Holiday Bazaar

This past Saturday Camp Casey hosted the Area 1 Holiday Bazaar. I volunteered a little during the bazaar to help out with the 4-7 CAV Family Readiness Group (FRG) bake sale. I also contributed cake bites decorated as turkeys. I made the turkeys last November and Joe took them into work. The guys loved them, though they cared more about the taste than the look, and I have wanted to make them again since. The bake sale was the perfect justification for making them.  I wish I had a few more pictures of the turkeys, but this picture was the only one I took.

The bake sale was a huge success with the 4-7 CAV FRG raising over $380. What is even more impressive is that we weren't allowed to set any prices and could only ask for donations for the baked goods. One woman brought oreo cookie balls that were a huge hit, so much so that a Soldier ended up giving us $40 for the final 8 or so packages of them. 

Our Car, Part 3

Last night the mechanic returned the car to Joe. I am so thankful that we live in Korea and not in the States when it comes to vehicle maintenance and repairs. The mechanic told us that our car was overheating for quite a while and took the following pictures for us:

I don't remember what Joe said exactly but in the United States we would be shelling out a lot more money for this repair. Here in Korea it only cost us $200 and our mechanic delivered the car back to our building in less than 24 hours from when he picked it up. We use and off-post mechanic because he is less expensive and has a quicker turn-around time than the on-post mechanic. Plus, he will pick-up and return the car to our location instead of us bringing the car to him. We are definitely a little spoiled here.

Our Car, Part 2

Yesterday ended on quite a different note than I had planned. I must have forgotten to tell the day what I planned and made sure that the day and I were on the same page when it came to the evening activities. Had the day had something fun for both Joe and I then I wouldn't have minded, but that was not what it had in mind.

What did transpire yesterday is that after Joe and I did our once-in-a-blue-moon evening workout session  he realized that he needed to go to the medical clinic on post. I won't go into the details here of why, but I will say it wasn't life-threatening but was something he needed to talk to a doctor about right away. He had more tests done today and is now on antibiotics.

I of course went with him to the medical clinic and on the way home afterwards thought as we left the parking lot that it would be the perfect (sarcasm) way to end this evening if our car broke down on the way home. As I drove I thought I heard a strange rattling sound coming from under the hood, and asked Joe if he heard it, but he didn't think much of it. About 5 minutes later I thought I detected a burning smell, but figured that we were in South Korea and who knows what that smell could be at this time of year. A minute or two later I mentioned it to Joe and he was smart enough to look at the temperature gauge on the car. Needless to say, the needle was at the very top of the temperature gauge and the car was seriously overheating. I parked the car in the nearest parking lot while Joe called a taxi to pick us up and take us the rest of the way home.
Joe's Korean mechanic came about 1.5 hours later to pick up the car. This man is awesome. What mechanic in the states would come out at 10:30 pm to pick a car up? We are still waiting to hear back from the mechanic and find out what is wrong and how much it will cost to fix. Depending on the problem, it may be cheaper for us to buy a different car here. So much for my previous post saying that our car here is the perfect car for us.

Dear BMW M3, Joe misses you a lot!

Our Car

It is a grey and dreary day here in South Korea - but I still love being here because Joe is here. Joe is currently off participating in the Warpath III exercise, but he is able to come home in the evenings. In fact, today he even made it home for a very quick bite to eat during lunch.

When I was stationed in Korea in 2009-2010 I never bothered to get a drivers license here let along get a car. Camp Red Cloud (CRC) was so small that I could basically walk anywhere I needed to be within 10 minutes. However, when Joe moved to his new camp last year he decided that it was time for him to get a license and a car because the new camp is a lot bigger than CRC. The "new" car that he acquired is better called a hoopty or a FOB car. Great for on post driving, but Joe is not too fond of driving it off post. The car is in the same category as our friend Micah's car that brought Joe and I closer together when that car broke down at Lotte World, or of John's car that stalled out a couple times on the freeway into Seoul.

