Updated Jewelry Page...*Click*

So it's been a long time coming, but I have recently discovered that I can add a buy it now button to the jewelry entries on my blog. So you can buy it directly and pay securely and confidentially with paypal.

Be patient as I add things gradually...but I know you've all been missing my jewelry!

Tricia's Jewelry

Impromptu Inspection

At an impromptu inspection, I found a soda can in one of my soldiers rooms. To keep from becoming dehydrated in our hot and dusty conditions we have a standing rule in the platoon that soda is off limits at all times. Of course, soldiers are going to drink it. It is available in the DFAC in large quantities. The problem is that he left the can out in the open in an area of the room he can only claim as his own. These are the kinds discipline issues I have to deal with as a squad leader.

I finished the recording of “Charlotte’s Web,” for Jeffrey and have it already in an addressed envelope waiting to go to the post office. I have started the first two chapters of “Treasure Island,” and have found it a very fun story to read aloud. I will have to find a new location to record my stories though. The room that I was using is turning into office space for some new comers. I may have to try out just staying here in my room and recording early in the morning. I hope my reading does not disturb anyone. I will have to test it out tomorrow.

Dad sent me a copy of “Perfect Exposure,” by one of my favorite photography authors, Michael Freeman. I found myself with some free time and the book was so intriguing to me that I finished it in two days. I will be going back to read it again as I always do with Michael Freemans books.

I took the sunset photos while running with two of my soldiers out on the track as the sun was going down. All of the photos with the helmets I took outside of the Sherazad District Center where they are kept on a table for the guards.

Getting Some Reading Done

I finished “Lincoln on Leadership,” and passed it on to one of my team leaders with a chapter marked to read. I have now moved on to “In Search of Excellence,” by Thomas Peters and Robert Waterman. I have been reading books on business for the last several years. I have found that running a squad, or running a classroom at WLC, is a lot like being a small business owner. Whether people need to be inspired to sell more cars, or make it to the end of a ruck march, many of the principles that I leader can use are the same.

It looks like our schedule will be slowing down for a while. We will still be going out on mission consistently, but the fast-paced nonstop work around here is being tamed. I may be able to get back to some on line schooling and finish my last math class in order to earn my Associates degree. I will have to do some research to see if the many blocks that are put up on our internet will allow me access to all of the tools that the school offers for learning math and participating in class fully.

I finished recording “Because of Winn-Dixie,” this morning for Jeffrey. I put it on a CD and will be mailing it home next time I get a chance to go to the post office. I have found through experience that the package will be light enough to send it home at no costs. I have already filled out the address on the bubble-padded envelope and have addressed it to Jeffrey. Tricia let me know that he enjoyed getting the last audio book from me when she told him I addressed it to him.

I have also finished reading “Charlotte’s Web,” to Jeffrey too. I will send that home on CD when I next get to go to the post office. I will start reading “Treasure Island,” to him next. I was surprised to learn that Jeffrey is able to count to 12. This made me think of putting down the Aesop’s Fables I have been reading and emailing to Tricia for something more interactive for him to listen to. Perhaps it would be fun to count with Daddy, or find objects of the color I name. At any rate, he is coming into a very interactive learning age.

My Stampin' BFF

Here my BFF Cori Morris, she was my convention buddy this year and it was so much fun! Neither one of us had a camera (I was waiting for mine and her battery died) so a kind stamper who was also from Colorado offered to take one of us and forward it on. I'm rocking my glasses because I'm out of contacts and need to go in for an appointment.

Busy Bloggers!

Ok...well I just wanted to remind you all that I've got two other blogs that I have been busy with!

Imagination and Paper

and

One Year at Noon

So if I'm not updating here everyday I'm trying to be at one of those places every single day.

Self Portrait

I took a few photos of myself while out on a mission. These three are the best that turned out from the camera, and then I had a little fun developing them in Photoshop. I miss having my 30D, but this little PowerShot has been a lot of fun to have around and has put my skills to the test.

