Winter Weather Comes to the Northwest

Hope everyone's Christmas and New Year's went well! Mine consisted of traveling, family, friends, sleeping on anything but a bed, and of course.....lasagna!

This is what 28 lbs of lasagna looks like!!

Gib even played Santa Clause for the battalion Christmas party.

"I saw Laura kissing Santa Clause..."

Now we are back to the grind in WA. Gib is currently in the process of job hunting because as of midnight tonight we are all done with the Army.

The northwest is being hit "hard" with a snow storm. Now by being hit hard....I'm talking less than a foot of snow. In NYer terms, that means its a task to drive to work but the snow plows got it covered and we all go about our business. In WAite terms, that means the entire state shuts down because the snow plows only plow the highways and some cities refuse to use salt or sand. Hopefully the sidewalks are cleaned off enough on Friday that me and my running partner can run. Despite the roads, Gib had an interview this morning that we made our way to and from safely.  It is just an on call security position but we are hoping for the best. 

While the weather isn't wreaking havoc on my driving abilities it is having a significant impact on my life.....my laundry isn't getting done. I am fast running out of clothes for work and play. But I can't bring myself to walk down 3 flights of stairs and across the complex in 7 in of snow to do it....so I will keep bringing out all the old clothes for clinic. 

Old clothes make me make faces like this!

Hope everyone is enjoying all the winter weather and fun that it brings :)

Cha-cha-cha-channnnges!!

WELCOME NOVEMBER!!!

Now most of you know how sad seeing "Nov. 1st" on my calendar is because that means that the all time best ever holiday is over.

Oh Halloween--How I love You!

We had a wonderful Halloween. Our apartment was decked out more than it ever had been, I had trick-or-treaters at work and at the apartment, including the cutest little dinosaur who chased Kieran through my apartment (dont worry it was a friend's kid who was invited in and not some little monster who invaded our apartment).

ANDDDDD the best part??!! We got to finally spend our first Halloween together after 4 yrs!!!!!

So that brings us to November!! And as good as October was....November definitely will be better!

I am happy to announce, that after battling it out with the battalion and working through all the VA appointments, my husbands last day at work is November 17th. He has 60 days of terminal leave and then mid January--my husband will officially move from active duty to Veteran!! We are so excited!

And for everyone wondering "Well what is he going to do now?" He will be looking for a job in the area and then come graduation, we are moving back to the east coast!!! Not sure where yet, but we are leaving the west coast for the foreseeable future!

Running Woes

As some of you may know, I have been sick on and off, more and more frequently as time goes on, for at least the past year. I finally went to an ENT that I heard good things about because we refer to him a lot at work. He diagnosed me with chronic sinusitis. I have had 2 rounds of antibiotics and am on a steroid and decongestant nasal sprays. He recommended surgery as an option, which I will probably do, because without it, I will likely get sick more frequently. To be honest though, that is not my main concern. The thing that bothers me most is my energy level. I am just tired all the time. The meds keep me from running a fever and being in much pain, but I just want to be awake again.

With all that being said....I am having some really bad running woes since we have hit October. Last year this time, I ran in multiple races, and (I believe) October was my busiest running month.

(Pumpkin 5k Run 2010)

This bothers me because, when I moved up here I wanted to run a 5k in July, a 10k in Sept, and the Seattle half-marathon at the end of November. I havent run since this summer and I couldnt make it 3 miles running at that time when I tried. I am pretty sure if my running skirts and running shoes could talk they would be very depressed for not treating them to the wonderful running weather up here.

It would be easy to blame my not running on my health alone, but that is not it. With my real working world schedule and Gib's over the top Army schedule time is always a factor but I am pretty sure I would find the time, if I could find the energy. I am so far from my goal and still have not found a real solution to it all.

The main thing I know is that I miss running and miss being in races. I miss the camaraderie of having tons of people around you that go out and run for no reason other than cause it is fun. I miss being able to set a goal and seeing it come to life.

When I started Couch-2-5k in February 2010, I was instantly in love with the training plan and seeing my abilities grow over a relatively short period of time. Then in December 2010 I ran my first 10k....that is 6.2 miles....it may not seem like a lot, but if you drive it you will see its not as short as it seems.

All of these are just meaningless ramblings without and end goal (and lets face it, I am never without my goals). As soon as I get my health under control, it will be time to reinstate the C25k program and set up a 5k race goal. For now though, I will settle for a goal to get a surgery date set up and start feeling like the Energizer bunny gave me a zap or 2.

Timeline Update!!

