Life as a Chockley

Giddy Girls!

2009-10-06T22:38:00.002-04:00

Phillip Arthur is due home in 14 days and a wake up! I'm not gonna lie, we are some Giddy Girls around here! Ella clearly has no concept of time but she feeds off my excitement and I think from that she understands Daddy's return is very soon.

I might be looking forward to this day more than our own wedding day. That may be sad but I think it's true. I love that boy more than I did then and perhaps that's why or maybe it's just the fact I haven't seen him in almost 7 months. I can't explain the excitement that is inside of me but my military spouse cohorts who have walked this road before me, you know what I'm talking about!

Ella has a list of things to do once daddy gets home and it ain't a short one! I wish I had a fraction of a penny for every time I've heard "I miss daddy" over the last 7 months and I'd probably be able to wipe out the US budget deficit! No lie!

I have my own list as I'm sure you could have guessed.

Phillip made a comment the other day that he wishes he could have bottled his experiences in order to pull them out one by one for us to discuss, laugh about, etc. I replied that I wished the same for my experiences as well. I think the first one I'd pull out would be from Sunday...Mondays are garbage days so since Ella was consumed in some PBS Super Why and Josie was chowing on some Gerber puffs I decided to run down to the basement and grab the recycle containers and garbage cans. As I rounded the corner of the house I was confused why there was a black water hose stretched across more than half my driveway and just as I nearly stepped on the thing I clued in that it wasn't a hose at all it was huge "mongoyed" black snake! I don't do spiders, camel crickets, or house centipedes let alone SNAKES! I ran to the neighbor's house to get help and this help turned into a more than hour affair of NO ONE wanting to rid this world of the snake now practically laying at my front door! I called P in Iraq as if he could assist me through the phone, but for some reason I feel the need to tell the boy everything and it makes me feel better regardless. So the long and short of it is the snake "moved on." How poor Ella managed to not see the thing peering in our living room windows that run all the way to the floor is beyond me, but thank goodness she didn't. So, yeah, I'm ready for P to be home and deal with all the things that creep and slither around here!

In the meantime, we're still giddy!

Picture Time!

2009-08-22T22:16:00.006-04:00

Josie passed out in her high chair after playing her heart out at an indoor play center. Hysterical! Ella was disturbed that I actually let the kiddo sleep there. Josie doesn't nap so I'll take what I can get.

Ella was thrilled when I informed her I was cooking black eyed peas.

If you know and love my husband then you know this picture says it all. I found this shirt long before Josie was thought about but it was a must buy. Rest assured Phillip has received many cases of Mello Yello since he left.

Ella B and her Uncle Micah on the carousel at the Knoxville Zoo.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig!

2009-08-12T22:55:00.003-04:00

7632 miles later we're home. The girls and I returned home last week with the help of Nana (my mom) and Uncle Scott (my brother). Thanks to some wonderful neighbors and friends the house faired much better than I expected. We worked like crazy though to get some area rugs down for JoJo, who is on the GoGo! ( The child NEVER STOPS MOVING!) We were able to get some much needed curtains hung as well as a trip to IKEA, which was a first for Mom and Scott. I also was able to hire a regular sitter which I happen to think is an ABSOLUTE God Send! She is wonderful and I look forward to my girls getting to know her better! Now, if preschool would just hurry up and begin for Ella I'd be good to go!

4 months down and 3 to go! I will survive! I am woman hear me ROAR...umm is it November yet?!?!?

Fishin' with Papa

2009-06-16T00:56:00.014-04:00

My dad (Papa) loves to fish. It's always been the one thing you can count on Dad really enjoying

and always willing to go do. He was eager to get Ella her first fishing pole and take her out. A week or so ago he took her to Cabela's and purchased her a beautiful pink and purple Disney Princesses rod and reel. Ella can't seem to say "rod and reel" and it usually comes out "grod and greel." Anywho, he got her set up to practice casting in the backyard shortly after the purchase.

However, she was more interested in trying to catch the crown casted out rather than casting or reeling.

On Sunday after church we headed to Riverfront Park which has a small lake loaded with little fish. Unfortunately, during the many rains last week I discovered Ella is petrified of earthworms which I knew would make fishing interesting. And it did!

Dad was seated on the bank and when he opened that little container of worms Ella practically climbed all the way up his back and on top of his hat squealing like only a 3 year old can. HYSTERICAL to all of us. Then her Disney Princesses decided to malfunction and rendered itself useless. She didn't seem too terribly upset but Dad and I were. There were literally hundreds of small blue gills just sitting at the bank ready to bite any and everything. It was ideal for her first fishing trip but needless to say the worms were a turn off. Then when she caught the first fish and I tried to get a picture of her and Papa with it, she ran all the way up the bank squealing and cowering. I couldn't get the picture quick enough. And when Papa took him off the hook to release him she squealed louder with her arms up in the air and said "No, no, aren't we taking him home?" I really think she thought we were gonna take the blue gill home and put him in a fish bowl like her goldfish Murphy.

All the fun isn't on Ella I suppose. I love to fish and I can handle an earthworm no problem, except when Dad informed me in order to conserve worms I needed to "pinch" them in two. UH! NO! I said, "Dad, I'll hook my worm all day long but I don't squish worms in two prior to hooking them." He laughed as you might imagine. Now it's with that story that my dear sweet husband (who in the 10 plus years we've been together has NEVER gone fishing) said while laughing at me "that is why you don't take a girl fishing!" I beg to differ, of course. Then when I informed him that Dad hardly got to fish between me asking him to half the worms and me having to get him to take the little boogers off the hook to release, he just dropped his head and shook it. Nope, I don't take them off the hooks either. I am a girl! I can hook a worm and I can cast a rod with the best of them but I don't squish worms in two nor do I grab'em and unhook 'em. I just don't!

I apologized to dad repeatedly but he just laughed and assured me he loved it, he didn't care at all. He loved it so much he took me back out today! And he took Ella's Princess "grod and greel" back and replaced it with a Lighting McQueen instead. Perhaps McQueen will be able to cast better than the Princesses and perhaps Ella will be more open to the use of artificial bait than the real worms. We'll find out later in the week!

Catchin' Up

2009-06-04T19:24:00.015-04:00

Nothing much new in the Land of Chockleys but we're busy passing the time while Phillip is gone. We've been in MT for 3 weeks now and having a blast. I had the opportunity to go with Mom and Dad to the Montana State University at Billings annual fundraiser which is a Wine and Food Fest. It's mostly about the wine! They have 2 nights of events. The first night is heavy hors d'oeuvres and wine tasting along with a silent auction and then the second night is a sit down dinner, more wine tasting, more silent auctions and a live auction. There wasn't a durn thing I could afford at the auction but it was fun to watch. After living in Italy I now find it amusing to see and try what caterers refer to as Italian antipasti. It's usually way too dressed up, overly marinated or a combination of the two. But for the most part the hors d'oeuvres were luscious!

Our friends Jay and Michelle headed out here with their two boys for a few days. Ella falls in between James (4) and John Michael (2) so it was a great time for all. We went Memorial Day over to Cody, Wyoming, home of Buffalo Bill. There is a large museum there honoring Native Americans, the life and times of Buffalo Bill and a large gun museum. While we were there Buffalo Bill made an appearance; Ella and the boys had their picture made with him. He really looked just like him. It was pretty neat. Ella informed him her daddy was in Iraq and that "he is brave." Buffalo Bill was taken back and said, "you're gonna make me cry!" He was so sweet about it and told her that her daddy IS very brave. He was wearing an Americana scarf and he explained to her that he wears it in honor of those that serve. He actually served during Vietnam. Ella has no idea what "brave" really means, but it's something Mommy has told her about Daddy since he left but to hear her little 3 year-old self declare, "my daddy's brave!" makes me melt every time. She told me a few weeks ago that she needed to go get Daddy some "green medicine." When I inquired why daddy needed "green medicine" she said because he wouldn't have to be "brave anymore." I think she thought if daddy took some "green medicine" (her favorite color) then he wouldn't need to be brave and therefore he could come home.

I could write a book about Ella and her sayings or philosophies on life. Sometimes they make me laugh so hard I could cry and sometimes they just make me cry. Kind of like Forest Gump and his box of chocolates, with Ella, you just never know what you're gonna get. I love sayings like "next behinds me", Ella speak for "will you sit beside me" she clearly mixed beside me and next to me together. She also says, "I want different else" again, a mixture of something else and something different. I've also learned that Ella has no concept of when we're in a public restroom that it's best to just not talk at all. I'm so thankful for stall walls between us and those next to us. I'm certain there were a few ladies that just about lost it as Ella declared to the entire bathroom that she and I had matching pink panties, and if I thought her Uncle Micah was wearing pink panties as well. Now, if I could just remember to keep my purse closed as it sits beside her in the grocery cart, I'd be good to go. That's a story for another day! I do praise the Lord that I've out grown my easily embarrassed phase as a result of my 3-year-old. I think the man behind me at the check out counter and the cashier were far more embarrassed than I could have been. Ahh, good times!

Josie has discovered Nash and of course she loves him. He didn't seem to mind the attention either. Bless his heart she got his hair pretty good a few times and he just looked at me like "Honestly, is that necessary?" SHE IS STRONG!

Well, until next time...

Go West!

2009-05-14T23:53:00.013-04:00

Well, Phillip has been on his deployment for about a month and a half. Unfortunately, it seems it's hardly begun. Everyday down is a day closer to being together again. Before he left we made sure we had lots to do in the beginning to pass the time and it's hard to believe we're at the beginning of our last planned event. Ella, Josie, Nash, Murphy the goldfish and I left MD on April 9th, I think, and headed to TN. We spent Easter with my brother, Scott. Ella had her first memorable egg hunt. Totally redneck...it was at the Bass Pro Shop, however, it was the hardest egg hunt I've ever participated in. Then a week or so later the girls and I flew to FL to meet up with my parents, Nana and Papa for some time at Disney and a visit with extended family. Ella had a blast at my uncle's in the Villages as she rode around everywhere on Uncle JJ's golf cart. We then returned to TN for a week before hitting the road with my parents to Montana where they currently live. We left on Mother's Day and it took us 4 days of driving to finally arrive safely in Billings, MT. As you can see along the way we made some stops. We took a slight detour to Nebraska for my mom who is determined to visit all 50 states. It was a short visit across the stateline but we happened upon a Lewis and Clark Welcome Center. The next day we hit,the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD and Wall Drug in Wall, SD-if you've ever been you know it's a riot but one of those American roadtrip must see's. We also went to Mt. Rushmore that night and it was crazy windy and cold but again, we had to do it. They supposedly have a evening show with lights and a tribute to military which my parents have seen and really wanted me to see but it was just too windy for the girls and I'm convinced the Park Ranger on duty thought so too. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a light show that night. Then on Wednesday morning we made our last big stop at Bear Country USA. It's a drive through wildlife park. My dad and I were convinced we might get lucky to see one bear but I had no idea it would have as many as it did along with, Elk, Reindeer, Wolves, Wildcats, Buffalo, and Mt. Goats. It was worth every penny. For my Italy friends it was on par with the Zoofari down in Puglia. After we left there we continued the road trip through, WIND, RAIN, SNOW, and SLEET! Craziness, but we made it safe and sound. Gotta say I do love driving interstate with a speed limit of 75 and not a trooper ANYWHERE! It reminded me of Italy.

The Rest of the Chocks

2009-04-13T22:05:00.011-04:00

I hesitate to even post anything since my hubby is a far superior blogger, but so many have inquired what the rest of us Chocks are doing, as well as how we're doing, while Daddy is away. We were fortunate enough to have a good bit of time with Phillip before he headed out. We spent a week at DisneyWorld and Phillip's brother, Micah, was able to join us for a few days. The following week Phillip had off from work and we were able to run around and get some stuff done , thanks for that General POA, Phillip! And thanks to Josh and Ben we were able to have a date night. Then the last week of March, beginning of April, Phillip had to be in Norfolk for the week so the girls and I tagged along. We were blessed to be able to stay with some wonderful friends in Virginia Beach, The Knox Fam and Ella fell in love with Andy and Brady. We also crashed a night or two with the Rosen's, as we are notorious for doing, Ella loves being with "Maddy" and "Miss Shell". And somehow we managed to be treated to dinner almost every night we were in town. We had dinner with Navy friends we served with in Italy, Navy friends of friends from Italy, and even some Coasties. It was a busy week, but such a blessing to see wonderful friends and know that so many have either been in our shoes or are about to be in our shoes and all are praying for Phillip (and the girls and I as well.) God is good.

I recently told a senior officer's wife "I feel like we're in the real Navy now!" Thus far this journey has been so different than most military families. When friends hear Phillip is deployed the immediate reaction is, "why do they need attorneys over there." Well, the long story short is, they do, so he's going.

As crazy as it may seem to some I wouldn't trade this military life for anything. I love it! I love being close to my family more than I can express and would pack my mom and dad with me everywhere I went, if I could, but I wouldn't trade these experiences for anything. Don't get me wrong, the next six plus months are going to REALLY STINK but I still wouldn't trade it. It'll just be another check mark on my list of why I'm a Super Hero (as are all military spouses).

So anyways, the girls and I dropped Phillip off at NOB in Norfolk, VA on Saturday, April 4 around 6:50am and headed back to MD. We were there long enough for me to take care of some household items as well as wash and repack and then we hit the road for TN last Wednesday. I pulled out of the driveway about 9:15am and we arrived at Uncle Scott's at 7:00pm. It should have taken me just under 7 hours to make the drive. Needless to say with a 3 year old, a 4 month old, a 75lb dog and Murphy the goldfish, it took me a little longer. The girls were great though, hindsight anyways. Daddy and Nana were praying! Only major issue that day was I left my credit card at the Cracker Barrel and had to return to get it. Thankfully I was only a mile down the road when I realized it. That's what I get for texting Phillip to tell him I was eating at the Barrel while he was enjoying an MRE in the training field.

The girls and I are going to try to stay busy and away from home as much as possible. At least for these first few months anyways. We're headed to Orlando for a few days at the end of the month to visit family and meet up with my parents. Then we'll slowly make our way to Montana with my parents to spend all of May and probably the beginning of June before returning.

I ask that you keep Phillip in your thoughts and prayers over the next 6 plus months. He and I have a peace about this and felt it was the right choice for us. I'm certain there are some amazing things God is going to teach me along this journey. And I'm hopeful that I come through stronger than when I began.

Redirect

2009-04-05T11:58:00.003-04:00

Well, for those of you who haven't heard, I'm gonna be out of town for a while. And, since I've been so good about keeping this blog up to date, I've decided to start yet another. See what I'm talking about here.

Keep this site bookmarked though. It's still going, just under slightly new management.

- pac

Faces of Ella

2009-02-13T13:00:00.007-05:00

I love the many faces of a 3 year old! PRICELESS! Also, a reminder of how much things can change in a matter of 12 months!

Enjoy!Ella's fish face-she has a goldfish named Murphy.
Ella's Monster face!
Silly face
Surprised face
Pouty face-I know! I know, bless her heart she got that honest!
Being a goober
Cuteness!
Lovin' that Apple Juice
Samich!
Sneaky face!
Trying to cheese naturally.
My girl!

Growing Girls!

2009-01-12T16:03:00.017-05:00

Well I thought I might take a stab at catching us up on the blog.

Our girls are growing up way too fast. Ella celebrated the big 3 surrounded by her friends at her "Strawbee" Party (aka Strawberry Shortcake). Her mom celebrated her 4th birthday in a similar fashion some 2o plus years ago so it was fun seeing her do the same. Ella had a blast at her "paurty." I've decided I turn into that person my mom became when we my dad would invite 14 billion people over for a dinner party. She loved to entertain and was great at it but she became not so fun to be around when the stress of a party was upon her, sorry mom, it's true. Phillip laughs hysterically at me (thankfully not in my face, but I know he's doing it) when I start stressing over people in my house. An inside Golden Retriever that sheds enough hair daily to cover another 70 lb dog is one of the many stresses that plagues me when we have folks over. So, I say all that to say...next year the birthday party will be at the Y!

Her Papa insisted on getting her a baby Baby Grand. As you can see...she loves it! It was a hit at the party. Who needs Rock Band when you have a baby baby grand, a Little Tikes drum and a Hawaiian Ukulele??

She also got a new bike from mommy and daddy!

Josie turns 2 months this week! I can't believe it. The last 2 months have flown by. Ella adores her little sister and affectionately refers to her as "my little peanut." Pretty cute coming from a 3 year old that is talking like she's a 35 year old. The jealousy factor hasn't been as intense as Phillip and I either expected it to be. She loves to hold her but watch out, when she's done, she just lets go, no warning! A little scary!

