Happy Christmas!

This is probably going to be my last post until 2008 as Spc D (soon to be Cpl D) and I are headed to New Mexico today for Christmas and then to California for New Years. We have had a rough couple of days this past week, and have gotten to know the emergency staff pretty well at Madigan Army Medical Center. On Thursday night I ended up with the worst migraine of my life, so we went to the hospital, and out of concern for infection or an abrasion on my brain, they did a spinal tap. Well one of the side effects of a spinal tap is a spinal headache, on Saturday morning we went back to the hospital with one of those. I am feeling much better now. I only have a slight, manageable, headache and I no longer feel like (or look) like walking death. The best part is that we are still going to make our trip to New Mexico. Yippee!!

I may write more when we get to California, but most likely the next update on our newlywed adventures will recommence after January 4, 2008 when we are scheduled to be back in Lakewood.

Long week...

Wow, it has been a full week since I blogged last. Sorry for the silence. I started my new job this week and it has been go go go since I hit the door. My day starts at 4:45am when Spc D wakes me up with his obnoxious cell phone ring. I hop in the shower and he gets ready for PT, then he makes a sandwich for both our lunches. After I drop him off on post, I head up to Bonney Lake, about a 30 min drive from Fort Lewis. I work until about 3pm then I head back to post to pick up Spc D. We have had some pretty long days this past week, but they have been pretty good ones too.

Last night we headed over to the bowling alley on post, where I managed to bowl a 155, with a bum finger and all. I pinched a nerve on my first frame of the night.

This weekend we are going to play it pretty easy. We are going to head up to Renton to go to the Fry's in the hopes of buying a Nintendo Wii, we'll see if we actually find one. Spc D is starting WLC (Warrior Leader Course) in January so we are also going to go buy all of his supplies this weekend.

We hope everyone is doing well, and we miss our families so much and can't wait to see everyone in the next couple of weeks.

Bye Mom, Bye Dad

Well, my parents have come and gone, it feels like they were only here for a second. Even though their flight was delayed well over two hours (thank you United, the most unscheduled airline in the skies), we still managed to cram a whole lot of into two very short days. We started with a great dinner at Johnny's Dock, right on the Puget Sound in Tacoma. We were all tired so we called it a night right after dinner.



Saturday morning my parents came over to see our apartment, and they said they really liked it, especially mom. They like us though, were not overly impressed with our neighbors. We spent the morning in Seattle at Pike's Place Market, and had fun strolling around. We were hoping to see them throwing the fish, but little did we know that you have to pay them money to see them throw, so we decided that little part of the adventure was just not worth it. Saturday afternoon we showed my parents Fort Lewis, and we ended the day with an amazing dinner at the Sea Grill in Tacoma with a colleague of my father's.


Sunday we had another early breakfast at our apartment, where it began to snow (two weekends in a row!) and then headed back into Tacoma to see the Glass Museum. Spc D really loved watching them blow and shape the glass in the hot room.

After we left my parents at the airport (yes there were a few tears), Spc D and I headed back home to Lakewood. Tomorrow I start my new job, so we figured we would have a relaxing evening at home. We cooked a wonderful dinner together, Pork Tenderloin with Bulgar Wheat from my Every Day Beef, Pork and Lamb recipe book, and are now doing laundry and getting things ready for work tomorrow. Later we have great plans to roast marshmallows on the wonderful fire that Spc D got going.

Guess who's coming for dinner?

My PARENTS!!! I am so excited to see them, it feels like it has been years, when it really hasn't even been two months. This is the longest in my entire life that I have gone without seeing my parents, and considering how close I am with them, that is a really long time.

We are going to have so much fun, I have a great weekend planned for them. Today when they get here we are going to go on post, mainly because my mom has never seen a military post before, but also because we plan to do a little x-mas shopping at the PX while we are there. Then tonight we are going to have dinner in Tacoma at a restaurant called Johnny's Dock. I am pretty excited as the restaurant comes highly recommended.

