One More Week...

...until I have internet in my house! Then I can get back to blogging again!

Move-In Day

To sum it all up in one word: tiresome. Man, this pregnancy's really got me beat. Pre-pregnancy, I could have the movers drop off all my crap and get most of it unpacked by end of the night. But now...I'm too tired. I'm waiting until the weekend to tackle the mountains of boxes, which I have stacked almost to the ceiling in the soon to be nursery, which works perfectly as storage for the time being!

Malu keeps asking me if I've been doing a lot of exercising since he wants me to be as healthy as I can be, both for myself and the little one, but I haven't done more than taking long strolls with Lucy in the mornings and evenings. It's probably not enough, which is probably why I start panting by the time I get just down to the corner of my Auntie's street...and exhausted after unpacking three or four boxes. Pathetic...I'm not even that far along! That's it...I'm going to have to put my workout regimen together! I'll tack that on to unpacking my stuff this weekend. Gosh, I didn't realize that we have so much crap. But when you think about it, we're cramming an over 3,100 square foot house (from Colorado) full of stuff into a rental home about a third its size! That's craziness right there. The life of an Army family. It never gets easier!

What I realized instantly, once I the movers got the sectional into the living room is that our new abode is very small. Either that, or the folks in Colorado just build huge furniture. I had to fight to get everything to fit. Everything else I'm not using...going into the garage as storage. All that stuff has to be rearranged so that I can at least fit the Jeep in there. Anyway, I'm one of those peeps who has to have stuff arranged a certain way...call it OCD (I got it from my mom). So I had to settle with the way some pieces were positioned just so I could get them to fit into a certain space. It's going to get some getting used to or just me straight-up just ignoring it so that I don't feel like my chi has been disrupted :) Yeah, that's what I'll do.

Other than that, I'm thankful to be back into my own place. Now...I can't wait to find all my cookware so I can start cooking at home! But not looking forward to stocking the refrigerator and the cupboards again!

Oh, and Malu called this morning and as always, is doing fine. He sends his love to all our family and friends out there.

Easy Sunday

I just got back from watching the Lovely Bones with my Auntie Daisy and her son, Jack. Don't you hate it when you go to a movie based on a book that you read years ago and you can't remember how it's gonna end? Well, that was me tonight. I couldn't remember, for the life of me, how it was going to finish. But I suppose that kept it interesting; and me...awake. I've been having trouble staying awake through well, anything, these days. I think I read the book during my first deployment over 4 years ago and I remember enjoying it. The movie was enjoyable as well, although I don't recommend paying to go see it in the theater (although I do appreciate the fact that I get military discounted seats!). To be honest...I should have gone to see Disney's The Tooth Fairy instead. A cheesy kiddie movie, yes, but I enjoy anything with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in it--who doesn't? There's always next weekend, I suppose.

All in all, it was a great and relaxing Sunday, although I did step out for a moment to go to Sears to purchase a new refrigerator for the new house. Yup, I'm finally settling into my own pad after mooching (my mom specifically called it leeching) off my Auntie Daisy and her family for almost a month. I found a nice, quaint 3-bed 2-bathroom house in East El Paso almost three weeks ago and I was very excited about the fact that it is a new build. The builder, Bart Phillips, has several homes that he rents out in this area, which is a pretty new area itself and is very close to where I work. Not only that, it's close to a fairly new hospital that military personnel have access to; as well as other great new shopping areas. The only setback is that he equips the houses only with stoves and dishwashers. You have to purchase a refrigerator and washer/dryer at your own leisure. Seeing how I left all of my new appliances in our house (for the renters) in Colorado Springs, well, I had to go and get some out of pocket. The price I pay for wanting to live in a new house. But the upside is that I will sell it either to the next tenant, or to someone in El Paso or on Fort Bliss.

