Sam wasn't mad.....

I was shocked. I was trying to kill time( getting gas, driving by etc... ) waiting for him to get home first. He even left a box outside, so I thought he wasn't there... I go walking in the house(the house that has no gnomes or Elvis pictures) tie my "Welcome Home" balloon to the chair and start to turn around when I hear... " Hey baby.."Pure joy swept my body. My arms were around him in a flash. And for the first time in over a month- I relaxed.

Joe was craving a big greasy burger-so we headed to Ruby Tuesdays..then stopped at Best Buy to get the transformers movie that Joe wanted and then back home. We were in bed and sleeping by 9:00pm. I had to drag my butt to work this morning ( 1:20 drive there, 1:20 drive back - add that to an 8 hour day..... We're talking almost 11 hours ) - While Joe stayed home. Not fun. Not fun. Not fun. He did get up and make breakfast and lunch while I got ready. This afforded us extra snuggle time early in the morning. Good deal for all parties involved. I called around noon to hear a very sleepy Joe voice say hello. Joe NEVER never never NEVER sleeps past 7:00AM- I know he was dead tired to be sleeping until noon. I found the sleeping thing a little amusing since earlier this morning he had big plans for all these things ( get fire wood, cash in the change jar on base, ATM stop,...etc) he was going to do- to which I replied...just relax. I guess he decided to listen. I'm glad.

...So he's home. He's home. He's home. I'm excited. He's excited. We're very excited. Did I mention that I'm excited? What's next for us? Carving pumpkins tonight, A much needed trip to Maine this weekend to visit the family and then we're hoping to make it to the Toys for Tots charity "run" (motorcycle run) on Sunday with Pete & Sue- and some of our other biker buds. It will be our last time on the bike for a long time- Joe will be deployed(my least favorite word) next summer.

Oh... Happy Halloween. As you might be able to tell- mine is very very very Happy.

Love Samantha

Joe gets home lets see how mad Sam is

Well the great thing about this is that I am now at home, for a while I hope. I got to read about all the things Sam has been doing while I was away and low and behold, she was eating crappy. Thanks a lot Pete and Sue for feeding her and sending her on her way with more. I would like to thank you all for the support and help with the two house thing, I know she was stressed about that.


The reason for the post is that I just called her to say we were running late and I didn't know when I would be home but it would be after her, except here I am at home showered and rested ready to surprise her. She sometimes take those kind of jokes the wrong way.


I will admit that I was a little worried, she sent me an email saying that she had cleaned the house and purchased a new welcome mat and " a few other things that you will see when you come in" Let me tell you when you are out in the middle of nowhere and some one says the got a few things you will see but not telling you what they are you get these crazy visions of velvet Elvis paintings and lawn gnomes, well I did any way, it may have been the sonar going off that gave me all those bad dreams but I was a tad worried as I pulled up. Except the outside looked normal so all good so far, then I open the door and there is this huge welcome home sign, how cool is that? This is in addition to working like crazy, moving a ton of stuff and traveling all over the place. Who is this crazy girl that I am in love with and where the heck did she come from? I mean I am not nearly deserving of all that. I hope she knows how proud I am of her for that and for all the hard work she has put into this and where it's going. I was worried about being away and what that would mean, looks like she was right (please don't tell her I said that, she never lets me live it down, although if she starts to brag about it to you ask her how the GPS is doing) she did very well. In all honesty she did better then me. I was all worried about what was going on and there was nothing I could do about it. Now I am home and soon we get to spend a few days together, I can't wait. Little does she know I have the day off tomorrow... so for the first time in like 3 months, I get to watch her get up for work and me get to sleep in. Who am I kidding? I will be up with her making coffee and breakfast.

-Joe

World Series Champs!

After earning their second World Series title in four years last night with a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, the talk has now turned to a possible Red Sox dynasty...Wow... It's a great time to be a New England sports fan! Even our PATS are unstoppable.

I e-mailed our World Series news to Joe first thing this morning. I know he'll be excited. I think he had packed his.." I route for two teams- The Red Sox and whoever is playing the Yankees" shirt. I told him he should wear it to bed tonight.

I have a head cold today. I'm congested and stuffy. I have the worst headache-right between my eyes.- I was kind of under the weather all weekend. Today has been the worst. I'm hoping to feel better soon.

Special thanks to Robin and Liz for help with the RI house on Sunday morning. We tackled the kitchen and living room. Packing it all up and my mom and I drove it to CT. Phew! A lot of work. I would like to mention that Robin entertained at her house until 2:00am the previous night and Liz is pregnant. Thanks girls! Also- Thank you Mom and Alicia for all the help in the CT house on Sunday afternoon/night. I appreciate every one's help and support while Joe is away. I know he appreciates it too.

