The Cushing Family

Rejoining the Blogging world!

2011-09-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe the last time I blogged was in March! We have been rather busy the past six months. Along with going to school, we have moved into a house finally! Yay!! Apartment living was not our style at all. So that is over and done, thank heavens. We moved into the house on June 3rd. It is a cute three bedroom, two and a half bath with a two car garage and a very nice front and backyard. The dogs love the backyard which is fenced in. The only thing that bothered me was the fact there was so many gardens, but not flower gardens. Landscaping I guess, so we had to go get some bark because Chloe and Indy were getting all muddy. It is so much better now and looks fabulous. The inside is cozy. We have a living room and dining room with vaulted ceiling, a nice comfortable kitchen with lots of cupboards and considerably more counter space that the apartment. Cooking is so much nicer and we can all fit in there and not step on each other. Pergo flooring in all of those rooms. Next we have a nice family room that has the love seat, two IKEA chairs, all of the DVD's and Blueray, Murphy and Indy's bunk bed that Chloe LOVES and Mark's desk along with a beautiful wood burning fire place. This is going to be a very nice room in the winter time. Laundry room and 1/2 bath are off the family room. Upstairs has the three bedrooms, the Master is larger than the one in the apartment and has it's own bathroom and walk-in closet. Patrick's room is smaller but he is good with that and Matthew's room is larger and it seems to be the place to hang out because he has a large TV and the X-Box 360. The deck off the family room is in OK condition, sooner or later is has to be replaced, but we are living with it as is for now. We have four or five tall fir trees in the back yard and the house also came with a very nice shed, so all lawn equipment is now stored in that! It was perfect for the family BBQ we had last month. It was so nice to spend time with family members I had not seen in over six years. Fun was had by all!!

So Matt and I took summer classes. It was difficult because it is rather hard to study when the sun was shining, but we got through it. :) Patrick has had a fun summer also. He spent a week with the Medina family at Sun Lake. Of course when he got home all he would talk about was the hot girl he met and how much he wanted a jet ski!! LOL Patrick also enlisted in the US Air Force on the DEP. Our good friend Gary Medina swore him into the Air Force. Check out my Facebook if you want to see the video. He should find out in January what his job will be and then when he will be sent to boot camp in Austin, TX. This is his Senior year of high school and there is so much to accomplish before his graduation day on June 9th. (Yes Jan...June 9th! I know Emily and Kyle are getting married that day so it looks like we won't be able to make it!! I am very sad about that.) I am not sure when I am due to graduate from college next summer. I need to talk with my advisor when school starts on the 19th of Sept. I only have 9 more classes to take and I will have an Associated Degree in Accounting. Mark is working his behind side off at the restaurant. Being the Manager is not easy when there are crazy servers to deal with on a daily basis. He works long hours, but I have to say at least he is not out to sea and he doesn't have to deal with nasty XO's and Warrants that have no business being in the CG!!

So with all of that said, I will again try my hardest to blog more frequently. I have three classes this fall and I have a feeling they are going to be difficult. Intro to Business, Business Math (not a hard one) and Advanced Excel (UGH!!). So my attempt will be to blog at least once a month...we will see!!

Challenge

2011-03-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

We are handed all sorts of challenges during our life. Some not so great and some that we can control ourselves. I am about to control one of my personal challenges. Some a lot of us have to struggle with on a daily basis anyway. So now it is springtime!! Time to look forward to warmer weather, Capri's and tank tops, sandals and swim suits. OK, right now no swim suits. My point being, during the winter we tend to hibernate like big old bears and eat up a storm trying to insulate ourselves from the cold. We don't exercise much because the weather is to rainy, snowy, windy or just plan yucky. We curl up with our warm blankets and watch TV or play on the computer. We do the bare minimum to get through the darker yuckier days just waiting for that weatherman to announce that spring has sprung!!! So it has happened, Sunday was the first day of Spring. Guess what, we are actually having a beautiful sunny day today which is wonderful for me to start my new challenge.

Today I started the 24 Day Challenge. I have to do a 10 day herbal cleanse. I have wanted to do a cleanse for sometime because I have heard that it is a good thing to do anyway. Well with the program I am on, the first three day I have to drink this fiber drink in the mornings. All I can say about that is yuck!! It is the nastiest stuff I have ever tasted. It is one of those "challenges" that I am going to have to endure the first three days and then again the 8-10th days.

When I went to be measured and weighed last night, I was disappointed that I have regained 12 lbs of the 30 lbs I lost before I left Kodiak. I have to say I can't be surprised, disappointed yes, surprised no so much. Living in an area where we are walking distance to Arby's, Jack-In-The-Box, Quizno's, and Panda Express just to name a few of the restaurants around us. Oh and not to forget Cold Stone Creamery!! Yikes what a great ice cream parlor. Starbucks is always one of my weaknesses, but to be honest if I get a pastry usually it is the reduced fat very berry coffee cake. :) I will be missing my Starbucks. I can not have ANY coffee of any kind during my 10 day cleanse. On of the women I chatted with last night told me she was total coffeeholic like me. She knew everyone at her local Starbucks and when she went through the drive thru she recognized their voices and could name them by name. I thought I was bad. I also thought it was going to be difficult this morning...but Patrick made the coffee and I decided if I was going to take this seriously I was going to have to follow the plan. I have already drank over 74.4 ounces of water. Water is my new best friend.

Even though Matthew isn't on the program I am, he has volunteered to be my workout and walking buddy. He has also gained back his weight and wants to make healthier choices. I am very proud of him for making that choice. I don't want him to be heavy like I am and he is so young, he will be able to make the change easier than I am I think.

So my eating plan is pretty cut and dry for the next 10 days. Fruit, eggs, oatmeal, lean proteins, complex carbs, nuts, raw veggies and lots and lots of water!!! For a coffee substitute they have a product called SPARK. I was surprised that I was feeling kind of tired and I drank it up and I feel really rejuvenated. I can drink that in the morning and in the mid-afternoon. For my mid-morning snack I am having strawberries and eggs. I have to eat six times a day which is going to be hard for me, but I am going to stick to the plan. LOL

Things I have to avoid:
Fried Foods, refined sugars, corn or white starches or bread ( I love bread!!!)
Wheat products
Dairy: cheese (love it), yogurt, milk, white sauces or dressing
Alcohol (they note the following after this one: you're on a cleanse...hold out for 10 days) I won't have a problems with this one
Coffee or soda...well I already told you about the coffee part, soda won't be an issue!

So this is the beginning for me. I am striving to look great in my gold dress in July for my nieces wedding and getting my energy level back up and my waistline back down. I will keep you in the loop as to my progress, wish me luck!!

Busy Busy Busy

2011-03-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

I wish I could give a good enough excuse on why I haven't been posting. School?? That sounds like a good one. I have been rather busy with school. I love it. Someone asked my mom recently if I was going to be a "perpetual" student. I think they have me confused with someone else in my family. No, I am not going to be a perpetual student. I have goals. I want to get a great paying job so my husband can relax and maybe sometime in the not to near future semi-retire from his current job. Not that he wants to do that anytime soon. He is thriving at his new job and the prospects for advancement are HUGE!! I have always been a person who loves to work. I have had a job in every city we have lived in, with the exception of Kodiak. My job right now is school. I realize that for some people they don't understand how I can go to school and not work...lets see the VA is paying me to go to school. If you aren't familiar with the 9/11 GI Bill, maybe you should read up and familiarize yourself. What a wonderful program for both Matt and myself.

Let's see what is going on in our lives...Matt and I are doing great in school. I happen to have finished as of Friday, but I have to go in to our Fundamentals of Computers class to support Matt on his PowerPoint presentation. Matt is almost done. He has a few more days left. Patrick is on the JV Soccer team at Kentlake High School. He is so excited for his first game on Tuesday. The best part is family is going to be there cheering him on. The wonderful feeling it is to be home again.

We are currently looking to either buy or rent a house ("rent" only until next Spring). Renting would work, so when we go to the bank to put in for our loan, Mark will show some longevity in his new job. It has become quite unbearable living in this apartment. I guess people who pay their rent on time and don't make tons of noise just don't have the priority over section 8 people. So needless to say we are looking and hoping and praying that something great comes along. I look on a daily basis. Mark finally pushed the new managers buttons on Tuesday. I guess he doesn't take to being called a liar too well. Oh well, if the truth bothers you so much maybe you should try to fix the problem instead of brushing it under the carpet.

I am still struggling with seizures. It is so difficult for me. I hate having them and the final straw for Mark was this past Monday when I had a partial and he finally called my Dr and told him that Tegretol XR has worked for many many years and he wanted me back on it along with my Lamictal. So that will take care of both the partial and the grand mal. Once I get off this roller coaster ride of medication changes, I think I will feel some what "normal" again. I have high hopes. I can't wait to get off the Keppra. Not a good medication.

What else is new??? Well, Chloe is new. She is our newest addition. We lost Murphy in December and adopted our little spit fire on the 31st of December. She has been a joy to have with us. She is just so full of love it is overflowing. She will be five months old on Tuesday and almost fully potty trained. People said it would be difficult in an apartment, but she is so smart and caught on. She LOVES rocks. She has two in particular that she has latched onto and brought into the house. She loves her stuffed toys, Indy has stolen a small squeaky bear from her and every time she goes near him, he growls and she thinks it is the coolest game ever!!! It was very difficult leaving her alone with Indy in the house. We had done it once right after we got her and we went to breakfast with Ruth and Darryl. Came home to howling (Indy) and that sharp puppy bark (Chloe). After that I was extremely nervous leaving them alone. Afraid of disturbing the neighbors...well that feeling is over with. Since Mark is working days now (his Manager quit a few weeks ago), we have had to leave them alone. With some small problems, one being the banana plant that tormented Chloe and she had to take it out and few puddles, they have been doing fabulously (knock on wood).

