------The Paz Dispenser------

One more year...

2010-09-21T22:23:00.003-10:00

It's that time of year here at the casa. It's birthday time! My favorite Sailor and I are one year older (well, he still has a few days) and I must proudly say that I am feeling pretty darn accomplished this year. We both have done so many great things and are taking the time to readjust to something we haven't had much of during our married life, TIME TOGETHER! Those pesky deployments cramped our newlywed years and for once we are learning how to live together as a married couple. Yes, I know our relationship is NOT new by any means we have been together now for six years but there have been many adjustments here on the rock. In our short 2 years and 4 months of marriage we have endured the changes of marriage, being a military family, grad school, family separation, career changes to name a few.

It is with great joy for me to type that we are in a good place right now.
We have both taken up running and I am in training for my very first half marathon.

I did achieve my goal, I lost 30 pounds before my birthday, actually during the last deployment I lost 37 pounds. A big shout out to OLU, PATTI, SHANNON for their knowledge and expertise and motivation. Now I will be honest and I have gained back 5 pounds but I am overall happy. I hit my ultimate goal of size 4 but now I with my muscle mass with running and a healthy diet I am a comfortable size 6.

It's been a year of team building for us and none of this would have been possible without our FAMILIES AND FRIENDS.

Here's to another year... well....back to making doughnuts...
I mean homework.
I still have another year of grad school, please start praying now for me that I pass my comprehensive exam this coming Spring 2011.

More to come.... I promise.

I must share my birthday gift with you all, my favorite Sailor literally flew my sister out for my birthday, talk about a great present. Geez, I have no pressure for his birthday in a couple of days.

Until the next time....

p.s.
If you know me then you know that my world stopped for a brief moment this past weekend, Eddie got married. Congrats Eddie and Jill. <3

Time marches on....

2010-07-01T21:06:00.005-10:00

Where do I begin? I can't believe it's July 1, 2010. I have yet to post about so many things!

- my brother's wedding
-Christmas & New Year in TX
-HOMECOMING (3 deployments down!!)
-First year of grad school D-O-N-E
-weight loss!!!
-my sister's college graduation from the University of North Texas
-my sister made a perfect 4.0 her ENTIRE last year of college
-I finally made all A's in Grad school
- 2nd Year Anniversary and anniversary trip to Vegas!
-2 years living in HAWAII

and the list could go on.....

I need to get back in the blogging seat and I will soon.....

Aloha <3

Dear Mom and Dad

2009-11-07T22:08:00.003-10:00

Since I am writing letters publicly I figured I would do as my husband a.k.a MY Favorite Sailor as suggested me to do MANY times... I am going to write my parents. Tonight as part of my healing and yet still mourning process....

I carry very deep feelings about my parents within myself and never express them publicly until now...

Dear Mom and Dad,

I miss you so much.

I know that my brothers and sisters miss you both so much as well.

There are many times that I turn to pick up the phone to call you both and then realize that I can't.
I know that you hear me in my thoughts and see my tears but I want you to know that you are not forgotten.
Everyday I think of you both and wish that you were here physically to see all of the greatness that all of your children have done and could have shared in it here with us physically here on Earth.
I do think that it is amazing that you have the best seat in watching all of us from heaven and so that you never have to feel that you are not dividing your time amongst all of kids evenly.
It is even more great that I never saw you grow old or gray, I will always remember you as young vibrant parents.
I know that it is because of the holidays that makes these feelings so much more profound but there is NEVER a day that I don't remember you all. I love you mom and dad and thank you for teaching me all that I know today.
When I think of my struggles I remember that it is because of you I have the opportunities that I have today, not once did either of you complain about your struggles in life or did you feel robbed for knowing that your life was to be too short.
You taught us not to worry about the material things and not to worry about what others thought or did and to live life to the fullest because we all know that it can be too short.
I hope to live my life as you have taught me and dedicate everyday to you both.
Miss and love you.

Jai

Dear Not So Little Bro...

2009-11-07T20:58:00.003-10:00

This time next week you will be a married man. WOW!

I must admit this has me a little choked up.
I wanted to call mom and tell her about the last minute thoughts and ideas that I had and when I remembered that I couldn't I wanted to share with you that I know that you are about to have the best day of your life and not to worry, MOM and DAD will be there both with you all.
(This goes without saying but big sis will be there if you need me to give you a mama hug. :) )

I know that they are watching the preparations and smiling with happiness.
I know I am and I am only stuck on this rock. LOL

MY Favorite Sailor and I wish you and your wife to be nothing but the best.

This past year and a half has been one heck of a ride for MY favorite Sailor and I and we want you both to know that we are here for you both.
Marriage is a beautiful relationship that you both will learn how to love and appreciate every aspect of throughout your lifetime. We both are still learning ourselves and we thank God for the opportunity that he has given us and we respect that He will guide us just like He will guide you both.

Take your time and enjoy it, you have a whole lifetime ahead of you both.
Love you and can't wait to come home and see you all!
I am TEXAS bound! :)

Aloha <3

Dearest Love...

2009-11-01T16:34:00.004-10:00

Have you ever reread an email or letter 100000000 times?

ME?

Guilty!

I am finding that when I need a moment or two, ok.... MORE often than NOT.

I am reading MY favorite sailor's email/letters over and over....

Guess it's the darn holidays and the holiday spirit catching up with me.

So..Lub if you're reading... I LOVE YOU and your emails make my day!

Baby Showers Galore!

2009-10-24T23:26:00.003-10:00

It's that time of year, ladies and gentlemen!

Baby time!

NO, NOT OURS!

I have been to two baby showers in the last 7 days!

Wowzers....

I am taking a break...I hope the next one I go to is my own.

LOL

Belly rubs for the new moms-to-be!

Back to studying and researching....

ALOOOHA!

What to do in Aloha land at 06:00?

2009-10-17T09:20:00.002-10:00

Interesting question, huh?!

This Saturday morning I woke up just to watch the infamous TEXAS/ou game.

I must admit that the Texas State Fair and Texas weather looks GREAT!

The game is finally taking off, after the first half of nothing but field goals, touchdowns are finally happening.

I am especially proud to watch one of my very own students play and SCORE for TEXAS today!

That is very exciting and definitely a PROUD highlight of being a teacher.

So, this is a great way to start my weekend, I am eating pizza that I saved purposely from last night and watching a GREAT football game.

-ALOHA-

Jai

No paper needed...

2009-10-11T09:43:00.004-10:00

So Friday afternoon, (yes I am a NERD) I stayed up at school to start some research on one of THREE research papers for this term. I was looking up articles and books to find out one of three things:

1) I am getting old and technology is getting better faster

2) Students are really lazy

3) Paper use is really being minimized

I say this because, I was searching and on the computer screen with my search results there was an option to text or email the book/article information to my phone...

WOW!

University life has really changed since my undergrad days....

I will try to remember to take a pic next time....

Better get to writing.....or not....

Where have we been?

2009-10-03T20:42:00.006-10:00

Howdy Everyone!

I mean.... ALOOOHA!

Well, please excuse our absence as the summer took us by storm. This past August was a whirlwind! We returned back to good ol' Texas for a family emergency and we are happy to report that things are looking up! Look at how we have ALL grown up!! Mom and Dad would be sooooo proud!!

I celebrated my 30th birthday with MY favorite Sailor

and what a day it was!

I am now a proud Graduate Assistant at the University of Hawaii-Manoa and teaching Undergraduate Spanish while I pursue a Masters in Spanish.

My 30th birthday has come and gone...........................

......and it was not a bad thing at all. I love the look that my students gave me when they asked my age and I said "30". No one seems to believe me. MY loving husband and favorite Sailor surprised me with a dinner at Top of Waikiki to celebrate and it was a very romantic dinner. We had been there before for our 1st wedding anniversary and it has quickly become a family favorite. He had taken the day off to prepare my gift and dinner reservations, what a loving hubby! He even was my personal driver that day, driving me to and fro Manoa for class. I did feel bad though that I was so tired at dinner, I had been in school all day and that was the end of my first week back in school and it was a KILLER!

I am not a supermodel at the age of 30 and disappointed that I didn't lose the 30 pounds I wanted to but I did accomplish something. I am back in school.

I am so happy and blessed to have this opportunity to attend grad school for GRATIS and trying to earn my place in the program. It is VERY time consuming and I felt like I was neglecting MY favorite Sailor.

Speaking of MY favorite Sailor he is out playing battleship here and there and well that's sea duty....So, now I have NO excuse to do nothing but study. (I guess...)

I must say that our marriage has really progressed even though it has only been a year and half, this last goodbye was NOT that bad. We held it together and smiled and waved. Quite honestly, we are just getting used to it. Not to mention this is our 3rd time to play battleship and it helped that he did not man the rails, it wasn't as gut wrenching to see them leave. I am also very blessed to be surrounded by great friends, military and non military that genuinely care. MY favorite Sailor had his birthday recently and well I will just say this he is one hot Sailor...he DOES NOT look his age either!! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY LOVE!!! He didn't want me to make a big deal about it, but I still did!!

Well, that is all that I have time to write for now, so much for to say but I must read.

I do not remember my undergrad studies being this hard?!?! This degree is very demanding, and not to mention, EVERYTHING is in Spanish! Ay yay yay....

Today Was Inspiring.....

2009-07-13T14:57:00.006-10:00

Today is Monday, July 13, 2009. What seemed like a typical Monday, turned out to be an inspiring day. As most of you all know, I used to be a High School Spanish teacher and now I teach little ones at the Navy Elementary in Honolulu. (changing your job comes with the territory of being a Military Spouse) I have been wanting to blog about my latest adventures in cycling to work. I was held back by the shear negativity of the many faces that I have encountered the past weeks.

First of all, I would like to say how disappointed I am. Personally, I ride my bike for the physical activity and exercise. As many of you know, I try to jog and I am not a marathon runner, but I try. Here lately though...I have been starred at for riding my bike as if I had two heads or something, maybe WORSE. Geez! I have been asked if I can't afford a car. Quite honestly, yes my husband and I can easily afford a second car. (I left my civic in Dallas for my little sister, bc I think she needed a better car, long story...short version - I LOVE MY SISTER)I have been ignored at the crosswalks waiting for the walking white cartoon pedestrian and better yet, when it pops up cars try to beat it and put the pedal to the fall and drive off without a care and could have ran me over if I didn't know that some ppl were just being a jack@$$.

One of my favorite questions: Don't you get hot riding your bike? Ugh, yeah. I am not that big of a princess, I plan for it, like change my shirt and wash my face at work and then apply makeup or who cares if I am going home. I've been lucky though the trade winds have been awesome and makes for a pleasant ride. I even venture to Target after work with my bike or the exchange and even picked up a few groceries at the commissary, only to be starred at by some wives with the pitiful .... oh my gosh look. (now I know what the poor homeless people feel like being starred at, because you would have thought I was digging through trash and I organized my backpack with groceries) I personally thing the pity should be given to them for wasting their time on staring at me. Lastly, the poor Target security guy who thinks I am going to steal because I carry a backpack instead of purse well, because have you ever tried to bike with a purse?

Well...

Despite every rant I just typed and negative look and feeling...

TODAY IT WAS ALL WORTH IT!

One of my little girls in class wanted to be just like me. (PLEASE, don't think I want my kids to be like me, that is not it AT ALL! I want them to make good choices and think about their future)

She rode her scooter to school.

High 5 to the mom!

This mom bikes with her kids to school regularly, I think that is AWESOME!

I ride my bike to stimulate my body, clear my mind, save money (hey...more $ for me later at Target) and.....

HELLO help the environment!

In the grand scheme of it all, I have helped make a positive impact on one of my students and that to me is a sign that I am doing my job!

I can't explain the pride I felt when the little girl came up to me today before class and said Mrs. ........ Can I park next to you?" "Or course you can sweetheart!"

Her mom told me, she wanted to be like me...

What an inspiration! :)

Our Awesome Homecoming Pics

2009-06-23T14:26:00.009-10:00

The following were taken this past Homecoming, April 2009.

A big MAHALO to Gwen at Butterfly Kiss Photography!
Gwen is an awesome, kind person to begin with.

She follows her instinct and captures true emotion.

