Manic Monday

Yes, yes, it's been a while.  It's not that I haven't been manic about anything.  I am happy to report that I have been muy busy UNPACKING!  Shut the front door, we received our household goods a little over a week ago, so I have been trying to get this house together.  It's coming along, and I have to say that we even have pictures on the walls.  That's a record for me.  OK, let the mania begin.

MY HOUSE

Alright, I mentioned before that our house is pretty awesome for a base house.  It's new and a good size, and it's in a great location.  The layout of the front room is kind of weird, but I will make it work somehow.  Here's the deal.  I've been with the hubs for the past 17 years, and we've lived in a variety of houses.  Some had no closets, some no dishwashers, a few without garbage disposals, one with a 2 burner stove and miniature kitchen sink, 2 with dorm size refrigerators, a few without garages, one with a rather useless power shower (this equals zero water pressure...dribble, dribble), a few with the washer and dryer in the kitchen, no air conditioning, horrible heating...and the list could go on.  This house is normal.  It has a dishwasher, garbage disposal, laundry room, master bath with a double vanity, great water pressure, lots of closets, ceramic tile, a fabulous AC, ceiling fans, an oven that gives you the option to bake with convection, pullouts in the kitchen cabinets, a double car garage with automatic openers, a screened-in porch (I admit that we don't really use this since we back up to a huge hill.  Some people close these off with the built in typhoon shutters and make it part of their living space), built in typhoon shutters, a built in humidifier, built in generator hook-up (cause the power does go out sometimes, and it would really suck during a major typhoon) and neighbors we love.  The only thing that's lacking is a pantry.  Believe it or not, I've always had a pantry, even in Europe.  Oh, wait, I didn't have one in Rhode Island.  Anyhow, it's not my dream home, but it's better than many of the other houses we've lived in.  I am definitely not complaining. 

This doesn't suck, either.

EBAY

I love ebay.  Mainly, I love shopping on ebay.  I've recently re-discovered this little morsel, and I've been able to purchase a shower curtain that Bed, Bath and Beyond would not ship to me (they don't ship to Guam, yet they don't hesitate to send you coupons in the mail) and a dress for the upcoming Navy Ball.  Yes, the dress is used, but it's in perfect condition and less than half the price of a new gown.  Happy!  I buy my girls used GK leotards for gymnastics on ebay, too.  Not all sellers will ship to Guam, but I have gotten lucky.

New shower curtain for girls' bathroom

TENNIS

Another re-discovery for me...the game of tennis.  I took lessons with two very dear friends about 3-4 years ago in Florida.  I hadn't picked up a racquet since then...until last week.  I signed up for lessons, and I had such a fun time (and a very sore forearm for several days).  It helps that I can laugh at myself with a new and super fabulous girlfriend.  Our next lesson is tomorrow, and this time I won't forget the sunscreen.  Remember how I said you can get sunburned walking to the mailbox here?  Well, try 2.5 hours in the sun on the equator without sunscreen.  You have yourself a rock lobstah, AKA me.

It's just like the Wii, right?

Happy Columbus Day, my friends!  My day is almost over, and I just experienced my very first earthquake!  A magnitude of 4.6, about 38 miles south of us.  We were definitely rockin', for a few seconds at least.