Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Crossing the Caribbean
Picture of James ship...the LHD 8 on it's way home. Crossing the Caribbean Sea
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Tennis Ball Free!
AJ is Tennis Ball Free! Now he's just enjoying his summer camping out in his living room tent.
Passing the Time
James has been gone since March, and although it feels like it has been forever on the one hand, it has also gone by really quickly. In just two short months, James will be home, and we will be able to enjoy another football season together! After all, all relationship years should be measured in whether or not you spent the football season together. Football seasons 02-06…spent together. Football season 07…not spent together. Football season 08…partially spent together. Football season 09…fingers crossed that most of it will be spent together! To pass the time, I have been doing a lot of two things: traveling and reading. Two of my biggest passions! 
After finishing my thesis, I have finally had the chance to read for pleasure! For the first time since the summer of 2002, I have spent hours reading for fun. College and graduate school definitely take time away from pleasure reading, which is quite ironic. In the upcoming weeks, I will post what I’ve been reading, along with very short reviews, in case anyone is looking for something new and exciting to read. My to read list had gotten quite long after 7 years, and I am only just beginning to scratch the surface of it! Thanks to my two amazing friends, Laura and Rachel, I have been able to travel quite a bit over the last few months. In fact, I have been flying somewhere just about once a month since James left. In March, I flew to Mississippi to visit James, in April I flew to North Carolina/Virginia for the two year memorial service and for my annual ladies wine trip. Then in May I flew to Virginia Beach to attend my graduation. James and I were actually able to meet in North Carolina and fly into Norfolk together, which was such a blessing. And finally, in June and July, I flew to Alabama/Mississippi to spend some time with James in Mississippi and Florida. 
I am going to spend the next few weeks catching you up on my travels as well, because I don’t think I have really written about any of the trips in detail. It has been great to travel so much, and I couldn’t have done it without Laura and Rachel! They have graciously picked me up at 4:00 in the morning for my early flights, stayed up late as I got stuck in airports waiting to find out when I was getting in, and let AJ out while I was away. Laura even cleaned my apartment and baked me cookies! Rachel and Laura both spent hours playing with AJ and making him feel like he was loved, despite their super busy schedules. They are such amazing friends, and there is no way I could have gotten through these last few months without them!
After finishing my thesis, I have finally had the chance to read for pleasure! For the first time since the summer of 2002, I have spent hours reading for fun. College and graduate school definitely take time away from pleasure reading, which is quite ironic. In the upcoming weeks, I will post what I’ve been reading, along with very short reviews, in case anyone is looking for something new and exciting to read. My to read list had gotten quite long after 7 years, and I am only just beginning to scratch the surface of it! Thanks to my two amazing friends, Laura and Rachel, I have been able to travel quite a bit over the last few months. In fact, I have been flying somewhere just about once a month since James left. In March, I flew to Mississippi to visit James, in April I flew to North Carolina/Virginia for the two year memorial service and for my annual ladies wine trip. Then in May I flew to Virginia Beach to attend my graduation. James and I were actually able to meet in North Carolina and fly into Norfolk together, which was such a blessing. And finally, in June and July, I flew to Alabama/Mississippi to spend some time with James in Mississippi and Florida. 
I am going to spend the next few weeks catching you up on my travels as well, because I don’t think I have really written about any of the trips in detail. It has been great to travel so much, and I couldn’t have done it without Laura and Rachel! They have graciously picked me up at 4:00 in the morning for my early flights, stayed up late as I got stuck in airports waiting to find out when I was getting in, and let AJ out while I was away. Laura even cleaned my apartment and baked me cookies! Rachel and Laura both spent hours playing with AJ and making him feel like he was loved, despite their super busy schedules. They are such amazing friends, and there is no way I could have gotten through these last few months without them!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Gator debuts with young crew
“We’ve been at Wal-Mart so much they probably think we were working there,” Guy said. “That was the No. 1 hangout for USS Makin Island.”
