Pet Relaxation

This is how we're living. Mianna took these pictures of Duke and Puss.

My work center

I took a picture of my work area and my desk at work. I better get to bed now, I have to get up at 5 and maybe I'll have time to take Rich to work and make it back in time to go to Pilates at 6am. I'm really starting to get the hang of this job and so far I like it.

Pimp My Ride

I left to work around 1:45 and when I got to the front gate, I noticed that my car was smoking on the right hand side of the hood, and my temperature gage was all the way to the H. I called Rich on the cell phone and told him I was about 2 minutes from the job and that the car was hot and smoking from the hood. He said he would meet me at 7pm when I got off work and we would try to drive the car over to the shop on base. When ever I have car problems I always call Ron to get his advice. He explained to me what 3 things could possibly be wrong and told us what to do. We had to fill up several containers of water and that took 2 trips to the bathroom, so that we could fill the radiator because it was empty when Rich checked it. Well, after we filled it I got in and started the car as Rich looked at the engine to see if the fans were moving or if there was a leek, Indeed there was a leek on the top side of my radiator. That is what caused the smoke (steam) and the car to over heat. So we decided to drive it over to the shop on base and leave it there till morning. In the morning I had to take Rich to work so that I could use his car to take the girls to school and go to work. Rich called around to see how much the part would be and the cheapest he could find was $197.00. At that price and then labor on top of that it would cost too much to fix. I get my first paycheck this Thursday and it looks like I'll be using it to fix my car. I would rather fix my car then have to buy another used one that would have more problems or even a bigger price tag. I'm just not ready to have car payments yet, and definitely not buying a car till after we buy our home. I was planning on buying in about 1 year from now. The Altima sign on the trunk of my car fell off and now I think I can officially ask MTV To pimp my ride. ehhehehehhe.

Trespassing

This was here were we live, Fleming Island Plantation

Redford has passed

I just got off the phone with my girlfriend Erin in LA and she had informed me that her dog Redford had passed. He had a cough and when she took him in to get it check out, they spotted a few spots on his lungs. He then started to have trouble breathing and they said it might have been from his previous owner who was a smoker and that might have caused the second hand smoke that gave him the lung problems. Or it could have been a tumor that was in his body that just developed over time and caused this lung disease. This is very sad news for us, since we really loved Redford too. The picture above was the last time we were in LA visiting with Erin and Redford. He sure will be missed.

Speaking about dogs, I took duke to the vet today and they say is he is healthier than a normal 12-year-old lab. He is very active and energetic, so maybe that means we will have him around a few more years. Duke got treated for fleas and tapeworms today. We also had to treat the house again, and the entire apartment yards have been treated as well, so I hope this puts a stop to the cycle. Ugh...

I was able to go to yoga class today, but I never made it out to my cardio step class. I will have to try and get a class tomorrow for sure. We just had so much to do today and then Rich met me down at the vet and wanted me to stay home with him and asked that I not go to the gym. I think he is having withdrawals of me being gone at work so much. ehehhehe.

Puss and Duke

The animals are getting along well, but Duke is showing
signs of being jealous. He is so use to being the only
animal in the house. Spoiled dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Grandpa

I talk to my aunty yesterday and she just told me that my grandfather has been given about 6 months left to live. He has been really sick for some time now, but he has pneumonia and can't seem to get rid of it. He has been coughing up blood for weeks now and the navy hospital is not taking care of him now. They handed his care over to a haspice. My grandfather just turned 78 in February and maybe he will make it to his 79th b-day. I'm preparing for the worst. I know what it's like to experience death of a close family member. We have had many of our immediate family members pass and it's hard, but for some reason I'm numb to it and realize that it's just the way of life and it will always happen. I will try to cherish this last few months with my grandpa even if he is so far away, I can still talk to him on phone as much as I can.

Red Moth

I took a picture of this red moth that was outside our door when I came home from work the other night.
Florida has many differernt types of moths.

Pilates

I got up at 5:45 and got ready for my early morning Pilates class at the Y. The class starts at 6 and ends at 6:45am. It was still dark outside when I left the house. This was my first Pilates class and I really enjoyed it. I will try to be there every Tuesday. On Monday I took Yoga and I plan to do some type of cardio tomorrow. I will try to work my way up to at least 20 minutes of cardio a day. I’ll take one class of cardio a week. I'm really into the Yoga and Pilates so I'll make that my regular schedule for Monday and Tuesdays.

Tonight is my last night of work and I'll be off finally. I did 9 days straight with no break. UGH. I'm ready for it. I'll try to catch up on all my online stuff and housework with my time off. I'm excited to get my body back into tip top bikini shape, so I can try to get some day time modeling jobs, ehhehehehe. Hey you never know? ha?

Strawberry Mess

I'm in a rush to make a big strawberry smoothie when the bottom of my blender fell out on me and made a giant blob of strawberry gook. So I had to start over from scratch and finally I'm able to enjoy the cold mouth watering smoothie. Mmmmm.. I'm off to work guys, see you all later. Keep posting them bloggs.

Pictures from Hayleighs B-Day

THEN and NOW

Puss

This is Hayleighs cat Puss. She gets along well with Duke now. He some times drinks her milk or eats her food, but she drinks his water also.

