Three days to go...

Alas, the summer is over.  Three days to go.  I doubt I will get a chance to make another post before we depart from Fort Lost-in-the woods.  I am not sure I stand so strongly behind my previous conviction that Ft Leonard Wood is not lost in the woods.  After spending four months on base, every time we get off to go somewhere feels like my birthday.

Last weekend we had the ball/banquet to wrap up the class and congratulate the class for their accomplishments.  I am so proud of my husband.  This was no easy feat. He got to share many of the photos he'd been taking all summer at the banquet and they turned out so nice! A lot of them looked like they belonged on an Army brochure!

In preparation for the banquet I had to get a dress because I packed mine away :'(  We had to drive all the way to Springfield to find dresses, because there is nothing remotely close to base that sells decent long formal dresses.  Springfield is really only about an hour and a half away...but it took us quite some time to get there.  Our truck broke down almost exactly in the middle between FLW and Springfield.  We had to call AAA and get a tow truck to take us to Springfield.  But no auto repair shops are open on the weekends in Springfield.  Luckily we had very gracious friends that needed to make a trip to Springfield anyway that came and picked us up, brought us to the mall, and back to FLW.  As luck would have it, when our truck was ready to be picked up last wednesday they needed to go back to Springfield again, so we were able to hitch a ride there.

On our way back from Springfield we made a few stops.  First we went to Target, my home away from home...I could have spent hours just walking up and down the aisles.  That's how much I missed Target.  Then, we stopped at Bass Pro.  It's the first Bass Pro, and neither of us had been to one before.  What a treat! So cool to see all the fish and ducks and turtles (ALIVE)! They also had a firearms hall of fame, so of course we spent a good half hour up there chatting with people about guns and the army.  On our ride home, we had no problems.  How nice that was.

On a side note, we couldn't have been more prepared for the truck to break down on our way to Springfield the first time.  We had given a friend our room key, just in case something happened and we didn't come back as soon as we planned so that they could let our dog out.  E had taken out all of his Army gear that needed to be turned in the following week, just for good measure, and we just so happened to have a cooler full of cold water when we were sitting for hours in the heat waiting for the tow truck!

Anyway, it feels pretty surreal that four months is up.  Tomorrow will actually mark our four month point I believe.  To me it feels like it has been just a couple of weeks.  E says it feels like at least a year.

There is not much I will miss about FLW.  I will miss our friends.  We made so many good friends that I hope to stay in contact with as the years go by (maybe we can make a trip to Italy to visit some of them??).  I also think I will miss living on post to hear Taps play at 2100 every night.  It is so pretty.  Oh, and maybe I'll miss having maids.

I am ready to go back to Minnesota, even if it's just for a short while.  I'm excited to see family and friends and I am excited for something new (and I'm a little nervous).

I haven't quite decided if I'm going to keep up this blog, or start a new one when we move to Washington.  I think I might start a new one, so stay tuned for more adventures!

Oh happy day!

Praise The Lord! My husband is back! Today marks exactly two weeks from the day we say goodbye to this dear (and grueling) chapter in our lives. Looking back I can't tell you if it feels like it's gone by slow or fast. I'll go with fast for the most part. I'm sure E would go with slow. 

For E this has been one of the more difficult experiences of his life. It tested him mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I'm so happy to say he is leaving here a stronger, more confident man. Oh, how proud of him I am for sticking it out. 

As for me, I know I'm leaving here a better woman too. Independent, social, and tidy. I learned a lot about supporting someone emotionally. I also learned how much I enjoy taking care of things for E like cooking and cleaning (things I dreaded before). 

Now we have Harper. I was a little bit nervous at first that i had made a mistake in getting her. But she really has been a blessing. She is there to release stress for E when he feels like he just can't keep going. She's there to keep me company when E is away. She is calm when we want to cuddle, and playful when we want to play. 

I'd be lying of I said that I wasn't nervous about the next chapter of our lives (at least the next few months) but I am confident that it is all going to be alright. I am blessed to have my little family with me on this journey. Most of all, my best friend who never ceases to amaze me. 

I guess that is all for now. Stay tuned for more adventures ahead!

Winding down

I suppose not a lot has happened since my last post. E is still gone. Hopefully he will come home today or tomorrow. I have been thoroughly occupied in the time that he has been gone. Having several sleepovers in a row really takes it out of me. We even crafted! 

 

Now we have only 17 days left!! On October 4th there is a formal event that we have to wear fancy dresses to. So we are going to try to rent dresses from post. Too bad I didn't just bring mine...

I'm still waiting to hear back from that job. And every day getting more excited to see family and friends!

Girls only

This week E is gone.  He is off doing his last training, and last graded event for BOLC! Yay! We are so close!  The last week was very stressful, and both E and I are so very happy that it is over and that he survived it!

This week it is Harper and I.  I spent time cleaning today and now I will watch movies all night.  I have been looking for places to live in Washington all week, and looking for jobs.  Today I found a promissing job.  It is for a bilingual case worker (spanish/english) working with refugee children.  So up my alley.  So I applied and now all I can do is pray about it.

This past weekend E and I celebrated our one year anniversary.  Hooray! Saturday we spent the day outside with Harper and with new and old friends.  We went for a walk by the river and watched the pups play in the water, then went to a park and had a barbeque and played KUBB all evening.  Later on we went to a movie in the new movie theater with the fancy reclining leather seats!

Sunday E had a little studying to do after church.  After that E and I went to Rolla to a little place called "A Slice of Pie" and had, can you guess? A slice of pie!!  We then came home and made some dinner together and watched movies for the rest of the night.  Relaxing.

Yesterday we went out to eat with friends, for one last good hot meal before E had to be gone all week eating yucky MRE's.  Good thing I went to the store and got all kinds of goodies to send with E to make sure he wasn't running on an empty tummy.  I got all kinds of individually packaged nut mixes.  Some were breakfast, others just full of protein.  I was sure to send protein bars, energy drink mio's to put in his water, and a few of his favorite coffee drinks.  I love doing this kind of stuff for him.

I really don't have plans for my week, other than to hang out with the other wives.  Tonight we are all doing our own thing, but tomorrow fun will be had.  Muahaha.

I am really looking forward to seeing my family when I go home.  I also can't wait to see my darling kitty cat.  I do miss snuggling with her.  Harper just doesn't sleep on my feet or cuddle with me on the bed or the couch the same (probably because I don't let her on the couch and bed).  I miss her cute little kitten meow.  I of course miss my human family too.

I really don't have much to share this time.  I guess I will just ask for extra prayers for E as he is finishing his last hard week here at BOLC, and for myself as I look for jobs.

Can you believe it? Less than a month to go!

A little blue

Harper has been keeping me pretty busy lately. Last you all heard E was gone away at camp and MW and I were hanging out with the dogs.  We were going to have a sleepover but the puppies just wanted to play all the time and they wouldn't settle down so we couldn't sleep over. Which was just as well because the boys ended up coming back early because there was a heat advisory. E said that it was too hot to do a lot of things and ended up sitting around a lot. He came back early which meant we had an extra long long weekend. On Friday we didn't do a whole lot because he wanted to have a rest day. I'm Friday night we took Harper to the dog park. This is E's first time at the dog park and he really enjoyed watching all the puppies play.