March 2007-May 5 2007—2 months—Together at NAU
March 2008—4 days—Flagstaff, AZ
June 4 2008—1 week—AZ and Vegas
July 2008—1 week—NY (3 days before basic)
Sept 2008—8 hrs—Ft. Knox, KY (Basic Graduation)
Nov 2008—17 days—Tucson, AZ—(HRAP)
Feb 13th-15th 2009—3 days—Tucson, AZ
March 2009—4 days—Ft. Lewis, WA
June 2009—2 weeks—NY and AZ (married)
July 15th-22nd 2009—1 week—Ft. Lewis, WA (deployed on the 22nd)
April 16th-May 2nd 2010—17 days—Tucson, AZ (RnR)
July 1st-Aug 10th 2010—1 month and 10 days—Ft. Lewis, WA/Tucson, AZ (Home from the deployment)
Jan 2nd-10th 2011—8 days—Ft Lewis, WA (Christmas/New Years)
April 16th-18th 2011—3 days—Ft Lewis, WA

May 19th—Mountlake Terrace, WA—LIVING TOGETHER!!!!

If you add all the days together, in the past 4 yrs and 2 months we have been together for 6 months, 1 week, 3 days, and 8 hrs...give or take a few days.

For the mathmatically minded that is: 12.5% of the 4 yrs we were together OR roughly 190 days out of a total of 1520 days.

Looking forward to hitting our 1 yr mark this year!!!

Remembrance

On June 11th, 2009, I posted this blog:

http://gibandlaura.blogspot.com/2010/06/gone-but-never-forgotten.html

With a heavy heart and tears streaming down my cheeks, I am writing again of their unit--the loss of 6 men. One of the wives I mentioned, lost her Hero. Her son lost his Hero. His daughter lost her Hero. He was a wonderful father, an amazing husband, and one heck of a man. I have never met him, but through his wife and their pictures, it is beyond evident that he loved his children and his wife with every ounce of his being. There are couples out there that you know love each other, and then there are couples out there that you can see it in every photo they take how in love they are. That was this couple.

My thought for this post is remembrance. Just to emphasize what I wrote on June 11th, 2009.

Just because they are supposed to be home soon, doesn't mean they are out of danger yet. Just because people hate the war, doesn't mean there aren't brave men and women sacrificing their lives for us. Just because the war has been going on for so long and people are coming back, doesn't mean that they all will. There is no guarantee that people will hear from their loved ones again. That dads and moms will come home and give their children hugs and put them to bed at night. That husbands and wives will get to kiss and feel each other's touch again.

It is important to always keep these Hero's in our thoughts and prayers, regardless of the time of year or the holiday. Rejoice when they come home and pray for comfort when they don't. I truly believe that there are things in life that I will never fully understand. The tragic loss of life, especially when they are so close to being home, is at the top of my list. Instead of planning for a homecoming, families are planning a funeral.

When I woke up this morning, I expected today to be one of happiness and full of getting things done. But, this was just not so. Tears have blurred my vision since I first learned of this tragedy, my stomach turning and my heart breaking for these families. There are so many lives changed by this loss. These men are true American Hero's and will never be forgotten. In both our minds and our hearts they will live on. Pictures and memories are what is left to hold on to. Heaven now has 6 more angels to join the others that I mentioned in June. They will watch over us and they will protect us, just like they did while they were on Earth.

From December to Now

Lets start with Christmas and New Years. Gib's unit (in typical form) denied his leave, so our first Christmas together has been postponed to Dec 2011. Southwest Airlines was a God send, as they transfered his tickets to me and then cancelled my NY to AZ flight...all without any charge! So after spending 2 weeks with my family, I flew to WA for 8 days to see Gib. We opened presents and I made Christmas quiche for breakfast. Gib bought me some books and a Kindle!! I am soooo enjoying it! And he got mostly clothes, I also bought him a Carhart coat because he didn't own a winter coat that wasn't Army issued.

After returning to Tucson, I got back on the boat and started my last semester of graduate classes. With my thesis in full swing I have been running subjects like crazy. We also received our comprehensive exam case questions. While my case presentation went well, the other half did not go as planned for me, so I am getting a second chance. I will basically present cases and what I would do and why. The redo will happen sometime in April. I am also working on papers and readings for all of my other classes. Clinic is going well....for the most part. I have my good days where things go well and then there are days where I feel like a complete idiot, but overall, I think I am doing alright.

For Gib, he has been put on light duty, meaning mainly custodial work and long hours doing watches. He has worked on and off through the weekends for the past few months. His knee keeps him in constant pain. He is now having back and hip problems because he is favoring one knee over the other. Gib has officially finished all of his appointments with the VA so we are playing the waiting game, waiting for the VA to make their official decision on how much disability he gets. Once they make their decision he will have a date that he will be officially out of the Army....which means he will finally be able to start interviewing for jobs. We are kinda hoping for a job at SeaTac (Seattle-Tacoma International Airport), but we will see.

