Thanks honey for a great camera, it's one of the best gifts ever!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Happy Birth-A-Versary...to me.
For the last couple of years I have been wanting a new Digital SLR camera. Yesterday Pat treated me to my wish. I am now the proud owner of an Canon Rebel EOS XSi~ SWEET!
It's a pretty expensive gift so I decided it should be for my birthday and Anniversary combined. A gal we know said it was my "Birth-A-Versary" gift and it stuck. I have been studying the manual and taking pictures of salt and pepper shakers and other random things as I figure it all out. The pictures are truly amazing. I have to say I am impressed. Here are a few from outside around the Casa. :-)
Homecoming Dance
JP atttended his first Homecoming Dance this past weekend at Guam High. One of our neighbors had the bright idea to arrange the shuttle to take the kids there and back (45min each way). For $15 a head it was great. The kids are all friends and I think they had a good time.
Friday, October 2, 2009
The colors are so pretty....
This past week has been a 'whirlwind' (pun intended!) of activity. Three potential Typhoons, #18W, Parma (which had me thinking of italian food) and Melor, have come and mercifully gone by with nothing more than some rain and breezy conditions. The good news is that we had a chance to prepare for the real thing and I know we would be as ready as we could be. The bad news is~ no Typhoon parties, and of course the destruction in the more northern Marianas islands that are in the path of the storms.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
NJROTC
It was the 1st inspection day for JP's NJROTC.All clean, pressed, polished and squared away.
What were the results later that day, you may ask?
All's well except for a haircut (it's not allowed to touch your ears)....
Mom tried to tell you~
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Why do we do it?
My poor old doggie-boy Jeb has not been doing so well the past week.
It started late last Fri night about midnight we a loud crash of the pantry doors and woke to find Jeb crumpled and dazed in the hallway. He was acting so weird, I thought maybe he'd had a stroke. We watched him over the weekend and he was dragging his rear legs a lot and acting strange, barking at stuff and just not himself. On Tuesday I took him straight to Dr. Malakooti. I was really thinking he was going to be euthanized that day. Dr. M said he didn't think it was a stroke, but a spinal injury of some sort. We left him there that day for xrays. When we picked him up Dr. said basically he's had a horrible spine with years of fractures and fusions and that he had many badly damaged vertebrae, crushed and no longer existent discs and an injured cord. He said he didn't know how he was walking and doing what he was doing based on the xrays. So we brought him home with a TON of meds and he has to be kept on bed rest. Anytime he gets up, I have to support him underneath with a sling made from a towel.
Dr. said it's basically just keep him comfortable and wait, he's like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off and at that point there won't be anything else to do. ~UGH
We had some trouble with the tranquilizers that we were giving and yesterday, I truly thought he was dying before my eyes. Plus he had a couple poop and pee accidents in the house too. I think he can't always tell when it's time anymore. I have been keeping him on the tile in case. Today he seems just a tiny bit better, I'm not getting too optimistic though. It sort of seems to come in waves, for a little while he is more like himself, then later he is moaning or panting heavily. It's been an emotional roller coaster of sleepless nights and tired days. I told Pat I feel like I'm back working at the nursing home, heavy lifting and poor prognosis.
So with all this emotional awfulness, why do we do it? Why did we 'rescue' this dog? Because for 7 wonderful years this dog has been my fuzzy child. Always happy to greet us when we come home. He loves to play tug of war and wrestle and Pat can get him to groan something that sounds way to much like "ma-ma" when he wants your attention. He curled up beside me so many nights over these years when Pat was deployed and stood watch on nights the kids were sick. He is a perfect alarm clock for 7 am and 5 pm (feeding times). It sucks having to go through this again (we've lost 2 other boxers to awful illnesses over the years), but he deserves the best care we can give him until it just doesn't work anymore.
It started late last Fri night about midnight we a loud crash of the pantry doors and woke to find Jeb crumpled and dazed in the hallway. He was acting so weird, I thought maybe he'd had a stroke. We watched him over the weekend and he was dragging his rear legs a lot and acting strange, barking at stuff and just not himself. On Tuesday I took him straight to Dr. Malakooti. I was really thinking he was going to be euthanized that day. Dr. M said he didn't think it was a stroke, but a spinal injury of some sort. We left him there that day for xrays. When we picked him up Dr. said basically he's had a horrible spine with years of fractures and fusions and that he had many badly damaged vertebrae, crushed and no longer existent discs and an injured cord. He said he didn't know how he was walking and doing what he was doing based on the xrays. So we brought him home with a TON of meds and he has to be kept on bed rest. Anytime he gets up, I have to support him underneath with a sling made from a towel.
Dr. said it's basically just keep him comfortable and wait, he's like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off and at that point there won't be anything else to do. ~UGH
We had some trouble with the tranquilizers that we were giving and yesterday, I truly thought he was dying before my eyes. Plus he had a couple poop and pee accidents in the house too. I think he can't always tell when it's time anymore. I have been keeping him on the tile in case. Today he seems just a tiny bit better, I'm not getting too optimistic though. It sort of seems to come in waves, for a little while he is more like himself, then later he is moaning or panting heavily. It's been an emotional roller coaster of sleepless nights and tired days. I told Pat I feel like I'm back working at the nursing home, heavy lifting and poor prognosis.
So with all this emotional awfulness, why do we do it? Why did we 'rescue' this dog? Because for 7 wonderful years this dog has been my fuzzy child. Always happy to greet us when we come home. He loves to play tug of war and wrestle and Pat can get him to groan something that sounds way to much like "ma-ma" when he wants your attention. He curled up beside me so many nights over these years when Pat was deployed and stood watch on nights the kids were sick. He is a perfect alarm clock for 7 am and 5 pm (feeding times). It sucks having to go through this again (we've lost 2 other boxers to awful illnesses over the years), but he deserves the best care we can give him until it just doesn't work anymore.
They say we rescued him, but guess what, he rescued us right back.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
First Days~
Today Casa de Everly marks the first day of High School and Middle School for JP & Rachel. We started the day off with a 5:30 wake up and JP left for the bus stop at 6:10. Rachel was up at 5:30 too, even though her clock was set for 6:30. Rachel was off at 7:25, dropped by Mom today since she had an armful of supplies. She plans to mix it up some by riding her bike on nice days too. Mean while back at the Casa, a 1/2 pot of coffee down and a long ignored list of cleaning honey-do's begins. Later this morning, it's off to the gym to get back on the exercise wagon. I've given myself the 5 months we have left to shed the fluff I've aquired here. Happy Monday to all and I will update later with first day of school anecdotes.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Dang it!
This week I was reminded of a few things.
1. Remember to always, always leave 2 car lengths in front of you no matter what the others around you are doing.
2. People in Guam drive like crap.
3. I am thankful for seatbelts.
4. USAA is a great insurance company.
P.S. I am grateful that no "chamorro carpoolers" were in front of me.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
It's coming....
I guess you can't tell much by the yard stick in the picture, but as of this week's measuring and weighing JP is now 5'10" and 140#. He's grown about 2 inches in the last 3 months. The new school shoes I just bought are a size bigger than the ones we bought at the beginning of the summer. I swear I can hear him growing at night as I walk past his room.... It's not that we deliberately measure him often, it's just that every so often now I look out of the corner of my eye and he's ...BIGGER. Then we measure and sure enough it's another 1/2 inch. Not that I should be surprised, right? He does descend from giants.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sydney Part II days 4-8
Rachel and I were particularly excited about Featherdale because it has only the native Australian animals. As we left the bus a man was holding a baby wallaby and Rachel went up to see it, she said she had been waiting all week to see one and so the man said "If you've come all this way to hold one, here you are!"
The Wildlife park was so nice and we could have spent much more time there, but we were on a schedule and so onward we treked to the Blue Mountains. We planned our AU adventure in July for 2 reasons, one was timing certainly, but secondly it was to get a taste of winter. Why we chose not to take coats (that we had brought) is debatable but there was a definite chill in the air at least 20 degrees cooler once we hit altitude. We even got a taste of sleet for a short while after lunch while waiting for the bus.
