I'm Stalking...

These lovelies

They will be mine by the end of next week.

Wifey- 0

Dear Facebook,

You win.

Fondly,

Wifey

Rhetorical Questions

Remember when I said in my previous entry that I was going to post a ton of pictures the following day?

Then I didn't do it.

Remember when I restarted my laptop after installing 561 updates and Windows Service Pack 3 with the intention of posting a ton of pictures and then my computer completely. stopped. working.

I do.

Remember when the error message that popped up over and over and over really meant that I possessed a fraudulent copy of Microsoft Windows?...AND you bought that Microsoft Windows CD from ebay?

I do.

Remember when my computer-whiz uncle said that I either re-reinstall Windows and if it doesn't work then I need to chuck my computer for a new one?

Yeah that wasn't nerve wrecking.

Long story short- we're now back on track. Computer works, itunes works, internet works.

Finally.

561 is a lot

This coming week will be pretty interesting. I don't have to watch G or K since they have family in town and/ or don't have to work. Plus, Devin has to work for 7 days straight. This will be our first Christmas that we won't physically be together. Fortunately he'll just be down the street.

All the free time this week will come in handy. Our internet is up and running*.... finally. I've spent the last two hours agonizing over updating my Itunes. Not only did my computer save every music file ever but it also decided it needed to duplicate them all into my newly installed Itunes. Now that it's fixed I can import the 10 cd's we've purchased since moving to our neck of the woods. (Certain people should keep an eye out for new cd's coming their way... you know who you are.)

Additionally- at the end of this week our home will begin to house a flurry of relatives: parents, in-laws, and a BFF. Which means that I have to clean up the house and reorganize everything that I've been slacking on. For some reason, however, the crazy person inside of me decided that this is the PERFECT time to paint our bedroom.... plum. Which requires multiple applications. I'm only at application #1. Only three more to go.

It occured to me- probably when painting- that family would be here Christmas day. Which means that we must eat Christmas dinner. And since I'm hosting Christmas that means I'll be in charge of Christmas dinner. Anyone who knows me can testify that my type of cooking requires 1.) Milk and cereal, 2.) A take out menu or 3.) Screwing up recipes. Did I mention that whatever I make will have to feed 7 people? Going out to eat is out of the question. I'm assuming that since restuarants, or anything else for that matter, are not open on Sunday's or after 7pm that they'll probably not be open for Christmas.

... Alright I got nothing else to say.

Check back tomorrow for pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.

--
* Because our internet is working it was finally able to install automatic updates. All 561 of them.

So Fast

I can finally confirm that we have internet! However, I'm posting from good old Missouri tonight. Our connection is good but my laptop, unfortunately, is not. Since I scratched my hardrive earlier this year it's been making my life miserable attempting to get it back to square one. Looks like it should be fixed this week.

Why Missouri? I've been in town for a few days visiting my grandparents. Being the responsible, loving grandchild that I am I try to to make it out to see them once every couple of years. I get to enjoy dinner at 3:30pm (2:30pm WA time), help them remember things, play with their 5 (!) animals, and enjoy grandparent-doting. They, in return, get to visit with me, introduce me as "the grandaughter from California," and ask when great-grandchilden are arriving. (You know, the ones I ordered.)

The three things I am soaking up:

1. Sleeping in: I realized how much I missed causually waking up at 8am. The two families I nanny for keep me rising early.

2. Fireplaces: It's been years since I've been in the presence of a real fireplace that uses, like, real wood and, like, produces real ashes.

3. Electric blankets: note to Wifey- must. get. one. These lovelies have been around forever and why I don't have one on my bed is something I've been pondering these last few days.

Being at my grandparent's house is a fun time but this visit is a little strange for me. There are pictures on the wall of me when I was 5 years old, 12 years old, etc. Memories of different vacations we've taken that seem like just yesterday. Furniture that belongs to generations before me litter the house. Grandparents now on 6 medications and forget if they ate breakfast that morning. Now more pictures of great- grandchildren and recent weddings fill their livingroom.

As I sit here and drink my tap-filled Fiji water I can't help but wonder how the time went by so fast. Five minutes ago I was 4 years old, in Ventura, swatting my grandparent's dog, Alex*, with a newspaper and eating Cheerios with honey with my grandpa as he insisted that I call him by his first name. (He didn't want to be called grandpa) Now I'm Missouri, 23 years old, missing my husband and dog, watching my grandpa's memory fade and wondering how easy it'll be to visit my brother if, or when, he moves out of state.

Crazy. Just crazy.



And for the record... Missouri is still Missouri.

