Back in the U.S.A.

It's weird to finally be able to post things on here. Since July, my "publish" button on my blog was not allowing me to post anything. However, now... I'm back!

Well, here I am in the good 'ole U.S. of A. It's been a few days now and I think I am adjusting a little better than I was the first few days I was here. It was really depressing. I'll be honest, it's still a little weird to be back, but I have to remember that life moves on. It's onward and upward.

My plans after deployment?

I have no idea.

I thought I had things figured out, and of course... I don't. Apparently the Lord has different things for me. I don't quite understand or see how these things will unfold, but I am looking forward to finding out what it will be. For now, it looks like I will be looking for work after my travels, if I don't get back into school right away.

All I know is that my travels will consist of the following:

- Back to Idaho tomorrow, 17 September 2011. :)  (Exactly one year since activating.)
- Utah, California, Hawai'i, Arizona, (possibly New Mexico), Okinawa, Italy or Greece, New York, Canada, or maybe just renting a vehicle and travelling across the US before winter hits (probably not going to happen.)

Anyway, life has been quite the adventure this past year, and one that I am so very thankful for. I can't thank my Heavenly Father enough for the love and kindness He has shown me during my time of deployment. What a blessing it was to serve my brothers and sisters overseas.

If anyone still reads this, you are more than welcome to also e-mail me at stupidfairy@hotmail.com or hpbaclayon@gmail.com.

Thank you for following my adventures with me and for supporting me in my choices, life and deployment.

Hopefully I will fly to Idaho tomorrow and not tonight. That way, my dad can be there when I get in.  I'll post photos on here when I can.

One love to all~

P.S. A random note: I am typing at the computer lab on a laptop, Fort Lewis, Washington for demobilization, and I LOVE the keyboard on this thing! I types smooth and the keys don't stick or are hard to press. God bless smooth typing keyboards! ha ha ha... paz.

R.I.P.

Rest in Peace Uncle Chad.

Thank you for your service in this life. May you always be remembered in our hearts and in the hearts of your beautiful daughters. To my cousins - I love you. To Auntie Nae - it's okay to mourn. Take the time to mourn.

Love to one and all, Pili girl~

Salsa Dancing and other things...

Just wanted to say that I miss salsa dancing and my salsa buddy at Prosperity. My little ray of sunshine is gone - but I pray he has an eternal life of happiness...

So - with all new things, I just have to "adjust and shift fire" or rather, go with the flow and do the best with what I've got. Besides, I think I'm developing my own little ray of sunshine over here... (Don't ask questions, because I'm not going to tell you. You all can make your own assumptions on anything and everything I just typed.)

An update on the new area in bullet form:
- We get more people everyday... breakfast this morning was a chore to find a seat for four people.
- I found out I'm staying in the S1 shop (Human Resources) as the assistant S1. (At least I now know I have a place, a function and a purpose.)
- I am also now our point of contact and webmaster for our unit's secure networking side. I get to manage the web page, update information, post documents and up coming meetings etc.
- I have been farmed out to the Battalion to work on our Yearbook for the deployment.
- Tomorrow (27 July), I have a years worth of photos and write ups due. Yay me! (sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm)
- I bought bread and jelly to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the times I'm either too busy to go to chow, or when I'm feeling a little anti-social. :)
- I've stopped wearing mascara (the only war paint I wear anyway) because of the dust, etc. I have to admit, it's been SUPER GREAT not to have to worry about that. Yet, at the same time, I sometimes see myself in the mirror and have to do a double take because my eyelashes are so light and thin that at times it seems that I don't have any eyelashes at all! ha ha!
- I have narrowed my school choices to two: Idaho or Utah

Okay - that's all for now. Love you all heaps!

Missing Prosperity...

I miss my old duty station.

Moved to a new area. I feel like I've gone from little country town to the big city. As if I've gone from Kaua'i to San Francisco. So strange.

Anyway, I really am having a hard time being here. There were a few times I wanted to cry. (I know - I'm strange.) I think it also has something to do with not having a place in my unit any more. I'm not assigned to a job and I feel like I'm in limbo. Not knowing where you belong kind of stinks!

