Wordless Wednesday: R&R 2005 in Europe (Church Ceiling in Austria)

A Carefree Friday

Knowing that I had to go in to work for mom for half the day today, I woke up early to take Lucy to the park for a walk. It was windy as hell, but I met two old couples who go for morning walks daily no matter how cold it is. Gotta hand it to 'em though, because as she and I were making our way around the park, I decided I wasn't going to do that again for a while! I was stoked that it snowed for a little while this morning. I was beginning to think that we wouldn't have any come Thanksgiving. It didn't stick, but I was sure happy to see it! After getting off from work, I took Lucy, Rusty, and Misty to the park down the street from mom's house to play. It was still cold and windy, but the view from that park is just gorgeous.




A few hours later, I had mom, dad, and Jon over for dinner. I made a pasta dish that I saw Giada De Laurentis make on the Food Network channel as well as an Apple Blueberry Pie I saw on a friend's blog. If you're interested, I'll be making a post on my cooking blog for those recipes right after this! Check it out! Here's my mommy, enjoying her share of the pasta!

Anyway, Malu's team leader, Ian, posted some pictures of the guys on his Facebook page. I was so thrilled to find one of Malu (seen here, with his interpreter) on the job as a Psy Op Specialist! He looks funny in this picture. I suspected that he was working on mouthful of sunflower seeds and it turns out I was right. Well, first he tried to tell me that he picked up a dipping habit, but he stopped when I started getting grossed out. Yeah, the guy doesn't drink or smoke so I don't know why I even started to believe him. It's nice to see him in action though. I'm so proud!

Well, that's my Friday for ya. Not much going on this weekend. I have to work for mom tomorrow and fully intend to clean out my garage. Yep, I seriously have no life :)

Operation Rent-a-House...HELP!!!

Okay, so with the move I obviously have to rent our brand new house out. Yep, the place is only months old--5 months, to be exact. I'm doing some research right now and in the process of recruiting a property manager (through my realtor), but if anyone can lend me some advice on this endeavor, shoot it over my way. Heck, if you know someone in the area or anyone that is coming to Colorado Springs and is looking for a place to stay, let them know that our 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bathroom (one of which has a master bathroom package complete with stand shower and a tub for those late night bubble baths!), with loft, two-car garage, gigantic backyard, and unfinished basement is AVAILABLE!!! Again...you gotta love military life. Then again, it's the life we signed on for! So here is the house that I love and will definitely miss. Malu and I plan on coming back to it one day, so hopefully I'll be able to find some reliable tenants who will keep the place as beautiful as it is now. These pictures were taken about a month after we moved in.

Here is the view of the formal living and dining area from upstairs (vaulted ceilings)

Spacious Kitchen (stainless steel appliances, silestone--like marble--counters, built-in wine rack)

Family Room

Upstairs Loft

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom (separate toilet not shown; spacious walk-in closet)

Guest Bedrooms

Laundry Room

Big Backyard (this is just half of it)

To say I'm stressing out is an understatement you guys. This is my first time renting out any kind of property. I report to El Paso on January 15th (unless something miraculous happens and I get my assignment changed...one can only hope) so I have little time to work with. Wish me luck!

Late Wordless Wednesday...Beautiful Samoa

I'm Back!!!

Home sweet home! I'm finally back in the Springs after a five-day stay in the great state (not according to me) of Texas. I went there in search of a place to stay for my next duty assignment. It was no easy feat. The only reason I had a great time was because I was able to see my best friend Chrissy. Since she absolutely refused to take a picture the entire time, I am forced to display an old pic of the dynamic duo. Around this time three years ago, we were getting ready to leave for Iraq. We met through a mutual friend, Jocelyn, and because we worked together,ended up becoming close friends. I mean, you couldn't get any closer than living with the girl. Shoot, we shared a double-wide trailer in Iraq for a year! We even toured Europe for two weeks during R&R. So that's Chrissy, in a nutshell.

Well, I'm on orders to report to Fort Bliss in El Paso by mid-January. I knew I'd have to go down there to pick out a place to live--an apartment, since I'd be down there alone at least two years. I knew that I didn't want to do it all by myself, so weeks ago Chrissy and I agreed that I would fly down to Killeen (where she is stationed at Fort Hood) and make the 8 to 10 hour drive to El Paso. So on Friday, I arrived in Killeen, we hopped into a rental car that evening and went out on our merry way. Needless to say, it was quite an adventure. After leaving a Pizza Hut because we waited over 30 minutes for food that never made it's way to us, a few of stops at gas stations, Chrissy getting pulled over by the state trooper for speeding (got away with a warning, by the way), me swerving out of control and around a huge tire tread, me nearly hitting a deer crossing the road, Chrissy getting a 0300 phone call that one of her soldiers was assaulted, and Chrissy getting hounded at the Holiday Inn check in counter, we settled into our room in a total of ten hours. Total drama there. We should have known though. She and I don't seem to have any good luck when we're together...like EVER.

So El Paso...I don't know what kind of deal I got myself into. I know it's only two years, but the place will definitely get some getting used to. All the apartment complexes we looked at were pretty old and shabby, but I found about two that I may consider moving into. The worst part is that no complex in the entire city allows dogs that are over 25 pounds, which means bringing Lucy is out of the question. This is a huge concern considering the crime rate (specifically for rapes) is worse than the national average, not to mention Malu won't be there with me. I'm anything but thrilled and have to admit that I don't really feel to secure in that area. However, I am really good about making the best of every situation so although it'll be a huge adjustment I'm sure everything will pan out. Two years isn't too long! I didn't make any commitments to move in because people don't like to hold apartments more than a month out, but the one good thing that came out of the trip to El Paso was figuring out which parts of the city to NOT live in--and there were TONS of those. Oh, and another good thing about that trip was eating at Landry's.

