Micki's Blog

Make an impact in the life of a military family that has lost it's Hero...

2011-03-04T16:20:00.005+03:00

Hello everyone!

Richard and I have some very exciting news- we are running the Seoul Marathon (our first) on 20 March! We have been training for several months now but not without some great motivation provided by the Knights of Heroes. The Knights of Heroes Mission is to provide young men who have lost their fathers in military service the opportunity to experience character building events with the positive support of a male mentor. A fairly large group of members from our bases have been involved in training and raising money for the Knights of Heroes. In fact, we have raised enough money so far to fund a female version of Knights of Heroes which we have affectionately started calling "Ladies in Training". This will allow the boys' sisters to have their own summer type camp that gives them the opportunity to flourish and learn from other females that have similar life experiences.

Anyway, we are not required to meet a minimum donation or anything like that, we just want to tell everyone about this organization and give you all the chance to donate if you feel called to do so. If you are interested in learning more about the Knights of Heroes, please visit their website at http://www.knightsofheroes.org/ or Richard and my webpage at http://knightsofheroes.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=443122&lis=0&kntae443122=E73A569CEB934B949C46563A44B02850&supId=314734138 and you can donate at either site.

We feel so blessed just to be able to take on this adventure together but doing it for such a worthy cause makes us all the more excited to take on this challenge. If you are able to donate then that is great and if not then please at least keep the families in your prayers (and us when it comes to finishing the marathon ;).

We hope this finds you well and can’t wait to get the chance to see all of you again.

God Bless!!!

Love, Richard and Micki

Clean Slate!!!

2010-06-23T21:50:00.001+03:00

Hey all. I am warming up my blog for Korea. I leave this Saturday for Seattle, hang out with Jessi for the day, then on to Korea that night. I will update this as travel permits.

Wish me luck!

-Micki

Jamaica 3/5

2009-09-08T05:34:00.005+03:00

More Margaritaville. These were super yummy! They had so many flavors!! When we got there we got free leis and free shots.

Out on the beach behind Margaritaville. Sunset was beautiful and we were just happy to be together. We also got to see a guy breathing fire and an old lady trying to rub up on him. Great performer- he even walked around on crushed glass. Interesting...

Us in the hot tub after Margaritaville. They had random hot tubs around so we got some time to ourselves that night. Other than getting eaten by bugs when we tried to lay in the hammock after the hot tub it was great!

And this was us using my underwater picture function in the hot tub. :)

Us in a kayak. There were free water sports and lessons at the resort. We also learned how to wind surf. Cory and Kendi went wakeboarding. They were awesome!!!!!

Alright 2 more to go. I am excited I am making progress with this.

Have a great day! God bless!

~Micki

Jamaica 2/5

2009-09-04T04:43:00.004+03:00

More Jamaica pics- this one is of me and Kendi trying really hard to open our eyes and not blow air out of our nose at the same time. It is harder than it looks believe it or not.

Second night. We ate at the entertainment venue. They have a stage and a covered dining area. It was a pretty big seating area and even had some "patio seating" around the outside. I got to wear the necklace and earrings I designed in Doha so that was pretty awesome! And we got to dance.

The maintenance guys on the resort were super nice. They went and got a coconut for us and cut it open so we could drink the milk. Then they chopped it in half so we could eat the meat. We repaid him with a water bottle full of vodka. We had free drinks available to us so we didn't mind. :)

Fun in the sun! This was in the swim up pool. This was probably after the 11am beach volleyball game. Every morning had beach volleyball (not going to lie we slept through a few :) and the afternoon had pool volleyball. I think that counts as working out every day we were there.

I think this is the only place the Lions and Broncos can live harmoniously with each other. This was at the Margaritaville in Negril.

Well, two down, three to go!

Later!

Jamaica 1/5

2009-09-01T20:16:00.007+03:00

So I am trying to get this thing updated now since we have been doing a lot this summer. Here is the first installment of the Jamaica trip but we took so many pictures I need 5 Posts to put it all in. So here is number one...

