Post Fourteen or Hurry Up and Wait

As you know, we are moving to Alaska. What I haven't explained in great detail is the process by which this will occur. Military Orders are the official document that causes any movement of troops. Right now, Sgt. Dad has an assignment for Alaska but not the orders. In order to get those orders I have to jump through hoops. You see, the military considers Alaska overseas for the purposes of relocation and any overseas assignment requires an EFMP screening (Exceptional Family Member Program). I have no idea what ailment we could possibly have that would prevent us from travelling to and living in Alaska. At any rate, since we are not living near a military base this has become quite a production between getting the right forms and documents. Also, we all need to have had a physical within the past year. The boys had to have one for school so that was no problem but for me.....
I had thought that since we would be here for only a year that I could get by without having a doctor. I had myself in for all that lovely testing before moving here but it's been over a year. So, with Sgt Dad breathing down my neck and his deadline fast approaching I had to find a doctor willing to deal with the military insurance coverage. Then she tells me the pap smear results will take up to THREE WEEKS! I tell the poor doctor my sob story that I needed those results "like last week" and she put a stat on it. It will still take a week. So I gather all the forms and documents that I can and fax them to our nearest base for the necessary review. I call the person in charge and ask "If- heaven forbid- my pap showed cancer, would that prevent us from going to AK?" "No" she tells me. So I wonder why is it so important for her to have and review those results before clearning us for AK? That is the last item needed for our screening. So, the wait begins. In the mean time, Sgt Dad's deadline has passed. Now the machine has started for him to leave Korea. I have no idea how they could possibly start the "out processing" process since he doesn't have orders yet!! Plus, since he doesn't have orders, nothing has been done to set up the process of actually moving. Sgt Dad has requested an extension in Korea so we may get all this settled. Yet, the red-tape has slowed the process down and his extension request has not yet been approved or denied. Again, why doesn't someone realize the insanity of sending a soldier on his way with out orders. Grrr. I know it will all work out in the end. I mean- it has to but getting there is frustrating. On the other hand, all this drama distracts me from the fact that I miss my husband and can't wait to have our family whole again.

Post Thirteen or Quit Bugging Me!

My little sister often accuses my son of bothering her. However, in this video it appears that although she protests, she continues to pester him......


So I wonder... who is bugging whom?

Post Twelve or Life in NY

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! As some of you know we had a white St. Patty's.

We must have gotten 8". Quite a storm! That's ROC for ya- late season storms. I knew we had at least one more good one before Spring would stay! That being said, I nearly ended up in a ditch again this morning- scary! Rear tires are on my list to purchase when our income tax refund comes in but, alas, I do not have them yet. They sure would have helped this morning! I was on my way to the gym (yeah for me!) and just couldn't get a good grip on the road. I was driving slowly and carefully and did not panic when I started fish-tailing. However, I'm rusty at snow driving plus my thin tires could not get a grip. So, I ended up doing a 180 and saw a pretty, snow-covered, yellow fire hydrant quickly approaching my brand new front bumper. Somehow, I managed to safely spin myself into a snow drift at the end of some one's driveway. All without hitting anyone or anything! I sat there shaking for a few minutes but also counting my blessings. It was then that I decided I absolutely am going to get a four wheel drive before winter in Alaska! Needless to say, I was in no shape for any more driving and went home. (truth be told I would have loved to park my van right there and ask someone to pick me up) Here is a picture of my front yard at 9am today:

Anyway, as the day went on the plows came through and there was enough sun to melt the snow/ice/slush off the roads. So, I ventured out and I observed something about "rude New York drivers" - something I don't recall ever seeing drivers from VA, SC, AL, or TX do. Oh, NYers have such a reputation for being bad/rude drivers. So, you ask, what did I see?

I saw emergency vehicles with sirens on and lights flashing barrelling down the road. And what did these rude drivers do? The pulled over of course- on both sides of the road! Seriously! Time after time while living south of the Mason-Dixon I observed drivers NOT pulling over for emergency vehicles. It drove me crazy. Don't they realize they are impeding assistance from reaching people in need? What if it was their mother/father/brother/sister/son/daughter waiting for help that was delayed because drivers would not take the 20 seconds to pull aside and let ambulances/fire trucks/police pass by unobstructed? Honestly, I rarely saw people pull over and stop, sometimes they would slow down but mostly they just kept on going. I started to wonder if it wasn't a law in the south. Perhaps it isn't. Someone enlighten me.

Post Eleven or Things to Do in Alaska

So, I've been reading up on Alaska and I've really started to embrace this move. I am actually getting excited! At first, I thought Ken was crazy and I really didn't want to go. Now, I have started a mental list of all the things I want to experience when I get there. On that note, I have decided to post the list here. As we get to do these things, I'll cross them off the list (and blog about the experience of course).

1. Go Panning for Gold
2. Go Camping & Salmon Fishing
3. Drive Through Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel to Whittier, AK
4. See the Northern Lights
5. See the Start of the Iditarod
6. Go to Denali National Park
7. See Glaciers
8. See Moose, Goats, Bald Eagles
9. See the Pipeline

Here are a couple links to useful websites about Alaska.

http://www.themilepost.com/

http://www.alaska.com/

Post Ten or "Smell My Butt"

My brother, along with his wife and son, came for a visit this week. Tonight we played cards and out of nowhere his son stands up, turns around, bends over and says, "Smell my butt". And how did we respond?- with uproarious laughter of course! Don't we have such lovely manners? It's a bit of a family tradition. Perhaps my sister would like to blog her own "smell my butt" story. I, however, would rather not publish that particular family gem to the world. hee hee

Anyway, here is my brothers response to his young son's demand:

I guess it wasn't a good smell. LOL.

