Every good and perfect gift

April in Hawaii with the Taranto Grandparents.

2011-06-28T11:34:00.001+10:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

I made a photo book for Greg's dad's birthday-highlighting some of things we did here in Hawaii while they visited us in April. I hope he enjoys seeing all the photos from their trip.

My baby boy is ONE!

2011-02-21T20:25:00.004+10:00

Happy Birthday to Nathan! We are going to celebrate his birth when his Daddy returns with a big bbq, cupcakes and homemade ice cream (pictures will be posted of my boy's first cake-I'm sure it will be a hoot.) Today was still a speical day. I made a card for my boy-I think it's cute. I also made a banner (which is also for Nathan's dad-who's birthday is tomorrow)I thought it would have been fun to go out for breakfast to celebrate the day. I remember vividly going out to breakfast at Jeff's Pirate Cove the day before giving birth, I also remember enjoying the breakfast served at the hospital (although I was so hungry-anything would have tasted good)Eggs are a favorite food for Nathan-it would have been a fun tradition to start but we did not go out for breakfast-I thought it might be a little weird going by ourselves-Maybe next year.
We spent the day quietly-We ate enchiladas for dinner and than went for a nice walk around the neighborhood before calling it a night. I told Nathan his birth story-it was fun to remember the day he was born it was more fun to watch Nathan react to me telling a story-he has a lot of facial responses and expressions-mostly cute smiles.
The picture above of Nathan crying made me think of the song "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to..." Nathan is crying because I caught him in the closet playing with my stamps. I took the stamps away and pulled him out of the closet-which he did not like at all. After his crying spell, I had that song stuck in my head all day long.

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Watching Dad

2011-01-22T07:51:00.003+10:00

Greg recently bought a new guitar (new to him)and purchased some new knobs and switches for the guitar. The new hardware needed to have larger holes drilled to fit properly. Greg excited to use his drill and thinking it was a wee bit funny-politely asked me to take his picture while he "modified" his guitar. Nathan was cute as usual watching his dad at work.

mmmm Pork Carnitas

2011-01-07T11:24:00.003+10:00

Last night I made pork carnitas-It's a crock pot recipe and super easy. Greg thought they were "ok" he'd eat 'em again but he didn't think they were anything special. I liked them because I had dinner put together and on the table quickly and easily with the help of the crock-pot. Nathan LOVED them! He kept shoving meat in his mouth along with corn tortillas, avocado and rice. This made me happy because lately he's been such a picky eater- only eating cereal and scrambled eggs and throwing a fit or turning his head at all other foods. A meal that my boy happily eats and is easily prepared is a winner to me.

Welcome 2011

2011-01-01T18:13:00.002+10:00

New Year's eve was the best yet with Greg coming home several weeks earlier than anticipated. He had to work New Year's Day but that's no bother-he'll be home for a while and I'm just happy that he's back safe and sound. This afternoon I took Nathan to the park where we met Hudson. Hudson is a 9 month old who lives on our street but we also see him and his mamma at Stroller Strides (when we go)The babies had a good time playing together.

Nathan's First craft

2010-12-23T21:07:00.002+10:00

Nathan and I made our first craft together! I didn't get any pictures since I couldn't easily manage a camera and a 10 month old with inky hands-but the experience was fun for the both of us-of course it took us a few tries since Nathan kept making a fist when I tried to take a print of his hand. Once we got into the swing of things we were able to make about 15 cards. They are going to be our thank you notes for our Christmas presents and/or a Happy new year card. I think it's adorable.

Japan

2010-12-11T21:43:00.005+10:00

Nathan and I flew to Japan last week and spent a few days with Greg-it was a fun-filled week.

Looking ahead

2010-11-06T09:34:00.004+10:00

I'm enjoying my (very short lived) time with Nathan as a baby but after reading this article I'm looking forward to the future and working in the kitchen together. Nathan loves to sit in his high chair and watch me work in the kitchen-sometimes he spends the time playing with measuring cups and spoons-it's nice to read something that tells me these moments are also learning opportunities. I think it's wonderful when young children are involved in "real" work.

Nathan and Auntie Sarah

2010-10-25T08:00:00.004+10:00

We are having lots of fun visiting with Sarah-who (thankfully)takes more and better pictures than I do. Nathan's toy collection increased substantially-thanks to a suitcase filled with goodies from Grandma and Auntie.

Nathan @ Roxie's house

2010-10-05T21:09:00.002+10:00

Here are a few pictures of Nathan playing with Roxie's little girl-Arianna

32 weeks!

2010-10-04T05:23:00.003+10:00

As usual I've not been diligent about taking and posting pictures. Yesterday (marking Nathan's 32nd week) We went to our church BBQ. Nathan wasn't happy being carried in the sling. (it was too hot for him or there was too many interesting things to see and he didn't want to be bundled up) someone gave me a box of fabric to be crafty with and our pastor walking by joked with me about how my box was so "frugal" and would make a fine crib or playpen. Immediately I took Nathan out of our sling and put him in the box and he loved it-We got a lot of comments and laughs from people walking by. Several people wanted to know where I was mailing him too-I joked and said he was on his way to grandma's house. Someone else said he was way cuter than a puppy. (of course he is) My friend Kari took this photo of Nathan (I didn't have my camera.)

29 weeks

2010-09-15T21:32:00.003+10:00

Nathan is getting lots of floor time. I bought a rug for him to play on. Some how he still manages to play on the tile instead now that he can scoot or roll to wherever he wants. Oh well I guess that means I just have to be extra diligent about keeping the floors clean.

pictures from 26, 27, and 28 weeks

2010-09-06T20:02:00.006+10:00

I've fallen off the blog bandwagon...but I'm determined to continue on and at the very least post a picture of Nathan every week. So much as happened these past few weeks Last Sunday marked week 28. I can't believe how fast life is going by. Nathan is rolling around front to back and back to front. This new skill makes diaper changing a challenge. His daddy thinks that crawling is right around the corner. Nathan is also eating "solids" his favorites so far include avocado and carrots. We've graduated from the kitchen sink to the bathroom tub for baths. The last few baths have been a TON of fun for my little boy. He laughs and splashes and has a really good time in the water. It's so much fun to see Nathan growing up. It's also a little scary to me when I think about the future and caring for a toddler. My friend Amanda just had a baby a few weeks ago and Nathan is such a big boy when you compare him to such a tiny newborn. At church my friend Mary (a mom of 4-compared to her I'm such a rookie mom )asked me or rather exclaimed "Isn't being a mom wonderful?" my reply Yes. yes it is.

The other day Greg was lying down with Nathan-I thought the contrast in size was so cute and I wanted a picture unfortunately I couldn't get either of my guys to look at camera.

25 weeks

2010-08-22T19:53:00.004+10:00

These photos were taken by my new friend Roxie! She did a great job. I love the shots she took w/ Nathan in the grass. It was his first experience sitting in the grass and he was a bit mesmerized by it-I think he liked sitting on the grass.

24 weeks

2010-08-16T12:23:00.002+10:00

23 weeks in Australia!

2010-08-16T12:11:00.003+10:00

22 weeks

2010-07-29T12:20:00.004+10:00

Nathan is getting fatter each week. He doesn't look so chubby in these photos but he is often called "jabba the hut baby" by this dad.

Sock Monkey

2010-07-22T20:04:00.002+10:00

Nathan likes to play with his new sock monkey that his Grandma Taranto made him.

21 weeks!

2010-07-19T21:06:00.004+10:00

My baby boy is getting cuter and cuter each week!

Nathan has his first tooth-well almost-it's about half way there-the tooth is very sharp-no wonder our little guy has been a little grumpy-cutting teeth is no fun. I tried to get a picture of his tooth but Nathan's tongue kept getting in the way. You'll just have to take my word for it-he has a tooth.

