HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2008!

I know it's still early in the day here on the east coast, but we're getting out of work early today (hooray!) and I've got a bunch of stuff to do when I get home to get ready for dinner guests, so I'm sending this before I get busy and forget.

To each and everyone ~ may you all have a happy, healthy, safe, and very special 2008! You are all very special people. Scoots - KYHD and come back soon!

Love to all...
/Shennie

Happy New Year!!

OK - so it is only 27 Dec, but DA's New Year will start before ours so.......

We had a great time with Shennie here for Christmas and I LOVE the picture. I have it at my work station right now, but I showed it to everyone at work first!! We really did miss you Christmas Day, but it was great to talk to you on the 24th and again yesterday. It sounds like you had a good day in spite of your geographical location. I'm sure the names of those weapons will mean something to the guys out there, but it is all greek to me! I know nothing about weapons, guns, ammo, etc....the Dad was in the military, I was just along for the fun of it! I am glad that you have one just in case....

Well - I'm keeping this short and I will apologize for typos, but Rascal is "helping"me type this!! He is laying on my lap with his head resting on my right arm making typing very interesting.

BTW - I am using my new laptop! Many thanks to Ben for getting it all set up for me last night! I LOVE IT! It is AWESOME!!

To Shennie - I guess these kids will get us into the 21st century inspite of ourselves!!

Love ya....KYHD!
the Mom

Happy Post Boxing Day!

Yesterday seems to have been a blur. I got up and packed. Kitten arrived at the house and she and JJ and I picked up the mom and we went to breakfast at the Cracker Barrel. Then we dropped Kitten off to get her car and go home and get some sleep and the mom and JJ took me to the airport to fly home. Remind me to not bring any liquids and/or gels with me the next time I fly - or to pack them in the checked luggage. Both flights I had my carry-on bag examined. Oh, the corkscrew stays home too! Even tho' it is legal to carry (because it doesn't have a blade - have you ever seen the end of the corkscrew?) they have to check it out. But, nothing was confiscated and I didn't have to wait to board - went right on. I managed to knit 1.5 hats on the flight home. We made good time and I was in my house by 5:50 est. I checked everything out, started unpacking and then went over to my friend's house for dinner with another friend. It was all leftovers from Christmas, but tasted great. I was home by 8:00 and in bed by a little after 9:00. I DID NOT WANT TO GET UP AND GO TO WORK TODAY! I kept thinking of JJ having this week and next off.

Christmas was so nice, but we missed you a lot, Scoots. Cooper and one of the cats got into a tussle; that was the noisiest part of the day. Poor Coop was an innocent bystander to the sneak attack of the cat.

You'll be pleased to know that the family gave me an ipod - I need you to help me figure it out. Donut explained it all in 10 minutes and I have proceeded to forget what she told me. Oh well, I'll get it set up when I get my new laptop that Ben helped me order the other night. So, among the new laptop, the ipod and docking station, my new digital camera, and the digital picture frame, I'm getting to be quite the geek. Now, if I only knew what I was doing!

I absolutely love the picture of you and Chelsey. I've got it here in my area at work and check it out. I've been showing it to everybody. When the mom and dad got to that gift Christmas morning, the dad was holding it and trying to figure out what it was. The MOM got impatient, grabbed it from the dad, figured out instantly what it was and tore it open after immediately bursting into tears. We all had a good cry, and life went on til I got to my present. I picked it up, saw who it was from, felt around to see if I could tell what it was then turned to the mom and said, "You're not so special!". We all cried again and love it.

Ok, so we can hold off on the beef jerky and the sweet candy - I'll scour the shelves when I'm at Wally World this weekend for some appropriate replacements. Do you need hats, scarves, whatever to keep warm? Did the socks fit that I sent?

Chinese food for lunch is arriving. Will write more over the weekend. I hope your holidays are the best that they can be. We missed you at the dinner tables, but will save you a spot.

