Hot Air

So, the Home Depot total for bathroom remodeling just passed the 400-dollar mark. Why did I get discourage and stop my exact cost factoring? Two trips to the Home Depot Tuesday night to fix the dryer vent, which doesn't even travel through the bathroom.

You know when an old appliance is moved you get a chance to clean the floor before they put the new one in? Well, I wanted to clean out the vent. It travels above the boys' room before going to the outside and on laundry day their room is at least 20 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. A couple weeks ago I had inspected the dryer vent from the outside while the dryer was running and air was not coming out, so I figured there was too much lint built up inside.


I stick my hand up the ratty-looking elbow - layers of caulk and nasty duct tape and start to pull out some fuzz. I stick my hand up further and realize I've just run out of pipe. I felt lint coated on dryer lint all over the ceiling's sheet rock, all over the insulation and the electrical wires in a two-foot radius all around the 4-inch vent hole in the ceiling.

After some more feeling around I discover the vent duct more than away from where the elbow had been dangling. I was pissed. I've never seen such a half-ass job. Oh, wait. Yes, I have. The original PVC toilet flange was installed wrong making the bolts poke through two tiny holes instead of the long curved slots where the bolts are supposed to slip in straight down. Oh, and the sheet rock and cement board gap for the underpar shower tile job.

Needless to say I killed the laundry monster's nesting spawn then cut a bigger hole in the ceiling to fix the problem. Any you know what? I gave up. Luckily my friend Heather has more patience than I and was able to figure out that if we cut a foot off the 5" vent part it would angle into the ceiling and over the existing 4" one.

I all but jumped for joy when, for the first time ever, the Buzanowski home had mechanically-made hot air blowing through that vent.

Samurai Cape, Ornery Snake

Back at the home front, it was a busy weekend. Friday night Martha, JG's mom, breezed in on for two nights on her way up to Long Island. She spent two days killing the laundry monster. The last load was put in at 3 a.m. Sunday morning just a couple hours before she headed north again. It marked the end of the 30 efficiency-sized loads that cycled through the basket-thumping washer. Luckily the new washer and dry get here this week.

Saturday morning Martha watched the boys while I went to the Tile Shop's 9:30 a.m. installation class. After learning about all the new tools I'm going to have to buy, I studied the ins and outs of prepping for and setting liquid cement. See, the floor isn't level. With walls left to patch and paint, shower grout to remove and a window to strip next on the to-do list I excused myself from class knowing that tiling was another two weeks away.

When I got home it was time to get Edward motivated for his trial karate lesson. I almost cancelled it because he was throwing a fit about going. "Karate is not my favorite thing," he said. This is the same child who watches Samurai Jack, plays the Samurai Jack PlayStation 2 game and wears his pre-school graduation robe as a cape when he goes in the backyard with his 'katana' to fight his light saber-wielding big brother.

We arrive United Studios of Self Defense dojo and Edward goes from whiny to super-shy. He followed directions and was smiling the whole time. As soon as we got home he asked to watch his yellow belt instructional DVD.

Zachary is already a yellow belt. Unfortunately we had to pull Zachary out of karate last fall because he was struggling so badly with his homework. The school tested Zachary and found out he had a learning disability. Between the phonics tutoring through his after school program and the school making him an individual education program I'm optimistic he'll be able to manage schoolwork and his hobby. The busier I keep the boys the less time they will have to miss their Dad.

The dojo is just a block away. Right across the street from the kids' dentist. They both have their six-month cleaning this week and good timing because Zachary has a loose molar. It's driving him crazy. Therefore it's driving me crazy.

After going out for lunch the boys and I went down for a nap. I was out cold for two hours. I could have slept through the entire night. But, it was time for a commissary and base exchange trip to pick up things for the next round of care packages.

That night for dinner I made eggs, real bacon and hash browns - you know the ones you bake in the oven that looked like they came from McDonald's? Mmmm.

Sunday morning Uncle Mike and Aunt Clare came over. Mike's kids from California and my boys went to the pool with Clare while Mike and I hit Home Depot for more supplies. Industrial sized stripper, gloves, flange repair parts, two fence posts, mini piece of sheet rock, wallboard compound, door jam, nails, chalk line, tile spacers and joint tape.

