U.S.S. San Jacinto Olympics Cake Decorating Contest

Sean sent me an email about the "Olympic Games" they had on their ship. Sean was in charge of the cake decorating contest and sent out an email to the different departments to get them involved. I thought it was funny. Sean is a Supply Officer, by the way.

Unfortunately, we can’t all win this contest (and by “we”, I mean every department besides Supply), but we’ll sure have fun trying (you can all try…Supply Department will skip over “trying to win” and go straight to “winning”). Just to save the judges some time, here’s what they’re probably going to see from each department:

FSO’s Predictions for Each Department’s Cake…

Weapons Department
While we appreciate the sentiment, and I agree, “Wepinz Departmint” really “Rulez”, just slapping a gun and some camo netting on a cake does not make it “cool”. Also, I have checked with the ITs in Radio, and unfortunately, they can’t modify Microsoft Spellcheck to work on your cake…so you’re on your own with that.


Engineering Department
Ummmm, it’s kind of implied that when you enter a “Cake Decorating” contest that you actually…decorate a cake. I mean, the meshing gears are really neat and all, but we were looking for something more…cake-like, and perhaps a little more…frostingish. Good job, Engineering. Better luck next time.


Combat Systems Department
Masterful use of 8-bit graphics, and it looks like San Jac has even gotten to Level 4. Go, San Jac! Very close to a first-place cake. We finally get to see how Combat Systems sees the mission of USS SAN JACINTO Unfortunately, the judges had to deduct points because the SPY radar on little SJA isn’t working, and it would have cost another $100,000 to get the parts it requires. Sorry, Combat Systems, your CASREP request for a first-place ribbon is denied.


Air Department
This was almost an award-winning cake…almost. Nothing says “cute” like a baby flying a helicopter…unless that baby is flying what is clearly an Apache helicopter that belongs to the Army! Come on, Air Department, if you’re going to make a cool helicopter cake, at least make it the right helicopter. And check the droop stops on that thing – they’re obviously not working right.


Operations Department
Excellent use of nautical themes! The anchor is part of Naval tradition, and is one of the oldest symbols of…what the heck?! On closer inspection, it looks like Operations Department has taken an actual anchor and just smeared some frosting on it. That’s even real nylon line attached to it. Let me check…yes, the rules do specify that a “cake” must be part of the “Decoration + Cake = Contest Entry” equation. I know the Deck Division guys say they eat nails for breakfast, but this is pushing it.


Executive Department
In a brilliantly creative twist, the Executive Department has submitted a white sheet cake with a perfect facsimile (in black icing) of a Special Request chit. While the fine print is quite impressive (who came up with the idea of putting “No Hitchhiking” at the bottom of a cake?), this cake is just another reminder of the daily grind of administration on San Jacinto. Sorry, Executive Department, your Special Request to win the Cake Decorating Contest will be routed to the Captain, and most likely…denied.


Supply Department
That’s the ticket. Nothing says “OORAH!” like a nice T-bone meat cake, made of meat loaf cake, mashed potato icing, and peas. The kind of cake that would make you proudly say, “I made that.” The kind of cake you would take home to Mom. The kind of cake you’d spend the rest of your life with (at least until you finished eating it), not to mention, it’s dead sexy. A clear winner.

I Did NOT Sign on for This!!

Okay, so when Sean made the decision to join the Navy, I was all for it. I support him 100%. I knew what I was in for. I knew he'd leave on a long deployment and I'd have to deal with the loneliness, the single parent scene, the yard work, etc. I was willing to live wherever we had to. Because of the Navy, I had to live with my parents for 3 months (during Sean's Officer Candidate School) with a newborn, then in Athens, Georgia for 6 months then now here in Portsmouth, Virginia. All that moving was in the space of a year. It was stressful and difficult, but I knew we had signed on for that.

Okay, here's the part where I'm upset. I was at home, doing the laundry, when all of a sudden the TV goes into Emergency Mode. There was a tornado nearby. A TORNADO!! Scariest natural disaster imaginable (in my opinion). I was okay with living near the coast where floods and hurricanes can be predicted hours, sometimes days, in advance. All of a sudden I'm told to 'duck and cover.' and with no basement for protection. I had asked around about tornadoes in the area before and everyone said we get thunderstorms that have tornado potential, but not really that dangerous. Of course, I'd live here the first time there is a tornado.

