Digging for Gold

I have something to confess.  If you haven't realized it yet.... I'm a nerd.  I love to know things and watch Discovery on a daily basis.  News that researchers have captured antimatter and they have ways to measure it more accurately makes me excited.  As does the comic books coming to the movies, though I find that I criticise how they adapt storylines because that's NOT what happened in the comic book. I'm also a bibliophile. 

I LOVE books and everything about them.  So much that I want to have my own library with a rare book or 100.  I even have a Library of Congress card and have read in the main reading room.   

One of my favorite places to visit when I'm home is Chamblin Bookmine.  It is a real gem on the westside of Jacksonville.  Chamblin specializes in used books, but also has old collections and rare finds.  I wander in the stacks and get lost in the different genres.  If I'm not careful, hours will slip by without me noticing. 

Makes you want to go and wander to see what all they have too, doesn't it?  So if you find yourself in Jacksonville, and have hours to spend, go and find Chamblin.  I promise you won't regret it!

Florida Survival Guide - Week 1

This week's "lessons learned" come to you straight from the Sunshine State.  Actually, it's a week and a half, but who's really keeping track. 

Jet lag - UGH!  We finally landed in Florida last Wednesday and after 40+ hours of travel.  Luckily, the girls and I had only really catnapped our way through the travel and were almost on schedule when we landed.  We were on the right time zone within a matter of days and without a lot of heartache over it. 

Growing Gills   We are taking full advantage of being in a warm state with many many pools -- we got the girls signed up for swimming lessons through the city.  They started their two week session on Monday and by Thursday I could really see vast improvement.  They can swim!!!   They can also jump off the diving board and swim to the side.  I can't wait to see the final outcome next week. 

Discovering History  My mom had the day off on Friday, so we planned a trip to St. Augustine.    We settled on going to one of our favorite restaurants for lunch, Columbia, and visiting the fort, Castillo de San Marcos.  I looked up the fort to find out times they were open and found out that they are doing a living history demonstration on Fridays and Saturdays.  Specifically, they were going to fire the cannons and muskets, while having people dressed in period apparel.   After a lovely lunch, we headed for the fort.  The demonstration was fantastic.  You could tell the rangers and reenactors were having a good time, even though the day was a warm one.  They answered questions ranging from what did you eat to why are you wearing a full wool suit.  Though the girls noted that the steps and the wall for this city was much smaller than the ones in China. 

Beach Barbies Today we headed to Daytona Beach and met up with my sister and her brood.  We played in the sand and surf for hours.  Since all the girls know how to swim (and Ronnie and I were right there), we started teaching the girls how to body surf.  Sarah caught a wave, but didn't like the saltwater up her nose. Ashlyn wasn't so sure about the process so she hung back on the beach.  But, Holly and Callie got hooked right away. They really got the hang of it when I caught a few waves with them and went way further than they had been going.  We tuned their technique and we played and splashed around until the skies started threatening rain.  We cleaned up and headed for the Ocean Deck, one of our favorite beach dives, for an early dinner.  Of course, a trip to the beach wouldn't be complete without lessons in sunscreen.  I think we all could have done with one more application of Coppertone....  Oh well!

How to Survive a TDY 101: Week 4

There is some unwritten rule somewhere that says that things will break, fall apart, or just plain stop when the guys are gone.  I don't know who said it needed to be that way, but it was that way for my mom and is now that way for me.  Case in point, the windows in my car will no longer roll up or down, unless the door is open at an exact 47 degree angle.  Really, I'm just trying to make light of this next part, because what has broken or fallen apart this time is difficult to cope with.  Last Friday, I got a phone call from Shirley, my mother in law, saying Robbie (Ronnie's brother) isn't doing well and she needed to talk with me.

Before I go forward, let me back up.  Robbie was diagnosed with bladder cancer in March '09; it was treated and the prognosis was hopeful. Then we found out it had metastasized to his bone and had large tumors on his neck in Sept '09.  This happened while we were in the middle of our move to Korea.  I sent Ronnie back home immediately while I finished up the move myself.  The surgery to remove the tumor went okay but the doctors were still hopeful about his condition.  In Dec 09, we found out that the tumor had regrown (refer to Go Daddy Go post) and we have been treating ever since.  Back in May, he woke up and was paralyzed from the waist down. The admitted him to the hospital and have been doing chemo ever since. 