--

*Alex was my height and huge when I was little. He'd get right in my face unless I smacked his nose with a rolled up newspaper. One look room him and I was crying.

Aggravation

I was going to do a post from the comforts of my living room today.

Someone got the internet installation date wrong.

I won't say who.







Ps: it wasn't me.

Last Thursday night I came down with a sore throat. The next day it turned into a bad, bad, bad sinus infection. I called up my doctor, had a chat, and got a prescription. (A few prescriptions, in fact.) Then the day after that (Saturday) my mom came to town, and I still had a bad, bad, bad sinus infection. Our little town welcomed my mom's visit with a bad, bad, bad wind storm. We lost power until Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile- my bad, bad, bad sinus infection was still living. Mama and I did lots of shopping, lots of eating, and lots of visiting. And my bad, bad, bad sinus infection shuffled along, too.

Mama started her journey back home about an hour ago. She left with some new clothes and a new jacket. She left a Christmas present with me and gave orders to not open it. But, she didn't want to leave with my bad, bad, bad sinus infection.

I can't imagine why....?

Mess

A week or two ago our neck of the woods had a pretty bad storm. Most of you may recall a text or two from me exclaiming that I was driving and getting hit by waves.

Wait... "hit" is an understatement. I think "pelted" or "drenched" are more accurate words.

Then yesterday's storm came along. It started out with some pretty big wind gusts and light rain. Then around dinner time the winds were up to 75 mph. D and I sat on the couch and watched our dual-pane windows bow inward from the pressure.

After 4-5 flickers of lights on, lights off the power gave up. Fortunately we had purchased a propane lantern, just a day ago, for such an occasion. We threw in some candles and badda-bing! We had light.

We were lucky that the power was back on by 10pm. (Considering we were planning on it coming back in a few days like in the past... so we've been told.) A few of our neighbors couldn't make it back to their houses since at least 3 HUGE trees tumbled down across the road.

This morning I ventured outside to see the damage.

(Our neighbor's tree took a dive.)

In other mess news...

I turned this:



Into this:

You're jealous of our sweet brown carpet, aren't you?

August to Today

D's graduation day

Same graduation day- different hat.

The Jersey Shore

Our last Disney trip for awhile.

The exciting drive to Washington.

Somewhere in southern Oregon

The Astoria bridge in Oregon. We have to cross this bad boy to do any type of shopping. Or socialization.

"W" Beach that's just around the corner. It's about a ten minute walk from our front door.

A sign that's frequently seen around our area.

Sunset

View from the 'A' Jetty. This is the CG's secret surf spot. But you have watch out for the mast of a sunken boat. This is a 15 minute walk from our front door.

Bogey's favorite beach. He's still afraid of the baby waves.

Bogey paws

River about 45 minutes away from us.

We love to fish with friends. Bogey loves to play with Gunner.

We also love to fish by ourselves.

Spotting elks is always exciting.

Gunner (6 mos) and Bogey (16 mos) get cuddly.

View on top of a huge mountain.

Not the best idea to go to the top of a mountain to watch waves when there are 60-knot winds. I literally could not move from the force of the wind. The rain stung our faces SO bad, and soaked us our skin.

Picture of our backyard. It hailed most of this morning. (Hence the white spots)

Well Hello

Yes, I still exist.

No, I still don't have internet.

Yes, it's been raining... a lot.

No, I won't be home for Thanksgiving.

Yes, I will post LOTS of new pictures on Friday.

So you better look.

Rain

Today's combination of rain and wind made the water look like a helicopter was landing in the bay. For a few seconds I tried looked way up out of the window to see if there was an actual helicopter.

In my defense I do live on a military base so it is possible.

Since it was raining I thought to myself, several times, that I should finish painting my living room.

Instead, I baked cupcakes.

(I might have eaten half the batter... might...)

Then I ate half of the cupcakes that I baked.

Go me.

Oh... Hello!

Wow... a WHOLE month without a blog post from me. Sorry about that. We're working on the whole internet thing. It just keeps falling to the bottom of our list.

We're still in love with our new town, but all of the locals spurt out, "Wait until the rain gets here!" It's not worrying me that much. Although we did recently have a tsunami warning. It only rose our seas a few inches.

D is busy mess cooking- which he hates. All newbies have to do this early upon their initial arrival. He's counting down the days until his last day of scrubbing dishes for 13 hours a day. After that he'll start learning and studying communications. He's been out on the boats a few times and LOVES it.

I've been spending half my days watching my neighbor's 17-month-old son, G. He's definitely a busy boy. It's a good arrangement for the two of us: his mom gets to go back to work while I get paid and get to use their washer/ dryer for laundry. I'm also still painting the inside of our house. Since the sun has been out so much I've been putting off finishing until it starts raining.