We went to Jamaica in May with Cory and Kendi Knop and had a great time. Other than Kendi being sick while we were there (later we found out it was because she was pregnant with little baby Knop!!!!) I think everyone had an awesome time and we can't wait to do it again in a few years!

We decided to fly out of Colorado and to take a little vacation there as well. On the way to Fort Collins we stopped in Colorado Springs and watched the Red Wings play-off game at Buffalo Wild Wings with our old friend Caracillo and a couple new friends I met in Baghdad Josh and Lt Col Allen (not pictured). I think the Red Wings lost but I can't be certain. :)

This is a picture of Cory and Kendi at the airport before we got on our shuttle to the resort.

Here is Richard and I at the airport too. Richard got free beer so he was happy. I got to wear my travel outfit so I was happy too. :)

First night at the resort. Awesome sushi for appetizer. We tried to go back there a few nights but it was packed. We finally went there the last night and just ordered take out and ate at the nacho bar. It was awesome!

My camera takes underwater pictures. I think Richard was showing how he was inverted...

Alright well 4 more left but it will probably take a few days. You know how I am with this thing...

Oh yeah and if Cory or Kendi are reading this I finally bought cushy envelopes to send the picture CD- sorry I am a bad friend...

Later!

I swear I have been back for 3 months... Well here is the Vegas trip

2009-06-24T04:30:00.004+03:00

Ok so I am a bad person and despite Kendi's persistence, I am just now updating this thing. Again I apologize but hopefully most of you figured out I made it back by now. :)

Well I made it back to Texas and was met by a small army of family and friends and co-workers. I decompressed (i.e. slept on the couch for 2 weeks) and then we headed to Vegas with Annette and James. Here are some pictures below for proof!

Here is Richard and I at Margaritaville. We went there with Annette's family to celebrate her brother Greg's birthday. We stayed so long we saw the hour show with the girl sliding down the volcano 3 times!

Here is our crew, Greg, Annette, James, me and Richard doing a shot to Greg!

This picture was supposed to make it look like we were on a beach but I think it just makes us look silly. That is my Carmen Sandiego travel dress so I wanted to show it off. :)

And here are the guys. They went out like this, oh yes. Greg and Richard had the song, "Whatever You Like" by T.I. song playing in sync on their iPhones in their pockets while they were walking down the hall in the Belagio. It sounded like they had their own theme music ans Annette and I walked behind them as the entourage.

Pretty fun trip overall. The next one was Colorado/Jamaica so I will post that next.

Laters!

On my way!

2009-03-09T14:15:00.003+03:00

Yay! I am on my way home! I was able to catch "Space Available" out of BIAP on the 7th which got me here in Al Udeid, Qatar a day early. That is 3 extra beers to enjoy! Anyway, I have been relaxing and trying to hang out with my friend Tim and his new mustache, Wilbur, who are deployed here as much as I can. So far I have pretty much just been sleeping, but I did get out and play BINGO this morning and won a $25 gift card to AAFES which I am currently trying to sell so I have cash to fly home with.

Here is a picture of Saad and me the last time I went to see him at his pizza place. We had a lot of going away parties there and he had the best hummus in the IZ so he was great to get to know.
Every Friday night before bible study we would go to the Green Beans coffee shop since it was in the same building as where we met. These guys would put on fun music and crank it up and dance with me. It became quite a tradition so I had to get a picture with them my last Friday there.

This is Moses one of the Ugandan gate guards. I use to walk around whistling so he started whistling songs back whenever he saw me and we ended up becoming friends. He wants to work on air conditioning units in the U.S. so hopefully I get to see him again.

My last night in the IZ a bunch of people came out to smoke hookah, drink chai and play cards. It was great to get to hang out with everyone for the last time and look forward to seeing them again in the future.

Here is a picture of Tim, Wilbur and me. Tim keeps threatening to shave Wilbur because it is starting to get hot. I think he is too emotionally attached to get rid of him though...

