Michelle's path

I wanted to blog about lots of random updates but instead Im going to tell you about a few scary moments yesterday. Scary moments that I am thankful for because it was a reality check for me.

Caden went down for a nap a little early yesterday. I happened to be in the dining room for some reason or another when I noticed that the main road behind our house was backed up with dead stopped cars as far as I could see. The back entrance/exit gate for the base was shut down. Nothing unusual when the base is about to start an exercise and play war. I thought nothing of it but, "Sucks to be them. I know how that feels." This was before 12:30.

12:30 rolls around and I take Kayla back to my room and lay with her to take a nap. I hear the loud voice (speaker) outside and I cant understand it. All I can make out is, "This is NOT an exercise." I still dont think anything of it and 5 minutes later both and I were knocked out.

I wake up at around 2:30, and wanting to be quiet as to not wake the babies I just head to my computer. On face book I see everyone's status updates and they are all pretty much all mentioning how this base wide lock down sucks and some are stuck off base with nowhere to go, nothing to do. So, I ask what the heck is going on. I just woke from a nap and am clueless. Again, Im not panicking. I thought exercise stuff. Then I see this status update from the base Chaplin's wife:
*REAL WORLD THREAT: SECURITY FORCES LOOKING FOR SUSPECT: 65 YR INDIVIDUAL, BALD, NO TEETH, WEARING BROWN PANTS, RED SHIRT, DRIVING RED VEHICLE. REPORT TO 366-1872.

Ok, my heart starts racing a little more.

I am suddenly bombarded with things like:
*crazy man loose on base, threated the gas station
lock your doors/windows
*bomb threat and apparently they found a car bomb at the commissary...

Then I get a call from one of Nick's higher ranking supervisor's wife and she tells me all this and says just go lock windows/doors, close all the blinds and dont answer the door and if I see this man to call the cops.

Now I freak out a bit. I think all this while I was asleep with my babies and I had no clue?! 1 of windows is unlocked, my front door is ALWAYS unlocked. ALWAYS. Even when Im not home. And for a few seconds the Ft. Hood incident that took place enters my mind.

I go around and double check everything and by the time I get back to the computer, cars are finally moving into and out of the back gate right out back of our house and I see everyone's status on face book as the base is ALL CLEAR.

WHEW...now seriously..I had to find this out 2 hours AFTER the fact, while I sleep with my blinds all over and my front window and door unlocked? And no one called me? And I had to find out on Face.Book? Seriously? Nick did try to call me but he works out in the jungle and his phone does not get reception most times.

Needless to say, my window is now always locked unless I am home and its open, and from now on I will be better with my front door. I just take for granted that we live on a military base where I feel more safe than ever, more than anywhere else.

Here is the article. It doesnt give much detail. I heard all sorts of rumors from the guy was in the gas station with threats, to the commissary with threats, to there being a car bomb in the commissary parking lot, to the guy was found naked in the base chapel. I wonder what the real facts are??

Bomb threat causes brief lockdown at AAFB

Guam - Traffic came to a standstill up north in Yigo, where no one was allowed through the front gate of the Andersen Air Force Base for a couple of hours. Not much is being said about a lockdown at the military installation earlier today.

U.S. Air Force officials implemented the lockdown just before 1pm today after a bomb threat was made on the base. The incident has heightened security for all military personnel, dependents and civilian employees there. Sources do say that military police along with the Guam Police Department were combing the base, looking for a suspect.

Andersen AFB Public Affairs Office officials could only say the lockdown was ordered due to a bomb threat and that "Base personnel were ordered to shelter-in-place while base officials called in explosive ordnance disposal experts who are on island to investigate the threat." USAF Spokesperson Tech Sergeant Michael Andriacco says he could not provide further information as to how the threat was made or the next steps, other than there is an ongoing investigation.