It's rather funny when I think about how Joe went from a very nice, new, and expensive 2008 BMW M3X that he bought in Korea to this car which cost him a grand total of $0. Some of my favorite aspects of our car are the left rear door that was always either unlocked or locked - until we recently had it serviced and now it actually locks and unlocks, but not with the rest of the doors; the check engine light that we ignore because it never turns off; and the transmission that we need to have rebuilt. Oh, and the fact that I have left the headlights on a couple of times by accident because there is no noise to indicate that I left them on. As I wrote that I became worried that I had left the headlights on again and had to go outside to check on the car - thankfully, the lights were not on this time.

It wasn't until after we were married that I bothered to get a license, because up until then I was only in Korea for less than 2 weeks at a time visiting him and there were plenty of taxis on post to take me where ever I wanted to go whenever I wanted to go there. I finally took the test in July this year because me being able to drive would save Joe and I a lot of money and make both of our lives easier.

I'm not sure what the purpose is of me writing about our car except to say that both Joe and I are grateful for our little hoopty car. It is old, worn out, and we would never consider bringing it back to the States with us, but is the perfect car for us here in Korea.

Wangbang San Mountain Bike Race

Last Sunday Joe and I participated in the 6th Annual Wangbang San International Mountain Bike Race. Joe got a team together with other Soldiers from 4-7 CAV and I came along on my very nice new mountain bike that Joe gave me as a wedding present (he's the best husband ever!). Neither Joe nor I trained for the race since he was out at Gunnery for 2 months and my bike didn't arrive until 2 weeks before the race. We knew we wouldn't win any prizes, but our goal was to go out, have fun, and finish the 34.7 km course.

The course was not technically challenging, but was extremely physically challenging. Both Joe and I walked a ton as we climbed the mountains on the course.  Both of us experienced our quadriceps cramping up during the race. I had never experienced quad cramps so intense, but knew that I did not want to be the one who gave up and called it quits. Towards the end of the race there was a Korean man who passed me and laughed a little as I was walking up yet another hill and suffering from bad quad cramps. Shortly thereafter he got off  his bike to walk and the cramps hit him. For him it was so bad that he sat down and I believe called it quits.

For both Joe and I the race was a test of mental and physical endurance. Both of us hope to train for the next race and I hope to beat my 3:13 hour time.

Life Since August

It has been a couple months since I last updated this blog and much has happened since August. The quick summary is that in mid-August I returned to the United States as Joe got ready to go Gunnery/out in the field for 2 months. After a couple weeks in MN visiting my parents and my sister Betsy and her family I packed up my car and started a road-trip to my new home in California. Along the way I stopped in South Dakota to see my Aunt Sue, Uncle Jeff, and my cousins Isaac and Anna, viewed portions of different pioneer trials, visited Utah for the first time in my life, drove along what has been called the loneliest road in America (Route 50 in Nevada), and saw Lake Tahoe.

My trip ended in California at the end of August when I moved into a condo with two absolutely wonderful roommates - both named Lisa. We bonded over a burglary experience when someone stole electronics, jewelry  and other items from our place, and decided to celebrate Christmas in September later that weekend in order to boost our mood. Unfortunately  our neighbors who live below us were not too thrilled with the fact that we put up Christmas decorations in September.

In mid-October Joe's Mom came out for a visit and to be there for my change-of-command when I took command of a Military Intelligence Company. The weekend was non-stop with work and I wasn't able to spend as much time with her as I would have liked, and we were not able to do any sight-seeing, but I guess that just means that she will have to eventually come back out for a visit.

Two days after I took command I boarded an airplane and flew back across the ocean too be reunited with the love of my life. Joe returned from Gunnery/Twin Bridges Training Area, the same day as I took command. During Gunnery, Joe and his Troop scooped up a ton of awards and bragging rights. While out in the field, he and his troopers made a video about Joe falling asleep and having a dream about his Troop.

It is so nice to be back with Joe. Even when he is supposed to have time off, work issues usually come up that he has to deal with immediately. Though I would love for us to be able to get away for a weekend, I am very happy for the time I do get to spend with him right now. 