Yoga

I took the 11-12 o clock yoga class and it was so relaxing. I found my new schedule for Monday and I'll try to remain faithful to this yoga class. I'll check out the schedule and try to work in 2 classes of cardio and another class of yoga and I'll be set for the week. The new Y is so huge and really pretty. Well guys, I’m off to get ready for work, I only have about 1 hour to kill.

Miss my blogg

Hello guys, it's been like 3 days since I’ve last posted a blogg. I have been so busy, busy, and busy. Lets see where should I start. I finished my training at the job on Friday and I started working my regular schedule on Saturday. I will work 8 hours a day on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. So far I have been working 7 days straight and tonight will be day #8. I will have worked 9 straight days with no break and then finally I get Wednesday and Thursday off and then start my week again. They decided to trough me right into my workweek so that I still had all the training fresh in my head and I’m glad for that, since we do have so much info to get use to. So far I have book and canceled and rearranged reservation for most of our locations. Every call is different and that makes it not so monotonous. I like this job and the people I work with at night. I really love the fact that I can wear what ever I like, even flip flops if I want :o) ehehhehehe. The boss says he just wants us to be comfortable. I doubt that I’ll ever wear flip flops to work, since it's so dang cold in our building I love having my toes all warm in sneakers. I also carry a sweater to work everyday. Jonathan is always there for a few hours after I arrive and then I have Melinda who stays later than me and 2 other worker, which I still have yet to remember their names. Mianna and Rich missed me this weekend so bad, but they will have to get use to it. I should be off of weekends in a few months, so that will be nice.

I'm going to get dressed and run to the YMCA to take my first class of yoga. I'll let you all know how much fun it was. I'm so excited to check out our new Y, since it's 37000 s.f. CRAZY huge ha??????

I'm trying to balance work, house work, exercise, and just being MOM. O man O man O man. I've done this before and never had a problem, it just take that first month to get into set schedule and have the timing workout just right. Tonight Rich will pick Mianna up from Prymtime at school and he will have to do that 3 times a week.

Hayleigh is in North Carolina visiting with her family. She left on Saturday and went to Atlanta to meet up with her brother and then proceed with him and his kids to North Carolina. I hope she is having fun. I think she might return home today. She left her car here, so she is hitching a ride with her Aunt. I hope she took lots of Pictures and maybe I'll share some with you all.

O no!!!!!!!!!!!! was that me starting to sound all souther and country????? O goodness.

It's Official

Today at work was my first time on the phones. My last day of training is tomorrow. Today I got the official word that I passed my training and my new title is reservation agent. I have been in training all week and I will not get a day off till Wednesday. Yes I will have worked 9 days straight before I get my first 2 days off. My schedule is from Friday-Tuesday and I work full time. Tomorrow I will answer the phones again and try to get better with each day in passing.

Today is Hayleighs 27th Birthday and we will take her out to eat at Outback Steak house. I have to go get ready for dinner. I'll be back with some pictures to share with you all.

Severe Storms Now!

Doctor River

On my way to work this morning I took a picture of Doctor Lake as I drove over the bridge. This is one busy lake on the weekend. It's always filled with wave runners and speedboats and all type of fun water sports. Maybe one day we will go out on the lake in a rented boat or maybe our own wave runner. I wish I had my camera when I drove pass the Lake on Monday morning and the sun was just raising over the lake and reflecting in the water. This place is really green and pretty.

Bad Spill

Troux is a typical busy body at age one and unfortunately nasty spills happen from time to time. A few days ago while in California, Trout fell and bumped his head. But today he fell in our kitchen on the tile and bumped it again in the same spot. This is a big ouch on his noggin. Despite that he is still a beautiful baby boy.

Baby sitting

Today I'm on my first baby-sitting duty with Troux =) I just can't get over how adorable he is. Troux has the cutest little curl at the back of his hair. I find myself able to understand 1-year-old jurbish again. LOL . Right now we are playing with his toy motorcycle and it just crashed. It's almost like I have the cute little baby boy I've always wanted. Troux is on the couch watching Sesame Street, O man remember them days?? I think Troux might fall asleep on the couch; he just started to play with his little curls in his hair. This is one super cute baby boy. Let me see if I can catch a picture of him before he moves from his position. Usually he just sits still and posses for the camera. What a ham.

Troux just fell asleep on the couch, how cute.

Hayleighs Arrival

I'm glad to report that Hayleigh,Skye and Troux have made it here in one piece. They got here around 6:15 and just in time for us to take Skye with us to open house. Skye will be attending the same school as Mianna and so it was nice for her to take a tour of her school. Manna’s teacher has such a good attitude about taking in knowledge and sharing with the kids. She has that sparkle that you seen in young teacher that just loves her job and wants so much to help the students become the best they can. I think Mianna will have a good year. This is an elementary school, but her 6th grade class in not an elementary curriculum. Her teacher made that point to us, that our county just didn't have the space to make middle school and so that is why the elementary schools have 6th grade. After open house we went to super Wal Mart to pick up some chicken for dinner. Rich cooked his famous adobo and that was so delicious.

I should give you an update on my first day at work. I took in so much information that my brain felt like it was going to fall off. I listened in on calls and then did a little typing at the end of the shift. I have to learn the eligibility and rank of the military and reserve and also civilians that work for the military. Plenty information for me to absorb and learn in one day. I hope I make it through this week.