Love you and KYHD!
Shennie

Hey Everyone

So christmas is over with, everyone is recovering from the food they enjoyed the excitement of christmas morning. For me, it was quite a nice christmas despite my location. For Christmas morning, I woke up at 0900 (midnight CST) to get ready to go to a Range. Now normally, I dread going to the range, but as most people know this was not a normal range. For aiding some Special Forces in some very, very successful raids in *********, Iraq, they wanted to repay with a special reward. So they invited the entire forward site crew to their compound located within the FOB to do some 'weapons familiarization." Once we got there and approached he table that was in front of the range, we saw the weapons in which we were to become familiar with: 2 customized fully-automatic AK-47s, 2 MP5s, an UMP .45, and the deadly Dragunov Sniper rifle (7.62mm round). Now mind you that the US uses 5.56mm rounds as they are known not to pierce through the targets and leave a nasty exit wound. The 7.62mm will do just that. And know that you can be 50 meters away. Or 1,000m. I can still hit ya!! lol.
Anywho, I am emailing ALL the pictures I have taken from Stewart the day I deployed up until christmas day to Chelsey so that hopefully she has better luck uploading them on here.

Jesus Doesn't Like Cutters

In case you didn't already know, Jesus doesn't like cutters. I learned this on Sunday night when my family made the traditional annual trek to the Our Lady of the Snows Shrine. My mom, dad and aunt were in another car, and my hubby and my sister-in-law and I were in our car.

We approached the Shrine's entrance, patiently waiting in the line of cars. The line had to be at least a mile long, barely moving. We inched closer and closer to the entrance. Then, from the lane to our left, a car slowed down (having not patiently waited in line like the rest of us) and turned on its blinker to enter our lane. From the back seat I hear my sister-in-law Chelsey say, "Don't let him in or you'll go to hell; Jesus doesn't like cutters, you know."

So, the driver of the silver mini-van in front of us is going to hell. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas David Andrew!! A few days early!! Gald to hear that you have some decorations up and that you are settled in your "new" digs.

Today I got our Christmas cards done - I'll mail them later today. Now all I have to do is wrap EVERYTHING. I'm pretty much done shopping - just a few more things to get. I'll probably do that tomorrow morning before work or Monday since I have it off.

We sure will miss you this year, but know that you will be thought of (and talked about!) alot on Christmas Day. The plans at the moment are: Shennie flies in tomorrow and Jennie will pick her up at the airport. When Dad and I get off from work, we will all meet at the house and head over to the Shrine for our annual Christmas light display. From there we head to Cracker Barrel for dinner and then home for dessert. ( I guess I better make something!!). Christmas Eve we will be at Jessica & Craig's for dinner and Christmas Day dad has to work so we will open gifts when he gets home. Jennie and Ben will be going to Ben's sister's to spend time with his family during the day. I think they will be here for dinner (late) or perhaps just dessert. They will open gifts when they get here. I have invited Chelsey and her family for Christmas dinner so we may have a crowd - the more the merrier!!

Glad to hear that you are getting alot of hours in. I'm sure it helps the time go by. So you're working out??

Everyone from the office says hi, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Many of them ask about you frequently. With all the military folks we have that is not surprising. Keep the pictures coming and we will be sure to take lots on Christmas Eve and Christmas!

Love you lots and KYHD!
the Mom

Season's Greetings

With Christmas right around the corner, thoughts of happiness will fill the air. To some, the feeling of sadness may sink in with my deployment. For this will be my first Christmas away from family and friends. But do not let my absence cloud your day. Remember that though I am not there with everyone, I will still be celebrating christmas here. I've already setup christmas lights around my room. And I pretty much have my room to a style that I will be comfortable with for some time. I have a nice 19" LCD TV/Monitor, my XBOX 360, my ROCKBAND equipment all setup in the back of the room while I enjoy my sleep wth the A/C (or heat for the time being) blow on me at night. Thats right, these past couple days have been getting frightenly chilly. Temperatures have actually dropped to around freezing. I think the high today was like 45, and yesterday it was 38 with a low of 31. Tomorrow the high is 59(whew, warm) with a low of 37 (not so warm...) (Yes, my room is definitely hooked up!)

Things are going well here in Iraq. So far I have managed to rack up almost 200hours of flight time, and almost 100 hours of Mission Commander times (thats right Jennie, I get to do mission commander stuff in my job too, except with a multi-million dollar military system...) Anywho, for stuff to send I think you can start cutting back on the Beef Jerky. *Its actually starting to bother my mouth.* And a drop in sugar candy wold be good (same reason). But otherwise I have definitely enjoyed the stuff sent so far.

