Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for. I won't bore you with a list of things/people, let's just say that it is long. I will say that I am a very fortunate woman and even though the last few months have been nothing short of difficult, I still consider myself blessed.

Today we went down to the Ranch for island style Thanksgiving. I really enjoy spending time with our friends and their family down there, so I jump at every chance we get. I made pumpkin rolls (two actually because they are so effing good) and Hedgehogs (the review is totally wrong) as our contribution to the feast. As usual, we came home with a boat load of left overs. Which we have already started to eat.

We had red rice, green banana ball things(the purplish balls in the middle top of picture), sukiyaki, turkey, ham, green beans, shishkebabs, and taro cooked in fresh coconut milk. It was all very good.

Plus we came home with a bag of local tangerines...

Lastly on a "thankful" note, I was so thankful for Joeten Hafa Adai getting this wonderful treat in stock for me to find. Luckily I didn't have to sell a body part to be able to afford it, it is only the small container...

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About Juneau.

We will be moving there in late May / early June-ish, 2008. It is a 4 year tour but that might be cut short if DH makes Chief in the next year or so. Which is a good possibility.

The cost of living really can't be that much higher than here in Saipan. But one thing that I have discovered that is literally making me nauseous just thinking about it is the housing cost. Granted we do get a Basic Allowance for Housing and I totally love that. There is just something about buying a $250,000 house that makes my stomach turn. Seriously, I can not even fathom that kind of financial responsibility. And we aren't talking mansions here people. This is for a 2 or 3 bedroom house. With less than a quarter acre of yard. Eeeppp! I have been searching Realtor.com and we looked at FSBO.com as well. And there ain't much to choose from. We have the name of a realtor that will help us, so we will be calling him up after the first of the year. And after I have had a few vodkas to help "calm" me.

The weather is pretty temperate from what we have learned. It is on the coast and surrounded by temperate rain forest, so it doesn't get quite as cold as the rest of Alaska. And according to weather.com, the highest recorded temp was 90 degrees. *bliss*

We did some online investigating to see how in the world we would be able to get a U-Haul of stuff up there from Illinois. Did you know that it is over 3,000 miles (approx 56 hours driving time) to get from Illinois to Juneau? And it appears that we can only go as far as Skagway, then we have to load up on the ferry and float down there. More investigation required.

So that is what I know for now.

Tomorrow I plan on posting knitty goodness as well as new baby pictures. He won't be a baby much longer!

Peace.

Friday Family Day

Today is day 2 of NaBloPoMo, which is a month (November) dedicated to posting to your blog once a day. Short for National Blog Posting Month I believe. Anyone can join, I know that Kendra is doing it as well. Whee! It gives people a little push to try to find their blog voice and develop the habit of blogging regularly.

Yesterday I said that I thought I would just do random postings, nothing too structured. While I am going to stick with the noting too structured part, I decided that for me, random-ness sometimes leads to laziness. And that isn't interesting. So, I came up with a little schedule-y thing. You will have to check back every day to see what fun and exciting things I post about *said with great enthusiasm*.

Friday: Family Day- Yay! I talk about family issues and the cutest monster baby, Connor.

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This was Connor's first Halloween. I bought him an outfit to wear while we were at home because I really thought that we would still be there through Halloween. Sadly I was wrong. I asked DH if we should take the outfit back and he said no, to keep it, Connor can wear it in Saipan.

He was a penguin! I know that we will probably pay dearly for this one someday when we are residents of the nursing home, but I just couldn't help myself.

DH wanted to put a hawaiian shirt on him to make him a "Saipan Penguin", but the kid was already sweating buckets, so I said no. We went to our friend's house to show them since he is too small to trick or treat.

Speaking of trick or treating, how old is too old? I don't remember trick or treating past 6th grade, DH can't really recall but thinks that trick or treating in High School is okay. I disagree. I think that once the kids hit High School, then it is time to call it quits.

Back before we had Connor, we never had to think about these earth-shattering subjects. So, tell me, how old is too old?
Peace.

How he really feels...

Yeah, this would be my son, letting us know how he really feels about Valentine's Day:


He does that all of the time.

The big red dog (aka Clifford) is the original Valentine's red dog gift from DH in 2003. I did get a stuffed dog yesterday, it is brown with red spots. He was pretty tricky and put it on the driver's seat so that when I got in the car yesterday, I would see it. Clever he is.

Peace

P.S. Kendra- The diaper in the post 2 posts ago is an "All In One" or "AIO"...they are just like disposables, but cloth. Really convenient and they don't usually leak unless you have a supersoaker or a serious blowout. I got it off of Ebay, it was made by a WAHM. There are tons of styles and kinds out there, I would be happy to help you if you are interested in them! : ) I love how super soft it is...it is kinda fuzzy.

I am weird

Kim recently tagged me...6 Weird Things About Me:

1. I LOVE to do laundry. Seriously. I especially love to fold sheets. DH taught me how to properly fold a fitted sheet so that they are uniform every time. Who needs Martha when you have Jim?



2. I could eat homemade popcorn every day. And peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. Yum!



3. I have to rotate things in the house. I am a fanatic about it. Almost OCD about it. From sheets to dishes to glasses to shampoos to towels. Otherwise you end up using the same 2 cups and plates all of the time. Most recently used things go on bottom or in the back. And when you have 6 sets of sheets, you need to use them all.



4. Speaking of sheets, I have a "Monday routine" that I do and if I can't get to it (like this week) on Monday, I obsess about it. What is the "Monday routine"? Strip the sheets on the beds and wash them, replace them with a fresh set from rotation and also replace all towels and washcloths/dishcloths that are out with fresh ones. I do replace linens as necessary during the week, but Monday is the day.



5. If I am going to cook or bake, I have to clean the kitchen beforehand. Not seriously clean, but clean off the counters and do the dishes and wipe the stove. I can't cook in a dirty kitchen. Ick.



6. Most of the time when I am driving, I have the radio off. I have a thing with turning the radio off before I turn off the car and I usually forget to turn it back on when I get back into the car. But, if the radio is on, chances are that I will sing along to the song that is on. Cause I just hafta.

Yeah, I am weird. I could go on and on. I won't get into the foods that we eat besides #2 above. Cabbage, black beans & rice is a perfectly normal dinner at our house. That's all I'm saying. (shush it, Staci)

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Happy Valentines Day to everyone who observes this Hallmark Holiday. We don't really do anything special for each other. DH usually buys me a stuffed red dog, but I think that there might be a stuffed red dog shortage on island, so I am not counting on one this year.

I just don't see why you have to go all out on ONE specific day to express your undying devotion and deplete your wallet. If you love someone, you should do something small everyday to let them know that they are loved. Even if it is just refilling their glass of ice water without being asked to.

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The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is today. I want to know where the Boonie Dog breed category is...? I always root for any of the Terrier breeds because I love them all. But, if there were a Boonie Dog category, then Lady would be the superstar...

Peace