Final Year

We are just days away from being a year out from the end of our time here. Which means Oliver can start looking at orders very soon. He's also going to be negotiating a reenlistment contract. I'm trying to ignore  the pit of dread in my stomach.

Last time we did this, I was excited and thought it would be kind of fun to consider all the possibilities. Later, after slogging through months of uncertainty, a list of duty stations that included almost nothing we'd wanted, and then a budget impasse in Congress (sound familiar - clearly, that bunch will never learn) that left us with only three months to put together an international move, the excitement factor is definitely gone.

This time around, we have a list again, but it's a lot shorter due to submarine platforms, where I would like to weather deployments, and where the online homeschooling program I've decided to use with the boys is free (20 states have it available as part of the public school system - the cost otherwise is about 5k per child). Washington actually meets two of those criteria, and so I'm trying desperately to talk myself into being open to returning as I know it is going to be on the list. I'm hoping we won't have to, however. That would be really frustrating.

So, we shall see how it all turns out. Maybe we'll know by the end of the year. Or maybe they'll keep us hanging until June, like last time. Either way, it will be settled by this time next year. In the mean time, we'll try to make the most of our last year here.

Rice Krispies, Anyone?

While planning dinner tonight, once again last minute (it's pretty tough to meal plan when you aren't sure what veggies the store will be carrying that week). I've got some pinto beans in the freezer, onions and potatoes, mushrooms (a rare treat around here!), and even some frozen corn (which is also pretty hit or miss). So, we're gonna have a bean and corn chowder tonight.

I went online to find a recipe for something to go with it, because I'm getting tired of biscuits, and I discovered this recipe for breadsticks. It looks good, takes only 40 min, and I'm excited to try them as soon as I get done typing this.

I did, however, make the mistake of spending some time looking at all the recipes. Sigh. It's sad to look at recipes, find one that looks awesome, and realize there is almost no chance of getting all the ingredients at the same time. I'm good at substitution, but some things you just can't change, nor would you want to. Like a decent cut of meat.

We eat almost no meat these days. Sometimes I buy it in Florida and trek it home, then we make it last for months (and we're talking about two small coolers, full - not a huge amount). Occasionally, I buy it in the store here, but it tends to be only ground turkey or ham because everything else is crazy expensive. In truth, I've never been a huge meat eater, and the less we eat of it, the less I want it, but sometimes, with the right dish, it's pretty good.

What's worse are the recipes that require fresh vegetables, however. Especially things that ask for fresh herbs (the bugs keep killing mine and the store doesn't sell them due to how our food is shipped in) or other slightly off the beaten path veggies like beets (my fam is probably happy about this, but I really love them). I finally had to just close out the blog and stop thinking about all the food I will have to wait to try until we move back to the States.

Ironically, we probably eat a lot better here than we did when we lived there. We've cut almost all processed food out of our diet. I'd been trying to do this before we moved, but coming here forced big changes just because of the cost of everything. Cereal was the best change, actually. For the life of me, I could not kick the cereal habit. It was just too easy, and we are not morning people. Plus, we could get it for two bucks at the commissary.

Then we moved here. There is no such thing as a sale or couponing here (not that I ever couponed, ha!). You pay the price or you don't buy it. Cold cereal is about five dollars a box. Eggs are less than two dollars for a dozen. Yeah, that one was a no-brainer. We now eat eggs and toast most morning, with pancakes, oatmeal, and muffins thrown into rotation. The best thing about it has been that I no longer have whining boys an hour after they eat. Turns out, cold cereal doesn't last too long. The other stuff gets them through to lunch. Definitely better for Wyatt because he's at school now.

There is, however, one cereal I really miss. Rice Krispies. Not for breakfast, because we never ate it that way, but because sometimes I really want to make Rice Krispy treats. Which brings me back to that blog I linked. It had an interesting recipe for peanut butter chocolate Rice Krispy treats. That was pretty much the last recipe I looked at. Maybe I'll have to cram a box into our bags this Christmas when we take the boys to Legoland. We'll see.

Early Retirement....is actually possible!