I am so blessed to have found her, she was more than my photographer that day, but my friend!
Thank you for capturing our memories Gwen! Check out her website for our complete portfolio! :)

One Whole Year, Plus Some

2009-06-23T14:12:00.004-10:00

Well friends...

I have been living in Hawaii for over a year now. My love has been here for over 2 and we are really loving the Aloha life.
The past year has been full of events:
-I survived my first deployment (his 1000000)
-We got MARRIED! (here on the island) and had our honeymoon in Waikiki
-became an "official" Navy Wife
-We finally PCS-ed our stuff from Texas
-I moved from Texas to Hawaii
-We moved into our first married home
-I have travelled to two neighboring islands, Kauai (with my love for our anniversary) and the Big Island (thanks M*)
-I was an extra on Lost
-I was on the set of Lost all day
-I have survived countless luaus, the first 3 were great...
-MIL has come to the island
-My bro and sis have visited the island
-My first principal I have ever worked for came out the island and we had a great dinner
-I finally found a job at the Navy elementary
-I became a librarian (I NEVER SAW THAT COMING!!!)
-I am going to grad school for FREE
-I will be teaching at the University of Hawaii-Manoa
-I have met some wonderful new friends
-My old friends haven't lost contact with me
-I have survived my SECOND deployment (his 1000001)
-We celebrated our FIRST anniversary TOGETHER!
-survived countless FRG meetings
-learned how to garden, grill, and keep my sanity during deployment
-welcomed new friends into this world, congrats to the new moms

I am sure that I haven't listed all of the things that this past year has brought, but it's an awesome feeling to have found the love of your life and wake up every morning happy with your life.

God Bless Everyone....

I hope to update more soon.....

Happy First Anniversary!

2009-05-13T19:50:00.003-10:00

My love and I have celebrated our first wedding anniversary on May 7, 2009.
Wow!
Where has the year gone?
Words can't express how fast and amazing this year has been.
We have survived our first PCS move together, second deployment together, job hunting, sharing one car (because I left the Honda for my sister) and various adventures in our new home state of Hawaii.
I am so astonished at the fact that DH has been here on the island for just about 2 years and myself for one.
Where did the time go?
I can't believe it!
Our anniversary was absolutely beautiful!
It was full of emotion and love.
(I guess the fact that he just got back from another deployment also added to the emotions)
You would have thought that we had just gotten married with our tears of joy and absolute bliss.
I wish I could say that this first year was a piece of cake and marriage takes away all of your problems, but it doesn't.
You just learn to make decisions together and the problems and struggles are no longer your own to carry but "ours" and now that is easier.
When you have a spouse who will help you carry the weight and make decisions together that is something to be proud of!
I am very proud of all that we have accomplished this past year.
I pray that each year we will continue to build on the previous years and our relationship will continue to grow.
We both have committed ourselves to letting the seeds of ourselves grow and we will decide together which direction we will go.
We are so proud of our home and all that we have accomplished.
I still live in amazement when I look around at the island of Hawaii and think, WOW, this is OUR home!
I love married life!

More to come...
I have to cover my dear friend Susan's baby shower and HOMECOMING!
(but the season finale of Lost is on...gotta go!)

A Whirlwind Month

2009-04-18T08:22:00.006-10:00

Hi ALL!

It's been a whirlwind of a month! I am gearing up for homecoming soon enough and this past month has been crazy.
I have been blessed with the greatest news in regards to my education. I will be attending the University of Hawaii beginning this fall as masters degree candidate in Spanish. Here is the best part: for FREE! The next two years will be covered by the university as I will be a TA, teaching undergraduate Spanish while I pursue my degree. How awesome is that?!?! I will even be paid a stipend! My husband and I are so happy that this opportunity has come our way.

This past month, I have been out of it as I gave myself a concussion.
For those of you who really know me, I am a short, clumsy person.
I do not know how I manage to hit my head on things but I do.
I have had bad headaches and just trying to get back to normal.
I had to go to the ER and had a CT scan and thank the Lord all is well.
I will need about a month to recover completely.
BTW, I will go ahead and admit it...I hit my head on a sink at work in the restroom.

I have started jogging again and it feels so good to get outside when the wind isn't pushing me around and jog.
I have also taking up jogging on a treadmill those days that the trade winds are just so powerful and working out on the elliptical and lifting weights.
I am back on track to losing 30 before 30.

This past month, I have also continued my regular church schedule.
I really enjoy the bond that I have reestablished with the Lord and thank him everyday for all that we have been blessed with.
I feel and live his presence in me even more.

Seems like the last month has been full of birthdays, baby showers, and meetings.
I have been going non stop!
Much happiness to all that celebrated this last month!

Last but not least, I am giving one of my new good friend S* a baby shower.
Well, if you know me...I don't like to skimp on details.
I am from Texas and everything has to match and have a bow.
Needless to say, even the water bottles we will be serving even have bows.
I really hope that all will have a great time at the shower, it is coming soon and I will breathe much easier once it is over.
I really want the "mommy to be" to have a great shower surrounded by friends and family.
Every mommy deserves this.

Well, thanks to all for reading my latest rambling.
I may be gone for quite a bit as MY BELOVED is coming home soon.
We are planning to spend some quality time on vacation on another rock in the middle of the ocean.
I can't wait to see him and know that my husband is a real person.
Not just a man I get random phone calls from at odd hours or emails on a nearly daily basis.
LOL
He is my love.
I know that for some; deployments can crush a marriage or put unneeded strain.
I want those who have faith to know that it doesn't have to be like that.
My husband and I are blessed in that we know that our love is strong and has endured so much way before my last name even changed.
We know that this time apart gives us the strength to endure many things.
We value each other and know that we made the right decision by choosing each other to continue on our paths in life as one.
As one very wise man told me: "I may not be the luckiest man who has luck in his everyday life, but you are the best thing that has ever happened to me".

All of our love,
Jai and Hubby

Happiness

2009-03-15T20:26:00.003-10:00

Aloha Everyone.

I wanted to post that all is going well here on the homefront.
I have been very blessed to have found my way back to church and I feel that it has given me a renewed spirit these days.
Actually, the last month.
I wish I would have brought myself to remember the good memories I have of my entire family going to church, EVERY Sunday and talking about the word of the Lord. My heart warms itself with those fond memories of my mom and dad. I am ashamed for not giving God the chance to help me more in my life. I know that we all have to come to terms with our own self first and that is exactly what I am doing. After my mom and dad died, with each individual death, I felt resentment towards God and especially organized religion.
But, now I find myself remembering nothing but good memories because of God's love and acceptance.
I have found strength and courage also, in being a Military Wife and have come to accept the challenge with open arms.
I have learned to embrace our Navy life and really appreciate all that it has to offer.
I can not wait to share all of this with my loving husband.
He is the greatest!
He never pushes himself to be first but always tells me, take care of yourself that is the best thing you can do for me.
I agree.
We can not waste our lives while we are here on this earth, live life to the fullest and make everyday count.
I am very proud of my life .. :)
I LOVE MY FAMILY!!

Jai

The Men CURRENTLY in MY Life

2009-03-09T20:53:00.003-10:00

Here they are... I promised I would share this a few posts back...They keep me company while the hubs is playing battleship...

Target Goodness!

2009-03-04T21:45:00.005-10:00

Target has finally arrived in Hawai'i!

This makes me VERY HAPPY!

Now, if only I could have ONE more thing!

It is a beautiful store, upon entering the lights of the Target gods where shining on me and I felt like a celebrity with the team members lining the aisles clapping and cheering upon our entrance.

What a magical experience!

I will share my buys in a future post.

Thanks to all of my HMW friends for stopping to say "aloha", especially S* who was my partner in crime and is doing VERY well in her pregnancy which did NOT impede her shopping today!! She was toooooo cute!

YAY for Target! :)

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-02-25T19:50:00.004-10:00

This is for my dad!

I wish you a very HAPPY Birthday !!! (you would be 63)

I know that up in heaven, you are so proud of ALL of your kids!
I pray that one day I will make such a profound impact on my very own children just as you and mom did with me.
I can not feel more blessed than to have such wonderful parents whose short time on earth has given me a lifetime of memories and love.

It has been a long 17 years dad that you have been gone but I want you to know that you are not forgotten.
Today as I sat through Ash Wednesday service, I can't help but wonder how you would be today.
I know that no matter what, no matter where I am, you and mom are with me.
Without a doubt, you would have a blast here in Hawaii.

Thank you for being a wonderful father and you never let us forget how much you loved us, I really do think God just needed you more than we do here on earth. Say hi to mom for me and know that we are trying to lead life just like you taught us.
Somehow tonight at mass, I found comfort that you were there. In some strange familiarity of mass it's like the years haven't passed.

I am still the little girl who loves her daddy very much and would follow him anywhere.

Once a daddy's girl, ALWAYS a daddy's girl

I love you.

Do you find yourself...

2009-02-23T20:28:00.003-10:00

Wondering around a store, just because you don't want to go home?

Tonight, as I pout and stomp that that MY favorite Sailor won't be picking up the pineapple phone to call the big rock because he is about to go play more battleship. As you know, MY favorite Sailor is out playing battleship and well..that's his job. Unfortunately, it does take him from our glamourous casa for months at a time. I went to the exchange just to look at some shoes, and I ended up buying some instead. LOL See what I do when I don't get a two hour phone call from the hubbs?!?!?

I notice that when I don't want to be home alone I just piddle. I cleaned "enough" over the weekend and just didn't feel like going home yet. I decided to shop instead. I think our bank account will be happy once this deployment is over. I find myself buying senseless crap just because I want to try it or 6 bags of Mini Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies because I feel the need to fill a care package with him. I think my husband is going to start returning the boxes to sender! I have even gotten so bored and that I bought him a remote control Wall-E to play with on the ship well because I thought it was cute and who couldn't use a remote control Wall-E?????!!!

Did I mention that I also bought myself TWO new guys for our bed at the Disney store too?(while, the hubs is gone I sleep with the stuffed animals my husband has given me and my beloved Sailor teddy bear my sister got got me...thus "the guys") I bought myself a stuffed Winnie-the-Pooh and Stitch. HEY, don't HATE!!!! I am preparing EARLY for Halloween! (I am going to be Lilo darn it!!) See what I mean about buying crap that I don't need. But to make the purchase worthwhile, the stuffed animals were buy one get one FREEEEEE!

You think I would be excited that I am not tied to the phone for hours but the honest truth is that I would sit next to any phone in ANY weather element just to hear his voice. Afterall, after talking with my husband who is NOT a phone person for 6 hours over the weekend (yes, in increments) he told me a very enduring secret. I learned how much my voice meant to him, this only makes me LOVE him more.

Well, shoppers this blog is coming to an end.
Until the next time...ALOOOHA!
-Jai

Stomach Flu 1 - Jai 0

2009-02-21T16:04:00.003-10:00

I was beat the past 3 days by the stomach flu.

It wasn't fun.

I realized yesterday at the commissary (military grocery store) that I must have looked like I had an eating disorder with my purchases. No wonder the couple behind me was staring.
I bought MANY bottles of Powerade -ZERO (yup, powerade has a calorie free version), crackers, grapes, bananas and 5 bags of various cookies.
The cookies are for MY favorite Sailor's care packages.
I have a problem listening to my husband when he says, NO MORE BOXES!
The man probably runs the other direction when he hears that mail is being distributed.
I have sent him too many boxes already, and he has said "please cut back".
Well....

Back to my story..

So, I got the wonderful stomach flu that is going around and I didn't know so much stuff could come out of ones body. Just gross! I had fever, loss my appetite and I was too afraid to goto the ER for fear of throwing up on myself or worse.

I thank the P* family for bringing over vital Gatorade to me, as I hid in my house until I was able to see the dr.
I am doing much better and after nearly 15 hours of sleep, I am refreshed and I am slowly gaining an appetite back.

I hope everyone is doing well...All of my love...

-jai

Our First Married Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T21:24:00.004-10:00

I got a card EARLY from MY favorite Sailor and I was a good girl and waited until this morning to open it.
I love my husband!
No matter how near or far we are, we know how much each other is loved.
That is all that matters.
I smiled and am more than happy with just a card from MY favorite Sailor as I know that he took the time and effort to mail it from God knows where, and it has the USS Someship Stamp...awww.

