Well today was John's and my first day breathing underwater! It was pretty exciting, and very very cold. Cold in Hawaii? What? Well it is December, in water, and mainly... 6pm-10pm. And it's December, water is chilly. Now, we were just in the pool so it's baby steps. Thankfully, it's baby steps or I'd be very nervous.
The schedule has been: Finish chapters 1-5 of the PADI Open Water Diver Manual before the beginning of class. Then yesterday we had a meeting inside the classroom where we went over the answers of the first 3 chapters' "knowledge reviews" and then took 3 quizzes on each of those chapters. This took about an hour-an hour and a half. It wouldn't have taken as long if people were on time and the instructor wasn't on the phone. Though, apparently, he's one of 50 great instructors in the world. I admit "great instructors" is doubtfully the correct term, but I can't think of it. Oh, and apparently on top of that, he's rated 5th and the only one of the 50 on the island so I was told it's a great honor. I'd probably be more impressed if I could remember what Tina (the lady dive master who helped me today) had said exactly. But anyway, that was that and we went home pretty early.
Today we were there from 5:30-10. The class started at 6 but we were told to get there early. The moment we got there we had to jump in the chilly outdoor pool and swim 400 meters and then tread water and/or float for 10 minutes. The swimming was the hard part. I was sick from, well, pretty much Thanksgiving - Christmas so my exercising ceased. I was beat! I made it though, so all is well. After the testing we were given the tank, the BCD (Bouyoncy Control Device that pretty much holds everything,) weights, and the wet suit. We had to provide our own mask, snorkel, fins, and boots. I like having my own of those, especially the first three. I can use those for scuba AND snorkeling! Hoorah. They proceeded to show us how to put everything together and have us do it ourselves. After everyone was comfortable we inflated the BCD, got in the pool, and went over numerous activities. Activities/Training including: How to clear your mask of water while underwater, ascent and descent with the BCD, troubleshooting, hand signals, purging the regulator and snorkel of excess water, buddy breathing (breathing from your buddy's tube if you have to), and so on and so on. All things you need to know in order to do it, solve problems, and not panic if something goes wrong. We also learned how to breathe if something goes wrong with the regulator or any of those attachments and a free-flow occurs. The equipment is made so if something goes wrong it gives you too much air instead of none at all. In that case you breathe from it as if you're drinking from a water fountain. Sounds off, but it works!
It was fun down there. A little nerve wracking, but it's me and pretty much anything new makes me nervous. It's definitely the last thing I should be doing with my jaw problem though. Having to bite on the regulator or snorkel pretty much forces my bottom jaw more forward and makes me clench the whole time. I'm very very stiff and I can't think of any sport/activity that would be worse for it than this. Oops! This is something I've wanted to try for years so oh well. I'll just by a lot of advil and bust out my fantastic heating pad.
Anyway. Tomorrow is another classroom day, including the final exam! Dun dun dun. On Wednesday we have another pool day to go over the remaining troubleshooting activities then nothing on Thursday and Friday. Saturday and Sunday we go into the ocean! Yikes! And apparently we do the same stuff we did in the pool. They do this for regular and muscle memory. The more you repeat something corrently, the more you'll be able to do it without thinking. Woo hoo.
So Scuba post 1! It was fun, odd, and cold. It's odd to breathe that way and I'm still a little nervous about the pressure and such but it's seeming like it's easier then I think it is.
Alright, I need to go to bed. I'm sleepy! It's so nice to be warm.
Love,
Meredith
P.S. Christmas pictures are up! They're mainly of the cat and presents since we hadn't showered yet and well, I yielded the camera so they would have been all of John and repetitive. I figured ultiple pictures of a cute kitten would be more exciting than multiple pictures of an unshowered unshaven John, haha. Enjoy! And thanks for the presents!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Mele Kalikimaka!
Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day
That's the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you
That's the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Part time only
Scratch the whole promotion thing. Toni wants other girls to do it and they might have to overlook even one of those girls to a Japanese speaker.
fun fun.
fun fun.
Food
I miss Mrs. T's Pierogies
-Gertrude Hawk: Momma sent us two boxes of Smidgens. They're already gone but they were AMAZING. I made some of my friends have only one just so they could taste the amazingness.
-Ruby Tuesdays: Went to one last night. Not only was the overpriced delicious Chicken Parmesan five dollars more and still the tiny new portion, but it oddly wasn't as good. It was sad.
-Chinese food: Wonderful American Chinese food. I have yet to have the good stuff here. Panda Express is ok, but it's not the same.
Mainly, right now, I want pierogies.
-Gertrude Hawk: Momma sent us two boxes of Smidgens. They're already gone but they were AMAZING. I made some of my friends have only one just so they could taste the amazingness.
-Ruby Tuesdays: Went to one last night. Not only was the overpriced delicious Chicken Parmesan five dollars more and still the tiny new portion, but it oddly wasn't as good. It was sad.
-Chinese food: Wonderful American Chinese food. I have yet to have the good stuff here. Panda Express is ok, but it's not the same.
Mainly, right now, I want pierogies.
Boring E-mail :-
Hey there everyone!
I hope you're all having a great week. I know some people are off for the holidays but others aren't so I hope it's good no matter what. It looks like this e-mail may take me a while to write. There's needy kitten distracting me! And there she goes again, attacking my foot. On that note, Dixie is doing well. She's getting bigger, bolder, and more troublesome but she's also very adorable so it's ok. I had to cut off any ribbons that were sent to me because it caused risk to the wrapping of the present. She runs all over them while she attacks the tree (if you notice in future Christmas pictures, there are no ornaments on the bottom third) so the presents already have to tough it out without being the main object of attack. They're mainly still wrapped. To my Grandparents, my parents, John's parents, and Jan and Bruce I wanted to let you know that I've received cards and/or packages from you safe and sound so no need to worry, if you were. Thank you :-).
John and I are doing fine. He was gone from the 8th-18th but is home on "stand down" right now. He doesn't have work but he's been going in every day to try to get qualified. He's mainly been going when I have work so it's not really a problem. My hours are down to 15, which isn't too bad. I'd prefer more for money but it is part-time so I can't expect a lot. I'm still working in the fittings rooms and yesterday one of the Bra Specialists (full-time position) told me she was going to refer me to our superiors for one of the open Bra Specialist positions! I feel pretty honored. I like knowing that I'm appreciated and recognized for my hard work, but then, who doesn't? I don't expect anything to happen quickly so there may be no word on this for a while, especially since it's Christmas. I have a friend who was told they were actually giving her the position (a few weeks ago) by Toni, the head of our department, but Toni is still trying to get word and agreement from the Corporation so nothing has come of it so far. If that happens I'll have five, nine hour shifts per week with an hour break. Fun fun. John is home, as I mentioned, which is nice. Standdown is over on the fourth and soon after John's off again for another 2 weeks-ish. It seems like it's 2 weeks home, and 2 weeks underway. It's a pain, haha. I think he leaves the day my parents come in and comes back soon after they leave so they won't be able to see him, but it helps me! Haha, I won't be nearly as lonely, so that's nice.
On Sunday John and I are starting Scuba lessons! We have new masks (thanks to the Russells!) and are studying up for it. I'm pretty excited. We have classes Sun-Wed night and then open dive classes on the following weekend. It should be exciting. I hope it's not too scary. Hooray.
I'm not sure what else to report on. With me working and John not really being home anyway we haven't explored at all since the Russells' visit. I've also been sick since then. I got sick soon before thanksgiving and it's been off and on until just now. The most recent week has been all cough so it was bearable. I think sinus headaches are the worst part of a cold, so once those were over it's been fine. And on a health note, Momma will be glad to hear that I have been referred to an someone about TMJ and am supposed to expect a call within a week to set up a consult.
My next e-mail should be more exciting. I'll be sure to talk about the Scuba experience and the oh so exciting Holidays. I'm currently annoyed by then. Traffic to and from work is HORRENDOUS. I do work at a mall after all but, it's terrible. It took me 40 min just to get out of the mall and onto the highway the other day! That, so far, has been the only day it took me an hour and a half to get home from work, which is technically only 10 miles away.
Happy Holidays!
I hope you're all having a great week. I know some people are off for the holidays but others aren't so I hope it's good no matter what. It looks like this e-mail may take me a while to write. There's needy kitten distracting me! And there she goes again, attacking my foot. On that note, Dixie is doing well. She's getting bigger, bolder, and more troublesome but she's also very adorable so it's ok. I had to cut off any ribbons that were sent to me because it caused risk to the wrapping of the present. She runs all over them while she attacks the tree (if you notice in future Christmas pictures, there are no ornaments on the bottom third) so the presents already have to tough it out without being the main object of attack. They're mainly still wrapped. To my Grandparents, my parents, John's parents, and Jan and Bruce I wanted to let you know that I've received cards and/or packages from you safe and sound so no need to worry, if you were. Thank you :-).
John and I are doing fine. He was gone from the 8th-18th but is home on "stand down" right now. He doesn't have work but he's been going in every day to try to get qualified. He's mainly been going when I have work so it's not really a problem. My hours are down to 15, which isn't too bad. I'd prefer more for money but it is part-time so I can't expect a lot. I'm still working in the fittings rooms and yesterday one of the Bra Specialists (full-time position) told me she was going to refer me to our superiors for one of the open Bra Specialist positions! I feel pretty honored. I like knowing that I'm appreciated and recognized for my hard work, but then, who doesn't? I don't expect anything to happen quickly so there may be no word on this for a while, especially since it's Christmas. I have a friend who was told they were actually giving her the position (a few weeks ago) by Toni, the head of our department, but Toni is still trying to get word and agreement from the Corporation so nothing has come of it so far. If that happens I'll have five, nine hour shifts per week with an hour break. Fun fun. John is home, as I mentioned, which is nice. Standdown is over on the fourth and soon after John's off again for another 2 weeks-ish. It seems like it's 2 weeks home, and 2 weeks underway. It's a pain, haha. I think he leaves the day my parents come in and comes back soon after they leave so they won't be able to see him, but it helps me! Haha, I won't be nearly as lonely, so that's nice.
On Sunday John and I are starting Scuba lessons! We have new masks (thanks to the Russells!) and are studying up for it. I'm pretty excited. We have classes Sun-Wed night and then open dive classes on the following weekend. It should be exciting. I hope it's not too scary. Hooray.
I'm not sure what else to report on. With me working and John not really being home anyway we haven't explored at all since the Russells' visit. I've also been sick since then. I got sick soon before thanksgiving and it's been off and on until just now. The most recent week has been all cough so it was bearable. I think sinus headaches are the worst part of a cold, so once those were over it's been fine. And on a health note, Momma will be glad to hear that I have been referred to an someone about TMJ and am supposed to expect a call within a week to set up a consult.
My next e-mail should be more exciting. I'll be sure to talk about the Scuba experience and the oh so exciting Holidays. I'm currently annoyed by then. Traffic to and from work is HORRENDOUS. I do work at a mall after all but, it's terrible. It took me 40 min just to get out of the mall and onto the highway the other day! That, so far, has been the only day it took me an hour and a half to get home from work, which is technically only 10 miles away.
Happy Holidays!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
It's been a while
I recognize that I haven't posted in a while. Things are less exciting now. They've become a regular day by day rotating life. The real world, if you will. I'm working a lot and John works about three times more. It's alright though.
My job is going well. I've made a lot of work-friends and have been put in the fittings rooms most of the time. I like it there. It's always rather hectic though. I'm not selling or showing people around and answering gift questions. I have to work with the fitting room go-backs, the bra wardrobe center, and helping the individuals in the dressing rooms. This consists of clasping, adjusting straps, separating, and handing out the bras/other underwears that people choose not to get. The BWC is the drawers devoted to a different size containing all the bras that come in that size. Ideally the people on the floor explain this and people try on the box and then we mark down the bras that they felt fit them best and then they go to the floor and pick out colors so that we don't have to do as many go-backs. This leaves me constantly organizing the boxes that goes in the drawers and putting them away as well as making sure that all the correct bras are in those boxes. While I'm doing this, I help customers. The Bra Specialists and supervisors tell me that I'm a strong worker so they prefer me helping with the boxes because then I can help with the customers if the other girls are busy. Ah FYI, the go-backs are done in the back room of the fitting rooms so it's a little isolated, which is nice at times. Therefore, if I'm doing those- I'm not easily available to customers. So lately I've been focusing on the boxes and customers.
Oh yes and I also run out to the floor whenever as Bra Specialist asks me to grab a bra either for the customer or for the boxes. I'm on my feet the entire time and often exhausted at the end of the day. I'm thankful I bought dress crocs (aka crocs that don't look a thing like crocs but seriously help my legs).
And that's my day. Only, they've been cutting hours because they aren't making the sales they were when they first opened and thus can't afford the workers. This is a pain in the butt, for two reasons. 1.) If your hours get cut, you don't make money and 2.) When they cut other peoples' hours my work doubles because we become seriously understaffed. It sucks. We're understaffed when it comes to the job demand but overstaffed when it comes to the budget. And I don't think I get paid enough for everything I do.
Oh fun fun.
Let's move on.
John's family visited during Thanksgiving week. That was nice. It was good to see people and run around the island with them. Nine of them came, so it was a pretty packed week! We showed off Hanauma Bay and even saw a puffer fish while there! That was awesome. While I worked on Black Friday, John took them all to the Arizona Memorial. It sounded like they had a good time. I know mother wants to go, so I didn't miss out on anything. I'll go with her when she visits in January. We went to the Navy-Hawaii game, but unfortunately lost. I blame the Time zone since it was a night game in HAWAII, but according to John the Hawaii team was also amazing against our one type of play that most teams don't do well against. Don't ask me to elaborate, I don't care enough to remember the details haha.
Bah! I don't know what else to say on the matter. I'm glad they were all able to come down and it was great having them here. This is the trouble of putting off writing because then I forget any exciting details.
Though, I'm still pretty excited about seeing the foot longish puffer fish!
Oh look! It's 10 pm and John's finally home, hurrah.