No injuries or damages were reported, and at about 3 this afternoon the all-clear was given, the lockdown was suspended, and the base was reopened.

http://www.kuam.com/global/story.asp?s=12966998&sms_ss=facebook

This is what we can do on Guam.

365 days a year.

Because we are lucky.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! I needed this laugh so bad. Last night was rough around here. Thank God Kayla's teeth gave us 2 nights to recover from the last rough night before this one.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u07RtJ-DsRU&feature=player_embedded

The storm is still effecting us today, but that didnt stop our day.

Kayla and I, and my neighbor and her daughter went shopping this morning downtown at the only store there is to shop at...Ross. I picked up a couple Christmas presents for Kayla, a new pair of slippers, a shirt, some new underware, a dress for Kayla and a twin size comforter for the spare bed in her room.

Then we had Wendy's for lunch. Yes, this goes against my diet, but I will break any diet for a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger and a Root Beer Frosty float from Wendy's. And its not very often we get to go there since it's 45 minutes away.

Then we decided to go to Fish Eye....even though there were very dark clouds. We got there and walked down the pier. Half way down the VERY long peir the rain started coming so we ran and barely made it before it downpoured. I mean BARELY.

Once inside, wet and out of breath from running in the rain with a 2o pound baby, a heavy purse and a heavy wet unbrella, we walked down the 75 stairs with jello legs and let the girls look at the fish and run loose since we were the only ones in there.

On the way back to the cars, we werent so lucky. DRENCHED! Kayla passed out not even after being the car for 5 mintes. Good thing she doesnt mind the rain, because she was drenched....and we had a 45 minute drive home.

While were down under the water in the observatory of Fish Eye...I missed a call from Nick. Dang it. Hopefully he tries again tomorrow. He will be home in LESS than 3 weeks and it cant come soon enough. It still feels like forever away.

Oh WEIRD....as I was just typing that...he signed on to yahoo messenger! Gotta go!







This last picture is a blue star fish in the water. Click to enlarge it.

We didnt get to go to the Fish Eye Pier.
On the way back form Navy this is what happened:

As of yesterday Kayla has 2 new words in her vocabulary.
*go
*more
Which brings her current vocabulary to:
*mama, dada, *baba (bottle), *go and *more. She is working on saying *no.

Off of the top of my head, here are the things she understands.
*Give me a kiss
*Kiss Mama
*Mama kiss Kayla
*Bite
*Dance
*Any word from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song
*Pooh Bear (our cat)
*Roo and Moo Moo (our other cat)
*Come here
*She can sing LA LA LA LA LA
*NO
*Kayla
*Hey
*Daisy (our friend's dog)
*Here
*Diaper Change
*Give me five (and she gives high five's)
*Do you want to eat?
*Im gonna get you!
Im sure there is more, but it's early and this is off the top of my head.

Yesterday we took a Mama and Kayla day out. I took her downtown after a long morning nap for the both of us. We started out with TGI Friday's for lunch. Mama had a Shanghai Chicken Salad. Kayla ate the chicken and oranges from my salad and also had french fries. She refused to feed herself the fries. She touched the fry and dropped it and then stared at her 'dirty' hand until I cleaned it off. Such a girl. Then we walked to Underwater World and Mama's camera died. I forgot to charge it. We took our time going through the underwater tunnels watching fish and sharks and we left with a new toy. A squeaky purple octopus. Kayla was totally passed out by the time we got home.
Here is Kayla looking at her 'dirty' hand and a pic of Fridays before anyone else got there for lunch. It quickly filled up with the Japanese tourists soon after I took this picture.







Today, nothing but grocery shopping and quilting. At least thats the plan.

27 days until we go over the ocean and through the clouds to Grandmother's house! 8,000 miles away!!

OK ladies, I know I been tagged a million times. I will get to that one day.
Yesterday we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. It was bitter sweet. Last time were there was in September, Kayla was a tiny girl. This time she was such a big girl. She even sat in one of their high chairs and ate some of Daddy's bread stick.
Next time we go, she will be about 15 months old and be a REAL big girl.