Well - here's to driving on...

Choices to Make

Alright - I've narrowed it down to three areas:

- Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho
- Utah College of Massage Therapy, SLC, Utah
- Hawaii Healing Arts College, Kailua O'ahu, Hawai'i

I will be attending massage therapy school at one of these schools. That is - unless the Lord tells me other wise.


Side note:

PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY MORE MAIL. I WON'T GET IT.

Thank you.

On the Road Again...

My dearest family and friends.... please forgive my absence.

I don't have much time to type, however, I would ask that you NOT send any more mail. I won't get it.

Thank you! Love you! Hope you are well.

Much love from the Land of Father Abraham.

New Changes

Well, with it being nearly the end of June - all I can say is: WHERE DID IT GO?!?

The past two weeks or so I have been training to work in the Human Resources area. And, today, being day one that I am absolutely working by myself - my brain is fried. Over the last 2days, I've filed over 1,000 pages, created checklists documents for ever member in the unit, prepared for 2Soldiers to come back from leave, checked out 2 more to go on leave tomorrow, attended a meeting, gave a briefing to the Commander and 1SG, sent documents to our higher ups, found out that I have to submit 30 photos with information on them before the 10th of July, and still complete the 3 months (that our unit XO lost) and this past month's photos and write up by the end of the month.... phew - I'm exhausted!

I'm forcing myself to get on my computer so I can update this thing, and send out a few much need-to-be-sent e-mails, providing my Internet holds out.

Not to mention, tomorrow will be a new day and most of that stuff will begin again - then again, a lot of new and different things will happen as well.

To add to the stress of it - they are serving Quesadilla's tonight for dinner and I want one sooooo bad! However, I can't. I have my height/weight/tape tomorrow. Meaning, I have to find out how much I weigh and since I obviously don't weigh 158 pounds, I have to be taped. (They take the measurements from my neck, smallest part of my waist, and then the largest part of my "bottom", calculate it, and then ... [drum roll please] ... we see how "fat" I am.) Ugh, the curse of having "plump" genes. But, what can I do. I think I'll get a Quesadilla anyway and eat half of it tonight, and the other half tomorrow for lunch! :) (Not going to lie - left overs in Iraq are not that great.)

Okay - I'm going to rest my brain before I head to chow in 15 minutes. Hope all is well!

Happy Belated Father's Day!!!

Happy Belated Father's Day!

Hope this lovely June is well for each and every one of you.

Love - from the sandbox,

P~

Happy Memorial Day!

To all those who have paved the way, gone before, passed the torch, expected more of us and those who are attempting to not only fill the shoes, but free the way for others...

Happy Memorial Day and Thank you!!!

My "Real" Parents - yet another long blog! :)

Alright - some of you may be wondering what I mean by "real" parents. Well, as my Idaho family comes to think of it:

My Idaho Mom and Dad are my "Real" parents and my birth parents are just my "financial" Mom and Dad! ha ha ha! (I've always thought it was hilarious!)

Patsi, my Idaho "real" mom sent me the following, and my comments are at the end of them as well. Enjoy!

You didn't ask me for any memories I have of you! I will give you one anyway!! HAPPY BELATED 30TH BIRTHDAY!

The first day you came here and we were going to the barber shop quartet and I couldn't wake you up.

*It was June 9th, a Friday, 2006 - I got home from my church mission on May 5th and knew that I needed to go to Idaho. So, before I even got home, my mom and dad asked Patsi and Lee Hinckley if it was alright if I came and stayed with them, as I tried to get into BYU-I. Well, it was a done deal. And June 9th was the day I moved to Idaho.

On June 6th, just three days prior, a very dear friend of mine died. I was soooo heart broken. So, needless-to-say, I probably didn't sleep that much over the next few days. When I got to Idaho, I was greeted with a huge hug and a lei. All I had was a suitcase, guitar and a carry-on. I felt like a true pioneer.