Dismounted In a Farmers Field

I lead a dismounted mission through some farmer’s fields, which ended up being quite an adventure. Since very little ground here is flat, all of the farmer’s fields are terraced. I ended up taking the lead being tall enough to see over the corn. I think all of us took a few tumbles last night. Night vision is great, but it is like looking at the world through a green toilet paper roll with no depth perception.

Our new soldiers that arrived several weeks ago are doing quite well. One is working at my gunner and the other as my driver. I did have to give up PFC R. the other day. A soldier received an injury in another area of Afghanistan, and another combat engineer had to take his place. PFC R. volunteered to take his place and by the next day, a black hawk landed to pick him and his bags up.

Today turned out to be an unexpected day off. That is something we have all needed for a long time. I went over to the platoon sergeant hut one time to perform a very simple detail. The rest of the day was mine to spend how I would. I braced myself for any call that would come in over the radio for me, but none ever came. I was able to complete some needed work of my own, but I also made sure I took time to have some fun, and even a little time for plain old loafing.

I went on line to B&H photo to look at the lenses I am saving to purchase. It is helpful to do this occasionally to keep me on track with what I want most. Internet purchases are easy to make and one can find themselves spending a lot more money than they plan on. If I am tempted to make a purchase I simply ask myself what I want most in the long run. I am looking at some expensive lenses, but I feel that I have taken my hobby to the level that it is time to have some nice equipment to complement the abilities of the 30D camera body.

Vacations

So, cory and I have been talking about our vacations. Here's what we came up with. For his R&R we are going to take a family trip to some Church history sites. We are both very excited about it. For block leave when he gets home we are going to disneyworld.

Why am I telling you this? For one thing we won't be heading to Utah when he gets home until the holidays. Cory said that he wants to spend time with his son more than anything. For another we are offering an open invitation to anyone who wants to come.

A few things. I have no plans or dates yet. This will be a by the seat of our pants kind of thing for a while. He left in may he should be home in May. Secondly, we are planning to do this on a toddlers schedule and we may decide to break off and do our own thing sometimes. So we won't be one big tour group. But we will do things together.

We wanted to let you know this far in advance in case you wanted to go on vacation to Orlando and hang out with us in Disneyworld. We wanted to give people time to plan ahead.

On an even happier note, three months down nine to go!

This Week

Here are a ton of pictures that I wanted to show Cory, I like being able to narrate them for him so here's another one of those blog entries.
Jeffrey is still not the best eater in the world, he's not a fan of a lot of things, but I keep trying and hoping that I can find something that he'll like eating.

Also, a comment on the no clothes thing, the kid has gotten into wanting to take off his shirt. I'm not sure if he wants to show off his muscles, but sometimes if we're just at home it's just not worth the fight to make him put it on. And when he eats it's a lot less messy.

This little gem of a picture is what I woke up to a few days ago. Jeffrey has been in a big boy bed and as such he can come and go as he pleases somewhat. Usually he comes to get me and asks for a milk or cereal. But on this particular day he took off his pjs grabbed a chair dragged it across the floor and climbed onto the counter. He was just hanging out when I saw him and said Hi Momma.

As a treat when we go to Target sometimes I will get Jeffrey a bag of Popcorn, he loves it. He used to call it Corna but now it's evolved to Popcorn. He fell asleep holding it the other day. It was so cute.

And nothing says I love you cousin like sitting on your cousin's face right? Quincy is such a good sport with Jeffrey.

He LOVES rocked from Little Einsteins and so I found this toy for him to play with. He loves it, he has to make sure Rocket is on the bed when he falls asleep.

Last weekend we went to the Air Force academy with Quincy and he wanted to show his dad and Sugar and Po what he saw when they came to pick him up this weekend.

Here's how he says Cheese in the bright sun!

So bright outside!

This is what we call the end of the world in Jeffrey land. Life was just too much to deal with and this is how he responded.

That's right Po did dangle my kid off the wall...but he made sure he was held on to...knowing Jeffrey he would have tried to fly.

Anna (my niece on the right) is HILARIOUS, she has got character. She makes me laugh.

