mybravado

Good Luck Baby!

I am so proud of Amber. She set a goal to work from home and now is seeing the fruits of her labor. Amber has started an on line buisness called: www.snugbeanbags.com and it officially started today. In the beginning we both had the idea of this, but if you know me I have drifted off to the wayside. Amber on the other hand has seen this process through and has learned so much. I now go to her for questions about the internet. Anyway, check out the site. I am very impressed to see how well she has done.

Wookie

Yesterday we were sitting at the table for lunch and Joaquin said "Me, me, me me me. Me, me, me, me, me. Ironman song". The tune he was singing was to Black Sabbaths Ironman. The song is located in my play list to the left. It was awesome. Also Friday I took the day off to bring Fat Girl out of storage and I went to the local Honda dealer to get some prices. When we pulled in he went crazy! "Dad, dad come mere, mere!" Amber and I followed him around looking at every motorcycle, and 4 wheeler that they had. "Dad, mere, mere racing gung, gung!" If you have heard him, he says "Gung, gung" for motorcycle. Then we went into the parts department and he was still in heaven. I showed him a DVD for Motorcycle racing and he just studied it and wanted to bring it home. $30.00 is a little pricey for a DVD, so I am going to keep my eye out for some cheaper ones. We will watch races on You Tube. He loves motorcycles. Here is a poor picture of "Fat Girl", my Honda ST1100.

Well, Wookie had is first emergency room visit. For the last week, the flu has been coming through the family. Amber and I are the only ones who have not had any of the symptoms. Anyway for the last few days, Wookie has been running a fever and just was plain miserable. We had been providing Tylenol and Motrin, but yesterday his fever would not lower. Amber called FT. Eustis and they told us to take him to the emergency room. It was good that we did. We found out that he had a double ear infection and the flu. What was funny is that he did not show any signs of his ears hurting. So after three hours and several pokes and prodding’s, he was released from the ER. I would say that his visit and what he saw for the first time, is something that I am grateful he will not remember. He was not very happy anytime a person came in with smocks or a white coat. Friday he slept in our bed and Amber was on the couch. She really needed a break and hopefully got a good night rest. He only woke up about 4 times. Once he rolled off our bed; reminder that the top of our mattress is about 3 feet off the ground. As of Saturday his fever has broke and he is on the mend. Here is a picture of his first visit. As you can tell he was not happy and really wanted to be “done” and go home.

Time to move on

Well, I have decided to sell my faithful mountain bike. I originally purchased it in California in 1998. I have rode it on trails in California, Oregon, Washington, Oahu, the Big Island and Virginia. After riding last weekend with my brother, I started talking to his friend Brian and he has a Steppenwolf frame that he has put my brothers older forks on and has assembled a new bike for me. I need to come up with some more cash, so that is how I am coming to terms of selling my Giant Iguana SE. I have really enjoyed all the miles, but there are times in our lives that, sniff - sniff, we just have to move on. Can someone please hand me a tissue?

MWoW

I am going to start posting some of Madi's Words of Wisdom. Right now as a family we are trying to read scriptures every night and currently we are reading from the First Book of Nephi. We had just started Lehi's dream. Madison has become a very good reader and asked if she could read last night. One of the verses she read was the verse of how Lehi looked for Laman and Lemuel to have them come and taste the fruit of the tree. After reading we always discuss what we read and Madi asked how come they did not want to come and eat the fruit, Amber and I told her that they chose not to. Her reply was "I guess they want to be hungry!" I can not remember if those were her exact words, but it was close. We laughed so hard and she got a little embarrassed, but it was so cute!

Conspiracy Theory

I need to share a little story about our kids and the bed. Very rarely are Amber and I allowed to sleep in our bed alone. We have two little people that feel all will be better if they are in our room. They each have their own approach to getting on the bed. First I will talk about "Wookie". For him, he just walks in and says "MOM!!!!!!!!" and that is how he gets in.
As for Madi, well I think she has been watching some ninja movies. It is actually funny what she goes through just to get in our room. I have seen this a few times and it never gets dull.
Step 1: Open mom and dads door and hide in the hall
Step 2: Peak around corner
Step 3: Duck walk to end of bed (this is the funny thing, I can see the top of her head while she is moving)
Step 4: Get half way on the bed, then freeze
Step 5: After about a minute, bring up the rest of the body and freeze in a ball on the bed
Step 6: Hold position for a few minutes and slowly spread out on bed.
One time in Hawaii, I was watching this routine and waited until she was in a ball on the bed and then yelled: "Hey! What are you doing!" She freaked out, jumped off our bed and ran into her room. I think that I scared her so bad, she probably peed her pants.
Anyway, that has been our life during sleeping hours for awhile. Then the other night, Wookie came in first, then Madi. Both of them were turned in opposite directions and spread out like a starfish. I was to tired to deal with them, so I went to the comfy couch and slept there for the rest of the night. When I awoke to get ready for work, this is what I found (picture). To quote a line from the movie CHICKEN RUN "They are organized."