We're getting to know our neighbors really well, and spend a lot of time with them. We've had lots of dinners together but mostly hang out in our front yards. One couple has taught us how to fish for crab. I currently have 14 crabs frozen in my freezer.

I'll end the post with a picture of D the day that he graduation from boot camp. Note how stinkin' skinny he is.

In

Last night we moved into our house.

Scratch that.

Last night we camped in our new house. We had to buy an inflatable mattress and a pumpkin-spiced candle served as our fire.

We love the new floors, carpet and kitchen cabinets. We're crazy about the mud room and the garage. We have more closets than I know what to do with. (10!)

So far we've met a few neighbors and their children. We've also been briefly introduced to a few other neighbors: mama & baby deer, raccoons, frogs and a porcupine.

Seriously... a porcupine.

Our furry child is adjusting well. I know he's sick of being cooped up more than he's used to as the dumb-dumb bolted out of the motel yesterday and proceeded to get himself hit by a car.

No one was hurt. Scared him straight, though.

This morning he happily ran about 50 continuous laps within our fenced backyard before a squawking seagull distracted him.

Here

First off- apologies to those who've been waiting and waiting for a new post. The graduation, packing, driving and getting settled has left little time to stop. It also doesn't help that:

1. I just got my laptop running
2. I need to reload files onto the laptop
3. I have no internet on the laptop.

So, I will be a regular at our local library until we can get officially settled.

Our packing/ moving was extremely simple. So simple that D and I felt bad as we just sat around and watched movers pack us up and load their enormous truck. It was not so amusing to fit two weeks of "basics" and a dog in my dinky car. But, we did it.

We're getting to know our new town little by little. We're adjusting to the smallnes, isolation and the weather. We love the small-town feel (especially when there's only ONE traffic light in our town) but it makes shopping and getting gas harder. (Nearest store is 11 miles away)

The weather is... different. It'll pour for five minutes and then clear up with sunshine. I've had to buy Gortex shoes and new rain boots. (Which are cute, cute, cute)

We're still living off our two-week "basics" in a motel. It's not our favorite place to be at the moment as we're anxious to get in our house. (Yep, HOUSE!) We found out last minute that we got base housing. They're finishing some remodeling and then we can move on in. We're crossing our fingers that we'll be in by the end of this week.

Home

California
Arizona
North Carolina
Philidelphia
New Jersey
Missouri
Nevada
Califorina

And we still have Oregon and Washington to go.

I'm going to punch the next person who asks me if I want a snack and a drink.

The graduation was so wonderful and worth every penny and pre-planning stress. The weather was mildly humid and warm. The beaches were beautiful, and we found a lot of cool shells and sea glass.

We're VERY happy to be home and are celebrating with a quick trip to Disneyland.

Pictures to come...

Dear Dumb-Dumb

To Whom It May Concern,

You might be surprised that I'm writing you this letter. Usually I reserve my pleasant letters for cysts that dwell upon ovaries who like to have hoedowns at the most inconvienient times. Not that I'm naming any names. I thought I would branch out a bit given the recent situation.

I understand that the economy currently sucks and that there are a lot of people who are having to go without. I'm guessing that you might be in the same situation, and think that because I live on a really nice side of town that I can afford a loss. Or you might just be a major dumb-dumb who likes to get their kicks by breaking into 8-year-old cars at 6:00am. Do you have something against my car? Was she shouting explicitives to you? Sometimes she does that but I thought that stopped when a new water pump was installed.

I hope you're enjoying my husband's laptop, our blue tooth, my do-it-yourself Henna tatoo kit, my sweatshirt, my ipod connector and our stereo face plate. But...umm.. you sorta forgot the actual stereo, blue tooth charger and left my hood and trunk popped. I'm absolutely honored that you enjoy my taste in music. I figured that's why you borrowed my ipod as well. I'm glad you thought this was a good time to take it because, you know, it's not like I use it very much or anything.

So here I am typing you this oh-so-polite letter, patiently waiting for FedEx to knock on my door with the new ipod I ordered and overnighted to my home. I'd love to be out enjoying what little time I have left in this town, but FedEx requires my signature. Bogey wasn't too interested in growing an imposible thumb, walking on his hind legs, and answering the door for me.

Next time- have a little more class.

Sincerely...Cordially...Etc, Etc...whatever,

Wifey

Nature-2, Us-0

After spending most...err... ok... all of yesterday watching movies I thought Boags and I should maintain some sort of schedule. In the early evening I peeled us off the couch for a walk.