Later on, after pretending to help Mike fix the hole where wall and baseboard used to be between the tub and sink, I went back to Home Depot en route for pizza. I needed a Flathead screwdriver. Only costing 89 cents I had to by the matching Phillips head. I also picked up a new razor blade tool after discovering the tile boarder around the tile was placed over sheet rock, not cement board and there was a half inch gap between the two. I need to remove the tile boarder all the way around and do something decorative that won't crack on the sheet rock.

Mike was JG's best man at the wedding. Also, a professional studio photographer Mike shot our engagement photos. (Scroll way down at the bottom of the blog. See the piggy-back photo? Mike shot that.) At our rehearsal dinner we had our family sign the matte and the next day displayed the framed photo at the ballroom's entrance to our wedding reception. It was also at the rehearsal that Clare brought me a corsage and she read us the note that JG gave to Mike and Clare on their wedding day. It was extremely sweet.

Sunday ended with feeding Indy, named after Indiana Jones, JG's ball python who is about 11 or 12 years old. He's had her since she was a baby. She had grabbed the rat in the lower abdomen and it took longer than normal to cinch the kill. I was really afraid the rat was going to bite Indy. The second rat must have just passed out. When Indy let it go to align herself to swallow him, the rat started breathing again, then stood up and started walking around. Indy didn't seem care and ignored it. Monday night, Indy finished eating without incident.

So this is what Iraq is like ...

Baghdad, Iraq July 8, 2009

The flight in was crowded. Typically is on a C-130. Wouldn’t be so bad if we weren’t all laden with body armor, helmets, weapons and gear. But this is a warzone, right? In fact, there’s something of an awakening for me on this trip so far, and we aren’t even a day into it. There’s just a sense of exhaustion about this place. Everyone seems tired of being here and is most focused on just cleaning up and leaving. There are some loose ends around the country, and that’s why our team is here ...

The dust storm delayed a lot of our getting here, but once we landed, it really wasn't that bad. The base we’re on was near the airport. Lots of folks coming in and out still. The installation itself is just a bunch of bases next to, on top of, inside of and around each other. It reminds me of New York City in the way it’s laid out. Sather Air Base is separate from Camp Victory, is separate from BIAP (that’s Baghdad International Airport), is separate from Camp Stryker or Camp Slayer. I’d liken Victory being like Queens, but we wouldn’t know anything about victory in Queens these days ... friggin' Mets ...

So the local Combat Camera folks here showed us to our rooms. Which were … somewhere. Everything looked the same. The same 12-foot tall concrete walls, the same pre-fab trailer buildings. I got lost coming back from the bathroom and walked into some other dude’s room. He was watching a movie and didn’t even bat an eye when I opened the door. Must happen a lot, this getting lost and randomly walking into people’s rooms. But other than that, we stayed in buildings, two per room. Better than a tent ...

Camp Taji, Iraq July 12, 2009

So this is what it's like to be in a war that's been funded for several years. The base exchange is huge, there are several fast food vendors, the local bazaar is great, the dining facilities are enormous and offer just an amazing variety of food options. Afghanistan was NOTHING like this. For that matter, Baghdad was nothing like Camp Taji ...

There are about 50 Airmen here (LOTS more Army) and they have a little compound thats walled in, which isn't as bad as it sounds. They've really created a nice little community for themselves here. It honestly wouldn't be that bad to do a tour here. Except that there's no PA position ... yet ...

The Airmen here are in training and advising roles. It's bittersweet because these guys have two years to get the Iraqi air force trained to take over maintenance, gunnery and flying operations. They'll be expected to support their army brethren the way we provide air power for our sister services. And they're coming along in a lot of ways in some of the occupations. But in others ...

I say bittersweet because most of the Airmen at Taji are here for a year and don't expect replacements. We want to be done. But there's still a lot of work to do. One Airmen put it this way: The harder we work, the sooner the Iraqis will be in a place to take over the reins for themselves and the sooner we don't have to deploy here every other year...

So they realize it's on them to do it correctly now. I just wonder if this end date had been set earlier if we would have adopted the mindset to get it done. The open-endedness seems to have been more of a hindrance. But it's good that we've set an end date nontheless. This way we know what needs to be done and absolutely by when. Kind of like this being the last season of "Lost." January can't come soon enough, in more ways than one ...

