So my unofficial new years resolution was to work out at least 4 days a week. I say unofficial because I didn't decide it on new years eve... or even begin to do so until the last week of January, but I figured it was close enough to new years to tie it in.
I started off okay while staying in Del Rio with Matt & Jai while Dereck was away at training. I had no distractions with them at work, and lets face it, Del Rio doesn't have that much to do in it to distract me. I had some of my workout DVDs with me, and Jai had one that I borrowed, and I even recorded one or two off of the FIT channel on their direct TV.
Then when I got back to Corpus with Dereck I let myself slump a little. We had missed each other and were enjoying just hanging out together. But then I felt lazy, and Dereck wanted to start running again, so we both started working out. This is the first week that I've hit that 4 day target all month! But I feel great.
I have been cycling between the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD and the SHAPE Bikini Body Bootcamp DVD.
Both were less than $10 and both get me really tired! I also have the P90X DVDs and I plan to switch to some of those workouts as well. Its nice because the 30 day shred as 3 levels of workouts on it and they are only 20 minutes long! The SHAPE workout has 4 workouts that are 30 minutes long. Perfect for somebody with a short attention span like me. The P90X DVDs are longer, I think the shortest one is 45 mins and some go up to 90 mins, so those are more time consuming, but they are amazing workouts. The problem is some are just too hard for me, plus I'll have to wait until we get our stuff in Japan to do most of them, since they require a set of resistance bands. The 30 Day Shred and the Bikini Bootcamp only require some small hand weights, and until I buy those in Japan I have been using some large water bottles (probably about 1.5-3lbs, but effective for the types of reps they do!)
I don't know if I have lost any weight since January, but I'm at least trying to get into the routine. I have two more weeks of doing nothing until we move so I might as well keep going! The great thing is that I can find water bottles anywhere, and we'll have our DVDs and the laptop with us, so no excuses to not workout even when we GET to Japan....well...except for the jet-lag, right?? haha I just feels good to break a sweat!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Time for a change...
For years I have always found it necessary to change the look of my hair during major life events. Moving to new places, breaking up with boyfriends, starting a new job... all of these events are a call for me to reinvent my look. I like knowing when I look at pictures of myself exactly what year it was taken in! I know I was a blonde my sophomore year of college, I had pink highlights and a funky cut my junior year, growing it out and blonde again my senior year, brown to start work at the space center, and cut short after I started dating Dereck. I went back to natural and grown out again for my wedding, then cut short after the I-Do's were complete. Now we are about to move to Japan and I will be in a new home, a new job (hopefully!), and in a totally new country. I need new hair.
I haven't decided on a cut yet, since I'm not sure what I want to do. I'm thinking of letting my hair have some length because Japan is supposed to be humid and I can work with my waves instead of fighting against them! But if I go short enough my hair doesn't want to curl at all so I'm still undecided on that. However, I am decided on a new color. My hair has lightened up over the summer months in Little Rock and it no longer looks very good. My eyebrows are naturally a shade (or 3!) darker than my hair but when my hair lightens up so much it looks unnatural even tho my hair hasn't been dyed for months and months. I bought an ammonia free natural hair dye in the color of bright natural brown (or something like that). If I use ash brown it takes away my red tones but leaves my hair dull. If I use a light or reddish brown my natural red tones pop out and I become a redhead! (I have done this before... haha). So natural brown it is.
Before:
After:
What do you think? It still pulled some red tones but I'm okay with that. I like my red undertones I just didn't want to be a red-head!
I haven't decided on a cut yet, since I'm not sure what I want to do. I'm thinking of letting my hair have some length because Japan is supposed to be humid and I can work with my waves instead of fighting against them! But if I go short enough my hair doesn't want to curl at all so I'm still undecided on that. However, I am decided on a new color. My hair has lightened up over the summer months in Little Rock and it no longer looks very good. My eyebrows are naturally a shade (or 3!) darker than my hair but when my hair lightens up so much it looks unnatural even tho my hair hasn't been dyed for months and months. I bought an ammonia free natural hair dye in the color of bright natural brown (or something like that). If I use ash brown it takes away my red tones but leaves my hair dull. If I use a light or reddish brown my natural red tones pop out and I become a redhead! (I have done this before... haha). So natural brown it is.
Before:
After:
What do you think? It still pulled some red tones but I'm okay with that. I like my red undertones I just didn't want to be a red-head!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
North to South- Padre Island Style!
Corpus Christi, our current location, is on the eastern border of Texas. And what those geography buffs already know, the eastern border of Texas lies on the Gulf of Mexico. We live on the most eastern part of the city, which is called Padre Island. North of us is Mustang Island, and south of us is the Padre Island National Seashore. Keep following the coast south and you will eventually hit that famous southern Texas vacation spot, South Padre Island. Here is a little map to give you a visual. (our location is just 10 miles north of where it says "park headquarters")
The part of Padre Island we live on is very nice. Its mostly residential, with houses and condos. A few hotels are around as well, but they don't go past 4 or 5 stories tall, so you do not have that high-rise feel like some beach communities. The island is pretty spread out though, so you can't really walk easily from cafes to beach shops. Corpus Christi's Padre Island is still a big Texan vacation spot, but where most of the population flees for spring break, is South Padre Island. But before the migration of scantily clad college co-eds begins, a much different type of invasion occurs. The Snow Birds.