We did one of our usual routes going very, very slow as 1.) I was (am) nursing a big sinus infection and 2) Bogey wasn't being enthusiastic about our walk.

We walked by a tree that he always has to sniff and pee on. He lifted his leg, lost his balance and just fell down on the grass. I started laughing at him as it was just ridiculous to see a large dog just fall smack onto the ground.

Three seconds later I took a step back to pull him to the sidewalk. I lost my balance and started to fall. Fortunately I caught myself on the tree.

Nice.

This morning we happened to walk by the same tree again. Bogey walked as far away from it as he could while giving it the evil eye.

I take it he won't be peeing on that anymore.

Acorn & Tree

Oh how I miss my mom's dark hair.

Not so much missing my hair cut.

75 Minute Baked Potato

For those (several) people that wanted to know about my spa wrap yesterday:

It was VERY enjoyable! I felt like it was worth what I paid.

Basically, I was first scrubbed down** with a warm salt scrub and then painted with mud on top of that. Then I was wrapped in cellophane and had a heavy heated blanket on top with extra heat lamps. (I didn't feel like a baked potato or really warm. I actually didn't realize how warm I was until she took the blanket and cellophane off.) I marinated for about 25 minutes and then she showered me off- literally. Once I was dry she massaged me with an oil-based lotion.

Uhhh...only issue is that I completely underestimated the whole... err... nakedness of it.

....Yeeaaahh.

I was given a couple disposable items to cover up buuuuuut it was still awkward*** for me. I felt really comfortable with the girl I had so I relaxed after a bit.

I cannot begin to describe how soft and smooth my skin is today!

Bogey returned from the dark side last night and was back to his happy-go-lucky, behaved self.




**Whatever wasn't covered or my face got salt-scrubbed and painted.

***It was sort of like trying to cover up a soccer ball with a few strings of yarn.

Bummer

How hard is it to find rental house or apartment in a town the size of my former high school?

About as easy as herding cats.

D is supposed to call me this weekend to let me know about our housing situation- whether or not we can live on base.

As much as I love to wait (sarcasm) I decided to do it myself. I spoke with the housing person this morning, and my fear was confirmed.

There's no available housing. Bummer.

I placed us on the waiting list. Looks like we're about #2 or #3 on the list. We might be able to get in around October or November. I've heard that the housing is very, very nice and has a great sense of community.

The housing person is sending me the paperwork to release us to live on the economy. We're required to live within 30 minutes, or less, of the base so that D can respond to calls if needed. This isn't a big deal because there's a few small towns and then NOTHING. But, because the towns are so stinkin' small, it makes house hunting near impossible. It's very foreign to me that the chances of us not having a place secured before we physically get up there is very likely.

No matter what happens in this department I know that we'll be joining a great bunch of people. The wives meet frequently to spend time together and I really cannot wait to be apart of that.

In the meantime I'm trying to get through this week, which seems like it's super long. The past couple days I've been down and emotional for some reason. I'm treating myself to a spa session* this afternoon since I haven't really done anything just for me since D has left. I'm so excited for 75 minutes of remineralizing body wrap bliss. Usually I get massages but thought I'd try something a little different.

Hopefully, by the end of the session, I'll be "intensely relaxed" and able to forget the fact that Bogey chewed one of my shoes this morning**. (AAAAAARGH!)



*If D asks why I did this I'm blaming you, Meg.

**Apparently, asking him to wait 10 minutes- while I got dressed- before I took him outside to play at 5:45am this morning was 10 minutes too long. I can see how a gold, metallic flat seems better to take your frustration out on than the giant rawhide bone that was 4 inches away from the shoe.

A Life Change at 3:45pm

Finally, at 3:45pm a 609 number popped onto my phone.

We're going to Ilwaco, Washington. AKA Cape Disappointment. This was D's first choice if we had to leave California.

This is a surf station which is one of the best places on the west coast for D to be. It's called Cape Disappointment because it's basically a grave yard for ships. The swells can get up t 20-30 feet. The CG averages about 300-400 assistance calls per year. It's the busiest rescue swimming station on the Pacific coast. Basically- D will be having a blast. There's ton of camping/ hiking and it rains 200 days out of the year.

I think I'll invest in some cute rain boots.

We're completely thrilled about this assignment!

He's not sure when he'll have to report. He'll get to call me next weekend with some more information. We do know that there's 1) no base housing available and 2) if there was base housing we probably don't want to live in a teeny tiny town. We're going to start our housing hunt in Oregon.

I'm sure Bogey will appreciate the cooler weather.


