Not for the men to read

Ok, the women will understand this: I scheduled a dentists appointment (A cleaning) and a Pap smear in the SAME morning! What was I thinking?! Anyway, both appointments went well. I now have an Ortho consult to see about fixing my teeth, and I had to get X-Rays done on my left knee as apparently I have some kind of fracture there. Checking that out tomorrow.
But I tell you what?! Is there anything more humiliating then being up on that table, legs spread eagle for the doctor to see. (Male doctor) I KNOW that it's necessary, and that they see this stuff ALL the time, but STILL, it freaken SUCKS.
Sorry had to gripe a wee bit.

Similarities

We had a class at church this afternoon called UU101! :-D Kewl class. We first went around the table and introduced ourselves and gave a brief background of our religious upbringing and what had brought us to Unitarian Universalism. The very interesting thing was that with all the differences, the stories just about mirrored each other in that most of us had found at some point in our lives that the traditional religion, the patriarchal Christianity, had not meant anything to us at all, and that we just didn't "feel" it. There was something that we were missing, and that religion wasn't filling. And most of us were not really into spouting words that we just didn't believe. As my pastor says, we wanted to maintain personal integrity. What led me to the UU church was my mother who took me to one almost 2 years ago in Greensboro, NC, and since then I have found that it is a comfortable place to be. Since being out of an "organized" church for many years, I missed the community, the sense of a place to belong, and for me, the UU church here in Augusta has filled that spot. Although I do have to say, that when I tell people what church I attend I get those looks of "ooo evil", because most people have a misunderstanding of what Unitarian Universalism is. Even I did not know a lot before I attended the class today. Anyhow, it's a good day, although I didn't sleep all that well last night. Got into a pretty serious argument with the one I love, and I hate arguing. However all is well now, we talked things out, and I really think that the argument in one sense helped. Does that make sense at all?

Not so new journalist

New link on the sidebar all, this time linking to someone near and dear to my heart. He's a strange person, and that reflects in his writing, but it's fun:-D E.g. he has a major thing about Disney and I love it. This is the man I want to marry? Eeeegads what am I thinking ROFL:-D Is ok though, I love him dearly anyway.

Rainy mornings

I walked out of my room this morning to go put laundry in the washer, and the moment I opened my door I got a blast of COLD air. Then I discovered that it was raining, so I turned around and grabbed my windbreaker. As I started walking over to the laundry facility I started walking on the grass, and almost fell on my A**!!! Freaken even the grass was iced over! Hehehe. KEWL as all get out in my opinion. After a year of extreme heat, this cold is cool, JUST so long as I DON'T have to go out in it all that often LOL.

OH MY G-D!! I have seen it snowing here, but this I have never seen before !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is my car this morning! Thank goodness today I clean my room and don't have to go anywhere.

Oh yeah,

And since all of you are wondering: I have 8 other siblings all younger then I. 5 sisters and 3 brothers. Yes, life was interesting growing up, but I wouldn't trade any of my sibs for anything in the world. (Well, maaaaaybe a million dollars ROFL MUMMY I am joking!)

Cutting of one's own hair

Ok be honest, how many of you did this when you were kids? I know I did, and just about all of my siblings as well. It seems to be a rite of passage in my family. My youngest sister (4) just up and chopped off all of her beautiful curls, and I am now only dreading what it must look like. Eeeek! I love my kids, but sheesh the silly things they do!
Going out with my company to a new bar tonight, should be entertaining:D

For your amusement: Me at 19, JUST before going to basic training in Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Check the retainer!!!!!

