Back in Guam and about KB :)

It's been too long since I last wrote.  So much has happened, I don't even know where to begin.  The baby is great, and just this past Sunday we found out that we are having a girl!!  I'm so excited.  I thought it was a boy all along, but I am thrilled for it to be a little girl.  We are going to name her Katherine Elizabeth, but call her Katie Beth.  That's the name my grandfather always wanted to use for a little girl, but he never got the chance.  He told me about that when I was about 7, and it's stuck with me ever since.  I can't wait for him to meet his great-granddaughter!

I spent the past two months in Hawaii with Jason, and it was wonderful.. Except for the fact that we were stuck in a single room hotel room for the entire time..  No bathtub, no kitchen.  I hated that part.  I just got back to Guam yesterday, and I'm so glad to be back in my house!  I'm going to miss him, but he'll be home in just a few days for a school.  He's got a new job on the sub, so he has to come to a 2 week school in Guam for that, and then fly back to Hawaii to ride the boat home.  The Navy doesn't make sense sometimes.

I got to go home while I was in Hawaii, and that was nice.  I miss my family so much when I'm not around them. Especially my grandparents.. and it's not that I miss them more, really, its more that I'm afraid something will happen to them while I'm gone.  They've been such a huge part of my life, that the thought of losing them terrifies me.  I know most people are afraid of that, but it seems like it might be stronger for me.  I'm so lucky to have basically four people who raised me, and not just two.  My parents are the greatest, but theres just something special about being close to your grandparents as well.

There's so much to do since I got back.. I need to get set back up with TriCare Guam since I switched to HI while I was there.  I need to set up my 20 week appointment, and I'm pretty excited about getting to see her again.  I get to start to work on her bedroom, too, and that's super fun.  I think I might wait until Jason is back back before I do that, though.

Best Laid Plans and Such

So, I decided to get off the birth control pill right before Jason had to leave.  He only had a week left here, and I figured "what are the odds I'll get pregnant in one week, after being on the pill for almost SEVEN YEARS?"  Apparently the odds are pretty high.. Either that, or God has an excellent sense of humor.

So there I was, husband gone for just two weeks, and I was pregnant..  Which meant I was right about two weeks pregnant!  Crazy!  I went on to the clinic to get a test done there just to be sure, and yep, here comes baby!

I told Jason the next day.  His response was so much calmer than I expected.  We had sort of been joking around about Baby Fred for the few weeks before he was set to leave, but neither of us were serious.  Then, I guess combined with the fact that he knew I wasn't on the pill, we kept joking about it.  Then when I started getting odd cramps a full 3 days before I was due to start my period, I told him something was up.  So when I told him, he said he had been expecting it all week.. So weird!

We've told the rest of our family, and everybody is so excited.  I am very early right now.. Only 5 weeks.



Jason is very happy, and so am I.  Baby Fred was a complete shock, but a blessing!  I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl and all that good stuff!

And he's gone again..

Wow, those (almost) two months went by too fast.  I can't believe he's already gone again, and it will be about 9 weeks before I see him.  The good news is that this time, they are only going somewhere for maintenance.  They won't be under water for too long, and then they will be in the maintenance port for a while.  I'll be able to fly and see him for our anniversary, thank God.  I don't know how I'd handle this one otherwise.  The other good news is that after the small underway, we will be able to talk every day.  That is seriously what is getting me through this time.  He has been gone for 5 days, and I have managed to only cry once, and that was while I was writing an email to my best friend, so it doesn't count ;)  I only cry when I allow myself to sit and really truly think about how much I am going to miss him.

The silver lining is, that unlike most of my peers, I actually sleep better with him away.  I love my man, don't get me wrong, but he can snore!  I have to play rain sounds while he's in bed with me in order to sleep.  Now that he is gone, I can have complete silence and I get to sleep like a baby.  That is the one and only good side to this.

