Thanksgiving in San Diego

Curtis and I went to his Mom's house for thanksgiving. Which was cool, because this was the first time I met any of his family members. So now I know Curtis's Mom is real and he did not just make her up.


Curtis's Mom's family is all Filipino, so altogether there were only one and a half white people there. (Me and Curtis.) It was cool though, 'cause in addition to the traditional Thanksgiving foods, we also got to have some Filipino favorites. The home-made fried rice and Lumpia were both very good. (Lumpia is sort-of like a cross between egg-rolls and pot stickers, very tasty.)


So yeah, that was our Thanksgiving.


On another note, it's really wonderful to have a man in the house. This morning I was about to hop in the shower when I saw a fairly large spider crawling on the shower curtain, and I was able to run and get Curtis to kill it for me.


Very convenient.

The (edible) things that I will miss about Hawaii...

Number one- Manapua

Manapua is the hawaiian version of the Chinese steamed bun- but bigger and therefore better. It is a hamburger sized pastry sort-of thingy. The bready outside is slightly sweet...


and inside there is any one of various types of Asian-flavored meats. My favorite is the barbecue pork. Which for some reason is a bright pink color.

Second, is Poi Mochi.

Poi Mochi is most often sold at stands in the parking lot of a grocery store or a Walmart. It smells like funnel cakes, which is what led me to purchase it in the first place. The outside looks and tastes like a donut, but inside is a purple, gooey substance, which is both delicious and confusing.


I have since learned, that poi, is made from the starchy, potato-like "taro root", which is often compared to a sweet potato, adding to my confusion, as I am not a fan of sweet potatoes, but I seem to enjoy "poi".

Third, and lastly, is sugar cane drink. Have you ever wanted to drink sugar? I sure have!
In reality, a can of sugar cane drink has less sugar than a mountain dew, but it tastes something like rock candy in a liquid form. Although it is not really a "Hawaiian" treat, it is easy to find here because of the heavy Asian influence.

My Testimony

Okay, well, I received an application from the Casa de Amor, (the children's home which I am hoping to volunteer at.) On the application were several essay questions, one of which was "Describe your relationship with Jesus Christ and how you became a Christian." I was afraid this would be difficult to write a lot about, as I don't have an extraordinary conversion story like some people do. But I decided to chronicle my Christian walk, so far, as honestly as I could, and this is what came pouring out.

I decided to post it on my blog, as these days, I don't get many opportunities to share my "testimony". But I must warn my readers, that it is much cheesier and sappier than my usual posts. So please bear with me.

Well, here goes...

I am so blessed! I grew up in an "Uber" Christian family. (Pardon my slang, I've been in the Navy for the last six years!) We went to church twice a week. My parents read us Bible stories and prayed with us almost every night. But aside from all of that, what really made me see Christ alive at such a young age was that my parents were people who really, really lived their faith. My father made a decent paycheck. When I was younger I thought he was rich, but looking back, I realize this was not entirely true. But he gave- anytime God told him to. And when God told my mother and father to take in children with special needs, their response wasn't so much "why", but "how", and "how many?".

That's a big reason why I still follow Christ to this day- because my mother and father made Christianity more than just a cultural phenomenon for me, but rather a real reason to live, to breathe, to wake up each morning, and to die one day.

But I also know that God was tugging at my heart. For some reason, which I cannot fathom, he chose me to be one He would save. I consider myself fortunate, that the amazing God of this Earth would notice, and remember me. Me- my stupid, silly self.

I really don't know how old I was when I was first saved. I prayed the salvation prayer so many times during my childhood, I really can't say which one was the one that stuck. I know it was in my teens that I really felt secure about my salvation- and stopped begging for it. It was then that I began to have a real, personal, relationship with my Father, God.

When I was in Bolivia for the first time, I decided I was going to live as an instrument of God. I would never smoke, never drink and never do anything impure. I would be a saint and live every day of my live for my Holy Father, and for my family, who I loved and respected more than I could ever say.

