Crossing the Line

It's been two years....  October 5th marks the day we left the US in 2009 on our way to this amazing assignment.  As I draw nearer to the end of our time here, I am overwhelmed by my feelings for the ROK and her people.  To mark the anniversary or our time here, Ronnie and I made a trip to the DMZ, Panmunjom, and the JSA.  I'm going to let the pictures tell the story on this post.

One foot in the South and the other in the North

Click on the Slideshow to see our pics.

Celebrating Sarah!

Another year has come and gone...   Sarah doesn't even pretend to be my baby anymore.  She politely corrects me everytime I call her my baby.

After the Barbie cake for Holly's birthday, Sarah and I started discussing her birthday party.  She settled on a rainbow cake.  According to her, she wanted one like Ms. AJ made and brought to our house, but with all the colors of the rainbow  (see AJ's cake here:  Mexican Flag Cake)  Knowing we had a PCS coming up, I pledged to do my best for her.  I googled and researched how to make one without making a layer cake.  I finally got a great idea for doing it similar to how marble cakes are done.  Then I set about the task of convincing Sarah that it didn't have to be perfect.  Eventually, when I told her how I would do it, she relented and agreed that it was going to be awesome! 

And awesome it was!   Score 1 for mom (actually, that would be 2 because I did a bang up job on Holly's cake too). 

On Sunday, we woke Sarah up to singing and hugs and kisses.  It was her special day, so we celebrated with cupcakes!!!! 

Later in the day, we had her rainbow birthday pool party.  The Osan indoor pool is such a nice place for a party - they will pull the tables together for you and all you have to do is clean up and take out the trash.  Best of all, it's free.  We splashed around, the girls showed off their swimming skills, and ate pizza and cake.  All in all, it was a wonderful party for my baby. 

Happy Birthday Sarah-lara!  We love you!!!!

Lessons Learned: Five Pounds....

The other day, I was commiserating with a friend about the five pounds I've gained while being in Korea.  She concurred and said that she thought she put on her extra weight from the yummy Thai food alone.  It got me to thinking....  was the five pounds worth it? 

I've gained five pounds by trying new and interesting foods:  we've sampled our way through Thailand and China, by figuring out which banchan we like best at the Korean restaraunts, and discovering the international fare available in the 'ville.

I've gained five pounds by meeting wonderful friends and reconnecting with others. 
I've gained five pounds by sharing meals and treats with wonderful friends at fini-flights, girls night outs, and numerous "coffees."

I've gained five pounds by learning to enjoy a culture so completely different from my own. 

I've gained five pounds by running in races far from a country that is my own, and being cheered on by people who don't look a thing like me but who chant "USA" while I pass them. 


As my time in Korea winds down to a close, I really hope that I can shed the pounds I've gained physically but I know that the other five pounds I've gained in lessons learned while here will always be with me. 

Leaving the Jet Plane

Well, it's over.  My husband will no longer have a mistress, there will no longer be the "other" woman in his life, and all that jazz.  With our next assignment being a non-flying job, and this being his second time in the venerable A-10, we had to say our final goodbye to the Hawg.

But not before Ronnie took her for one last ride - he had to put her up wet you know....

 

De-hoarding

We already have our cabinets in order for the move.  I am pretty sure we are going to be cutting it close on what we'll be down to come PCS-day.  I haven't done any large shopping since the beginning of summer and have only been replenishing the basics like bread, cereal, milk, and beer. 

But in my quest to mealplan my way to October 8th and an empty pantry, I found myself giggling while taking inventory.  Let's see if you giggle too:

I have 3 cans of 28 oz pumpkin.  This is due to the great pumpkin shortage of '09 where even Mrs. Smiths couldn't get pumpkin.  I bought some in the states to bring with me to Osan so I could have some pumpkin, and then must have bought some more when the commissary, and then more last year because obviously I forgot I had it in the pantry.  Needless to say, there will be more baking. 

I have 2 cans of artichoke hearts.  Again, there was a great artichoke shortage when I got here and the ladies had been without for sometime.  I even remember the email that came out when there was some in the commissary.  I guess I have been keeping some on hand, just in case, because I'm the only one who eats artichokes in the house. 

Lastly, I have a mixed case of specialty beers.  There is always a shortage of good beer at the Shoppette.  So much so that we have a "Good Beer Alert" that goes out when they actually have some good stuff in.  It's either a phone call that says "the shoppette has Shocktop in" or an email that says "Blue Moon - hurry up!"   I will be enjoying my Rogue ale, Octoberfest, Shocktop, and lone Blue Moon with a smile and a tip of the hat to the Good Beer Network. 

I'm sure that's the tip of the iceberg in my house, but I thought it was funny...  and I just know the ex-Osaners out there are laughing right along with me. 

On That Day

Ten years ago...