Although this is our first married Valentine's day, it isn't dampened by the fact he is playing battleship. In fact, I am proud of the fact that he is serving our country and sacrificing chocolates and dinner with me for the welfare of our country.

I know that some people don't celebrate Valentine's day but for us it just another awesome reminder why we are together. We don't need fancy things or gifts in general just our love to lead us through our journey of life and give love to those we will encounter along the way.

Today, here on the big rock..
I did have the wonderful blessing of spending Valentine's day with my friends.
The afternoon starting with an afternoon with the FRG where we made posters for our guys to show them that we miss them and they will be sent to the ship to boost morale.
I need to say, my poster was attacked by someone's kid!
Sigh, well...what is done is done. I was letting my sign dry when some kid got ahold of it with a green marker.
Oh well, I just wrote, sorry the sign was tagged. Child's (not ours) artwork! :(
I guess it added depth to my sign...

Later in the afternoon and evening I spent time with C and her boys.
They are soo cute!
We had a nice dinner and at the end we were even given our own box of chocolates from the waitress, now wasn't that nice!
We then did some shopping and hung out and watched a movie.
It was so much fun!

I will never get tired of saying this...friends and family are what makes your life!
Thank God for them!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thank You, Team Tae Bo

2009-02-11T21:26:00.005-10:00

Thank you Team Tae Bo for my VERY thoughtful gifts!

I have hung my autographed photo up for inspiration and just love my new gear!
Thank you for your inspiration and devotion to helping others and taking the time to thank "the little" people like me!
Your actions speak so LOUDLY, by taking the time to contact me and sending me some wonderful gifts! I have begun the tae bo regime again and it seems that my body is just so much more in tune with exercise because of my previous tae bo routine and jogging is coming along nicely!

I sincerely thank Billy for his hard work and dedication and may God bless Him and Team Tae Bo!

(I meant to post this some time ago, as my gear arrived very soon after being contacted!)

Aloha Y'all

2009-02-10T19:39:00.003-10:00

Howdy Everyone!

It's been a while since my last post, so I thought I would take the time tonight to say hi!
I have been so busy trying to catch up with some personal things and had some things pop up in the mean time. All is going well here and I thank my friends and family for checking in with me. Contrary to popular belief, I do have a life, even though I do not have kids just yet! LOL

Recently, I had an amazing shopping day at the mall. I haven't done that in such a long time. I didn't have to drag my poor husband about or kids or anyone! Thanks E* for that! I saw the movie, "He's Just Not That Into You". I just laughed. I actually owned that book at one point in my life. YES, OBVIOUSLY before I met my WONDERFUL, LOVING, A-MAZING HUSBAND!

This past weekend I was so happy to find a care package from my brothers and sisters back home.
LOL
It seems that they have learned a thing or two about sending care packages, after watching me pack and mail many of things to MY FAVORITE SAILOR! It was like Christmas all over! Thanks sis and bros!

I got a card from MY FAVORITE SAILOR, it looks like a Valentine, but I am saving it until Saturday, the 14th...the suspense is killing me!

I am back to working out, as I realize this year I am turning the BIG 3-0 and I hope to lose at least 3-0 by this August! We will see! I should post embarrassing photos of myself for motivation because I know I need it. Jogging tonight was relaxing and peaceful..wish me luck.

Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers for DH and he sends his greetings and thanks from afar.....

More coming soon, stay tuned!

Peace out!
Aloha.....

Happy Birthday to My Bro!

2009-02-02T18:51:00.002-10:00

Wishing you many, many more!! Hey, did you see your shadow today? I like your prediction, doesn't really pertain to the weather here in Hawaii! Take care bro and miss you sooooo much! HAPPY BIRTHDAY J*!

It's been 3 years

2009-01-25T21:19:00.006-10:00

So.......
As happy as I have been for my husband in emails it has been a small roller-coaster here at home.
Nothing major! But definitely much more positive and upbeat that the last battleship tour!

On Friday, it was three years that my mom passed and it struck me as I was watching my students play on the playground.
Funny how life goes on, but yet I still felt a twinge of guilt.
I tried so hard not to dwell and strange thing, I could feel my mom telling me to stop it!

She was totally with me that day and from what I heard from my siblings she was with them too. They made it through the day with flying colors and I am so proud of them. We are truly growing up!

Friday was also one of my best friends birthday dinner and outing and I wasn't going to miss that for the world!
I am so glad that I went out and I had a blast.

I realize that life is definitely what you make it.

I want this deployment to be a good one and I am doing everything in my power to make it easier for my husband to do his job without worrying about me.
NO NEED TO!

Just like my note said from my friend, they are here to take care of me and in return I am here to take care of them!

Tonight as I begin a new week...I am just so blessed to have a great support group of wonderful friends.

I can't say that this week has been boring, I have been blessed with so many sending their thoughts and well wishes and dinner invites.

For all of you I am truly thankful.

For MY MAMA - YOU ARE MISSED AND LOVED
I hope you are smiling down on me and proud! :)
----R.I.P. January 23, 2006-------

Deployment blues are really setting in...

2009-01-22T20:27:00.002-10:00

That is all I have to say.
I know that my best friend will be home soon.
I send him my love with a big wet kiss and hug.
I miss you but I love you MORE.

See you soon.

REPOST-Thought this posting was better!

2009-01-20T18:21:00.000-10:00

Today.... my heart sailed away.

I watched until I couldn't see the ship anymore; I gathered what was left of my gut from the pier and made my way home.
We have all been through deployments and no matter how many times you've said "See You Soon" (we don't say good bye) it still stings. You still cry. Maybe you do not cry as hard or as much but it still hurts.

I am not home for 5 minutes when I see the light blinking on the phone that there is a message. NoBODY ever calls my house number! I am thinking, ok...DH must have called and left me a msg to find. He does this. I check it, and nope not him.

I have a missed delivery. Please call us back with a convenient time for you to have your arrangement delivered. WHAT??!!! No, I know DH...he's sneaky but it's not Valentine's and I know his mannerisms and I already peeked at my surprise last night. (Don’t tell him I peeked before he left)
No, I am thinking my sister. Either my biological or my non-biological sister!

I text the suspected person and she claims to know nothing about a delivery! NADA! Maybe your husband sent you something!?!?!? "Furniture", she says....yeah right....where in the heck do I put another thing in this house??!! I get another call that my edible arrangement is on the way...

I hear the doorbell not even 30 minutes since my heart sailed away; my frown is turned upside down by the most pleasant smelling edible arrangement EVER!

ALLBLUEZOO is sooooooo AWESOME!

She sent me an arrangement on HER birthday AND anniversary! (I KNOW!! I couldn't make this up, IF I wanted too!!! I MUST THINK OF AN AWESOME GIFT FOR HER!)
Not to mention she is working for me today on her special day!
She is so selfless, WOW!

We are truly sisters taking care of each other while our men are deployed. Thank you for taking me in!

She truly envelops everything a good friend and person should have instilled in their heart and soul.
She is a hard working, talented, loving, funny, strong willed, intelligent-wife, mother, sister, and BEST FRIEND!

Just a matter of months earlier I knew nothing of this woman, but now as we have banded together as Military Wives we are blessed to have such a wonderful friendship.

I thank you, M.
You have changed my life for a lifetime; our friendship is just beginning. Who knew that in a place where I felt so alone and frustrated, now I have a friend that I can call anytime and you have taught me so much!
You know that I would do anything I can for you or the boys.
I truly always wanted an older sister as cool as yourself.
Wishing you the best today and always sis!
¡Que Dios te bendiga!

Thanks for teaching me the "Navy Wife Ropes"; I am sure we will have a whole lifetime to laugh at each other with every mover whether we are near or far!!!
DH thanks you too! He told me before he left that I am in good hands with all of my newfound family here in Hawaii. (You, ShannonK, Patti, Erin, Susan,Steph, Lynn, Shadow)
<3
Jai

P.S.
Just when you think that you are alone or no one cares about you, I can testify somebody does.
Yes, of course my family and friends back home are there for me but NEW friends that make such a big impact on your life spread sunshine and teaches you how to carry the warmth on to others when they least expect it.

I am blessed and honored to be a military wife.

I hope one day to spread the same sunshine you have shared with me!

P.S.S.
I know, I know.
No makeup today...please excuse the photos.
There was no sense in wearing makeup that would rub off on a white uniform.
We are so eating this tomorrow night during the LOST premiere!

I AM LOVED!

2009-01-20T17:58:00.003-10:00

Thank you M*!

You have shown me true friendship in such a short amount of time and I want you to know that it doesn't go unnoticed.

You are truly amazing and can only hope to aspire to be more like you.

I can't believe you took time to brighten my day! You did this on YOUR special day, HAPPY BIRTHDAY & HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

My Heart Sailed Away...

2009-01-20T17:44:00.003-10:00

Today my heart sailed away.

I gather up strength and find comfort in my love and I know that he is safe.

This is his career, he is a military man.

I know that sooner rather than later he will be back in my arms safe and sound and making me laugh with something silly.

Today at the pier, I stood there all alone wondering how many more of these will I endure.

As I stood there, sounds of "daddy", "dadddddyyyyyy", "byeeee daddy", really stood out to me.

WOW! I can only imagine what this is going to be like when we have a family.

I was blessed to see my love before he left even though he had duty the night before and we had some quality time on the ship.

I took him lunch and dinner and ice cream throughout the day, I started to feel like one of the crew.

Right now I am just a ball of emotions, I am not falling apart by any means but my brain is just so frazzled from the day's events and I need sleep.

I bought DH a TON of movies and TV shows for his iPod and well dumb me bought them under my Apple ID so it wouldn't let me put it on his iPod, so he left with my iPod. That doesn't bother me, what bothers me is the non transferability of purchases!

Well, my brain is shutting down!

I need sleep!

I didn't sleep because I was on the phone with DH all night, why...well why not!

I love my hubs!

Our first...BAD weather day!

2009-01-16T07:02:00.004-10:00

I am accustomed to Texas weather, which I swear changes on a daily basis.

I have seen snow, sleet, funnel clouds, and heard my fair share of sirens.

I have even endured a category 5 hurricane, "Emily" in Cozumel.

Today, I am at home, it's our first bad weather day. (Of course, the Navy doesn't have such a thing )but with me working at a school, I am at home enjoying a 4 day weekend.

Now, I am going to learn all about Hawaii weather!

I assume the fear of another island wide power outage is feared. Just a few weeks ago, a storm caused an island-wide power outage and better to be safe than sorry.

Sorry kiddos, guess no library today! I must admit I am relieved! No librarian duties today!! I am going to enjoy the extra times with the hubs as he is going to play battleship soon. YAY! Quality hubs time this weekend!! Going a date....to be continued!

Love to you all!

Happy Belated Birthday to My Sister!

2009-01-10T23:03:00.001-10:00

21 is damn old!!

LOL

Wishing you the absolute best and you know you are cooler than Elvis, don't know why he has the nerve to share your birthday! LOL, I know you LOVE Elvis! Not many 21 year olds do!

Mama demands you take taxis and I wish I was there with you !!

God's blessings and love to you!!

Continue to do well in school, oh my...senior year is just around the corner! Another UNT grad in the works!

Jai is damn proud!!

I LOVE YOU LULU!

I have to say...

2009-01-07T09:42:00.002-10:00

I saw something the other day that I haven't seen in quite some time.... someone using a pay phone!! I don't see them anymore to begin with...I should have snapped a pic. I was nosey and as I walked by, this wasn't a little 10 second "where are you call" but....a real conversation. Interesting! Hope everyone's new year is off to a great start!

Jai

Question: When is the last time you used a payphone?

Answer: I have no idea, I had a cell phone for just about 10 years.

2008 in retrospective...

2009-01-04T14:28:00.018-10:00

This past year was an incredible journey...My family and I experienced one heck of an adventure..

Sit back and enjoy....

January

After Seashell and I rung in the new year...we took time to make some goodies to mail our favorite sailor...

February

Last packages mailed to ship....

Happy Valentine's from MY favorite Sailor...good thing the ship has the internet!! :) Don't look at my messy classroom!

March

Cheer Banquet

I miss these girls!! :(

Happy Easter!