The Ubiquitous Red Bean

I've decided that red beans are to Korea what whipped cream is to the United States. When I think of red beans I think of dinner. When Koreans think of red beans they think of dessert. They are found everywhere from doughnut/pastry fillings, to ice cream toppings, to even the topping of Starbucks frappacinos. I suppose it makes sense that whipped cream wouldn't be the go-to dessert topper because  South Korea that doesn't have much land to spare to raise and feed cows, but replacing it with red beans was a bit of a culture shock to me.

Back in 2009 I became accustomed to seeing a red bean paste as a filling of desserts, and even enjoyed a few of them myself. However, walking into a Starbucks in Korea last month and seeing that red beans and moved to a new category and became the topping of the frappacinos led me to be torn between "oh my gosh that is too weird!" and "oh my gosh I have to try that!"  After weeks of looking at it and not getting up the nerve to try the combination, I finally took the leap as I was at the airport getting ready to fly back to the States. Granted, the fact that I was coming down with a cold and a frappacino, with or without red beans, sounded like just the thing to help sooth my throat may have played a part in helping me along.

Would you like some fiber with your coffee?

The overall taste wasn't too bad, but it was a bit strange sucking up a bean through the straw and mixing the bean texture and taste with the coffee frappacino taste. I'm glad I tried it, but I think I will stick to whipped cream from now on.

He Called!

Joe called! It was so nice to be able to hear his voice again after not having talked to him since I left South Korea. We had communicated a few times via text message, but he wasn't able to talk on the phone while he was in the field. He finally got back to his room late Sunday morning and ended up sleeping until late in the afternoon. I don't blame him!  He was out in the field, sleeping in the vehicles when there was time to sleep (which I doubt he had much time to sleep), and it rained the whole time. I also don't blame him because twice this week I've slept until late in the afternoon because my body has no idea what time zone it is in yet.

When he called this morning it was 4am in my time zone and I had only just fallen asleep. I woke up instantly when the phone rang because I knew he would be the only person calling me at that hour and I had been waiting all day to talk to hear his voice. Neither of us are much for talking on the phone (skype is a godsend though) and I have even more trouble keeping a phone conversation going at 4am, so we didn't talk very long. Did I mention that it was so nice to hear his voice again?


Before he left the field he had they guys move the Bradleys together for a photo. Pretty cool if you ask me.

If It Ain't Rainin', We Ain't Trainin'

Recently, Joe took is Troop out to the field for some training. While he was out there he sent a couple pictures to me and I also downloaded some pictures that his 1SG posted on the Troop's Facebook page. In good Army form, it rained the whole time they were out there except the very first day. I felt sorry for Joe and his troop, but he did point out that the rain means they are that much more prepared for fighting in good or bad conditions. 

The first two pictures are from when it was still dry out there. 

The rain began the next day and didn't stop. 

A little rain doesn't phase them.

Fire Support (Fisters) smiling in the rain

More smiles from 2nd Platoon

This may or may not be Joe.  (Labeled on Facebook as Apache 6)

The mortar section staying dry. 

1st Platoon training hard

The HMVEE is normally a green color. 

The Medics joining in on the fun. 

I wish I could give Joe some time off to relax and recover before the next big thing, but he's already off and running...and doing an amazing job!

Why I Don't Throw a Pity Party

There are times like this morning when I am tempted to throw a little pity party for myself because Joe and I are on opposite sides of the world right now. In my dream last night I was about to call him during his lunch hour, but then I woke up right before the phone call and it hit me that not even that was possible. When times like this hit, when I miss Joe so much and wonder why we have to have it so hard, I take a moment and remember people like my friend Jordan and her husband Zack.  Jordan and Zack's story reminds me that Joe and I are in fact the lucky ones. Sure, we are apart right now, but only for a couple months.