Bone Scans

I went in yesterday to have a bone scan done on my legs, to either rule out any bone abnormalities, or show what the heck is wrong with them. Before I went in, I was a wee nervous, as people that have had them before had told me all kinds of horror stories about this icky liquid you have to drink, and that you can't eat or drink. So I wasn't exactly thrilled at this prospect. I got there, signed in, and the doctor called me back and asked me to sit down so that he could give me a shot. When I asked about the liquid, he said nah, we just give it to you in shot form. YAY! I don't deal well with needles, not particularily fond of them, but a shot is better any day then having to drink something utterly gross. I did raise my eyebrows though when the needle he picked up said "Caution, radioactive" EXCUSE ME? hehehe. Necessary though for them to be able to see the bones though. He then released me for a few hours, told me to drink LOT's of liquid, whether it be water or otherwise, and that I could eat lunch. Good deal, I was starving! I came back 2 hours later, laid down on the table, and was fascinated by the machine. It looked and acted like something out of some freaky sci-fi show LOL. But it went well, I actually took a nap while they were scanning my legs. I will find out the results here in a few days.
I called my mother last night, as it was another sisters birthday, this time this one turns 12. Still very much a young girl, thankfully, I would much rather keep her that way as this sister is more my baby then my sister. Had a good conversation with Mummy though, about moving to VA (Which I am now trying to do) and Karaoke at the wedding. This was something my dearest boyfriend had suggested to her one night, and she very much took him seriously! ROFL, her reaction was funny. He was just trying to think of all the most outrageous things he could suggest to see how she would react hehehe.
I also recieved a phone call last night from a dear friend, and we talked for about an hour until his phone card ran out. We had a very entertaining conversation, he is still in Kuwait, getting ready to leave, and apparently having to deal with some things we left behind LOL. Towards the end of the conversation he asked a very interesting question, that unfortunatly I didn't have the chance to answer properly before time ran out. Bummer. One of these days I will share that with you as I think it would make an interesting blog, but maybe later. I need to get my day going, after PT this morning I came back to my room and napped LOL. Been staying up on the phone way too late but all for good reason:-D

Counters

I finally went and got around to installing one of those nifty little counters in my blog template, so as to have a general idea of how many visitors a day I get. Well, over the last three days I have had around 650 give or take a few, I haven't looked lately. BUT, what I find amusing, is my statistics. I used BlogPatrol.com, and on their site they give you a detailed listing of the top 20 search terms used. I just wanted to share them with you as one in particular, is laugh out loud funny.

cari gasiewicz (Google)
girl in army uniform (Yahoo)
life in this girl%27s army (Google)
%22this girl%27s army%22 (Google)
army girl pics (Yahoo)
avengerredsix.blogspot.com/ (Google)
cari gasiewicz pics (Google)
life in this girl%27s army (Yahoo)
LMTV photos (Yahoo)
MIDLE EAST SEX (Google) (OK CAN we say HUH? So curious as to WHY someone would be looking for this, and just how my web page came up.)
sgt lizzie (AOL)
sgtlizzie.blogspot.com (Yahoo)

anyway, just interesting tidbits that I am discovering. I am finally getting the chance to sit down and read other blogs besides the few I kept up with in Iraq, and even then not so much LOL.

Reconnecting

I had the chance last night to reconnect with an old friend of mine from years past via MSN messenger with Webcam. While we have never totally lost touch, our only contact has been via email and phone on occasion, so we haven't "seen" each other in 4 1/2 years. It was a load of fun, as he exclaimed with surprise as to how much I have physically changed, and that while I still bear some resemblence to the girl I was at 19, I look much older now:-D Wicked cool. Of course, he is still as good looking as ever ( I can never be accused of having bad taste in men (Quiet Mother) Anyway, it was just a lot of fun to chat again, catch up on life as it has treated us over the years. If you dear readers do one thing today, find an old friend, one you haven't talked to in awhile, and play catch up. It makes you feel so good inside.