With everything that has been going on, running has taken the back burner....well less of a back burner and more of in the dishwasher position. Since my 10k in December, I did a 5k in Tempe....Skirt Sports Skirt Chaser 5k! While it was fun, I was sick, I hadn't been running like I should have, and it was quite warm...so overall it was a really bad run for me. I walked the Midtown Sertoma 5k For Better Hearing yesterday with a group of people, it got my legs itching for a run. So today after I do some work at school I am going to go for a nice relaxed jog around Reid Park. We will see how it goes, but I am ready to bring running back out and put it on the front burners again.

Externship wise, I secured an externship at Evergreen Speech and Hearing in Seattle, WA. I am scheduled to start the beginning of July. I was able to visit the Redmond office in January and was able to meet the office manager and one of the audiologists. I am really excited to begin this externship and I feel really lucky that I was able to find a site in the area where me and Gib really love to be. I am hoping to move up there the 2nd week of May. We are planning a trip to NY sometime in June before my externship starts. It will only be for a week or so but Gib hasn't been back to NY since we were married and I really want to see everyone prior to Christmas.

Hopefully, it won't be another 5 months before another update, but such is life.

Fall Fun and a Pumpkin Run

Well it's been a bit, so time for an update. Nothing really new with school except externship things. I sent in 3 externship applications--2 in the Seattle, WA area and 1 in the Portland, OR. I have a phone interview for one of them at 9am on Thursday, so needless to say I am a tad bit nervous. Other than that clinic, class, and thesis are keeping me hopping.

For Gib, he went to see an orthopedic surgeon about 2 weeks ago; the news was not good. They said there is nothing they can do for him and are sending his medical file for review. If all goes according to how we think it will go (which honestly could mean nothing when it comes to the Army) he will be medically retired or discharged. It could take up to a year for us to know what they have in store for him. If they do decide to keep him, he will be given a new MOS. He was also placed on the most restrictive physical profile, meaning that he is not allowed to do many many many things, and the only cardio he can do is walk or swim. He is also non-deployable. So, I guess for now, we are playing the waiting game.

October has been a busy month for both of us. For me, I attended a wedding for one of my classmates.


And did a 5K through a Pumpkin Patch/Corn Maze, and then got to go pick a pumpkin :)

Gib and I have also been busy making our respective apartments ready for Halloween.

That's all for now!

Let the fun times roll

At the end of July, Gib and I came back to Tucson for about 2 weeks. We visited with family and went Salt River Tubing (see picture below), where I sustained 2nd degree burns. And before you ask, yes I was wearing sunscreen, apparently not enough. A few short days later, Gib and his buddy drove from Phoenix to Ft. Lewis in the beginning of August.


Since then we have gotten back into the grind of our everyday (separate) lives. He has been doing a whole lot of nothing at work--mostly bust work like unloading Conexes. He has been busy working with the education department on base to get classes going again. He is shooting for his BA in Business Administration. I don't want to jump the gun, but this has the potential to open some very big doors for him, so we are both very excited about this.

For me, we just started our 3rd week of classes and my financial aid SILL is not in!! Not a happy camper. I have gone through all the "nice" steps, now I think it is time to play the camp-outside-of-the-office game with my financial aid advisor. I took my first pop quiz in adult communication disorders and I aced it--of course they are meant mainly as an attendance indicator so they are super easy, but it's a good way to start off the semester. My thesis is in full swing...thank goodness. I am hoping to collect all my data this semester so I can focus on all my testing in the spring. If all goes according to plan, me and Gib will be living together May 2011!!!

We are expecting a deployment in 2011 at some point later in the year but by moving up there in May we should get to spend some months together before he deploys again. I am going up to WA in November for Thanksgiving and I am making dinner for us plus some friends of his--should be interesting considering I am not known to be stellar in a kitchen, but it should still be fun :)

Well that is our latest update, I will try to keep everyone posted as the semester goes on.

Homecoming, the 4th of July, and some randomness!

He's Home!!!! Yep yep on July 1st his battery (along with a couple others) came home from Iraq :) It was a big ol' to-do though. I got there in time to watch the live video feed of the guys waiting after they got off the plane at McChord AFB and then they bused them over to Ft. Lewis. With our luck though I-5 was jammed and so they waited and waited and then got off and went some back woods way to get to the gate....and then....if you can believe this....they wouldn't let the buses through security!!!! I know!!! They did (obviously) finally get through and they all marched into where we all were waiting and then after about 5 min they let them all go to their families :) It was a great evening!!