** I'm just now posting this because 1) I was beside myself with excitement that I couldn't think, 2) I had to call about 3 million people and send lots of text messages.

Better, Faster, Stronger

Watch the whole video. (Turn off my music at the bottom)

I know some old roommates that might have thought this was a good idea to learn if we were more coordinated.

Journals Are Up

Head over to: www.uscgbootcamp.com to check out D's company's latest journal entry. (Z-181) There are a few pictures this week, one of which I think is of D. (The third one)

At any time this week I should be getting a phone call with what station we'll be heading to. I'm trying really hard to stay level headed about it but the suspense is catching up to me. Fortunately I've been really distracted by the fact that I'm in Utah right now, visiting one of my bestest friends. (More on that later)

D is finally in his 5th week with 3 more weeks to go until graduation. I only have two more weeks left of work before my last day. This month should go by fairly quickly.

Answer When It's 609... Answer When It's 609...

About an hour ago I got off the phone with...

D!

The 609 number popped onto my phone RIGHT as a text message came in. Trying to shoo the text out of the way caused me to miss the call. Who's calling me from 609?

(609... Uhh... wasn't that what D called me from a couple weeks back? Wait, maybe it's 709 that he called me from. Shoot!)

So I called the number back just in case. No one answered. I got his CC's machine.

I thought for a minute and I decided to try again. (Wouldn't you?) Sure enough- I got his head CC. He yelled for D to come to the phone and then, loudly, said something to him. D replied with a "Sir, yes, sir!"

He was rewarded the phone call because he's always the first person to volunteer when something needs to be done. He also said:

- He's no longer Squad Leader because he's got too many other jobs on his plate. (Which must be new because he hasn't said anything about other jobs)

- It rains about 3 times a week. "It's like hurricane weather."

- He had his running test and came in 6th. D's totally not a runner so that was good for him.

- They had a shooting test and he scored a 136 out of 150. This means that he qualified as a sharp shooter. He'll get a special ribbon on his uniform for making this.

- He's getting his shoulder checked out tomorrow to make sure he can participate in the pugle (sp?) stick "fights" on Monday.

- He got to march in W-181's graduation ceremony.

- He's got 14 cavities and has to have his wisdom teeth pulled. Seems like a lot but he hasn't been to a dentist in years. They're small but they want to take care of them. He MIGHT have to stay a week later if they don't finish his exam by graduation. It won't count against him and he'll still graduate on the 8/28. He can take leave if we decide to stay a little after graduation. (Actually, we're probably staying the day after graduation since it's cheaper.)

- They've filled out and submitted their dream sheets. I should get a call next week with where we're going.

We talked about a couple other things but I can't post them as one is confidential and the other was just personal. The 5 minutes went by really fast this time.

Not a bad way to start the weekend.





Ps... Happy Birthday to D's sister, S, who turns 21 today! We miss you like crazy and hope you have a great Disney performance and birthday dinner.

Half Way

Today marks the half-way mark for D and his company. Check out the boot camp website for an update from their "historian." (Scroll down to a few posts before this to get the link again.)

He continues to do well. I received another letter today but I believe I received it sometime during the weekend. I'm not posting that letter as it's mostly an inside joke that no one would understand. I should receive another letter this week- hopefully it's long.

The critters and I are hanging there just fine. I think I'm at the point where I'm perfectly fine being by myself. The first couple weeks were pretty hard- I was either happy as a clam or hating life. Now I'm more consistently happy. With boot camp being half-way over I feel like this adventure train is gearing up to go super fast. With work coming to a close in three weeks, prepping for a move, and traveling for his graduation I really hope I can keep up.

I am truly, truly grateful for how our ward has extended so much support and encouragement- particularly our Bishop. I even have members calling me to make sure that I'm doing okay.

Bogey finally stopped waking up at 4:45am. Finally. I've started to run a little bit each day and can now run a full half mile without dying. I haven't been able to do this since after I got mono in high school. Today, Bogey pooped out on me before I was ready to stop running. I'm pretty sure the running is helping him sleep better.

Within the next two weeks we'll be receiving our first assignment. I'm trying to wait as patiently as possible. I'm also trying to keep an open mind no matter where it is.

Time to get back to my Chr.istian B.ale movie. (wink)

Much About Nothing

I haven't posted much during the past few weeks because there's nothing- literally- going on.

Every day is very repetitive for me so the days sort of blend together, only separated by long periods of sleep.

Bogey and I try to stay as busy as possible but sometimes that's hard. The heat, for one, has been really hard on him. He can't walk for very long because of his fur. But if I don't walk him he goes crazy from being cooped up all day. This week has been better since it's not 112 degrees anymore.