I am heading to Idaho next week to visit my mom. I haven't seen her since this past August when Aaron and Dianna got married. I have just about two weeks between quarters and the price was right. So for once I am leaving my family behind. It is going to be a short trip, but I am looking forward to spending it with my mom. Then school starts again on the 28th. I have three classes this quarter. One of which I am so excited to take...Quickbooks Pro.

Well, that is it in a nutshell. I will try (like I have said so many times before) to keep up on my blog. At least to give you updates on Patrick's games and such.

Hugs to all!!!

Goodbye 2010

2010-12-29T20:57:00.000-08:00

Wow it is hard to believe we are almost done with 2010. What a hard year it has been for us. We have had such a change in our lives. Here is a year in review: Lets see...January through May was pretty stressful. Mark was starting to get ready for retirement. The best news then was the fact he was off that awful ship. In April we lost our beloved dog Noel. She went on her own terms and she is now at Rainbow Bridge. Matthew graduated in May, we are so proud of him. We left Kodiak Alaska in June. We got home to Kent WA on my mom's birthday. She and Jim were waiting for us in Bellingham. We stayed with Ruth and Darryl until August 1st when we moved into our apartment. Our friend Gary and his family transferred from North Carolina to Covington and Patrick started school with his best bro Breton. The A-Team!!! Mark retired from the Coast Guard after 23.5 years. Matthew and I started school in September at Green River Community College. I love being in school. Mark found a new job as Restaurant Supervisor at the Yankee Grill/Holiday Inn in Renton. He is throughly enjoying his new career. On the 5th of December we lost another of our beloved dogs, Murphy. He will always be in our hearts as well as Noel. They are both together at Rainbow Bridge. Besides those ups and downs after almost 7 years of being seizure free I started having them again. I have had three since the beginning of 2010, two within a month and a half. So needless to say a new neurologist was in order. I have an MRI scheduled for 1/14/2011 of my brain. My doctor has added another medication and I seem to have gotten so much better.

As I look forward to 2011, I am thrilled to have 2010 behind me. I am so happy for the strength my family has and the support of our family here in Washington and Idaho. I can not even express how wonderful it was to spend the holiday season with family. I did miss my mom, but I am hoping to get to Idaho this next summer.

So with everything behind us, I am wishing everyone a Happy New Year. Be safe and we love you all.

Changes: Good and/or Bad?? Remembering. (Warning It's Long)

2010-09-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

As I sit here starting to write a new entry, I am watching KING 5 news about a gun man that is on the loose and that I-5 is closed down by Everett (while typing this novel, the man was caught and the drama is over). We have lived in so many places in Mark's 23.5 years in the Coast Guard. 1. Novato, CA 2. Vancouver, WA 3. Port Angeles, WA 4. Novato, CA (again) 5. Astoria, OR 6. Ketchikan, AK 7. Kodiak, AK. I think the scariest was when we lived in Alameda, not that Alameda was bad we had a few things stolen and this was on an active Naval Base with Mil Pol. What I am referring to is Oakland. Mark, back in the day, had a police scanner and we would hear about the same "black male, wearing blue jeans and Raiders jacket" causing hate and discontent on E 14th St. almost on a daily basis. Driving through Oakland was just plain scary. That was when Patrick was just a newborn.

Vancouver Washington wasn't as bad. We lived in an apartment and there were thugs that lived there but if you kept your mouth shut and didn't antagonize them, they pretty much left you alone. I think that these instances helped me decided that smaller towns were more to my liking.

As you all know, we are not in a small town. We are in a fast growing metropolis compared to Port Angeles, Astoria, Ketchikan and even Kodiak. How does one adjust to the sudden changes, for example, gun shots in the middle of the night, noises in the parking lot in the middle of the night, a strange guy at 6 am looking as if he is trying to break into a car?? It helps to have a larger dog with a even larger bark and a nice can of pepper spray. Don't get me wrong, I am actually enjoying the change of "going places" like Seattle's Pike Place Market, the waterfront and eating Ivar's clam chowder for lunch. We just have to remember that we have to now lock the car doors and the front door to the apartment. I know that people just don't watch the news because there is so too many "bad" things happening out there. I guess I would rather know what I am up against rather than be ignorant to reality of what is actually happening out there. You can not put yourself into a cocoon with blinders on and hope that these "bad" things really won't touch you. It is always that person who says "that happens to other people, I never thought it would happen to me".

As far as "good" changes, I would have to say that being with family is by far the best thing. We have been to several family gatherings. We were fortunate to be able to go to my nephews wedding and to be able to see my family more in the past two months than we had in three years. Other good things that are happening is Matthew and I will be starting college. I am scared and excited all at once.

It is so hard to believe that my boys are getting older. Matthew first year in college and Patrick a junior in high school. The next two years will be full of excitement for both I am sure.

In all of our years throughout Mark's career we have met so many different people and would never change that for the world. The friends we have made are such treasures to me. The places we have been and the amazing/fun things and scary things we have seen and been through. For example, the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, the Oakland firestorm of 1991, Matthew's first ride at six weeks old on a 41' Coast Guard Utility Boat on the San Francisco Bay even though it was overcast and couldn't actually see the fireworks in 1991, watching the Blue Angels take off from Naval Air Station Alameda during Fleet Week in 1995 at the END of the runway, spending 4th of July's in Portland on the CGC Bluebell for three years in a row and even sharing that experience with Ruth, Darryl and even my dad. Our second time in Novato and the fun times we shared on almost a nightly basis of BBQ's and volleyball games. I honestly don't think I have ever laughed as much as I did during those games. Watching the amazing storms in Astoria Oregon and seeing the devastation of the November 2006 storm which took off the gutters of our house and left tons of debris on our favorite beaches, seeing my son, Patrick make All-Stars in his first year of baseball. I have to say that our most amazing and adventurous time was in Alaska. Seeing the wild animals up close and personal is something I will never forget. The eagles and bears (both black and brown). That is truly God's Country. The mountains were just unbelievable and the fact that we could climb them and see as far as the eye can see was beyond cool. Climbing Old Woman in the early summer and Pyramid (in the snow) and being eye level with a small plane was awesome!!!! So those are some of the amazing/fun & scary events we have been through.

Now a new adventure begins and I am embracing it with everything in me. I know we have the support of our families and that means a lot to us. I am so proud of Mark for his service in the Coast Guard. He served his country well for 23.5 years. He changed many people's lives through his leadership, friendship and knowledge. I love him with everything in me and I guess that is why we have been married for as long as we have, through the easy times and the tough times. It is hard to believe we have been married almost 22 years on the 3rd of September.

So I guess I have been rattling on and I should sign out. Keep smiling and keep us in your thoughts as we embark on our new adventure.

Today is the day!

2010-09-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

Mark is officially retired as of today. It really is bittersweet. Being a Coastie has been all he has known for the past 23 1/2 years. He is very excited about his new phase in his life. So off to Seattle to do all of the paperwork for medical and all the other stuff he needs to get done today.

It is also Patrick's first day of school. His first complaint is the fact his first class is at 7:35 am. This school is going to be just like when I went to school six classes everyday. Normal....alot of homework everyday but he will do awesome.

Another piece of news, Patrick can't get his WA state drivers license until he completes driving class. So he is now enrolled for driving school and will start that on the 14th of the month. It rather stinks considering he has a provisional drivers license from Alaska and has been driving almost a year and a half.

Matthew and I start college on the 20th. We are both pretty excited. It will be a crazy driving schedule but we will iron out all of the wrinkles as it goes.

So needless to say we are now hitting the busy time of the year. We are loving the fact that we are around family and friends.

I am going to try really hard to keep you all posted on how all of this pans out.

Hugs,
Annie

Living in Washington

2010-07-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time (again) since I have posted. I decided since I have only had 11 people respond to my privacy request I am making my blog public again. If I see that a certain person in Middleton, RI is lurking again, I may have to put it on private again. You see when you visit my blog I am able to see where everyone is from, makes it so much easier to locate those lurkers.

Since my last blog posting, we have departed Kodiak Alaska. We left on June 15th on a cold and rainy evening. After spending what seemed like eternity we were finally able to get on the Kennicott ferry. We visited Chenega Bay, Whittier, Yakutat, Juneau and finally Ketchikan. We spend four lovely days visiting with friends and eating great food from our favorite places. Then we boarded our final ferry, Columbia, for our final destination Bellingham Washington.

We arrived in Bellingham the same day we left Bellingham for Ketchikan three years ago. June 25th, my mom's birthday. What made this homecoming wonderful was the fact that Jim (my mom's beau) and my mom were waiting for us at the ferry terminal.

We drove the two or so hours to my in-laws house in Kent. We were greeted by homecoming signs with all of our names on it. It was so cool. In the first weekend we were here, we were able to spend time with both sides of our family. Mostly my side for the first weekend. My in-laws invited my mom and Jim to hook up to there power and stay the weekend. It was wonderful. I got to spend so much time with my niece Kylie and her boyfriend Josh. What fun!!

Once mom and Jim left for home, we started the house hunting job. It finally became clear that we would have to rent an apartment for our first year home and next summer move to a house. So this Friday we will be picking up our keys to our apartment that is located in Covington, WA. Why Covington you ask??? Well we have a good friend that has gotten orders to Seattle and will be living there and his son is best friends with Patrick and we decided they both need to finish there final two years of high school together. So Covington was the place to put down some roots.

Within the first week we were here the temperatures soared to the hottest we have been in for three years....93*. I literally felt like I was melting. Mark went out on the first day we knew we were hitting those highs and bought a pool. Needless to say not only did the boys soak in it, but we put a few dogs in it also to cool down.