Saturday was a big day for us. One of the E's classmates volunteered to watch Harper and we went to St. Louis for the day. We got there just in time for lunch so we went to an Irish pub and I had fish and chips and E had corn beef. After that we went to the old Courthouse Museum  on our way to the arch. At the arch we had to wait for a really really long time to get our tickets but somebody had told us a way to get one for two tickets so we didn't have to pay for two tickets. After getting our tickets we went and got some fudge at the gift shop went to the museum underneath the arch to kill some time. We had to wait for about an hour and a half to two hours between the time we got there and the time we actually got to stand in line for the arch. We thought that once we were standing in line that it wouldn't take very long for a ride to the top. However it was really deceiving because you couldn't see what was in front of you. Ended up waiting in line for about an hour before we got in the little pod. The pods were teeny tiny and we were glad we weren't very tall otherwise our heads would've touched the top. We found out that those pods were actually the original ones from when it was built. We finally got to the top it was super crowded and the windows were really tiny. We had to wrestle our way to a window to take pictures.  About 5 to 10 minutes later we were on our way back down.  As soon as we got back down we looked outside and it was pouring down rain. This was so weird because when we were at the top of the arch we couldn't see any rain in sight. My trusty umbrella from my purse came in handy once again. We stopped briefly in the shelter of the arch for E to check his phone to see where we were going to eat. We were so glad that we wore our tevas because it made walking in the rain a little bit more bearable.

We ate dinner on a rooftop restaurant. Was really really nice and a fun buzzing atmosphere. The restaurant overlooked the baseball game which was pretty cool too. After that we made one more stop before going home. Went to a chocolate bar that some of E's friends had suggested that we go to. They had chocolate drinks and really really yummy chocolate desserts. E and I ended up sharing a sample platter of all kinds of fancy desserts. It was love at first bite!  The whole place was so romantic with roses candles and tables for two all over. We headed back full and exhausted. 

Sunday we went to church and spend the rest of the day lounging around. On Monday E worked on some homework for the whole day.  Tuesday was a big day. I spent the day with MW. We got a scary text saying E didn't pass something, but just after that they said he did pass. As t turned out, his instructor wasn't listening when E was presenting. So when the instructor was going down the list of reasons for why E didn't pass his classmates started chiming in telling the instructor that E did say all of those things. So he really did pass. Praise The Lord. 

Because E passed, it means he doesn't have to brief any of the other ones. He has like 5-6 of them. He has been much less stressed because of that. Many of his classmates are startling to get SSRd. That is the review board where they decide if you have to be recycled or just done with the Army or given one more chance. This happens if you get too many No-gos. If E had failed he might have had an SSR and who knows what would have happened. We would appreciate your prayers for E to have confidence and competence. 

On Friday MW traveled to Lawrence Kansas to sail. MW had never sailed so I thought it would be fun for her. She ended up having a good time despite getting a little motion sick. Being home meant that E was in charge of Harper. Even though he hates doggy dooty duty I thing he did fine. He still loves going to the dog park. We went again when we came home from sailing.  

Sunday night E had to finish some homework so he stayed up all night. I stayed up for a while but passed out around 2am. Monday I did nothing, which was wonderful. E had a good day too. 

Today I went to Rolla with MW to pick up some stuff for the boys. Now I sit. I've been so busy and had so much social time that all I want is peace and quiet. 

I have been getting a little bit sad at the thought of BOLC being over. I have gotten along with MW so well that it makes me sad to know they will be so far away. They are moving to Italy. :( we have many things in common, but the funniest thing is that MW is just like E in so many ways and I am like her husband in so many ways. Go figure we would get along so well. All the time we are surprising each other. 

Things feel like they are coming to a close with just a month left. On to more adventures. I'm feeling nervous about having no clue how we are going to make the next step. Hard to get a place to live without a job, and it's hard to get a job without living there...I know it will all work out somehow, but I don't know how to plan. I don't know what will happen in the next 30 days and I have no control over it. Scary. Good thing E doesn't seem stressed. I trust him. 

That is all. 

A lifelong friendship in the making

It has been mighty long since I've posted anything, but that's because I have been very busy!  Last Saturday afternoon we went to see a movie (Lets Be Cops) with some of E's buddies from class.  It was funny watching it with a bunch of soon to be Military Police! During the movie we heard thunder. It shook the whole building, which was the reason that I knew it was thunder and not just the movie next to us.  Apparently everyone else thought it was just the movie next to us, because they were shocked when we got out of our movie and it was pouring down rain.  Coincidentally I was the only person prepared, as I had a little umbrella in my purse and the only person willing to get wet! I thought this was pretty funny.  The biggest guy (who doesn't even have any hair that could get messed up) made E take my umbrella to his truck, pick this guy up, drop him off at his car across the parking lot, and THEN come get me.  The big babies!

After that we went to Ocean Buffet and had a good time eating some chineese food.  Everyone had to get  little wet this time.  Muahahah.  We saw another couple there and on the way home asked them if they wanted to go bowling with us.  This was the beginnings of a magical night for MW (the other wife) and I.  MW had met before, and she'd even taken me with her to the dog park before, we just both stink at initiating conversations and outings, and assumed the other person would do something if they wanted to see us. We had a good time bowling and after that were not ready to call it quits.  So we let the boys lead the adventure onward.  We ended up meeting up with more people from E's class, but MW and I sat together and H (one of E's female classmates) sat with us.  All three of us were having such a good time that when it was time for people to leave we convinced E to go stay with MW's husband for the night and we had a girls night at our hotel (after we had an adventure with the taxis of course).  We baked cookies and cheesy bread and watched movies and talked and talked until 5am!! So crazy.

After that weekend MW and I were super excited to spend more time together.  Monday we spent all day together and when the boys came home we made them dinner at my place so we didn't have to say goodbye just yet.  Tuesday we took a break and Wednesday...well, Wednesday was a big day.  The day started off mellow.  MW had to take her car to the shop because her husband said it was making weird noises.  Turns out the diagnosis was crazy driver.  Then we sat and thought about stuff to do.  MW wanted to take me to the pet store.  I agreed because I'd seen their website before and didn't think they even had any dogs that I really liked enough to take home.  But as soon as we walked through the door my heart melted and I was a gonner.  THE cutest puppies.  Little Aussie/Hanging Tree puppies.  I tried texting E all day, but he was too busy to look at his phone.  I wasn't going to go behind his back and get a dog...but I was in love.  So I waited not so patiently for him to get home.  He said okay.  I asked if he was sure a billion times (as I was jumping up and down like a crazy person).  I told him he was allowed to say no.  He still said it was fine.  He was super busy at the end of the week with homework that I could tell he was stressed out.  I still feel a little bit guilty for doing this when he his heart and mind weren't really with me.  E was working on something with a classmate so he couldn't take me to the pet store, so I called MW up and she raced over.  We got our puppy!  E was pretty busy all night so we didn't get a chance to talk about names until really late.  I rattled off ideas, even looking on the internet for "names that don't end in 'y'" because E didn't like those names.  I mentioned Harper and E thought that would be fitting because the cross pistols used as the symbol for the Military Police is called the Harper's Ferry.  So the name stuck.

Our first night with Harper we didn't have a bed for her.  I had given her a bath earlier in the evening and when she was ready for bed she pulled up a towel to the corner and slept there...all night.  E wakes up early for PT and she just watched him from her towel and went back to sleep.  When E came back and got ready for class he tried to play with her so I took her outside and she went back to her spot and slept after E left for class.  She let me sleep for a long time.  We had a play date with Stark (MW's puppy) the next day and she had so much fun. I got her a crate.  She freaked out the very first time she went in there and hasn't made a peep about it since.  I don't know how we lucked out with this puppy because she is so easy!

Friday MW and I went to Osage beach which was an hour away.  She got to pick up her wedding ring after having it re-sized.  We went out to lunch, the pet store, and Target to pick out outfits for the next day's social event.  We had so much fun.

