Happy New Year!

Well, I am very pleased to report that I was allowed the privilege of spending Christmas with my husband! YEAH!!! :) It was great! I didn't go to any holiday parties, but instead spent most of the day/night enjoying each other's company and eating with silverware (not flatware) in dining facility (DFAC) 1. The DFAC workers created a lovely rendition of the nativity scene with farm animals and a huge dinosaur with bloody teeth -- quite amusing. He worked during the days and I slept most of the mornings, then went in to work with him in the afternoons until he was finished. I met most of the people he works with and they all had good things to say about him. The Green Beans Coffee shop there was my favorite! It had typical coffee shop music playing and indoor seating. I had a spiced chai latte, and he had a triple expresso chai latte. On one of my last nights there we went to the theater to see Domino. It wasn't bad. The theater was two stories with surround sound and a subway shop on the top floor and ice cream shop on the bottom. I might have gained 5lbs just being around all the food other than what the DFAC serves! It was yummy and we had lots of time together. What a blessing. I know that is more than we would have hoped for, but maybe next time we will get deployed together at the same location. The jobs that we have are similar to what we would be doing otherwise with a few added dangers of course. But it won't be that way always. We are interested in advancing in our military careers together so that we get what we originally wanted out of this all. So for our new year's resolutions is just that -- be together and do more to reach our full potential.

What did you do over the holidays? Do you have a New Year's resolution?

Christmas Favorites

Since I have already been opening a few gifts for Christmas I will let you know a few of my favorites!

-Clinique (Black Honey) Almost Lipstick
-Penguin Beanie Pillow
-Red and White Spirit Scarf
-$$$for phone cards$$$

I have not bought a lot of gifts for Christmas, but instead have been sending tea sets and novelty gifts when I get a chance for family and friends. I do not have access to items and/or the postal service but a few hours a week. (And if I am out of the FOB that day or during their hours it is even less!) We are blessed with free regular mail and can ship a cd or cd weight object for free. I have sent most of my family Christmas cards and most friends eCards.

I have shopped the most for William online as we both have ample access to all the haji gifts. I am going to list a few APO friendly sites in honor of full filling my shopping itch and being able to send gifts to the middle east and some for free even!Victoria's Secret, Zappos, Kodak, Drugstore!
I was shopping on the Polo store, but had issues with the transaction and I think by the time I ordered either they were out of what I was asking for or they had a glitch in their system. Maybe I will get him some Valentine's Day stuff from there!?!?!? One thing I got for both of us was a mug from Kodak gallery with pictures of us from his visit on it! They sent one mug to us both that made us look like aliens, then another with the appropriate head size. I was really discusted with them for their mistake before I got the right one. I wrote them a really nasty letter on how I had thought they were the top of the photo image producing agencies and I was very disappointed a) with the quality b)that someone didn't catch that mistake c)why the heck someone would send it if they did know that we looked like aliens. William told me he was too embarrassed to drink out of it b/c we had such stretched heads. I told him just to break it b/c the shipping would be too much of a bother for me to send it back. Anway, they fixed it and sent properly proportioned mugs that are cute and perfect and no one would be ashamed to drink out of :)
My in-laws have sent me tons of pecans, fudges, and homemade cookies! They did a good job. I also got a fair amount of Alabama spirit wear to make sure everyone knows where I'm from -- Sweet Home Alabama!

Have you already bought gifts? Have you already opened any gifts?
What did you buy? Where did you shop?
*I miss the hustle and bustle of shopping and fighting over the last gift!*

In-Chub!

I refuse to say aloud what this word means, but it is a not so nice way to say "shut up!" in Arabic. My point to this is that is all I have to say to the haters than are making my life harder than it should be. I do good things for many people and over extend myself in many ways to my roommates, my co-workers, and other military! I am giving all I can and doing my best and that is all anyone will ever get out of me, unless they are deemed to receive less, which is probably what they deserve to get in the first place b/c that is all they are giving.

Issue 1
Insecure, selfish, inconsiderate roommate. This stupid girl pushed me a little too far just a few short nights ago. I tip toe around when anyone is sleeping and take my phone calls outside in the cold, in the bathroom, in the shower, or anywhere of than my room! Futhermore I don't b*tch about who they invite in the room or even when they ask for privacy in our room. This has been building up as they have been getting especially vocal lately. She got very loud even when I was napping before duty and even invited extra people in the room to talk to AT FULL VOLUME. I don't care if the lights are on, I don't care who is in the room, but I do care if someone isn't considerate enough to let me finish my nap and/or sleep when I so choose. I got up and told them that I wasn't going to be so considerate b/c they weren't doing it for me. I stayed on the phone half the night with William just to prove a point -- that I have been bending way to easily for a group of girls who do not extend the same courtesies to me, and it has stopped. If someone wakes me up EVER (besides for work) they better expect a full (verbal) dose of what they deserve and/or a similary courtesy removed from my behavior most immediately after.

Issue 2
Idiot riding in my vehicle today. For the love of whatever... I know how to drive and I am good at it! I may make a mistake from time to time or not drive exactly like someone else would, but who cares as long as everyone is safe and we get the job done! Well, idiot (we'll leave names out b/c there is not reason to yell directly at someone when they've already made themselves look stupid) decides that I am not an "experienced" driver and don't have the "mindset" to be doing so. What a prick. The select people who have been calling on me to drive with them, for them, to them, etc. are very aware of my skill of driving and that I AM good at what I do; furthermore I am not ancy to run over someone or something without good reason. Who the heck teaches you to do that is off their rocker to begin with. Note to self -- check your driver's credintials and if they would run over someone without even slowing down to give them a chance to get out of the way...they would probably run over you too.

Dear God,
Bless me with love and patience no matter what. Help the people I work with to do the best they can, and if I can do better than that, let me not slip down to a lower standard but instead set a standard of new hights. Thank you for my precious husband and family who help make the majority of the nastiness disappear with the right words at the right time.

Promotion!

As of December 1st I have been promoted from Specialist to Sergeant!

This means I am now a Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) in the Army.
More money more problems?!?!? Kidding... kind of.
I will be taking more responsibilities and being accountable for more
of what people of my rank or lower are doing.
I can tell I am about to embark on a "character building" stage of
my Army career.

*more to come very soon*