Wow - it's Wednesday already.
I just can't catch my breath. Life is passing me by quickly these days. It's not like it's "passing me by", I mean, I'm always doing something but I don't have enough time to do all that I need to do and all that I WANT to do so the needs beat out most of the wants. Anyway....
Friday night we went to the club and met the guys after they announced the Turkey Shoot Award winners. We hung out there until about midnight because we wanted to see Trash who was flying in from Vegas that night. Always good to see Trash Saturday we had the boys b-day party. The weather was beautiful! I started getting nostalgic, thinking that this is the 3rd birthday we've had for the boy in Japan! In military terms... that means it's time to move! I was looking around at the kids, most of whom have celebrated 3 birthdays with him, and I was thinking about our friends that used to live here that don't anymore. The fire truck came to the party and William couldh've cared less. It came because we asked them to come, not because there was a fire or someone got hurt.
Saturday night we had a wives naming in "The Zipper". This consists of all the wives in the squadron being invited to the bar to tell stories about those that are getting "named". It's always a fun night, full of laughs and good times. After the festivities, I was, again, getting nostalgic... taking it all in. I was reading the "wall of fame" and counted 29 people that have moved since we arrived. This summer, about 8 more families will be added to that list. I also started to take stock of my life on this island and think about how NOT NORMAL it is. Here I am, 38 years old (oops... I'm 37), sitting in a fighter squadron bar with a bunch of women in ridiculous red dresses having a party. THIS IS NOT NORMAL!!! It sure is fun though

Why is it that, every time I take my sheets off the bed to wash them, I can never manage to get them back on the bed until about 10 PM, just before I'm going to bed? I find it really annoying and I have no one else to blame but me. I stripped the bed at 8:30 this morning and straight in the washer they went. They were in the dryer by 1 PM and here it is 10 PM and I'm going to make the bed now.
ugh...
I'm hosting our wives "coffee" tomorrow night with Marcy & Brenda. Wine, Champagne and Chocolate - yummmmy!
On a personal note, today at EFC (Extreme Fitness Challenge) I rand the 1.5 mile in 16:37 which is about 1:20 faster than I ran it 3 weeks ago! The key is the music... I need to make sure I have some fast songs on my ipod. I hate running it on the track. I think if I could run a route on the road I would run faster. It's hard for me to get over the fact that I have to run SIX times around.

Another crazy Kadena weekend....
Friday was a fun night in the club. There were lots of people here TDY including the F-22's from Langley, the F-16 aggressors and some guys from AK that were passing through. Because of that, I had high hopes for a "big" Friday night at the Club but, unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations! There were not enough ladies there to make it fun - too much testosterone! It was still a fun night out, but I had high expectations.
Saturday the weather was beautiful so we took the kids to Pirate ship park and walked on the beach to collect shells. Sat night I went to the Bat Babe naming and Joey took the kids to Schmik's to grill out. Today, Joey's playing golf and I'm talking the kiddos to church and we're meeting at Macaroni Grill for lunch with the Cook's.
Here are some pictures from pirate ship park...
and the promotion party

I'm not one for astrology but this caught my eye... so I read it.
I hope it's (mostly) true.
It's my Chinese horoscope for this year.
I was born in the year of the Pig and it's the year of the Ox this year.

Pig Overview

The Pig has many opportunities to shine this year. Your generous nature is apparent in all aspects of your life. It is an admired quality that people respect. This year, your inherent generosity plays a large role in areas that you may not even be aware and may pave the way to a possible career change. You have an abundance of friends and you are well loved by your family. this year will only enhance these relations. One area that may create some issues is that you seem to overextend yourself to a point where there isn't any time left for you. This could lead to a change in priorities and could promote some better organizational skills.

Pig Rating

53% (2 favorable 9 neutral and 1 unfavorable month)

Pig Career

The Pig may feel complacency in your current job position. This could be a year that you may need a change towards something that is more suitable for your needs. You may gravitate towards something that is more of a position that provides service to others, perhaps a non-profit organization or a customer service based position. Your busy schedule will also play a part in your work. You may be forced to choose between certain activities, as there are only seven, not eight days in a week. Whatever the course may be for your career, you will fit in well with your endearing personality.

Pig Relationships

Personally, 2009 will be a year that the Pig will enjoy much happiness. Both your social and domestic life will be endearing to you, providing you with encouragement and advice. Your family and friends will be the source of many memorable occasions this year. For the unattached Pig, there will be some romantic opportunities. Be careful who you let into your circle, as you tend to give others too much credit. July is a particularly favorable month for all Pigs.

