Back to Civilization

So we haven't really blogged since being back in the states. This is mostly due to the fact that we've been so busy and didn't have internet for a minute there. The internet is still giving issues because I can't seem to get the wireless router to work, but with some patience and calling the help desk for my computer and our router should hopefully fix the problem soon. It's just really annoying and highly aggrevating for me. On a much more cheerful note I got some beautiful packages from Grandma Baader with these lovely clothes in them. One had a bunch of tops and matching earrings while the other had this sweet, pink patio dress and matching earrings. What's funny is that her travel group is going through the Amish country in Indiana where Michael's from and he's very familiar with it. He thought that was "so cool."

Anyway, since we've been back we've done all of our "post deployment" briefings, etc. We went on leave for two weeks, which was wonderful. The first week was spent in CA with Dad and Kris and all four kitties. It was a lovely visit and we got to see a lot of the California trails and foothills during spring time. The wild flowers are incredible that time of year and just paint the mountain sides. We then drove to AZ and visited with one of Mike's closest friends from his time in the Marines. Joe and Sylvia have a beautiful family with a new baby, a one year old, and a nine year old daughter. I took a lot of pictures and Mike had all the kids in the neighborhood playing in the park every afternoon after they all got back from school. I also got to visit with my Uncle Art and two cousins Wes and Jeff and we saw Mike's cousin Darlene (the one giving me the art lessons) and Mike's mom (very briefly) when his mom flew into Phoenix for her connecting flight back up to Alaska.

Before we went on leave we moved into our new house on post. It's a sweet little one story, three bedroom, two bathroom house that suits our needs well. We have pretty minimal furniture in it right now with the only complete room in the house being the kitchen. We have a simple dining room set and piles of books on the the floor. Our first load of household goods came in about a week ago and so we're sorting through it all. We've also got the beginnings of a home gym in our garage. Don't worry, pictures will be posted eventually as we start finishing up rooms on the house. Michael needs to get going on the bookshelves because these books are overtaking our living room. I'm also working on having my furniture in VA delivered over here. Our washer and dryer come in on Monday. So things are coming together.

I've been cooking up a storm. I didn't realize how much fun it is and how much I missed it until I got to really start doing it again. So far I haven't made a bad meal yet. Michael has loved all of them as well. It's always nice to cook for someone who likes what you make. Right now I've got a chicken stock simmering on the stove for some chicken soup tonight. One of Michael's favorite meals is soup and sandwiches. This round of soup will be done with barley and the next round will be done with those rice noodles found in Pho. The house smells really good. I think one of my favorite smells is garlic and onion sauteeing in olive oil. Whenever I get that going Michael always starts exclaiming, "THIS HOUSE SMELLS GOOD!" He'll come out of whatever he's doing just to make that statement. It makes me smile.

I've also started working at the ER now. I got the job all lined up and now I'm in training. The schedule has been pretty intense, but it's lightening up now that the training portion is calming down. It's 12 hour shifts and thankfully I have the day shift from 0700-1900. The schedule is you're on for two days then off two days then on three days then off two days then on two days then off three days, repeat. So you have a three day weekend every other week and work three days every other week. It's not that bad so far. I actually love the job and it's confirmed that I want to stay in the medical field. One of the interesting things about being back in a medical environment is that 1) you lose a lot of what you've learned when you don't do it that frequently and 2) what you've lost comes back very quickly when you're in that environment on a regular basis. It's like a foreign language.

So it was really humbling to realize how much of the knowledge I'd lost after being on a deployment where I didn't really use it on a regular basis, but at the same time all the knowledge is flowing back now that I'm in a hospital. Plus, I get to do all kinds of cool things now like IVs, draw blood, EKGs, irrigate wounds, watch on the fly surgeries and assist with them where I can, see all the different procedures nurses and doctors do, etc. It's amazing I have to say. AND nurses really do all the work. I've met some really hard working nurses that are so cool and they're very inspiring. They just have these calm attitudes and are confident in what they do and just bust their butts taking care of the patients. It's truly amazing to watch. So I'm much happier with my job now and feeling invigorrated to get going with school.

Speaking of school I've signed up for three classes: my 2nd pre-calculus class, nutrition, and an intro to chemistry that's required for the higher level chemistry I'll be needing (organic chemistry, oh my). I'm getting ready to get going on homework once I'm finished writing this. So all in all I'm pretty busy, but I was telling Michael last night that I'm just really and truly happy right now. I'm happy with our life and where it's heading and I'm happy to be accomplishing my goals and to be in a job that I believe in and look forward to everyday. So even though we've got a rather humble existence right now with practically no furniture and piles of stuff everywhere being sorted through and things are rather hectic with my schedule and I feel like there's not enough time in a day sometimes, I'm just plain happy.