But things didn't work out that way. I think God wanted me to know, that it wasn't me, (or my family) but rather Him that was perfect. He wanted me to understand my humanity. And to know what it was like to live making my own decisions.

When I joined the Navy, I was free from my parents umbrella. It rained, and I got wet.

There was a time, where I had no Christian friends. No idea whatsoever that God was still alive in this Earth, except a faint echo from my family so far away...

I began to question everything... Why not drink, why not smoke? No one is pure, so why should I be? I began to read books about alternate faiths. I read a book by a man who thought there was a God but no such thing as Hell. Why would a loving God send someone to hell, meaning to me, why can't I date someone who isn't a Christian? (Lol, are you following my logic? This is what I wanted to believe.)

But my loving God never let me go. Praise God!! Nothing I searched for made sense. As much as Atheists like to bash Christianity- their "logic" was faulty. Read Richards Dawkins- he's an idiot! There was never anything that made sense to me more than my God did.

And now, here I am. Not perfect. Not pure. But loved by my God. And where my faith in me has decreased, my faith in him has increased.

An interesting idea...

So Curtis and I were talking, and he mentioned that many couples in the military, when one of them goes on deployment, they put their stuff in storage and the one staying home goes to live with friends or family for a while. And that got me thinking that maybe while Curtis is in Iraq this time, I could go volunteer in a children's home again. I've been looking up children's homes online, and I found that there are many, many homes that accept volunteers- some in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Honduras.

So I've been sending e-mails out, and the first place that responded was the place I was the most interested in. It's called the Casa de Amor. (www.casadeamor.org) It's in Cochabamba Bolivia. They only take little kids, mostly babies, but also some 3 to 10 years old. The place seems really cool, and there are several families from the States involved in running the place, and the lady who responded to my email was very nice! To quote she said "I cried when I read your email! How precious - to give us your time while your husband is serving in Iraq!".

So I'm kindof getting excited about this idea, and I'm planning it all out how it would work, financially and otherwise. And I've been studying my Spanish, just in case- well it's nice to have something to obsess about at any rate.

But check out this photo I pulled off their blog:


Doesn't that look so fun?!!!

Why I'm not Blogging Lately

So today I got up at 7:00 and drove to the doctors office and the dentist to pick up my records.
(necessary paperwork- check out sheet)
Then I drove to where I work to have a brief meeting with my division head and get the last few sign-offs done for checking out of the command.
(necessary paperwork- check out sheet, separation orders)
Then I went and got a Non-Resident form so that I can register Curtis's car.
(necessary paperwork- power of attorney, copy of Curtis's LES, proof of insurance)
Then I jump started Curtis's car- all by myself!
(necessary paperwork- instructions for how to jump start a car)
Then I drove to a mechanic to get a safety inspection and a new battery for Curtis's car.
(necessary paperwork- proof of insurance, power of attorney)


Tomorrow I have to get up and be at work by 0800 to badge out.
(necessary paperwork- 2 check out sheets, separation orders, separation eval)
Then after that I have to go to the DMV to get Curtis's car registered
(necessary paperwork- safety inspection, non-resident form, proof of insurance, power of attorney)
Then I have to go to the bank to request permission to ship Curtis's car.
(necessary paperwork- safety inspection, registration, proof of insurance, application to ship vehicle)
Then I have to go to PSD.
(necessary paperwork- separation orders, dd-214 form, medical and dental records, pre-separation counseling checklist, psd checkout sheet, VMET, Terminal leave chit, Security termination debriefing statement)

And then, if I'm not dead yet, I might go to Taekwondo class.

So if you're wondering why I'm not blogging, it's because if I did, all I would write would be a long list of the boring things I have to do and the crap ton of paperwork I need to do them. Or it could also be because I have died from all the boring things I have to do and the crap-ton of paperwork I need to do them.