Tomorrow we are going to get up early (much to the chagrin of Spc D), and head into Seattle. We are going to visit the Space Needle, and hopefully mom's fear of heights won't kick in, then we are going to head to Pike's Place for lunch, followed up with a visit to the REI flagship store in Seattle for my dad. For dinner we are going to head back into Tacoma for dinner at the Sea Grill, also highly recommended.

On Sunday, they are leaving on a 4pm flight, so I was thinking it might be fun to actually get a look at Tacoma and visit the Glass Museum there. It looks pretty awesome with live glass blowing, which has always fascinated me, every day. I can't wait to see them, and in the meantime, I better get myself in gear, I need to vacuum (again) and mop my floors before they get here. I want everything to be perfect for their visit!

Something to Celebrate!

I got a job! Woohoo!!! I start on Monday, and I will be the marketing department for a small international software company. Sorry no names allowed... I am really excited as this is an amazing opportunity for professional growth and development for me, especially considering the company is planning on training me in the technology behind the software as well as paying for me to take some graphic design classes. This is huge for me, and for Spc D too.

This opportunity is going to allow us to start saving and it will also allow us to do a few more things than we thought would be possible in the coming years. So we are really excited about it. Last night Spc D took me out to celebrate at our favorite Mexican restaurant up here, Azteca. Even Spc D likes it, and seeing as he is from New Mexico, I think that speaks rather highly for the restaurant.

I am going to enjoy my last 5 days of not working by knitting, reading my latest Clive Custler novel, cooking some delicious meals for my hubby and hanging out with my parents this weekend when they come up for their visit.

First Snow, First Fire

When we moved up to Lakewood we asked everyone what the weather was like up here. We were told that it snows a couple of times a year and gets unbearably hot for a couple of weeks in the summer. Seeing as we are at sea level, I really wasn't sure when we would see snow...well it snowed this weekend. In fact for a couple of hours there, it was snowing bloody well hard! Spc D was surprised that it snowed long enough and got cold enough that the snow stuck, I was just in awe the entire time, having grown up in the Bay Area I have only seen snow maybe a dozen times in my life. To be perfectly honest, I never imagined myself living in a place where it was expected to snow...ever, but here I am.



The first snow brought with it our first fire. Let me tell you, we have tried to make a fire on three other occasions, but this time, like the snow, it stuck! Our apartment is warm and cozy right now, and we have my wonderful husbands made fire making skills to thank for that.

We had a lot of fun this weekend. We did the vast majority of our Christmas shopping, and what we didn't finish, we know what we are getting for those people. We also went bowling last night, we bowled a total of 8 games and with the exception of one we scored over 100 each time, we are going to aim for 150 next time. I have a feeling the bowling is going to become a regular thing for us. I have to say though, I have never seen so many guys in a bowling alley trip oer their tongues all at the same time, as I did last night. The Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders showed up to bowl a few games and sign autographs, even Spc D forgot for a few moments who he was with and ogled over them. All in all we had a great weekend, and are really looking forward to next weekend when my parents come up for the weekend.

Silence is Deadly

Or is it Golden? I can't decide. The apartment complex that we live in here in Lakewood, is a really beautiful place, set right on Seeley Lake. We have a really nice first floor, 2-bedroom apartment with a little patio, and an extra storage room. I love our apartment, especially since we finally have it all set up with all of our furniture, although I would dearly love to get a few things hung on the walls...but I can wait for that. The only thing I do not love is all the noise here. We can hear everything that goes on in the apartments that surround us, so it is never really "silent"around here. I find myself listening to my iPod a lot lately, or just my playlist from my computer. I miss silence, and it is quite an adjustment for me not to have any.

As some of you know, I had a job interview yesterday, well...it must of have gone well, because I have a second interview with the same company on Tuesday next week! I am really excited about this position and feel that I am qualified for the job. It is the first time that this company will have a dedicated marketing department, and I would be running the show, actually I would be a one-woman show, but it would be a lot of fun, if nothing else. Keep your fingers crossed!