I'm sitting here waiting for the stock exchange to open. And I've been doing this for a couple of weeks now. I've got a shopping list of stocks, and prices that I'm willing to buy them at.

Why all the investing mania, you might ask? Well, when the stock market took it's latest fall back in August, I watched the news intently. I've been thinking about doing more than just dumping money into retirement accounts, where it mostly sits in index funds, for quite some time. I haven't, however been all that inspired to take the plunge and learn enough about it.

That all changed, though, when I ran across this blog. Basically, it's written by a guy named Jacob who saved 70-90% of his income for five years, became financially independent at 30, and quit his job for real at 33 when it was no longer fun for him. Now, he's not some millionaire, and, among other things, lives in an RV in order to keep his expenses down enough to live on his investment income, plus he doesn't have kids (and is married to a spouse who is still working and covers her own expenses), so I don't see his story as completely possible for us.

However, it really has got me thinking. The most helpful thing I got from his story is the idea that when planning for retirement, you can't spend all your time looking at your money and wondering how big it needs to be (does anyone else hate those calculators that tell you you are going to need a million bucks by the time you are 65?). Instead, you need to calculate how much it costs to live today, and then figure out how much you need in order to keep that standard of living. When I looked at it that way, I was surprised to realize we could easily save more than half Oliver's pay if we put our minds to it. And it wouldn't even hurt.

So, since I am well aware that most frivolous spending in our house comes from me, I'm refocusing, and sending all the extra money to a new, taxable account (since most of our retirement accounts are fully funded, and I want a better diversity of accounts in case we manage to meet our goal of retirement in our early 40's). I've got an investment strategy, after spending more than a week reading everything I could get my hands on about investing (and still reading, just not as avidly). I don't know how this will play out, but for us, this is just another step on a path we took long ago when we decided to only have one car because it would accelerate our debt payments. Then, we just kept it up when it was all paid off because we'd gotten used to it and now we were saving all that debt money.

There's now way we'll be able to do what Jacob did, due to having kids, being a one-income household, and past mistakes, but we've come up with a plan that is comfortable for us. The biggest surprise is for me is that it's actually possible to make early retirement happen, as evidenced not only by this blog, but all the other people who comment on it and share their stories. Crazy stuff. You should read it.

And now back to the stock exchange, which has finally started trading.

Has It Really Been Ten Years?

I haven't been able to get myself to sit down and write this before now. Both the net and TV have been flooded with 9/11 stories and remembrances. Every time I see one, it's like being punched in the gut again. I'm blown away at long it's actually been since it happened. It still feels so recent to me.

And yet, it occurred to me while looking at my oldest that neither of my boys have any idea what happened that day. Neither of them were even born, and in fact I remember thinking how glad I was that I hadn't married or had kids yet because the world seemed like it was falling apart. A year later, I met Oliver.

The other reason I've hesitated? I know I don't really have anything new to add. My own reactions were personal and intense, but I didn't know anyone there. I mourned for our nation, but not for family or friends. I also think we're all flooded with this stuff and sometimes it's too much. So, if you want to quit reading, feel free. I am not going to care.

I was living in Rhode Island at the time, about two hours from New York City. I went to work that morning, and was sitting at my desk when the first plane hit. People started running around the office saying something about a building. I really didn't know what they were talking about, so I ignored it at first.

Eventually, curiosity got the better of me, and I joined the conversation. Before long, my boss had hooked up a TV in his office, and the rest of us crowded in there to watch. I saw the second plane hit, and watched the towers fall on live TV. I remember standing there after the South Tower fell, praying like mad that the North would stand long enough for everyone else in there to get out. I just could not believe that I was watching New York implode at the heart.

At lunch time, I left the office and found another, out of the normal, situation. I worked in a large shopping complex. Our offices were upstairs from retail stores, and there was a grocery store anchoring the place. It had a huge parking lot that was nearly always busy. That day, however, I was struck by the silence. Everyone was sitting still, and the only noise I could hear were car radios, tuned to news reports.