Oh, and if people havent heard yet, I have been going to the gym for a little while now and have put on almost 10 lbs of muscle. I am benching more now then I ever did in the states. An everything else is definitely a step-up from even my Army PT at Stewart. Well, its about that time to go fly a mission (Time to put on my MC cap and get to work.)

Happy Anniversary...

...to the Mom and Dad!

Let's see - - - 33 years ago today the dad was slamming doors in his best man's face; the grandpa was forgetting to pick up his mother and had to race across town to get her; the mom was calmly sitting in the recliner drying her hair; shennie was being shadowed around the house by the dad's sister - even to the bathroom; the grandma was trying to get rid of her obnoxious sister who showed up early and uninvited with her alcoholic boyfriend; and the great-grandma was trying to make sense of everything that was going on. It was a fun day at 406.

But, despite the chaos and insanity, it turned out great. BTW - the biggest crier at the wedding - the dad's dad. Sobbed through the entire ceremony.

At least 33 more!

KYHD!

I'm Bored

Things here at the office are very quiet. We didn't even have any kids in today. I keep thinking of all the stuff I could be doing at home if I weren't sitting here trying to kill time until at least 4:00. On well. I did get my self pre-registered for the cruise. I'll bring all the stuff with me and Jennifer and I can sit down and scope things out and day dream until Feb. 1.

I went to the Post Office yesterday; Scoots, there's another box on its way to you. Don't know when it will arrive. Do you have a sense as to how long it takes for stuff to get from here to there? The post office here by the college is very helpful and considerate when I take stuff over to send to you. They rarely charge me full freight.

Donut, thank you for the complimentary comment on my last blog - we'll ignore your mother's addition! She has to stress that to everyone otherwise they think she's the oldest - they always have.

I put two boxes in the mail to you - they're headed for your office. I'll get them from you on Sunday (hopefully JJ will take me over to get them or you can drop them off at her house). Most of the stuff is wrapped, but some of it isn't. I'll take care of that stuff on Monday. I'll still have some finishing up of projects to do before Tuesday morning. I may put JJ to work helping me. It'll remind her never to work on projects that require a fringe!

They're saying we may get a little snow/rain tonight/tomorrow. I hope it's rain. It's also supposed to rain on Sunday, but that shouldn't prevent me from flying out. Hopefully it will get rid of all the ice and gunk on the streets and sidewalks.

Have a great day!

KYHD!

Love you,
/Lefty

Enough is Enough!

Before I get into the fact that we have had more snow this week than we did all last year and I'm tired of it already, I actually took some pictures of the snow on my new digital camera and downloaded ~ or uploaded , however you want to look at it ~ to my computer. I'll insert them so you can see. Aren't you proud of me! I did it ALL BY MYSELF!


The first picture is taken from my kitchen door looking at the firehouse across the street; the second picture is looking in the opposite direction. On Thursday we had 9" of snow on my front stoop; when I decided to feed the birds today and tried to go out my kitchen door, I had to shovel away 10" of snow.

It's been a busy day. I've got a box ready to send to you, Scoots, and I have another one that I'll ship at the same time to Donut at her office. I've still got stuff to finish before I head to Illinois, so this won't be long. I've baked today - 8 of Grandma's cherry cakes. I also plan to do a batch of her datenut bread. I'm going to need a day off to rest up from today. I was planning on taking a nap this afternoon, but that's not going to happen.

Back to the snow - It didn't start snowing until very early this morning, but it made up for it. We were only supposed to get 3" - 6" today. My yardstick is getting a workout. I knew the storm was coming in so I got as much done yesterday as I could. I didn't even plan on going to church, I just started in knitting and baking when I got up. To hear the media this morning you woulda thought we were living in Tampa and the storm was hitting there. This is New England, folks!

I like your pictures - especially the camel. When are you going to ride on one? Actually, it's good to see you post any message on the blog. Keep 'em coming - even if it's just to say hello!

Well, knitting and wrapping are calling. New England Patriots are beating the Jets - AGAIN! Maybe this will shut up the Jets. I don't want to get too cocky - I don't want to jinx the Pats. They're playing here in New England. It bet it is COLD at Gillette Stadium.

