Moving!

House for sale in San Antonio

So for years I’ve been fascinated by the tiny house movement. The last 2 years I’ve been living in a little Airstream during the week while deployed for work, and going home on weekends to San Antonio. Matt now has a job where he works from home, and can be anywhere in the South. So he decided to move down and be with me. We upgraded from my tiny vintage airstream to a giant 5th wheel. It’s not quite a “tiny house” but it’s pretty awesome. So now our house in San Antonio went on the market this week. So if you’re looking for a big house on the north east side of Spurs town, check it out. It’s halfway between Joint Base Fort Sam Houston and Randolph AFB, so it’s perfect if you’re PCSing here. We’re one block away from the immigration building, and you could walk or ride your bike to the RackSpace castle.

The house is in the city of Windcrest. It has it’s own police and fire departments, with an average response time of 90 seconds. – yep, we know from experience…

The 2,400 sq. ft house was built in 1984, but we’ve done a bunch of upgrades. We replaced the windows with super high efficiency ones. We cleaned out the old insulation in the roof and had bio-foam sprayed up there. We replaced the air conditioning units. We changed the pool equipment and now have a salt water pool. I really missed salt water pools from Australia, so Matt upgraded for me. It’s 12,000 gallons of backyard bliss. 20 foot tall red tips all around ensure lots of privacy. We could skinny dip as much as we wanted and didn’t worry about anyone seeing us 😉Downstairs is a huge master bedroom with master bath. We just replaced the old tub and shower with a huge double rainfall shower. There’s his and her walk in wardrobes and a separate toilet. All new lighting and faucets.

Open plan living area. Large living area with a fireplace, peaked roof is almost 30′ high. Upstairs area opens onto lounge below. Super open and spacious. Super huge kitchen. When we had parties you could fit 30 people in here mulling around. Open to lounge area, also has a wet bar area. Huge windows allow natural light in and a view of the side yard. The AC unit is here. You can’t see it from inside. When we replaced the AC, we had them move it here. It used to be in the backyard, where you could hear it from the pool, and the bedroom. The new one is super quiet. Way nicer.Also off the kitchen, headed to the backyard, is the laundry and a half bath. Great for when everyone is in the pool and you don’t want wet feet coming through the other back door. There’s also a “dining room” downstairs, but since there’s room for a dining table in the kitchen, Matt has the front room set up as an office. I think it would make a great nursery if you have a baby. Upstairs is another large bedroom with walk in closet. Attached bathroom which has also been updated. There’s a bathtub in here if you like to soak. Upstairs is a huge play area. It’s got a media area, with room for a giant screen tv, lounges, and we’ve got a pool table up there too. There’s a tonne of natural light throughout the house. It’s all very open plan, there’s no hallways. Its set way back from the road, and there’s an alley behind the house, which has access to a detached double garage with lots of storage space in a loft area above. There’s an empty lot next door, which we own, and you can buy that too if you want to make sure you never have a neighbor on that side. It’s on a quiet circle, and we’re the house in the back corner with the pool. And here’s where we are in relation to the NE side of San Antonio And all of San Antonio So if you’re looking for a beautiful retreat in San Antonio, call John Foster and tell him you want him to show you our house. Perfect for anyone working at Fort Sam Houston, Randolph AFB, RackSpace, DHS, or need a close drive to the airport. It’s been a wonderful home for us. I’ve actually lived there longer than any other house. We threw amazing parties there, it’s perfect for entertaining. We’re sad to leave such a beautiful home, but we know someone else will enjoy it as much as we did.

October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween!

It’s All Hallows Eve!

Well, it’s finally Halloween here in the US. I love Halloween. Everybody dresses up and parties. Communities get together and decorate, and kids get to go out and meet their neighbours. I wish I was at home instead of out of town for work, because people in my area go nuts. They decorate elaborately for weeks, and set up mini theme parks in their garages.

The grown up all have dress up parties, and try to outdo each other in the outfits. People make cute themed food and drinks, and there’s lots of fun and excitement.

When I was a kid in Australia, I so wished we had Halloween the way the Americans do. It seemed like such a fun event. I was so happy when I got here and found out it really was, and wasn’t just something made big for TV. Sure, it’s very commercialized, with everyone buying candy and decorations. But really, it’s not as bad as Xmas, or Easter, and there’s no family drama.

So to all my Aussie friends, I hope those of you who chose to get in on the fun and dress up had a great time, and to all my friends here, can’t wait to see you when I get home tonight. Still not sure what I’m going to be yet…. Maybe I’ll just leave my uniform on and go as GI Jane. 😉

April 23, 2013

Splash

Dive in to Splash

So anyone who reads my blog knows I’m a bit of a reality TV tragic. I figure the format isn’t going to go away, so you may as well embrace it. Besides, some of it is interesting. A lot of scripted TV shows just don’t hold my attention anymore, or they become so predictable it’s boring.

So tonight, when presented with the choice of my old favourite NCIS, or reality selections including a Kardashian special, Hell’s Kitchen, The Voice or Splash, I started out on the Kardashians, well, mainly because I had been watching E! news and it just came on. That’s when I looked at the TV guide. 😉 Now since I’m not in the mood to actually pay attention to the TV, which NCIS requires, coupled with the fact that I can watch it again in repeats, preferably in a marathon on a lazy rainy day with my husband, I decided to give Splash another go.