The Blue Mountains were amazing and beautiful. Very grand and such spectacular scenery. The three sisters rock formation was cool and the other scenery was outstanding. By the end of the day the sun was setting and the temps were dropping further, we were happy to be riding home on a cozy bus. We did chose the 'fast return' option so to avoid being stuck on a bus in rush hour traffic we rode a ferry home from Sydney Olympic Park, home of the 2000 games. Boating into the harbor at night was so pretty, sadly my camera couldn't do justice to the city lights.
Friday we decided to set out on foot, we headed first to the Sydney Aquarium which was super. We were there at the peak time of day so it was a bit crowded in spots, but neat nonetheless. The highlight for me was that we finally got to see the platypus, the only native animal we had missed at the Featherdale zoo. After the Aquarium we set off again toward the Queen Victoria Bldg. (QVB) and old market restored into a mall, then on to Hyde Park, The Australia Museum, St Mary's Cathedral and some other random sites like the clock tower and the AU stock exchange. By days end were were ready for a beer and a sitdown.
Saturday was our last full day & night in Sydney. We had a lazy morning, then checked out the "Rocks Market" and did some shopping and seeing the sites. Some very talented artisans (and some junk too) were there. I also finally did some opal shopping and my sweetheart was very kind to me, black opal earrings and a pendant (made easier by tax free and a favorable exchange rate!).One interesting thing about our cool antique hotel was it's proximity to Sydney's oldest pub, "The Fortune of War". Our room faced the street and so every night we'd hear the drunks roll out about 3a.m. It was a bit annoying, but mostly funny. One night a gentleman serenaded us with a salute to the RAF for at least 3 blocks. After dinner and getting the kids showered and settled Pat and I decided to join in the fun downstairs and settled in for a couple of pints with the crowds. We met some ladies from Melbourne and a newly wed couple from Brisbane and had a pleasant chat with them all. Back up stairs by 11 feeling like we had tasted the local flavor.
Sunday was meant for travel, we hated to leave, but everyone was looking forward to sleeping in their own bed. To the airport by noon, Sydney to Cairns from 3-6pm, then the L-O-N-G wait till midnight at the Cairns airport. Nothing but vending machines available at that time so Pat used the last of our AU $ to hire a taxi to go off airport and get some hamburgers. $70 for dinner isn't unreasonable , unless you consider it was 4 hamburgers, 2 bags of chips and 2 cokes! Anyway it was tasty and makes a good story. The flight from Cairns gets in at 4 am Guam time, it's a long trip, but one I would do again in a heartbeat. AMAZING OZ
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sydney & AU = Amazing (Days 1-4)
Sydney~ July 2009
Two plus years ago when we knew we were headed to duty on Guam I said to Pat "I will go happily, but I want to see Japan and Australia while we are out there in the Pacific" He graciously kept his promise and the result is that we had an absolutely fantastic vacation or 'holiday' as they say Down Under.
Flights only leave Guam for Cairns AU twice a week so with our cheap (frequent flyer) tickets in hand off we went. The other side of the coin is that you have no choice on times so we left at 6pm and arrived in AU at 10:30pm, too late to make any connecting flights to Sydney. Off to the hotel we went for some sleep. The next morning we were off to the airport. I saw a funny sign and reached in my purse for the camera~ DAMN. I had taken it out on the plane to take a picture and it seems that it never made it back into my purse. Fortunately Rachel had my old camera so at least we had something.
Arrived in Sydney mid afternoon and made our way to the hotel without problems. We chose to stay at The Russell in the 'Rocks' historic area. This deep harbor area is where the first convicts and other new immigrants were dropped off and where Sydney was born. After some years of hard time it is now a quaint and busy tourist area near the opera house and other interesting stuff. The hotel itself was built in the 1800's and has a lot of charm and quirks too. We were tired and hungry from travels and so found the 'Lowenbrau Keller' and settled in for a few pints and some delicious German food.
As if the scenery and ambiance of AU wasn't' enough the food, beer and wine were out of this world. I guess after living on Guam for 2 years where everything is imported and sometimes a bit on the 'less than fresh' side I was overwhelmed by the freshness of EVERYTHING. Back to the hotel for some sleep....
Tuesday Pat and JP opted to make the 3.5 hours Sydney Harbor Bridge climb. It was a perfect day and so off they went. Rachel and I did some sightseeing on our own including some museums and one of the bridges pylons. When we made the trek to the top coincidentally we saw the boys beginning their ascent. Pretty cool! We met for lunch about 1 and then did the family tour as we explored the famous Opera House and Royal Botanical Gardens. Beautiful. Stopped by the grocery store to stock up on some provisions for an early breakfast and for Rachel then on to another delicious dinner at a pub like place and early to bed since we had 2 big tours coming up.
Wednesday we rose early, ate breakfast in our room and were at the pick up stop at 7:15. Today was a tour about 2 hours outside Sydney to the Hunter Valley and the surrounding wine country. The countryside was so pretty, even in winter and the wine tour was fun. We met people from the UK, Canada and even some other Australians, we were the only Americans and the only people with kids so we were a bit of a novelty. Pat will never let me live down the fact that I somehow managed to lock the door on the buses bathroom, how that happened I don't know~ we hadn't even had any wine yet! We had fun tasted a lot of nice wines, learned something about production, had a great lunch and even watched "Australia" on the ride home that night. Whew
Thursday, another tour , this time out to the Blue Mountains. You'll have to read the next post to learn the rest.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
I won't quit my day job...
For the past year, my friend Lora has been urging me to sell my greeting cards through the gift shop she managed. I finally gave in. In a small way she was right. It's certainly not enough to retire on, but it is extremely humbling & satisfying to think that people like my craft enough to pay $ for it. These are just a sampling of my wares. The best sellers are the "Guam themed" and I am putting out a grouping of Military life themed as well.
(Sorry some of the pictures are sideways, I can't seem to fix that on the blog)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Finally....
GOLF!It's only taken 2 years,
lots of prodding, and
some super fantastic & enthusiastic HSC-25 wives who don't mind me tagging along to finally get some golf lessons. I'm not in love yet, still too much work at this point, but I would say "deep like" is appropriate. Who wouldn't like golf here on Guam, even if you play poorly, you still get rewarded with a rainbow
:-)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
14.....yummmmmm
We said Happy Birthday to my baby boy this week as he turned 14 on Tuesday the 23rd. We celebrated with dinner at his favorite place~ Tony Roma's, he loves ribs! His 'party' (all you can eat Pizza Hut and a movie) with friends was held about 2 weeks ago, he wanted to have it before one of his friends moved off island.
I am including a picture taken 2 years ago to the day, at the same restaurant. Amazing what a difference 730 days makes....
Monday, June 22, 2009
the itch....
It's now officially been over 2 years on island, we have an inkling where we are headed, friends are leaving and quite frankly I HAVE THE ITCH. I am so ready to roll...
What on earth am I going to do someday when were are retired?? I won't be able to use my 'joke' about knowing it's time to go because I now know where the light switches are in the dark.... Imagine staying on one place for the rest of your life.
At least the sunsets here are still nice...
Thursday, June 11, 2009
5th & 8th grade 'promotees'...
In this new generation a right of passage for students is a 'promotion' from 5th and 8th grade. This was a big year for us as we had both kids 'promoting' It is quite a production and the kids seem to enjoy the recognition. Mom and Dad are proud, but mostly.... just glad that they made it!
Rachel also received recognition for 'A'- Honor Roll, Culture Award (something written in Chamorro that I can't read but I assume it's good),Citizenship award and a shiny gold Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Well, since I did the states....
visited 14 states (6.22%)
Create your own visited map of The World or vertaling nederlands duits?
I know I haven't been to Australia yet, but the tickets and hotel are booked....
Oh the places you'll go.......
visited 39 states (78%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or Best time to visit Belgium
Last night as Pat talked to the detailer and got confirmation that Newport RI is pretty much a go for us in February 2010 I started thinking about "my map". I have always had the idea that someday I would see/drive through all 50 US states(and now a Territory thrown in for luck).
So now it seems a bit closer to reality. While living in RI for a year we can travel up the East Coast and 'check off' some of those lovely New England states I've only seen in pictures.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
One of the best parts of Guam...
As anyone will tell you the best part of being stationed here is not the weather, or the snorkeling, or even the ability to visit cool places, it is the friendships that you develop that make this tour not only tolerable but special. We celebrated our last Friday happy hour with friends Van de Walles & Briers. So fun and yet bittersweet at the same time.