Troux is such a ham and loves the camera. I can't get over how handsome he is. O man he is going to be a heartbreaker. The cat (pus) is getting along fine with Duke. He doesn't seem to mind her at all. We are just one big happy family. The last time I say Hayleigh she had to call 911 for me. Remember when I busted my head open and had to get stitches? Yup Hayleigh was there. Well guys, I have to get up early for work, so I should get in bed now.

Click on the title to see the pictures.=)

Avenn

I've had these pictures for some time now but I just forgot to post them.
Thanks for sending the pics Myke.

Foo Wong Garden

Tonight we ate out at Foo Wong Garden down the street from our place. The food was pretty good, it's the first time I have ever seen a Chinese restaurant that is eat in, take out and also drive thru. Yeah that's right, a drive thru Chinese place. I'm not real fond of Chinese food, but Rich was in the mood for it. I had sweet and sour chicken and it was ok. You can tell from what mianna ordered (teriyaki chicken) that she is not use to Chinese at all. I'm not real sure what Rich had but it was spicy and pretty good. This is only our second Chinese restaurant in FL and I'm not very impressed with either place.

On the way home we saw one of the God preaching men on the side of the street. From time to time on Sundays you will see them standing on an island in the middle of the street with a speaker in had just preaching away about the word of the god. I've never really hear what they are saying because we drive by so fast and I usually have my window up because of the AC. But that was the fun for our lazy Sunday. Oya we did do some Costco shopping to prepare for the arrival of our friend Hayleigh and her kids.

Tomorrow I start my new job and all day I have studied my acronyms for the Navy Lodges around the world. I'm real excited to get in there and see how this place runs and if I will like it or not. I'll keep you all posted on my progress. It's almost 11 and I'm not sleepy yet :o( maybe I'll read just a little more or do some cleaning till I get sleepy.

Okay so I cleaned for one hour and I'm just now posting this blog.

Hairstyle comment leads to Fatal Pompano Beach Stabbing

Pompano Beach is aobut 315 miles south of Jacksonville.

Clay's Most Wanted

It's always good to know these faces.....scary.

Keeping an eye out

I had to add notes to my storm/hurricane list.

Charley is gone now but we are keeping an eye on two tropical storms in the Atlatic. One is named Earl and the other is Hurricane Danielle. Earl is closer to Cuba now and I believe Danielle is west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

North Carolina

I have a long time friend in Jacksonville Carolina. You read that right, Jacksonville Carolina. It's funny that our cities share the same name, but we live in different states =). Anyways, I'm trying to read the news and see if they were hit by hurricane Charley since it headed that way. I sure hope she is in good hands.

Aftermath of Charley

A parked car is surrounded by the ruins of a house north of Port Charlotte, Fla., early Saturday, Aug. 14, 2004, after Hurricane Charley moved through the area Friday

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This storm did not hit us, but it sure made a mess in other places. It is still doing damage in South Carolina and will just continue up the east coast. There are so many deaths and people without homes and power. I'm just watching the news as I'm sure most of you will see the damage on CNN and your local news channels. I feel so sad for those who have lost everything and all the deaths. But this is the territory we live in and we are expected to have over 16 more storms or hurricanes this year.

Long Day

Well guys, looks like this hurricane is no real threath now, so I'm going to bed. I just hope we have no tonados while we sleep. Night Night. Hope you all had fun reading my bloggs today. This is one exciting day to remember.
Adios, till manana (goodbye till tomorrow)
Virgi

Hurricane Charley is now Category 1

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Hurricane Charley weakened as it blew through the Orlando International Airport with winds over 100 mph. The storm seems to be following I-4 to the coastline. Projected paths have Charley headed to southern St. Johns county and northern Flagler county.

With sustained winds at 90 mph, the threat for tornadoes remains mainly for areas east of the St. Johns river - in southern Clay, Putnam and St. Johns counties. These areas could see gusts up to 75 mph.

Hurricane Charley's new coordinates are 28.4 north, 81.4 west and is located 15 miles south southwest of Orlando -- moving north northeast at a speed of 25mph.

The threat of severe weather and strong winds is decreasing for Macclenny down to Starke and on to areas west. Southern Georgia is looking better and better and make escape Charley's wrath.

Hurricane Charley Weakens to Category 3 Hurricane

The latest hurricane advisory shows Hurricane Charley weakening to a category 3 hurricane and set to impact Orlando.

Charley is located approximately 65 miles south of Orlando with winds of 115 mph winds. Those winds extend out 25 miles from the center of the storm. Arcadia reported 104 mph winds.

We are still expecing Charley to pass south of St. Augustine and move offshore into the Atlantic ocean during the early hours of Saturday morning.

Our local impact will be the possibility of overnight tornados and severe storms causing wind gusts over 75 mph. The winds won't be as strong west of the St. Johns river, this area can expect winds of approximately 40 mph.

Charley's current coordinates are 27.7 north, 81.8 west moving north northeast at 25 mph.


This is good news for us. We are 40 miles north of St. Augustine and about 15 miles from the St. Johns river, so maybe we will be okay. Lets just pray for no tornados!

2 hours to go

Well guys, it looks like we have about 2 more hours till we start to feel the effects of Charley, but it will really start to pick up around 11 and get more intense as the hours move on. Right now it's calm outside our apartment and hardly sprinkling. I took a few pictures to show you the sky. We have made plans to get into the walk-in closet in my bedroom. We have our radio, flashlights and ate already. We do have enough water for a week. That eerie feeling is still lingering in the air and it reminds me of when I was little on Guam and we were having typhoons. I have been through this type of weather too many times to mention. This will be the first for Rich and Mianna. I'm surprise the satellite TV is still working and the power hasn't flickered one bit. I doubt I'll have TV or internet in 2 hours =( We are watching the start of the Olympics on TV.

