from the golden arches. Ok, wait...I can imagine it because it happens EVERYTIME we drive by a McDonald's! I do solemnly promise to cut back on their fast food intake...they wouldn't have an addiction if I didn't stop there so I fully accept the blame. Do they do INTERVENTION for fast food addicts?

My mom did take them to McDonald's once while she was here but other than that they have been McFree for almost THREE WEEKS! YES!

So, I say farewell to you the McDonald's regular sized vanilla iced coffee. It was nice knowing you but your 190 calories will not be missed!

Goodbye dollar menu...oh how I love thee with your crispy salty french fries, 2 apple pies and small coke. You are useless to me now, I cannot afford your fat grams.

Adieu to the southern style chicken sandwich. You fought the good fight to fill the void of Chik-fil-A but I can no longer enjoy your fried goodness (with extra pickles and mayo please!)

Au revoir fast food industry!

Disclaimer...Steak n' Shake is not fast food, they have real plates that they serve food on, thus a stop at Steak n' Shake when I am home during July is COMPLETELY valid. Thank you. Single cheese with everything, shoestring fries and a vanilla coke :)

Late addition...I just realized that my fast food furlough also takes Hot Dog on a Stick off the menu :( On the bright side, it also saves me gas money since the only HDOS is on the other side of the island. Ugh, and also Panda Express...does Killer Tacos count as fast food? Someone say it isn't so!!!!