*yawn* I'm exhausted......

xoxo Samantha

2 down! Go Sox

It's a great time to be part of RED SOX NATION. I get up in the morning and send Joe articles from our wins! I hope he's enjoying the "news".

Things have been good. I had the pleasure of joining Sue and Pete (CT neighbors) for dinner on Wednesday night. What a treat! I left with a full tummy and bags of food for the fridge and freezer. I've already started to defrost the chicken noodle soup that looks so yummy! It was a night well needed- Away from the obsessiveness of checking email. I got a chance to just relax. They have no idea how much I appreciated their hospitality. They aren't just neighbors-they're family. It's great to have family in Connecticut.

I have a busy weekend ahead of me. On Sunday Robin(she's such an amazing friend) offered to help me clean out the RI house. If anyone would like to join us- we're planning to be there from 10:00AM to 2:00PM. We would love company and help. I would really appreciate it. I have to get the house ready for tenants. My mom is going to come back to Connecticut with me to help me organize that mess. Anyone in Connecticut who wants to stop by sometime after 3:00- We'd love to see you!

I miss Joe. In a big way. *sigh*
Love to you all - Samantha

Red Sox! Red Sox! Red Sox!

Let’s go Red Sox… Let’s go Red Sox !!! After digging out of a 3-0 hole against the Yankees in the '04 ALCS, the Red Sox needed three straight wins to advance this time. The Rockies, who have won 10 in a row and 21 of 22, will come back from a record eight days off. It was worth staying up to watch the Red Sox as they poured out of the dugout for their first playoff winning a little bit tonight to celebrate. Having rallied from a 3-1 deficit against Cleveland, the Red Sox now play the Colorado Rockies starting the World Series on Wednesday night in Boston.

I sent a play by play of the game to the boat for Joe- I hope he gets the “news” first and gets to spread the highlights to everyone! He mentioned in an email that they had some “water” problems earlier in the trip- No showers for 3-4 days- Imagine how smelly that sub was! He indicated that this problem has since been fixed. Seems like he is in good spirits and able to get some sleep here and there. He’s enjoying the brainteasers that I sent him with and recently started on a wood cube that took him 1.5 hours to complete on his first try. I bought all of the brainteasers from a website called www.bitsandpieces.com . That website is full of great brainteasers for Joe- all perfect for passing time on a sub.

Looking forward to having a home cooked meal at Pete and Sue’s house later this week. They are our wonderful neighbors in Connecticut- I have gone through a case of ramen noodles during this underway. Not for lack of cooking skills (although I lack them…) but more for lack of time. I have been so busy working, dealing with the two houses, emailing…etc etc etc. There are plenty of people who would feed me – My parents, Robin & Greg, Lizzie…. Anyway- I saved some grocery money- and lost a few pounds, so I’m happy but totally looking forward to Wednesday night.

So…Let’s go Red Sox….
xoxoxo -Samantha

I found PUMPKINS

Hello Weekend!

I spent last night at Alicia’s house on base. We had an enjoyable evening watching movies. She even cooked-which was lovely because my belly is complaining about Joe’s absence more then anyone. I normally get home after Joe to wonderful dinner smells wafting through the house. I start making lunches and set the table while he finishes dinner. He is known to make mashed potatoes (my favorite) more then once a week. I am a lucky gal. I’ve been eating a whole lot of ramen lately. Saving some money and it’s easy- I’m so strapped for time! I even traded my ramen noodle lunch for Marilia’s salad at work on Friday. What a deal. Everyone is helping me out! A special thank-you to Robin for the (snail mail) card I received yesterday. Those things mean the world to me.

On my way to work today (Dad’s showroom in Smithfield) – I spotted a farm selling pumpkins. I just bought a pumpkin carving set yesterday and was wondering where I would find some nice pumpkins. I thought carving them would be a nice treat! - Now I know! I’m psyched and prepared to make a stop there on my way out of here.

In other news- I’ve been working on finishing up Joe’s curtain (Rat Pack). I really need a sewing machine for Christmas (hint hint Mom). So far it looks really cute- thankfully Joe doesn’t mind that kind of sappy stuff. I found some great patches and cute little sayings to sew on the inside -that only he sees. I am going to put it in his Halloween bucket. I have decided that he may not be here for A LOT of holidays- but the holiday fun will not be ruined for me. So… he will have to open gifts later. I am a big HOLIDAY celebrator (Thanks to my mom!)… so his felt Halloween pumpkin bag is almost filled with all kinds of silly stuff- and this Curtain thingy is the last touch.