Charley has made land

The red star is where Hurricane Charley has made land, the eye wall came ashore near Captiva Island and Fort Myers around 4pm Friday afternoon.

The eye of Charley

Friday, August 13, 2004 Posted: 3:30 PM EDT (1930 GMT)

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Hurricane Charley, now a powerful Category 4 storm, is expected to make landfall in west Florida's Charlotte Harbor before 4 p.m. ET, the National Weather Service reports.

Hurricane Charley's winds had increased to 145 mph (233 kph), with higher gusts.

The storm was headed toward the Fort Myers-Port Charlotte area, after jogging slightly to the right, said Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Originally, Charley was expected to make landfall at Tampa to the north.

At 2 p.m. ET, the storm was centered 60 miles (96 km) south-southwest of Fort Myers, moving to the north-northeast at 20 mph (32 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center.

"The track is a little bit to the right of where we had it before but still well within our hurricane warning area on the southwest coast (of Florida)," Rappaport told CNN.

While he was being interviewed, the hurricane evolved from Category 3 storm to Category 4.

A Category 4 has winds from 131 to 155 mph and is capable of doing extreme damage with heavy flooding.

"It's even stronger than we estimated only an hour or two ago," Rappaport said.

The eye of the storm was 10 miles wide.

The hurricane center predicted the center of the storm would make landfall later Friday afternoon near Charlotte Harbor, about 26 miles (41 km) northwest of Fort Myers.

Hurricanes are classified as categories 1 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. A Category 4 storm has winds of between 131-155 mph (201-249 kph).

Emergency officials issued evacuation warnings from the Florida Keys up through southwest Florida into the heavily populated Tampa Bay area.

About 1.9 million people have been urged to evacuate, Florida state emergency management center spokeswoman Kristy Campbell told The Associated Press.

Governor urges haste

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Friday said that residents who have not heeded the warnings need to act quickly.

"When gale force winds start hitting the area, which will happen soon ... law enforcement officials ... will be seeking refuge as well," Bush said.

"This is not a time to be getting on the interstate."

Bush told reporters he talked to his brother, President Bush, Friday and asked him for a presidential disaster declaration.

"I told him this is a devastating storm," Jeb Bush said.

The declaration will allow the application process to begin for Small Business Administration and other loans.

The Office of Emergency Management said 49 shelters were open statewide.

The airports in Tampa, Fort Myers, Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Key West were closed. Orlando's last flight departure was 5 p.m. Friday; service was expected to resume at 10 a.m. Saturday. Trains scheduled to leave New York for Miami were canceled.

Almost all of the 6,500 military members and residents stationed at Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base have been evacuated.

Aircraft have been moved to bases in Kansas, Nevada and Maine, a base spokesman said.

The Navy also began moving 12 ships from its Naval Station Mayport, near Jacksonville, into the Atlantic and out of the path of the storm, Navy officials said Friday.

Thursday night and early Friday, Charley roared through Cuba, ripping roofs, downing power lines and pulling up huge palm trees.

Havana had high winds and heavy rain, but there were no reports of casualties.

A hurricane warning for the island was lifted Friday morning.

Evacuations

Our county has just reported that they will open the middle schools for evacuation of people in low areas and mobile homes or manufactured homes. Not sure if we will go, I think we are safe here so far.

Maps

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Here are a few maps to help you all understand where we are exactly.
Click here for a big map

Tornado yesterday

Here are some good pictures of some of the damange from that tornado yesterday . I was blogging as it was happening on Edgewood Avenue.

Hurricane Charley Upgrade To A Category 4 Storm

A hurricane warning is in effect for all of the First Coast as Hurricane Charley races northeast at 20 miles per hour.

Charley now has winds of 145 with gusts to 165 miles per hour, this makes Charley a very dangerous category 4 hurricane.

Due to the rapid intensification the forecast track has been altered. We now expect the eye to cross the peninsula and go into the Atlantic near St. Augustine.

We still expect winds to gust to over 75 miles per hour but the shift of the winds out of the northeast will add the threat of a 4-6 foot storm surge.

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Hurricanes are Categorized from 1 to 5 according to what is known as the Saffir-Simpson Scale.


Category 1
Hurricane has a central barometric pressure of 28.94 inches or more and winds of 74 to 95 mph.  The storm is accompanied by a 4 to 5 foot storm surge and causes minimal damage

Category 2
Pressure 28.5 inches to 28.93 inches, winds from 96 mph to 110 mph, storm surge 6 to 8 feet, damage moderate.


Category 3
Pressure 27.91 inches to 28.49 inches, winds from 111 mph to 130 mph, storm surge 9 to 12 feet, damage extensive.


Category 4
Pressure 27.17 inches to 27.90 inches, winds from 131 mph to 155 mph, storm surge 13 feet to 18 feet, damage extreme.

*Hurricane Georges, when it went through the Caribbean in 1998, and hurricanes Andrew and Hugo were all Category 4 storms..


Category 5
Pressure less than 27.17 inches, winds greater than 155 mph, storm surge higher than 18 feet.  Damage Catastrophic.
*Hurricane Mitch reached Category 5 strength in 1999.  Only two Category 5 storms - the 1935 Key West Labor Day Storm, and Camile in 1969 which devastated Louisiana and Mississippi - have made landfall in the United States.