I'm really grateful for my job these days.. I know I'm only subbing, and that isn't too spectacular, but I am so thankful for that opportunity.  I didn't work on Friday so that I could watch the boat leave, then the weekend off, and then MLK day off yesterday.. I was SO BORED over the past 2 days!  Friday was eventful since we went to the beach to watch the boat leave, and then Cassie and I did dinner and Anatomy.  Saturday was pretty busy.. Lunch and shopping with Cassie and then a movie with Cassie, Marie, Amanda and Tracey, followed by dinner with that crew and their kids.  We saw The Blind Side again.. If you haven't seen it, please do your heart a favor and get to it!  I'm so happy to be working because I get into a funk when I'm bored.  I really didn't move off my couch yesterday, except to fix lunch, do some laundry, and then fix dinner.. Such a bum.  I do much better when I have a routine and I feel productive.

So, I have a very serious goal in mind for when I see Jason again.  I want to have lost at least 20 pounds, but I'm shooting for 30.  My New Year's resolution was to work out 5 days a week, and I managed it for the first two weeks.  I'm 1 for 2 on this week, so as long as I work out every day from now on, I'm ok.. then I'll rest on Sunday.  Speaking of Sunday, I really should work on finding a church out here.....

That's all for now.. I just got back from the gym and I need to shower and figure out something for dinner..  Blah on cooking for 1.

Dear Parents, Stop Ruining Your Children

I'm a permanent substitute at the elementary and middle school here on base.  I'd say 85% of the kids in the school are Navy brats.  (Don't worry, parents of Navy brats, I will have my own Navy brats one day, and I will call them that, too.)  Most of these kids are great.  In fact, I would say that most of them are exceptionally well behaved and well mannered.  There are always a few rotten eggs though...

I've been in 8th grade classes for the past 3 days.  There is this one girl, I'm going to call her Kelly simply because I don't know any young Kelly's anymore.  If she was from my generation, though, she'd be a Kelly.  This little girl is tall for her age, thin, bleach blonde and obviously spoiled rotten.  In my first class, she came in without paper or her text book.  "Oh, I totally forgot that I have history today.. My bad"  Really?!  It's only the second day of school for this semester!!  How did you forget??  So this was my first impression of Kelly.  I let the class break off into groups for their work, and this girl winds up with another girl and a boy.  She didn't contribute to the work the entire class, and just let the other two do it for her.  Even more interesting is that the other two students seemed HAPPY to do this girls work!  She just sat there telling the other two how amazing her Christmas break was, how drunk she got at her parents' Christmas party, and all in all, how awesome she was, all while constantly updating her makeup with her Lancome compact.  She can't be older than 14!!

After a while, I confronted her and accused her of not working, and distracting the rest of the class.  The look she gave me was ridiculous.  Like she could not believe that I would accuse her of such.  "I don't have a book!", she whined.  As if it was my fault that she "couldn't" do her work.  Give me a break!  She eventually shut her mouth and started working, and I went home annoyed.

The next morning, I had another 8th grade class.  I got there early to speak with the teacher who was leaving, and she began warning me about a girl named Kelly first thing.  For some reason, I didn't put 2 and 2 together, and I just kept listening.  "She never comes to class prepared, and she always steals pencils from my desk without asking," the teacher said.  "She never does her work for this class, and she always tries to do her homework for other classes while sitting right here in front of me.  Oh, and be sure you check her uniform.  She is never dressed like she should be.. always trying to push the envelope.  Be SURE to check her skirt length!"  I asked if it was just one of those situations where the kid was spoiled rotten and her parents handed her everything, and the teacher said, "Yep!  You know those kids, too??"  She went on to say that Kelly would try to move to a seat behind one of the boys in the class so that she could rub his back during class.. Oh!  And that when the teacher fusses at Kelly she just cries "You just don't like me!" and runs and tells her parents that the teacher hates her, and the parents turn around and call the school to accuse the teacher of playing favorites.  :Sigh:  Poor Kelly.. Don't you know where this behavior is going to get you later in life?  And to Kelly's parents:   You are ruining your child!!

I knew these girls in school.  I can't really remember any from my high school, but there were PLENTY of spoiled little rich girls in college.  I did go to Ole Miss, remember?  These girls don't go anywhere in life.  Their parents give them everything, and they don't have to work for anything else.  And check it out, parents.. Odds are, your little girl isn't as pretty or as charming as you think she is.  Wake up!