Jordan was a classmate of mine at West Point, and Zack was a year ahead of us. I'm not sure when Jordan and Zack started dating, but it was prior to his graduating. They survived a long distance relationship while she continued on for her final year at West Point and he went to his officer basic course and follow on training. They married July 4th, 2005, just over a month after Jordan graduated West Point (Jordan will never let me forget the fact that I skipped attending their wedding in Rhode Island because I was driving to Ft Huachuca, AZ to report on July 5th for my officer basic course). Zack was already assigned to the 4th Infantry Division in Ft Hood, TX, and they were not able to take a honeymoon because he had to report back to work right after the wedding. They had a month together at Ft. Hood before Jordan had to  report to Ft Huachuca, AZ for her four-month long officer basic course. While she was stationed in AZ and Zack was in TX they were only able to see each other a couple of times. While Jordan was in AZ, Zack was busy preparing to deploy to Iraq. Zack took his couple weeks of block leave prior to the deployment to stay with Jordan while she was still in AZ. She was busy from 0530-1700 (that is 5:30 am to 5:00 pm) most days with class, so they would only really get time together in the evenings. After his 2-3 weeks of visiting Jordan in AZ, Zack had to report back to Ft Hood, Texas. He deployed to Iraq on November 30, 2005, before Jordan had even graduated her basic course.

After graduation, Jordan was also stationed at Fort Hood, Texas with the 4th Infantry Division. However, she was assigned to a different brigade then Zack. That meant that when Jordan deployed to Iraq in January 2006, she was stationed at Camp Taji while Zack was further South in Iraq. They were in the same country, but not able to see each other. The only time they were able to see each other that deployment was during there two weeks of Environmental Moral Leave mid-tour back to the United States.

Zack arrived home from the deployment a couple months earlier than Jordan due to his brigade deploying earlier, and Jordan made it home in December 2006. After being married for over 1.5 years, they finally were able to start living together for a short while. Both of their brigades were set to deploy in a year or less, and so even though they were stationed together at Ft Hood both of them were often out on week or month long field exercises at opposite times. Zack was set to transfer into Jordan's brigade which would allow them to be on the same deployment cycle and probably the same location, when, at the last minute, he was pulled up to Division staff. Zack ended up deploying to Iraq for a second time in December 2007, where as Jordan and her brigade didn't deploy again until March 2008. Zack was stationed at Camp Liberty with the division staff, while Jordan was located at Forward Operating Base Falcon with 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division.

Around the time of their 2-year anniversary, Jordan was allowed to transfer to Division Staff and to Camp Liberty. Due to Jordan and Zack being married, they were able to live together in one tiny trailer room on the camp. Even though they shared the same room, both worked long shifts (15 hours days on average) and often worked opposite shifts at their respective jobs.

They both arrived back to the United States in December 2009, and a few months later Zack finished up his active duty commitment and decided to leave active duty. Jordan, however, still had a year left of her active duty commitment. Shortly after returning from her second deployment, Jordan was notified that her unit would be deploying to Iraq again in a little over a year. While she once again went through all of the train up and field exercises, Zack started seminary to become a pastor.  In October 2010, Jordan deployed for the 3rd time to Iraq, this time leaving Zack back in the United States. Save for her two weeks of Environmental Moral Leave, she and Zack were once again separated for a year.

Jordan and Zack celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary this past 4th of July and attended Joe's and my wedding a couple of days later. Though I am certain that Jordan would make General one day if she decided to stay in, she decided to leave active duty and a few weeks after the wedding she started terminal leave.

Whenever I start to feel sorry myself I think of Jordan and Zack. There marriage has already been through so much, yet they are still going strong. Both are very strong Christians, committed to putting Christ at the center of their lives and relationship, and also strive to honor each other in what they say and do. I am sure they have their arguments and rough patches, but they don't let those define them or their relationship. Thank you Jordan and Zack for being role models for me.

Jordan and I at Camp Liberty, Iraq in 2008

Mt. Soyosan

The weekend before I headed back to the United States Joe and I finally made it over to Mt. Soyosan. According to the Offical Site of Korea Tourism, Mt. Soyosan is the most treasured mountain north of the Hangang River. It's also a very popular hiking and mountain biking destination. We arrived to late in the afternoon to hike the mountain, but we wanted to at least get a glimpse of the area.  