My Business

I am starting a business too but it will be less ambiguous in title. Something like, "Mike's Spot" or" I Drink the Coffee You Buy Me" or "I spend Your Money". Not nearly as artistic, thoughtful or refined but it conveys my purposes and intent. I'll keep you posted. BTW I'm done with the computer now so she can have it back.
Ta, M xo

Crafting Business

I've had a lot of down time recently and it's led me to do what I do best with too much free time...research endlessly. The internet is just one of those things that can really get quite addictive for me. There's so much information out there for free! So I find myself for hours and hours researching various topics with no motivation whatsoever to do anything else slightly productive. I felt terrible about it for a few days, but then realized, "Hey! I'm coming back from a year long deployment where down time was a rare commodity so you know what? I'm going to do whatever I want as long as it's not destructive in any way!" After that the guilt ceased. My research initially started off around homeschooling, which is something that I'm still going to be delving back into but I kind of maxed out on it since a lot of the reading I need to do is in books to review for potential use in curriculums.

I started drawing again, which has been really good for me. It's on pause right now as I'm in the count down of when I go home and got caught up in packing and cleaning and more cleaning and throwing a lot of stuff away. Now that my packing and clearing out the CHU has calmed down I should be able to start it up again. I made sure to keep my sketch book out for my carry on bag. I've also been doing Rosetta Stone French. One of the wonderful things about being in the military is we get the ENTIRE Rosetta Stone series for all languages completely free. When I found that out it kind of blew me away. I've almost completed Level 1 of their French program, which now has 5 levels. I'm thinking of doing German or maybe Japanese or maybe Russian next...we'll see. I'll be taking classes again like crazy when I get back so I might not have as much time for foreign language fun, but then again it's educational so I might still find some time for it. They're broken down into smaller lessons so there's no reason why I can't get through a few of the 5-10 min. lessons every day.

So back to the subject of this post. Lately I've been taken over with this all-consuming research of crafts and a craft business. Drawing again I guess unleashed the art monster in me and I've been drinking it up like a dehydrated man roaming the desert. It's fascinating and completely puzzling at the same time. I find myself wondering through it like a maze getting lost in different avenues and places. I'm really interested in starting something like this. I've found a lot of good websites/blogs that go into a lot of details around starting a craft business. There's so much out there concerning it, and it's one of those things that's easy to start small and expand as you go...depending on what your craft is. In the midst of it I've subscribed to e-newsletters to a quilting magazine and Cloth Paper Scissors. They send out some great info on resources and books about different craft topics. I get so excited reading about this stuff.

The two big road blocks I've come up against are: What would I even call my business?
Number 2 being: What would I start to sell?

I've thought about different names. What kind of mood do I want it to evoke? What kind of message do I want it to send? What sounds unique but easy to remember? I've read a lot of articles around naming your business and they're great information, but all kind of state the same thing and it still leaves me grasping for more. What I've come up with so far is that I'd like it to be two words that are easy to remember, but unique paired together so that I'm not up against millions of others with similar names. Some of the craft businesses I've found that I like their names are: Smart Fish (they sell vegan shoes), Retro Whale (she makes her own prints), this blog called Design Sponge that has all of these amazing DIY and before/after type articles, Dignity Regained (a shop that focuses on fair trade and upcycled products), Spin Thread (she makes these really cool geometric embroidery jewelry, etc. You get the idea.

I don't want words like "craft" "creation" "design" in mine just because they're kind of redundant. I also want the title to not focus on only one craft like "jewelry" "quilts" "clothes" and so forth because I'd like to have the flexibility to make whatever I want and not be tied to one thing because of my title. Although it would be funny if I did something like Rachel's Jewelry and only made prints. Except, that probably would just create a whole bunch of confusion and not be so funny after awhile.

Then there's: What would I make? With a whole world of possible crafts out there I'm overwhelmed and elated at the same time. More things to learn and try out, but what about focusing on one thing? Maybe? Or I could just make a lot of different things and that be my trade mark. Who knows. We shall see. I've just gotten lost on Etsy pages, though. There's an excellent "seller how-to" page they have that has link after link to article after article on owning your own craft business. I also found a great blog called "Crafting an MBA" that's all about starting up a craft business and tips to improve on it.

Well, Michael just got home and wants to be on the computer so I'm going to sign out. Any ideas on a business name would be appreciated! We love you and look forward to being home very soon! TTFN.

~R.

February; two birthdays and an anniversary

We had our first anniversary on the 22nd.

A funny thing has happened here, I have gotten used to my beloved sporting a high-powered assault rifle everywhere, she is strangely unfinished without it to me, which is disturbing, sort of.