Seashell coloring the eggs...what a girl!

Sister time at the Easter egg hunt at Joy's

Easter Sunday!

April

Road Trip to Lubbock! We're cool! Happy Birthday MOM! (RIP)

We drove to Lubbock to put flowers on her grave for her birthday :)

Seashell's personal letter from DH, he's coming home!!

"THE ONE"

This photo was from my final alteration, those months of tae bo and jogging paid off!

This was fun...wedding gown shopping!

I thought I wanted a short gown for the beach...but I didn't

Getting ready for homecoming!!

Wedding shower! One of my very BEST friends in the world! I admire you, H!

My sister and !! She always makes me feel so short!

My wonderful department! I miss you ALL!!! RHS was so good to me! Thank you for giving Gabe and I a wonderful wedding shower!

Me and My fellow Texas peeps, we are the best cheer coaches EVER!! These two women taught me sooo much and helped me through my rough times! These two women are absolutely hilarious! They made me laugh so much, ahhh that was some fun stuff! Good times!

May

****(this month will have MANY photos, as we got married this month and DH went home to Dallas and left again for HI)****

Getting ready for the ship to pull in!! Hanging up Seashell's sign on the pier!

I am so proud of my sign and I am soo HAPPY and NeRvOus!

Where's Waldo??? (they all look the same!!!!!)

He's real!!!

Getting our marriage license, we promise we are not related.

We did it!! We're married!!

Field Day!

Back home in Dallas, riding the "Big" bike!

June

Home Sweet Home Hawaii! Our first grilled steak! (We left our other grill in TX) (notice the no shoes already....)

Our first meal!

Family Cruise on USS Some Ship

Our baby is born!

DH loves me!! Something to keep me busy while he was working and our stuff was in route to our new home!

July

Cleaning up! What a great hubby! Our stuff is on it's way!!

It's here!!

Are you getting those numbers right??

Yes, I am!

Unpacking madness!

So many boxes!! Who knew that two people could own so much stuff?????

I pause here, as I am tired and so Aug- Dec will have to wait.....

Until then....

-Jai

Christmas and New Year has come and gone...

2009-01-04T12:33:00.002-10:00

So, we have so much to update on and our first married Christmas was blessed with a visit from the MIL.

We have a ton of photos to share and recap the year! (thanks, KatieD, AllBlueZoo, and Megan for the idea) (although I think my recap will be boring as we don't have "kids")

Photos to come...

I am totally vegging out this duty day as I can, no mil, Christmas has been taken down and is in boxes, just time to relax.

Love you all.

-Jai

Question:

Where do you plan on visiting this coming year?

Answer: Australia would be very, very nice. Perhaps, Japan?

And so it goes...

2009-01-04T12:15:00.006-10:00

It's already January 4. Wow!

Where has Jan 1-3 gone?

I guess it's because I have been semi-permanently attached to my DH's side not wanting to let him out of my sight because of the impending departure....

It's about that time again, DH is going to go play battleship.

This will be our first married deployment and just as everything else "married", I am sure that it will have it's own unique dimensions as well. We have been through one deployment engaged but this is different: I live in a military town with many, many others going through the same, in our home, in a far, far away place from family and friends. I have hope that this will fly by way faster than the first one. And thank goodness God has blessed me with new friends and sisters who are seasoned pros to the seas of change with military life.

I better get to thinking on a good homecoming sign.... How do you beat NAME GOES HERE- has anchored my heart?!?! -Welcome Home, we are getting married in 5 days? I love my husband, so much that I embarrass him with lovey dovey homecoming signs...LOL

Hey friends, help a girl out and think on that... will ya???

I am going to go dust off the bicycle and go for a ride, must drop 30 pounds and start grad school this year. My two resolutions.

Happy 2009 Everyone....

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T14:48:00.003-10:00

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

A big ALOOOOHA to everyone and wishing you and your family the very best always!

Jai and Gabe

I miss ...

2008-12-02T19:41:00.003-10:00

How I miss Super Target! This was taken during my trip home in November, good ol' Rowlett TX. I miss RHS too! I hope DH doesn't look at our bank statement to see how much I spent at Super Target and well during my trip back home for that matter....LOL! I took this photo for my HMW peeps....you know the side effects of no TARGET!

Thanksgiving Feast !

2008-12-02T08:08:00.002-10:00

We had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!! (This is a photo of only some of our Thanksgiving Feast, our little table was packed with Jai goodness!)

Many continued blessings to all of you!

No, we did not shop Black Friday, but we did hit up the stores Saturday night to find some deals and came home with our new beloved Dyson vac. We are in love! <3>

Love you all.

Question of the Day: What is the state bird of Hawaii?

The Nene, Seashell asked me this as she received the shipment of goodies I mailed her and the little squirt read the books and was quizzing me!! LOL

Ta Da! Our Very FIRST MARRIED Christmas Tree!

2008-12-02T07:41:00.006-10:00

Our very FIRST MARRIED Christmas tree!! (yes, we have had other Christmas trees) I must admit that photos do not do this tree justice! It was a labor of love and we really enjoyed putting up the tree together. DH and I (ok, well me) drank some wine (ok, it was more than some) and we were singing Christmas carols as we put up the tree. There are 3 other trees in the house and I will try to get photos of those up. They are more decorative and I put one up in our guest bedroom for the MIL as she will be joining us for Christmas this year.

I have modified the tree a bit but I do hope that our first married Christmas tree doesn't disappoint! This is for you KatieD! :)

Thanksgiving Feast Preparations Are Underway!

2008-11-26T18:29:00.002-10:00

I wanted to tell everyone Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy your time with those around you! I am thankful to have my family, friends, and my husband. We are truly blessed.

I am busy preparing for tomorrow and will probably be standing in the same spot of my kitchen for a few hours today and tomorrow!

Take care everyone and enjoy!!

Domestic Jai

2008-11-25T23:55:00.002-10:00

Who knew that Jai could be so domestic?

That is one secret I have kept to myself!

I am really enjoying married life and decorating and cooking for the hubster!

It is so good to be appreciated and at the end of the day I look around our house and I am really proud!

I think I am growing up.

Time to go get some things prepped for turkey day!

A shout out to B-ridge for the Thanksgiving calendar/recipes to follow! She gave me this the year my mom died. This valuable document has taught me how to prepare things like cornbread for the dressing ahead of time and such! Thanks B-ridge!

I can't wait to put up our tree, there will not be any fancy Pottery Barn decorations but let's just say Pottery Barn inspired. Remember I teach and DH is a Sailor!

My lesson to you: teacher+sailor = not rich

Oh speaking of B-ridge her house is fantastic during Christmas time, maybe one day my house will look like hers! :)

HAHA!

One day closer until battleship is over!!

Hope everyone is doing great!

Miss you all!

Peace out.

-Jai

Question of the day: Do you think that Texas will play for the Big 12 conference?

I do! HOOK'EM!!!!

Darts and Jai...

2008-11-24T21:47:00.001-10:00

Don't mix. Ugh, this is what you get if Jai gets too happy playing darts, guess we will be paying for that wall in our garage, poor DH had tried to cover the wall with the cardboard but I of course just miss it ALL!

O' Christmas Tree, O' Christmas Tree

2008-11-24T21:05:00.005-10:00

Stay tuned, it's coming! DH bought me the tree I was nagging about for 2 weeks this weekend and he got me a chest freezer to fill with my bulk purchases from Sam's. I buy edamame in bulk and other frozen veggies, sorry I have to have veggies with my meal.

YAY! I love my hubby! :)

BTW Thanks ShannonK for the inspiration! Your Christmas tree is sensational, you motivated me to get with the early bird Christmas decoration team!

Our FIRST MARRIED Christmas!

This is our third Christmas, but the FIRST married and we look forward to quality time together this holiday season as DH will be leaving to play battleship very soon. :(

Watch out world, Jai is training to jog the 8 mile Great Aloha Run, that may not be a long jog for you avid joggers but this is Jai we are talking about, I am only doing 2 miles now, I will get there! *Cue the Rocky music NOW*

Deuces.

-Jai

Back Home in TEXAS!

2008-11-24T20:01:00.003-10:00

Recently, I went home to the great state of TEXAS! I went home to face my personal demons of dealing with my mom's estate. For those of you close to me you know how torn I was about going home. I felt that going home to deal with her estate was closing the door on my mom and everything about her. I can now testify that it didn't. I am very thankful for my husband, my family, and my friends (both in TX and Hawaii) for the support and love I needed to get through this.

It was so good to be back in my mom's house, to see everything about her and most importantly to feel her presence. I have taken the long road to finally grieve for her as I tried to be the pillar for my family and had to deal with some very troubling times this time last year during DH's deployment and I am finally dealing with the depression I had built up from all of those events.

Depression can be a sneaky rascal and don't ever be ashamed to reach out to someone, Lord knows I finally did and thank goodness MY GREAT husband told me to go home and see my family and be where my mom once was. I love him so much for knowing what to do and his sacrifice for me. He has done so much for my family and myself, we are so blessed to have him.

This trip was so special as I do not know when I will be back in Texas. I got to see my BELOVED SEASHELL! Oh that little girl is now a big girl! She is nearing her preteen years and I just can't believe how tall and smart she is. She makes me so proud. She was surprised to see me as no one told her I was in town. I was her belated birthday surprise, I hid in a box and she opened it up to find me in it and she was in shock. She didn't know whether to cry or smile and she just reached out to touch me to make sure that I was real. I love my Seashell.

It was like old times with my brothers and sisters and we just hung out and I made dinner a few times and like I said, it was just like I had never left. Shopping with Lulu was a blast we would laugh and sometimes cry because we were laughing so hard!

I miss Texas! I got to drive my old Honda Civic, gas was $1.89 back in first weeks of November, they have Mrs. Baird's bread, Best Maid pickles, Whataburger, Tex-Mex food, doughnut shops, Chick-fila. The list goes on!

I am really proud of my siblings and how things how progressed since my departure. Lulu is nearly the completion of her junior year in college, Mark is doing well and keeping up with the sports, Jason is doing great at work and keeping the house up, Pancho is doing great at work and just moved into a new home. Seashell is doing great in school and will be competing in a spelling bee. WOW! I am a proud sister!

I am learning that life is so complex at times but even in the simplest of times love is all that you need.

It is so good to be loved. It is even better to share love with others.

Until next time, I love you all.

-Jai

Today Will Be A Historic Day!

2008-11-04T11:11:00.002-10:00

VOTE VOTE VOTE!!

I'm home sick, ear infection and severe congestion. Dr. ordered bed rest! Please get out there and vote.

I voted via absentee ballot.

Please please go away icky germs and sickness!!

Muchas Gracias Amigas

2008-11-02T19:36:00.002-10:00

Para mis amigas,

*Thank you for the HUGE MASSIVE "Cold Buster" Jamba Juice

*Thank you for driving me to Tripler and waiting for ME

*Thank you for calling to check on me

*Thank you for the speedy recovery texts, messages, and im's

Although, I may not have been in HI long, my new friends are making the transition a little easier!

I miss my buds back in the Lone Star State so much, but now I have more to add to my list. I know my TX friends would happily come to HI if airfare was not so HIGH!

Life wouldn't be the same without good friends and family!

So where ever and whoever you are know that Jai thinks of you and appreciates you so much!

I LOVE MY FRIENDS!

Here's to friends and family! :) I'm raising my Nyquil measuring cup to you!

LOL

Sunday blues...

2008-11-02T19:15:00.004-10:00

Howdy everyone!

How did everyone fall back? Here in Island-land we don't do such a thing, we are on Hawaii Standard Time!

I am fighting the Sunday blues.

I spent 3 hours of my life in the ER of the Army hospital "Tripler" and after witnessing a young child with what looked like measles I decided to leave. What I assume was his father stated they had been waiting since 11am. No thanks, it will just be another round of Nyquil for me.

I had fever today which limited me to what I could do and I am just bummed.

DH had duty today upon the ship's return so I can't see him :(

We were going to try to have dinner, actually I had hoped for brunch, I made his favorite jambalya and green beans and cinnamon muffins .

But no can!

No seeing DH today AT ALL!

Texas lost. Still bummed about that!

I had started reading the instructions for Seashell's dress I had hoped to make and well it seems a little hard for me right now.