We wish you all fair winds and following seas....
Monday, May 25, 2009
It's the most awful time of year...
This is a common sight on my street lately, the moving truck. We are on the precipice of all our AF neighbor's PCS season. As a NAVY family we spend our lives moving, moving away... from family, good friends, houses we loved and put effort into...only to leave it all behind yet again. Generally, I don't mind moving. Closets get cleaned, it's easier to purge junk and there is something optimistic and exciting about heading to a new place. However, there is something sad & emotionally draining about being the last of your crowd to go. When you're the first you say goodbye, promise to keep in touch and you're off, but when you're the last, you say goodbye again and again and the landscape changes until the place is unrecognizable. This time, we are the last...and it stinks.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
the opened box
I don't think I know any of the lost HS 6 service members, but that doesn't really matter...
Helo pilots and crew perform a dangerous job, even the training is dangerous as we have been reminded again this week. As their wives, we have to put that thought in a box, seal it and put it far away in the back of our mind. If we leave it open too long it would cripple us and we could not perform our job, which is to love and care for that warrior and his family. But for today, that box is opened again and I pray for the lost souls and their families and friends, may God's peace be with you all.
And I will hug my helo pilot a little harder when he leaves today, he may not notice, but I will know why...
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
More Backyard Fauna & a Sunset....ahh
Guam never ceases to amaze me. A young monitor lizard was sunning himself on a palm tree in my back yard this week, I felt a bit like the guy "Jim" in an old Wild Kingdom episode... I will stand safely over here while Tammie wrests the lizard from its habitat...
The sunsets here are one thing I will miss when we go. This pic is from the back of the Nimitz House on Naval Base Guam. This shot was taken from the Admirals house where I was attending a meeting this week.
In with the old , on with the new....
I have imported all the old posts from my old 'myspace' blog just so they would be in one place. I didn't want anyone to think I'm crazy. Here goes the fresh start.
Thanks,
Tam
#3, Old Posts from another attemp
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Dad said it's time
Current mood: sleepy
Category: Life
Dad said it's about time I posted something new so here goes.
We had a Fun-tastic holiday weekend! One of the highlights was going snorkeling for the first time. There is a lot of that here on Guam. We rented equipment and went to a little protected cove on the Navy base called GabGab. It's considered an easy place to start out. It was great and I really enjoyed it. The fish and coral were beautiful. So many colors they didn't seem realistic. We took ramen noodles out and when you break the packages open under water the fish swirl around you to eat! It was an AMAZING experience I hope to try again.
We also spent all 3 of the evenings with our group of friends playing a crazy game called "catchphrase" it was a lot of fun.
I also got my 5th boonie bee bite Monday, this time on my ankle. I took benadryl immediately this time and applied ice. So although its swollen, I didn't have the allergic reaction like the last time. I am no longer doing any more yard work on Guam!
Well, I'm still chugging along on our wives groups "biggest loser" competition, so I guess I'd better get walking. 4# in 2 weeks. So far, so good :-)
Monday, August 11, 2008
a new Guam first
Current mood: sore
Category: Life
I knew it woud happen eventually, I managed to put it off for a year... I got my first 'boonie bee' sting/bite yesterday while weeding this ungodly overgrown bed in my front yard. Its on my right thumb and I don't mind saying it hurt like Hell at first. I put ice on it and that coupled with the 'sting kill' I bought last year (see I knew it would happen sometime) made it tolerable. My thumb is still a bit swollen today but it is so stiff and hard to bend. I'm going to the housing office this week and fill out one of those dumb 332 forms and get them to come clear out that bed. No more stings for me!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
list 2
loves
a good book that I can't put down, my dog Jeb, old friends who know all my stories, new friends who laugh at my old stories, honey bees, thunder & lightning, Christmas, Halloween, seeing Pat in dress uniform, doing crafts, finding $ , Ruffles, HGTV, Bravo, Food Network, Jane Austen Movies, Making Pat & my Dad laugh, my select comfort bed, traveling in Europe & England.
Hates
confrontation, being addicted to the computer,using food to relieve stress, gecko poop, boonie bees, black mold, junked out cars, dead boonie dogs, being stared at, when I'm lazy/unmotivated, my hips, ants,potlucks,expensive makeup that looks like crap when you get it home, New Years Eve, .
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The Lists
Current mood: thoughtful
So here begins my lists (not my idea, but a good one so I stole it)
LOVES: Let's get the obvious ones first, God, Pat, my kids, my family, the USA,
Smells: Pat's cologne, babies w/ baby magic, freshed baked cookies/bread/anything, real pine trees, plumeria
Tastes: fresh coffee with fat free french vanilla creamer, grapefruit, strawberries, dark chocolate, edy's lime bars,
Other: the ocean, clean sheets, french manicure, eating a salad that I didn't make, fresh snow that no one has walked on, watching my kids sleep, singing the Our Father, sleeping in, doing the crossword with Pat, back porching on Fridays, grilled filet mignon, hearing the National Anthem, finding a bargain,
Hates>>>
People who don't accept personal responsibility,
Deployments I know it's your job honey, but it sucks
Religious extremists of any sort (this includes terrorists, atheists and people who can't accept that maybe God has more than 'one' way~Personally, I'd like us all to be Catholic but that is just me and ultimately...I am on board with not everyone being just like me).
Vomit
People who think the government is there to 'take care' of us. (See 1 above)
Professional Politicians (No one should be a life long politician~although they may start off with good intentions they all get corrupted eventually.)
Hip Hop, Rap, and other crappy forms of music.
Humidity
Global Warming...don't be an extemist! Nature is not stagnant people! Be a good steward of the gifts, educate, don't preach. Worry about yourself and what your legacy will be... not regulating everything everyone else does.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
6.6
Current mood: geeky
Category: Life
Wow, I felt the earth shake while in bed this morning....Oh yeah~~ before you 'go there', I'm a DET wife so ..... It was a 6.6 earthquake-- 225 miles WSW out in the ocean that made the light fixtures dance.
Monday, April 28, 2008
feeling jiggy
Current mood: stressed
Category: Life
So, now it's about 30 hours till departure and I'm starting to get that jiggy feeling... So many lists, out comes the suit case, honey do's left undone. All I want to do is cling...crap. 15 years of this crap and its still hard. UGH
Thursday, March 27, 2008
power and quake II
Current mood: savage
Category: Life
Just to make a notation for myself ...today we had a 5.4 quake at about 6am. It was a doozie with the epicenter 15 miles north of Hagatna. That means it was right around here somewhere close!
Additionally we lost power for 2.5 hours today from 11-130. I am filling the gas cans & extra propane this weekend and Pat is going to tutor me on the generator this weekend. I’ve decided I’ve been too complacent long enough.
OOG baby OOG :-)
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
see I TOLD you ....
Current mood: froggy
Category: Life
So yesterday we had our random monthly 3 1/2 hour power outtage. Lately they seem to be coming around dinner time, coincidently also on Mondays (always on Boy Scout night) and last night only on the "Rota" side of housing (so maybe they aren’t so random)! Just looking back through my blog posts and noticed that I only blog when I’m annoyed.
A couple hours w/o power and finally the ’emergency light’ in the kitchen went out. Finally at 9pm I decided that reading by my book light was lame and I went to sleep. I had purposely turned on my bedroom light so I would awake when the power came on. So about 9:35 the power was restored and everything kicked on. Now I was awake, and so I figured I would watch tv for a little while. As I lay in my bed I heard a loud BOOM and I think "WOW are the jets flying tonight?" No sooner did that thought form in my head than the shaking began and pretty hard I must say. EARTHQUAKE! It only lasted maybe 5 seconds but it was enough to make my windows rattle and my ceiling lamps sway. Its actually kind of a cool sensation.
