I thought I'd do a picture post of the sights here for everyone who hasn't experienced it.
Sadly, Jason and I aren't big on sight-seeing. The first year we moved up here, we spent a weekend in Seattle as a homecoming trip, and we stayed in Seattle again for 4 days last summer when my parents were visiting. Other than that, we don't go to Seattle. The ferry is expensive, and if you drive you are looking at half a tank of gas, and gas is $3.11 here now. Oh, well. I'm sure I'll regret not seeing more when we leave, but for now we're content to be homebodies.
The first picture is the view of Seattle from the ferry.
Here's a picture of on of the houses built on Lake Washington in Seattle. These go for more than a million dollars!
This was just a neat looking bridge that we saw when we went on the Lake Washington boat tour.
More houses along Lake Washington.
See the home at the top of the hill? That's where the family lives, and at the bottom is the Mother-In-Law house. A lot of houses along the way are built like this. You have to be lowered down the hill by a pulley system.
Look closely - what you can barely see is Bill Gate's house. He has sand shipping in just to make a beach for his kids.
Recognize this? It's the houseboat from Sleepless in Seattle.
Jason and I stopped at a little stream up on Mount Ranier.
This is the view from Hurricane Ridge. This is as far as we got before we ran over a rock and punctured our gas tank. We had to stop and head home then.
Mount Ranier.
Here we are, again on Mount Ranier. This picture was taken in June, and there was still so much snow that people were building snowmen and skiing.
Another shot on Mount Ranier.
We took this picture at the Kelly Clarkson concert we went to last summer.
Here I am at the Dungeness Spit. It's a 5 mile wide, 5 mile long sandbar near Port Angeles. At the end of the Spit is a lighthouse.
This is the Real World: Seattle house.
A view of the Space Needle at night.
A neat view of a salmon tank.
Another view of Seattle from a boat tour.
I actually don't remember what this is, but hey, it's a pretty picture!
More views of Mount Ranier.
This is the Hood Canal Bridge. Jason's boat has to pass through it to leave and come home. The bridge actually slides open (not up) for the boat to go through.
Here's is Jason's sub, coming home from a long deployment.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the pictures! If we make it anywhere else, I'll be sure to take more pictures. :)
I'm extremely worried about all the pet foods being recalled. We had been feeding our boys Royal Canin chihuahua food, and Royal Canin has now started to recall some of their different brands. George and JC literally ate the last of their food tonight so I have to go and get them something new tomorrow.
The list of brands that are being recalled is HUGE! Check it here: Foods NOT Safe
Check your dog food ingredient list for wheat gluten, corn gluten, or rice protein. Also look for chromium tripicoloinate and melamine. These are some of the things being recalled. Check your pet's treats, too.
I've done some research and I think I'm making the switch to Canidae. They make all their food in the US (the problems seem to be coming from ingredients manufactured at a plant in China) and they do not have any of the above ingredients in their food.
JC and George are like our children. It makes me sick that I can't protect them from this. Who is to say that the food I choose won't be recalled tomorrow? I'm trying to make an educated guess but I can't stop worrying that that guess may not be right.
If you have pets, please check their food, especially when buying new bags or treats!
So I'm trying blogging, once again. I hope this site is easier and more user friendly for those of you who don't belong to MySpace.
For those of you that I haven't talked to in awhile:
Jason and I are living in Silverdale, WA. He is stationed at Subase Bangor, and he works on a trident submarine as a Electrician's Mate. He's nearing his six year point in the Navy, and we have about four years to go. We will not be re-enlisting but will be trying our hand at the civilian nuclear plants.
I'm working as a mediator at a non-profit in Kitsap County. I went through the training and became certified, and I'm also a peer mediation trainer. My job is primary to oversee the youth programs at our agency --> victim-offender mediation, parent-youth mediation, peer mediation at local school, and training programs on topics such as communication skills and conflict resolution.
I also recently became the Ombudsman (one of two) for our boat, and that is very exciting to me! For you non-Navy folks, an Ombudsman is a point of contact for the wives of all the sailors on our boat. She serves as a link between the Captain and the wives, and basically keeps everything running smoothly on that end. It's supposed to be a full-time volunteer position, so we'll see how it works out with me also working full-time. I'm actually happy about that, because strangely enough, the busier I am, the more I get accomplished.
Since Jason is nearing his four year point on the boat, we are up for orders to move elsewhere. We've contacted the detailer (the person who organizes who goes where) and have been told that if we want orders to Charleston, we can get them. The only drawback to that is that Jason would be at prototype as an instructor, and would be working swing shift: one week days, one week mids, one week nights, and back to days in constant repitition. Still, Charleston is where we want to go, so we'll work it out. I actually think the schedule might be good for us... the less time we spend together, the more quality the time is. Now we are waiting on the boat to put together a packet, an application of sorts, that Jason can submit to prototype. If he's cleared to work there (and there is no reason he wouldn't be) we can get orders cut. We're technically not eligible to leave here until February 2008, but the detailer mentioned we might be able to leave as soon as December.
Since we have a tentative idea where we might end up, I've started looking at houses and thinking about jobs. I'm really nervous about the move... the bad thing about Jason not going to sea anymore is that he will lose some of his special pays, about $600 a month. I'm figuring I will also be making less in Charleston than I would here because of the cost of living difference, so we'll be taking a huge hit in our pay. We really want to buy a house, but that's up in the air, too. I just hope I can find a good job quickly. I'm permanently scarred by the fact that it took me 9 months to find a job when we came out here. If I don't find a job, look for me in the local mall food court.
We just purchased a new car, and we're both still getting used to it. It's a 2007 Kia Sportage, an SUV, and it has lots of upgrades: leather seats, butt warmers, upgraded sound system, sun roof, etc. Neither one of us have ever had something so nice! Haha. The Neon just got to the point where we couldn't justify putting more money into it for repairs, so we traded it in for something new. Actually, traded it in is a stretch... they basically just disposed of it for us. Yep, it was in that bad of shape. Having two car payments is a shock. I can still remember the days of no cay payment... those were nice!
We have no kids yet, just our dogs, which we treat like children. Jason felt pretty strongly about not having kids until he got to shore duty and new he would be home each day, and honestly, we've been enjoying our life as a couple. We'll probably start thinking about it (slow down, Mom!) once we move and I get settled in a new job.
Well, that is about it! Leave me some comment so I know you were here.