The family on my mother's side has been flocking to South Padre in the last few years. First came one of her brothers and his wife, renting a condo for the winters months after the holidays. Then after visiting a few years in a row, my mom's sister and brother-in-law got a condo of their own this year for the month of February. Taking advantage of our open schedule and the easy drive, we spontaneously decided to make our way south and take advantage of the invitation given by Auntie Barbara and Uncle Phil.
It was an easy 3 hour drive down and it went by quick. We could see the differences in the two locations right away. In Corpus, you drive through the city on a 6 lane hiway until finally you cross the causeway and enter some peaceful beach life. Here you get off the major hiway and go along a very empty landscape for 20 miles or so until finally you see a cute community and then the causeway to the island- which is filled with high rise condos and just screams "VACATION HERE!".
We found Barbara and Phil's place very easily and we got settled in right away. It was a fun few days filled with some GREAT food, both at some local establishments and cooked by Dereck and Phil, as well as some beach time and some Olympic viewing. Sadly we only had one nice day while we were down there, but we enjoyed walking on the beach that day and doing the "people watching" thing. It was fun to get to know my uncle Phil better, since he and Barbara were married just last summer and I haven't really spent much time with him yet. One night we even were able to have my Uncle Mitz (Barbara's older brother ) and his wife over for dinner. There was even a trumpet player that evening that went out on the balcony of one of the condos and played some patriotic and some alma mater tunes. It was so cold tho, about 49 degrees with humidity (which makes it feel even colder) so he didn't play long. Here are some pictures of that:
If visiting two sets of aunts and uncles isn't enough family for one trip, I got to see my cousin Domenica and meet her boyfriend while we were on the beach (and happened to be visiting her parents that weekend!). Too bad they couldn't join us for that delicious family dinner!
The condo complex that Barbara and Phil are renting their unit from is huge. There are 4 or 5 buildings that all are surrounding 3 pools, 4 hot tubs, and some tennis courts. Every car in the parking lot has a different license plate and I think we are the only ones that had one from Texas. Minnesota, Michigan, and ones from Canada were almost the most common! It was also fun to see that my Aunt and Uncle, who are in the mid40s to 50, look like the young college co-eds compared to the people that were residing in this place. It was hilarious. Also, Phil would say how he never needed to watch the weather forecast, because by the time we was up at 8 or 9 am he could tell by how many towels were laid out to claim the pool loungers what type of day it was going to be. It was a strange community, but I can see why so many people love it. Here is a photo of the condo view!
We stayed a day longer than we were expecting too, but it was okay since we had nothing to get back to! Finally we ran out of dog food and clean clothes and had to head back up to Corpus Christi, just in time to have Barbara and Phil's next lineup of guests to arrive (the in-laws!). The best part was that as we were leaving, we didn't have the pang of sadness most people do when they leave the beach after their vacation...since we knew in only 3 short hours we'd be back at it again :-) I think I'm spoiled.
The part of Padre Island we live on is very nice. Its mostly residential, with houses and condos. A few hotels are around as well, but they don't go past 4 or 5 stories tall, so you do not have that high-rise feel like some beach communities. The island is pretty spread out though, so you can't really walk easily from cafes to beach shops. Corpus Christi's Padre Island is still a big Texan vacation spot, but where most of the population flees for spring break, is South Padre Island. But before the migration of scantily clad college co-eds begins, a much different type of invasion occurs. The Snow Birds.
The family on my mother's side has been flocking to South Padre in the last few years. First came one of her brothers and his wife, renting a condo for the winters months after the holidays. Then after visiting a few years in a row, my mom's sister and brother-in-law got a condo of their own this year for the month of February. Taking advantage of our open schedule and the easy drive, we spontaneously decided to make our way south and take advantage of the invitation given by Auntie Barbara and Uncle Phil.
It was an easy 3 hour drive down and it went by quick. We could see the differences in the two locations right away. In Corpus, you drive through the city on a 6 lane hiway until finally you cross the causeway and enter some peaceful beach life. Here you get off the major hiway and go along a very empty landscape for 20 miles or so until finally you see a cute community and then the causeway to the island- which is filled with high rise condos and just screams "VACATION HERE!".
We found Barbara and Phil's place very easily and we got settled in right away. It was a fun few days filled with some GREAT food, both at some local establishments and cooked by Dereck and Phil, as well as some beach time and some Olympic viewing. Sadly we only had one nice day while we were down there, but we enjoyed walking on the beach that day and doing the "people watching" thing. It was fun to get to know my uncle Phil better, since he and Barbara were married just last summer and I haven't really spent much time with him yet. One night we even were able to have my Uncle Mitz (Barbara's older brother ) and his wife over for dinner. There was even a trumpet player that evening that went out on the balcony of one of the condos and played some patriotic and some alma mater tunes. It was so cold tho, about 49 degrees with humidity (which makes it feel even colder) so he didn't play long. Here are some pictures of that:
If visiting two sets of aunts and uncles isn't enough family for one trip, I got to see my cousin Domenica and meet her boyfriend while we were on the beach (and happened to be visiting her parents that weekend!). Too bad they couldn't join us for that delicious family dinner!