A few minutes later as I drifted off to sleep I thought , OF COURSE.....Pat’s out of town. If you haven’t read my posts before weird stuff ALWAYS happens when the men go away. Oh crap! He’s leaving for a week in April, I’d better get my typhoon locker filled just in case!!!!..................... Go NAVY :-)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Bomb Drill
Current mood: annoyed
Category: Life
So~ every parent I know with a child in the base schools has been on pins & needles for 2 weeks thinking "Is this the day?" This is SO Dumb, not to mention that the kids are all totally jiggy. The other day JP said "I couldn't eat my lunch because I was so nervous " and Rachel is having 'evacuation' nightmares. Is it really needed? Does anyone REALLY think terrorists are coming to Guam to blow a bomb up in our elementary/middle school. I for one am SO over it!!!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
OOG
Current mood: pirate
Category: Life
The power went out here yesterday for 3 hours and no one knew why. It was a beautiful sunny day, no typhoons , storms or anything. Life went on, I cooked dinner on the grill . I was in the middle of chopping when the power went out. It just went from shake and bake to grill and chill. I chatted outside with neighbors , wondered how long the 'emergency light' would last ( and wished I could turn it off to conserve it since it was still light out for a while) & if I should haul out the generator. I am happy to say we survived LOL.
By the way Dad, OOG stands for "Only on Guam" and is a moniker we all apply to the weird stuff that occurs here.
Dad said it's time
Current mood: sleepy
Category: Life
Dad said it's about time I posted something new so here goes.
We had a Fun-tastic holiday weekend! One of the highlights was going snorkeling for the first time. There is a lot of that here on Guam. We rented equipment and went to a little protected cove on the Navy base called GabGab. It's considered an easy place to start out. It was great and I really enjoyed it. The fish and coral were beautiful. So many colors they didn't seem realistic. We took ramen noodles out and when you break the packages open under water the fish swirl around you to eat! It was an AMAZING experience I hope to try again.
We also spent all 3 of the evenings with our group of friends playing a crazy game called "catchphrase" it was a lot of fun.
I also got my 5th boonie bee bite Monday, this time on my ankle. I took benadryl immediately this time and applied ice. So although its swollen, I didn't have the allergic reaction like the last time. I am no longer doing any more yard work on Guam!
Well, I'm still chugging along on our wives groups "biggest loser" competition, so I guess I'd better get walking. 4# in 2 weeks. So far, so good :-)
Monday, August 11, 2008
a new Guam first
Current mood: sore
Category: Life
I knew it woud happen eventually, I managed to put it off for a year... I got my first 'boonie bee' sting/bite yesterday while weeding this ungodly overgrown bed in my front yard. Its on my right thumb and I don't mind saying it hurt like Hell at first. I put ice on it and that coupled with the 'sting kill' I bought last year (see I knew it would happen sometime) made it tolerable. My thumb is still a bit swollen today but it is so stiff and hard to bend. I'm going to the housing office this week and fill out one of those dumb 332 forms and get them to come clear out that bed. No more stings for me!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
list 2
loves
a good book that I can't put down, my dog Jeb, old friends who know all my stories, new friends who laugh at my old stories, honey bees, thunder & lightning, Christmas, Halloween, seeing Pat in dress uniform, doing crafts, finding $ , Ruffles, HGTV, Bravo, Food Network, Jane Austen Movies, Making Pat & my Dad laugh, my select comfort bed, traveling in Europe & England.
Hates
confrontation, being addicted to the computer,using food to relieve stress, gecko poop, boonie bees, black mold, junked out cars, dead boonie dogs, being stared at, when I'm lazy/unmotivated, my hips, ants,potlucks,expensive makeup that looks like crap when you get it home, New Years Eve, .
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The Lists
Current mood: thoughtful
So here begins my lists (not my idea, but a good one so I stole it)
LOVES: Let's get the obvious ones first, God, Pat, my kids, my family, the USA,
Smells: Pat's cologne, babies w/ baby magic, freshed baked cookies/bread/anything, real pine trees, plumeria
Tastes: fresh coffee with fat free french vanilla creamer, grapefruit, strawberries, dark chocolate, edy's lime bars,
Other: the ocean, clean sheets, french manicure, eating a salad that I didn't make, fresh snow that no one has walked on, watching my kids sleep, singing the Our Father, sleeping in, doing the crossword with Pat, back porching on Fridays, grilled filet mignon, hearing the National Anthem, finding a bargain,
Hates>>>
People who don't accept personal responsibility,
Deployments I know it's your job honey, but it sucks
Religious extremists of any sort (this includes terrorists, atheists and people who can't accept that maybe God has more than 'one' way~Personally, I'd like us all to be Catholic but that is just me and ultimately...I am on board with not everyone being just like me).
Vomit
People who think the government is there to 'take care' of us. (See 1 above)
Professional Politicians (No one should be a life long politician~although they may start off with good intentions they all get corrupted eventually.)
Hip Hop, Rap, and other crappy forms of music.
Humidity
Global Warming...don't be an extemist! Nature is not stagnant people! Be a good steward of the gifts, educate, don't preach. Worry about yourself and what your legacy will be... not regulating everything everyone else does.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
6.6
Current mood: geeky
Category: Life
Wow, I felt the earth shake while in bed this morning....Oh yeah~~ before you 'go there', I'm a DET wife so ..... It was a 6.6 earthquake-- 225 miles WSW out in the ocean that made the light fixtures dance.
Monday, April 28, 2008
feeling jiggy
Current mood: stressed
Category: Life
So, now it's about 30 hours till departure and I'm starting to get that jiggy feeling... So many lists, out comes the suit case, honey do's left undone. All I want to do is cling...crap. 15 years of this crap and its still hard. UGH
Thursday, March 27, 2008
power and quake II
Current mood: savage
Category: Life
Just to make a notation for myself ...today we had a 5.4 quake at about 6am. It was a doozie with the epicenter 15 miles north of Hagatna. That means it was right around here somewhere close!
Additionally we lost power for 2.5 hours today from 11-130. I am filling the gas cans & extra propane this weekend and Pat is going to tutor me on the generator this weekend. I’ve decided I’ve been too complacent long enough.
OOG baby OOG :-)
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
see I TOLD you ....
Current mood: froggy
Category: Life
So yesterday we had our random monthly 3 1/2 hour power outtage. Lately they seem to be coming around dinner time, coincidently also on Mondays (always on Boy Scout night) and last night only on the "Rota" side of housing (so maybe they aren’t so random)! Just looking back through my blog posts and noticed that I only blog when I’m annoyed.
A couple hours w/o power and finally the ’emergency light’ in the kitchen went out. Finally at 9pm I decided that reading by my book light was lame and I went to sleep. I had purposely turned on my bedroom light so I would awake when the power came on. So about 9:35 the power was restored and everything kicked on. Now I was awake, and so I figured I would watch tv for a little while. As I lay in my bed I heard a loud BOOM and I think "WOW are the jets flying tonight?" No sooner did that thought form in my head than the shaking began and pretty hard I must say. EARTHQUAKE! It only lasted maybe 5 seconds but it was enough to make my windows rattle and my ceiling lamps sway. Its actually kind of a cool sensation.
A few minutes later as I drifted off to sleep I thought , OF COURSE.....Pat’s out of town. If you haven’t read my posts before weird stuff ALWAYS happens when the men go away. Oh crap! He’s leaving for a week in April, I’d better get my typhoon locker filled just in case!!!!..................... Go NAVY :-)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Bomb Drill
Current mood: annoyed
Category: Life
So~ every parent I know with a child in the base schools has been on pins & needles for 2 weeks thinking "Is this the day?" This is SO Dumb, not to mention that the kids are all totally jiggy. The other day JP said "I couldn't eat my lunch because I was so nervous " and Rachel is having 'evacuation' nightmares. Is it really needed? Does anyone REALLY think terrorists are coming to Guam to blow a bomb up in our elementary/middle school. I for one am SO over it!!!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
OOG
Current mood: pirate
Category: Life
The power went out here yesterday for 3 hours and no one knew why. It was a beautiful sunny day, no typhoons , storms or anything. Life went on, I cooked dinner on the grill . I was in the middle of chopping when the power went out. It just went from shake and bake to grill and chill. I chatted outside with neighbors , wondered how long the 'emergency light' would last ( and wished I could turn it off to conserve it since it was still light out for a while) & if I should haul out the generator. I am happy to say we survived LOL.
By the way Dad, OOG stands for "Only on Guam" and is a moniker we all apply to the weird stuff that occurs here.