Navy Times Article on the Makin Island
Navy Times Article on the Makin Island
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Big ship sailing
"If you noticed an enormous Naval ship on the horizon while watching the air show at Pensacola Beach this weekend, you weren't the only one.
The USS Makin Island, a brand new Navy amphibious assault ship, sailed off the Pensacola coast Saturday on its way from Pascagoula, Miss., to the Atlantic Ocean.
The Makin Island (LHD-8) was built in Pascagoula, Miss., and completed its acceptance trials this spring.
The 844-foot Wasp-class amphibious assault ship is one of the largest Naval ships in the world, second only to aircraft carriers in size, said Alan Baribeau, a Navy spokesman.
"These ships are specifically designed to remain offshore near troubled areas of the world, ready to send forces ashore quickly via helicopters, tilt rotor aircraft and land craft air cushion hovercraft," Baribeau said.
The USS Makin Island is the last of eight Wasp-class amphibious assault ships ordered by the U.S. Navy.
After leaving the Gulf of Mexico, the ship will sail through the Atlantic Ocean, around South America, and through the Pacific Ocean to San Diego, where it will be commissioned in October."
This article appeared in the Pensacola Paper on July 12th. Link to article I found it because the captain posted it on Facebook. Yes, in this digital age, the Captain keeps a Facebook page that keeps us all updated throughout the deployment.
The USS Makin Island, a brand new Navy amphibious assault ship, sailed off the Pensacola coast Saturday on its way from Pascagoula, Miss., to the Atlantic Ocean.
The Makin Island (LHD-8) was built in Pascagoula, Miss., and completed its acceptance trials this spring.
The 844-foot Wasp-class amphibious assault ship is one of the largest Naval ships in the world, second only to aircraft carriers in size, said Alan Baribeau, a Navy spokesman.
"These ships are specifically designed to remain offshore near troubled areas of the world, ready to send forces ashore quickly via helicopters, tilt rotor aircraft and land craft air cushion hovercraft," Baribeau said.
The USS Makin Island is the last of eight Wasp-class amphibious assault ships ordered by the U.S. Navy.
After leaving the Gulf of Mexico, the ship will sail through the Atlantic Ocean, around South America, and through the Pacific Ocean to San Diego, where it will be commissioned in October."
This article appeared in the Pensacola Paper on July 12th. Link to article I found it because the captain posted it on Facebook. Yes, in this digital age, the Captain keeps a Facebook page that keeps us all updated throughout the deployment.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
AJ and his Ball
About three months ago, I was looking into the Pet Health Care plan that my work offers. It makes sense, since vet bills can get so high, and you never know what’s going to happen to our little bundles of fur. But, it was a little bit more than I wanted to pay, and didn’t cover as much as I wanted it to, so I decided it would be wise to wait. Oh the irony. On Monday night, AJ decided to eat a tennis ball. The entire thing! I was sitting at the computer writing James, and assumed AJ was in the living room sleeping, since it was almost midnight. AJ likes to go to bed early, while I like to stay up late. When we first adopted AJ in Texas, he would always go to bed at 10. We’d be in the dining room or the living room, and AJ would jump down, and walk down the hall and hop in bed. It used to make me laugh so hard! You could hear his little tags jingle down the hall (and it was long because we had a three bedroom) and then silence before the plop. 
But Monday night, AJ decided to be rebellious. He’s always chewed up his toys, and has sometimes eaten small pieces of them, but he’s never devoured an entire toy. By the time I found him, there were just a few tiny pieces left that he was trying to gulp down. I’m pretty sure that tennis fuzz and rubber could not possibly taste good, but apparently it was the thing to do. I did some googling, and realized that rubber can clog the intestines of dogs, at best, and at worst, can sit in their stomach. Everything said he needed to go to the vet immediately so they could induce vomiting. I called the emergency vet, and the vet said that if he chewed it up into small enough pieces, then he was probably fine until the morning. (It was after midnight after all…and emergency vets are soooo much more expensive than the regular ones.) So I waited until the morning, but didn’t get any sleep because if he started throwing up, I was supposed to take him in right away. I called AJ’s regular vet first thing in the morning, and they said to bring him in right away. He saw a new vet, and she was amazing! She loves poodles, which is always a plus, and AJ didn’t even try to bite her. They took some x-rays, and thankfully, AJ chewed the ball up into tiny pieces so it should all come out naturally. If he hadn’t chewed it into such small pieces, they would have had to have induced vomiting, taken a long thing down his throat and pulled pieces out, or opened him up with surgery to take the pieces out. 