7 Days

2008-11-29T16:44:00.006-05:00

I typically use this blog as a fun way to talk about things my family and I are doing, where we are, and what’s going on in our lives. I generally try not to inject many personal circumstances or difficulties, mostly because I want the blog to be a fun place for you to come visit, read about us, and come back to in the future. But, for a variety of reasons, this post will be my first exception to that rule.

This post is long, and I forgive anyone who has neither the time nor patience to read it. As always, I ramble.

As many of you know, on November 15th at 0341, Melissa and I welcomed our daughter, Josie Farah, into the world as the latest addition to the Chockley family. At about 19 inches long and around 7 lbs, she was – and is – a joy. Melissa’s labor and delivery was great, and we were out of the hospital early on the morning of the 16th. Ella was stoked to have a little sister, and showered her with affection. It was one of my great privileges in life to introduce my daughter to her little sister. I talked to my dad on the phone while we were in the hospital and he was overjoyed. When he heard the news, he apparently exclaimed “Bingo!” and told me on the phone that that was what he would call her. All was right in the world.

Then, on the way home from picking up Ella at a friend’s house on Sunday night, my brother called to tell me that my dad had been admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. From the way things sounded, he was in a great deal of pain, but a week’s worth of antibiotics and some rest would do wonders. I hung up and slept well that night.

Since around 15 August, dad had been suffering from a brain tumor; for those nerds, it was a glioblastoma multiforme grade IV. In a nutshell, it was bad news – a terminal diagnosis. After debulking the tumor in August, doctors told dad that with radiation and chemo, he would live between 7 and 9 months. He lived 3. The initial surgery took dad from the agile, rambunctious person he always had been, and left him crippled. A week of physical therapy left us with hope dad would walk again, but a staff infection and what we believe was a subsequent stroke permanently left him in a wheelchair. He could briefly stand with assistance to get in the shower, but other than that, the mobile dad I had always known was gone.

In many respects, he was mentally the same person he had always been. The hallmarks of his personality remained - fiery temper, keen wit, sarcasm, and above all, a love that was simply unsurpassed. He was visibly sad that he was dying, and wanted to spend as much time with his family as possible.

The Navy was accommodating enough to find a job for me in Washington DC, and I moved home in early October. Thanks to that fast action, I was able to spend more than two weeks by my dad at his bedside – weeks that I would never have had – and was able to hold his hand when he passed. Words alone cannot express the gratitude I feel for the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corp, the Regional Legal Service Office in Naples, and the staff and National Naval Medical Center Bethesda. If he could, my dad would thank you too.

Monday the 17th was a good day. I stayed home, made a long trip to Ikea with Ella, and unpacked the house some more. Contrary to my normal habit of calling dad every evening around 1900, I did not speak to him that day – my wristwatch was set to go off every evening at that time as a reminder. On that night, my stepmom indicated that dad was probably too tired to speak, so I elected to wait. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had just passed on the last opportunity to ever speak with my father on the phone. I next heard from my stepmom the following morning.

When I spoke to her on Tuesday, it was clear something was wrong. The pneumonia medication was not working, and dad’s breathing was quickly deteriorating. The tumor, it seemed, had spread to the brain stem. She was calling the family in.

We had gone through this process before, and dad had pulled through it. I was inclined to stay with Melissa and the new baby until I knew something further.. I hold told dad my goodbyes every time I left, and from the sound of things, he wasn’t waking much. After some prodding by friends and family, I ended up deciding to get on a plane. I’ll always be glad I did.

When I arrived in Tennessee around midnight, dad was in bad shape. Over the course of the next 12 hours, he sat up in bed several times. I specifically remember him sitting up in bed at one point – when he woke, he always wanted to sit up, despite his heavy lean to the left. He was heavy enough that I had to crawl completely into bed with him to use my legs and arms to hold him up while still positioning myself in such a way to look at him in the face. On this occasion, he clearly recognized me, knew that I was back from DC, smiled, and said “I love you.” I think it was the last full sentence he ever spoke.

Before falling back into another long, deep sleep, he leaned forward for a hug. He lifted his arm as much as he could, clearly waiting for me to wrap it around my neck the rest of the way. He kissed me on the lips and neck about 20 times. He’d done it before; it was as if he was trying to get in all the kisses he should have had if his life was as long as it should have been.

My stepmom – a nurse by profession - in her wisdom and grace, decided on Wednesday morning that my dad would not die in a hospital. We unhooked the machines and went home. I rode in the back of the ambulance and held dad’s hand.

He woke up at home, and was as stubborn as always, even in his reduced state. From his shrugs and movements, we deciphered that he wanted to sit in his wheel chair, which we helped him into. He was 14 hours from death, but still wanted to sit up and be with us. I will never forget that man’s interminable desire to just “be here.”

The next morning, my stepmother woke us to tell us the time was neigh. As a former hospice nurse, she knew the telltale signs. My dad lived 2 more hours. We were with him the whole time, and his passing was very peaceful. I never really knew what that meant until I saw it for myself. It’s still numbing even to type it.

It was November 20th, five days after Josie was born. His funeral was two days later, exactly one week after Josie’s arrival.

The core of my father remained throughout his illness. Through our visits and discussions those final months, I was able to convey to and learn many things about my father. When the selfishness and pride of independence is taken from you, you learn to depend on people in ways never before imaginable. The depth of love experienced and shown in those circumstances is raw and pure; there is no option but to serve and rely on the ones you love. It peels away all the layers of a persona other than the one that is the most true “you.” I didn’t need that process to know that I loved my dad, but it certainly underscored what I already knew.

My father was my very best friend in the world. He was my hero, and for many years, he was the one person I knew would be there for me when no one else might. Age has added many more people to that list for me, which, in a way, makes his passing a little easier. But he was still always number one on the list.

He loved his granddaughters. He and I were both sad that he would not be able to see them grow up, and teach them and love them the way he did his children. This probably hurts me the most. I know all the psychological salves we use to temper this fact (for example “you’ll pass on those things to your children for him,”), but this doesn’t really help me very much. I want my dad here - to teach them himself - and I just can’t get over it.

Being away from Tennessee and in DC with a family of my own helps a great deal. Grief would eat me alive if I lived back home. I’m thankful for a God with enough vision to put me in a place in life – both circumstantially and physically - that helps me deal with the loss, and I say a special prayer at night for those in my family that are not blessed with the same luxury.

I will remember my dad I think in ways that most children do not. That’s not to say that there’s never been a son closer to his father – my brother was himself equally close to my dad – but it is to say that I’m certain that his memory and my missing him will not soon – or maybe ever – pass. I’m not sure if this says more about our relationship or just him in general. Regardless, I think it’s safe to say that he was just loved more than most.

Soon I will erase the chime on my watch that goes off every evening at 1900. My memory of dad is so invasive and deep that a simple dinging wristwatch once a day gives it short-billing. I will erase it. Just not yet. :-)

To say that I appreciate everyone’s’ kind sympathies, thoughts, and prayers during the last few days goes without saying. As silly as it sounds, knowing that other people are here, talking with them, and sharing my difficulties reminds me that me that carrying on with this life is the most important tribute I can pay my dad. Josie’s arrival also helps: a cosmic reminder of life’s constant cycles. My thanks go out to Facebook for giving everyone an outlet to reach out to me, and my thanks again to everyone who reached out for the sentiments they posted there.

So, as life continues and as years pass, I’m not sure how those 7 days will be remembered. God created this world in 7 days, and he took just as long to turn mine upside down. I pray his plan with the later will play-out with the same precision as the former, and my faith tells me it will. I just wish I knew how.

Semper Fi, dad. I love you. You can hug Josie in heaven.

- pac

Chapter 3 - Moving Into Leafville

2008-11-11T00:48:00.008-05:00

Alright. It's been a while, but what can I say; we've been busy.

Rather than relive everything, lets just synopsize. We live in Maryland, about 3 miles outside DC. I work at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda. Melissa's not popped-out the bambina yet, but will very soon (I'm guessing next week, around the time our household goods are being delivered). She looks like same old little Melissa, except this version appears to have just swallowed a 6 lb watermelon. Whole.

Our new house has a lot of nice features. For example: a laundry shoot. We haven't used it for laundry much, (although I keep asking Melissa to let me drop Ella down it), but we've found that you can open it and yell down it to beckon the person in the kitchen.

It also has leaves. Lots and lots of leaves. For perspective, when a leaf falls in the forest and no one's looking, apparently it's magically transported to our front yard. And it brings all of its little leaf brothers and sisters. And cousins. And second cousins.

Anyway, there's a lot of leaves here.

So I bought a leaf blower, and went about doing that which leaves require: blowing. As expected, leaves + leaf blower + [almost] 3 year old = awesomeness.

- pac

Ciao.

2008-09-30T08:58:00.009-04:00

Well, for those of you who don't know already, next Friday will be our last day as Italian residents. Of course I say "our" in the loosest of terms - Melissa and Ella actually flew home about 3 weeks ago.

So, as I sit here now, windows and doors open wide, enjoying the brilliant sun and fresh fall breeze blowing in off of the Mediterranean, I'm reminded of a time where I had no idea what it would be like to live in a foreign country. Now, it seems, that foreign land has clearly become my home. Like a new friend who slowly becomes an old friend without you noticing, so has been our time in Italy. But no matter how much I'll miss it, the end is coming. As of this time tomorrow, the computer I'm typing on now will be crated-up and inside a box somewhere. Our days in bella Italia are truly numbered: 9 days "and a wake-up," to be precise.

Our time here has been incredible, and we will look back fondly on it for the rest of our lives. The travel, the friends, the general sense of one-ness that US citizens here have as we face the difficulties of Neapolitan life - we will miss these things immensely. Of course there are things that I'm sure we won't miss: the driving, the garbage, the rudeness. Oh, and the garbage. We definitely won't miss the garbage.

But like always, leaving is bittersweet; a weird mixture of excitement and sadness. There's a part of me that knows I will miss this place more than any other place I will ever live, and another part that knows I will look back on it many times and be glad to not be here anymore. In the end, I'm very grateful for the opportunity to have been here, and I'm satisfied that the Chockleys took absolutely full advantage of everything Europe had to offer. If we're lucky, it may not be the last time we live here, but I'm certain we'll at least visit many, many more times.

In many ways our return to the states represents a return to the ordinary; a return to the normal; a return to the ho-hum. For that I'm not so excited. But for Chick-Fil-A, and Cracker Barrel, and the movies, and the English language...I'm excited. And, at the very least, living in Italy has shown Melissa and I that we can literally move anywhere, anytime, and make a go of it; we'll never say "I could never do that" again.

Finally, I can't help but think back on a post very similar to this one from a few years ago when we were leaving Norfolk. Our travel here was one of the biggest reasons we started this blog way back then. For those of you who know our current circumstances, the first comment on that post is particularly meaningful to me. It serves as a reminder that in this life we follow our own path, and while we are left to deal with the consequences those decisions bring, those who love us most love us in spite of - and maybe because of - those very choices.

Grazie, Italia. Lei ci ha trattato bene.

- pac

4th of July in Berlin

2008-09-02T14:38:00.009-04:00

I'm not a huge history buff but after living in Europe for the last 2 years you can quickly come to appreciate the historical events that the United States of America has been a part of over here. We've walked on the mountain where Phillip's grandfather earned a Silver Star during WWII: Mt Lungo here in Italy. Phillip, his dad, and his uncle have had the opportunity to walk the beaches of Salerno, Italy where Phillip's grandfather landed during WWII. Amazing!

So it's strange, I'm sure, to celebrate the 4th of July in Berlin, of all places. But I have to say: it was pretty incredible. An amazing city with so much history! On the 4th we perused the streets of Berlin, visited Check Point Charlie, saw a few remaining sections of the Wall, and read so much about the construction and destruction of it as well. That night as we were leaving an INCREDIBLE dinner around 10pm, a firework display began and lasted longer than the firework displays that take place at the Mall in DC. I was amazed. It gives me chills now just thinking about an amazing city that was celebrating our Independence, as if it were out of gratitude.

The next day we discovered that there was a new US Embassy that had opened in Berlin and the Ambassador was in town. We missed most of the festivites that accompanied the opening of the Embassy, but found out that we had been fortunate enough to view the culmination: the fireworks the night before. We never imagined we would see fireworks this 4th of July, but we were glad we did.

Post-script from Phillip: Maybe the coolest thing we did while in Berlin was visit a park in East Berlin erected by the Soviets in the early 50's. Huge marble slabs with Soviet ramblings and Stalin propoganda culminated in a ginormous statue of big Russian cradling a baby, holding a sword, and crushing a swastika under his boot. I was giggling, impressed, and unnerved, all at one time.

mjc/pac

Where We've Been and What We've Seen-Parts 6 and 7

2008-08-02T07:37:00.009-04:00

Tallinn, Estonia and Copenhagen, Denmark:

Tallinn was a cute fairytale of a city. It had such unique architecture but unfortunately for us, shortly after arriving the rains came crashing down on our parade! We tried to hang in there and just deal but it was a cold rain and after awhile this prego was just ready to call it a day. We were just so thankful that the rains held for our 2 days in St. Petersburg.

Our last port of call on the 14 day voyage was Copenhagen, Denmark! An incredibly fun city. In the heart of the city was an old amusement park called Tivoli Gardens. Needless to say, the kid in all of us came out and we all had a blast. Since we had 2 days in Copenhagen and the sun didn't set until 11:00 at night we played until we couldn't play anymore. Ella got her first glimpse of a trip to Disney World. I'm not sure who had more fun, Phillip, Ella, or Myself.

Our second day in Copenhagen we headed out of the city to some of the various castles and had a great time exploring the sites. And it was a great day for photos.

Where We've Been and What We've Seen - Parts 5

2008-07-21T14:58:00.022-04:00

Alrighty - I'm gonna take back the reigns here and move us a little closer to finishing our cruise bloggin'. The fact of the matter is, this stuff happened a month ago, and since then we've been to Berlin and the French Riviera as well. In other words, there's plenty to blog about, so we'd better get crackin'. Unfortunately that means you'll have to hear from me again rather than my beautiful and eloquent - and increasingly pregnant - wife.

After Helsinki came the centerpiece of the Scandinavian cruise: St Petersburg. One draw of this cruise is that it lets you visit the city without having a Russian visa; so long as you stay with a tour guide, you can tool around the city all you want - you just can't go off on your own. The upside for us was that we didn't have to visit the Russian embassy in Rome 3 or 4 times to get the visas; the downside is that, well, you're hitched to the tour bus for the whole time.

St Petersburg is an absolutely beautiful city - which, if you think like me, is not exactly something you associate with Russian cities. But as St Petersburgians (St Peterinians? St Peter-ites? St Peterlanders? Not sure there.) are quick to point out, St Petersburg was built to be a European city. In particular, it was modeled by Peter the Great after the canals Amsterdam. Good job, Pete. Because the sun is only out about 40 days a year, there was apparently an early mandate that all buildings be brightly and beautifully adorned - a tradition they cling to today.

We were there 2 days, which equated to roughly four 4 or 5-hour tours. Not ideal, but still great. For our first block, we elected to throw down some serious cash for a private tour. They basically pulled up in a black, window-tinted Mercedes and gave us the Putin treatment: doors opened, super polite, "you-wish-is-our-demand" type touring. Our guide was Ina, and she was great with Ella; she even taught her the Russian word for bird ("cheyka," I think). In what can only be seen as a holdover from Soviet-era brainwashing, Ella still refers to birds as "cheykas." Strangely she also calls me Comrade Father. But I digress.

We saw plenty of sights during our time there. The Church of the Spilled Blood is probably the most beautiful church I've ever set foot in (and believe me, having lived here for going-on two years, I've been in a lot of stinkin' churches). I couldn't decide whether the view was more stunning outside (below) or inside (above). We saw lots of other things - Peter & Paul Fortress, the Peterhoff Palace and Gardens, the Hermitage, and some house where Rasputin got whacked. The Rasputin thing came complete with uber-creepy wax mannequins. We also took a wicked-cool canal-cruise. But, rather than bore you [more] with details, just check the pics, and be sure to try to make it to St Petersburg before you go to meet the real St. Peter. It really was the cornerstone of our cruise experience.

PS - For those of you who are still reading (.05%, I'm guessing), you may be wondering whether I ran into any Soviet-era coolness. The answer is surprisingly "no," which I admit was a bit disappointing. At least for the locations we visited, they've pretty much erased all evidence of the USSR. My disappointment was offset a bit when one guide explained to me that everywhere in the city where I saw a two-headed eagle (the Royal emblem, which was pretty much everywhere), there once stood a hammer and sickle. That was cool, mostly because everywhere I turned there was a double-headed eagle. Literally, hundreds of them on every fence post on a block. At first disbelieving that the "new" Russia would have gone about replacing every single soviet emblem, I reapproached her, only to have her emphatically reiterate that, indeed, the new government had painstakingly removed all hammers and sickles and replaced them with the eagle. I thought that was awesome.One guide still referred to the city as "Leningrad," as if he were still in denial over the whole thing. I chuckled, then tipped him $5 so he could feed his little baby commies at home.

pac

XX

2008-07-16T15:20:00.007-04:00

That poor Y chromosome. It has once again been beat out by the likes of X. Mean ole' X (pictured).