Anyway, the beauty of being back in the lower 48 is the nurseries!!! We have visited at least six since we have been here, not counting The Home Depot and Lowes, and to see all of the flowers, trees, roses, and water features is amazing. My mother in law bought me a black eyed susan, which I love, and will be ready to bloom out very soon. Her back deck is looking like a nursery from all the plants we have purchased.

About a week ago, our friend and his kids showed up to move into their new house. We spent the first weekend having a few buckets and clear cutting his property. Patrick and Matthew has spent a lot of the past week over at Gary's house.

We have also discovered IKEA!!! Love IKEA!!! We have purchased one dresser and one chair for the apartment, since we can't have our large sofa in due to the fact we are on limited space. We still have to purchase one more dresser and one more chair this week. We also got a great deal on two new desks for the boys at Staples. So their rooms are pretty well set.

Our HHG's are to be delivered on the 2nd and then starts the fun of trying to figure out what will fit in the apartment and what we will store in our garage.

Patrick is already registered for school at Kentlake High. Matthew and I have to go down to the college and take our COMPASS tests, get our student ID's and get set up with the VA rep. So many things to accomplish and it is amazing how the days seem to go by so fast.

So there you have it....we are here and ready to start our new life being "retired" Coast Guard Family. Mark is putting in all sorts of applications for all sorts of government jobs. It won't be long until he has a new career.

I am still really bitter about how this came about. The XO off the MUNRO is now in charge of his own ship and I am VERY concered about who he is going to throw out or force to retire because he feels they aren't fit to "wear the blue uniform". I pray for those families under his command.

Well, I have typed long enough. We will keep you posted on how things are progressing.

Love to all!

Annie

Our Way Home

2010-06-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

It has been quite a long time since I have written in my blog. We are in Ketchikan, AK right now. We will be boarding the Columbia heading to Bellingham and then the drive to Kent. I am so excited because my mom and Jim are meeting us at the terminal. Thank you mom it means the world to me that you would come as far as you have to see us. It is ironic that three years ago we got on the Malispina on June 25th (mom's birthday) to head for Ketchikan. Now on June 25th we will finally be home.

Anyway, Mark went on terminal leave on May 21st and now has a very nice beard. He is very excited about starting his next career (whatever that may be).

Matthew graduated from High School on the 23rd of May with honors. We are so proud of him.

Movers came at the beginning of June and we have been traveling since the 15th of June. We had a 4 day layover in Ketchikan and were able to see our friends and that was so wonderful.

Well, I will be returning to my blog as soon as we are settled. Keeping you all posted as to how our adventure on our new life is progressing.

Rest In Peace Noel Sable Cushing

2010-04-02T17:06:00.001-07:00

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Matthew & Noel.

Ms. No-No Girl

Our last day with her before she went to live with my mom.

Noel LOVED the snow!

Reality Hit Me

2010-04-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got Matthew's graduation invitations. I just can't believe that he is graduating High School. Where did the time go??? He is so excited. He has worked so hard. Next week he is taking the college placement test while Patrick takes his HSGQ (High School Graduation Qualifying Exam). I know this is for Alaska so we are not sure what is going to happen next year when we actually head back to the lower 48. Anyway, my baby is an adult now and going to college next year. Boy do I feel old. :)

Going Private

2010-03-30T19:22:00.000-07:00

Being a Coastie wife for as long as I have, you meet ALOT of people. Some of them are friends you will have the rest of your life and others are what I would referr to as the "bad apples of CG wives". It is really difficult to move to a new location and move into your new house, get your kids settled, get yourself settled and then try to find out who the wives are from the new unit your husband is now assigned too. It can be quite difficult at times to distinguish which spouses are the "right" ones to become involved with. Like high school, these people really never get out of that mode.

When I moved to Kodiak, it was more difficult than any other place we had been with the exception of Ketchikan (only because of the how we were all spread out in Ketchikan). The main "fun" here is bowling and drinking. I found out quickly that I really don't care for bowling and I am a very light drinker. In fact I actually don't even recall the last time I had a glass of wine....I may have to change that soon. Anyway, when I decided to write my blog, I never gave it a second thought of whether or not it should be private. I have neighbors that referr people to my site so they can see all the pictures. It never bothered me and in a way I was flattered.

When all the stuff happened to Mark over the past year and a half, I was very vocal with my feelings in Novembers entry. It soon became apparent that someone had told others off of Mark's old unit what I was talking about. Mark was approach and I decided at that point I would change the "ranks" and make it more politically correct. Then I got to thinking, how in the world did they know??? These were people who's wives were not even stationed here in Kodiak. So I found a really handy tool. Live Feed. As you look at my blog site it is on the right hand side. It tells me where people are that are accessing my blog. I see my mother-in-law frequently visits it, as well as my sister-in-laws and other friends. But one kept popping up...and it was a particular person who's husband was a key factor in what happened with Mark. I felt really uncomfortable with posting anything knowing she lurked on my blog.

So that is the reason why I decided to go private. I love the feedback I get from all of my friends and family and I appreciate the words of support from you all. I truly hope that the additional steps you needed to take to get you here wasn't an inconvience. I love to blog and let you all know what is happening in our neck of the woods.

For now I will keep on blogging.

Love to you all!

We have accomplised so much!

2010-01-18T09:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't written much lately. We have been rather busy with our storage shed and going through over 35 boxes and numerous rubbermaid bins. Our goal was to get rid of all the boxes and sort through all the stuff we wanted to keep and toss the stuff that needed to be tossed.Over 21 years of stuff!!! As of today, we have gone through everything and have organized the shed. I am so proud of all the stuff we have given to the Salvation Army. Bags and bags of stuff, oh and boxes of stuff too!

Last week Mark and I attended TAPS class. We were told about our benefits (medical & dental), Post 9-11 GI Bill and then three days of intense resume writing and interviewing for the retiring member. Mark did wonderful on the mock interview and once his resume is complete it will be awesome. He has a lot to offer new employers. Mark had an appointment with a lady that looks over every page of your medical record and helps you figure out how much disablity you may get. With over 14 years on ships, Mark will end up with something I am sure.

Along with TAPS class I am in the process of going through each room and organizing them. I have gotten the "linen closet" aka laundry room finished. The boys and I went through ALL of their clothes and closets and we ended up with five 30 gallon garbage sacks of stuff to take to the Salvation Army. They were too thrilled at first, every time I asked if a particular item fit and they said yes, I made them try it on. Mark is working on his dresser and closet. I have come to the realization that I am a plastic hanger addict. We have a TON of them. LOL We still have a lot to do and I am ever so thankful that he is no longer on that ship and is home to be able to help me with the stuff that needs to be done before we board that ferry on the 15th of June. It looks like we may be hitting the Bellingham area on the 25th of June. Which is ironic since we left Bellingham on the 25th of June in 2007. It will be a great birthday present for my mom to have her know we are at least driving distance to her at that point.

Tomorrow we will be attending another class called "Smart Move". It will take us through the moving process. It should be interesting.

So that is it for now. I will try and be better at updating this in the future. We are also waiting for more snow to fall so we can go out and get a new family picture...we aren't getting the cooperation with the weather like we want it but as soon as it does I will post our new family pic.

Reflecting on this past year

2009-12-28T21:54:00.000-08:00

As the year comes to a close, you find yourself reflecting on the past year. I am so thankful for such a wonderful family. They have gotten us through so much this past year. I am not going to dwell on the negative but just know that 2010 has so much to offer us right now. We are so looking forward to seeing our families again. Being able to attending family gatherings such as my nephew's up coming wedding. The boys being able to spend time with their cousins (both sides). I am gratful that Mark is home to stay, no more deployments on Coast Guard cutters. Our family is together again...forever. So as you all think back on this past year...be thankful for each other and your families. I sure am!

The Things We Are Looking Forward Too!!

2009-12-12T17:26:00.000-08:00

Well since Mark is retiring we all have been thinking of all the things we are excited about when we move back down to the lower 48. Of course family is #1 on our list. To be able to spend the holidays with family will be beyond wonderful. We are definately looking forward to that the most. Then as we have been shopping ( I use that term loosely considering we are in Kodiak Alaska) the thought of going to more than just Wal-Mart has really got us excited. Internet shopping is ok, but actually going to the mall will be fun. I know I am absoultly going to HATE the traffic in the Seattle area, but I am sure as with most of our moves...I will adjust!

Restaurants are high on our "we can't wait for" list. More choices other than Henry's, Subway, Angelios, Mc D's (which we refuse to go too!). The thought of going to Olive Garden r Quizno's is just too much sometimes.

Patrick is excited about actually going to a High School with a soccer program. I did tell him that the cheerleaders in the lower 48 are skinnier too! I know that is mean but remember we are in Alaska and you need to pack on some extra padding to stay warm up here!

Going for a drive...actually going further than just 45 miles roundtrip! Speaking of roundtrip, it won't cost us our first born to actually take a plane trip. Here in Alaska it will cost us approximately $4000 to leave this rock! Not acceptable by any stretch!

While decorating for Christmas it was a mad dash to make sure we got our Christmas lights before Thanksgiving to ensure we actually get the lights. To go to Home Depot or Lowes to check out what they are carrying, or go to Rite Aide because they have inexpensive lights will be awesome!

Oil changes to came to mind the other day...Jiffy Lube!!! They really need one up here. A mechanic that actually has parts and can actually fix your vehicle within a few days in comparision to a few months!

Grocery shopping is a big one. It is so much cheaper in the lower 48 than here. When you go to the store and they are completly out of milk and bread and you have to wait for the barge to bring it in can be difficult at times. A person told me that once the stores get their turkeys in, grab two instead of one because there will be no guarantee that there will be any at Christmas. It is a must to have an extra feezer to store all of the things you need to buy when you see them or they will be gone!