#2 , Old posts from another attempt
Thursday, February 07, 2008
The "V" word...
Category: Life
You probably thought this was gonna be naughty, sorry to disappoint. The "V" stands for volunteer. I am no longer going to volunteer for stuff that's not Fun or Fullfilling. I had alot of plans for Guam, but I let myself get a bit overextended and so I am going to scale back once these commitments are met. Next fall my priorities are FUN and Fullfillment. I am going to learn to say NO. If it doesn't fall into one of those categories, I am not going to put myself there. I want our OSC to be great fun, I want to learn to play golf , I want to go to lunch with friends and get pedicures when I feel like it. That sounds pretty simple ~ FUN and Fullfillment, too bad I can't title my blog entry the "F" words.......
Sunday, February 03, 2008
It’s A Wonderful Life
Current mood: ecstatic
Category: Life
All is right with the world today!
My darling husband is home safe and sound, on his 40th birthday. & I have a beautiful new neice Susannah Grace Tusher our little "groundhog' born Febraury 2nd.
I am going to relax and enjoy this perfect awesome fantastic day.
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Monday, January 28, 2008
5 days!
Category: Life
Deployments...Wow,
It just dawned on me ( no disrepect to my friend Dawn) that in 5 days my boyfriend will be HOME! I wanted to lose 20 pounds, run a 5K, paint the bathroom , landscape the yard and learn to play golf....well is one out of 5 bad? (painting , in case you wondered) Isn't it always the way, they leave and you set lofty goals and then somehow, even though it seemed as though you had 'forever' now the time is up and they are on their way. It's like someone elses pregnancy, it seems like it took no time at all. BTW~ I am so looking forward to being an Aunt again very soon.
Well , unless I plan to cut off my arm , run until I'm dead , hire a contractor or sneak out on the 8th green at night... in the next 4 days, I guess those goals will have to wait. In the Navy there's always another deployment, so next time...
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
gross.........
Current mood: nauseated
Category: Life
So, this morning I am minding my own beeswax and decide to have a 2nd cup of coffee. I reach into the cupboard to get a pack of Splenda and when I pulled my hand out a GECKO was sitting on my hand. UGH , I am ashamed to say I freaked, screamed and flung it & the packet somewhere.( I know they are harmless and eat bugs etc. but Pleeeeze) I found the packet later, the gecko not so much. I KNOW I heard it 'hit' ...I am just not sure where..... It took me about 1/2 an hour till my heebie jeebies went away and I finally felt brave enough to try again.... OOG
Monday, December 31, 2007
Happy New Year
Current mood: blessed
Category: Life
Happy New Year from the place where America's day begins. 2007 was memorable and I feel very blessed. I am optimistic about what lies ahead in 2008.
May God bless us all, grant us peace ,prosperity, happiness and the gift of being together.
Tam
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Wow~
Current mood: jubilant
Category: Life
I got the surprise of my life yesterday. A long story short, my darling husband sent me a BEAUTIFUL carpet from the desert as a Christmas gift. I had always teased that this wasn't a deployment but rather a "rug shopping trip", but never did I expect this. It is simply stunning, all my favorite colors and a beautiful pattern. It's a treasure that will be with us for our lifetime. I'm going to have to borrow those moving things from Dawn ...and find the perfect place in my tiny bunker for a giant (10x13) new blessing.
4Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Ghost of Christmas past
Current mood: peaceful
Category: Life
Well Christmas 2007 has come and gone and thankfully we seem to have survived all in one piece. The neighborhood rite of passage ~ 'Rota Walk' on the 22nd was an interesting experience. Sort of a christmas circus of chaos punctuated by armoured vehicles, fake training bombs and a giant red anatomically correct stallion, all strung with lights.(The base general had suggested that everyone show their unit pride, hence the heavy equipment.) Some people were joking that it was "peace on earth via superior firepower". At the suggestion of a neighbor I walked the street early to get the feel of everything and then came back and settled in. Mostly it was good, I think it is a pretty cool concept...but maybe some folks should tone it down a bit.... Right at the very end a cold front swept thru and blew in a heavy, cold downpour. That ended things on the spot and I wasn't necessarily sorry about it. The only bad thing was that about 12 people took shelter in my house and it was a MESS! I guess that will teach me for next year. At least I had plenty of beer and cookies to offer.
Sunday was pretty mellow which was nice, we mostly hung out and enjoyed not having a schedule. Monday we passed out treats to all the neighbors & that night dinner and cocktails were hosted by our FBI neighbors and we had a lovely time. I tried to make my favorite yeast rolls as a treat, but whether it was the guam yeast, the humidity, or the poor chef, they turned into buttery hockey pucks dang!
We got up at 7 on Christmas day (per my direct order, no earlier) and spent about 45 minutes opening gifts. I think the kids got most everything that they wanted and so other than really missing having Pat here, it was fine. We went to the Christmas Day mass on base and enjoyed the visiting priest. It was brutally cold in the chapel, I think I may actually call to complain. It is always wise to bring a sweater and wear pants in there, but this was ridiculous. Christmas dinner was hosted by Pat's bosses family and was very pleasant and delicious.
Today , I called all the family back in the states and wished everyone a Merry Christmas. I think that this is one of the hardest things about being out here, its just that you are certainly more than a long car ride away at important times like this. Same with Pat being deployed, its just a helpless feeling.
So tonight it will be a peaceful & **Silent night**.
Happy Birthday Jesus & Thanks be to God. I am grateful for the reminder of this great gift to our world.
Merry Christmas and a Blessed 2008.
Tammie
Sunday, December 16, 2007
a long weekend
Current mood: sleepy
Category: Life
Its been a long weekend, coming off a week of sickness for everyone in the house. Why is it mom is the last one to get well....doing to much I guess. Our squadron Christmas party was very nice they did a great job. I was still recovering so I wasn't all that festive but it was still a good time. The house is starting to look great for Rota Walk, I have had some very nice elves help me (cause I am sure as heck not getting on the roof or climbing coconut trees!). I have to see if I can scrounge up a few more outdoor power cords to illuminate the 3 spriral trees I have left, then it should be good. Worse case, I use the 'indoor' ones for one night only, fire codes be damned. I will have to see what kind of pics I can take. Well early to bed for me ~ that mandatory power washing kicked my butt.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
sick-o yuck-o
Current mood: exhausted
Category: Life
OK, I don't really get sick. However I've been sick twice since Pat left and this time is a doosey. The kids have it too & although we share some symptoms we all have our own unique vesion of this crud. Mine is throat & ear canals w/ fever & aches. JP is fever , stomach ache and sore throat. Rachel was runny nose cough, fever. Thankfully , its seems that we are on the uphill swing. Just in time for the squadron Xmas party. I will go , at least I can sit in the corner and make fun of drunk people.
At least its not the week before Rota walk or actual Christmas week.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Holy Cow and its not even TYCOR anything
Current mood: drained
Category: Life
WOW today was quite the windy rainy day here on AAFB! I woke at 430am to the sound of roaring wind and blowing heavy rain. I finally manged to fall back to sleep and woke at 630 to what apperared to be a calmer morning.
Got the kids off to school w/o a hitch and headed home for coffee and calls to the states. ( I like to call them on their Sunday night). While talking to my brother in Atlanta, I mentioned that it was stormy and getting pretty windy again. While we were talking I noticed my rear neighbors trampoline was wobbling but didn't think that much of it. I was on the cordless phone and walked around, on my second pass by my kitchen window I noticed the trampoline had now moved a couple of feet and was up against a coconut tree . I stopped to watch... as I was chatting it lifted off the ground and folded taco style! I shouted "OH S&*T , I gotta go!" and hung up on my brother as it flew across my yard headed toward my patio and kitchen window. Thankfully, it listed to the right a bit and went instead to the back side of the house, out of my line of sight. The storm continued for a while longer then subsided. I went outside and saw the trampoline hanging from the corner of the roof to the ground. I waited to hear from my neighbor , but after a bit I called her and asked her to look out her window. She came out with her son and the 3 of us cleaned it up. It was a total wreck. What a way to start the week. Its been rainy and stormy on and off all day here. Crazy Guam!
The "V" word...