Eating rubber is not fun and games! So, as you can see, there are pieces of a ball throughout AJ’s insides. Thankfully, they have started to come out. I’ve never been so excited to pick up his poop before! She said that AJ seems to have a great deal of pent up energy that needs to be expressed, which is why he is patient enough to chew balls into tiny pieces. Most dogs she sees eat toys whole or in large pieces, and they have to go in to get them out. She suggested that we do agility training with him, because he is smart and has a lot of energy. How funny would it be if we trained AJ to do show dog stuff? I don’t think he is socialized enough to do it, but it does look like it could be fun. And she also recommended moving AJ to a sweet potato and pinto bean diet?? Weird, but surprisingly not weird after a few minutes of google searching. So maybe we will turn AJ more into a California dog by giving him a specialized healthy diet and taking him to intense gyms. Praise the Lord that AJ is okay! I don’t know what I would do without him out here by myself. And for a few hundred dollars, we got some awesome pictures of his insides.
But Monday night, AJ decided to be rebellious. He’s always chewed up his toys, and has sometimes eaten small pieces of them, but he’s never devoured an entire toy. By the time I found him, there were just a few tiny pieces left that he was trying to gulp down. I’m pretty sure that tennis fuzz and rubber could not possibly taste good, but apparently it was the thing to do. I did some googling, and realized that rubber can clog the intestines of dogs, at best, and at worst, can sit in their stomach. Everything said he needed to go to the vet immediately so they could induce vomiting. I called the emergency vet, and the vet said that if he chewed it up into small enough pieces, then he was probably fine until the morning. (It was after midnight after all…and emergency vets are soooo much more expensive than the regular ones.) So I waited until the morning, but didn’t get any sleep because if he started throwing up, I was supposed to take him in right away. I called AJ’s regular vet first thing in the morning, and they said to bring him in right away. He saw a new vet, and she was amazing! She loves poodles, which is always a plus, and AJ didn’t even try to bite her. They took some x-rays, and thankfully, AJ chewed the ball up into tiny pieces so it should all come out naturally. If he hadn’t chewed it into such small pieces, they would have had to have induced vomiting, taken a long thing down his throat and pulled pieces out, or opened him up with surgery to take the pieces out. 
Eating rubber is not fun and games! So, as you can see, there are pieces of a ball throughout AJ’s insides. Thankfully, they have started to come out. I’ve never been so excited to pick up his poop before! She said that AJ seems to have a great deal of pent up energy that needs to be expressed, which is why he is patient enough to chew balls into tiny pieces. Most dogs she sees eat toys whole or in large pieces, and they have to go in to get them out. She suggested that we do agility training with him, because he is smart and has a lot of energy. How funny would it be if we trained AJ to do show dog stuff? I don’t think he is socialized enough to do it, but it does look like it could be fun. And she also recommended moving AJ to a sweet potato and pinto bean diet?? Weird, but surprisingly not weird after a few minutes of google searching. So maybe we will turn AJ more into a California dog by giving him a specialized healthy diet and taking him to intense gyms. Praise the Lord that AJ is okay! I don’t know what I would do without him out here by myself. And for a few hundred dollars, we got some awesome pictures of his insides.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Anchors Away!