I have learned so much in the last 365 days about this artistic and alluring, beautiful and bibliophilic, complex and caring, dynamic and dear to my heart, elegant and Elect, fragile and finely wrought, graceful and gregarious, humorous and hopeful, intricate and intimate, jovial and joyful, knowing and kind-hearted, long-haired and long-suffering, melodious and musical, naive and not naive, omnivorous and OCD, pulchritudinous and precocious, quilting and quippish, refined and real, stunning and sincere, tensile and tender-hearted, unequivocal and unabashed, virtuous and very earnest, wistful and well-intentioned, xenophobic by marriage and xenophilic by nature, youthful and young at heart, zealous and zephyrus creature that I know and love as Rachel.

We have had a raucous, wild, exotic honey-moon and first year together, set apart. I can't think of any couple that has gotten combat pay and hazardous duty pay, been mortared and shot at and been so serendipidously happy, all in their first year of marriage...can you?

The traditional first year anniversary gift is paper so we decided to get each other John MacArthur's Bible commentaries, all 28 volumes.

I have often thought about how when bad things happen to a person they are either hardened OR sweetened by them. I wondered about how Rachel would fare before we came over here. I am happy to report that she has gone without so much, been reduced to her rawer elements and seen the very worst that people can do to each other and through it all she has come out so much stronger and refined from the exposure, deprivation and hardships. It has been fascinating and sometimes painful for me to watch her transform and grow and deal with the things at hand. I think that it is possible to be both sweetened and hardened by things. Which is surprising to me because in my personal experiences it has usually been one or the other, with far less balance and emotional symmetry.

In other related news, we both celebrated our birthdays this month. Rachel turned 161 and I turned 287, in dog years. That's 23 and 41.

Anyway, it has been a good 370 days and counting, I will keep you posted.

Ebay and the Sewing Machine

The mad search for a sewing machine has finally come to a close. Mike offered back around Christmas that he would buy me the sewing machine I wanted for my birthday. I said I liked that idea so I started looking into potential candidates. I knew I wanted something multi-purpose that could go through many layers of fabric with ease as not only do I quilt, but Mike has expressed interest in being able to work on projects that involve sewing canvas, denim, leather, etc. I'd also like to have these abilities in a sewing machine. The only problem with the 'house' sewing machine is that it tends to be a jack of all trades. Even though it has the capability to sew through rather tough fabric as long as the needle size/tension/thread thickness ratio is correct, it can't do it for very long and has a high chance of breaking down. The big problem with "industrial strength" machines is they're ridiculously expensive and can only do one thing like button holes or sew straight.

There's also the problem of: multi-purpose. I want something that can embroider, quilt, do all the basic sewing functions, as well as be able to sew through anything and not break down. Most multi-purpose machines out there are a combination of embroidery and quilting/sewing and aren't hardy in regards to tougher fabrics. It's expected you're sewing through softer, finer things to embroider and quilt. They're also very expensive and even though I'd like to invest in one in the future, I just wasn't ready to spend that kind of money on a first sewing machine.

This led me to start researching antique sewing machines when I read a review on Yahoo! about sewing machines that can sew for hours every day, similar to the "industrial strenght" but are much less expensive and for home use. There was a review by a guy who restores and refurbishes antique sewing machines who said that the Singer 201 and 15-91 are the best because they can sew through anything for extended periods of time and not break down. This is due to the fact that the motor is gear operated not belt operated and so you just can't hurt it. The only key is unless you know how to restore them; you have to make sure you're buying it from a reliable source. I then read another article on buying sewing machines through ebay and how to tell if someone is reputable or not in regards to the antique sewing machine.

So why the 15-91 instead of the 201? Well, it's all about the bobbin! The way the bobbin fits into the 15-91 is very forgiving and allows for rather beautiful free quilting and strange threads to be fed into the machine. That was the selling point for me. Both can do pretty much the same thing when it comes to sewing through tough fabrics, but the 201 bobbin goes in differently so you can't do as much creative stuff as easily in regards to quilting.

There's also a lot that can be wrong. As it's from the 1950s it's more than likely got decaying wires, gunk all in the motor, and a whole other list of problems that can lead to personal injury if you don't check before plugging it in and using it. Plus, some people selling just turn on the machine and see the needle go up and down and assume its "working." Just because the needle goes up and down doesn't mean it can sew right. That $15.00 machine might not be exactly what you were hoping for. So after a search through ebay I found one. I also found a cabinet to go with it as it needs to be mounted in something since it's not just built with a base included, and it's a 30 lb. cast iron beauty.