OffI go then. He leaves soon for 1-2 weeks so I'm going to spend some time with him.
My job is going well. I've made a lot of work-friends and have been put in the fittings rooms most of the time. I like it there. It's always rather hectic though. I'm not selling or showing people around and answering gift questions. I have to work with the fitting room go-backs, the bra wardrobe center, and helping the individuals in the dressing rooms. This consists of clasping, adjusting straps, separating, and handing out the bras/other underwears that people choose not to get. The BWC is the drawers devoted to a different size containing all the bras that come in that size. Ideally the people on the floor explain this and people try on the box and then we mark down the bras that they felt fit them best and then they go to the floor and pick out colors so that we don't have to do as many go-backs. This leaves me constantly organizing the boxes that goes in the drawers and putting them away as well as making sure that all the correct bras are in those boxes. While I'm doing this, I help customers. The Bra Specialists and supervisors tell me that I'm a strong worker so they prefer me helping with the boxes because then I can help with the customers if the other girls are busy. Ah FYI, the go-backs are done in the back room of the fitting rooms so it's a little isolated, which is nice at times. Therefore, if I'm doing those- I'm not easily available to customers. So lately I've been focusing on the boxes and customers.
Oh yes and I also run out to the floor whenever as Bra Specialist asks me to grab a bra either for the customer or for the boxes. I'm on my feet the entire time and often exhausted at the end of the day. I'm thankful I bought dress crocs (aka crocs that don't look a thing like crocs but seriously help my legs).
And that's my day. Only, they've been cutting hours because they aren't making the sales they were when they first opened and thus can't afford the workers. This is a pain in the butt, for two reasons. 1.) If your hours get cut, you don't make money and 2.) When they cut other peoples' hours my work doubles because we become seriously understaffed. It sucks. We're understaffed when it comes to the job demand but overstaffed when it comes to the budget. And I don't think I get paid enough for everything I do.
Oh fun fun.
Let's move on.
John's family visited during Thanksgiving week. That was nice. It was good to see people and run around the island with them. Nine of them came, so it was a pretty packed week! We showed off Hanauma Bay and even saw a puffer fish while there! That was awesome. While I worked on Black Friday, John took them all to the Arizona Memorial. It sounded like they had a good time. I know mother wants to go, so I didn't miss out on anything. I'll go with her when she visits in January. We went to the Navy-Hawaii game, but unfortunately lost. I blame the Time zone since it was a night game in HAWAII, but according to John the Hawaii team was also amazing against our one type of play that most teams don't do well against. Don't ask me to elaborate, I don't care enough to remember the details haha.
Bah! I don't know what else to say on the matter. I'm glad they were all able to come down and it was great having them here. This is the trouble of putting off writing because then I forget any exciting details.
Though, I'm still pretty excited about seeing the foot longish puffer fish!
Oh look! It's 10 pm and John's finally home, hurrah.
OffI go then. He leaves soon for 1-2 weeks so I'm going to spend some time with him.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Work and more Work
Well I've finally gotten a job, hence why we have the car. Victoria's Secrets finally hired me. Oh fun. I do have a lot of hours next week though and I really need the money so it's good. I don't know how it'll go the following week. John's family is visiting and I don't know how to call off yet. They don't like to do it online. However my availability finally got accepted so if I do work, I'll be off in the evenings. It's Hawaii though, no one is at a loss of something to do in Hawaii. I KNOW I'll be working Black Friday though. It's Black Friday. Pretty much everyone works then. I hope that weeks goes smoothly. Ah and I just checked my past entries. I did mention the job part, oh well. I didn't mention that I'm working soley in Intimates! I'm excited. I won't be working cash register unless I specifically volunteer and they need someone which is rare. I'm happy about that, I always hated that section.
John is currently gone on Sea Trials. I don't have much worry about him not being here when the family comes though. It's my understanding that he'll be around then and then off again soon afterwards for a little while. Things change constantly but there's no rumors of him being gone so that's good. No worries for the fam. He's taken over as Electrical Officer so he was rushed off to the second half of fast cruise and it became a definite that he would be gone this week. It's good that he has a job now. I got a short e-mail this morning saying that he's doing really well on quals while being out there as well, so I know that makes him happy.
I'm currently taking today off from everything. For the first month I had intense cabin fever but today I want to be alone and do nothing. I've made a very close friend, Cayley Gamache and we've spent most of the past two weeks or so together haha. Pretty much ever since we met, whenever that was. She's been in the same predicament as me, carless and jobless and boyfriend off working on the Cheyenne so we've just hung around together, which has made it a lot nicer. And, yes, oddly enough her boyfriend is on the same boat as John's! He's an enlisted Radioman. It turns out he and a few of his friends all moved into this complex together so there are a lot of Cheyenne guys here.
Oh! I'm very excited for Christmas standdown, whenever that starts. We signed up for Scuba lessons! There was a 50% off sale for the lessons to get our certificates. We had to buy the lessons during the sale but we're allowed to schedule the classes whenever we can take them. It's a great deal. Two people for the price of one! All we need are snorkles, masks, fins, and a slightly pricey guide book. We already had the first three. Everything else is lended and we can rent them later if we want to go diving afterwards. I'm hoping that after I get my certificate that I can find a job using it. Maybe at the aquarium or one of the sea parks. That would truly be awesome. I'm basically using VS as income until I find something more solid.
I don't suppose much else is new. John is off being Electrical Officer, I'm now a Sales associate driving a wonderful new (new to me..) BMW, and we're going to be Scuba Divers by next year!
I know it's been a while since I updated. There hasn't been much to report on. Like I said earlier, I've mainly been hanging around the complex with Cayley. However today I'm taking the day to myself so I can clean and have everything nice since I know I won't want to do anything during the week next week.
Ok I'm off.
Have a great day!
Love,
Mer
John is currently gone on Sea Trials. I don't have much worry about him not being here when the family comes though. It's my understanding that he'll be around then and then off again soon afterwards for a little while. Things change constantly but there's no rumors of him being gone so that's good. No worries for the fam. He's taken over as Electrical Officer so he was rushed off to the second half of fast cruise and it became a definite that he would be gone this week. It's good that he has a job now. I got a short e-mail this morning saying that he's doing really well on quals while being out there as well, so I know that makes him happy.
I'm currently taking today off from everything. For the first month I had intense cabin fever but today I want to be alone and do nothing. I've made a very close friend, Cayley Gamache and we've spent most of the past two weeks or so together haha. Pretty much ever since we met, whenever that was. She's been in the same predicament as me, carless and jobless and boyfriend off working on the Cheyenne so we've just hung around together, which has made it a lot nicer. And, yes, oddly enough her boyfriend is on the same boat as John's! He's an enlisted Radioman. It turns out he and a few of his friends all moved into this complex together so there are a lot of Cheyenne guys here.
Oh! I'm very excited for Christmas standdown, whenever that starts. We signed up for Scuba lessons! There was a 50% off sale for the lessons to get our certificates. We had to buy the lessons during the sale but we're allowed to schedule the classes whenever we can take them. It's a great deal. Two people for the price of one! All we need are snorkles, masks, fins, and a slightly pricey guide book. We already had the first three. Everything else is lended and we can rent them later if we want to go diving afterwards. I'm hoping that after I get my certificate that I can find a job using it. Maybe at the aquarium or one of the sea parks. That would truly be awesome. I'm basically using VS as income until I find something more solid.
I don't suppose much else is new. John is off being Electrical Officer, I'm now a Sales associate driving a wonderful new (new to me..) BMW, and we're going to be Scuba Divers by next year!
I know it's been a while since I updated. There hasn't been much to report on. Like I said earlier, I've mainly been hanging around the complex with Cayley. However today I'm taking the day to myself so I can clean and have everything nice since I know I won't want to do anything during the week next week.
Ok I'm off.
Have a great day!
Love,
Mer
New Car
Hey there! I suppose I'll split this into two entries. This one will be focused on our new car! We found it at the lemon lot on the Hickam Air Force Base. The reason we were there was to test drive a Dodge Stratus and a Honda Civic. Unfortunately the Civic was stick so we had to cancel the drive, but luckily we got there early so we didn't waste the owner's time. We had checked the cars out the night before so didn't notice it was a stick until then. Oops! It turned out fabulous though. We walked around the browse the cars and see if there were any new ones and there was a beautiful white car in amazing condition for just under our maximum amount. It turned out to be a 1999 White 323i BMW with little to no rust, new tires, and drives so smoothly. I instantly called the number and after a couple different tries and numbers John and I got the owner down there to let us test drive it! Turned out we were the first to do so, and the last. John talked them down a few hundred and we got the car. I LOVE it. However this might be very bad. John and I both love it and well... it's a BMW. If we ever need another car we will probably stick with them. Haha. We're going to be exactly like the couple who sold it.
They had bought the BMW and absolutely loved it. Now the husband owns one and the only reason they sold this one is because the wife got a brand new one. Once they drove the BMW they couldn't drive anything else.
I used to not really enjoy driving and be a little paranoid. Now it's all I want to do! Haha. It also helps that HI drivers are a lot slower here so I feel safer that way to. This car is fantastic!
Unfortunately I can't find an option to rotate the picture. It's horizontal in my files but uploaded this way. Sorry :-/
They had bought the BMW and absolutely loved it. Now the husband owns one and the only reason they sold this one is because the wife got a brand new one. Once they drove the BMW they couldn't drive anything else.
I used to not really enjoy driving and be a little paranoid. Now it's all I want to do! Haha. It also helps that HI drivers are a lot slower here so I feel safer that way to. This car is fantastic!
Unfortunately I can't find an option to rotate the picture. It's horizontal in my files but uploaded this way. Sorry :-/
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Recipes for Mother and whomever would like them
Make this
Love it
Send me some haha
Spiced Pumpkin Bread
http://crepesofwrath.net/?m=20091002
I've made this twice. It's delicious. I'm about to make more but put it in muffin tins!
Guinness Gingerbread Cake
http://crepesofwrath.net/?p=1431
Haven't made this yet, but I want to badly
Love it
Send me some haha
Spiced Pumpkin Bread
http://crepesofwrath.net/?m=20091002
I've made this twice. It's delicious. I'm about to make more but put it in muffin tins!
Guinness Gingerbread Cake
http://crepesofwrath.net/?p=1431
Haven't made this yet, but I want to badly
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Recent E-mail (Updates!)
Hello all!
I realize it's been a while, and I'm sorry. Things have been crazy as always. I've been frantically job searching and reception/ceremony searching for about a month but it's all paid off, I suppose. Victoria's Secret finally called me and "offered" me a transfer position. It's not any sort of dream job anymore, but at least it's income. Hopefully I'll get a better off later on so I can move on with my life, but this is the only thing I've been able to snag. It won't be too bad. I'm in one of my favorite sections and don't have to worry too much about training in product knowledge. So hooray. I go in for "On Boarding" on Saturday which is 4 hrs of training. It's something I've done already but I know this store stocks things very differently than mine did so it'll help and I'll meet some of the other new girls. Hooray income! I can't wait to get a paycheck. It's just in time for Christmas! I was just beginning to get worried about that.
I've been doing well socially. Since John's at work and knows all the work guys, I've had trouble being alone and having no one around. Things have changed though. I instantly became friends with a girlfriend of one of the guy's on his boat, Maddy. She's from Guam and only two years older than me. I don't think her "hunny" and John are close, but I like her so we hang out when she's off work sometimes. She is a native from Guam but she's only about a fourth Chimoran, a fourth Filipino, and half white (her dad is from Indiana). OH! I forgot the most surprising bit of information. Her hunny, Mike (Michaelangelo) Vaccaro, is actually from Dallas, PA. We went to the same school and everything! Only he's 27 so we never knew each other or any of the same people but we actually knew the same teachers and such. He was the guy who greeted John at the airport. It's such a small world!
I've also become friends with Shawn, the wife of a friend of John's from Groton. She has a ten year old daughter, Caitlyn, who is pretty exciteable haha. And just recently I met two girls at the pool here that I've started to hang out with. One is Fawn who is enlisted Navy and currently working the boats at the Pearl Harbor memorial and the other Cayley, whom I like a lot so far, is actually the girlfriend of one of the enlisted boys from Cheyenne! We all went to Ross yesterday so I can look for swimsuits. I've been looking a lot for some more but all the ones that I like are $40 per piece which is a bit much. Well at Ross I found two I loved for $20-$30 TOTAL. It was great. Though they only let me buy the one since the other was two piece that have lost their mates which I put together. Apparently they can't sell those until a week later after searching for their other pieces. I have to call in a week to see if they're marked down and then I can have it. At least that means no one else will be buying it. The Ross here is fantastic, I found a lot of great deals. If anyone wants the large Hawaiian Sarong, you can get them here for $4-$6... so I'd suggest checking that out.
Let's see. Things were busy this past weekend so we didn't do site-seeing. However two weekends ago we went to Hanauma Bay, which was wonderful! John got in for free but I didn't have "proof" of being a resident so I didn't. I'm intending to get my HI driver's license because then when I come across situations like that, I get the discount! Hooray! It was a wonderful trip and really made me wish I was able to splurge on a waterproof camera. I don't have any pictures of the bay because I was worried of ruining my small camera or having it stolen. I'm thinking I'm going to risk it next time I go though. So far that corner of the Island is the most beautiful. I think it's the cliffs that get me, a nice tropical reminder of Ireland! Not very far after the turn to Hanauma bay is the firing range, which we went to this past weekend. John's finally content. The rest of the weekend was devoted to Navy Dinners (another Hail/Farewell and Sun I had a "Wives dinner"), gun cleaning, errands, and taking Dixie to the vet. The poor little girl has Ringworm. Stupid animal shelter. So I have to give her liquid medication every night. It's not too bad. She takes it like a man and then I give her a treat. She'll be happy after the 6 weeks are done. She's not too bothered by the rash though, thankfully.