The condo complex that Barbara and Phil are renting their unit from is huge. There are 4 or 5 buildings that all are surrounding 3 pools, 4 hot tubs, and some tennis courts. Every car in the parking lot has a different license plate and I think we are the only ones that had one from Texas. Minnesota, Michigan, and ones from Canada were almost the most common! It was also fun to see that my Aunt and Uncle, who are in the mid40s to 50, look like the young college co-eds compared to the people that were residing in this place. It was hilarious. Also, Phil would say how he never needed to watch the weather forecast, because by the time we was up at 8 or 9 am he could tell by how many towels were laid out to claim the pool loungers what type of day it was going to be. It was a strange community, but I can see why so many people love it. Here is a photo of the condo view!
We stayed a day longer than we were expecting too, but it was okay since we had nothing to get back to! Finally we ran out of dog food and clean clothes and had to head back up to Corpus Christi, just in time to have Barbara and Phil's next lineup of guests to arrive (the in-laws!). The best part was that as we were leaving, we didn't have the pang of sadness most people do when they leave the beach after their vacation...since we knew in only 3 short hours we'd be back at it again :-) I think I'm spoiled.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Adventures in Moving part 2: packing!
On Wednesday the moving company contracted by the Air Force came to our storage unit to pack up our main household goods shipment (HHG as the military calls it...). We were up early to get there and get things organized. The way it works is that the movers will pack up everything for us, but since we are leaving from a storage unit, we had to UNpack the things we had packed up already. They are held liable for the whole shipment so they don't allow us to pack our own goods. So after we consolidated some boxes and made areas in the storage unit to represent rooms like the kitchen, office, and bedroom, Dereck went to pick up the movers some coffee and donuts for their arrival. Food bribes are said to work wonders with the heavy lifting movers! We had some water and granola bars for our first small shipment of stuff a few weeks ago, and they seemed to appreciate it. This time however, they gave us a different moving company so we didn't know what to expect.
Around 9am (surprisingly on time), one small van showed up driven by one man representing the moving company. He said his name was Phillip and that we was being sent ahead to pack, then later that afternoon the other movers would come to load the truck which they would drive there. This already started me off on a doubtful foot, since for our shipment of less than 2000 lbs we had 3 movers and 1 lady taking inventory. Now for our main HHG shipment we have one guy to do it all? He looked like he hadn't showered since 1975 and didn't have very good personal skills either. However, we were nice, offered him some donuts and coffee, and gave him the 'tour' of the unit. I showed how I had things organized. He then said something about how this was way more stuff than he was told (however, it was not, since we spoke with the manager a few days prior) and got on the phone with his boss. Dereck eventually talked to the boss since this man couldn't seem to relay the information from one person to another. The boss explained how the main trucks that hold the crates our stuff will be shipped overseas in wont fit into the storage unit driveway and they'll have to pack up a smaller truck then crate everything at their warehouse. Ugh...more annoyance! I refused to trust them at this point and Dereck said that we want to come to the warehouse to watch the crating of our goods. Luckily the manager didn't have any problem with this, so one problem solved.
So now Phillip could get to work. However, he started packing a few things from over here, a few things from over there, and whatever else he could get his hands on into one box. I politely asked him if he could keep things together in boxes as much as possible to make unpacking easier for us. He seemed annoyed and said how he's "been doing this for over 20 years"... but started packing only things from one area. After he had some boxes taped up I noticed he wasn't doing any inventory other than writing "office" or "bathroom" on the box. Since the last company that came did a running inventory with each box (including numbered stickers that went on each box as well) I asked him when we was going to do that. He then got very angry and said "i'm gunna do an inventory, just later!", stormed out of the storage unit, and got onto his cell phone. We assumed he went to call his boss again and tried to listen to the conversation from inside the unit, but couldn't hear what was going on. By this time I'm officially upset and annoyed at this whole process! Why couldn't we have had the competent movers from before?
Phillip eventually comes back into the unit, in a mood I can only describe as being "tweeked", and said nervously that I had to tell him what stuff I wanted together because he can't read my mind and he's a good packer, cuz you know, he's been doing this for over 20 years. Apparently the "tour" I gave him and my polite request to pack "only this stuff here (pointing)" wasn't enough. So now I had to babysit the entire process. Dereck took a notebook and starting doing our own inventory, still not trusting his plan for doing it 'later on' while I pointed to specific things. After a while we got into a routine and Phillip seemed to relax and realize that we are nice people who aren't going to yell at him. We even were amused by his unique spelling used to label our boxes like, Camping Geer and Curting Rods. I went to go pick up some sandwiches for lunch (again, lets bribe him with some food!) and we took a short break then went back to work.
Did I mention it was only about 45 degrees outside too? Yah, so I was about freezing by noon... anyways...
We were quite impressed with how much packing Phil got done on his own, and after the rocky start we had with him. His crew members were over an hour late from when they initially said they would be there, but once they arrived things really picked up. One man took over doing an inventory, putting on the numbered stickers, and writing them down on the sheet. Dereck stuck by him and helped him since he wrote down more info than Phil had on the boxes. I continued to supervise the other packers and soon they had everything loaded on the truck and were leaving. We were home around 4:30 pm, so we had a good 8 hours in the 45 degree weather at the storage unit, but the unit was empty and our stuff seemed to be packed up safely.
