Long Time, No Blog...

Shame on me!!! It's been far TOO long since I've updated this blog and I have no real excuse for not doing so. It's not like I've been overly busy these last few weeks...

Cam has been away at Ft. Sill, OK for the last 2 1/2 weeks, participating in BOLC II (Basic Officers' Learning Course - AKA Officers' Basic Training). So far he's VERY unimpressed with Ft. Sill and Lawton, OK area and said, "I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Ft. Bliss and El Paso!" (Guess the grass isn't always greener, huh?)

Compounding this new-found "homesickness", he's rather frustrated with the BOLC II training as it's all a repeat of stuff he did in Basic Training and OCS. It's mainly geared toward those soldiers coming out of ROTC and the Academy programs (who don't have to attend Basic Training OR OCS). He's also frustrated that he is one of the last classes that must complete this training as the Army is doing away with the course next year.

On a happier note, I'm going to OK to visit Cam this upcoming weekend! We've got a full schedule of things to do and see while we visit Oklahoma City and I'll post pictures as soon as I'm back. I've never been to OK, so I'm also excited to get it crossed off my list of visited states!

As for me, I've been keeping myself busy in El Paso by searching for a new job (STILL!). However, I'm finding that I like the freedom and free time I have as a housewife! I've almost completed my next Project Linus quilt and am eager to start on the next! I've also found that there are several activities that I would like to participate in, including a weekly Army wives Bible study on base and a "Sit & Sew" group that meets at a local fabric store! Plus, if I continue my daily work-out routine, I just might find that I have NO TIME whatsoever to waste on a job! Ha!

My make-shift sewing table in the middle of the living room

Boy Project Linus Quilt - Stage#1

4th of July Visit to Washington

For the week around 4th of July, I headed north back to Washington to visit with family and friends. I spent the days leading up to the 4th couch-hopping from friend to friend in the Puget Sound area. I spent a few days with old college friends Jen, Jake and their 2 girls. It was soooo fun to get a little baby-time as well as be reminded how many questions an almost 5-year old asks! I then had a wonderful dinner out with Sabrina and her new beau, Brian where Sabrina and I were "devastated" when we weren't carded while ordering adult beverages. Too bad our MUCH-YOUNGER waiter heard us grumbling and proceeded to tease us about it all night.

The next morning, I was off to see some old Shipyard friends for breakfast, lunch and a night out at the Clearwater Creek Casino. I really enjoyed catching up with everyone and hearing all the gossip I'd missed in the last 2 months. Too bad I walked away from the casino with nothing but the stinky smoke smell in my clothes. Maybe I'll hit the jackpot next time?

After the friend- and fun-filled days, I was super excited to get on the road to Ocean Shores, WA where I was going to meet up with my parents, BOTH brothers and a few of the extended family for a rockin' 4th out on the beach. Due to several hours of HORRIBLE traffic, I was forced to hit up the Indian Reservation myself (without the help of my pyro brother) to pick up a stash of illegal fireworks. I ended up with a box of goodies that weighed 70+ pounds and therefore badgered the guy at the booth into carrying it to my car for me! (Am I a big *girl* or what?) We all finally made it to the hotel in Aberdeen and I was able to visit with my immediate family, grandmother, two uncles, an aunt and 5 cousins!

On the actual 4th, my parents, brothers and I watched 2 of my cousins compete in the Firecracker Duathlon @ Elma, WA for the 2nd year in a row. Ben did a fabulous job! Unfortunately, Jake's back tire blew out at the start of the biking leg and he was forced to run, not only the remaining portion of the biking leg, but also the last running leg. We figured out later than he probably biked 2 miles and ran a total of 14 miles!

The entire clan then headed out to the beach where we set up camp, a fire and the loveliest potty tent you've ever seen! We all dinked around waiting for darkness to fall. Unfortunately, the thick fog didn't allow us to see very far up and down the beach and therefore, the show wasn't nearly as impressive as it was last year. We still had fun watching my pyro brother blow up our stash and see the idiots around us going to town!

I headed "home" to the Tri-Cities with my parents the following day and spent most of Monday hanging out with my brothers before I had to drive back to Seattle for the night. I spent my last night in WA chatting into the wee hours with my good friend, Heather.

Thank you to everyone whose couch I crashed on!!! The week was so much fun and I'm looking forward to visiting everyone again soon! The weather was amazing and I got my fill of green trees, sparkling blue water and snow-capped mountains. However, what was waiting for me in El Paso when I returned home? 100+ degree temperatures that have not gone away YET! Oh well, at least I have a very pronounced flip-flop tan on my feet...

Ben & Jake leading the pack at the start of the Firecracker Duathlon 2009

Cousins in the sand

Grandma & Tim

My tugboat in Aberdeen

Oh, what a boring life we lead...