Well that is all for now. I will be home in 3 days and may post some more pictures of anything I forgot to post on while I was there but we will see. This has been quite a journey that I will not soon forget for many reasons. Thanks to everyone for all the support while I was here and I can't wait to see you again!

Love you all!

~Me

Going away parties

2009-03-09T13:16:00.006+03:00

For the two weeks before I left it felt like a whirlwind trying to get everything done and to see everyone before I left. It was hard to schedule separate going away parties with all the different groups I hung out with but well worth it when I pretty much got to spend time with each person individually. Packing, teaching everything I knew to my replacement and outprocessing also added to the craziness.

One of the going away parties was with the choir. There were about 6 of us leaving over a span of about 2 weeks so it was nice to get to spend time with each other besides church and practice. Here is a picture of the rug I got from them. Here is a picture of the whole choir, minus a few that couldn't make it.

Here is a picture of me and CAPT Rice when I got my Joint Commendation Service Medal.

Here is a picture at the roast they did for J-7. There were 5 of us leaving at once but for some reason my roast was longer than anyone else's. In fact once they finished mine then my boss got up and said more stuff to make fun of me. Didn't realize I had given them that much ammo in only 6 months. For everyone that leaves they do "Order of" awards. For me they did "Order of the Party Animal". Guess they got to know me well.

Here is a picture at the going away with my favorite PSD team. Neil, Wally and Hannes took really good care of me on a lot of trips to the border wells and some Baghdad Police Departments and I will miss them a lot!

Well that is all for this one. On my way home so I will post some more pictures right now.

My 4-Day Pass to Qatar

2009-02-17T21:30:00.005+03:00

So I got a little vacation while I was here and went to Qatar. They let some of us go there to break up our tour a little. I went with about 6 people from my unit back in Baghdad so it was pretty fun. I got to take some city tours of Doha, go shopping, hang out at a beach for a day and basically just not work (oh and get to drink beer). It was awesome. Here are some pictures from the trip.

One of the stops on the Doha City Tour was a camel market. This one was pretty friendly and didn't even spit on us.

Here was me in the really nice mall they took us to. Of course I go half way around the world to go to a really sweet mall and hang out at a hockey rink. Go figure...

Here is a picture on Doha Bay with the Doha Skyline in the background. We just hung out there to take pictures.

Here is a picture of me in the old Souks (old shopping area) with the Falconers. It was pretty cool and if you moved your hand around they spread their wings (cause they thought you were going to drop them).

This was the first night we got to drink beer together. It was awesome. From left to right there was Ty, Matt, Tom, Me, Craig and Steve. All of us work on the same base in Baghdad.

Well hope that gives you a good idea of how much I had on this deployment for 4 days. I am glad I got to go and see the sites. And can fill you in on even more details when I get home.

See you soon!

Thursday, 25 Dec- Christmas

2009-01-16T23:03:00.006+03:00

On Christmas we got to serve in the Dining Facility (DFAC) just like at Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun so here are some pictures from it.

This one is from the week before Christmas and goes with the video posted on the Christmas for Kids entry. This little girl was so cute with her reindeer antlers!

This was at the Christmas Eve service for church. We had a Night of Carols so it was pretty fun. Craig and Amanda joined the choir before Christmas so this is the picture of the Three Amigos.

This was Amanda and I with one of the guys that runs the DFAC. He is one of our favorites!

Part of our Christmas dinner. No take out! We also had the traditional turkey, ham, prime rib, etc. I still just ate turkey cut up and mixed in my mashed potatoes with gravy on top. Oh, and a roll (not as good as Grandma Bert's though).

Here is a picture of our office. Well at least the people that work there. It's not that great a shot but you get the idea.

I think that pretty much covers my Christmas experience. It really was a great season and super busy just like at home. Of course it wasn't the same being without friends and family, but luckily I have some temporary replacement friends and family here!

Talk to you soon!

Take care and God bless!

Love, Me

Thursday, 25 Dec- Christmas for kids!