Life goes on

Ah, the joys of the weekend, mean yet again I have to face Mondays. Ok not really a bad thing when you known darned well you aren't doing much all day. Today I have to submit a pass form so that I can head to Miami in the beginning of February, NOT waiting until the Presidents day weekend to see my beloved again, just ain't happening LOL. I also have to go get a new ID card as my ETS (When I get out of the service) date has changed while over seas. Re-enlisting will do that. I just hope that my picture this time isn't near as bad as the one I have now. I look positivly bloated! But nothing tops the picture taken April 7th 2000, my first day in the Army. I swear I look just like a young boy!!!!! That picture was so damned funny I had to ask to keep the ID card itself.
In other news, one of my longtime and most beloved readers has hit a few snags in life. Go visit him at http://www.churchofsteelle.com and if you can be of assistance, please do. He has some wonderful art prints available for sale:-D I know if I could I most certainly would get one for my room. (Ah damned cars, so expensive)
I went to my old church for the first time yesterday, and it was enjoyable being back in the company of people who think like I do. To explain, I attend the Unitarian Universalist church here in town, and the only way for me to explain that one is to recommend that you do a search online and read about the church itself. Anyway, the minister there, who hasn't seen me in over a year, was cracking jokes with me, checking to see if I had been shot, and when I looked at him and deadpanned that while, no, I hadn't gotten shot, I got blown up, you could have knocked him over with a feather. It was just funny. These days I really don't like to make a big deal about that fact as it is over and done with and I am recovering rapidly. Just another part of my life, that ranks up there with all the other bad things I tend to deal with and then move on. My philosophy in life is to deal with things as they come, then move past them. There isn't any point in dwelling on them, as if you do, you usually end up miserable, and since I am not a miserable person..........................Granted I also have to see psyche here shortly as it was doctor mandated back in Iraq, but hey, talking to someone isn't a bad thing. I am just not fond of military pyschologists. We shall see.

Me, dressed all up. The theme was 20's and I think I did pretty darned good:-D

Dressing up and playacting

Ah the things I love doing but get to do oh so rarely. The Augusta Symphony had a cocktail party that I decided to attend tonight. I was a wee apprehensive about going as 1. I was going alone, and 2. I am still missing a damned tooth. But it turned out really well, I enjoyed talking to people all evening, had a long coversation with one lady that was just a lot of fun. Got to try caviar for the first time ever, interesting ROFL:-D

Lazy afternoons

This is one of those things I missed the most while overseas: A lazy Saturday, where I can sleep in until noon (cause I was on the phone with my boyfriend until 5 in the morning), get up and toodle around online, clean my room up, eat breakfast (At 2) at the Waffle House down the road, and take care of my baby (otherwise known as my car). Yes, these things I did miss much, and it is so nice to be back into my usual routine. You do learn over there to not take the stupid things for granted, such as the pleasure of vacuuming my room up. Ok so not fun while I am doing it, but when finished my room looks soooo much better ROFL.
This last week has been all about getting my life back, and I think I am on a roll. Besides the multiple appointments for various injuries that need to be tended to, I am back in my usual routine and I love it.
Because I usually am a stay at home in the evenings type person, I have decided to make good use of my time, and have Instant Immersion Spanish, and the Princeton review SAT and ACT disks. The Princeton review is to help me up my score so that when I go into Georgia Military and retake the entry tests, I might get out of taking remedials! (Oh the joys of having a GED)

Ok this was me right before going out to see the Chippendales last night. I even violated my own rules when makeup is concerned and did the whole red lips bright eyes combo:-D Boy do I look like a redneck or WHAT???? ROFL.

New things and my week in short

I did something last night that I have never done,and chances are I won't do again for a very long while, if ever: I went to go see the Chippendales! Oh lordy!!!! But in all honesty, while I did have fun, I did not enjoy myself as much as I thought I would, and actually left the club after the show with a migraine from hell. I would much rather have spent a night at home alone with my sweetie, and I'm not sure how stupidly pathtic that makes me ROFL:-D But I do now have a new experience to discuss.
My week has been rather dull, after Monday when I drove back from Miami, there has been NOTHING going on LOL. The most we have had to do this week for work is show up for PT formation at 0700, and after PT we are released to take care of personel things. I made my appoinments as needed, got a new antennae on my car.
Ok I was in the middle of writing this post, when I realized that I had a 1300 appointment with the dealership to have a window clasp repaired ROFL. Thanfully the dealership is right down the road, or so I thought LOL. Turns out that there are 2 in town and mine was at the other one. So I drove over there, turned in my car and expected to be out of there shortly, after all it was a quick fix. Yeah, RIGHT. You know, I thought if you had an appointment, that that's when you got your car taken care of! I was there for four freaken hours. To kill the time I drooled over new cars that I won't be able to afford for a long freaken time, and got to test drive my dream car, a Honda S2000, sweet car. I had the guy run the figures, JUST to see what it would run me, Yeah NO! It would be 575 a month, ON TOP of my other car payment of 376 and I don't think so. But boy were they pushy there. Yep, don't like car salesmen.