We were stationed at Vance Air Force Base. Ronnie and I had been married almost 9 months. The morning started like it always did, he got up at some unforsaken time and went off to the base where he was a student pilot.  I got ready and dressed in my best suit and went off to work at Express.  I remember that I even had the forethought to take something out for dinner (unusual for me, normally I would head home at lunch to do it).  I did my quick drive to work and sat down at my desk. 

While turning on my computer, the phone rang.  It was my co-worker's husband saying something just exploded at the Twin Towers.  I said, what are you talking about?  He reiterated, there was a bomb or something.  Quick turn on channel whatever out of OKC.  I said okay and hung up.  Immediately, I walked into my office manager's office and told her what had just happened.  We went back and turned on the tv in the breakroom....  just in time to see the second plane fly into the second tower.  

I thought to myself, this has got to be an accident.  Were the air traffic controllers at JFK compromised?  Did the auto-pilot on the airplanes go wacky?  Stunned and amazed, we could only just sit and watch the mayhem unfold live on television.  Then the news then reported the Pentagon was hit.   I remember feeling the lump in my throat, the uneasiness in my stomach.  This was done on purpose. 

The phone was ringing again and it was Ronnie.  All he said was, do you know what has happened.  I replied, yes, I'm watching it.  He said, I may not be home tonight.  I said okay, I love you.  He said he loved me too and asked me to call our friend's wife for him because he couldn't get ahold of her.  I said I would.  And that was that.....   I hung up not knowing when the next time I would talk to Ronnie would be.

I called April and told her the message.  She was as stunned as I was and her workplace had come to a standstill as well.   I told her she and Emma (her two year old) had a place to stay with me if need be.

The rest of the day was a daze....  We tried to work but couldn't.  I went to a Chamber event, but it was all we could talk about.  Oklahoma was still raw from the bombing in OKC in '95.  There were a lot of tears and hugs and pats on the back.  I remember the looks I got, me, the lone military wife in the sea of locals.  The "your husband has to set this straight" look and my "I know, it's his job" reaction.  The day finally ended and I went home.  The dinner I had laid out went back in the fridge for when Ronnie came home. Best to be saved for a time where he's home and I'm actually hungry.  

He eventually came home that night, hours after I was home alone with my thoughts.  I was never so happy to see him, but I knew what was to come.  I knew that his job would take him right to the heart of what just attacked us.   I knew this wasn't the only time that I get a 5 minute phone call and never know when I was going to talk to him again.  More importantly, I knew that it was his duty to go and fight it, as it was mine to let him go. 

It's been ten years...   and I still remember it like yesterday.   Because forgetting is not an option.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Adding it all up, I've moved twelve times in my lifetime that I've had some say in and six of those moves have been with the Air Force.  All in all, we are moving specialists...  I know exactly what to go through and get rid of, keep with me until the end, and I can plan our food intake/grocery shopping so there's not much to move. 

I would have to say that I'm a professional by now and know what to expect when packing day gets here.  But the Koreans, well they just do things their own special way.  So our lessons learned for this week are about moving:

Adventures in packing, note 1: we put my shoes in the 6 drawer dresser rather than having to box them up. Well....... we needed a box anyway.  And no, I do not have a shoe problem.  I have significantly less pairs than we counted when I moved to college (my parents are shocked right about now). 

Adventures in packing, note 2: it's best to get the kids involved. It makes them feel like they are part of the move. We found a note attached to one of the boxes: 

No, Sarah wasn't helping the packer, we think they just took a piece of paper out of their notebooks, but it's funny right.  We did have them help us by packing their own toys into two piles:  one that would stay with us and one to go in our quick ship.  They did great, and picked a lot of books to send. 

Adventures in packing, note 3: You can never be too specific when labeling boxes. It makes it much easier on the other end to locate your valuables.  Unfortunately, a friend noted that she too had a box labeled similarly, and it disappeared in her move. 

Adventures in packing, note 4:  When the packer comes in and goes "Oooooo" that may or may not be a good thing.  I noted that we had 10,000 lbs to move...  I guess they didn't believe me.  We started out with 3 packers, who put a pretty good dent on the place before lunch.  After lunch, two more packers came to help out.  When I went down at 3 pm to fetch Holly from the bus, three more were walking in the door. 

Adventures in packing, note 5:  Pack a go-bag before the packers start.  so with all the packers in the house, they were finished packing, had our household goods secured in 10 crates and were home by supper time.  I couldn't believe it walking into my house.  Our apartment came furnished, but it was 6:30 and there was no way we could get the beds up.  Hastily, I threw some items into an overnight bag and we headed to the hotel on base for the night.  Great decision as we slept in a little, lounged around after getting Holly off to school, and then got back in plenty of time to get the house cleaned up and set up for the night. 

So that's that - our stuff is on it's way to the Pacific NW and we only have a car left to get on a boat.