Navy Life and Beyond

Im Back!

2013-03-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! It is been a long time since my last blog.I apologize for my laziness.LOL ;) For almost two years of my absence,i dont know where to start,and how to start.:)But,anyway here is our family update. I gave birth 11 months ago to a beautiful son,he weighs 8lbs.3oz,squeezing an 8lbs baby was tough,for a tiny lady like me. Hubby and I are so happy and blessed for the beautiful kids we have.Angel is kinda jealous at first when the baby arrived.And, I tried to explain it to her that she is a big sister now,she understand,and she is helping me taking care of JJ.,Oh,we named our son JOHN HENRY.he is a JR.so we call him JJ,a short for John Junior.

Home Security for our new house.

2012-03-27T21:07:00.002-07:00

Its been a long time since I have updated our webpage. Our lives have been busy transitioning from military life back to being a civilian. With work secured we decided that it was a good time to buy a new house. We thought it was a good idea to get a home security system for our recent investment. The best system that we could find is http://www.HOMESECURITYFAMILY.com There are a lot of good options with this system. Some examples are wireless keypad, window monitoring,loud alarm,and many others. I would highly recommend this system to everybody. They are just a phone call away 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the year. That is all we have to update for right now. We hope you all enjoyed our stories. Until next time take care.

High School Teacher

2012-02-22T21:37:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Lemuel Craft

As a high school teacher, I love my job, but there are times when I am pretty tired at the end of the day. I am sure that is true of all jobs, but dealing with high school students who are not always interested in learning can present its share of challenges. I also feel that give the amount of work that I do and the time and energy I invest in my students that the pay could be improved as well. Living as a single girl on a teacher’s salary is not too bad, but I definitely feel like I earn my paycheck. To make my paycheck last I am always looking for ways to save money. I switched to fixed-rate-energy through TexasElectricityProviders to lower my average monthly energy bill. I also cook big meals a couple of nights a week and eat the leftovers for several days. Some of my girlfriends hate leftovers and eat out far more often than I, but I am saving a lot of money by cooking frequently. I also buy the Sunday paper and coupon for groceries and even discounts to restaurants. While the pay is not perfect, I love teaching. I am willing to make sacrifices to do a job that is so rewarding. It also does not hurt to have summers off.

Wanting a Playground

2012-01-16T17:05:00.000-08:00

Author: Joseph Sandoval

It is amazing how times change. When I was younger I always wanted a playground set. I would beg my parents to get one. I would even give them all the reasons why I playground would be a good purchase. My kids beg me for Frederick high speed internet and give me all the reasons why it would be a good purchase. I completely see their points and I am not disagreeing with them at all. It has just been funny to me because I see myself in both of my kids. They both present an argument very well and both realize that there should be valid support with your argument. I can see them both being very successful as lawyers. I just think it is interesting that when I was little every child wanted to have the most fun playing outside. Now, it seems every child wants to make sure they have the best facebook profile or twitter page. What happened to the days of pretend and imagination? Why is a playground no longer every child’s dream?

My Artistic Sister

2011-12-14T14:33:00.001-08:00

Guest post written by my buddy Aldo Mays

My sister recently decided to open an art gallery in downtown Atlanta. She’s been a “starving artist” since she graduated from college and my parents were less than thrilled when she told them the profession she chose after studying social work for five years at UGA. It took her four years to channel her talent onto the canvas, and I have to admit, she is very talented. She decided to open the gallery after a friend of hers in real estate found her a great deal on a beautiful brick building. She spent months prepping the building and even had an alarm system installed for a decent price that she found on ALLHOMEsecurity.com. She had beautiful lighting and hardwood floors installed, and she’ll be displaying her canvases as well as some pottery made by another local artist. Her opening night for the gallery is on Friday, and our entire family will be there to support her. It took my parents a few years to admit it, but they couldn’t be prouder of my sister’s success.

