Friday, October 29, 2010

Desert Fun



This is what we did in Kuwait for 6 months, and yes these are the people defending your freedom.  If it came down to it, of course we would fight, but since we're not fighting, why not dance?

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Last Thursday night, Timmy graduated from the Airman Leadership School.  This is a mandatory 6 week program, designated by the Air Force to all Airmen that are being promoted to staff sergeant (E-5).  It's an extremely difficult course, created to help soon-to-be supervisors practice their disciplinary skills, public speaking, improvising during abnormal situations, and their peer-to-peer capabilities.  There is a lot of classwork and homework involved, along with TONS of group activities and study sessions.  Not only did Timmy graduate, an amazing accomplishment, he graduated at the top of his flight, a team of 12.  While he didn't receive any awards out of his entire class of 62 people, he did have the pleasure of tutoring a classmate to help him pass when no one else could.  Timmy promotes in February sometime, and will then be in charge of an entire shift of Airmen, along with being personally responsible for 2 or 3 careers.  It's not easy being an Air Force Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO), but I know Timmy will be stellar at it.
The following pictures are of the banquet that was thrown in honor of the graduating.  There were a couple hundred people in attendance, and every single commander and chief master sergeant on base were present to encourage the newest ranks of NCOs.  The dinner was superb, the company was great, and the presentations were very organized and efficient (as usual for the military).  Sorry there aren't more pictures, but I stood in a horribly dark part of the room.  I need practice being a wife.  :)

Timmy in his all of his goofiness

Timmy and I before the banquet started

Pretty decent food!


Two of Timmy's previous supervisors and amazing role models:
TSgt Angeles
TSgt Kennedy

Timmy receiving his graduation diploma from the base commander

Yay!

Us married folk

Friday, October 15, 2010

A Conversation with my Mother

My mom called me yesterday.  This is what we talked about.

Mom:  All the ladies at my work are pregnant.
Me: That's because it's fertility season.
Mom:  I thought fertility season was during the winter because you have to snuggle to stay warm.
Me:  You live in Minnesota.  It's already colder there than anywhere else.
Mom:  True.
Me:  (pause)...people in Hawaii must not have kids.
Mom:  What do you mean?
Me:  Well, it's always warm.  They don't have a fertility season.  They probably have their babies shipped in.
Mom:  There was just a tsunami in Samoa...
Me: And it washed all the babies to Hawaii!
Mom:  All the Hawaiians are standing on the beach picking our their babies on the waves.

(Fits of laughter)

I love my mother :)

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Oh my kittens!

I would like to say first and foremost that I LOVE cats, I really do.  I am more of a dog person, but I love the fact that cats will crawl up in your lap and demand to be petted, that there is no need to take care of them constantly, and that they're always clean.  My kittens cuddle with me constantly, sleep on my back or stomach while I'm asleep, and follow me everywhere I go (well, one does anyway).  That being said, I'd like to tell a little story...

A little over a month ago, I begged Timmy to let me buy a kitten.  I knew exactly what kind I wanted, I knew where I wanted to buy it, and I knew how I was going to take care of her.  Problem: I live in military housing, which has VERY strict rules about the number of pets you own.  We are allowed two, and only two, which is capped out with our (beloved) puppies.  I did not let this stop me.  I wore away at my husband until he caved, and I went at buying a cat with gusto.  I found a Siamese at the local SPCA and adopted Kamikaze two minutes after I saw him.  He's adorable!!!  He's cross eyed and talks non-stop, plus loves to be cuddled with.  I bring him home, and what does Timmy do?  The same thing he did when I got Ninja.  He decided he wants his own, and goes back to get Kami's brother, Sake (like the alcohol).  We were so happy!  Then we got to know our cats...

Kamikaze is great.  He loves to talk to me, he comes to me when I call his name, and like I said, he's cross eyed.  Now, he's also not the brightest cat in the world.  He is not very good at landing on his feet, and he tends to get locked into various rooms because he follows me EVERYWHERE and I won't hear him.  He's been shut in the closet, bathroom, cupboards, you name it, he's been there.  I learned pretty quickly to scope the area out before I shut the door.  Kami loves to be held, and climbs all over me, tries to push his nose into my face, swats at my hand until I pet him.  I love him to death.  He's not bright...that's why we call him Ssabmud (spell it backwards...that's his name).

Sake...oh, Sake.  Well, he's cute?  Sake is beyond anti-social.  The only living things he'll go near are flies, and the dogs.  He runs as soon as you take a step near him, despises being picked up, and will scratch anyone that tries.  He's pretty vocal, too, but as soon as you respond, he runs the other direction.  He attacks all things mobile or stationary, and has even figured out how to get out the doggy door.  He doesn't run away, just pops into the back yard until the dogs harass him and drive him back inside.  He doesn't mind sitting on my lap as long as it's on his terms, when he wants to do it, and I can only pet him slowly.  I hate this cat.  Want to know what we call him?  Elohssa.

We've gotten used to both of them.  We laugh at them when they fight each other, and we protect them when the dogs start getting too rough.  The dogs adore them, and the cats will usually curl up with the puppies when they're calm.  BUT, we're ready for them to go.  I hate to admit it, but I think it's part of growing up...we made a mistake.  We thought we were ready for kittens, but it's hard to give them the amount of love they need when we have dogs.  We definitely don't mistreat them, but I know they would be more adored elsewhere, and I'd rather give them that opportunity while they're still adorable kittens.  We found a buyer that is willing to take both of them, which we were worried about (did I mention that I have scars from Elohssa?!).  So, I would like to make a fond farewell to our mistakes.  We love you, kittens.




I know we'll have kittens again one day.  Just no more Selohssa or Sessabmud.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

I Caved...

My parents have a blog.  My sister has a blog.  Most of my friends have a blog, and people I've never met before have blogs.  So why shouldn't I have one?  I can't think of a decent reason other than the fact that absolutely nothing interesting happens in my life at all, but why should that stop me?  Lots of people are interested in non-interesting things.  So I now have a blog.  Welcome!


Timmy and I are newlyweds, so there are still a lot of bumps in the road, but we are definitely happy with our life :).  Between our new home, four pets, and great friends, I don't think we would change anything at all (except maybe where we live.  We're both a little tired of northern California).  So if you like non-interesting stories, feel free to check back in every once in a while to see how we're doing on our journey through married military life.  See, it's already uninteresting.  I have nothing else to add...