Why rent and not just buy a house? Well, i'm not sure that I ever plan to return to El Paso after I PCS from Fort Bliss. Right now, my thought on that is...well, I have no thoughts of staying here in the long term. However, I am thinking about buying another rental property as the population of El Paso is said to triple by 2012 with all the new units coming to Fort Bliss. I'll have to wait on the hubby to come back to help me with that though. He wasn't too thrilled when I went and surprised him by buying a new SUV and not letting him know I until I picked him up at the El Paso airport when he came back for R&R last May. But yes, tomorrow is the day for our household goods drop off! I can't wait to sleep on our own bed for a change!

Okay...time to hit the sack. I do want to say, though, that it's been sorta rough as I have not heard from Malu since early Friday morning. He's in Basra, Iraq and apparently his base is not as built up as other bases in the country. He's living in tents and maybe working out of tents too. He only has internet access at work, but doesn't get much time to surf the net. He's a busy bee. Now that I think about it...this week, my one big task is to put his Valentine's Day package together. Packages are always fun! Please continue to keep him in your prayers...and cross your fingers...maybe he'll call again soon.

Anyway, everyone have a blessed week...last one in January! Where does all the time go?

Sony E-Reader Giveaway!

It's a gorgeous (but windy) Saturday morning here in El Paso and I just happened to be browsing a few blogs by a few military wives and stumbled upon one that I really like and am now a follower of. It's called A Yummy Mummy on Pink Park Bench and is colorful and full of funny stories! On this blog, you have the opportunity to enter a drawing for the giveaway of the Sony E-Reader--of which I can only say three words: I WANT ONE! It's pretty easy! Click here to find out how you can enter. It's as easy as posting a comment on her blog (and there are other blogs that you can enter on as well)! You can even score additional entries by doing some other easy stuff; like Twittering about the giveaway, or posting a blog (like I'm doing for 5 additional entries), and becoming a follower of her blog! It's so easy.

However, the catch is that the giveway is being done by Borders and is for Active Duty military. Either you or your spouse has to be on Active Duty. I know I have a few friends here that fall into this category....so enter! It's a great prize and what do you have to lose?

First Day at the New J.O.B.

Well folks, I am officially in "Bulldog Country"! Sadly, I have not read enough about this unit's history to know why their mascot is the bulldog, but I am sure that I will soon. Effective today, I am a part of the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division on Fort Bliss, Texas. I am the new Human Resources officer for the brigade which consists of over 3,ooo people. 

I did not have to move far from my old unit--1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division--which was very convenient. But it's a totally different environment--that's for sure. Or maybe it only seems that way because I haven't really been working for about two months now because of all the transition I've been going through since I found out about the baby. But these guys definitely mean business. They didn't waste any time getting me integrated; I just hopped right to it. In previous jobs, I've always just jumped right into things because I've found that it's the fastest way for me to learn. But heck, today...these guys had me busy. I had arrived for my office call with my new boss (the Executive Officer) at 0900, which took all about 30 minutes. Next thing you know, all the staff primaries come marching in, hooting and hollering about all kinds of stuff that the staff needed to get working on (none of which I can mention in this forum). Then, a 1430 meeting is called for all the staff primaries (which I am a part of) to brief staff mission analyses slides to the Brigade Commander. Oh, and by the way, everyone has to submit their slide presentations in about an hour and a half!

Crisis! Immediately, I'm thinking...it's my first day, I know nothing...where am I going to get all this information (which was mostly personnel estimate stuff--i.e. ID personnel shortages, manning projections/forecasts, pre-deployment requirements, etc.)? Luckily, the voice of reason (Malu) just happens to call from Iraq at that very moment and reminds me that it's not the end of the world and that I can do anything...if I just remain calm. I love when he does that. He always seems to have good timing too. Thanks honey, for believing in me...because yes, everything went well. I was commended for putting together a good presentation despite time constraints and was later told by the Brigade Commander when I left work (at 1955 hours) that I had a "great first day and that they were glad to see me" (because the unit had been in need of an HR Officer for quite some time).