Dereck went to the warehouse Thursday morning to finish the process. He observed the crates being loaded and sealed and got all the required paperwork we needed. Overall we are confident our goods will make it to Japan safely, but if you would have asked me at 10am on Wednesday, I was about ready to send him home and force the travel management office to assign us another company.
Here are a few photos of the unit getting packed up:
Around 9am (surprisingly on time), one small van showed up driven by one man representing the moving company. He said his name was Phillip and that we was being sent ahead to pack, then later that afternoon the other movers would come to load the truck which they would drive there. This already started me off on a doubtful foot, since for our shipment of less than 2000 lbs we had 3 movers and 1 lady taking inventory. Now for our main HHG shipment we have one guy to do it all? He looked like he hadn't showered since 1975 and didn't have very good personal skills either. However, we were nice, offered him some donuts and coffee, and gave him the 'tour' of the unit. I showed how I had things organized. He then said something about how this was way more stuff than he was told (however, it was not, since we spoke with the manager a few days prior) and got on the phone with his boss. Dereck eventually talked to the boss since this man couldn't seem to relay the information from one person to another. The boss explained how the main trucks that hold the crates our stuff will be shipped overseas in wont fit into the storage unit driveway and they'll have to pack up a smaller truck then crate everything at their warehouse. Ugh...more annoyance! I refused to trust them at this point and Dereck said that we want to come to the warehouse to watch the crating of our goods. Luckily the manager didn't have any problem with this, so one problem solved.
So now Phillip could get to work. However, he started packing a few things from over here, a few things from over there, and whatever else he could get his hands on into one box. I politely asked him if he could keep things together in boxes as much as possible to make unpacking easier for us. He seemed annoyed and said how he's "been doing this for over 20 years"... but started packing only things from one area. After he had some boxes taped up I noticed he wasn't doing any inventory other than writing "office" or "bathroom" on the box. Since the last company that came did a running inventory with each box (including numbered stickers that went on each box as well) I asked him when we was going to do that. He then got very angry and said "i'm gunna do an inventory, just later!", stormed out of the storage unit, and got onto his cell phone. We assumed he went to call his boss again and tried to listen to the conversation from inside the unit, but couldn't hear what was going on. By this time I'm officially upset and annoyed at this whole process! Why couldn't we have had the competent movers from before?
Phillip eventually comes back into the unit, in a mood I can only describe as being "tweeked", and said nervously that I had to tell him what stuff I wanted together because he can't read my mind and he's a good packer, cuz you know, he's been doing this for over 20 years. Apparently the "tour" I gave him and my polite request to pack "only this stuff here (pointing)" wasn't enough. So now I had to babysit the entire process. Dereck took a notebook and starting doing our own inventory, still not trusting his plan for doing it 'later on' while I pointed to specific things. After a while we got into a routine and Phillip seemed to relax and realize that we are nice people who aren't going to yell at him. We even were amused by his unique spelling used to label our boxes like, Camping Geer and Curting Rods. I went to go pick up some sandwiches for lunch (again, lets bribe him with some food!) and we took a short break then went back to work.
Did I mention it was only about 45 degrees outside too? Yah, so I was about freezing by noon... anyways...
We were quite impressed with how much packing Phil got done on his own, and after the rocky start we had with him. His crew members were over an hour late from when they initially said they would be there, but once they arrived things really picked up. One man took over doing an inventory, putting on the numbered stickers, and writing them down on the sheet. Dereck stuck by him and helped him since he wrote down more info than Phil had on the boxes. I continued to supervise the other packers and soon they had everything loaded on the truck and were leaving. We were home around 4:30 pm, so we had a good 8 hours in the 45 degree weather at the storage unit, but the unit was empty and our stuff seemed to be packed up safely.
Dereck went to the warehouse Thursday morning to finish the process. He observed the crates being loaded and sealed and got all the required paperwork we needed. Overall we are confident our goods will make it to Japan safely, but if you would have asked me at 10am on Wednesday, I was about ready to send him home and force the travel management office to assign us another company.
Here are a few photos of the unit getting packed up:
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Adventures in Moving
Part 1: Mazda vs. Deer
On Saturday morning I packed up the car, said my goodbyes to my wonderful hosts for the past 3 weeks (Thanks again Matt and Jai!), and started on my drive back "home" to Corpus Christi. We had a new apartment waiting for us and Dereck would be arriving at the airport around 5:00! .