It was more of the same in the grocery store when I went to buy my food. I found myself walking around in a bit of a daze, picking stuff up and not really caring what I was looking at.

After returning to the office, I went back to the TV, as did nearly everyone else. It was like that for the rest of the week, and I'm amazed my boss tolerated it. He was a rather gruff type, and didn't like to see people standing around. But he let us watch, and I'm grateful.

The news coverage ran pretty much 24/7, it seemed. I didn't have cable at the time, but it didn't matter - the networks weren't playing anything else, including commercials. The first time I saw a commercial, I remember thinking it was really weird. It was also a sign that real life had to keep going.

I think one of the reasons it had such a large impact on me was how close geographically I was to it. I can remember evacuations of tall building in Providence, a city I spent a lot of time due to work. Logan International in Boston, where the planes came from, was an airport I occasionally flew out of. A lot of people who worked at the site in the days following the attacks came from our area, due to the proximity. Our office got together and pooled some money together to buy masks and things they had asked for to send on a truck that was heading to NYC to support the relief operation. It felt good to do something, even if that was so small.

I had one co-worker who seemed to come a little unglued over it all. She was the one who spearheaded the campaign to buy supplies, and I went with her to buy them. Soon after, though, she stopped showing up for work, or would come in late. I was in charge of tracking vacation and sick leave as part of my job, and when she came to ask me where she was at, she was shocked to realized that she'd been out so much. Soon after, she quit, and last I heard was planning on a new career as a fireman.

As for me, I tried to join the Air Force in early 2002. Granted, it was a career path I'd considered at 18, but had figured was out of the picture after I went to college instead. But 9/11 got me thinking, and I tried again. A past medical issue ultimately kept me out, which was disappointing, but I met Oliver soon after and ended up chasing the military life in another way.

I don't really have anything particularly profound to add (which is sort of why I hesitated), but I know I need to tell my story to my own children today. I know I have to find a way to explain to them what happened and why. I'm not ready to start that conversation yet, and am happy to indulge in their ignorance for a few more years. It will happen, however.

Maybe when we go back to the States, we'll take them there. I'd like to see the memorial. I flew over NY in early October to visit a friend in Seattle (I did not fly out of Logan). The ground was still smoking, and I could see the plumes of smoke hovering over the city. A year later, I visited with Oliver and some Navy friends of ours. We walked around the site, which was pretty much a giant construction site at that point. I don't even think I took any pictures because there wasn't much to see. We stood in front of a chain link fence keeping us out of the area, and talked about it. One of the guys we were with said this was the whole reason he was in the Navy. I understood what he was talking about.

I've been looking at pictures of the memorial online. It looks beautiful. My deepest hope is that we will remember - and try to build something else that is equally beautiful as we try to live with other people in our world. Sometimes, I wonder if that is even possible. I still have hope, however, that it might be someday.

Going Home (for real this time!)

We're leaving for the airport in about twenty minutes. Oscar and I will be on that plane, then Oliver and Wyatt will follow a couple hours later. I'm really happy to be leaving, although we did manage to make the most of our enforced vacation. Hopefully, we won't have much trouble getting our lodging and food reimbursed. At least we had enough money to cover it.

Most of my fam is up in the Northeast, so I'm crossing my fingers for you all! Irene is all yours today. Good riddance, I say.

Going Home...Not Quite

The good news is that Irene took a turn eastward that ended up sparing Andros the worst of it. Damage reports that I've heard have been positive, and they had lists up this evening for the first flights home tomorrow. We checked, and none of us are on them, which we kind of expected, so we're here for at least another day.

Most likely, we won't be able to go home until at least Sunday, although Oliver may be out of here earlier depending on how they decide his priority status is. He doesn't technically have anything he has to be back for until Wednesday, so I'm crossing my fingers that we will end up being able to return together. We'll see.

I'm feeling a lot better now, so I can handle that if it happens. I had a stomach bug during our trip off-island the last week, and hadn't quite gotten over it when we were ordered to evacuate. When I get stressed out, it all tends to sit in my stomach, so I think that layered on top of that and I pretty much quit eating for three days because I couldn't keep anything down. So glad to be done with that!