I've put up the pictures. The stool has different upholstery than the one I'm buying. It's this weird velved material. The stool and cabinet aren't sold together as a set as they're from different vendors so we'll probably have to revarnish them to match, which isn't a problem and I think would be a good project for me to do. The picture I posted of a matching set is the wood color I'd go for. I'd also like to reupholster the stool and maybe put a different fabric. I like red and I like velved, but both together are a little gaudy. Plus, for hygiene purposes I think it'd be best to have new fabric and cushion for me to sit on.

I'm pretty excited. I've also started looking into potential embroidery sewing machines. Some of them are so smart it's like they have a mind of their own. The companies I've been looking at in regards to a machine that can do a lot of bells and whistles are: Bernina (the aurora 440 QE), Husqvarna (the lily 550), and Pfaff (the 2056). Michael really wants it to be able to do letters for monogramming purposes, but other than that he's not too picky. Again, the only problem is these machines are rather expensive so it's an investment. The nice thing is you can get a more "mid range" version of the insanely expensive ones that cost about as much as a car, and it'll do everything you need just not be the top of the line version. The ones I listed are more mid-range. I'd just like to have a better idea of how each machine's programming works. And maybe down the line I'll look into a long arm machine...but we'll see. I need to be a rather serious quilter for something like that to happen. Plus, there are a plenty of places out there that offer long arm studios where you can rent a machine for a few hours and voila! Completed quilt!

I'm still in the midst of a bidding war so to speak. They're not "mine" officially yet. I'm not sure about the cabinet and stool because apparently the Queen Anne style is rather rare and it's hard to find both the stool and cabinet together. It's a major collector's item for people who have the antique Singers. Leave it to me to find the thing that's rare and expensive as a result. The sewing maching is going to be a few days yet. I'll keep you posted if I win, though!

All in all we're doing pretty well. Can't wait to be home. I hope everyone's happy, healthy, and safe. TTFN.

~R.

BSM, Bronze Star Medal

I got a Bronze Star recently. This is my 2nd one, my last one was for a completely different reason, up in Mosul. It is sort of humbling when I think of all the others that have received them before me.
I don't have much else to say right now. I hope we get home soon, we have been mortared several times lately. I hate that helpless, hemmed in feeling.

The Funny Moments of Life

You know how there are just those moments where the only thing that could make it so funny is life? Lately Michael and I have had our fair share of them. This picture is of Michael holding up one of his "Plackers Hi-Performance Flossers." One of our laughing moments. For some reason this was incredibly funny to us. He put up on his facebook how these have made flossing a whole new experience for him and we thought it was a hoot.

I'm still drawing although I took a break from it yesterday. I had to pull guard duty in between the hours of 1 and 3 AM and just didn't get that much sleep as a result. So I slept from about 5 PM to 8 AM today. I've been trying to get a variety of stuff done throughout the day via keeping a list schedule, and the other day I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

This was supposed to be a drawing of folds, but turned into a weird abstract thing. Yesterday after Mike finished blogging he saved his blog in the wrong spot. I've been thinking about making a kind of artist blog for myself and so I started up a new domain name, but just haven't done much with it yet. He saved it to that domain name and then couldn't find his latest entry up here. So he asked me to figure out what went wrong, and when I told him what I think he might've done he said, "You know what, I think you might be right! That's just the sort of thing I'd do on accident because I'm a technology idiot." We started howling as a result. For some reason that was just amazingly funny to us.

This drawing was insanely frustrating. The sole of the foot is very difficult to do.

Michael had his award ceremony the other day. He got a Bronze Star for his end of tour award this year. This is his second one.

This hand drawing is Michael's favorite drawing so far. I'm holding my JSCM, which is my end of tour award. He says it looks the most real because I foreshortened it. We've been laughing today while Michael goofed around with these glow sticks he found in a discarded care package. He does these dances that are hysterical. We also went on a "double date" to the local DFAC for ribs as on Sundays they make these amazing ribs...so good. It actually felt normal to do even if we are in Iraq. So all in all things are good. We're happy and less than 30 days until we go home. We've been getting a lot of time together, which is always nice. Especially when once we get back we're going to have to get into the grind of things again. So we hope everyone's doing well. We love you and hope you're safe and happy. TTFN.

~R.

FACEBOOKERS ANONYMOUS

I initially didn't like this blog, or facebook or anything where I needed to get too far outside of my comfort zone, trusting technology...this fad that has taken root and I am sure is somehow a pathologically addictive mechanism of the CONTROLLERS. I think THEY do it with sequencial colors or sub-audible beeps and tones combined with some chemicals that they expose us to somehow, I haven't figured it out yet...continue, ad nauseam, the paranoid rant...

Now I really, really like this stuff, all these people from the past right there at your fingertips, "Hi, good to see you on facebook, the last time we spoke was 7th grade, how's life treating you...stay in touch..." and I do! It is amazing.