Time to run some errands!

Take care!
Thanks for all the love and support
Samantha

Kisses flying everywhere!

………*Drum roll* please- After over a week without e-mail….. I got e-mail! A bunch of them! YAY- I’m was so excited. I was a little sad because one of them said he hadn’t gotten e-mail in a few days. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? I’ve written every day (sometimes more then once a day). Doesn’t he assume that I’m writing e-mail and they just aren’t getting to the boat in an orderly timely fashion?!?? Have a little faith in me- Joe. Geesh! His saving grace was that one of the emails was EXTREMELY cute. See- we have all these types of kisses. And you can *gasp* send them over the phone, on email, across a room etc(you get the picture). He sent me an entire email full of all kinds of kisses.

You should have seen them flying around the house this morning! I’ll be smiling all week trying to catch them all. Oh- and he reminded me… I have to watch out…. There are nibble kisses (they can be scary) hidden in all the other kisses.

This might sound REALLY stupid to most of you – and that’s okay…because we think it’s hilarious. And all of you non-believers…watch out… we’ll fill your house with them!

xoxoxo
Samantha

Home sweet home

I'm back. Tampa was an interesting trip. I got in at midnight last night to go get my rental car- where I learned a VERY important lesson. You can not rent a car with an expired license. I just had my birthday and didn't notice it was expired. I found a shuttle to the hotel(thankfully) and then spent most of the next hour calling every cab place in Tampa to find the best deal to the school and then to the airport in the morning. *sigh* Only me.

Anyway- Presentation went well. The kids enjoyed it. All 450 of them-rowdy group... but they were listening to people speak for over four hours. I was the last speaker. BEFORE lunch. Enough said. I do love my job though. What a difference we are making!

I'm exhausted. Traveling makes you so tired. On the plane, off the plane... on the plane off the plane.. and you're at the MERCY of the layover plane being on time. Long few days. I have to get some laundry going and heat up something for dinner.... and get to bed- Gotta get up for work tomorrow!

I miss Joey. A lot. *double sigh*

xoxo
Samantha

My turn to be home alone!

Now I am home alone! What a bummer this weekend was – bad,bad,bad timing! As Joe mentioned- I appreciate all of the love and support! A special shout out to Liz who kept me extra calm while I was in the airport, you all have to realize- that was a complete adult moment for me. The little kid in me wanted to turn around and leave Logan (Boston) airport and head back home to Joe- but the “big kid” in me knew I had made a commitment to my job and had to go on the business trip. Oh and I felt really bad- because the three things (the only things) I like about Joe being away is that :

1. I can save money on groceries- I get all of his favorite food including a lot of “fresh” things that tend to be expensive when he’s home.
2. I don’t have to make the bed! Why make it when you are going to get back into it is my opinion. Joey likes the bed made when he gets home- and since I usually leave after him and he gets home before me… I take the extra five minutes to make the bed when he’s home.
3. I do the laundry. When Joe’s home- I bring it upstairs and put it away- When Joe’s not home… I leave it on the breakfast nook table and get dressed in the morning down there. (This may not work in the winter- but it was bringing me great joy so far)

So… You can imagine that after I got over the part about me not being home when he’s home- I realized… the poor thing was going home to laundry on the breakfast nook table( A lot of it ), an unmade bed and NO groceries! What kind of woman was I? So then I cried on the phone about that… “I’m such a bad… ” – You get the picture. What an emotional few hours that was! I don’t know what got into me- I just couldn’t stop myself

In other news- I DID CERTIFY! My first presentation with this program which is called “Making your money count” (There are a lot of programs that you can certify on to present with this company) is on Wednesday in Florida. This program is for Juniors and Seniors in High School. I leave on Tuesday evening. The training group I was with was pretty amazing- they really cheered me up! We were such a small group the training/feedback/coaching portion of the training was top notch since we got so much individual attention. It’s always great to be with an amazing group of speakers- and I was blessed all weekend with that!

I did come home to homemade “Joe videos” on the computer, which made me cry (Thanks Joe). I’m really excited though because I was calling his cell phone to listen to his voice this previous trip- and now I don’t have to! In addition to hearing his voice- I get to see him too! Oh- and the robe (my jamma gram from Joe last week) is so comfortable- I used it all weekend- always a lot of late nights and early mornings on training weekends….