We stopped to watch the gilders taking off and saw that they were dropping parachutes too. It was fun to just sit and watch for a while (from the air conditioned car of course, yesterday was a scorcher!)

What's the best solution for a toddler who is done with being in the car and needs some distraction? Watching Mickey Mouse on Sugar's cell phone! Thank goodness they opted for the plan with the free TV shows!

Later on the boys went to see a movie and Sugar, Anna, Jeffrey and I went to the mall to wander, Jeffrey slept the whole time but his radar seemed to go off a the end when we were heading out and walking past the cars.

They were saying Bye! Don't ask why he always picks the pink truck rather than the race car, but he does.

Elections

Before we got out on a mission we always arrive at our vehicles one hour prior to get them ready. This gives me an opportunity to look at each of my squad member’s gear as they lay it out on the ground along with their weapon. It is amazing how nasty, dirty, sweaty and filthy some soldiers will allow their gear to become if it goes unchecked. Although all day yesterday I allowed my squad to take a day off, at evening time when we set out for our mission all of their weapons were dirty, as though they had not cleaned them in several days. I let my team leaders know that we would be having a party after the mission; a weapons cleaning party. We all sat out in the barrack hallway on the concrete floor and cleaned our weapons together. Once I had dusted off my own weapon, I assisted a few others with weapons composed of more parts.

During the elections over the last few days we were sent out to one of the areas we work in to act as a reaction force for attacks on polling sites, but we knew even before we left that it was doubtful that we would be used. It is not that we did not expect attacks, because we did, but we knew that it would have to be something very big to get us out because of how important it is that the elections be Afghan run and Afghan protected. Imagine if you went to the presidential elections and found French army guarding the place.

I have enjoyed reading “Lincoln On Leadership,” and am nearly done with it. The author mentioned a familiar name to me in connection with another well read book on leadership that I decided to order. “In Search of Excellence,” came to me very fast from Amazon.com. The used book only cost one penny along with four dollars for shipping.

AGAVE

Our commander received a box of Chocolate Agave from someone supporting the troops. He passed the chocolate onto our platoon with the instructions that we were to take it on our next mission and get photos of soldiers eating it in the field so that he could send them back in a thank you letter. The LT assigned me to bring the chocolate, but I completely forgot it when packing up. We decided to play a sort of joke on the commander by making these bus stop advertisement posters after returning home.

My Colorado Home

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, I think I'm giving Jeffrey too much to handle. I have said before that he is an amazingly adaptable kid and he is, he has dealt with a lot this last year and for everything we've tossed at him he's handled it really well. But we can't live like traveling salesmen anymore. Jeffrey needs his home and his routine and stability. It's not fair to him if I keep uprooting him every time he gets used to something, just to deal with a new set of rules and a new place to lay our heads.

We are going to be staying put here in Colorado for a while, as of right now I'm not planning another trip home to Utah until after the Oireachtas dance competition in November. It will just be better for us to have a little bit of downtime here at home where we can go with our low key lifestyle and keeping each other positive and happy (we're only two and a half months into this after all).

I just wanted to let everyone know that because I don't want to feel like I'm letting people down, I'm just being selfish for us and doing what's best for our family right now, and that means hunkering down and enjoying the beauties for Colorado! But we love you all and appreciate all you do for us.

A Pillow for My Bed

I have not viewed the Photo at Noon blog of Jeffrey for a few days now. I went into the MWR, checked it today, and found a week of photos I had not yet seen. I enjoyed seeing them very much, but it was a strong reminder to me about how much I am missing while I am over here. I want to much to pick him up, give him and big hug, and then wrestle on the living room floor. I am very grateful for the family and friends that have come around us to support our family. Thank you for all that you have done to give us love, service, your open homes and your time.
SFC W. came in our hut one night to talk to us and found me already asleep. He noticed that I did not have a pillow to sleep on and mentioned it to SSG Y. I had been using a rolled up blanket that I found in the room when I arrived as a pillow. It was just fine for me and allowed a good night’s sleep. SSG Y. picked up a pillow for me and gave it along with an extra pillow cover his wife had sent. Tricia sent me a lamp in a package, but the bulb burned out the first hour that I used it. I awoke this morning to find a new light bulb waiting for me on my nightstand, courtesy again of SSG Y. Acts of kindness and service can bring us together in a place like this. Even among the toughest of men charity never faileth.

