Singapore

Ok, maybe I should have titled this entry "my happy place."  After more than 50 days at sea I had no problem kicking back alongside this pool at the Sentosa Resort & Spa in Singapore.  The pool was divine and the bar served delicious caparinhas.  It was a port visit full of great food and drinks, a visit to the historic Raffles Hotel for high tea, an experience of the 24-hr Indian Market, a relaxing evening out on Arab Street, and my first-ever hot-pot dinner.  It's a nice, clean, accessible city.  If it weren't so expensive and far away, I might even consider it for a vacation!  Anyway it was a great break and I'm getting closer to home by the day!!!

Heading in the right direction

We've just moored in Singapore!  For some reason I'm not nearly as excited about being in Singapore as I am about being east of where I was before, which means I'm closer to my family.  That trend needs to continue!  Plans while here include a good deal of pool lounging, consumption of several fruity cocktails and/or beers, High Tea at the Tiffin Room in Raffles (Raffles is home to a bar where the Singapore Sling originated), a trip to the botanical garden, then more pool lounging..  Have to get off the ship first, though!  It takes hours to get the brows rigged and get the thousands of folks that want off the ship off, then into line to get on a handful of busses to leave the base, then onto some other conveyance to get into the city.  In short, it's a pain, but a pain that most are willing to put up with to get a break and check out someplace new. 

My greatest joy today was calling home and having Katreina answer the phone all by herself!  Frank was giving Trent a shower so Katreina masterfully slid the little bar on the face of the iphone to answer a call from Mommy!  We exchanged greetings before she got excited and pushed the big red button to end the call.  It was brief, yet perfect!

Good tunes, great memories

I share a "cozy" office with 13 other people, so sometimes it's nice to slip the headphones on and escape.  Tonight while working I was in the mood for Rusted Root and hit "shuffle" to enjoy the 3 albums of theirs that I have loaded on my phone.  What luck...just a few songs into it was "Blue Diamonds" (the song Frank and I danced to at our wedding reception) followed immediately by "Send Me on My Way" (the song that was playing as we left the reception that night).  Those songs, in that order, brought back a wave of great memories from that day over 6 years ago that I got to marry my wonderful friend. 

Still too far away from home, but filled with very happy thoughts right now!  :)

Still here!

Since I last wrote we've been hard at work out here.  I can say that time seems to have flown, but still not fast enough!  Back home I missed Frank's birthday, but was able to be part of the celebration thanks to The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co. in Seattle.  The customer service was great as they let me order via email, delivered perfectly on time, and even gave me a military discount!  Frank and the kids said they were yummy, too.  I can't wait to try them out for myself!

Frank has been really busy back at home keeping up with all the winter maintenance and domestic chores, and he even managed to secure our new home in Maryland!  When we move in April/May, we'll be heading to Herrington Harbour South in Friendship, Maryland.  It looks like a great place for our little family, complete with beaches, a pool, nature trail...perfect.  I can't wait to see it in person!  Somewhere in there he also managed to spend a few days checking out the Seattle Boat Show.  One day was a particularly sweet Daddy-Daughter day where our little princess decided she really liked a $1.95million yacht.  Precious!

And finally, the thing I REALLY can't wait to see--skateboards!  The kids both got them a few weeks ago and have been tearing up the marina ever since (ok, maybe not shredding yet, but they are trying!).  I loved seeing a pic of both of them on their boards so much that I'm even contemplating getting one, too!  I mean, how cool would it be to ride our skateboards over to the pool at the new place???

Thinking of everyone back home who is getting shwacked by the crazy winter weather in the states.  Stay safe and warm--I'll be home soon!