The time has come...

We go over the berm early tomorrow morning. I am a mix of emotions right now... Nervousness, excitement and exhaustion, to name a few.

As soon as I have my computer charged and the internet up and running in Iraq I will post some pictures and thoughts about Kuwait. But now it is time for me to re-pack my duffles, put my ballistic plates in my vest, get ammunition for my M9 and wait for the plane... Iraq here I come!

Stay tuned...

66HM5 out...

Finally off the plane!

I tried to post from Shannon International Airport when we laid over in Ireland, but I couldn't get the Wi-Fi to work for the life of me! Oh well... Anyhow, we arrived in Kuwait safe and sound a few hours ago and I had a couple of minutes on the computer in the MWR tent, so I thought I would post a quick blog. We will be here for a few days, then it is on to Iraq... Yikes!

I will keep you all posted as much as I can until I get regular internet in theater.

Thank you all for your well wishes, thoughts and prayers...

66HM5 out...

Ft. Benning in a flash...

We arrived at Ft. Benning on the 21st and it was a fast and furious week of training, readiness processing and three rounds of gear issue... The highlight of the week was the M9 range in the driving rain. Surprisingly I did fairly well and shot a 24 out of 30. Just a little photographic evidence of how hard it was raining and how proud I was to have shot so well despite my shaking hands due to the cold...

I also got to see quite a few people while I was here, which was great. I hadn't seen Tas or Angela in over a year, so I was really excited to spend some time with them. I also saw some of the third-year resident docs at the hospital before they are off to their next duty stations as attendings, which was nice, since I have such fond memories of working with them as little baby docs. Ha-ha.

This morning, we cleaned up the barracks and packed all of our gear into a box truck and headed to Atlanta in a cushy tour bus. Checking in for a military flight is just a little more involved than checking in for a normal flight... Especially with a weapon. According to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, I have 145.2 pounds of gear that I will be toting around with me for a few months on my little adventure to the desert. It is crazy that my gear is 20 pounds heavier than I am... Ha-ha.

Well, it is time to get on the plane... I'll try to update from Shannon, Ireland before I lose communication for a bit once we get in country.

66HM5 out...

The time is almost here...

To pack up my gear and go to Ft. Benning for pre-deployment readiness processing. I can't believe how fast the time is going and how fast our time went in Phoenix. Michael and I drove both of our cars and both cats to Phoenix a few days ago to get them settled in before we had to go back to El Paso. When we were crossing the New Mexico state line there was a group of people taking a picture with the sign on their van, so I had to get a shot of it... Once we got to Phoenix, we tried to do as many relaxing, fun things as possible while we were there, and succeded! Michael took me to feed some giraffes that some rich guy owns and boards in Chandler. It was so cool! They were quite friendly and as soon as we drove up they came right to the fence, because they totally knew we were there to see them. It was like going to the zoo, but with no crowd and fewer animals. He had a couple of pygmy horses, camels and zebras too, but we opted to feed the only the giraffes and zebras. Here I am with a giraffe licking my hand as I am feeding her. Michael also had his hand licked by the zebras, as well as drooled on by the giraffes... Gross! Ha-ha. My dad and Carolyn were in Phoenix the week we were there, so we had dinner and hung out with them, along with two friends of theirs a couple of times. It was great to see them before left. We spent the remainder of our time being lazy on the couch watching Grey's Anatomy on DVD... It was great!

But alas, we had to pack up and leave this morning so I could finish out-processing at the hospital and get my gear together to go. I made Michael stop at The Thing on I-10 on the way home, because I was dying to see what it was. Well, it was nothing special and a little creepy to be honest... But it was only a dollar a piece, so it wasn't a huge investment for a huge disappointment. This was the creepiest part of the display... But now I can say that I have seen the self-proclaimed world's only display of torture devices hand-carved out of wood. You're jealous, I know. Ha-ha.

Anyhow, we are back in El Paso for a couple of days before I am off. I better get to bed, I have a couple of long days and a lot of preparation before I head out.

I'll keep you all updated as things happen!

66HM5 out...

It is 4:34 in the morning...

And I am painfully and completely awake... I have been awake since 2:30 and just can't get back to sleep. The thoughts of everything that has to be done by next Friday woke me and I guess I needed to jot them all down. Now that I have three short to-do lists, broken down by category (Military, administrative and personal), along with a packing list, I am feeling a bit more settled. However, it is going to be a busy morning of laundry and packing before Michael and I head out to Phoenix with the cats this afternoon...

I guess that is it for now. The nerves are finally setting in and the unknown is quickly looming...

66HM5 out...

Deployment on the horizon...

So, I found out at the end of last week that I will be deploying (for real this time) at the end of March... It really is a mix of emotions and three weeks is a short time frame to get everything sorted out, packed up, taken care of, and out-processed. However, I have been waiting for this for almost a year now and am excited to add to my Army experiences. On the cusp of deployment and nearing four years in service, I have stopped to take a look at how my life has changed and how grateful I am that I have been given such great opportunities to touch the lives of others. I also am grateful to have found such a loving and understanding man that supports my dreams, motivates me, and most of all, is my touchstone...

