Package

Just a quick note before the phones start ringing and I get side tracked again today.

I stopped at the post office on my way to work yesterday morning after visiting my local vampire. There is another package on its way to you, DA. Think of it as a belated Valentine's Day treat. Any requests for the next one?

We got snow yesterday afternoon. HUGE, wet flakes. They didn't amount to much and it did rain a little afterwards, but the slush we had froze and even though the temp was 40 at my kitchen window this morning, the front stoop was a little slick. I salted it before I left, so hopefully it will melt and dry up before I get home tonight. I AM GETTING VERY TIRED OF THIS WEATHER. I want spring. One of the gals at the office brought in tulips yesterday - a definite harbinger of spring (or as they say here in Massachusetts, hahbingah of spring!)

Hope the gang is having a good time on their cruise. I talked to the mom the other night and she sounded tired. They were just relaxing.

How does it feel to be back with your unit?

Be well and KYHD. Watch for your new package.

Love you ~

Shennie

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Actually, I should be diligent about getting stuff done around here, but I'm taking it slow. I did do up a HUGE sink full of dishes and also tried a new brownie recipe. I'll let you know in my next post how they turned out. They've got maraschino cherries in them along with some of the juice.

I also hate this time between football season and baseball season - or vice versa. There's nothing good to watch on TV on Sunday afternoons. UCONN played yesterday and they didn't even cover that up here. Even the grapefruit league is better than NASCAR or skateboarding! Spare me. And, how many times can you watch Tiger win with out yawning? zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

The same Irish washer woman who stood up the mom also stood up the aunt, so I've got to go down and do a load. I also need to pick up a little - the cleaning woman is coming tomorrow. Maria is good, but I need to find some surfaces for her to clean!

I've also been pulling together the stuff to do my taxes - and grandpa's. I've started taking them to an accountant - life is way too short for me to figure them out.

Well, I shoveled 8" of snow from my front stoop and sidewalk yesterday morning. ENOUGH, ALREADY! Most of the snow was gone - just a couple of small mounds in parking lots and now it's everywhere again. It was a little slick on the stoop this morning. A lot of stuff melted yesterday but then froze overnight. They're saying more yuk Tuesday night into Wednesday. However, the storm may change to rain down here in southern New England - now that's a good thing.

Glad to hear that you're back safe and sound. I'll do my best to get to the post office this week to get a box off to you. I have a couple errands I need to do during my lunch hours, so I'll get there one day!

Be well and KYHD!

Glad you made it back safely!

DA - Good to hear from you safely back to Iraq and it was also good to talk with you Wed evening. You sounded tired, but then it was 0230 hours where you were calling from!!

Well - JJ, B, JS, C, B, & K made it safely to Ft Lauderdale yesterday. They flew out just in time. We woke up to 2-3 inches of snow this AM on top of the snow,sleet, & ice from Thursday and Friday! Have already heard from them that it is sunny and warm and a great day for sailing in FL!!

J&B's cat, Jet, has already hissed, meowed and rubbed up against my legs as if I were her best friend. All in the same day! She is soooooo messed up!! Matt has been taking care of Coop this weekend. On Tuesday he (Coop, not Matt!) gets to go to Doggie Day Camp!! Can you believe it?? He passed his "interview" with flying colors!! I guess he didn't pee on the interviewer's leg!!

Well - mounds of laundry await in the laundry room.....I guess the Irish washer woman couldn't make it out in this weather!



Love you and KYHD!!



the Mom

Safe

Hey everyone, just wanted to assure everyone that I made it back to my FOB safely (not exactly in a timely matter, but it was nice spending a few days in Baghdad). I must say that compared to my FOB, my little visit to baghdad makes me wish I was stationed there! They definitely have it made for the luxury style living. They have virtually every convenience at their disposal (and they know it too!!) So maybe if and when I deploy next I can get one of the camps located in Baghdad.

Anywho, I am hunger and havent anything to really all day except some of the Peanut Butter Blossoms that Chelsey sent me (YUM!!)

Safe Trip

Was surprised to see a Blog from you so soon. How long was your Layover in Germany? From Germany you go to where? No, I am not doing Typos; I found out from a Friend that in the German Language, all the Nouns are capitalized. Makes for some interesting typing. Back to normal...