I just don't feel well.

I really hope that I don't have strep from the teacher I subbed for, or pneumonia from my DH, or the flu.

I guess the lesser of all of those evils would be the flu.

It seems to have started as an ear infection which is normal for me and always causes a hoarse throat but this time I got fever and I can feel the congestion in my lungs.

Sigh!!!

I am going home soon and I am just anxious about that!

I am praying to see all of my siblings and I am nervous about closing some chapters about my mom's passing.

I feel that I never really mourned her and for some reason here lately I just start crying for her.

I miss MY mom so much!

That's just it, I want MY mom, not anyone elses MINE!

Mama, I miss you.

Ok, enough about the Sunday blues, time for happiness and I will see my wonderful husband tomorrow and he will take the best care of me, I know it!

Peace out!

Question: What is your favorite holiday dish?

Mine: Stuffing! (of course mom's recipe!!)

It's November Already!

2008-11-01T19:29:00.004-10:00

Time is going by so fast!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween!

I was Dora the Explorer and the students loved it!

I can't believe that November is upon us and before you know it, Christmas and New Year.

I look forward to the holidays with the hubby as it will be our first married holiday season.

I am sick and not enjoying the weekend without DH, he's off playing battleship somewhere. I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles as a Navy Wife.

You learn to adjust and adapt. I am bummed as my team lost, Tech deserves the win, they played well. I just can't believe the sillies that stormed the field, it was even mentioned here on Hawaiian news as ridiculous and crazy. It was Tech's 500th win and their first win against a #1 team. I have faith TEXAS is always #1 to me!!!

Wishing everyone a wishful weekend and here's a special line to my departed parents as tomorrow is All Souls' Day.

I miss you Mom and Dad!

For some reason here recently, I have thought of you both a lot! More than usual. I know that you are both with me and made me into the person I am today and I thank you for all that you did for me, your unexpected and unwanted departing from the living world still impacts me but I want you both to know how I much you are loved.

I am happy that you are both together!

I love MY mommy and daddy! RIP

Joint Spouses Conference

2008-10-30T22:07:00.004-10:00

Earlier this month I attended a conference for all military spouses and I really enjoyed myself. It was good to meet new faces and be around other spouses who know what daily life as a military spouse is all about. I enjoyed workshops from Hawaiian gardening, decorating, photography, makeup consultation, to ummmmmmmm............

WINE TASTING!

This wine tasting was unlike another other I have been to, and I have made my rounds!! This one was not skimpy!

We even had entertainment from Daniel Martinez ( see below) he gave an interesting presentation on Pearl Harbor to Polynesian dancing. What a fun weekend!! I met fellow, HMW's as well. Long live HMW!!!!!!! (Hawaii Military Wives)

Are you a History Channel Nerd?

2008-10-30T22:00:00.005-10:00

IF so, quick name the person I am standing with?????

-Do you give up?

It's the one and only Pearl Harbor Memorial Historian Daniel Martinez.

If you watch the History or Discovery channel like we do, then you know this....

When in Rome....

2008-10-30T21:33:00.008-10:00

Do as the Romans do....

Or when in Hawaii, eat Shave Ice....yummmmmmm

We went down to Waiola Shave Ice in Honolulu, oh my goodness that was sooo good!!

What is the strangest combination you have eaten in a shave ice?

Do you eat the shave ice with beans? Or do you prefer ice cream or condensed milk in your shave ice?

I am not so brave, I go with ice cream!

I did something I never thought I would...

2008-10-30T20:42:00.002-10:00

Being a Navy Wife has challenged me to do things that I never would have imagined possible. I have had to learn to reinvent myself in our new hometown and modify my career. I happily teach at the Navy elementary and this week I was the sub for the music and art teacher. Ugh, did someone say music? IF you know me, then you know I can NOT carry a tune and I was a band nerd and I can't even draw a circle.

So, today I amazed myself and I really sang for the kids! Today the students learned about pitch, steps, leaps, and octave. We saw Do-Re-Mi from The Sound of Music and they thought I was the best singer ever!!!! I honestly think it's because I knew the words and the motions. I surprised myself by teaching two things that honestly scare me. It has been an amazing week! I love teaching!!!!!

Happy Halloween Everyone! Be Safe!

Hearing my married name come out of the mouth's of little ones makes me smile. Not so much if the student is tattling. But another change for me is Mrs. not Senora or Senorita.

Big Island FUN!

2008-10-25T20:44:00.012-10:00

Rearranging is time consuming, so narration will have to be suffice.

Walking to the "NEW" lava with D. It was quite the journey.

Waves crashed at the southernmost tip of the United States.

Silly photo I just wanted to take with my hand!

Ready to GO!

If you know Hawaii, then you know how popular mac nuts are!

M* (my new BFF-LOL) and her son

Lava that has formed into blocks but as Bear Grylls would say "shelter".

Jagged lava, yes this was quite an adventure to hike through.

We stopped at this candy factory to see what the hype was about.

More hiking adventure on day #1. At this point D* and I thought we had lost his mommy and brother, thankfully we didn't.

Tired little one at the zoo.

Interesting lava rock formations.

mooooo....cows on the big island

whew, we are almost done with the hike!!

This reminded me of Don Quixote.

Taking in the views with a NICE camera, this is new lava. M* I loved your camera!

Interesting plaque, I liked the colors.

Ahhhhh, I love wine!!

Fresh steam being released....wow!

Our cabin for the weekend.

Taking a stroll on the new lava.

Holy smokes Batman!! That's a lot of lava.

I wonder why the road is closed?!?

Cool shot by D*

Hiking is FUN!!

It smelled like fresh ironing! Steam!!!

Native plants!!!

I really liked the rock formations from the lava.

We felt like we were being banished from civilization.

Somewhere over the rainbow and LAVA!

Posing with the NEW lava.

I wonder why the road is closed?

Activity at different points ...cool pic !

What patience and skill!!

View from the museum window...

WHOA!

Pretty falls!!

You have to take photos of the signs!!

What landscape!! That's lava!!

Days go by...

2008-10-25T19:18:00.004-10:00

I know I have not been a very good blogger AT ALL!

No true recent updates at all!

My apologies- ¡Lo siento!

Here you go....

The happenings of The Paz Dispenser.......

I want to touch on DH's recovery of his bike accident and the 9 stitches that were sewed in incorrectly!

Last month on DH's bday, he had a terrible bike accident and had to get 9, yes NUEVE stitches!! OMG!

Those things were sewn in incorrectly and grew into his skin, and got infected and well, thanks military hospital!

This all happened the day I was on set of Lost and the man did NOT tell me a word!!! (HIS FREAKING BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!)

He was at the hospital ER(for 8 hours) with a HOLE in his arm!! AGH!!! That did not make me happy, but what a man, he knew that I would have let the set and all my time of fame and glory for him!! (To the person who lost control of their dog, I pray that if an accident involved you, someone will have the courtesy to check on you after it happens. As you walked away as if you didn't see the terrible accident your dog caused and did not even care to check on my husband or acknowledge him; for his arm was lodged into a fence. I hope that someone checks on you )

DH also came down with pneumonia and again, he doesn't put himself first or whine...he didn't hesitate to push me out the door to go on a wonderful trip with the C* family to the Big Island! That deserves it's own post!! It was amazing and I truly have a new friend now and I am really blessed to have met her! :) More about this amazing person below!

I want to let you know that I am now a working woman again!!

Thanks to my new BFF, M* I am working at the Navy Elementary school. For those of you who know me this is quite a different pace from my 6 year career of teaching high school Spanish and coaching cheerleading.

Speaking of friends, I am so blessed to have new friends to add to my heart and I am very happy to see or talk to most of them now on a near daily basis, and this means A LOT especially being fellow military wives we know how to relate to one another.

M* with whom I accompanied to the Big Island with her family is an amazing fellow Navy wife. She does a great job raising her two little boys and I am so happy we've crossed paths and now have starting a wonderful friendship!! DH and I have even taken interest in her little one's football career and were yelling at along the sidelines this morning at his football game. (hope we didn't embarrass him)

My other new BFFS are S*****n and P***i, they are too funny!! I am going to miss hanging out with them during the day, now that I am working! Especially their little girls. Probably a good thing, because I was getting baby fever seeing them with their little ones!

Oh and P***i is Hawaii's new colorist!! She came over and "did my hair", wow amazing job!! LOL

I am so blessed to have a husband that cares about us getting out and doing things and encourages girl time and even will hang with us girls or lend a hand if we need it! Lub u Love!

More coming soon....

Question?

Who is RANKED #1 in the BCS and AP poll ?

TEXAS!!! Hook'em Horns!!!!

DH loves me, he will rub the sleep off his eyes to watch the college football games with me bright and early here in Hawaii and he even wears his TEXAS gear on Saturday!! :) I'm a VERY PROUD WIFE!

Birthday Shout-Out

2008-10-25T19:03:00.004-10:00

Happy Belated Birthday to my oldest brother!!

(Here he is with Lulu and I, I am the short one...LOL)

He's the best sports fanatic in the world!!

Wishing you the very best!

Miss and Love you BIG bro!

It's been too long.

2008-10-16T15:03:00.002-10:00

Howdy y'all.

I know, I know.

It has been nearly an ENTIRE month since my last post!

Time has flown by!

Here's why:

I have been working...YAY!!

I went on a trip to the Big Island.

(thank you C family! I am so blessed to have met you ALL)

DH and I have been home furnishing shopping and well quite honestly spending time with him is a rarity so I took advantage of quality DH time!

New posts are coming soon! :)

¡Te lo prometo!

Another Birthday!!

2008-09-27T17:53:00.003-10:00

Happy Birthday to MY LOVE!!!

We celebrated with an outrageously GREAT meal from Ruth Chris Steakhouse!! Oh my!! What a meal!!

Sparkling water, cocktails, Chivas and sprite, warm bread, seared ahi, Caesar salad, ribeye steak, lamp chops, and creamed spinach and warm apple tart with ice cream.

Makes my mouth water all over again!!

I LOVE MY HUSBAND! :)

You deserve this and more!! Feel better soon my love.

*we went to the tourist Ruth Chris in Waikiki, just to feel the ambiance and robust vibe Waikiki has to offer. It is good to experience that every once and a while, even if parking is a B*!

The environment was beautiful and what a wonderful time we had, DH is going to have a birthday redo as I will describe later what happened to my LOVE this past week, including on his actual bday while I was on the Lost set.

My poor bebe....

Question: When will I stop being carded for alcohol? DH said it's because of my size, I am "little". Well, I guess I don't mind, even though I am almost THIRTY!

It could happen to YOU!!

2008-09-27T12:29:00.005-10:00

Guess who was called by the Lost Casting department?

Yes, as in Lost, the t.v. show.

Yup, you guess it!

ME! JAI!!

(I have the voicemail saved to prove it!!!!!!!)

It all started one hot Saturday afternoon, when DH had duty and I had read in the Honolulu Advertiser, that there was going to be an open casting call for "Lost". I decided to go ahead and try it out and see what it all entailed. Well, that morning I dropped off DH at work and I piddled at home trying to talk myself out of it and couldn't find anything to wear. I didn't have anything else to do that day, so I finally got dressed and head on over to the location. The line was SUPER LONG!! Adding to the procrastination and urge to chicken out, I couldn't find PARKING, especially for the big truck!!

I find a public park down the way and walk to the elementary school(where the casting call was taking place), the whole way down I am praying that our truck isn't towed, and that it is still there in one piece upon my return.

So, I make the hike in a cute summer dress and I feel my makeup melting, and then it clouds over, yup you guessed it, rain. Just a little.... so the hair is still good.

I sigh and join the line. Looks like about 200 people in front of me....In front of me is a talkative bunch. They are reminiscing about their previous casting experiences.....oh dear, why did I bother??????

**Sidenote, I was like number 1573, I heard that over 2000 ppl were seen.**

The couple behind me are also seasoned casting call veterans and they tell me that they "heard" that casting is looking for bilingual "extras". The couple also has a huge umbrella..so whew I am sheltered from the sun and rain. They were SUPER nice.

One hour passes and I am getting HUNGRY! I did not plan on being out for hours and I did not eat breakfast and I had dinner plans with the HMW (Hawaii Military Wives board) girls.