Despite widespread predictions, the second Chockley rugrat will be...a girl. OMG! Another girl!

And so, for the first time since dad, Roy, and Stephen were kids, the phrase "the Chockley girls" will be heard once again. Thankfully, it won't embarrass these girls' parents when they wear dresses and dance with boys.

pac

Part 4-Helsinki

2008-07-14T14:54:00.019-04:00

Port of Call #4 was Helsinki, Finland. It was an interesting day for a port call in Helsinki because it was a National Holiday and everything closed at 1pm and I do mean EVERYTHING. To make matters worse, we didn't arrive in port until 10am so there wasn't much time. I think I mentioned that we don't do museums with a 2 year-old so we usually wander the streets, look at unique architecture, churches and duomos, watch people and shop. There were several unique churches in Helsinki one of which was called the "Rock Church." Rightly so since it was carved out of a large boulder. Beautiful inside!

My favorite European thing to do is to go to an open air market and the one in the center of Helsinki was fantastic. I just loved to wander through all the beautiful produce and find unique veggies and fruits I've never seen before.

I love fresh cherries and for some reason on the ship we only had melon, oranges, apples, and bananas. There were no strawberries or cherries to be found. Well, needless to say I couldn't pass these up and Ella discovered a new love...."cheewies" She was stained red but it was adorable to watch her eat them. She would take a bite then hand it to me to remove the pit and give it back to her to finish. She ate all but about 10 of the "cheewies" I purchased.

Regardless of the National Holiday we had a blast just cruising the streets of Helsinki. It was as if we had the entire city to ourselves!

Next Stop...St. Petersburg, Russia

Where We've Been and What We've Seen-Part 3

2008-07-13T11:00:00.006-04:00

Following our day in Germany we had a day at sea to just enjoy life on the boat before hitting some major ports of call. Because the average age on the boat was over 65 there was a lot of Bingo playing. Phillip and I played a couple of times and I had no idea there were so many versions of Bingo. It was pretty hilarious to watch and play, needless to say we didn't win but it was something to do.

Nevertheless, we were really excited about moving on to our next port of call-Stockholm, Sweden. We signed up for some excursion which was a walking tour of the city and included the Royal Palace. This tour again wasn't all that special and when we arrived at the Royal Palace they told us no strollers allowed. Oh, okay, so you would rather take a perfectly happy 2.5 year old that's confined to an environment she's happy with and instead make her walk through a museum where exhibits are wide open and or make her father and pregnant mother take turns carrying her for the next hour. UMMM, NO! Plus they wouldn't let us leave the stroller in their care. We could leave it outside the palace and hope that it's still there when we're done. UMMM, NO! So, at that point this particular Chockley was over the tour excursions and as a result asked the head Chockley to please cancel some of the other port of call excursions. We Chockley's travel best on our own anyways. So, except for St. Petersburg where the Russian government requires that you travel in a tour group or have an individual visa, we opted out of most all of the other tours.

So, we left the Palace rather dumbfounded and a bit perturbed and made the most of the rest of our day in Stockholm. Swedish people are hands down the most beautiful people I've ever seen. Man, woman or child they are beautiful! Sweden is also one of the most expensive countries we've traveled in thus far. I was astounded once I started doing the math! If you know me well you know that ever since I was a little girl I've collected spoons. My dad traveled a good bit when I was growing up and I think it was an inexpensive item to pick up for me so the tradition has continued. Well, in the states as you travel about you can pay anywhere from $2.50-$7.00 for a collectors spoon given how nice it is. Pewter ones are my favorites and tend to run a little higher. Anywho, I bought a regular old spoon from Sweden with nothing but the flag on it and it cost me a whopping $18.00!!! HOLY COW! Needless to say we didn't lend much Chockley money to the Swedish Economy. I'm thankful to have seen it and unless the Chockley's strike gold I don't know that we'll return. A friend of mine was in Norway at the same time and then traveled to Sweden and she mentioned things in Sweden were almost half price what they were in Norway. HOLY COW again! I could have paid $30 for a $2.50 item in the states! Can you tell I have an Econ degree or am I just cheap?

Stay tuned for Port of Call #4, Helsinki, Finland! BEAUTIFUL!

Warnemunde, Germany

2008-07-10T14:24:00.005-04:00

Our second port of call was on the coast of Germany, former East Germany, in a fishing community called Warnemunde. From this town you had the option to take a train into Berlin which was a 3 hour train ride and the tickets cost more than it would cost the Chockley's to fly from Naples, Italy directly to Berlin. CRAZY! So, since so many of our friends highly recommended Berlin we wanted to reserve it for a longer trip than just a day. Therefore, we opted to tool around the fishing village and let Ella run around. We went on a walking tour to which the only thing I can actually remember of significance was that this village has the oldest Lime tree in all of Germany. It is over 200 years old and huge considering it's a lime tree. It looked more like an oak tree. Ok, so enough about the tree. We also attended an organ concert in a beautiful church. Phillip tried to enjoy the wine tasting portion of the tour but for some reason you can't really boast about German wine when you live in Italy. It was a relaxing port of call and helped us gear up for the coming days of non stop ports. We were eager to press on.

Where We've Been and What We've Seen-Part1

2008-07-06T15:34:00.005-04:00

I know it's been a while so let us try to catch you up. On June 14, The Chockley's set sail on the Celebrity Cruise ship Constellation out of Harwich, England on a 14 day Scandinavian Baltic Sea Cruise. Phillip and I want to tell you a little about each of our ports of call so I'll begin with our first stop, Amsterdam. If you are an avid reader of the Chockley Blog then you know a little over a year ago we spent several days in Amsterdam so it was nice to return and wrap up the 2 items we missed the first go round, bicycling in the city and Vondelpark. Yes, I know I can't believe I agreed to ride bikes at 4 months pregnant. At the time it was a blast but afterwards I felt silly for even considering the notion. But I couldn't say no since it was the one thing Phillip really regretted not doing on our first trip. We had a blast! Ella loved it and apparently it was as exhausting to her as it was to me!

I wish I had a Euro coin for every time a Western asks..."so how is it to travel with a little one?" I have a million smart alec responses but I usually just smile and say "we don't know any different, we travel alot." Phillip and I learned early on in our European adventures that we have to make time for Ella regardless of the city or locale. This is where the parks usually play into the agenda and museums are a definite no-go, which is a great excuse for me since I honestly couldn't care less, except of course when it came to the Louvre in Paris. A small bottle of bubbles, some Teddy Grahams and a juice cup and Ella Brooke is in Heaven regardless of what country she's in.

Continue to tune in as we chronicle our journey through the Baltic Sea. I know Phillip is far more exciting than myself but he is so busy at work that I'm not sure when he'll have a moment to sit and write again. Until then you'll have to endure my poor attempt at writing.

P.S. be sure and check back on July 16 for the revelation of Chockley #2's gender (provided he or she is cooperative of course.)

"Have ya sum fish n' chips aver thar lad, at the poob."

2008-05-26T14:45:00.011-04:00

Ah, Ireland. Land of the green. Realm of the pint. Home of the fish...and "chips."

The Chockleys spent Memorial Day weekend this year in Shamrocks-ville. Despite a forecast calling for 4-days of showers, we had nothing but sunshine. That was welcome news to Melissa, who was already nervous enough at my staunch insistence on renting a car (..."but honey, I've wanted to do this all my life..."). Its kinda like rubbing your belly and patting your head at the same time, except you're inside a 2,000 lbs Fiat speeding down the wrong side of the highway at 120km p/h.

Anyway, we kicked off the weekend by driving southwest to a little countryside town called Kilkenny. Everyone told us that no trip to Ireland would be complete without a little trip outside Dublin, and they were right. It was good to see how some real Irish live, listen to some old guys speak Gaelic, and take in a great little city.

On day two, we drove back into Dublin to meet some friends who were flying in from Rota. We spent Saturday and Sunday touring around, frequenting pubs and mostly people-watching. We saw most of the highlights - St. Stephen's Green, Christ Church, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the Book of Kells - but the highlight for me was the Guinness Storehouse - very cool. Your admission ticket entitles you to a free Guinness at the 7th-floor "Gravity Bar" - and the view isn't too shabby either.

- pac

You may be having turkey for Thanksgiving...

2008-05-21T14:26:00.005-04:00

But my wife will be having something else...

- pac

Grease!

2008-05-05T12:52:00.030-04:00

Alright. One word can describe why my blogging has been sucky for the past few months, and that word is "Grease." Better said, "'Grease' is the word."

I admit it. For the past 4 months I've been moonlighting in a local community theater production of the musical Grease. Let the gay jokes begin.

Despite all the hell I've been given - and believe me, there's been plenty of it - I've really enjoyed being a part of the community theater machine. Our last theatrical performance was last weekend in a downtown Naples theater. We felt big-time. It was great. And of the 7 shows we had, all but one were sold out, meaning we sold around 1400 tickets at $10 a piece! I thought that was pretty good.

I played "Doody," one of the goofy T-birds in Danny's gang. Our biggest number (well, at least the T-Birds biggest number) was, of course, "Greased Lightnin'."

It was fun while it lasted, but, well, lets just say I'm glad we're done. Since late January we've practiced four weeknights per week and for 4 hours every Saturday. It really began to wear on us in the end. Leaving work at 1730 just to go practice til 1930, then rush to get home to kiss Ella goodnight just wasn't cutting it. It also killed our travel schedule; we've not been anywhere beyond Florence since March...

In the end, the productions were awesome, and so were the people. As you can tell from the pics, the cast and audience were both Italian and American. Our last performance in downtown Naples drew a huge local national crowd, which was particularly fun for us. Who knows whether they understood a word of what we said...

I've always said that being a trial lawyer is little more than being a stage actor, and being a part of Grease only strengthened that belief. Maybe I'll bust into a little "Greased Lightnin'" the next time I'm in front of the jury...

Or not.

- pac
For those of you with nothing to do with your time who might like to peruse about a billion photographs of our performances and rehearsals, click here. If you search hard enough you might even find a few shots of me in one of my patented knee-slide-pelvic-thrust dance moves. The dance for this thing was more than I expected, but I think we did pretty well with it.

...and then there were none.

2008-04-11T17:16:00.002-04:00

Today we bid farewell to our good friends the Sosbees, the last in a long line of friends who were here when we arrived, but are now gone. Their departure is sobering for a variety of reasons, most of which are frankly too sad to type. Suffice it to say that the face of the JO wardroom in Naples will never be the same, and we have closed a chapter in our life that we will always look back on as one of the best written.

Perhaps the most difficult part of the Sosbees' move is that they took their son Ben with them. For the past 18 months, rarely has a week gone by without the Chockleys and the Sosbees spending an evening together; 2 or 3 evenings per week is more often the case. Ella and Ben are best friends in every sense of the word. Born three months apart, they both wake up and go to bed asking for one another. Our feeble efforts to explain how "B," as she calls him, has gone "bye bye," is the functional equivalent of explaining the chaos theory to a chimpanzee.

I put this little picto-video together to look back on the "B & EB" experience. Please ignore the fact that the song by Nada Surf is actually entitled "Bad Best Friend" - these two were anything but bad together.

Goodbye, Josh, Gretchen, and B. We'll think of you often.

- pac

"Nash and Daddy..."

2008-02-24T14:02:00.008-05:00

"Nash and Daddy,
Nash and Daddy,
Nash and Daddy,
Hooray!"

Arms raised on the "hooray!"

Rinse, repeat.

Ella's favorite new song is music to my ears. She also likes to substitute "Nash" with other classics like: "Gretchen" (a co-worker of mine), "B" (Ella's friend), "Mike" (as in Mike and Sully from Monster's, Inc.), and even "Silvana" (her favorite teacher at school). "Mommy" has yet to make an appearance...

Silly Ella brushing her teeth.

Silly Ella eating yogurt.

- pac

Cool Pix, or How I Spent My 3.5% Raise...

2008-02-02T11:43:00.000-05:00

Oof!

2008-01-21T16:51:00.000-05:00

Yipes, its been a while.

I've just had no motivation to blog as of late. Hopefully I'll find it again. Regardless, blind guilt obligates me to update everyone with a few pics, etc.

We spent a relaxing, albeit active, 18 days home over Christmas. It feels like a lifetime ago already, but it was so incredibly good just to be around family. With Christmas and birthday number 2 coming so close together, Ella both discovered and mastered the art of gift opening in a few short weeks.

And in case any of you were wondering, our baby-doll to Ella ratio increased over Christmas by a factor of about 11.

I celebrated the culmination of a year of buying my wife basically nothing (I'll do better with the internet shopping this year sweetheart, I swear) with the ceremonial buying of myself a embarrassingly expensive camera (which, interestingly, I bought on the internet). I mostly feel like a monkey pounding on a keyboard when I use it, but hey, I'll learn. In any event, every once in a while a nice picture seems to come out, despite its user. I might follow the lead of a few other blogs and post random cool shots that bubble up.

We were only back in Naples for a week before I had to be in Germany for training for another week. Mel and EB tagged along and we made a long weekend of it by traveling through Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, and even the Netherlands again on the drive back to the airport. We visited Heidelberg a couple of days and stayed in Luxembourg, Brussels, and Brugge overnight. There was much waffle and chocolate eatage. And there was much fastage drivage on the German highwayage in our sporty little new VW Golf (which had less than 300km on it prior to our rental). Weather was kinda crummy, but that only made us more resolute in our decision to return - especially to Brugge, which might be the best all around European city we've visited as of yet.

We also drove through the area of the Battle of the Bulge, which was a personal highlight. As you'd expect, the monuments weren't nearly as rewarding as experiencing the little roads, woods, and hills where the real fighting occurred.

Hope everyone enjoys the pics, and I'll try to do better with the posting. I'm thinking the next few entries might be in the form of a few lists, inspiration courtesy Those Other Chockleys. Oh, and maybe they'll be shorter, based on some ridicule I received of late...but starting next time...

-pac

Hrůzostrašný

2007-11-24T11:51:00.000-05:00

Prague = not fun.

I mean, why pull any punches? I figure you guys have been faithful enough to continue reading our updates about the cool and fun places we've been up to this point, why would it do us any good to tell you a place was awesome when it really wasn't?

And let me tell you: Prague wasn't.

Melissa would tell you it wasn't all bad, and it I guess it wasn't. The cityscape, the Charles Bridge at night, and the general gothic-ness was pretty cool. The food was pretty good. The price of our hotel and our airfare was pretty good too, as was the hotel itself. But all that could have been experienced in about a day and a half. Let me just go ahead and list what wasn't good:

The temperature. It was cold. I mean really, really, subzero, stinkin' cold. Not good for city walking. Plus there was no snow, which is really the only pay-off for cold weather in Prague.

The pickpockets. We weren't actually pickpocketed, but of the 6 people we know who have been to Prague, 2 have been. So I walked around suspecting everyone, including old people. And there were tons of meandering old dudes in Prague.

Admission fees. What about my face makes you think I'd like to pay $50 to look at a crappy painting and an 600 year-old prayer shawl? When I pay that kinda money, I'd better see some torture instruments (or something equally interesting). Next time I'll just pay you your $50, you can punch me in the mouth, and we can both go about using whats left of our day.

I guess in the end we salvaged what we could of the trip, but for those of you wrestling with whether to go to Prague in the near future, do yourselves a favor and shave a day or so off you itinerary - I promise you won't miss much.

Sometime during day two I began entertaining myself by the number of consonants the Czechs could squeeze into one word. It became a fun little game. I ended up leaving with a sincere appreciation of those few, unique, yet oft-neglected letters of our alphabet. Always mindful of our blog readers (ie, all 3 of you), I decided to snap a few shots that demonstrated this phenomenon. Enjoy, and feel free to share a few pictures of your own when and if you, too, visit the cold, thieve-ridden land of Bohemia.

A good one to get us started. Now, add a screaming 2 year old, an angry wife, an unintelligible map, freezing temperatures, and meandering old-folk/potential thieves, and try to navigate your way around this Gothic wasteland!

Don't you want to rush in and pick up some "zelezarstvi?"

FYI, being able to look through the window here helped in no way. This place had nothing to do with flowers. It may have been a strip club.

Admittedly a bad shot, but snapped on the go with the factors listed under picture 1 in full force. Thank god for that big red flashing red walking man with an X through it, cause I could have sworn "cekejte" meant "please continue walking into moving traffic."

Fortunately being able to look inside did help in this case: this store specialized in little miniature lions and four-fingered gloves.

A tobacco shop. I asked for some "doplnky" and the man slapped me right in the face. I just turned and walked out.