I don't know what kind of damage our trailer sustained, but I don't even care right now. I'm just relieved the worst case scenario was avoided, and we don't have to find ourselves a place to live in Florida while Oliver tries to fly back and forth every weekend to see us. That would have been pretty sad.

C-130 Pic

This is someone else's photo (click on it to see where it came from), but I stumbled across this on the net today. I'll get mine up at some point. I don't know if this was our flight, but it could have been.

Update

Well, we're in Florida now, waiting Irene out in West Palm Beach. The hurricane, which apparently is a Cat 3 now, as expected, is veering East a bit, and Florida is no longer worried about a direct hit, which is good news. They would have moved us if it was coming to us, but I'm relieved we won't have to do that. Once was enough.

As for getting out, that was a big process. Every thing seemed kind of disorganized. We got a call on Monday night that the boys and I were on the first C-130 flight and needed to show up at 0930 at the base theatre to register. No word on what we needed to bring, or anything else.

So, I dutifully showed up, sans luggage because I didn't want to walk it over (Oliver was working, and had the car, and wasn't able to get out to take us beforehand - it's not a long walk at all, takes maybe three minutes, but I'm still sick so I just left it because the flight wasn't supposed to be until 1100). When I got there, they began giving instructions and told us we had to have our evac form, which we would show as we went thought the line, culminating in checking in the luggage I didn't have with me. I knew nothing about the paperwork, nor who to ask about it.

So, I left the boys with a friend who was also supposed to be on the flight with her boys, ran home to get the luggage and call Oliver about the form. He told me he'd come pick me up with the bags, and tried to figure out what this form was. He didn't have any luck, but when we came back to the theatre with our bags, we finally saw someone in uniform (most of the people here are working for the civilian contractor, so they had their own forms and their own procedures for money etc. than we do). He had all the forms, so I picked up ours and sat down to wait while Oliver went back to work.

My friend and I decided to not get in line right away because it got huge almost instantly and we had four young kids between us. After about an hour, though, we noticed that new people kept coming in and getting in line. Clearly, it was not at all about who was supposedly on this first flight, and was turning into a bit of a free-for-all.

To make a long story short, after talking to someone handling the processing, we were able to just wait it out in our seats until the next C-130. The first one filled and left, and then they had a couple flights on our normal plane, which seats 19. They actually offered my friend and I seats on the AUTAC plane, but we wanted to fly on the C-130. We knew our boys would love it, and hey, these kinds of opportunities don't come around every day. For me, too, there was the hope that Oliver would be free to go and get out with us, which is what ended up happening.

It took about five hours, but we did get out on the second C-130, and Oliver went with us. He finished what he had to just in time. Considering how stressed out and ill I was feeling at that point, that was a huge blessing.

We took with us a suitcase, two duffel bags, and four backpacks, just under 150 pounds of baggage. Here's the curious thing about that - I am exceptionally aware right now of just what we need to restart our life if the worst case happened and everything we own was gone. Turns out, it's a whole lot less than you'd think. The digital age has made this so much easier, too - the desktop we had to leave behind, I dumped all the photos, home videos, and music onto my IPOD. What was left went onto a flash drive, and then I backed up Itunes onto a couple DVDs (since our desktop is where I always sync the IPOD). That stuff takes up no space to carry.

Then we have our binder with important docs, like birth certificates, and a couple folders with investment info, taxes, and other miscellaneous paperwork. The boys carried their prized, most loved possessions, including a gallon bag of LEGOs (a small fraction of what they own, but enough to keep them happy). There are other things, too, obviously, like clothing and passports, the camera, and a few books to keep us busy.

There are things we left behind that I will be sad to lose, but overall, they are very few. Everything else is replaceable, and it's insured. The car will actually be the biggest loss because we have to carry Banhamian insurance on it, and it only covers damage you might cause to someone or something. It's an 8 year old car, but we were hoping to hang onto it for while longer and use it as a commuter car for Oliver when we buy a new family car next year. That will be our most painful financial hit.