This blog is fun, too. I couldn't imagine putting it all out there before, but now it is fun and...? Just fun, I guess. I do it because Rachel insists I blog every other time...we take turns and secretly because I want people to hear me. It is a bite sized update...it is like how people that never talk but live near each other, adjacent farms, neighborhoods...just wave to each other and pass each other in the grocery, getting that "live feed update"...kids growing, healthy, sick, new pet, car, fence,...this is just more informative...blah blah blah

I am going to look into this more thoroughly, what is the purpose and scope...I have been just coasting, it's fun...but WHY?
Mike



Well we will be home soon, I am trying to stay tuned in here on mission and not get too distracted by HOME.

More Drawings!

Michael wasn't kidding when he said I was drawing up a storm. His cousin, Darlene, has been giving me critiques via Facebook. It's been giving me a kind of drive to draw as close to everyday as possible. I haven't felt inspired to draw in awhile, but this project has really given me new purpose with it.This first one is a couple of exercises she recommended, and they're my interpretation of her instructions. One was to draw an object inside of a box. For some reason the first mental image that came to mind was to draw a kind of "see through" box around the object instead of literally putting an object inside of a box and drawing it. After I finished I realized I might have made the idea more abstract than it needed to be. The ink drawing next to it is with Micron pens. The idea was to make a kind of "scheme" with the lines regarding shading and closeness of some of the objects. So the thicker, closer together lines are the dark shading while the thin, wide set lines are lighter shading.

This one is based off of a photograph of Darlene in her younger years after her baby girl was born. I love this picture, especially the faces. At first I was going to focus on the faces, but really liked how the baby's foot was caught in her shirt. It reminds me of the old paintings of Mary with baby Jesus. Michael even said, "You should put a halo around their heads and just focus on the heads." He agreed, though, that the leg and foot were a nice addition.

This is of Michael's hand with his watch and compass all in one. Next to his hand is a honey badger. We discovered honey badgers one night while looking at YouTube videos. We were talking about badgers, typed it into YouTube and the honey badger came up. These badgers take on lions, eat poisonous snakes, and run and run and run during the day. They also constantly eat. There's one video where a badger gets bitten in the face while killing a poisonous snake for food. He starts eating it, passes out for two hours from the venom, and then wakes back up only to begin eating again! Here's the link to this video. Essentially they're completely fearless. After watching these videos I told Michael if he were an animal he'd be a honey badger because he's that fearless.

This is of my feet while I was lounging in bed and had them crossed. I actually drew this really fast and Michael commented saying, "Feet are easy for you to draw." Michael mentioned my award in his most recent post. It's not the 5th highest, he got his numbers mixed up. It's the 15th, I believe. A link that goes into the order of precedence can be found here. It's airforce and army combined. A link to the history of the general commendation medal can be found here and specifically the joint commendation medal here.

I'm pretty happy for my award. I feel like I did work worthy of earning it (as the first sergeant said himself). It can be rather disheartening to see people get awards that are far above the actual work level they did. Several people were upset with that situation, but it's important to keep things in perspective. I can claim my award with a clear conscience and that's what's important. I went on between 400 - 500 missions during my deployment and wrote 75 awards, about 60 of which were given during the end of tour award ceremony. I also did the platoon sergeant's job when it came to his paperwork, etc. for about two months of the deployment. So I'm happy with the award and level of work I did. I grew as a medic, soldier, and person from this deployment so I'm happy with the end result in myself more than any award. As that's the reward that lasts a lifetime.

We hope all of you are doing well and we love you. Stay safe. TTFN.

R.

Joint Service Commendation Medal

Rachel received ANOTHER medal during this deployment, the JCOM. It is for among other things"...exceptionally meritorious service..." I know there are other people that have received the same award and higher but I think that our 1SG summed it up best when he said, "SPC Woolley, you actually earned and deserve this medal". He should know, so do I. I won't ruin it for Rachel, I will let her post a picture and give you all the details but it is significantly impressive, I think that it is the 10th highest award in the Army. Hooah.