Live Doppler

Phone calls

I called most family and friends, some have called me also. I told everyone to not worry and that we will keep you all posted. Right now it's and eerie calm outside. I just got off the phone with the kennel, she said Duke would be just as safe home, so we will be leaving him here if we have to evacuate. I spoke with Carey about my concerns with the hurricane and she said, that when they had Floyd, they gave evacuation notices too late and she ended up staying in her home. We are not too far from our evacuation spot, but if it gets that bad, we will just stay home and be in the bathroom with Duke. We have fewer windows in there, so it will be the safest spot in the house. I have water, food, and candles, flashlights and by 6 I will fill all tubs and sinks with water. The tornadoes are another factor and that is just out of my control. We will be safe guys so no worries. I better get to work, I have 3 hours to get all situated

Declares State of Emergency

They just declared Florida in a state of emergency. The worst of it will hit us between 12 and 3 in the morning, but we have untill 8pm to get all supplies together and get off the streets. They will open shelters at 2pm.

Hurricane watch

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Hurricane Charley remains a strong category two hurricane with maximum sustained winds at 110 mph. It is likely to strenghten to a category three before it makes landfall around or south of the Tampa area. It is currently located 145 miles south of Sarasota, Florida at 25.2 north and 82.8 west.

A Hurricane watch is now in effect from Flagler Beach northward to the Savannah River near the Georgia, South Carolina border. This means hurricane conditions with winds over 74 mph are likely in this area within the next 36 hours.

Hurricane warnings are in effect for the Florida Keys and for the Florida west coast from East Cape Sable to the Seinhatchee River. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from Cocoa Beach, Florida to Altamaha Sound, Georgia. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect from Ocean Reef northward to south of Cocoa Beach and north of Altamaha Sound, Georgia.

Hurricane Charley is expected to show some signs of its presence as the sun begins to set. Our weather conditions will go down hill especially late tonight and tomorrow morning as the eye of the storm moves overhead and to our north. You can expect sustained winds between 30 and 40 mph with gust up to 75 mph. Heavy rain on an already soaked ground in some spots could set the stage for flood problems. Keep checking with us as we'll keep you updated and let you know what you can expect in your area once there is a better handle on the storm.

Power Outage

Orange Parks power had just been restored. This is not the effect of Charley; we are having other small storms in the area. This is so crazy. The big storm has not hit yet, but will tonight. All the little storms are causing flooding and they are warning the county next to us, Duval County. We live in Clay County, but we are right on the border of the county line, so I have no idea if it will flood here or not. There is no rain now and it's really calm outside, but the air is filled with this feeling of nervousness, knowing that the big one will hit tonight. I still have to get more supplies, but Rich is on his way home now and he will stop at the ATM to get money incase we need cash. They say the storm will hit around 8 tonight, so for now we have time to prepare. If we have to evacuate, I'll leave Duke in the bathroom with his food and water. We have 7 1/2 hours to go and the tornado watch is still in effect. Tampa Bay will be hit hard today, our apartment is stucco, and so I'm not sure how it will stand up to 75 mph winds.

Hayleigh called from LA and I told her to get a hotel and stay there, since this place will be a mess by the time she gets here. She told me she ran into some crazy weather in Texas. Ill try to keep you all posted with our situation.

Julia Child dies at 91

How sad, Julia Child died last night in her sleep. I loved watching her tv cooking shows. That voice is one to remember.

Funnel Cloud.

O shit guys, we have a funnel cloud in our town, it could touch down and develope into a tornado. O man..... NOT here. please. O man. okay I'm off, I have to get supplies together and bring patio furniture in the house.
BYE.

Sitting on the Lanai

I'm just sitting out on the lanai watching the gardeners cut the grass. I treated the house for fleas since Duke got fleas so bad and he is at the groomers getting a flea bath to rid him of the fleas. I dam near almost passed out trying to fumigate the house on my own. I had to spray 1534 square feet of carpet and tile. I think I smell like the spray now. I also had to fumigate my car and now I need to vacuum the entire house and the car. Duke should be out by noon, so at 11am I will start my cleaning. I have to mop all the floors again, since they are covered with spray. UGH.... This really sucks, but we just can't have this flea problem anymore. I have the apartment sprayed every Tuesday, but I just couldn't wait till then, so I did it on my own. Ill probably still have them come spray this Tuesday. They mostly do the cabinets,windows and doors. They do the grounds outside the house, every Tuesday, so that is good. Rich called me on my cell as I was dropping Duke off and he said they are still securing the shops on base in preparation for the hurricane. The sky just keeps getting darker and darker. When this thing hits, it will completely black out here. I'm not looking forward to all the down tree's or the power outages, but I think we will be okay.

