Wondertwin Powers, Activate!

Over the weekend I officially got permission to post a nice photo and talk about Paul on my blog. He's my USAF "partner in crime", we've been colleagues for as long as I've been a reservist -- nearly 4 years! We now work together in SC, although I actually only see him 3-4 times per year on the occasional drill weekend. He's in a holding pattern waiting to be our unit's commander -- I hope it's soon for his sake, he's starting to bounce off the walls wanting to boss us around ;-)

Many of the things you see on my blog are inspired by conversations I've had with him. Such as the polls. He and I trade ideas about cake decorating, family dinners, what new cars to buy, Wii games, new gadgets, activities to do with the family on weekends, and many many many professional matters. He and his wife introduced me to the Pioneer Woman!

In fact, just today he mailed me this blog to read. I thought I'd share with you an example of the fun stuff we discuss.

All this time I've been telling Paul, "Get your own blog" so he can pontificate about his adoration of Costco, GPS units, separate master bedrooms and the true value of your vote in America.

Paul and I are taking a deployment to the Middle East in 2009 -- not together. He and I received permission to split a rotation, I'll take the first half, he'll take the 2nd. I think this is a wonderful opportunity presented to the two of us -- our opportunities to serve the Global War on Terror without being away from home for too long, and a testament of the trust and friendship he and I have for each other that we both said "Okay, we'll do it". After all, if one of us bails, the other is held responsible for the ENTIRE trip.

For those who knew this was coming up, I won't discuss the details here, but I'm leaving sometime after Christmas and should be back in early April. I'm not going to Iraq or Afghanistan, but to another location that supports those locations. Please rest assured that I will be safe in this location, provided the area remains as stable as it has been for the past several years. The job I'll be performing is quite exciting and I'm sure I'll be super-busy! Relative to most other military members, this is a very short deployment, although one day away from my boys is a day too many.

Tangent: I've promised to Dave that after this trip I will never voluntarily take a deployment for the remaining 6 years of my AF career. He's going to have a challenge playing single Dad during our first Nebraska winter, and he's been a great sport at keeping it in perspective. He wants to introduce the boys to skiing while I'm gone!

So here's to you Paul (I'm raising my cotton boll to you!) -- thanks for your personal and professional friendship, and for splitting the trip the desert.

PS: The picture above was taken in May 2008 at a picnic while we were working in SC. At first we were both posing like superheroes and the line "Wondertwin Powers, Activate!" went through my head.

New Poll! --------------------------------->

This is more of a cry for assistance than anything else. I still don't trust that my 6-year-old is brushing his teeth on his own well enough. I remember getting some serious lessons in 2nd grade (remember those pink-colored plaque tablets?)

Meanwhile, Timmy wants nothing to do with my help when he's brushing his teeth and I know he's cutting corners. So I butt in with ample protest every day to "finish the job."

Feel free to add comments about your opinions!

Where Do I Begin With This One????

First of all, I realize that I'm part of a very small American population. I'm an (almost) stay-at-home Mom who likes airplanes. And the things I've had to learn about American airpower are pretty nit-noid. An F-22 brings a different capability to the fight than an F-16, F-18 or F-35.

I scanned this picture from a to-remain-unnamed product catalog that I got in the mail last weekend. I'm sure many of you will see hints of where this came from and that's fine. For the most part, I love the company. I find many unique babyproofing and kids' travel items here, so I place orders 1-2 times per year.

I turned to this page and had to scratch my head at this one.

1.) The real Blue Angels don't fly F/A-22 Raptors. They fly F/A-18 Hornets.

The F-22 is an Air Force aircraft. The Thunderbirds are the Air Force's demonstration flight team. The Thunderbirds fly F-16s.

The F-18 is flown by both the Navy and the Marine Corps. The Blue Angels are the Navy's precision flying demo team.

So I took the time to look at pictures of these two planes and I have to admit, I can't really tell which of the two this toy is trying to emulate.

2.) So I followed a link to the F-35, which is an aircraft still in production. Several prototypes are out and about, doing testing for the Air Force, Navy and Marines. I wonder if the toy will look the most like an F-35? You be the judge.

3.) The flight suit is cute, isn't it? I LOVE how one of the patches shows the kid as a "U.S. Air Force Top Gun". And the F-117 patch, too. Really cute.

The "Top Gun" school made famous in the Tom Cruise movie was based on the Navy Fighter Weapon School at NAS Miramar, CA. The school is now at NAS Fallon, Nevada.

Not Air Force. I think an AF pilot might punch me if I called him a "Top Gun".

The Air Force has a similar school at Nellis AFB, near Las Vegas, Nevada. I don't know what nicknames are associated with the school, but I'm sure "Top Gun" isn't one of them.

So I guess what we have here is this cute little hybrid Air Force/Navy airplane and flight suit outfit for your budding fighter pilot to enjoy. Regardless of whether he wants to join the Air Force or Navy. Think Purple -- One Team, One Fight, right?

Some might argue: who the hell cares? It's just a toy!

I guess so...

Perhaps I'll get on a soap box another time about teaching things to kids WRONG. Especially when those things are taught to MY kids wrong.

Note: I just discovered this toy was manufactured by Little Tikes and is no-kidding marketed as an F-22. I thought it was the catalog's misinformation. I guess not. Click on the link if you want to get one for your kid. I'm not saying "Don't buy it!". After all, it sure does look cute...but you won't see me buy one. My kids need to learn to pedal their bikes/big wheels under their own power first.

Stuck Again!

I guess it's simply in the stars: I cannot fly from Point A to Point B without some sort of delays.

So here I am in the Columbia, SC, airport, wrapping up my 4 days of drill with my AF Reserve unit (a great productive weekend by the way), and due to a missed maintenance inspection, my aircraft can't be flown and the agents are in the process of rescheduling everyone.

Unfortunately, they're working on us in alphabetical order of our destination cities...they're only on Denver after about 35 minutes, Omaha will be a while.

On the flight in from Omaha to Columbia, an aircraft mishap resulted in the airport being closed for 2 hours last Wednesday night.  They're super careful now after the crash in Columbia a couple weeks prior.  So my flight put down in Greensville-Spartanburg and we were offered a bus to take us to Columbia. First they'd have to FIND a bus.

While that was happening, I took my life into my own hands and bummed a ride in a rental car from another woman who also didn't want to wait for the bus. It was great, but Paul had to sit for some 2 1/2 hours waiting for me. Thanks for your patience, Paul!

This morning I had to leave my hotel at 4:30am to get to Columbia in time and we also wanted to make the trip early enough for Steve to get back to Sumter before traffic got too bad. Thanks to Steve for the ride. Too bad there are delays!