John is doing right. I realize I haven't said much about him. He's gone all day doing Navy things, comes back, works out, eats, watches TV, and goes to bed. So, I don't have a lot to say on his part, haha. He's doing well though. He's still determined to see a sea turtle. I've heard many rumors that it's nearly guaranteed to see them on North Shore, so that's probably out next spot. He's 95% likely to not be here this weekend or next week so it'll have to be sometime after that.
Speaking of John, there's wedding information I'm sure you're all wondering about! I knew I planned to say somethin about it, but I got caught up with less interesting information. We finally set the date for October 8, 2010. It's the Friday that starts Columbus day weekend. Fun fun!
I suppose this is long enough. Things are going well. The wedding is finally booked and getting organized, I have a job and friends, and the weather is still BEAUTIFUL so I can't complain too much. Dixie is doing well. She's growing quickly and has already gained a pound, which she's supposed to do. She doesn't cuddle as much but she's still insistant on being nearby so I'm not too worried about her lack of cuddling once she's not a wiggling curious kitten anymore.
Well I love and miss you all.
I realize it's been a while, and I'm sorry. Things have been crazy as always. I've been frantically job searching and reception/ceremony searching for about a month but it's all paid off, I suppose. Victoria's Secret finally called me and "offered" me a transfer position. It's not any sort of dream job anymore, but at least it's income. Hopefully I'll get a better off later on so I can move on with my life, but this is the only thing I've been able to snag. It won't be too bad. I'm in one of my favorite sections and don't have to worry too much about training in product knowledge. So hooray. I go in for "On Boarding" on Saturday which is 4 hrs of training. It's something I've done already but I know this store stocks things very differently than mine did so it'll help and I'll meet some of the other new girls. Hooray income! I can't wait to get a paycheck. It's just in time for Christmas! I was just beginning to get worried about that.
I've been doing well socially. Since John's at work and knows all the work guys, I've had trouble being alone and having no one around. Things have changed though. I instantly became friends with a girlfriend of one of the guy's on his boat, Maddy. She's from Guam and only two years older than me. I don't think her "hunny" and John are close, but I like her so we hang out when she's off work sometimes. She is a native from Guam but she's only about a fourth Chimoran, a fourth Filipino, and half white (her dad is from Indiana). OH! I forgot the most surprising bit of information. Her hunny, Mike (Michaelangelo) Vaccaro, is actually from Dallas, PA. We went to the same school and everything! Only he's 27 so we never knew each other or any of the same people but we actually knew the same teachers and such. He was the guy who greeted John at the airport. It's such a small world!
I've also become friends with Shawn, the wife of a friend of John's from Groton. She has a ten year old daughter, Caitlyn, who is pretty exciteable haha. And just recently I met two girls at the pool here that I've started to hang out with. One is Fawn who is enlisted Navy and currently working the boats at the Pearl Harbor memorial and the other Cayley, whom I like a lot so far, is actually the girlfriend of one of the enlisted boys from Cheyenne! We all went to Ross yesterday so I can look for swimsuits. I've been looking a lot for some more but all the ones that I like are $40 per piece which is a bit much. Well at Ross I found two I loved for $20-$30 TOTAL. It was great. Though they only let me buy the one since the other was two piece that have lost their mates which I put together. Apparently they can't sell those until a week later after searching for their other pieces. I have to call in a week to see if they're marked down and then I can have it. At least that means no one else will be buying it. The Ross here is fantastic, I found a lot of great deals. If anyone wants the large Hawaiian Sarong, you can get them here for $4-$6... so I'd suggest checking that out.
Let's see. Things were busy this past weekend so we didn't do site-seeing. However two weekends ago we went to Hanauma Bay, which was wonderful! John got in for free but I didn't have "proof" of being a resident so I didn't. I'm intending to get my HI driver's license because then when I come across situations like that, I get the discount! Hooray! It was a wonderful trip and really made me wish I was able to splurge on a waterproof camera. I don't have any pictures of the bay because I was worried of ruining my small camera or having it stolen. I'm thinking I'm going to risk it next time I go though. So far that corner of the Island is the most beautiful. I think it's the cliffs that get me, a nice tropical reminder of Ireland! Not very far after the turn to Hanauma bay is the firing range, which we went to this past weekend. John's finally content. The rest of the weekend was devoted to Navy Dinners (another Hail/Farewell and Sun I had a "Wives dinner"), gun cleaning, errands, and taking Dixie to the vet. The poor little girl has Ringworm. Stupid animal shelter. So I have to give her liquid medication every night. It's not too bad. She takes it like a man and then I give her a treat. She'll be happy after the 6 weeks are done. She's not too bothered by the rash though, thankfully.
John is doing right. I realize I haven't said much about him. He's gone all day doing Navy things, comes back, works out, eats, watches TV, and goes to bed. So, I don't have a lot to say on his part, haha. He's doing well though. He's still determined to see a sea turtle. I've heard many rumors that it's nearly guaranteed to see them on North Shore, so that's probably out next spot. He's 95% likely to not be here this weekend or next week so it'll have to be sometime after that.
Speaking of John, there's wedding information I'm sure you're all wondering about! I knew I planned to say somethin about it, but I got caught up with less interesting information. We finally set the date for October 8, 2010. It's the Friday that starts Columbus day weekend. Fun fun!
I suppose this is long enough. Things are going well. The wedding is finally booked and getting organized, I have a job and friends, and the weather is still BEAUTIFUL so I can't complain too much. Dixie is doing well. She's growing quickly and has already gained a pound, which she's supposed to do. She doesn't cuddle as much but she's still insistant on being nearby so I'm not too worried about her lack of cuddling once she's not a wiggling curious kitten anymore.
Well I love and miss you all.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Hanauma Bay
Unfortunately the activities in Hawaii all involve water. Well that part is quite wonderful, but the unfortunate part is that water does not mix well with cameras. So although I have wonderful adventures, you don't get to see any pictures. I was also worried about pick-pockets but I think I could have risked that one. Once I finally get a job (outlook not so good right now...) I'm going to save up for a waterproof camera. That would be so great to have, but right now I can't afford it with my increasingly smaller bank account and a lack of income. UGH. Job hunting is exhausting, difficult, and completely hopeless feeling.
But anyway. We finally got to Hanauma Bay this Sunday! It was wonderful! It's this bay that is full of coral and thus a busy busy city of fish! We saw so many fish, it was fantastic and incredibly beautiful. Everything about the Bay is beautiful. The water was more chilly than at Kailua but we got used to it pretty quickly. What's nice is that this place is built for tourists so there is a place to rent snorkles and learn how to use them if you're only visiting. John and I bought out own from the next last weekend since we'll be here for quite some time. I enjoy them. I'm glad we finally got to go out, it's so lovely! Everyone I talked to that has visited Hawaii has told me to go there, and I can see why. The last time we snorkled I think we saw two fish, and this time there were countless numbers. Unfortunately we still haven't seen a sea turtle, but one day we will! I'm determined.
While there I bought a waterproof pocket guide to Reef Fish, an instant ID for Snorklers and Divers. I was looking at a different one at first but this one has more fish in it. Which is odd, wouldn't you expect a guide to reef fish have the same fish as a guide to reef fish? Silly silly. Either way this one seemed useful, especially since we hope to take scuba diving lessons over Christmas Stand-down. It's not definite yet and we don't know his schedule, but it should (hopefully...) be lighter than it is now and give us time to do this. I'm excited! Merry Christmas to us haha.
Well there's my update. I really need to send another e-mail out soon for the Grandparents. However right now I need to vaccuum and put things away. Fun fun
But anyway. We finally got to Hanauma Bay this Sunday! It was wonderful! It's this bay that is full of coral and thus a busy busy city of fish! We saw so many fish, it was fantastic and incredibly beautiful. Everything about the Bay is beautiful. The water was more chilly than at Kailua but we got used to it pretty quickly. What's nice is that this place is built for tourists so there is a place to rent snorkles and learn how to use them if you're only visiting. John and I bought out own from the next last weekend since we'll be here for quite some time. I enjoy them. I'm glad we finally got to go out, it's so lovely! Everyone I talked to that has visited Hawaii has told me to go there, and I can see why. The last time we snorkled I think we saw two fish, and this time there were countless numbers. Unfortunately we still haven't seen a sea turtle, but one day we will! I'm determined.
While there I bought a waterproof pocket guide to Reef Fish, an instant ID for Snorklers and Divers. I was looking at a different one at first but this one has more fish in it. Which is odd, wouldn't you expect a guide to reef fish have the same fish as a guide to reef fish? Silly silly. Either way this one seemed useful, especially since we hope to take scuba diving lessons over Christmas Stand-down. It's not definite yet and we don't know his schedule, but it should (hopefully...) be lighter than it is now and give us time to do this. I'm excited! Merry Christmas to us haha.
Well there's my update. I really need to send another e-mail out soon for the Grandparents. However right now I need to vaccuum and put things away. Fun fun
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Dogcat
I'm pretty convinced that our sweet little Dixie was raised by dogs for her first 2-3 months. Here are my reasons:
1.) Whenever anyone enters the door she wakes up, mews, and runs to the door to check them out.
2.) She needs to be near people at all times. When I'm in the living room, she sleeps around in there. When John is home and working in the office, she goes and sits in there. When I get up (while John is gone) to go to the bathroom, when I walk out she's sitting on the floor outside the room looking at me.
3.) Ok so the above isn't too dog-like but it's cute. However for 3... she licks my bowl/plate after I'm done with lunch. (today - chicken casserole so no it wasn't milk related)
4.) She waits around in the kitchen while I'm cooking incase any food comes her way.
However she is very much house trained and does not mew to go outside. Which is why she's only dogcat and not just a dog haha.
She's a little sweetheart, I like her.
1.) Whenever anyone enters the door she wakes up, mews, and runs to the door to check them out.
2.) She needs to be near people at all times. When I'm in the living room, she sleeps around in there. When John is home and working in the office, she goes and sits in there. When I get up (while John is gone) to go to the bathroom, when I walk out she's sitting on the floor outside the room looking at me.
3.) Ok so the above isn't too dog-like but it's cute. However for 3... she licks my bowl/plate after I'm done with lunch. (today - chicken casserole so no it wasn't milk related)
4.) She waits around in the kitchen while I'm cooking incase any food comes her way.
However she is very much house trained and does not mew to go outside. Which is why she's only dogcat and not just a dog haha.
She's a little sweetheart, I like her.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
OH and!
More news. I, personally, find this very exciting. I called this place earlier today and they were very nice, so that's good as well. So once I have a job and car, I intend to set up an appointment.
The place I'm talking about is The Tasaki TMJ Headache Center in Honolulu! I'm so excited!
The place I'm talking about is The Tasaki TMJ Headache Center in Honolulu! I'm so excited!
Hey There
John's asleep now, it's about 10 pm here. Going to bed at 10:00 has only ever worked for me when I was adjusting to this time zone. Unfortunately I'm back to having sleep problems, but fortunately it's not too too terrible for me to go to bed at 11:00pm, so that's really nice.
He's been working at lot. Happily, he was given Monday off but the rest of the days he's been told to come in an hour or more early so he's waking up tomorrow at 4:30 instead of the normal 6 or 6:30. I don't know for sure. Fun.
Lately I've been researching jobs and wedding receptions. I've found places I really like so tomorrow I'm waking up early (early for me/my family ~8am) in order to call three sites to check their availability and get more information, as well as ask my Officiant (Rev. Dr. Bob Zanicky!) some questions about his availability, AND to call Navy Federal to get my online account started since it won't let me on. Gotta love being 6 hrs behind everyone... Hopefully it all goes well and some of these places are available during one of the weekends I want to do it. Both fortunately and unfortunately, John was told that those weeks were perfect for us and he'd be likely to get a longer leave than originally expected (maybe a whole week!). It's unfortunate in the case where if everything is booked during that time span, I can't completely switch the dates. I really hope we can get this figured out and settled soon. I feel like it'll be smooth sailing after this. Especially since it's looking like the reception/ceremony will be 80% of the budget, so I can't afford to bother with much else! Haha. That was my attempt at humor but I think it came out as more of a pity party. It's not that we don't have a good budget, I wouldn't want to spend more, it's that reception sites are RIDICULOUS when it comes to cost. Boo. I'm sure it's all logical and thought out, but I don't like it, haha.
Alright onto a totally different topic. We bought the greatest cookware sets. Two pots, roasting pan, griddle pan, 3 skillets and a giant pan all with interlocking lids from Ameriware. They're not Teflon. They're titanium ceramic and The. Best. Pans. EVER. They seriously do not stick. You don't have to worry about metal utensils scraping on them and giving you cancer. They may hurt it a little, but you're safe. But above all they clean off in minutes. RICE doesn't stick to it, and I didn't even stir it like I always want to (in order to prevent stick). You can cook chicken without oils or butter. These are AMAZING. I've even used them in the oven, because they said I could and I'm often without things. I've been using the Roaster as a casserole dish, and it works out. I swear, every day after dinner I just praise the pans in my head. It's rather pathetic, but they were worth every penny (and I'm not telling you how many pennies they cost). I love these pans. If only they made bakeware... I could definitely use a 9x13 pan made with this stuff, haha. I have two of those, but not made out of this! LOVE it. They make me so happy. Seriously though, RICE doesn't even stick.
And they have a lifetime warranty. Take that!
OH! And Molly F. (a Navy-Sub wife from a different boat) took me out to breakfast the other day with another wife named Tessa. Both very nice. Well Molly let me borrow her loaf pan so I was able to make the Spiced Pumpkin Bread with White Chocolate Chips! I was so excited, it's delicious! I love pumpkin
Goodnight!
-Mer
He's been working at lot. Happily, he was given Monday off but the rest of the days he's been told to come in an hour or more early so he's waking up tomorrow at 4:30 instead of the normal 6 or 6:30. I don't know for sure. Fun.