We are winding down and it is hard to concentrate on the here and now when we can practically smell home form here. We are not home until we are home.
Some how Rachel has convinced me to take her aid-bag and one of her duffle bags home in our connex so that means on customs day I get to unpack, inventory and pack HER things, she must be part Jedi...I know that she would do the same for me though, if the table were turned. I can just see the customs inspector now when I pull out her hotpink kimono or undergear...she assures me that that was all in the OTHER box or bag. I can still see the customs dude in Kuwait when we came home on leave and I was carrying Rachel's OTHER bag because I was traveling light, she wasn't. When her high-heels fell out with a bra he and I looked at the pile, our eyes meet, looked back down and he goes "I don't even want to know". I will keep you posted once we are inspected this time.
Rachel has been sketching/drawing up a storm, which seems to make her happy. I have been bestowed the appellation, nom de guerre of The Royal Pencil Sharpener.
I have gotten for myself a keeper, a good wife.
When we get home we intend to drive South to see some family then over to AZ to see some more family and friends.
I think that it is starting to warm up here again.
M

Art Projects

So I've finished a few of my art projects I decided to undertake while here. One of them was the cranes, which is the second picture. The drawing is one of Michael I did a few days ago. I've been conversing via Facebook with Mike's cousin Darlene. She's a professional artist/teacher and got me inspired to draw regularly again. I'll post more from my sketch book as I fill its pages. It's kind of nice to just sit down and draw every few days. I haven't been able to do it everyday just yet, but about every 3 seems to be the case.

Things are slowing down even more. It's pretty nice. The one thing I'm not really looking forward to is the 0500 formations every morning that comes with being back in the states. Oh well...I'm working on getting placed at Madigan, which should be good. I'm looking forward to being in a hospital again. I've got a rather large school undertaking that's getting ready to happen once we return.

All in all we're doing pretty well. I'm enjoying my down time with Michael. I think I've shifted the items around in our room about five times since we've started packing and getting our boxes to the conex to be shipped in a couple of weeks. Michael finds it a bit compulsive, but can't complain since every time I do move the "furniture" around I also clean like a maniac. Hard to imagine for my parents, I'm sure.

Life is good. We got some beautiful birthday/anniversary cards from my dad and Kris today. They made us smile. It's nice to know people you love are thinking about you. It's so strange being here knowing that the rest of the world is carrying on while you're in this little microcosm of a place focusing on completing a mission. The Super Bowl has been going on and the only reason I know is because they've allowed the soldiers a two beer limit yesterday (Sunday) and today (Monday) in celebration. Mike and I didn't partake as we feel weapons, a combat zone, and alcohol don't exactly mix very well...especially when you've been alcohol free for the better part of a year and your tolerance is way down.

It's hard to believe that soon we'll be back in the states. It was hard to believe I'd finally get here because a year seems so long in some ways. Certain parts of the deployment just moved like molasses and others just flew by. Now we're at the home stretch and I'm so excited as well as a little sad. We've spent the first year of our marriage here and our first home was this little 10'x14' box. I've grown really fond of it. Don't get me wrong, it will be really nice to be in a house and have room to spread out, but this whole experience was very good for us.

Well, I need to try and get some sleep. We love all of you. TTFN.

R.

Pro-mask

or protective mask or gas-mask...a big black strappy thing we wear on our face to protect us from bio-chemical agents. It has several filters that make breathing a whole lot more challenging. You sound and look kind of like Darth Vader wearing this thing.

To clarify what Rachel just wrote about me running with a gas-mask on...since I think that is the first time that she has mentioned it. Since we have returned from mid-tour leave, where I got pneumonia, my run time has suffered getting over the crud. So to more fully engage my intercostals and diaphram I started running wearing this cruel, black, suffocating, face-octopus for my 2s and 3s and squats and chin-ups...brutal but effective. It did cut almost 90 seconds off of my run time.

Back when I was in the Marine Corps, PT or chores wearing a pro-mask was for special occasions like corrective training or group punishment. It was also used to boost an individual's, MY, motivation, which would seem counter-productive but I can assure you from intimate personal experience that it worked with wicked elegance.

Just a quick back-brief. "Squirrel!..."

Stasis

Hello everyone! It's my turn to blog again and I have no idea what to write about as nothing's really going on. Things are just slowly but surely winding down. I think the hardest part about this phase is waiting. All of these briefings, all of the forms to fill out, all of the online questionaires, etc. Everywhere you go it's "hurry up and wait." One very frustrating part of the Army is that aspect. Get everyone together super early and then wait for the main briefing only to realize half of the people gathered weren't even needed for the briefing. So you just waited an hour for something you didn't even have to go to in the first place. I'm also ready to be back so that I can keep continuing with my classes. I've got a bunch of science/lab courses I want to start once we're settled in. We're on the waitlist for a house on post, and I'm praying one will be ready by the time we get there so we don't have to be aimlessly waiting for one to open up.

It's been very cold here. Mike said January is the coldest month. What's strange is that it's only in the 40s and 50s, but it feels freezing because we've acclimated to 120 degree summers. It's been raining a lot, and rain over here brings about this mud that is indescribable. It's like clay and it makes a mess no matter how hard you try. If you step into it you'll sink to your mid-shins. It's that reason why they cover large areas with small rocks so that you don't sink into the mud.