Day at the Beach

2010-07-13T18:01:00.006+10:00

Yesterday we went to Haputo Beach. There was a bit of a hike to get to the beach. The hike was totally unexpected and unwelcome by myself since I was carrying Nathan but in the end all was well and the Beach was lovely. We found a nice shady palm tree to sit under to keep Nathan out of the sun as much as possible. Of course we still went in the water. Nathan really likes being in the water. We saw lots of fish I tried pointing them out to Nathan and making a big deal of them but at 4 months he didn't really know what I was taking about and was more happy to just be splashing around. I fed Nathan while Greg went out snorkeling. I was a little concerned about feeding in "public" but there was no one around and in all honesty some bathing suits show more skin than me nursing-so I got over it and just fed my boy.

The hike back to the car was significantly more challenging since it was all up hill. I felt safer carrying Nathan on the way up-but I was winded and out of breath most of the way. On the path we came across a small monitor lizard (it was only about 2 feet long) The creature startled both Greg and I but we got over it real fast and I suggested to Greg he get the camera, by the time we got the camera out the lizard was quickly making it's way back into the jungle.

20 weeks!!!!

2010-07-11T20:25:00.003+10:00

Today Nathan is 20 weeks old! We didn't get around to his taking picture until this evening. I decided to get some bath pictures (since Nathan like's baths so much) Greg took these photos-since I was busy bathing (and trying not to get too wet)

These other photos were taken last Friday (Nathan was 19 weeks 5 days old than) Nathan is teething and his hand is always in his mouth-he prefers his hand over a teething toy-which is ok w/ me.

19 weeks!

2010-07-11T17:22:00.003+10:00

Here are pictures from last week-taken July 5th.

Nathan 18 weeks

2010-06-28T17:11:00.002+10:00

Big events this past weekend. On Saturday Nathan rolled over. He has yet to repeat this performance. On Sunday the whole family was at church early so that Greg could be at worship practice (with only one car operating we all rode together) Nathan fell asleep for a morning nap and I put him in the church nursery's crib. I hung out in the nursery for a while but than reluctantly decided to let Nathan sleep and attend church. So for the first time EVER Nathan was in the nursery. I was told that he woke up about 20 minutes after I left and that he did fine. The nursery workers/volunteers even changed his cloth diaper. I was pretty nervous, Greg had to go to the bathroom during the service and he peeked in the nursery for me and said all was well. Nathan did get fussy towards the end of service and about 10 minutes before church was over I was fetched to get Nathan. He was not "screaming" just fussy and I had told them how nervous I was and to get me right away if he fussed. All was well in fact the moment I came in the room Nathan was all smiles.

I'm not so sure I'm ready to leave him again-maybe in a couple more months.

Nathan 17 weeks!

2010-06-25T10:55:00.004+10:00

Ok-these photos were taken on Saturday. Nathan was 16 weeks 6 days (close enough to 17 weeks) Turns out I've lost my SD card in our camera-no clue where it went. I took our camera to the pier to take a few shots of father and son but all I took were these two lousy photos for lack of memory space. On the bright side Greg was home for his first Father's Day.

Nathan 16 weeks

2010-06-13T15:12:00.002+10:00

Nathan 15 weeks

2010-06-11T19:11:00.002+10:00

These photos were not taken on Sunday like all the others-they were taken on Tuesday the day we came home. The adorable outfit was sent to me by my grandma. It's vintage and was worn by my uncles. I think it makes Nathan look extra chubby. I love the red sail boat pattern.

14 weeks in Hawaii

2010-06-02T07:14:00.003+10:00

After a nice visit with family in Washington State, Nathan and I are headed back to Guam. I was all set for a smooth trip home with several flights to Guam daily. Turns out we'll be hanging out in Hawaii for a few days. Last month we applied for a passport for our little one. The post office took our original birth certificate for the passport processing. Without a passport or original birth certificate for Nathan we can't fly back to Guam. Fortunately the passport has already arrived at our home in Guam and my neighbor is express mailing it. It would have been mailed a day sooner but our hotel on the navy base will not send or receive mail (since 9/11) so we had to find some kind soul who lives in Hawaii and would be willing to accept our mail. We should have it in about 2 days and we'll soon be on our way.

13 weeks

2010-05-24T12:54:00.003+10:00

Auntie Sarah took this photo today of Nathan

12 week photo-bath time

2010-05-24T12:48:00.003+10:00

Nathan's 11th week-Our First Mother's Day

2010-05-15T08:19:00.002+10:00

Nathan with his Grandpa Taranto on Mother's Day.
Nathan's shirt says: I'm bannanas over mommy

10 weeks in Hawaii

2010-05-15T08:11:00.003+10:00

Nathan spent his 10th week in Hawaii visiting with his daddy and sightseeing!

9 weeks

2010-04-29T04:20:00.003+10:00

These photos taken on Nathan's 9th week are late in coming but here they are and better late than never.

8 weeks!

2010-04-20T14:09:00.004+10:00

I'm a little late in posting but here are a few pics from Sunday (marking Nathan's 8th week)
It was a busy day. After church we had a triple baby shower (Nathan being one of the benefactors) Nathan was quite the flirt, the baby girl next to him is 11 weeks old, Nathan kept swinging his arm at her and she was a bit annoyed at him for doing so. It was his first interaction with another baby.

Later, we went to a birthday party for our friend Morgan from our small group bible study.

7 weeks and learning....

2010-04-12T09:05:00.006+10:00

Yesterday marked 7 weeks in age for Nathan.
I gave him a bath and afterward, since I thought he was too cute wrapped up in his towel, I took some pictures. I should have known better. I should have put a diaper on him right away. Nathan peed all over my bed and in such quantity!

6 weeks

2010-04-05T08:44:00.001+10:00

5 weeks!

2010-03-29T17:56:00.004+10:00

We made it another week! I can't believe how quickly this little guy is growing. I've already packed away his "new born" sized clothes. Nathan still wears little sized clothes at 0-3 months instead of the new born size.

This week we discovered Nathan likes to be in a swing-and this momma likes that she can have a few moments during the day to make a decent meal or get a load of laundry done. It is definitely getting easier.

My first digital scrap book!

2010-03-26T16:32:00.003+10:00

While Nathan napped today-instead of sweeping the house and cleaning the bathroom I played with Stampin Up's My Digital Studio. I've had the software for months but have yet to create or complete a project. A few baby pictures was all it took to get me motivated. I think prefer the traditional paper scrap-booking over digital scrap-booking but digital scrap-booking might possibly be added to my crafting/hobby repertoire.

Nathan is 4 weeks! ONE MONTH OLD

2010-03-21T16:14:00.003+10:00

It's hard to believe it's been one month!

Nathan 3 weeks old

2010-03-14T17:11:00.004+10:00

Big day today!

Nathan is 3 weeks old today and eating well - my guess is he's having a growth spurt.
He is wearing his first cloth diaper today-it's bulky but seems to be working well-we'll see when it's time to change-but so far so good.

and......

Today I got back in the kitchen-and made this soup yummy! plus it's "drinkable" so all those frequent moments when I'm caring for Nathan and finding little time to eat myself will be much easier.

2 weeks old

2010-03-09T11:51:00.001+10:00

Nathan is a pretty happy baby-unless he's cold-or hungry. I tried taking his 2 week picture but he didn't like being unswaddled from his blanket.