It's been a while since we've posted anything, but we have returned (after several requests for a blog post and several assurances that we've done nothing noteworthy for the last few weeks)! However, be prepared to be put to sleep!

First, we've finally managed to get all of the boxes we had delivered unpacked, sorted, put away and/or repacked! We spent all day yesterday breaking down boxes, throwing away a GIGANTIC mountain of packing paper, and finally are able to use our main bathroom. The only other major hurdle we're faced with is going through the 3 boxes of paperwork from our filing cabinet. There will be "a whole lotta *shreddin* going on" since we don't think we'll be needing our 10-year old electric bills from Pullman any more!

Work has been going well for Cam. He's been loaned out to a different Major. Major D is in the process of overhauling the Air Defense Artillery training and Cam's been assigned various tasks to support that. Cam's also had the opportunity to do some simulator training on various weapons systems, including: M2 .50 cal, MK 19 grenade launcher, M240B machine gun, and M4 rifle. Cam leaves for BOLC II training (AKA Officers' Basic Training) on July 4 and will be at Ft. Sill, OK for 6 weeks.

On the Mr. Fix-It front, Cam spent most of Friday afternoon dismantling the large TV cabinet. In its original state, it was far too heavy to lift into the back of the truck in order to deliver it to the recycle place. With all the extra wood and speakers removed, it's far easier to handle.

BEFORE

DURING: Cam dismantling the old TV

AFTER#1

AFTER#2

Finally, I had a TOTAL GIRL MOMENT on Friday morning. While preparing to take a shower after Cam had left for work (no clothes on or contacts in), I pulled back the shower curtain to find the biggest cockroach I've seen yet! After screaming my head off, I decided to take matters into my own hands and squished the sucker with a nice pointy stiletto. I then used the skills gained from years of watching CSI:, Forensic Files, etc. to document the crime scene. Eek! That sucker was HUGE! Cam claims that the roach he stepped on a few weeks ago (in the middle of the night, in his bare feet), was AT LEAST the size of this one. Since I've heard that, I haven't once gotten up at night to do anything!

In the Land of Boxes, Part Duex

It's been 2 1/2 looooooong weeks living in our new apartment without the majority of our household goods. We've survived using paper plates and frozen "ready to saute" dinners, camp chairs in the living room and sleeping on an air mattress. But Tuesday morning, that all changed! We FINALLY got some of our household goods delivered.

The plan was to only request delivery of about 1/2 of the stuff we had moved down here since: 1)the apartment we moved into is WAAAAAY smaller than our house in Bremerton and 2)because we will be moving into a house in a few months anyway. (That way, the Army pays for storage as opposed to us! Ha!) Well, when the movers showed up Tuesday morning, the truck only had about 1/2 of what we had requested. Turns out, the Army Travel Office did not fax the warehouse all of the item lists that Cam submitted.

So, the mover guys had to go back to the warehouse, search through a packed Indiana Jones-style wooden crate of the stuff we wanted to remain in storage, and deliver another load to us that night. Unfortunately, they still didn't find about 5 items we had originally requested (including a card table & chairs that we are going to use in the dining area AND our computer tower) so they'll have do to another search and delivery. Argh! At least we got an actual bed to sleep on last night and a couch to veg in front of the tube!

So, we've been slowly unpacking all of our stuff and discovering that we have far too many belongings. Therefore, Goodwill is going to get a handsome delivery of items that we haven't used and/or don't have room for. Maybe with all the moves we will be doing in the Army, we'll be able to keep a lid on our "Pack Rat" genes?

The perfect place for empty boxes: the main bathroom shower!

The giant disaster left in the kitchen after all the boxes were unpacked.
(Cam threatened to call in Niecy Nash from "Clean House" to help...)

The "new" tv stand
(Anyone want a 35-inch for FREE?)

Do you see the first thing unpacked in the office?
(Thanks again for Clyde, Tim!)

A New-To-Us Car

After weeks spent touring ALL the local car dealerships in El Paso, we finally found a practically new car that will become the commuter car for one of us. We got a GREAT deal on a dark blue 2009 Chevy Malibu with only 1000 miles on it. The original owner had a case of "Buyer's Remorse" and traded in his practically new car on a used Mercedes. The Mercedes dealership was going to wholesale the Malibu out to one of the local Chevy dealers and we snatched it up @ wholesale price instead. Go Bargain Shoppers!

The shopping process was pretty painful. Cam spent evenings and weekends combing the internet for available cars that met our criteria (low miles, four-doors, cheap). Ironically, most of the used sedans in the area that were even options for us were gold in color (must have been a popular color a few years ago in the desert.) Obviously we had to walk away from those cars because we would have never heard the end of it from our Husky friends if we owned a gold car AND a purple truck!

Our cool new ride

Cam speeding along