After four months of being apart, James is finally on his way back home to San Diego! The USS Makin Island took to sea for the first time on Friday, July 10th, 2009. Her first voyage! There is something about the sea that draws James and I to it, and there is no wonder he joined the Navy over any of the other branches. As much as I don’t like it at times, it means we will always live next to the sea, which I love! When he returns in September, we are going to take sailing classes, as San Diego is the perfect place to learn to sail. The weather is good all year, so it won’t matter that it is the fall and winter when we begin our classes. 
The ship will be going all the way around South America, so James will have the opportunity to visit some awesome places like Brazil and Peru. I wish I could go with him, but have requested coffee, jewelry, and paintings to get me by. He’s such an awesome husband! It seems with each passing year that James and I are becoming a bit more connected to the Caribbean and Latin America. Just a little over a year ago, I was in the Dominican Republic, and I have been itching to go back ever since. I might have to make it in my plans for next summer, as I can’t imagine another year going by without doing some kind of volunteer work there. And James spent last summer in Panama. (He hasn’t spent a summer in San Diego yet!) If it wasn’t for the Navy, James and I would probably join the Peace Corps. It has been a dream of mine since I was little, and we actually went and talked to a Peace Corps recruiter right before we were married about opportunities for married couples. 
(I can’t believe that was over three years ago!) There are actually quite a bit of opportunities for married people in the Peace Corps, but once you have served in the military or have been married to someone serving in the military, you are disqualified! I hope this policy changes, because I would still love to see that in our future!
Back to the Makin Island. I do not know who took these pictures, but all of the rights are theirs. I thank them for the photographs, since I could not be there to watch the beginning of their voyage, and James sent them to me in a PowerPoint presentation. He is the master of PowerPoint’s now. It should be noted that when the captain asked for recommendations on songs to play as they were pulling away from the pier, James requested “I’m on a Boat.” He then proceeded to play it for the captain who had never heard it. (The edited version…of course!) I think it’s a good thing for James that he isn’t planning on doing this forever! It was denied, but I’m sure his division sincerely appreciated his efforts for them! It makes me laugh! Some awesome seafaring quotes to quench your thirst for the sea.
The ship will be going all the way around South America, so James will have the opportunity to visit some awesome places like Brazil and Peru. I wish I could go with him, but have requested coffee, jewelry, and paintings to get me by. He’s such an awesome husband! It seems with each passing year that James and I are becoming a bit more connected to the Caribbean and Latin America. Just a little over a year ago, I was in the Dominican Republic, and I have been itching to go back ever since. I might have to make it in my plans for next summer, as I can’t imagine another year going by without doing some kind of volunteer work there. And James spent last summer in Panama. (He hasn’t spent a summer in San Diego yet!) If it wasn’t for the Navy, James and I would probably join the Peace Corps. It has been a dream of mine since I was little, and we actually went and talked to a Peace Corps recruiter right before we were married about opportunities for married couples. 
(I can’t believe that was over three years ago!) There are actually quite a bit of opportunities for married people in the Peace Corps, but once you have served in the military or have been married to someone serving in the military, you are disqualified! I hope this policy changes, because I would still love to see that in our future! Back to the Makin Island. I do not know who took these pictures, but all of the rights are theirs. I thank them for the photographs, since I could not be there to watch the beginning of their voyage, and James sent them to me in a PowerPoint presentation. He is the master of PowerPoint’s now. It should be noted that when the captain asked for recommendations on songs to play as they were pulling away from the pier, James requested “I’m on a Boat.” He then proceeded to play it for the captain who had never heard it. (The edited version…of course!) I think it’s a good thing for James that he isn’t planning on doing this forever! It was denied, but I’m sure his division sincerely appreciated his efforts for them! It makes me laugh! Some awesome seafaring quotes to quench your thirst for the sea.
All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea whether it is to sail or to watch it we are going back from whence we came.
~John F. Kennedy
My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the Sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Yeah, never thought I'd be on a boat
It's a big blue watery road (yeah)
Poseidon!! Look at me, oh (all hands on deck)
~T-Pain
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