Pax posts out

It's post day today - as in snail-mail going-off-to-my-troops post

It's been a low news week for me (no adventures with chain-saws or nail guns to write about; and whilst the dentist trip was $$ it was mostly dull) so this weeks' post are cards and postcards.

Hopefully colourful enough that they will bring a smile to the faces of everyone that encounters them on their journey

Oh and for those that collect stamps - the latest International one is this very cute koala

So Australian theme all the way - hope it lets them know that they are cared about!

Veni Vidi Coniuro (Pax goes Latin)

Veni Vidi Coniuro - I came, I saw, I plotted
Primary Plot - Failed....  I guess Defcon One will have to wait for now - it appears that a timeline miscalculation will mean that birthday present for adoptee #2 will not reach him prior to his "go no mail/go home" date.

Which is a sad sad thing as I had taken great pains to find him his very own squeezable cootie ball (for fun and team sharing - as they do in the marine corps I'm told :D) Oh and a copy of this very educational book too.



You can also buy it from HERE

I guess I will now have to send a copy off to someone else, just so they can report back on just how easy it IS to make your very own flamethrower  (very important information for when the Zombie Apocalypse befalls us)

However Secondary Plot has been dispatched via my local Post Office today - time line for delivery...
hmm.... tricky....  10 to 12 days airmail to reach the USA (being no doubt intercepted by both Australian and USAian Customs) and then on from there via the Military mail system to somewhere not ending in "STAN".  

I'm sure the recipient will be delighted with the items within (and probably ECSTATIC when he discovers that no Aussie Sweets [aka candy] have been included).

And I am now utterly exhausted - this creative plotting sure does take a lot out of you (all that skulking about and pretending to be sweet and nice... so tiring!)

I'm now off to make some dinner, answer some emails and perhaps adopt another USA service person (there are over 1900 on the waiting list).  If any of my Happy Readers have the time (an hour or so a week is all) and the funds (not that much $$$ required - paper & envelopes & stamps to send a letter a week / goodies from the local stores for the once-a-month parcel) and the inner-kindness (if you exercise your IK then it grows tenfold!) then please consider becoming a member of Soldiers' Angels - they really do strive to make a difference in the Troops morale.

And now I leave you all with the very important question - Ubi est mea anaticula cumminosa?

Pax

Warmed by Pax

Hey Look! It's post number 100!  Does this mean I waffle too much? :D

It's no surprise to anyone that knows me what a delicate petal I am - being born & raised in the sub-tropics means that cold (and this is anything under 16 degrees Celsius.. erm... about 60 degrees Fahrenheit for those of you on the Imperial spectrum) causes me to whimper and hide under blankets.

So you can guess just how much sympathy I have when I hear that one of my adopted soldiers is not coping well with the change in temperature from home (TX) to "over there".

Fuzzy fleece sheets (we call them Flannelet over here in Australia) found, ordered and now on their way to him.


Mmm... Fuzzy!

I did ask him first if he'd be okay with having red ones sent (I was worried about the "laundry oppsies" since pink knickers aren't very manly).  He's assured me that he'll remember to wash them separately if they look like the colour might run.

Must remember to start signing off on my letters to him as "Stay safe - Stay Warm" :)

Edited to add.... I lamented to a friend (V) that I really wished I could afford to send JJ a Texas flag blanket to keep him extra warm & toasty.  V's google-foo is legendary and she managed to track down just the very thing at an affordable cost.  So now there's even more warmth heading my soldier's way

Pax'd and Posted

Two more parcels posted off on Friday - the last of my overseas Christmas gifts being sent from Downunder (there are a few more gifts to go but I'll be using USA based suppliers to avoid the whole "Australia post charges like a wounded bull and then transports slow as a snail" problem).

Along with those gifts I found a cute & cuddly toy to send to a young Marine (a RAK - random act of kindness - for a young man known to a blogger friend of mine). Hopefully it will make him smile

Roo!

An Aussie Christmas card will also be shortly on it's way to the same young marine and a few others.