Oh, and you would think that working with nothing but dudes would be quite intimidating, because I'm usually in a unit with a whole bunch of females. Here, it's pretty much all guys (it is an infantry brigade after all) and I'm the only female staff primary at the moment. I even started my brief by saying "good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," and had to laugh it off and apologize. They got a kick out of it. Well, it was intimidating at first, but everyone was very receptive and welcoming. But please keep me in your prayers. I just hope that I can keep up the momentum and make a great and lasting impression. I was only meant to be in this position until the time the baby comes, but the unit intends to keep me so long as I do a great job. I hope I do! Because I want to stay!

Girls' Weekend!

One of my best friends, Chrissy, was so excited to hear about the news of my pregnancy that she scheduled a visit to El Paso the first weekend she had free. So this past 4-day weekend, I was able to entertain her for a few days and just really enjoyed having her company for a few days. I've been staying with my Auntie Daisy for the past few weeks while my house is being built (nope, I didn't buy a new one, just renting a brand new one) and I figured I'd give her and her family a break for a while.

And Chrissy, well, she does things in high style. She got us a room in the best hotel in town--the Camino Real. We each had a queen-sized bed to ourselves--you know, the kind with tons of plush pillows? Yeah, it provided sleep-full nights the entire time we stayed. It was wonderful!

So, I took Chrissy around the town. In this picture, we had just gotten done eating a marvelous breakfast at the Crave Kitchen and Bar downtown. Their food is to die for! Aside from that, we did tons of shopping (more Chrissy than I), tried out a lot of different restaurants, went to the La Vina Winery (my favorite--it was so hard to just watch her do all the tasting!), and watched a few movies (The Blind Side--awesome; and Leap Year--cute). We even squeezed in naps here and there each day, which I was very thankful for!

It was truly a great weekend. We reminisced about all of our good times together. I've known Chrissy for pretty much my whole time in the Army and she was once my roomie in Iraq. We just couldn't believe that we've come this far and that I'll soon be having a baby! Well, one thing's for sure...Chrissy's definitely going to make a great god-mother for our baby-to-be. Thanks for another great weekend Chrissy. Let's do it again soon!

Catching Up: There...and Back!

I think I set the record for the shortest deployment ever. Most everyone knows why, but I thought I'd catch everyone else up to speed just in case...even though I am almost two months late in updating my blog. Forgive me please! I have been busy. Now that I'm back and have a little bit more time than I did pre-deployment, maybe I'll be able to keep this regularly updated. Maybe I should make it a resolution for the new year. Hmmm....we shall see.

Okay, so on November 23rd, 2008, I had everything packed and ready to go to Iraq. Shoot, everyone did. We gathered all our gear and lined them up for inspection (by the K-9 guys) at our unit's pavilion.

My bestest work buddies and I waited in anticipation....

...to load the planes that would take us on and endless flight overseas. We made stops in Wisconsin and in Germany and then arrived in Kuwait after about a day of traveling. Once we got to Kuwait, we immediately started training. We were at the range, did vehicle roll-over training and spent what seemed like countless hours in predeployment classes. It was, by no means, fun.

And what sucked even more, is that it rained for days and the flooding did not make it easy to travel to and from meetings, our sleeping tents and to the bathrooms (porta-potties = yuck!).

However, what was nice was that we all got to spend a very happy Thanksgiving over there. Our meal was spectacular!

But, in the midst of it all, I didn't notice a lot of things that were happening to my physically. For example:

• Once we finished training (which happened over a span of three days), we had a lot of down time because we were pretty much waiting on our flights out to Iraq. So I would take long naps in the afternoon. I'm not talking about cat naps, but hours-long naps. I'd take a nap right after lunch (around 1300) until about 1800, just before my evening meetings--and I'd still be dog tired. But I didn't think anything of it. I figured it was the time difference. After all, we gained 10 hours in just a few days.
• To this day, I tell this part of the story...a friend and I went running at the gym while we were there. I felt like I was about a ton heavier than normal because it was more difficult. I didn't think anything of it because it had been a while since I had done some serious PT. All the deployment preparation had hindered me from doing it. But what was particularly different was that my boobs felt so much heavier, like I should have been wearing about three or four more sports bras. They hurt! Again, didn't think anything of it...I thought it was just the recent weight gain. I was eating...A LOT. But no one else thought anything of it...they say I eat A LOT all the time--which is true.
• I was peeing like a freakin' racehorse. I only remember this vividly because it sucked to have to walk to the darn porta-potty for what seemed like every half hour (and sucked infinitely more at two or three in the morning when I was trying to sleep) and mostly in the rain since that's all it did in Kuwait at the time. No problem though...I'm always peeing. All the time.To add to the porta-potty issue...they stunk. I mean, really badly. And it never bothered me before, but man, I had a hard time trying to use the bathroom without dry heaving. Man, I dry heave now thinking about how awful it was.
• Speaking of smells, it was hard for me to walk to the dining facility just to get a meal. Anyone who has deployed before knows that there is a certain smell that eminates from the dining facility and it's not just of food. But it was so bad, I could barely make it there, let alone stomach anything to eat once I got in.

Still, I pressed on. And all the way into Iraq. I'd settled into the our humble abode below--and the smallest room I've ever had to stay in (even smaller than the room I had during my first deployment).

Once I got there, I had gotten sick and had an inkling that I was pregnant. After all, I was still tired all the time and I my back was starting to hurt a lot. And when was the last time I had had my period? Gosh, I couldn't even remember. Because I was scared to go into the PX to buy a pregnancy test (which yes, they do sell over there), I'd asked my guy friend, Joe, to do it for me. It was the night that Kid Rock and a comedian, whose name I can't remember, were on the base entertaining the Soldiers. As a group of my friends stood among the crowds listening, Joe came out of the PX and handed me a bag with a pregnancy test. Thank you Joe! I waited until 0500 the next morning to take it. And seriously, the + sign didn't take but a few seconds to pop up on that darn stick to confirm what I pretty much already knew at that point. Great scott, I'm pregnant!

I had 14 days to get out of theater, because prenatal care was just not available in our area of operations. It was hard to be excited about being pregnant. Actually, to be quite honest, I wasn't. I was disappointed to leave my friends and my Soldiers at such a crucial time. Delivering news of pregnancy to co-workers while deployed is not actually welcomed by all. Thankfully, my superiors were very supportive and offered their congratulations and a speedy and safe trip home. However, I regret that the news of my pregnancy wasn't exactly good timing for some close friends--one had to find a new roommate, and some had to change jobs to accomodate my loss. To those individuals, I am truly sorry. But I am mostly sorry to my section, whom I left behind. I know they are currently doing great things under their new leadership!

Getting home...was a feat. My goal was to get home in time for the holidays! So I had an agenda. Malu was going to be in Colorado Springs visiting my family and we wanted to suprise all of them with the news. Okay--rewind: as soon as I found out that I was pregnant, I got a hold of Malu as quickly as I could and he was excited about the news. At the time, he was still mobilizing for his deployment in Fort Dix, NJ, but was being released for five days for Christmas. Before he found out I was pregnant, he had planned to make a stop in Colorado to visit with my family. So we planned to surprise them with the news on the evening that my parents were holding a Christmas dinner in Malu's honor. So for about two weeks, I held the news from my parents. Imagine how difficult that was! So yeah, I had to fight against all odds to get to Colorado Springs on time to meet Malu at my parents' house! I won't go into all of it, but I'll break down the sequence of events. In summary....in was a nightmare.