Category: Life
You probably thought this was gonna be naughty, sorry to disappoint. The "V" stands for volunteer. I am no longer going to volunteer for stuff that's not Fun or Fullfilling. I had alot of plans for Guam, but I let myself get a bit overextended and so I am going to scale back once these commitments are met. Next fall my priorities are FUN and Fullfillment. I am going to learn to say NO. If it doesn't fall into one of those categories, I am not going to put myself there. I want our OSC to be great fun, I want to learn to play golf , I want to go to lunch with friends and get pedicures when I feel like it. That sounds pretty simple ~ FUN and Fullfillment, too bad I can't title my blog entry the "F" words.......
Sunday, February 03, 2008
It’s A Wonderful Life
Current mood: ecstatic
Category: Life
All is right with the world today!
My darling husband is home safe and sound, on his 40th birthday. & I have a beautiful new neice Susannah Grace Tusher our little "groundhog' born Febraury 2nd.
I am going to relax and enjoy this perfect awesome fantastic day.
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Monday, January 28, 2008
5 days!
Category: Life
Deployments...Wow,
It just dawned on me ( no disrepect to my friend Dawn) that in 5 days my boyfriend will be HOME! I wanted to lose 20 pounds, run a 5K, paint the bathroom , landscape the yard and learn to play golf....well is one out of 5 bad? (painting , in case you wondered) Isn't it always the way, they leave and you set lofty goals and then somehow, even though it seemed as though you had 'forever' now the time is up and they are on their way. It's like someone elses pregnancy, it seems like it took no time at all. BTW~ I am so looking forward to being an Aunt again very soon.
Well , unless I plan to cut off my arm , run until I'm dead , hire a contractor or sneak out on the 8th green at night... in the next 4 days, I guess those goals will have to wait. In the Navy there's always another deployment, so next time...
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
gross.........
Current mood: nauseated
Category: Life
So, this morning I am minding my own beeswax and decide to have a 2nd cup of coffee. I reach into the cupboard to get a pack of Splenda and when I pulled my hand out a GECKO was sitting on my hand. UGH , I am ashamed to say I freaked, screamed and flung it & the packet somewhere.( I know they are harmless and eat bugs etc. but Pleeeeze) I found the packet later, the gecko not so much. I KNOW I heard it 'hit' ...I am just not sure where..... It took me about 1/2 an hour till my heebie jeebies went away and I finally felt brave enough to try again.... OOG
Monday, December 31, 2007
Happy New Year
Current mood: blessed
Category: Life
Happy New Year from the place where America's day begins. 2007 was memorable and I feel very blessed. I am optimistic about what lies ahead in 2008.
May God bless us all, grant us peace ,prosperity, happiness and the gift of being together.
Tam
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Wow~
Current mood: jubilant
Category: Life
I got the surprise of my life yesterday. A long story short, my darling husband sent me a BEAUTIFUL carpet from the desert as a Christmas gift. I had always teased that this wasn't a deployment but rather a "rug shopping trip", but never did I expect this. It is simply stunning, all my favorite colors and a beautiful pattern. It's a treasure that will be with us for our lifetime. I'm going to have to borrow those moving things from Dawn ...and find the perfect place in my tiny bunker for a giant (10x13) new blessing.
4Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Ghost of Christmas past
Current mood: peaceful
Category: Life
Well Christmas 2007 has come and gone and thankfully we seem to have survived all in one piece. The neighborhood rite of passage ~ 'Rota Walk' on the 22nd was an interesting experience. Sort of a christmas circus of chaos punctuated by armoured vehicles, fake training bombs and a giant red anatomically correct stallion, all strung with lights.(The base general had suggested that everyone show their unit pride, hence the heavy equipment.) Some people were joking that it was "peace on earth via superior firepower". At the suggestion of a neighbor I walked the street early to get the feel of everything and then came back and settled in. Mostly it was good, I think it is a pretty cool concept...but maybe some folks should tone it down a bit.... Right at the very end a cold front swept thru and blew in a heavy, cold downpour. That ended things on the spot and I wasn't necessarily sorry about it. The only bad thing was that about 12 people took shelter in my house and it was a MESS! I guess that will teach me for next year. At least I had plenty of beer and cookies to offer.
Sunday was pretty mellow which was nice, we mostly hung out and enjoyed not having a schedule. Monday we passed out treats to all the neighbors & that night dinner and cocktails were hosted by our FBI neighbors and we had a lovely time. I tried to make my favorite yeast rolls as a treat, but whether it was the guam yeast, the humidity, or the poor chef, they turned into buttery hockey pucks dang!
We got up at 7 on Christmas day (per my direct order, no earlier) and spent about 45 minutes opening gifts. I think the kids got most everything that they wanted and so other than really missing having Pat here, it was fine. We went to the Christmas Day mass on base and enjoyed the visiting priest. It was brutally cold in the chapel, I think I may actually call to complain. It is always wise to bring a sweater and wear pants in there, but this was ridiculous. Christmas dinner was hosted by Pat's bosses family and was very pleasant and delicious.
Today , I called all the family back in the states and wished everyone a Merry Christmas. I think that this is one of the hardest things about being out here, its just that you are certainly more than a long car ride away at important times like this. Same with Pat being deployed, its just a helpless feeling.
So tonight it will be a peaceful & **Silent night**.
Happy Birthday Jesus & Thanks be to God. I am grateful for the reminder of this great gift to our world.
Merry Christmas and a Blessed 2008.
Tammie
Sunday, December 16, 2007
a long weekend
Current mood: sleepy
Category: Life
Its been a long weekend, coming off a week of sickness for everyone in the house. Why is it mom is the last one to get well....doing to much I guess. Our squadron Christmas party was very nice they did a great job. I was still recovering so I wasn't all that festive but it was still a good time. The house is starting to look great for Rota Walk, I have had some very nice elves help me (cause I am sure as heck not getting on the roof or climbing coconut trees!). I have to see if I can scrounge up a few more outdoor power cords to illuminate the 3 spriral trees I have left, then it should be good. Worse case, I use the 'indoor' ones for one night only, fire codes be damned. I will have to see what kind of pics I can take. Well early to bed for me ~ that mandatory power washing kicked my butt.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
sick-o yuck-o
Current mood: exhausted
Category: Life
OK, I don't really get sick. However I've been sick twice since Pat left and this time is a doosey. The kids have it too & although we share some symptoms we all have our own unique vesion of this crud. Mine is throat & ear canals w/ fever & aches. JP is fever , stomach ache and sore throat. Rachel was runny nose cough, fever. Thankfully , its seems that we are on the uphill swing. Just in time for the squadron Xmas party. I will go , at least I can sit in the corner and make fun of drunk people.
At least its not the week before Rota walk or actual Christmas week.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Holy Cow and its not even TYCOR anything
Current mood: drained
Category: Life
WOW today was quite the windy rainy day here on AAFB! I woke at 430am to the sound of roaring wind and blowing heavy rain. I finally manged to fall back to sleep and woke at 630 to what apperared to be a calmer morning.
Got the kids off to school w/o a hitch and headed home for coffee and calls to the states. ( I like to call them on their Sunday night). While talking to my brother in Atlanta, I mentioned that it was stormy and getting pretty windy again. While we were talking I noticed my rear neighbors trampoline was wobbling but didn't think that much of it. I was on the cordless phone and walked around, on my second pass by my kitchen window I noticed the trampoline had now moved a couple of feet and was up against a coconut tree . I stopped to watch... as I was chatting it lifted off the ground and folded taco style! I shouted "OH S&*T , I gotta go!" and hung up on my brother as it flew across my yard headed toward my patio and kitchen window. Thankfully, it listed to the right a bit and went instead to the back side of the house, out of my line of sight. The storm continued for a while longer then subsided. I went outside and saw the trampoline hanging from the corner of the roof to the ground. I waited to hear from my neighbor , but after a bit I called her and asked her to look out her window. She came out with her son and the 3 of us cleaned it up. It was a total wreck. What a way to start the week. Its been rainy and stormy on and off all day here. Crazy Guam!
Old Old Posts from another attempt....
Monday, October 22, 2007
To blog or not to blog...
Current mood: enthralled
Category: Life
Welcome to my myspace page & blog. I decided to call it "How's the Weather up There?" a poke at the question that once drove me crazy.