Well, Scoot, you can brag to your buddies that your technically-challenged aunt figured out digital camera transfer all by herself! To the rest of you - WATCH OUT! I ALMOST called Ben, but decided to be stubborn enough to do it by myself. And I won. HOORAY!

Be well, be smart and KYHD! Let us know if you or any of your friends need anything.

Love you,
Shennie

Let it snow!!

We had about 4 inches last night most of which melted today, but it started snowing again a couple of hours ago and we have had another inch or so. It is really beautiful out!! Unfortunately, it will be gone by Christmas because it is supposed to get up to 57 degrees on Thursday....oh well, it was nice while it lasted. DA - I love the pictures you posted. I have only seen camels in zoos or at the Shrine at Christmas as we drive through the display of lights. I think we will be doing that Sunday night after Shennie arrives. The dad and I work next weekend, but we will head out after work on Sunday and make our annual trek through the Shrine and then out to dinner. Hopefully I will be done shopping by then!! I plan to finish up this Tuesday. That is my regular day off now. Everyone at the office says HI and take care. One of our MA's is in the AF Reserves and her unit is heading to Afghanistan after the first of the year. She will be gone for 4 months. She said farewell to everyone yesterday and I thanked her for her service. I thnk she was really touched that someone said "thank you". Chelsey was over a couple of nights this week. She seems to be well. She and Katie have spent some time together. They seem to get along well. I guess Katie has been working lots of hours. She mentioned the other day the she is planning on taking some courses this summer. Perhaps @ SWIC. I think she wants to go into the medical field - perhaps become an MA. We'll see how that works out. I put more minutes on your calling card this week. Have you ordered/gotten your TV yet? How is the "chu" working out?? Let us know if you or anyone needs anything, OK?? Not much more to say right now. Love you and KYHD. the Mom

Behind the Deployment : True Hollywood Story

Chelsey and I on Deployment Date

Almost there

Seeing my first camelArriving in Kuwait

Feel Safe yet??
Some guys playing Guitar Hero 2
Ali Asaleen, Kuwait
Relaxing Before Flying to Iraq

Anniversary

Today was Ben and my anniversary. It's been four years since I walked the aisle. Can't believe it's been four years! It sure has passed quickly.

Ben beat me to the punch this morning, wishing me a happy anniversary as I was getting ready to leave for work (he's usually asleep at that time, so I wasn't going to wake him up to wish him a happy anniversary, I wanted to let him sleep). Then, I got a beautiful bouquet of flowers (and some chocolates) at work! It was SO sweet! All the gals at work were jealous... it probably didn't help that I told them all that I have the best husband. I know, they're just jealous!

Nice to see the pictures of you, David! The sunset picture is really pretty. Can't wait to see more pictures. Take Care and KYHD.

Up till Now...

So I know I have been promising pictures of Kuwait and Iraq, etc. and people know that the internet isnt exactly like home, but hopefully these pics will help spelling out the story I have been through so far...

Me in the cockpit of the 767

Getting Ready to Leave Kuwait

My last day in Kuwait


More to come!

Shennie and Sports

Ok, we know that's an oxymoronic statement - unless of course we're talking watching sports. Although, I did fence in high school - and even lettered in it! You can all stop laughing now - and you can google what fencing is!

Anyway, Chase Collegiate aka St. Margaret's School has a penpal program where they match up an alumna with a current student in the Middle School. My penpal is Sammie and we were penpals when she was in third grade and now we're penpals again while she's in 5th grade. This is part of the letter I got from her yesterday - I laughed for 5 minutes!

"So any thing new happening? I have been playing tennis with my friend Jenny. She goes to Chase Collegiate School with me. I play at the Middlebury Racket Club. After school I go with Jenny to her house and her mom drives us to tennis. I think tennis is really fun. Do you play any sports even though you are an adult?"

I'll wait while you all compose yourselves.

Well, can't talk much here. I've got squash practice to go to except that it's snowing and my tennis racket needs restringing! Alas, I am relegated to sitting and knitting. How shall I do it?

I've got 2 funerals to go to this week. ...and they announced 2 other deaths this morning in church. Is it 2008 yet?????

Oh, btw "the mom", the soprano soloist sang "The Birthday of a King" (at my request) this morning. She did a great job - I cried! How many times did we hear Doris or Harold sing that at Christmas?