Doctors offices and Dentists

This morning was a big morning for me, as I had a doctors appt at 0900, and a dental exam at 1030. When I got into the doctors office, there was some confusion as to why I was there. For starters, the appointment facility had scheduled me at another clinic besides the one I am supposed to go to, then they thought I was there for a well woman exam. Ok yes I need one of those too, as I am way overdue, but this morning was just for a check up of all recent injuries. Once we got the confusion cleared though, the doctor spent several minutes moving my leg around in many different fashions, so now I hurt, but I also now have to make an appointment for a bone scan and further follow-up. No surprise there.
Got to the dentists to have my exam done, and ended up spending an hour in between the chair and the X-Ray room. They also did impressions of my teeth for an Orthodontists consult. Ok, 24, and I might be wearing braces again. Thrills. Hey, as long as I get my smile back I REALLY don't care LOL.
This past week has been very relasing for me, Monday I drove back from Miami, and stopped in Orlando to enjoy a few hours with my brother and his fiance, and then arrived back in Gordon around midnight. Tuesday morning we had PT formation, after which the commander said don't come in unless you have something to do. That's been the way it has been for the last 3 days so the most I have had to do is show up for formation and then that's it for me:-D I got my car attenae fixed after 3 years finally, so I now have radio in my car, been working on getting my room straighted, and just generally being a lazy bum.
I finally gave in to temptation and had cable installed for the first time. OOOOOOHHHH the joys of high speed internet!!!!!! BUT, I was rather grouchy yesterday, because after rushing home from the mall where I had gone to get my nails fixed and polished, so that I could be in my room from 1-3, when the technician WAS SUPPOSED to come, he didn't arrive until around 8pm, after many many phone calls and complaints later. But, I am now all set up with internet and basic channels, so next time I head to Mum's I will pick up a TV she put on layaway for me, and for the first time in my life, will own a televsion. Dandadahhh BIG step ROFL (Please sense the sarcasm)
Well, I have a bathroom to clean (Ick) and more stuff to put away, so I leave you with this:
Say Ahhhhhh

Piggy Back RIDE!!!! Me and my (not so little) brother in Kuwait.

This is my all time favourite picture of Daniel. Just because it is so sweet.

Oh and BTW the hair is a recent purchase. It is really NOT that long LOL. I bought this really cool clipon thingy that is just wicked.

Can we say MAJOR sugar overload here? (I was eating a funnel cake at an Art Deco Festival that we went to on Sunday.)

Wading in the Atlantic:) Surprisingly, though the weather was colder then anything, the water was quite warm.

Would you look at my new toy:-D Up is a picture that I took while on vacation in Miami:-D You will start seeing A LOT of pictures from me now, as I am a major shutterbug. And while I DEFINATLY don't compare to G, I'm not that bad I don't think;-)

"Oh Mickey you're so fine"