Rant over.. Off to the gym and to get ready for Avery's baby shower.  I'm glad I got to meet Avery a few months ago, and I wish we had more time to get to know each other before she leaves this month.  I love baby showers!

New Year, New Life

We had so much fun New Year's Eve! We decided to do the touristy type thing and do New Year's Eve in Tumon, the tourist area of Guam. We made reservations at The Palm Cafe in the Outrigger hotel and resort. We got there right on time, but there were already tons of people there.. Mostly Japanese. Ok, so here it is. I am not typically racist, nor do I stereotype people based on their race, ethnicity or culture, but good Lord!! Japanese people are so damn rude. They really think they run the world. I know that the Japanese are extremely intelligent people, and I realize that they have contributed greatly to the world. I seriously do not understand why they feel they have to be so condescending to the rest of the world.


Enough of my rant on the Japanese. They were the most represented group at the party, but we expected that. I would say that out of 300 - 400 people, only about 10% were white, and I think I only saw 3 or 4 black people. I'm just not used to seeing that.. I guess I'll just have to expand my world view :)

Anyway. We got there right at 8, and got in line for the buffet, which wasn't all that great. Neither of us were impressed with the food, but whoooo boy! The bar was fantastic! It was an open bar from 8 - 11, with Vox Vodka as the main liquor on tap. WOOHOO!! I love me some vodka. Or at least I used to. It was so funny.. Poor Jason tried so hard to get me tipsy, and I just wasn't feeling it. I haven't felt like being drunk for quite some time, really. I don't know if I'm just kind of growing up, or what. There was something super fun about drinking fruity beach drinks on New Year's Eve, though. I really loved that part.

We got bored inside with the band and the Japanese, so we went outside to explore the grounds of the resort, and the beach. We found the beach deck, and it was amazing. There were big tikki torches and waterfalls all around the pool area, and on to the deck. The deck, of course, over looked the beach. It was still pretty early, about 9:30 or so, and people were walking along the beach. After a few more fruity beach drinks, we decided to take a walk, too. We left our shoes on the deck, and took off down the beach.

I just sat there and thought about how lucky I am. I have this man that adores me, and he is someone that I can truly love and respect. I get to live, with him, on this gorgeous island and start the first years of my marriage HERE. Who gets to do this?? I am so, so blessed. Yes, I do miss my family terribly. This is the first time I've ever been away from them during the holiday season. It was rough, I have to say. But every time I got upset with my life, I thought about how much I have going for me. I always managed to pull myself out of that funk.

Back to New Year's Eve. After hanging out on the beach for a while, we went back inside to get ready for the count down. The Japanese didn't participate! I was so sad that the whole room wasn't yelling "10! 9! 8!" etc. But no matter. I got to kiss the love of my life at midnight on New Year's Eve for the first time :) I pray for many, many more.

We hung out and watched fireworks for a little while, then headed back to the hotel since Jason had duty the next morning. Poor guy. Our alarm went off at 5:30, and we had not gone to bed until almost 2 that morning. I drove him to work after picking up some donuts at Winchell's on the way. I dropped him off at the boat right before sunrise, and I stopped to get some shots of 2010's first sun on the way home.

I made the traditional pork, cabbage and black eyed peas for dinner that night and took it to the boat. The pork and cabbage were awesome, but I'm not sure how I was feeling the black eyed peas. Paula Dean's recipes are sometimes just too much.


Jason came home yesterday morning, and after I was hormonal for most of the day, we went and explored the island some. We drove around Talofofo, and it made me sad that we decided to live on Base. I could totally live on Cross Island Road. The views up there are just fantastic! We went on a date last night, and we finally found Caliente, a Mexican place we've been looking for for some time. We saw The Princess and The Frog, and then It's Complicated, both very cute movies.


This entire post has been fairly boring, but that's cool.. I'll just keep it as a reminder that I really am blessed to have this man and this life.