In which I explain (or don't) my deployment.

The short answer to the question you may or may not have asked is "I dont know." But I'll rewind.

If you've been reading my scattered musings, you know I'm about to go on deployment. You may even have a general idea of vicinity and possibly the name of a Naval Vessel. All this is true, and let me fill you in on something.

That's ALL I know. Really. I mean, I know the ship name, even some of the folks on it. I know what general area I'll be in, but that's it. I don't know when I'll be home, and at this point, I don't know when I'll be going. See, I'm on leave right now, hanging with my family. Doing what you would do if you were about to leave home for an indeterminate amount of time to go somewhere unknown. I will know when I am to leave when I get to the Regional support detachment. They'll hook me up with a flight (or flights) and a way to get there. And a departure date. But until I check in, I won't know a thing. And I'd rather spend time with my kiddos right now. So please, for the love of all that is holy, STOP ASKING!!

I will tell you what I know, when I know it, if I feel like it. The way I look at it is this. The only 3 folks in the world who DESERVE to know anything about my whereabouts are my spouse and kids. If you had anything to do with my birth, the birth of my spouse, or the birth of my kids - you will know what I know when I know it or shortly thereafter. The rest of you will find out as I tell you. Remember when you were pregnant and your Mother-In-Law called everyday and asked if anything had happened yet for a month before the birth? Now you know how I feel. I really don't know anything.

And you know what? I'm OKAY with that. It's my job, not the end of the world. We plan for this stuff. El Jefe and the children will be fine. Anna may not get her hair braided for a while, but that's fine. She will learn about baseball. Sam will get to cook more with Dad. He's good daddy, and is used to this. What I would really like right now is for everyone else to calm down.

25 Random Things about Sailor Jenny

Yes, I've been bitten by the Internet meme bug. I originally posted this on Facebook, but I thought everyone in bloggyland would like to know a few choice tidbits about me, too.



Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.



1. These silly notes have been awesome and I've been secretly wishing I'd get tagged. I love getting to know old friends all over again.

2. I'm addicted to coffee. The folks I work with know better than to talk to me before I've had a cup, because I don't make any sense.

3. I'm a food snob, and I'm very picky about what I eat. I have to know where it comes from and I only buy local produce grown organically. I don't eat at chain restaurants.

4. All bets are off on deployment. I will eat anything on a stick from a street vendor on the darkest alley in Southeast Asia. And love it.

5. I got sick doing that in Hong Kong and learned more than I ever wanted to know about how horrible public restrooms are and that they mentholate kleenex in HK. A little advice? Don't use mentholated kleenex for TP.

6. I have OCD. I also have to have everything symmetrical.

7. I enlisted not knowing what the hell I was getting in to and to get the hell out of New England. I miss home more than I ever thought I would but just can't see myself going back to stay ever.

8. I have only 7 years and 4 months until I retire and get a real job and I have no idea what I want to do when I grow up. My thoughts so far are maybe an Alpaca farm in TX; but I have the feeling I'll end up teaching.

9. My sister and I are polar opposites. I have no idea how two people who grew up together are so different. I wish we were closer but it seems like we really have nothing in common.

10. I love my job. I love the sea, I love the opportunities it's provided me, I love the travel and the responsibility. Still, most days I feel like I don't belong.

11. I'm jealous of all of my friends with degrees, especially my SIL who is a Doctor. But not jealous enough to actually go back to school.

12. I almost didn't have another baby because being pregnant with Thing One was horrible. I lost 3 babies before him and one after and didn't know if my body or my heart could take it. I can't imagine life without Thing 2. My kids are amazing and I would do it all over again for them.

13. I got married at 19 and didn't tell anyone for a while. When we finally did, I'm pretty sure everyone thought we were crazy. We were, but El Jefe is the most wonderful amazing person I've ever met. We'll be married for 12 years in June.

14. I'm an internet addict. I've 'met' some amazing people through the internet that have made a huge difference to me and I've never even seen them IRL.