• (3 Dec - 12 Dec): I had to be out of Iraq in 14 days. It took 9 days for my release packet to be approved and completed at Division/Brigade headquarters.
• (12 Dec - 15 Dec): No flights available out of Kirkuk, Iraq. The waiting officially starts.
• (16 Dec): I finally leave Kirkuk, Iraq and arrive in Balad, Iraq.
• (16 Dec - 17 Dec): Wait for flight in Balad, Iraq. Slept in transient tents.
• (17 Dec - 18 Dec): Depart Iraq and arrive in Kuwait; fight to get flight to States.
• (19 Dec): Depart Kuwait; stop in Germany and Iceland on the way)
• (19 Dec): lose 10 hours due to flight and arrive at Fort Dix, NJ, where incidentally, (1) there is a huge snow storm (2) and Malu is training with his unit somewhere on Fort Dix in the middle of the said snow storm. The snow storm was said to be one of the worst in history. And indeed it was. The nearest airport was Philadelphia and the roads out there were pretty much closed. Malu couldn't even come to visit me because they were trapped out in the field because of the inclement weather. Go figure. Somehow, those guys were able to get us out to the airport.
• (19 Dec - 21 Dec): After four cancelled flights and sleeping on an armchair in the overcrowded USO facility because there were no taxies departing from the airport to the hotels (all of which were booked because travelers were trapped everywhere), and after Malu booked a $700 ticket for me (while out in the field) because I was sick of my Army-booked flights getting cancelled, I was able to leave the Philadelphia Airport. Still, the flight departed Philly late and caused me to miss my connecting flight in Dayton, OH. So I had to stay overnight. At this point, I'm panicking. Malu was going to be in Colorado Springs the next day.
• (22 Dec): I prayed that God would help me make it out of Dayton, OH and into Colorado Springs by way of Minneapolis, MN. At this point, I had been traveling in the same uniform for about a week and had no toiletries, as all of my baggage had gone out to El Paso in one of m previously cancelled flights. And God truly answered prayers, because I made it to Colorado on time. Malu had been picked up by my parents an hour before and I made arrangements for a family friend (sworn to secrecy) to pick me up and keep me at her house until dinner at my parents' house.

So, pretty much, the suprise went as planned and I wish I had captured it all on tape. When I walked into the house (which was filled with all my family and extended family and friends), you would have thought those people saw a ghost. They could not believe that I was there. And my mom was completely ecstatic. She kept jumping up and down saying that she's finally going to be a grandma. And Malu could not have been smiling any wider.

So all the pain and chaos I had to endure to get home...forgotten and well worth it! Not only did I make it home in time to see my family, but Malu and I were able to head out to Utah to spend Christmas day with his family--the first time in years.

Truthfully, it wasn't until I was in the midst of family and my true friends, that I was able to finally be happy about our soon-to-be baby. I hope that doesn't sound like a bad thing, but there is so much pressure in my career field, especially as an Army officer, to not get pregnant. Honestly though, was there ever going to be a perfect time for me to have a child? There was probably always going to be another assignment, another deployment, another whatever. But my friend, Chrissy (also an officer in the Army), told me that a female general told her Captain's Career Course class that any time is the perfect time for a female in the Army to have a child--because there really is no perfect time. And you know what? I am ready. I've been ready for quite some time. And I do not feel guilty for something wonderful that is about to happen in our lives...at least not any more.

I have yet to go to visit an obstetrician. Those of you who are familiar with the Army medical system should know that, well, it sucks. Here in El Paso, we're typically not seen until we're in our 20th week. I have my first appointment on the 29th. Well, it's an orientation, so I'll actually see an OB sometime thereafter. Because I'm impatient, I'm working to get an exception to policy to be seen at a civilian facility. I'm anxious to know how officially far along I am and better yet, when I will be due. By the 29th-ish...I'll probably be able to tell if I'm having a boy or girl, so I'll keep all of you posted!

On another note, Malu departed for Iraq just before New Year's Day. I posted his mailing address on my Facebook page, in case anyone wants it. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We're definitely going to need it!

Thanks for sticking with me through this entire catch-up entry. I start a new, and probably more stressful, job at the end of this week. Still, I'll endeavor to keep this updated more frequently. And since I'll be cooking a lot more regularly in an attempt to eat healthy throughout my pregnancy, you might see my cooking blog get updated every now and then! Until next time... and to my husband, whom I know is reading this...thank you for this special gift. I look forward to starting this new chapter in our lives!