Mi Ami in Miami

So I made it down to Miami safely although exceedingly tired:) I left Friday evening around 7 after spending a few hours back at Firestone. Thankfully it wasn't near as bad as we thought it was, as there was just a problem with the electrical system that was easily fixed. It just took awhile to diagnose it. So I drove through the night, and that was an adventure LOL. Between the coffee and the water, I don't think I have ever been so hydrated. I did have to stop at one point and take a 2 hour nap, as I was starting to drift at the wheel. So when I finally made it into Miami, I got a small taste of Miami traffic. Ick factor, I HATE traffic. Then I took a wrong turn coming off the exit ROFL. Easy, just turned around and finally made it to Daniels place. Of course, it's all worth it:-D
When I got here, I laid down for a while, and then went to go take my contacts out for awhile, as I had forgotten my glasses and my eyes needed a break. What do you know, my contacts decided to tear! yay! So we spent 2 hours running around Miami, trying to find someone who carrried my prescription in stock, as I have one of those weird prescriptions that has to be ordered. Finally we found someone who, while they didn't have them in stock, did have a trial pair they gave me so I was once again able to see:)
Well, back to relaxing I go:-D

How Like Life

Oooook, Over the last few days I have been taking care of a few things, putting everything in order. Yesterday I got my household goods, and unpacked. For awhile there my room looked like a tornado had ripped through it. Now it just looks like a mild storm ripped things up LOL.. But I was very glad to have my things back:-D
Also yesterday I took my car into Firestone to have it looked at and a few things done. A few things however turned into an unmitigated disaster: the car had the wrong size tires on it (HOW in the hell does that happen? Someone care to explain that mistake to me?) the right front CV axle was broken, it needed an oil change, and while I was at it, I had the radiator flushed. After all, I have to drive this car to Miami today. Anyway, I spent 2 1/2 hours at Firestone, and everything got fixed ( cost a fortune though!!!!!!!!!!!!!), and I then took my car into a detail shop to have the inside cleaned out all nice. So after doing all that, I thought my car was all nice and ready to go. NOPE, went out to my car this morning to go eat breakfast and guess what: My battery has died! sheesh, I can't win for losing. Oh well, simple fix, so long as I can get someone to drive me to Walmart today. Any takers? ;)
I have a new computer now, a nice Toshiba laptop that was very inexpensive and it is currently in the shop having the data transferred from my old one. While there yesterday I got into a discussion with the tech, and in the course of the conversation I mentioned that I was in the Army and that I had just returned from Iraq. His next question: Why were you over there? Excuse me? Did we miss the part where I was IN the Army? ROFL. Waaaaaay too funny. But he was nice all in all and here in a few days I will be back online in my own room and won't have to wait for a computer at the office. Wooooohoooooo.
I am headed to Miami to go visit someone very near and dear to my heart, and to get a way from here for a few days and see somewhere I have never seen. Can't wait to have fun:-D

Buy a T-Shirt

I found this site via a very good friend of mine still over there: http://www.dd214ops.com/
Better then any slogan t-shirt you will find in the stores in my humble opinion:-D

