Thanksgiving 2009

This year I spent Thanksgiving at my friend Jennifer's house. I helped her make our first pumpkin pies and I made my sweet potatoes. A few co-workers joined us for the delicious meal as well. It was nice to have a fun and relaxing Thanksgiving dinner with my Navy family and my dog, Twinkie.

Blue Angels Homecoming Show

There's nothing like the rushing sound of the Blue Angels flying through the sky above you. At their last airshow of the year, the Blue Angels didn't fail to impress me with their acrobatic tricks and stunts. They are truly talented and make me feel proud to be a part of the Blue Team!

People came from all over the country to see the show, so parking was disasterous. Fat Albert did a few stunts as well, unfortunately I didn't get many pictures of it.

Halloween 2009

This year, I had a relaxing Halloween. As always, I decided to bake something delicious so I popped a spice cake in the oven and decorated it as a pumpkin. It didn't turn out as "pretty" as I had imagined, but at least it was orange. Twinkie was all dressed-up in her pirate costume but did not want to keep the hat on! When it was just around sunset, I headed over to Jennifer's house to pass out candy to all of the trick-or-treaters. She was Ms. Freddy Krueger and I was Lady Gaga. The children were a little disappointing though because they didn't look excited, hardly anyone rang the doorbell, and most of them didn't even have real costumes on. Where did the Halloween spirit go?? Hopefully kids will have more fun with it next year!

Break Em' In!

This past week I bought new boots for my new digital camis (which will be ready tomorrow!) and spent all day breaking them in. Within the first 30 minutes of wearing them, I could already feel my feet starting to go numb. To ease the expected pain I doubled up my socks and put foot cushions inside. I've been told many ways on how to break in new boots which consisted of water or Vaseline, but I didn't want to make things messy. So I strutted around my kitchen in my adorable black and white pocket dress and steel-toed boots and life was good.

What's Cookin'?

To pass the time and simply because I will miss it once I go to the Reagan next year (I'll be in San Diego next June!), I have taken up cooking in my kitchen. Here are a few things I have learned along the way: 1) The easiest most delicious meal I've made is French Onion soup in a bread bowl 2) Instant mashed potatoes will NEVER be as good as homemade mashed potatoes 3) Pancakes are really hard to flip when the pan is cheap and way too hot 4) I make too much food for only one person. Tomorrow I'm going to make my first attempt at lemmon pepper shrimp!

Home on Leave!

After what seemed like years, I finally took some time off work and headed back to the grand state of Ohio to see the family. It was so nice being able to relax and spend time with my grandparents, parents, siblings, and friends. I was pretty upset when I found out that I am shorter than Cody and Kelsey, those kids are growing too fast! Cameron was mighty happy to see me, I'm not so sure Carter knew who I was but he's just so cute it didn't matter anyway! Dad was so busy when I was home, but I'm glad we were able to share some time together. Michael gladly showed me around his apartment and downtown Canton. Mom was happy just to be with me, and me and her and the grandparents all spent a relaxing day together. All-in-all, it was good to be home... See you at Christmas!

4th of July

I had an amazing 4-day 4th of July weekend this year! I spent most of the weekend with Jennifer at her house and the beach. On the 3rd I met up with my boot camp/THU buddy, Emily who was in Pensacola visiting her Uncle on leave. I missed her so much! On the 4th we went to Flounder's for dinner (excellent shrimp poboys) then watched the fireworks on the beach. I also made a delicious American Flag cake that everyone devoured. Overall it was a very enjoyable weekend in Florida.

The ASR Lab

Welcome one and all to NATTC Pensacola's Air Traffic Control ASR Lab! Here, ATC students learn the basics of airport surveillance radar. They get hands-on training as they communicate with computer 'pilots' and help bring in aircraft to the airport without the chances of getting into any real danger with real aircraft. This is also the lab that I work in. I work on the IOS as an aid to the instructors so the lab runs smoother.

The New Place

I realize that I haven't put up posts recently... my apologies. Well since my last blog I have finally moved into my new house! It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, and is conveniently located less than one mile outside of the back gate to NATTC Pensacola. Here are some pictures...

The Pet Store

I love going to the pet store... the puppies and kitties are so adorable!!! This little one was rescued and on sale thanks to Father's Day. But no worries dad, I didn't buy a dog for me or you for Father's Day ; )

Fishing in Pensacola

I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow I was dragged to Pensacola Beach to go fishing with my roomate Shayne. There were a lot of people there and it was pretty fun. But our catch of the day only consisted of 2 eels and a baby catfish.

Welcome to Correy Station!

Well, I just couldn't stand being in the barracks anymore so I moved into Correy Station for approximately 1 week before I moved into the house. It was pretty nice to have a mini kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom to myself for once!!!

This Weekend

Only one more week... that's what I keep on telling myself. Only one more week until I move out of the barracks and into my house with my two new roomates!! So it only seemed logical that I spend all weekend packing and cleaning my room! I don't know how it got so disasterous within one day, but I fixed that problem. This week is going to be slow... I wanna move now!!!

Making Friends

After graduation day I went... NOWHERE!! Because once again I was put on hold because I reenlisted from Full Support Reserves to Active Duty and my paperwork took forever to go through. Last Friday, May 29, my orders finally popped and I'm going to be stationed in Pensacola for a year! I'm working in the ASR (radar) labs at the ATC school house. So i the meanwhile I've been meeting people, and making friends which is always a plus.

April 3, 2008 - Graduation Day

After 4 and a half months of cramming 3 year's worth of college in Air Traffic Control school, I was awarded my certificate and "pink card" which qualifies me for controlling aircraft. I also get to wear a spiffy rating badge on my uniforms.

Living in P-Cola

Living in Pensacola is fun... although there isn't much to do. Most of the time I enjoy laying on the beach, going to the mall, IHOP, or Walmart, or simply hanging out with friends.

Flying to FL!

On October 25, I finally boarded my flight to Florida... of which the second flight I missed. So I ended up sleeping overnight in the airport in Atlanta. I soon realized how uncomfortable and nearly impossible it was for me to fall asleep curled up in a noisy airport on a hard chair. The next day I checked into NATTC Pensacola, where I would live the next 7 months to train as an Air Traffic Controller (but school was only 4.5 months long).

THU - Temporary Holding Unit

Unfortunately, a few days before I was supposed to leave boot camp for Florida for "A" School, I was told I would be put on hold because they forgot to give me a flight physical. I was very unhappy to say the least. So I spent the next month in THU doing nothing but cleaning and hanging out in Chicago and Wisconsin with my grandparents.

August 4- September 26

The days in boot camp were long and stressful. The first day was the worst. We were all sleep-deprived for the first 48 hours as we all checked into Great Lakes Naval Staion and got familiar with the compatment and our RDCs (Recruit Division Commander). Staying in one compartment with 80 other girls is enough to make a person go crazy. Yet we were mostly busy with activities such as folding clothes, shining shoes, ironing, studying, fire fighting, gas chambers, getting shots, and physical training. But it was all worth it in the end, when I graduated on September 26th and was reunited with my family.

August 4, 2008 - Boot Camp

This was an emotional day... I was anxious to start my new career, but I knew boot camp wouldn't be a walk in the park. Leaving my family was, and still is, the hardest part. But, alas! The little bird must leave it's nest some day. My flight (which was my first plane trip EVER) was delayed a gazillion times due to poor weather in Chicago. Eventually I said my goodbyes and headed onto the plane that would take me to my new life.