Lately I've been researching jobs and wedding receptions. I've found places I really like so tomorrow I'm waking up early (early for me/my family ~8am) in order to call three sites to check their availability and get more information, as well as ask my Officiant (Rev. Dr. Bob Zanicky!) some questions about his availability, AND to call Navy Federal to get my online account started since it won't let me on. Gotta love being 6 hrs behind everyone... Hopefully it all goes well and some of these places are available during one of the weekends I want to do it. Both fortunately and unfortunately, John was told that those weeks were perfect for us and he'd be likely to get a longer leave than originally expected (maybe a whole week!). It's unfortunate in the case where if everything is booked during that time span, I can't completely switch the dates. I really hope we can get this figured out and settled soon. I feel like it'll be smooth sailing after this. Especially since it's looking like the reception/ceremony will be 80% of the budget, so I can't afford to bother with much else! Haha. That was my attempt at humor but I think it came out as more of a pity party. It's not that we don't have a good budget, I wouldn't want to spend more, it's that reception sites are RIDICULOUS when it comes to cost. Boo. I'm sure it's all logical and thought out, but I don't like it, haha.
Alright onto a totally different topic. We bought the greatest cookware sets. Two pots, roasting pan, griddle pan, 3 skillets and a giant pan all with interlocking lids from Ameriware. They're not Teflon. They're titanium ceramic and The. Best. Pans. EVER. They seriously do not stick. You don't have to worry about metal utensils scraping on them and giving you cancer. They may hurt it a little, but you're safe. But above all they clean off in minutes. RICE doesn't stick to it, and I didn't even stir it like I always want to (in order to prevent stick). You can cook chicken without oils or butter. These are AMAZING. I've even used them in the oven, because they said I could and I'm often without things. I've been using the Roaster as a casserole dish, and it works out. I swear, every day after dinner I just praise the pans in my head. It's rather pathetic, but they were worth every penny (and I'm not telling you how many pennies they cost). I love these pans. If only they made bakeware... I could definitely use a 9x13 pan made with this stuff, haha. I have two of those, but not made out of this! LOVE it. They make me so happy. Seriously though, RICE doesn't even stick.
And they have a lifetime warranty. Take that!
OH! And Molly F. (a Navy-Sub wife from a different boat) took me out to breakfast the other day with another wife named Tessa. Both very nice. Well Molly let me borrow her loaf pan so I was able to make the Spiced Pumpkin Bread with White Chocolate Chips! I was so excited, it's delicious! I love pumpkin
Goodnight!
-Mer
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Mokulua: The Two Islands
Hey there.
Today was wonderful. We have a three day weekend and were able to finally get out on the water and do Hawaiian things. As I mentioned, I have been wanting to kayak out to these Islands off the coast of Lanikai, so we did! John didn't know the islands would be as far out as they were, but we both loved it. I think it took about 30 minutes to get to them. The water was blue, clear, and wonderfully warm so there were no pains other than some arm work to get out there.
Some info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na_Mokulua
According to the wiki article we went out to the island called Moku Nui on the left.
We started off the day by sleeping in (hooray) and then finding our way to the Marine base where we rented the two person kayak. I'm glad we did that. Made it a little easier and it was only 2 dollars more (and thus 3 dollars less since we would have gotten 2 singles). We drove it to Lanikai, applied sunscreen and took off! Haha. As I said it took around 30-40 minutes to get to the Island but I loved it. Once there we went snorkling because we were told Sea Turtles were in the area. We just got the snorkels and fins last night so it was fun to try them out. Unfortunately we didn't sea any turtles, but we did see a few fish! I wish I could tell you what kinds but I don't have the fishie guide book with me. Not yet anyway. The most fun one was green and red striped and shiny.
The view from Moku Nui was beautiful. You could see all of Lanikai beach and tons more of the shoreline. It was definitely beautiful. I, unfortunately, did not get any pictures. The kayak mission didn't exactly keep many things dry. We had our phones, but wrapped them two ziplock baggies and it worked! I was worried about the camera too, so no pictures. You'll just have to look online to figure it out. The wiki link I sent had a few to give you an idea. It was lovely! If you see the pictures from a beach with two little island mounds, that's right! We went to the left one.
Alright we're off now. We thankfully ate. We treated ourselves to a burger and shakes and it was MARVELOUS. Haha. Alright.
I'm off.
Enjoy
Mer
Today was wonderful. We have a three day weekend and were able to finally get out on the water and do Hawaiian things. As I mentioned, I have been wanting to kayak out to these Islands off the coast of Lanikai, so we did! John didn't know the islands would be as far out as they were, but we both loved it. I think it took about 30 minutes to get to them. The water was blue, clear, and wonderfully warm so there were no pains other than some arm work to get out there.
Some info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na_Mokulua
According to the wiki article we went out to the island called Moku Nui on the left.
We started off the day by sleeping in (hooray) and then finding our way to the Marine base where we rented the two person kayak. I'm glad we did that. Made it a little easier and it was only 2 dollars more (and thus 3 dollars less since we would have gotten 2 singles). We drove it to Lanikai, applied sunscreen and took off! Haha. As I said it took around 30-40 minutes to get to the Island but I loved it. Once there we went snorkling because we were told Sea Turtles were in the area. We just got the snorkels and fins last night so it was fun to try them out. Unfortunately we didn't sea any turtles, but we did see a few fish! I wish I could tell you what kinds but I don't have the fishie guide book with me. Not yet anyway. The most fun one was green and red striped and shiny.
The view from Moku Nui was beautiful. You could see all of Lanikai beach and tons more of the shoreline. It was definitely beautiful. I, unfortunately, did not get any pictures. The kayak mission didn't exactly keep many things dry. We had our phones, but wrapped them two ziplock baggies and it worked! I was worried about the camera too, so no pictures. You'll just have to look online to figure it out. The wiki link I sent had a few to give you an idea. It was lovely! If you see the pictures from a beach with two little island mounds, that's right! We went to the left one.
Alright we're off now. We thankfully ate. We treated ourselves to a burger and shakes and it was MARVELOUS. Haha. Alright.
I'm off.
Enjoy
Mer
Friday, October 9, 2009
International Market
Yesterday was a good time. As usual, John was at work, but this time I was able to get out and about. I went out with Maddy Burkhart, a fellow girlfriend of the boat. She's from Guam originally and only 2 years older than me. She had the day off so she offered to take me to Waikiki for lunch and either shopping or the beach, whichever we decided while down there.
We went to lunch at Duke's and met up with one of her friends from Guam who is an Army Wife and has two kids. They were in Waikiki for surf lessons so they chose to eat with us. We pretty much all got the buffet. It was delicious. We also all shared the "Hula Pie" which is this gigantic slice of Macadamia nut ice cream pie on an Oreo crust that was generously shared between FIVE people. Macadamia nuts are definitely a staple around here.
It turns out that Dukes was across the street from the International Market so I asked Maddy if we could go. The others headed home so it was back to just the two of us. It was neat. Most of the stands are similar to each other as well as to stands that hang out in malls. There were also a lot of bathing suit stands and gift shops. It was fun to be in a touristy area! There were also a lot more white people there, too haha. Maddy got a henna tattoo of an Octopus on her shoulder that was pretty neat and while we were leaving I saw this Hawaiian dress I really like that I ended up getting. It's black with cascading blue flowers. It was a fun buy!
We then went to Ala Moana to check out the gigantic Victoria's Secret since I had some coupons I needed to use by the end of October. I was able to speak with the Store Manager and they seemed pretty excited about a former employee....again... and had me fill out an application so we shall see where that one goes.
Now I'm home all day and putting off the chores I need to do. We finally got the last of John's packages and one of the boxes has my stuff, which needs to get put away. Along with some laundry and cat litter that needs to get done. Fun fun. It's Friday though. I think right now we're planning on going Kayaking tomorrow! I'm pretty excited. It should be a nice trip.
We went to lunch at Duke's and met up with one of her friends from Guam who is an Army Wife and has two kids. They were in Waikiki for surf lessons so they chose to eat with us. We pretty much all got the buffet. It was delicious. We also all shared the "Hula Pie" which is this gigantic slice of Macadamia nut ice cream pie on an Oreo crust that was generously shared between FIVE people. Macadamia nuts are definitely a staple around here.
It turns out that Dukes was across the street from the International Market so I asked Maddy if we could go. The others headed home so it was back to just the two of us. It was neat. Most of the stands are similar to each other as well as to stands that hang out in malls. There were also a lot of bathing suit stands and gift shops. It was fun to be in a touristy area! There were also a lot more white people there, too haha. Maddy got a henna tattoo of an Octopus on her shoulder that was pretty neat and while we were leaving I saw this Hawaiian dress I really like that I ended up getting. It's black with cascading blue flowers. It was a fun buy!
We then went to Ala Moana to check out the gigantic Victoria's Secret since I had some coupons I needed to use by the end of October. I was able to speak with the Store Manager and they seemed pretty excited about a former employee....again... and had me fill out an application so we shall see where that one goes.
Now I'm home all day and putting off the chores I need to do. We finally got the last of John's packages and one of the boxes has my stuff, which needs to get put away. Along with some laundry and cat litter that needs to get done. Fun fun. It's Friday though. I think right now we're planning on going Kayaking tomorrow! I'm pretty excited. It should be a nice trip.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
July 1984
If you ever come across the Southern Living July 1984 edition apparently there's a recipe for Plantation Ribs.
DELICIOUS.
I made the marinade tonight and put it on baby back ribs and it turned out amazing. Mother had the recipe and put it in a binder of recipes for my brother and I, so that's how I have it.
If you're lucky maybe I'll put it online later, haha.
Tonight, however, it's time to relax to HBO and get ready for a girl's day! I'm going out to lunch with maybe some shopping or beach afterwards with Maddie and I'm very excited.
DELICIOUS.
I made the marinade tonight and put it on baby back ribs and it turned out amazing. Mother had the recipe and put it in a binder of recipes for my brother and I, so that's how I have it.
If you're lucky maybe I'll put it online later, haha.
Tonight, however, it's time to relax to HBO and get ready for a girl's day! I'm going out to lunch with maybe some shopping or beach afterwards with Maddie and I'm very excited.
Wedding Planning Updates
So. I keep getting questions about when the wedding is. Well currently it's incredibly hard to plan a wedding from half a world away and it takes a little while. I can't set a date until I know for sure that we can get a reception place ON that date. If we can't I'd have to move it and then tell people again. That's just silly. Places book a year+ in advance so it's likely the places I like are going to be booked so I have to figure something else out. I didn't even look into one of the Winery options because it actually had an event calendar up and proved it's booked the entire month of October 2010 and the month of September so I didn't even have a back-up. We want to have it in October of 2010, so we shall see. As for which weekend and which day, I can't tell you until I know.
We have an officiant, Reverend Dr. Robert Zanicky whom I grew up with. He's a great guy and the only thing I knew for sure about when planning this wedding. We'll probably do my church as well since it's so lovely, but if the reception place ends up being over an hour away I'll have to have the ceremony there.
That's the only things I've been focusing on. I haven't decided on anything else and am not even thinking seriously about them until this is done. Then I will have dates so I can be on schedule better.
Thanks,
Mer
We have an officiant, Reverend Dr. Robert Zanicky whom I grew up with. He's a great guy and the only thing I knew for sure about when planning this wedding. We'll probably do my church as well since it's so lovely, but if the reception place ends up being over an hour away I'll have to have the ceremony there.
That's the only things I've been focusing on. I haven't decided on anything else and am not even thinking seriously about them until this is done. Then I will have dates so I can be on schedule better.
Thanks,
Mer
Too many noises
We live in a quiet area. There are no highways near by. The roads are residential so there's no car sounds, no horns, no anything. We're surrounded by a golf club so that's a rather quiet thing as well. However...
6:40 am. Every day the sprinklers go off for all the plants. Well at least the ones around my room.
9:00 am. The guy with the leaf blower comes by very very very slowly. It's insanely loud.
I can usually get back to sleep after the 6:40 bit because it's not that bad and John just woke up then anyway so I've already been woken up. However this leaf guy.... ugh. It's unpleasant, even if I'm completely away. It's just annoying.
I've also gone back to not sleeping well so it doesn't help to be woken up by stupid things I can't block out. I already have to kick the cat out when John leaves because his routine wakes her up and she wants to play. Though I'm sure my sleep habits aren't that exciting.
Dixie is doing alright. She usually sleeps next to me at night, recently she's taken to sharing my pillow. Billy the cat used to do that. It was more of pain when he did it though since he was far bigger than her. We'll see if it becomes a habit of hers though. So far she hasn't taken to clawing the couch which is fantastic. She has, however, figured out she can climb the screen door which is not good at all. I have to keep an eye on her when she's near it now. Oddly it was designed so the screen is on the inside, not the outside, so it's ALWAYS at risk.
My search for a job is still hideous. I called Victoria's Secret back since they didn't call when they said they would. As usual, I had to leave a message. I also left a message with Philip Rickard. I called a few other places and applied to a few more. No one picks up the phone so this follow up business that usually works well, is of no help. We shall see. On thursday I'm going to ask Maddie what she knows about the Lockheed job and get the phone number from her.
On that note, my social life is a little more exciting. Yesterday I went to breakfast with a girl named Molly and another named Tessa. They're both Navy wives but from different boats. They're not too much older than me and have no kids as well so it was a nice little change. Molly tooks us to this breakfast place that is known for it's "Onolicious pancakes" with Macademia nut sauce that was very light and fluffy. It really was Ono (delicious)! Molly also lent me her loaf pan which is very exciting. I've been dying to make Spiced Pumpkin Bread with White Chocolate ChipsM
Tomorrow I'm probably going to see Maddie, the girlfriend I met at the Hail who works for Lockheed. She called me yesterday and mentioned that she had long shifts this week and therefore had extra days off and was free on Thursday. I'm not sure what our plans are, but I'm excited to go out and about. John's usually too busy to do anything other than errands, but we're hoping to actually go out this weekend (didn't I say that last time?) Seriously though, we might go Kayaking from Lanikai beach to the mounds where we can hike a bit and maybe see Sea Turtles! If we don't do that we'll probably hike to the Pillbox which is near the same area. That one doesn't require fees for kayak rentals so we'll see. Or we'll snorkel in Hanauma bay, we shall see.