After lunch we walked on over to Underwater World. Those pics coming soon. There are a lot so I have to go through them and pick out the nice ones.

For now, Kayla in September at HRC, and yesterday at HRC.

Today, I plan to do nothing but be home.

Here are pics from yesterday.





And here is from September.

Thank you everyone for the supportive comments. It's appreciated more than you know. Seriously.

Nothing new here. I took Kayla on a walk this morning to the BX. We left the house before 9, before they even opened thinking I could beat the heat. Wrong. It was stinkin out hot. I guess I should have known that it's impossible to beat the heat in Guam Oh well. Kayla got some cute things out of the walk. A pack of binkies, (I realized I forgot hers half way there and she was in need of one) a pair of slippers (her feet are always freezing first thing in the morning, just like Mama) a onesie that I couldn't resist (hey, it was only $6 and shes growing out of 6-9 months faster than I like) and a new baby doll (I know, like she needed another one, but wait till you see pictures of this one! hehe! and it was only $6!)

On the walk home from the BX I noticed some air traffic congestion. Dont know what's going on but there sure are a lot of helicopters out and about today. Exercise maybe?

So, remember my Give a away today contest? One of the entries was to comment about something I should blog more about. Several people wanted to see and know more about Guam. I been taking more pictures as we go places. And here is one of them. You see this " I LOVE GUAM" painted all over the main roads, especially the main touristy roads. I think it's neat to see but at the same time kind of strange. I mean, you don't see "I LOVE PENNSYLVANIA" painted around PA. Not even the touristy areas. I guess it's just the local people taking pride in their island. Which after being here for a year now, has gotten old.

Wednesday night we went to Jeff's Pirate Cove for dinner.
http://www.jeffspiratescove.com/
We've been there before, but never for dinner. We got there 1 hour before they closed so we didn't get much time to just sit and enjoy for very long. It's a place we could sit for hours and just relax and enjoy. It's right on the water and is gorgeous.
The Cove sits a bunker built during World War II when Japanese armed forces occupied the island of Guam. It's a beautiful place with a lot of history and fairly decent prices for dinner. Nick had a cheeseburger and fries and I had a deep fried Mahi Mahi fish sandwich and salad. Both meals were very good. We want to try go back before Nick deploys and get there with plenty of time before they close.

It was here and then that Kayla tasted her first French fry. I split open the fry, and squeezed the potato out of then inside and let her eat it. At first she wasn't sure, but by the second taste she was loving it.

I cant believe Nick leaves in 3 weeks.

I cant get enough of the local food here. I swear, I should be overweight by now. I could eat it every day. The rice, the chicken on a stick, the lumpia...oh my. Particularly the rice. I C-A-N-T get enough. More specifically the steamed rice. I even bought a rice cooker after we got here. Did I tell you I cant get enough of it? The rice cooker makes the rice just as good as the local people make it. Only thing missing was the great sauce they put on it. At home I just used plain old soy sauce but it just wasnt the same. Not nearly as good. I craved this sauce every time I ate rice at home. Well, that craving stops TODAY because after asking Mr. Google what the heck this stuff was...I found the recipie. Isnt he just wonderful?

Finadeni

No island feast would be complete without finadeni. This terrific sauce used to flavor rice, soups and is excellent for marinating chicken, beef and pork. Make a lot at once and store the extra in a salad dressing carafe for easy use later.

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper, or
3 small red peppers, roasted and chopped
Preparation:

Combine ingredients, stir.

When I make it today, I will take a picture for you all, cuz I KNOW you wanna see it. hehe.