Now, I know you’re all thinking I’m crazy. Yes, it’s a show about a bunch of kinda celebs diving into a pool. But I think Channel 7 may have been onto something when they picked this show up. I mean honestly, when the concept of Dancing With The Stars was first announced, how many of us were like, WTF? Really, a show about dancing celebs? Ballroom, Tango? Why do we care? But look how successful that show is. Well, Splash is kinda like DWTS, and here in the US, Splash is on at 7pm, and DWTS follows on the same channel at 8pm.

Now just like Dancing, you’ve got some TV types who are learning a new skill. One that’s way out of their element. What I didn’t expect was what a train wreck this show was going to be. You don’t really think of diving as a dangerous sport. However, there’s already been several people on the US version who’ve had serious injuries. Chuy, the little nugget from Chelsea Lately broke his foot in training. Last episode one of the guys overturned and smacked the back of his head and was really disorientated.. Tonight, someone flopped on their face and got a black eye. Seriously, a black eye. There’s lots of bellyflops and ouch moments. Let’s face it, we all like watching people hurt themselves. That’s why we love Jackass or those sports clips with all the car wrecks.

It’s also nice to see people who we think have everything show a human side. Kendra was terrified on the high board. She did the show to overcome her fear of heights, but it was too much for her. Some people made fun of her for not jumping, but I think a lot of people would back away on the 10m board. Just because you’re on TV doesn’t make you super human.

Just like DWTS, it’s about the competition, but it follows the same format of showing the rehearsals, and a peek into the personalities of the contestants.

If it’s got nothing else going for it, it’s on at dinner time and you don’t actually have to pay attention to it. You can have it on, and look up occasionally and know what’s going on. Let’s face it, sometimes we don’t want to have to actually watch, we just want some background noise on. After a long day at work, I don’t want to have to actually think when I get home and watch TV….

So make fun all you like of Seven’s upcoming Celebrity Splash, but I bet it rates well for the first couple weeks at least. If nothing else, people will watch the first episode to see how good, or bad, people look in their swimwear.

August 17, 2012

Election 2012

Douchebaggery in Political Elections

The 2012 Election campaign is in full swing in the US. While there are in fact FOURTEEN people currently running for President of the United States, the media would have you believe there was only TWO people running – Obama and Romney.

I run in all kinds of circles, but most of my friends are big Ron Paul supporters. He ran in the last election as a Libertarian. Everyone loved him, but they all considered a Libertarian vote a wasted vote, so they voted Republican. This time, Ron Paul is running as a Republican, but the media has done their best to ignore his existence. They still want the American public to believe there’s only two options, Obama and Romney. Of course, by focusing on those two exclusively, they’re assuring they’re the only two people who get any votes on election day. It’s a self fulfilling prophecy.

What’s even more troubling to me than the media bias and their clear intent on creating the next President, is the actual candidates themselves.

I consider being a politician to be a job, or for some people, a profession. Now, most people when they apply for a job, write up a resume, a nice cover letter, they may do a few rounds of interviews. The better the job, the more interviews you’ll probably have to do. Some jobs you’ll have to do background checks, maybe a credit check. They’ll talk to your past employers, ask for references, you know the drill. Throughout this whole process, the candidate is talking about themselves. They talk about why THEY should be hired. They’ll tell potential employers why they are right for the job, what skill they have, why they are the best candidate. At no time do they talk about other potential employees.

Why can’t political elections work the same way? The Presidential position is a job. Their employer is the people of the United States. They’re asking us to give them the job. So just once I’d like to hear a Presidential Candidate talk about why I should vote for them, and not why I shouldn’t vote for the other guy. It seems like candidates have no good points of their own. They never tell me good things about themselves. All they do is tell me bad points about the other people, and the reason I should vote for them is because they’re less of a douchebag than the other guy.

This appears to be pretty universal. Politicians everywhere seem to have descended into this schoolyard mudslinging match of making everyone else look like idiots and liars, while not really saying anything special about themselves, except, I’m better, cause he sucks.

The US President also has the additional responsibility of being the Commander in Chief of the US Military. I personally think if you’re going to be the highest ranking guy in charge of a military, you should have some kind of military experience. At the very least, you should at least respect the men and women who are willing to sacrifice their lives when you decide you’re not adult enough to work shit out diplomatically and decide to declare war.

Now that I’m a US Citizen and I’m allowed to vote, and I have already done so in the Primaries, you can bet I won’t be voting for Obama or Romney. I’m not going to give my vote to someone just because they’re not as bad as the other guy. I’ll be giving my vote to someone who actually talk about themselves, and how they can make America a better place for Americans.

I invite all Americans to actually do some research on the 14 candidates. Don’t base your vote on what CNN or FoxNews tells you. Find out for yourself what the politicians are running for. What their intentions are. Who they care about. Make an informed decision. If you like someone, go out and vote for them. You don’t have to stick to the two who are paying the news to show their faces. If everyone voted for who they liked, instead of thinking of it as a “wasted vote” we might surprise some people and shake up the establishment.