AST

It's been a long, long time since I've posted anything pertaining to the Coast Guard. Well, despite the posts about where we live. The days of fretting if it would work out, the countdown until D left, and the anticipation of him coming home feels like so long ago.

We've been at our first station about 6 months and in that time D has been working hard to obtain his qualifications. It's also time that he's taken to think about what rate (job) he'd like to pursue. After lots of debating he's finally decided to pursue the AST route to become a rescue swimmer.

D had to pass a couple physicals to make sure he was fit to fly. As of late last month his name was officially added to the waiting list to attend the Airman program. Rescue swimming is the hardest job, not to mention the most physically demanding, within the Coast Guard so the Airman program is a way to weed through those who will not make it to rescue swimming A-school. D has been working on becoming boat crew qualified and the Airman program will make him flight crew qualified.

D is able to check the list once a month to check on his status. As of today he's number 88 out of 96. This makes his wait about 8 months. This means a move is in our future to a location near us. It could be as close as Astoria or somewhere within Washington or Oregon.

The Airman program is about 4 months long. If D successfully finishes it then he will move on to attend A-school in South Carolina. This is about 6 months long with EMT training in Petaluma tacked on at the end. I can't remember if I can go with D to South Carolina but I will most likely spend my time back in California, with family. I've already survived two loooong months of D being gone so I'm hoping I can do it again... plus another 4 months added on top.

If D completes A-school he will graduate as a rescue swimmer. Then it'll be time for a new station in a new location.

Check out the movie The Guardian if you'd like to see what rescue swimming entails. They actually have real Coast Guard people and snips of A-school in the movie. Plus, you'll get to see the Alaskan cave (at the end) that's located around the corner from our house.

Betcha didn't know that southern Washington is that close to Alaska.
 
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If you're not a Kevin Costner or Ashton Kutcher fan you can read more about rescue swimming here.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

Today I drove up to Portland to pick myself up a washer and dryer.... finally.

Actually I rode along for the ride as I drive a tiny, plastic car. My neighbor was kind enough to volunteer her driving and trailer to help me out.

I have to admit that I'm not entirely happy with the set that I purchased. I had a set picked out and when I called the seller to tell her when I'd be coming she didn't respond. She didn't call me back until 8am this morning. So given that change of events I was forced to find the next best thing. I'm still trying to change the picture in my head of the set I wanted versus what I now have.

Bottom line- I'm so, so, so happy to have them no matter what. Doing laundry on the base or relying on neighbors gets very old. Tomorrow I'll be making a trip into town to pick up some hoses and a cord because I guess I'd like them to run.

It's so nice to be able to use my laundry room for that purpose instead of the-room-that-the-trashcan-occupies.

 

Notice that nice blue paint on the wall? 

Someone got a little too excited in anticipation of the washer and dryer and painted like a mad woman.

.... She will not be named.

Long Walks On the Beach

For the past couple of days I've been sporting a head cold/ sinus infection. When I'm not blowing my nose, trying to breathe through my mouth, becoming best friends with my neti pot, and having no desire to eat I've been willingly stranded on the island of our couch. After, sadly, my fifth episode of recorded 7th Heaven D decided that I needed to get outside for a little bit. To the beach we went with the curious pup.

 

  

A little excited to be out

 

Watching D (black dot) in the water

 

Pointing, weakly, at some birds

 

Our first catch

 

  

  

  

Interrupting my shot... thanks. 

 

Much better

 

  

My favorite picture of the day. I love that you can barely see the pup... and he's up to no good. 

High Tide

Since it was unusually sunny outside, I decided to take Bogey to run on the beach.

What I didn't think about was the time and the fact that we usually don't go this late in the afternoon.

Here's what the tide usually looks like when we go:

And here's what it was today:

We had to wait 30 minutes before even setting foot on the beach. The waves were huge this afternoon! They were so strong that they made a cracking sound. I stood and watched them break while Bogey sifted through the drift wood for trash

Nevertheless... it was very nice to just be at the beach, quiet, watch Bogey chase little birds, and stand in the sunshine for awhile.

More pictures I've accumulated over the past few days:

The moss that grows on the trees is so neat

High up in the back roads of Chinook

Pretty sunset on the Columbia River

As Seen On T.V.

I'm a pretty big fan of Chelsea Handler on the E! show Chelsea Lately. I wouldn't say a "big fan" in that I purchase everything from her website but her show is set to automatically record to our DVR. This might be a little surprising since we don't have much in common. She drinks a lot of Grey Goose... I like to watch them fly. She uses interesting, colorful vocabulary... I don't. She's dating an older producer of her show... and I'm married to a goofball. She hails from New Jersey... I hail from California. She has a little person side kick... okay, okay maybe we have that aspect in common. I still appreciate her humor and the comedians that frequent her show.

I was watching her show last night as she was reporting about story that a specific hotel company offers someone, free of charge, to slip between your bedsheets to warm them up for you prior to bedtime. This person wears a one-piece fleece suit (seriously) and moves around to create heat from friction. (Personally, what are we coming to as a society if we're too lazy to take the time to warm up our beds ourselves? Really? Go cure cancer, people!)

Since Chelsea Lately comes on later at night, (or I'm watching it late at night due to another round of insomnia), Bogey is always accompanying me on the couch, usually drifting off to sleep. So as I was getting ready for bed I was a little more than surprised to find that our curious pup may have been paying attention to Chelsea's show... and considering a career change. Behold, my personal sheet warmer:

 

The nice thing is I don't have to tip him. 

Hello, Sunshine

Post- Holidays

We've had quite the whirlwind holiday this year. The week leading up the Christmas D had to work. Fortunately, he was able to get Christmas Eve and Christmas off. (One of the benefits of being married in the military) My parents, brother & sis-in-law, and both nieces were crazy enough to make the 14 hour to be with us on Christmas. Due to work schedules they had to make this trip pretty dang short.

Then, D's parents, sis and brother drove up to our home. All. 20+ hours. We had one night were both families were under one roof... minus D since he had to work. We barely fit everyone! D and I both enjoyed all of the time that our families were here, and words cannot describe how happy we were to all be together for Christmas.

A couple days after D's parents left I had a best friend arrive at the Portland airport. E! Her arrival was a blast. Not only did we get to hang out for a week but we hit up Ikea. (Oh I hit it up!) Since moving up here it's amazing how excited one gets to see a chain restaurant... or Target... more than 20 cars on the road... or a freeway.

While I LOVED having everyone here, it's been nice getting things back to normal. D is working hard. Very hard. He's still deciding on what rate he'd like to pursue although boatswain mate has stayed the most consistent. I'm back to watching baby K three days a week. We're getting ready to buy a washer and dryer by next month. (Cannot tell you how excited I am!!!)

Bogey is... bogey. He's enjoying the open spaces, the beach, and barking at deer. One day he ran out of the car, ran full speed and tried tipping a deer. We're not quite sure what that was about but it was pretty awesome to watch! In addition to all of the training that we still teach him we've added playing soft with toys to the list. And, I'm proud to announce that our little man has kept a stuffed animal toy in one piece for over 2 weeks. Usually they're destroyed within 10 minutes.