Got Online

2011-12-14T14:31:00.001-08:00

Guest post of the week by Deangelo Spencer

I logged onto www.texaselectricityproviders.com and switched our energy provider to a company where I would save more money each month. With the money that I am saving each month, I have decided that I will sign up for a pilates class. All of my friends have been raving about pilates and how strengthening it is. One of my friends is going to school to be a pilates instructor and has gotten so tone so quickly that it makes me think that I need to hope on this work out train. Now, that I have the extra money, I don’t see a reason why I shouldn’t. Afterall, my best friend is getting married next year and I don’t want to be the totally out of shape bridesmaid. I can just imagine myself looking lean and tone in the cute bridesmaid dresses that she picked out. Maybe I can meet a cute single guy at the wedding! That would be a great story, meeting your future husband at a wedding. I can just see myself telling my kids that now.

My Artistic Sister

2011-09-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

Big Bang Theory is a Big Hit With Me

2011-07-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

Guest written by our friend Clara Castro

The 'Big Bang Theory' is the funniest sitcom on television today, and I'm so glad I can watch it on my satellite TV. The picture and sound are excellent. The picture, in particular, is important because of the subtle expressions of some of the characters. In particular, Penny and Sheldon make great faces at the other characters. The actors who portray them are funny and fresh and just really fine actors.
Last night's show was a little edgy with some of the dialogue, but the plot was funny. The guys (Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and Howard) were invited to a fundraising party for the university where they all work. Because they are considered the big brains in their department, it was important for them to meet and greet potential donors to the university. If you follow this show at all, you'll understand how 'off' these characters can be when mingling with 'normal' people. Sheldon is especially funny as he is such a genious that he simply can't understand people of normal intelligence levels. His misunderstandings are hilarious.
This is a show that I never miss. I always make sure I'm home in time to watch it on Thursday nights. It's the little show that could, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys sitcoms.(http://www.cannonsatellite.com!)

Seals and Crofts On The Water

2011-05-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

Guest post written by my buddy Israel Fowler
The Hermitage is a mansion just outside Nashville, Tennessee in which President Andrew Jackson lived. Today it is a popular tourist stop as is the water park named after it which is located across the highway from the mansion. The Hermitage water park consists of four swimming pools, two of which are Olympic sized, tennis facilities, putt-putt golf and some of the greatest barbecue in Tennessee. By far one of the most wondrous attractions at the water park is its floating stage. This area of the state sits on Old Hickory Lake which provides water and beaches to the water park. On this lake sits a floating stage which has seen many performers over the years.
My best friend in school, Terry, took me to the water park f! or my birthday one year and we stayed for the show on the floating stage, which was Seals and Crofts. (securitychoice.com) They've always been favorites of mine but I had never seen them until Terry suggested it. We had been veterans of Donny Osmond concerts together, so this was going to be a treat for both of us.
They took the stage just at sunset and we settled onto our towels with pink noses and cheeks from the sun that day to hear favorites like "Diamond Girl," "Summer Breeze," and my all-time favorite, "Get Closer." It was beautiful.

Family Visit

2011-03-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

They arrived here on 3 Feb 2011 and just left yesterday on 3 Mar 2011. Oscar was only here for one week at the beginning and at the end. We had alot of fun while they were here. We started out the vacation with a trip to Las Vegas for the weekend. We did alot of walking and picture taking while we were there. We tried to go to as many different casinos as we could. I think one weekend is never enough to do everything we would like to do there.
Then Oscar had to go back to work as did I. We did some shopping and site seeing after I got of work almost everyday. The pictures can say more than words. We went to the pier down at Imperial Beach and saw alot of people fishing. The girls wanted to go fishing after we saw that but we did not go.
Then it was time for party, party, party. We went to parties on the weekends and made some new friends. It was fun to be around so many great people. Then it was time to get ready for my retirement and Angel's Baptismal. Her baptism was so nice. The ceremony was beautiful. Then it was time for the after party. Which was a great success also. I am thankful for the friends and family that made the whole thing so very special for us. The next day we had a simple retirement for me and then it was off to wine tasting in Temecula Valley. We tried so many good wines and even bought a few. We had a great lunch at one of the wineries. Then it was off to Snow Drift Tubing park. That was the first time that Oscar and his family had done something like that. It was a long drive but well worth it. The last day they were here we went to a friends house for a going away party for them. We were sad to see them go but got to work to pay for the vacation.

