The title of this blog was suggested to me by a wonderful and inspirational lady...Millie! And I think it is so appropriate! June was indeed a month of excitement and completion...and my happiness with these things caused me to burst with excitement!! Ok, perhaps I was a bit more subdued, but it was a great month :)
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I did my last transport in the DC area for rescue pups and it was 3 Basset hounds! Needless to say I was thrilled...and they were awesome pups :) Cody, Tara and Clementine were awesome passengers and made my last official transport absolutely memorable and wonderful. Please remember to spay and neuter your pets and adopt from a Humane Society or Rescue rather than buy from a breeder or a pet shop!!
Tara - a sweet and quiet girl...she was a bit scared to be leaving her foster Mom but she did well on the drive and will make someone a very, very good companion...
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I was blessed and fortunate to have been able to make a weekend trip to Palm Bay, FL, to visit some great friends who live there...I hadn't seen them in person since 2003 so it was a wonderful weekend of catching up and relaxing together. They have a marvelous contraption called "The Big Green Egg" which makes AMAZING smoked things. And oh my, did it ever! We gorged ourselves on incredible smoked salmon created by Tim and Dani, and all kinds of other goodness, plus met some of their local friends and watched "Stranger Than Fiction" (which is now on the list of favorite movies). Dani is very active with dog training and with the Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) and so I was able to meet her newest lab/retriever mix, Star, as well as one of her previous pups, Yukiko, and her gorgeous GSD, Stormy. Dogs you say? Food you say? Great conversation, movies, and friends you say? I was in heaven all weekend!! :) Tim and I went kayaking on Sunday around an offshoot of the Indian River...beautiful weather and great company...and we were also amazed to see 3 sets of manatees roaming around the water!! And lots and lots of huge turtles and some cool birds and plant life :) It was a truly fabulous weekend...I am so blessed to have such amazing and interesting people in my life :) A few pics from our weekend...
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Several years ago, I was fortunate to be a part of a year-long professional development training titled the "Executive Leadership Development Program" or ELDP. It consisted of about 58 or so civil service employees in the GS-12 and GS-13 grades who were selected from various agencies within the DOD coming together, and we spent a year learning about the in-depth operations of every component of the Department of Defense. This mainly consisted of traveling to different bases around the world and training with the components (I.e. PT with SEALS in San Diego, rappelling with Marines in Hawaii, swing landing training with Army at Ft Benning GA, and riding in tanks with Germans near Berlin...to highlight a few things). We even got a little "basic training" at the beginning. At any rate, many of the incredible people I met in this course are now doing high-level and important things in the DOD now, and many of them live and work in the DC area (or have come and gone, or are coming back to the area). So it was a great evening when we were able to get several of the members of the group together for a little reunion before I left. Interestingly enough it was all women! :) It is always great to catch up with the people of the group and hear what everyone is doing now...and that night was no exception :) A very special thanks to Amy and Brian who hosted all of us (they have become the "hub" for all things reunion and party it seems...) :) A truly wonderful group of inspiring people who I am so happy to know!
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So for the work life portion of the update. It was a full month...General Services Officer training was full of new things for me to learn...motor pool operations, logistics management, warehousing operations and real estate/housing management. It was wholly interesting and it got me more excited for my new job in Athens. There were some interesting stories from our instructors about some difficult clients and some "really??" moments...but after working in customer service and real estate in previous lives, I figure I had better just be prepared for anything :) I am still learning the differences between Department of State and Department of Defense (in everything...) and it definitely keeps me asking lots of questions and trying to learn. Old dogs/new tricks principle you know...
In regards to overseas moving preparations, everything came together really well...GSO class ended on 28 June, I took all of my furniture and large items to the Goodwill for donation on 29 June, my pack out of my household goods was on 1 July, and my vehicle was shipped overseas on 2 July. After packout, I met with various offices to understand aspects of my job better and to put faces to names - all of which was truly beneficial. And all went smoothly (we will see if everything on the other end goes just as well...here is hoping so!)
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Currently I am in Sun City AZ spending time with family and friends before departing for Athens next week! Our Fourth of July is pretty low key...pool time, gym time, movies, and walleye with watermelon and potato salad (separate on the plate of course!)...quality time together is most important to us as a family. Plus it is too frickin' hot to step foot outside right now (thermometer reads 107 at this writing)...
Hoping everyone had a relaxing and fun-filled Fourth of July...I don't know about you, but I am certainly appreciative of the many freedoms we have here in our country and am glad to celebrate our nation's Independence. We should never forget how important these freedoms are and should forever cherish them.
Until next time...
Song in my head: The Final Countdown by Europe: http://youtu.be/9jK-NcRmVcw