15. When I was 15 and crazy my folks sent me to live in VT for a summer with my mom's cousin. Those three months were some of the most defining months in my life. I learned to love fresh butter, cucumber sandwiches and me.

16. I read ravenously. I'm looking forward to deployment because despite the 18+ hour days, I get a lot of reading done. I have tons of books on my Kindle just waiting.

17. I can't wait till my hair turns grey. I have the family grey gene and I'm really proud of it and it grows in a 'Stacy London' streak.

18. I've lived here in San Diego county longer than I've lived anywhere in my life and I don't really like it here.

19. I collect the Evil Queen from Snow White. I have a replica of the Magic Mirror in my house. We also have a xmas ornament from Disneyland for every year we've been married.

20. I buy almost everything I can handmade from small businesses. I have a lot of custom clothing and I love it.

21. I have a pool in my backyard that I've never been in.

22. I hate working out, and the only reason I ever do is because I will lose my job if I get too big.

23. I collect watches, even though I can only wear one at a time. I tend to judge people based on their watch. Also, shoes.

24. I am the least photogenic person on the planet. El Jefe has a file in iPhoto of my "Greatest Hits". They're terrible. But funny.

25. I collect hobbies. They're always crafty. I knit, sew, scrap, bead, solder, paint and lots of other stuff. Nothing well, but I have to have a craft going at all times.



(This was harder than I thought!)



I'm not tagging anyone here - but I shared and you should feel secretly guilty for reading my deepest random things and not posting yours for the world, too. So lovely readers, please share! (And if I don't alerady follow your blog, leave me a comment so I can!)

Be Righteous and Happy!

I promised resolution # 2, and I've been thinking about it - really. See, the problem is that I can't figure how to work it out in my head. I'm not sure how to say how I feel. Odd for me, really, being of so many words typically. (Yes, intarweb friends, I'm a talker. Seriously.)

So here's the gist of it. I need to do the right thing more often. Sounds like an easy trick, or a Spike Lee directive, but think about it. How many times do you NOT do the right thing? Out of convenience? Or selfishness? Or a need to fit in? I make poor decisions on a tiny scale a lot. Or at least more than I would like to.

And on a larger level, I need to think about my team. I routinely make decisions for a team of folks. These are people who are perfectly capable of making decisions on their own, and VERY capable of evaluating those made by others. A decision made in selfishness or laziness has an effect on not only me, but these other team members, and those who we serve. So this year (and forever, really) I resolve to think about the consequences of decisions I make. And to do the right thing for everyone; not just me.



Quote Print by annechovie

Being Resolute.

It's almost that time of year. Maybe you're the kind of person who has the same old resolution every year. Go to the gym, eat less, smile more . . . I'm not a resolution keeper. I don't even make them. Why bother, really? Telling a bunch of folks about the things that I'm going to do when I know deep down that I'm not going to do them just seems like a perfectly good waste of a lie.


This year will be different. It already is. I'm starting out fresh in February. New workplace, switchin' up the job. I'm excited and I've already been planning. The three things I resolve to do this year fit in quite nicely.



The first is for me, and only me. I've been reviving my knitting habit, and I'm really happy. It's been fulfilling me in a way that it never did before. Maybe it's knowing that it was men and sailors who were among the first knitters, maybe it's just knowing that knitting is a portable project that I can take on board with little hassle. (And odds are good that no one will steal it until it's finished.) But this year I resolve to finish a sweater. I have chosen the February Lady sweater, a popular pattern based on a baby sweater. I was lucky enough to win a blog giveaway from Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farms of a whole pound of gorgeous kelly green Cormo wool. By the end of my deployment (whenever that is) I should have a finished project to be proud of, and I will have kept a resolution.







Resolutions 2 and 3 to come . . .

Let's Talk Coffee!