Friday was a crummy day for both of our husbands.  They both didn't do so well on an assignment they thought would be easy.  Their ego's were hurt.  They were stressed out and embarrassed and upset with themselves.  Saturday I took extra care to cheer up E.  We went to the banquet and afterward I sent him on a guys night to see ninja turtles with his buddies while MW and I went with H for another girls night.  We ended up having a splendid night together once again.  E got some much needed sleep.

By Sunday E was a new man.  Refreshed from plenty of sleep in the last few days, his outlook became quite a bit brighter.  I was happy to see my husband be happy again.  As much as he was indifferent to our puppy right away, he sure has warmed up to her and loves playing with her and even talking all cute to her.  Now he is gone for training stuff for the next three days...so MW and I will have plenty of sleep overs and puppy play dates this week!

Like I said, it was a busy couple of weeks!

Sailing

It has been a while, and many things have happened for both me and E since my last post.  So I'll start from the beginning.

On Thursday evening E drove me to Warsaw to meet up with Chris who would be going to Oregon with me.  She picked me up and I slept at her house for the night.  On Friday morning (Friday was E's birthday! So sad I missed it, but it sounded like he went out with friends and had a good time) we woke up bright and early to get a few things done at her sailing shop before hitting the rode.  With her 11 year old son in tow we were off!  The morning at the shop was way more interesting than I expected.  Chris sold somewhere around four kayaks that morning.  One gentleman came in and was very adamant about not wanting the mirage drive (pedals for the kayak so you can use your legs instead of your hands, and they're so so easy to use) because he was going to put in a motor.  He argued with Chris over this for a long time, left, then eventually came back and bought the boat, mirage drives and all.  The next gentleman came in and was not interested in talking so much, but he wanted a red kayak.  The only one Chris had was a demo which she was willing to sell at a discount because it had "demo" stamped on it.  I'm telling you, the little words were just as tiny as the font you're reading on this screen.  Basically invisible to anyone but someone who knows it's there and where to look.  Nonetheless, Flip wanted nothing to do with this discounted Kayak because he said it looked tacky.  So he would wait for a new one to come in and pay full price.  Finally, there was a couple that came in wanting to buy a new kayak to add to their collection of three already because they were having grandkids over that night.  So they bought a kayak and then bought a sail for it on a whim! They didn't even know how to work a sail and just added that $300 extra like it was no big deal!

Anyway, after cleaning up the shop we got on the road toward Des Moines, IA.  We stopped at a Burger King on our way out.  I have had so many bad experiences with BK's with them getting my order wrong and not having fresh food that before this trip I had vowed to never ever eat at Burger King again.  Only with Chris having a hard time finding something that was both on the way out of town and something that her picky eater son would agree to I just shut my mouth.  And what do you know? They not only gave me the wrong chicken on my salad, but they forgot to give me my salad dressing.  Disappointing.  After eating lunch I drove the rest of the way to Iowa so that Chris could work and sleep.

We got to Iowa and picked up my skipper, Jim and Chris' crew Abby along with Jim's hilarious sister Julie.  We drove straight through the night and straight through Saturday arriving late Saturday night at our destination.  The next morning we set up our boats and registered.  We set up a few things that Jim and Chris brought to sell, and sold quite a bit of stuff right away.  We thought maybe we would get the boats ready and have a chance to go out and practice a bit, being that it has been two years since I've been on this particular boat, and nearly  two years since I've been sailing in general, and it was Abby's first time on this boat ever.  However, there was just too much going on.  People needed help with their boats and parts, and just wanted to chat in general.  So we talked through what the next week would be like on the water and then called it a day.

On Monday we had the skipper's meeting and then were able to go sailing right away.  We sailed a total of four races, but one got thrown out because every boat (Including me and Jim) but one rounded the wrong mark.  So we had three races which left Jim and I in second place after that day (I think).  That night we had the welcome party dinner.  Pulled pork sandwiches and the like were on the menu.  Then we went home for some rest.  That night I found plenty of bruises on my knees that hurt.  I get them from kneeling on the ropes on the boat.  I was a little bit nervous about the next day sailing and having to kneel all over again.

We woke up bright and early the next morning ready for a day of racing.  However, when we got to the beach the wind was blowing pretty strong.  This regatta had a cap of 20 knots which meant we wouldn't start a race if it was blowing that hard.  So the race committee went out and read the winds.  At 9am it was already "blowing like stink" as they say and the locals and the local weather forecast said that it would just keep building throughout the day.  So they called off all races for the day.  This got mixed reactions.  Some, like me, were excited because it meant a day for exploring and hiking.  Others wanted us to hang around just in case the wind backed down (which it did...).  Anyway, we went out for lunch and then went hiking.  We found so many cool water falls! We hiked to a couple and then our group split, with the more adventurous of us continuing on to the top.  On our way back down the mountain we found a nice secluded waterfall pool.  The water was so cold it hurt my bones! I went in up to my knees, but that was really all I could handle.  If I had had a change of clothes, or my bathing suit, or really just a shorter walk to the car once I was done, I would have jumped in like the Canadians did.  Someday I'll do it, because it looked like so much fun!

At the end of the hike we had to go get the van to drive everyone home.  It was really only a half mile down the road, but Jim and Chris wouldn't stop arguing about who would go get it.  Jim didn't want Chris to go because he didn't think it was safe for a woman to walk down the road by herself, and Chris didn't want Jim to go because she wanted him to rest after such a long hike.  So as they sat arguing they stopped a car to ask for a ride, and low and behold, it was full of women! So Chris won and left to get the car while the rest of us got ice cream cones.

After that we went to pick up Abby who was with the rest of the Canadians, and got sucked into staying for a little while to chat.  We went to the Washington side for dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then went to bed for the night, sure that we would get some sailing in the next day.

Wednesday morning came and we all got up nice and early and arrived at the marina where we were greeted with a sign that said "All races postponed until 1500".  Nobody was too happy about waking up early just to find out we could have slept in.  So we just waited around the marina all day.  We went to the cafe and played cards and had lunch while we waited.  1500 came, and the wind wasn't done yet, so we waited another hour.  Then they sent us out for a few races.  The last race ended and the sun went down.  The race committee was about to start another race, but the racers protested.  Three was enough, it was about 2000 and everyone was ready to eat and put away their boats for the night.  So we went in.  We got cleaned up and went to dinner.  Only dinner wasn't ready yet. It was a seafood stew, which was good, but we are not convinced it was worth waiting so late for.  We got a late bedtime that night.

Thursday morning was again, very windy.  So we waited.  Only this time they sent us out earlier.  I think we were starting races by 1500 if not a little earlier. It was very windy when we were out there.  I was pretty scared because I didn't want to flip.  At the start of this day I believe we were in first place, but not by much.  I didn't want to make a mistake that would cost us our place.  Jim kept saying "no mistakes girl, no mistakes".  So I decided to tell Jim that I was nervous about tacking and ask for a little more time just so that we didn't flip.  That day a lot of boats went in and didn't race because it was so windy.  I suspect we were sailing in winds higher than 20 knots.  I think we had 4 races and ended the day in a tie for first place.  The way that they break ties is to count who has more first places, which we had the same of, so then they count the number of second places, which we luckily had more of.  That night dinner wasn't provided and it was very late again.  By the time we were ready to eat it was 2100 and nothing in the tiny town of Cascade Locks was open, not even the grocery store.  So we had to drive 20 minutes out to Hood River to find a McDonalds.  We ate in the car and went right to bed because the racing committee had announced earlier in the day that the first race would start at 0800 the next morning.

We woke up so early and it was so cold, and it was windy...but we raced.  I was scared, but not willing to give it up.  As it turned out the wind kept getting stronger, so we only raced two races that last day, which was enough for us to secure first place.