I will give this a shot. I hope my random thoughts aren't too boring...Maybe this can be my log of our wacky life on Guam.
This past weekend was the last before Pat leaves for the desert. Friday we hosted a happy hour party in honor of Julie's birthday. It was fun ( even though I had/have a wicked cold) and seemed to go well.
Saturday we went down to BIGNAVY and hit the NEX. For dinner we went to the "Mag NO Lia" chinese restaurant and while having dinner the power went out, not unheard of here. It was pitch black!! I guess the gerbils got tired of running in the wheel. I felt around and found my cell phone , & for a few minutes we ate by cell phone light until the owner went out got in her car, moved it to the front door and left the lights on while the patrons finished eating. I am still learning that I need to ask questions when eating here, I ordered the salt & pepper shrimp, which I have had in the states. Here however, it was cooked shell on..... reminds me of my 'steak du cheval' story...... ugh.
Sunday we went to church, came home and hung out since I am still kinda sick. Pat played golf which was good since he won't have the chance for a few months. We took some family pics for the Christmas card and had dinner with our neighbors. All in all a nice weekend.
Thats it for now. Thanks for looking.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Its beginning to look a lot like......summer (sigh)
Category: Life
I'm posting because I miss Fall! I should be pulling a long sleeve fleece out of the drawer and turning on the seat heat in my car in the mornings. Some how the fact that its Thanksgiving next week is lost on me, & not just because Pat's not here. Where are the frosty brown leaves, seeing my breath in the air, cranking the electric blanket to 10 while I brush my teeth so its toasty when I slip between the sheets????
Life on Guam has many strange and wonderful things about it.
I have to say the spectacular sunrises, sunsets and frequent and multiple rainbows are amazing. The view of the cliff off my kitchen/patio is breath taking and watching a heavy rainstorm blow in off the ocean and cover that cliff is cool. ( it means you have about 10 miutes to get your bum inside!)
I love that I have orchids growing out of coconut shells hanging off my patio, that I have a banana tree in my front yard ,and I recently 'planted' the top off of a pineapple from the grocery store and....its growing! We learned in Hawaii that it takes 2 years to get a fruit, so maybe right before we go...
There are weird things too, gross fauna (giant cane toads, snakes, nasty wasps) The way local people spray paint their own signs for all occasions, rusted out cars on the side of the road everywhere & the fact that all the local people (who are very nice, don't get me wrong) think nothing of telling me I am the biggest woman they have EVER seen! ( it may be true ,but please...)
The kids are out early all this week due to parent teacher conferences, so off to have some breakfast and vacuum before they get home.
I'm going to go light my pumpkin scented candle and crank down the A/C....
Thanks for reading, love, Tam
Thursday, November 15, 2007
another Guam life tidbit
Category: Life
I got 2 clothing catalogs in the mail today. 1 Lands End Christmas.
2 Coldwater Creek Summer Extravaganza. On the back it said "prices good through August 31st"
I HATE the mail system here....
Thursday, November 08, 2007
time
Current mood: mellow
Category: Life
Where has the time gone this week? In a way it's good , after tomorrow, only 10 more happy hours till my boyfriend comes home.
JP has decided to do Boy Scouts again. As a Boy Scout this time and not a cub. I am very glad to see him get involved in something, I worry about isolation with him sometimes. He is a lot shyer as he gets older, I guess its that preteen self conscious thing.
I killed my first 'boonie bee' wasp nest yesterday. They were building on my patio chair! That would have been an ugly surprise some Friday night. I must say that the "freezing spray" works wonders. DIE DIE.....
I have been having fun on the myspace getting new famous friends. Lots of country musicians , I think however that I may have to UNfriend William Shatner....he sends too much JUNK. I don't think a 'real' friend should send that .
Friday, November 02, 2007
that other thing ...
Current mood: quixotic
Category: Life
That other thing I mentioned, in my previous blog about all the things that go wrong when your spouse leaves didn't include the mention of my Halloween night debacle. Trick or Treat was almost done, my kids were over at the neighbors haunted house & I had passed out the last of the candy & was cleaning up. 1 little girl came to the door and I said hang on , I'll get you something. I went to open the front door ...LOCKED, back door LOCKED. WTF? Went to a neighbor who kindly came over with tools to jerry-rig my lock (as he had done to his own the week before). While he was prodding away I had a revelation. Had I had forgotten to lock the kitchen window? Indeed I had, I 'borrowed' a small neighbor child and hoisted him thru ( Rach was bummed she wanted to but she weighs 20 more) he opened the front door,HOORAY!
Moral of the story, leave a key with a neighbor while your man is gone!
Thursday, November 01, 2007
When he goes on Det & Halloween....
Current mood: cynical
Category: Life
So~ we all know what happens about 2 hours after your man leaves on deployment. The tears are dried and the new routine begins. And then you wait.....in dread.
Those of you not attached to the military may ask 'wait for what?' Any spouse will tell you....wait for things... to break, fall apart, crumble, flood, burn, disappear, get ripped, torn, you name it, it will become jacked up!
I was lucky... I had until the next morning, when I noticed that although I could read my incoming email, I couldn't send/reply via outlook anymore. Is is huge???, no I can go via gmail and do it all, but I knew...it was the start of it. Then later that day Microsoft word was acting wonky. Giving me lip about my 'global template' what ever that is.
I guess the next thing funny was our pumpkins. People have told me ,if you see something here you want BUY IT because it won't be there later. So a couple weeks ago at the NEX (navy exchange) I saw a few pathetic pumpkins at HIGH prices. Because we hadn't seen any others, bought 1 and we brought it home, kept it inside to keep it cool and went on about our lives. A
week or so later, they got some in a the COMM ( commisary) cheaper, bigger and nicer so I bought one of those too. Feeling pretty happy with myself.
My first clue should have been the weird spots... suffice to say over time they became FRANKEN-pumpkins! Finally we could wait no longer, it was the 30th. I "carved" them......it was the grossest experience I've had in a l-o-n-g time. With Rachel saying 'can we eat the seeds?' as I am scraping out stuff that probably would have the CDC running , I'm thinking 'not so much'. I took the high pressure hose nozzle to them and that was that.
There is a happy ending.... a few days before, I found one of the last pumpkins in the COMM and bought it. It was 'healthy' when we carved it, toasted the seeds and all was well. It is the 'GO NAVY' pumpkin you see in my pictures. A little jab at the navy , who brought us here...to the land of rotten pumpkins!
& in case your wondering what the next bad thing is ...that will be my next blog!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Det Wife ...again~
Current mood: numb
Category: Life
So, it's been 24 hours since half my heart left.
I don't care how many times you do it, how technology's improved it, the fact that it's only three months X 2, It still stinks! I may not cry as much as I once did, but it still hurts. Tried to keep busy today , church stuff, grocery, took the kids to the pool, invited to dinner by a kind friend and her family. Still have to go to bed alone. I tend to make a "horseshoe" of pillows for the first few weeks and keep his shirt under my pillow, some how it makes me feel safer and I can eventually fall asleep. I know it will suck having him gone for the holidays but a least they will mark time elapsing. My goal~ that the pity party will be done when I wake tomorrow. Here goes... three months to a better me. Pray better, eat better, exercise better, parent better, clean better ( OK I'm not a miracle worker) . LOL
Bye
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Tuesday 10-23
Current mood: good
Category: Life
Happy Tuesday & Hafa Adai ~
Tuesdays are the day I volunteer at the Andersen Officers Spouse Club Gift Shop. It's a very cool place to shop. By volunteering not only do I get to check out all the goodies, but if you volunteer enough you can earn discount coupons! Plus the $ the shop earns goes to charity so its a win/win situation.
It is most definately the rainy season here, it has rained hard almost the entire day. After only 5 months here I have developed a strategy of sorts, try to carry an umbrella at all times, & if not... I suck it up! LOL They say the dry season begins in December...I can't wait. It's kind of hard to tell from my picture but that is a cliff & the ocean in the background and you can see storms roll in from the ocean, it's pretty cool!
Thanks for looking
Tam
To blog or not to blog...
Current mood: enthralled
Category: Life
Welcome to my myspace page & blog. I decided to call it "How's the Weather up There?" a poke at the question that once drove me crazy.