For the most part we hang out at home. We wrestle and play fetch. He chases the cat and I watch movies or clean up around the house. He steals socks and I yell at him. (Two socks escaped me as I found them thrown up the next day. Yum.)

As a special treat, Bogey got his first real bath last night. (We usually baby wipe him down every day) Our water dog does not care for water too much. He loved the shampoo part since I had to scratch and massage his whole body. The rinse part went better since I made the water warmer. Now he smells super good and has a very shiny coat. I escaped with less whining (from him) and scratches than when I bathe the cat.

I still get up really early. Lately we've been meeting another girl at the school nearby to let our two dogs play. She (T) has a boxer that's barely a year named Jackson. Bogey and Jackson love to chase each other. T and I get to just stand and watch while the dogs wear themselves out... MUCH less work for us.

On a different note...

I still haven't received any letters from D. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll get one today or tomorrow. Every day feels really long and extremely boring but the weeks are going by faster than I thought. In two weeks we'll find out where we're going and start making travel plans for his graduation.

I'll try my hardest to find interesting and funny things to post. (Like before D left) Buuuuut I'm sure I'll keep boring everyone with what the dog is doing...

... Which, sadly, is pretty much what I write D about.

Journal

D's company just posted their first journal about the past two weeks. See the journal here: http://www.uscgbootcamp.com/go/doc/763/292461/

I'm crossing my fingers that there will be another letter either today or tomorrow.

6:12 am

For some reason, unknown to me, Bogey has decided that 5:30am isn't really the best time for us to get up for a walk.

He prefers 4:00am.

After a couple hours of trying to get our 53lb canine infant back to sleep I finally gave up. He spent the next hour playing soccer? Rugby? Football? under the bed with Dallas.

I can't really decide which sport they were playing.

By 6am I finally caved in and started to slowly get ready for our walk. I had put my phone on silent last night, thinking that no interruptions would buy me some sleeping in. Then, as I grabbed my phone to put in my sweatshirt pocket I glanced to see what time it was.

A missed call? From a 609 area code?

NEW JERSEY!!

I called the number back and got Company Commander (CC) P- he's an assistant to D's head CC. I started to panic a little because it's only D's second week and, although from his letter he's doing well, nothing is set in stone.

Me: Hi I just received a missed call from his phone number...?

CC P: Ahh! You must be D's wife!

Me: Yes! Is everything okay?

CCP: Oh yeah. He and another female in his company biked the furthest on their bicycle workout today so I awarded them both with a 5 minute phone call. Hold on let me get him....
MERCHANT!!!!!!!

Then he said, "Is it true that you named your cat Lt. Dallas?!"

Me: Yes.. and our dog's name is Bogey. You know how in Top Gun they say 'I've got Bogies all over me?' That's how we got his name.

CCP (laughing): That's ridiculous!

Me: Well... they're sort of ridiculous so it fits. It was the only names we agreed on.

While I waited for D, his CC said, "D is doing really well, although I'm not letting him know that yet. He'll go far."

D came to the phone and we got to chat for 5 minutes. He was very, very proper in how he spoke, answering everything with a "yes mam" or "no mam."

I started to cry from just be overwhelmed with excitement. I didn't really know what to talk to him about since it was unexpected. I asked him about his blood pressure test when he arrived. He said it was 170/ 69. I asked if they were monitoring him and he said, "No, mam." I asked if they were doing anything about it and he said, "No, mam they are not."

He said that his main CC, CC R, said that he thinks it's funny that we named our cat Lt. Dallas. He also said that CC R is monitoring a CG forum that I post on, and figured out my screen name. CC R told D a few things that I had written.

He said that it's very humid and, "I sweat everywhere I go." Then he added that he's already lost 10 pounds! I said that will help him meet to new weight standards. He said that when he first arrived they measured him at a half inch taller than what his recruiter did. (That gives him an extra two pounds more leeway)

He said his job in his company was to be in charge of the watchmen. Every night someone stays up half the night to "guard" the barracks. Then, a new person takes over to relieve the first person. They do this every night. D said that he's the person that assigns who's going to stand watch each night. I asked him if he's stood watch and he said that he doesn't have to since he's in charge.

Then he said that he was recently promoted to Squad Leader. Their previous Squad Leader did not know the required information as well as D did, so D took his position. Squad Leader is a very big deal! I can't remember what he's in charge of but I know that D has to be able to recite his 11 General Orders, the time the sun rises and sets, that day's meals, etc, etc. all on a moment's notice.

I was SOO excited to hear his voice! It definitely made my day and made my morning run much more bearable!