We are heading for Anchorage this next week. It will be a day trip and we will be in a mad rush to get some Christmas gifts for the boys on our one trip we will be taking thanks to a medical follow-up appointment. Next year will be so much easier.

So the title of my blog is "The Things We Are Looking Forward Too" or should it be "The Little Things We Miss The Most". You decide!

Finally!!!!!

2009-12-04T12:39:00.000-08:00

As the days continue to count down to Mark's retirement, we need to get over specific hurdles. Today we cleared one. I am thankful for a set of orders that came through. Mark no longer is attached to the MUNRO. When we first got orders to that ship, we were very excited about it. Considering all that has happened in the past year...we are very excited that he is finally off of it. Our count down to leaving Kodiak is 194 days, not that anyone is counting. Our next hurdle is TAPS class in January, which will give us a look into what we are to excpect for retirement. As I have told many people who have rallied in our corner, we are taking it one day at a time. The future is looking brighter everyday. As far as my anger, well it is still simmering, but now that Mark is no longer attached to that boat...I am sure it will fade even more. As long is he isn't around those people anymore, it makes us both happier. So that is the newest update. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is preparing for a wonderful Christmas season. By the way, if you have comments on any of my posts, feel free to post in the comment section. I don't believe you need a blog account, but you do need to sign up for a google ID. Happy Holidays!

The Final Choices!!!

2009-11-12T09:15:00.001-08:00

These are the three pictures that have the most votes (I mean A LOT of votes). I am thinking the second one for the yearbook and the third one for family and friends.

Well that stinks!

2009-11-11T09:01:00.003-08:00

While editing my latest post from November 2nd, it seems I have deleted it on accident. For those who saw it, you know what I said. For those who have been "lurking" in my blog, you also know what was said. Bottom line is I still hold a particular person responsible for making a great Coast Guardsman put in his retirement letter before HE was ready. I am still working on harnessing my rage I feel for the events of the past 11 months. I guess you could say it's still a work in progress. We recently went to the CCTI dinner. To listen to the speeches, I was really disappointed. You see they were talking about how the Chiefs were about to embark on a new adventure. That commands were going to look at them differently because they were Chiefs and there would be respect for those Chiefs by the commands they were serving. In theory that would be true. At every other unit Mark has served with as a Chief that was so true! What people need to understand is that these "senior enlisted" have so many years in the Coast Guard that they are there to mentor the junior enlisted and to teach the new young junior officers how things really work. Unfortunately, that is not the case here. I will say my prayers for the remaining Chiefs at this unit and hope that they come out of this unscathed.

We saw the Chaplain last week and he said I should forgive...at this point I just can not do that! Forgive a person who purposely targets people at his unit and makes sure they are forced to retire or make his life more difficult is hard to "forgive".

One particular passage the Chaplain read to us was Matthew 5:1-12a:

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,for your reward will be great in heaven.”

Father Dan felt that this particular Gospel of the Lord was very relevant to our situation. I was very much moved by this. I have to say that Father Dan is quite an asset to the Coast Guard. He has calmed me quite a bit. We have to be positive about our future. We take it one day at a time. That is all we can do at this time. We can not change what has happened, unfortunately. I guess that is what angers me the most at this point. There is just nothing that we can do.

We are slowly getting our belonging sorted through and downsizing. After 21 years of marriage we have been pretty good at keeping and throwing stuff out because of weight limits for our moves, but we have a pretty large storage shed full of our past and some of it needs to go. As most of you know, we are retiring back to the Seattle area. We look forward to our next chapter of our lives. We will be around family and friends there. As I said in my now deleted post, Mark and I have a strong marriage. We have been through a lot in our 21 years. We will take on this new adventure with as much enthusiasm as we did every time we transferred to new units. Again, I thank my friends and especially my family for being there for us. You all are wonderul people. We couldn't ask for more!

Munro in the news

2009-09-19T10:34:00.004-07:00

I am posting this late but I wanted to make sure that my family and friends can see what is going on with the ship. So far this patrol is going good. My friend Emily and I were appointed as Ombudsman for the MUNRO. We are the link between the ship and the spouses. We are going to training next month and it should be fun.

In other news the boys are doing great in school. Matt is President of the band and he is trying to make sure that the cheerleaders, choir and everyone else is all on the same page. Being his Senior year he is enjoying it very much. Patrick is joining wrestling this year and he is very excited about that. He is also having fun in school. Last night was the bon fire and tonight Homecoming.

Anyway, here is the link http://uscgalaska.com/go/doc/780/322148/ check it out and see what the MUNRO has been up to since it left homeport!

Also, most importantly, the BLOG is up and running again.

http://uscgalaska.blogspot.com/

Enjoy your weekend!

It's That Time Again!!!

2009-09-05T07:26:00.009-07:00

So yesterday was a rough day. You would think that after 21 years of being married to a Coastguardsman I would have gotten use to him getting underway. That is so not the case. I have to say looking back at when we were first married and he would leave I have gotten better in the crying department.I only did it twice this time. I guess what made it a little harder yesterday was the fact that Mark had OOD. His first "official" day. During this last in port he was a "break in" OOD. For those of you that are sitting there reading this going "what the heck is an OOD", it mean Officer of the Day. He is basically in charge of the whole ship. Anyway, so back to my little pity party...so because Mark had OOD, I had to drop him off at the ship around 6ish yesterday morning. To make matters a little worse, they were suppose to leave at 3 pm so liberty expired at 1pm. So others got to spend more time with their hubbies. Oh well, old news now I suppose. So I drove into town to get the boys, because they wanted to see their dad off and since they got out of school at 2pm I had plenty of time to go get them. We made it to the pier around 2:30pm just in time to give him one last quick (and I mean quick) kiss goodbye! The plan was to turn the ship around and do some weight testing on some thingymajigger. To make my long story shorter, they didn't actually leave the pier until 6pm! But I did get to chat with Mark in those 3 1/2 hours we waited. You see every since we were married and he has been on ship, our closure is seeing the ship leave. We have always watched, except for one time when Patrick had an ortho appointment and we missed it. I rememer when Matthew was just a little guy and we were living in Port Angeles. Mark was stationed on the CGC ACTIVE. Matt about 6 years old at the time. We were standing there as the ship pulled away, there was this little old lady standing with us watching (it was a public pier). Matt screams out "please don't take my daddy". The little old lady burst into tears! I am not sure who was crying more, her or Matt. Anyway, so we have always been there. Not quite as long as we were yesterday though. So once the ship started to leave, my friend Trudy and I (and the boys) followed it out of Woman's Bay. Below are shots of the ship leaving, the boys throwing rocks into the bay, the small boat behind the MUNRO. Enjoy and keep an eye out for the homecoming. Because of OPSEC rules, if you are on my Facebook, please don't ask me when they are due home. I will also post some more wonderful snow pictures once it starts falling again next month. NOTE: some of the pictures below were taken by Trudy they are also out of order!

My first Puffin siting. Thanks Trudy for getting a shot in of him!
My handsome husband

MUNRO from Deadman's Curve

Patrick skipping rocks

MUNRO from Deadman's Curve

MUNRO in Woman's Bay

The boys looking for rocks to skip

That would be Patrick

The ship pulling away from the pier Mark is just behind the gun along the railing.

The boys and the MUNRO

MUNRO with the small boat following behind. Trudy and I were wondering if they were every going to let them back on the ship.

This shot was from Jewel Beach

Kodiak Bears Part 2

2009-08-11T16:54:00.005-07:00

These were taken August 10th. Mark and Patrick decided to head back down to Sergents Creek to fish, but the bear was back. So Mark came home to pick up his camera and we all went out. This time he had walked down to the Russian River and was hanging out eating his catch. We were not that far away from him. There is a parking area for the fisherman who fish the Russian and we were parked there. Look down the embankment and there he was. You could hear him crunching the bones of the fish. People were telling us he is a 2 year old. Not a large bear, but still the power behind him is remarkable, especially watching him fish. He ate there for awhile as the crowd grew bigger. He then looked at all of us and started to come up the hill, people then started to back away and leave. He went back to fishing and then walked up river and disappeared. Between the eagles, bears and fish this is such a cool place to live!

August in Kodiak

2009-08-09T20:45:00.006-07:00

You can always count on the fish running and the Kodiak Bears feeding. Mark and Patrick went down to Sargents Creek to fish this afternoon. I got a call from Mark saying that there was a bear down there, so Matt and I hopped in the car and drove down. There he was out by the waters edge. As we watched him wander farther away, we drove down to what is known as "Sometimes Island" which is exactly what it means, sometimes it's an island and sometimes it's not. Anyhoo, we watched him for a bit and noticed that he was heading back towards Sargents Creek, so we headed that way ourselves. The path you see him on is the same path the bear last year took. It heads right up to the road where we were standing. He crossed not even 50 feet from Matt and I. He headed over to the creek across the road. That is where he hung out for over an hour, fishing. There were at least 3o people watching this bear fish. It was very exciting to see. This bear also has two wounds on his backside. We all speculated that it was an larger bear that took out two chunks. Enjoy the pictures!!!

Look at those teeth!

Another beautiful day in Kodiak!

2009-07-10T19:05:00.007-07:00

We have been so fortunate with our weather here in Kodiak. For the past several weeks we have had sunny weather, a nice change from all the snow in months past. Today Matt, Mark and I decided we were going to go to Buskin River State Recreation Site. It has a really nice trail/road. The moss and the trees were so beautiful with the sunshine shining down through them. We went a couple of different trails. One ended up at a gun battery. It had a very nice overlook onto the beach below and the ocean. We then we back tracked and headed down to the beach. It was a very nice hike. Enjoy the pictures!

Ferns in the woods.