Pig Health

The Pig would do well to watch your health this year. There may be an unforeseen incident that arises sometime during the year, most likely in late April or early May. This may cause you to look at your habits relating to your health. One area in particular is your diet. This year could provide a change in your eating habits, which could help other areas of your health.

Pig Wealth

There may be times this year when you are uncertain about your financial future, but there are things in your life that take precedence over money. You will be taken care of, but there may be times of financial uncertainty. A change will come in the second half of the year that will provide greater financial comfort and allow you to live at a means that is more accustomed to your liking. Be patient, as the change will come.

Sarah lost her top left tooth last night.
She pulled it out right after she went to bed.
The tooth fairy left her $2... I know, I was surprised too!
I've been thinking lately about what I'm looking forward to returning to in the states.
While there are things I'm not looking forward to, I am excited to have a choice of grocery stores and FRESH FOODS, a variety of wheat pasta instead of only 2 brands I don't like. Everything we buy is frozen, or previously frozen... even the cheese, which I find gives it a slimy film.
I took W to the dr. last Friday to have his tonsils checked. They are big and he's been congested for about 3 months. Now he's on sudafed twice a day. Hopefully this will help.

Gosh - it's FRIDAY! Where does the time go?
S doesn't have school today so she'll be helping me take the preschoolers to school and run some errands.
She's not thrilled about that.
I have a Dr. appt for W in the afternoon. He's still really congested and I want them to look at his tonsils. They are HUGE and he sleeps with his mouth open so I'm thinking he's a candidate to have them out. Joey had his out and since W is his little clone..... we'll see.
The Cioppa family arrives tonight so we'll be greeting them at the AMC terminal. We were based with them in FL. It will be nice to have another familiar face around.

Friday night was fun. We had Boomer's promotion party at the O'Club.
We stayed with a group of our friends until about 11:30.
It was nice to have something to celebrate!
Saturday we had a Cock party all day. It was a Road Rally, hosted by the Roberts and Bobnocks.
I think it's funny that we were in the car for about 3 1/2 hours driving all over the base with a few off-base challenges thrown in (we had to go to the Dam, the drop slide park and the Kadena Observation tower and a house near the Torii back gate) and we only used 1/8 of a tank of gas and drove about 40 KM. I think that is very comical.
Today is another busy day.... I'm hosting a jewelry party and then we are going to Kitikaisen's for Brenda's birthday dinner. There are about 9 families going... about 40 people and only 18 adults - yikes!

I think I've lost it.
Today I ran 3 miles (ran almost all of it) and then went to my Extreme Fitness Challenge (EFC) class for "spin".
I will sleep well tonight.
I realized though, that I'm in a much better mood this week. Partly, due to exercise but mostly, I think, because I'm doing something for myself.
I enjoyed the 4 hour season premier of 24. That is such a great show.
Tonight we'll watch American Idol. The kids are excited - they love this show, too!

We found out on Friday that Joey is now a Lt. Col select!
I'm very proud of him!
He will probably pin on sometime in Oct/Nov time frame.
On Friday, we also got a notice that the housing office will be moving us to another base house, prior to May 31, so they can renovate our street. If I had confidence that they were going to work with us to "make the transition as smooth as possible for our family" as their flyer says, I wouldn't be worried. Based on my past experiences with the housing office, I am very skeptical. So, we'll be moving soon, and then again in the fall when we get our assignment.
Oh the joy of AF life...

Everyone is on the mend. I took William to the ER on Thursday night and found out he has strep throat AGAIN. He's been on antibiotics since then and is fine now. I'm feeling better but still not 100%. It's the crud that lingers...
I ran yesterday to start training for the 10K I'm running on Feb 22.
Today my Extreme Fitness Challenge class starts for 8 weeks.

I bought my plane ticket to get to Tokyo and I have a hotel room. Today I'm hoping to add "Rod Stewart Concert Ticket" to my list of purchased items.

Thursday... William is sick, again. This island is just one big petri dish. He says his throat hurts but I think he just has a cold and his throat hurts from drainage. Looks like it's movies for us today.
After school, the kids have a b-day party from 5 - 7 at the neighbors house.
I'm still trying to get my Christmas cards out.... maybe today.
Today we are supposed to find out about Joey's Lt. Col board, but they never account for the Kadena tiime difference so we might not find out until tomorrow.
Gotta get Sarah out of the tub and off to school...