This was my first official week of work and I have to say it isn't so bad. I know things will pick up when I am doing everything but I think it will be good. I came in on the busiest week for me and managed to do everything I was asked to. I like the people I work with/for and as of Monday I will have my own office space.
I had a pleasant surprise on Wednesday... I found out i was getting a four day weekend. I didn't realize it was Prez Day this weekend so that was really cool. Not to mention that Thursday's are family time days. We are let go at 3 PM instead of 5PM like normal. Granted, I didn't get off until around 5PM on Thursday anyway but I have a 4 day weekend!
We went out to our second movie in 2 weeks on Friday morning. I am tired of waiting to find a baby sitter so we decided that the kids are old enough to sit through a movie. We went and say Valentine's Day and it was really good. We stopped by McDonald's on the way to the theatre and snuck in some "lunch" snacks for the kids. They had fun sitting on the steps eating their french fries and cheese burgers.
This morning Thor and i got up early and cooked like crazy. WE are back to that place that we have to plan our meals out again so we aren't making irresponsible decisions about our food. Both Jake and I want to get back into great shape and lose some weight too. Jake is planning on joining a mixed martial arts school here in town and I want to get back to the running shape I was in last summer. So Thor and I made a few healthy meals that we can just go to when we are really hungry.
In a kid highlights: Baleigh and Thor recently discovered singing. They have a few songs that they sing but my favorite is Little Jack Horner. Baleigh cracks us up with her interpretation of it. I am working on uploading a video of her and Jake singing it. Its too cute.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Salt Lick BBQ and The Austin Zoo
Over the weekend we went on a bit of an adventure. We got up early on Saturday morning and headed out to Austin for the day. Jake got the address to a great bbq place we had seen featured on Diners Drive ins and Dives, along with an address for the Austin Zoo. We drove for about an hour and were out in the middle of no-where texas....(did i mention we were on our way to the zoo) when we passed the Salt lick BBQ. That is when we realized that I had entered the address for the BBQ place and not the zoo in the GPS. So we decided to get lunch instead of going to the zoo first. It was AMAZING!!!!! If you come and visit we will have to go to this place because it is so worth the drive. WE had the sampler platter of brisket, sausage, ribs and turkey. All smoked with a fabulous sweet spicy BBQ sauce. We all loved it!
The zoo was not a traditional one but rather a place that rescues exotic animals. They had several wolves, one with only three legs(so sad). There were pot bellied pigs, exotic birds, lions, and tigers and bears, oh my. The kids had fun and it was just big enough that they could walk almost everywhere without getting too tired.
That night Jake headed out to the local Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the UFC fight. We are looking forward to finding a permanent baby sitter so we can go to these events together. However, I had fun staying home with the kids by myself and we made all sorts of fun food for the superbowl. Good weekend all around!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Getting Started At Our First Duty Station.
I began in processing post on Tuesday evening, although it did not really kick off until Wednesday morning. I wrapped it all up on Friday just after lunch. i do have to say I LOVE being an officer. I didn't have to report in every morning like the enlisted guys. PT on my own and I processed at my own speed. Which was SUPER FAST!
We also got Neeka ( our cat ) declawed this week. Before anyone freaks out about how inhumane that was here is our reasoning. She has clawed the heck out of the kids, alot of times for no reason and she has come too close to getting the kids' eyes. I am not going to sacrifice my kids' safety when I could do something to change it. Thor was absolutely devastated when we left Neeka at the kitty doctor though. The nurse was amazing though. She got down on his level and promised to take good care of his pet and read a bed time story to her that night. I thought that was really nice of her.