One Week Old

2010-03-01T08:17:00.001+10:00

By the Grace of God

2010-02-23T17:28:00.003+10:00

People often say the best day of their life was when they get married or their child is born. My son was born Sunday morning. I didn't know what to feel the day he was born. I too will probably look back on the night as "the best day of my life" simply because it's the day my own baby was born. The night we went to the hospital and I gave birth I was exhausted-I hadn't slept for 2 days prior and the sleep I had before that was pretty sporadic and rare. I was too tired to feel anything after giving birth. Everything happened so fast-we went to the hospital late Saturday night and 6 hours later-early Sunday morning we had a beautiful baby boy.

The first night in the hospital when it was just me and my baby alone in our room-all I could think of was by the grace of God....I gave birth to a beautiful and healthy boy. The doctor and nurses said I did great but the truth was I didn't feel like I did anything special. I would have been lost without Greg by my side; the entire time he held my hand and comforted me through the contractions. Just typing and remembering this brings tears to my eyes. We also had an amazing nurse-who coached and encouraged Greg and I through the labor process.

My desire to have a "natural birth" was fulfilled.....but not because of my own will power or some uncanny resistance to pain (labor hurts.) The truth is I was scared and as the big day inevitably was coming-I considered an epidural and asked that it be available if needed. That first night after I delivered I thought about the fact that I gave birth to a healthy boy without any pain medication and the only thing in my mind was by the grace of God.....I know my family and friends were praying for me and their prayers were not in vain.

February 10th, 2010 - Due Date Pics

2010-02-14T18:50:00.004+10:00

Still waiting.......I never imagined I'd be pregnant past my due date-but babies come when they come. There's a lot of people ready to meet this little one growing inside of me. Let's hope he makes an appearance soon.

37 weeks 5 days

2010-01-24T13:55:00.002+10:00

Another preggo photo:

The Nursery is coming together

2010-01-19T09:09:00.006+10:00

Several months ago Greg and I had a continuing argument over our baby having a room devoted to just baby. We live in a two bedroom home and the spare room has been the storage/hobby room since we've moved in. It housed tools, crafts, projects, bins of clothes, and anything else you can imagine being stored in an attic or basement. Greg felt that the baby could share the spare room (now the nursery) with all of his tools and projects. I on the other hand felt like my dreams of early motherhood would be shattered without a picture perfect nursery to care for our baby in. Both of us were in need of compromise. I've come to accept that a 2 bedroom home is what it is (there are many who have far less and I should grateful for what I do have) and there's nothing wrong with sharing spaces. Greg has come around to the idea of having a nursery and has bent over backwards to make it happen. (I love him even more for that) His tools are now stored in our shed-which is a better spot for tools but not always the most convenient to get to. (his tool box is on wheels so he can easily wheel it out when working on a large project)

The nursery is nearly complete! There are a few things I desire but I can make do without for now. A dresser and a rocking chair were on my priority list and we are still searching yard sales. To toot my own horn for a moment-the nursery has come together for less than $60 out of pocket. Many items were given to us and a few things I've re-purposed. I purchased:
A crib and mattress for $35
A couple of closet organizers (and other "baby items") from a friend for $20
The nautical themed crib bedding set, curtains, wall hangings, and matching diaper holder I picked up all for $4 at our on base thrift store.
I'm happy with how the room turned out and with little money spent.
Eventually I'd like the room to be themed in classic children literature characters. (think Madeline, Curious George, Charlotte's Web etc...) Originally I had envisioned a Beatrix Potter themed nursery (I still love her characters) but I think a general "kids books" theme will last longer into childhood and is more versatile when it comes to finding items at thrift stores.

Anyways....on to the real purpose of this post. Pictures of the nursery.

This book shelf once held crafting supplies. Now it holds diapers and bibs. On top of the shelf is a basket of "keepsake" books given to us for the baby and 4 Dr. Seuss characters I found at our thrift store for a quarter each.

Here is the "changing station" I was hoping to have a dresser with a flat top but this card table will work just fine and with a table cloth over it no one will ever know it's just a fold up card table. The green thing hanging on the wall matches the closet organizers perfectly (another thrift store find for a mere 50 cents) It didn't have any hardware to hang it up with. I cut a wire hanger and attached it to the back, it didn't look very nice so I tied a blue ribbon around the top and I think it looks much better. The canvas storage hanging thing holds random items like wash clothes and newborn mittens. Next to that you can't see it well but there is a diaper storage thing hanging off of the ironing board attached to the closet.

I just love this musical mobile. It was given to us last night from one of our neighbors. It doesn't match the "nautical theme" on the crib, but who cares? It's so cute.

Here's the closet-in lieu of a dresser (hopefully temporarily) we are using these canvas closet organizers-I think they work pretty well. I have small "new born size" onesies folded on top,other baby wear/pjs next, and below are larger clothes that don't hang like pants and shorts.

Lest anyone think the room is perfect and complete here is a picture of the entire closet. It doesn't open all the way because there is a fold down ironing board on one of the doors but you can see that baby items only take up about a third of the space. Squeezed in the closet is everything from a large welder to bins of winter wear, board games, books and boxes galore.

Vanilla Beans!

2010-01-09T15:09:00.003+10:00

My beans arrived today and they smell heavenly! they are still in the vacuum sealed package and the aroma seeps through. After months (years?) of reading online various blog posts about making your own vanilla extract I've decided to try it for myself. I shared my frustrations with Greg about always running out of vanilla extract and how expensive a tiny bottle of it costs. I told him I should just make my own-the concept intrigued Greg and he did the research for me and found beanilla They didn't have the cheapest prices but they offered a large variety and a lot "education" on vanilla beans. Turns out there is a variety of vanilla beans available and each have their own unique flavor and nuance. Greg is big on subtle flavor differences (go figure with his espresso obsession)He strongly encouraged me to order a variety pack of vanilla beans and try them all out to see which kind we liked best and just for the fun of tasting different creations. I found this post which outlined some of the differences in each bean. I can't wait to get started. I'll have to have patience as it will take several months for the extract to "mature."

I'm going make 8 batches of extract-one for each bean. I'm also going to set some beans aside to experiment with-vanilla bean ice cream is the first thing that comes to mind but I know there is a plethora of recipes out there that call for "real vanilla beans" and I've shied away from them because I didn't have any beans and I wasn't about to shell out $7 for two tiny shriveled up beans from the grocery store.

oooh I'm so excited-I don't think that I would have invested the money in vanilla beans had it not been for Greg's encouragement and his own curiosity to see what comes. (in the long run my homemade vanilla extract is going to be loads cheaper and tastier than store bought)

32 weeks 5 days

2009-12-26T09:49:00.002+10:00

Here's a photo from December 20th at our small group bible study's Christmas party.

28 weeks 3 days

2009-11-22T12:31:00.004+10:00

Last night I went to a dinner party with the boat wives. I had a wife take my picture. My smile is pretty fake-we had just taken several group shots with all the wives and I was all smiled out.

They aren't kidding when they say the 2nd trimester is the best. Just a couple of weeks ago I felt great and had energy. Now I feel like I've just ran full force into the third trimester and it's no fun. I'm larger, slow moving and tired all the time. It does beat the 1st trimester morning sickness.

pregnancy photos 26 weeks 4 days

2009-11-07T16:08:00.003+10:00

I finally had some preggo photos taken. I went to lunch with a friend today who's moving off of Guam. We had our cameras and of course my friends were willing to take some pics of my growing belly. They know that I am not being as proactive as I should be at taking photos on a regular basis. I am growing larger and not just in the belly but everywhere else too. My friend was tickled pink when I allowed her to rub my tummy.

Anyways here they are:

Blessings for Baby

2009-10-20T17:55:00.003+10:00

A fellow Navy wife gave me an awesome high chair today. It's solid wood, attractive and very unique. I really like it-plus it was free. She purchased the high chair from a Swedish company called Svan. I've been searching online for the chair because it's so different and I wanted to read an instruction manual of some sort. The chair can be modified as the baby get's older to become a "regular" chair. It also came with an extra seat cushion and the rubber guard on the tray to keep the wood protected and make clean up easy.