So-named due to the sound you impulsively make when pouring the strawberry goo on your ice cream: "zmrezl..."

When "No left turn" just won't do.

No real consonant-appreciation here, but I was just surprised to see them so concerned about sledding houses. "Watch out Jimmy! Stop playing soccer in the street! Its another one of those dern sled houses!"

-pac

Orvieto

2007-11-12T05:48:00.000-05:00

In celebration of the long weekend and as our one last hurrah with the Myers, the six of us headed a few hours north to the sleepy (at least in November) little plateau town of Orvieto. Anyone who's headed north of Rome on the A1 towards Florence will recognize Orvieto as the awesome walled-city off to the left - the one we always stare at and say "we really need to go there...."

Even though we only spent one night there, it was still pretty cool; its always neat to stay inside the walls at night when the "real" Italy peeks through. Definitely worth a second visit, especially since its such an easy and [relatively] quick drive up there. Oh yeah, and I like the hats there, too.

Even though Steve will be around for a few more weeks, Melissa and Joseph are practically out the door and back on their way to the states; so Meliss, Joes': be safe, and I'm sure we'll see you in DC.

pac

Artsy Fartsy

2007-11-07T07:23:00.000-05:00

So Phillip bought a pretty nice digital camera back before we moved here and unfortunately we are just now finding some of it's most unique functions. Our new favorite is where you can select a color to bring out in the photo while all other colors are black and white.

Then our next new find was to be able to select a color and swap it out for another color. For instance we chose to swap all reds with greens. Pretty fun! Try it out!

Happy [Belated] Halloween!

2007-11-01T03:38:00.000-04:00

For whatever reason, Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. I love donning costumes (exhibit A to my left), I love the weather, I love getting scared, and now that I'm a parent, I love the kid-friendly excitement level. Of course there are lots of pet peeves that I've come to develop regarding older kids and their general obnoxiousness, but I'll save you guys from having to read the gripe session.

Regardless, Halloween was a success this year. Like some others, we "embraced frugality" and just put Ella in last year's costume (sized for 6-12 month olds, mind you). EB was the cutest ladybug for miles. The navy makes trick or treating easy - there was a big base-wide carnival last friday and the door-to-door bi-niss was held in the safety of Naval housing on Halloween itself. I'm happy to report that Ella took in a pretty good haul in her first legitimate outing. Her "Trick or Treat" was hit-or-miss, but she always scored the goods on sheer cuteness alone.

As Ella's "handlers,"Melissa and I brokered a deal by which I received the sweet and she received the sour; Ella should have gotten a better lawyer.

Mel and EB also did their own little punkin' carvin'. I, for one, was content in my role as photogrpaher ; there's always been something about pumpkin guts (and you know thats what it looks and smells like) that has always turned my stomach. I just threw up in my mouth a little thinking about it.
So hopefully everyone enjoyed their holiday. The only italian trick or treaters we received came at around 2300, after Mel and EB had already turned in - you gotta love that italian sense of timliness.

pac

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Pa & Bwana

2007-10-28T12:02:00.000-04:00

Whelp, I'm a little behind on the bloggin'. Halo 3 came out a month or two ago, and with me in Crete on release day, I had some catchin' up to do on x-box live. I still can't beat my little brother (he's vicious with the beat-down), but at least I'm respectable.

Anyway, Pa and Bwana visited us week before last. We had a great time with them here; we like to use visitors as excuses to take off work and generally be irresponsible with our checking account. This visit was particularly gratifying since it came with its own professional photographer for our exploits...if you notice an increase in the quality of the pics this time around, its because Bwana gave me all his pics! You can see more samples here.

Some of the highlights of their visit:

Our visit to the beaches near Salerno and the mountainside ghost town of San Pietro infine, where my granddad helped liberate the country where I now serve. Seeing the bombed-out, untouched homes, churches, and businesses left in the wake of the 1943 Allied campaign will remain one of the highlights of my European experience.

San Gigmingano, Siena, and the Tuscan experience. Anyone who keeps up with Life As A Chcokley should know that "San Gim" is our favorite Tuscan escape. Truly a gem of gems. The food was good, the views spectacular, and the company great. With a little luck we can get lots of Chockleys there next fall for a family-wide experience.

Wine. Lots of great wine. All in responsible moderation, of course.

On top of everything, dad did everyone (most importantly, himself) a huge favor by giving up smoking a few weeks before he arrived. He may have regretted that a little during his nightmare flight ordeal or cramped trip to Tuscany in the car with a squalling 2 year old, but hey, 45-year old habits die hard, right? [And for the record, when Eurofly advertises $599 for a flight from JFK to Naples in 9 hours, what they really mean is a 22 hour schlep that actually arrives in Rome...BOTH WAYS; so be warned.]

In the end, it was a great trip. Ella still wakes up from naps calling for "Pa," and is growing ever more articulate in her new favorite phrase: "Pa is a hobo." We love you Bwana and Hobo-Pa.

pac

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

The BIG 3 0!!!

2007-10-24T05:28:00.000-04:00

Today is my incredibly handsome hubby's 30th birthday! Holy Cow! Phillip and I have discussed it alot in the last few months and even more so in the last 96 hours, what 30 means to us. We both still feel like we are the 20 somethings that met in College. I hope the feeling lasts forever! I love you Phillip and I hope you have a great 30th!

Greece, continued...

2007-10-20T18:48:00.000-04:00

Ah, Greece. What a lovely place. Land of friendly people, good food, and great scenery. It's a travellers paradise.

After Mel and EB returned to Crete for the last two weeks of my five-week stay, we kicked the travel up a notch: Athens the first weekend and Santorini the next. Most of you probably saw the hotel we were staying in...and it was worth every euro-penny.

Athens was fun - seeing the Acropolis for the first time on top of its mountain in the middle of a bustling modern-day city was roughly akin to walking out of the Colloseo metro stop in Rome for the first time: it just takes the breath right out of you. Several people told us that other than the Parthenon, et al, Athens was kinda lame. We beg to differ! Wandering through the shops and hills in Plakas was awesome, and seeing the change of the guard was pretty cool too. On top of everything, we jumped at the chance for a little ethnic food - you don't see many Chinese places in Naples, and the ones you find are still no where close to Chopsticks there in Athens.

The next weekend brought Santorini, perhaps the most beautiful and popular of the Greek islands. It'll will probably go down as one of my favorite locations in all of Europe, if for no other reason than the scenery alone. We spent the long weekend here, and never regretted it. Although our apartment was in Firostefani (both convenient to yet far-enough away from the tourist-centric town of Fira), we rented a little Nissan Micra (an adventure in itself) and tooled around the island. We saw lots of different beaches, scenery from every end of the island, and sunsets and food at the locations where most of the cruise-ship-folk never make it to. Our day in the rental car moved this weekend from a run-of-the-mill tourist hike to a seriously memorable weekend. In the end, I can totally understand why many people think Atlantis was here. It takes an extra few minutes, but try to read a little about the history and layout of the island here.

In the end, having spent enough time in Crete to probably say that I "lived" there for a spell, I can honestly say it was one of my favorite experiences ever, both personally and professionally. I made some long lasting friends and ate plenty of souvlaki (pork is best) and stuffed vine leaves, among other things! If you're coming this way and have a week or so to burn, don't miss Crete.

pac

PS - In an effort to keep my post length down and prevent scattering pictures everywhere, I'm adopting a new 2 or 3 picture limit on myself. Because I love sharing pics though, I'm embedding a neat slide show feature below that everyone can use to scroll through the pics - just click on the screen to keep scrolling through.

Oh, and thanks to Those Other Chockleys for giving me all my good blog ideas and not holding it against me when I steal them (can anyone say "keeping up with the Jones'...?")

I'm shameless.

Go ahead. Be Jealous.

2007-10-07T02:14:00.000-04:00

We are here.

Pics to be posted upon our return.

pac

My Dad is a TV Star!

2007-09-20T12:46:00.000-04:00

This morning, as usual, Ella ate her breakfast in the high chair while "The Bear in the Big Blue House" was on. (I only let her sit in front of the TV for breakfast because Sesame Street is soon to follow.) Anywho, after the Bear came "Blue's Clues." Well, I walked into the living room and Ella turned to me and exclaimed with great enthusiasm while pointing to the TV..."DADDA. DADDA." Now if any of you have ever seen "Blue's Clues" you know that there are a few similarities between Phillip and the original host Steve. Phillip has been accused of this since the show began. I tried several times to tell Ella that it wasn't Daddy because he was at work but she refused to believe it. I think she will forever believe her dad's work involves chasing a blue cartoon puppy around the TV. Ahh, Good Times! Phillip will die! He hates it when anyone associates the two and now for his own daughter to accuse him of actually being Steve! Oh my!

From Venice to Crete

2007-09-16T14:58:00.001-04:00

Hey to all!

We've been busy buzzing from one location to the next. We were able to spend the Labor Day weekend in Venice, Italy. Venice is AMAZING! It is the only place I told Phillip nearly 10 years ago that I must see before I leave this earth. Now I can say it's checked off the "Must See and Do List." We had incredible weather while there and everyone warned us of the odor but there wasn't any. Ella and I did have to keep ourselves thickly coated with OFF to keep the mosquitoes at bay, and Phillip of course has enough Mello Yello coursing through his veins to keep anything from even contemplating biting him!

The Venice Film Festival was going on that week and I was certain I would spy a star or two but to no avail. We even went over to Lido (one of the islands) where the Festival was being held and stood outside one of the theaters hoping to catch a glimpse of Mr. Clooney-actually if you know me well you know I was desperately hoping to see Matt Damon-he wasn't even there. Ahh! One day perhaps.

Also going on that weekend was the Venice Regatta an annual event the first Sunday in September. In most cases a Regatta would be sailboats but in venice it was of course, Gondolas! It was so neat!

All those wonderful things said...Ella was dreadful the entire weekend. (This is us discussing her behavior!) Venice is not stroller friendly nor is it "let the child walk on her own" friendly since around every turn there might be a canal. I will say however, that she and Phillip had a blast feeding the birds in St. Mark's Square. I've never seen so many pigeons in my life. They loved Phillip especially!

Our Gondola ride. Phillip looks especially thrilled, doesn't he? I'm sure paying 80 Euro for the ride had nothing to do with it! I considered it well worth it.

Phillip, Ella and I then headed to Crete (the largest of the Greek Isles). Beautiful, different from Italy in so many ways. The terrain is so different and you can sense how much closer you are to the Middle East. Phillip had to remain and Ella and I hope to join him shortly.

I can't wait to consume more stuffed vine leaves, baklava, and all the other yummy pasteries from the shops surrounding the hotel we stayed at.

We went to a local National Park and also to the beach which Ella LOVED!! I loved watching her literally roll around in the sand. Good times!

Catch-Up

2007-08-26T09:48:00.001-04:00

Alrighty. Back in Naples after my little jaunt back to the states. Newport and New England are awesome in the summer; it was good to see mom and dad, and they can attest that the cool of the northeast beats the extreme heat of the south any day. Same holds true for Naples - its sweltering here!

Dad and I got into a Red Sox games for a measly $7 while we were in Boston; yet another perk of the military. It was the second or third time I've been to Fenway, one of the last great parks remaining. Of all the t-shirts I picked up while away, I think Ella looks the cutest in her Red Sox tee.

The rest of my time since returning has been filled with work, a 5k, and Italian birthdays parties. Since the former is excruciatingly boring, here's some pics for the two later.

The NSA Naples Annual 5k Mud Run - shorter and less muddy than many of its stateside counterparts, it was still fun. Go team RLSO.

What kind of respectable Italian one-year-old could throw a birthday party without a ball pit?

All the kiddies. Can you find the Americans? *Notice large walking Disney characters in rear. Oh, and FYI, apparently when Mickey forgets his gloves, his hands look strangely human...*

*Notice large 3000 degree flesh-burning candle 18 inches from the birthday boy.*

pac

Life in a Dog Bowl

2007-08-16T14:12:00.000-04:00

So, I haven't had a chance to put Nash's new food into his food container yet and had taken his bowl to the living room to get his 2 scoops out. When I returned this is what I found. There are still a few pieces of the last bag of dog food inside the container and she apparently felt the need to fish it out for Nash to eat. At first, I was furious, because it really grosses me out and it is our daily battle to stay out of Nash's food and water bowl. But you have to admit that it is pretty funny - gross but funny!

She of course thought it was loads of fun!

Life as a Chockley when Daddy is Away

2007-08-14T14:27:00.000-04:00

So Phillip left on August 4 for a ridiculous amount of time and Ella and I are trying to stay busy while he is away. Today we headed to the pool in our Parco with Ella's bestest friend Ben (and his daddy Josh) or as Ella so affectionately refers to him, "Beeeeee." In a great Tennessee drawl of course! Anywho, the pool guy, that Phillip has so kindly spoken of in previous posts, requires that everyone wear swim caps in the pool. Phillip and I will try most anything to avoid real swim caps and we have opted for bandannas-his a classic navy and mine is Strawberry Shortcake, my longtime idol. However, as you can see Ella is way too cute in her hot pink swim cap, and amazingly enough she actually wears it and seems to like it. I often find her trying to put it on herself.

After a swim Ella is of course STARVING! So we headed in for some classic Spaghetti O's and then our usual fruit cup. Unfortunately, it wasn't the usual...I accidentally grabbed the mixed fruit cup instead of peaches. Well, you can obviously see the displeasure in my precious daughter's face. Ahhhh...fun times! Wish you all were here to join in on the fun...actually we just wish anyone was here.

My favorite moment today was when "Bee" and Ella were in the bathroom with me and "Bee" decided to turn the bidet on and the water shot all the way across the bathroom and into the hallway. Ever since the hot water heater was replaced we've had some incredible water pressure so it was literally shooting into the air and I was wet, Ella was wet and none to happy that "Bee" had turned it on, and "Bee" was wet and just scared to death, mainly due to the fact I couldn't stop laughing. Then every time "Bee" tried to escape the scene he would fall down into the puddle of water on the slick marble floors. Hysterical I tell you!!! I wish I could have reenacted it for the camera!

Out with the old...

2007-07-28T15:37:00.000-04:00

Chockley, one - Ducati-boy, zero.

My only regret is that I wan't here to take a baseball bat to the old one.

pac

Five years ago today...

2007-07-27T17:48:00.001-04:00

Five years ago today, I married the most beautiful bride in the world on a little college campus near the Smokies. Tonight we had dinner at an Italian agriturismo overlooking Capo Miseno in Monte di Procida, Italy. My, how things can change in 5 years.

Here's to at least 45 more, Mel.

pac

A Fort

2007-07-23T06:24:00.000-04:00

I think my older brother would be so proud to know that he taught me at least one thing in life!!

Today Ella and I were having a moment of frustration with one another. So, I tried to think of something that would take a few minutes to do and that we could enjoy together for a while. Well, the latter was obviously relative when you are dealing with an 18 month old but it was worth a shot right?!?

I decided we would take a couple of bed sheets and with what little I recalled about building a fort in the middle of the living room with my brother (which I'm certain he built entirely by himself while yelling at me not to touch it), we (in this case I built entirely alone all the while fussing at Ella to not tear it down) attempted to build a small fort. I'm sure Scott (my brother) would be a bit ashamed that his little sister resorted to using clothes pins to secure the fort. I certainly don't recall any clothes pins on our forts but whatever works, right! Nash was not the least bit pleased that I disturbed his slumber by taking up the entire living room with sheets floating in the air that, heaven forbid, might actually touch him and scare the living daylights out of him. But as you can see Ella and I enjoyed it for a few moments together and then the interest of course faded but it was fun to me nonetheless.

See ya, buddy.

2007-07-21T14:43:00.001-04:00

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - there are pro's and con's to being in the Navy. The Ambrose's departure this week fits squarely in the "con" category.

See ya 'round, D. Naples just won't be the same without you.

- pac

Life in Italy

2007-07-17T16:47:00.000-04:00

With all the bubble-gum peachy posts we've been doing of late, I became concerned that you guys might think life in Italy was perfect. Its not.

The struggles of day-to-day life here can really wear you down after a while. Lest you think its all exotic trips and world-class living, I thought I'd run down a few of the things that make my life here a, well, pain in the neck.

First, let me introduce you to our hot water heater (or, as I like to refer to it, "the bane of my existence.") Given the choice of living til 80 or taking a sledgehammer to this piece of crap without ramification, I'd gladly choose the later. Words just can't express the hatred I feel for this device. On average, I'd say I have to light the pilot light on this piece of trash at least 5 times daily. There's nothing quite like having to get out of the shower, throw on a towel, and walk outside to relight this tin can. Negotiations with the landlord for its replacement/repair are ongoing, and this is no small task. Let me emphasize here that as a lawyer, I have at least a degree of expertise when it comes to negotiations, yet after 10 months, I've made very little traction with this issue. But stay tuned...

