I'm a new dad...

Hi everyone. Great news....my daughter arrived yesterday. Mom went into labor three weeks early but they are both doing well. Our little girl, Izabella Angel, weighed in at 7 lbs. 11 oz. I cannot wait to hold her for the first time. It is going to be incredible!!!!

Anyway, things around here are moving along ever so slowly, especially with the arrival of our baby girl. But we will get there.

I have not been able to find a PC that will let me download any new pics but as soon as I can I will post some new pics. The mural looks great but I have to tell you that it is much bigger than I what I had imagined it would be. A two star admiral stopped by our compound and gave me "mad props". He liked it. "You should extend and go around our camps to paint additional murals. It will help morale." Um, no.

Super Bowl Sunday, er, Monday...

Sorry for not updating my blog sooner but getting to a PC is not as easy as it was at the last base that I was at.


I am now down to a little over a month left on this deployment. I will be flying home with the advanced party and hopefully the demobilization process will go by quickly. Monica has a tendency to push the babies out earlier each time and I am hoping that this time will be an exception. Either way, as long as the baby, and Mom, are healthy I will be more than happy.

Things at this base have started to settle down a bit. There is still alot of drama going on but I believe that it is due to the fact that we have been here for almost five months. The other armed forces that are out here are experiencing similar problems. There have been numerous fights, verbal and physical and some assaults. We have had a couple of people go down for medical (mental) reasons. A few of the army units that are here received the word that, thanks to Bush and Congress, they have been extended. When everything is said and done they will have served 16 to 18 months over here. And we, the Navy, complain about a six month stint? Please.

Anyway, on a lighter note, my diet is still going strong. Since receiving the e-mail and phone call letting me know that I was being my mobilized, I have lost right around fifty pounds. I really let myself go. I look at the photos that were taken of me back in August and it really freaks me out. Now, the weight loss does not have much to do with what the military feeds us. Although, I could have put myself on an MRE diet but who wants to do that? The military has a contract with a civilian catering company and the food that they provide is excellent. You can eat pretty much what you want, when you want. At least that is the case at this base. At the other base that I was at, you at whatever the cook slapped on your tray. Unless you knew the cook and I did. Again, I am proud of losing the weight but as y'all know, losing is only part of the battle. Keeping it off is going to be the trick. It will be hard to do, Monica is one hell of a cook. It looks like the dog is going to put on a few pounds. Wait, we need a bigger dog!

Take care....