Ohhh I'm so excited!

She has a 4 year old boy and now that he's growing out of the baby/toddler stage she's blessing me with his baby items. She also gave me two safety gates, a training potty, and an umbrella stroller. She's a very nice lady with good taste in "stuff" and I'm feeling blessed by her generosity.

Gorgeous pics of Guam

2009-10-18T17:58:00.001+10:00

Yesterday was my last day of class at PIU. The school had a retreat this weekend (I didn't go but I heard all about it) One of the guests was an amazing photographer. I just checked out his blog and he took some pictures of Guam that are AMAZING. Who knew this island could be so beautiful?

The church I attend allowed PIU to have the retreat on their campus so in the pictures you'll see some interior shots of our church.

Anyways go to danfieldsphotographyblog.com and take a look at some pretty awesome photos. The first few posts are pictures of people but if you scroll down you'll see the Guam pics. There are quite a few from Chammorro Village-which happens every Wednesday night.

23 weeks and 2 days

2009-10-17T07:51:00.003+10:00

Here they are (about a month late considering my last preggo photo was taken at 17 weeks)

mmmmm....Zuppa Toscana Soup

2009-10-05T17:33:00.002+10:00

I get my soup fix while Greg is gone. I love to eat soup -Greg doesn't. Soup is healthy (usually) and freezes well. I make a big pot and eat soup until I'm tired of it and freeze the rest. My neighbor came over to use my stand mixer to make butter cream frosting for a birthday cake she was making. In return for letting her use my stand mixer she left me a pint of cream and some sugar (I love free food)

I was tempted to make ice cream with the cream but when I saw kale on sale for 97 cents a bunch I thought of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup. I read a few recipes online and than decided to just wing it and make my own-it turned out so yummy. This was my first time adding cream to soup-I usually make a roux or add milk to make a creamy soup. I wouldn't put this soup on the top of my healthy foods list but it sure is yummy. It's been a while since I've been to Olive Garden so I can't really compare flavors but I think my version is pretty good. It's heavy on the kale and light on the sausage-to make me feel better about eating it. It's delicious!

I think if I served it as a first course to a meal-Greg would like it (he just hates soup as "the meal")

I'm so happy-I got e-mails from my hubby!

2009-10-05T07:47:00.002+10:00

After 3 weeks I have finally heard from Greg. I received about a half dozen e-mails today-none of them were in order and there were some gaps in days but I didn't care- just to read something from Greg was a joy. And now I can rest assured that Greg knows we are having a boy and he's happy!

getting the nutrition I need

2009-09-30T16:47:00.003+10:00

I've been concerned about eating healthy.. I think for the most part I eat well but as of late I've been concerned about eating enough vegetables (meat too but baby steps..baby steps) I've been eating LOTS of fruit but vegetables not so much. With just me at home I hate to buy produce and have it go to waste before I eat it-lettuce especially because it seems to have a shelf life of about 2 days once I bring it home. Well today a light bulb went off-I don't know why I didn't think about it sooner (there's more to vegetables than just salad-aka lettuce)
I had cut up some bell pepper, cucumber and carrots into sticks to munch on. I was making a sandwich and I didn't have my usually lettuce/tomato/onion accompaniments
I wasn't feeling up to just turkey, cheese and bread so I threw on some colorful bell pepper and cucumber sticks. It was so good-crunchy and refreshing! I think I may have found an enticing way for me to eat more vegetables-inside a sandwich-no more wilted lettuce for me. I would have taken a picture of my yummy vegetabley sandwich but I just scarfed it down.

It's a boy!

2009-09-30T09:23:00.002+10:00

On Monday I had my 20 week ultra sound. I was told there were no guarantees on identifying the gender but it's pretty obvious that we are having a boy (my baby is not real modest-his legs were spread wide apart. I was given a cd copy of the ultra sound photos unfortunately there are no "full baby" shots just pictures of limbs and such. There is one shot where the baby's nose and lips can be identified along with his arm covering the rest of his face. I can view the pictures on the disc but I can't figure out how to transfer the pictures from the disc to my computer so that I can share them with others. I'll keep trying-it's times like these when I wish Greg were home to help me with my computer tech challenges.

I can hardly wait until I talk to Greg again-I know he's waiting to hear about our BIG news! Hopefully it won't be much longer before he finds out.

I'm sure our son will be just as cute and adorable as his daddy:

New Testament Survey Class

2009-09-24T20:55:00.002+10:00

I'm taking a class at Pacific Island University. I'm auditing the New Testament Survey Class. I decided to take the class to help me develop some solid biblical knowledge and to give me something to do while Greg is gone. I'm very much enjoying the discussions and class meetings. Last week we met at Dave Owen's (our teacher) house. It was a good time.
Our class is very small with only 5 students. Last night we had class-I was a few minutes early and had a chance to visit with the other students. The diversity of Guam really shines among the students. In our class there is a man from Bangladesh, a lady from Korea, a lady from China, and two Americans-myself and another 20-something girl who came to Guam to teach English at the college. We all have a common desire for the Lord. I just love how so many different people can come together with different customs and culture and yet we are the same in our love for Jesus. There is something uplifting about knowing there are Christians all over the world. There is also a sense of gratitude developing inside of me over the fact that I grew up in a Christian home and in America where we have religious freedoms.

happy/sad

2009-09-21T18:24:00.003+10:00

Today I am happy/sad about:

1. my job
2. my car
3. mowing the lawn
4. my favorite shorts

My job:
I'm happy because:
1. Today was my last day as the 8th grade math teacher
2. When I get home from work I won't be thinking about work or my students or lesson planning. My work day will be done when the school day is done. ahhhh a clear and free mind
3. My homeroom class won September's 8th grade competition! This month's 8th grade team contest was to design a bulletin board and create a presentation/drama to the entire 8th grade class. And MY class was 1st place (out of 6 classes.) I was so proud of them. The winners were announced today at lunch.
I'm sad because:
1. Today was my last day and I'm going to miss having the same kids each day and the all the relationships that were forming
2. I'm going to miss that extra $5 an hour (although I still felt underpaid)

My Car:
I'm happy that my check engine light is no longer on
I'm sad that my check engine light was on. (this always happens when Greg is gone)

Mowing the lawn:
I'm happy because:
1. There was finally a day with no rain and I was able to mow the lawn
2. The lawn is finally mowed
3. Fresh cut grass smells sweet
I'm sad because:
1. I have to mow the lawn
2. I allowed the grass to grow for far too long
3. Lawn mower exhaust smells bad and makes me worry about my pregnancy (and I know in my head it's an unnecessary worry-but I worry all the same)

My favorite shorts:
I'm happy because:
1. Well truth be told I'm only sad about my favorite shorts.
I'm sad because:
1. They should be in the trash-they are so old, frayed, and worn out and they can't even be given away. I've had them since 2002. I even remember when I bought them with my old room mates at the Gap Outlet.
2. They don't fit me anymore. I put them on to mow the lawn and I could hardly get them buttoned up.
3.My waist is long gone. And by the time I get it back my favorite shorts will have long been in the trash. Today was their last day.

baby kicks

2009-09-17T22:06:00.005+10:00

I'm eating ice cream and baby is responding with lots of movement. Not sure if my baby likes or dislikes ice cream. I'd like to think that it's a like. Every time I take a bite of ice cream I feel movements. I giggled out loud after the first few bites and then thought this would be a good thing to share-something small yet very exciting for me at the moment.