This little gem is our breaker box. The little breaker on the left is the closest rival of the hot water heater above. Again, our appliances/air conditioners/dryer/washing machine/microwave flip this bad boy all the time. To reset it only 3 times in a day is a good day; to not have it go off in the middle of the night (thereby killing power to my alarm clock and causing me to oversleep) is nothing less than a dream.

Next we have my modem. [And yes, that is a vintage Lionel Richie LP laying beside it, as a matter of fact. You got a problem with that?] The modem itself is fully functional, but its the only tangible connection I have to my internet connection which (big surprise) mysteriously cuts on and off no less than 10 times a day.) If it weren't my gateway to internety-goodness, I'd have flung it against the wall months ago.

Say hello to our stove. It works fine, I suppose, other than that weird door to nothing that pops open for no reason at the bottom (and often refuses to shut, thereby creating an attractive nuisance and burn-trauma magnet for my infant daughter). Oh, and did I mention that the stove only lights by way of sticking a lighter to the open gas valve (circa 1956)? Oops, must have forgotten that part.

Here's a quick peak at one of our 4 wall-unit air conditioners (yeah, no central heating in Italy gang). They added these based on my contract negotiations prior to moving in. Before we arrived, there were NO air conditioners in the house. In addition to constantly stopping when the power trips, it beeps really loud and wakes up Ella when you try to adjust the temperature. Oh, and despite having just installed it, it ran out of freon before we even got a chance to use it when summer began.

This is our washer dryer combo. One word: tiny. Oh, and the washer is actually a replacement (the Navy actually provides us with some appliances, even though we live out on the economy). Rather than clean our clothes, the first one made everything turn sour (which is always a big hit at work, let me tell you).

Here's our Navy-issue microwave. Notice anything missing? You see the little time dial on the bottom right? Gone. We use the claw end of the hammer sitting on top of the microwave to turn the knob, then just wait what we believe to be a reasonable amount of time with all our food. Classy.

Hey everyone, say hello to our good friend house mold! Oh yeah baby. Can't get rid of it. Cleaned it with everything under the sun, including Clorox, but it just keeps coming back. Breathe deep, guests!

Remember my car? Apparently someone in the city nearest me really needed a hubcap. I was parked for 5 minutes at a local supermarcato, only to return to find it gone. Neapolitans will steal anything not tied down.

Last but not least, here's where my rent ($2350 a month) goes: my landlord's son's super-tricked-out Ducati. "Nah, don't worry about my hot water - Ella doesn't really need a bath today. Tell me more about your bike!"

Okay, I'm done. I promise to devote a nice long future blog to all the incredible benefits of where I live, but for now I'm just gonna continue to wallow in my own self-pity. You guys enjoy your Chick-Fil-A and Chili's chips and salsa; I'm gonna go take a nice, long cold shower.

pac

Underestimated

2007-07-15T07:29:00.000-04:00

Seems we have underestimated my daughter in two respects: one, her resolve; two, her unquenchable love of banana yogurt.

To set things up, I had just opened up the fridge to get out eggs or something to make breakfast. Ella surreptitiously snagged some yogurt (as is her practice, although she usually walks away with something less appetizing and more innocuous - say mustard, soy sauce, or an ever-so-fragile egg). After a moment Melissa noticed Ella's new-found prize, but being the quality parents we are, we decided that if she wanted it, she could have it; there was no harm in letting her hold it until we could get her into a chair. As Melissa began preparations for the high chair, a spoon etc., Ella followed me - yogurt in hand - out into the hallway where I was perusing our world map, trying to decide what European trip we'd set-out on next. The following is a pictorial essay on what was to follow.

Ella: "Yummmm. So goood. Sweet banana-y goodness...and all I had to do was tear through that thin layer of foil..."

Ella: "Oh, hey, hiya dad! Whats going on?"

Ella: "What, this? No, I have no idea how that got there!"
Nash: "Hey, do I smell banana yogurt?"

Ella: "NO wait, just one more handful!!"
Nash: "Hey sis, watch the eyes."

Ella: "Hey, hold on bub, this is my show...watch the ears, hairball!"

Ella: "I don't know why that thing keeps flashing, but I'm gonna keep eating..."

Nash: "Hey, watch where you're dripping, toots."

Ella: "Totally worth it, pops."

Again, being the quality parents we are, we whisked her up, plopped her in the chair, and let her finish it off, dog hair and all. We did add a spoon to the mix. In the end, all that was left on the floor were a few paw prints of dried yogurt from where Nash walked away.

You gotta love weekends.

pac

European Vacation

2007-07-03T13:31:00.000-04:00

Tired from all the other European traveling we'd done over the last 9 months, we finally decided we needed a break. So last week, our fam paired up with 4 other families and headed to the lovely (albeit a bit rocky) beaches of Croatia. Specifically, we headed to a neat little beach town just north of Split called Vodice. Great sunsets, great food and that great, slow vacation pace.

As Americans, we stood out a bit in Vodice. Most everyone there knew English, so that wasn't much of a shock - in fact, many natives initially judged us to be British based on our language alone (apparently that whole accent thing didn't matter much to them). We quickly found that very few Americans would vacation in such a place (not because its a bad place, just because when Americans think Europe, they think Rome, Paris, and London) - but frankly, that was fine with us. A few of the other factors that distinguished us from our fellow European vacationers:

Bathing suit tops on the ladies in our group. Whether hiding something pleasant, or, well, no-so-pleasant, European women have no love for their bathing suit tops. Grandmothers and twenty-somethings alike, they all diligently pursued their goal of no tan-lines above the waist.
Our insistence on keeping our children clothed while in the ocean or on the beach. Apparently all those waterproof diapers in the supermarket didn't reach their intended consumer base. There were more naked kids on these beaches than wrinkles in an old-folk's home. It was gross, frankly. Definitely made you want to swim out past where the tide was breaking if you wanted to take a dip. And the child nudity wasn't reserved for the toddlers either. If you were under 10, you probably weren't wearing much in the way of clothes. Ugh. Someone pass the hand sanitizer.
Swimming trunks for guys. This was just disturbing. And don't get me wrong, I expected a bit of this. But what I saw was nowhere close to what I came prepared for. Whether you weighed 85lbs or 385lbs, if you were a guy, you were wearing a speedo. A tight one. Some would even show up in regular trunks, only to shed them within moments of arrival. And let me tell you, trying to avoid banana-hammocks in the background made picture-taking quite an adventure.

We rounded out our adventure in true "sea to sky" fashion: we drove to the Dolomites on our last night to take in even more scenery. Anyone who knows me knows I love the mountains, and man-o-man: these were mountains! We stayed in the quaint little former Winter Olympic town of Cortina d' Ampezzo. The digs were a bit dated (mostly circa 1956, built for the Olympics) , but perfectly situated in a neat little downtown area ripe for wandering. At several thousand feet above sea level, the temperature was a vast departure - and a welcome reprieve - from the Croatia heat. We took a cable car to the top of one of the mountains, and the views were astounding. The mountain bikers made me green with envy. Melissa drove us back the next day through windy roads - her driving avoided carsickness, also allowing me to gape at the sick mountainscape and sicker $7,000 street bikes the psycho italians were riding on the switchbacks. Lance Armstrong, eat your heart out.

Some more of our trip, in pictorial:

Jack getting a head start on prom night 2023.

Ah, beach tan.

Classic Croatian fare.

Closest neighbor: God.

I'd also be remiss to leave out our adventures with Kassi and Jennifer the weeks before our real vacation. Besides several side adventures for the girls while I was at work, our time was spent in three main locales: Florence (and the Tuscan countryside), Rome, and the picturesque isle of Capri. Again, the story in picture format:

The colorful Capri coast upon arrival by ferry...

The view from the top of the island, a.k.a. "the top of the world."

Me clutching Ella while riding on the one-seat, no seat belt, 30-feet-off the-ground, 15-minute chair lift that gets you to the top of Capri.

Dad getting crazy with the camera.

Last, just to make another long post even longer , I'm proud to announce that my daughter just went poopie in the potty for the first time, and at 18 months! We're not really expecting it to take hold yet, but its nice to think that its the beginning of the end for diapers...at least with this one.... And no, I'll spare you the pictures this time around. And yes, there are some.

- pac

Tiny Dancer

2007-06-14T17:07:00.000-04:00

My favorite is at the end when she starts shaking the booty like a rap video. And no, she's not been watching any rap videos...

PS - I've told Melissa she's got a future as a background hummer, but she just won't listen...

-pac

Q & A

2007-05-27T19:08:00.000-04:00

In celebration of Memorial Day (and the corresponding long weekend), the Chockleys decided to piggyback off the hard work and planning of our good friends the Sosbees and follow them east to the lovely land of Puglia.

Rather than the long, drawn-out posts of old, I’ve decided to post all our pictures and describe all our adventures through question and answer (thereby creating a long, drawn-out post that's a little less wordy). Anyway, here we go:

Q: What’s the expression on you family’s face as you enter into their first-ever drive-through zoo?

A:

Q: What’s the reaction of a bunch of deer and ram when a 30-year old man moons them from the passenger side of a '94 Beamer?

A:
Q: What’s the loudest your wife has ever yelled at you for just rolling down you window?

A:
Q: Will that tiger really get out of that pool if we perform this Chinese fire drill?

A:
Q: What happens when a zebra sticks his head in your window and smiles at you?
A:

Q: What happens when camels run out of Rogaine?

A:
Q: What would happen if Weird Al Yankovic and Howard Stern had a baby together?

A: * Notice Ella staring.

Q: What age do you have to be in Italy to ride a kiddie roller coaster?

A: Born.
Q: What age do you have to be in Italy to ride a fast, wet, and potentially dangerous water ride without safety harnesses?

A: Born
Q: What’s the cheapest paternity test in history?

A: "Ahhh. Video games..."
Q: Mommy + Ella + carousel =

A:
Q: What does it look like when a child tries to “catch” the wind?

A:
Q: Mommy, is daddy mooning the deer again?

A:
Q: Where is Smurf village?

A: Italy.
* They’re Trulli Houses, for the record.

Q: What would Ben look like after making it to first base with my daughter?

A:
Q: What was the Trulli gang sign?

A:
Q: Who is Ella’s favorite Bible character?

A: Zacchaeus!
Hope you enjoyed that. I sure did. We’ll see if this format endures the test of time…

- pac

The Latest News on "RubELLA"

2007-05-17T16:50:00.000-04:00

NUTS!

[For those of you who could care less about long, rambling, "look what terrible thing happened to us today" posts, just stop reading here.]

So remember when I waxed all poetic in my first post about a year ago - "[blah, blah] welcome to the table [blah, blah]?" Well, be warned: there will no longer be nuts at our table. Ella appears to have a nut allergy.

Of all the allergies in the world to have, why'd it have to be nuts? Why not cauliflower? Cat hair? Pollen? Boys?

Ugh.

So here's the scenario. I'm grooving away at work, actually getting a good bit done. The phone rings (not uncommon). On the other end I hear Ella's babysitter (uncommon). Adriana is the babysitter we use a couple of times a week when Melissa needs some "me" time. She lives on the "Support Site," a large, new military base north of Naples, where there's lots of nice military housing for people who don't want to live on the economy. The commissary and Navy Exchange (think Wal-mart) is there, as is a huge work-out facility, hospital, etc. Its a little slice of America; some might call it a nauseating slice, but its a slice, nonetheless. It certainly has its benefits.

Melissa was getting her hair hi-lighted when Adriana called, else she would have answered her cell. Bottom line: Adriana says Ella is developing a rash, and we need to come get her.

Phil's Mind: "Daughter. Rash. Pick-up. Roger...let me finish this last section of this letter though...."

45 minutes later I arrive at the support site.

Now let me tell you, there's a lot of scenes you look forward to seeing as a father. First steps. Birthdays. First words. First day of school. I could go on. But there's a few you could probably go your whole life without seeing, and pulling up to your babysitters house and seeing an ambulance and police car out front is one of them.

I rush into the house to find 3 large paramedics administering some tests on my daughter. Ella's screaming (she has a uncontrollable fear of anything doctor or medicine related), the babysitter is holding her down, and the other kids at the sitter are buckled with fear. Ella reaches out for me (which immediately tells me she's better than they think), and they whisk us away to the ER. Adriana has given Ella a half of a peanut butter cracker. All the other kids were having them, so the sitter caved. Interestingly, we'd been militantly waiting to give any nut-type food until she was 18 months for FEAR of the peanut allergy.

Fortunately, again, we're on base and the hospital is only a few minutes away (vice 30 from our house in Pozzouli). [Interesting to note here that this is my first ride in an ambulance, ever, which was previously a point of pride in my life. At least they turned on the sirens for me.]

We get there, the hives are in full bloom, Ella is fit to be tied (did I mention she hates doctors?) etc, etc. Oh, and Melissa? Still getting the hair hi-lighted. All she knew was that I was going to pick up Ella cause of some little rash. Good piece of news number 2 - Ella's breathing is so far unaffected. But that rash and the hives and the swelling were hideous.

So we got the Benadryl shot and a dose of epinephrine (which was fun, let me tell you), met back up with Melissa at the hospital, and off we were. Back into a world that seems to have become a little less safe for Ella.

Oh, we did run by the babysitter to try and pay her (she wouldn't accept), and to thank her for calling the ambulance. She may have given her the peanut butter cracker, but if she hadn't done it then, we would have done it from home sooner or later, and been much farther from the hospital as a result.

Now. All that said, I have a little parental suspicion here. The sitter also took the kids outside earlier in the day. Although Ella had pants on and Adriana says she was beside her the whole time, I think (or maybe I just want to think) that a bug bite might actually be the culprit here. She has a small sting-looking whelp on her upper thigh, and my dad is apparently pretty allergic to bee stings. Maybe this is wishful thinking on my part (terrible isn't it, hoping she's allergic to bugs rather than nuts?), but I'm thinking it might have been an insect. Unfortunately we won't know the true culprit until Ella undergoes some allergy testing in the future, which probably won't happen until we get to the states.

So, until then, no nuts for EB.

I celebrated the day by having a PBJ for dinner. With Ella gazing on. Gotta get the peanut butter out of the house somehow I guess!

- pac

PS - I threw in a few unrelated pics, just to liven the post up. Incidentally, she loves the power-wheels; Nash does NOT.

Spaghetti Night

2007-05-14T13:35:00.000-04:00

As parents of toddlers know, there is only one key to success on spaghetti night: nudity.

Now I know what you newbies are thinking. Why, on earth, would we subject our daughter to having noodles in all the wrong places? What type of disturbed abuse is this? The answer, unfortunately, is that it wouldn't matter. Clothes or no clothes, the spaghetti will end up where the spaghetti will end up. I think its like rule 4 in the parenting guide. A few other spaghetti pointers:

if you have linoleum or tile in the kitchen, go ahead and throw down a towel under the high-chair. It'll pay dividends. I promise.

cutting up the noodles only makes them harder to pick up off the floor. [Unless you have a 75lb golden retriever that will eat anything that even remotely smells like food. Our next golden will actually be named "Hoover."]

laughter is the mortal enemy of any spaghetti evolution. a chuckle or a sneer from you is all that it takes to send your tike into a downhill spiral of "grab and fling." Unless you want to pick noodles off the refrigerator for hours, try your best to suppress the laughter.

once you fail the bullet above, go ahead and give in and throw some spaghetti too. By now you're probably also down to your undies, and the absurdity of the entire thing should be sinking in.

Ah, the things we do for a little spaghetti.

- pac

Dragging my feet...

2007-05-05T06:33:00.000-04:00

Okay. I admit it. I've been dragging my feet a little when it comes to updating the blog. It just seems that stuff happens so fast here, its hard to keep on top of things. Anyway, rather than continuing to put off the inevitable only to have more cool stuff that needs blogging pop up, I've decided to quickly blog on everything that's happened the past month or so (during the embargo and while our Internet was out again) so that I can move on to blogging in real-time. Unfortunately this means that some of the best stories might just go untold. Sorry, but here we go.

In mid-April, we visited Holland for about a week. What a great country. It was good for a lot of reasons, but we mainly just enjoyed being around a people-group that understood certain human fundamentals like personal space, talking in a normal volume, and overall cleanliness (both of themselves and their environment). Amsterdam was our first stop, and we managed to score a place that ended up being the best European digs we'd stayed in yet - a huge room with two walls of window right on a busy street corner. We'd put Ella to bed at 8 or 9 and just sit with a drink and watch the dutch go about their lives. Awesome.

After taking in the city and all its wonders (Anne Frank Museum, the Zoo, its many, many canals, some awesome windmills - and okay, one short trip to the red light district), we headed to a little community just south of Amsterdam on the beach called Noordwijk. Our main reason for going this time of year was the beautiful flowers - tulips in particular - that Holland is known for. We rented a car and explored the flower-laden countryside, took in an unbelievable flower parade, ate food from areas of the world the Italians don't seem to recognize (Chinese, Mexican, etc), and visited the most photographed place on earth - the Kuekenhof Gardens in Lisse. Despite being the most crowded portion of our journey, it was easy to get lost in this huge, picturesque landscape. It made me long for a time when I could do some landscaping of my own.