First Week

(If you haven't noticed I posted pictures from our last weekend together... scroll down to the post below this one to see.)

Here we are in the middle of D's first week at boot camp.

I think I'm doing really well so far. I haven't had any emotional breakdowns, and have been genuinely excited and happy for D. Of course... it's only the first week.

I've only had a couple issues since D left.

#1: My car decided this was the perfect time to develop a coolant leak. Long story short- it was loosing half a tank, at least, of coolant each day over a period of a couple weeks. I took the car in for an inspection and was told there was a possible crack in my block. (Apparently that's bad) I've been car-less for a couple days while a mechanic has been inspecting and working on it. Turns out it wasn't a crack in the block but a combination of the water pump, thermostat and something else. (Apparently, that's better...?) I'm happy that I finally get my car back tonight. (Big, special thanks to those to carted me around for two days... and to the person who bought me dinner... twice.)

#2: I can't sleep. At all. D's departure forces me to now get up at 5:30am to take Bogey for a looong walk before I leave for work. (Otherwise, later in the day, he'll act like a tired 3 year old hyped up on sugar with no nap.) Also, since I'm the only one at home I can't get my body to relax as it wants to be in a protective mode. It's not that I'm not tired- which I really am- it's just I can't relax. Hopefully this will start go away as a new week approaches.

I heard from D a little on Tuesday in between his flights. He said he was really tired but that the flights were good. He met up with bunch of other recruits in Texas. Then, he called me one last time from the airport in Philadelphia.

I've made a friend through an CG wives online forum. She's on the east coast. Her husband and D are in the same company- Zulu181.

I sent out an e-mail to everyone with D's address. If you didn't get it please let me know.

Check out this CG video when you get a chance. It talks about what he's doing right now, this week. Also- his Com.pany Com.mander (CC) is the very first guy they show. (By himself) He's also the guy by himself at the very end. This CC is a pretty famous guy because of these videos that were made. Let's just say that D will be working hard. (Grin!)

Oh...You'll need to turn off the music at the very bottom of my page before you watch the video.

Our Last Weekend

CG station- aka Fort Ma.son

View in front of Fort Ma.son. Not too shabby!

Going out on a case

All of us (well, most) getting a tour of the CG boat.

D and Wy "driving" the boat.

Silly brothers

A semi-complete family picture

Us

Waiting for a fireworks show to begin

Grandmother, D and Wy

Us, again, the day he left.

At the hotel before we all said goodbye.

First Night

Boags and I got home safely last night after a very quick drive home. After getting a little settled (and avoiding laundry) we both sat on the couch together. We sort of looked at each other and thought, "Well, now what?"

It already felt weird to be in such a quiet apartment... so off to my parents I went! I'm sure this is the first of many, many, many drop-ins that I'll have at their home.

My first night by myself went fine. I'm used to being asleep before D would get home from basketball and such. Naturally, Bogey and I fell asleep on the couch watching a movie.

Bogey was not enthusiastic about my 5:30am wake up nudge... then push... to get up for a walk. We had a good walk and it was nice to be out in the cool weather.

After work I tried to keep busy with surfing the web for some information, a little laundry and some grocery shopping. Boags and I walked for an hour and- let me say- it kicked his butt. (Grin!)

I wrote D his first letter tonight, essentially recapping the day and filling him in on random things. Now I'm fully awake, hence why I'm posting after 11:15pm.

I got to chat with D throughout the day in spurts of text messages and a few phone calls. He made weight and swore in (officially) after about 9am this morning. He also got his flight information. Poor guy has another long day tomorrow that starts at 4am. (He had to get up at 3:45am today.) So far he sounds good- excited- which is all I can ask for.

He plans on calling me again tomorrow, but I'm not quite sure when that will be.

Time for cereal and then bed.


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If you're a new person to my blog: Obviously I use nicknames as much as I can, and I try to be as non-descriptive with identifying info. (Where we live, my job, names, etc) Please do the same if you're leaving a comment. (Which you'll need a G.oogle account to do.)

Going Buh-Byes

Today is our last day with D.

Later this evening we're dropping him off at the hotel where he'll stay the night. Tomorrow he'll spend all day at M.EP.S just sitting around. Tuesday he flies out to N.J.

Surprisingly- I'm o.k.

I had one freak out on Wednesday night but since then I've been fine.

I'm thinking the hardest part for me will be the anticipation of a call or text, even though he can't do either. Plus, I'll be super bored.

For now, we're soaking up the last bit of time we have together. We've been having a great time at D's aunt and uncle's house, eating tons of food, relaxing, playing games and sleeping in. Bogey is loving their large backyard...even waking up at 3:30am this morning whining to go outside to play.