Weather wise, it's gotten incredibly humid. The wind has died down which is pretty terrible. That provides most of the cool wind in the house so when it's still, it's gross. I need to bring the fan in here. It's also been raining, I actually lost power on Monday! Little Dixie was scared of the thunder, but got over it pretty quickly. Supposedly "winter" is the rainy season. Hopefully that doesn't mean the wind dies down for the rain to fall. It's really humid and hot, the wind makes it completely bearable and fine. Yuck.
Alright. I have chores to do before my swimming. Ah and by the way, I've been swimming every day lately. Hopefully I can keep it up! Laps and treading water, what fun! Haha.
6:40 am. Every day the sprinklers go off for all the plants. Well at least the ones around my room.
9:00 am. The guy with the leaf blower comes by very very very slowly. It's insanely loud.
I can usually get back to sleep after the 6:40 bit because it's not that bad and John just woke up then anyway so I've already been woken up. However this leaf guy.... ugh. It's unpleasant, even if I'm completely away. It's just annoying.
I've also gone back to not sleeping well so it doesn't help to be woken up by stupid things I can't block out. I already have to kick the cat out when John leaves because his routine wakes her up and she wants to play. Though I'm sure my sleep habits aren't that exciting.
Dixie is doing alright. She usually sleeps next to me at night, recently she's taken to sharing my pillow. Billy the cat used to do that. It was more of pain when he did it though since he was far bigger than her. We'll see if it becomes a habit of hers though. So far she hasn't taken to clawing the couch which is fantastic. She has, however, figured out she can climb the screen door which is not good at all. I have to keep an eye on her when she's near it now. Oddly it was designed so the screen is on the inside, not the outside, so it's ALWAYS at risk.
My search for a job is still hideous. I called Victoria's Secret back since they didn't call when they said they would. As usual, I had to leave a message. I also left a message with Philip Rickard. I called a few other places and applied to a few more. No one picks up the phone so this follow up business that usually works well, is of no help. We shall see. On thursday I'm going to ask Maddie what she knows about the Lockheed job and get the phone number from her.
On that note, my social life is a little more exciting. Yesterday I went to breakfast with a girl named Molly and another named Tessa. They're both Navy wives but from different boats. They're not too much older than me and have no kids as well so it was a nice little change. Molly tooks us to this breakfast place that is known for it's "Onolicious pancakes" with Macademia nut sauce that was very light and fluffy. It really was Ono (delicious)! Molly also lent me her loaf pan which is very exciting. I've been dying to make Spiced Pumpkin Bread with White Chocolate ChipsM
Tomorrow I'm probably going to see Maddie, the girlfriend I met at the Hail who works for Lockheed. She called me yesterday and mentioned that she had long shifts this week and therefore had extra days off and was free on Thursday. I'm not sure what our plans are, but I'm excited to go out and about. John's usually too busy to do anything other than errands, but we're hoping to actually go out this weekend (didn't I say that last time?) Seriously though, we might go Kayaking from Lanikai beach to the mounds where we can hike a bit and maybe see Sea Turtles! If we don't do that we'll probably hike to the Pillbox which is near the same area. That one doesn't require fees for kayak rentals so we'll see. Or we'll snorkel in Hanauma bay, we shall see.
Weather wise, it's gotten incredibly humid. The wind has died down which is pretty terrible. That provides most of the cool wind in the house so when it's still, it's gross. I need to bring the fan in here. It's also been raining, I actually lost power on Monday! Little Dixie was scared of the thunder, but got over it pretty quickly. Supposedly "winter" is the rainy season. Hopefully that doesn't mean the wind dies down for the rain to fall. It's really humid and hot, the wind makes it completely bearable and fine. Yuck.
Alright. I have chores to do before my swimming. Ah and by the way, I've been swimming every day lately. Hopefully I can keep it up! Laps and treading water, what fun! Haha.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
E-mail : October 3rd
Greetings!
Sorry it's been so long. We moved in and had no internet until this morning. I was able to get on a little bit, but not enough to really write a good e-mail. It was too off and on that I didn't want to risk writing something informative and lose it because I I knew I'd be too frustrated to rewrite it.
Things are going well here. John has started work and I've been moving us in. Nearly everything is unpacked. The furniture is in place and I enjoy it. I'll try to get some pictures up at some time. We have a new sofa and loveseat set of which I absolutely love. It's brown and incredibly comfortable. We also have a new coffee table set that came with two end tables. They all have a glass oval top held up with metal and has a smaller wooden oval layer underneath for a shelf.
I'm still job hunting. Victoria's Secret called and told me they'd call me in 2 weeks to set up an interview. My phone was screwing up so I wasn't able to call them and they never got back to me. They opened on Thursday. Hopefully that means their new phone number will be listed somewhere. I contacted many jobs over the past few months, but still no luck. I applied to a Lockheed position that another girl mentioned to me. She works there and said they were hiring, I met her at the BBQ with John's shipmates.
By the way, we went to a BBQ with some of John's shipmates and their families last Friday. It was a Hail/Farewell party which was really a Hail since two guys were joining, but none are leaving just yet. It was fun. I talked with a few of the wives and a girlfriend (Maddie, she's the one trying to get me a job at Lockheed) and they are all nice. They also had a lunch on Wednesday which I attended. One lady, Patti, might take me out to the Aloha Swap Meet on Wednesday. It's not a definite plan though, but I've been wanting to go so we shall see.
We have more news! Thursday John came home early and took me out to get a kitty! She's adorable. We know it's a little early to get one but thought it was a good time since I have no job. It's better doing it now since I'm hear to help her get used to things or train her. She's a doll. Her name is Dixie and she's a 3 month old Calico. She's a little lovebug and always wants to be near us and has already proved to be a little lap kitten. She also loves her skunk on a string so much that within 2 days of having her, the string is literally hanging by a thread.
Hopefully soon we'll be able to explore Hawaii some more. I'm not sure of our plans tomorrow but today we had to wait for the Cable/Internet to be installed and at 3:30 we have a vet appointment. We get a free physical examination to use within 7 days, so it's nothing to worry about. We just have to make sure Dixie is in good shape.
Well I'm off, I just thought I'd send a little update now that I can.
Love and miss you all,
Meredith
Sorry it's been so long. We moved in and had no internet until this morning. I was able to get on a little bit, but not enough to really write a good e-mail. It was too off and on that I didn't want to risk writing something informative and lose it because I I knew I'd be too frustrated to rewrite it.
Things are going well here. John has started work and I've been moving us in. Nearly everything is unpacked. The furniture is in place and I enjoy it. I'll try to get some pictures up at some time. We have a new sofa and loveseat set of which I absolutely love. It's brown and incredibly comfortable. We also have a new coffee table set that came with two end tables. They all have a glass oval top held up with metal and has a smaller wooden oval layer underneath for a shelf.
I'm still job hunting. Victoria's Secret called and told me they'd call me in 2 weeks to set up an interview. My phone was screwing up so I wasn't able to call them and they never got back to me. They opened on Thursday. Hopefully that means their new phone number will be listed somewhere. I contacted many jobs over the past few months, but still no luck. I applied to a Lockheed position that another girl mentioned to me. She works there and said they were hiring, I met her at the BBQ with John's shipmates.
By the way, we went to a BBQ with some of John's shipmates and their families last Friday. It was a Hail/Farewell party which was really a Hail since two guys were joining, but none are leaving just yet. It was fun. I talked with a few of the wives and a girlfriend (Maddie, she's the one trying to get me a job at Lockheed) and they are all nice. They also had a lunch on Wednesday which I attended. One lady, Patti, might take me out to the Aloha Swap Meet on Wednesday. It's not a definite plan though, but I've been wanting to go so we shall see.
We have more news! Thursday John came home early and took me out to get a kitty! She's adorable. We know it's a little early to get one but thought it was a good time since I have no job. It's better doing it now since I'm hear to help her get used to things or train her. She's a doll. Her name is Dixie and she's a 3 month old Calico. She's a little lovebug and always wants to be near us and has already proved to be a little lap kitten. She also loves her skunk on a string so much that within 2 days of having her, the string is literally hanging by a thread.
Hopefully soon we'll be able to explore Hawaii some more. I'm not sure of our plans tomorrow but today we had to wait for the Cable/Internet to be installed and at 3:30 we have a vet appointment. We get a free physical examination to use within 7 days, so it's nothing to worry about. We just have to make sure Dixie is in good shape.
Well I'm off, I just thought I'd send a little update now that I can.
Love and miss you all,
Meredith
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Patience! haha
So I've been getting complaints about not writing! Plural, so no one take it upon themselves to think "I was only sayin..." haha. But seriously, it's because we technically have no internet. It's fussy so I wasn't sure if I could try and I definitely won't be able to do pictures. HOWEVER. Time Warner apparently called up John and said we should be getting it THIS SATURDAY as opposed to the 17th, so rest assured- more news then.
Until then, I'm bored out of my mind in Hawaii while John has started work. I have another job prospect but I'm not sure how it'll work out so that's the only info you're getting. I have to catch you up on the lovely Hail/Farewell BBQ we went to and the lovely ladies I met and am going to lunch with tomorrow- but I'll do that come internet time as well. I suppose posting now vs then isn't a big difference, but if I lose this text it can be easily written again as opposed to a much longer entry.
I need to get cash so I can jump on the busline and cure my boredom. And a job... that would help.
We're nearly all moved in but still have small annoying piles of junk lying around. Some of which is stuff to be hung and books to be shelved on, currently, non existant shelves.
Pictures will come by next week.
In the meantime, send us cookies at
98-711 Iho Pl. #504
Aiea, HI 96701
Love!
Mer
P.S. Although you don't know this, my point was just proven. The internet I'm using just crashed for the 800th time. And 801st. Highly annoying. I can really only do simple things. I've gotten onto facebook ok, Gmail is iffy and whiny but it works something. This however, is being a pain.
Until then, I'm bored out of my mind in Hawaii while John has started work. I have another job prospect but I'm not sure how it'll work out so that's the only info you're getting. I have to catch you up on the lovely Hail/Farewell BBQ we went to and the lovely ladies I met and am going to lunch with tomorrow- but I'll do that come internet time as well. I suppose posting now vs then isn't a big difference, but if I lose this text it can be easily written again as opposed to a much longer entry.
I need to get cash so I can jump on the busline and cure my boredom. And a job... that would help.
We're nearly all moved in but still have small annoying piles of junk lying around. Some of which is stuff to be hung and books to be shelved on, currently, non existant shelves.
Pictures will come by next week.
In the meantime, send us cookies at
98-711 Iho Pl. #504
Aiea, HI 96701
Love!
Mer
P.S. Although you don't know this, my point was just proven. The internet I'm using just crashed for the 800th time. And 801st. Highly annoying. I can really only do simple things. I've gotten onto facebook ok, Gmail is iffy and whiny but it works something. This however, is being a pain.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Random
We got new bulbs and cleaned the glass cover for two of our overhead lights and WOW does that make a huuuuge difference. You can actually see artistic light designs and the bulbs inside! You can see through the glass! Haha oh man. Everything else is beautiful but those were not. Now they are
P.S.
Oh! P.S. We aren't getting internet or cable installed until October 17th and I'm currently "borrowing" someone else's. So I don't know when or if I'll be back on until then.
Moving Day
So yesterday was a very very very very long day. We got up around 6 and ended up going to sleep around 9:30/10 cause of exhaustion. The movers came around 8:30 but there was construction we didn't know about so they had to go back and get a van. I have no recollection of what happened in the meantime but at some point John left to do a variety of errands. I was left to try to register his truck with the complex and direct the packers when they showed up.
Got the registration done but apparently they have insanely strict guidelines with the parking that they only recently started to enforce. It's ridiculous. All vehicles MUST be within the painted lines. John's bumper sticks out so now he has to park along the street outside the gate. However, if I get an island junker then I get the spot! Muahaha.
But anyway. The whole day consisted of me directing the movers and pointing out that some boxes we're ours all while John was out picking up needed items like fans, trashcans, and drying racks as well as my list of non-food Kitchen necessities. He also picked up all furniture that we bought 2 days ago at the NEX. Well all but the sofa/loveseat set. After the movers left, we carried all that stuff up the elevator and went back to the next to tackle the sofa, oh and the dining room table.
Wow. Carrying those things is very difficult. We carried the loveseat, while still wrapped with all it's cushions, to the elevator and magically fit it in and then pushed it to our room. The Sofa was a different story. It doesn't fit in the elevator. It's a nice long sofa. Well we first drove it to this empty spot by the elevator so it would be closer to the stairs. We couldn't do that earlier because the loveseat was on top of the sofa and making the truck too big to fit into the parking lot. Well this time we came to our senses and completely stripped the sofa of all it's protective wrapping and cushions. It was MUCH lighter that way. Well we carried it to the stairs and it wasn't going in. No way no how. John went down a flight and discovered there was no wall on the flight down so we carried it back to the truck, loaded it, and drove down a flight. Somehow we got the sofa into the stairwell and ended up just standing there because it seemed absolutely impossible. The staircase was probably only 3 inches longer than the sofa and was completely 180 turns. I refused to believe it was impossible. Somehow, with much turning, pivoting, and flipping we got the sofa upstairs.
I'm pretty sure the sofa incident is why, after grocery shopping, dinner, and finding towels, we went straight to bed and sleep at 9:30ish. I fell asleep quicker than I have in years. I was even drifting asleep before John and that, my friends, it extremely rare.
Ok back to unpacking! As you can see in the photos, I shouldn't be taking this long of a break. I ate lunch though so it wasn't all time lost!
Got the registration done but apparently they have insanely strict guidelines with the parking that they only recently started to enforce. It's ridiculous. All vehicles MUST be within the painted lines. John's bumper sticks out so now he has to park along the street outside the gate. However, if I get an island junker then I get the spot! Muahaha.