With really cheap direct flights from Naples to Amsterdam, I'm guessing that this may not have been our last trip to this area of the world.

After we got back to bella Napoli, we had a week of training at work, and all my good friends from surrounding Europe came in for a visit. We took one day to climb Mt. Vesuvius as a command, and of course we brought our families along. Keeping up the tradition of carrying Ella up most of Europe's tall sites, I strapped Ella to my back and we headed up. Despite overcast skies, it was still breathtaking. We look forward to going back with friends on a clear day though.

Lastly, we finally got around to visiting Ischia, one of the islands off the coast of Naples last weekend. Our pals the Federicos took on the burden of planning the affair, so we figured we'd tag along and learn the lay of the land so we could take people there when they come to visit. Ischia is a relatively huge island about 20 miles off the coast known for its beautiful mountain and beaches, its spas, and several wineries. You can easily see it from our house.

About 10 of us ended up on the day-trip. We took a ferry from the mainland, which lasted about 45 minutes. Seeing it from our deck makes 45 minutes seem like an eternity, but it really is a good ways away. The stated purpose of the trip was a wine-tasting at one of the most popular wineries there, but by the end of the day, most were just glad to be home. We made it to the wine tasting and had a great time because we were friends, but the journey was not without its difficulties (hour-long bus rides, hikes up windy mountain roads, late ferries, and ticketing cops on the bus for those who neglected to validate their ticket). Regardless, we're eager to go back now that we're armed with the knowledge of how to do it right.

SO...that's the past month or so in a nutshell, void of all the funny side stories along the way...but the good news is that I'm up to date and can hopefully try to start blogging regularly again (after what amounts to about a 6 month hiatus, everything included).

PS - Here's a few Easter pics too, just cause I think they're cute!

-pac

Check and Mate

2007-05-02T15:27:00.000-04:00

Enough said. More blogging to come soon.

pac

St. Patty's in Naples

2007-03-18T01:35:00.000-04:00

Much like, well, everyone else in the world, Italians don't need much of an excuse to drink. Thats why I wanted to make sure I made it to one of Naple's classy [*cough*] Irish pubs on my first St. Patricks Day here in Italy - to see how much of a spectacle it would become. After heading to big Ben Sosbee's one-year b-day party, we headed to the Blackstuff to see what we could see...and yeah, okay, we planned on having a few pints too.

Despite the weird techno music and constant flow of pizza's (no joke), the bar was actually awesome. By 11:00 the place was packed, and its probably the first place I've seen in Naples that actually had Guiness and Harp on tap.

But alas, the spectacle of Italian drunkeness that I was hoping for never emerged; in fact, if anything, the other Americans in the bar were probably creating more of a rucus. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.

Then again, our group split up and headed home a little after midnight, and the home crowd was probably just warming up at that point. I took a buddy to the airport at 0500 this morning, and we hadn't been in the car 3 minutes before I saw a little italian mercedes completely flipped upside down and spun-out on the road. It was a one car accident; but I'm sure that guy had just been drinking milk all night...

Anyway, the Ella picture-embargo continues. These tactics may be ruthless, but my resolve is strong. And Ella was awfully cute in her St. Patty's get-up...

-pac

Ciao!

2007-03-15T17:33:00.000-04:00

We're back!

At long last and after much wrangling, Telecom Italia has finally decided to bless us with the gift of ADSL - painfully slow DSL, but DSL nonetheless. Its an always-on connection that's at least 3 times as fast as dialup, so its definitely better than where we were a week ago (but its twice as slow as most DSL/cable connections are). Its still fast enough to do online videoconferencing with family, which is the biggest benefit for us. We may even be able to get a Vonage phone before too long.

So that our big news for now. There's plenty to blog about since my last update was so long ago, but I'll save that for another time.

So at this point I would normally go ahead and post a few pictures of my beautiful daughter (and let me tell you, she's changed a lot since December), but for those of you who don't already know, there is currently an embargo on displaying all Ella pictures. The gist is this: until my dad gets off his tail and sends me some Mello Yellow (unavailable by retail in Italy), then he - and as a result all "consumers" on this website - are denied all access to everything Ella. For those of you who find this is unfair, simply request dad's phone number and e-mail address, and I will kindly provide it (at the last minute I have decided against posting his e-mail or phone number here for fear of the telemarketer/spammer, although this "nuclear option" remains "on the table").

Just like the helpless Cuban population, you have all been made pawns in a geopolitical standoff of epic proportions: either rise up and overcome your oppressor, or face the unbearable consequences.

Your move, dad.

pac

Baby Steps

2007-01-03T09:14:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Well, with all that’s going on in life right now and us thousands of miles from home, who could have ever guessed that we would have had one of the best Christmas’ ever? Certainly not us.

But, thanks to a few little baby steps, Melissa and I got the best Christmas present ever this year: Ella’s first steps.

Of course when I stay first steps, I don’t mean a few little ones. Ella went from no steps to walking a city block. She literally took about 12 steps before falling. The way I see it, it’s the baby equivalent of going 0 to 60 in under 3 seconds. We’ve known that she’s been close for the past week or so. She’d stand on her own or would walk beside us with only the aid of a finger or maybe even a pant hem, but she still hadn’t taken the plunge. Dad had dangled everything imaginable out in front of her with the hopes of enticing her to those first steps. From eyeglasses to glasses of wine; from new toys to sharp knives – we’d tried everything. Turns out that the one thing that compelled my daughter to walk was seeing other kids having fun on another piece of playground equipment. Apparently she just didn’t want to be the only kid not having any fun, so she just locked eyes on them and took off.

But the story doesn’t end there. Lets just say that of all the times to be testing out the video feature on my digital camera, I picked the right time. Yep, you guessed it – I accidentally caught my daughter’s first steps – ON VIDEO! Talk about good timing. Now everyone back home will be able to enjoy those first moments with us. I’m trying to find a way to post the video to YouTube to put it here on the blog, but the filters here at work aren’t cooperating (since, of course, we still don’t have the internet from home.)

I think concentrating on something in the distance (other than her two feet right in front of her) really did the trick with the walking. In the time since then, we’ve not been able to recreate the incident, but we’re actually okay with that. Now that we’ve attained the ceremonial first steps, we’re glad to put off the sheer chaos that will ensue when she finally masters her new skill. I actually put dad on retainer while he was here with specific orders to sweep her legs (Karate Kid style) every time she starts to try again. It was ugly.

So all in all, Christmas was great. Ella got way more gifts than a one year-old needs, but it was fun just the same. The long visit with dad was nice too. I don’t think I realized it until he left, but it was probably the longest consecutive amount of time I’d spent with him since I moved out of the house 11 years ago. It’s a wonder we didn’t kill each other. Actually, its more a wonder dad didn’t kill one of the Italian drivers we shared the road with so many times…I still have a rotting orange in my console dad swore he was going to use as ammunition for “the next guy who does that…’

In even more recent news, we got a phone today! That’s right ladies and gents – we’re one step closer to being in constant touch with everyone again. We’ve been able to talk to people on our cell phones using calling cards, but the very best rate would only get us 26 minutes for $20. Now that we’ve got a land line, it’s immensely cheaper: the $20 phone card now gets us almost 3 hours of talk time. We hope to work a deal soon that will get us access to a 1-800 number which will make it free for people to call us here, but, big surprise: it might take some time. By then, we’ll probably just get Vonage over the internet and have a local phone in Tennessee.

So, I’m about to break every rule in the world and post my telephone number on the internet, with the prayer that it doesn’t somehow haunt me. +39 081-804-3491. Everyone please call us!

Melissa tells me that when she asked the telephone man about us getting DSL, he said he would “turn it on” tomorrow. Some of you may be doubters, but with the promise of a shady phone company man driving a beat up red Fiat to switch some magic switch “first thing in the morning,” how could I go wrong?

Needless to say, I’m not expecting fast internet anytime soon. But we’re taking baby steps – sometimes even literally.

pac

The Update is Finally Here

2006-12-08T15:09:00.000-05:00

Well, its 8:15 on a Friday night and I’m far away from home, but close to a fast Internet connection. What better time to finally – and I do mean finally – do some updating to the blog.

Wow. That’s about all I can say. Wow – what incredible and rich blessings God has bestowed on my family and I in the previous months. Whether it be delivering us safely from the U.S. to a foreign land, watching out for us in the process of selecting a new home, or providing us with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for travel, I feel like there’s been a constant hand of wisdom and guidance leading us along. I’m so grateful for a God who so faithfully cares for his children, and pray that all our experiences overseas bring us a little closer to a God who’s so abundant.

As I’ve alluded to in previous postings, we’ve been busy lately. Italy is an amazing place. Sure, it’s dirty, congested, and scary at times, but it’s also incredibly exciting. Being so far outside our comfort zone has been incredibly satisfying for me, and while Melissa may not admit it, I know she’s proud of the challenges she’s overcome as well. Frankly, I’m continually amazed at how my small-town Tennessee wife has so quickly transformed into an outgoing, independent, multinational force to be reckoned with. Believe me, Italians drivers don’t want to cross her when Ella’s strapped in the back seat.

My command here is simply unbelievable; from top to bottom, some of the best people I could ever have imagined working with. Probably most important, they’ve been incredibly patient with me as I’ve worked through both a new job and setting up the house here. I’ll stop with that, but suffice it to say that I miss the folks in Norfolk, but I’m very, very happy in Naples.

So, down to business. What have we been doing the past few months? Good question. The short answer? Travel! It feels like we’ve been constantly on the go. So much so, in fact, that I’m looking forward to a few months after the New Year to just sit in my house, enjoy some sunsets over the Mediterranean, and become intimately familiar with some of Italy’s finest wines.

Our series of trips began with another weekend jaunt to Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast. We only stayed for a day, and it rained for part of that day, but if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: that place is beautiful. It’s also big for shopping small little shops, perfect for wasting a run-of-the mill weekend. I don’t have all my pics on me at the moment, but this is one from the trip where we stopped to take a breather. Behind Melissa, who’s taking the picture of Ella and I in front of a monastery garden, there is a sheer cliff of probably 800+ feet, straight down to the ocean. That’s how most of the coast there is: imagine a version of Big Sur in California that’s been lived-in for thousands of years, and that’s Amalfi.

Halloween hit in full force a few weeks after our weekend in Sorrento. Seemingly before conception, my wife has planned to dress my daughter up as a ladybug, and nothing could stand in her way. I have to say, it was a good call; her cuteness went pretty much unrivaled (though I was compelled to take a few pics of random Star Wars-outfitted kids, just cause I thought they were awesome too). The military community held a huge Halloween festival in a park they own here (Carney Park – created inside an extinct volcano). It was a blast, especially with all the folks from work bringing their munchkins too. Again, I’m a little limited on pics, but trust me: it was awesome.

After Halloween, we decided it was time for something bigger, so we used the Veteran’s Day three-day weekend for a trip to Rome. What a great place. I’m sure we’ll visit it many times before we leave, but the treasures in that city are literally around every corner. Rather than fight the traffic, we decided to take the train (both from Naples to Rome and also within Rome); and what a great call – it was simple and incredibly easy to get around. We decided to take this trip and check all the tourist boxes: we saw the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel; the Spanish Steps, the Coliseum, some amazing Roman shopping, and perhaps my favorite Roman site – Trevi Fountain. We arrived at the fountain around dusk: a sight I hope everyone reading this gets to experience one day. I have great pics, but true to form, I don’t have any with me where I am; it, too, will have to wait.

The week after Rome, we moved into our house. Not spending the weekend prepping the house made the move-in fairly hectic, especially painting. Thanks to some help from some friends, we managed to add a little color to the stark white walls, which I hope adds a little charm to the place, and certainly makes it feel more like home. With tiled floors and 10-foot ceilings, it’s a nice place; a little old and the bathrooms are a bit awkward, but it has plenty of room (a quality most houses we saw didn’t have). If we had it all to do over again, we would have brought much less household goods, but as they say – snakes on a plane (i.e., it is what it is). It’s still a good place, albeit a little farther from the community we wanted to be in. I'd planned on giving you a pic of EB and mommy in their unpacking doo-rags, but Blogger is preventing me, as usual...

Taking care not to relax, we immediately booked a flight and hotel in Paris for Thanksgiving. Round trip fare for all three of us, 2 and ½ weeks before departure, was only 325 euros. We took a step down in hotel quality, and managed to spend almost a week in Paris for a fraction of what it would have been flying from the states. Not only was the trip exciting, but it was also a perfect diversion for our first real separation from family for the holidays.

Paris was incredible. I’d visited it once before in high school, and for some reason had come away thinking it was dirty and unpleasant. I’ve since decided that I was just an ass in high school. Paris could perhaps be one of my new favorite places on earth. It was cold outside, mostly rainy, and our room wasn’t very big, but the city was beautiful, not crowded, and filled with people who struck us as uncharacteristically kind. So far as cleanliness is concerned, it appeared to me to be one of the best-kept metropolitan areas I’ve run across. In the end, I think the differences in my perception between 16 and 29 can mostly be summed up to the older me having seen more places. But I still think the 16 year old me was an ass.

I won’t go into great detail on all the things we saw in Paris, but our extended stay (and the knowledge that we could easily come back over the course of the next 3 years) really allowed us to relax and enjoy the city. My favorite two activities were the Catacombs and, of course, the nighttime boat ride on the Seine. Next time we’ll get a babysitter and take a dinner cruise. I can’t imagine anything much more romantic.

As if it couldn’t get any better, upon my return from Paris, I immediately found out that due to a prosecutor shortage in Spain, my assistance was needed there for about 10 days in early December to help try a sexual assault case. As you can imagine, I was devastated – 10 days in an area renowned for wine and sherry production, relatively warm, and a short drive away from both Gibraltar and Portugal. Yep – I was devastated. Concerns of cost initially made us think that it was impractical to fly Melissa and Ella here, but once I arrived, I found tickets out of Rome for 3 people (dad included, who was already scheduled to come to Naples around that time), round trip, for only 200 euro. That’s so cheap I couldn’t afford for them not to come.

The end-result of taking so many trips is that our house still doesn’t have pictures on the wall, and there are still several opened – but not unpacked – boxes left in the house. I suppose it’s a small price to pay to literally double our history of travel in less than two months. We’ve still made time to make trips to the park, including finally squeezing in Ella’s first ride in a swing!

So, lets see…a few other bullet updates of life here so far:

We’ve picked up Nash, who was none the worse for wear in his halfway houses. We missed him, and Ella’s having a good time reacquainting herself with “Tuh” as we’re sure she calls him. I’m just glad we didn’t ruin my CO’s house, who ended up taking care of him for a few weeks.
Melissa was fortunate enough to contract food poisoning one night at the only American sit-down chain restaurant on base: TGI Fridays. A miserable night, a trip to the ER and three IV bags qualify her to make this small suggestion: don’t eat the chicken tenders at TGIF…
When an Italian landlord says he’ll install 4 new air conditioners in your house before you move in, what that really means is “I will install four new air conditioners in your house eventually. When it’s cheapest for me. I’ll probably only hire two people to do it. I’ll wait till all your stuff is in the house before I do it, and we’ll make sure to do it on a weekend, so you’ll pretty much be stuck in your house. Oh, and don’t forget your $2200 rent next week.”

So, here I sit, a little after 9:00 pm now, on a Friday night in Rota, Spain, preparing for a court martial next week and eagerly anticipating the family’s arrival. Though my attention has been diverted a lot back to the states the past few weeks with some surgery mom had to endure, life here has largely been a welcome distraction.

God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good.

Everyone be safe back home, and I’ll do better about updates in the future in order to avoid these long posts.

-- pac

PS – I’d be remiss to not talk about Pooh. One night Melissa, Ella, and I were in the local Super Wal-Mart here, called Auchan. While we were there, I was looking in electronics (like usual), holding Ella, when a man walked near to me with a big stuffed Pooh bear in his hands. Now, Melissa and I haven’t really exposed Ella to Pooh, not necessarily intentionally, but just because Pooh stuff isn’t really our favorite stuff (even though I loved it as a kid). Well, let me tell you, when Ella saw that Pooh, she lit up like I’d never seen her light up, and haven’t seen her light up since. She squealed. I mean it! She literally squealed out loud and almost stole the man’s Pooh. Of course we had to get her one. Here’s the result.

I Promise I Haven't Forgotten

2006-11-26T15:53:00.001-05:00

Okay, Okay. I promise I haven't forgotten we have a blog. Its just that it takes sooooo long to add pictures with this crappy little dial-up connection we have. I'm gonna try to do things from the fast connection at work one night after hours, but there's no telling if the network administrators have blocked out access to Blogger, so no promises...

