It's been a long time...

So I'm not sure if anyone checks this anymore...and I couldn't blame anyone for not because i have been HORRIBLE about keeping it up to date! But now for the update, if there are still any readers out there.

After Christmas things got a little hectic: It was our Anniversary, then my birthday which was the same day Ryan's Martial Arts Instructor course started. It was a very intense three week program. He was getting up around 5 am each day, got his butt kicked during the day, and then was home around 5 or 6. So for 3 weeks we didn't do much of anything, he slept and just relaxed a lot while i cooked a lot of food to sustain his workout levels and did a lot of laundry . During this time I had started a CNA program through the Red Cross, but i had to discontinue it due to the Red Cross not having their payment system up to date for the grants military spouses receive. They couldn't receive the funds, so i went on to pursue my group exercise instructors certification instead! I take that test March 9th. I'm still waiting to hear back from graduate school and I am still searching for a job. The few of us spouses who have been trying to find a job have had no luck--around here it's all about who you know. One of my friends who is a PA asked the urgent care if they were hiring at all, and the response she got was "it's all about who you know and networking, we rarely look at applications". So with that information i don't feel as bad about not getting hired anywhere. I'm in a microbiology class at a community college and I'm learning so much about different bacteria that i have become a germ-a-phob. It's been interesting going from IU to a community college, I don't like it as much at all, and Ryan tells me it's not fair to keep comparing it (which, he's right) but it's hard not to. IU was so much fun, we both miss it so much. One funny thing is that there are roosters and wild chickens that rule the parking lots, which IU didn't have...see, i'm already looking at the bright side :) My friend Emily and I are doing this challenge at the base gym called a TRY-athlon. It's and Iron man triathlon but we have the whole month of February to complete it. Mondays we bike and run, and Thursdays we swim. the biking and running has been great because it's been a way to explore the neighboring towns, but the swimming not so much. all the pools are outdoors here, and since it's the "wintertime" right now, they are FREEZING. So the swimming portion has pretty much become an ice bath for our sore muscles from the running and biking. 

In December we went to our friends wedding at the Hilton down in Waikiki. It was beautiful. It was an all white chapel with the sun set coming in the huge picture window. Afterward we went to a really nice sushi restaurant, and then after this saki type bar. President Obama was there and we could see him from our table, but the bride and groom were able to actually able to meet him. It was a very fun night to say the least!

Emily and I do most of everything together, so you will be hearing a lot about her from now on. If I'm not with Ryan, I'm with her. We on a hike to the pillboxes. they were old WWII look outs, but now the public can hike up them and see amazing views of kailua.

We all went out one night and sang karaoke  there are a ton of those places around here, and I'm pretty sure it's due to the Asian population. We all wore "Aloha" t shirts. here are Ryan and some of his buddies.

 Our house is still under construction...that is in terms of decorating. It's way bigger than what we need, so it's still pretty empty. But here are some pictures:

the two empty guest rooms

That's all i have for now, but I promise the next blog won't be 2 months from now :)

Carlie

Merry Christmas!!

Hello All!

Christmas is approaching as we all know, but it sure doesn't feel that way here! It's still warm and sunny, and i feel bad for not being more thankful for the weather, but it just doesn't feel like the holidays to us. People put up more Christmas lights here though than I have seen back home, and we decided that is what makes up for the lack of snow and cold weather. Hawaii has entered its rainy season, or its equivalent to "winter". It rains anywhere from 1 to 5 (yes, 5) times a day and then the wind howls all day and night long! it's so sporadic it makes it a little hard to plan for outdoor activities, but its nice too because it's cooler and not as humid. At night i can wear jeans and a light jacket and be  comfortable.

This was the first time i have ever went Christmas tree shopping, and when i finally got around to it due to the move and our hectic schedule, they were all GONE! No trees anywhere to be found. I could've looked around for a real one, but since it's so close i saw this on pinterest and decided this would work for our first Christmas tree:

Yep, it's made from books, and then the top is from our wedding last year! I never thought i would have a Christmas tree made from books,especially for our first tree together, but it works. Between moving, trying to get the house together, his work schedule, and my CNA program, it was a cute and no hassle alternative.

Our pastor at our church is a really gifted speaker, this is last Sunday's sermon if you want to check it out http://hopechapel.com/teaching/live-webcast/archived-teachings its ID check-Role by Carl Moore 12/16/2012

Fun things to do around here

Hello Everyone!

This past weekend Ryan and I went hiking, to the North Shore, and some other miscellaneous things.

First, we ate breakfast at Cinnamon's. I've talked about it before, but we go back as often as possible because it's delicious! I always get an omelet with artichoke, black olive, parm. cheese, and pesto with rice, and he get's the S.u.n.s.h.i.n.e. last time he got red velvet pancakes and this is what they looked like:

  They tasted just like red velvet cupcakes, which was amazing, but too sugar-y. so this time he got whole wheat french toast :)

Next, we went hiking to Maunawili Falls. We went with The Camacho's, they are from Oregon and they are stationed here in Hawaii with us-awesome people! it's a 3 mile hike total, and at the end there is a water hole you can swim in and then a little ledge about 25 feet up that you can jump into the water from. I jumped from it, but Ryan was too scared!..haha no just kidding, i was actually very proud of him that he didn't get into the water since his small pox shot is still on the mend. but he hated every minute of not getting to participate.