This weekend, Spc D and I are planning on heading down to Washington's state capitol, Olympia, to have a look around and to see what there is to see, but I'll tell you, I am really looking forward to next weekend, when my parents are coming up for a visit. I miss them. Actually I miss everything in California. I'm getting used to Washington, I just can't get used to the cold. Knowing my luck, by the time I adjust to the cold, the army will station us somewhere tropical!

Sweet Dreams!

I am finally going to have sweet dreams tonight! After 3.5 weeks of sleeping on air mattresses and couches, our bed arrived today. It is gorgeous, my dream bed!

Our apartment is finally complete, and for the first time ever I am using a very special quilt on my bed. A quilt I will only get to use until my cats arrive. It is the quilt that my incredibly talented mom made for me. Isn't it gorgeous!!!???!!!

I am looking forward to the next time I go to California, as I really want to complete the quilt that I am making for Spc D and myself. It is an "Around the World" pattern, and in the most beautiful shades of blue, purple and green.

Well I should get back to applying for jobs and knitting for the newest addition to our family that is arriving a few days before Christmas.

Optical Illusion...Mt. Rainier

Yesterday Spc D and I finally made the drive to Mount Rainier, and can I just tell you, from post it looks like it is only 20 miles away, when in fact it is a 2 hour drive (mainly because all the roads have a speed limit of 50 miles per hour or less). We got up around 9 in the morning (later than we intended, but we didn't bother to set an alarm...oh well), and started our day by layering on the clothes. We got in the car, plugged in the iPod and started our journey. When we finally got to the park entrance we were already seeing the tiniest sprinkling of snow on the ground, and for this California girl that is always a treat. It was at least another half hour of driving before we got our first glimpse of the peak itself.


It was a bit covered in clouds when we first got there, but we decided to keep driving up to the Paradise visitors center and observatory. By the time we finished our lunch, the sun came out and we had an amazing view of not only the peak itself, but a second mountain range that we had never seen from post.

The coolest part of the day though, had to be on our drive out of the park when I actually had Spc D turn around on the road because I saw this amazing view of the Mt. Rainier at sunset. What made this especially cool is that on our way up we passed the same spot and didn't even know you could see the mountain from there. We stopped and took a few final pictures.

Today though...Spc D made me the happiest woman in the world, he let me buy a new bed! It is being delivered on Tuesday, and I cannot wait for it's arrival as I am sick and tired of our couches as beds!

PS. After three games of bowling today, I finally managed to beat the socks off him in our final game today!!! I actually broke 120 points (which is a first for me!).

Black Friday

Yesterday was Spc D's and my first Thanksgiving together, and we have so much to be thankful for. Even though it was just the two of us, we decided that we were going to make the best of the day and cooked a full dinner (and boy do we have leftovers!). We made everything from scratch and it all turned out amazing!

Starting at the gravy boat (full of brandy & apple cider gravy) and moving clockwise, we made Turkey with a sage & bay leaf infused paste, mashed sweet potatoes and parsnips, an almond and raspberry tea cake for desert, creamed corn (my favorite), and enough stuffing to feed a small army.

We had so much fun yesterday cooking together, it was a new experience for both of us, and definitely the first time Spc D had ever helped cook for a holiday. It is a good thing that he did help too, or we would have only had sides as I have a weird little issues when it comes to raw poultry, I HATE touching it! It is weird, and I know that I need to get over it, but for some reason...it just grosses me out to no end. I need to just take my mom's advice and get myself some disposable latex-free kitchen gloves, and one day I will, in the meantime, I like have Spc D in the kitchen helping me.

For Black Friday, we had a very relaxing day. Spc D let me sleep in until almost 11 o'clock am, which is very unlike me, I haven't slept that late in a really long time, but I guess I needed it. While I slept he was very dutiful and worked on his army correspondence courses, completing yet another. I am so proud of him for working so hard on this, that shows just how much he wants his SGT. After I finally got up and we got ready for the day, we decided to blow of breakfast and had a nice quiet lunch, then we headed to post to look for a media tower for our DVDs. Unfortunately, due to the fact that we got so late, they were already sold out of the one we wanted, oh well... We also found out that there were 8 people ahead of us to order the bed we want, and only 5 came in, the next batch aren't going to get here for another four weeks, and by then we will be in New Mexico for x-mas...I'm beginning to think that the couches are going to be our permanent beds! We are staying positive though and hoping that the 8 people in front of us, got tired of waiting and purchased other beds somewhere else, and that we can have on of the 5 that came in, so keep your fingers crossed.