A view of the City of Kodiak

Buttercups

A bumblebee and Artic Lupine

Annie peeking out from behind a rock formation

Salmonberry

Annie & Matt

Indy, Annie & Matt

Annie

Indy

Indy, Annie and Matt

Mark & Annie

Matt

Matt, Annie and Indy

Matt

Pictures from Ruth & Darryls Visit

2009-07-05T16:10:00.014-07:00

Alaska Cotton

Matt, Darryl, Ruth and Patrick
Family Picture 2009

Ruth, Darryl, Mark and Annie

Wild Geraniums
Humpbacks at Surfer's Beach

Darryl, Mark and Ruth coming up from Fossil Beach

Going in for a landing

Chewing on some grass!Ruth, Indy, Mark and Darryl at Surfer's Beach

Ruth by Fossil Beach

Ruth & Mark at Fossil Beach

Darryl & Ruth by Fossil Beach

Ruth was trying extra hard to get the perfect shot of this Chocolate Lily.

Darryl and Ruth at Surfer's Beach

Ruth

Mark, Annie and Indy by Fossil Beach

Mark and Indy (he had to pick him up because of the eagle)

My handsome husband!

Killdear (not sure that is how you spell it but it looked good)

Flying down the beach!

Running to Mark!

Not one foot on the ground!

Indy!

I'm coming for you!

This was so pretty. It is an old wooded fence and all the wild flowers by it.

Going in for a landing

This eagle was in the tree out by Pasagshak Bay

Darryl at Fossil Beach

C-130 coming up the runway with our new windmill on Pillar Mt.

Ruth looking for treasures on Fossil Beach.

more Artic Lupine on Fossil Beach

HOLD THE PRESSES!!!!

2009-07-04T12:47:00.005-07:00

After working very hard getting our yard in order, there was knock on the door and there was the Housing Officer, Mr. Pilkington. We got "Upper Government Yard of the Month". Yeah!!!

Sister-In- Law nag!

2009-07-04T11:35:00.010-07:00

It has been quite since I have blogged. The only reason I am doing so this morning, on the 4th of July, while it's sunny outside is because of my nagging sister in law. You know who you are!! KIM!!!! Ruth and Darryl arrived on the 26th of June. We are very thankful for the sunshine that she stuffed in her suitcase and almost got charge and over weight charge. I think we have only three day of yucky weather. We have taken them to our favorite spots: Pasagshak, Buskin River, Barnov Museum, the touch tank (which is always a big hit) and we even forced Darryl and Matthew to climb a small hill full of thicket and scratchy twigs, oh and a bog, to take some pictures. Not to forget Fossil Beach and Surfers beach where we saw humpback and eagles. One of the nicest parts of Kodiak right now is all the wild flowers. Ruth and I decided that we like the Chocolate Lily. One evening we swung by Safeway and found a wildflowers of Alaska book and the funny thing about the Chocolate Lily is it is also referred to and the Outhouse Lily because is smells really bad, but because it is so pretty we will overlook the smelly smell! I am attaching photos for KIM's curiosity. Enjoy!!!

Darryl in the meadow after the hike up.

Ruth & Darryl

Family picture at Buskin River

I Guess They Aren't Too Old

2009-04-11T20:36:00.005-07:00

I am pretty fortunate to have two great kids that indulge their mom. I wanted to dye some eggs this year even though Patrick doesn't like them.

While most of you will be enjoying your beautiful Easter Day, I doubt there will much of a challenge to hide those eggs is this. The view from my kitchen window.

I remember as a kid that we always had to have an egg that was dyed in all the colors. This is half way through the colors, kind of looks "camo".

The finished product!! Notice the black egg in the corner. LOL We had a lot of fun. Patrick even died his finger and it looked like he was turning into Shrek.

The Best of Mark's Eagle Pics

2009-04-05T15:11:00.004-07:00

This is the Tom Madison Airport in Unalaska, AK. Mark's second home when they pull into Dutch Harbor. He spends many hours SKYPE'ing with me!

Exciting News and New Pictures

2009-04-05T13:38:00.008-07:00

April is here! What comes with April??? Well it sure isn't Springtime flowers and BBQ's here is Kodiak. We get blizzards!! LOL First of all, Happy Birthday to my dear Father-in-Law!! We sure wish we could have been there to celebrate with you. Other news, I finally got a job! Yeah! I am starting work tomorrow. I have been hired by our local radio station here in Kodiak, KVOK/KRXX. I will be filling the position of Traffic/Billing Coordinator. Of course, who is already spending my paycheck??? Patrick, of course. He said yesterday that he sure is glad that "WE" got a job! So "WE" could buy stuff. Wow! That kid never stops amazing me! So Mark has sent some outrageous photos that he took this morning!! The sunrise picture was taken yesterday morning before pulling into Dutch Harbor. Just beautiful. What about the eagles shots??? He sure doesn't look too happy. Mark was about 4ft away from him and then the eagle decided to move in a little closer closing the gap to a mere 3 ft in just seconds. After that, an eagle fight ensued with one that jumped out of the dumpster and decided to defend his "find" aka trash. Mark didn't get those shots, unfortunately. Mark did say that when they collided it sounded like either two sleeping bags or two heavy winter coats being slapped together. Maybe next time Mark will be a little quicker with the camera! So here are the first three pictures he sent me. Enjoy and comment are encouraged and welcomed!! Enjoy your Springtime. I am sure by June we might just have it here.

Some New Pictures From Mark & Crew

2009-03-31T07:38:00.009-07:00

It was so nice to wake up with an inbox full of pictures from Mark. I kept getting those darn "Delayed Email" messages all afternoon yesterday! The following pictures are some that Mark took and some that the crew took. I got an e-mail from Mark telling me that the fishing boats have to throw out the fish that are not the target species they are fishing for and the whales know they are making a free meal by just hanging out. Wow, that would be so cool to see!

The ice-line

The Boarding Team!!

My Boys (including the dogs!)

2009-03-27T16:09:00.004-07:00

Matthew decided he was going to dig a tunnel
Indy thought he would help out.

Indy is testing it out here.

They always say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, I wonder what they would say to on top of the fence? This picture kind of puts our snow drift into prospective. Indy kept roaming over to the neighbors yard.

Patrick was keeping their attention with snowball.

Plow finally came through

2009-03-24T14:04:00.004-07:00

Road/Snow this was over by the boys bus stop. Our neighbors were literally snowed in.
What can I say about this photo???

It's a little deep!

As you can seel we have a ton of snow. This poor plow guy got half way around the loop and had to back his rig out. He called in for some help!

More Pictures

2009-03-24T09:01:00.004-07:00

Matt and Patrick leaning against the snow drift, under that drift is our 4 ft chain link fence.
Here the boys are in the MIDDLE of the street. LOL

Sorry that these are in reverse order. In the first picture below, Matt finally made it to our neighbors house to shovel off her front porch which at almost up to the top of the rails on her deck.

Forget walking, he is crawling.

I don't think he realized how deep it was.

Matt on his way to shovel off our neighbors front porch. Her husband is underway with Mark and she has three small kids.

This is the snow drift just off our back deck. It is almost as tall as Matt!!!

The Blizzard Aftermath

2009-03-24T07:46:00.005-07:00

As I type this blog entry it is still blowing and snowing. Yesterday was crazy as I wrote in my earlier blog. The boys bus got stuck AT the school so they didn't get home until almost 4:30 pm. I was starting to get really worried because usually the buses make it through anything here. So around 5 pm the power started to flicker. So I told the boys, we better make dinner before the power goes out. Thank heavens we did because it just kept flicking. Mark called and every time the power flickered the phone went dead. So after 5 or 6 calls back I finally told him it was probably best we say see ya later and I love you and hang up. Not too long after that the power finally went out. It was only out for almost 2 hours, but when there isn't any noise in the house, you sure do hear EVERYTHING. Needless to say we went to bed pretty early last night and around 10:45pm my phone rang and it was the school, they actually cancelled school. Which is a good thing considering the HUGE snow bank in the middle of our street (pictures to follow). Patrick and I went outside this morning because I couldn't get the front door open. I went out the back door and over the snow bank to the front of the house. Once I cleared the front door Patrick came outside with his camera. Enjoy the pictures. I sure hope it warms up soon!! We will take more pictures after the sun comes up.

I thought the first picture was pretty cool.

Patrick lounging in the snow back in front of our livingroom window!!

Craziness in Alaska

2009-03-23T15:46:00.003-07:00

Well here we go....the beginning of Spring. That time of year when you look forward to sunny warmer days and flowers blooming. Well, not here in Alaska. Though I have to say that Friday (the official first day of Spring) was a beautifully sunny day. It quickly changed Saturday afternoon. It seems that Mark sent some snow our direction. It continued to snow most of the day Sunday. Thank heavens for Matthew and his snow shoveling abilities. He kept the sidewalk cleared for me. So we get a weather bulletin and it says we are going to get between 8 and 20 inches more. So waking up this morning (Monday) I was a little leery about looking out the window. So when I finally let Murphy and Indy outside I was so happy to see that those inches had not shown up! But.....it has been snowing non-stop all day. Windy and nasty outside! Weather underground has us under a Blizzard Warning with snow accumulations today of 3 to 5 inches and then tonight 3 to 6 inches. Did I mention that it is suppose to be SPRING?!?!? If you are interested in keeping up with our wacky Spring weather, here is the link: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=99615

So along with the crazy weather our wonderful Mt. Redoubt finally erupted last night. Right now I think we are all OK and won't get much ash here. This morning it was heading north. Evidently it has erupted 5 times since last night. We all have been waiting for it since January. Now we just keep an closer eye on it and make sure that the winds keep heading north. For more information on our volcano follow this link: http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php

For those of you enjoying the beautiful Spring weather, enjoy it for me also!! Sometime in the next two months we may get it here.

New Pictures From Mark!