Because of the 4th of July the guys got a 4 day, but we spent the evening of the 4th on base watching the fireworks!! It was great!! There was like a mini carnival going on and the bleachers overlooking the HS football field were packed. They presented all the state flags and said when they were brought into the US and then they set off a canon for every state (very cool). The fireworks were great and it was a perfect night for them. Then we got back to the truck and wouldn't ya know one of the starter cables have broken off (yeah yeah yeah--it's old ok) so Gib climbed under the truck--being his mechanically inclined self--was able to fix it so I could start it and then the next morning we drove to Napa and got the part and he fixed her all up :)

He went back to work on Tuesday and is working half days for the most part. Just doing medical and dental and getting a bunch of briefs out of the way. I finished up my Language Development class that I have been taking all summer today--I am thinking I might have even managed an A :)

On to the randomness--so I also belong to a board for military spouses and one of the girls asked an interesting question--"When you get to see Gib, does he come stay weekends or weeks with you, or do you go stay weeks with him, or how does that all work out?!" So here was my response--

This is kind of an interesting set up I must admit--and as such I am meticulous about planning--mostly out a year sometimes out 1 yr 6 months lol We are still in that getting used to living each other stage and have been for over 3.5 yrs.

So here is how it works. We both maintain apartments in our respective areas--I won’t pay more than 550 a month for our apartments because of how much he gets paid and that I can’t work to make sure BAH covers it all. Next when do we see each other. March almost always because it is spring break and I travel to see him for about 5 days...even when we were both in college that is how we did it. So that generally covers St Patrick's Day and/or Easter. Then November he comes to see me for Thanksgiving for about 4 days because his family lives in AZ and Christmas is spent in NY where we will be spending about a week and half. The past couple years we have rotated 2-3 weeks in the summer--either consecutively or he comes out here/I come out there kind of thing. We haven’t pulled off a Christmas/New Years yet due to weather and the Army but baring anything else we should be able to make it work this year. We also have not done Halloween (which to me is literally like Christmas). This year was our first 4th of July together.

We divide up all our dishes, furniture, bedding, towels, and we keep 2 of everything else--2 toothbrushes, 2 razors, 2 sets of first aid stuff, he has a small TV and all his video games and such in WA, I have a bigger TV and DVD player in AZ, we split the DVDs by pretty much what each of us had when we came into the relationship and by who watches what the most, I have the bed and he has one of the larger air mattresses, overall he has the nicer apt but I have most of our things, I gave him my truck and we bought the Jeep out right so there are no car loans, all the bills including his electricity and rent come to my apt so I can pay them.

So since I like to be thorough here is all the time we have spent together and this is pretty much how it goes :)

March 2007-May 5 2007—lived together at NAU
March 2008—4 days—Flagstaff, AZ
June 4 2008—1 week—AZ and Vegas
July 2008—1 week—NY (3 days before basic)
Sept 2008—8 hrs—Ft. Knox, KY (Basic Graduation)
Nov 2008—17 days—HRAP, Tucson, AZ
Feb 13th-15th 2009—Tucson, AZ
March 2009—4 days—Ft. Lewis, WA
June 2009—2 weeks—NY and AZ (married)
July 15th-22nd 2009—Ft. Lewis, WA (deployed on the 22nd
April 16th-May 2nd 2010—RnR, Tucson, AZ
July 1st-20th 2010—Ft. Lewis, WA (Home from the deployment)
July 20th-Aug 10 2010—Tucson, AZ
Possibly 4 days Nov 2010—Thanksgiving
Possibly 1.5 weeks Dec 2010/Jan 2011—Christmas/New Years
Possibly 5 days March 2011
Hopefully living together May 2011!!

Gone but never forgotten

No, it isn't Memorial Day, and you didn't miss Labor Day, and there are no fireworks because it's not the 4th of July, but there are families suffering today. There are infants who will never meet their daddies, children who won't ever get the chance to see their mommy again, and there are parents who will not have their son or daughter home for the holidays this year. There are men and women who are fighting for this country and some are being injured and some will never make it back--everyday of the year, not just on holidays.

I have the pleasure of knowing many military wives. Two of the wives that I know are currently enduring a deployment with their husbands, like many of us. Recently, their husbands' company lost 5 soldiers. They left behind wives, children, parents, siblings, and other friends and family who are grieving for them and will miss them for the rest of their lives. This is a daily reality for many military families out there.