It was a beautiful day which was a relief since I made the 5 hour drive to Del Rio weeks before in pouring rain. A little about the geography of South Texas: Del Rio is on the western border of Texas and sits right next to Mexico. Corpus Christi is on the eastern border and sits on the Gulf. The major roadway brings me through San Antonio and almost splits the distance to each city in half. The hiway from Del Rio to San Antonio is for the most part, a 2 lane road with a shoulder on each side, which then butts directly up to the vast desert brush. When I drove to Del Rio while Dereck was stationed there I always made sure to leave so I could arrive before dark because of the deer. They came out around dusk and were all over the roadways. Especially between the 30-40 mile stretch between Bracketville and Del Rio. Being that it was 9:30am, I wasn't too concerned about the deer and the visibility was great. Here is a photo I found online that shows the hiway outside of Bracketville:
I was just leaving Bracketville and paying close attention to the speed limits (the cops like to catch you entering and leaving towns at the edge of where the speed limits change) so I was staying around the 50mph limit until I saw the signs change. Out of the corner of my vision, off to the left, I see a brown blurr and the next thing I know I hear and feel a large THUWMP on the front of the car! Then I see a brown blurr fly to the right. I slow down and pull over, immediately panicked that I just totaled the front end of our car and will not be able to get back to Corpu Christi that evening. I get out of the car and brace myself for the worst as I make my way around the front of the car. I am shocked to see nothing but a mangled license plate, and behind it the grill has a few cracks in it... but still connected sturdily to the car. I make my way around to the right fender, and I see where the bumper attaches to the fender is a bit out of place, probably about 1/2 an inch. I see some clear liquid splatter up around the front right wheel well, but no blood or guts. I bend down and look under the car and don't see any fluids leaking or anything that looks out of place. Its now when I realize I managed to hit a deer (and judging by its stiff and lifeless body about 30 feet away, killed it), and have no major damage, or (thank God!) injury whatsoever. Holy cow! Here are a few pictures of the car.
About this time I see a man approaching me from a business down the road a ways. He was very nice and asked me if I was okay and everything. He also gave him his name/address/phone in case the insurance wanted some sort of witness, since I had no major damage there was no need to call the cops or any tow truck for assistance.
I calmed myself down after the scare and got back into the car to continue on my drive. I had an intense grip on the wheel for probably about 30-40 miles until I got out of "deer country" and where the hiway turned into 4 lanes for the rest of the way to San Antonio.
Mazda vs. Deer, Winner: MAZDA!
Part 2: Mazda vs. Border Patrol German Shepherd
So, while I am still a bit shaken up and white knuckled on the wheel, I reach the Border Patrol checkpoint that is between Bracketville and the next "major" town of Uvalde. This is a routine stop that all drivers are required to take when driving east from the Mexican border. Usually they have some German Shepherds that sniff around your car while you talk with an officer. They typically ask if you are a US Citizen and who is traveling in the car, so I was familiar with the drill. While the officer was asking me where I was headed and why (Corpus Christi, where I live, just staying with friends at the base in Del Rio) another officer with a dog circled around the car. Marty was in my front seat, being a good dog (as always). This usually is never an issue since the border patrol dogs are trained to sniff the car, not be distracted by dogs. All of a sudden the German Shepherd lunges at the window and lets out a loud and vicious bark. Marty jumped in my direction (as far as his doggy seat belt would allow) and both me and the officer at my window where quite startled. The handler pulled his dog off the car and walked away while the officer at my window apologized for his behavior and sent us on our way. I noticed some drool and dirt on the window from where the dog was and didn't think much of it until I arrived in Corpus Christi. The rest of my drive was uneventful and I arrived in good time to Corpus, where it was still sunny and mid-60s. After I got checked in at the office I moved into our new condo. While unpacking the car I took a few seconds to wipe the dried drool and dirt off of the window. I then realized that there are 3 scratches in the glass of the window about 3+ inches long each. That darn dog actually scratched into the glass! Good thing I had that window up or that could have been Marty's face! Unfortunately, this glass is nowhere near where any of the damage from the deer is, so it can't be fixed with our insurance claim and will have to come out of our pocket. I don't even know how to fix scratches in glass! So the poor Mazda had quite the day. Here is a picture of the window.
Mazda vs. Border Patrol German Shepherd, Winner: Border Patrol German Shepherd.
Well I guess you win some and you loose some! At least I arrived safely and in one piece, and so did Dereck. He was glad to be home and we are settling into our new place like we've been here for months already. Its good to have him back and the excitement put behind me!
On Saturday morning I packed up the car, said my goodbyes to my wonderful hosts for the past 3 weeks (Thanks again Matt and Jai!), and started on my drive back "home" to Corpus Christi. We had a new apartment waiting for us and Dereck would be arriving at the airport around 5:00! .
It was a beautiful day which was a relief since I made the 5 hour drive to Del Rio weeks before in pouring rain. A little about the geography of South Texas: Del Rio is on the western border of Texas and sits right next to Mexico. Corpus Christi is on the eastern border and sits on the Gulf. The major roadway brings me through San Antonio and almost splits the distance to each city in half. The hiway from Del Rio to San Antonio is for the most part, a 2 lane road with a shoulder on each side, which then butts directly up to the vast desert brush. When I drove to Del Rio while Dereck was stationed there I always made sure to leave so I could arrive before dark because of the deer. They came out around dusk and were all over the roadways. Especially between the 30-40 mile stretch between Bracketville and Del Rio. Being that it was 9:30am, I wasn't too concerned about the deer and the visibility was great. Here is a photo I found online that shows the hiway outside of Bracketville:
About this time I see a man approaching me from a business down the road a ways. He was very nice and asked me if I was okay and everything. He also gave him his name/address/phone in case the insurance wanted some sort of witness, since I had no major damage there was no need to call the cops or any tow truck for assistance.
I calmed myself down after the scare and got back into the car to continue on my drive. I had an intense grip on the wheel for probably about 30-40 miles until I got out of "deer country" and where the hiway turned into 4 lanes for the rest of the way to San Antonio.
Mazda vs. Deer, Winner: MAZDA!