No camera cord with me so pictures to come...

BM

When D and I went to Monterrey to celebrate our anniversary, I mentioned that we stumbled upon the CG station. Literally... stumbled upon it while waiting at a stop light. I also mentioned that we had a great opportunity to stay on base for almost 4 hours just getting our questions answered, advice, etc.

Well- let me really back up here... and apologies if this is repetitive. In some branches of service your job is chosen for you based upon a test that you take in your enlistment process. So you would know what your job is before you got to training. CG is not like that. You take the same test but are able to pursue any avenue you'd like within the CG, granted that your test score in that area qualifies. (So the better you do in all of the areas on the test the more you're eligible for)

There are three basic categories: airmen, seamen, and firemen. Within those are a ton of specific jobs to chose from. (Ie: res.cueswimming falls under the airmen program, law enforcement falls under seamen, etc)

Since D has a degree in crim.inology it's only natural to think that he'd want to pursue that route. During the past year rumors circulated that a new rate* was coming out- Mar.itime En.forcement... aka... cop on a boat. I naturally thought that D would gravitate towards that rate but figured he'd also look into some other options as well. Another contender was res.cueswimming. Personally, I had a feeling that he was only interested in this rate because he just wanted to jump out of a helicopter repeatedly.

Turns out I was right.

Fast forward to our weekend at Monterrey.

The CG guys talked about the pros and cons of each rating, without getting their own biases in the way. (Somewhat) A rate was mentioned that we had heard of but-apparently-didn't know anything about: Boats.wainmate**. (or BM) After talking about it I had a strong feeling that this was right up D's alley but I kept it to myself as I didn't want to pressure him into something he wasn't feeling. But, as we got in the car, D bubbled with excitement that he felt that BM was the way to go.

We did a ton of research on the rate when we got back home. D found out that once he was officially a BM that he could qualify for some certifications:

-Co.xswain: have the authority to direct the crew/activities and modify the mission they're on.
-Tac.tical co.xswain: the training to be able to maneuver a boat in a defensive situation
-Sur.fman: normally you get he.avy weather certified to drive the boat in waves up to certain size. Sur.fmans have the training to drive the boat in the highest waves. It's also the highest qualification for small boat operations.

After D finishes basic we'll be moved to our first station. For the next four months he'll be required to just work to experience different aspects of the CG life. This will give him hands on experience to "try on" different jobs before he commits to one. After the four months is up he can place his name on an @-School list to get specific training for that rate. @-Schools are all throughout the US and each are different in length. Sometimes spouses/ families are able to go with the coastie and sometimes you're not. (Depends on how long the school is, basically) Right now, the wait time for BM @-School is 2 years.

By the time D is able to put his name on the list the wait will most likely be longer. So- D is planning to "str.ike." Instead, he'll complete the required four month wait and training under another BM at his station to meet the necessary qualifications/ certifications/ tests while the other BM supervises. Basically- it's hands-on, on-site training with set guidelines he has to meet or else he doesn't pass. The "st.riking" process takes between 4-6 months to complete. Much faster than waiting around for an @-School that's only 12 weeks long!

That's the plan thus far...


*Rate= specific job.... same thing basically
**Boats.wainmate is pronounced: boats-in-mate

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Tonight is D's last night home for a long time. We're going to dinner with my parents and then his parents will be arriving late tonight.

The last couple of days have been strange to me. It's almost as if I'm going through a grieving process: sad, anxious, perfectly fine, etc. and then BOOM... I'm mad. Not mad at D or anything in particular... just mad. D lets me sit (literally) in my anger and then talks me back to normal. I haven't cried yet but have teared up in front of him a few times. (Which then makes me mad) So it's been interesting around here.

Today- I'm more inclined to be grouchy about the heat, a newly developed cold, a semi-active Ping and extreme tiredness.

I'm glad that the week is over for me and look forward to spending time with D's family.

Icecream With A Side of Lilli-Vanilli

I drove the sass to see her daddy, Monga and Lilli-vanilli a couple weekends ago. We spent the day wandering around the state capitol's old town area, eating bad pizza and enjoying icecream. We had a great visit, but watching the girls eat a cone full of icecream was the highlight. Not one of us got out without sticky clothes and use of a LOT of baby wipes.

Lilli-vanilli has always been my favorite to photograph as she moves 100 times slower than her sassy sister.

Sass will be 6 (!) later this year and Lilli-vanilli will be turning 3 (!)

I, however, will always be squinty-eyed in pictures. (Sigh)