But anyway. The whole day consisted of me directing the movers and pointing out that some boxes we're ours all while John was out picking up needed items like fans, trashcans, and drying racks as well as my list of non-food Kitchen necessities. He also picked up all furniture that we bought 2 days ago at the NEX. Well all but the sofa/loveseat set. After the movers left, we carried all that stuff up the elevator and went back to the next to tackle the sofa, oh and the dining room table.
Wow. Carrying those things is very difficult. We carried the loveseat, while still wrapped with all it's cushions, to the elevator and magically fit it in and then pushed it to our room. The Sofa was a different story. It doesn't fit in the elevator. It's a nice long sofa. Well we first drove it to this empty spot by the elevator so it would be closer to the stairs. We couldn't do that earlier because the loveseat was on top of the sofa and making the truck too big to fit into the parking lot. Well this time we came to our senses and completely stripped the sofa of all it's protective wrapping and cushions. It was MUCH lighter that way. Well we carried it to the stairs and it wasn't going in. No way no how. John went down a flight and discovered there was no wall on the flight down so we carried it back to the truck, loaded it, and drove down a flight. Somehow we got the sofa into the stairwell and ended up just standing there because it seemed absolutely impossible. The staircase was probably only 3 inches longer than the sofa and was completely 180 turns. I refused to believe it was impossible. Somehow, with much turning, pivoting, and flipping we got the sofa upstairs.
I'm pretty sure the sofa incident is why, after grocery shopping, dinner, and finding towels, we went straight to bed and sleep at 9:30ish. I fell asleep quicker than I have in years. I was even drifting asleep before John and that, my friends, it extremely rare.
Ok back to unpacking! As you can see in the photos, I shouldn't be taking this long of a break. I ate lunch though so it wasn't all time lost!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Starbucks
Well here I am in Starbucks, for who knows how long. Did you know free Wifi is getting less and less existant? Isn't Starbucks THE place to go for free Wifi? Well not anymore. Now AT&T insists on charging $3.99/2 hrs unless you have their service at home. Or $20 a month which would be worth it if I intended to do this every day. Hopefully, I don't but come to think of it- I might. Blah. John's at work and we don't move into our much closer apartment until Wednesday or Thursday which means, in order to save him gas and to be sweet, I'm waiting in a nearby Starbucks until the Navy is done with him for the day. He's on the second day of the check-in process so he'll be there anywhere from an hour to an entire. Hopefully the former, I definitely don't want to be here all day. Though I did luck out that this Starbucks is about a block away from the mall. I'm not sure if it's a block or not, it's the rest of this little strip of stores and then the entire parking lot, and I'm there. Only we've been there 3+ times since we got here so I'm a little tired of it. It just happens to be near most of the places we've looked at which made it a convienent go-to place to kill time.
Let's see. What don't you know? We have an apartment, we're engaged, he's starting check-in, and I am waiting to hear from Victoria's Secret. All-in-all things are going well. In an hour I'm going to call Philip Rickard and see if the "Graphic Assistant" position is still open and hopefully set up an interview, but we shall see. I'm super nervous.
I also have a lot of butterflies when it comes to this wedding. So far we've been pretty happy with the idea of early October, 2010 (9th maybe, possibly the 2nd) in Pennsylvania since PA is just so darn beautiful in the fall. And I have some connections and preferences when it comes to where and the officiant. Hopefully Rev. Zanicky will be able to do it! He's the only one I really care for and my old church is beautiful. It turns out that they have a website with some pictures so you can check it out at My church.
I've been stressing out about reception places mainly. I have an idea but it's a friend's perfect yard. First off I have to ask and second, if it's outside- would it be too cold? Would weather force us indoors to a tiny little place that makes it far less exciting? Would the drive be too far from whatever hotel people will be staying at? AND If we had it at the hotel- the price would probably sky rocket. Ew. I'd rather stay cheap. I guess I could just flat out ask and set the date so I can call the church and blah blah. It's only a few days in. According to The Knot I have 382 days.. or something. I'm just, nervous. Most of you know how I am. Stressing out is a special skill of mine. It's how Jill and I bond.
Well anyway.
John and I are currently in the process of furniture shopping. We have bathroom 1 taken care of. We did that yesterday. It's green and bamboo themed. The accessories are really nice and we both like them a lot, so that's always good. We found some furniture at the next that we both really like. They're from Ashley Furniture's "Urbandale" collection. We liked the dining room set, the coffee table, and the end table. We're also looking at a sofe/love seat set. We shall see though. Once he's finally done we're going to the furniture store across the way from here. We'll check the prices and see what's worth it.
Hmm. I suppose that's it. I have tons of spare time now so I suppose I'll research weddings. Who wants to fly out to Hawaii and wedding dress shop with me? I need friends!
Let's see. What don't you know? We have an apartment, we're engaged, he's starting check-in, and I am waiting to hear from Victoria's Secret. All-in-all things are going well. In an hour I'm going to call Philip Rickard and see if the "Graphic Assistant" position is still open and hopefully set up an interview, but we shall see. I'm super nervous.
I also have a lot of butterflies when it comes to this wedding. So far we've been pretty happy with the idea of early October, 2010 (9th maybe, possibly the 2nd) in Pennsylvania since PA is just so darn beautiful in the fall. And I have some connections and preferences when it comes to where and the officiant. Hopefully Rev. Zanicky will be able to do it! He's the only one I really care for and my old church is beautiful. It turns out that they have a website with some pictures so you can check it out at My church.
I've been stressing out about reception places mainly. I have an idea but it's a friend's perfect yard. First off I have to ask and second, if it's outside- would it be too cold? Would weather force us indoors to a tiny little place that makes it far less exciting? Would the drive be too far from whatever hotel people will be staying at? AND If we had it at the hotel- the price would probably sky rocket. Ew. I'd rather stay cheap. I guess I could just flat out ask and set the date so I can call the church and blah blah. It's only a few days in. According to The Knot I have 382 days.. or something. I'm just, nervous. Most of you know how I am. Stressing out is a special skill of mine. It's how Jill and I bond.
Well anyway.
John and I are currently in the process of furniture shopping. We have bathroom 1 taken care of. We did that yesterday. It's green and bamboo themed. The accessories are really nice and we both like them a lot, so that's always good. We found some furniture at the next that we both really like. They're from Ashley Furniture's "Urbandale" collection. We liked the dining room set, the coffee table, and the end table. We're also looking at a sofe/love seat set. We shall see though. Once he's finally done we're going to the furniture store across the way from here. We'll check the prices and see what's worth it.
Hmm. I suppose that's it. I have tons of spare time now so I suppose I'll research weddings. Who wants to fly out to Hawaii and wedding dress shop with me? I need friends!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Comments
Oh and in case you didn't know, there's a little place at the bottom of each post for someone to comment. It allows anonymous, just sign your name at the bottom so I know who it's from. Hooray!
APARTMENT!!!!!!!!!!
We got an apartment! It's Colonnade on the Greens. Our apartment is on the 5th floor (one about street level). It's in the small building RIGHT next to the pool. Which is really nice.
Ok. So the second image is ALMOST what we got. It's actually a 3 bedroom! Let's see- the left side is a little bigger and cut up into 2 bedrooms and a bathroom in the middle. The kitchen is BEAUTIFUL. Granite counter tops. The view is of the street so it's not exactly beautiful or private but if that's the only issue- we'll take it. It's really not that big of a deal. The master bedroom is fabulously big and so is the WALK IN closet. We can each take one side, easily I'm sure. The actual place has many amnenaties. Pool, jacuzzi, tennis court, racketball court, paddle ball court, BBQ area, actually two- there are grills by the pool, too. Lots of things to do. The walk to the bus stop is less than a mile and up hill so I'll get a little work out before work but thankfully it's downhill on the way home. It's such a lovely place. It looks like they renovated everything recently. The kitchen is definitely the nicest one we've seen. The bedroom is huge. The bathrooms are both full and very very nice. We have a corner APT so not too many passerbys and the landlord told us that they were contemplating a screen door and we instantly said that would be wonderful.
We're very excited. We move (hopefully completely) into it and get the keys and everything on Wednesday so I'll have pictures up by then. Yay! Finally!
Ok. So the second image is ALMOST what we got. It's actually a 3 bedroom! Let's see- the left side is a little bigger and cut up into 2 bedrooms and a bathroom in the middle. The kitchen is BEAUTIFUL. Granite counter tops. The view is of the street so it's not exactly beautiful or private but if that's the only issue- we'll take it. It's really not that big of a deal. The master bedroom is fabulously big and so is the WALK IN closet. We can each take one side, easily I'm sure. The actual place has many amnenaties. Pool, jacuzzi, tennis court, racketball court, paddle ball court, BBQ area, actually two- there are grills by the pool, too. Lots of things to do. The walk to the bus stop is less than a mile and up hill so I'll get a little work out before work but thankfully it's downhill on the way home. It's such a lovely place. It looks like they renovated everything recently. The kitchen is definitely the nicest one we've seen. The bedroom is huge. The bathrooms are both full and very very nice. We have a corner APT so not too many passerbys and the landlord told us that they were contemplating a screen door and we instantly said that would be wonderful.We're very excited. We move (hopefully completely) into it and get the keys and everything on Wednesday so I'll have pictures up by then. Yay! Finally!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Apartment Hunting
Apartment hunting is NOT fun. I'm still on cloud nine of course, but that doesn't make me any less frustrated.
Colonnade on the Green was nice, but it was a little dirty/scrungy. The bedrooms were also rather small. It was very serene and pleasant but probably would keep me pretty lonely. It just didn't have the feel some of the others had.
Park at Pearlridge room 1602 (or something like that) was very nice. However it was on the 16th floor. The view was beautiful. However, that building is built kind of like a square donut. So there is a drop on the inside as well as outside the balcony. I couldn't handle the inside. The lines created by all the floor made my stomach churn. It's a pain in the butt to be scared of heights, but I can handle it on many occasions. Just.. not that one.
The next one was in the same building, but on the 5th floor which was much much more doable. It also turned out to be one of the bigger ones. It was BEAUTIFUL. Perfect in everyway. We got the application, filled it out, and when we called to ask a question we also double checked that pets were allowed. We've only called up places that advertised that they were. Turns out they had lied and they aren't. This was an extreme disappointment. However, after the rest of our searching this is still the top one. I really really hate to give up my cat, but I don't really want to live in a scummy place either. :-(
I don't even know what comes next. Basically a stream of dirty places in not so comfortable areas or one nice place RIGHT next to H1 the most busy highway in HI. Aka very loud. We're both getting worn a little thin, I think. So it's nice to relax right now. Relaxing brings good things, yesterday is proof of that! :-D
Tomorrow we have an appointment at 4. It's a schedule viewing for a couple people so this is a new experience. With the way the guy has responded to questions, it seems like it's a rather elite place so hopefully we'll like it. There's also one that has a lot of promise, well as much as one without photos can (the Pearlridge one had no photos so I'm not too worried) but we're waiting to hear from the guy. The tenant moved out on Thursday and it's currently getting cleaned. Hopefully we'll be able to see it this weekend. I think there's also one more we're waiting to hear about. This will probably be the end of the hunt. I'm not sure yet.
John has started his check in process, so Monday morning the Navy steals him away for anywhere between 2 hrs and a whole day. Fun fun. We really hope to find a place by then.
Oh! And Victoria's Secret called me for a preliminary screening about my transfer. They mentioned a full-time bra specialist or bra fitter position open (2 different things) that I may be able to take! How fun! They told me that they'll be calling within 2 weeks about it, so that's a nice thing. I had only left a message the day before so it's nice to get a pretty quick response. And, as expected, they were pleased to hear I have experience with the store.
Alright I'm off!
We've been crazy busy so I don't know when I'll write again.
Love you all
-Meredith
Colonnade on the Green was nice, but it was a little dirty/scrungy. The bedrooms were also rather small. It was very serene and pleasant but probably would keep me pretty lonely. It just didn't have the feel some of the others had.
Park at Pearlridge room 1602 (or something like that) was very nice. However it was on the 16th floor. The view was beautiful. However, that building is built kind of like a square donut. So there is a drop on the inside as well as outside the balcony. I couldn't handle the inside. The lines created by all the floor made my stomach churn. It's a pain in the butt to be scared of heights, but I can handle it on many occasions. Just.. not that one.
The next one was in the same building, but on the 5th floor which was much much more doable. It also turned out to be one of the bigger ones. It was BEAUTIFUL. Perfect in everyway. We got the application, filled it out, and when we called to ask a question we also double checked that pets were allowed. We've only called up places that advertised that they were. Turns out they had lied and they aren't. This was an extreme disappointment. However, after the rest of our searching this is still the top one. I really really hate to give up my cat, but I don't really want to live in a scummy place either. :-(
I don't even know what comes next. Basically a stream of dirty places in not so comfortable areas or one nice place RIGHT next to H1 the most busy highway in HI. Aka very loud. We're both getting worn a little thin, I think. So it's nice to relax right now. Relaxing brings good things, yesterday is proof of that! :-D
Tomorrow we have an appointment at 4. It's a schedule viewing for a couple people so this is a new experience. With the way the guy has responded to questions, it seems like it's a rather elite place so hopefully we'll like it. There's also one that has a lot of promise, well as much as one without photos can (the Pearlridge one had no photos so I'm not too worried) but we're waiting to hear from the guy. The tenant moved out on Thursday and it's currently getting cleaned. Hopefully we'll be able to see it this weekend. I think there's also one more we're waiting to hear about. This will probably be the end of the hunt. I'm not sure yet.
John has started his check in process, so Monday morning the Navy steals him away for anywhere between 2 hrs and a whole day. Fun fun. We really hope to find a place by then.
Oh! And Victoria's Secret called me for a preliminary screening about my transfer. They mentioned a full-time bra specialist or bra fitter position open (2 different things) that I may be able to take! How fun! They told me that they'll be calling within 2 weeks about it, so that's a nice thing. I had only left a message the day before so it's nice to get a pretty quick response. And, as expected, they were pleased to hear I have experience with the store.