I wait another hour and casting comes out to cut the line. Thank goodness, I wasn't cut. By this point the group in front of me, ordered pizza, and that was grueling to watch, they did invite me to purchase some with them but I don't ever carry cash.

Here comes Miss Hawaii in her Mini Cooper, it proudly flies a Hawaii flag on the antenna and the red mini has Miss Hawaii on it, and she just parks the darn thing on the street and walks on in. Are you kidding me? She is stopped by casting and has to wait.

Another half hour goes by and I am getting to the front of the line. Finally I get to the guarded gate and I am handed a number with an application printed on the back and go inside, I then find out that I am in the last group being seen for the casting call, everyone else is being sent home.

I quickly try to powder my nose, fill out my application and give them my real stats, height, weight, clothing sizes, shoe size, etc , acting experience...and proceed to have them take a head shot and they ask me some questions and see on my app that I am bilingual and the casting guy says that's great and you're pretty. Ugh, thank you????!!!!

Fast forward to this past Monday and casting actually calls me and I seriously thought that it was a joke. NOPE!!! The REAL deal!!! YAY!

Sorry, no details from me about the set or anything, just that actors are REALLY thin!!

"Kate" is nothing but flawless and she is tall and ultra lean, so pretty and NICE!

I saw others on the set and was on set ALL day long, what an experience and the coolest thing about it all, it was DH's bday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE, your wife is famous! :)

Question: Can a Chinese food chain restaurant run out of soy sauce? Yes, while at Panda Express this past Friday, they were OUT! Ugh, how does Panda Express run out of soy sauce??? Just give me a dab from what you are cooking with, geez, the service was poor that day!! They were rude!!!!!!!!!!

It's Aloha Friday!

2008-09-19T09:32:00.003-10:00

Hope everyone has a great weekend!! :)

(For you mainlanders, we call Friday... "Aloha Friday", we try to get a jump start on the weekend and typically most get off of work early to begin the weekend!)

To my peeps back in TX, have a 99 cent Jr. Banana split for me from Sonic. LOL I see the commercials and my mouth just waters.

Photos of last week..

2008-09-17T11:04:00.010-10:00

Last week was a busy week! Here are the photos I promised!!

Enjoy !!

Yummy!! Dinner at the Cattle Company to

celebrate our successes here in HI!

Dinner was complete with dessert!! Lushcious strawberry cheesecake!

Our quaint little trip to the Ewa Train Museum and Ride!

All abroad!!!

Aww, DH enjoying the view from the train.

Pretty, huh?!!

Working in the yard...

DH and I made a "ghetto" sifter, to sift out the rocks and junk from our backyard, since we don't own a tiller.

We used the left over wood from our homemade bed slats and wood from a broken mirror stand.

We are very proud to reuse!

*sidenote* During our move, the movers lost our bed slats. DH made new ones!

You likey? Hey, it worked!!

Stayed tuned as we wait patiently for our beautiful bermuda grass to grow! :)

Attention Military Spouses!

2008-09-17T10:47:00.002-10:00

YOUR VOICE IS NEEDED IN CONGRESS IMMEDIATELY.

The House of Representatives recently passed the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act. This bill, if it passes the Senate, will apply the same rules of residency to military spouses that currently apply to their active duty service member (so you would no longer have to worry about changing your driver's license, vehicle registration, voter's registration, etc., every time you move). The idea that we should be penalized for these moves WHEN IT IS THE MILITARY that is choosing to move us is ridiculous. Military spouses, like service members, simply go where the military tells them to go. The hardships associated with these frequent moves should be ALLEVIATED by Congress, not perpetuated.

Shockingly, the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act is currently BEING CHALLENGED by the DoD as it is being considered by the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. If this bill does not get approved by the VA Committee, it will never get voted on in the Senate and thus never become law.

This is your chance to make a difference and to be heard. You need to call the Senators that are sitting on the VA Committee. Ask to speak with their legislative aide about the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act.  Tell them that "the committee needs to support the Carter Military Spouse language."  For some reason, the DoD does not believe that military spouses should have the same residency protections that service members do. Obviously, Military Spouses for Change disagrees with the DoD on this.

It will not cost the federal government anything to make this bill a law. It will not cost the Department of Defense anything. All we are asking for is a reprieve from the practical and financial burdens of having to change our state of residence every time the military decides to move our family. Either that or the military should start giving our married service members the option of staying at one duty station for his or her entire career. Since the latter is unlikely to happen, then the federal government should at least move to provide us with the same legal protections it provides our service members since we are no more immune to the change of duty stations than he or she is (absent divorcing or separating).

Print out the numbers below and take the time to call each office and tell them that military spouses deserve the same legal protections that their service members get when it comes to state residency laws. They say that the military recruits a service member but retains the family, well this is a step the federal government can take toward doing that.

Please forward this email to other military spouses you know and/or post on message boards and blogs!

Akaka, Daniel K.- (D - HI) (202) 224-6361
Aide: Lisa F.

Brown, Sherrod- (D - OH) (202) 224-2315
Aide: Diane Wilkinson

Burr, Richard- (R - NC) (202) 224-3154
Aide: Kevin Tuess(??)

Craig, Larry E.- (R - ID) (202) 224-2752
Aide: Patrick (Nielman??)

Graham, Lindsey- (R - SC) (202) 224-5972
Aide: Adam Brake

Hutchison, Kay Bailey- (R - TX) 224-5922

Isakson, Johnny- (R - GA) (202) 224-3643
Aide: Lauren Walter (along with Houston Ernst)

Murray, Patty- (D - WA) (202) 224-2621
Aide: Joshua Jacobs

Obama, Barack- (D - IL) (202) 224-2854
Aide: Ruchi Bhowmik

Rockefeller, John D., IV- (D - WV) (202) 224-6472
Aide: Clete Johnson or Barbara Pryor

Sanders, Bernard- (I - VT) (202) 224-5141
Aide: Janko Mitric

Specter, Arlen- (R - PA) (202) 224-4254
Aide: Will Wagner

Tester, Jon- (D - MT) (202) 224-2644
Aide: James Wise

Webb, Jim- (D - VA) (202) 224-4024
Aide: William Edwards

Wicker, Roger F.- (R - MS) (202) 224-6253

Your ally in progress,

Carissa Picard

--
Carissa Picard, Esq.
President
Military Spouses for Change
P.O. Box 216
Copperas Cove, TX 76522

254.554.1513

www.militaryspousesforchange.com

Involve. Inform. Inspire!

So Much Can Happen In a WEEK!

2008-09-15T18:32:00.013-10:00

Oh, it's Monday!

Duty day AGAIN!! (@#$%&*!!)

So, it has been a week since my last post and so much has happened.

Let's see...

*A hurricane has hit Texas. (thank goodness all of our friends and family are safe and well)

*Remembering 9/11

(just the stories of how DH was deployed at the time and they had to turn around to go back!! DH actually got to fire some ammo! I was a SR. in college at UNT, remembering this and now as military wife..my life has changed)

*DH and I got iPhones!!! LOVE THEM!! (I am addicted!!!)

*DH and I got contacts, so WE CAN SEE! (umm, remember I nearly failed the vision exam for my new Hawai'i license..yeah, that was with my glasses!! DH and I are going to have blind children, our prescriptions are nearly EXACTLY the same, our eye shape is just different..SCARY!) This is the first time DH and I have had current vision correction and see clearly, now we know what we truly married...LOL

*we dug up our entire backyard to plant grass seed and made a ghetto sifter to get the roots and rocks out of our dirt and then laid down netting so those darn birds won't EAT the seed AGAIN! (forgot to write about that!)

*there was HUGE fire a few streets down from us (very smokey outside for a long time!!)

*I had a job interview (YAY!!)

*minor detail, I kinda lost my military dependent ID ..BUT it has been recovered!

(I can now recite procedure on how to get a new one!)

*DH and I now have Hawai'i driver's licenses

*gas has dropped at the exchange to $4.13/gallon

*I hung up at UNT flag on our front porch and DH said it was blasphemous!

*We begun looking at our holiday travel costs, airfare to return home is OUTRAGEOUS! Looks like I will be cooking a holiday meal for 2, I did find a butterball turkey breast at the commissary, rumor has it to buy it early, because the island sells out FAST!!

*We rode the cutest little historic train on the island!!! It was so adorable to hear the story of the train and the volunteers who give their time to share it with others!! It was a good scenic route from Ewa to Ko'Olina! :)

*We found a good steak place with ample dining room!! The food was de-lish!

*We ate GOOD (notice I did not say GREAT) Mexican food

*We ate BAD Mexican food

*I learned how to make ringtones using iTunes for our iPhones, yes DH will confer that I AM A COMPUTER GEEK!!

So, that is what is going on here on the rock!

You?

We would love to hear from you all.

It is so good to get emails from friends(REAL EMAILS; NOT FORWARDS!!), you don't know how much we miss the mainland.

Question of the day:

What is the name of the University of North Texas mascot?

Give up? Scrappy the Eagle....

Oh, did you know that there are not many local sports to watch in Hawai'i? I am going to be deprived of my Mavericks, Dallas Stars, even the Texas Rangers!! HOLY SMOKES BATMAN!! I don't want to watch the WAC conference here! I know, know, I think UNT was once in the WAC but they aren't now!!! I would order the cable channel for the Big 12 if, IF.. I had a job!! Oh... this is going to be a long, long, time at this duty station! Looks like University of Hawai'i football, oh no!! HECK NO! GO MEAN GREEN! HOOK'EM HORNS!! BTW sports come on here at weird hours because of the time difference, guess no Saturday morning cartoons here!! Will someone please email Pearl Jam for me???, I could really use a concert right about now!!! Until the next time....

p.s.

Sorry for the lack of photos, I will go get my cord to the iphone shortly!! I am being lazy...I guess I could bluetooth, but again, L-A-Z-Y!!

MORE Birthday LOVE!! Thanks LULU

2008-09-08T13:35:00.003-10:00

So, today I decided to get my butt into jogging gear when I think, I will check the mail before leaving the casa. What did Jai find? A key in our mailbox to open up a BIGGER mailbox, because I had more birthday goodness!!!! YAY!!! Lulu mailed me a box full of L-O-V-E! I got some cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute new tops, a lightweight jacket, hairproducts!!! Bedhead superstar volumizer, k-pak conditioning treatment and split end mender, gorgeous new baseball cap and mouse pad. She mailed me a power cord we had left and even the jacket I had let her borrow!! She even sent DH some goodies! Oh, and some Mexican spices and peppers to cook with! :) So thoughtful! I must admit I cried after opening it. The package evoked some emotions about missing home, and MY MOM! It is the greatest feeling to be loved and to know that the love that you carry and share with those around you is because of something so much greater, the love of your parents. Mom and Dad, I LOVE YOU and MISS YOU BOTH! Ok, well the eyes are tearing up again, so I leave you with this question. Question: Have you told someone you love them today? Answer: I live my life every day as a devotion to my parents and in that show them love in actions. Photos of the loot later today, I have an eye appointment, I nearly failed my eye vision exam here in Hawai'i, WITH my glasses. Time for a new set! There that made me laugh! <3

Birthday Goodness CONTINUED!

2008-09-08T09:43:00.010-10:00

For those of you who really know me, you know my distinct fetish with Pearl Jam. Actually, more specifically EDDIE VEDDER! My husband was so wonderful to have ordered me the best gifts for my birthday. (Makes me want to crawl the wall like a small child for Christmas!!! and you know that is so NOT ME!!) Unfortunately, there was a significant delay for them to arrive onto the rock. Nearly 9 days late. He was so upset and disappointed. He had ordered them about 2 1/2 weeks prior to my bday but now we know to order things at least a month in advance. But here they are without further due!! My DH bought me the latest Pearl Jam concert on DVD; (I didn't even know that was out!!, what is happening to me????) Pearl Jam: Imagine in Cornice - Live in Italy 2006 (2007). Whoo hoo! We had our Saturday night plans, a concert and dinner. It was amazing! But wait, there's more! He also got me what I had mentioned to him some time ago... (he really does listen!!) He got me the rare coffee book that I had been wanting for quite some time!