Path up to the hiking entrance

It was another hot and humid day and the river bed alongside the main path was full of Korean families lounging around and little kids playing in the puddles of water. 

There were plenty of sites to see on the way to the entrance of the hiking trails. 

We had about a 20 minute walk from our car to the entrance of the hiking trail, and on the return trip we stopped at a Korean convenience store. The store was small and jam packed with goods, which is the way almost all convenience stores are in Korea. Joe was adventurous and bought a cheese stick to try. We each took a bite of it and determined that it was more rubber than cheese. I went the safer route of an ice cream cone. 

Even though I have two decent cameras, almost picture on this blog has been taken with either Joe's or my iPhone. Oh well. 

Driving Range Fun

As much as Joe and I look forward to the weekends, we also struggle with coming up with ideas of things to do during the day in the Camp Casey area at times, especially given the heat wave that has gripped South Korea recently. We keep planning to go hike Mt. Soyosan, but the mixture of sweltering heat and humidity have kept us from achieving that goal. I'd love to go to the pool or a water park, but they are so jam-packed that they lose the appeal. Instead, Joe and I have spent a lot of our free time at home watching TV in the very air-conditioned apartment.

After spending almost all of Saturday inside, both Joe and I were ready for a change of scenery on Sunday. Though it would mean braving the heat outside, we decided to head to the driving range after church on Sunday afternoon. We had gone once before and really enjoyed it, so it was easy to talk each other into going back despite the heat.

The best male golfer there (and only male golfer there)

The great thing about the Camp Casey driving range is that a bucket of ball is only $3 and there is no charge for borrowing golf clubs. Joe has his own set of clubs, but I don't have a set over here to use. We had the driving range to ourselves for our first two buckets of balls each, but by the time we each finished our third bucket the range had at least half the lanes filled.

Happy to be out of the room

Just in time to watch Joe have an awesome drive, and right after I fumbled mine, one of the course golf instructors showed up and started talking to us and giving us a few tips on our swings. He is a retired Command Sergeant Major and one of the two golf instructors at the golf course. What a great way to enjoy retirement! He also told us about the free golf lessons available on Saturday afternoons. Maybe next summer Joe and I will be able to take advantage of the free lessons.

By the time Joe and I left we were both soaked in sweat, but we both had fun and it beat sitting in the room watching TV.

Pro career ahead?

Phillips vs Phillips Bowling

One lesson that I am glad I learned long ago in the Army is that plans are never set in stone. After an extremely busy week at work both Joe and I were looking forward to the upcoming 3.5-day weekend he had ahead of him and we talked about going to Osan Air Base for at least one day of it. Since Osan is about a four-hour bus ride away, going down there is a mini-vacation.

Joe had a meeting on Thursday and possibly had work to do on Saturday, so we planned on Friday being our day away. Unfortunately, due to a few tragic accidents involving US Soldiers in Korea over the preceding week, Joe was notified Thursday night that all passes and leaves on the Peninsula were canceled and all Soldiers had to report back to work Friday morning for safety briefings. It was pretty disappointing, but understandable given the circumstances, so we decided to make the best of what time we could find to relax together over the weekend. First up, bowling.

Awesome Bowler Joe

I'm not superior bowler, but ended up being the most improved player on my bowling team back in 2010 when I was stationed at Camp Red Cloud. Of course, it's not to hard to become the most improved when you start out with an average score of 40 or 50. Joe, on the other had, seems to be a much more reliable bowler. I managed to win the first game with a score of 115 to 99, but that was my only win. 

A little worried after the 1st game

Joe promptly told me that the first game is just a warm-up and doesn't really count. I'd argue that only the first game matters, but that may or may not be because of the scores of the next three games. 

2nd Game...Joe Won

3rd Game...He won again.

Happy with the scores

I'd like to say the final game was close, but that would probably be a lie.  At least I had one win in there...and of course the first game is the only one that really counts.   

The Champion

Korean Baseball

Wow! Koreans sure love baseball. Recently, Joe invited some of the senior members of his Troop to a Doosan Bears vs Giants baseball game. Many of the people who went, myself included, had never been to a Korean baseball game and we were definitively in for a good time.

