Moving...again...

Well, the Navy is sending us to Virginia and probably pretty quickly. Jeff is going to be in VFA-37 the Ragin' Bulls and will deploy on the USS Truman. It wasn't our first choice, but I know I'll be ok. I'm not too excited about the cross country drive though! We will most likely go through Houston to see family and probably not do as much sight seeing this time around. I'll keep everyone posted as soon as we know when we are leaving.

CQ and Patching

Jeff CQ'd on Saturday March 20th and so his patching is today, the 24th! We will be finding out what squadron he will do his first fleet tour with and where we will be stationed for the next 3 years! I'll update tomorrow with the news!

It's official - I'm training for a 1/2 marathon!

I have fallen in love with running - can you believe it? I know I can't! I'm not a natural runner and I'm not fast, but I get a lot of satisfaction from running. It's such a mental challenge for me because anyone can run - your body is built to. When I started running last year around this same time, I could barely run a 1/2 mile before I wanted to quit. If you've never ran much in your life, it's such a mental burden that you have to overcome. Your body can do it, even if you aren't in the best of shape - but knowing you can do it and pushing yourself is half (or even more) of the battle! Last year I challenged myself to run a 5k. This year I challenged myself to run a 10k and now that I've done that it seems only natural to double the distance again. The next challenge this year is a 1/2 marathon in June. I still plan on running a few more 5ks and 10ks around the area when I can find them. I am so lucky to have a friend in Lemoore to join me in my challenge too! After our 10k, Leslie has agreed to do a 1/2 with me and Amy is going to train for it too while she is in Redding. So it's official, 1/2 marathon training starts today!

Carrier Quals in the F/A-18C

I can't believe it's been 9 months since we moved here and Jeff started his training in the Hornet! He is in the last phase of training which as always is carrier qualifications. It's a bit different in the Hornet though because not only do they have to get so many day traps, they also have to do night traps. They have been bouncing everyday to prepare and the Friday before they left for the boat, it was family day where family is allowed to go out the the LSO shack right next to the runway and watch, take pictures, and even talk to them on the radio. It was so exciting to see Jeff bounce in the T-45 and even more exciting to see him in the Hornet! They are so much louder too! When he gets back we should find out what fleet squadron we are going to and where that will mean we will be living for the next 3 years!

Here are some pics and a video. Sorry that some of them are blurry - they just go by too fast for my camera! Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

WARNING: TURN DOWN YOUR VOLUME WHEN WATCHING THE VIDEO!

San Francisco birthday and first 10k

When I was looking up a 10k to run in January, I had to find one that was some time in March and was on a weekend that Jen and Kaylee could fly down from WA. Well I found one that was on my birthday weekend in San Fran which was just about perfect! Jen could spend my birthday with me and run in our first 10k together. Leslie and Amy also decided to run in the 10k and Leslie even convinced her brother and fiance that live in San Fran to run too. Emily and Courtney also came for the much needed girls weekend. We had so much fun at the Marine Club hotel in downtown SF. They have a free breakfast and free happy hour from 4-6 so we couldn't have asked for more (and the military discount didn't hurt either - only $89 a night!).We shopped in downtown and dressed up for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (still can't believe Amy had never been). Surprisingly the "birthday" desert was very sub-par for the Cheesecake Factory - I never thought I'd say that I tasted bad chocolate - but it was bad! 

 

Anyway, we were so exhausted from traveling all day we hit the sack so we could get up early to enjoy our breakfast and then walk around SF more. We walked through Chinatown, tasted some yummy muscat grape gummy candy and did some window shopping. Then we tried to cool off at the pool but that was a bust - it was only a lap pool, but I got a really cute shot of Kaylee in her bathing suit!