Toothless Duke

We just think it's so funny that Duke is toothless in front.
I have no idea when or how this happened. Toothless or
not, we love our baby boy Dukes

Hurricane Names for 2004

I just got this list out the paper I picked up at the post office. The names are just too funny! Seems like a list of people I know? hmmmmm what a quinky dink

Alex

Bonnie (was only a tropical storm) 8-12-2004

Charley (will hit us by 8-13-2004)

Danielle(west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands)8-15-2004

Earl (is out there near Cuba, following the same path as Charley 8-15-2004)

France

Gaston

Hermine

Ivan

Jeanne

Karl

Lisa

Matthew

Nicole

Otto

Paula

Richard (who do I know with that name??? LOL)

Shary

Tomas

Virginie (looks like they misspelled my name ha? LOL)

Walter

Wal Mart

I think I have been to Wal Mart everyday this week and I'm about to go there now. Rich just called on the cell phone and he wants spaghetti for dinner, so I need to go get some noodles. We found out yesterday that our favorite store in Wal Mart is closing =( the candy store called Kid Connection.They will replace it with a Blimpies. We have a super Wal Mart and it has every thing you can think of inside of it. Lets see, it has a hair salon, nail salon, eye center, candy store (not for long) regular Wal Mart stuff and then the grocery side. It's HUGE.

I have to get more water too, since we will have Hurricane Charley hit us tomorrow with 75 miles per hour winds and a possible category 3. I will also pick up some candles and canned food, like spam :o) we will be without power tomorrow for sure. Right now the north side of us is without power =(. Okay guys I'm off to get Hurricane supplies... I bet Wal Mart will be crowed as usual.

Moving Fast

Guys the storm here is moving so dang fast. If you have read my blogg about an hours ago, it was raining with thunder and lightning, but now it's sunny. No sign of a storm here.

Fred Clark is on the TV by way of phone reporting the funnel passed him and he was in his car and it rattled and sounded like a freight train. He said he just sat in his car and prayed, but he made it home. This was around 4:10 and he saw a truck that was almost about to tip over, but it rocked back down and didn't hit him. He also saw a car drive by him on highway 1 with all her windows blown out.

We are in the clear

The storm has already passed us, and we are in the clear. Nice. I'll be praying for the rest of FL. Man.... lots of stuff going on today. Too many tornados on top of this hurrican. It seems like it's not going to hit us as bad as the far east. We are south, south west (almost). St. Augustine, Jacsonville downtown, airport area, Avenue Mall (20 miles from here) have all been hit hard so far.

Tornado on Edgewood Avenue

Marcia Radrod 4:25 is on the TV now reporting that they seen the tornado from her high rise building and it was close to highway 1 close to Edgewood Ave. She said she could see the clouds rotating and debri up in the clouds,..... Thats so scary guys!!!!!!

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This lady is on TV live on a phone call reporting the huge funnel in the sky. Tornado, but it has not been reported by the national weather yet, it's probably a tornado. Lots of trees are down and parts of a roof across the street from this ladies house.
O my got there is a HOUSE down on one road. The house was hit by the tornado.

800,000 urged to evacuate

This is the biggest evacuation ordered since 1999, when Hurricane Floyd brushed Florida's east coast and prompted officials to urge about 1.3 million to evacuate, a record for the state.

Hurricane Charley bears down on state; 800,000 urged to evacuate

Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley

Well it's raining pretty hard now and the sky is very dark, our lanai and parking lot is already fluded and it's only been raining about 10 minutes. This is Tropical Storm Bonnie passing by us, but the bigger one is on it's way right behind this one and it's suppose to hit us tomorrow, that one is actually a hurricane called Charley. You can click on the tile to track the storm.

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JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Tropical storm Bonnie is moving toward the northeast at 16 mph.

It appears the primary threat is for Northwest Florida. At this point, we will be looking at some passing thunderstorms with wind gusts to 50 miles per hour later today.

Charley continues to strengthen and could threaten Florida as a 100 mph hurricane by Friday. If the 48-hour forecast is close, we will see Charley come ashore near Tampa with 100 mile per hour sustained winds and the eye go by us with gusts of 75 miles per hour late Friday and early Saturday.

A hurricane warning is now in effect for the Florida Keys and a hurricane watch is now in effect as far north as Tarpon Springs. Emergency officials have ordered tourists to evacuate parts of the Keys.

Chief Meteorologist Tim Deegan

Payroll and Hurricane Charley

Pay Roll, originally uploaded by Virgi.

I got up this morning and took Mianna to school and then headed to the base to pick up my paperwork. I had to go the pesonale building on base and fill out about 45 minutes worth of paperwork for my payroll. I had my Polaroid taken and then it was laminated onto my timecard. It's all starting to feel real again. Wow, I'm actually working for the Navy again. I was also given my Navy Lodge Central Reservation Employee handbook and reference and this thing is thick. I have to read it front to back or back to front (like the Japanese) I like to read that way. I have to try and familiarize my self with acronyms for about 45 different locations. I'll become real familiar with the state abbreviations too. Plus knowing my Months by numbers, that's easy! ehhehe.

After all that check-in stuff I was able to look around the NEX to see if could find any nice tops for work, but no luck. Rich called me on my cell and we met for lunch. That was nice and I could get use to seeing him in the middle of the day like that.