When doing the right thing is a real pain in the neck

2009-09-11T16:45:00.002+10:00

About two weeks ago I was at the grocery store, buying groceries for a big dinner party we were having with our small group bible study. Instead of a pot-luck everyone gave me $5 and I purchased and prepared food for the party. When I got to the checkout I had spent more money than I had cash for and I had to use my card to cover the difference. The cashier entered in $10 more cash than I had given him. I noticed it immediately and brought it to his attention. He was confused but I tried to explain to him that I should be charged $10 more dollars to my card. He called over a supervisor who called over another supervisor and all three employees were totally confused about what was going on (it was not that complicated)They couldn't "cancel" the transaction so they had me run my card through for the amount that the computer said but I still owed them $10. I offered to write a check to cover the difference which seemed like a logical and quick solution. The two supervisor's were stumped on what to do next. They charged my card and than refunded my card. The order was rung up again and than refunded again. I must have swiped my card 3 or 4 times. I offered again to write a check. Meanwhile the line is growing larger and time is passing (I was in a little bit of a hurry to get back home because Greg and I had plans to go out later)Finally they call a manager over and all three employees try to explian what happened but none of them are getting it quite right. I wait for them to stop talking and as the manager studies the receipt I say "I simply owe you $10, can I write a check for the difference?" They still seem all confused on how to fix it after refunding my card for the 3rd time they ask me very apologetically if it would be alright if I wrote a check (in my head I'm throwing my hands up in the air in frustration wishing I could have done that to begin with)
With check writing more problems start because now the original transaction is gone and the cashier must guess and check the amount to enter in the computer so that the 5% surcharge (like a tax) is included in the total. After entering in 6 different amounts and voiding 6 different amounts they finally get the amount within a penny of my original total and decided to take it. I was standing there for 25 minutes before it was all said and done. I was mad and frustrated but I knew in my heart of hearts that if I had not said anything I would have been eaten alive with guilt.

Well just before Greg left he reviewed the bank accounts and asked me "what's this charge at the grocery store?" (we use cash for all grocery shopping)

After the entire fiasco at the grocery store my card was still charged!

I went in to the store the other day and talked to the manager about the charge. She kind of remembered it but was certain that my bank just hadn't shown the refund yet (after 2 weeks?)she said I would have to print out a statement and bring it in for her to see and than she would contact the bank. So that's what I did today and supposedly they will get back to me. I'll be calling my bank in a few days if I don't hear back. All of this for a mere $10

What a pain in the neck!

long overdue preggo photo

2009-09-11T16:37:00.002+10:00

The hubby is gone and unavailable to take my picture. We never got around to having him take a decent picture of me earlier. I tried taking my picture solo in front of the bathroom mirror which is incredibly difficult and doesn't produce a nice picture at all. but a bad picture is better than no picture. This photo was taken at 17 weeks and 4 days.

As of today I am 18 weeks and 2 days.

Perhaps I can recruit my neighbor to take my next picture

16 week doctor's appointment

2009-08-25T18:18:00.004+10:00

On Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment. It was not a "major" appointment just a check up of sorts. I had a list of questions, mostly just weird quirks and pains with my body that I wanted to make sure was normal and related to pregnancy. Things like hair loss (I've been shedding and clogging up the bathtub drain-but I still have plenty of hair it's more annoying than anything else) and back aches (my doctor said it will only get worse as I get bigger.) I went over my "list" of strange symptoms and questions of what I can and can't do with my doctor. His final response to me was "You are not sick, you can do anything you would normally do" not really the response I was looking for but I suppose I am being overly worried about too many things.

I was so happy when the nurse found a heart beat with the Doppler, I had such a reassurance that everything is alright and a baby is growing inside me. The heart rate was in the 140's. I was shocked when my doctor said my weight gain was on the low side, only 3 pounds. I thought for sure I had gained 10 pounds or more I feel so heavy already. Of course it doesn't help that my jeans are a little snug and Greg makes it a point to "point" and chuckle at my growing stomach. Greg's comments/notice of my weight gain is all in good spirits.

After my appointment I had to head to the Radiology Dept. to schedule an ultra sound. I didn't know I was going to have my next ultra sound in a special department but I'm pretty excited about it. At my 20 week mark I'll have the ultra sound and hopefully we'll know if we are having a boy or a girl. A week later I have an appointment with my regular doctor to go over the results.

I had plans to head to the insurance office while at the hospital and have a chat about possibly having the baby in Washington State. The day of my appointment I had a flat tire. My friend drove me to my doctor's appointment and I didn't want her to have to wait any longer. I'll head back to the hospital another day to gather information for such a venture.

So many exciting things are ahead.

For my family patiently waiting-there will be a pregnancy photo posted soon.

House warming gift

2009-08-10T16:10:00.005+10:00

A couple of guys from our small group bible study recently got a new apartment. They invited the gang over to help break in their new place. We have a tight gift giving budget. We only set aside money for Christmas and immediate family member's birthdays. So all other unexpected gift giving occasions have to be on the cheap and are typically homemade. I baked some brownies and snicker doodles and dressed them up with some scrap ribbon and a paper covered box. I raided our pantry for some extra items to round out the gift-some microwave popcorn and a can of air freshener seemed to do the trick. A quick hand stamped card completed the gift. This gift was made up of stuff I already had at home and in my pantry. I love it when I can create something without spending money.

First Trimester Photo-12.5 weeks pregnant

2009-08-10T15:58:00.005+10:00

Ok here it is. I really REALLY wanted a picture retake but my husband was not being cooperative. He thinks the above photo is just fine and quite cute-I could hardly bring myself to post it. But if I wait any longer for a retake I'll lose out on a 1st trimester photo. (2 more days and I am at 14 weeks) So here it is embarrassing cheesy face and all.

pregnancy photo coming soon

2009-08-05T16:14:00.002+10:00

A few days ago (Sunday) I asked my hubby to take a photo of me (the first of many showing the stages of my pregnancy) On a side note I'm exactly 13 weeks today! He took two pictures and both sported my ultra cheesy picture-taking smile (my eyes are even slightly popped out) I know my family has witnessed my cheesy face many a times but I can not possibly post the pictures online so there will be a retake and a picture will be posted soon.

A good and perfect gift.

2009-07-19T11:52:00.004+10:00

We're expecting! We've known for a while but kept it to ourselves (not an easy task) until we had an ultrasound and heard/saw a heartbeat. Now the word's out and we couldn't be happier. After seeing our baby moving around inside of me it all seems so real. (The morning sickness and all day queasiness told me it was real weeks ago) I feel like I have this precious gift of life growing inside of me and I'm in awe.

I pray that God will prepare us for the MANY changes ahead and that our baby will continue to grow and be healthy.

BBQ...MMMM

2009-07-13T18:21:00.004+10:00

We ate hamburgers last Monday....they were so yummy....they always are. I saw Greg eating his burger so I grabbed the camera in hopes of a few candid shots. Later Greg took a few pictures of me eating which was most unflattering. (to get back at me?) He was quick to blog about our grilling adventures. I tell you it was my idea to write up a post about our great meal. Oh well I'm sure our parents will get a kick out of reading our two different perspectives on the same topic.
I love to grill. It's one thing that Greg and I do great together and it is so fun to make dinner as a team. There's a real celebratory atmosphere when we grill.
We fire up the grill every time Greg goes out to sea and every time he returns. It's a tradition we started a few months ago. If I plan ahead and the grocery budget allows for it we have steak-which is sublime-I think Greg knows how to cook a piece of meat to perfection. Usually we have hamburgers and they are Fabulous! Our hamburgers include the following:

a homemade bun (grilled and toasty)
juicy beef patty
crispy bacon
American cheese (the only time I ever buy American cheese is for hamburgers)
lettuce
tomato
red onion (sometimes we grill these)
dill pickle chips
ketchup
mustard
real mayo

Our burgers are a work of art. They are so tall they topple over but that doesn't matter because we just laugh at the unstable burgers then we claim to each other how absurdly good they are before we gobble them up! YUM!