My knitting needles are screaming! Love to everyone. Scoots - any Christmas list requests and KYHD!

Another box #2

DA - I got my last box mailed out to you today. I hope you and your buddies will have some fun with it even though it has nothing to do with computers or x-box 360! Heard you talked with the Dad today. That's great! I took care of the stuff you asked me about on Thursday. I delivered it in person, but Chelsey was busy at her appt that you had arranged for her. Hope it works?! We had some snow here Thursday, then rain and it has been cold, wet, and damp ever since. I think it is supposed to be like this through Tuesday. I would much prefer snow - I hope the weatherman is listening!! We have started receiving Christmas cards - I guess that means I need to start working on getting ours done. I'm debating on a Christmas letter this year. I may just do cards...we'll see. Having a tree up would probably help to get me in the spirit but that hasn't happened yet in spite of Katie promising she would do it now for about 2 weeks!! Shennie - I HOPE we have one up by the time you arrive!!! Not much in the way of news tonight. Hope all is well 1/2 way around the world. Stay safe and KYHD.... Love you, the Mom

Another Box

I went to the post office this afternoon and there is another box on its way. It was a comedy of errors! I had packed the box up over the weekend, but hadn't addressed it nor could I find the customs forms. So I show up at the post office 15 minutes before closing and I realize I haven't addressed the box. So I grab an address label and a bunch of customs forms and then realize that your address is out in my car! So I schlep out to the car in the bitter cold and am trying to get me and the box and the forms all into the car without everything blowing away. So I get in and then I'm digging for a pen in the bottom of my purse, the forms have all fallen on the floor on the other side of the car and I can't close the door because my coat is stuck! FINALLY I tossed everything on the passenger's seat and started acting rationally - one form at a time. ALAS - I finally got my you-know-what together and got it into the post office before they closed. I even remembered to grab more boxes on my way out and then almost dropped them on the way to the car. Now we know why I wasn't named Grace!

Say goodnight, Gracie!

KYHD!

/s

Mailed 4 boxes today

DA - I mailed 4 boxes of "stuff" to you this morning. Hopefully they will make it by Dec 25th. The wrapped stuff is for Christmas and the other stuff you can use whenever.This "Flat Rate" postal stuff is cool! $8.95 anywhere in the world!! It will be even cooler if all the stuff makes it!! I will have another box on the way in the next few days. I have to see if I can get my box to fit into a Flat Rate box. I think I can so be watching for box #5. It was good to talk with you last evening. Perhaps one of these days I will figure out this Yahoo messenger system and we can chat online. I seem to be spending more time online these days! Well - we had some rain yesterday also! It would get dark, then get light, pour buckets for about 5 minutes and then clear up. It did this about 3 times and then it got VERY windy and the temperature dropped fom 65 degrees to 35 degrees! Today it is sunny and clear, but chilly. I LOVE IT!!! Luckily we missed the storm that hit the upper midwest with ice and snow. I'll take snow any day but the weatherman can keep his ice. Well - must finish my errands. I am off from work today since I worked the weekend. Stay safe (and dry!) & KYHD. Lots of love, the Mom

Sunday

It's snowing here! Just a taste of what is supposed to come. This has been a busy weekend. I left my house yesterday morning at about 9:45 and didn't get home (except for a quick bite to eat) until almost 5:00. Donut ~ you've got nothin' on your aunt! Scoots ~ I've got another box ready for you. Did you get 2 from me? So, I should hold off on the Twizzlers for a while? I went to AC Moore, Wally World, the Hallmark store, a photog shop (wait til you guys see what I got there!), the car dealer to have their sign taken off the back of my car or I would have to charge them $500/month for advertising space, the manicurist and the grocery store. I was wicked tired when I got back here. My back may never forgive me.

I now have to start organizing what I have and see what's still on the "to buy" list. Any special requests, DA? Did you get the 2 envelopes that were in one of the boxes? I'm just checking to make sure that everything arrived ok. I get nervous sending stuff that it all doesn't arrive. I've watched too many M*A*S*H episodes.