We cleaned up and waited for the award dinner.  The dinner was delicious!! Lots of good food and good desserts.  After the awards were handed out we said our goodbyes and hit the road.  We had to be in Salt Lake City in the morning for a trade show.  We drove through the night.  The trade show was huge and we arrived during it's final hours.  So I took Chris' son and Abby and we walked around looking for free stuff while Jim and Chris did business at the Hobie booth.  We got some friendly chatty people, and some people that were a little mean and looked at us like we were trying to steal something or spy on them.  Either way it was fun because the event was so huge.

After that we drove through the night.  Abby and I kept Chris company when she took over and drove until 0100.  We jammed out to music for a long  time.  Then, the gas light came on.  Jim's van is notorious for running out of gas.  Essentially, if that light comes on, you have two miles (maybe) to find gas.  We were not close to gas.  Jim woke up in the chaos and told us to keep going when we almost exited to a town we would have had to drive a ways to.  So we kept driving.  Maybe the poor van was running off our our combined adrenaline, because somehow we made it to the gas station in time.  The gas station called Fat Dogs with the slogan "You Are Nowhere" right next  to it's name.  Jim says it could have said "You Are Now Here".

We kept driving for what seemed like forever.  I can't really sleep in Jim's van because whenever I put my head down, it's vibrating so much it makes my cheeks itch.  Go ahead and laugh, because that's what everyone else did, but it's true!

Finally we made it to Des Moines! I knew we were taking a boat home with us from Jim's shop, but I didn't realize that the boat was in parts, and would be taking up the ENTIRE BED OF THE TRUCK!! So Chris' son and I were squished in the back of the truck with our luggage all the way to Kansas City.  Once there, they loaded my stuff into their little mustang and Chris drove me to Warsaw where E picked me up! It was so so kind of her, seeing as she probably was way more tired than I was because she actually drove some pretty long legs of that journey.

I arrived back on post at 2200 on Sunday night, eager to hear all about what E had been up to all week.

Just for a quick recap for all of you, on Wednesday, I believe, E got tazed.  He sent me the video and posted it on FB, and it didn't look like fun.  On Friday E got OC sprayed.  Hot pepper oil spray in their eyes, then they have to do a little obstacle course where they have to fight, take people down to handcuff them, answer questions, and stuff like that.  We had been told that it lasts for a really long time, and that when you shower it reactivates everything and it feels just as bad as when you first got sprayed.  However, E said it wasn't that bad after all. He did some volunteer hours this weekend, and generally had a pretty good week.

Well, that about sums up the last week for us!

Oregon bound!

Thursday evening E drove me half way to Kansas City.  I got picked up and spent the night in KC.  Woke up early in the morning and helped out around the sailing shop before heading out for my second 4 hour drive on Friday.  (Friday was E's birthday and I felt sad about missing it).  We drove from KC to Des Moines, IA and then hit the road by 5pm.  We drove and drove and drove (and drove each other crazy) until 8pm tonight (Saturday).

We have a small cabin with two queen sized beds and 6 people! Yikes!  Somehow I ended up with a bed : /  I really think my skipper should have gotten a bed...but oh well.

I plan to post more, and maybe add pictures, so stay tuned!

Fifty days in!

Today marks day 50 of training! We are almost halfway through our time here.

This past week was pretty good.  On Wednesday there was a CG social which I attended with E.  We got all dressed up and spent time socializing there.  During introductions at the beginning of the event they had all the wives (all four of us) raise our hands so that the other wives could see us.  They waited until we got some food and then pounced on us.  They pulled us away to a corner of the room and chatted with us until we were the last people at the event.  They were all so kind and so helpful. Mostly they were older women, and all of them had much experience.  They were very laid back and told us not to be afraid to find them and ask for help in the future.  There was one other wife who was much closer to our age as well.

The next day the four of us wives from E's class went to a spouse orientation.  We had a hard time understanding where we were supposed to go.  Violet, the woman that was trying to give us directions the night before at the social kept giving us blank stares every time we tried to ask "is it by the library?" or "is it in the MSCOE building?" (which it was).  We did make it there and it seemed like there were barely any wives there.  The event really was for the Captains Career Course families, but it seemed like all of those officers came without their wives...So we waited around with the wife we met the night before that was closer to our own age.  She told us that we should let her know if we ever want to make a trip to go shopping, or use her oven, or just need someone to hang out with.  She also invited us all for brunch on Tuesday (tomorrow).

After the very short, not incredibly helpful, orientation three of us drove around for a while and chatted before going back to our hotel rooms.  Hopefully we get out and do more stuff together now!

Friday I made a shirt out of an old thrift store dress.  Honestly, I was trying to make a dress, but I accidentally cut it too short...But it does make a pretty cute top.  Then I went to How To Train Your Dragon 2 with some other guys from E's class.  After this we went to Chicken Bone.  That was an interesting experience.  We didn't know it was "Christmas in July".  Let's just say there were some interesting characters there.  Luckily we were there with some really nice people.

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early for a trip to the Lake of the Ozarks where we rented a deck boat for the day.  We had so much fun on the water and were so glad we didn't back out like most people did (they went floating down the river again).  We got a wake board and a tube and the boys had a lot of fun doing both of those things.  Little brag moment here, E was the only one who could really use the wake board.  Out of all six other people, E was the only one who could stay up for more than 3 seconds.  He got up on EVERY try! And then, of course stayed up for a while.  It was fun to be on the boat listening to all of the other guys be so impressed.  Later on E was tubbing and was impressing them all over again when he would not let go even when the tube flipped upside down! He got the tube to flip back over and pulled himself on all at full speed!

We also found what people called a party cove.  It was just a bunch of boats that linked up and everyone floated around and socialized.  We didn't do it for long, but it was fun to see so many people.  After that we just spent some time driving around the lake.

I think the best part of the day was the good company.  The other guys we went with were very nice.  It would have been really easy for them to not pay much attention to me, given how good of friends they already were.  But I felt like a part of the group the whole time.  I really really did have a great time.

By the time we got back it was already 9:00pm so E and I opted out of going to BWW for dinner.  We went home and immediately went to sleep.  We woke up refreshed for church on Sunday morning.  We went out to lunch after that with Captain W at Ruby Tuesdays and it was delicious!! Then E had to do some community service painting cannons, so I did some reading.

To finish off our weekend we went on a long walk on a gravel trail.  It was such a nice weekend with new friends (for me) and some good quality time together.

Today E had a PT test in the morning that he passed with flying colors! He was only 3 pts shy of a perfect score and did much better than on his first PT test (which he passed, just not as high of a score as this test).  Then he had a mock riot where he got tussled up and had food thrown at him.  He said that was really fun (to be the rioters and the ones standing against the riot).  He also said that some people took it a bit too seriously, which is silly.  But I'm so glad he had such a great time today!

In case I don't get a chance to write again before Thursday, I will be sailing this next week.  I'll be leaving on Thursday evening.  I hope to bring my computer, but I don't know if I'll have internet access. It might be a while before I get to update the world on the oh so interesting events of our lives, so keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

The ReFashionista in me

The last week was rather uneventful.  E wasn't stuck in the classroom all week, so he was happy.  I found things to do here and there, so I was happy too!

This week I got a PO Box so we can receive mail! I made a long walk to the library on that same day.  I thought it was much closer than it really was.  I also thought there would be a good direct route...but was wrong again.  I ended up winding up and down streets looking for sidewalks and being sure at some points that I was lost.  I was trying to return season five of Castle and see if the library had the next season, which they didn't.  After the library I went to grab a drink from Starbucks and then to the PX to get some stain remover.  Can you believe it? The laundry detergent of all things stained two of our white shirts! I still can't figure out how to get those blue stains out... :'(

Friday I made a dress with the new sewing machine that E got me and an old dress from the thrift store!  Pictures of the affair are on Facebook. As soon as I was finished with it E texted me to be ready (it was 1420).  So I picked everything up and got my shoes on and was ready.  I waited and waited and waited...1820 rolled around and he finally came home.  I think next time he shouldn't tell me to be ready unless he's ACTUALLY on his way home.

