I'm back
2/27/2007 03:37:00 PM | Author: Simply Jen
Did you miss me? Come on, you know you did. You were just sitting there wondering what you were going to do if you had to do another day without my wonderful sense of humor and engaging rambles. Ok,so I'm nowhere near that conceited. I would love to think that everyone missed me terribly, but the ones that matter most did and that's more than enough.
Life is going well. Nothing terribly exciting. My grandfather left. My husband went to his conference. It had him leaving every morning before we were awake and getting home after my son was in bed. Talk about confusing for the poor kid. He had one day where he cried and cried over every little thing. The bus driver and I had to coax him onto the bus crying that morning. It was really hard because he just didn't get that his dad wasn't really gone again and didn't know how to express that so it spilled over to everything. Thankfully it was better the next day which just happened to be Valentine's Day.
Now that day was something else. The day before I had fun shopping for my guys and then decorating the living room. It looked like a crazy classroom with all of the hearts. My son was in heaven and walked around saying "Happy Valentine's Day" over and over again. The next day, while he was at school, I brought out a bunch of mylar balloons and placed them in the hall and next to the table in the living room. On the table, I set out little toys and some candy for him and on the other side some candy and a few little things I bought my husband. Unfortunately, I started feeling very bad not long before my son came home. Apparently I caught the cold my son and husband had the week before and the weekend before valentine's day. It was one of those fun ones that hits suddenly and knocks you on your butt. By the time my husband was able to get home, I just want to go to bed.
The next day was a blast. I was ok as long as I was drugged up on cold meds. We met my husband in Waikiki for lunch and then we headed out to Bellows AFB to a luau that the batallion was having. It was a welcome home part of sorts. I fully expected to be bored and miserable, but the weather was nice the location was just amazingly beautiful and when they brought out the entertainment and that was just amazing. They had a group that performed different tahitian and hawaiian dances. It was so neat to see them and hear the stories that went with them. At the end, they brought some of the men, mostly NCO's and the senior officers up and were having them hula. That was HILARIOUS! I so wish I had a video camera.
That weekend my husband and I had a much needed date. That is about all of the excitment that has happend lately. Last week was incredibly quiet and absolutely wonderful!!
I will hopefully have something more interesting for my next post. I just wanted to let those who were worried know that everything was ok.
annoying myself.
2/08/2007 01:56:00 AM | Author: Simply Jen
I don't know about you, but there are things about myself that make me crazy. In particular, it's my constant worry about what people think about me. When I'm first getting to know you is when it's usually the worst. Tonight it's driving me insane.
We were playing an game and we heard crying and carrying on outside. Someone next door was freaking out scared. It scared both my husband and I. Now their husbands have been gone a lot lately so we didn't know what was going on and my husband went out to see if he could help. The neighbors husband told him politely that he didn't want us in it and my husband just said OK and came back in. Now I'm worried sick they are going to think we are nosy neighbors. We really aren't. If we don't want to die of heat exhaustion, we have to open our windows so we hear more than we would if we had ac. Besides that, with what my husband does, it's just natural to want to help. I mean that's part of his job. Everything is fine over there now, but I cant shake the severe worry that they are going to think us nosy. It's driving me nuts. I so wish I could just not care.
The best laid plans...
2/07/2007 01:48:00 PM | Author: Simply Jen
My plans for today? Wake up,put Gabe on the bus, go back to bed for a little while, wake up and do dishes. Gabe's home sick today and I'm still awake. Why do I even bother making plans?
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
2/06/2007 05:53:00 PM | Author: Simply Jen
Two things that do not mix. A lot of traffic and my grandfather driving with me in the car. You have to understand something about me. A lot of traffic stresses me out. Even from the passenger seat. Honolulu has some really bad traffic all of the time. Especially the area we were going to. Now if my husband were driving I would be fine. My grandfather is not my husband when it comes to driving. It is a new car to him so he was very jerky on the breaks. On top of that he talks non-stop instead of giving full attention to the road. This is not good when my ADD self is trying to figure out where the hell this building I'm going to is. AHHHHHH!!! We finally made it and took care of that errand and then had to fight traffic to another city where I didn't know how to get where we were going. More jerking. More talking. More me trying not to scream. We get to the store and go to get the