Hurricane Icky

Meh. That's all I have to say.

I was not here when Hurricane Ike hit land. I spent the weekend in San Antonio, TX with my husband and 4 of our friends. We had a fabulous time and not a drop of rain.

When we returned there was little damage to the exterior of our apartment and we were lucky enough to have power. Yay!!

All in all, we're good.

Psst! That's a pic of us at the Alamo next to a well.

Hurricane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so maybe not. But it is supposed to be a tropical storm at least and its headed our way. Max gets the rest of today and all of tomorrow off of work which means I will have company! Yay!

Yesterday we went to a Beer and Sausages party at a friend's house. It was fun. Max and I got liquored up and then we were tired and head ache-y. Blah. I ended up crocheting a blanket I'm working on while watching a Gregory Peck movie. Max worked on his final for his Micro Economics class (?).

I like BanOranPin Juice.

Inside Andrea's Sofa

While moving from my parents' home to Texas with my husband, Max, we discovered that my Ikea love seat was jingling like a set of keys. We opened up the bottom to reveal three pairs of tweezers, two nail files, a bottle of nail polish, and a ballpoint pen. Apparently in the time I lived with my best friend, Jacque, my sofa had squirreled away plenty of our beauty tools.

After arriving in Texas and settling into our new apartment, I was replacing the cover on that same sofa when again, I heard a rattling. This time it was a pen and a Ziploc bag containing a watch, two bracelets, a pair of earrings, and a nail file. Hmmm, I'm starting to wonder if I should keep this thieving sofa... The most exciting part was that one of the bracelets was my charm bracelet that I had mourned the loss of for a few years now. Yay! I'm so glad it is recovered (both the bracelet and the sofa).

More updates on civilian life later. I'm busy.

For Here or To Go?

To go, please! I am getting way too excited! I am leaving soon. I will be home in less than a month and things are coming together. We will be moving out of our CHUs in a week. We have to live in tents for a few days before leaving for Kuwait. You might remember from earlier stories that Kuwait is hell. Yes, I have to make a quick stop in hell before going back to the States. Last time we stopped in Budapest, Hungary. I had a good time for the few hours we were there. I hope we stop in Ireland this time. Ireland is another common place for military flights to stop for refueling. :)

Yay! I'm almost home!

Stop Army

For all of you who didn't notice, check out my dream blog. The link is on the right side of this page. Seriously, look!

Time to leave is getting closer and closer (yay). I have already sent my footlocker home and am getting the rest of my things together to send. May is the last full month we'll spend in country and I am very excited about that. The new doctors are here and seem tolerable. The temperatures are still hanging right around 100 degrees which is not what I expected. I really thought we'd be above that by now. I'm not complaining though.

The mood here is a mix of excitement, anxiety, and irritation. Everyone is ready to be done here and to go home. Its difficult to explain the heightened awareness that you are a rat in a cage (thanks Billy). I know I'm ready to take control of my life again. My new slogan: Stop Army.

We Didn't Start The Fire

My electricity keeps going out. I'm tired of it because the AC keeps shutting off. Its hot! The highs are going over 100 degrees now and I am sweating to death. I'm not dramatic--I'm hot. I also keep worrying that I'm going to wake up late for work and get in trouble. Stupid electricity outages. Stupid Iraqi desert temperatures. Stupid heads. I quit.

Eureka!!!

I was just getting undressed in my CHU after a long day at work when I thought I saw a little piece of glitter on my small rug. I bent down to inspect it closer and guess what? IT WAS MY LOST DIAMOND!!! Holy crap! How it has been there for over two weeks and I haven't seen it, is a mystery to me!!!

I'M SO EXCITED!!!! Yay!!!!

Easter Bunny Strikes Again

Yay!!! The Easter Bunny made it all the way to Al Asad, Iraq to deliver fresh eggs to soldiers everywhere!! That's right. I had fresh eggs for Easter breakfast. I am one happy soldier.

Can I go home now?

A Diamond Lost in the Rough

I don't know when it happened but one of my diamonds in my engagement ring has suddenly gone missing. It was one of the smallest ones along the band. Perhaps it felt overlooked or underappreciated. I don't know. I only wished I could have coaxed it into staying. Now there is only a hollow cavity where it once shined. It will be sorely missed.

"It is better to have had and lost than to never have had at all." (small adaptation for the situation)

I would like to have a moment of silence.

Thank you.

Bubble Gut

After braving the long, cold days of the Iraqi winter, Spring has finally arrived and who better to herald the news to me than my dear old friend, Allstate. I spied him on my window yesterday after many weeks of absence. It was really great to see him again. I will post a pic later to prove his existence.

Defiant against the stifling of my creativity, I have made a photo book of Max and me. It is available for viewing on blurb.com and really there's no time like the present to stop reading this blog and go check out that site! Like a proud parent, I insist that you be nice to my book and love it as much as Max and I do.

I just felt like run-nin'. Thank you, Forrest.

Hello February!

It has been awhile since I've written and for good reason. I have just returned from a 15 day holiday in Italy with my husband, Max. It was my leave from Iraq and well worth every moment. Max and I decided to take advantage of my location on this planet and the free airplane ticket offered by the US military to spend my leave in Italy, more specifically: Florence, Rome, and Venice.

Max arrived by plane first in Frankfurt, Germany. He spent his time roaming the immediate area around his hotel waiting patiently for me to meet him there. I arrived in the early morning on January 31st. Our hotel in Frankfurt was small but nice. I really liked the modern design. Max enjoyed the glass walls surrounding the shower that was in the main room. (haha) We only spent one night there before hopping on the train to Florence.

Florence was our favorite place we visited in Italy. We hit all the major sights and sites. :) I bought some nice stationery and Max and I got a wine bottle cork top with Florence's symbol, the iris. After Florence, we took the train to Rome. Rome is a crazy, busy city with ruins at every turn. Very cool. You should go. It was in Rome that we had the best pizza--mmmm! Our last stop was Venice, where we of course took a gondola ride. Venice was romantic but a bit sad as we knew it was our last stop. I think we both wanted to return to Florence but I had to go back to Iraq. Oh, so sad.

Please check out my photos on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arcendis/sets/72157603931531466/

Foods I miss

1. Real eggs
2. Grilled Chicken
3. Spinach
4. Whole grain breads
5. Thai food
6. Steak
7. Zucchini
8. String Cheese

and much, much more.

I miss cooking.

New Year = New Post

Hello again. The new year has begun. Woo-Hoo! I don't make resolutions at the New Year, I do that all throughout the year. Sorry to disappoint you there. :P

It is frickin cold here! Every morning we walk to breakfast and freeze our faces off! Brrr... I don't ever want to come back to this country. It is terrible. I wouldn't even vacation here. Can you imagine it? Should we go to Fiji, Tahiti, or Baghdad? Hmmm... I would take vacationing in Detroit over this place. :)

Haaha, that's funny.