Continuing on the deployment theme, I had my last night at work a couple of days ago and am now enjoying a little leave time with Michael. We had a great "date night" to celebrate the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. We ate at this amazing little joint called Crave Kitchen and Bar, had a bottle of La Crema Pinot, then went and played pool. Michael kicked my butt overall, but I did win a game or two!

But, the REAL reason I got on and blogged today was the cats... They are starting to get along really well and both Michael and I are amazed! This morning, while I was making breakfast, Michael opened the kitchen window and both cats went nuts! They both jumped on the window sill to look out and were mezmerized by all of the outside activity. I quickly ran for my camera to digitally documented it because they were being so cute and nice to one another!

Anyhow, I have a week left here in El Paso to tie up loose ends and get myself ready to go, then it is off to Phoenix for almost a week of fun in the sun and a visit with my dad and Carolyn, then it is back to El Paso for a couple days for some last minute preparation and a flight out to Ft. Benning for CRC on the 20th or 21st. I will update everyone with my new address in theater via e-mail.

Well, it is off to try and get some stuff accomplished today... I will keep everyone posted about our upcoming adventures!

66HM5 out...

Fast and furious...

Would be an apt description of the months following my birthday until the present day. So to fill you all in, here goes...

I had an unexpected belated birthday gift fall into my life the day after my birthday in the form of a boy... A man rather. I wasn't quite sure I was ready for it, but after a little freak-out on my part, and a week of wondering what he was doing, if he was thinking about me, if he almost called me as many times as I almost called him, and missing him, I snapped out of it and just allowed myself to be happy. His name is Michael and I am beyond lucky to have met him... I spent much of October traveling. I took three or four trips to Phoenix to see Michael, and I went to Wisconsin to see Sarah and Larry get married! It was a perfect fall day, and a beautiful ceremony. Other than that, I just worked, worked and worked.

Novemeber was a little more eventful... I kicked off the month with a promotion to Captain... Every Lieutenant's dream! I was feeling a little blue because none of my friends or family were there, but Michael sent flowers to the ER and that made me feel better. I also continued the "funny cake" tradition started by myself, Tas and Maggie back at Ft. Benning. I had a very cool dinosaur cake. It was a big hit with the ER staff, but you would be surprised at how hard it is to find toy dinosaurs in this town! I went to Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree and Dollar General before finding them at Target. I kept my favorite dino off the cake and now it hangs out with the Apache helicopter from my First Lieutenant promotion cake. In mid-November, I ran the first San Antonio Rock and Roll Half Marathon in 1 hour and 50 minutes. Pretty good for not really training that much, but I was hurting pretty badly for a few days after that! Ha-ha. This picture is at mile 12 in the race... Only 1.1 miles left to go! Notice that I am still smiling. What made the weekend even better was my mom taking a few days off work to fly to San Antonio to cheer me on and get a little mother-daughter time in. We had a great time on the Riverwalk, ate at some great restaurants, shopped and visited The Alamo. Funny that I spent three months in San Antonio in 2005 and never visited The Alamo. I tubed drunk down the Guadalupe River, and went to the mall a lot, but never visited The Alamo... Un-American, I know...

December was also quite exciting... I got to see Michael several times and he had Christmas arranged for me a few weeks early since I was working on Christmas. We had a great time getting a tree, decorating it, drinking, wearing silly hats, watching Buttercup (the cat) play with the ornaments, wrapping presents and then opening them. However, the highlight of the month was visiting Michael's parents in Yuma, AZ... On the 20th, while we were just about asleep in his parent's office, Michael told me that he couldn't imagine living another day of his life without me, and asked me to be his wife... I was shocked and stunned to say the least, but very happy. It took me a few moments and I actually think I heard him exhale in the dark when I said "Yes!" I rounded out December with some leave time. I spent New Year's with Michael in Phoenix, where we took our engagement photos in a park in downtown Chandler. At first we weren't sure how they would turn out, since the park wasn't that big, but we got almost 150 shots and they were great! After going to a friend's New Year's Eve party (where I got to show off my GORGEOUS ring and make girls jealous) we stayed at the Squaw Point Hilton right outside of Phoenix where we slept in, relaxed in some great weather, took silly pictures and enjoyed the grounds. We plan to go back and spend more than a couple of days next time!

January started out with two weeks left of leave... Nashville for a few days to see Misty and Chris, then it was on to San Jose to see part of the family. Michael came out to California for a few days, meeting a couple of my mom's friends in the Bear Valley area, and then meeting the majority of my dad's family at my Auntie B's birthday party... Here we are being silly in the back of Ginger's car on the way to Murphy. January 18th found me back to the grindstone and preparing for the GRE. Michael also decided to pack up his life in Chandler and Buttercup (the cat) and move to El Paso. A big adjustment to say the least, but it is wonderful to have him here! I rounded out the month by doing well enough on the GRE to apply for Long Term Health Education through the Army. Yeah!

February flew by fairly uneventfully. Michael and I celebrated our first Valentine's Day with a little mini-golf and go-karting at one of the local amusement establishments. Here I am next to one of the many water hazards, where my ball spent most of the time we were out there, so of course it had to be digitally documented... Ha-ha. The one question we kept asking all night was, "Why did they put blue dye in the water?" It was very strange...

So there you have it... The last few months in the life of this Army Nursey! Thanks for tuning in again!

66HM5 out...