After happy hour at the hotel, we went to a pretty good Mexican restaurant near the hotel and then ate the yummy angel food cake Amy made from scratch for my birthday! We then got a good night sleep so we could wake up with plenty of time to get to the 10k registration near Ghirardelli Square. The race day was perfect - no rain in sight and just enough sun and clouds in the sky. The run took us 3.1 miles out from the square down Embarcadero Street along the Wharf and the piers and even under the Bay Bridge and then we turned around to go back toward the start for the remaining 3.1 miles. It was gorgeous running along the water and having Jen run next to me was great motivation to keep going and pushing me, even though she could have blasted through 6.2 miles in well under an hour. I reached both my goals - first was to run the whole 10k - second was to run it under 1hr 10min- I finished in 1hr 9min 29sec. Oh and I have to mention the awesome shirt Jen made me for my birthday and first 10k (there is a pic below)! It was a great weekend with good friends :)

Celebrating my birthday early with Jeff

So while Jeff was on det in Key West, they found out that they were going to go to El Centro a week after they were back. I guess it's not all bad though because I get to celebrate my birthday 2 times this year! I'm celebrating on my birthday in San Fran with the girls and Jeff decided to celebrate my birthday a little early with me on Sunday Feb 28th. First he woke up me up for breakfast in bed - pancakes and turkey bacon! Then we made our way to the foothills of the Sierra Mountains to Wonder Valley Ranch in Selma, CA. The ranch was so pretty! They use the ranch to host weddings and have a bed and breakfast. We went on a 2 hour trail ride with our horses, Katie and Velvet. Two of the riders came with us and so did an extra horse named Chili! The horses and cattle roam free in the community - it was very interesting! We were told that Chili normally comes with the other horses that we were riding on so I guess she didn't want to be left out! It was so cute and I wish I could have gotten a picture!

So after we left and got our legs back we stopped for lunch at Chipotle and made our way back home. We were so exhausted we actually took a 3 hour nap before getting ready for dinner. We dressed up and headed to Ruth Chris. I haven't been to Ruth's in years and have been wanting to go since we got here. They have the best steaks - the filet is a must! The bread and sides were good too and I got to pick out my birthday dessert on the house - creme brulee! Jeff even sang me Happy Birthday, it was too cute. It was a great day and I'm glad I got to spend some time with Jeff before he leaves today to go to El Centro to bounce for the boat. Can't wait to go to San Fran with the girls and get to see Jen and Kaylee! Oh and run my first 10k!

It's been a while, so let's catch up!

*Photos will be up later*

 

Paso Robles 5k - November 2009

While Jeff was on det in El Centro, I was still at home training for more 5ks. But I did find another couple who was interested in running the Paso Robles Wine Vine run with me - Leslie and Will Read! We met up with each other in Paso for a carb-load dinner at a very tasty Italian restaurant in Downtown Paso Robles. After we walked around the cute town square looking at all the stores, art shows, etc. It was so nice to be in such a quaint town. We got some rest and woke up bright and early the next day for our 5k. This morning for me was not the one I was hoping for. I woke up with this stabbing pain in my lungs and just couldn't shake it, but I told myself nothing was going to stop me from running the 5k and trying to reach my goal time of 34 min I had set after my last 5k. Well the race started and I definitely surprised myself by running a great first mile - 9:30 - the fastest mile I've ever ran! However, around the 1.5 mile there was a big hill which I've never liked, but I told myself I could run up it and I did.Now, to back track a little, when I signed up for the race, the description was mostly flat with one big hill. Which is why I attempted to run up this hill thinking it was the only one and boy was I wrong! As soon as I got to the top, I noticed another hill right in front of me -- ugh! So after that, my strategy became walk up the hills and run everything else. This worked for me and by the time I got to 2.25 miles the hills where behind me. So I get back into my stride and reach the 3mile mark - only .1 mile to go! I turn the corner to the finish line and what the heck -- a hill up to the finish!! I couldn't stop now so I just powered through it and crossed the finish line at 35:59 - not at all what I was aiming for but considering I was running with a stabbing pain in my side and all the hills, I was ok with it! Leslie and Will definitely did better than me - Leslie came in 3rd in our age bracket at her first 5k! 

* I later found out the stabbing pain in my lungs was viral pleura - an inflammation of your lung lining. I was out for about a week on meds till it went away.