On Friday morning I finished in processing and signed out of the reception battalion(so i could go to my permanent unit). I went to the S1 (administration office) to in process the 69th Air Defense Brigade Brigade. I was told I was supposed to be going to 4/5 Battalion (this is smaller than a Brigade so it falls under the 69th ADA Brigade). When I got there I was swarmed by people who knew who I was and apparently had been tracking my progress in school since my orders were cut last July. They have not had a Chemical Officer in a long time and the one they had at Brigade had gotten "stolen" by the 1-44 Battalion (also under the 69th). So they were so excited to see me and said that they were going to write an amendment to my orders right then and I would be staying right there at the Brigade level and be the "head chemo" so to speak. They rapidly in processed me and sent me over to the S3 (office where I will be working). I met Cpt Coscas and she showed me around. Since my primary job will be doing the Unit Status Readiness Report and she has been doing it for a while she will be my go to person for the next few weeks. She is really nice and very go with the flow it seems. I was also introduced to Major Reese and had a lengthy talk with him about my job and expectations. It was not how I imagined my Friday afternoon going since I was not even technically supposed to sign into the unit until Monday. Now instead I have a different job.... instead of answering to the Brigade Chemo and turning in the USR report for my Battalion I will be the one people turn in their USR's to and I have to make sure all their information in correct. So as it stands now I will have three other lieutenants reporting to me each month and have at least one NCO who can put Boot to Butt when when the need arises. Isn't that cool? I get my own muscle! lol. MAjor Reese said that I will have my own office but he has to figure out how that is going to happen since they are short on space at the moment. However he said it was VERY important for me in the job that I will be doing to have my own space to work in. He promised that that would happen by next week.
That's about it for now - except that we officially have an address now. Its just a PO Box but it will be our address for at least the next year.
Jake and Heidi Nielsen
PO Box 6094
FT Hood,TX 76544
We also got Neeka ( our cat ) declawed this week. Before anyone freaks out about how inhumane that was here is our reasoning. She has clawed the heck out of the kids, alot of times for no reason and she has come too close to getting the kids' eyes. I am not going to sacrifice my kids' safety when I could do something to change it. Thor was absolutely devastated when we left Neeka at the kitty doctor though. The nurse was amazing though. She got down on his level and promised to take good care of his pet and read a bed time story to her that night. I thought that was really nice of her.
On Friday morning I finished in processing and signed out of the reception battalion(so i could go to my permanent unit). I went to the S1 (administration office) to in process the 69th Air Defense Brigade Brigade. I was told I was supposed to be going to 4/5 Battalion (this is smaller than a Brigade so it falls under the 69th ADA Brigade). When I got there I was swarmed by people who knew who I was and apparently had been tracking my progress in school since my orders were cut last July. They have not had a Chemical Officer in a long time and the one they had at Brigade had gotten "stolen" by the 1-44 Battalion (also under the 69th). So they were so excited to see me and said that they were going to write an amendment to my orders right then and I would be staying right there at the Brigade level and be the "head chemo" so to speak. They rapidly in processed me and sent me over to the S3 (office where I will be working). I met Cpt Coscas and she showed me around. Since my primary job will be doing the Unit Status Readiness Report and she has been doing it for a while she will be my go to person for the next few weeks. She is really nice and very go with the flow it seems. I was also introduced to Major Reese and had a lengthy talk with him about my job and expectations. It was not how I imagined my Friday afternoon going since I was not even technically supposed to sign into the unit until Monday. Now instead I have a different job.... instead of answering to the Brigade Chemo and turning in the USR report for my Battalion I will be the one people turn in their USR's to and I have to make sure all their information in correct. So as it stands now I will have three other lieutenants reporting to me each month and have at least one NCO who can put Boot to Butt when when the need arises. Isn't that cool? I get my own muscle! lol. MAjor Reese said that I will have my own office but he has to figure out how that is going to happen since they are short on space at the moment. However he said it was VERY important for me in the job that I will be doing to have my own space to work in. He promised that that would happen by next week.
That's about it for now - except that we officially have an address now. Its just a PO Box but it will be our address for at least the next year.
Jake and Heidi Nielsen
PO Box 6094
FT Hood,TX 76544
Monday, February 1, 2010
sleeping in.
This morning Thor and I got up early to go get some waffles down in the breakfast room. When we got back, he wanted to wake Baleigh up, so he jumped up on her bed and started shaking her saying "wake up, wake up!" He is such a morning person. He usually wakes up just like me. When the alarm goes off he jumps up ready to meet the world. Baleigh on the other hand is deffinitly her father's daughter. She moans and groans and complains and just wants to take it easy for about an hour when she wakes up. So when her brother was assaulting her this morning she starts slapping in Thor's general direction screaming with her eyes closed "I'm sleeping, I'm sleeping Thor, leave me alone!" Jake and I were both belly laughing so hard we couldn't even make Thor stop. Just thought I would share one of those funny moments kids offer.
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