Did I say "Intermediate"?

Yesterday I went up to York River State Park to meet my brother; Thomas, and his two friends for a little single track riding (mountain bikes). I has asked him the difficulty level of the trail, because my bike is an older model and has some problems. His reply was "Intermediate". So I said that I was in. Of course I did not read the sign before entering "Marl Ravine Trail" which is about 5.67 miles long. After entering the one way trail, I realized that this is a little more than what I would call intermediate. If I had read the sign, I would have known what I was getting into. The sign read "For advance riders, helmets are required." I will be honest that I lagged behind quite often and had to walk a few places, but it was awesome. I think that I have the bug again for riding. There were some fast turns, logs across the trails and small jumps. It took us about one hour and forty minutes to complete, probably because of me and my out dated, run down equipment. It was just really cool and peaceful. A place that I hope to return to often. I do need to purchase some new tires and bearings; those two things alone should be able to increase my speed and cornering. Look for pictures of future riding adventures. Oh and yes brother you did say "Intermediate".

Playlist

I have added a play list. Nothing really special, but all these songs are important to me at some point in my life. You will notice a wide variety of music. Rock to Opera. It all depends on my mood to what I really want to listen to. I will up date from time to time, keep checking back.

Drum Roll Please

My thoughts were correct and I have been slated to work at Sector Atlantic Beach, NC. My report date is still up in air, but I am going to ask to leave Yorktown at the end of the July. I am working on some stuff for the 50th anniversary of the base. I would love to seen it through the end. I am attaching a link to the area. I am still trying to figure out how to use the hpyerlink set up, so if this does not work you might have to cut and paste.

http://www.atlanticbeach-nc.com/

I guess this is where I need to put in the disclaimer *I have only been SLATED for the job, but until I receive my orders nothing is totally official.

On the Road Again

Well, I heard last week from my assignment officer and we are moving on out. I requested a list of billets that she had and here is the list:

Sector Atlantic Beach, NC
Arlington, VA
Alameda, CA (3 billets)
New Orleans, LA
Honolulu, HI
Five 378 foot cutters

I gave her my preferred priority list as you see above. Basically the boats and New Orleans are out of the question; we do not want to go there. I was hoping to have word back by the middle of the week. None of us really want to move but we know we go, when they say go. The good thing is we might not be that long at our next unit. I am submitting my package for Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) and if I get picked up, we could be moving again in 18 months. I have not told JoLynne this; she is taking us moving the hardest. I have decided that she can find out when she reads her dads blog, which will probably be after we have already moved for the second time. I will announce where we are going when I find out for myself.


I am still patiently waiting to pin on my anchors and I say that it will happen on April 1st; but my CWO feels it will be March 1st. That is just a few weeks away and I am getting nervous, it is a big step to go into the Chief ranks. I will have to wait and see.

Lazy

That one word can sum up my blog ethic with the world. I am still trying to find out what is so cool about blog pages. I think that I will need to look at it as maybe a journal that others can read.

So yesterday our family volunteered to work at Needs Network in Newport News, VA. It is a program that a local man started in his garage. People donate old clothes and other usable items, and he then gives them away for free. Basically a second hand store that does not cost a dime. Both Amber and I wanted to have our children see what other circumstances people deal with. Amber folded toddler clothes while JoLynne, Madi and I sorted out shoes. It was crazy! About 5 boxes full, and we had to match the pairs together and put them on the shelves. Aspen and Joaquin took empty hangers from a box and put them on rack. Everyone did something which was cool.

So while we were on the way to Needs Network, Joaquin spotted a school bus. Remind you this kid has an eagle eye for stuff he loves. He can see a motorcycle a mile away. So anyway, after he spotted the first bus about two minutes later he sees another one and makes the comment "bus, bus." After which Madison says "There just coming out of the wood work", I wish that you could have heard her expression. It was hilarious!! I love my M&M!

I love my baby!!!

Yesterday Amber and I celebrated our 15th anniversary. It turned out to be a quite day for us. I came home early from work and brought her some flowers, a card and some not so good tasting ice cream. After some ice cream, I took a nap and we then spent the evening with the kids. I had contemplated about us going out but never really made the effort. In the long run it was the best, because the house lost power for about 1 and a half hours. I am not so sure that JoLynne my drama queen daughter would have been able to handle it. I have attached a picture of us, before we were married. The occasion was Amber's homecoming in September 1993. She is even more beautiful now, than she was then.