I'm still researching up a storm and Mike and I spend our time watching lots of movies. Last night we watched "Time Traveler's Wife," which is based on a book. It's extremely sad near the end and so I was crying up a storm, and had to take some Mucinex D before bed so that I could breathe out of my nose while sleeping. My nose is still raw from all the tissues.

Michael's now wearing a long-sleeve PT shirt when he runs, which is incredible. Back at Lewis he was the guy running in summer PTs (short sleeve shirt and shorts) when there was three inches of snow on the ground and below freezing. They had to put a memo out about proper PT uniform in winter in Washington because of him. He's always the one who does something that makes people have to come up with a rule because they never thought someone would actually do what he pulled off.

He's also stopped running in his gas mask. And I quote his response to my question of if he was going to wear it for his run, "No! I will NOT be wearing that black, satanic object!" This from the guy who was thinking about running in a Lucha Libre mask. He's now officially stated he no longer wants one...of course this is ALWAYS subject to change.

All in all we're doing well. At least we're keeping each other in good humor despite the frustrations of getting out of here. Well, I need to get some stuff done, drink my tea, and relax on my day off. I hope all of you are happy, healthy, and safe. We love you. TTFN.

R.

Missions...

Rachel says that I am irritable lately...I think that it is just this specific mission...We are just as busy as ever and as we get closer to returning there is a sense of complacency that rises along with the urgency to not be complacent..uneasiness about what's next, what didn't we plan for and the anticipation. It is this annoying cautious vibe...We have all of these post-deployment assessments/hoops to clear and the endless checklists and redundant admin issues. The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing, in this case it is admin section and operations... The missions seem to be longer for me some how? Like my gear has gotten heavier or something. I have become impervious to motion-sickness thanks to these jerkish hot shot show-off blackhawk pilots wanting to "...make the guy in back (me) puke". It is probably 30-40 degrees cooler now than summer too? So the locals are all bundled up when we are out circulating and it is nerve wracking seeing all these bulky clothes, people naturally keep their hands in their pockets...blah blah...I imagine that that all makes perfectly NO sense to you but I can tell you about it all once we return if you want. Just ask me what happened on Dec 5 2009.

I was down South over the marshes recently and saw something that Rachel's Granddad and I talked about during mid-tour leave, oil refineries. When I asked about these big fires out in the desert I was told that they burn off all the natural gas here rather than let the foreign oil companies use it. If that is true, what a waste. I seem to remember her Granddad telling me they burn some part of it as a safety/release valve, but here they had a fire going up on top of the tower and then out over the wells too.

We have been here for nearly a year and I have been to the IZ, international zone, a hundred times but I finally got a photo under the Saddam Sabers. So I can check that off of my "life-list", JK.

Rachel has been studying children's education. Several of our friends back home have recently had a baby or are in the last tri-mester and it has got Rachel pre-nesting HARD. We have a strategy, a plan that I am trying my level best to abide by. We agreed that she should get her nursing degree out of the way before we proceed with the piglet(s). She is a rational, civilized person about all of this until we get a photo or an ultrasound of some happy, sad, screaming, smiling, sleeping pre-adult. THEN Rachel becomes a cooing, treacherous, plotting, compromising, pre-nesting, baby needful, maternal creature...I told her that we can get a cat, dog, goat, fish, monkey...pet to appease the craving but please, SOMEBODY, talk some rational sense into her or you may find yourself shopping for baby-shower gifts sooner than you'd expect or desire. HA!

I got a letter from my Mom, living up just inside the artic circle at minus 35, who thinks the internet is a passing fad and too much of a hassle. Like not being able to salt the icy roads because the bears and moose come out to quench their salt cravings isn't...Like having to tote a highpowered rifle around to fend of bear, wolf and wayward moose isn't a hassle or having to bundle up in several layers of clothing so you don't FREEZE to DEATH walking across the street to work isn't a hassle...or having to "import" everyday necessities like hygiene items and food, along intermittant internet and phone service. I think that we have it better here in Iraqistan sometimes, I have never shot a wolf that was scavenging in our dumpster here. She is amazing to me. She cracks me up. I love her.

Anyway, we hope to see and chat with you all soon, MIKE

Lazy Sunday

Not too much going on right now. We got our first day off together that we haven't had in awhile, which was really nice. Sunday at the chow hall is ribs, and so we got lunch and then went to the local movie store to get some new DVDs. Right now we're watching "The Book of Eli," and so far it's pretty interesting. Another post-apocolyptic, dysotopian future type movie, but it's got an interesting twist to it.

Lately I've been all caught up in researching homeschool and education methods. It's fascinating. I've read a lot about it and the education method I've really come to love is Charlotte Mason. I found a curriculum through a website called Ambleside Online, and a lot of my time has been taken up reading about it. I guess until I'm doing classes again, the energy I'd normally focus on getting my assignments done is now being used for these random research projects. Fun times. Except this project isn't quite so random because it's about educating our future kids.