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-04T06:21:00.002+10:00

Happy 4th of July! This is the first year I don't have anything planned. I'm missing family a little bit extra today as I think of all the fun that's going to be had with BBQ's, fellowship and fireworks.

Yesterday I went to the beach with a few boat wives. It was a fun day. We grilled hotdogs on a tiny hibachi grill and ate a hodgepodge of finger foods which made for a very nice picnic on the beach. I wore plenty of sunscreen which paid off and today as I see no signs of sun burn, which is
rare for me with 6 hours in the sun.

I've been spending a couple of week days working at our church helping to prep for Vacation Bible School. I had no idea so much work and effort was done behind the scenes to make VBS happen. I have such fond memories of going to VBS as a kid and I really want to pass that along to kids today. Of course VBS is more than a time for fun memories it is a ministery for kids and I hope to see many little hearts coming to Jesus. I'm working in the "snacks dept." but for now I'm helping decorate the chuch and it's starting to look great.

FYI....

2009-06-27T08:21:00.002+10:00

Greg has a blog. He's been talking about starting one for a while. I told him he could use mine but after reading his first posts it's clear that he needed a blog of his own. I never thought he would actually start a blog but he has and I'm sure friends and family will get a kick out of reading his posts which are uniquely "Greg."

Color Inspiration #54

2009-06-11T16:44:00.004+10:00

This post goes out to my mom who has politely asked me on several occasions to post more often. My jump back into blogging begins with a little Color Inspiration.

This challenge was indeed a challenge as I don't usually make cards with such bright colors. I had my heart set on using Stampin Up's Always stamp set as it seems to have been neglected just sitting on my shelf of stamps and I just love the little bird.

I used the colors Taken with Teal, Green Galore, Pumpkin Pie, and Bashful Blue.

My picture taking skills aren't the greatest, you'll have to trust me when I say this card looks better in real life.

Pencil Toppers

2009-05-10T15:31:00.004+10:00

I'm substituting for the same 2nd grade class for the month of May (I love it! 2nd grade may be a favorite grade for me) I'm giving my students a treat next week for their good behavior in class, I've bought a pack of pencils and decorated them with paper pencil toppers. Butterflies for the girls and frogs for the boys.

PS: A quick note about the espresso mod post by Greg. The video was taken at 6 am this morning and I sound very sleepy (I also talked way to much). There is a LOT of annoying background noise, I would skip to 1:45 in the video to see the coffee action and avoid all the noise.

2009-05-10T14:49:00.003+10:00

Espresso mods

This is Greg posing as Rachel. I modified the portafilter in our espresso machine and Rachel took a video of me making a shot of espresso early in the morning. This is the second shot in the morning. The first one didn't have any of that splatter at the very end of this shot. The splatter is from channeling water through the puck. It was still a tasty shot.

My First Color Inspiration Challenge

2009-04-26T17:16:00.003+10:00

I've been a long time reader of KWernerDesign This is my very first Color Inspiration Challenge. I was lured into participation by all the awesome prizes available. I had fun with the whole process and I just may participate again.

For this card I used mostly Stamping Up products.
Stamp Sets-All Holidays and Pun Fun
Colors-Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Close to Cocoa, and Whisper White.
Sorry I can't tell you where my accessories came from. The ribbon was salvaged from my "scraps" pile and the buttons came from my jar of random buttons collected over the years.

Boonie Stomping

2009-04-14T07:19:00.004+10:00

With both our husbands gone, my neighbor/friend and I have been keeping each other company and exploring Guam to boot! The very top picture was taken on Mt Lam Lam-the highest point on Guam. The pictures below were taken at Fonte's Dam which we discovered by accident as we were looking for an old radio station site (we never did find it)The very bottom picture is taken at the "top" of the dam. We were both very surprised and impressed by Fonte's Dam and we are taking our husbands to see it once they return.

Bell Peppers!

2009-04-05T17:23:00.003+10:00

I love bell peppers. I think I might love them because they are so expensive. Today I was pleasantly surprised to find some produce mark downs at the commissary. Usually if the produce is mark downed it is rotten and moldy but I must have been the first person to eye the peppers. They were all in decent shape (perhaps a bit past their prime but still very edible)For $1.25 I got 4 large green peppers and 3 large orange peppers, WOOT! orange peppers costs nearly $5 a pound, green are a little cheaper at $3 a pound. There were a couple bags marked down but it's just little ol me eating so I only picked up the one bag. Tonight it's roasted pepper and tomato soup and tomorrow night I'm calling my neighbors up and trying my hand at stuffed bell peppers.

I love a bargain and I love food!

Marriage via e-mail

2009-04-01T18:25:00.003+10:00

Greg has not been receiving e-mails from me -making him very sad and concerned. I just received an e-mail from him letting me know that he has finally received an e-mail from me (it was sent it ages ago but at least he got it)

His short note made my heart so glad that I had to share it with you all. His "voice" may seem a little strange but keep in mind his e-mails are reviewed by others and have a size limit for security reasons.

Rachel,
I have gotten your #1 and #2 emails. I'm glad you are not dead/in the hospital/left me. I am glad you got your bind it all. I know you will make nice things with it. Plus, you don't have to say in your email you'll clean it up. Your very responsible and you don't have to convince me you are. I am also glad you have it to be creative with and have an outlet to work. I can't wait to see the things you made with it.

What hyundai parts came in?

I miss you and we are almost done here.

I love you.
Greg

Ahhhhh (my heart flutters) he wants to see what I've made! I didn't think he cared about my crafting hobby. In my prior e-mails I told him the house was a disaster and you could hardly see the dining table amongst my craft supplies, it's nice to know he's not concerned about the mess I've made either.

Crafting....

2009-04-01T18:14:00.004+10:00

I have gone off the deep end and have become an addict to paper crafting. It could be that my hubby's gone, hopefully I'll still know how to cook a decent meal and the house won't be a complete disaster when Greg returns. My latest project (among many) is a calendar with all the family birthdays marked inside. I've made it into a little book using my newest toy the bind-it-all (which I LOVE) I'm going to give it to my new sister-in-law (actually have two new sisters-in-law.) This is going to the one who has a birthday this month.

Menu Plan Monday Feb. 16 - 21

2009-02-17T08:49:00.002+10:00

Monday- BBQ leftovers (we had a big BBQ birthday party on Sunday and ended up with plenty of leftovers, I'll be eating baked beans and potato salad for lunch this week-no complaints though)

Tuesday Fish Tacos

Wednesday Sesame Chicken

Thursday Leftovers

Friday Pizza

Saturday Greg has to work on his birthday so we'll make some kind of special pre-birthday dinner, I'm not sure what it is yet but it will yummy

In the kitchen

2009-02-14T09:02:00.003+10:00

Greg and I enjoyed a sweetheart valentine's dinner last night at home with grilled steak and veggie kabobs ending with pineapple and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert (yummy!)Today My hubby's working so later tonight I'm joining my neighbor who's husband is deployed. We are babysitting our other neighbor's kids so that they can go out tonight.

With the house to myself I'm in the kitchen and busy today.
For tonight's valentine's day with the neighbor kids I'm making:
crust and sauce for pizza
heart shaped sugar cookies and frosting for decorating

Tomorrow we are having a big birthday BBQ with our small group bible study friends I'm coordinating the food. To prep for the BBQ I'm making:
hamburger buns
cheese cake
ice cream and toppings
potato salad
coleslaw (I'm just chopping the cabbage today, I'll dress it tomorrow)

I'll finish up the rest of the food after church tomorrow.

busy busy busy (but I totally love it)

Birthday Banner

2009-02-10T16:24:00.002+10:00

Greg's birthday is this month! Next weekend we are having a big birthday BBQ bash to celebrate Greg and another friend's birthday with our small group bible study. I've made a banner to help decorate and celebrate the occasion. I think it is so cute. I used some patterned paper and borrowed the die cutting machine from work to make the letters.