People took the time to balance these rocks, it was neat to see and amazing that they didn't fall over!

It was so pretty to be out in the forest and see all the green and flowers, we are going to try to hike a trail every other weekend! (look familiar mom?)

After we went hiking we went to the movie theater. they were playing all three extended versions of Lord of the Rings in anticipation for The Hobbit, so we made the Twin Towers and The Return of the King.

Gandalf and I

Sunday we went with the Camacho's to the North Shore. it ended up being a little too cloudy so we left early, but we did get to see a surfing competition, which was really neat. on the drive back we stopped at a little market and bought some fresh fruit. I've said it before, but the avocado's are HUGE here. then we stopped to eat at this little farm on the side of the road. I had grilled banana bread, and Ryan had pesto pizza. both delicious!

This is a picture of the stage inside the church we go to. They always have a really good message. you can see more about it here http://hopechapel.com/

And this is the view from the church

I found this guy in the grass, he was the biggest snail i have ever seen!

This is what they call "Vog" it's different from Fog in that it comes from the volcano on the Big Island. When it comes in we both get headaches, and my allergies go haywire.

Overall, we had a really fun/exciting/tiring weekend! This week will be really busy for the both of us-Ryan with his crazy work schedule and i start my CNA course this week.

Hope all is well with everyone back home, we miss you all so much!

Hawaiian Sledding

This is Hawaii's version of sledding:

On Saturday's there is a really big farmer's market in Honolulu. they sell all kinds of different things! we bought a few veggies, but mainly tried different foods they had out. we tried a Vietnamese doughnut and Vietnamese coffee (which were both delicious, we went back for more), and i tried seaweed pesto, which was also very good! they had tons of different plants, which all look so exotic and tropical. i keep telling  Ryan he needs to get me some, but he never does...sigh...one day haha :) but the avocado's are HUGE here, i've never seen anything like it.

We went up to the top of the big hill we run to see the sun set, but where we are located on the island we don't get much of one, the mountains hide it. it is always dark here by 6, and its really dark too. when its 6pm it feels more like 9pm, so it just always feels later than it actually is.

Busy Bee's

Hey Everyone!

Sorry i haven't been blogging as much as i would like to! we've been pretty busy!

Ryan has started doing some work with his unit, but since most of his unit is deployed there's not much he can really do. So they tasked him with organizing the units return from their deployment , and he has been enjoying learning how to do certain things and kind of get a head start before everyone gets back and then just dumps work on him...which he looks forward to as well.He is also the safety officer for the unit. that means before every leave or break he gets up in front of everyone and says "okay now, don't do this and stay away from that" etc.,  But overall it's going well and he is meeting a lot of people that are giving advice about his unit.

I've been trying to get things in order for graduate school. I'm in the process of getting into a CNA class and then for the Spring 2013 semester i'm taking a microbiology class. And then I've applied for an accelerated nurse practitioners program for the fall of 2013, so fingers crossed! if i don't get accepted i'll just try to apply again for the next fall. it's a two year program and we have three years here, so hopefully one of the times i apply i'll get in! if not i'll just have to pursue other things! I also start volunteering for the Red Cross soon, i have orientation that starts the 27th! so i am excited about all of that!

We went to a beach called "sandy's beach" and i think it's called that because you get sand everywhere, you sit on your towel and somehow you have sand all over you, you don't get in the water somehow you have sand all over you,you get in the water to wash the sand off and somehow you have more sand. its a mystery to us! The Drive out there was absolutely beautiful! i'm having some trouble getting my photos to load on the computer, but i will post those at a later date!

This is his "official" marine corps photo. i tried to send one to family, but just in case someone hasn't seen it here it is :)

Hope everyone is doing well :)

Graduations

Hello Family and Friends!

These are pictures of Ryan's graduations-From TBS in Virginia, and then Logistics school in Jacksonville.
 these are the friends he made during the 6 months of training, everyone was SO happy to graduate and be out of there, but they were getting very sentimental as well, realizing they won't be seeing each other for a very long time, if again...but hey, Ooo Ra.

Trevor Sewell, Rich Powell, Daniel Driscoll, Jason Moxley

Kyle King 

Colton Sizemore

Jeff Spangler

Mike Noland

 Then we moved to Jacksonville! We really liked it, and there are certain things we miss. If i messed up on dinner or it was just a late night, we went to this 24 hour old school diner and would eat breakfast :) it was also fun living so close to the Atlantic, and now we are living on the Pacific!

 This is graduation from Logistics school, and yes, i am wearing the same dress...perks of moving around!

Ryan and Jeff

Jason and Judy Grenier. Judy and i walked together every morning :) and they are expecting a little one!

Nice face Ryan...

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