Matthew's Combat Action Badge (CAB)

This is a picture of me and my award for being a seviver of an attack on my convoy with a VBIED (Vehical Born Improvised Explosive Device). It was presented to me on the 15th of this month.The award is a little late but later then never. Im still net getting permoted, the points whent up on me so now i have to do more education courses to add points to my record. Im still in the running tho. Other than that its been same-O same-O.

Back to isolation...

Hey Everybody.
Matthew and I made it back to the desert safe and sound. Well, safely, anyway. We got back to our respective camps in the noche (night) of Sunday, the 10th. Yee-haw. (Note: sarcasm)
We miss you all so much. We were so grateful to see the family (and friends) that we got to see. We never seem to have enough time on leave to do everything we wish/want to do. It's sad. There's so much more we wanted to be able to see and do, but time would not allow it! ARGH!!!!
At least I'm back to familiarity. Sadly, it don't look like I'm going to be getting back to the states as soon as I'd hoped. Sounds like I'll be back in time for Thanksgiving, though. At least it's only a little over a month past what I was expecting, so I guess it's not too bad. Meh..
I'm back to hanging out with my friend, SGT Nathan Siceloff...yep, he got promoted. *applause* And it looks like Matthew might get promoted next month (would've been this month except for some technical errors on his unit's part). Nathan took me out to the Cinnabon by the PX for a miniature "Welcome back to the Desert" party where the whole party consisted of him and myself. It was still nice. He's still trying to finish reading my new Poppy Z. Brite (my favorite author) books. I'd already read them before leave, but he hasn't quite finished them. It's so nice having a buddy that is so interested in the same things as I am. It makes it a lot more fun to hang out with him cuz we're so much alike. Don't start any rumors, now. I love Matthew with all my heart. Besides, Nathan is more interested in...other people. I'll leave it at that. :^)
Everything is the same as always. Butt-ass hot, but not as hot as it was before I went on leave, and still boring. At least I got some more books while I was on leave. I've already read Cut and I am currently reading White Oleander. Both are really hard to put down. I'm almost finished with the one I'm reading.
Nothing to really report. I hope you're doing better, Josh. And I hope your Dad is okay, Zippy. If there's anything Matthew and/or I can do for you two, let us know. Wish we could help.
Thank you, friends and family, for all your support. I miss you, and I know Matthew misses you too, and we can't wait to be back in the states. Just 2.5 more months to go. Maybe a bit less than that if certain dates change. Love you all and take care. TOODLES!!!!!

Le Bet [part DEUX]!!!!

[Top: Le Bet (aka "The Beast II") and Crystal. Middle: Trunk Monkey(newest in security, comes standard with every purchase from Patriot Auto Sales). Bottom: Crystal fishing at Stillhouse Lake in Harker Heights, Texas.]
Hi-lo!
Hope everyone is absolutely FANTABULOUS. I know that I'm doing pretty good. And I think that Matthew ain't too shabby either! We're not happy that we'll have to go back to Iraq in 2 more days, but we'll live. "We are survivors!"
Yes, that's the newest addition to Matthew and I's little fleet of vehicles that we're accumulating. It's a 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4x4. Isn't she beautiful? I picked her up for just under $5000! It runs really well and it's going to be so much fun to modify. The parts are really easy (and CHEAP) to find down here. Oh, and it came equipped with it's very own Trunk Monkey. What a plus, eh?? I thought so.
Matthew and I went fishing again, today...we got skunked. All the fish were surfacing and eating the bugs, but they just TEASED our lures. What creeps!!!! I got a couple of swirls and lost one of our pearch-colored lures to a submerged log that I couldn't see, but it brought to our attention that the line on my pole needed to be changed, which is good, I guess, in the event that I ever CATCH anything. But, we haven't really done much else. Hope you all are alive and well. Take care. You too, Josh! No more hospitals!!! Take it easy. Talk at you all later. Toodles!!!!!