I proudly own: Pearl Jam vs Ames Bros: 13 Years of Tour Posters - a chronology of Pearl Jam's celebrated concert posters spanning 1995 to 2007.

YAY!! Words can't contain my happiness! I am so excited! I nearly read the entire thing within the first hour of holding it! I really love the different artwork and the quotes and the stories behind the art. The quality of this book is outstanding! It is very nice and I want to put latex gloves next to it for those to turn through the pages!! LOL No fingerprints please.... Sure, some of the artwork is a little much but I am such a Pearl Jam fanatic!! As my DH would say, I am obsessed! What a man! He has fueled my obsession with this fantastic addition to my PJ stuff. (Eddie stuff...LOL) Despite the late arrival(please note that I was a good girl and did not pout about a gift, I really enjoyed my bday weekend), DH was estatic to see how happy I was with them and enjoyed watching the concert with me and just watching me smile from ear to ear with my gifts. I tried not to sing out loud, but I just couldn't contain myself. On the DVD we see some great views of Italy as well and Eddie's daughter, what a cutie! The DVD fuels my want to travel, DH has been fortunate enough to visit Italia, but I have yet to do so. It is definitely on my

list of places to go. I am eager about being a military dependent and taking full advantage of Space A(vailable) travel. I will eagerly stand in the terminal waiting for ANY flight with a bag, you know how much I love to travel and the spontanity of just getting up and going!! I now know the happiness that DH had with his EARLY bday gifts...he got

Married life is grand!

Blissful!

Of course with love, determination, and compromise, life is good! :)

Why did I wait so long?? LOL

Today's question(s): What is Jai's favorite PJ song? --> there are many, but old PJ - State of Love and Trust" and NEW Eddie, "Guaranteed".

Why are DH's new toolboxes blue? --> the NAVY duh, no actually it's DH fav color.

Does anyone know if PJ is coming to play Hawai'i anytime soon? Or even Cali? I guess I will check out Pearl Jam.com

What did you do last night?

2008-09-06T14:35:00.009-10:00

Last night? Hmmm...what did you do? Last night, I declared that I am officially a stay at home wife. I FINALLY made DH his no-sew flannel blanket that I had promised him for TWO YEARS!! I wish I was kidding, but I think it has been almost two years since I bought the flannel. I am very sorry to the person that "involuntarily donated" the rotary cutter and mat. I totally forgot we still had it, until our household goods arrived and we were packing EVERYTHING and ran across the cutting board/mat, rotary cutter, well at least one mat and blade was purchased by myself. (We have since also repacked some of our stuff back into boxes for a garage sale or immediate change of duty station. SOME DAYS, I WISH!!) Sorry Family D. I should ship it back. Anyways, I found scissors to be way easier than the cutter and I was just about done with the knotting when I found a stupid lonely piece of material, yes some where along the way I got off on the knotting process! GRRRRRR!!! Needless to say, I did have to tug at the flannel some before beginning because it had stored with the beginning 5 x 5 squares already cutfrom each corner, DH helped me with that years ago! Anyways, I pulled and pulled and readjusted the alignment and taa daa! Carefully, I cut away with skill precision using the ruled mat and was singing along to Shakira in Spanish, and here is DH's new blanket, I mean OUR new blanket! I guess I will get started on the other material I bought too! ENJOY! This blanket is cozy! I surprised DH with it while he worked diligently with our baby last night. (our iMac)

He was shocked at what he found me doing quietly in the living room and took a quick photo of me working last night, he was probably wondering why I was so dang quiet!

Please excuse our messy living room, courtesy of me. As you can see from our loft view you can see the living room nearly in its entirety.

That's me working! Let me give you a quick tour, that is the grants and scholarship book by the couch. (you can barely see my study guide for graduate testing and the lsat) The mat and scrap (selvage edges) material behind me. A picture frame waiting patiently to be hung. Our BEAUTIFUL Persian rug DH bought on deployment, our first house warming gift. Even if it was to our selves. He said he bought it for me. It's sooo soft and nice. Quite expensive, and definitely not anything I thought I would ever own. I really love it, although I am afraid to vacuum it! We bought a small hand vac for it. DH carried that thing onto the ship and stored it there, what a guy! I am telling you HE'S the BEST! Ipod touch charging behind me, we are apple fanatics, we own too many electronics from Apple. We are only 2 ppl and we own 4 ipods. I know, I know. They each have their purpose.

Here it is, with the infamous Sailor Bear. Thanks Lulu for the bear! (thank you for your countless efforts trying to rescue this bear from the claws of Wally World and your $30 to get him for me because you knew I would love it!) As you can see it is one of my favs. <3

This is in our guest bedroom, please excuse the purple tissue box on the night stand and the box in corner awaiting garage sale day!

Gas is going down!!

2008-09-05T13:03:00.001-10:00

For those of you mainlanders.... jealous of our Hawaii life, gas went down today to $4.19, I do believe that is the cheapest I have seen since my move. LOL

Only in Hawaii

2008-09-05T12:08:00.005-10:00

You are required to not only register your:

*Children

*Pets

*Automobile

but.....

*YOUR BICYCLE!!!! ( I think they just want our $15! We bought my bike out in town so we had to register, DH didn't as he bought his at the Air Force Exchange...breaking the law!!)

Gotta love aloha!

Hey, it is beautiful here!

(see my beautiful flowers from my front yard, they even smell good!!! We don't miss North Texas thunderstorms, flooding, humidity or 100 degree heat)

The BEST Birthday Weekend EVER!!!

2008-09-03T18:03:00.013-10:00

Where do I start? Remember that DH (dear husband) had the infamous duty day for my actual birthday? Well, DH did a magnificent job ensuring that this past labor day weekend was phenomenal! YES, PHENOMENAL!!! I got my birthday wish of a homemade strawberry birthday cake from DH, and I have the photos to prove he baked it!! YUMMY!! DH said that baking definitely takes away his man points.

I don' t think so.

(Although, I refrained from posting embarrassing photos of DH baking.)

Well... So, DH came home EARLY from work on Friday and thus began the best weekend ever!!! Thankfully, it was Labor day weekend so we had plenty of time to enjoy birthday festivities! Friday night was full of beverages and dancing and even an infamous Taco Bell run to satisfy my "happy" hunger, even if now it gives me "tummy aches". (I AM GETTING OLD!!) We went out and enjoyed live music at Aloha Tower, which is near the water which is totally romantic despite the smell of the water. (another great shot of me being too short! actually we need to delete the mishap shots!)

No worries, it gets better! I was treated to dinner Saturday night at

Buca di Peppo and it was soooooo good!! I LOVE ITALIAN!! mmmmm.....It has been a while since I have had some good Italian food, because well the island lacks some decent Italian and Mexican food for that matter. We had a great pre-party at home gearing up for going out and laughing at our ipod shuffling choices for the night as we prepared to hit the town. It is so good to hang out with my husband and laugh and be myself. We were so giddy by the time we left we were dancing fools in our living room before dinner. We found out that here in Hawaii there is a Kmart conveniently located on the way home that is open 24 hours, just in case of a pit stop. Yes, me with tiny bladder. We had to recover all day Sunday from Saturday night fever. LOL

We went out to Pearl Ultra Lounge. We closed the place down at 4am and well the experience of being PROBABLY the only married couple (married to each other, for sure!) was quite interesting. It felt so good to be there with the man I adore and married. We quickly realized that we hadn't been clubbing since before we got married and it was a unique experience for each of us. We felt awkward knowing that we did not care for the happenings of the club patrons or anyone else around else for that matter. We are so over the going out looking for somebody chapter in our lives. Dressing up to go out and "search". We are only care about each other! It has been like that for us for 3 years now, but now with married life we happily walk hand in hand. It was so good to know that all attention about our surroundings did not matter and all we needed to have a good time is each other. The music was decent and reminiscent to previous going out days and we were talking about our previous going out times with each other and how our paths crossed and now we are married and on the same path. The weirdness of girls looking at my husband, I could feel them stare at him and then they realize that he has a wedding band and that the girl he was with IS his wife, duh matching wedding band!! It didn't deter some from staring that's for sure. I walked with confidence as I knew my husband was with me and not any thought to anything or anyone else matters. We share a love for dancing even in public places and I honestly admit my husband can dance and does so much better than I. I am grateful for that. Another plus, girls you will like this one, well besides that my husband is a gentleman and to this day will not let me touch a door or carry anything, but the feeling of knowing when I walked out of the restroom @ Pearl, he is there waiting for ME! (even if he says that at times my eye shadow color choices are a little much, well you only live once! yes, I am wearing aqua, gold and black shadow and the night before, PURPLE!)

Pearl was a good venue (check the place our here -Pearl Ultra Lounge)and we will visit again, the drinks are GREAT(my dear cousin Joe, I definitely had one for you!!!), it wasn't full of the teen age Waikiki crowd(aka Señor Frogs...did I tell you all about our honeymoon Señor Frogs experience? I NEED TOO!), thankfully a more established group even if the girls were looking at my husband,parking was relatively easy and we actually liked that it is located at the top of a mall seemed to be way safer than some places we have seen or heard of in Waikiki. It was fun though to be celebrating another birthday with the man I love and he truly is the best. We realize that not everyone will be able to fiesta in Hawaii, so why not live it up? We also learned that we both happen to like the Madonna/Justin Timberlake/Timbaland 4 minutes song. (ssshhhh, he probably won't admit that fact!)

Sunday was recovery day. I am learning that I am not nearly as young as I think I am and well my recovery time is getting longer. Our eating out continued as we had Ruby Tuesday and I would like to be an advocate for the turkey avocado burger, that thing is GOOD! Sunday was relaxing, and then we still had Monday! Whoo hoo! Sunday night was baking night as my love baked my bday cake, yumm strawberry and we searched the Sunday paper for labor day sales. Let's pause to do a friendly reminder for my military friends! Don't forget your ID! I went to the mini mart to grab a few things because I did not want to hassle going to the commissary when I go to check out and I realize I left my ID in my other purse, grrr. I stashed my basket, I know...BAD! But I went back home got my ID and found my basket and checked out.

Monday, we went to Sears to see the sales on a possible early birthday present for my love. AHHHHHH!!! They had one! He has been wanting a craftsman tool box for the longest time and bless his heart, he hasn't been able to get one because of somebody...ok yes me, and well he said it wasn't a priority. We were approached by a salesman only to tell us that we were mistaken, the model we were looking at wasn't on sale. WHAT?! I asked the gentleman, may I see your sales ad, please. He didn't look to happy. He comes back with it and what do you know?!! It's on sale. My bad, he says. My bad? Whatever. It must be mislabeled on the floor, you are correct. Would you like to purchase? Ugh not from you...(that is what I was thinking, but I don't say out loud for ONCE) but my DH proceeds to ask questions about other models and says we need to think on it. Ok, salesman goes and returns again, this time DH says yea ok. Do you have one in stock? Upon this intelligent salesman's search, oh no sir, we sure don't. Can you wait a couple of days? Or you can go get it from our distribution center tomorrow. What? We decide to go look at curtains, I have been so desperate to beautify our home that the search for living room window treatments has been a bust, I am waiting for the right ones. DH finds them! How does he do that ? Really?? He has impeccable taste and found some wonderful curtains, I swear I married good! This man knows how to match. I remind him of that. He already knew how to match his clothing, his shoes ALWAYS match his belt and knows when to wear white or black socks and I totally believe this to be PRIOR to his military service,(I know his mom, trust me SHE taught him well, the man is also A CLEAN FREAK!) there are photos to prove it and HE CAN IRON! LOL Anyways, so of course there is only 1 curtain so I am on the hurt for an associate to locate others in the backroom when HOLY cow the line for the cashier is 2 miles long, come to find out towels were on sale. Finally, I reach someone who goes to the back to find curtains and when she comes out totally walks past me and leaves them with the cashier. I go and grab them and well DH and I decide that this is my bday treat for him the tool box I go to make my purchase of tool boxes and curtains when the NEW sales associate, asks "do you know where merchandise pick up is? Ugh, yes I do. (DH bought some new tools upon me arriving to the island) Why? You can pick up your merchandise as soon as you are ready. Excuse me??? ALL of the pieces of my love's tool box set was in stock!! I really don't think there was a drop off in the 30 minutes we were looking at curtains, just one of many Hawaiian mysteries of being treated like a haole. Today's question: Why is it that people here think I am native? I finally look like others around me I guess, and I am TALLER than most. No, I am not kidding. I have always thought to be Asian or Samoan not the Mexican, Italian, Spanish American I am. Asi es la vida. Photos to come of the infamous tool box.