2009-03-04T20:08:00.003-08:00

Mark has sent me some awesome pictures of things that are going on. These eagle pictures he was very close to the eagle. I was amazed how beautiful and close he was. Enjoy!!!

Check out the links!!!

2009-02-27T18:03:00.003-08:00

Well Mark is underway again. The start of a three month patrol. Hey at least the office is clean again. I know, always looking for that silver lining. So just days after the MUNRO deployed they were there to help save 4 people on the "Icy Mist". Here is some great footage of the helicopter hoist and then the other reel has the MUNRO in it. https://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/780/257463/

Along with the rescue the ship has a new blog!
http://uscgalaska.blogspot.com

So you all can keep up with the happenings on the ship. It does make it a little better being able to keep in touch this way. I remember when Mark was on the MIDGETT (20 years ago) and all we had was snail mail. Now we can communicate via e-mail and when he pulls into ports we SKYPE it. How times and technology has changed things.

Communication.....that's a thought!

2009-02-18T09:31:00.005-08:00

It has been a really tough month. To be honest I cannot wait until February is over. It all started with Matthew getting pneumonia and Patrick getting a nasty virus. Of course, I then got it. Felt horrible. The boys missed a week of school because of it. On top of that Mark didn't get to go to his school that he wanted to go to because of issues on the ship. He was disappointed to say the least,but once the galley gets all squared away, he will definitely be making it to that school. on the plus side, he was able to be home for his birthday which was very low key due to all of us being so sick. He has been working his behind side off with 12-14 hour days and no days off. I think he referred to it as "babysitting", which is ridiculous considering these people are adults. I guess what I have learned this month is that communication is a wonderful thing. You can strive for it. You personally can do it, but if others are unwilling to communicate back and give you a heads up, that is where the problem lies. Instead of communicating, you throw that person under the bus. It is quite an eye opener when that happens. So, I am hoping that with a new month, that people learn to communicate more. Become more of a team players with people, especially those you work with, and things will get better. So the boys and I are feeling much better, but Mark now has our cold. Poor guy! He is due to leave soon for another patrol. Our family will be apart again. But we are survivors and no matter how bad it gets with things that happen in school, at work, or in public the love we have for each other will help us through the rough times. No one can take that away. So in closing, please please communicate...if you have a problem with someone TALK to THEM. You might just be surprise at how quickly the issues will be fixed and you won't even have to throw that person under the bus.

Some Favorites from Yesterday!!!

2009-01-20T13:54:00.006-08:00

This guy let me really close and then took off. What a shot!

Sunrise on Baramoter

Young eagle staring me down. He took off flying not long after this.
Going in for a landing.

Taking off!

Near Fossil Beach

Fossil Beach

Indy

2009-01-19T18:39:00.004-08:00

Today since the boys had school and Mark didn't have work, we decided to drive out to Fossil Beach. It is quite a drive around 35-40 miles away. We stopped many many times and took some AMAZING pictures of eagles (our other mission is to get the perfect shot of an eagle in flight). Anyway, many of you will recall how much Indy LOVES the beach. Living in Astoria Oregon we went to the beach all the time. Indy just goes nuts out there. So we got to Fossil Beach and made our way down. It was another glorious day in Kodiak! I took off running so Indy would chase me, I stopped and Mark caught these adorable shots of him running back to him. You can see how happy he is in his face. As you can see from the photos his feet are not on the ground. LOL

Snow, Snow everywhere

2009-01-13T12:33:00.003-08:00

Patrick enjoying the snow!
Murphy looking over the birm across the street

Indy playing the snow!

Yes folks, there are igloo's in Alaska

Mark, Frosty and Patrick

We had a nice snow fall on the 10th of January. Every time it snows, I ask Matt and Patrick to go outside and build me a big old snowman. Well, past years they haven't been all that big. So Mark and Patrick got the snow shovel and started piling up the snow. I got the best snowman!! So on the 11th they went back out there, the snow had stopped falling and they started building the igloo. It turned out really cool. I even went in it. Unfortunately, the rain started to fall later that night and by the time we woke up the next morning, Frosty was bowing to the east and the igloo was a icy mess. It was great while it lasted.

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-01T18:04:00.005-08:00

We went to our favorite sledding spot here in Kodiak. Well, I guess it is the only sledding spot that I know of so far. The Ski Chalet. Fun! It was on Tuesday December 30th. Another cold day, 20* or so, but clear and sunny as you can see from the pictures. Some of them are us sledding down the hill and the others are us at the top of the 1/2 mile hike that took us 656 ft straight up. It was a tough hike for me, but I made it. By the time we made it back down to the bottom, my bangs were frozen and Mark's mustache had some ice on it as well. I sure hope that these photo's caught the beautiful landscape that Kodiak has to offer. I LOVE it here!!!

Patrick, Annie, & Matt at the top!
Matt, Annie and Patrick

Matt and Annie

Patrick, Mark and Matt

Patrick

My handsome husband!!!

Me!

Patrick and Mark almost to the bottom of the hill!

My guys!!

Here I was making my way UP the mountain and stopped for a break!

Matt, Indy and I on our first run down the hill. It was so fun!!

Annie & Mark!!

Eagles Eagles everywhere!!

2008-12-23T08:51:00.003-08:00

We went out on Sunday to take some pictures since it was so beautiful outside. Blue sky and bright sunshine!! We were heading across the Buskin River and came across these three Eagles that hang out there. I got out of the car and quietly walked back to the bridge and shot some great pics. We took somewhere around 910 pictures and I had to sort through them all and find the "Best of the Eagles". LOL I know it sounds like a title of a CD. Anyway, I made them into an album so enjoy!! I will be adding more that we took yesterday later today!!!

Sorry this took so long to post!

2008-12-23T08:32:00.004-08:00

On December 12th and 13th we made a surprise trip to Seattle via a C-130! Brrr! LOL It was a great flight up until we were landing at Boeing Field and it felt like we were being tossed all over the place. It was like riding a roller coaster blind! Anyway, we got to the terminal at Clay Lacy Field and rented a cute little car and headed to Tukwila to get the plan into action at the Olive Garden! With constant communication with my co-conspirator (Kim) we promptly got a nice secluded table for 10. Mark and I sat down and waited (very impatiently) for the rest of the crew to arrive. Here is the look on Darryl's face when they rounded the corner:

It took Ruth SEVERAL seconds to finally realize that the guy behind the camera was Mark. She gasp and said "ANNIE" came rushing up and gave me the biggest hug! I can not even tell you how thrilled I was that this all worked out according to plan!!! The tears of happiness from both my mom and dad in law told us both how great it all worked out! We had a great meal and great company. It was a fabulous dinner!! We then went to see Kim and Chris' new house....beautiful!!! After that we headed back to Ruth and Darryl's and Mark older brother Mike came by with his girlfriend Tina. The next morning it was a rush of quick Christmas shopping because we had to be back at the terminal by 11:30 am. We got what we came for and headed back in time to catch our flight home. Here is the picture of the four of us at the terminal:

We had a great time, too short, but it was wonderful to see the family again!! We are looking forward to our next "surprise" visit.

Fun in the sun & snow!

2008-11-30T21:10:00.006-08:00

We were surveying the situation before heading down the hill!

Look mom...no paws!

I can not even tell you how cold it was up on that hill. The wind was blowing so strong that it literally took my breath away. We had such a blast today. Patrick got his new snowskate for his birthday (it was late because they were back logged) and so we went out to this place beyond the golf course. Oh my goodness what a blast we had. We even found a great back drop for our family picture. We took a ton of pictures so once I get through them all I will post them.

Wondering where they are?

2008-11-24T08:12:00.004-08:00

Last night I asked Mark, "Where are all the Jan's, Ed's, Jenn's, Alan's, Jane's and Tommy's here?" I recently read this statement: "Friends are special people. We can't pick our family, and we're sorely limited in the number of them at any rate. Society and mores (and often our own conscience) dictate we select a single mate. But our friends can be as diverse and infinite as the adjectives we choose. Our friends, in a very real sense, reflect the choices we make in life." The last sentence hit home. I have alway been the sort of person that is there for you in thick and thin. I am one of those people that will ALWAYS listen to you, not necessarily give you the advice you need, but listen and try to be objective. I think back on the 20 years of Coast Guard life and the friends I have made, Sandy and Paul, Dave and Penny, Mary Ann and Fred, Barb and John, Dena, Susan, Debbie, Andrea and Dan, Brian and Linda, Ann and John, Beth,
of course Jan and Ed, Alan and Jenn, Jane and Tommy, Joann and Frank, Maggie and Ben, Jeannette, Katie and John, Lindsay, Amanda, Gail, Cyndi and Gary, Jennifer and Michael, Sherry, Michelle and Ed. These are people I still am in touch with whether it is via e-mail, telephone or just Christmas letters and cards. Some of these people we got together with for 4th of July BBQ's or game night or New Years Eve parties or came by while our husbands were deployed just to have spaghetti and a glass of wine to get through yet another lonely night. I am truly missing these people. These are the sort of people who are the honest to God "true" friends. No games, no bullshit, not those fair weather friends who are there when their life is tough and then kick you to the curb when it gets easier only to come looking for you a few weeks or months later when their life gets difficult again. So last night when I asked Mark that question, he hugged me and said to me, "they are here....somewhere."

Playing in the snow with the Murphy and Indy!

2008-11-23T08:49:00.002-08:00

We had this huge drift in the backyard and as you can see it come to about my knees. Yesterday was a beautifully sunny day (not warm by any means please don't lecture me about not wearing a coat! ) Anyway, I walked into the drift and tried to convince my short legged bassett/rottie to join me. At first he just barked and barked and barked. Finally my decided that it would be ok to attempt to join me. He finally did. I was so proud of him knowing how cold the snow was on his belly! He didn't stay too long and made a beeline for the more packed snow and to his dad.

Here he is plowing his way back to saftey!