Alright, it was on the other side of town, but still, I'm so scared. I'm all by myself and if there was a huge natural disaster, what on earth am I going to do?! Even though Sean can't do anything to stop whatever is going to happen, I just want him home so I have someone to be scared with.

Now, there's a wall of water pouring down on us. I better go and make sure the windows are closed.

Reflections of Christ

In Relief Society we watched a short video of photographs depicting the life of the Savior set to music. I was speechless and couldn't wait to see it again. It captures scenes from the life of Christ and makes them real and not just glorified in paintings. My favorite is the manger scene with Mary and baby Jesus sleeping while Joseph keeps a protective watch. It's so honest and real. I can't describe it. I couldn't download it (copyright laws) but here is the link to where you can watch it. It's amazing!

http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/mark_mabry_photography/2008/03/happy-easter.html

Just click on the movie to get it started. There is also a full screen button to click there if you want. I recommend the full screen.

Spring Pictures

Since I was bamboozled into joining the Photo Club at The Picture People, I figured I should take advantage of the humongous savings that I paid for. When my mom was here we took William in to get pictures taken. I was so confident that it would be a short and pleasant experience based on my past experience. Oh boy was I wrong! That will teach me to expect William to act the way I predict!I love this shot! He's got Sean's eyelashes. I can't believe they got a couple of decent shots. I didn't think he smiled once the whole time! That's why that first picture looks good. You don't see his serious face.

Anyway, the session went so bad that after apologizing for the hundredth time, I rescheduled. I was a sweaty mess and William was fussy and his face was blotchy from crying.

The next time William went in, I went alone. I was very nervous. I didn't have my mom as backup to keep William on the mat or entertained. Fortunately, it went smoothly. I asked to use specific props and toys I saw some other photographer using.I didn't really want Easter specific pictures but he was having so much fun with basket of eggs, I just let him play and the photographer take pictures. There were so many good shots, I had a hard time picking out the best one. So I got several.

The car was my favorite.

Virginia Children's Museum

I took William out to the Children's Museum for a change of scenery. This place is awesome. We spent most of the time in the fenced off part reserved for toddlers. I've already written about it in Robyn's Visit but I wanted to post pictures for family members (Sean especially) to see what we're doing. In the picture above, William was upset that I wasn't letting him escape.

Soft blocks, stairs and slides, wire and beads, what kid wouldn't love this place?!

There was a big bucket of trains and cars to play on the giant track or the large mat with roads printed on it.

He climbed up on the stool all by himself and started to play. What a big boy!

San Jacinto Family Readiness Group

What is a Family Readiness Group (FRG)?

It's the support system for those military spouses and families who are left behind during deployment. We have meetings to plan parties, activities, and fundraisers (to pay for our parties and activities).

Okay so we had an FRG meeting to start planning for the big day. The big day being Homecoming. We're planning activities for kids to do while waiting for the ship to pull in, hiring a DJ for a party atmosphere, and other things that go on that day. It will be my first Homecoming so I'm not sure what to expect.

We started building a lei for the ship to wear as it pulls in to port on the Big Day. That's a pretty big project. I took a few pictures of the endeavor. We were there for over 2 hours and only got 1/4 of the lei done. We met up later to finish it. I can't wait to see it on the ship.
Actually, I'll probably be too excited to notice.

Sean's Evil Twin!

Okay, so when Sean tells me that he's decided to grow a mustache, I totally didn't take him seriously. Now I know better! He's not keeping it (thank goodness!). He just wanted to see if he could grow one while he could out there. I think the other Junior Officers were trying the same thing. He told me that when he gets off the ship, if I want a kiss, I'll have to share his lips with that thing he's growing. I told him I wasn't kissing that! He was kidding, of course. I guess I'm glad he's growing a 'stache out there. It makes him 100% Lady-Proof!