So it's been well established what I do for a living. Along with life at sea comes long hours in cold, boring spaces (that's what we call rooms on ships.) My job on a ship, by and large, is not that exciting. (It does GET exciting, but not very often, for very long, and we're talking about the boring parts.) So how do we do it? For me, it's coffee. I drink coffee all day long. I can drink anything, any roast, cold or hot, weak, strong or burnt. Even *shiver* instant. But let's face it, I can, but I'm a coffee elitist at heart. So this Christmas, El Jefe got me one of these babies.



It's a burr coffee grinder, and I am completely in love. I love trying new coffees, and the Greenie in me loves Fair-Trade, Organic coffees. But the problem is that often these small, home roasters offer their coffee in whole bean form. To have it all ground and sitting on my counter (even in an airtight container at room temperature) would be to lose some of the freshness. Most roasters will grind for you, so please try some, but if you LOVE it, get a burr grinder.

Once upon a time, I had a small blade grinder. You've seen them - small handheld, pour the beans in and flip it over because the top is the ground-bean vessel. It was good while it lasted, but it's grind wasn't consistent, it was a pain to clean, and it was really loud. The other problem with blade grinders is heat. The amount of time it takes to get a consistent(ish) grind burns your beans, causing bitterness.

Of the two kind of burr grinders, cone and disk, mine is a disk grinder. Great for home application (yay) and easy to clean, and affordable, now I can have freshly ground coffee when I want without having hit hit the drive-thru. Now I just need a cup like this one:




Available at Fred Flare for $22, made of porcelain with a silicone lid.





And some of this, which I have been lusting over FOREVER:





Brainscan Fair Trade Organic coffee!

I hope you enjoyed my "I love what I got for Christmas post", there's more to come!

Season's Greetings from our family to yours . . .

Make a Smilebox greeting

The Business of Selling Yourself in America

Many of you have probably heard of the law (H.R. 4040) passed in August which seeks to establish consumer product safety standards and other safety requirements for children's products and to reauthorize and modernize the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) (legalese.) Unfortunately, an unintended effect of this law may very well be the end of many small businesses. There is lots more information to be had on the subject, my jumping off point was the Handmade Toy Alliance . This proved to be an excellent resource for all of the information I needed. The actual law itself is 68 pages long and can be read in it's entirety here. There are also wonderful abridged versions here and here by some crafter momtrepreneurs.

To make a long story short, it would appear that SOMETHING is being done in Washington. I recieved a well written email this morning from my congressman Providing me with a place to provide feedback to the CPSC. Here's a copy of the letter so that you can provide your comments too.



December 22, 2008

Jennifer Lastname
123 House Street
So Cal, CA
12345

Dear Jennifer:

Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts regarding consumer safety. It's a pleasure to hear from you.

As you know, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4040 (Rush-IL), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Reform Act, which seeks to establish consumer product safety standards and other safety requirements for children's products and to reauthorize and modernize the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The CPSC's mission is to protect children and families against unreasonable risk of injury and death from over 15,000 types of consumer products.

Like you, I am concerned by the uncertainty many Americans have with the safety of products that are imported and sold in the U.S. For this reason, I voted in favor of H.R. 4040 when it passed the House of Representatives on December 19, 2007, by a vote of 407-0. President Bush signed H.R. 4040 into law on August 14, 2008 (P.L. 110-314).

I agree with you that this bill, while favorable with respect to enhancing the effectiveness of the CPSC, also has several provisions that may harm small businesses instead of solely focusing on increased product safety. I am currently unaware of any legislation at the present time that has been introduced in the House to address these concerns, but you will be interested to learn that the CPSC is currently accepting comments on Section 102 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, Mandatory Third-Party Testing for Certain Children's Products until January 30, 2009. I would strongly encourage you to email your comments to Sec102ComponentPartsTesting@cpsc.gov

Thank you again for contacting me. Should you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let me know.


Sincerely,

Duncan Hunter
Member of Congress





Low Standards Tee by Fatamerican at Etsy.com