It was great talking to you the other afternoon. I hope you made it to the Arch. How was the view once you got there? Better you than me. I get dizzy on a step stool.

You were right on Sunday - we had rain all day yesterday here in Massachusetts. Any more and I would have been able to do laps in my cellar. Speaking of cellar - I went down there Sunday to do a load of laundry after talking to you and on my way back to the stairs to come up, I spotted a dead mouse! EEEEKK! After fretting about it for a couple hours I decided that I was going to have to face dealing with it, so I mustered up my courage and grabbed the dustpan and brush. After I finished exchanging loads between the washer and dryer, I scooped the carcass into the dustpan and carried it to the bathroom window (it was the closest without a screen) and tossed it outside. As of yesterday it was still in the backyard; I was hoping some larger critter would find it a delectable midnight snack! Yet another reason I don't have a cat.

I'm back to work today - YUK! My next life I'm going to be born rich instead of beautiful. I did not want to come in this morning. It wasn't that I hated to get up (tho' that wasn't all that pleasant), but I just don't like work interrupting my life.

I hope the rest of your trip back to the base is safe and uneventful. Those are always the best kind. I'll try to get the care package I've been saving ready to be shipped by the weekend. It needs some rearranging and some padding. Think of it as a belated Valentine's Day present.

Vaya con Dios! KYHD!

Shennie

Germany

well who would have thunk that I would be back in germany on my way back to the sandbox huh? Oh and I am writing from a net cafe computer that has all kinds of weird keys so instead of a qwwerty keyboard, its a qwertzuiopü keyboard. lol. Some of the new kezs are and AltGr, a Strg key, the z and y key are reversedand its has öäµß€ keys...Weird huh?? anywho, I am going to get back to talking with Chelsey... Love zou guzs... (thats german for Love you guys... lol)

A Big Thank You

As most of you know, I recently returned from a 10-day cruise with the mom, the dad, and a friend. I had to fly to Miami to get on board the ship. A rather normal occurrence, wouldn't you say? Yes, except...

Several weeks ago, amongst all the emails that I have received, I opened and read one about gratitude to our soldiers. It shows folks in an airport making a very simple gesture to our uniformed friends that expresses our gratitude to them without creating a huge scene. It shows people placing their right hand over their heart and then pulling it away from their chest, palm up, until it is even with their waist. It is a simple, yet sincere, way of saying thank you. See http://www.gratitudecampaign.org

So, when I was in the Boston airport heading to my gate to catch a flight to Atlanta where I would change and fly on to Miami, I saw a fellow in complete desert camo getup heading my way. He was young and alone. I simply made the gratitude gesture with a smile. He nodded, smiled and went on his way.

It brought tears to my eyes. I silently wept tears as I walked to my departing gate. As it was, he was on my flight, yet we never made eye contact again. I am sure he was on his way to Ft. Stewart - where my nephew was stationed before being shipped to Iraq.

If I was able to make one soldier a little happier by a simple, quiet gesture, then it couldn't get any better. I just hope that someone will do the same thing for our soldier when he is alone in an airport.

Thank you, Scoots!

Shennie

SOON!!!!

Tracking Progress

Hey, Scoots,

How 'bout tracking your progress coming home - sorta like watching Santa make his way around the world?

Where are you now? How are your flights?

We missed you on Sunday but know that you were thinking about us and Grandma as much as we were thinking about you and Grandma.

Hope you make it home before the mom and dad leave for Florida. Just 2 days, 20 hours, and 29 minutes until we sail! ...but who's counting? BTW - in case you didn't realize it, I'm going with them. Is the Caribbean ready for this? ...the Carew sisters loose together!

Safe travels.

Love,

Shennie

Good news

Dave,

Just wanted you to know that Ben and I are now officially trying to get pregnant, so hopefully you'll be an uncle around the time that you come home.

I haven't sent anything since before Christmas, so I guess I should do that.... sorry. I'll try and send something out before February.

Love ya! KYHD

Jennie

Hey

Hey everyone, I know a few of you havent heard from me in awhile, but I am doing ok. Things are going good here (definitely had some interesting yet very vague things happen over the last couple weeks (vague meaning i know, but only a few were told so the rest cant know through here. lol)

I will say that I definitely miss getting mail on an almost daily basis. I still have yet to receive your package, Shennie. Hopefully it will get here soon. I know Chelsey mailed one out to me recently, and that Jennie & Ben might possibly have one as well.