Part 2: Mazda vs. Border Patrol German Shepherd
So, while I am still a bit shaken up and white knuckled on the wheel, I reach the Border Patrol checkpoint that is between Bracketville and the next "major" town of Uvalde. This is a routine stop that all drivers are required to take when driving east from the Mexican border. Usually they have some German Shepherds that sniff around your car while you talk with an officer. They typically ask if you are a US Citizen and who is traveling in the car, so I was familiar with the drill. While the officer was asking me where I was headed and why (Corpus Christi, where I live, just staying with friends at the base in Del Rio) another officer with a dog circled around the car. Marty was in my front seat, being a good dog (as always). This usually is never an issue since the border patrol dogs are trained to sniff the car, not be distracted by dogs. All of a sudden the German Shepherd lunges at the window and lets out a loud and vicious bark. Marty jumped in my direction (as far as his doggy seat belt would allow) and both me and the officer at my window where quite startled. The handler pulled his dog off the car and walked away while the officer at my window apologized for his behavior and sent us on our way. I noticed some drool and dirt on the window from where the dog was and didn't think much of it until I arrived in Corpus Christi. The rest of my drive was uneventful and I arrived in good time to Corpus, where it was still sunny and mid-60s. After I got checked in at the office I moved into our new condo. While unpacking the car I took a few seconds to wipe the dried drool and dirt off of the window. I then realized that there are 3 scratches in the glass of the window about 3+ inches long each. That darn dog actually scratched into the glass! Good thing I had that window up or that could have been Marty's face! Unfortunately, this glass is nowhere near where any of the damage from the deer is, so it can't be fixed with our insurance claim and will have to come out of our pocket. I don't even know how to fix scratches in glass! So the poor Mazda had quite the day. Here is a picture of the window.
Mazda vs. Border Patrol German Shepherd, Winner: Border Patrol German Shepherd.
Well I guess you win some and you loose some! At least I arrived safely and in one piece, and so did Dereck. He was glad to be home and we are settling into our new place like we've been here for months already. Its good to have him back and the excitement put behind me!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Flight Suit Purses!
So while staying at Matt & Jai's house, Matt, who is currently an instructor pilot with the USAF, had a flight suit "emergency" and ripped the bottom of his zipper on his flightsuit. We saved the day and brought him another flightsuit (so he could finally get up from behind his desk!) and I asked Jai if I could use the old flighsuit for some projects! So after a good washing, I had an excellent source of project inspiration.
I knew I wanted to make a purse out of it, but there are so many pockets and so much fabric, I didn't know where to start. I did some searching online, and found a few websites (some on Etsy, some not) that had flight suit bags on them. The thing I couldn't believe was how EXPENSIVE they were selling them for. One site had them for over $100 plus you had to provide the flight suit or to pay an extra $30 for one. The other ones on Etsy were still over $50 and honestly, I didn't like the look of them at all.
So I had an idea of what I wanted to do. I have enough friends in the Air Force that I think would like a bag that I could make a few extra spending bucks on them. I also hope to start taking the old, ripped, and worn out suits from Dereck and his squadmates so I have a nice stock of them.
As my luck turned out (since there isn't a fabric store here in Del Rio), I had some fabric in my stock that was just sitting around waiting for a project... it also happened to match perfectly. I ended up making two bags for Jai out of her husband's suit and still have two small leg pockets still available to make something out of. So here are some pictures of the finished projects!
Here is a picture of the larger bag. Its made from the chest part of the flight suit, with the original zipper working to open and close the bag. I left the areas for patches so Jai can put her 'family' patches on it when Matt finally gets her some!
Side 1:
Side 2:
Lining fabric:
I used the arm pocket which holds pens as well as has a small zippered section on the inside of the bag:
This is the smaller purse I made out of the thigh pockets. There is a pocket on each side and I used the velcro found on the arm cuffs as the closure. I also used interfacing for the first time to give the bag the shape, and I loved the finished product! I'm no longer afraid of interfacing!
Side 1: horizontal pocket
Side 2: vertical pocket
Inside:
I know I'll have a flight suit available for me to make purses for myself when Dereck gets back from training, since he told me he ripped his out in the woods! Plus when he gets new ones issued in Yokota I'm stealing his old ones for sure. With so many pockets and fabric to play with there is almost an infinite amount of possibilities! If you're interested in one, email me! Hopefully once I get set up on Etsy I can really start going with this :-) I also think I could make a great diaper bag, and with a more neutral lining fabric, I don't think a pilot dad would be afraid to tote that around!
I knew I wanted to make a purse out of it, but there are so many pockets and so much fabric, I didn't know where to start. I did some searching online, and found a few websites (some on Etsy, some not) that had flight suit bags on them. The thing I couldn't believe was how EXPENSIVE they were selling them for. One site had them for over $100 plus you had to provide the flight suit or to pay an extra $30 for one. The other ones on Etsy were still over $50 and honestly, I didn't like the look of them at all.
So I had an idea of what I wanted to do. I have enough friends in the Air Force that I think would like a bag that I could make a few extra spending bucks on them. I also hope to start taking the old, ripped, and worn out suits from Dereck and his squadmates so I have a nice stock of them.
As my luck turned out (since there isn't a fabric store here in Del Rio), I had some fabric in my stock that was just sitting around waiting for a project... it also happened to match perfectly. I ended up making two bags for Jai out of her husband's suit and still have two small leg pockets still available to make something out of. So here are some pictures of the finished projects!