Maybe it's all the moving I've done in my adult life (our six years in Washington was the longest I'd lived anywhere since I was 18), but I am realizing just how not attached to things I am. Oliver is the same way. Ultimately, that's probably the biggest factor in our deciding to stay in the Navy - we are experience junkies, and we don't care about stuff. Owning a house sometimes seems appealing, but it also seems like a financial albatross and something that will kill our mobility. By staying in the Navy, we get to keep moving, and we get to do some crazy stuff, like board that C-130 and have a flying experience unlike any we've ever had before (I've got some good pics, but seem to have forgotten the cord for the camera, and our laptop weirdly has no card reader, so I'll have to upload them later). The retirement is pretty appealing on many levels, but after the latest attack on that, I am no longer positive it will still be there when we finish his twenty years. So, if we stay, we have to stay for other reasons.

Anyway, this is getting longer and longer. If you managed to keep reading, bravo to you! Clearly, I am just sitting in a hotel room with nothing to do but watch storm radar as Irene slowly advances through the islands. The waiting game is no fun.

The ultimate irony? We're being evacuated to the Florida coast. Where Irene is also supposed to hit. Sigh.

I've never been so reluctant to leave home before. We're getting on a plane tomorrow morning and I don't know when we'll be back. Our lodging and food is supposed to be covered, but no one seems to know how much or if a car will be covered, too. Because we need a car. They are just flying us there and letting us out on our own. I'm not too thrilled about it all.

We've moved things around, put the things we can't take with us into closets and bathrooms without windows. As far as I can tell, the biggest danger is breaking windows, but there's no telling really. We're just praying things will be okay. It's all we have left to do at this point.

Sigh

So, it's official: After one day, school is closing until further notice. And we're going to be evacuated in the next day or two. So much for returning home yesterday.

Hello Irene

Well, Tropical Storm Emily was more like Fizzled-Out Emily when it reached us a couple weeks ago. Hurricane Irene, currently harrying the island of Hispaniola, looks a little more menacing, however. We've gone to a condition 4 today, so all the visitors have been kicked off. I'm watching my neighbors clean us their patio as I type this, as that's one more thing everyone has to do: secure anything loose outside. We don't have much to do in that area because we just spent five days in the West Palm Beach area and hadn't pulled much back out after stowing it for Emily.

Ironically, I'm once again feeling ill while I await word on whether or not we'll be evacuating this time. I picked up something on our trip, and am still trying to shake it. Wyatt started school this morning, and I was the only one able to drop him off as Oliver had duty. I dragged myself there with the boys, took some pictures of him giggling with his class while they waited for flag, and then dragged myself back home to collapse on the couch. Oscar's been all over this because he's been allowed to pretty much watch whatever he wants today. Hopefully, I'll be more myself tomorrow.

Thunderstorms and the Beach

Thunderstorms are pretty much a way of life here in the summer time. They sweep in, the heavens pour, the lightning crashes, and then it's gone fifteen minutes later. I love them; Washington almost never had thunderstorms, but it wasn't until we moved here that I realized how much I missed them.

We had plans to spend some time at the beach this afternoon. As we were eating lunch, however, the sky began darkening and it rained. We decided to just wait it out, and left about an hour later. The beach was beautiful, the sand all hard-packed from the rain, and the sky filled with thunderclouds. No one else was there. If we lived anywhere else, I would have stayed home, but here, we can just fit in a visit between storms.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera; I expected to be caught in a downpour and didn't want to risk it. I wish I had, though: the sky was beautiful, Wyatt found a live conch in the water, and we built a massive sand volcano that the boys used as a slide right before we left.

We swam a bit, and I'm excited to see Oscar is finally getting brave enough to get out there without me carrying him around. It's a lot more fun for me now.

While we were in the water, the thunderstorm that had been slowly sweeping across the sky made its rather loud appearance. When we saw the lightning streak across the sky, we knew it was time to go. As soon as we got home, the sky opened up. It was perfect timing.

Life on an island can be challenging, but we had one of those moments today when it's at its best.