That evening we went out to dinner with a couple of other couples.  We went to a German restaurant and I had my first schnitzel! My only complaint was that we had to wait an awfully long time to get our food.  After that we mozied over to a BBQ for a few minutes before going to a movie.  We went and saw the Purge because one of the other wives really wanted to see it.  Let me just say that I didn't think I was going to like it before we even got there...and I ended up not liking it after we left either.

After the movie we went to meet up with more of his classmates that were at Karaoke night, much to my dismay...At this point it was already close to midnight and I just wanted to go home. However, it ended up not being so bad.  E has a tendency of mingling with everyone when we are with a lot of people and forgetting about me, especially when I don't really know anyone.  Luckily there were a couple of people who came over and talked to me for a while when E disappeared.  I'm getting pretty good at remembering people's names, and people seem to remember me.  It was kinda nice to hear what people had to say about E.  One guy kept telling me that E's "good stuff" over and over again.  He told me that he likes talking to E in class. I don't need other people to tell me how blessed I am to be married to E, but it sure did give me warm and fuzzies to know that other people see the good that I see in him too.  I think everyone has moments when they might feel insecure about what other people think about them, and it's nice to have moments like these, talking to his peers and seeing how they see him, to help build E up when he might be feeling down on himself.

Anyway, on Saturday we decided to grill out in the front of our building.  We invited a couple of guys from our building to join us and we had a grand time.  After eating we taught them how to play KUBB and more fun was had.  Once it got dark and people started getting bitten by bugs we brought the party inside and played cards in our room.  As it got later and one guy left, E and W (our neighbor that grilled with us) got into some deep conversations about God.  It was nice to hear them going back and forth so animated, and both so happy to talk to someone who understood their point of view.  They enjoyed each other's company that the conversation lasted until 0200!

The next morning we went to church and recruited the largest group yet! We went to church with four of E's classmates (one was really the wife of a classmate).  After church we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch an the server was very kind to us and after learning that all of the men at the table were in the Army he gave us our drinks on him.

After a weekend full of good company we spent the rest of the evening relaxing before the start of another busy week.  My goals for this week: learn how to darn socks (for one of E's classmates), make a new dress (out of another thrift store dress), read a whole book, make something new for dinner.

Peace out girl scouts!

Happy Birthday JP!

First, a big happy birthday to my little brother!!  Sorry I couldn't be there, I'll try to make it up to you!

The weekend was pretty chill for E and I.  To start things off on a high note, E had a big exam (that was supposedly the hardest one of this course) on Friday.  After struggling a little bit with the last exam I think we were both a little bit nervous about this one.  However, his studying paid off and he passed the exam with a great score! Three cheers for E! I'm very happy for him.

That evening we went out for Mexican food with his classmates and had a good time.  I had the pleasure of meeting one of his classmates  from Hawaii! Then we went to pick up tubes and a cooler for the next day.  As it turned out we decided not to go tubing on Saturday after all.  It was hot, and they were getting a late start.  So we went to the library and got season 5 of Castle and spent the day laughing at Castle's antics and Becket's reactions.  Later that evening we went mini golfing on post with another couple.  We quite enjoyed it, even though they tried to kick us out before we were done.  After that we took them to Sonic for half price shakes before heading home for the evening.  Sunday they came to church with us.  At church we received all kinds of grief for not showing up for fireworks the night before...oops.  We didn't think we'd be missed, but apparently plenty of people thought we were going to be there...We'll have to show up to the next event.

After church we went to Waffle House :) I felt like treating E after him being so nice to me all week.  We saw some more of his classmates there and E made plans to join them later in the day to work on a test.  That about sums up the weekend, though.  Fairly uneventful, but relaxing all the same.

This week E gets to be out of the classroom, which he's excited about.  It has been beautiful outside so far, which is nice for both of us.  Which reminds me, today when I was outside I was setting up my hammock when I noticed a piece of moss that was moving on the tree.  I assumed it was an ant carrying it or something until i looked underneath it and tried to move it, the thing looked like moss, but it WAS the bug! The little legs were attached to the moss!  It was quite possibly the coolest bug I've seen to date!

I guess that's really all I have to share for now!

Fourth of July

The weekend was filled with fun and sun!  Thursday evening E went out with some friends that he knew from NDSU and had a good time.  Friday we took our time getting ready and just made a drive around town while we thought about what we wanted to do with the rest of the day.  We finally decided to grab lunch, pack some snacks in the cooler and find a park to play KUBB in.  

If you've never heard of KUBB before, it's like Bocci ball and bowling in a way.  It's a yard game that requires throwing wooden blocks across the yard.  We played this for a long time, E winning every time.  I've never lost so bad before! In the last game it started to look like I had a chance, but no, E made a big comeback.  

It was pretty cool being on base during the fourth.  It's kinda hard to forget what the day is all about when you're there.  We saw so many families, and this was before we headed to the big field where all the action was at!  We made a quick stop at the PX to use the air conditioning and toilets before heading out to check out the field.  At the field there were all kinds of things going on!  There was a car show.  The cars ranged from old cars, to cars that people had built, to little barbie cars, or tricked out bicycles.  We even saw a bright pink version of Herbie! 

Moving on there were an assortment of bouncy things for kids.  As we were walking through we just happened to arrive just in time to watch a dog show! It was pretty cool! They had dogs catching frisbees, and even taught the audience how to teach your own dog to catch frisbees!  Needless to say, this did not help satiate my yearning for a puppy : /  

They did really long throws, short throws, and trick throws where they jumped off their trainer's backs or through their legs!

Then we went over to the area where the stage was to set up our blankets for the concert later.  We sat around and listened to music, went back for another round of dog show, grabbed some fair food, and met up with a friend before the evening events progressed.

Look at all those people!  That's not even the half of it!

 

Lookin' super cool in their shades ;)

Sadly, we neglected to take a picture with normal faces...so here's our goofy picture!

I got my camera out just a smidge too late.  These guys forgot to bring chairs or blankets, so they had to make due with their water bottles.  The guy farthest away had been using the bottle vertically to lift his head higher before I got my camera out.

At five o' clock when the music started playing over the loud speakers to retreat the colors was maybe one of the coolest moments of the night for me.  Music had been playing loud and there were thousands of people crowded into one place, moving and making noise.  All of a sudden it was like freezing time.  Everyone stop, stood, and it was dead silent and super still.  Something about large groups of people doing the same thing at the same time, especially being still and quiet is awe inspiring to me.

Just before the concert started there were speakers and the like.  Then they did this thing (I can't remember what it as called) where they counted off all of the states (by year...sadly I forgot to ask what the year was about...the year they joined something?).  Every time they called off a state they would blast a cannon and you could see the cool ring rising into the perfectly blue and cloudless sky and people from that state would stand up and cheer.  This happened until they had listed off all of the states and everyone was standing.  This was also a really cool moment and something I'm glad I got to be a part of.

Finally, Chris Young came out to sing.  If you can't see in the picture, his arm is broken.  It was a good experience over all.  His sister and brother in law are in the military and he showed a great deal of respect for the soldiers in the audience, even stopping in the middle to take a selfie with  the crowd of uniforms in the background (the space right up close to the stage was reserved for soldiers).  It got me to thinking that if I were in his place, I would have felt pretty humbled to have had the opportunity to do what he did.