tv. They have to get it out of the back so it will be a few. No biggie...or so I think. My grandfather is saying constantly that he's in no hurry but spent the entire time acting all impatient. Then we get it and it's paid for and he's asking them a ton of questions, supposedly for my knowledge, but I know the answers already. We get in the car finally, get turned around trying to get towards the base so I can meet my hubby for lunch. When we get there we have to wait for my hubby to meet us. He had to walk halfway across the base because the backseat was taken up. I figured he would take a while. My grandfather gets back into impatient mode and won't stop talking. Honestly, I'm trying my best to just ignore him without seeming rude. My ears were tired and my nerves completely shot. Lunch was nice because he was mostly quiet while he ate. I was supposed to go to the commissary, but I really needed some down time. I knew if we came home, he would go to the gym and I'd get a little time alone in the peace and quiet before my son gets home. Let me tell you something, I am loving this quiet. I only have 30 minutes or so of it left, but I'm taking advantage of every single second.
I did get some news today that isn't really bad, I guess. It's just not what I wanted to hear. That conference that we were going to with my hubby next week isn't happening. Well the conference is, but the TDY wasn't approved so they are making the guys drive back and forth each day instead of the hotel rooms and them staying overnight. I'm ok with it because the only reason we were going is to be with him at night and that will still happen. I was just getting really excited about the mini vacation away from it all. Oh well. It's the military. It happens. Besides, we get a marriage retreat in March overnight at Turtle Bay Resort. Best of all, my sister has volunteered to watch my son that night so it will be a good night without him. I can't wait!!!!! Ok...maybe I should not be so excited.
I so hope the day gets a little better!!
Insert witty title here.
2/05/2007 01:26:00 AM | Author: Simply Jen
You know, I'm not a big football fan. I loved going to the games in high school and college. The energy was great and it was fun to watch the game with a bunch of people.I learned enough about the game that I understand most everything going on. I just haven't found that love for watching it on television. I will usually watch one game a year. I'm sure you can figure out which one. Even then, I only watch the last quarter. With my grandfather here, I was outnumbered so we watched the game. I was shocked to find that I really enjoyed it. I didn't have a favorite team, but I still enjoyed the game. Maybe that means I'm more into it now. Too bad I had to wait until the end of the season to find out.
We went to look at new televisions tonight. We had rearranged the furniture after my hubby returned and it is a little hard to see from the couch farthest away. Also the screen resolution isn't all that great and games we play with any darkness are hard to see. This TV is one we bought from a hotel for a few dollars because they were upgrading. It's a 20" and probably at least 6 years old. My son has the same kind in his room. It was the one my dad bought when I was pregnant because I was on bed rest and he wanted me to have something easier to see than the 13" I had. Paying for a new television is an odd concept to me. I don't need bells and whistles. It's just not a big deal. So we are going simple and getting a 32" one. Might now seem like much to most of you, but I'm darn thrilled.
I have realized I'm adapting to life here quite well. No matter where I live, I seem to pick up different traits quite quickly. Most of them are related to the way I speak. I grew up in Louisiana so I had a bit of the cajun accent and many sayings that my husband had never heard before. The time I spent in Georgia gave me a bit more of a southern accent than I had before. South Carolina just sealed the deal and I have been told I have a fairly strong southern accent. I also picked up the habit of calling everyone hon and sweetie. I get picked on about that a good bit. Well, it was only a matter of time before I picked up something here. The Hawaiians' have a habit of saying "yeah" at the end of their sentences. They will say something like "You've been here before, yeah?" I have definitely picked that up. I use it quite often and a lot of the time I don't even notice. Maybe I'll learn to fit in a little more soon. Now if only I could stop looking like I don't know what the sun is.
This had to be one of my most random posts in a very long time. I guess I just had a lot going through my head. Unfortunately,it's now a little on the empty side so I will stop. Maybe that's fortunately. I'll let you decide.
A wonderful cure for homesickness.
2/03/2007 11:12:00 PM | Author: Simply Jen
Today has been one of those rare amazingly wonderful days. We took my grandfather out sightseeing. As many times as he's been to the island, he hasn't seen a lot of it. I ended up getting some great pictures of the different things. I have found a love for taking pictures of landscapes. There is always something here to take a picture of so that works out well. I am going to try and post some pictures with this.Here goes nothing..



