Diligence Returns

Gobble Gobble!!

happy thanksgiving! today happens to be my favorite holiday. it is the one day that is dedicated to reflection and being thankful for all the blessings in our lives. there are no gifts, no crazy holiday shopping, and no stress leading up to the day. its a wonderful day created to give thanks to God.

zack is underway and enjoying a lovely turkey dinner in the warm southern seas. they will be skeet shooting off the back of the ship today giving zack an experience he has definitely never had before!

i had dinner with my parents and for the first time ever we stayed home. it was a nice change but i definitely missed zack today. thankfully, he will be home for christmas!

here are a few pictures of our day and i had zack in mind when i posted them (this is the only way he can see pictures).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I apologize for the big break in entries, but here is an update!

zack is still underway, and we finally had the chance to talk on the phone! he is doing well and can't wait until he comes home. about 2 more weeks to go!

I was in puerto rico visiting my dad for about a week. we had a wonderful time. it rained most of the time thanks to hurricane tomas. while i was there, i felt the baby for the first time! it was awesome!! now he or she is moving a lot and i am feeling much of it. it is so amazing! all you mothers were right when you told me that it was going to be incredible, that was a bit of an understatement!

not much else going on around here. time is passing which is wonderful and as long as nothing crazy happens, zack should be home soon. thanks for all the prayers, we have definitely been feeling them and would not be able to get through this as smoothly as we have without them. thank you!

here are some pics from the last ultra sound i had about 3 weeks ago.

why there aren't more sunflowers

on such a day as this, all hallows eve, the eerie silence on the bridge of a drydocked Diligence reminds me how the tingle of fear makes me feel alive. not like the talking picture paranormal activity or its equally amateur sequel, it is the minute sensations of fear in an ideal setting that expose your core and reveal the things that truly make your skin crawl. I don't need ridiculous amounts of gore to clench the plastic arms of my movie seat with white-knuckled fingers... the most frightening movie moments don't reside in the details, they're in the unknown. we didn't have to see entrails when Jack Torrance axed down Dick Hallorann in The Shining, and we all know that flick is downright haunting.

the world is scary enough, if the daily news is any indicator of what is really going on. the events that drive the plots in today's remotely realistic horror films are, scary enough, not a long shot from things that have happened or could happen in our own human race. as I stand here on watch munching on my favorite DAVIDS snack, I can't help but be convinced that the world and those who reside on her surface would be exponentially less scary if there were more sunflowers. maybe its the areas that I've spent most of time in during my two-four years of existence but I unfotunately cannot recall when I saw my last sunflower. it pains me that each of these delicious barbecue-flavored morsels that I so coldly eat and spit are simply aborted sunflowers, brutally harvested, then roasted, seasoned and packaged so that just one person can selfishly indulge in their bounty.

so does the blame trickle down as far as me? every seed I enjoy marks a tally for team evil, team anti-sunflowers. I boast that i am not an evil person, but do I play maybe a miniscule role in the evil that lies dormant in the bowels of this world only to reach the surface and extend its pale, cold fingers to our unsuspecting brothers and sisters day after day?

No. I blame DAVIDS.

from the port main

little creek virginia's naval amphibious base is actually quite peaceful at 0400, and although my rack is exponentially more desirable at this point, this side of pier 14 is preferred to that which consists of drills and a bottomless work list. growing up and having never really spent any extended periods of time anywhere but new jersey, this frequent visiting of new places for purposes other than vacation is beginning to settle in as reality. this is one of the reasons I enlisted, this is a way to see the world; yes, I'll see parts of earth that I would have never been able to see as a civilian, but my world drove to jersey on saturday.
this morning, I am at peace on the port main deck, I am proud of the path I've chosen and satisfied with where I'm at just zero six months in... it's just tough to be away.
the countdown to my advancement to E-4 begins today; it won't be fast, it won't be easy, but it will be totally worth the wait.

go phillies
future AMT3 Pashley out

Day 8: Back in New Jersey!

I'm back to New Jersey! zack and I thought it would be a good idea for me to come back home while he was away. it will definitely make the time go a little faster. it has been really awesome seeing people that i have missed so much. but to be honest, it hasn't felt right being here without zack. everything I do, it feels like something is missing. it is going to be great when we can both come together. don't get me wrong, this is amazing and I am truly enjoying myself, but I miss zack and things just aren't the same without him...