The trip back was so much better. Texas highways have two speed limits. One for day and one for night. At night, it's 65 and during the day it's 80. Naturally, we capitalized on the daylight hours and returned to Killeen in no time. My last day there, we met up with a great friend, Kim, who was my section NCOIC (non-commissioned officer in charge) when I was at Fort Bragg. She, Chrissy and I were all deployed together with the same unit. Such great times! There we were back then (in Iraq):

And here we are now. How times have changed! Doesn't she look great for a mother of five? Yep, five. Her eldest is 9 and her youngest is less than a year old. I don't know how she does it, but she's supermom! It was so great to see her. We ate lunch at Jason's Deli and gabbed away--just like old times.

Later that afternoon, Chrissy and I watched the movie, The Secret Life of Bees, which we really enjoyed. It's a must-see, especially if you're a chick flick lover like me! Afterwards, we went to the sushi place called Nami's. They have the best sushi I have ever tasted. It didn't take long for Chrissy and I to down about two plates full of the stuff. Check it out!

It's mmmm mmmmm good, I tell ya! Before going to Nami's I refused to touch any form of raw fish, but it was a rude awakening when Chrissy took me there the first time I visited her. I'm totally hooked!

I'm so glad to be back. You should have seen the welcome I got from Lucy when I picked her up from my mom's house. Now that we're back in our house, she's following me everywhere I go, even for just a few steps, as if she thinks I'm going to leave again any minute. I really am going to miss her when I move to El Paso. I'm sad just thinking about it.

Can you believe that I don't have classes for the next two days? My professors have other commitments, so classes have been cancelled. I am not complaining! I plan on sleeping in (of course!), working on some schoolwork, cleaning, taking Lucy to the park and for walks, and working out (if motivated enough).

Just an update on Malu...he's doing great! He goes on missions into the city of Samarra just about every day, which has included meeting and dining with the city locals and officials. He's eaten some interesting stuff, to say the least and he's learning so much. Despite his long work hours, he always finds time to work out but unfortunately pulled out his shoulder while lifting today. He gets really frustrated when he gets injured, so lets all hope that it heals quickly! Besides that, he's been asking me for items to send him in his next package and of course, I will oblige. I want to send him packages at least every two weeks just so he has everything he needs.

Okay, that's it for now. Can you tell I've missed blogging? Have a great week everyone!

Late Wordless Wednesday

Heidi's Visit & My Sweet Hubby

Over the last three days, I was fortunate to have a good friend visit with me! Heidi came in from Fort Bragg, North Carolina on TDY (temporary duty/business--to my civilian friends). When she told me that she was going to be in town, I immediately told her that she had to stay with me and I'm so glad that she did. Heidi and I met when we served at Fort Bragg together under the 18th Soldier Support Group and then became roommates when we attended our Captains' Career Courses at Fort Jackson, South Carolina over a year ago. Seems like it was just yesterday that we were livin' it up in Columbia and having a great time. We were both single back then too (but both seriously involved with our to-be hubbies)!


The first thing I did when she got here was take her to dinner at my Auntie Shirley's house. She got so experience first-hand the typical Filipino gathering. I mean food, karaoke, chaos, everything! She was a good sport and I'm so glad she didn't walk away thinking we're all just crazy. I'm happy to report that Heidi is about seven weeks pregnant! Seems like I'm the only one that can't get pregnant these days! But I'm so happy for her. We're both hoping she has a little girl, as she and Chris already have three boys. I just know that she's going to be just as beautiful as her mommy! I'm sad to see her go, but we all know how small the Army is. We're bound to see each other sooner or later! Let's all just hope that she has a safe trip back to the east coast.

Well, Heidi and I took Lucy on a short walk this afternoon, which included a trip to the mailbox. Imagine my surprise when I found a small package from Malu inside, just for me. I was so excited, but at the same time I thought, "wow, I'm pathetic. My husband is supposed to be getting packages from home, not the other way around!" Well, he knows I've started collecting Starbuck's collectors mugs (like my friends Charisse and Jacques). Every state has a mug as well as those countries that have Starbuck's cafes. Anyway, you can't read the whole mug, but he got me one from Kuwait! I thought it was so sweet of him to remember, especially since he's been so busy ever since he left. So thanks sweetheart, for always thinking of me! I love you!

In case you're wondering where Malu is, I've provided a link that takes you to a combat journalist's blog that features an article about the Patrol Base that Malu operates out of in Iraq. There are pictures and everything. You'll notice he's pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, which is a complete 180-degree turn from where he (and I) lived when he (we) first deployed to Iraq. Before, we lived in double-wide trailers, had our own rooms and had everything on the base (i.e. indoor theater, swimming pools, PX, etc.). Now he lives in a small box with three other fellas--no theater, no swimming pool, no PX, nothing. I told him he went from Hilton Head to Motel 8. If anyone wants an address, just let me know and I will email it to you.

http://jeffemanuel.net/guided-tour-of-patrol-base-olson

He goes out into the local city on a daily basis and is in great spirits. Whenever I talk to him, he is very enthusiastic about his job and seems to be enjoying it very much! Please continue to keep him in your prayers! Well, that's all for now. Hope everyone is as relieved as I am that the elections are over with. Although I (and many of my friends and like, all of my immediate family) am disappointed with the results, I truly hope that my new Commander in Chief will live up to the expectations of those who voted for him. Only time will tell.