I have made my first Filipino food!!!
I wanted to experiment today although I should have done many other more important things, (like vacuum, mop and take pictures of more items Im going to sell) but I was in the mood. And hey, I DID get the laundry and sweeping the floors done and mailed off 3 packages!
I first tried this food at the downtowm market that is on Wednesday nights. The market is called Chamorro Village. We went last week and for the first time (thanks to my neighbor Jody!) I tried banana lumpia! I am so in love with the food here! The market is just filled with food vendors and you can buy just about any kind of local food. Im sure none if which can be healthy, but it's so worth it to eat it every once in a while.
My banana lumpia turned out good, but I think next time Im going to make a minor adjustment. I cant wait to make chicken lumpia next!!

Here are pictures and step by step details of what I did to make my banana lumpia.

The ingredients are sugar, as much or as little as you like. Sugar can be replaced by caramel or chocolate sauce. A small bowl of water for dipping your fingers, lumpia wrappers (I had a pack of 30 and only used 28), a bunch of bananas ( I had a bunch of 7 which filled 28 wrappers). Bananas need to be peeled, cut in half then cut in half again length wise. And oil for frying and a frying pan. Oils needs to be half a banana deep.


Bananas cut into 4ths:


Separate wrappers. Easiest if you let them thaw out for 1 hour then separate.


Set wrapper in front of you in diamond shape and put 1 banana on corner of wrapper. This is where I would make my minor adjustment. I would add just a pinch of sugar on top of the banana before wrapping it.


Roll wrapper half way up, fold in sides. To keep wrapper closed add water with fingertips to end of wrapper.


Here is the corner where you place the water on it from your fingertips.

The final wrapped banana in lumpia wrapper.

A touch of kitty watching you cook adds a little love to the cooked lumpia!

Fry 2-4 minutes on each side.

Place on paper towel to drain. Sprinkle with sugar while still hot.Eat! Store in covered container.

The final product...!!

The yummy gooey warm inside of the banana lumpia...

You can freeze extra lumpia before frying to make for quick making next time.

Gesh, Its been about 5 days since I posted. Please forgive me. I've either been too tired to type or out exploring. Nick is playing his video games on his PS3 now so I have time and a little energy to spare to update you all. So much has happened in the past 5 days. I have to much to tell you all!! And a slide show to share.

First I know you are all wondering how the bean is doing. We haven't had an ultrasound yet. We go on Tuesday to enroll me into Tricare here on base. Then we will find out what we need to do to get into the doctor on or around March 7th. I will be almost 8 weeks by then. Things are going great but I still worry and wonder if everything is progressing as it should be. Nick is very sure that everything is fine from the symptoms I been having lately. My last pregnancy I had no symptoms. Tomorrow we hit week 6. The past week I have been absolutely starving. I mean, I cant get full. I'm hungry all the time. My pants are tight in the waist. Summer shorts and pants that I wore very comfortably or loosely last summer, are tight. I desperately need to go clothes shopping. I have to pee 2-4 times a night and because of that (and the 15 hour time difference now) I cant sleep. I was constipated on the plane here. Not fun. And my bobs are huge. Yesterday we went out and Nick forced me to buy a nice bra. I didn't want to spend 25 bucks on a bra. Can you believe a freaking FULL 36 D?? WTF? Wow. Also just about every day, either part of the day, sometimes all day I feel so bloated! Like when I was on the IVF injections. Bloated- like I feel like a hot air balloon! So because of all this Nick is confident things are well. But, I always have that what if in the back of my mind.

Now, about Guam. Wow. This place is amazing. This really is paradise. I cant believe we live here now. I told Nick, I don't think I will ever want to leave. Hes going to have to pry me out of here. Yesterday we went to the beach near our hotel but only for 45 minutes. Nick burns easy and we didnt buy him any sunscreen. The water is like bath water. It was cold at first because there was a breeze going but after you got in it was so warm. It was so clean, and clear and blue. Not salty at all like the beaches in the states. Palm trees with coconuts everywhere. The local people are really nice, happy, relaxed and helpful. Its live we are living a vacation.

