Woof Woof

Aren't dogs just the sweetest? I saw this picture and just loved it! This dog knows what's up. She has just had her nails done and is coordinating accessories such as the matching hat and bow. Well done woofer :)

Tagged

4 Jobs
-hostess
-sales/customer service
-banker
-civil affairs specialist

4 Movies
-Great Expectations
-Pretty Woman
-Mona Lisa Smile
-Mean Girls

4 Tv Shows
-Sex in the City
-Nip/Tuck
-The OC
-The Simpsons

4 Places I've Lived
-Alabama
-Australia
-Ireland
-Iraq

4 Vacations
-France
-Germany
-Spain
-Indonesia

4 I'd Rather Be...
-In Balad with Hubby!
-In Alabama with the Family
-On the coast in a bikini!
-Shopping ;)

4 Fav Foods
-Brownie a la mode
-turnip greens
-bloomin' onion
-asparagus

4 websites
-Holly
-Travis
-Suzzie
-Paula

Island House

On February 19th of last year I was standing on the sandy beaches of the Gulf Coast outside of this beachfront hotel in Orange Beach, Alabama. The temperature was in the 70s. The beaches were clear and flat from the just passed hurricane. The sun was beginning to set around 6pm, which is just before we said, "I will..." and was cheered on by a balcony of snow birds during the kiss!

Mardi Gras is just around the corner...

Toomey's Mardi Gras Day Mystics of Mobile

I am considering having a small Mardi Gras parade here. I'm still taking applications for maids of the parade and all those who want to help pep up the crowd. There will be music, masks, beads, moon pies, and more! Sounds fun ,huh?

**Make a suggestion for the name of the parade**

I'll keep you posted to the details of the event as they are decided.

His & Hers

When you are married (or enguaged or a serious couple) do you still have His and Hers friends? Of course, I know personal loyalty is bound to be kept between the original friend if there is a quarrel, but do friends consider the new spouse a close friend too? Or do his friends stay his friends, and her friends stay her friends?

Don't you consider meeting and keep friends a big network anyway? I mean, if not through your original group of friends, how did you find your new friend?

TGIF

Thank God It's Friday :)
...not that this Friday is any different than any other day of the week for you, but I do like Fridays. I am especially partial to Saturdays as I usually come in an hour or two later in the morning and then have Mass at 1200. I sing in the choir with 4-8 other people. We have 2 soldiers that play the guituar for the service too (and they aren't even Catholic!). Well, I'm not officially Catholic yet either, but I do presume I am about 12 weeks or so away from it! I have been religously going to my RCIA (Catholicism for Dummies) class every Monday. They cover a subject of the Catholic beliefs and we ask questions and such.

Recently, I am proud to report, I have been taking some Six Sigma classes and am signed up for a Rosetta Stone Language Course through eArmy. Any active or reserve military person can sign up for language classes, business courses, ect. and they are FREE to us! I am interested in taking just 1-2 units of Arabic, but I would like to get back up to speed on my Spanish, as I would like to speak that fluently and begin taking German classes too...just in case I do get to live there for a while during William's active army commitment there. I am interested in getting my Masters degree when I get home too!

I have switched offices and am now in the same office I was in when we originally began the tour back in June! I have a huge window next to my desk where I can see daylight out of the top half, the bottom half is covered with sandbags for protection. I have a really large wooden desk covered with too many files and projects in the works. I currently have my purple mug (from Karen and the kids), along with a black bear beanie that I accumulated from an Any Soldier box, and a second hand (blue) candle that I got from Holly when she was switching buildings. I have, close at hand, a lunch box with teas and cocoas, sugars, and stirs just in case I get the chance to be a good hostes. I'm prepared. I have a computer of my own, but have opted to not get a mouse for it. I instead have a handy USB port where I can plug in up to 4 more thumb drives. I have simple sony earbugs to listen to music politely throughout the day and a set of purple lavender pillows that they rest on when I am not using them.

Women's Wallstreet

Today is all about a new site that I am subscribed to -- WomensWallStree.com!
This is an interesting little website that seems to (mostly) be for women, by women. Their mission is "Empowering women with the tools, knowledge and confidence they need to make smart financial decisions." They share information on finances, investing, and current issues. I'm amused. I especially love the classy lady characters (*cartoon like figures) that represent certain sections. There are surveys, a section for stock quotes, and much more. They have witty headings such as "Ask Jane Dough" who is discussing investing in your faith, and "Stox in the City" which reads with the sass of "Sex in the City" speaking about finances . Read more on the website if any of this sounds interesting.