Alright I'm off!
We've been crazy busy so I don't know when I'll write again.
Love you all
-Meredith
What are you doing!?
This has been one crazy week! And yesterday was a very good day, haha.
We went around to do some Navy errands and came back around 3:00 and had some time to kill back at the house in Kailua, so of course I forced him to take me to the beach nearby. It's a very serene beach. The water is incredibly blue, the sand is extremely soft, and everything about it is warm and peaceful. There were people there but not exactly what I'd call a crowd. It was pleasant. We walked up it and then back. It was a nice change. I really needed that after all the frustrations that come with apartment hunting.
After the walk, I wasn't ready to leave and we still had time so we sat down to watch the waves. John was sitting against a tree so I sat in front of him and leaned on him. We were sitting there for a quite a while. Enough for a couple random phone calls and to just watch and take in Hawaii. It's all still rather surreal here. Well as I was looking over the ocean John's arm comes around and poof- there's a ring box in front of me. I think my first thought was "What is he doing? Is he about to show me his class ring or something?" and then he opened it and there, inside, was a beautiful engagement ring. Well I obviously responded with "What the hell are you doing!?!?" "Holy Crap!" "What's going on?!" and another row of holy craps in there... haha. I was NOT expecting that. He then leaned over and asked me to marry him. To which I responded with "holy crap!" again haha and of course "Yes".
SO.
John and I are engaged! It's very exciting!
Yay :-D
We went around to do some Navy errands and came back around 3:00 and had some time to kill back at the house in Kailua, so of course I forced him to take me to the beach nearby. It's a very serene beach. The water is incredibly blue, the sand is extremely soft, and everything about it is warm and peaceful. There were people there but not exactly what I'd call a crowd. It was pleasant. We walked up it and then back. It was a nice change. I really needed that after all the frustrations that come with apartment hunting.
After the walk, I wasn't ready to leave and we still had time so we sat down to watch the waves. John was sitting against a tree so I sat in front of him and leaned on him. We were sitting there for a quite a while. Enough for a couple random phone calls and to just watch and take in Hawaii. It's all still rather surreal here. Well as I was looking over the ocean John's arm comes around and poof- there's a ring box in front of me. I think my first thought was "What is he doing? Is he about to show me his class ring or something?" and then he opened it and there, inside, was a beautiful engagement ring. Well I obviously responded with "What the hell are you doing!?!?" "Holy Crap!" "What's going on?!" and another row of holy craps in there... haha. I was NOT expecting that. He then leaned over and asked me to marry him. To which I responded with "holy crap!" again haha and of course "Yes".
SO.
John and I are engaged! It's very exciting!
Yay :-D
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Land Ho!
Well, I'm in Hawaii! It's such a crazy thing. I look around and see amazing and beautiful sights but can't really connect "Hey I'm living here now" to all of them.
I got in last night around 2:30 (8:30EST) and everything went smoothly. Unfortunately I got sick the day before so I'm not feeling great. It has helped me sleep though. I was able to get to sleep around 9 on Monday so waking up at 4am ended up not being too difficult!
My bags weighed 49.5 and 50 lbs so all my struggling to make sure I wouldn't pay the airlines extra worked out perfectly! Also, when I got to the gate they said that if we had bags that were a little big or we just didn't want to deal with them they'd check them at the gate all the way through to my final destination for FREE. So I did that. It was nice to not have to deal with my third bag. They all got through to HI right on time and nothing is missing. What a great great thing, haha. It was a relief to see my "carry on" in the baggage claim. That's the one I was most worried about since it was put in separately and had more of the important things, but I got that one first! Woo-hoo!
Not too long after I loaded myself up. Laptop and 30+ lb carry on on my back, huge rolly duffle right the right arm and my hard shelled black guy on the left. I trudged from Baggage claim F-2 to H-3 and actually had a hard time breathing. There were baggage carts, and in fact I was right next to them, but $3 to use one for 5 minutes seemed ridiculous. I'm stubborn when it comes to things like that. Well I made it over to baggage claim H since that's where John's stuff was and then he calls. He had gone over to F! I informed him I wasn't moving again so I waited, haha. I needed to catch my breath. Ah- prior to all this I had picked up two fresh flower leis for us since I knew they didn't great people anymore. Well John came over to H with a guy in Khakis named Michelangelo. He was the first guy of John's command to show up to greet us AND he's from DALLAS, PA! It was very exciting. We obviously bonded. After greetings and some chatting, two more guys showed up named Dan, and Tom. Tom brought us leis as well, thinking ahead. So John and I ended up each having two, and happily they were all different. As they greeted and asked similar questions, the last and final guy (another Tom) came in to greet John. This Tom is the Navigator. That's all I know about that, and his name tag said so. It was cool to meet the guys and I'm sure it helped John a bunch as well. It'll give him a few familiar faces once he gets to the boat and that's always helpful.
Wow I still can't believe it's 6:30 am and I'm awake. Though I guess on my body clock it's 12:30 and I did go to sleep at 7. I'm looking fwd to showering soon, but I figured I jot down some things. John went off with Bryan (the guy with whom we're staying with) to go to base and pick up a rental car. They're cheaper there. So I figured I'd write now while I was free.
Side note: The flights went well. I ended up having a while row to myself during the first flight so that was very nice. I slept part of that time and read most of it. I brought a new Juliet Marillier book (her Sevenwaters Trilogy is my favorite and this is a random new 4th book) and that was perfection. I never got tired of reading and in fact, finished the book by the last hour of the last flight. It was good. But yeah, there was a little girl in the aisle seat, no one in the middle, and I in the window. The girl ended up sitting with her brothers and mother in the row next to us so the majority of the time the row was all mine. It was nice. It wasn't the same for the second flight, but that flight wasn't too bad either. I think it's a lot nicer than driving a long way. You can change position and move around slightly more, as long as you don't hit the person next to you, and that improves the situation. All in all, the flights weren't so bad. I've had worse.
Well today brings apartment hunting. We're looking at one at Colonnade on the Greens at 11 (5EST) and then two at Park at Pearlridge at 2:30 and 5. These are the three nicest we've seen online so fingers crossed! They all allow pets. Of course. I won't look at one that doesn't and John's accepted that haha.
I got in last night around 2:30 (8:30EST) and everything went smoothly. Unfortunately I got sick the day before so I'm not feeling great. It has helped me sleep though. I was able to get to sleep around 9 on Monday so waking up at 4am ended up not being too difficult!
My bags weighed 49.5 and 50 lbs so all my struggling to make sure I wouldn't pay the airlines extra worked out perfectly! Also, when I got to the gate they said that if we had bags that were a little big or we just didn't want to deal with them they'd check them at the gate all the way through to my final destination for FREE. So I did that. It was nice to not have to deal with my third bag. They all got through to HI right on time and nothing is missing. What a great great thing, haha. It was a relief to see my "carry on" in the baggage claim. That's the one I was most worried about since it was put in separately and had more of the important things, but I got that one first! Woo-hoo!
Not too long after I loaded myself up. Laptop and 30+ lb carry on on my back, huge rolly duffle right the right arm and my hard shelled black guy on the left. I trudged from Baggage claim F-2 to H-3 and actually had a hard time breathing. There were baggage carts, and in fact I was right next to them, but $3 to use one for 5 minutes seemed ridiculous. I'm stubborn when it comes to things like that. Well I made it over to baggage claim H since that's where John's stuff was and then he calls. He had gone over to F! I informed him I wasn't moving again so I waited, haha. I needed to catch my breath. Ah- prior to all this I had picked up two fresh flower leis for us since I knew they didn't great people anymore. Well John came over to H with a guy in Khakis named Michelangelo. He was the first guy of John's command to show up to greet us AND he's from DALLAS, PA! It was very exciting. We obviously bonded. After greetings and some chatting, two more guys showed up named Dan, and Tom. Tom brought us leis as well, thinking ahead. So John and I ended up each having two, and happily they were all different. As they greeted and asked similar questions, the last and final guy (another Tom) came in to greet John. This Tom is the Navigator. That's all I know about that, and his name tag said so. It was cool to meet the guys and I'm sure it helped John a bunch as well. It'll give him a few familiar faces once he gets to the boat and that's always helpful.
Wow I still can't believe it's 6:30 am and I'm awake. Though I guess on my body clock it's 12:30 and I did go to sleep at 7. I'm looking fwd to showering soon, but I figured I jot down some things. John went off with Bryan (the guy with whom we're staying with) to go to base and pick up a rental car. They're cheaper there. So I figured I'd write now while I was free.
Side note: The flights went well. I ended up having a while row to myself during the first flight so that was very nice. I slept part of that time and read most of it. I brought a new Juliet Marillier book (her Sevenwaters Trilogy is my favorite and this is a random new 4th book) and that was perfection. I never got tired of reading and in fact, finished the book by the last hour of the last flight. It was good. But yeah, there was a little girl in the aisle seat, no one in the middle, and I in the window. The girl ended up sitting with her brothers and mother in the row next to us so the majority of the time the row was all mine. It was nice. It wasn't the same for the second flight, but that flight wasn't too bad either. I think it's a lot nicer than driving a long way. You can change position and move around slightly more, as long as you don't hit the person next to you, and that improves the situation. All in all, the flights weren't so bad. I've had worse.
Well today brings apartment hunting. We're looking at one at Colonnade on the Greens at 11 (5EST) and then two at Park at Pearlridge at 2:30 and 5. These are the three nicest we've seen online so fingers crossed! They all allow pets. Of course. I won't look at one that doesn't and John's accepted that haha.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman
Let me tell you about one of the best weekends of my life
So, this may not be an adventure from Hawaii but it's an adventure none the less. Mother and I went to NYC on Friday for a last splurge before my move. A few months back my friend Cara told me about the play "A Steady Rain" and I instantly had to go. Very fortunately I snagged a ticket for September 11th. It was a preview but that didn't matter to me. The opening night for the previews started the 10th and I move the 15th so this weekend was my only chance. It was AMAZING!
We left Wilkes-Barre at 7 am, which is not ideal, but the bus ride tends to take three hours so I slept. When we arrived we checked into the Mayfair and were on our way. The hotel was fabulous by the way, but not important to my story. We had no plans and ended up touring the NBC studios which was also very cool. Then we had a nap and at 5:30 we went to the Theatre. It was early yet so we ate at Junior's since it was right next door and promised baked goods. Later on I found out that the Junior's in Brooklyn is actually THE place to get NYC cheesecake. Thankfully I had gotten devil's food cheesecake and it really was the creamiest and best cheesecake I've ever had. I couldn't finish it, it was so huge! It was like a normal cheesecake stuck inside a moist dark chocolate cake and frosted with this fudge-like frosting. Yum!
By 7 we were waiting outside the theater for the 8 o'clock show. We were seated at 7:30 and all was going very smoothly. The play was fantastic! It consisted only of Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman with minimal props (two chairs) and minimal backgrounds. They had one and a half hours of dialogue with no break and seemingly no mistakes. If they made any, then I had no clue! They did brilliantly. It took a minute to switch from reality to the story they were telling but that's normal. I definitely got into it within a few minutes. They were brilliant, as expected. How could it not be? It's two amazing men in a cop drama on Broadway. Three of my favorite things! Or would it be four?
After the play I felt the need to hide in an empty cove to not get trapped in the sea of people leaving the theater. Then it seemed like things were going on to our left so we headed over there and low and behold it was people waiting to see the men leave the theater! How exciting! So, of course I joined in. Daniel Craig came out first and it was AMAZING. I mean, he's my absolute favorite actor and has been for a long time. Hell, John's first gift to me was Layer Cake! Unfortunately DC was in a hurry so he only signed a few and then ran away. It broke my heart.
Hugh Jackman came out shortly. He's such a sweetheart and very very handsome. He was smiling and winking and stayed a little longer. I even managed to get his autograph! A lady in front of me grabbed my Playbill while he was nearby and handed it to him. It was very sweet of her. All in all it was a good night, only I was heartbroken that DC was RIGHT THERE and I was unable to get his signature as well. Hugh Jackman doesn't even compare, in my heart haha. Mother and I decided that we'd look up the next day's show (I was certain there was a matinee) and get there a bit before it was due to be out and try again.
Well the next morning we got up at 6, again, in order to see the Statue of Liberty! It was exciting. I've lost count of how many times I've been to NYC yet I've never actually seen her. It was exciting and now a check off my list of things to see and do before I die! Hooray! It was a good trip and went smoothly. Afterwards we had a lot of time to kill before 3. I had found out the night before that there was indeed a show at 2.
My friend Corey now lives in NYC. He's fabulous so we decided to meet up at the theater since it was a free thing to do. He does live in NYC after all... haha. He showed up at bit late so Mother and I just hung out like typical fans haha. I've also learned this weekend that not ALL New Yorkers are horrendous and rude. Some proof came from Friday but Saturday also proved it. While the two of us were waiting a guy came out of the stage door that I recognized from the night before. He was helping with the security and also seemed to primarily stay by Daniel Craig in case of any danger. I thought I overheard his name to be Keith while he was on the phone. I have a terrible habit of listening in. I don't intend to but it happens often. So even if it's wrong, I'm going to refer to him as Keith. He was a doll. I saw him walk to the end of the theatre so no one else was near so I went over to him and asked if DC was going to come out after the play today. I knew it was only the first show of the day and some actors tend to just stay inside and relax. He admitted to me that he didn't know and he wasn't just saying that because of his job. I told him my little sob story about being there the night before after the play and missing Daniel, etc. I felt the need to explain myself- I often do. He was very kind to me but then had to go inside.