The night ended with some fireworks, timed with the music playing in the background.  After navigating the crowds and finding a shortcut through traffic home, we concluded that it was a pretty good fourth of July.  

Saturday we were invited over to someone's house from church.  They made us burgers and let us sit in their hot tub.  They also had the cutest puppy!  We visited with them and their son for a long time, getting advice, sharing stories, and generally having a good time.  We ended the night with homemade ice cream and a game of dirty board (which I liked very much!).  

Sunday we went to church.  After church we went to the library and got me set up with an account and we checked out a couple of movies.  We spent the rest of the day lounging around watching movies.  Monday we watched Castle, because season 4 finally came in at the library and E wanted to finish it before the week started so that he wouldn't be distracted from studying for his test on Friday.

We can't believe that it's already been a month!  We sure do miss our Katniss...And we miss our family and friends.  It's a little tough being away when big things are happening.  With loved ones dealing with sickness and others planning weddings, and still others enjoying their first months of life it's tough not to be a part of it all.  We want everyone to know that we think about you all the time and wish we were there!

Settled

I feel that the best way to describe the last week or so is to say that I feel settled.  Finding little things to do to stay busy and to help E feels more satisfying.

Over last weekend we went out to dinner with a lot of E's class to a mexican restaurant and had a lot of fun.  After that we went to a late night movie (which E slept through hehe).  We had planned on going to the beach with some of E's class on Saturday, but after a late night and a busy week we felt more like bumming around instead of going out.  Instead we ran some errands and spent some good quality time with just each other (probably more to my benefit than E's).

Sunday we went to the late church service because one of E's classmates was going to try it out and we figured we'd at least go to the same service.  At church we were invited to a BBQ type thing on the 5th at someone's home, and more fireworks on the 12th!  After church we went out to lunch before returning home to do a bit of homework.  Later in the evening E took me to Miller cave where we hiked a little bit and explored a lot.  The trail wasn't really very long, as it basically just drops off.  We spent some more time just noodling around on our way home, exploring different dirt roads, discovering things like old cemeteries and the like.

Monday night E was done early.  He brought me lots of chocolate :) He's so good to me.  Then he took me grocery shopping before he took me to the pool!  It was such a great way to start the week that I'm still living in that happy place.

Last night we tried to go out to a German restaurant with another couple from E's class, only to find out that this particular restaurant is closed on Tuesdays (and only Tuesdays! How strange!).  So we made a quick change of plans and ended up at a 50's diner instead.  After some easy conversation we invited them over and we all watched Lone Survivor before turning in for the night.

As you can see, nothing crazy exciting to report, but I'm finding my rhythm.  I've started to make friends, which is good.  The girl I met last night seemed more eager for company during the day than the previous wife I met.  And she has a puppy! I'm hoping this will help wear E down and he'll let me have one of my own.  I know puppies take work, so what better time than now to have one when I don't really have any responsibilities during the day!?

That's all!

Lightbulb moment

Well, I don't have any pictures to share today.  Only a few words.  The last couple of days I have gotten into the swing of things a little bit more.  I have busied my self with making grocery trips or errands for E, making meals, doing laundry, reading books (I am on my third for this week!), reading the bible, and being there for E.

For any of you who don't know, E has this quirky little superstition that 23 is bad for him.  He claims that on the 23rd of every month something bad happens.  Well, June 23rd 2014 was no different.  He got some bad news in class that really made him feel discouraged.  It broke my heart that there was really nothing I could do to fix it.  But it made me very thankful that I was here, even if all I could do was give him a hug.  The next few days have been much better for him.

Watching E go through this gave me a whole new perspective on this time in our lives.  Sometimes this experience leaves me drained.  I start to feel used when I spend all day by myself and then E comes home and wants me to do things for him.  He doesn't always ask me, but I do things for him because I want to.  Sometimes I do these things selfishly, thinking that if I do things for him, he will want to return the favor.  Only there never seems to be time or energy left at the end of the day for him to go out of his way to do things for me.  This made me easily irritated.  I cracked at every note of sarcasm or gentle joking.  I'm embarrassed to say that I almost started resenting him.  When he had that bad day it opened my eyes.  E has more pressure on him than I know.  Classwork is really not his thing, and that is all he does some days.  After spending some time thinking about it, and praying about it I knew that this time in our lives was about E needing me, which was just as good as him doing things for me.  Both of us are very much so the kind of people who like to do things for ourselves, and we don't like to even allow people to help.  It seems as though E has reached his breaking point and has opened up to letting me help him.  Whether I research helpful study habits, make him dinner, or give him 10 minute back rubs between study sessions I know he appreciates it, even if he doesn't always admit it.

This bad day also made me realize how happy I should be that I'm even here. Even though some days the only time I get to spend with E is when we go to bed, it's more time than I would have had with him had I not come along.  I know that if I had stayed in Minnesota, I would have given anything to have had 5 minutes with E.  I also thought about how thankful I was that I could be here for his bad day.  As helpless as I felt, I would have felt more helpless if I had not been here.

That's enough of the thoughtful stuff, though.  Yesterday E woke up very early and did land navigation courses.  He came back around 0900 and reported he had been bitten by a snake! (He passed, by the way! WOO!!)  I couldn't help but think about the river float the other day and everyone being so scared of the snakes, only to have E get bitten by one in the dark!  When he showed me the bite, you really could only see one tiny spec, and then the area was kinda rough like he had goosebumps.  I'm still a little uneasy that he didn't at least have someone check it out, but that's just the girl in me I suppose.  E said someone else got bit by a spider in the dark because he walked into the web.  Supposedly that person's neck swelled, but the swelling went down and he was fine.  I'm not going to lie to you, I was a little bit nervous about this whole land navigation thing.  I'd heard stories already of people breaking their legs during this course due to uneven ground and the like.  So I was pretty thankful that E came out alive ;)

Yesterday I spent most of the day out on the hammock in front of our building.  People were everywhere! E guessed that it was a family day event, and maybe a graduation ceremony too.  I saw a big critter that might have been a groundhog, AND there was a birds nest right above where I was swinging!

The rest of the evening I read while E studied.  Today he takes a test.  I'm praying for him.

That's all for now! I'll be back :)

Hammock time!

Too bad the rain came 20 minutes after I figured out how to hang it up! Today i went grocery shopping, then tried to be outside while I wait for the laundry. Now I sit in the laundry room instead of my room. A change of scenery is nice at least!

Fun in the sun

In case you can't tell from the title, here's a picture of my feet after yesterday.  Can you guess what we did??

Well I'll get to that in a bit.  But for now I'll start from the beginning of the weekend.  On Friday night I went with E to Buffalo Wild Wings.  There we met up with other people from E's class.  Although I met and talked to a lot of people, we spent most of the night talking to someone who was also from Minnesota!  It was fun comparing notes and learning that he grew up really close to me.  

As it started getting late, we had a couple of people asking E or I to be a DD for them to get to a bar & grill not to far from where we were.  We ran into a little problem because I don't know how to drive manual very well, as I've only had one lesson and that's the car that E and I have.  But I also was really nervous about driving a bunch of people that I didn't know at all, in the dark, and they were intoxicated on top of it.  So Captain W (the fellow Minnesotan we were talking to all night) could see the hesitation on my face and volunteered to drive them.  We followed in our truck and the plan was to bring him back to his vehicle after he'd dropped off the group going to the next bar.  As we were following we kept getting further and further away from anything that looked like a restaurant.  Eventually we turned around.  Watching them drive in front of us switching lanes at the last minute made me really glad I wasn't driving, because I would have been a wreck.  We did eventually find the place (they totally could have just walked from BWW) and then went home for the night.