There were 14 of us in the group and the only place we could get 14 seats together was on the Giants side of the stadium. The Giants side also happened to be the side in the sun. It was overcast when we left Camp Casey in the morning, but by the time we arrived at the stadium in Seoul the sun was out in full force. Our friends Joe and Vallisa were smart and brought an umbrella, but I didn't even bring a hat. Joe was awesome and bought a Doosan Bears baseball hat for me to help shield the sun from my face and ears (the ears being key in Joe's mind). I'll come better prepared next time.

Enjoying the Sun

What really suprised me was how excited the Koreans got during the game and how vigorously they cheered. A couple times I went out to get another cold drink or ice cream and I would hear incredibly loud cheering start, the kind of cheering that at a MLB baseball game would indicate that someone just hit a home run. I'd rush back to my seat only to find that the cheering was because the batter had hit a single and was now on first base. There was one home-run scored during the game, and from the noise I almost expected fireworks to start shooting up in celebration. Though it was very noisy, the excitement in the crowd made the game a lot more fun than a game of MLB in the US. 

Around the 6th inning piles of orange plastic bags, think of plastic grocery bags, started to make their way around to everybody in the stands. Joe Squared (that being Joe and his friend Joe) and I assumed that they must be for all the garbage we were accumulating and so we started to put our trash in them. We were wrong. Very wrong. I don't know how we would've thought they were for trash when of course they were for Giants fans to wear on their heads. There were two main styles of wear, the Bow and the Balloon. Being Bears fans, most of the group opted out of wearing the bag (and because ours were already stuffed with trash), however, I did catch Joe's XO modeling the balloon style bag hat. 

Giants Fans with the Bow Style Bag

 When in Rome...

I'm not sure who won for sure because we left before the end of the game in order to beat the mad rush of 90,000 fans leaving the stadium, but when we left the Bears were leading 2-0. Though it was incredibly hot, the game was overall a lot more enjoyable than a MLB game because of all the excitement in the stands. Hopefully we will make it to more games while we are in Korea.

The Diet

Do you remember the McDonald's campaign "You deserve a break today" that started in the 1970s? Though I wasn't alive at the time, that phrase sure fits my recent eating habits. Dealing with six kids, all under the age of 5, sure was hard this morning at Vacation Bible School, so I deserve to relax and enjoy a few (or 10) Oreo cookies, Starburst candies, Diet Cokes, and fast food. Joe, he had a long, hard day at work, so he of course deserves to relax and eat some comfort food as well. We of course would tell each other that tomorrow we would begin to eat healthy again (or Monday if it was a weekend), and that tomorrow we would get back on track with our workout regime, but tomorrow never seemed to arrive...until today.

Joe Prepping the Meat

One of Joe's co-workers introduced him not so much to a diet, but to a more balanced way of eating that involves multiple small meals throughout the day. He started following that diet (for lack of a better word) a couple months ago and raved about it, but fell of the bandwagon when he came back to the States for the wedding. Now, a month later, we are both giving another go at the diet.

Veggies and Rice

On Sunday evening Joe and I spent time preparing the meals for the next two days, since our freezer only holds enough frozen food to allow for two days worth of meals at a time. Joe focused on grilling the steak, chicken, and fish, while I worked on the vegetables and brown rice. We still had junk food laying around and snacked on it throughout the evening, but this morning it all went in the trash. Okay, the Diet Cokes and Low-Carb Monster drinks are still here, but everything else is gone.

In addition to eating healthier, we also are planning to exercise 2-3 times a day. We also made it to the pool to swim for an hour during lunch, but our 0515 Insanity work-out went out the window when we stayed up past 0100 last night. I think I remember hearing the 0515 alarm go off and made a valiant attempt to get up, and by valiant attempt I mean rolling over and snuggling further under the covers while hoping that Joe wouldn't have a burst of resolve to get up and work-out. Here's to hoping that we start Insanity tomorrow morning.