When we got home, I felt like we were in the middle of nowhere! I was loving it, because it felt like my last few areas of my mission. Remote, isolated, an almost forgotten little untouched paradise. At home, we had supper. I don't remember much about it, but I remember that great garden salad with dill on it! So yummy!

Then, before heading out to the quartet show at BYU-I, I asked if it was okay that I go lay down for a little bit. Well, I ended up passing out. Patsi called for me, patted my arm, and even rolled side to side. Apparently I didn't budge. I was out! She went back upstairs and told Lee that I was out cold and wasn't moving, and Lee asked if I was at least breathing! He was worried what he was going to say to my parents if I had died in my sleep - the first day I got to their home!*

Breakfast at Frontier Pies after your singing at the morning fireside.

*I was asked to sing for the Mother's weekend or Women's Conference - or something like that - that was going on at BYU-Idaho that day. I asked Patsi if she'd like to attend. When I saw my "Mama Patsi" in the audience, it felt awesome. I know my mom couldn't make be there and having Patsi there was just a special. It was nice to have some "mother - daughter" time.

We went to Frontier Pies afterward and took a picture. I don't have that picture on this computer, but I know there's a picture of it on the whiteboard at home in Lewisville.* :)

Cleaning the house that had the lime green toilet, sink and tub.

*What a chore that was! Of all the features in that little house - of which I adored - yes, there was a "lime" green toilet, sink and tub! I could literally sit on the toilet, nearly put my feet halfway in the tub, and wash my hands at the same time. That's how small the bathroom was. I think if any of the Hinckley's ended up sitting on the toilet and stretching out, they might be able to touch all four walls at the same time! (I'm not even exaggerating... okay, maybe a little, but they would only be an inch or two short of it!)*

Watching you help Lee fix the tractor and coming in the house with grease all over you.

*Soooo, I like getting dirty! A little elbow grease, chicken grease, tractor grease never hurt anyone! Well, I can't exactly say that's true for the chicken grease - that's a heart blockage waiting to happen!!!*

Knowing you were cleaning your room and then hearing the guitar play and you came up and sang the new song you had just composed.

*Oh yes! How could anyone forget this! This was the day in September 2006, that I wrote "Today". I was inspired by a Hallmark movie that we were watching and a line in there really hit me. One of the guys didn't want to tell his Uncle why he was spending so much time with this Lady that the Uncle fancied. One day, it was late in the morning and the nephew told him and said that he was so tired. (Now here comes the line...) The Uncle puts his arm around his nephew who lays his head on the Uncle's shoulder, and the Uncle says, "Rest. Rest. It's already tomorrow."

Well, the nephew dies. Sad movie, but great line!

Anyway, I started playing around on the guitar and "Today" was born. The chorus goes as follows:

"Tomorrow's already here, it's been yesterday's another day, for over a year.

Tomorrow's already here, and I need to know how you're feeling, today."

Basically, it is a song about waiting for someone to tell you that he/she loves you. We don't have time to wait for tomorrow. People need to know how we feel - Today. Patsi loves this song and has said that whenever she passes, which I pray won't be for many more years, that she wants me to sing that at her life celebration!*

Having fun on Wagon Train!

*Wagon Train!!! What a great time that was!

Before I got hired at BYU-I Continuing Education Department, I had a lot of time on my hands. I loved it! Well, I got to go on Wagon Train up at Heise with the Draft Horse Association of which Grandpa Rock is a part of. We ate dutch oven food, there was a bear trail for the younger children to go on, you got to see all these great different horses: Dapple Gray, Strawberry Roan, I think there were a few Shire, and Quarter Horses etc.

We got to ride on the wagon with the Zohners. They Zohner's are friends of Patsi and Lee, and a great couple! Going up, down and over these huge, small and narrow trails. All of it was a joy. Not to mention, being able to play card games with Patsi! Watch out, she's gooooood!*

I have definitely been blessed in my life with great people. The Lord has taken me to people that have been most influential in my life, and are as family as family can be. The Hinckley/Rock family is that for me. Not just my "Idaho" family. My family.

Love you all!