So yes, today is not a registered holiday telling you to remember the military members in the past and the present who have fought and have or are willing to die for your families and our country, during your 3 day weekend filled with laughing and cookouts with friends and family, but remember anyways. Remember that tonight there are people out there grieving someone they will miss dearly. Remember that their are wives and husbands who are missing their anniversary and their kids birthdays because they chose to fight for us instead. Remember there are parents who are supporting their sons and daughters and have since the day they chose to enlist in their high school cafeteria. Remember all the spouses waiting for that phone call or IM for the chance to hear their Love's voice or see their face on a webcam that will shut off in 20 seconds anyway. I will leave with a photo of those who gave all and will be greatly missed and never forgotten.

Back to the Grind

At 7.15am I put Gib on a plane to Dallas, which subsequently went to Germany, Kuwait, and back to Iraq. For him, it is back to 12 hr shifts, but he completed his last mission of his tour before he came home so he will be staying on the base which means he is safer. For me it meant back to classes, which wasn't so bad, but we will see how much I really missed next week.....finals week. I have 3 finals next week--Vestib, Occupational Audiology, and Neuroscience.

On another note, I was in a fender bender Wednesday night. No one was hurt, but I was significantly shaken considering it was my first car accident. I got an estimate on the car, I will drop it off on Monday and it should be done by Wednesday at the latest.

We have Gib's official dates to come home, and again due to OPSEC no official dates, but I will tell you he will be home by the end of July!!! So excited. I am leaving here on the 25th and driving his truck and all of his things to Washington (state) and getting him an apartment. We already have one picked out now I just need to get it reserved.

Other than that, I have clinic this summer through June and will be taking a business class (mandatory) through the last part of May.

Well I will leave you all with pics from RnR:

Gib is home!!!

After getting delayed leaving Iraq and into Kuwait, he had to spend 24 hrs in Kuwait to wait for the next flight out. Once out of Kuwait he landed in Germany and then into Dallas and finally back in to Tucson where he belongs!!!! It is so nice having him home....although Kieran wasn't so sure at first hehe. As a surprise to Gib, I invited his godfather Jimmy and his family to the airport to welcome him home and even got a hold of a wonderful photographer through Operation Love Reunited and she came and took pics for the homecoming (pics to follow). After getting his bags we headed home.

After being home all day Gib looked and me and said lets go to Phoenix...tonight. So late Friday night we hopped in the car and Gib drove up to Marge's house. While there we hung out, went to see "How to Train Your Dragon"--which is super cute and funny, visited friends who are more like family, and went to the Arizona Science Center!!! (again pics to follow) It was a great time.

We returned yesterday to the apartment and did some errands today and mostly lounged around. I bought Gib a new X-Box for his birthday so he is currently playing as I type lol. For me it is time to face reality again. Classes, papers, presentations, and exams do not take a break despite my avid protests against all things school during RnR, which means I will be starting back up here tomorrow with all that fun stuff while Gib hangs out with his best buddy and plays video games.

Have a Little Faith

Today I went to my friend's daughter's baptism at a local LDS church, it was a wonderful service, and Rachel was beautiful, and her mom and dad were very touching. Now I have never been to an LDS baptism, but it was interesting because I have been to many baptisms and although they are all different in how they accomplish it, the idea behind it is the same--A little faith and love will help you get you through life. It's one of those themes that if you look for it in music, you can find it. If you look for it in religion, it's there. If you look for it in your relationships, it's there. Faith and love are not my only live-by life philosophies but they make up a decent chunk of it.

In our life together, Gib and I hold on to this with every fiber of our being. We love each other dearly and I have faith that no matter how many times he needs to leave or how long he is gone for, that he will always come home. For him, his faith lies in the fact that no matter where he goes or how often or how long it takes, that he will have me to come home to, always. We hear it all the time "I don't know how you guys do it," and really...we just do, that's it. I need my doctorate, it is way more than a want, and he always knew he was military bound, so in our minds' there is no alternative. The only way we get through life is faith in each other, our love for each other, lots and lots of hard work, and continuing on with a "normal" life by going to work, or to school, or to dinner with friends, or to baptisms.

With that I will leave you with a pic of the group of family and friend's at Rachel's baptism.

The Countdown Is On

RnR is less than 2 weeks away. Gib has been gone for 254 days or 8 months and 2 weeks and we are ready for a break. I put in many extra hours at clinic during spring break so I can take off 2 weeks for RnR, and I am in need of a major break from school, and Gib is in need of a major break as well. He is one of the last 3 guys in his battery to get RnR. I can't post exact dates because of OPSEC but we are less than 2 weeks and counting.