Feliz Cumpleaños a Mi - Ode to the Duty Day gods

2008-08-28T23:13:00.011-10:00

Today is my 29th birthday, literally. This is not a mock "29" but the real deal! The day started off with the phones blowing up at 5:30 am Hawai'i time. Thanks Jackson and Aunt H for that! Hehehe, that had to have been one of the cutest, sincerest retentions of the birthday song I have heard in a long time. My 23 old brother singing his little heart out! Watch out for him at the next American Idol try - outs. I am so happy that all of my brothers and sisters called me and wished me a happy bday, it means a lot to me. Even my little Seashell called, she said she had it written in her planner. LOL, the 1o year old has a planner. Lulu and Marco called, Lulu called again to rub it in that she was buying me a cake in Texas and was going to eat it for me and Panchoman gave me a couple of calls before my quest to take myself out for my bday. I even got a call from my mother in law, first time, I have never had one of those before. hahaha Thanks everybody! I got emails from friends and my cousin Joe. Shout out to Jerri!! It feels good to be loved! I must sincerely thank the good ol' US Navy for this present, my husband has duty TODAY! What does that mean to you civilians?? Ugh, in short it means that my husband had to spend his wife's birthday on the freaking ship and had to stand watch. Thank goodness he had a decent watch and was able to call me before he went to bed, but nothing like a memorable birthday courtesy of the Navy. My bro had a good point, at least this year Love is in the same town, state, continent, etc!! Good point!! We will make up for it this weekend!! So, what did Jai do today??? Glad, you asked. I went job hunting. It's that time of year again. School is back in session and surprisingly enough I am not having school withdrawals. LOL! But I do think that the time has come for me to get a job. We are blessed to have steady income but I am starting to crawl the walls here at home. I applied for an elementary teaching position and let's keep our fingers crossed. If not, then I anticipate on starting graduate studies soon. Soon after dropping off my application at the prospective school, I had a very late birthday brunch, nothing like Mc Donald's for your birthday. For those of you who know me, I am cheap!! I had a FREE Southern chicken sandwich with purchase of a large drink, so that was my lunch. (thank you JennJ for the coupon) I then took myself out shopping for my birthday and treated myself to a dinner of sushi! ONE OF MY FAVORITES! I must admit, that is one perk of living in paradise, the abundance of sushi restaurants. I was touched by a fellow military wife's invitation to make me a bday dinner or take me out for my bday. It is nice to have such friends, especially in a new place. Thank you Erin and Erin's husband. Your kindness really touched my heart today! I went out to the mall and bought myself a few new things and I really, really enjoyed my sushi dinner. The downfall was that I arrived at Genki sushi around 8:35 and they close at 9, so I asked for some to-go containers so that I could eat my dinner at home. I felt so bad being there with all of the other customers leaving and I was just getting my food. Thankfully, the waitstaff was polite. So, that was my glamorous dinner, I brought it home and ate at my own kitchen table. I decided on not baking my own cake, as this weekend is an extended weekend, so let's see if I can persuade love to put on his baking mitts. I will let you know if he can bake or not. I would like a strawberry cake with strawberry frosting and fresh strawberries, please!Today's Question is brought to you by: "Duty day: assured to question or ruin your plans at any and every given time" BOO DUTY DAY! It is a mutal hate..Jai hates duty day, duty day hates Jai. I will get you my pretty!!!!

Question: What color of shirt was the mole wearing on today's birthday episode? (hehehe, if you watched the show "The Mole" you are laughing, if not you think I am an idiot!)

Answer: If the birthday girl is the mole then you know purple is somewhere in the wardrobe!

Proud Sister Moments! 2 for 1

2008-08-26T11:51:00.011-10:00

This has been a glamorous day! Thankfully, after a long, restless night I have nothing but GREAT, FANTASTIC news from BOTH sisters back in Texas! The first is: I am very happy to report that Lulu is back at school at UNT, (GO MEAN GREEN!) ready to hit the books in Criminal Justice. I am so proud of that girl, she is focused on that darn major. WOW! I wish I would have been as focused as she is in college. I think my major at one point was changing majors. She is entering her JUNIOR year and wow this time next year, hopefully I will be embarrassing her pants off at "The Annual Mother's Tea" at the Alpha Phi House...hehehehehe just wait. I have a year to prepare!! She is growing up quick!!

Second: It's about 11:30 AM Hawai'i time...my cell phone rings. I reach for my phone thinking it's about lunch time for Gabe and no!! to my surprise it's SEASHELL! YAY!! (I usually get a lunch time phone call from my Love) I love how our conversations start off with "Jai??", like someone else would answer my phone. Aww, I miss her!!!!! She was calling to say HELLO, and that she finished her homework and she wanted to see how my day went. What a booger!! It was so refreshing to hear her voice and she knows how much I love her. We ended our conversation with our "sugars" to each other, she remembers! (sugars defined: kisses on the phone..our mom called kisses "sugars", so Seashell and I end every conversation with sugars to each other; big, obnoxious smooches sounds on the phone and if she forgets I just say "sugars", embarrassing or NOT!!)And a big one at the end...I like that! I think I am going to cry. My husband, my sisters, my brothers, and my family are my life. I wouldn't be the woman I am today, without them!

I love them both so much and not a day goes by that I don't think about my girls. Jai loves and misses you. Muah <3<3

Cute, Not so cute....I think you know which is which...

2008-08-25T19:30:00.003-10:00

Bad, Bad, Bike!

2008-08-25T13:02:00.022-10:00

That's my bike!! I say this in my best Forrest Gump voice. Yes, I know that my bike looks like it is in a tree but it is only tied to a tree. If you look closely, you see my honey releasing my bike from its misery. You will soon why my bike was in time-out. LOL ! So, what started as a planned "together" day of GREAT LIFE HAWAII adventure Sunday, we decided to hit the bike trails of Hawaii and see what the island had to offer. After getting the backpack loaded up with as what Gabe, would call "Eagle Nutrients" or "Vit-a-mins" by his beloved Bear Grylls... we took off to the OAC, Outdoor Adventure Center at the base for a trusty compilation of trail maps and hit the road. First of all: A reminder for you bikers out there, don't leave your keys to your bike lock at home! Yours truly did that one! So, we had to go back home. I love how the "Mr." left his too, but of course I didn't say anything. LOL. So.... we make it over to the other side of the island to Kuliouou Trail. After searching for the entrance to the trail(for nearly an hour), we realized we hadn't turn correctly according to the map, we used up nearly an hour's worth of energy looking for this trail. Long story short, we load the bikes back up onto the truck, YAY for me, I put my own bike in the back of the truck...I personally didn't think I could lift the darn thing over my head. For those of you that know me, you know that my little 10 year old sister's arms are longer than mine! We backtracked and found the trail. We had to park the "monster", (photo coming of what I call the monster, coming soon) unloaded, and suited up again, only to find out that in our first hour of riding around, yours truly ran over a thorn and now has a flat tire. NO FEAR, my love is always prepared! He takes his air pump that he has latched on his bike, btw Love has been riding his bike to work daily. As Seashell (my sister)said: "you guys are going GREEN". Why yes, thank you...we are. Who wouldn't at $4.29/gallon for gas? Remember, we drive a monster pickup! We will discuss our going green efforts in a later post. So, he we go!

Upon, arriving at the trail. We take a look around at the path and discuss our options, we decide to go along the ridge path, which according to the map is the easier of the two options. Ugh, we are pushing our bikes at this point down the path because it is so bumpy and full of tree stumps and roots that there is no way we can take our bikes UP this path. Needless to say, we come across fellow adventurers, who are bike-LESS! So, we make an executive decision to dump the bike idea as we knew according to our OAC map, this is also a hiking trail. So, we ditched the bikes, locked them up to a couple of trees and off we go! Let's hike!

Ready, set...GO!!! We are hiking! We will fast forward my griping of being eaten by mosquitoes, hahaha, I can only hear Gabe's beloved Bear Grylls, say MO-skee-tos and I die laughing when I think about it. Didn't Mr. Grylls warn us many of times about mo-skee-tos and the need of repellant? Didn't teaching English in Mexico after a hurricane, teach me the importance of insect repellant?? I guess not!!! So, the day transpires with many, many...Bear Grylls references and puns. For those of you avid, Man VS Wild fanatics, you know what I am talking about. We took some photos along the way of the Kuliouou Valley and talk about retirement plans and how the valley, reminds us somewhat of Italy. I just love the fact that I am way too short for this together shot! Please excuse my body's vertical challenge.

Love and I want to buy a house in foreign country one day, but at our Navy savings plan rate and savings for our children, we think we might be better off researching a not so glamorous country where our mighty US dollar may S-T-R-E-T-C-H a little farther! Our hike was a good one, walking up the path and enjoying the views of (for me my feet, because I concentrated on them so much, because I didn't want to bust down the path, I AM A KLUTZ!!)

the valley and the distinct difference in weather as our elevation rose. We reached a surreal part of the climb where there was pine trees and what looked like douglas fur trees and the ground was completely covered in tree needles. It just looked that we had climbed a completely different planet. At one point Love wanted to roll down the slope for the fun of it, but I persuaded him not to, as we want to have kids one day and I want him to be here when I am old and vieja. I stopped and mimicked the infamous sound of music scene, the hills are alive with the sound...I think you get the picture. But it was a fun, wholesome day that

ended with a bang. LITERALLY!! So, after reaching the top and taking the following photo:

we descended back down as it was quickly growing dark outside, we raced down the hill and took a few more photos. Why does he make faces in the background of my photos?? Such a boy!! (see below)

We made it down safe and sound, we even stopped to take a silly photo.

We made peace with our bikes and asked for their forgiveness for abandoning them and then it happened. We ended our night with a bang. Remember, I had a flat?! Well, love pumps the tire up with air AGAIN so that we can ride back to the truck when B-a-N-g!! The tire blew out, the tube exploded..sounding like a gun shot in the still of the night. Good thing we were alone or who knows what could have happened...LOL...(this path is also the site of PUBLIC hunting grounds!!!! AGHHH!!!!!) All I can say is that my hubby really does LOVE me... he carried my defunct bicycle back down the trail, down the hill, and ALL the way to the truck. WHAT A MAN!! I luv him!! He's ALL mine! :)

Question: Name two things that you should do before going on an bike riding trail? Don't remember? You need to read this post again, my friend!! :)

MY LOVE

2008-08-22T23:32:00.005-10:00

I wanted to introduce MY LOVE, MY HUSBAND..The World's GREATEST Sailor of the Worlds' Finest Navy! HE is so handsome, intelligent, patient, and understanding!

Isn't he photogenic!?!!!! I am so blessed to have him in my life. He's mine, ALL MINE!! God has blessed us to live our lives together as one. What an awesome inspirational man. I have found the one whom my soul loves....Song of Solomon 3:4

Our Wedding Day - May 2008

2008-08-22T23:24:00.002-10:00

The first day of many...

2008-08-22T19:56:00.002-10:00

This is our first post to our blog. We hope to bring news, excitement, and love to our family and friends back on the mainland. There are so many things for us to cover and tell you all about our many adventures in Hawaii. This is MY first duty station, my DH's (dear husband's - 3rd? 4th? well... not HIS first) We don't even know where to begin???!!!! We hope to tempt you with stories of moldy bread, $9 gallons of milk, being called "a local, yeah", to Navy life in general, and my extensive coverage of my first PCS move (thanks Love, I know that this was your like um-teenth move, but Jai has never moved out of the state before and wasn't familiar with government forms, movers, or shipping cars..only travelling...I would always come back home to Texas)We invite you to join us and hold on tight as our Navy life is sure to entertain...to say the least. I will leave you with this question: What do you get when a sailor and a teacher marries?

Answer: besides the best love story of two people who serve the public with God's love and blessings and one day God willing the most beautiful children??? just wait and see.... thanks for reading!