I tracked Ronnie down in Alaska, with the help of Allison, and gave him the message to call his parents.  What Shirley was calling to tell us is Robbie has made the decision to stop treatment. He found out that he has blood clots in his legs and lungs and his liver is starting to fail. On top of that, the tumor is not shrinking and may even be growing.  The docs are giving him 1 - 3 months to live. 
I gathered all my strength, packed my bags and kids, and hopped home on Tuesday.  After having spent 40 hours on the road, the girls and I finally landed in Florida on Wednesday morning.  We will be in Florida for the next few weeks visiting with Robbie and other friends and family. 

But this needs to be said.  For all the things the military can do and have done wrong, the one thing they get right time and time again is emergency leave.  We needed it back in 2001 when Ronnie's Aunt Sarah passed away, and again in December 09 when the relapse happened.  Here we are using it again and the process could not be smoother.  The professionalism and what else can I do to help is exactly what we need in this process and I can't thank the Draggins, Lady Draggins, and our military family enough. 

I also learned a big lesson this week - no matter how much I hate a subject, it is possible to prepare for a final exam, take said final the night before you fly internationally, and manage to get a 100 on the test.  Guess those old school skills are still in this brain after all. 

The next few weeks will be posts about Florida and what all we're going to do while here and making the best of our time with Robbie and the family. 

Love to all!  

Chris

Next Stop.....

Coming soon to a blog near you...  oh who am I kidding, it's this blog. 

Adventures with the Olivers - Pacific Northwest style

We've pulled orders to Fort Lewis, WA (just south of Tacoma and Seattle).  We are way too excited!!!!  More to come about our move and other crazy tall tales about them not understanding grits, sweet tea and about how long it takes them to figure out we're not from around there. 

How to Survive a TDY 101: Week 3

Usually around Week 3, we have settled into the routine of not having daddy around, and this TDY was no exception.  This week brought to you by:

1.  Cheer Camp - back in the spring I procrastinated long enough that I didn't get Holly signed up for Cheerleading season.   It's no secret that I am not a fan of cheerleading, though I do like the athleticism that can accompany it (think the tumblers and flyers).  It's the clapping and drone-like chants that grate on my nerves.  But I sucked it up for my girls -- the things parents do sometimes....  But I digress.    My sweet friend Kristen taught the cheer camp this summer at the Youth Center and she said Sarah could tag along too (Sarah wasn't old enough to officially sign up).  So all week, off we went to cheer camp.  While I'm still not a fan of cheering, I did like that my girls enjoyed the camp.  They got to learn a small dance as well as the chants and even learned some of the jumps.  

2. More ways to not use your kitchen - The ladies met for supper club again this week.  I think I could get used to this.  This time we went to the USO for their monthly "Dine for a Dime" dinner.  To help out, I brought a lasagna with me (okay so I had to cook a little, but I didn't have to do the dishes).  We enjoyed a hot meal, great company, and an even better setting.  I'm thinking I will have to add this event to our frequently dined locations. 

3.  Boot Camp - The girls aren't the only ones going to camp this summer.  I am going to a mommy and me bootcamp with Sarah a few days a week.  It works out nicely, the kids play while the mommies have gym class.  Since I've been working out, my little Sarah likes to get involved.  I have her count out reps for me, jump rope, or see how much my barbells weigh.  Every so often, she'll join me in exercising.  Here she is showing me how to do a dip properly.  I'm glad she's enjoying it! 

4.  No Parents Allowed - On Friday, I took advantage of the Give Parents a Break night offered by the Youth Center/CDC, though the girls and I call it No Parents Allowed night.  The girls went and played for a few hours while I met up with some of the ladies for Thai food.  After dinner, my friend Joy and I went to Chili's to have a well-earned margarita with Jenn and Mel. 