Tonight we went and saw "Enchanted". Spc D says it may very well be the most girly movie that he has ever seen. He also said that it was hilarious, and let me tell you, I couldn't stop smiling when we left the theatre. It is so darn funny. What really helps the movie is that Dr. McDreamy is in it from Grey's Anatomy. This really is a Disney movie that is actually more for adults than kids, as I am pretty sure (and definitely hopeful) that my niece and nephew would not get all of the humor in the movie, and it would certainly drive my dad nuts with all the cockroaches and rats in the film...but that is another story and you really should see this one for yourself!

That's all for me...Spc D and I are going to do a little reading and then watch a movie and play scrabble. Tomorrow we are going to try to get to Mount Rainier, but it looks like rain here, which means snow there. If we get there, I promise to return with some awesome pictures!

Do you know what time it is?

I do! Spc D bought me a beautiful new Fossil watch for our one month anniversary. Now I know what you are thinking...why do you need a new watch when you already have one that functions perfectly well? On January 1, 2007 around 3am, whilst taking a "walk" in the snow in New Mexico, I slipped on the ice and broke the face of my watch. Seven hours later I met Spc D in the Albuquerque, New Mexico Sunport. I thought many times about replacing my broken watch, but couldn't bring myself to do it because I am a sentimental fool. Now Spc D has replaced it for me, which gives my new watch that much more meaning and sentimental value. Along with that he also gave me a great card in which he wrote me a beautiful note, he really so just so wonderful, and I am really just so blessed.

My gift to Spc D was the best I could manage without access to a car. I made him our favorite Oatmeal cookies. They are perhaps the best creation on the planet and the recipe comes from one of my mom's closest friend's mom (did you follow that logic?). I would love to share the recipe, but as it is someone elses creation all I can do is share a picture of them. Let's just say that Spc D had 5 and while he considered sharing some with a few of his fellow soldiers, when I woke up this morning all the cookies that were on the plate last night are still sitting there. I guess he decided to put on a couple of pounds all by himself.

Tomorrow is Turkey Day and it is going to be the first time that I ever make Thanksgiving dinner by myself. Here is the menu: Sage infused turkey breast, my grandma's stuffing, Gulliver's creamed corn, mashed sweet potatoes from one of the 10 cookbooks I got for my bridal shower "America's Favorites: Holiday", and for desert we are having Raspberry Tea Cake, also from the same book. I will let you all know how everything turned out and include a few pictures, especially of the tea cake, I'm just hoping it is as good as the recipe sounds.

Even though I am not going to be with my family tomorrow, I still feel as though I have so much to be thankful for this year. I have found the love of my life and married him, I have an amazing family that supports me, even from 800 miles away, and the friends that I would trade for all the tea in China. I want to let all of my loved and dear ones know just how grateful I am to have them in my life. I love you all!

Homework

Yesterday I had my job interview. I am interested in the job even though the pay is considerably less than what I was making in California, I have to keep reminding myself that the cost of living up in Washington is considerably lower than it is in Cali and I am married and with the dual income, I don't have to make nearly as much to survive as I did in California. In order to get the second interview I have some homework to do. I have to analyze the companies website and give my feedback and also design a webinar invite for them. Here is the trick to do all this without fear that my work, if I'm not hired will be used anyways. I am going to put my creative thinking cap on today to figure out that trick.

In the meantime...today is Spc D's and my one month anniversary. I have no idea what I want to do for him, but I would like to do something special. So far, I have managed to do all the laundry in the house and to straighten up, as he is slightly OCD and likes everything to be in it's place...that could also be the army thing in him. The only thing I want is my bed, that is the one thing our apartment is still lacking. As of right now we have given up on the air mattress and have taken to sleeping on the couches. All I can say is thank you to my parents for giving us two of the most comfortable couches on the planet. Here is an as promised picture of our couches in our huge living room.

