Goshawk Ball 2010

We are attending a mandatory ball!? I have to get all dressed up? We have to leave Kingsville and go to Pensacola and be surrounded by handsomely groomed servicemen (and women) - with my husband standing out as the most handsome in his whites? Ohhh brother....how will I ever go on?

Okay, so it didn't take much arm twisting to leave Kingsville this past weekend. After all, it was our first Military Ball experience - thrown in honor of the T-45 Goshawk. A great number of people who created, maintained and continue flying the Goshawk enjoyed an evening of formal wear, food, and speeches. To be honest, there's not much more to say about it. Since Brian and I are only a couple months into his training here in Kingsville - and because he did his primary training in Enid at the Vance Air Force Base, we didn't know a lot of people at the event. We did meet a lot of cool people but I didn't really want to stay out until the wee hours clutching my bottled water.

One of my personal favorite parts of the trip was the day after the "events" - SATURDAY. Brian and I borrowed a friend's jeep, drove with the top off (...the jeep's top of;-), and went to Destin to get some of our favorite seafood. Dewey Destins is fabulous hole-in-the-wall restaurant with some of the freshest fish I've had in my life...and their hush puppies - mind blowing. Afterwards, we went to a pool and fell asleep for an hour.


Our evening concluded with shish-kebop's and friends that also did their primary in Enid. Finally, people we knew and loved :-) Overall - a great trip. Thank you, John, for watching June-Buggy and Tommy the terrorist. :-)

The Realization of the Little Jellybean

The Long Version of the Story: (skim below to find the short version...)
It all began after an evening of drinks and wonderful food at a place called Brewsters. Brian and I were out with our dear military friends where we discussed everything from politics to the environment and then airplanes (surprise surprise ;-). As the evening was wrapping up, my friend Meghan and I joked about how when we tell people we have "good news," people always ask, "are you pregnant?" I mean, c'mon people, there are other things that happen in life. We also couldn't resist making fun of people that broadcast what-should-be private information on facebook. Among my favorites are, "we are trying for another!" (don't really need to know that) or "my baby's poo is green, what should I do?" (eww) Will I ever pose awkward questions or comments to friends and family? Yes - but on facebook? I hope NOT!

Brian and I left our friends by continuing a heated debate about the government on our 45 min trek from Corpus back to Kingsville. As soon as we arrived at our house, I fell into bed - exhausted - and then woke up at 1 am. "What the...?" I couldn't figure out why I was awake. So I did what any nocturne human should do; I grabbed a hand full of york peppermint patties and watched a perfectly mindless movie called "Confessions of a Shop-a-holic." Meanwhile, my black lab looked on in sheer confusion. Actually, he couldn't stop staring at me. First I took him outside - then I filled up his dog bowl - checked his water dish - and still, to no avail, he wouldn't stop staring at me! This is what made me realize something must be going on with me. It was somewhat easy to conclude this because I'll never forget my step-mom telling me about how close their family dog, Reilly, would stick to her while she was undergoing chemo treatments. Rielly knew something was up - and now my dog, Juneau knew something was up. So despite the late night sweets and silly movie, Juneau talked me into taking a pregnancy test the next morning.

Sunday morning, 8 am - Pregnancy test #1 - Holy crap - positive. Inner monologue "we've moved three times since I've gotten these EPT thingy's so they could be flawed....I'll do another one later....but if it's true...wow"
Church at 9 am
Back home at 10am - Pregnancy test #2 - Holy crap - still positive. Inner monologue "oh my word, this is incredible...how do I tell Brian!?"

With shaking hands, I threw together a French toast breakfast - and while Brian wandered throughout the house, I hopped from room to room, trying to avoid suspicion, in order to wrap my EPT tests for him to see AFTER the French toast. (...because who want to see a tink stick with food on the table...c'mon...) After eating 3 bites of my breakfast, I cleared the table and told him to unwrap a little brown box. He went from a quiet, non-conversational, morning stupor into pure elation! We hugged, we laughed and we cried. My nerves were instantly at ease.

For the record - everything I had read said that it takes 6 months on average for a couple to conceive. It didn't take that long for us ! It seems that God has blessed us with child-ready bodies :-) So while the possible 2010 due date is a bit of a surprise- we were hoping to start our family soon. (We thought we would go for a 2011 due date...) What's that one saying: "I showed MY plans to the Lord and he laughed." I think it goes something like that....