This new workout schedule I am doing certainly is kicking my @$$, especially the biceps of death machine. But the hard work is starting to show through, slowly but surely.

Anywho I dont have much time but will try to be on more and eventually get my trip to iraq up through christmas posted.

18 and ZERO

See everyone in Arizona. But, I'll be on board ship - look for me at the sports bar!

Go teams!

Oh, who to root for today?

I'm going with New England and the Giants!

Hubs is finishing up getting ready and then we're hitting up the grocery store. This menu planning has worked out great for me. It's so nice to come home and not spend an hour deciding what we'll have for dinner and then realizing we don't have what we need to make whatever it was we decided on.

My house is getting and staying clean 15 minutes at a time. I set a timer and then walk around picking things up. When the timer goes off, thats it! I can't clean anymore. It's amazing what you can accomplish in 15 minutes! I reorganized the upstairs linen closet and started a load of laundry.

Usually Hubs does the laundry, but I was feeling generous today :)

After football, I'll be heading to the Home Depot and picking up paint. Rob is painting my parents kitchen, living room, dining room, entrance, and hallway tomorrow.

Then, when they head off for their cruise (in less than 2 weeks), I'll spend the week cleaning their house! And by clean, I mean really cleaning their house. They'll come home to new closets, a new storage room, and new living spaces :) I LOVE doing this stuff. And, I think my BFF, Martha, is going to help me too. She loves purging like I do.

David- haven't heard from you in a while. Hope things are going well. I still have a package sitting here that needs to get mailed. I'll try and get that out this week

Chelsey- haven't heard from you either. You're more than welcome to come over for dinner. Just pick a night that we're making something you'll like and let me know!

Time to root on the Patriots!

New England Patriots Fever, Part II

It's Sunday morning and I'm being lazy! I decided to pass on church this morning and, instead, did the Sunday crossword puzzle in the Boston Globe. Did pretty well. I've got a couple errands to run in a little while but will be back in time for the AFL playoff game between The New England Patriots and the San Diego Chargers. I'm glad I'm going to be watching it from the comfort of my warm house ~ they're predicting windchills of 0 degrees at Gillette Stadium this afternoon. There aren't enough gloves and socks and scarves and parkas for that temperature. Hopefully it will freeze the Chargers in their tracks. Even if it doesn't, we'll beat the pants off them. We'll be 18 and zero after today. DA - hope you folks get to watch the game - even if it is the middle of the night.

As far as the later game goes - I have no real preference. I guess maybe since Daddy was a Green Bay Packers fan I'd have to root for them. But, I'm getting a little sick of Brett Favre. Whatever, may the best team win!

I went to Ct. yesterday and we did our "Christmas". It was good to see Sheila and Dennis and Nick (oh, yeah, Keith was there too). Dennis looked good and said that he felt good. We went out for lunch and that was fun. You should've seen the sandwiches that Sheila and Nick had - chicken salad with walnuts and dried cranberries and chicken and other stuff. They were huge - they each took half home for supper last night. I was good and had baked Boston schrod (which is layman's terms means any white fish they happened to catch that day).

The new car did well on the highway and didn't use as much gas as the old one. But, HELLO, if I hadn't bought gas up here before I went to CT, I surely wouldn't have bought it down there. I would have pushed my car to the border before I paid those prices!

Well, time to get going. Breakfast is just about ready and them I'm off to run my errands. Scoots, hope all is well over there. You haven't posted lately - how 'bout a hello! Tell those buddies of yours that if they know what's good for them, they'll cheer for the Patriots! Extra rations if the Pats win today!

Love you and KYHD!

Shennie

Maybe some snow would have helped!!

OK - so the Giants won. That's OK. They'll get their a**es kicked in Green Bay next weekend. Now mind you, I don't mind the Giants UNLESS they beat the Cowboys!! Sorry - but Eli is no match for Brett so GOOD LUCK!!