Mother and I continued waiting and Corey showed up. That was very cool. It was nice to see him again before I left. I don't see him nearly as much now that he lives in NY, so it was a good change. Crowds started to form, but they weren't too big for a while. Keith came out of the door, caught my eye, and mouthed to me that they'd be coming out. It calmed my nerves but started up other butterflies haha. It was SO EXCITED cause this time I was in front. Oh man it was wonderful. Daniel came out first again and stayed much longer. It was so nice. He signed a ton of things and Keith kept catching my eye and nodding at me. I knew he was telling me not to worry, that Daniel would get to mine. Haha. He didn't have to do anything to make it happen, he was just reassuring because he did. I got his autograph and it was amazing. I was the last one on our side and quick, but it happened and it made my life. Hooray! Then they went back inside. They weren't even leaving! He came out just to make the fans happy and then went back in. What a sweetheart.
Hugh Jackman came out afterwards. He is very handsome. He also signed many things and winked at lots of people. Momma is pretty sure he winked at her, haha, and is very excited about that. He stood right next to me! That was very pleasant haha. I didn't have him sign again since I got it last night. I could have, but I didn't. I was just enjoying the moment after that. Hooray!
What a wonderful wonderful weekend! And to top it off the people on our bus home were only going to two places to we got home in 2 hrs and 15 min instead of three! That was awesome!
I'm still on cloud 9. My Playbill is now in a ziplock so it doesn't get hurt and I'm most definitely going to frame it. Yay :-)
Photo Album
An Article about the play
So, this may not be an adventure from Hawaii but it's an adventure none the less. Mother and I went to NYC on Friday for a last splurge before my move. A few months back my friend Cara told me about the play "A Steady Rain" and I instantly had to go. Very fortunately I snagged a ticket for September 11th. It was a preview but that didn't matter to me. The opening night for the previews started the 10th and I move the 15th so this weekend was my only chance. It was AMAZING!
We left Wilkes-Barre at 7 am, which is not ideal, but the bus ride tends to take three hours so I slept. When we arrived we checked into the Mayfair and were on our way. The hotel was fabulous by the way, but not important to my story. We had no plans and ended up touring the NBC studios which was also very cool. Then we had a nap and at 5:30 we went to the Theatre. It was early yet so we ate at Junior's since it was right next door and promised baked goods. Later on I found out that the Junior's in Brooklyn is actually THE place to get NYC cheesecake. Thankfully I had gotten devil's food cheesecake and it really was the creamiest and best cheesecake I've ever had. I couldn't finish it, it was so huge! It was like a normal cheesecake stuck inside a moist dark chocolate cake and frosted with this fudge-like frosting. Yum!
By 7 we were waiting outside the theater for the 8 o'clock show. We were seated at 7:30 and all was going very smoothly. The play was fantastic! It consisted only of Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman with minimal props (two chairs) and minimal backgrounds. They had one and a half hours of dialogue with no break and seemingly no mistakes. If they made any, then I had no clue! They did brilliantly. It took a minute to switch from reality to the story they were telling but that's normal. I definitely got into it within a few minutes. They were brilliant, as expected. How could it not be? It's two amazing men in a cop drama on Broadway. Three of my favorite things! Or would it be four?
After the play I felt the need to hide in an empty cove to not get trapped in the sea of people leaving the theater. Then it seemed like things were going on to our left so we headed over there and low and behold it was people waiting to see the men leave the theater! How exciting! So, of course I joined in. Daniel Craig came out first and it was AMAZING. I mean, he's my absolute favorite actor and has been for a long time. Hell, John's first gift to me was Layer Cake! Unfortunately DC was in a hurry so he only signed a few and then ran away. It broke my heart.
Hugh Jackman came out shortly. He's such a sweetheart and very very handsome. He was smiling and winking and stayed a little longer. I even managed to get his autograph! A lady in front of me grabbed my Playbill while he was nearby and handed it to him. It was very sweet of her. All in all it was a good night, only I was heartbroken that DC was RIGHT THERE and I was unable to get his signature as well. Hugh Jackman doesn't even compare, in my heart haha. Mother and I decided that we'd look up the next day's show (I was certain there was a matinee) and get there a bit before it was due to be out and try again.
Well the next morning we got up at 6, again, in order to see the Statue of Liberty! It was exciting. I've lost count of how many times I've been to NYC yet I've never actually seen her. It was exciting and now a check off my list of things to see and do before I die! Hooray! It was a good trip and went smoothly. Afterwards we had a lot of time to kill before 3. I had found out the night before that there was indeed a show at 2.
My friend Corey now lives in NYC. He's fabulous so we decided to meet up at the theater since it was a free thing to do. He does live in NYC after all... haha. He showed up at bit late so Mother and I just hung out like typical fans haha. I've also learned this weekend that not ALL New Yorkers are horrendous and rude. Some proof came from Friday but Saturday also proved it. While the two of us were waiting a guy came out of the stage door that I recognized from the night before. He was helping with the security and also seemed to primarily stay by Daniel Craig in case of any danger. I thought I overheard his name to be Keith while he was on the phone. I have a terrible habit of listening in. I don't intend to but it happens often. So even if it's wrong, I'm going to refer to him as Keith. He was a doll. I saw him walk to the end of the theatre so no one else was near so I went over to him and asked if DC was going to come out after the play today. I knew it was only the first show of the day and some actors tend to just stay inside and relax. He admitted to me that he didn't know and he wasn't just saying that because of his job. I told him my little sob story about being there the night before after the play and missing Daniel, etc. I felt the need to explain myself- I often do. He was very kind to me but then had to go inside.
Mother and I continued waiting and Corey showed up. That was very cool. It was nice to see him again before I left. I don't see him nearly as much now that he lives in NY, so it was a good change. Crowds started to form, but they weren't too big for a while. Keith came out of the door, caught my eye, and mouthed to me that they'd be coming out. It calmed my nerves but started up other butterflies haha. It was SO EXCITED cause this time I was in front. Oh man it was wonderful. Daniel came out first again and stayed much longer. It was so nice. He signed a ton of things and Keith kept catching my eye and nodding at me. I knew he was telling me not to worry, that Daniel would get to mine. Haha. He didn't have to do anything to make it happen, he was just reassuring because he did. I got his autograph and it was amazing. I was the last one on our side and quick, but it happened and it made my life. Hooray! Then they went back inside. They weren't even leaving! He came out just to make the fans happy and then went back in. What a sweetheart.
Hugh Jackman came out afterwards. He is very handsome. He also signed many things and winked at lots of people. Momma is pretty sure he winked at her, haha, and is very excited about that. He stood right next to me! That was very pleasant haha. I didn't have him sign again since I got it last night. I could have, but I didn't. I was just enjoying the moment after that. Hooray!
What a wonderful wonderful weekend! And to top it off the people on our bus home were only going to two places to we got home in 2 hrs and 15 min instead of three! That was awesome!
I'm still on cloud 9. My Playbill is now in a ziplock so it doesn't get hurt and I'm most definitely going to frame it. Yay :-)
Photo Album
An Article about the play
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
P.S.
P.S.
I will continue posting pics to Picasa. I have a limited number of space so I'll have to start deleting Europe pictures. This probably only upsets me since I have a certain attachment to them, but in case you wanted to save some- you had better! If you look to the right there will be thumbnails of the most recent updates. Therefore, if you stop by you'll always know when new pics are up. Yay!
I will continue posting pics to Picasa. I have a limited number of space so I'll have to start deleting Europe pictures. This probably only upsets me since I have a certain attachment to them, but in case you wanted to save some- you had better! If you look to the right there will be thumbnails of the most recent updates. Therefore, if you stop by you'll always know when new pics are up. Yay!
One Week
Well, hello there.
So here I am with one week until departure. I'm getting incredibly stressed and nervous, as well as depressed. I've been packing for about a week now and struggling with how to get everything into two suitcases while keeping them under 50 lbs. I can fit more things in, but I refuse to pay the extra bill. I find it appalling that it's an extra $50 for one more pound or, if I just add another suitcase, it's $100. $15 for the first, $20 for the second (If I pay for it online- if not they're both another $5) and then $100 for the third. That's absolutely ridiculous. Therefore, out of spite, I'm mailing the rest. Even if it ends up being the same price, it's by principle. These prices are annoying. They're bearable when you have one suitcase for a trip, but ridiculous if one needs to move one's entire wardrobe. But anyway, I now have two suitcases partially packed. One is packed and done and not being touched. The other has work clothes so I'm living out of it as well as packing it. Logical, I know. I needed to know what would fit and what wouldn't, so that I could decide which things to mail.
Tomorrow is my last day of work. It's getting so close! I can't believe it's less than a week away! Thursday I have off so I'll do laundry, pack for HI and NYC, and relax. Friday is NYC to see A Steady Rain. Saturday we're going to the Statue of Liberty and heading home. Sunday I finish packing completely and prepare everything for go-time. Monday I have a Dr's appt and then Mom and I are off to Lansdale to stay with the grandparents.
I've been depressed mainly cause of the life change. I realize it's normal, expected, and just how life goes but that doesn't make it any less depressing. I've been saying goodbye to people since Friday afterall! That's no fun! Work friends, home friends, Jill, more work friends... and it's going to continue. It was good to have a short vaca to see some family before I left. It's a shame I couldn't see EVERYONE. Oh well. I'm moving to Hawaii- who wouldn't want to visit??? haha! Expect fun hawaiian gifts! If I can find and afford fabulous ones, that is.
FYI
My plane takes off at 7:10 am. Land in Phoenix, AR at 9:12 am (12:12pm EST)
Take off at 10:59am (1:59pm) and land 2:36pm (8:36pm EST)
Cheers for now
-Meredith
So here I am with one week until departure. I'm getting incredibly stressed and nervous, as well as depressed. I've been packing for about a week now and struggling with how to get everything into two suitcases while keeping them under 50 lbs. I can fit more things in, but I refuse to pay the extra bill. I find it appalling that it's an extra $50 for one more pound or, if I just add another suitcase, it's $100. $15 for the first, $20 for the second (If I pay for it online- if not they're both another $5) and then $100 for the third. That's absolutely ridiculous. Therefore, out of spite, I'm mailing the rest. Even if it ends up being the same price, it's by principle. These prices are annoying. They're bearable when you have one suitcase for a trip, but ridiculous if one needs to move one's entire wardrobe. But anyway, I now have two suitcases partially packed. One is packed and done and not being touched. The other has work clothes so I'm living out of it as well as packing it. Logical, I know. I needed to know what would fit and what wouldn't, so that I could decide which things to mail.
Tomorrow is my last day of work. It's getting so close! I can't believe it's less than a week away! Thursday I have off so I'll do laundry, pack for HI and NYC, and relax. Friday is NYC to see A Steady Rain. Saturday we're going to the Statue of Liberty and heading home. Sunday I finish packing completely and prepare everything for go-time. Monday I have a Dr's appt and then Mom and I are off to Lansdale to stay with the grandparents.
I've been depressed mainly cause of the life change. I realize it's normal, expected, and just how life goes but that doesn't make it any less depressing. I've been saying goodbye to people since Friday afterall! That's no fun! Work friends, home friends, Jill, more work friends... and it's going to continue. It was good to have a short vaca to see some family before I left. It's a shame I couldn't see EVERYONE. Oh well. I'm moving to Hawaii- who wouldn't want to visit??? haha! Expect fun hawaiian gifts! If I can find and afford fabulous ones, that is.
FYI
My plane takes off at 7:10 am. Land in Phoenix, AR at 9:12 am (12:12pm EST)
Take off at 10:59am (1:59pm) and land 2:36pm (8:36pm EST)
Cheers for now
-Meredith
Friday, July 24, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Dolphin Boat
Have you ever wanted to BE a dolphin? Not swim with them (which, btw, is a lifelong dream of mine), but BE one. Well now you can be! With the Innespace dolphin! [/infomercial mode]
I have no idea how I came across this- but I assume it was during my moseying through Twitter/Facebook/random social networking sites. I found a contraption that basically puts you in the position of a surfacing dolphin. It looks kind of awesome, but I wonder about visibility? I can't stand water in my face because of the need to see perfectly, so how would this differ? I think I'd love to go in one for fun though, but not to own.
I honestly thought it was a joke at first, but I'm 90% sure it's not.
How fun!
I watched this on mute, so I don't know how the sound is: Bad commercial, but useful footage
Cheers
-Meredith
I have no idea how I came across this- but I assume it was during my moseying through Twitter/Facebook/random social networking sites. I found a contraption that basically puts you in the position of a surfacing dolphin. It looks kind of awesome, but I wonder about visibility? I can't stand water in my face because of the need to see perfectly, so how would this differ? I think I'd love to go in one for fun though, but not to own.
I honestly thought it was a joke at first, but I'm 90% sure it's not.
How fun!
I watched this on mute, so I don't know how the sound is: Bad commercial, but useful footage
Cheers
-Meredith
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Etsy and Sassy Apron
Hi!
Etsy is an adorable website where crafters can go to sell their pieces. My mom had one called hedgehoggery but it wasn't very successful so she gave up. What I linked you to is the website I made for a class (could be better, but hey it was for a class!) with the gallery containing many of the ones she's already created. Adorable. Either way, I'm a great fan of Sassy Apron. She has the most adorable aprons! I love it! I got so excited when I first found them on We are not Martha's blog, but I had to wait a month for the lady to come back from vacation! It was worth it though! I'm now awaiting my first apron and I'm so excited. I do need one after all! I'm a mess and soon to be lady of the house. What a fabulous way to start off that roll.
Love it!
Side Note: I can't wait to see Harry Potter 6!
-Meredith
Etsy is an adorable website where crafters can go to sell their pieces. My mom had one called hedgehoggery but it wasn't very successful so she gave up. What I linked you to is the website I made for a class (could be better, but hey it was for a class!) with the gallery containing many of the ones she's already created. Adorable. Either way, I'm a great fan of Sassy Apron. She has the most adorable aprons! I love it! I got so excited when I first found them on We are not Martha's blog, but I had to wait a month for the lady to come back from vacation! It was worth it though! I'm now awaiting my first apron and I'm so excited. I do need one after all! I'm a mess and soon to be lady of the house. What a fabulous way to start off that roll.
Love it!Side Note: I can't wait to see Harry Potter 6!
-Meredith
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