Here is a picture of the larger bag. Its made from the chest part of the flight suit, with the original zipper working to open and close the bag. I left the areas for patches so Jai can put her 'family' patches on it when Matt finally gets her some!
Side 1:
Side 2:
Lining fabric:
I used the arm pocket which holds pens as well as has a small zippered section on the inside of the bag:
This is the smaller purse I made out of the thigh pockets. There is a pocket on each side and I used the velcro found on the arm cuffs as the closure. I also used interfacing for the first time to give the bag the shape, and I loved the finished product! I'm no longer afraid of interfacing!
Side 1: horizontal pocket
Side 2: vertical pocket
Inside:
I know I'll have a flight suit available for me to make purses for myself when Dereck gets back from training, since he told me he ripped his out in the woods! Plus when he gets new ones issued in Yokota I'm stealing his old ones for sure. With so many pockets and fabric to play with there is almost an infinite amount of possibilities! If you're interested in one, email me! Hopefully once I get set up on Etsy I can really start going with this :-) I also think I could make a great diaper bag, and with a more neutral lining fabric, I don't think a pilot dad would be afraid to tote that around!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
For the Love of Science!
So late yesterday afternoon my friend Jai forwarded an email she got about the local school district needing judges for their Science Fair today. Since I've been sitting around doing nothing, I jumped at the opportunity! Today I got ready in attire suitable for a work day (double bonus- khaki pants I haven't put on in a year still fit!) and headed over to the Del Rio Community Center.
I chose to judge the high school exhibits since this is the age of students I would be interested in teaching or tutoring in the future. I enjoyed seeing the kids all excited and dressed up, anxiously awaiting which judge was going to meander to their booth. I went straight for somebody how looked prepared. I didn't want to start this on a bad note... so I went to the back where a I saw a tall, neatly decorated exhibit with a young man in a suit. Bingo. He knows his science!
Turns out he was good at speaking, good at dressing up a poster-board, and probably good at sucking up to teachers... cuz he wasn't any good at physics. But can you blame him? He's only a sophomore in a school district where kids can graduate without needing to speak any English. Technically he hasn't even taken physics yet. So maybe his teacher should have steered him away from trying to calculate the mass of "light". Lets not think about how light can be thought of as both a particle and a wave, and that to calculate the mass of a photon of light is probably...well... beyond high school pre-physics. But bless his heart for trying.
After that came a very shy, nervous, adorable girl with a presentation on the effects of microwave radiation on seeds... potential, but not blue ribbon material. Then it got worse! Two high school students that used markers to decorate their display with stars and rainbows as they determined the amount of chlorine in different types of bottled water. Nevermind what these chlorine levels mean and why it would be important to know them...they didn't know either.
Just when I gave up hope on the abilities of the high school students, I ran across a booth with the word "flammable" on it. Yup- I found boys who found a way to play with fire. Awesome. Their presentation was actually very good, thorough, and followed the scientific process. Turns out that that cotton is the most flammable of the 5 fabrics they chose, with spandex being the least. Good to know next time you're lighting up the BBQ. I liked those two kids. Maybe Del Rio has hope.
After I scored the two young pyros, I got pulled to do the middle school section since they didn't have enough judges. It was fun but a little below the level I was wanting to see. They two girls I judged had potential though. One for sure- she demonstrated the water cycle using sand and an icecube and stuff... it was cute, but not really an experiment. E for effort tho!
All and all it was a great day. I had a lot of fun and it was cool to see people excited about stuff like science! It enforced my desire to want to be involved in the education of our youth, so I hope to have more opportunities like this one day in the future.
I chose to judge the high school exhibits since this is the age of students I would be interested in teaching or tutoring in the future. I enjoyed seeing the kids all excited and dressed up, anxiously awaiting which judge was going to meander to their booth. I went straight for somebody how looked prepared. I didn't want to start this on a bad note... so I went to the back where a I saw a tall, neatly decorated exhibit with a young man in a suit. Bingo. He knows his science!
Turns out he was good at speaking, good at dressing up a poster-board, and probably good at sucking up to teachers... cuz he wasn't any good at physics. But can you blame him? He's only a sophomore in a school district where kids can graduate without needing to speak any English. Technically he hasn't even taken physics yet. So maybe his teacher should have steered him away from trying to calculate the mass of "light". Lets not think about how light can be thought of as both a particle and a wave, and that to calculate the mass of a photon of light is probably...well... beyond high school pre-physics. But bless his heart for trying.
After that came a very shy, nervous, adorable girl with a presentation on the effects of microwave radiation on seeds... potential, but not blue ribbon material. Then it got worse! Two high school students that used markers to decorate their display with stars and rainbows as they determined the amount of chlorine in different types of bottled water. Nevermind what these chlorine levels mean and why it would be important to know them...they didn't know either.
Just when I gave up hope on the abilities of the high school students, I ran across a booth with the word "flammable" on it. Yup- I found boys who found a way to play with fire. Awesome. Their presentation was actually very good, thorough, and followed the scientific process. Turns out that that cotton is the most flammable of the 5 fabrics they chose, with spandex being the least. Good to know next time you're lighting up the BBQ. I liked those two kids. Maybe Del Rio has hope.