Browsing Valentine's ideas online and found the cutest things:

2009-02-09T09:26:00.002+10:00

Decorate a lotion/soap bottle a super cute and frugal gift

Valentine Pennie Pockets I wish I knew how to sew-because these are adorable! I might be able to make something less permanent out of paper

Felt Flowers These would be cute as pencil toppers

Adventures with snakes

2009-02-05T09:53:00.002+10:00

About two weeks ago I was in the kitchen/laundry area throwing dirty clothes in the hamper when I felt something skim my foot, I thought it was a gecko (very common in our house) when I looked down I saw a long slithery object, I screamed bloody murder and ran to the other side of the house. Greg came to the rescue and spent the next 20 minutes looking for the snake and found nothing. I began to doubt myself, after all it was dark. Greg sincerely believed that I saw/felt a snake but for the sake of my sanity I really wished that he would have just called me a lunatic and let me think that it was all in my imagination.

Time passed by with out much more thought to my snake encounter. On Monday night about 10 (which is very late for us) I was reading in bed when Greg whispers to me Rachel...Rachel... still whispering There's a snake in the bathroom...Rachel In disbelief I get up out of bed and sure enough there was a snake coiled up right on the bathroom floor by our vanity. My eyes got really big and Greg looks at me and says don't panic get me the flash light and broom. Greg than tries to stun the snake with the light and somehow catch it with the broom to take outside. (as was his previous method that last time we had a snake in the house) The snake was quicker than Greg and slithered behind the vanity and into the wall. I was scared silly and went in the other room to wallow in my fear. Greg continued to stake out the bathroom and would yell at me every time he would see the snake pop it's head out from the vanity/wall gap, asking me to help him catch the snake, I was pretty useless in the effort.

A few minutes pass by and I decided to call the Navy housing office. They sent someone over within 45 minutes. The housing tech and Greg spent the next 15 minutes trying to coax the snake out from behind the vanity. After awhile The housing tech guy told us there was nothing he could do about the snake because it was now somewhere in our walls and we should call back tomorrow. Greg and I than proceeded to duct tape the entire bathroom vanity, to keep the snake from returning or crawling out.

The next day USDA was at our house with a big truck and dogs to sniff out snakes-however I didn't know they were coming and no one was home, the housing office had called them. When I came home from work I called the housing office to talk about our snake situation (in my mind our walls were probably filled with snakes and we should be moving to another house) The USDA got involved because snakes are a danger to the local environment here on Guam and it was very important to catch the snake and make sure there aren't others. The USDA doesn't have a 24 hour service on our side of the island (the other side does) so they wouldn't come out in the afternoon only the morning. I asked for the day off from work and I made an appointment with USDA who came back to my house with their working dog. The USDA Man came to the bathroom where the snake was sighted, he saw the duct tape and pulled a piece off to find the snake's head stuck to the tape, it was super gross to watch him pull out the snake (which was now dead) The USDA guy said the duct tape was a good solution (Greg will be happy when I tell him that)The working dog than came into the house and sniffed the whole area, it was a really cute dog that looked like wishbone the dog from the PBS kids show (I forget the actual breed name)The dog didn't find anything, which in my mind is a good thing. The USDA Man said that the snake I saw a couple of weeks ago was probably the same snake and if there had been multiple snakes they would have tried to eat the dead snake and we would have seen evidence of that.
We walked around the house and talked about possible entry points for the snake, The most likely entry is our dyer vent. I'll be calling the housing office to request a screen be installed over the vent.

I wish I had taken pictures of the snake sniffing dog but I was to embarrassed to ask. I'm really glad the snake was found and is not wandering around anymore.

Sympathy card for Greg's Uncle

2009-02-04T07:30:00.004+10:00

Sunday Happenings

2009-02-01T18:16:00.003+10:00

Greg played a song for our church....and he was really good! (I shouldn't have been so surprised, but when I hear him play his guitar it's at home and he's in his underwear wandering around the house screaming out songs and strumming his guitar wildly to a CD)
He's been playing with the worship team for several months now, but not with them on Sundays, he simply goes to the week night practices to "jam" and play with a band. When Greg came back from from his deployment the praise team was happy to have him at their practices again and asked Greg if he had any good songs up his sleeve. More than happy to oblige Greg introduced the song Jesus Paid it All (he's a HUGE Passion Band fan) The team loved it and asked Greg to introduce it to the church when they had the next Communion Service.

So today he played for the Church and he was good, The pastor came up to Greg as we were leaving church and thanked him for ministering to him. I thought that was nice to say.

Also, today I taught Sunday school for the early service so that I could be in the regular service to see Greg play, I loved teaching for the earlier service instead of 22 3 and 4 year old I had 5! it was so easy and relaxing in comparison, It's not that I don't like teaching Sunday School it was just so nice to have a bit of a break with a smaller crowd.

It was a good Sunday!

Menu Plan Monday Jan. 26 - Feb. 1

2009-01-27T07:54:00.003+10:00

Monday - We had tacos!
Tuesday - Enchiladas (I'm using the leftover taco meat for my filling)
Wednesday - Turkey wraps
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - buttermilk baked chicken
Sunday - Baked pasta

moan...groan..ache

2009-01-02T17:16:00.002+10:00

Yesterday I did a 3 hour aerobathon workout at the gym and later that day I went with a couple of friends to a New Year's Day 5k. I mostly walked the 5k, my time was right at 40 minutes.

Seriously now! what was I thinking!? Even a one hour workout class makes me sore the next day. I can't believe I did three hours and than a 5k on the same day. I was pretty pumped up from all the exercise but today my body is in protest to all movement.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T13:57:00.002+10:00

We stayed up late last night to ring in the new year despite the fact that Greg had to work early this morning. We had a good time playing "Rock Band" on the Play Station 3 at the our neighbor's house. I sang Sting's Message in a Bottle which is harder than it seems. Greg rocked out on the plastic guitar and I tried my skill at the drums (76 percent accuracy WOOT!) It was good fun, good food, and good friends.

We started off the new year bright and early with a special breakfast of pumpkin spice pancakes with REAL maple syrup (I forked over the big bucks and spent $6 on a little bottle)We didn't have a long morning together as Greg had to leave at 7:30 am.

With Greg off at work I went with my friend to the gym's New Year's Day Aerobathon. I feel totally insane, I just got home from the 3 hour workout and my body will be feeling sore tomorrow. The workouts weren't so bad, but I was really having a hard time with the cycle class-one hour on a bike makes your bum sore and when you are finished it takes a few minutes for your legs to return to normal.

I think I'll take it easy the rest of today.

Happy New Year everyone! 2009 is here!

Tacky Christmas Sweater Party

2009-01-01T07:50:00.004+10:00

My neighbors threw a Tacky Christmas Sweater Party on December 23, 2008. About half of us wore truly tacky sweaters, others wore some pretty goofy Christmas hats. My good friend Lacey planned out some great Christmas themed games including Christmas carol charades. Apparently someone recorded my attempt to play along.

Menu Plan Monday December 29 -January 3

2008-12-29T14:48:00.004+10:00

Monday 12/29/08 - We're going to a Christmas/New Year's/Wedding Anniversary Party. The folks throwing the party have been married 19 years!