We'll be at Taji for another week and our hope is that we didn't get the best assignment of our tour right off the bat. The folks here have been great. We have rooms instead of tents, we've got our own vehicle to get around the installation and we're right near the dining facility. Couldn't have asked for a better start. Except we still have to go back through Baghdad ...

Off we go ...

Today we launch out on our first mission. Our hope is to cover Airmen in Iraq as they help train the Iraqi air force and help with the transition to keep their own country secure. All in all some good stories as our folks are right in the middle of helping with this important and necessary endeavor ...

On my team are two other staff sergeants - Anthony Stone, our videographer, and Mike Keller, the photographer. My role is to do the majority of the writing and some backup photo work when I can. The trio of us will be working together for the duration of our time out here, so we're getting to know each other pretty well ...

Anthony is married and he and his wife are hoping to have a baby when he gets home. Mike's already got a quartet of kids. I can't imagine ...

As we've been getting ready to go out, I've started thinking about what I'm going to miss the most over the next several months. Here's my list, in no particular order:

- Jennifer, Zachary and Edward
- My wife's cooking
- My PlayStation
- Going to the movies
- Privacy
- Five Guys Burgers and Fries
- My friends
- The color green
- Best Buy and Barnes & Noble
- A bathroom closer than 176 steps away

Other than being hot and drab, Southwest Asia is dusty, hazy and humid. Everything is covered in a layer of ick and it's difficult to keep a clean work area, let alone anything else. Fortunately there are bottles of water EVERYWHERE. It's easy to keep hydrated, and in fact, is necessary with the weather. But it's especially frustrating to wake up at 2 in the morning and have to get dressed, put on a reflective belt, tuck in the shirt, put on shoes and then walk all the way to the bathroom. Ugh ...

I'm looking forward to my first foray into the Iraq. Going around to villages and provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan was rewarding because I got to see first hand how our efforts were making a difference. People were appreciative and we were welcomed everywhere we went. We helped a lot of people. I'm curious to see if Iraq will be anything like that now ...

When I left Afghanistan and Pakistan, I took home vivid memories of the children there - snowball fights, soccer games, handing out candy. Going to the villages was the best part of my last deployment. That was why I volunteered for this gig. Our mission is to travel to wherever there are Airmen helping Iraqis and Afghans rebuild their respective country. If I have to suffer six months of no Five Guys, terrible weather and missing my youngest starting kindergarten, at least it's for a worthwhile cause I believe in ...

Fireworks

In the past 24 hours I've made three trips to the Home Depot and one trip to the Tile Store at the bargain price of $259.16. After admiring how beautiful the tile was, I ripped out every thing from the walls, including the medicine cabinet. The toilet and sink are unserviceable. The tank is empty and I managed to get the faucet out. The cabinet doors are off and in a stripping process. I even removed the window blind so I can prep around the window for painting. Then it hits me. I no longer have my own bathroom until the remodel is over. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is.

The bathroom remodel feels like the only thing I have any control over. I can't tell you how good it felt to rip everything out of the walls. I wasn't thinking about anything - my mind was focused on the task at hand. Last night was the first since JG left that I slept through the night.

I took a bunch of photos of the bathroom to share today, but I didn't have any luck downloading the USB software for my new cellphone onto the computer. Hopefully I can figure it out soon - you'll know if I'm eventually successful when photos magically appear one day on this post.

JG's new phone came in the mail this week. We don't have good luck with phones - luckily we have insurance. Last summer when we visited my mom, Judy, in Massachusettes my phone fell out of JG's pocket on Six Flag's Superman or Batman ride. Then just last month his phone fell out of my backpack when we were at Hershey Park. It cracked then one of the hinges busted out.

The kids had a blast at Hershey Park. The four of us had our family portrait done - characature style. Each holding a light saber with the Death Star in the distance. It's framed and mounted in the livingroom kitty-corner to our engagement photo.

About the time the engagement photo was taken I purchased stamps for the wedding invitations. I bring this up because the gentleman who sold me the Forever stamps was the same gentleman I've kept past closing at the post office twice this week. Did you know Express Mail to Alaska sent Wednesday from Virginia won't arrive until Monday? I had to send their DMV my original SSN card, original marriage certificate, copy of my military ID and my LES to get my last name updated on my driver's license. For the fun of it I also checked the box 'motorcycle permit' to see if I could get one without having to do anything else. Will I actually drive a motorcycle? Doubtful, but at least my curiousity will be satistfied.

