Tuesday 10

10 Things I am Thankful for this year...

1. Glenn is safe. Deployments are scary and I know many of us Navy wives try not to think about how dangerous our husbands jobs are. I am thankful that Glenn stayed safe during this deployment and that he is a great pilot.

2. My family. Being home the last 2 months is going to make it even harder to leave in a couple weeks, but I am thankful for this time we have spent together and that we all love eachother so much. (Cheese!)

3. My friends. Glenn and I have been very lucky to have found fantastic friends in all of the places we have lived (and that list is getting long!). Although it is hard to move away from them, the Navy is special in the fact that we might very well see them again in the future.

4. The Navy. As crazy as it sounds, I am thankful for the Navy. The Navy is giving Glenn and I the opportunity to travel around the world and see things we might never have seen. With many family and friends worried about company lay-offs, it is also reassuring to know that the country will always need people. We are lucky to have the opportunities in front of us. And most of all, the Navy lets Glenn do something that he loves every day.

5. Tradition. My family is very big on holiday traditions. A certain casserole for breakfast. Mimosas while we open stockings. Thanksgiving on Saturday at Grandmas. 18 different kinds of cookies. Ok, so they're mostly food traditions, but I am thankful for them. I am looking forward to Christmas with just Glenn and I and we can continue these and start our own.

6. House. I am thankful that Glenn and I have a house for the next 3 years. Glenn gets to move in next Tuesday and hopefully our things will be delivered shortly after. I am excited to make all 845 square feet our own and decorate for Christmas when I get there.

7. 2 weeks. I am thankful that the next two weeks are jam-packed and will go by quickly! I can't wait to see you, baby!

8. Stella. Stella keeps me company and my bed warm every night while Glenn is gone. People always ask what we are doing with Stella when we move. She is coming with me, of course! The two of us have many more deployments and detachments ahead of us together. :) Plus, after all the shots, vet appointments and paperwork I have filled out for her, she better be coming!

9. Technology. Moving to the other side of the world is hard enough, but with webcams, internet phones, facebook, cell phones, and email it's going to make it a little bit easier. Staying in touch is important to me. (Also, I can keep watching all of my TV shows online :) )

10. Health. My whole family is happy and healthy right now. What more can you ask for, right?

So that post was a little sappy this week. What are you thankful for this season?
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Address

We have an address now! This is our FPO box on base:

LTJG Glenn J. Smith and Kelly Smith
PSC 477 Box 554
FPO AP 96306-9998

Awesome!

Here's the picture I was telling you about. Glenn's in the plane in the very front! Neato!
"I'm in the Hawkeye in the lead, those are F-15s out of Kadena on our wings, Super Hornets outside of them, hornets on the end, a Prowler and a Super Hornet in trail. The ships are a combination of CSG-5 and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). It was pretty cool to be a part of on my first cruise.
~Glenn"

http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=66748

Phone Number

We have a phone number in Japan now! Well, kinda. I ordered our Vonage stuff today. It has to be shipped to a US address so it is being shipped and then I will take it with me to Japan. But in a couple of weeks, you will be able to call us at the following phone number. Remember that Japan is 15 hours ahead of central time right now (14 hours during non-daylight savings times)!

507-316-0980

We hope to hear from you so add our new number to your address books. My cell phone will be turned off when I leave for Japan. Glenn's is already deactivated for the next 3 years.

Glenn is back!

Glenn is back in Japan now. Cruise is over!
He called yesterday from his room on base and seemed very excited to be home. There was a fly in yesterday for the rest of the planes and the ship should be coming home soon. Glenn got the chance to be in a photo op as the lead E2 flanked by 2 F16s so he got to fly home a day before the rest of the planes. I'm excited to see that picture!
Hopefully now that everyone is getting home, things will get taken care of by the squadron, like my plane ticket! Still waiting on that one.
Glenn is also going to get our FPO AP box taken care of so we will have our own address and check out our new house.
Only 18 more days! Yay!

Tuesday 10

The 10 Days before I leave for Japan are going to be crazy! I have already made myself a schedule so that I don't forget anything!

1. Saturday, November 29th: The Lawson family Thanksgiving in Bucyrus, Ohio. This the kitchen at my grandma's house. We usually cram about 50 people into the house on Saturday for Thanksgiving. This is why Stella is staying at Grandma and Grandpa Smiths. She would get stepped on!2. Sunday, November 30th: Mom, Dad, Jen, Dave and I are making the 13 hour drive from Ohio back to Minnesota. This is always a long day!

3. Monday, December 1st: Drive up to Minneapolis to pick up lady dog from Grandma and Grandpa Smith's house. Ship anything that is too big to fit in my suitcase!