I will have pictures and exciting things to post soon.

get ready ya'll, I'm back!

day 1 (con't)

here are a few more pics!

in one of them, it looks like the ship is crashing into the pier. they were actually doing this cool turn around thing so they could head down river, but I thought the picture was pretty funny.

(there are more pictures on facebook)

day 1- ship out day

yesterday afternoon at 1:00 p.m., I watched Zack and the crew of the USCGC Diligence depart from Wilmington to the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. they left for their first port call of their 2 month patrol. as Zack wrote in the previous entry, this is going to be a very difficult 2 months. it is these times that I am reminded of just how blessed my life is, to have such a wonderful husband willing to do what is necessary for our family (the new baby), and his country. it also makes me realize how much our military families sacrifice for our country and our freedom. i am so thankful to each and every man and woman who voluntarily serve our country. I am also grateful that Zack will only be gone for 2 months and will have the ability to communicate sporadically throughout the patrol. I can't imagine how it must be to say goodbye to a spouse who is being deployed to Afghanistan.

here are a few pics of Zack on the Diligence. if i may say so myself, he looks good on the ship :) can't wait to take pictures of them pulling back in port!

uncharted waters

adriana and I will soon undergo yet another s-turn in our lives and relationship. tomorrow, 08OCT10, marks one day til my disembarking of Wilmington and casting out upon the expansive waters of the Atlantic and the Caribbean. although my mind is ready, my heart is not, and could never become, prepared for another zero two month tour away from my baby(ies). I have to constantly remind (persuade) myself that time will fly as it normally does and that I will be back on land in no time at all. the fact is that there will be time and it will be difficult, but it's nothing we can't endure. I am thankful for the family and friends that she will have to spend her time with. I know that she would make it without such avenues but I know I surely couldn't do the same. looking out over the murky and trying sixty days, the comforting thoughts of home and my baby make these uncharted waters seem a little more navigable.

There is a nugget in the oven!

Here is our first glimpse of Baby Pash. 12 and 1/2 weeks along and healthy. we know the nugget has a head, a heart, and a butt!!

by popular demand....

alrighty, well for those of you who also want to get crafty (and i so encourage it) here are some tips on how to make the onesies.

1. get your choice of fabric. joanne fabrics sells squares of really cute designs for $1.99 and you can make A LOT of appliques out of each square. they are in the quilting section

2. you need "double sided webbing". the webbing is basically the glue that adheres the fabric shapes onto your onesies. make sure it is double sided. it will have one side that has paper that you will peel off.

3. get yourself a pack of onesies (or anything for that matter, canvas totes, blankets, shirts, etc. the world is your oyster, have fun!)

4. take your fabric and iron on the webbing. do this PRIOR to cutting your shape.

5. once you have ironed on the the webbing, cut out your design.

6. peel the paper off the back side of the applique, and iron onto your onesie (tote, blanket...)

that's it. seriously. it is very simple and very addicting. enjoy!

more onesies!

here are two more pics. the "pash" one was pictured before, but it happens to be one of my favorites, therefore worthy of having its own picture :)

over.

baby fever!

my mom came for a very needed visit this past week. while she was here, we got crafty with baby stuff! many of you have heard about the baby blanket and the onesies, because honestly, i couldn't contain my excitement. so if you don't absolutely love them, smile and lie to me. here they are...

ahoy, mates!

so sorry for the break in entries. zack and i have been going crazy. between his work schedule and my nausea, the blogs haven't been flowing regularly. here is an update.

a few weeks back we had the rare opportunity

of visiting Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, the CG's only tall ship. and interestingly, the only still functioning tall ship in any of the united states military branches.

the coolest part of the ship is its history; it was a war prize from the germans after WWII. hitler did go on board the ship, and it had a u-boat engine below deck when we won it. so awesome.

a couple of days before our tour, zack and I met one of the cadets in downtown wilmington and he gave us the vip tour of the ship. it was incredible. the ward room (where all the big wigs onboard eat their chow) is one of the most beautiful rooms I have seen in all of my life.

here are a few pictures of our experience. oh, and the eagle on the front of the ship now holds the CG emblem, it used to hold a swastika. enjoy! over

two little lines

it is my great honor to officially share with you all that Adriana and I are expecting our first little one(s) to be born on March 19 2010, tentatively. we could not be happier or more excited for what our future holds. God is good.