Well - 18 days and counting until we sail!! I can HARDLY wait. This trip is going to be awesome and well deserved AND I will be coming home to a new kitchen and house. Jessica is hiring a dumpster while we are gone! Will there be anything left to come home to?? If not we will just move in with her the the hubs!! How about that for motivation??

DA - everyone at the office says Hello and stay safe!!

Hope Chelsey had a good first day of classes today!

Gotta run and finish dinner!!
Love ya, the Mom

More Snow!

Well, they predicted 7 - 12 inches and we got about 7 or 8 here in Southboro. Fortunately, they closed the college so I didn't have to go in. It's a good thing because the guy that plows my driveway didn't get here until about 3 p.m. and did a half-a**ed job. The kid made one pass with the plow and called it good. He left a good 4 feet in front of the garage door unplowed and unshoveled and didn't do the path to the stoop or the stoop. He better get back here before 7:30 tomorrow morning! The owner of the company lives down the street from me and I know his mom - she sits behind me in church every Sunday. She's very nice and so is her son - just not the most ambitious. The kids that work for him aren't gonna set any records either, but... I can't shovel that's for sure. If this happens on or about 1/30 - I'll be calling him every 5 minutes!

It's a VERY heavy, wet snow. It's beautiful but is doing some major damage to trees and electrical lines. I probably shouldn't write anything/say anything, but so far we've had no problems.

I spent a good part of the day transferring files from my old desktop to this laptop. I'm giving Lisa my desktop for her apartment so that she can at least come into the 20th century. You'll probably hear her scream all the way over in Iraq, DA, I put a Red Sox wallpaper on the desktop today. (She is an AVID NYY fan!) Now I just have to unassemble it and get it into my car. I'm going to Ct on Sat - hopefully someone will take it out of the car when I get down there. I have presents to wrap before then, too. I think I have all the presents. Lisa's having a good time with one of hers - I adopted a harbor seal at the New England Aquarium in her name. She's named him (tho' we have no idea whether it's a boy or a girl) Bruce Hayden Winters. Nick didn't get top billing, but he's willing to live with this order. Bruce thinks it's great. Sheila and Dennis now have a grand-dog, a grand-cat, and a grand-seal. Do you think some day they'll get a granddaughter or grandson?

Well, I've done some dishes and some sorting of paperwork for my taxes and Grandpa's. I hate doing taxes. Every year I vow to be organized and have everything together before New Year's Eve; hopefully this year I'll be able to do it. You can tell Grandma didn't pass that accounting/ organizing gene on to me!

Well, QVC just delivered some summer clothes for my cruise - summer shorts with 8" of snow on my doorstep. What's wrong with that picture?

Did you get the package I sent last week? It's all munchies - no beef jerky or twizzlers. Let me know if you have a craving for anything else?

Hope all is ok over there? Did you get to see "W" while he was visiting?

Love you and KYHD!

Love,
Shennie

The Mom and the Dallas Cowboys

Like I always said, one more proof that she was adopted!

At least we agree on Jessica Simpson and the Redskins!

GO NY! ...and it's NOT VERY OFTEN that you'll hear or see me say THAT!

Shennie

GO COWBOYS!!!!

Though raised in New England, I have ALWAYS been and will be a Dallas Cowboys fan!! So GO COWBOYS. This afternoon this raises a family issue - the dad is a NY Giants fan. Consequently, he will NOT be sitting next to me during the game as I tend to get very excited and scream and hit when the COWBOYS do well - which is usually every play!! BTW - Tony Romo can do much better than Jessica Simpson!! I hope the dumb blonde gets lost on her way to Texas Stadium!!

DA - Do you guys get to see any games over there?? I sure hope so!!

Love ya - enjoy the goodies heading your way!!

the Mom

New England Patriots Fever

Go PATS!!!!!

See my blog for more on this!

Spice Rack

Ok, I think many people have pointed out the fact that the Mom's pantry needed to be cleaned out because there were things in there that had been there as long as they'd been in the house. So she did, and it's wonderfully organized now. But since I seem to be on a roll with weird things, I had to tell everyone that when we were searching through the cabinets for vanilla extract last night we found an albeutural inhaler, prescribed to the Mom (she doesn't know why) from, brace yourselves, 1995. Time to clean out the cupboards too, methinks. Ok, well I thought that was amusing.