On my stop to the post office aunty max called to see if we would be affected by the storm that's moving in and if I was preparing for it. I told her that we would be hit by hurricane Charlie by Friday. It's very overcast and gray outside, but very calm. I remember the time before typhoons on Guam, were real calm and pretty, but that is only an illusion you get, just before the storm really hits down. We have plans to watch a movie tomorrow night at the pool here, but we will have to see if it's canceled because of the weather and we are also invited to the Luau at the Y on Saturday, so that might also have some set backs if we do have a pretty bad hurricane. The thunder just stated and the sky is almost black now. I better watch the local news incase we have to evacuate to the high school. Oooops scratch that, I have to listen to the radio, no TV since we have satellite. I have to turn off the computer because we are now having lightning and might have a power surge. Our dog Duke is really freaking out now, so I better go baby him. O man it's raining bad now.............. I'll keep you all posted on our hurricane condition

Jammin

Here's a pic of Aoife with her friend Maria jammin on thier guitars.
This was sent in from our friends in Japan. Hey Aoife we have the same
capris

Training on Monday

While I was out picking up Mianna from school, Sue called to tell me that tomorrow I should call her first thing in the morning and that I will have to come to base and fill out my paperwork and get my background check done. I will start my training on Monday. Training will be from 8-3 or 4, I forget, but I'll have to try and get Mianna to before and after school care for this week only. I though it would be free, but it's not. I will pay 49 for after school and both before and after is 62, so not too bad. I will only need the after school care once I've finished my training.

Snake

We went on our Wednesday walk and seen our first snake. It was a small baby snake. I told Rich "we will see a snake today and I don't have my camera with me". After a few feet, there it was in the grass. Man that always happens to me. I should never leave home without the camera. The lady that watched Duke for us last weekend said that Florida has many deadly snakes and the is why they walk their dogs instead of letting them out in a dog run. Scary! Scary! Scary!

YMCA

We are Charter Members of the Barco-Newton Family YMCA at Fleming Island. Our new Y will open its doors on Monday, but we will try and take a tour this Saturday. I'm so excited about being a member because this will mean that we can have our own personal wellness coach. I can get back into Yoga, Spinning and start Pilates. O man this is going to be so much fun. I’ll have a busy day schedule along with my new job at night. I wonder if I’ll have time to fit in a few classes at school. Mianna is now apart of Pryme Time and will stay after school till 6 everyday. This way she will have help with her homework and be able to have some social time with her after school friends. I still have to tell Rich all the good news when he gets home. I think he will like using the facilities at the Y. This place is huge at 37,000 square-foot. It has so many amenities. Mianna has already decided to take Karate. FUN FUN FUN!!!!! We also got a gym bag, t-shirt-shoulder bag, CD case and a coupon book. hehehhe.

Adea went camping

I just read Adeas blogg and she is on a camping trip with her aunt and 12 kids. WOW, can't wait till she gets back, so we can see all the pictures. Hope your having a fun and safe outing.

I'm Employed

YES!!!! I just got off the phone with Sue and she told me I got the job. She is still going to call back and let me know when I can come in and fill out my paper work and do my background check. I could start training as early as this monday or next week monday. I'm so happy right now, I'm not jumping up and down, but it's such a relief to know I'm back in the work force after my 6 year hiatus. I better call Rich with the good news. He knew I would get the job from the start, and I love him for being so supportive and possitive for me. Muah! Mo money Mo money . ehheehhehhe.

In Suspense

Okay so the phone rang twice already and the first time it was Hayleigh calling to say she has just left Las Vegas and is on her way to New Mexico. You know I’m waiting for my phone call from the Navy Lodge call center to tell me if I got the job or not. Well the second phone call was from Rich. Man my heart was beating so fast, I actually thought it was going to be the call center since it’s 12 already. Well I got all emotional with Rich on the phone and told him I didn’t think they were going to call me and he is so positive he told me not to worry and that they would call. Well I hung up with Rich and went back to my cleaning, and then the phone rang again. O my god O my god… is it them…. Well it was Sue from the call center calling to tell me that they were waiting on one other person and that she didn’t want me to worry, so she was going to call back around 1:30 or so. UGH>>> the suspense is killing me. It’s 12:23 now and I feel like I need a cold shower. I asked Sue if things at least looked good and she said,” yes things look good so far”. So does that mean I have the job. Ugh… I still have to wait till 1:30 and it’s killing me. I'll finish cleaning house now. I don’t know what’s more painful, the wait or the phone call.

Cleaning Rampage

I got up at 7 and got Mianna up for school. She made her own breakfast this morning, simple cinnamon toast. I dropped her off and as soon as I walked in the door I started cleaning. The house smells like all kinds of cleaning product, on top of laundry smells. I took a few weeks off when I was sick and the house just started to look sick also. In two hours I have managed to clean two bathrooms, including scrub the tubs and walls. Clean off the kitchen floor and unload the dishwasher and now I have to go mop it and clean the counter tops. After that I'll vacuum and dust the entire house and then maybe it will be lunchtime. I have to cook some thing to eat and then take Duke on his noon walk. He has been following me around the house as I run from room to room putting away laundry and cleaning up in spots. I think he started to get tiered because now he just stays in one spot of the room watching me. O the joy of being a housewife, all you do is clean, clean, clean and then more cleaning. LOL

Comparison

Gizzelle-Alisha-Mianna

Gizzelle-Mianna-Alisha

Freebie

Just when I though things couldn't get any better, our apartments just added free pilates with yoga on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So on top of my 2 free messages a month I will also join the pilates/yoga classes. O I'm in heavon now. I just love living at these apartments and this makes it that much harder to leave. ehhehehehe.

Young me

I have no idea how old I was in this picture or who that girl is with me, but I do remember my chic jeans that I never wanted to stop wearing.

New Years 2000

As you can tell I've been posting a bunch of old pictures. I just came across a bunch of memories. This picture was taken back in Las Vegas where we spent New Years with Ingrid and Myke back when they were not married yet. :o) Wow.... It was one night full of stories to tell for years.... ha Ingrid????. LOL

Carlsbad Flower Fields

Carlsbad Flower Fields, originally uploaded by Virgi.