The snow could just swallow Indy up!

Here he is jumping around!

Hello Friends and Family

2008-11-22T09:36:00.002-08:00

It has been so wonderful to have Mark back with us. It has taken some getting use to having someone else in the house. It is so nice to have my best friend home again. It has also been rather cold here in Alaska. Just a few days ago we had over 60 mph winds and snow and an actual blizzard warning in effect. They ended up closing the base down around 1:30pm that day. Crazy weather to say the least. Last night around 11 pm it started to snow again and we ended up with between 3-5 inches of very light powdery snow!! It is so beautiful. Mark and the boys went out straight away this morning and began shoveling the snow off the porch and sidwalks. Besides all the normal day to day stuff we are planning a nice quiet Thanksgiving here at home. We have invited Mark's new FS1 Omar Brown to join us. He recently got PCS orders to Kodiak and Mark is thrilled. Mark says Omar reminds him of his other most favorite FS1 Al Scales. They seem to be on the same page with the galley and that is a beautiful thing. We hope that all of our friends and family have a wonderful Thanksgiving and know that we are thinking of all of you during the holidays and wish we were with you or you were here with us in the cold, snow! LOL

At long last Mark is home!!!

2008-11-12T07:59:00.001-08:00

Mark's Adventures

2008-11-03T09:41:00.003-08:00

Mark recently sent me some pictures of the largest Buddha in Japan. When he finally gets back to Alaska we will put all his photo's to DVD and send everyone who is interested a copy. I know he took tons of pictures. I also know that he had a great time checking out yet another new country. Counting down the days until I get my husband home again! I can't wait!!!!!

Sunrise on the Mountains

2008-11-01T11:27:00.003-07:00

The top picture is Pyramid. The second picture is the mountains to the left of Pyramid.

King of the Couch!

2008-11-01T11:24:00.001-07:00

This was Indy's Halloween Costume! Of course it fits him to a T!!!

A Coast Guard Marriage

2008-11-01T11:08:00.001-07:00

A Coast Guard Marriage

You stand at the dock watching his ship pull away,

You feel in your heart a little voice say:

'I Love You. I need You. I want you to stay.'

He stands on the deck, watching you too

His world falls apart, he wants to be with you.

He feels his heart breaking, his eye sheds a tear,

The only thing now he wants is you near.

The only thing that keeps her from falling apart,

Is the thought of her husband kept close to her heart.

Out on the deck he stands still in rain,

Praying for the ocean to swallow his pain.

A golden streak of heaven shines down from above,

But he remembers to be strong for the woman he loves.

After so many months his ship finally pulls in,

Her heart skips a beat when she spots his wide grin.

They throw their arms around each other in the tightest embrace,

Their hearts are free as they feel their pulse race.

Yours surely must have been a match made from above,

Because this Coast Guard Marriage is a test of true love.

WOW!!!

2008-10-14T08:46:00.003-07:00

So the boys left for school at 7:23 am and I got a phone call from Patrick telling me that I needed to come outside and take a look at the moon next to Barmeter. I told him "no way was I going outside in the dark where it is a whole 34* outside...burrrr!" But curiosity got the best of me and I grabbed my camera and headed for my back deck. All I could say was WOW!!!!

Kodiak is a beautiful place.

2008-10-12T19:33:00.003-07:00

Last Wednesday, I took my car into the shop to get an oil change and have someone look at my noisy breaks. My friend Kris was my transportation while we waited...over four hours!!! Anyway, we have had some beautiful weather here in Kodiak at this time and as we were exploring we came across this overlook! It was just too beautiful to pass up!

I took the above picture. I thought the way the tree was leaning and the sunshine was shining through....gorgeous!!!
Kris took this one and I think it is equally as beautiful!!

Nice Night Out!

2008-10-12T12:51:00.003-07:00

Last night I went to a very nice dinner that Kodiak Camber of Commerce put on for the Coast Guard. It was an appreciation dinner. Very very good food! Local restaurants made things for this dinner! Oh my goodness! It was so yummy! It was a little hard to see all those Coasties in their Bravo's without mine next to me! Sigh! Soon, I keep telling myself soon! LOL Anyway, I won a really cool book that will be out soon. It is the Alaska's 50th Anniversary book. It is wonderful! Gorgeous pictures. They even have Kodiak in it! So my date for the evening was my friend Kris! We got all gussied up (which is a rarity here in Kodiak) and went to this shindig. Enjoy the pictures!!

Getting Colder in Kodiak

2008-10-03T12:02:00.003-07:00

The above is Lake Margaret. There has been an eerie mist coming off the lake since the temperatures have now been dropping into the mid to low 30's at night.Brrrrr!!
Baramoter in the Fall!!
This is the route where the MUNRO will be making her final journey home. I am waiting very impatiently!!

My Handsome Boys!

2008-10-03T11:42:00.001-07:00

Well it is that time of year when school pictures come out. It is hard to believe how quickly time flies. Patrick will be 15 in just about 43 days and Matthew will be...18 in May!!! Wow, that was hard to type! LOL Here are their pictures. Enjoy!!

First Impressions!

2008-09-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

Being a Coast Guard wife for over 20 years, I have met a lot of people. First impressions, for me, are key. When I met my friend Jan, I knew right away we were going to be life long friends. I guess it was her whole demeanor. She is the kindest person I have ever met. She would give you the shirt off her back if you asked her. I am so fortunate to have her and her family in my life. I have been fortunate like this throughout our military career. I keep in touch with most of the people we have met throughout these past 20 years. It does, at times get difficult with all of them transferring every few years. Moving from Station to Station you hope to find people that would even measure up to the ones you have met before. You move to a new location and pray that there is even one or two that will now be your new “best” friend. I am again fortunate to have found one gal here in Kodiak that has fit that bill at least until they transfer next spring. Unfortunately, I have also recently met a person that has just rubbed me the wrong way. I am sure that deep down this person is not as shallow as she portrays herself to be. At least I truly hope she isn't. My outlook on things is rather simple. If you want to be my friend, be yourself. You don't have to come off as if you are so much better than the rest of us. You have no idea where I have come from, what I have done in my life, or even who I have met. I certainly hope that my first impression of this person is wrong. I am no better than anyone else, I believe in giving everybody a chance because you never know in this world where you are going to end up. First impressions tell me right away if I want to continue toward a friendship. I want to try and be this person’s friend, but each time we meet, she usually says something that solidifies the "first impression" of not wanting to have anything to do with her. Being the person I am, I am willing to look past her unsavory behavior in the hopes that she sees that we are all equal.

2008-09-29T15:45:00.003-07:00

1. Annie Leibowitz exhibit 2. calories..., 3.Thomas Jefferson, 4. Autumn, 5. Baker, 6.Coffee 7. Pool at Dreams Resort, Cabo San Lucas, 8. Mudd Pie, 9. Animal Cop 10. Family 11. Loving 12. Sea Turtle

Here's how it works:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLS for the images into hhtp://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php

Choose 3 columns with 4 rows.

*************************************
The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What High School did you go to? (or what year did you graduate?)
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite Drink?
7. Dream Vacation?
8. Favorite Dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you?
12. Your flicker name or favorite animal?

Homecoming 2008

2008-09-22T10:21:00.003-07:00

It is hard to imagine my baby is finally growing up. It is sad. Patrick took his first date to Homecoming on Saturday night. He was so excited. We had picked out his outfit and bought new shoes, belt, slacks, dress shirt everything you need. He went the day of Homecoming and got his hair cut. It was so funny to watch him get all ready. Matthew decided last minute that he too wanted to go. So both my handsome boys went and they had a blast! I wanted Patrick to get formal pictures but Patrick said the line was "crazy" long. Thank heavens I was able to snap a couple before they went into the dance.

40th Birthday Weekend

2008-09-01T08:43:00.004-07:00

Hello Everyone!!

It has been a good weekend. I turned 40 this past Saturday. It was kind of bittersweet. I really really miss Mark and wish he could have been home. Unfortunately, my birthday wish didn't come true! Of course I knew it wouldn't LOL. Anyway, my friend Kris and her son Ryan and my boys took me out to dinner at Henry's! What a fun time! I splurged and shared an ice cream sundae with Patrick! I have been dieting since August 3rd and am down 11 lbs, so I really wanted to be careful. But that sundae was soooo good!! After dinner we were going to go see "Mama Mia" but decided that it was such a great evening we would head over to Sergeant Creek and so some fishing. We were there for about five minutes before I noticed the bear poop on the river bank. Fresh & warm bear poop (Matt put his hand above it to verify the warm part!). Then I noticed a salmon flopping by the shore and it was all bloody. That is when Kris noticed the bear in the marsh not far from us. So we slowly left the area for the car. We drove down towards the Russian River and noticed some people looking out over the marsh land so we pulled off and got out and there he was!! Our first Kodiak bear!!! He didn't seem that big from far away. But as you can tell, as he got closer to us, he got bigger. All in all it was a fun evening, I truly wish all of my family had been here for it, but as my Grandma Gray would have said, "if wishes were pennies we would be rich!"

The scarf you see above and to the left is one I had been working on for about three weeks. I bought the hand dyed wool yarn in Ketchikan when mom had come for her visit. I finally finished it last night! I think it turned out beautiful!

The crock pot above is my birthday present! 5 Qt crock pot!! It is really nice and I love it!!!!

The birthday cake, I made from scratch! I was going to put an nice fattening butter cream frosting on it, but opted out of that for a nice sprinkle of powdered sugar. I have only eaten a very thin slice! LOL

First Day of School!!!

2008-08-25T12:47:00.003-07:00

It is hard to believe that Patrick is now in High School. Where did the time go? Matthew is a Junior and Patrick a Freshman. They were both very excited about going to school this morning. The good news is they have 1st period together so this should make it easier on them both. I just wish Mark was home to see them off this morning!

