Gainfully Employed!

Whoo-hoo! After sending out a few resumes and going on one interview, I was offered a job. It's in Syracuse and it's part time which is what I wanted. Well, maybe not so much the Syracuse part but the part time hours for sure. And they're paying me $1 more than I expected with another raise after 90 days. Whoo-hoo! To celebrate, I'm going to make Husband take us out for dinner.

Still Here

Ah, too much time has gone by since I last posted. It's so gosh darn hard when you don't have a computer. Hopefully mine will come back soon. My sister still has it, hopefully fixing whatever it was that caused it to run so slowly.

Last week, I did two of my first army spouse type things to do. On Tuesday I attended an FRG meeting. FRG stands for Family Readiness Group and its members are soldiers, spouses, civillians -- just about anybody can attend the meetings. The meeting was headed by the Command Sergeant Major's (CSM) wife. She did an alright job but I was glad when the woman sitting next to me suggested we go around the table and introduce ourselves. There are several reasons why these groups exist. They provide information to spouses about the unit's deployment, they organize parties (like a children's Halloween party or an adults Christmas party) and also help with various other needs.

The other "army spouse" thing I did was attend something called, "1 2 3 Army Life & Me" which was a series of classes designed to help new spouses acquaint themselves with the army. It was a two day event and the classes covered everything from army acronyms to protocol as well as fincancial readiness. I did very well with the acronym thing, I even won a prize for the most correct. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or I'm just learning to think like the army. Oh, another very helpful class offered was recognizing military ranks. Now this is something I have found amusing. Husband is very good at spotting an officer coming a mile away. He'll say to me, "There's an officer coming, I have to salute." and I'll be like, "How can you tell?" and then the soldier approaches, sure enough he's an officer, and up goes his arm to render the salute. So we learned to recognize ranks which is a good thing. But it wasn't until later that night that I discovered husband's secret to that amazing ability to recognize an officer miles away. We were on our way to Red Lobster for supper and I was telling him about that class. And he said, "I still get confused between first and second lieutenants but if it's shiny, I salute it." A-HA! That was the key the whole time. The insignia on an officer's uniform is made of metal but on enlisted it's fabric whihc is why he could tell a mile away who was coming. Now I know.

But speaking of ranks and such, it is confirmed with 100% certainty that he's headed to Afghanistan next year. The soldiers in his unit were told that unless they were unable to walk or were pregnant, they were going. I'll have lots to say about that, as we get closer to the deployment date and things start to happen as the unit prepares for it. I guess I really am a soldier's wife.

Back Again

Lest you think I am less than interested in blogging, fear not. Once again I am without a computer since I brought it with me to the Island of Long for my sister's expert diagnosis on why it moves so slow. I am not sure when I'll get it back but I do know we're planning another trip at the end of this month.

Speaking of which, I laid down the gauntlet to all who would listen to me last weekend. It's time to reciprocate the visits. We're settled and unpacked (mostly) and ready for company. Roads go both ways and it's time to be visited.

We did travel south last weekend for my niece's birthday party. She turned four this year and it seems like only yesterday we were all waiting for her to arrive. She looked adorable in her little dress and pink "Happy Birthday" tiara, greeting all her guests. Then, of course, it was all about cake and ice cream. Her presents included clothing, Candyland, art supplies and a Blues Clues Memory Game. Blues is still big with the 4 year old set, in case you're wondering. Oh, and she also received a child's size miniature director's chair. In keeping with tradition of teaching my niece appropriate comments ("Go army! Hooah!") we also taught her to say (while in the chair), "Cut! Action! Quiet on the set!"

As I mentioned, I am without computer again. I had to leave it with my sister. I am at the library in town. I am beginning to wonder whatever happened to being quiet in the library. There are three or four teenagers sharing a computer in the corner making enough noise to wake the dead. Oh, the librarian just came in and told them to be quiet. Much better now, the noise has quieted to a dull roar.

But alas, my computer time at the library is up. I am going to be busy tomorrow -- the Jeep has an oil leak that needs to be checked and husband is only working a half day so I am not sure what we'll be doing. Maybe we'll take in a movie. I still want to see "Must Love Dogs"

Who Won?

Damn technology. Damn thunderstorms.

The one show Husband and I have made a point of watching together has been Hell's Kitchen on Fox. Aspriring chefs competed to win the ultimate grand prize, an exclusive restaurant of their own. It's the only reality show I've watched (and I think I owe an apology to monimania since I told her I didn't watch those shows but it turns out I do watch this one).

We started watching it from the very first episode. We were in Toledo, the last night of our cross country journey and it came on. I think we were both intrigued by Chef Ramsay's demeanor. He's one tough SOB and didn't mince words to tell you what he thought about you, your food, attitude, whatever. If, at the end of the show, you were the one canned, you handed him back your chef's jacket and the final scene would be of him forcibly hanging it up on a peg to tear a hole. It was a very Fox-like show. Anyway, we went through it all, only missing two episodes when we moved.

Last night, Monday August 1, the final episode was airing. A full two hours long and it promised more of those Fox-like hijinks we'd come to love. The final two contestants, Ralph and Michael, were competing against each other and had to design their own restaurants, down to the menus. It was about 9pm or so and the little countdown clock on the screen said there were 10 hours to the open. Right before the break, the little twists started. Coming in as sous chefs were all the previous contestants who'd been canned. And then it happened. A bright flash of lightening followed shortly by a KABOOM and we were in the dark. Without power. Without cable TV. Without Hell's Kitchen. And it wasn't just an ordinary loss of power, it was obvious this was for the long haul too. I tried reading by candlelight and husband played with his Gameboy in the hopes power would soon be restored but we both knew deep down that we'd miss it. We'd miss the grand finale, the climatic conclusion, the very moment (culinarily speaking) when the Cherries Jubilee are set aflame.

The power did not come back on until after midnight. We'd turned on a few lights to let us know when it did. By then, of course, the show was over. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go look at the FOX website.