The Short Version of the Story:
We're expecting! I'm currently 2 months pregnant and due on December 30th - Who in the family wants to spend Christmas in Kingsville, TX!?! This little dude or dudette could be quite the holiday blessing! Currently, I am getting close to the end of this blasted first trimester - the sleepiness and nausea makes me feel like my body is being taken hostage. I have yet to find out why some women love this pregnancy thing. It sure is a great reminder of denying oneself (coffee and booze) and sacrificing (feeling like crap) - I'm a "babystep" towards understanding what it means to make it "more of You and less of me" (John 3:30). God is quite the pro at blessing and humbling me at the same time.

In conclusion, my uterus is the size of a grapefruit (when it's normally a fist) and the little one is the size of Pinto bean. I weigh two pounds more than I normally do - and I have promised to have eating contests with some of the military boys once I'm supposed to gain a pound a week. (watch out, Greg and Tim! HA) We go in tomorrow morning to measure the heart rate and get my lab results. We're praying for nothing but pure health! Can't wait to see the little beaner on the ultrasound again :-D

Shop Class is MY Soulcraft!

It's hard to read a book about work when I'm unemployed, but I must admit, it was well worth it - "Shop Class as Soulcraft," by Mathew Crawford, was an eye-opening read. I love books that allow me to view society in a different way, and this book was definitely one of them. Being a certified teacher, I have fallen victim to hoping my students become a doctor or a lawyer - heck, I wanted to become a doctor or a lawyer! Yet as I've gotten older, I've realized more that it doesn't matter what you call yourself, it ultimately matters what you enjoy doing. And by "do" I mean, what are you getting out of your career pursuits? Is it fulfilling? rewarding? Are the rewards measurable by more than your paycheck? Crawford expands the mind by tackling what careers bring real rewards - the answer may be surprising for any "climb-the-ladder" American.

Crawford is a fellow through the University of VA and owner of his own Motorcycle repair shop. His "must-take-everything-apart-to-know-how-it-works" mentality reminds me of some of the greatest men in my life, my grandpa and my husband. A mind like that should be put to use by several years in upper education and a career at a prestigious think-tank - that would be the best use of intellect, right? He would disagree. Crawford argues for the trade careers to make a comeback as our society continues to look down on such options. He argues that it's only when a plumber is fixing a sewage problem, an electrician is wiring a building, or a repairman is repairing a vehicle that one really practices the full range of problem-solving skills. He gains ground on this point by sharing personal motorcycle repair stories (a modern day Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance if you will...) and quoting academic theories - for example, intrinsic value (inner value) is more deeply gained when not affected by external praise but more so from visual results. If one can observe how one made an impact, then there is a greater chance that he or she will continue excelling in that field. And this brings me to Crawford's crux and best quote in the book,

"...any job that can be scaled up, depersonalized, and made to answer to forces remote from the scene of work is vulnerable to degradation, even to the point of requiring that the person who does the job actively suppress his better judgement."

Beyond the scope of personal job enjoyment, Crawford extends his argument to reach the very way in which we treat the jobs in which we find little value: with depersonalization. I'm left to consider companies that continue to outsource work, wall street's lack of accountability and how people within the government can pass laws that won't affect them. Through the great advancements of technology, we have become less connected to our work - ask anyone in HR, companies are having a hard time finding employees that can keep allegiance to their company. Yet, it isn't just the employees, companies aren't faithful to their employees as they ship their careers away. How more depersonalized can it get when we are put on a hold with a computer asking us to say "yes" or "no" into our phones? It's a dangerous path we're on as workers within the United States - whatever shall we do?

The answer is a bit simple - but people thought that careers in the trades were simple - support trade educational programs within our schools. If one really wants the next generation to have any opportunity in the world, that doesn't mean that we funnel them into college and years worth of educational debt - instead, let's allow more students to experience welding, fixing, repairing, and creating instead of dreaming about an "intellectual career" that may prove to not be as intellectual as one thought. Hats off to Crawford for truly emphasizing what "opportunities" can really mean.