4. Tuesday, December 2nd: Get my hair cut and colored so I look beautiful for Glennjamin! Start packing for the big move!

5. Wednesday, December 3rd: Take Stella to the vet for her health certificate and some drugs to knock her out during the flight. I might also get her a rabies booster just in case. I don't want to worry about Japan not letting her in. Did I tell you that the import forms say that the importing country has the right to euthanize Stella if they deem necessary? How scary is that?! I am not taking any chances!! If you are curious what it takes to import a pet to a rabies-free country, take a look at this website.

6. Thursday, December 4th: Drive up to St. Paul to visit the USDA and get Stella's paperwork stamped. Since Stella has only seen civilian vets, Japan requires a government agency to approve her paperwork. There is only one USDA office per state. Thank goodness Minnesota's is only 80 minutes away.

7. Friday, December 5th: A very good college friend, Hillary, has been in the Peace Corp for the last two years in the Ukraine. She is coming back to Minnesota this weekend and we're going to go out to breakfast and catch up!

Friday is also the beginning of the Schlueter wedding festivities. Manicure and pedicure appointments, bridal luncheon, the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner!

8. Saturday, December 6th: Megan and Nate's Wedding! Here is one of their engagement pictures. They're the cutest. I can't wait for the wedding!

9. Sunday, December 7th: Finish packing and possibly fly to Norfolk or Seattle or wherever the Navy makes me.

10. Monday, December 8th: LEAVE FOR JAPAN! Yippee!! See my love, this man:

We have a house!

Glenn called and midnight last night to ask if I wanted him to accept our housing offer. It is on base where we figured we would be living. We had heard about another house that is available but it was 25 minutes from the train station off base so we decided we didn't want to do that.
Here is a floor plan of our new tiny house! I was hoping for a first floor apartment because of Stella, but Glenn says we have a side yard if we are on the second story. We'll see how it is!
The best part is though, we have a move in date of Dec. 2nd which means Glenn will be there by the time I get there and hopefully some of our things will be delivered.
Kinda scary moving into a place for 3 years I have never seen!

This week in photos...

So what did I do this week?

~ One of my best friends came home from Florida last weekend to see me before I leave for Japan. We had a very fun night of going out to eat and drinking and dancing. This is Emily, Laura and I. We have been friends for the last 10 years. I can't believe it has been 10 years already!

~ I got my Martha Stewart skills on and sewed a tree skirt for our Christmas tree in Japan. Our small apartment size tree is in storage for the next 3 years, but my friend Megan gave me her old big tree. I was kind of impressed with myself! (Note: I did not quilt it too, the fabric already looked like that :) )

~ I have been selling things on Ebay for my parents. Mostly random parts and things they have in the warehouse at the office and somethings that they get from old job sites. This week I posted a water meter (something for making dough or doughnuts, I forget) but it sold for almost twice my reserve price! That's over a thousand dollars! Since I get to split the profits for my hard work, I was pretty exicted. This is what a water meter looks like...

~ Glenn has been really busy flying this week it sounds like so I haven't talked to him in over a week, but he called this morning. It's always nice to wake up on Saturday morning to his voice. Only 24 more days! (Hopefully)
~ I'm still trying to sell my Jeep Liberty. I don't think the economy is too helpful in selling a year old car, but I drive around all the time with For Sale signs on the windows anyways. Anyone need a pretty red car with a tow package and less than 25,000 miles??? I'll give you a good deal!Jeep Liberty Sport 4x4

Christmas Cards!

Are officially done!!! I still have to write a newsletter than Jen (my SIL) is going to print and stuff in each envelope, but the cards have all been signed, labeled, addressed and stamped! I'm feeling pretty ahead of the game!

Still no word on my ticket to Japan which is starting to stress me out since since I am suppose to be leaving in approximately 3 weeks. I missed Glenn's call during my Scuba class yesterday, but hopefully he will call back soon with good news!

Tuesday 10...

10 Things I Miss About Glenn....

1. His laugh. For those of you who know Glenn he has a great laugh although sometimes I think it is more of a giggle.

2. His kisses. 3 months is a long time with no kisses, people.

3. Being able to call him. Like last night, I had a totally weird dream, I would call Glenn and tell him about it, but now I have to wait for him to call whenever he gets a chance. I'm not a very good waiter. Plus then, I forget about the things I was going to tell him and when you only have 20 minutes to talk ~ once a week, weird dreams usually don't make the list.