2009-01-16T23:00:00.004+03:00

About the week before Christmas the Christian church here in Baghdad rounded up a bunch of kids (the total congregation is about 2,000 people so we only had a fraction) and brought them into the IZ for a Christmas Party. We went to a park and played games all day and then took them to meet Santa and get gifts. This video is of the kids singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". They learned it in English for us, then sang it in Arabic as well. The visual is not great the the sound is amazing (just the song they sing really).

Love, Me

Wednesday, 24 Dec 08- Promotion

2009-01-15T23:33:00.004+03:00

This was the day I finally went from 2nd Lt to 1st Lt. Normally I would be wearing my service dress and we would do a "pinning on", but since we are in the iRaq, we improvised. Notice the awesome sharpie we used to color in my gold bars black. Since we are in an Army command, everyone wears black rank anyway so no one really noticed that I wore those around for two days. The people "pinning me on" were Craig (see blog post Thankful if you don't know who that is), my old boss Lt Col Allen, and my new boss LCDR Schlise. CAPT Rice (Navy O6 in charge of my unit) did my oath for me. We did it on the patio of our building before I turned everyone loose for the Scavenger Hunt I organized. Everyone had a really great time and it was a good way to celebrate the holidays.

I will write again soon!

Take care and God bless!

~Love, Me

Monday, 22 Dec 08- "Wetting Down"

2009-01-15T15:41:00.002+03:00

So the Navy has this tradition called "Wetting Down" (my boss is a Navy O-6). When a officer is getting promoted they throw a party and pay for all their nearest and dearest friends and co-workers to eat, (mostly) drink, and be merry. Part of the ceremony involves throwing the new promotee into the sea. Luckily for me Baghdad has hardly any bodies of water and the ones it does have I need my M-16 to access. Below are some pictures of the party. Of course thanks to GO#1 we could not have a proper party (no alcohol) and even worse the espresso machine was broken at the pizza place. I did manage to get some yummy bread and hummus- oh yeah, and get drenched by about 15 people throwing liters of water on me. Enjoy!

My friend has some really good ones of what I looked like after it was all over so when I get those I will post them as well. If you can tell I am trying to catch up here so look for the actual promotion ceremony, Christmas, and my 4 day pass to Qatar in the near future!

Take care and God bless!

~Me

Thankful...

2008-12-12T10:03:00.005+03:00

Most people have already received my email but for those that haven't here is the story of the accident I was in last week with some pictures to go with. Thanks to everyone who has already emailed and called to show their support!

On 5 Dec I was in a convoy of civilian vehicles heading to the Saudi Arabian border to check out our water well project at the border forts. I was in an armored Suburban with 4 other people. Around noon-thirty we heard a loud pop and the car started to pull. The rear driver-side tire had burst. The driver tried to correct but it's a 5 ton vehicle and we spun around out of control and started tumbling. We think we rolled 5-10 times, not really sure but it was it seemed like a lot.

When the car came to a stop, the other guy in the third row seating with me, Capt Craig Holder, and I were the only ones left in the car. The other three were thrown from the vehicle while it was rolling. They didn't make it. Craig and I got out alright and walked around taking care of the situation while the rest of the vehicles stopped to help. We spent that night in the ICW of the Al Asad hospital where they took very good care of us (other than missing my vein once while taking blood) and even gave us some ABU Christmas hats. Other than some scrapes, bumps and bruises we ended up being just fine.

Craig and I with our ABU Christmas hats at the Al Asad Hospital after our accident.

This is a view from the road above. I was sitting in the very back of the Suburban on this side. This was right after the crash so nothing had been moved. This is actually how the vehicle came to a stop.

Here is a close up of the passenger side with the chassis out in front.

Here you can see the engine is clearly no longer in the vehicle.

Another side view. We think the last time we rolled we went end over end but we're not really sure.

I hope no one was freaked out by these but rather realizes what a precious gift life is. I am thankful to be here to write this to all of you and can't wait to see everyone when I get home! Both Craig and I know that the Lord has something special planned for us and we are truly blessed to be here to accomplish whatever it may be. I am attaching my contact info below in case you would like to email or write or call (if you have DSN).