Then comes Saturday!! After running to pick up some uniforms for E we met up to go tubing down the river that was not too far away from post.  We arrived at 1130 like everyone said we should do and only a few people were on time.  We didn't even leave the parking lot until 1200.  Then we drove and drove and drove and kept thinking we were lost.  We eventually found the place and rented tubes.  We turn around and realize that we've lost two people.  They had to drive back because one of them realized they had forgotten their wallet (but didn't think to ask anyone to pay for them).  They arrived and then we had to wait for more people.  And then once they arrived, we had to wait for more people.  The theme of the day was waiting.  

Eventually we were off.  The float was slow to begin with but we weren't in a big hurry.  We knew that it was only 4 miles and didn't expect it to take too long...little did we know it was going to take us until about 1845.  Along the river we encountered mini rapids, snakes, and spiders.  We had many laughs from good embarassing story telling, grown men shrieking and running across tubes of people to get away from snakes and spiders, and simply being in good company.  I got to know a lot of people and still have to really think to try to remember everybody's names (because I have to know both first and last names! and there were 19 people there).  Eventually the float came to an end and we sat around waiting for the bus to come pick us up. It was taking a long time, so someone called to see what the hold up was.  We found out that we were waiting in the wrong spot.  We were supposed to walk up a ways to meet the bus.  The bus ride back to our cars was an adventure in itself.  We almost got stuck going up a hill, and almost got crashed into by a fast car.  We were all thankful to arrive back in one piece.

At this point I was hot and a little bit burnt.  I had a headache and it had been a long day.  We decided to go out for dinner with a few people on our way back home.  So there we sat, in our wet clothes, eating dinner listening to mediocre live music.  Overall it was a very full, very fun day.

I met another wife, who didn't seem to have any problem with the extra time.  Apparently grocery shopping and preparing meals for the week kept her busy enough.  But maybe we will get together and go do stuff in the future.  It was fun to meet people this weekend.

Now to the best part.  Despite my mom-like efforts to convince E to wear sunscreen and to keep applying, he now looks like a bright tomato.  You can see the spots where he sprayed on sunscreen and refused to rub it in (despite my begging him to rub it in).  Now he is sitting covered in cooling aloe gel.

This morning we went to church and got a homemade pie!  It was nice to come back and have so many people remember us.  After church we went out to lunch with E's friend from NDSU just like old times.  Now I have to find something to occupy me for the rest of the day because E has so much homework.

This weekend was well worth all of the sitting around though.  I was nervous about feeling out of place with E and all of his classmates, but I felt really welcomed.  Most of the time I could follow what they talked about, and there were plenty of girls that showed up anyway.

I can't wait to see what next weekend holds!

Familiar faces

Look at the pretty flowers I picked from the side of the road today!  I think they are a good visual of how my day feels.  Today started off pretty slow.  Gave E a hair cut at 0700 and then sat around for a while.  I sent in an application for a job today that I would love love love to get! 

Today one of my friends from high school just happened to be in the area and stopped by with his girlfriend for dinner! How nice of them!  Unfortunately E had to study, so he couldn't be there.  It was really nice to see familiar faces and to have a face to face conversation with people that were not my husband! It also felt a little nice to not be the most clueless person in the room.  After an hour of easy conversation they left on their next great adventure and I was left feeling refreshed.  The last couple of days have been pretty good, even considering today's dinner was the first time I've been out in a few days.  I have been busily writing cover letters and fixing my resume.  My aunt was very helpful and took the time out of her day to read through my cover letter and then go through it with me on the phone.  Not to mention she made me feel pretty good about myself and my accomplishments to this date.

Right now E is getting done with his study session and is on his way here to pick me up to go get his uniforms.  Last week we brought them in to have stuff sewn on.  Which brings me to a funny story.  That evening right before we were about to go to bed E stops in his tracks and has a look of sheer panic on his face. He said "oh NOOOOO! I gave that lady all of my PC's (patrol cap)" He spent quite some time trying to find a PC to borrow in the morning before he could go buy another one. It might not have seemed funny to him then, but it sure was funny after the fact!

That is all! Ta ta for now!

High hopes

The last couple of days have been filled with job searching (for our move to Washington).  In the past months this has been a daunting and disappointing experience, so you can just imagine my surprise when I found opportunities galore!  I have found countless positions seeking Spanish/English bilingual employees, and I even found a position for a volunteer coordinator in Seattle.  I am most excited about the volunteer coordinator position.  Overall, my last few days have been filled with hope and inspiration.  I have felt like I've made some progress, and I really have something to look forward to.  I ask that you pray for me as I start applying for jobs.

Really not a whole lot of new stuff to report.  I walked to the PX yesterday and I ate an ice cream cone in the food court like a loner.  Then I just walked around and looked at stuff for a while, resisting the temptation to buy bags and shoes.  Then I walk all the way back to the hotel.  It's not a long walk, but yesterday was the first day of hot muggy weather.

Today there is no water from 0800 until 1600.  They left a note on our door yesterday saying it would be out in the whole building.  I didn't get up until 0900...so I have to wait until 1600 to shower.  But where do I have to go anyway??

My mom has been very kind in thinking of me and she offered to let me help on a project so that I would have something to do this summer, seeing as getting a job (not at the commissary) isn't a real possibility.  I am very thankful to have something to spend some time on and something productive and worthwhile.

Oh! I almost forgot about this funny little thing that happened yesterday! Just after E left for class I hear a knock on the door.  I really thought it was E, because he keeps knocking instead of using his key when he knows I'm here.  So I went to the door and looked out the peep hole.  Only it wasn't E.  It was some other person and they looked a little panicked and in a rush.  He bangs on the door again and shouts "Dude, common!!"  I backed away from the door and went back to my business, since it wasn't Ethan.  Then I hear the door next door open and they leave.  As it turns out, the person in the apartment right next to ours is in E's class! And apparently so was the guy that was knocking on our door!  I wonder how many more times people are going to get our rooms mixed up?

Sunday fun day

Today we went to church.  E did some research earlier in the week and found a nice church a little ways off post.  We arrived a little early, and much to E's dismay we went inside early instead of going to get doughnuts before church started.  No sooner had we found a place to sit than people started coming up to us left and right and introducing themselves to us.

This church has people from so many places, and it has so many people that will be very helpful and understanding for E and I.  Many of the people attending the church have either been in the military in the past, have worked on post, or are still working on post.  We spent a good twenty minutes getting to meet people until church started.  Then again during the meet-and-greet portion of the service, and then after the service.  We met many people who gave us advice and direction and offered us ways to be involved.  More importantly, they offered suggestions on how to keep me busy!  Sometime in the near future I should be able to connect with other wives and go out and do fun stuff with them, but I was also given some direction and some suggestions about where I could volunteer (some of which included with the church).

After that we were invited to the Sunday school classes between services, so we stayed for that.

Then comes E's favorite part of the day.  The anxiously awaited trip to the Waffle House!!

He thought he was so sneaky.  As we were leaving the church parking lot he goes "I'm going to take you out for a treat!"  Little did he know, I knew he was going to do it before we even left for church!

It was yummy!! Although, I'll have to say that it made me a little homesick for Minnesota for a minute when I realized how much I miss the no-smoking laws... But I quickly got over it!

Now I sit and quietly try not to disturb E as he does a bunch of homework and important sounding things.  He told me today at breakfast that he's figured out a couple of good people to be friends with that seem to be down to earth.  E seems to be settling right in and I think is grateful for the business in his life after having a month of loafing around with no real productivity.  He seems to be making all kinds of connections, and people are eager to help us out at every chance we can get.