A series of Unfortunate Events

The story of my return to the states:)
We left late Friday afternoon the 7th, loaded on buses to take us to Camp Doha, where we would outprocess and go through customs. While going through the customs brief, the SF guy giving it made a couple of references to having Intel and CI standing by. At those, the entire room started snickering, and after the second time he made the statement that we must really have something about intel. My BC spoke up to inform him that we were indeed CI, and the guy blushed. It was very funny.
We then sat around in the sterilized area while waiting to be bused to the airport. We got on the buses around 2300 and got to the airport about an hour later where we expected to board almost immediatly. That was where the first event happened, in that the airplane didn't get there until 3, we didn't board until 4, and took off at 5. Boarding the plane was a bit of an adventure for me, as I don't do stairs well at all. But I got up there, and quickly claimed 2 seats in the back for myself so that I could stretch out. Shortly after that, one of the NCO's came back and told myself and another soldier that there were seats for us up front. We gave him an odd look and he rephrased: The BC had requested our presence in the front. So I got to fly first class the whole way:-D Oh sooooo comfy! We flew to Shannon, Ireland first, and while we did not leave the airport at all, while flying in I got to see a bit of the country side. While coming down it was very foggy, and then the clouds broke and all one could see was GREEN! Magnificent! We then took off for NYC where we landed at about 1400 and got off the plane for an hour to stretch while waiting for it to be replenished. We reboarded the plane to take off for our final destination of Augusta, where we knew we would be later then expected, but not that bad. About 30 minutes out of Bush field, they came on the intercom and informed us that we were now headed to Atlanta, as Bush field had lighting issues. When we landed in Atlanta, we were directed over to the side of the terminals where the plane parked and we were then informed that the plane now had issues with the anit skid. Oh this just got better and better! By this time it was about 2000, we had all been in the plane for a damned long time and we were tired and cranky. We sat in a corner of that airport for a long time and finally took off again for Bush field. We arrived at Bush probably somewhere around 0030 and made it back to post by 0100, where we had our little welcoming home ceremony and were allowed to greet our families. It was a very raucous and emotional time, as we were all greeting our families, but at the same time meeting Cari's parents for what most of us, was the first time. It was very nice to meet them, although a bit hard on most of us as it reminded us again that we had not brought everyone home with us.
That night I got back to my hotel room late, or rather early in the morning and promptly grabbed a bottle of Bacardi Silver:) It didn't take long before I was out cold though:) Saturday was filled with shopping, as I had no clothing here to speak of, and then Saturday night we went out to a night club here in town for a party that they were having for us. lordamercy I got TOASTED!!!!!!!!!!!! Just gone! ROFL.
Sunday I got to go see my sister compete in gymnastics, and having never seen her compete before was a new experience. Egads, the way she threw herself around the air!
The last two days we have been inprocessing back into Fort Gordon, but thats a subject for another post. I am sorry this has taken me so long to post, but it also took me 3 days to write, as I don't have regular access to internet anymore. SOOON though. Love you all, and BTW G. I don't have your number. Email me:-D

Honey, I'm Home!

Hey Ya'll:-D I'm back in Georgia, I'm back in Georgia, I'm back in Georgia:-D After a seriesof ridiculous events (which I will sit down and blog when I get the chance I promise:) I arrived safe at home at 0100 early Saturday morning. I have been spending a lot of time with those who are important to me, shopping, and of course getting veeeery toasted:) I am ecstatic to be home, and looking forward to moving on and getting my tooth fixed.

Last post for awhile

The next time you all should hear from me I will be on the other side of the pond WOOOHOOOO:-D Tomorrow we go through customs and board the buses for Doha and then the plane. YAY! It's been a long year, and an interesting one at that. I have learned a lot, lived a lot more, and we will see just how much this year has changed me. Thanks to each and every one of you for standing behind me through it all!
EDIT at 2325:
Thus far I have finished almost all my packing, save for the necessaries for tomorrow morning, and gotten to spend a bit more time with Baby Brat. We kicked back in my tent earlier with a pizza, and played a few games of Battleship. Damned if he didn't kick my a**:) I am up late, as 90% of my tent is up as well, and I won't be sleeping for awhile, so here I am kicking around the internet cafe, listening to the radio and finding amusing reads:-D

Dizzy and a little out of it

All the lights are on in my tent, so sleep is out of the question currently. However due to a little cold I have picked up from my best friend, I am a wee bit sick, and have taken the aafes version of nyquil. Gooood stuff. Right now my head feels like it's spinning around, in a semi good way;)
It's a mundane day here in Arifjan, however we did have an interesting time this morning playing jeopardy with questions based on our jobs. Interesting way of learning and seeing just how much we knew:) This afternoon we had platoon PT, and as my team went running, I went to the gym and got on the elliptical machine. Not near as bad as it could have been:) I learn everyday more and more things that I am capable of doing:)
Ok, so there really isn't much more to write about, basically I have been reading a lot of (silly) books and watching a few TV shows. bleah. Soon though it will be home and the the hectic pace that is redeployment. With any luck, this time we will have some down time between redeploying, and deploying, unlike last time ROFL:-D We shall see though, won't we?

This time next week

I will be one very hungover individual! YAY! (ok, maybe not so hungover;) Time to go home. I'll let you all know before I fly:-D Either way, another year down, another to begin. My New Years resolutions:
Start School
Have Fun
Be a little more social
hmmmmm, I don't know, anyone got any suggestions? What do you all think I should do this year?