Color My World

I am again, bored with my old template. I tried this new one and am still unhappy with it. I had a vision that I can't see to make work where I had hoped to write in color and/or a different color for each post. I have studied the code and even added my own, but haven't fixed it yet. I'm giving it maybe another week before dumping it if I can't get the colors to work. I guess now its obvious why I never became a computer programmer :P

Well, it is the end of my week here and all is quiet. Things have smoothed over and I am beginning to count down the days... I can't disclose any timelines, but the oasis is just over the horizon! William is beginning to day dream about being back on the coast of Alabama, as that is where he and I are planning to spend his R&R leave some time this summer :) Should be a nice break.

Mom recently sent me and William Pecan rolly cookies and some haystacks, which were devoured almost immmediately. Nothing like homemade candy or cookies! I tried again to order some stuff online at Polo.com for William that should get to him any day now. I had the biggest issues with getting them and JCPenny to ship things here for Christmas. What a pain. I even ordered them in late Nov. Anyway, I'm over it, and this new order should be on its way! I also have been surfing the VS Semi-Annual Sale! Ohh... Vicci Secret is so cute and comfy and just the perfect lingerie ever. I am especially fond of their Pink collection at the moment.

I almost forgot, my subscription to mac.com is about to need renewed. For all you MAC users, I need help accessing my iDisk (which is where the documents from my webpage is located). You should be able to get to it and add? or delete? from any computer, but I haven't taken advantage of that here. And I know I should. Do you have the mac.com subscription? Why? Why not?

Let me know how you are doing. Are you making any homemade dishes this week? What is in your panty drawer? And I encourage you all to treat yourself to at least one pair of new panties that are on sale at VS!

Test, Test...Weather Test

What is the weather in Mosul, Iraq?
COLD & RAINY!!!

Feels like 36
High -- 54
Low -- 42

Today's The Day

Here Comes Success!!!
I have worked hard all week and now I will have 1/2 a day off! YEAH!
I am planning to do as much cardio as I can handle, a few push-ups, and a few crunches. I think that will do it. Those are the 3 things that I am tested on at least 2x a year. We have to maintain at least 60% of the amount expect for our age in each event. The Physical Fitness Test Standards Page tells you exact numbers. Just for fun you should see where your fitness level is as the military views it, and let me know in comments if you are being brave! I've decided that it is not pretty for others to see you struggle. That is my least favorite part about running b/c it is usually a struggle for me. I remember in elementary school that I was a fairly good runner, or maybe just a good racer b/c we only went short distances. I still think it was the best thing to look back and see a few of the boys behind me! Girls rule; boys drule! Oh, the good 'ol days... Now it is safe to say that I run slower. I'm not sure if I'm just awkward or my feet have gotten heavier or what the problem is. I meet the standard, but I would like to do much better. So for all you runners out there -- how do you do it? Tell me your secrets. If you are not a runner, what are you doing on your day(s) off?

1 January 2006

The first day of a new year and ...

Well, you guessed it. I am at work. As the military recognizes most holidays, but insists on working (literally) through them. I came in to work and found my family online for a chat. I always feel better when I can chat with them. The phone systems here are so shady that it barely lasts 5 minutes before something goes wrong, but I digress. On the positive side, I do have phone service and internet access. Praise God :) We can chat back and forth for an hour or so and I can clearly understand the English that is before me even if we both misspell words from time to time. I then got a call from my husband. He wished me Happy New Year and we cleared up a crap phone conversation from last night. He went then went to Mass and preached to me that "He took the cow." That's fine. So we don't have a cow, but we have each other through it all. Tracking. For some reason I have little excitement toward the new year. I am going for some drastic changes in my career very soon and after this is over I should have a nice break. I guess I have every reason to be happy and exstatic that last year is over. I learned a good bit about myself and my husband. I'm sure there is much more to know, but time will reveal those things when appropriate. As far as 2005 in review... I've given category scores: Career - 7; Love - 3; Family - 9; Spirituality - 9; Finances - 10. To sum it up, my career has taken off to include depositing significant amounts into my bank. It has been this way due to the support of my family and leaning on the strength of God while being supported and loved by my husband. I do feel that there has been so much going on that it has left as little time as I ever want there to be for the beauiful companionship of my marriage. Don't get me wrong, we do have a great marriage, but the time we have been apart (which is a whole lot) must be taken into account. So for 2006 I would like to see my marriage rate up there with spirituality. I expect to have less financial success, but still a steady rate of career success. Due to my marriage taking the main lead, the family rating might drop slightly. I'm working on loving life and trying to be happy where I am in the here and now. It is sometimes hard with all the instability of where I may be and training and such, but the love and support that I get from my husband and family and spiritual strength have thus far enabled me to do what I am supposed to do with a certain amount of excellence and grace and not loose my mind. I think having my sanity and half my health and still a marriage after this is over will have beaten a lot of odds already. I am about to make a solid effort to go to the gym and run for 1-2 miles (according to how high my motivation is). I am not looking to loose weight, but instead to gain strength and endurance. Happy 1 January 2006! "Fake it till you make it!" My feng shui quote of the day.