This and That

Never fear my friends, I'm here and doing MUCH better then my last post! Thanks to my little boo hoo chat with Taylor, writing on the blog, and some nice messages from friends and family. As Diane (one of my childhood best friends) said, "it's good that you do get homesick because that means home is a good place." Very true.

I emailed the AOCSC about joining and going to the next social, which happens to be Jan 14th, so I'm getting information about that. Intramural volleyball starts here in February, so hopefully I'll be able to do that. And my job is close to starting (I think) they're waiting on one more local clearance to go through. Just for the record, this has been the most extensive process I've ever gone through...have no fear that your children are in good hands at the base Youth Center. It included:

Driving History- including dates of tickets and addresses of courts that dealt with them (dating back 7 years)
Physical
TB Test
Local Driving Record
Fingerprints
Transcripts-high school and college
Clearance check at Family Advocacy and Counseling
Background Check-including every place I've lived (7 years) and someone who can verify it there, every job/unemployment period (7 years) and someone who can verify it, every school i've attended and verified, and 3 close friends not being used to verify things on other parts of the application!!! THAT took awhile!

And after ALL that, I'm still waiting on transcripts that I requested in the middle of November!!! After receiving a hand signed authorization from me, they were finally sent November 30, but I never received them. They have now been RE-requested and re-sent...so we'll see if they come through this time. I have convinced Human Resources to let me start at a base pay until my transcripts come in so they don't hold up this whole process any longer!!

On to other things...there is a new captain in the squadron so we had a welcome dinner for him and his wife at Cassabianca, a local restaurant. They have a 2 year old and she is 6 months pregnant with her second. I thought moving was overwhelming with just the two of us, I can't even imagine having an extra 1 and a half in tow!!!

Taylor's flight went into a training schedule which has put him on a Monday through Friday schedule which he loves and it has been nice for me too! (Especially once I start working) He works much more normal hours and is actually home between 5-6 instead of 7-8pm.

I have decided to use some Christmas money towards decorating the guest room and getting some curtains for our bedroom and hopefully some paint. Although so far my attempts for paint haven't been too successful. The Home Depot paint department just DOESN'T EXIST over here! I took a pillow and pillow sham to the hardware store the other day to try to match some paint colors. It was a negative...and I'm not looking for crazy colors here people...I'm talking beige and a light olive green. And one of the hardware stores I went to had the primary colors available and then any shade lighter, created by adding white...that's what I'm working with here! I have two more hopeful places to try in my paint search, so I haven't given up yet!

We have some exciting TV coming up soon...American Idol starts next week. Taylor and I love it! I'm not as huge a fan of the bad auditions...I like when they get to the Hollywood phase! But I learned quickly when I was visiting in Korea, I can't get on Facebook the day American Idol airs overseas, because it is a day behind the US...I ruined one of the result shows for myself...didn't do that again!! And the other show that I like is The Bachelor...I KNOOOOW...don't judge me. I started watching it back in high school and LOVED it in college. We used to have Bachelor parties in the lobby of South Carrick dorm with the big screen tv, ahhh, but I digress. I have missed a few seasons here and there, and I'm not crushed if I miss a show, but I found this blog a few years ago that makes the whole show worth watching. This girl named Lincee started satirically recapping the show in season one in an email to a few of her friends and it became so popular and got forwarded along so much she began a blog. There are now hundreds of readers and she is SO funny. I admit the show has gotten a bit more ridiculous over the years...not that it was ever REAL life (I know, Dad!). But the girls have gotten ditzier, the chests have gotten larger, and the occupations are including lots of models, entrepreneurs, and homemakers (though one of the homemakers isn't married and doesn't have a child...I'd call that unemployed-call me crazy!) But it just makes the material even better for Lincee's blog...and in case any of you are interested it is: http://www.ihategreenbeans.com

Alright, I guess I'm off. No big plans for the weekend except to get the Christmas tree to the eco platform...it should have gone 2 weeks ago BEFORE all the bristles started falling off everytime it is touched. My first live tree...I've learned. I swear I swept up half the tree after I took the ornaments off...we haven't even gotten the lights off yet.

Ciao bella!!