Then Thursday JG's first care package got mailed. We each put something special in there for him. Zachary made a card, Edward packed Yoshi and I printed a photo of the boys and wrote him a poem. One day last summer JG gave Yoshi to Edward after he pulled him out of a box at the storage unit. Just before he left, JG asked Edward if he could take Yoshi with him. See, JG used to have a little green bear that he took with him on all his previous deployments. The bear traveled with JG and had its photo taken at landmarks all over the world. The bear was lost shortly after we moved in last summer. We've tried desperately for months to find him but to no avail. I'm hoping Yoshi gets there before JG travels to Iraq for the first time.

It's almost dark - time to take the boys to the Air Force Memorial to watch the fireworks. I'll be daydreaming about our wedding day.

But it's a fry heat ...

As in, you could fry an egg. On the sidewalk. In the shade. But it could be worse; I could be in Mississippi ...

According to the thermometer, it's 117 degrees. It's difficult to actually relate what that means. Spouting off triple digit temperatures is just a metaphor for "hot." I mean, really, what is the difference between 112, 117, 120? It's all just friggin hot ...

Except at night, when it cools down to 95 ...

The heat here is oppressive. Worse, the sun reflects off everything and becomes blinding as well. I keep flashing back to my first time here, which was five years ago. I was but an Airman 1st Class at the time and was here with some great folks. I'll have to dig out a photo ...

It's amazing to see what's still around, what's changed dramatically and the finished products of what was under construction back in 2004. My room is decent (at least it's a room and not a tent, or a rathole like I had in Afghanistan). In fact, the building I'm in is close to where I stayed last time. Ah, if these walls could talk. Then again, not sure I'd want to hear what they have to say ...

But this trip seems promising as well. I'm hoping to head out next week to Iraq to cover efforts to train their air force and help them rebuild. Great story. It'll also be my first trip to Iraq, so that should be fun ...

Deployments always give me a great chance to catch up on reading. And with all the traveling we'll be doing, there promises to be a lot of downtime in passenger terminals. Which sounds more impressive than it is. Out here a passenger terminal can be everything from a shack to a small room with wooden walls ...

So I'm reading "Catcher in the Rye" currently. It's one of those standard books that have always been on my to-do list, but I've never gotten around to it. After this will be the "Mark Twain" biography and after that I think I'm going to switch to movies and buy the HBO "John Adams" series. Heard nothing but good things ...

For the record, the temperature needs to actually be 158 to fry an egg. Note to Mother Nature: that's not a challenge ...

Deployment Eve

Our last family dinner we took Zachary, 8, and Edward, 4, to our favorite restaurant for the first time - JR's Stockyards Inn in McLean.

The restaurant has always been a special place for the two of us to enjoy great wine, melt-in-your mouth red meat and intimate conversation. Our first dinner as husband and wife, still dressed as bride and groom, was at JR's. It was also here that we took his mother, Martha, to break the news that our dog Judy, the boys and I were moving into JG's two bedroom, two bathroom condo, just weeks after our first date.

About a week before JG left, Zachary inquired about where we go on our dates and said that he wanted us to go on a date as a family. We decided to share our special place with the boys. To our delight they were so well behaved. Both ordered the 8 oz prime rib cooked medium rare. Edward finished his entire place and half of his chocolate cake! Zachary ate all but a third of his steak plus a side salad (minus croutons and some lettuce) and a chocolate & white chocolate mousse.

During dinner I could barely look across the table at JG without getting teary. I know how lucky I am and how much I was going to miss him. The last two days have been the hardest for me, evident by my meltdown on Facebook yesterday. I'm overextended in all aspects of my life right now - the stress of single motherhood again, arranging for desperately-needed home repairs and upgrades, and a 50% manpower cut in my immediate work section. In between life as I know it now, how do I maintain closeness with my husband and share things with him without causing him to worry?

Monday, Zachary told me he missed Dad. It was so great to know he was talking about JG and not his 'father.' Zachary said he was sad that Dad was going to miss the beginning of third grade. Yesterday, Edward was talking about how Daddy is gone for six weeks. I corrected him and said six months. "Yeah - that's like 20 days," said Edward. I kept saying "after Christmas." Let it snow.