Please take care and God bless!

~Me

Lt Micki Smeeding

MNSTC-I J-7

Phoenix Base

APO AE 09348

amanda.smeeding@iraq.centcom.mil

asmeeding@gmail.com

DSN: 318-852-1062

Church Solo

2008-11-13T14:46:00.006+03:00

As promised here is the video of my solo at church. Quality isn't great but it kind of helps the sound of the singing! I will write more later as there has been a lot going on in my life lately. I really thank God everyday for the opportunity He has given me by sending me here. I truly believe the the Lord puts you exactly where He knows you should be and the friendships I have made here so far are a testament to that! I hope to talk to everyone soon!

Time flies...or something like that.

2008-10-23T19:58:00.006+03:00

It sure has been a while since I have updated this! I am about two months into my deployment and it sure has gone by fast. I stay very busy so it works out. Here are a few pics to let you all know what I have been up to.

This is a picture of me on a job site I went out to with the US Army. The building next to it was leveled by an IED a few weeks before to try to scare away our contractors but it didn't work! These guys are awesome! It started raining while I was there, really heavy. Unfortunately they were mixing/pouring concrete at the time and these guys don't use the type of stuff like the picture below! Luckily they tarped it over pretty quickly and the pour was alright.

Here is the Iraqi pizza/coffee place that we do a lot of going away and birthday parties at. This was a going away party for a couple guys last week. The mocha mellow latte is very yummy in case you are ever in the neighborhood!

This was a different going away party with a live Filipino band. They were pretty good. Did mostly American songs and I got to dance all night! I also got to teach a bunch of Iraqi's (our dining hall workers) the moves to Y.M.C.A! They had no idea why they were doing the arm movements but they followed me anyway!

Richard sent me a Lego Concrete Mixer so we decided to put it together today. It looks pretty awesome and we are thinking of getting the whole Lego land so keep that in mind for Christmas!

I guess that wraps up most of the important stuff. Still working long hours and singing in the choir for church. I have a solo this Sunday so I will let you know how that goes. I am nervous!

Keep sending me emails! I love hearing from you all! I need to stay current with all the juicy gossip so I am not lost when I get back!

Hope everyone is doing well! God bless!

Love, Me

Happy New Fiscal Year

2008-10-03T05:52:00.003+03:00

One month down! We got through end of year without a hitch, awarding about 25 projects worth $150M in 2 weeks. I am throwing a "New Year's" party this Friday at the pool with traditional Iraqi food, PA system for music and water polo or volleyball since I am the morale officer. It should be fun!

So far I am getting use to living here and the pace of everything- but slowly. Work is busy but it makes the day go by quickly, which is nice. I go on site visits at least once a week so that helps too. I don't get as much free time as I would like to work out or anything else, but I guess that just makes me appreciate my half days even more.

I have about 20 projects or so, most of them being police stations. Some are Forensics labs though. Some of them are pretty nice looking, but some are just piles of bricks and form work right now. It is nice to see the construction start from scratch and have a project in each phase to see how it goes up.

I just updated my photobucket site so check that out. I am not putting any pictures on here since I just put them all there. I will be sure to have more after this weekend though! If anyone didn't get my email I sent this week with pictures please let me know because some got sent back to me.

I hope all is well with everyone and I miss you all! 1 month down, 5 to go!

Take care and God Bless!

Another week down...

2008-09-19T05:37:00.007+03:00

Hey all! I have been here for another week so I thought I would post a few more pictures.

Here is a picture of our cats that live outside our work building. I guess they were just born when I got here. There are 4 total but I took this because I thought they were cute. Our maintenance guys feed them so they stick around

This picture is of one of our Ugandan gate gurads, John. His real name is Sekanjako, but I am grateful he lets me call him John. This was his last day at our base, and he has left us since then. He is still in the IZ for a couple months. He writes me emails in broken english so I can keep track of him when he heads home.