beautiful downtown Wilmington from the riverside

I accidentally put them in reverse order. just work your way from the bridge to the flag and you'll be alright.

as good as it gets

despite being billeted for mess cooking duties while afloat, there were countless other opportunities to perform and actually feel like a guardian. being a part of the special sea detail (mooring evolutions) and lowering small boats to the water, from one of the two contraptions on both the port and starboard side; both were welcome changes of pace from having been keeping it real on the mess deck for far too long. some days seemed endless and tested the mettle of even the more experienced deckies.

on our way back to Wilmington, Diligence had to make a pit stop just south of home in Sunny Point. there we picked up North Carolina's seventh district congressman, his family, as well as some family members of the crew... including Adriana. it was called a dependent's cruise and those who chose to join us sailed up the Cape Fear River for about two hours and were aboard when we reached the moorings in downtown Wilmington... home. Adriana got to see some of the stuff that we had been doing for the previous three weeks, including some of the not-so-glamorous things... mess cooking. it was an unreal feeling as she crossed that brow onto the port main deck. truly as good as it gets.

we had escorts sailing around us that consisted of Coast Guard Auxiliary and a 47 ft motor life boat from a nearby small boat station. we passed the shipyard near our house and seeing it from the river side was like nothing else; giant ships that had just sailed from all over the world were offloading right there before our eyes and do so every day right near our home. as we transited under the bridge into our home port, the river walk was littered with spectators anxiously awaiting Diligence's return. among them were newscasters and VIPs from around the area, fancy huh? Wilmington was dubbed the nation's first Coast Guard city some time ago and that label certainly fit the welcome that we received upon our return, it was breathtaking and made me feel proud to be one of her crew.

there was then an awards ceremony and a picnic on the flight deck, everyone ate and was merry... that's just speculation though, Adriana and I jetted rather quickly in search of a change of clothes and a good meal.

back on land

the sea is a wild and unpredictable place, as well as an infinitely eerie one when it is all you see for days on end. the beauty of it all trumps most fears out there but nothing could cloak the restlessness that is being away from Adriana. I am elated to be home nonetheless and plan on soaking up every second with her while in port.

when the crew first arrived in baltimore, we were pleasantly surprised to have been gifted tickets to an Orioles game at Camden Yards. I would have rather taken the even longer bus ride to Citizen's Bank to watch my beloved Phils... but beggars can't be choosers. there were certain"team building" goings on that preceded and followed our watching of the game and fun was had by all.

the time period between the baseball game and when we finally set sail was an arduous and blurry cycle of work and sleep that left us all a bit edgy and eager for home. the night before our trek back to Wilmington, MWR (morale) threw a fun little shindig at the Drydock, which is the bar on base at the Coast Guard Yard... tomfoolery ensued.

it was then on to the sea. while it is a beautifully mysterious place, indeed... it is good to be back on land.

a second guest and a celebrity sighting...

a.pash reporting from wilmington. z.pash just completed his 2nd week underway in baltimore. he has been working hard at the shipyard, preparing for his first time at sea. bring on the sea sickness.

like zack, I too have had some adjusting to do - life in wilmington without him. but thankfully, for the past week my mom has been visiting me, keeping me company, and doing a bit of stalking with me. she has made the adjustment process a little easier.

as many of you know, if not all, i have this guilty pleasure. it is called "one tree hill" (or OTH as it will be known from here on out). OTH is filmed right here in wilmington and my mama and i had two sightings, one of which was a short mile from our house. i cannot lie, i was very giddy, and sadly, really enjoyed the experience. we were definitely the oldest ones there. most fan were between the ages of 13-16, so our being there was a bit embarrassing, but hey, you only live once right?

here are a few pics of our adventure. the actor we were able to get our picture with is austin nichols or "julian". i have to say, he was super nice, so thankful for his loyal fans :)

i am so pathetic... enjoy... over

our first visitors... and just in time too, we were beginning to get tired of eachother.

mama and papa pash come to visit, and they came bearing felines. we visited the Cape Fear Museum the morning of their final day with us, today. very cool to learn the history of our new home... absolutely wild, we recommend you research... or better yet, come and visit us and your trip to the museum is on us, deal?