***I can afford to send an additional 10 or so Christmas cards next week [it's Aust $2.20 to post each card so you can see why I need to budget] so if you know a deployed service member that would like a random "oooh mail from Australia!" - drop me a note at my email account. paxford@gmail.com. You will need to include a valid mailing address but I promise to keep them all confidential to protect the OpSec***

In other news - I've added a link in my side bar for the fantastic "Cup of Joe for a Joe" coffee program that Green Beans Coffee runs.  Usual disclaimer that they aren't paying me anything to advertise for them - I just think this is a great way to show deployed military that people care about them.  For every US $2 that you donate, it's $2 off the service persons drink of choice.  And sometimes you receive an email saying thanks [fangirl squee... my last 'thank you' note came from a Colonel at Camp Phoenix.  That's my very first ranking officer encounter.  Painless one too :D]

I've made a few lovely friends from the CoJ system - those few that have asked me to write back and aren't

• A) hoping I'm single, young & exciting (sorry the reality is that I am... involved... older... tireder... and a bit dull)  and 
• B) hoping I match their viewpoints exactly on religion/sports/politics (all three points I prefer not to talk about - religion & politics because I think each to their own; and sport because I am both inept AND Australian... although I have a wondrous fascination for Ice Hockey :D). 

Sadly I've lost contact with a few really lovely people, due I think, from them realizing that I'm not in a "Conventional" relationship with Mr B (yes.. that's right... living in sin**... sorry about that but resolution of that situation would involve *him* asking and *me* accepting - both of which seem unlikely in this current reality)

Actually I do worry sometimes about how many people seem to see the Milsupport idea as a

"great way to hook up with someone". 

I *have* learnt to not reply to any email requests originating from anyone with an email address including the words "PlayaDude...." - so I guess it's a good learning curve :)

Those that I write to / send parcels to / say prayers for - definitely hold a place in my heart but it's not Loooove, Love... Ya know?  (It *is* however "Love" - unconditional caring involving thought, some financial sacrifice and the investment of time).  I don't find that I can switch off caring for someone simply because they are home safe & now not on my list of "must communicate with".  So I'll keep saying a quiet prayer for all "my" troops (and their friends - Hi D!! :D) - and hope that the downunder "warm & fuzzies" help to make a difference on the bad days.

Pax over & out for today.

**I would like to state for the record that "Living in Sin" sounds far more decadent & exciting that reality has it :(

Pax'ing Presents

I've been busy ordering & shipping things off all over the place this month.

Two of my adopted soldiers had birthdays this month - so interest appropriate gifts were found and ordered and hopefully reached them (JJ's still home on leave so he should find his when he gets back to base).  So Happy Birthday to K & JJ - and I hope that your day was peaceful, quiet and spent hearing from loved ones.

Some goodies have also been ordered for Brandon & his team mates.  Some long sleeved shirts shipped out from Amazon during the week; and an order of Aussie munchies, including the pin that I love to send my Adopted troops, has been placed with the USA based Aussie supply group - Simply Australian.  I heartily recommend this company if you are looking for Aussie munchies and other goodies - the owners are true-blue and super honest & helpful (one of them is even helping me with "Operation: 2010 Santa Stockings").  They have shipped goodies off to all of my adoptee's (and a number of "RAK" - random acts of kindness - troops that I have found via friends online) and I have never had any problems.


Two Flags

Actually at some point I should get myself one of these pins so I can wear it on my work blazer (along with one of these from Soldiers' Angels).  Lol.. one day I'll get organised enough to order something for me :)

And in the "Pax has been crafty" - last weekend saw my bestest friend Cozzles over and helping me create some Kitschy Christmas Cheer (try saying THAT three times quickly!)   Some photos are below of the creations (minus any action shots of "Pax discovers that Glue Gun Glue is HOT!!!" or of C laughing herself silly at my attempting to throw the hot glued item away from me... yeah yeah... glue is STICKY too... *grumps*)  The Flowers & Leaves are all fabric/artificial so hopefully the USA customs crowd won't have a conniption fit (the customs slip will have it listed as "wire based / artificial flowers decoration")


Items gathered - glue gun primed - lets begin!



Belled and be-ribboned



and en-beared!