Well….. That’s all for now…. With my luck.. Joe will be home for a few hours on Tuesday night… When I am in the airport again…

Joe comes home.... to an empty house

First I wanted to say hello to everyone, this post is from Joe, the taller part of Samantha and Joe. I am also the one that doesn't get to post very much because despite all the recent advances in technology you still cant read the Internet from greater then 400 feet under water. Second I want to say thank you to every one who is providing support to Samantha, there are many times where I can't be here and she needs all the love and support she can get from family and friends and that means a lot to me that you are all helping. Now some of you may be wondering why I am posting and the meaning of the title. Well the nature of my job means that I don't have a very good schedule, so planning anything is not really possible, much to the dismay of Sam. This is a great example of it, I came home for a day, unannounced. Normally this would be a great surprise, EXCEPT this is the day Sam flies out for her certification in Ohio. So you can picture this: Me walking off the pier calling her and she says ' Oh my God!where are you?" and I get to answer in the little kid excited voice " I'm home where are you?' to find out she's at the airport boarding the plane as we speak. That kind of rules out the running down the concourse for one last kiss idea I had in my mind. So rather then a night spent snuggled up with her, I am here at a big empty house eating oatmeal. This is a major case of turning the tables, I am not normally the one left behind and I must say it sucks! So now I have a better idea about what its like on her end. To make matters worse I get to leave again before she comes home.

I would like to say to Tony and Judie I can't wait to get those new cubes and thank you very much in advance, they provide no end of entertainment. It's the simple things in life that can bring the most pleasure. We have come to the conclusion on the boat that the stick people are a lot like us, stuck in a box or big metal tube in our case and are trying to pass the time until we can get home. The one good thing about being here is that at least I can talk to her when she gets off the plane. Which should be soon. Thank you all again.
Joe

Pajama Gram!

.....Guess what I got this morning? …… a PAJAMA GRAM. It was this beautiful blue round box with a gorgeous lilac robe inside. It’s so warm and comfortable. Joe timed it perfectly because I received it before my trip to Ohio this weekend (which I am so nervous & anxious about)! Anyway- it really came at a perfect time- I needed that extra smile this morning. The note from Joe that accompanied the gift brought tears to my eyes. I can’t believe how lucky I am.

In other news- My Ohio certification for “Making your money count” is this weekend. I am so unprepared- and I know it. I just didn’t have enough time to prepare for this. I was worried about getting Joe off… and making sure everything in both houses is all set… and working fulltime at my other job. I’m kicking myself today-but I couldn’t keep myself awake at night this week to properly prepare. I’m going to review and try to get some more of it down during lunch today. I will do the best that I can- I’m just extra nervous because this was a special pilot program. Only 8 of us (Out of 250) got asked to do it. My last certification had 70 people-A LOT easier to hide if you are "middle of the pact". Anyway- I’m trying to think positive- they picked me for a reason…right? I have my lunch and the flights to read and re-read- I can do this. I really wish Joe were here- he always makes me feel better when I am worried, stressed or upset. He always remains so calm. I’ll be okay though. I’ll get through it. Send some positive energy my way this weekend! I’ll be training all weekend but the actual certification is 9:15-11:00 on Sunday.

Thanks for all the love, support and prayers for a safe return home!
Love-Samantha

Wonderful Morning

I...*drum roll please* woke up to an e-mail this morning. I really feel so lucky. It was #4- which is odd because I never received #3 from him. We really should have had an in depth conversation about this numbering thing. I'm wondering if he got my #3- and then thought he should write #4- or if it's normal to get e-mails out of order. E-mail is so unreliable to the boat.... Anyway... I wanted to share a small portion of his e-mail:

The cards are great I get to read them when I gt up and share the facts of the day with other people. As for the cubes they have caused quite a stir, thats really cool that those people saw the blog I wonder if they would be willing to send those and other toys to use here on the boat, it would be great for guys to have something to play with.

So... if those cube inventors(or any other toy/book people) are out there- I'd be happy to help facilitate any donations made to Joe's ship- there are 120 of them... in need of toys. I'm sure Joe's four cubes... are the envy!

I thought I would share this part too....since it's so Joe- and soooo all the guys on his boat:

Other then that not much... the guys are teasing me about what the words are to the canadian national anthem, thats a joke that I am canadian, not french, I had to tell them I know the words to the french national athem though, then I gave them the finger.

Anyway...I'm up early to study more for this weekend...so I should get to it. Let me know if you hear from my favorite sailor.
Much Love!
Samantha

He remembered to number!

I am so very blessed today! I got my second e-mail-and it was much longer then the first. He did want me to share this part with everyone:

Tell everyone I said hello.