4. Seeing him. Phone calls and emails are great, but seeing someone's face makes a big difference.

5. Hearing about his day. I get tidbits about how is day is going in his emails, but I don't think he can really vent about how he's feeling when all of his communications could potentially be monitored.

6. Saturday morning family snuggles. Watching the DVR and snuggling with Stella.

7. Paying the bills. Glenn has always been in charge of the finances and does a much better job that I do.

8. Birthday week-long celebrations. Glenn and I have both had birthdays while he has been gone. He is always great about making your whole birthday week special. It just wasn't the same without him.

9. Making me smile when I'm sad.

10. My best friend. I miss my best friend.

Happy Birthday G.

Yesterday was Glenn's birthday. I didn't get to talk to him, but he did send me an email that he was very busy on his birthday. Too busy to celebrate really, but he did save his presents to open until yesterday. He seemed like he liked everything.
I think the next coming weeks might be difficult because everyone on the ship is preparing for seeing their families back in Japan, but Stella and I won't be there when they arrive. Not too much afterwards though. I am getting very anxious to move and see Glenn. In theory, only 29 more days...

I woke up this morning to....

SNOW! UGH!
But also a phone call from Glenn! He is doing well and excited that he is no longer the FNG (F#!*ing New Guy) because a new pilot flew on shortly after they left Guam.
So it is officially winter now in the North. It was 70 degrees on Monday and Tuesday so I am not very happy about this change of weather. I don't think Stella is either. She's never been a big fan of the cold.

Happy Friday everyone!

2 down...1 to go

Glenn left 2 months ago today. Only 1 more to go. I miss him.

Tuesday 10!

1. Glenn called from Guam twice this weekend! They are in port for now and I got to talk to him twice on Halloween. Once in the morning when he was intoxicated and once at night when I was intoxicated. :) They went deep-sea fishing yesterday, but didn't catch anything. They sure sounded like they had fun though.



2. New cut and color. I decided to go darker since I don't know what it will be like getting my hair done in Japan. This way I won't have to worry about getting highlights done over there quite as much. What do you think?
Oh and you can see my permanent eyeliner pretty well in that picture. Having it tattooed on was the best idea. Thanks Megan!

3. Scrabble! The fam played Scrabble last night and I won. I LOVE scrabble! My best word was BACKER on the triple word score for 42 points!

4. Christmas presents! I wrapped Christmas presents last night! I only have 3 people left to buy for! I have to have all my shopping done by Thanksgiving because the week after is going to be crazy with Stella's final vet appointments, Hillary coming home from the Peace Corp, Megan and Nate's wedding and then I move!

5. Still no plane ticket, but we found out what is taking so long! The squadron just found Glenn's email with my passport info (that he sent 3 weeks ago...) so hopefully he will get that taken care of!

6. Good and bad news: The navy may make me buy a ticket back to Norfolk to fly to Japan from there, but if I have to do that I will get to see all my buddies in Norfolk! I'll keep you posted!

7. Voting! I'm driving up to Minneapolis today to cast my vote and watch the election coverage with my favorite liberal friends :). I'm also going to buy my scuba gear and attend a dinner party tomorrow while I'm up there!

8. I made Stella's vet appoint with an old college friend who I found out is a vet in town. Isn't facebook the greatest website in the whole wide world? I sure think so!

9. Christmas cards! I am almost done collecting addresses and making labels for my Christmas cards. I feel so productive this year! I guess that's what happens when you're unemployed...

10. Only 35 more days til moving day!

Mailing Christmas Presents

A few people have asked where you can mail Christmas presents. Since Glenn and I don't have an address and won't until after I get there most likely, our sponsor family has offered to let us ship things to their address in the mean time. Remember, ship things USPS Priority Mail. The post office can give you APO/FPO boxes or the Flat Rate boxes for free and then it only cost about $10 to ship the box. Granted the boxes are not humungous though. Using USPS Priority Mail will take about 2 weeks to get to us. If you ship things around Thanksgiving or the first week of December, they should get to us in plenty of time.

Kelly & Glenn Smith
PSC 477 Box 554
FPO AP 96306-9998

Only about a month until I leave! Happy Voting!

Halloween!

So Annie and I like to say that we were ugly for Halloween. No sexy bunny, sexy bee or whorish Indiana Jones. Just U-G-L-Y. I'll let you judge for yourself. I think we come pretty close to the picture I posted on Tuesday though!

We found our dresses for $5 at Goodwill and made name tags that said Wife #1 and Wife #3. (Wife #2 was at home watching the kids, all 12 of them). Here's another good one:

Elder Jeff Jeffs (Age:57), JESUS (who likes to party), Wife #1 (Age: 19), Wife #3 (Age: 16).