This was a birthday party/dinner. Our office went to an Iraqi pizza place to eat one night. It was really good. We played cards while we ate and after we ate and I won at hearts. It was a pretty fun night. We are on their patio in this picture because after we were done eating the power went out for about 30 minutes (we have a lot of power bumps here) so we went down there to use the emergency lighting to keep playing cards

Here is a picture of the beginning of a 4 day sandstorm at 3 in the afternoon. It looked like we were on Mars. The people in the picture are people I work with. We were coming out of a meeting and it was just insane outside. The sand just kind of lingered in the air for a while and now it's gone. Now everyone is sick though. Not sure what was in the sand...

Below is a picture of me at my first site visit. It's a (blue) Police Station in the IZ. Not what I expected, but it sure is pretty. I stop and see this one every Monday. It should be done within a few weeks though.

Ok that is all for now. I think the pictures have said just about everything that I have been doing here lately. I will talk to you all soon. Don't forget to comment or write me at asmeeding@gmail.com or amanda.smeeding@iraq.centcom.mil and I will talk to you then too.

Take care and God Bless!

Love, Me

This is a test

2008-09-12T18:44:00.002+03:00

I can't get the big blog from today to show up when I pull up the site without clicking on September on the Archive list at the right. Thought I would see if this shows up.

Update

2008-09-12T08:48:00.004+03:00

It's official! I have been here for over a week now. All I have really done is work since I got here so I don't have any cool stoires yet. Our hours are from 0830-2030 but Ihave been leaving the office closer to 2300. I guess it is just taking me longer to accomplish tasks since I am learning. I have gone on one site visit so far and three more to come in the next few weeks. Attached are some pictures from around Baghdad.

The US Emabassy/Palace about a 10 minute walk from my trailer

Monument to the Unknown Soldier- inspired by the glorification of a martyr from the Iran-Iraq War. The flying sacuer looking structure represents a shield dropping from dying grasp of an Iraqi warrior.

"Hands of Victory Arches" also known as Crossed Swords- As the entrance to the parade grounds you have probably seen these on tv when Saddam Hussein would hold rallies there. He built it to celebrate his "victory" over Iran. They were made from the guns of dead Iraqi soldiers that were melted and recast as the 24-ton blades. The hands holding the swords are replicas of Saddam's own hands. Additionally, an impression of one of Saddam's thumbprints was taken and added to the mold for one of the arch's thumbs

Al Quds Gate- modeled after the Dome of the Rock of Jerusalem. Al Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem, which is where the Dome of the Rock is Located.

My first sand storm. Not too bad just annoying enough to keep people from going outside unless necessary.

Well that is all for now. I will update again when I get some awesome info. Feel free to email me at amanda.smeeding@iraq.centcom.mil if you get bored.

Later!

~Micki

Pictures

2008-09-05T10:31:00.005+03:00

This one is from the plane leaving Norfolk, VA.
This one is from the plane when we were landing in Ireland at 7am their time.

This one is at the airport in Ireland. Since we were only supposed to be there an hour, we were allowed one drink. I choose Smithwick's. Not too light, not too dark. I am not really a Guiness girl, so I decided to pass on the country's most famous product (other than potatoes :). Hopefully my husband still loves me...

TSgtNguyen and I were pretty excited to be there.

Here is a picture of a castle-like tower from the courtyard of our hotel.

Unfortunately, it takes a very long time to downlaod pictures here so that is all you get for now. I will have more pictures on my facebook account, if you want to see them there when I cna since it take less time to download. The website to start your own account (if you don't already have one) is http://www.facebook.com/ and you can just search for me and should be able to see my pictures. Let me (or Richard) know if you have questions. I will try to download pics to a more common forum (like Snapfish or Photbucket) when I have time.

Talk to you soon!

Love, Micki

Made it!

2008-09-04T18:46:00.002+03:00

Well, after 6 full days of traveling, I finally made it to Baghdad and my home for the next 6 months. We took a C-130 out of Al Udeid just as 3 USAF member were being deported from the country (long story-not their fault) so we had to wait to unload the pallet and load their luggage. It went alright and we made it our only about 30 minutes behind schedule, but by then, schedules don't really matter anyway.