Back in 1998 I visited the Carlsbad gardens with Erin and my grandma.

The Dragon

Legoland, originally uploaded by Virgi.

This picture was taken back in 1999 when Legoland was brand new to California. Look at the terror on Miannas face.

My Interview

Well guys, my interview went well. I got so nervous because I had a hard time finding the place in the Navy College building on base. I was there just last week with Rich and didn't realize it was the same building and it's HUGE. Well this nice lady escorted me right to the call center and there I was. I was a little out of breath from all 4 flights of stairs and the interviewers just laughed and smiled with me when I told them I got lost. They said that everyone always gets lost the first day. Anyways, I got to see first hand what I would be doing and it's a lot of work and not easy at all! I hope they give me a chance. I really think I can learn to do the work and the pay would be 8 or 8.60 an hour. I would work full time and there would be room for improvement and pay increase. They told me that on average people stay about 3 years and then they get burnt out on the call industry. This call center is the main Navy Lodge reservation center and they handle all cancelations, reservations and updates for the Navy Lodge. I sure would have my hands full answering some 1000's of calls a day and making pertinent data entry into the computer. They do things the old fashion way but they seem to know how to run that place well. I could even wear jeans to work LOL. I will know by 1pm tomorrow if I got the job. Cross your fingers for me and pray ;o)

Garnier

I dyed my hair last night because my highlights were growing
out and looking so old. My hair is a medium copper brown.

Uncle Pauls Wedding

Ingrid was the photographer at Richies uncle Pauls wedding. I think she took some great pictures. I know she ate some good red rice and finadeni (ehheheeh). Hey check out this pretty picture of some finadeni that I found on a radom fellow blogger. They have a link to the recipe also. It just so happens that they have the same last name. I wonder if this might be a ralative of the family,hmmmm (?????) Everyone on Guam is realated. LOL
Uncle Paul and Georgia got married in the same church that Rich and I got married in .....O hey and Bing (Richies sister) also got married there.
Links to the pictures.
First set
Second set

Mianna's Teacher

I just got back from picking Mianna up from school. She said her first day went well and no homework for today. I rode her bike down the school and packed my roller blades along the bike. On the way back, Mianna rode her bike while I roller blades beside her. That was my exercise for the day. Here is a little information about Miannas teacher Mrs. Patterson.

Back to school- 6th grade

While most of our friends are still asleep in bed or just waking up, some are just getting ready for bed.But over here on the east we are up at 5 and Mianna is up at 6:45. She is all dressed and ready for her first day of 6th grade.

Dona Maria’s

We were craving Mexican food today, so we ate out at Dona Maria’s. Dona Maria’s is in downtown Jacksonville at the Jacksonville Landing. It was overcast today, but it made for a nice and cool atmosphere. We sat out side by the river and enjoyed the view of the bridges over the St. Johns River. I actually left my camera at home and was missing it soooooooooo much . I also had an awesome margarita.mmmmm.

Okay guys, I'll be watching my favorite show, Six Feet Under in 7 minutes.

The Eye

Some time I just like to play around with the camera and come up with some crazy shots to shoot. I took these shots of Mianna's eye through a rolled up poster.

Simple Plan at

We drove out to Valdosta, GA to Wild Adventures to see Simple Plan perform at the All Star Amphitheater.
Valdosta is 125 miles (1hr 45min. drive) north west of Orange Park. We left around 11:45 and took Duke to the kennel. Most people have to get a baby sitter when they want to go out, but we have to get a dog sitter or put him in the kennel. LOL. The drive out to Valdosta was real quick this time in comparison to the first time we drove out there. When we got there the park was so full that we had to park so far away and walk in to the park. It was very overcast outside, but that didn't last long. The sun finally came out and it was hot. We drank lemonade and sprite to keep cool and walked around to find the spot to sit and set up our chairs.

After we saved our spot we ran around the park and watched the Amazing Cats show. The trainer has been working with cats for over 22 years and the largest male cat named Tai, put him in the hospital 10 times in the past 12 years. You have to real brave to do that job. The cats put on a good show.

After that show we went back to our seats and watched the opening act
Fade. He reminded us of the actor Jack Black

After Fade, Simple Plan come on and everyone went crazy. The crowd was very hype and loud. The last song they performed was my favorite and it made for "Perfect" ending
Click on the title of this blog to view the pictures.

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Simple Plan
Perfect

Hey dad look at me
Think back and talk to me
Did I grow up according to plan?
Do you think i'm wasting my time
Doing things I wanna do?
'Cuz it hurts when you disapprove all along

And now I try hard to make it
I just want to make you proud
I'm never gonna be good enough for you
I can't pretend that I'm all right
and you can't change me

'Cuz we lost it all
Nothing last for ever
I'm sorry I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late and we can't go back
I'm sorry I can't be perfect

I try not to think
About the pain I feel inside
Did you know you used to be my hero?
All the days you spent with me
Now seem so far away
And it feels like you don't care anymore

And now I try hard to make it
I just want to make you proud
I'm never gonna be good enough for you
I can't stand another fight
And nothing's alright

Nothing's gonna change the things that you said
Nothing's gonna make this right again
Please don't turn your back
I can't believe it's hard just to talk to you
'Cuz you don't understand