I will give this a shot. I hope my random thoughts aren't too boring...Maybe this can be my log of our wacky life on Guam.
This past weekend was the last before Pat leaves for the desert. Friday we hosted a happy hour party in honor of Julie's birthday. It was fun ( even though I had/have a wicked cold) and seemed to go well.
Saturday we went down to BIGNAVY and hit the NEX. For dinner we went to the "Mag NO Lia" chinese restaurant and while having dinner the power went out, not unheard of here. It was pitch black!! I guess the gerbils got tired of running in the wheel. I felt around and found my cell phone , & for a few minutes we ate by cell phone light until the owner went out got in her car, moved it to the front door and left the lights on while the patrons finished eating. I am still learning that I need to ask questions when eating here, I ordered the salt & pepper shrimp, which I have had in the states. Here however, it was cooked shell on..... reminds me of my 'steak du cheval' story...... ugh.
Sunday we went to church, came home and hung out since I am still kinda sick. Pat played golf which was good since he won't have the chance for a few months. We took some family pics for the Christmas card and had dinner with our neighbors. All in all a nice weekend.
Thats it for now. Thanks for looking.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Its beginning to look a lot like......summer (sigh)
Category: Life
I'm posting because I miss Fall! I should be pulling a long sleeve fleece out of the drawer and turning on the seat heat in my car in the mornings. Some how the fact that its Thanksgiving next week is lost on me, & not just because Pat's not here. Where are the frosty brown leaves, seeing my breath in the air, cranking the electric blanket to 10 while I brush my teeth so its toasty when I slip between the sheets????
Life on Guam has many strange and wonderful things about it.
I have to say the spectacular sunrises, sunsets and frequent and multiple rainbows are amazing. The view of the cliff off my kitchen/patio is breath taking and watching a heavy rainstorm blow in off the ocean and cover that cliff is cool. ( it means you have about 10 miutes to get your bum inside!)
I love that I have orchids growing out of coconut shells hanging off my patio, that I have a banana tree in my front yard ,and I recently 'planted' the top off of a pineapple from the grocery store and....its growing! We learned in Hawaii that it takes 2 years to get a fruit, so maybe right before we go...
There are weird things too, gross fauna (giant cane toads, snakes, nasty wasps) The way local people spray paint their own signs for all occasions, rusted out cars on the side of the road everywhere & the fact that all the local people (who are very nice, don't get me wrong) think nothing of telling me I am the biggest woman they have EVER seen! ( it may be true ,but please...)
The kids are out early all this week due to parent teacher conferences, so off to have some breakfast and vacuum before they get home.
I'm going to go light my pumpkin scented candle and crank down the A/C....
Thanks for reading, love, Tam
Thursday, November 15, 2007
another Guam life tidbit
Category: Life
I got 2 clothing catalogs in the mail today. 1 Lands End Christmas.
2 Coldwater Creek Summer Extravaganza. On the back it said "prices good through August 31st"
I HATE the mail system here....
Thursday, November 08, 2007
time
Current mood: mellow
Category: Life
Where has the time gone this week? In a way it's good , after tomorrow, only 10 more happy hours till my boyfriend comes home.
JP has decided to do Boy Scouts again. As a Boy Scout this time and not a cub. I am very glad to see him get involved in something, I worry about isolation with him sometimes. He is a lot shyer as he gets older, I guess its that preteen self conscious thing.
I killed my first 'boonie bee' wasp nest yesterday. They were building on my patio chair! That would have been an ugly surprise some Friday night. I must say that the "freezing spray" works wonders. DIE DIE.....
I have been having fun on the myspace getting new famous friends. Lots of country musicians , I think however that I may have to UNfriend William Shatner....he sends too much JUNK. I don't think a 'real' friend should send that .
Friday, November 02, 2007
that other thing ...
Current mood: quixotic
Category: Life
That other thing I mentioned, in my previous blog about all the things that go wrong when your spouse leaves didn't include the mention of my Halloween night debacle. Trick or Treat was almost done, my kids were over at the neighbors haunted house & I had passed out the last of the candy & was cleaning up. 1 little girl came to the door and I said hang on , I'll get you something. I went to open the front door ...LOCKED, back door LOCKED. WTF? Went to a neighbor who kindly came over with tools to jerry-rig my lock (as he had done to his own the week before). While he was prodding away I had a revelation. Had I had forgotten to lock the kitchen window? Indeed I had, I 'borrowed' a small neighbor child and hoisted him thru ( Rach was bummed she wanted to but she weighs 20 more) he opened the front door,HOORAY!
Moral of the story, leave a key with a neighbor while your man is gone!
Thursday, November 01, 2007
When he goes on Det & Halloween....
Current mood: cynical
Category: Life
So~ we all know what happens about 2 hours after your man leaves on deployment. The tears are dried and the new routine begins. And then you wait.....in dread.
Those of you not attached to the military may ask 'wait for what?' Any spouse will tell you....wait for things... to break, fall apart, crumble, flood, burn, disappear, get ripped, torn, you name it, it will become jacked up!
I was lucky... I had until the next morning, when I noticed that although I could read my incoming email, I couldn't send/reply via outlook anymore. Is is huge???, no I can go via gmail and do it all, but I knew...it was the start of it. Then later that day Microsoft word was acting wonky. Giving me lip about my 'global template' what ever that is.
I guess the next thing funny was our pumpkins. People have told me ,if you see something here you want BUY IT because it won't be there later. So a couple weeks ago at the NEX (navy exchange) I saw a few pathetic pumpkins at HIGH prices. Because we hadn't seen any others, bought 1 and we brought it home, kept it inside to keep it cool and went on about our lives. A
week or so later, they got some in a the COMM ( commisary) cheaper, bigger and nicer so I bought one of those too. Feeling pretty happy with myself.
My first clue should have been the weird spots... suffice to say over time they became FRANKEN-pumpkins! Finally we could wait no longer, it was the 30th. I "carved" them......it was the grossest experience I've had in a l-o-n-g time. With Rachel saying 'can we eat the seeds?' as I am scraping out stuff that probably would have the CDC running , I'm thinking 'not so much'. I took the high pressure hose nozzle to them and that was that.
There is a happy ending.... a few days before, I found one of the last pumpkins in the COMM and bought it. It was 'healthy' when we carved it, toasted the seeds and all was well. It is the 'GO NAVY' pumpkin you see in my pictures. A little jab at the navy , who brought us here...to the land of rotten pumpkins!
& in case your wondering what the next bad thing is ...that will be my next blog!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Det Wife ...again~
Current mood: numb
Category: Life
So, it's been 24 hours since half my heart left.
I don't care how many times you do it, how technology's improved it, the fact that it's only three months X 2, It still stinks! I may not cry as much as I once did, but it still hurts. Tried to keep busy today , church stuff, grocery, took the kids to the pool, invited to dinner by a kind friend and her family. Still have to go to bed alone. I tend to make a "horseshoe" of pillows for the first few weeks and keep his shirt under my pillow, some how it makes me feel safer and I can eventually fall asleep. I know it will suck having him gone for the holidays but a least they will mark time elapsing. My goal~ that the pity party will be done when I wake tomorrow. Here goes... three months to a better me. Pray better, eat better, exercise better, parent better, clean better ( OK I'm not a miracle worker) . LOL
Bye
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Tuesday 10-23
Current mood: good
Category: Life
Happy Tuesday & Hafa Adai ~
Tuesdays are the day I volunteer at the Andersen Officers Spouse Club Gift Shop. It's a very cool place to shop. By volunteering not only do I get to check out all the goodies, but if you volunteer enough you can earn discount coupons! Plus the $ the shop earns goes to charity so its a win/win situation.
It is most definately the rainy season here, it has rained hard almost the entire day. After only 5 months here I have developed a strategy of sorts, try to carry an umbrella at all times, & if not... I suck it up! LOL They say the dry season begins in December...I can't wait. It's kind of hard to tell from my picture but that is a cliff & the ocean in the background and you can see storms roll in from the ocean, it's pretty cool!
Thanks for looking
Tam
It's about time....
It's about time I/we jumped on the band wagon and created our our blog. Pictures, adventures, the ordinary, the extraordinary, kuddos and complaints. If it happens at Casa de Everly, it will be here. Enjoy!
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