It was a cold and rainy day!

2008-08-24T00:11:00.005-07:00

Well we went out in it any way. We had heard that the silver were running on the Buskin and wanted to get our share. Needless to say, they weren't biting today for us. So we decided to try the Russian and see if we would have any luck down there. No such luck, with the exception to Patrick catching the rare and mysterious Alaskan stick fish!!!! He was quite excited when he was reeling it in. A little dispappointed to see what he actually caught!! It was funny. Also, when we got down to the Russian, the boys were walking on this island in the middle of the stream and came across some rather large bear paw prints in the sand. At that point we all got a little nervous to be down there because of all the tall grass, Kris and I were constantly looking while the boys fished.

Patrick bringing in the rare Alaskan stick fish!

Ryan looks on as Patrick brings it to shore! What a rare sight that is!!!

Fishing in Alaska!

2008-08-22T13:46:00.004-07:00

The boys had a blast yesterday fishing! Matthew caught the most, three big ones! We are heading out again tomorrow to try our luck at using flies to catch some silvers. We, of course, have to be bear aware out there. It is that time of year. So I will carry my Styre for protection. Below is a great picture of Matthew filleting one of his fish! Before you know it, we will a be pro's at it! Patrick and I did end up bringing in a fish or two, but we had snagged them and unless they are caught in the mouth we have to throw them back!!! So we were kind of bummed out that we couldn't bring ours home with us.

Below is one of the ones Patrick had to throw back, but Kris got a picture to prove he actually brought one in. LOL

Not too fond of this picture of me, but I wanted show that I can do it! LOL

Fishing Day!!!

2008-08-22T00:49:00.002-07:00

Patrick, Ryan & Matt
Ryan & Patrick trying hard to catch the "BIG" one!!
Weighing the catch!!

Kris teaching Patrick to fillet the fish

Coast Guard Day Kodiak August 2nd 2008

2008-08-02T17:23:00.002-07:00

Matt, Annie & Patrick Coast Guard Day 2008!!
The MUNRO wives are the three gals in the middle! Kris, our Ombudsman is holding the trophy!

2008-08-02T17:19:00.002-07:00

1st Place Cookies!

2008-08-02T17:16:00.001-07:00

Crazy Time Changes

2008-08-01T20:17:00.001-07:00

I have a new clock. It is pretty much self explanatory. I was getting way to confused there for a few days. This will keep me centered! LOL

Pictures of the house!

2008-07-30T22:50:00.003-07:00

I decided to take some pictures to share with family and friends. They are pretty self explanatory. It is a lot smaller than our last house, but it is also a lot more cozier (if that is the correct word). I really like this house because I am closer to the kids, where in our other house in Ketchikan we were more spread out. Enjoy!!!

2008-07-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

2008-07-30T22:45:00.000-07:00

2008-07-30T22:42:00.000-07:00

2008-07-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

This is a view of the kitchen from the diningroom & livingroom.

2008-07-30T22:39:00.000-07:00

This is a view from the front door coming into the house. The room to the left is the Master Bedroom.

2008-07-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

This is our office from the door looking in. My desk is what you see and Mark's is to the left.

2008-07-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken by Trudy another Munro wife. I really love this one.

2008-07-26T13:46:00.001-07:00

Here are a few cool pictures!

Strange People

2008-07-26T13:37:00.003-07:00

Well, I believe I have met the strangest person on Kodiak Island!!! I am really just too darn nice. I went to have my nails filled and get a pedicure (per Mark's instructions on spoiling myself once in awhile). I was really excited about going because the chairs they have in the salon and those really nice massage ones. I had woken up with a headache and I just wanted to relax while they did my feet. Needless to say it didn't quite work out that way. This woman came in and wanted a pedicure/manicure. She had gotten a gift certificate from a friend for her birthday and wanted to do those two things. This woman would not shut up! She talked non-stop!!! Even when they asked her to pick out her color she was talking to HERSELF!! So they did my fill and my pedicure was next and unfortunately, I was sitting next to her and so I was now her new best friend! She felt the need to fill me in on how people treat her on the island, her whole job history, her medical history and how people are sure to be talking about ME because I am new here. HUH??? Anyway, I got finished with my pedicure and they just need to file my nails and paint them, thank my lucky stars I was across the room and another poor woman came in that was at the station by the pedicure station the crazy one was at, so now she had a new best friend. I was so happy to get out of there! LOL By the way, my toes took GREAT!

Back In the Day

2008-07-24T15:39:00.002-07:00

When Mark and I were first married he was on another 378' that went out for 100+ days at a time. Back then the only way to communicate was via snail mail or that long awaited phone call, that I sometimes missed because I didn't have a cell phone or call forwarding. It was wonderful when the postman delivered six to 10 letters all at once that he had been writing me throughout that first month of no contact. Now, in the 21st century, we are thrilled to have e-mail! To be able to communicate with my husband, so far away, daily....except for when it goes down! That is what is happening now. I know he just left yesterday, but he usually write me small notes to say he loves me and misses me. Silence.....that is what is happening now. I was wondering what is going on.....he must be so busy. Then the Ombudsman e-mails that say the ship's e-mail is down and they don't know when it will be up again. So I wait....checking every hour or so.....then every 15 minutes.....nothing. I sure hope I don't go crazy. That would be really bad since this deployment just started yesterday! So reflecting back when he was on those other 378', I have to say, even though I have not heard from him yet, this is so much better than it was 20 years ago. Just pray I don't go crazy! :)

So It Begins

2008-07-23T14:41:00.002-07:00

I thought this wasn't going to be too difficult. You know, with all my years as a Coastie wife and all the ships it would be easier by now. I guess if I didn't love my husband as much as I do it would be easier. It hit me last night. I was so good up until then. Poor Patrick caught me in the kitchen crying...instead of hugging me, he said to me "Go find Dad". When I didn't move, he started yelling for him "Dad!!! Mom needs a hug!!!" Hello son, you are right here, give me one! Silly boy. We will be okay. We always are. Keeping busy is the key. It still seems like forever before we will see Mark again. So it begins.......

2008-07-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

If you look close enough Mark is the fourth from the left.

2008-07-23T14:38:00.003-07:00

My last picture with Mark for awhile!

Our new house

2008-07-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

This is our new house. They call them the "Gingerbread" houses. LOL This is the first day we got to Kodiak and we came on by to check it out!

2008-07-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken Thanksgiving 2006 at my brother and sister-in-laws house. It took everything to convince my grandpa to get in there with the boys and grandma. Finally he agreed. I am very blessed to have this photo.

First time blogger!

2008-07-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

After seeing so many of our friends with these blogs, I decided it would be nice to try it myself. Now I can send this to the people who don't want to sign up for a myspace account. We are now in Kodiak Alaska. Loving every minute of it until Wednesday when Mark gets underway. Just kidding folks! Mark is now on the CGC MUNRO which is a 378' High Endurance Cutter. He is up for some great trips and he is very much excited about it. We got to Kodiak on the 16th of June. We were pretty lucky to get a house the same day. We live up in Upper Government housing. Not a bad little place at all. Nice yard with a fence so Indy and Murphy can play without us bugging them to hurry up and pee so we don't get cold. For those who are wondering Noel is living the high life with my mom in Idaho. The housing big wig here would not give us a waiver to have three dogs so she is on vacation with mom. The boys are enjoying living on a military base. The gym is not far from the house as well as the theatre and skate park. It is like we live in our own little town. Commissary, exchange, theatre and gym. We are enjoying so much more than Ketchikan.
I hope that you enjoy checking out our new blog. I will keep track of what is happening in our lives and post it all here.
On another note, I want to post a nice picture of my grandparents who recently passed away. They will surely be missed.

The Cushing Family

Rejoining the Blogging world!

Challenge

Busy Busy Busy

Goodbye 2010

Changes: Good and/or Bad?? Remembering. (***Warning It's Long***)

Today is the day!

Living in Washington

Our Way Home

Rest In Peace Noel Sable Cushing

Reality Hit Me

Going Private

We have accomplised so much!

Reflecting on this past year

The Things We Are Looking Forward Too!!

Finally!!!!!

The Final Choices!!!

Well that stinks!

Munro in the news

It's That Time Again!!!

Kodiak Bears Part 2

August in Kodiak

Another beautiful day in Kodiak!

Pictures from Ruth & Darryls Visit

HOLD THE PRESSES!!!!

Sister-In- Law nag!

I Guess They Aren't Too Old

The Best of Mark's Eagle Pics

Exciting News and New Pictures

Some New Pictures From Mark & Crew

My Boys (including the dogs!)

Plow finally came through

More Pictures

The Blizzard Aftermath

Craziness in Alaska

New Pictures From Mark!

Check out the links!!!

Communication.....that's a thought!

Some Favorites from Yesterday!!!

Indy

Snow, Snow everywhere

Happy New Year!!!

Eagles Eagles everywhere!!

Sorry this took so long to post!

Fun in the sun & snow!

Wondering where they are?

Playing in the snow with the Murphy and Indy!

Hello Friends and Family

At long last Mark is home!!!

Mark's Adventures

Sunrise on the Mountains

King of the Couch!

A Coast Guard Marriage

WOW!!!

Kodiak is a beautiful place.

Nice Night Out!

Getting Colder in Kodiak

My Handsome Boys!

First Impressions!

Homecoming 2008

40th Birthday Weekend

First Day of School!!!

It was a cold and rainy day!

Fishing in Alaska!

Fishing Day!!!

Coast Guard Day Kodiak August 2nd 2008

1st Place Cookies!

Crazy Time Changes

Pictures of the house!

Strange People

Back In the Day

So It Begins

Our new house

First time blogger!

Changes: Good and/or Bad?? Remembering. (Warning It's Long)