Because Watching This Makes Me So Sad

And as bad as things are in our country, at least our kids aren't dying like this. This is where our donation money is going this month.

Hanging With Emily

Emily, or what's left of the storm, is hanging out over the Bahamas today. The rain started last night, and we woke up to it this morning. Most likely, it will rain all day and into the night. That's okay, though, because we really need the rain! This winter was far too dry, and we're still struggling to recover from it.

They're still watching it to see if it will reform, so good luck to all of you on the East Coast!

I'm actually surprised to see there's internet right now. The tower we rely on has been jury-rigged after the line was cut during construction. It's power source is now the house next door, and the cord has been run above-ground through a large pipe. Not the best set up, and it tends to go out every time it rains. It's nice to have it now, though, since it appears we won't be leaving the house today.

The bad news for us is that the leak above the stove seems to have reopened. We woke up to a puddle of water on the stovetop. I've got a couple pots catching it now, but I guess I won't be cooking anything that way until the rain stops. Fun times in an ancient trailor.

Update, and Where oh Where did Emily Go?

I'm please to announce I'm finally on the mend. I went in yesterday and finally saw the doctor (he wasn't in the day before when I had the first reaction). He took one look at me and said to give me a shot of steroids, a tapering dosage of pills for the next 9 days, and off all antibiotics as my nose looks good and the one they gave me actually wouldn't touch staph anyway.

So, yay! Today I finally woke up feeling like myself (after being up half the night because the steroids really do keep you going - the boys were nice to let me sleep in to 9 this morning). I got back on the treadmill and ran three miles. I hadn't expected to do more than 1 or 1.5 since it's been about ten days since the last time I ran, but I kept up at a snail's pace. Took me 41min, but that's okay. I was running. I think it did me good, too, because the intense prickly feeling in my skin was much better afterwards - all that sweat maybe?

Figured I'd add a word about our dispensary, since I don't think I've ever talked about it. While I spent a lot of time freaking out that this would turn out to be something they'd have to send me to the States to treat due to their lack of facilities, I am very grateful for the ease of obtaining care here.

The dispensary is basically a long, rectangular building. You enter the middle of it and walk into a waiting room with a reception area attached. When you open the door at the rear of the room, you find yourself in a hallway that runs to either side of you. Exam rooms, a room for dental care, an X-ray room, the doctor's office, and a tiny room for pharmaceuticals lay on either side of the hallway. That's it. There is one doctor on staff, two nurses, and, for the Navy and Navy family members, a first class corpsman (who just made chief).

They have hours similar to basic working hours, M-F, and the doctor is on call at all other times. If you have a problem on the weekend, most people just go to the firehouse where there is a 24-hour dispatcher on duty who will page the doctor. Or, I've heard 911 works, although I don't have firsthand experience with that one.

For me, because I've had to go in there nearly every day this week, the best part is the lack of wait. The only thing I've ever had to make an appointment for was Wyatt's school physicals. Everything else is just a walk-in sort of thing. Typically, I can go in there and be back out, medicine in hand, withing 15min. One time I had to have a couple tests done, as well as an X-ray, and it took more like 20min. The times I had to bring the boys, I could leave them playing with toys in the waiting room while I saw who I needed to see because everything is so close. I totally could not do that in the States, nor would even a routine, scheduled appointment take any less than a half hour. What happened to me would have required a couple emergency room visits, which would have been a nightmare.

So, I'm really, exceptionally grateful that if this had to happen, it happened here. See, there are always upsides to every place!

Moving on to Emily, or what's left of here. She stalled out over the Dominican republic, and fell apart. It's been downgraded to not a Tropical storm, and is headed our way this weekend. It might regather at some point, but we'll not see much of that if it does.

So, much ado about nothing, not that I'm complaining. I really wasn't looking forward to dealing with an evacuation while I was so drugged up and everything seemed to be going haywire in my body. It would have been just me and the kids; Oliver is in a different priority for leaving. Kids go first, and the under 5 set first of them. So yeah, that would have been tough. I'm glad it's all worked out this way.