Finished!!

Two are completed - the third almost done (I ran out of ribbon).  Soon they will be twisted slightly out of shape (so they can fit in the boxes that will only cost me an arm and half a leg to post airmail to the States) and sent off to my three adopted soldiers for a spot of goofy Aussie Christmas cheer.   

I have a few of the central belled & beared decorations left so a few of you may just receive something goofy in the post. Bwhahahah!!!

Pax is a Slacker! - updates follow...

I swear that I think to myself "I must go update my blog" and then life intervenes and I'm once again weeks away from the last post and feeling guilty [actually I do guilt really well - the nun's at my girls school *really* had an effect on me... but that's another tale]

Updates on the "Boys":

Justin *may* have been located.  Actually he may be where he's always been just that my mail is now reaching him(?)  You might recall that I had the Cunning Plan to send a small parcel to him via Amazon.com.  In the Past if I've had parcels rebound to them they have advised me promptly, so I knew that if J's parcel bounced back to them I should hear about it in 3 or so weeks from sending date.  Last week passed by and nothing received from Amazon so I'm really hoping that he got the book okay.  I've now resumed my regular letters to him in the hope they get through too - I can hope at least.

K is home on leave - happy thoughts are directed to him and his family.

C had a birthday late September. Parcel with cake in it arrived early and I remembered to think Warm, Fuzzy thoughts at him on the day [yes yes... points to the peanut gallery ... it IS a fact that so many of my normal thoughts are naturally "fuzzy" - these ones had extra fuzz applied :D]

J2 has been in touch via Facebook and Myspace (oooh social networking how I do love thee, you maketh it easy for me to know people are safe).  He's reported back on the Aussie treats he received and I'm hoping he'll let me quote his reaction to the Musk sticks :)

Oooh and I may have a guest blogger or two lined up. Kyle (he of the air force and amusing quips) has agreed to be Primo Guineus Piggus so we'll see how that goes.

In 'at home' news - work: we may be back in our library by the end of October (see my post on what happened to it here). The refit is shiny & new & utilised all of the insurance money. It's also in shades of grey, white & charcoal (dull dull dull) and we are verbotten from putting anything colourful (or interesting) on the walls or in our cubicles. I'll post photos when I get back down there.

My mum... she has been getting along okay. Remaining cheerful. They can't give her Radium treatments unfortunately (aparently you can only have one dose of those in a lifetime and since she had a cancer 20 years ago that was her 1st & only chance at that). So they are giving her some sort of oral treatment that will hopefully disperse the cancerous cells missed by the op. Time will tell how that goes.  My Middle brother Mike & his family travelled up from Sydney for a weeks long visit.  Two of my three nephews were there (the eldest had to work unfortunately) so Mum & Dad had two rambunctious teenagers (14 & 15) running about the place. They looked like they loved every minute of it.  Family lunch on the weekend (BBQ with the Men tending the flames and the women sitting & chatting - got to love tradition :D) saw all of the family gathered together for a few hours. Good to see them even if the reason to is a sad one.

It's Sunday Pm here so I need to stop larking about on the computer and go do some chores (walk to the shop in the rain for some groceries; clean the kitchen; vacuum the cat.. okay vacuum the cat FUR off of everything but idea 1 might stop the problem at the source)  No rest for the wickedly Pax.

Pax's heart is working fine!

And I know this because I just emptied my post box to find a returned letter. 

A Returned letter from "over there"

I focused just on the "return to Australia" and the address all crossed out in black and broke out in a cold sweat - hands shaking - heart thundering.  Chaotic thoughts rolling through my brain that it was returned because something Bad or Worse had happened to one "my" adoptees.

After what felt like an eternity - but was probably only a minute or two - my eyes refocused enough to realise that it was a letter address to "C".  Instant relief as I'd seen him post on his Facebook account just yesterday.

So thank you over-efficient Mail workers of the USA Army - I'm sure that my letter arriving 3 or so days after C's unit was moved to another base obviously put it into the "suspect" box.  I really REALLY hope that none of C's nearest & dearest had the same thing occur - at least my hearts working fine enough to cope.