Wine Tasting

John's Retirement

Snow Drifting

My Great 2010

2011-02-08T21:46:00.000-08:00

I usually get sad when a year comes to a close, but this year, I just don't feel that. I can say honestly for the first time that I'm truly happy with all that I accomplished this year. For starters, I finally made partner at the law firm, which is a huge accomplishment. I've put in a ton of hours, but the payoff has been great, too. Since I got the promotion, Jenn and I have finally started talking about starting our own little family, too.
And I can't even believe the year is ending in a matter of days. It seems so surreal! I think I'm on a good roll, though, so that next year will continue this great lucky streak. I can hopefully take on even more responsibility at work and maybe look into internet domains for the company, to show initiative. One of these days, though, I would like to move out of Los Angeles, which is where I had to move the family for my job. It'd be nice to get back to my roots out in Oklahoma...so here's hoping! Bring it on, 2011!

Guest post written by Andrew Miller

Photography

2011-01-27T16:33:00.000-08:00

We finally bought a new camera. It is a Canon Rebel XS. We love this camera. The pictures are so amazing. I never thought it was that much of a difference from a standard point and shoot camera and a DSLR. Boy was I mistaken. There are so many different features on it that it might take me forever to figure them all out. I am so happy we got it. The next thing to buy are more lenses. We want to get a macro lens first. Then maybe some different types of filters. After that we will buy the telephoto lens so we can take pictures that are farther away. I have been reading the book to see what other great things we can do with this camera. We will be posting pictures from this camera from now on. I hope that you keep following our story and God Bless you all.

Baptismal Preparation

2011-01-15T19:24:00.001-08:00

We Just finished our Baptismal Class for Angel's baptismal in February. The class and the teachers were great. The man teaching was so funny. He kept the attention of the whole class by telling funny scenarios of baptisms he has attended. One example: A baby started to cry when the father opened and continued to cry until the father closed the ceremony. Another example was when a guy got knocked out by another person using an SLR camera while the photographer was trying to get the perfect shot. Hahaha... I would recommend this class to anyone getting ready for a baptismal.
Today we went shopping for items for Angel's baptismal. We found some great items at a small catholic store. We got some small give a ways and the set for for her ceremony. It includes the cloth, candle, a small prayer book, a rosary, a guardian angel for her crib and a shell for the holy water during the ceremony.
Tomorrow we will go shopping for her dress and other give a ways. I can't wait to see how pretty she will be. Then we need to find clothes for Comz and myself. Stay tuned for more updates to our story....

Busy Bee!

2011-01-06T15:37:00.000-08:00

Well, Monday was our trip home from the New Years weekend. It was a good long weekend filled with many activities keeping us busy. From the traffic of downtown LA to the traffic coming down off the mountain after playing in the snow for the day. Everybody had fun and it was well worth the trip there. The drive was cold and wet. So the driving after dark was a lot of fun with the way others drive in the rain. Once we got home it was time to relax. The next day we did some running around trying to take care of stuff in preparation for my retirement and setting up life after the Navy.
The next day we went to the Social Security office to file for Comz SSN. After two hours of waiting it was finally our turn. We went to the window and the lady said this was an interview. She did not really look at us as she was typing on the computer. We were done and should have her new SSN in the days to come. Then it was off to shopping again. We had to buy groceries and things for around the house. We stopped by Burlington and picked up Angel a new high chair. She loves to sit in it and watch us eat as mommy feeds her.
Today I went to the VA to file my claim for after I retire. I had to make so many copies for them to keep. I hope my claim will go through ok so I can find out how much I can claim for my veteran's preference for my job after the Navy.