This is a picture I took of my men. I just loved the setup.

My dream house. At least something like it. I would love to live here on the coast forever.

The water was gorgeous. We had to stop and take some pictures. I can't get over the color of the water. It's gorgeous!!

We stopped at another place where the sun was beating the rocks. This lifeguard pulled up as we were leaving and spent some time talking with my son. He was a great guy and my son was excited to meet someone who saves people from the water.

This sign was hanging at the macadamia nut farm we visited today. It says "thank you for your service." My grandfather and husband are in the picture. My grandfather is retired Navy and my husband is AD Army. Thank you both for your service and thank you to the many others out there, no matter your current status. Thank you for doing a job I know I couldn't do myself!

The mountains as seen from the Macadamia nut farm.

Looking up at the sun through the trees. You may think the light is a big mistake but I love the colors that are in it.

The bird of paradise flower.I took this one for you, Rebecca.

Chinaman's hat. It's also know as Mokoli'i Island
Is it never enough?
2/03/2007 01:05:00 AM | Author: Simply Jen
I love where I live. It's gorgeous and the weather is usually wonderful. I can go to the beach almost any time of year and there are almost always flowers. I can go to the big city or enjoy my peace and quiet here in the middle of nowhere. With my husband home, it's practically the perfect place to be. Why is it then that I want so badly to be somewhere else?
I was talking to my brother in law the other night and he told me that it was about to snow. I love SC when it snows. It's usually not enough to make too much trouble and for a little while is absolutely gorgeous. I loved lying in my bed and watching flakes fall in the moonlight. I loved the crisp cool feeling when you walk outside. I miss it. To top it off, two of my good friends in Ga. have just had babies. They were with me when I had my son or shortly after and I so wish I could be with them now. It's just driving me insane to not be able to.
Tonight my sister called me and was telling me that she had a king cake and she was trying to figure out how she could get some back to me when she came home. That got us started talking about mardi gras and all the fun things we would always do for it. I never want to live in Louisiana again if I can help it. It's just not for me, but I really would love to be there right now. I would love to be eating a king cake and boudin and all the wonderful foods. I would love to be around the cajun accents and speak. I would love to go to a mardi gras parade and listen to some cajun music.
Why can't I just be happy with my near perfect weather and beautiful scenery?
Everyone knows it's windy
2/01/2007 03:11:00 AM | Author: Simply Jen
It is so windy today. It sounds as if my house is about to be blown over and the trees definitely look as though they are about to snap. I remember when it was like this last year. My fence fell over and trash was blown everywhere. I can still see where the shingles were blown off a house down the walkway. Aside from the wind, it's a gorgeous day here in paradise. High 70's and sunny. The wind makes the sun not feel so hot. I'm hoping that hubby will get home in time for us to go get some pictures at the beach. I have a feeling the waves are looking awesome. Even in all of this beautiful weather, I can't help but be jealous of my inlaws who are about to get snow. I don't miss the mess that comes with it, but there is just something about looking out the window and seeing the world covered in white. I especially love it before it has begun to melt and everyone has tried driving through it. I remember hubby and I going out in the middle of the night just to be in the snow before the rest of the world decided to wake up and play.
Life is getting back to normal, whatever that means. The kid is back in school and hubby has a pretty regular work schedule going on. My grandfather has decided to make another surprise visit only this time I didn't even get the 3 day notice I did last time. Thankfully, he is able to keep himself busy and can wait until tomorrow to join us. He is retired navy so he stays on the base and visits with other retirees and such or he'll catch a bus down to the tourist traps and walk around. I'm really looking forward to visiting with him tomorrow.
Well the power just went out again. Last time it barely had time to register it was out before it came back on. Doesn't really look like that will be the case this time. I really should go dig up a phone that isn't cordless in case someone important tries to call...yeah..ok so just in case I get bored and want to call someone.
oh well. I'm off to find something to do that doesn't require electricity.

Ok..thought I'd add that we were without power for almost 8 hours. Got old fast. Everything is back up and in running order for now. The wind is a little calmer but not much. Fun Fun.