Thanksgiving 2009

This year we didn't have enough time to make the trek home back to Texas for such a short holiday, so instead we invited 2 other couples, the Read's and Chapelle's, that also didn't go home for a Thanksgiving dinner at our place. It was only my second time I've busted out the good china and cloth napkins and I loved it! Before the day got started though, Jeff and I and the Reads ran a Turkey Trot 5k in Fresno (I was determined to reach my goal 5k time). The race was packed with people and although it had a few small hills it was a good race. However I don't even know what my time was and didn't cross the finish line running. The finish was packed with people. It was a good race and a good day to start Thanksgiving when you are going to pack your stomach with food! Each of us prepared side dishes and since none of us wanted the time-consuming task of cooking the turkey, we let Marie Callander's make it for us and we picked it up after the race. It was such a fun night with lots of good food and good friends!

TSO and Vegas

Jeff and I finally got to go see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra which is something I've wanted to do for years now. It was so entertaining and so much fun! We also had a chance to meet up with Ryan and Audrey and some of their friends in Las Vegas. This was our first trip to Vegas where we could actually gamble and enjoy the night life. It was a blast! We stayed at the Excalibur and spent most of our time gambling there, but we did do a lot of other things. The girls and I went to a Chippendale's show, we gambled - of course, walked down the strip to see some of the other hotels, went to a dirty hypnotist show, and gambled on Fremont - old downtown Vegas. There is so much to do there that we would love to go again!

Christmas 2009

So we didn't get a chance to go home to Texas for Christmas either this year - so I got to bust out the Chirstmas china. However, Jeff's family came to us! His mom and dad flew in the week before and did some traveling along the coast and we met up with them in Paso Robles. We got to do some wine tasting and also visited Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Oh and we got to see the elephant seals lying on the beach too! Our hotel was right on the beach and there were fire pits set up on the beach and a fireplace in our room! There are way too many pictures to put them on here so check for a link on the right to my facebook album. It was such a great weekend! After that Jeff's parents went up to San Jose to pick up Jeff's brother and sister who flew in from Colorado and New York and then drove down to Lemoore. We did a little bit of everything while they were here. Jeff took his dad, brother and sister skiing, his mom and I went shopping, and we went up to Sequoia National Park to see General Sherman. Christmas day was lots of fun and I even got to see my family open their gifts through Skype. Gotta love technology!

Skiing at Sierra Summit and Tahoe

Pretty much every Saturday (and sometimes Sunday) in January and February, we hit the slopes at Sierra Summit and one weekend we went up the South Lake Tahoe. Sierra is only 2 hours away so it's a nice day trip. We got seasonal ski rentals and recently Jeff bought his own skis and boots. I've gotten so much better now that I've had time to build up my skiing muscles and have had the opportunity to ski every week. Tahoe was a lot of fun because at that point I finally worked myself up to feel confident on the blue runs. We've just had so much fun being so close to the slopes!

10k training

In January I decided that I was going to start training for a 10k. I recruited Leslie to train too! Jen had told me that if I found a 10k and trained for it, that she would make a trip down to California to run it with me. March 7th in San Francisco I'll be running my first 10k! Growing up I hated running. I only joined track in Jr. High (it was the only sport that you didn't have to try out) so that the coaches would notice me (I was introverted and shy) and they would put me on the volleyball team. I thought I would just do long jump or hurdles, but no...they stuck me in long distance because I wasn't good at either of those or anything else for that matter! So in 7th grade in the Texas heat everyday we did the same thing...run 2 miles. Which at that time I don't think I ever ran the 2 miles. I would run and then walk and the run, etc until I reached 2 miles. I definitely look back at that time now and I feel like I've accomplished a lot since then! I ran in 4 5k races last year and I'm only getting faster and my distances are just getting longer. Running is definitely something I never thought I'd be doing for fun. Thank you so much Jen for getting me started running and always keeping me motivated! Thank you Leslie for going through this with me and also motivating me! I want to get a few 10ks under my belt and then who knows...1/2 marathon training? I'll keep y'all posted!

New SUV - Toyota Highlander

So after searching for a new Highlander on and off for about a year and a half, I happened to look at cars.com and find my dream Highlander and just my luck - it was in Fresno! We always talked about waiting till the 4Runner finally bit the dust to get a new car, but we just couldn't pass up this opportunity. It was everything I wanted and more and it met all of Jeff's expectations too - this doesn't happen very often. So we did it! We bought our new Toyota Highlander! (If you know us well, you know all of our cars have names - Frita the 4Runner, Brittany the Beemer(BMW) and now Hannah the Highlander!)