Happy 2011

2011-01-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

Universal Studios Hollywood

Bubba Gump

It is the beginning of the new year. But first we get to celebrate the coming of the new year. So we packed into the car and went to Universal Studios Hollywood spending the afternoon shopping. After we finished the shopping we ate at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company. This was our first time eating there and I am happy to say the food was excellent. Then it was back to the car to drive through downtown L.A. traffic.

After we got home it was time to prepare for the coming of the new year. I cooked a German Chocolate cake. The cake was so yummy. We had so much food to eat that night. We finished the night by drinking a couple of glasses of wine. The New Year was finally here. Time to sleep and get ready for our trip to the snow.

New Years day and a trip to the mountains for a day it the cold and tubing at the snow park. A brief stop at Jack in the box for breakfast. The road was clear and winding up the mountain. We climbed in elevation by more than 1 mile in less than one hour. The afternoon was spent tubing at Snow Drift Tubing Park. It was a lot of fun going down the hills then climbing back up the ladder to slide again. It was back to the car for the ride home in some more traffic.

A day of shopping!

2010-12-28T23:28:00.000-08:00

Today we started out by going to Pick Up Stix for lunch. The food there is so yummy. Comz had Shrimp and I had beef. If you ever have the chance to go there to eat I would do it. I have been there a few times and have not been disappointed.

After a brief stop at the bank, it was off to shopping. The first stop was at Sports Authority to by some new slippers for me. We ended up buy a pair of shoes and shorts with the slippers. I guess it does not hurt to by new things every once in a while. Then it was off to the mall. We spent a lot of time there walking around looking for boots for Comz and other things. I got a new shirt for the New Year and we bought some clothes for her. A few shirts, shorts and some tights. We did not find any boots for her.

We finished the evening by eating at Jollibee. I love to eat there spaghetti. She had the 2 piece chicken dinner and said the rice was so soggy. Angel had a nice bottle for formula for dinner. Well that’s all for now. I will write some more later. Take care all.

testing

2010-12-27T16:08:00.001-08:00

The lump loves the worry inside the resident food

2010-12-27T15:23:00.000-08:00

After reading some interesting information on the website LinkFromBlog I decided to join and see if it was any good.

LinkFromBlog is a website which will allow you to advertise on blogs and also gives bloggers the chance to make a little on the side from their blogging revenue, it does look quite good for a referral does sound nice.

It’s always good to try something a little new and over the next month or so I’ll keep you all posted on how this works..

Our First Christmas as a Family

2010-12-27T11:31:00.000-08:00

This was our first Christmas spent together as a family. We spent it at our friends house all weekend. It was nice time for all. Everybody was so grateful for all their gifts. We had a nice dinner with ham, turkey and all the fixings. So yummy. This was Angel's first Christmas with us. Even though she will not remember it because she is to young. There are always the pictures that were taken to relive the memories.

The wife so surprised by the gifts that she received. That made the moment even better than expected. I am so happy to have her and baby Angel with me always. Angel got some nice learning toys to help her along. I got the game that I have been waiting for.

Christmas evening was spent a a family reunion of her friend Riza. there were so many people there. I am guessing more than 100 people were there. There was a lot of good food there. Even it was very busy with all the people. The evening ended with an hour drive back to their house in the rain. Take Care everybody and again Happy Holidays.

Angels first Santa Claus encounter

2010-12-20T10:34:00.000-08:00

On December 19, 2010 Baby Angel had her first encounter with Santa. With the parking lot full and people parking on the road we drove around looking for parking. Yeah, we found a stop after patiently waiting. All dressed up in her Christmas outfit and after almost two hours of waiting in line, she finally got to visit with him. I am happy to see that she did not cry when she was placed on his lap. Even though we could not get her to crack a smile. It was well worth the time spent waiting because we got a great picture of her. You make daddy and mommy so proud Angel. Your growing up so fast. We love you baby girl.
After the picture it was off to Chow King to eat some dinner and into Target for some more Christmas shopping. I am so happy they have all the registers open so the line are not to long. Now its time for Christmas to get here. We can't wait. Happy Holidays to all!!