Anyway, it seems as though my brother and family will be relocating here this summer- just in time for me and mine to move to Alaska. Alas- such is life. I'm sure lil' sis will enjoy having a younger nephew around. Maybe someday all of us kids will be with in a day's drive of "home". I'm sure Mom and Dad would love that. It seems we can't ever get us all together at once.

BTW- you may not have noticed that I attached a sticker from weatherunderground.com at the bottom of my blog that shows the current weather conditions for Anchorage, AK. Since that is soon to be where we hang our hats I thought it would be nice to keep an eye on conditions there. Enjoy!

Post Nine or The Roaring Lion

"March comes in like lion, out like a lamb"
I thought to myself that this March was coming in more like a lion CUB but, oh no, it was like a lion. It was out there, stalking it's prey, hiding and just when we though we were safe, POUNCE, it got us! Today we had blowing snow, intermittent white-outs and very cold weather. Of course, being in the Northeast, life goes on. Kids still went to school, people went to work, and homemakers went shopping. Tomorrow will be more of the same. Oldest Son shoveled the driveway for me but not before securing his payment; Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, a video game rental, and chicken wings (homemade) for dinner. That child can negotiate! I think he may have a future in the military after all. Perhaps he can broker peace in the Middle East! He even built a lovely snowman for me with eyes and a smiley face! I'll have to trudge out there and get a picture. Maybe I'll brave the elements this evening.....

Post Eight or What is that smell?

Yesterday I walked in the house and thought it smelled funky. I chalked it up to stale air. Today I walked in the house and I said, "What IS that SMELL?" I went searching for the source. Of course my boys, being boys, didn't notice a thing. Until--- I checked the trash. Like many people, I keep my trash can under my kitchen sink and since I am not a gourmet chef I only need to empty it about 3 times a week. Well, this week was particularly busy and it had not been emptied since Tuesday. I completely forgot about the hamburger meat (raw) that I put in there on Wednesday. Needless to say I gagged on the odor. I had to make Oldest Son take it out. He obediently complied but not before making gagging noises and waving the odor my way. Thank God for Lysol and Party Lite candles! Now comes the obvious question: why on earth would I admit this to the world? The answer: Who knows but it makes for interesting reading. In my defense and because my Mom reads this, I usually empty the trash right away when I put something vile like that in the trash but I forgot about it and with it out of sight.... you know, it's outta mind. So, lesson learned and it is now on my daily checklist. Daily trash can emptying- full or no. I guess it's a good thing I live up here in the cold. Can you imagine the odor that would occur with that meat rotting in my outdoor trash can over the next week?? I'm glad it's still winter and not summer.

Post Seven

Why am I up so late? I really should go to bed. My plan is to go to the gym early in the morning before beginning my day. I love the weekend! I do miss the "old days" though of doing ABSOLUTELY nothing on Saturdays. It seems I run around all the time. So much for that fantasy of having more time when the kids get bigger. (I have realized this before but now and then it hits home again)
I went to get the taxes prepared today. I hate it! I don't know why. We are fortunate (or maybe unfortunate) enough to get a refund still. I just wish taxes were simpler. Why is it that we don't change to a flat tax and which party is it that thinks the current system is good? Just this week at work I overheard a person (who is plenty old enough to know better) "bragging" about getting a substantial "refund" (more than this person paid) in large part due to claiming child care expenses which this person does not pay as this person has a sibling watching the child who is somewhere around 11 years old. Flat taxes would eliminate this problem. The person who made 10k per year would owe his/her 7% as would the person earning 100K. Not to mention how this would ease the difficulty in preparing paychecks. (Perhaps those companies that prepare paychecks don't like flat tax ideas either- if taxes became simple those companies would not be needed)
My nosy self has been reading random blogs. Quite an amusing time waster! There are a great many people who lead very entertaining lives. Why is it that some people can find humor in everyday situations while others (such as myself) are completely BORING?!?!
So, I get to work (early) this morning and pull into the parking lot. It's been warm this week, over freezing. There was a lot of water and puddles in the parking lot. I pulled into a nice spot this morning - a pull through (getting in early has it's advantages). Whilst getting out of my lovely soccer mom vehicle- whoosh- out go my feet. Picture this: My hands are full with keys, id badge, IPOD (don't leave home without it), purse, coffee mug, and Wegmans bag w/ lunch. My graceful self manages to grab my door handle and pull myself up before I can land my backside on the *very* icy parking lot. So I pull myself up and - whoosh- again. This time I get my footing and shuffle my way to the door. All the while I'm thinking how grateful I am that I didn't land on my behind in full view of half the gentlemen with whom I work! Fast forward and hour and a tearful co-worker comes to my desk asking if I drive a silver soccer mom vehicle with a Mary Kay sticker on the back. Remembering my slippery walk to the building, I ask, "Why did you hit it???" (I totally thought I was joking but, alas, it was true) "Yes" she says. Now this is/was a brand new bumper- just put on in December. The poor girl was parking and her car hit the same patch of ice. Now the outdoor temperature was about 38-40 but there was enough ice in the lot that her car going at parking speed slid into my soccer mom-mobile (nice word huh) and pushed it half way out of my spot! I may need a new bumper!
I'll finish this tomorrow as my hands are cramping and Middle Son is waiting to watch TV with me.
CYA