Oh! I almost forgot! I know some of you have been asking for pictures of the base and all that jazz, which I hadn't gotten around to yet because of all the rain, and my not knowing where I'm going or what I'm doing, but I was just informed last night by E that he volunteered to be the photographer...so he needs the camera.  So much for practicing my photography skills this summer :P  I'll just have to practice on the weekends.  However, E said I could maybe help him with some of it (FB and uploading and such) so maybe that will give me a little bit of things to do as well.

I finished my first book since we've arrived, and now I'm on to the second!  It's called How to be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway.  In case you were wondering, it's a novel, not a self-help book.  I'm finding it very interesting so far as it is about a Japanese woman that married an American sailor during WWII or shortly thereafter.  It made me think, for as bored as I think I am, and for as lost in the military protocol as I feel, at least I can speak English, know American culture, and nobody is holding anything against me because of how I look!

Anyway, that's really all I have to report for now!

Highs and Lows

After sitting around for a few days with little to occupy myself with I finally got up the gumption to go to the employment office (I actually can't remember the title of the office because it was ridiculously long and did not sound at all like a place where people would help me find a job).  Those of you that know me well can appreciate the act of bravery that it really was for me to walk around post by myself, waltz into the office and ask people for help.  I am so naturally introverted and easily intimidated that walking around a place where everyone appears to know exactly what they are doing and they look and act so professional, I feel out of my element.  I'm sure at every moment that I'm probably messing something up, or doing something that's not right.

On my way to the office (about a 15 minute walk) I not only find every color of roadside weed flowers, and birds picking up worms from the rain-soaked soil, but I also find that EVERYONE stops for pedestrians.  Even when there was no crosswalk (which there aren't many of anyway...there aren't may sidewalks to be honest either) people stopped to let me cross the road.  Not sure if this is a military base thing or a Missouri thing, because even the airport shuttle van things stopped in the parking lot for me (although he seemed irritated unlike everyone else...).

Upon arriving to the building I really had no idea what I'm doing.  I must have not gotten the woman  gene that makes me stop and ask for directions, because I really hate it.  I'd rather try to find it myself.  After going up the elevator and realizing there were about 20 different offices, all with titles I didn't understand I was too afraid to walk into one and all of a sudden be in a place I wasn't authorized to be in...So I went back downstairs to the people that checked us into our hotel room and asked for directions.  They called it the employment office and they told me to go RIGHT when I got off the elevator.  Just to double check I said "Okay, so I go to the RIGHT?" and they said yes like they were positive.  So I get off the elevator on the second floor and go right.  I meet closed doors that lead to a long hallway of offices...none of them say "employment office".  I fight my urge to just leave the building altogether and I start walking. The first office is open and I see a lot of women at desks.  After taking another five steps I realize that I really don't know where I'm going and all of the other office doors are closed.  So I go back to the office with the nice looking ladies.  I have learned recently that in many situations if you just stand in one place and look really confused or make it very clear with your body language that you have no idea what you're doing, someone will come up to you and help you.  So I walked about two feet into the office and stood there and waited for someone to waive me over.  And TA DA!!! It worked!  A very nice woman asked me what I was looking for and I said "the employment office??".  She then took it upon herself to take me there herself!  As it turns out, I was supposed to go left off the elevator, not right.  But it's just as well that I found the nice lady because I never would have guessed that I was supposed to go through the door she took me through.

As it turns out, I won't really be able to use my social work degree here.  Looks like I can apply to work at the commissary (Grocery store for those of you who don't talk military). I was told that I'd have a hard time getting a job because I didn't really have a "foot in the door" or "a leg up" because I'm new and because I'm not disabled...Needless to say, I left a little disheartened.

However, God has blessed us and at the moment it's not necissarily crucial that I have a job.  It just would have been nice to give me something to do.  So it's back to the drawing board for me.

On one last up note,  just as I was leaving on my walk I felt a little mist.  I just prayed that the rain would hold off until I got back.  And what do you know, as soon as I sat down to type up this post it started storming!

I suppose that's all for now.  I have to find some projects to keep me busy this summer!

Second dinner made in our tiny kitchen

The beginning

Two days ago my husband E and I landed in Ft Leonard Wood, MO.  It is my first experience on an Army base and I have so much to learn and so much to share.

First, we started off our grand adventure at 0200.  The alarm went off and before we could even get out of bed to turn it off I get a text message from my mother saying "she is here!"  My littlest cousin was born just in time! We packed up the last of our things into my sister in law's truck (she graciously switched vehicles with us for the summer so that we could bring enough stuff with us), and headed off to the hospital.  We met the precious little angel in the middle of the night and felt so blessed to be among the first people to see her tiny little fingers and toes.  After saying some final goodbyes we hit the road.

Shortly after leaving the cities we were hit with a downpour.  It seems as though the rain is following us wherever we go.  Just as we were about to pull off the road to wait out the rain, it let up and we were able to keep driving.  It rained on and off the rest of the way.  After stopping for lunch in Iowa we continued to drive straight through to Missouri with only stops for gas.

Sometime after we passed through Kansas City, we came across the scariest road either of us has ever been on.  It went up and down and twisted and turned and the speed limit was 55mph the whole way. It also had no shoulder.  One inch to the side and you were off the road and onto the slippery gravel or grass. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad had we been able to go at a nice slow pace, but there were angry drivers behind us who clearly had a death wish trying to go 70mph.

We arrived on base at about 1430, a mere 12.5 hours after we started our journey, and about 2 hours too early to check in.  So we did some exploring.  We looked and looked and looked for at least an hour for the store that sells military uniforms and the like with no success.  Later we found out that we were just across the street from it the whole time.

We were able to check into our hotel that we will be living in for four months a little early.  We are going to be spoiled here.  We have a little kitchenette for cooking meals, two rooms, two tv's, free wifi, free laundry, and free continental breakfast five days a week.  On top of all of that, just like any ordinary hotel someone comes in to make our bed and give us new towels on a daily basis.  So spoiled.

After getting settled we went out to dinner with a friend who graciously answered all of our pesky questions and gave us countless pointers and bits of advice.

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Yesterday E thought he'd be spending the whole day in classes, only to wake up early, get dressed, and find out that he really only had to sign a few papers.  We spent the rest of the day together making sure he had everything he needed (USB printer cables were harder to find than we expected) from patches for E to crayons for me.  After all of that we hit the hay early to get a good nights sleep in for E's first day.

E seems to be enjoying his first day, reporting that there are about 30-40 people in his class.  He seems much more relaxed after having met them, getting expectations and the lay of the land.  While he is off learning things I am also learning things of my own.  This week I hope to find a job, or at least start that process.  I have also started making a menu for cooking dinners in our ity-bity kitchen (I have a new-found appreciation for our last kitchen, which we thought was small).  On top of all of that I have been taking note of civilian protocol when it comes to the army and learning what different ranks on uniforms look like.  All in all its enough to keep me busy for the time being.

Did I mention the rain is following us?  It has rained every day on and off since we left!  Feels like God might be preparing us for Washington.
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Okay, I know this post is getting long, but I have one more thing.  I figured I'd explain the title I chose for my blog while we are here.  First, I've never been to a military base before.  For some reason I thought it would be smaller...much smaller.  But with the different shops and restaurants and gas station and pool and mini golf and hotels and hospital and on and on, it is way bigger than I imagined.  Aside from all of that, I kept hearing people call this place (Fort Leonard Wood) "Fort Lost-in-the-woods".  So I assumed that anything remotely civilized would be way far away. Well, as it turns out there is a town surrounding the fort that has even more things like Walmart and hotels and restaurants, etc.  I mean, there's no Target, Best Buy, or even a mall, but I hardly feel lost in the woods.  We have everything we could possibly need, and then some!  Anyway, that's the reason behind my title.

Take care! More posts to come!