I've been quilting a little bit, but it's calmed down for right now. In the next week my schedule should decrease significantly, but until then it's been rather hectic. So I'm just using my downtime to rest and recharge.

Anyway, we're doing well, and we love you all and are looking forward to being home soon. TTFN.

-R.

Twitter!

Just a quick little update. If you scroll down below our picture on the right hand side, you will see a box that connects to my Twitter account. I created this account several months ago with the hope of linking it to this blog, but could not for the life of me figure it out. Well, guess who finally figured it out? That's right, me. So! Now you can see what Michael or I am up to on (hopefully) a daily basis. I'll do my best to put up one sentence every day. We're trying to blog up here more (or at least I am) as things are calming down, but sometimes the writing muse refuses to wake up from her nap!

This is just a little bit of fun for all of you to enjoy. Anyway, we love all of you. TTFN.
R.

January 2010

We are now in the year 2010! So far January has been rather uneventful. Our New Year's Eve was brought in by a mortar attack. This one was probably the worst one we've been through yet. We were on our way to chow and all of a sudden the siren goes off and BOOM! We had to run into one of the bomb shelters around here. Once it settled down we continue our way to chow and there were a few cars along the road that put on their flashers and stopped. The people in the car had also run to some of the bomb shelters along the way. Then we get to the chow hall and everyone's joking, "They were off by about four hours! They could've at least waited until midnight!"

Other than that it's been extremely uneventful. I won't be starting online classes again until I'm back in the states so I've been taking it pretty easy. I've been quilting (on block 6!), and I finished my 150 some odd cranes out of 2" origami paper. That was fun. Michael calls them "swans" or "doves" and sometimes when I hold one up infront of his face to look at he'll grab it with his mouth like he's going to eat it. It's pretty funny.

One thing I've noticed about Iraq are the crows. I've never seen such big, healthy crows before. They're beautiful here as well as quite bountiful. My favorite part of the missions I'm on are when we're on our way back and we're driving to the drop off point on post and there's this particular stretch of road where there's HUNDREDS of these crows. I've noticed the peak time for them is around 7-8 AM. They're all lined up along the street lights and fence posts angrily cawing like little black feathered hecklers. Some of the trees along the way will have 20-30 of them all making a ruckus in its branches. It's wild. There's also been a few sightings of the elusive "hooded crow" which is what the picture is of. They're usually a sign of something dead nearby as they're like vultures in their eating habits.

A couple of weeks ago Michael and I were on our way to evening chow and two of these crows were eating something someone dropped and it was the closest I'd been to them. They're HUGE. Easily around 12-15 inches. Almost as big as Ravens.

Anyway, we're doing well. We're working on getting a house on post, figuring out our plan for the next year, and getting ready to leave. It's kind of exciting and sad at the same time. This little place has been our first home for our first year of marriage and we've grown rather fond of it. We've downsized a lot of the stuff in it. So even though we'll be missing this place, we're looking forward to being in a house soon.

SIDE NOTE: Please stop sending packages as we're hitting the 30-60 days until departure and we don't want anything getting lost out here. We've been extremely thankful for all of the thoughtfulness and appreciate all that everyone has done for us. It's made this stay here more bearable. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

We hope all of you had a great New Years and that 2010 will be filled with many blessings and wonders. We love you all. TTFN.

R.

Well...

We are in the last QTR of our deployment and the first stages of fixing to return.
Paperwork and packing things, I watched Rachel pack and unpack and then pack and then inventory several bags and a large toughbox. I wrote down the various contents as she called them out..." box of colored pencils, Prisma-color, 120...notebooks, 2...books, 37!...green, strappy thing we never used, 1..." She had done the same for me earlier, teamwork, Hooah...

It is about time we return, they have been having a watermelon blight here at the VBC Chowhall.

Rachel will most likely be home a week or three before me. Hopefully our vehicles are not vandalized or anything unpleasant...while we were away the guy watching them all LOST the keys to the entire lot of vehicles, neat huh?

It was solemn as I took down our free, humble little 3 foot Charlie Brown tree, but it fit in one of our boxes so I will be importing our 1st Xmas tree to the US for future Woolley Christmases to come. I regret that there will not be room however for the orange 5 gallon drink dispensing cooler that I found, or the 6 sets of plastic chest of drawers we used for all our various medical supplies and food-things.

Rachel is quilting up a storm, 5 squares down, 51 to go...all by hand! Her stitches are exquisite, she can suture my face anytime.
We are looking forward to getting back and starting a home together. Cheer for us.