Home decor. for the moving family

2010-12-15T19:39:00.000-08:00

Throughout life there are many changes a person may have to go through. For my family it is life in the Navy. Always having to move from place to place. There is always so much time away from home with deployments and training. For me one of the most stressful things is moving from house to house. Always having to redecorate a new house in a new environment.
Here are some ideas that I have found online and would be a great help for somebody in the same situation. One example that comes to mind is decorating your new patio with all new furniture such as lounges chaise cayman chairs, tables, outdoor fireplaces and various other items. This is so helpful because our last place did not have the room for outdoor furniture.
While we were looking for ideas for inside the house we found so many different designs and decor. Some examples are vintage indoor umbrella stands, various flower decorations, wall hangings and a lot of other things for in the house. You can buy video games, items for the bathroom, electronics, and even Christmas decorations. I hope this blog will help out all that read it.

Happy 26th Birthday

2010-12-14T17:36:00.000-08:00

The Celebration of Comz birthday was a great time for our family and friends. We celebrate her birthday by eating many different Pinoy foods such as Chicken Sisig, Pancit Canton/Bihon, Fried Rice, Pork Afritada, Lumpia and a cake from Red Ribbon Bakery. The cake was chocolate with Bavarian filling. It was so yummy. The website for the bakery is http://www.redribbonbakeshop.us/. Check it out and tell us what you think. It was great to see everybody come to our apartment for food and fun. We had a great time eating and talking amongst friends. There was so much food and everybody just kept eating. Then it was time to sing Happy Birthday to the birthday girl. After that it was time to eat the cake. Then it was time for her to open the gifts. We want to thank everybody that gave gifts and celebrated her special day with us in food and friendship.

Reel Deal Slots

2010-12-13T18:31:00.001-08:00

http://www.allcasinoslots.com/reel-deal-slot-machine.html

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T18:05:00.000-08:00

Today is not only a day to enjoy family, football, and good food. It is a day to say thanks for all the blessing in our lives. A day to say thanks to all the service members serving far from their families keeping he country safe. A time to thank all the public service employees keeping our cities safe. This was Angel's first Thanksgiving and a time for mommy and daddy to eat some great food. She is still to young to really enjoy it. Can't wait until next year. Happy Thanksgiving to everybody and may God Bless you all...

First Family Trip

2010-11-24T10:03:00.000-08:00

Blackberries ( Eureka)

Dad's grave (Chico)

Grandpa (Fairfield)

Friend (Fairfield)

Us ( Shasta Dam Redding)

Our trip started out here and San Diego in September and took us on a whirl wind tour of California. We started out driving up to San Jose to visit a couple of friends for a night. After that we took a trip through San Francisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge. While being stuck in traffic for a couple hours downtown we could see the fog rolling in. By the time we got to the bridge it was so foggy that we could not see anything. So we continued up the coast to Evelyn's house for about a week. We did some fun things while there such as fishing, swimming, and Comz got her first taste of picking fresh blackberries. She enjoyed running around picking them fresh off the plants. So it was on to Redding to visit with her aunt Carmen for a couple of days. The first night was spent at the local high school watching Carmen's daughter playing volleyball. While we were there we went to Shasta Dam. It was such a nice day there and we could see the whole area. It was so beautiful there. It was on to Chico for a brief but especially important stop to the Chico Cemetery to visit my father’s final resting place. It had been so many years since anyone had been there. It felt good to be there and show our respects to him. Finally we were on to Fairfield to visit my grandfather and her friend Maribel. It was great to drop in and see how well my grandpa was doing. He was happy to see his great granddaughter and Comz. He told us it was nice to see them but not me. Ha ha ha, what a joker. He is in great spirits for a man well into his 90s. We stayed the night at Maribel's house and went to a great steakhouse for dinner where they got up and enjoyed a line dance with our hosts. Then the next morning it was off to home. this was a great trip and some good memories came out of it. This was the first of many trips that baby Angel and Comz will be going on for our time here.

Let me know if I forgot anything. I love you both. Mwah...