I better get on with my homework assignment and stop with my procrastinating. Happy Tuesday everyone. Only one more day until the week is over - then on to the Turkey!

Job Interview

Well...today is the big day...I have my first job interview since moving to Lakewood. I must have applied for 30+ jobs and I only heard back from 2. Apparently this is a really hard time of the year to find work unless you want to be a seasonal worker in a store, which I don't. My day started at 4:45am when I had to get up with Spc D to take him to work, well, really to PT. He is supposedly having a PT test today, I'm sure he will pass and do well, I just hope he is able to improve his score, because that will only mean more promotion points and he is less than 50 away from his SGT. I came back home from dropping him off and spent an hour laying in darkness on the couch pretending to be asleep before I finally decided to get up and start my day.

I am going to wear my black suit with my purple button up blouse and my black pumps. Spc D helped me pick out my outfit and said that I need to wear my hair curly because it makes me look more put together, I think it is because I am having lunch with him after my interview and that is how he likes me to wear my hair. Now I just have about an hour to kill before I leave for Tacoma for the first interview, I only hope there are more to follow.

In preparation for the interview, Spc D and I had a very relaxing weekend. On Friday night we saw Beowulf at the Lakewood Theatre. Spc D loved it, I actually ended up having nightmares about the creature that he kills in the beginning of the movie, but at least Spc D had a good night. On Saturday we got SPUUNY serviced, she is now good for another 30,000 miles. Spc D also worked on his correspondence courses and I read my new book, Clive Custler's "Atlantis Found". I really do love Custler's books, I can get lost in them for hours. Sunday we went grocery shopping for Thanksgiving, the first time I have been away from my family and also the first time I have to do all the cooking...I think I am going to enlist Spc D to help me on Thursday. We invited over a friend of Aaron's and his wife to join us on Turkey Day, but we don't know if they will be able to join us, I hope so, it would be nice to share a meal with friends.

The best part about Turkey day is that Spc D has a 4-day weekend, so I think that we are going to drive to Mount Rainier and have a look around. It should be fun.

Well, I better get myself some breakfast and start getting ready for my interview. Wish me luck!

4 Weeks Tomorrow

As of tomorrow Spc D and I will be married for 4 weeks. They have been the best 4 weeks of my life and to be honest probably the weirdest. For the first time in my life it feels like I need permission to do everything. Not from my dear hubby, but from his job, the US Army. We need permission to go to California for Thanksgiving, permission to go to New Mexico for Chirstmas, we need permission to go further than 150 miles from the base, it is quite an adjustment for me. I'm not used to asking permission for these types of things. I mean asking for time off and showing that I have enough time saved up is one thing, but then asking permission for the destination...WOW.

Tomorrow is also 2 weeks since we have been in our new apartment. I have to say, that with the exception of some very rude neighbors, I absolutely love our new place (pictures to follow). We have a nice little two bedroom, one bath apartment with a gigantic living room and a washer & dryer in our apartment. We were completely done unpacking in about 4 days and after some furniture purchases it is set up quite nicely, if I do say so myself. All that is left is to get our bed, but some of the pieces are on backorder, so right now we are sleeping on an air mattress that is absolutely killing me. Should only be another week though before the pieces get in, so I'm not going to complain...too much.

Another very weird adjustment for me has been this whole not working thing. This is the longest since I was 18 that I have been unemployed. I know that it isn't a bad thing, and that I should really be enjoying the experience, and I am, it is just that sometimes I do not feel that I am contributing as much as I should. Luckily Spc D is wonderful, and says that we aren't going to worry about it until January, at which point, I will really need to get a job. For now with having only one car, we aren't going to panic, because he needs that car for his job, and he definitely gets priority.

More to follow, including pictures of our new place, pictures from our first trip to Seattle (on Nov. 10), and of the amazing view of Mt. Rainier from post.