The worst part about all this is that tons of things have happened since the last entry! Another trip to Sorrento, a Rome trip, and Thanksgiving in Paris, not to mention the move in here at our new place. I guess that's also working against the whole blogging thing: boxes from floor to ceiling waiting to be unpacked...

Regardless, I promise to update everyone soon, with or without pictures! The good news is that Ella saw Santa Claus for the first time in Paris this weekend...the bad news is that he was "disguised" as a homeless guy sleeping in a tent made of cardboard and tattered umbrellas on the banks of the Seine. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers, right?

Everyone stay safe, and again, I promise more is coming!

pac

Just Call Me Giuseppe

2006-10-15T15:19:00.000-04:00

Okay, I've hooked you with the cute pic, but realize, initially, that this is a long post – so get yourself a coke or a coffee (or in dad’s case, a big glass of Bailey’s) and settle in for a long catch-up session.

Alright. We’re officially settling in. Well, we’re settling in as best we can for living in a hotel. I admit that it’s a little more comfortable than a normal hotel – it has two bedrooms and a kitchenette, and there’s a TGI Friday’s on the zero floor (that’s what they call the first floor here, by the way), but it’s still a hotel. And this is where we shall stay for the next approximately 45 days. Joy.

But where to start? I guess with the trip over. We knew that the plane ride over was going to be an experience. Ella had never flown, so we had no idea what to expect. The plane itself was late departing, which made timing the bottle (apparently if you give a kid a bottle during landing and takeoff it diminishes the discomfort – read: isolable wailing – of the pressure and popping ears). Fortunate for the older couple who sat behind us (who looked directly at Melissa before takeoff and said “We hope for our sake she’s tired…”), Ella pulled through like a champ. Other than one little period where she wanted to be fussy, it was great.

We had one layover in Shannon, Ireland. It was cold, rainy, and dark, and they didn’t even pull up to a terminal when we temporarily disembarked. Regardless, it was worth the inconvenience just to hear a few people with that cool accent.

Even Nash came through things great. Or at least I choose to think so. He went around 12 hours without a potty break, and I doubt he drank much of the water we left him. But, he peed and pooped right on cue after we picked him up at the terminal, and was whisked away by Desiree’ - one (of the many) fantastic people who’d made our move a joy thus far. He’s now staying with a family in the command who have 3 kids and just lost a dog of their own; I’m not looking forward to taking him away from them a month from now…

Once we arrived in Naples, we were eager to get to a place we could call our own, even if it was a hotel. We’d been traveling and interloping on so many people between selling the house and now, we were excited about just being able to unpack. We got our first taste of Naples traffic on our way to the hotel – somewhere around 140km/p/hr I realized that I was probably gonna like this place…

Again, in all fairness, the hotel is fine. Here’s a pic of it taken the moment we first walked in. You can kinda see that the Navy designed it for folks like us who’d be in between houses for a while…

It actually looks like a palace from outside…

The base we’re staying at at the moment is usually just called the “Support Site.” It’s a relatively new installation (built in 2000, I believe), complete with a hospital, a NEX (that’s the Navy’s department store, for you non-Navy types), a commissary (again, most of you may know it as a grocery store), a big hospital, car repair facility, etc. Its also is home to a lot of housing facilities for those who prefer to live on base. The hotel here (called the Navy Lodge) and all the surrounding housing come complete with a lot of amenities from home (such as 110v electricity), but is conspicuously bereft of any real Italian lifestyle. That said, it’s perfect for families who have several kids, since this is where the high school, etc, is located, and it’s a REALLY safe place. Mel and I just saw kids rollerblading in the streets at 8:00 at night.

It’s not a fit for us though – we kinda want to take in the Neapolitan life in all its glory (or horror, depending on your perspective). Unfortunately, choosing to live out in town means finding a place. In order to do that, you have to use the Italian landlord representatives (aka “realtors”) designated by the housing office here, or alternatively, find your own rep. In order to get reimbursed for your hotel time, you have to prove you’re actually looking for a place to live (a design that seems ridiculous to me – who would want to stay in a two bedroom hotel for more than a few weeks?)

The housing market here is crazy, and I won’t go into much detail, but suffice it to say that its hard to find everything you want in a home – every place has its pro’s and cons. Now, that may mean that our list of wants is just too long, but hey, everyone else agrees, so it can’t just be us being picky, right? Right? As of now, we’re weighing two places – one with ample space but away from the coolest part of town and no DSL, and another place in a cool part of town with DSL but much less space. Deciding is proving harder than expected.

The first weekend we were here, we stayed with Rich and Ann. I worked with Rich for about a year or so back in Norfolk, and he was my official “sponsor” (the guy my new command designated as the dude whose job it was to keep me from causing an international incident upon arriving.) He took us around town, showed us the ropes, and kinda got our feet wet on all the good and bad stuff about Naples. We even spent a day on the Amalfi coast, which was freaking awesome. Pics are below. Note the one of the Cabinari – the slightly more elite version of the Italian police, that I surriptiously shot while dining on the steps of an Italian Ristorante despite warnings from Rich that they would shoot me if caught…(looks like that whole “keep me from causing an international incident” thing isn’t working out so well…)

The first full week here, I had to go to an orientation class about all the things I’d need to know. It’s a good program really, albeit a little disorganized. It got me checked in, our medical records situated, and briefed me up on other little things I’d need to know. It gave me a week to really just get acclimated, which was good. It also gave me time to find and buy our second car. And, with great pride, I can now tell you that we are the proud owners of a European-spec 1999 Ford Focus wagon.

Sweet, huh? Well, at least it’ll give me something to haul Nash around in that I won’t feel bad about beating up in all the Naples traffic. And beat it up I will. Like most all cars in Italy, it’s a stick-shift, and despite my best efforts, my manhood was immediately called into question when I stalled it 3 times the first time Melissa got in. So much for inspiring confidence…

Nevertheless, we had a little party the first time I got it to the other end of town. Tomorrow we get the Honda though, and so I’ll go back to being lazy with the shifting…

Oh yeah – and Ella’s officially cutting teeth and crawling at just under the speed of sound. Here’s a picture of what we’ve found is her favorite chew toy: electrical wires.

Well, that’s all for now. Next week is a week of Intercultural Relations Classes for Mel and me, then it’s on to official work. By then I should know a little Italian and will be able to share; until then – ciao!

pac

As usual, some of the pics obviously didn't load, and since it takes 5 minutes per picture, I'll just have to add them later!

Hello Naples!

2006-10-08T05:08:00.000-04:00

Well, I don't have time to share much, but suffice it to say that we've arrived. Naples is cool - frantic and always on the go, but cool. We stayed our first night in the Navy Lodge but have been staying with Rich and Ann for the past few nights, just so we can help with Nash and they can show us the ropes...

That said, its gonna take a while to get used to the ropes. We've seen a lot of places to live already, and the best choice remains the apartment right across from Rich and Ann - big, convenient, and a spectacular view. The only problem - no high speed internet. And that's a big problem. A really big one. We're going to keep looking, but its nice to know you have choices.

Thats all for now - we'll post more, including pictures, the first chance we get. We're headed back to the lodge tomorrow, so things should calm down a bit. We hope everything's well at home, and we're loving Naples so far!

pac

And I'm Out!

2006-10-02T23:45:00.000-04:00

Fini!

I'm done. No more work at building A-50. No more dreading that walk from the BOQ parking lot to the front door. No more half friendly nod to the limdu staff working the quarterdeck as I walk in. No more awkward eye-contact with the folks from Claims as we pass by each other in the hall while they're on the way to the ladies room. None of it!

Of course, there'll also be no more awesome cases to prosecute. No more sitcom-esque dialouge with my brilliant friends up and down the p-way. No more griping with the other JO's just for the sake of having someone be on your side. None of that either. I guess everything has a downside, and thats a big one.

As I came into work this morning, there was a wreck right across the street from our building. And I mean right across the street. Some older gentleman in a Camry basically t-boned a petty officer turning right at the intersection. I'm not sure who's fault it was, but the squealing tires and incredibly loud crash got my attention. It was a good one too. The cars were nice and smashed (and no, ma, no one was hurt).

I didn't think much of it until now, but I pull through that intersection every single workday, usually 2 or 3 times. I guess it kinda goes to show that you never really know whats gonna happen from one situation to the next. I could have just as easily been assigned to a command where the work was always great but the people sucked. Instead, I got the opposite - the work wasn't always great but the people were stellar. Kinda makes you think that somebody upstairs is looking out for ya, huh? Kinda like He looked out for me all those times I turned through that intersection (without my seatbelt, music blaring, going about 40, eager to get home)...

Then again, the wreck could just be some existential forshadowing about how much my life is going to be a wreck from this point forward...

Nah - I like the whole "God is looking out for me" thing a lot better. So I'll go with that. Yeah. That.

Anyway, I'm going to kiss my daughter goodnight for the first time in 10 days. I'm out.

pac

More shots from the Northeast trip...

2006-10-01T15:30:00.000-04:00

The scene from the restaurant under Granville Bridge on Granville Island in Vancouver...

The surprising waterfall less than a mile from where we camped on the second night...

Whistler Village: utopia for Americans just dying to pour resources into the Canadian economy...

One of many breathtaking roadside scenes on the Sea to Sky Highway, gateway to Whistler...

Me taking a break from riding to practice my crane kick (with Whistler's Lost Lake below me in the background)...

Derek conquering a section of singletrack with still-snowcapped Blackcomb Mountain in the distance...

British Columbia is wicked awesome

2006-10-01T13:52:00.000-04:00

Derek and I seem to be starting a trend whereby every few years we go on a cool outdoors trip. Call it soul therapy, call it dude time, call it whatever. But, no matter what you call it, its been pretty stinking fun. Last time it was Moab, Utah, this time it was Northern Washington and British Columbia.

And let me just tell you: I totally want to live there. I just can't say enough good things about it. The people were great (albeit a little "Canadian"), the weather was amazing, and the scenery, well, the scenery kinda puts the Smokies in perspective.

We started in by flying into Seattle - ticks to Vancouver were a little rich for out blood. Due to some ingenious research (ie, mostly luck), we were able to procure a very cheap 5-day rental of a Ford Explorer 4x4, which made the trip spacious and relaxing.

On day one, we headed straight to the Cascades, where we planned an awesome 3 mile, 2500 vertical-foot hike on the Skyline Ridge overlooking Washington's Mt. Baker and surrounding foothills (and I use that word lightly). Unfortunately, the traffic in Seattle and the crazy-eyed lady at the car rental place made our hike in that night a little rushed, and we had to finish at night. Thank goodness for Derek's headlamps. The hike up was like walking through the forest on Endor. That night we dined on absolutely disgusting combinations of Raman noodles and camped in the absolute wilderness. We weren't worried about bears if for no other reason that the leftover Raman noodles would probably be mistaken for battery acid before it was food. In the end, it may be a guess, but I would estimate that there wasn't a living human being for at least 15 miles in any direction from where we were. Awesome.

We woke up that morning to sleet, snow and freezing rain. The amazing view promised at the trailhead had been replaced with clouds preventing visibility beyond around 100 feet (or should I say, like, 33 meters, since we were in Canada). The hike down provided a pretty neat view of snow in the wilderness though. All I'll say is thank goodness for my new waterproof hiking boots.

From there, we headed straight to the Canadian border, eager to test my negotiation skills with the border-crossing agent since Derek only had a driver's license to get across (no passport). After a mild rebuke from the agent, we were across. The skies immediately opened and the sun came through. It was the last time we'd see a cloud for the next 4 days.

We stopped for lunch at Granville Island just inside Vancouver. The area was probably a little artsy for me (and its not really even an island, unless that word has a different meaning in Canada). Regardless, we found an cool - and expensive - restaurant to grab a pint and see the city. It was nestled right under the Granville Street bridge and provided a cool view of the city. (Of course, since Blogger has decided not to let me post more pictures, you'll have to wait til my next post...)

Eager to get to Whistler and biking heaven, we didn't linger. Upon arriving, we took in the city scene and decided to camp at a government run roadside camping area, despite our efforts to find a place that was free (Derek, or "Sally," as I called him, didn't think camping near the landfill was a good idea). The next morning, before heading to the mountain to ride, we went on a quick hike to find what we expected to be a small waterfall, but turned out to be probably bigger than Fall Creek Falls...

The downhill biking on the mountain (where you actually put you bike on the ski lift and let it do all the work for you) was just insane. We spent all day on our $4,000 rented bikes, body armor and motorcycle helmets. I knew I'd had enough when I traded narly 6 foot jumps and successful teeter-totter runs for a wipe out that left me void of periphial vision in my left eye. A good day, nonetheless.

Purse strings made us trade in our downhill bikes for cross-country ones on Saturday. Great views and scenery abounded, almost as much as cramping quads and rest breaks. Cross-country mountain biking in Whistler is really something you need to train for, and I certainly wasn't ready for it. By mid-day, I was ready to trade my cross country bike back in for a downhill one on the slopes, but the excrutiating long weekend lift line pretty much made that impossible. True to my roots, I spent the last half day shopping, negating all the man-points I'd accrued by the last 2 days of roughing it in the woods. Easy come, easy go, I guess.

All in all, it was a great trip. I guess now its back to living vicariously through all the adventure magazines I subscribe to. Next trip - the Alps!

pac

Final Goodbye

2006-09-06T21:09:00.000-04:00

Well, this is officially it - my last post from this house. The packers came today and packed everything up, and they moved exceedingly fast. By around 6:00, 4/5 of the house was just bare furniture and boxes stacked to the ceiling. I can't decide if its sad, bittersweet, lonely, or what. I guess probably all of the above.

The only room that really remains intact is the office, which almost feels like an island of normalcy compared to the rest of the house. Every other room is bare - no pictures, no throw-pillows, no lights other than the one on the ceiling...but the office has everything still in place since the packers didn't make it this far (although they will first thing in the morning). Everything is so stripped down you have to whisper in the house just to avoid an echo. Its eerie really. The rest of the house doesn't much feel like the place I've lived the past 3 years.

I'm overcome with sympathy for Nash, who obviously knows big change is happening. He ate this afternoon for the first time in about 36 hours. Bless his heart - its only about to get worse for him.

In any event, no matter what you say about Norfolk, we're sure going to miss this house. I'll miss my office. I'll miss our huge living room. I'll miss going out back and tossing the ball with Nash. I'll miss mowing the lawn and tending to the flower beds. I'll miss waving to the neighbors when I take Nash out. I'll miss knowing what spots to step over on the floor to avoid creaks and waking up Ella. I'll miss sitting on my couch and peering out at the neighbor kids playing in the street through the storm door dad and I installed.

I'll miss the spot where Ella first smiled at me. I'll miss the place where I laid in the floor and prayed the moment I found out Melissa was pregnant. I'll miss they view of the roses out our kitchen windows. I'll even miss the stupid gas stove you have to light with a lighter.

I guess I'll miss a lot of things about this place...but I'll mostly just miss home.

- pac

More Annapolis Pics...

2006-09-06T01:34:00.000-04:00

Annapolis

2006-09-06T01:04:00.000-04:00

Well, we decided to celebrate our last Labor Day in the states for a few years by going to visit some of our best friends up in Annapolis. We'd kinda wanted to go see a Navy game up there for a few years now, and the Larsen's living there provided just the impetus we needed.

I'd been to the academy a few times before I was in the Navy, and knew both it and Annapolis itself was awesome, but its easy to forget when you haven't been in a while. Other than the Larsens though, the actual game was the highlight. To be honest, the pre-game festivities were probably my favorite part. It was pretty cool seeing all the midshipmen marching to the game...

A couple of things surprised us - the 3-star supe walking with all the kids pumping them up...the random onlookers who threw wads of candy to the marching mids...the mids themselves who begged for candy like their lives depended on it...Hayes kids scouring the road for the leftover sweets like they'd never been fed...and the one really weird guy who found it appropriate to crack open a Naty Light and spray a group of the midshipmen. Classy man - classy.

Coincidently, some guys (and gals, apparently) from Brett's squadron actually conducted the flyover in the game. I saw one of them afterwards and wasted no time running up to him like a giddy schoolgirl to inform him that I "knew a guy" in his squadron. Gosh I'm cool (and obviously have pilot envy).

The game itself was a blast, even if I did force everyone to leave in the middle of the third quarter so I could get home to watch Tennessee play. All the kids donned mascot tattoos (a mere $2 of the massive amount we spent in the gift store on random USNA merchandise that we'll probably wear once for fear of looking like a poser).

Regardless, we had a great time. Check the next post (I'm lovin' craptastic Blogger's picture-post feature...) for some final pics - the afternoon ended with Ella crashing out in the stroller on the ride home. Ah, the life of an 8 month old...