After I scored the two young pyros, I got pulled to do the middle school section since they didn't have enough judges. It was fun but a little below the level I was wanting to see. They two girls I judged had potential though. One for sure- she demonstrated the water cycle using sand and an icecube and stuff... it was cute, but not really an experiment. E for effort tho!
All and all it was a great day. I had a lot of fun and it was cool to see people excited about stuff like science! It enforced my desire to want to be involved in the education of our youth, so I hope to have more opportunities like this one day in the future.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Food, Inc.
I wanted to write a post to urge all my family and friends to watch the documentary Food, Inc. Some of you might have already gotten this via email, but to those I don't have in my contacts list, please read!
My friend introduced me to this movie and its going to make a big impact on what I choose to buy at the grocery store. This documentary opened my eyes to where our food really comes from, and what changes we need to make as a society to get our food to change! Big companies have the FDA and USDA in their pockets and the only way for this to change is by customers demanding better product! So please, get to your local video store, your online Netflix queue, or even buy it online... but SEE this movie. What I saw horrified me and moved me to tears, then made me angry at how so much is hidden from us, the consumer, by Big Business. I don't want to sound "hippie" but this is something that I think everybody needs to see.
I have already made the decision to buy organic milk and eggs, and as much meat as I could find... but if I couldn't find it then I would by the "regular" stuff anyways. I am worried about what choices I'm going to have in the grocery isle when we move to Japan, but now I know what to look for and what products to push away. I am even more set on planting a garden (even if its in planters on a balcony if we don't have a yard) and going back to the "old fashioned" way of eating that hasn't been around during my generation. I know so many of you have taken steps already, like Mike and Ronda Monnier and their "Vawder Farms" garden in the backyard. I've decided I'd rather spend my money on the $6/lb organic grass fed beef than go out to dinner and though I know making a change will not be easy (my generation was raised on quick & easy!), I think its an important goal to have.
I hope you all have the opportunity to see this movie! Take 1.5 hours of your day, it'll be worth it.
My friend introduced me to this movie and its going to make a big impact on what I choose to buy at the grocery store. This documentary opened my eyes to where our food really comes from, and what changes we need to make as a society to get our food to change! Big companies have the FDA and USDA in their pockets and the only way for this to change is by customers demanding better product! So please, get to your local video store, your online Netflix queue, or even buy it online... but SEE this movie. What I saw horrified me and moved me to tears, then made me angry at how so much is hidden from us, the consumer, by Big Business. I don't want to sound "hippie" but this is something that I think everybody needs to see.
I have already made the decision to buy organic milk and eggs, and as much meat as I could find... but if I couldn't find it then I would by the "regular" stuff anyways. I am worried about what choices I'm going to have in the grocery isle when we move to Japan, but now I know what to look for and what products to push away. I am even more set on planting a garden (even if its in planters on a balcony if we don't have a yard) and going back to the "old fashioned" way of eating that hasn't been around during my generation. I know so many of you have taken steps already, like Mike and Ronda Monnier and their "Vawder Farms" garden in the backyard. I've decided I'd rather spend my money on the $6/lb organic grass fed beef than go out to dinner and though I know making a change will not be easy (my generation was raised on quick & easy!), I think its an important goal to have.
I hope you all have the opportunity to see this movie! Take 1.5 hours of your day, it'll be worth it.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Week 3 of 3!!!
Dereck has been gone for 2 weeks so far, and only has one left! I get to see him on Saturday and we get to move into our new (FURNISHED) apartment that will be home for the next 5 or so weeks until we finally fly out to Japan. While he's been gone I have been staying with our AMAZING friends, Matt and Jai, who have graciously opened up their home to me and Marty. Matt is an instructor pilot at the training base Dereck spent his first part of Undergraduate Pilot Training. So its fun coming back to someplace familiar, since I spent every other weekend here for about 9 months.
Marty has been doing great dealing with their 3 cats, I'm so impressed and proud of him. He stopped chasing them after day 3 or 4 and now doesn't even care if they jump on the couch next to him. He does so well making any new place that we go his new home. I think he'll do just fine in Japan too, I hope!
Dereck is doing well at his training. He survived winter camping in the woods and is now learning about other techniques to help him survive in dire situations. I'm just happy I get to talk to him everyday now that he's out of the woods :-) I missed him a lot! I'm okay with being away from him, since we have done that so often during our relationship, but it was very hard to not speak with him for 5 days. It was great to hear is voice again!
I also have had some time (and inspiration!) to make some fun sewing projects, but I'll save that for a seperate post!
Only 5 more days to go until we get to reunite and go "HOME" once again!
Marty has been doing great dealing with their 3 cats, I'm so impressed and proud of him. He stopped chasing them after day 3 or 4 and now doesn't even care if they jump on the couch next to him. He does so well making any new place that we go his new home. I think he'll do just fine in Japan too, I hope!
Dereck is doing well at his training. He survived winter camping in the woods and is now learning about other techniques to help him survive in dire situations. I'm just happy I get to talk to him everyday now that he's out of the woods :-) I missed him a lot! I'm okay with being away from him, since we have done that so often during our relationship, but it was very hard to not speak with him for 5 days. It was great to hear is voice again!
I also have had some time (and inspiration!) to make some fun sewing projects, but I'll save that for a seperate post!
Only 5 more days to go until we get to reunite and go "HOME" once again!
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