( : I LOVE YOU BABY! : )

NPR

Well were on the NPR site for our experience in Washington DC. I have attached the link. You hear us talking about 3 mintues in to the clip. Here it is:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99080047

Madi was excited to hear her voice. The woman you can hear the most is my mother in law Adele. She was stating that she does not like crowds in case you missed it.

DOWN WITH RCA!!!!!!!!!!

Momma always said "You should always talk about someone as if they were in the room", well I am sorry mom but this time no. I would like to take you back about 16 months or so. While we were living in Hawaii, my lovely wife Amber made a purchase. She bought a DVD/VCR burner. The whole purpose of this was to be able to transfer our home videos to DVD. Anyway, she went with the machine that was a little more pricey, but was wanting a good quality machine she picked out a RCA model. Within two months, the machine quit working altogether and we were never really able to burn any videos worth keeping. We went back to Walmart and they were kind enough to trade in the machine with a new one. We took it home and after a month or so, we started to have problems again.

Because it was pass the 90 day limit, we had to work with Thompson Inc (RCA) to try and get a replacement. I called the company and explained the situation. I asked what I need to do to get refunded. I was told that they will not refund the money, but that we had to send the machine to them in Texas for repair. I told them that we were about ready to move from Hawaii to VA. I was instructed to state in the letter to have them ship it to VA. It would take 6 weeks to get it back.

7 weeks later, we have safely arrived in VA, and I called them to ask where our machine was at. I was told that it was sent to our address in Hawaii. Hello!!!! I was able to stay calm, but was starting to get upset when I asked who signed for the machine and they said no one, that they just left it on the door step. It took another 2 - 3 weeks, to get from Hawaii to us in VA. Again they shipped to the wrong address in VA. Well, by this time Amber and I wanted strangle something, but at least we had the machine. I did not even bother to take off the protect plastic, I had a feeling that we would be shipping it back. Instincts were right and in October, I had to send it back due to it not working properly. They received it on November 11, 2008. I was told that I should have a replacement machine by December 11. So on December 12, I called and asked where my machine was. They were not sure and asked if I could call back in a couple of days. Around the 20th of December I called and was told that they would not be able to send me a machine and would provided a full refund. All I had to do was to fax in the receipt and with in a few weeks, I would get a check. Last Thursday, I called to get status. Guess what, they acknowledge receiving the paper work, but had yet to cut the check. I was told that I would be receiving the check in 6 - 8 weeks. This were I lost it!!! I told them that there company sucks, and the customer service was terrible. I would never recommend RCA to anyone and that I would be contacting my legal office to see what legal action I can take against the company. I then hung up the phone.

Anyway, I will never purchase a RCA product again. I searched the web and found that a lot people have had problems with repairs and refunds with RCA.

What do you get?

What do you get when you cross a six year with Mac Photo Booth? Here are some of the fabulous photos that I found while looking through photo booth. Madi has the habit of taking a lot of pictures when no one is looking.

Oh the sweet military life

My supervisor received a call from our assignment office at Head Quarters. All the SKC (E7) billets in the Tidewater area (Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampton Roads) has already been assigned to other Chiefs. My SKC is probably going to turn in his retirement papers and well since my first 4 picks are gone I will be left to the wind. My next three picks were in Seattle and California. She (assignment officer) is supposed to call back on Monday.

***You might ask "Whats up with the boat?" It was the only picture I could find on my computer with the Coast Guard logo. I was stationed on it in Hawaii. This picture is from when we visited the Solomon Islands.****

2009! It is finally here! Last night was the first time that I was unable to celebrate New Years Eve with Amber. It is kind of amazing that I being in the military have gone 13 years being able to celebrate each new year with her. I was lucky enough to have duty in the barracks. I was preparing for the stumbling kids coming back from their celebrations, but I was not woken up once. It was very peaceful. I guess the highlight of the night for me was seeing Robbie Maddisons sick jump in Vegas. In case you missed it here is the link:

http://expn.go.com/expn/blog/moto

You might have to cut and paste, but it is worth it. I should my two year old son today "Wookie", and his eyes lit up and he said "COOL". A couple of more years and he should be good to go for his first motorcycle. It reminds me of my best friend from high school, Steve, who did a crazy vertical jump like Robbie. It was no where near the height, but it was still awesome. I think he scared the crap out of his self. It is late and already the 2ND of January, will continue again tomorrow.