Holidaze

Janet called me yesterday and asked when everyone was coming. I had to admit I wasn't sure. So, who's heading to Atlanta, and when?

We'll have Christmas here. Amanda and Christina just got their own place and can only afford Top Ramen, so I feel sure we can count on them for dinner.

Not sure who might already know this but David is getting deployed again on Tuesday. So sad that this is happening right after little Alex was born. I am glad he was there with Luby and to spend some time with the baby before he has to leave, but I wish they would have honored their commitment to send him to school instead. There's a chance he could come back sooner than normal and go to school but it probably wouldn't be a good idea to get everyone's hopes up about that.

If you've only seen the picture of Alex that was posted here, you're missing out - Amanda and David took some great shots and posted them over on Facebook. Check them out if you're on Facebook.

We're probably not having a big to-do on New Year's Eve since it looks like everyone that is coming down is going home after the wedding. Let me know if I've got that wrong and we may rethink our plans. As most of you know, we'll have no room at the inn for the next several years, but the kitchen's still open for business : )

can't believe no one has posted this yet...

baby alex has arrived!!!

First Look at Lil Pooky Jr.

Yes, folks - this one's really our baby. No cute poses yet (maybe next time). Liubinka's not very far along so right now he/she is a little beency thing.

Leya and I hope it's a girl, but Mama feels like it's a boy and I'm a big believer in mother's intuition.

David Returning from Iraq

David will be arriving at Fort Hood Monday. Angela and I are hitting the road tomorrow morning to drive to Killeen so we can be there to meet him. I'm thankful he'll be back, safe and sound, very soon.

$11,000... I think I'd rather see what's behind door #2.

Today I was offered $11,000 to add another year onto my current enlistment to continue to serve my country and maintain my current Military Occupational Specialty and duty station... I respectfully slid my chair back, shook the man's hand, and said, "No thanks."

This is a lot of money, and the terms of the agreement aren't half bad either, but I couldn't bring myself to abandon my plans for a quick payoff. I am hoping to reclassify my MOS into something in the medical field, preferably an X-Ray Technician or Operating Room Specialist. I don't plan on staying enlisted for the duration of my career, but until I put some bars on my chest, I'll settle for something a bit more technical and challenging. I don't know if these jobs will offer as much of a bonus, but money, after all, cannot buy everything.

Speaking of money, I encourage all semi-capable individuals between the ages of 17 and 41 to consider a career in the United States Army. The Army life has many things to offer, and will introduce you to an extremely wide range of people and cultures. It is not, by any means, a way to get rich, but the training and experience you gain in this line of work will prepare you for anything life has to offer. The Army offers enlistment bonuses to many qualified applicants for a variety of Occupational Specialties, and as a token of my appreciation for your loyalty to your country, I will offer an additional $1,000 to anybody with the intestinal fortitude to take the oath of enlistment to become a soldier in the United States Army.

HOOAH

Back in Iraq

I know this is a bit overdue, but I've been pretty busy the past couple weeks. I've forgotten many of the details by now, but I've still got the big picture in my head.

I took Luby to Austin on 27 January, courtesy of my dad, to spend a couple nights at the Intercontinental on 7th street. We pulled up to the front door at about 2:30ish and less than five minutes later the bellman was putting our bags away. The room, though not as big as I had in mind, was fairly spacious. The TV was old and poorly placed, but we weren't there to watch television, so I wasn't too disappointed. After we got our bags unpacked and put away, we made our way back downstairs where the concierge directed us to a semi-casual seafood joint. Our faggot sissy waiter, Jeff, was very stuck-up, but didn't let that get in the way of his service. It wasn't until after we had paid and tipped him that he warmed up to us and tried to conversate. We started off with escargot, and since neither one of us have ever eaten bugs before it was a new experience. I'm a big fan of garlic so I had no complaints. Luby had shrimp alfredo and I had a po boy, which was quite unremarkable. For dessert, Jeff brought us a chocolate mug filled with white chocolate mousse and a mix of fresh berries... yum.