Man of many many many words! The funny thing is... (wait let me back up a minute..) I sent Joe off with note cards ( That I found on sale- of course the sale part doesn't matter because I went to every Hallmark in RI and then the Hallmark.com website and I am the proud owner of over 700 of these note cards in all different colors-but they are PERFECT ) : http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product%7C10001%7C10051%7C629390%7C-2;88564;115052;159568%7C%7CP1R2SO%7Cproducts
Anyway- I sent him off with those- enough for as many days as he will be away. I themed this bunch.. "Facts of the day". On one side- I wrote two or three very silly uneducational(in most cases) facts- On the other side I would write about them... and add in any other additional thoughts and sign off....now I started doing these more then a month ago(I've even started the next batch-"Joke of the Day") OK.. so back to the funny thing...his e-mail was about a fact that he read... and I have NO IDEA what he is talking about. He's going on and on about how he loves that there are two sinks in the master bedroom..... Silly. I was kind enough not to reply...." What are you talking about?? "

Special shout out to Alicia- for keeping me sane mid-day today. I was very confused about these confirmation e-mails I was getting from his boat- But she sorted me all out. Her husband Drew is on a different sub then Joe- and I wish him(and his sub) a safe return back home.

Much Love to everyone!
Samantha

I got an e-mail - yayayayayay

Hello everyone!

I was up early this morning practicing my new presentation for my certification in Ohio this weekend- I thought I would check my e-mail. In my mind... since 11:00 last night... he could have written.....and.... I was right! He did. One line....(which I'll be happy to share with you - since it's neither personal or detailed... ) :

Just wanted to say hi and that I love you and cant wait to come home.
LoveJoe

I think he may have forgotten that we were going to number the titles- to see if we're getting all the emails we are sending to each other.... there goes that idea!

Anyway- I was so excited... and a whole bunch of other emotions- I had to post.
Let me know if you hear from my favorite sailor!

God Bless
Samantha

Here.....we..... go!

We thought we would keep a blog of our crazy military ‘sub’ life for our families and close friends. It’s going to be my journal (of sorts) for Joe when he’s away- and his special retreat to family and friends when he’s in port or at home-He is always looking for a little piece of home. Leave your comments, thoughts, well wishes for him to read when he comes back! Please don’t ask me about specific dates for departures/arrivals. I usually don’t know- and when I do, I can’t tell you. Joe is in the “secret service”- SUBMARINES (let me take a quick moment to tell you how proud I am of him- he makes so many sacrifices so that all of us can have our freedom) and we put his life and the other amazing men on his sub in danger even when we may just be speculating. Please keep the name of his sub and any movement dates off this blog. You’ll see a lot of vague blogs concerning dates/places… please understand! Ok- the disclaimer portion of this blog is over…read on!

So…he’s underway- I’m in full “keep myself busy” mode. He got a few new toys before he left at Target. His new favorite- “Cube World”. You can check them out at: http://www.radicagames.com/cubeworld/index.php Cube World is a complex community of digital people who live in boxes. They each have their own behavior set. The boxes they live in have magnetic contacts on four sides (conduits) so that they might connect with other Cube World stick people. When connected they interact with one another in amazing ways- they visit each other in the other cubes, they fight, they talk, they play! He has series 1: Slim, Dodger, Scoop and Whip. They have been a huge hit on the boat- and I think they will provide him with hours of amusement. I was a little skeptical at first, but even I found them pretty hilarious. I might have to pick up Series 2 & 3 for his stocking for Christmas. They are working on Series 4 & 5 right now. He got a new blanket and all his toiletries -$180 later at Wal*Mart! I should mention that the $180 included my requested Halloween lights for the “scary bushes” in the front yard. It’s very festive. It took some convincing and whining…but we have them on six bushes. We had gotten a banner pole a few months back and we finally got that up- and I have the cutest ghost banner up too. I hope I get some kids, but I guess historically we don’t. BOOOOO!

So- No emails yet- and I’m checking obsessively-I know every time- I’ll be sad because there won’t be anything…but I continue to do it anyway. Sometimes I feel jealous of the people who get several reliable e-mails and phone calls a week from their significant others that are “away”(deployed). I have to remember (I was reminded of this recently from a close friend) – He’d most likely be gone longer and in a situation where he could be shot at on a recurring basis. And as my friend also pointed out- it could be worse - THERE WERE times (before email) when significant others would only get a letter every few months.

Check out this link for a little insight in military families day to day worries(get the tissues out)- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ervaMPt4Ha0&mode=related&search=

God Bless and Safe travels to all of them!
Love Samantha