Once we got to BIAP I was truly lost. I ended up catching an Army helicopter (which was awesome) over to the IZ and convicning a Lt Col to tote me around until I found my home. He got in touch with my co-workers and they took care of me from there. It took three people to help carry luggage. You can bet I am sending most of the crap through the mail when I go home! Anywho, I got my permanent room, and it is going to take some getting use to. I have a shower and toilet in my room so that rocks. No internet though so most email will probably go through my work email once that is up and running. My roomate is an Army Capt and seems pretty nice. I only met her for a little while as she scooted out the door to get to a function.

All in all I think I will get use to this after a little while. I do need lots of sleep and lots of water to keep me going.

I think that is about enough for now. I hope all is well. Happy Birthday, dad!

Love you guys!

~Me

Sandbox Arrival

2008-09-03T09:37:00.003+03:00

I made it successfully to Qatar. I leave here tomorrow (supposedly) to head to Iraq but not sure on any times. Wish I could stay here though. They have a pool, Dairy Queen, coffee shop and more! Oh well, on to Baghdad it is.

Also, if any of you get Skype accounts, please let me know your log in names. I have had a lot of time to talk but can't call on the phone and only have internet access and could call that way. Mine is amanda.smeeding.

Talk to you soon I hope!

~Me

Layover in Ireland tonight!

2008-09-01T19:11:00.002+03:00

Well today didn't end up like I planned. I started out in Norfolk and left late from there. When we finally got to Ireland (after skipping Bangor where we were supposed to stop-we thought this was awesome cause that meant we would shave 2 hours off our trip) we had to get off the plane for an hour to refuel. 2 hours later we noticed that they had the to engine pulled apart becuase they were having thrust problems. They told us another hour and it would be fine.

8 hours later they told us that they needed a part and that it was in another country and would take 12 hours to fix when it got here. Hence my blog. I am now in a hotel in Ireland with everyone (300+) , the Charter company is about to feed us dinner and we get to sleep here and hang out until the plane is fixed. The only bad part is that we are not in the city (we landed in Shannon) so we can't go visit any castles, pubs, or shops because we don't know when we need to be checked out and back to the terminal.

It is amazing here though and I am enjoying every second I can before I end up in Iraq. It is so green here! Hopefully I will get to the IZ Tuesday night/Wednesday morning since I was supposed to be there Tuesday. I will write when I get there.

Take care and God bless!
~Micki

On my way

2008-08-31T18:59:00.004+03:00

Well I am now at Norfolk Naval Station waiting for my flight later today. We (me and 3 other people from my base) flew in last night and checked our baggage into the terminal then went to our billeting rooms. I fly out of Norfolk at 5:30pm and from there go to Bangor, ME, and then Ireland before landing at Al Udeid, Qatar. We take a chartered plane to Al Udeid and have to stay on it for quite a while. I hear it kind of sucks.

Anyway, from Al Udeid I will fly over to Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) and then take a Rhino (up-armored bus-like vehicle) or something similar to my base in the International Zone (IZ). I will email or update this again when I get there on the 2nd if I can. Hopefully everyone is figuring out Skype so we can talk over the internet. If you have questions, just call Richard.

Take care while I am gone and God bless!

Love, Micki

Webcams

2008-08-20T21:00:00.003+03:00

Well we finally got our webcams up and running. We are using Skype to communicate for now. May switch to Yahoo Messenger or others at some point. My user name is amanda.smeeding (clever huh?) and his is Nukeproof2k. Try giving us a call some time! You don't need a webcam to call, but it is more fun that way! Later...

Preparations

2008-08-04T02:45:00.002+03:00

So this is the first post and you may need to bare with me. Richard is off in Colorado being a guy- camping, hiking, 4-wheeling, going to a wedding.. Ok maybe not that last one (even though he is going to one today). I am at home trying to help get stuff ready for my deployment. This is as far as I got besides napping today. I love Sundays! Probably won't write again till I get there but now you know this exists.

~Micki