In the last few weeks I have run into two of my former students from WLC back in Germany. The first was when I made a visit to another base and ran across SGT Harris, a memorable medic who passed through my class nearly two years ago now. He was able to recall certain humorous experiences and it made me glad to know that my time with him was well remembered by him. Just a few days ago we had a large operation in our neighborhood, which brought in many troops from other places. While in the chow hall I ran into SGT Hansel, another memorable student from my NCOA time. SGT Hansel graduated with top honors and took home with him all of the awards that the NCOA offers to students. I had never before nor since seen one student sweep all of the awards. We were able to talk a few times at the gym when we both came to work out.

I gave myself a PT test the other day and I was not satisfied with the results. Nothing is going to change until I change it. I have made a commitment to eat better and get into the gym more often. I am good about going at the end of the evening each day, but I will begin to hit the gym more than once a day now. It feels good after a workout. I have a sense of accomplishment in physical work and testing my body to overcome my mind.

A Full Day

So this weekend Grandpa and Grandma Whittaker came into town...again the pictures are in reverse order (and might I add they are much nicer than my cameraphone pics right?) We've had a full day and poor Jeffrey has been a stinker the whole day...shortened naps in the car do not make for a happy baby.

Quincy was fascinated with Rick's Swiss Army knife. He told me he'd like one for Christmas, Sherri there's one thing checked off your list!

We gave Jeffrey this money and we noticed this penny it has a Lincoln cabin on the back. Must be new, it was kind of cool.

We spent a little bit of time at Garden of the Gods which is one of Colorado Springs highlights. There are tons of trails and paths but thanks to a SUPER hard work out at dance I have some torn muscles in my calf and I'm not up for much hiking...Oops. The rock formation on the right is called the Kissing Camels, I'm wondering if you can see it quicker than it took Quincy to find it.

This is Quincy, I haven't introduced him before, he's my 10 year old nephew. When he was little he was my best buddy, I would tend him with my mom and sisters and I was the only one who could get him to sleep. We were buddies. He doesn't start school for another week and so his mom and dad lent him to me to be my Manny (man-nanny) for a week. He's such a HUGE help with Jeffrey, and it helps that the kid idolizes him. Not to mention it gives me a goooooooood insight to how my life will look in 8 years.

Since Jeffrey loves Quincy so much he wanted to do everything he did...unfortunately rock formations with no rails or fences aren't the best place for two year olds who don't listen to their Mommy.

For lunch we went to Five Guys burgers...good burger...Jeffrey's favorite part is the peanuts, he at a tray of them himself, he was eating as fast as I was shelling.

I promised Quincy I would take him to the Air Force Academy today, I think he was expecting it to be more like the Aerospace museum in Roy but I think he had a good time. This was the Warthog he just HAD to see! He knew all kinds of things about it and so I told him to take pictures of it since I was in the car with a sleepy Jeffrey and he did...he even took several Uncle Cory style pictures.

These were the slots he wanted me to see where they would load the bombs. It was pretty funny.

This was the F22 he wanted to show Jeffrey, he told him it was like Big Jet from Little Einsteins. It was cute.

This was inside the cadet chapel which is a pretty cool shaped church with interesting lighting on the inside.

This is Quincy hold Jeffrey up so he could see the jets on the lawn.

Jeffrey doesn't like to smile for pictures anymore, I told him I wanted him to smile for this picture but he wouldn't. Stinker.

The cadet chapel.

The hike to the cadet chapel, Jeffrey just wanted to sit on the benches along the way. Good times. But I thought this was a cute picture.

I just love the expression on his face. Silly kid.

Love those teeth right?

He just won't smile in pictures anymore, thanks for the picture Quincy! Thanks for the camera Cory!!

Quincy was showing him where we were.