Today was the first Sunday in Advent AND Communion so it was a late morning and then we had the annual Messiah concert this afternoon. I didn't sing in it this year, but I am going to work to build up my stamina so that I can do it next year. It was an amazing performance. The chorus - made up of mostly our church choir members - was fantastic. Grandma I know was watching and was thoroughly impressed. Grandpa was saying, "Not another hallelujah!" "Don't make me sing another hallelujah!" I helped with the reception afterwards and got home just a little while ago - and it's SNOWING here. ON MY NEW CAR!!!!! Maybe if it snows enough, I won't have to go in tomorrow - I doubt that will happen - but I can hope. I've got so much to do here at the house. I may have to be sick one day this week.

Time to find something to eat for supper - I only had 2 pieces of cheese at the reception - I'm hungry!

It sounds like you're doing pretty well over there, Scoots; I think about you a whole lot and you're on the prayer list at church. You and your unit. Everyone echoes my sentiment - KYHD!!!!! You can go on to my blog and post any special requests. How do you like my new car?

To quote someone we all know and love, "BEHAVE YOURSELF!"

KYHD.

Love you,
A.S.

Ok...

So apparently the saying," When it rains, it pours," is really true. After I signed off last night, i was maybe laying in bed for about 15 minutes and it POURED like crazy. For a good 45 minutes. It was insane. I finally fell asleep and woke up to drizzle outside my tent. And all the wonderful Iraqi sand... Was lovely Iraqi MUD. And it sticks to Army boots like gum on a shoe. And today was equally crazy. First we had weather issues that kept us grounded. Then our Mission Commander laptop crashed on us. and then once we swapped laptops and got mIRC up and running all nice, the power strip to our DVD Recorder and Mission Commander (MC for future reference) burned up. Well, first it hummed at us. Then moments later black smoke shot out from EVERY outlet in the strip (and near the power button as well). So we unplugged the strip, then powered down the wall outlet locally (Middle East has power switches to the outlets). I then got the liberty of taking the smoking power strip out of the TOC (Tactical Operational Center) and let it cool off while we aired the rest of the TOC out. We then called our maintainers and had them come check out our power outlets and transformer. Once given the go on it, we used a spare powerstrip only to find out that we are grounded... AGAIN due to weather. We did not get a single flight up until 2212Local time. And all this time, I WAS the mission commander (first day on the job... wonderful). We did get an hour in prior to the craziness and it was cool because we got to talk to and chill with some SF (Special Forces - Secret) guys. They were awesome and invited us to come shoot with them(Shooting meaning raiding their arsenal of seized weapons (e.g. AK-47s, Dragonuv Sniper Rifle) as well as watch an explosive demo (controlled detonation).) So, how was everyone else's day???

~David


P.S. Shennie, I got your package today (That twizzler bag from before still needs to be finished off before opening this 2LBS bag... 2 LBS!!!)

Nice lil break

So, after working for the past 12-odd days (with an actual day off), we got to experience... rain... Thats right, it rained here in iraq. And it was enough to ground ALL aerial vehicles that cannot for sometime. So Our job was put on hold only an hour into our 2nd mission. Crazy huh? I got to talk to Chelsey for a bit during the break between missions and even told her that with the way weather was looking, we might get grounded. And sure enough, the funny feeling in my bones paid off. Anywho, things are going good for the most part, except that despite regulations, they are saying that I may not get a CHU. Our PLT is certainly fighting for me and other operators currently without CHUs. Basically it was a matter of the other PLTs saying that "its not fair" (something that we get a lot of), and that we shouldnt get priority on CHUs even though it states directly in AR 95-23 that operators and maintainers will be granted hardened shelters due to the nature of our job. Basically, with needing crew rest (and 8 hrs uninterrupted sleep), we need to have a setting which can be achieved that way. Sleeping in tents that people constantly go in and out of, turning lights on and off, doesnt achieve that. With CHUs, we are typically on opposite shifts of our roommate, and we can lock the door and keep the lights off. But as they say, this is mission essential and sometimes you have to bend (or break) the regs to get the mission done. But we will see how long that lasts when there is an accident.

Well, no mail has come today, so I am still expecting packages from Shennie and The Mom, as well as the xmas/bday presents... Hopefully by that time, I will have my CHU (or permanent tent) and a working Xbox 360. Well, times a short and have to get my beauty sleep...

David