- pac

Nostalgic

2006-08-31T00:04:00.000-04:00

I've been looking though some of my old pictures, trying to determine whether we looked happier when I was in Knoxville or here. Kinda stupid huh?

I guess its natural to start getting nostalgic before you leave a place. Its not like our time in Norfolk has been a walk in the park. The work has been draining (not that I'd really have much to compare it to). Hampton Roads as a region leaves a good bit to be desired. The public psyche here is so saturated by the military that it kinda takes away from any glamour that "being in the Navy" had to begin with.

Of course that said, as I look back on our time here, its easy to see that Norfolk will always remain a critical part in the fabric of our lives. My first real job was here; my first house was here; my daughter was born here. I try to remember what it was like to leave Shelbyville...to leave Martin...to leave Knoxville...and nothing seems to really compare. I had incredible friends in all those places - in fact, many of the people who are and remain my best friends to this day were from those places, and some still are. And I certainly enjoyed the actual locations of those places more...

But leaving Norfolk is different. If I had to put my finger on it, I guess I'd have to say its the number and quality of the relationship's we've built here that make the biggest difference. Thats not to say I've not made true, deep friends elsewhere, but there's just something different about everyone here. Its kinda like family.

Again though, at this point most of our friends have come and gone, or are at least about to be gone. Save one set of friends who truly call Norfolk home, all the people I've known and loved here will be gone within the next 2 years, and most have already left. That may make leaving easier on one level, but it sure makes catching up with them later in life all the more difficult.

Then there's the whole fact about being used to a place. As much as I hate the traffic, the congestion, the construction, the commute, and everything else about the actual region, at least I know the place. Want Mexican food? I know just the place. A great steak? Plenty of options. Best beach? Stick with me; I've got you covered. Could it be true - might I actually miss this place, or I'm I suffering from some stange form of the Stockholm Syndrome?

I think the answer is that I won't miss Norfolk, but I'll miss my time in Norfolk. It was a good time in our lives, despite all the struggle. One good thing about moving and the Navy is that PSC'ing really provides a clear new chapter to life. I guess its about to be time to turn the page yet again.

Unfortunately for us, the next chapter is written in a foreign language...

- pac

Long Overdue

2006-08-26T21:30:00.000-04:00

Well, as I expected, I've really begun to fall behind on these. Regardless, things are progressing on the move to Italy. The house is under contract, and if all goes well, closing is less than two weeks away. Its a little unnerving knowing that in less than 3 weeks, essentially every piece of property we own will be on a boat in the Atlantic and another family will be enjoying my house as their home. It makes me feel like a preschooler seeing another kid playing with his toy - no, this is my house! What do you mean you're going to paint these walls? They're my walls! No you can't eat your food outside the kitchen - you might ruin my carpet!

Like I said - its kinda wigging me out.

In all reality, the home-selling process has been an extraordinary blessing. And, other than a few shots and some hard-to-deal with federal employees, the staging process for an overseas move has been pretty smooth. That said, ask me about it again next week after the movers come - that's traditionally a low point in the process.

Melissa's aunt and uncle have been kind enough to let the four of us crash at their place for the 3 or 4 weeks after we sell the house. I say "four" to include Nash, who will also stay with us - I only hope he doesn't wreck the place before we get out of the country...and I hope Jerry and Janie aren't reading this...

I also feel a little bad for the beautiful little girl pictured above. Neither she nor Nash have any idea what's about to befall them. For Nash, we're talking repeated trips back and forth to Tennessee, weeks in a strange house, an 8 hour trip in the cargo hold of a military plane, and as many as 4 or 5 weeks in an Italian kennel until we find a place to live. Jeez - I guess that kinda puts my difficulties in perspective.

We'll try to keep the blog as up to date as we can over the next few months. After next Wednesday, we won't have access to our computer until early November, but computers are everywhere - hopefully we'll get a chance to drop a few blogs between now and then!

- pac

The picture that it still won't let me post...

2006-08-10T23:29:00.000-04:00

Well, here's the pic that it wouldn't let me post on the last go-round. Now all of a sudden blogger is more than happy to let me post all the pics I want...just not on the last entry. Weird.

Regardless, enjoy!

- pac

I bet you thought we'd quit already...

2006-08-05T00:57:00.000-04:00

Wow. Its actually been so long since I've posted, I actually forgot my password for a few minutes.

But, anyway, here we are. Back from a week's vacation (if that's what you call it) in Tennessee. We came, we saw, and we basically never slowed down. It seemed like the lions-share of our trip was spent in the car or planning for our next stop on the "who do we have to see next" train. A few highlights:

I learned to ride a motorcycle. No, we're not talking wheelies or endos, but I got it into third and didn't lay it down. You have to start somewhere I guess - even if "somewhere" means riding around your dad's house in circles cause you're too scared to get out on the street. But that still counts, right? Right?

Dad also let me hang out and shoot a little with his pals at the pistol range. I shot a small child. Gruesome, really.

Ella got to sit on her horse for the first time, and we've got pictures that will almost certainly become the object of her greatest desires after a little while in Italy. As if we won't already miss home enough, Ella constantly begging to go home and ride her horsey will be fun to deal with...thanks mom.

Mom got a new computer. I - of course - pillaged all the sexy components and traded them out for my parts from last year. Score.

Melissa got to chill with all her friends at her 10 year reunion. I sat quietly and sipped coke while watching Westview's class of 96 put on a show on the dance floor to hardcore gangsta rap. Honestly, what's a class reunion without Two Live Crew and a dude with a Volkswagen-sized belt buckle?

Lastly, I got to chill with my little bro on my last night in town. I got there late, but we made the best of it.

A good trip all around, albeit hurried. I've got a few random pics I'll add later, but because Blogspot sucks and won't let me add any pictures right now, I'll have to edit the post tomorrow. I guess you get what you pay for.

- pac

The Joys of FSBO

2006-07-15T21:04:00.000-04:00

Well, the house is finally for sale. It took a little work, and there's still more to do, but its finally on the market. We're on a deadline, but we've decided to try to sell it ourselves for a while before calling an agent. That whole 6% doesn't sound like much until you really do the math.... Take a peek a the other website we created about the house if you'd like.

One exciting moment came when we were vacuuming the kitchen the night before the appraiser came. Everyone knows that golden retrievers shed, but when we moved one key piece of furniture in the kitchen during vacuuming, we stumbled across something that was nothing short of amazing:

I named them Fred and Kareem.

Now, the picture doesn't do them justice. To begin with, this picture was taken moments after the beast underwent mitosis and split into two. Even then, they were simply jinormous. I actually jumped back when I saw them, thinking something was loose in the house. Then for some reason my mind jumped straight to the muppets.

When my wife saw them, she was none too pleased. In fact, I captured her reaction, which you may also recognize from such classics as "The Dog Just Took a Whiz in the Garage" and "My Husband and His Uncontrollable Flatulence."

Anyway, at the end of the day, the kitchen was cleaned and in tidy shape for the appraiser. I think Nash actually ended up eating Fred and Kareem before Melissa got to them with the vacuum. Good dog.

So there you go. Whoever said you couldn't blog about nothing?

- pac

Blessings

2006-07-12T12:49:00.000-04:00

So, I decided it is time I tackle this Blog and post something for myself. My husband, as many of you know, is quite the writer, while I on the other hand am notorious for poor grammar and incorrect word usage. That being said, join Phillip in calling me out on it!

In the last 6 months I have been overwhelmed by God's graciousness, love, and innumerable blessings! I never saw myself as the "lovey mother" type but there is something about a child of your own that transforms everything you thought you knew about yourself. That in itself is a wonderful blessing. What a blessing everyday is! Ella is a blessing of health, God's beauty, and joy! I tell Phillip often, "I rounded the corner today and saw her sitting there smiling at me and I was literally knocked down by the fact she is mine." She looks nothing like me but she is mine. God is so amazing and we are so blessed! I don't think there was ever a time in my life before having Ella that I was flooded numerous times a day with how awesome God's love is. A lady told me shortly after Ella was born that she never truly understood what God must have felt for His only son to be sacrificed for us until she held her first child. WOW! It's so true! If you are a parent you know exactly what I'm talking about and if you aren't I pray you have the opportunity to experience not only Parenthood but how strong that love is that God gave to us!

Blessings!

mel

A New Stage

2006-07-09T20:43:00.000-04:00

Alright. Based on the fact that Ella is 6 months old, I was there for her birth, and I'm blogging about how awesome it is to be a dad, you would think that I'm used to it by now - but this whole "being a parent" thing keeps hitting me right between the eyes.

I guess maybe I'm comfortable with being a parent, its just these new stages that keep sneaking up on me. Just when I was getting comfortable with nighttime baths, changing diapers, and bottle feedings, something new happens.

By now you're wondering what happened. Well, this morning was the typical Sunday morning in the Chockley household. Melissa - the diligent, thoughtful, incredible mom/wife she is - got up around 0700 in order to get things ready for church, get Ella fed, etc. I, on the other hand, having stayed up to the wee hours of the morning playing my new video game (Oblivion for the 360 is awesome by the way), slept until the last minute possible. The frantic few minutes that follow are nothing more than sitcom-worthy. Of course while I see the humor in it, my wife just broods because I've made us late.

Well, anyway, as a ran to the pantry to grab a coke and chocolate chip muffin pack for breakfast, I flung open the door only to find the following scene:

Now, to many of you this may only look like a cupboard full of baby food (and it probably isn't even that much to some of you). To me, it was a clear indication that life was about to change even more significantly. Crawling was just around the corner. Then comes walking, talking, driving, dating, and college. It all happened that fast - and all I did was open the pantry door.

After hyperventilating for a bit (fortunately the the brown paper bags were right there in the pantry too), I regained my composure. You'll be happy to know that we made it to church in plenty of time, and I worked through my little newfound issue in record time. I've resolved to take things one stage at a time, beginning with getting as good as Melissa is with forcing sweet potatoes down my daughter's throat. If I can master that, surely the whole dating thing will be a breeze.

Right?

- pac

Just to Reiterate

2006-07-05T23:47:00.000-04:00

I know there was never any real confusion on this issue, but just to reiterate: I have the most beautiful daughter on the face of the planet.

- pac

More "Hellos"

2006-07-02T00:27:00.000-04:00

"Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos." ~Charles M. Schulz

Yesterday marked the end of a long and storied reign at my workplace. After more than 2 years of havoc and humor, the dastardly duo of Larsen-Chockley came to a close when my good friend Hayes (pictured above "mentoring" our JG replacements) left for Annapolis. Here's hoping those midshipman at the Academy will quickly realize that getting an A in his class will depend much less on actually knowing the subject matter and more on knowing classic Simpson's quotes.

For those of you unfortunate enough to have never met Hayes, I won't bore you with the details. Suffice it to say that I'll be moping around a little more than usual for the next few weeks. I guess its always like that when a good friend leaves, even in the Navy.

He'll kill me for saying it, but Hayes certainly went out with a bang last week. I'm reminded of that closing scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid...

As I think about it, God has always seemed to give me at least one good friend everywhere I've lived. I guess Hayes fits the mold here. It makes me wonder why I don't just act normal, live in one place, and stick with the friends I have around me. Maybe its because - like here - even if I stay in one place, everyone else will end up moving anyway. Like Schulz says: I guess I just need more "hellos."

Adios Hayes. It was a good run.

- pac

Just Me and the Mut

2006-06-27T22:25:00.000-04:00

Whelp, its just me and the mutt this week. In celebration of our decision to move out of the country, my wife decided to steal my daughter and leave the state. She says its just until Saturday, but judging from what we're finding out about life in Naples, she may just stay in Knoxville.

I've already fallen into my regular schedule for when my wife leaves town: come home, let dog out, eat 4 hot dogs, 3 mello yellows, one can of cheese dip with ruffles. Watch history channel until I fall asleep on the couch around 8. Wake up, let dog in, feed him, lock him in kitchen. Watch more history channel. Get off couch around 1030, surf net for 15 minutes, give dog a treat to make up for locking in kitchen, then lock him in the kitchen again. I'm a terrible person.

Poor Nash has spent most of this evening looking at me like I'm an imposter in the house. Apparently he's gotten used to people being home all day long, and with Mel and Ella gone this week, he's just lost.

Alright, alright, the guilt is killing me - I'm going on a run with him.

pac

Cajun Festival

2006-06-24T23:40:00.000-04:00

Well, tonight was the Cajun Festival at Town Point Park in downtown Norfolk. Melissa and I have been terrible about getting out and going to events while here in Norfolk, not because we don't like them or because we're scared to get Ella out, but generally just because of apathy. But, with Amanda out of town and Brett here by himself this weekend, ole' Brettie managed to drag us away from our normal Saturday evening of moping to a relatively uncrowded evening of fried crawfish and beignets. Melissa, of course, had her typical Louisiana fare: red beans and rice, woofing down most of the rice and red beans and systematically shoving all the spicy sausage into my mouth. At least we got our money's worth...and a little heartburn. Here's me with a mouthful of beignet...

I'm obviously also wearing a Baby Bjorn with my daughter in it. I know, I know, it just screams of masculinity. What might not be so obvious is that my daughter is asleep. That's right - she actually fell asleep while I was walking around with her strapped to my man-girdle. Not even the blaring music or the shower of powdered sugar from my beignet stirred her from her slumber. She's truly her mother's daughter - nothing interferes with naptime.

For the record, she's also like her dad - if you look closely enough you'll see the sleep-induced drool on the girdle right below her mouth...

I hope everyone else is enjoying their weekend as much as we are.

- pac

Fatherhood

2006-06-22T22:16:00.000-04:00

Okay, lets face it. I know nothing about being a father. I mean, I'm learning, but so far I'm well-versed in only a few topics, most of which are somehow tangentially connected with some preexisting man-duty such as "taking out the diapers" (see "taking out the trash"), "packing the diaper bag" (see "packing the car"), and "don't let the dog step on the kid" (see "don't let the dog step on your wife").

Regardless, I have to tell you that being a father is far and away the coolest thing ever. You quickly learn that your impact on your child is dramatic, even from an early age; for example, here I am teaching Ella her first gang signs.

All kidding aside, being a dad is super cool. God has blessed me with a wife willing to stay home and the resources necessary to let that happen, and for both I am eternally grateful. For me, one of the best parts of that luxury is that when I come home in the evening, Ella's always incredibly excited to see a new face, which translates into tons of smiles for me. I guess the realist in me knows that it might just be the change in scenery that affects her mood, but I choose to believe its cause daddy just got home!

So, in late celebration of Father's Day, and in general celebration of how gorgeous my daughter is, here are a few shots I've managed to nab of me and that smiling face (and one of my beautiful wife just for good measure ;-).

Hey - who said a little drool wasn't beautiful?

pac

A Picture of Us...

2006-06-20T00:59:00.000-04:00

And so it begins...

2006-06-19T23:50:00.000-04:00

Well everyone, welcome to our little exercise in narcissim. Like many of our friends before us, we've finally come to the point where we think so much of ourselves, we think others might care too. Its the new American dream right? College - job - marriage - house - kids - blog. Nevermind that some of us take things out of order. (What happened to the kids, Stephen? :-)

Anyway, in all honesty, this is something my wife was - at least at first - completely opposed to. Neverthess, like so many other instances in our life, Mel was eventually able to understand all the keen and rational arguments I made in favor of us starting a blog. Of course by "understand my keen and rational arguments" I really mean "succumbed to my persistent nagging." Thanks for giving in sweetheart.

So, here we are. If all goes well, I hope this place becomes a little spot on the web where everyone can check in and see whats going on in our lives every once in a while. In olden days (as in, like, when we were 10), our families would get together every so often and have a big dinner, usually after church or for somebody's birthday. Even as a kid I remember enjoying sitting around the dinner table and catching up on everyone's lives. Maybe this is a way to recapture that. The good news is that I can actually eat at this dinner table, and not the card table in the corner with Strawberry Shortcake paper plates. Stupid Strawberry shortcake...

This might also serve as a way to stay in touch with friends as we continue to move around. One of the benefits of moving a lot is that you get to meet so many awesome people; of course, its kinda a double edged sword - each move brings new friends, but it means leaving old ones. As many of you know, I recently put my name in a hat to be transferred to Naples, Italy. Things look good, and if things go the way I expect, I should find out tomorrow whether we'll be leaving for Europe in October. At least initially, I thought this little blog might prove useful in keeping everyone up to date on how that process moves along. Ultimately, it might show everyone what life is like for us overseas.

Again, we all know there are good and bad blogs on the web out there. In my mind, the good ones are the ones where only friends and family visit, and if a wayward web-surfer manages to meander through our pages, he or she might leave with a smile on their face. (...especially when they see gorgeous pictures like this one...)

So again, thanks for visiting. To all who come, welcome to the dinner table. Pass the rolls, and enjoy figuring out with us what it means to live Life as a Chockley.

- pac