GraceRae gave birth to baby Scarlett today - 7lb, 11oz and 20 inches.  Both are doing well.

And GraceRae now has a Sailor!  She got the "I'm a Sailor" call after Scarlett was born so her husband got to talk to her and hear the baby cry!

Congratulations, Grace!

Why do I have Garfield as my profile picture?

Garfield is very special - if you look closely at his cap it has a piece of tartan and a cap badge on it.  Garfield is a Gordon Highlander, which is a regiment in the British Army.

With his regiment (and my husband's best friend who carried him) Garfield has seen combat in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Northern Ireland - usually strapped to the front of his friend's body armor while on patrol.

Garfield did think he had retired from…

.......at an awards ceremony!

This was presented to me today by my husband's home command at the Family Readiness Day - I was totally surprised and had to try really hard not to cry during the presentation!

Even if it is only every other week or so, a Skype video call is fantastic.  Makes both of us feel better.

Well, the AD advancement results are out.  However, my sailor is Reserve so we're still waiting - not that he has a clue that they will be out soon, it's not something he's thinking about at the moment!  It's me that's anxious!  I'm hoping he passed, but since he wasn't prepared for the test I think it's unlikely.

 He wasn't expecting to even take the test since he was away training but he had R&R during the test time and had gone into the NOSC - they had his test for him and told…

Swamp cooler is now set up thanks to PS3 and OS2 who went up on the roof, and HNC who stayed on the ground supervising!  I emailed my CIAC yesterday and he called me today and said someone could be here in under an hour, and they were.  Thanks Navy!

Now I just have to turn it on and see if it really does work - well, it worked last summer.  If it doesn't work I'll look at replacing it with an A/C system.

I actually got a phone call from him last night! Woohoo!  And then promptly burst into tears, which was a little embarrassing because I was at a friend's house and I don't like crying in front of people.  But it's always lovely to hear him :)

I had fun yesterday going out with friends (drank enough that I had to stay at their place, but for me that means only two beers, I'm such a light weight), and watching people watching the eclipse.

I find it difficult to ask for…

As much as love hearing from my husband, I wish the time difference didn't mean that he wakes me up most mornings.....:)  I'm usually up by 6am anyway because the dogs want feeding (haven't persuaded them to sleep longer yet), but this week it's been more like 5:30 when his messages have come through.  I suppose the answer is to not have my phone so close to my bed, but of course I don't want to miss him being online anyway........

I've now worked out that it's 2 months and 5…

It has been about 2 months since my husband left on his IA.  It has got a little easier for me over time - less time spent crying now, but I still think of him more than anything else.  

Everyone always says to try to keep busy, but with my job winding down and my friends scattering for the summer I have found it really hard.  Being unemployed is not how I like to spend my summers, so I'm a lot happier today since I was offered a job! :)

There have been days when I really…