How To Survive a TDY 101: Week 2

This week has been a mixture of ups and downs.  The kids are going through the daddy isn't home - ACK!!!  stage.  Meaning that we're whiny and sensitive.  But we are pressing on to keep them occupied.  Here's the lowdown on how we did:

1.  Red White and Boom - Monday was the 4th of July and the base went all out for us.  First we took advantage of a trip through the A&FRC and checked out one of the Korean Spas (ie. waterpark).  The girls and I splashed around all day, getting back in time to clean up and head to Liberty Fest.  There were a lot of great performances this year (read: no Korean bands playing Freebird) and the fireworks were fantastic! 

2.  No Cooking for you!  I just can't seem to get motivated to make full dinners while Ronnie is gone.  I think I've cooked maybe three times since he's left, and I always have more than enough leftovers to feed us for a few days.  That being said, the best way to enjoy a meal is with friends.  I invited the ladies over for a taco night. We talked and ate while the kiddos played.  After dinner, I got the Wii going for the kids and we played Mario Cart and Guitar Hero.  So much fun! 

3.  Okay, Baking is exempted from that rule.  So, I get this email from Ronnie saying he ripped his shoes while playing basketball and didn't have a pair of running shoes.  We were asked to send him his spare pair, since the spare pair I sent was the wrong pair.  Great excuse to pack the box with extras.  The girls decided to make lemon cookies and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for daddy.  We sent them off and are anxiously awaiting their arrival. 

4.  Getting Cultured - I had found out that the Seoul Art Center was having a kid-friendly opera.  Unfortunately, they were sold out.  So what to do...   Well, at the same time, I also found that there was a Disney exhibit in town "Dreams Come True: The Art of Disney's Classic Fairy Tales".  We switched gears and went to check it out with some friends in tow.  And what a treat it was!  The exhibit focused on animation, how the movie was made, the equipment and technology they used.  We walked through time with Walt Disney and were treated to the shorts as well as snippets of the movies.  We saw the making of Snow White all the way through Tangled.  It was wonderful to share some of the magic behind the movies with the girls.  Highly recommend this if it comes to a museum near you!

Afterwards, I had shared my piece of information about a Johnny Rockets in Seoul with Kim and Carrie.  Their immediate reaction was is it a real Johnny Rockets or not?  See, Korean companies tend to buy American franchises to Korea, but the bulk of the menu items aren't that franchise at all.  For example, a stuffed potato does not involve a sweet potato or whipped cream.  I assured them that my tried-and-true expat bloggers have reviewed Johnny Rockets and declared that they deliver the goods. We all agreed that would be the perfect place for dinner.  And that it was!  The girls and I enjoyed fresh onion rings, burgers and a shake.  I even got a Vanilla-Diet Coke and it was Oh-so-tasty! 

We've had a fantastic week with some wonderful friends!   I hope we have more of these to come this summer!

When I Get Big Like You Mommy

The girls and I have all sorts of conversations on things they are (or are not) going to do when they are X-age or "big like me".  Holly gets that there are privileges tied with age; Sarah not-so-much, so it's just adulthood in general.  Here are a few choice ones from this weekend:

Holly:  When I'm 18, I'm going to college.
Me:  Yep, that's right. 
H:  And...  I'm not going to live in your house anymore. 
Me:  Do you promise?  Kidding Holly....  But really, my favorite child is the one who moves out and never moves back in [classic line borrowed from my dad].
H:  Good thing I'm your favorite then huh mommy. 


Sarah:  When I'm big like you mommy, I'm going to have babies in my tummy.
Me, unsure if she's talking about age or size (Sarah is pretty blunt about how fluffy my tummy is compared to Ronnie's):  How do you mean Sarah.
S: When I'm old like you, I'm going to be a mommy too.
M:  Oh good, I can't wait to be a grandma, Sarah.  How many babies. 
S:  I'm going to have four babies.  Two girls and two boys. 
M:  What are you going to name them?
S:  The girls will be named Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash [note, this is after My Little Pony ponies].  The boys will be named Eric and Ken.
M:  Interesting, where did you get the names for the boys?
S:  It's Ariel's prince and Barbie's boyfriend mommy (with a duh tone in her voice). 


So there you have it...  one is already planning to leave me for college, the other is wanting to be a mommy.