On the way back to the hotel, Roy's called me to confirm my reservation for that evening. We were stuffed, but they were more than happy to push back our reservation by a couple hours so we could get in some lazy time. As soon as we got to the hotel we hit the rack and didn't get up and dressed until about 30 minutes prior to our reservations. We got downstairs and I asked the concierge to hail a cab for me; and this guy walked right out into the middle of the street and called one over. We ended up getting to the restaurant a bit early, so we went to the bar and had a few drinks while we waited. I was drinking mojitos, my new favorite drink, and Luby was sipping on a lava flow. We got seated and had a hell of a time figuring out what to order. We started of with some lobster potstickers, of which I ate most of, and when dinner came I proceeded to stuff myself. I ordered kajiki and Luby had the butterfish with a lobster tail. When I was almost done with mine, we changed plates and I all but finished hers. We were both far too full to even think about dessert, so we carried our drunk asses outside and caught a cab back to the hotel.

When we walked in the room, we saw a fruit bowl and a bottle of Moet sitting in a bath of ice water (I guess it had been there for a while). Luby decided we were too drunk to pop the champagne that night so we decided we'd have mimosas for breakfast and went to bed. We woke up the next morning, and before the room service came with breakfast I got some fresh ice for the champagne and set it to chill. Breakfast came with a large caraffe of orange juice to make mimosas with, but after one sip of hers, Luby decided that it was far too dry and that she couldn't drink any more. Not one to waste alcohol, I happily finished the bottle by myself with my breakfast and laid back down.

A couple hours later, it was time for us to get dressed and ready to drive back to Killeen for our neice and nephew's birthday party. After a few hours and a few ill-spoken words, we were back on the road to Austin. Luby wasn't feeling well, so we canceled our plans to go out and stayed in bed all night. The next day, we had room service bring up breakfast and squeezed in about an hour's worth of a nap before we had to pack our things and get out. We were sad to leave so soon, but were also glad to get back to the kids.

On the way up to Killeen, we stopped in Pflugerville to catch a movie. We saw Epic Movie, which wasn't as bad as its counterparts, but definitely would have been more appropriate as a bootleg. We left the theater and headed for the outlet mall in Round Rock. About three hours and $500 later we were ready to leave and headed to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. Compared to what we had been eating the past couple days, Joe's food was pretty boring. We made our way back to Killeen, and after a quick visit with my suegra we were back at the house, living as commonfolk again.

I know there's more to tell about my leave, but for now this will suffice. I'll get Luby to post pictures as soon as I can talk her into it. I never imagined I'd say this, but damn I miss Texas.

Rambling, Rocking

David headed back to Iraq on Monday after a couple of weeks of leave. I'm still waiting on blog posts about his & Liubinka's new four-legged family member, as well as seeing some of the video he shot with his new toy (a digital video camera). I hear he had a lot of catching up to do while on leave, so he'll get a pass...but only a temporary one!

Amanda is going to dog sit here for the weekend while I head to Kentucky with Brian & Co. to visit his grandma. Grandma hasn't been doing too well lately. I hear she's stubborn, independent and did what she felt like doing instead of what doctors told her she had to do (sound familiar?) to get/stay healthy. So after falling for something like the 57th time she has been in some sort of extended care facility and has been less than thrilled about being there and losing her independence.

I think Amanda will bring some or all of her puppies, making for a big ol' doggie sleepover. She will have to try to tame this pack into submission on her own - Steve has to work all weekend and will not accompany her. I don't think the dogs will give her too much trouble once they realize who is in charge of the treats.

The cold weather is making my skin dry out to the point of being itchy and painful. I never thought I'd say that given that I have battled a greasy face and varying degrees of acne all my life. Stuff changes as you age.

Lastly, on a note that's completely, absolutely unrelated to anything I just wrote, I have to share this video of KT Tunstall performing Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. The song was released last year, I believe, so you may have heard it. I bought it from the iTunes store a while back without knowing anything about the amazing way the artist put it together, because it just rocks. Even if you don't like this genre you have to give her props.

Live from Iraq

Got to chat with David for a little while today. He brought a webcam in so I could actually see his mug. Kinda pixelated and jerky but very cool.

When I think about soldiers who were deployed just 10 years ago, and how difficult it was then to stay in touch with family and loved ones, it makes me appreciate things like this even more. It's got to be tough being so far away, regardless, but e-mail, chat and phone calls are a big help.