Tomorrow we get to pick up our cats from quarantine. We worried about them for nothing which I knew was going to happen. We get to visit with them everyday, bring their favorite treats and food and Pooh Bears favorite brush. The first day we went to visit them, they day after we flew in Roo was so ticked off and mad at us. So much so that it was just so funny and cute. As soon as he saw me he started his meowing. The meowing he does when he looking for me around the house. I went into their kennel and he rubbed on me a minute then realized he was mad and started growling and wouldn't let me pet him. Then he would rub and love on me and the get mad again. It was so funny. Today he was his normal self. Pooh Bear just seems as if nothing happened. I cant wait to have them back.

We are still living in a hotel right now. The lady at the housing office said we wont get a house until middle of March because there is no funding to fix up a house for us. The stupid thing is, is that they are paying us $229 PER DAY(!!!!) to live in this hotel. The hotel cost plus meal costs since our room does not have a kitchen. So they are out of funding but they are paying us way more to live in a hotel?? Somebody cant do math. The lady said we would get a call Monday or Tuesday to let us know. I just want a house to call home. I want my things, I want to be able to cook my own meals, I want my own bed. Hopefully some funding money will fall from the sky and we can get into a house sooner rather than later.

Well, thats all for now. I'm tired. This time change is killing me sleeping schedule. I heard it takes a god week or 2 to adjust. Its incredibly tiring. Plus I have to pee now. So until next time friends, I leave you with a slide show of our first 3 days here in a magical paradise.

Not much action over here. Yesterday I worked 9-7 and right after lunch I started feeling soooo sick. I hadnt eaten all day, I had no appetite. My head was heavy, all my energy just disappered. I was struggling by the time closing time came around. I got home, collapsed on the couch and ate some applesause. Then I was really starting to feel sick. My body was just radiating heat but I was FREEZING. I went to bed and had 3 blankets on me and still couldnt get warm, but the heat was still comming from me. It was a terrible fever...I fell asleep as soon as Nick hit the bed about an hour later. I remember him telling me that he can feel the heat comming off of me, then I was out. I woke up, and now Im fine. Weird. How can I have a fever and then it just disapper? Anyone know what it was or could have been?

Anyways, today just a bunch of errands. Gotta get my medical clearance going so I can move to Guam, and get a new passport. And Nick has other things he wants to take care off to since we will be out. And tomorrow at 7:30 I get my car inspected. Ughh. I hate it. Oh yeah, and I gotta call to see if my PAP test results are back yet.

UPDATE- My results are back! Which means that I can fax all my paperwork to Walter Reed and hopefully it doesnt take too long for the IVF doctor to look over my chart and accept us into the IVF program. Fingers Crossed!

118 Days until we move. Here is more info on Guam that I found.
Climate

Some days are utterly beautiful, while others are a bit "damp." Guam has two seasons, dry and rainy. It rains during both, but far more during the latter. Although clear distinctions can't be drawn from dates, usually in December the rainy season will let up until sometime around May or June. All the other months are the more rainy season. The early part of the "dry" season is usually the mildest time of year, with nice breezes blowing off the water.

Tips for surviving the rainy season:

Keep a couple small hand towels in your car.
Keep umbrellas handy. In your car, in your desk, briefcase, purse, etc. You can't have too many.
Rainy season = typhoon season. Preparing your family for a major typhoon is a must. Click here to visit the Guam Office of Civil Defense and Homeland Security Website. They've provided plenty of information on preparing for a typhoon.
Be aware that typhoons can strike at any time of the year.
Tips for the "dry" season:

Plan outdoor activities for the morning or late afternoon to avoid the hottest part of the day.
Get your car windows tinted as soon as possible. Military bases require a lighter tint on the driver's & front passenger's windows. The other windows can be as dark as you want them. All reputable shops on island know the rules, but make sure to let them know your vehicle will be going on the military installations.
Windshield sunscreens are a must here.
Dehumidifiers in your home keep it comfortable and make it seem cooler.
Don't underestimate the effects of heat on your body. Drink extra water whether you think you need it or not.