Tuesday 12/30/08 - Turkey Enchiladas (I made an after Christmas turkey dinner and we have a few leftovers)

Wednesday 12/31/08 leftovers

Thursday 01/01/09 Sloppy Joes (A special request from Greg. Of all the meals to request after coming home from a long deployment, he asks for sloppy joes!? I would have thought of something grander and gourmet, nevertheless we are ringing in the new year with sloppy joes)

Friday 01/02/09 Something on the grill-perhaps this

Saturday 01/03/09 Something different-I'm thinking about this sandwich

Our Christmas Tree

2008-12-28T09:11:00.004+10:00

This year's Christmas tree was made entirely out of paper. Our frugality or more appropriately our cheapness really shined and made itself known to all our friends. This classy tree bought a few laughs and lots of comments.
Maybe next year we'll pay the big bucks for a "real" Christmas tree. This year was kind of a step backwards compared to last year's Christmas tree alternative.

Making Christmas Cards

2008-12-28T09:02:00.002+10:00

Just before Christmas I hurriedly worked to finish my cards in time. I invited a friend over who was interested in making her own Christmas cards. I set up a "card making station" and we got to work. We stayed up late into the night making cards and visiting. That same night we were due to pick up a friend from the airport, arriving at 2 am.

embellishing the simple

2008-12-13T15:26:00.004+10:00

I'm participating in an ornament exchange. I opted to make some ornaments rather than buy them. They turned out rather simple and plain to me. To make them seem more special I embellished my gift wrap. I used some remnant Christmas paper with poinsettias in the print and added a fake flower and homemade tag to dress it up. I think my gift wrap makes up for my so-so ornaments.

Menu Plan Monday December 8-December 14

2008-12-08T18:24:00.002+10:00

It's been a while since I posted a menu for Menu Plan Monday, here it goes

Monday 12/8 Vegetable and chicken soup - this is so good, I'm eating it as I post here, It's just a made up spontaneous soup recipe (carrots, celery, onion, and garlic cooked in a little olive oil, I threw in some baked squash which "melted" into the soup and gave it some thickness, I added a bunch of chicken broth, some spinach and leftover chicken and some salt and pepper to season. YUM!)

Tuesday 12/9 Leftover soup (what else?)

Wednesday 12/10 Frittata

Thursday 12/11 Pizza

Friday 12/12 dinner at a friend's home for a birthday party

Saturday 12/13 Dinner at Outback Steak House (my first time ever on Guam) my wives group is having a big dinner party.

Sunday 12/14 Restaurant leftover- I can never eat a whole plate of food when I go out

Locked Out

2008-12-05T06:41:00.002+10:00

For the first time ever I was locked out of my house! I had a trunk full of groceries, I brought in half the groceries and dropped my purse (with my keys, phone and wallet)on the counter. I went outside to pick up the rest of the groceries, shutting the door behind me and right away I knew. UGH! I had cold groceries inside the house and outside the house. All my neighborhood friends had empty driveways.
I walked down the street, found someone who was home and made a new neighborhood friend. She allowed me to put my groceries in her fridge and use her phone, I was so grateful. After I got off the phone with the housing office I learned that I would be charged $67 to have someone come out and unlock my house. YIKES! what a costly mistake. My neighbor offered to drive me down to the housing office and pick up a key so that I wouldn't be charged.

I think a plate of cookies and a thank you card is in order for this new neighborhood friend.

Jet Lag

2008-12-02T10:22:00.004+10:00

I'm feeling the effects of jet lag. I woke up at 3 am today wide awake. My body thought it was 7 am Hawaii time or maybe 9 am Washington State time.

In route to Guam, I stayed the night in Hawaii, a very nice retired couple who flew on the same flight as me, rented a car and allowed me to tag along to and from the hotel and the terminal. It was nice to save on taxi fare and even nicer to meet good people.

My trip home to see my family was wonderful. The month of November flew by.

But now it's back to life as usual.

a blessing

2008-10-29T08:46:00.002+10:00

I've been a little overwhelmed with too much on my plate this week:

-staying up way to late and still getting up early to go to work
-planning a stamping/craft party at my house with dinner
-finishing up a very BIG project for the 150 plus sailors on my husband's boat
-making a few crafts for a craft fair this weekend (and dealing with getting a business license and regulation garage)
-signed up for a 5k run (not sure what I was thinking at the time)
-starting to feel a little under the weather (as is every other student and teacher at work)
-preparing for a long trip home to visit my family
-fixing a flat tire
-dealing with my husband's ever-changing schedule
-recruiting a secretary and second co-chair for my Wives Group

and the list goes on and on.....whew! isn't there some kind of scripture about anxiety and stress?

When I woke up yesterday feeling unwell and even worse today I took my cares to the Lord, I can't be sick and I still feel like I've got too much going on but I know it's time to relax a bit and put God in control. Everything will get done and be ok.

Today the school secretary called me at 6:30 am to let me know that I can come into work at noon. Praise God! I could use the few hours to clean up my house and finish up a few things, (of course I should be resting, but I'll feel better knowing a few more things have been crossed of my list and these few hours allow me to do so) What a blessing.

Menu Plan Monday October 27-November 1st

2008-10-28T06:34:00.002+10:00

Monday 10/27 grilled tuna and cheese sandwiches

Tuesday 10/28 I'm going to try and talk my hubby into going out this night

Wednesday 10/29 Vegetable and chicken pasta

Thursday 10/30 White Chili

Friday 10/31 Pizza

Saturday 11/01 Leftover White Chili

What to write?

2008-10-19T07:44:00.003+10:00

I have many thoughts in my head, personal thoughts, and I just can't decided whether to blog them or not. I don't want this blog to be my personal pity party page, I can't share about the awesome gift I just made (I'm sure the birthday girl is reading and it would spoil the fun), I won't talk about Navy stuff, ARGGGG....what to write, What to write?! how about just a few feelings/thought snippets.

I'm happy my husband is home, I'm mad that he has to work EVERY day midnight to noon until he leaves again

I'm happy I went to the Navy ball with a girlfriend last night (her husband was suddenly deployed and mine had to go to work/sleep)It was all very last minute and we had a lot of fun. I felt awkward to see my doctor a few feet away dancing and kissing his girlfriend/wife.

I'm concerned that my absentee ballot has not arrived yet, the election is a couple of weeks away.

I'm teaching a Sunday School class today. I hope I have a helper today, a class of two year olds can be a challenge but it's down right awful when it comes to bathroom breaks and there is not a second person to help out. (I've only been stranded once before)

I'm taking most of November off to visit my family (so happy.) I haven't told the school yet. I've become a well liked substitute, I no longer get called in when they need help, I just come in everyday for work. I shouldn't be but I'm nervous and I don't want to tell them I'm leaving for a while.

2008-10-17T16:27:00.002+10:00

I've fallen of the blogging band wagon, but not to worry, I'm picking myself up and hopping back on. I'm going to do my best to post more often.....starting tomorrow....tonight my time is devoted to my husband, who's been away at sea and I'm glad to have him back home for a short time. I only wish I was more productive while he was gone.

Humidity

2008-10-09T21:41:00.003+10:00

A dear friend moved away this week, she's very glad to be moving off Guam. She made a comment before she left that she's looking forward to pouring a packet of sugar into her coffee.....oh the joys of free-flowing sugar. It's true the humidity here is very high and dry foods like salt, sugar, baking soda (you name it) forms clumps.

Well today I found another victim of our humid climate. Envelopes. I'm participating in a craft fair with some friends and I was cleaning out my craft supplies and Christmas card collection to make a few things to sell. I have built up quite a collection of envelopes. Today I found all of them sealed shut, the humidity in the air must have moisten the glue on the flap. My envelopes are now scrap paper. Maybe we should get a dehumidifier for each room. We have one in the laundry room with a 2 gallon reservoir, we empty it twice a day, morning and night. That's a lot of water in the air!