Six Flags Over Texas

[Top: Crystal with Wonder Woman. Middle: Matthew with Bugs Bunny. Bottom: Matthew and Crystal in front of the "Spain"-themed entrance.]
Howdy! Greetings from Texas. We're in Texas now...have been for the past 2 days, actually. We went to Six Flags in Dallas, Texas today. We had a lot of fun. We went on the BATMAN ride 4 times and we rode all of the other big roller coasters, such as TEXAS GIANT and SHOCK WAVE. All were very thrilling...and a couple of the rides actually made me sick. I've never gotten motion sickness until I came on leave. I even felt nausious on the plane flying from Iraq to Kuwait...how dumb is that??? Oy!!! I hope I don't turn-out like my dad, who is unable to go on the KEWL rides cuz he get sick on them so easily. I did enjoy the Batman ride a lot...so long as I was able to sit in the back, which killed Matthew cuz he likes to sit in the VERY front. Poor guy. I'm glad he was so willing to sit in back with me. I LOVE YOU, MATTHEW!!!! *smooches*
After spending a wild morning (and most of the afternoon) at Six Flags, we decided that we'd had enough of that mess for one leave, and continued on our trek towards Killeen/Ft.Hood. We stopped in Waco to visit Barnes & Nobles and to catch a movie. We'd seen Accepted with Josh while we were visiting him in Missouri, so we thought we'd see something that wasn't a comedy. We watched The Wicker Man. That movie really gave Matthew the creeps and he didn't really like the "politics" on the island that the movie is about. I thought it was a good movie. Creepily realistic, but really good. It reminded me of The Village, which also had the creepily realistic, secluded idea to it. I enjoyed it. If you haven't seen it yet and you liked "The Village", you should see this movie.
Well, I should get off the net. I've spent so much time on the computer, I think Matthew is getting agitated that I've been ignoring him. Poor baby! (Note the sarcasm :^D ). Take care. Toodles!!!!!

Crystal's Half-Time Report

Hello, my adoring fan club, and GOOD DAY!!!!
My leave has been going well. I have seen family, friends, and visited my beloved Minnesota Renaissance Festival!!! I couldn't have asked for a better day to be at the Ren Fest. It wasn't hot, it wasn't rainy, and it wasn't too terribly crowded. I loved it! I also was able to get myself a gypsy outfit. It's really pretty colors.
I also attended my 'rents' anniversary party--with class!!! I was wearing a black with purple pleated skirt, with a black 3/4 sleeved shirt that had a low-laying v-neck and the sleeves were really loose. I had my hair down and it was really curly! I think I looked pretty good. It was the first time in a long time that I've worn a dress around family that it didn't involve the Ren Fest! LOL. Anyways...Matthew was pretty hot in his nice khaki pants and bright blue button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He looked like I'd cut his picture out of a magazine and turned him to LIFE! He was so gorgeous. What a babe! Sorry...I lost myself for a moment there. I saw a lot of family that I haven't seen since I was little (Uncle Geno, and Byron & Chetty), and a few friends...Ashley Kringle, Kat &Rod Oltman, and Marie Ljosenvoor (sorry, Marie, if I misspelled your name). Thank you everyone for showing up or for trying your hardest to be there. I understand that there was a lot going on during that weekend for everyone. There's always this winter. *wink*
As of now, Matthew and I are still at Josh's house (Matthew's older brother). We saw Zippy, too, but she had to leave the morning after we got here. Last night we went to Grandma Moran's house for a spaghetti dinner...and Matthew and I got a little fishing in from their dock (caught only one little bass, but got a couple of bites!). Other than that, we've just been "jellin' " (as Josh would say) for the most part. It's kinda nice to slow down a bit and just chill. Today, Matthew and I will continue our trek back to Texas as we need to find an apartment for when we get back to the states and we have a few more errands to run.
Thank you, everyone, for making this leave so enjoyable for us. We can't wait to be back in the states to stay! We miss you all so much. I hope you enjoyed our leave too. Thanks again. Take care of yourselves and try to have fun! For those of you attending college, I wish you luck! The next time I write on this thing, I'll probably be back in Iraq, so I guess I'll catch you on the flip side. Toodles!!!!!!!

Ashley's PotLuck Bars RECIPE!!!

For those of you who came to my parents' 25th Anniversary Pot-luck and enjoyed those delicious nutty bars that my friend, Ashley Kringle, brought over; I now present you with the recipe to those deliciously evil bars. Hope you enjoy!!!!!

1 c (2 sticks) butter, softened (not melted)
2 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 c (Ashley used a 14 oz. can) sweetened condesed milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 c chopped nuts (Ashley used walnuts

1. Beat butter in large bowl until creamy. Add flour, sugar and salt until crumbly. Press 2 cups of crumb mixture onto the bottom of a 9x13x2 inch pan. Set remaining crumb mixture aside. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden.

2. Warm 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips with mild ov low heat, stirring until smooth. Stir in Vanilla. Spread over hot crust.

3. Stir nuts and 1/2 c. of chocolate chips into the remaining crumb mixture that was set aside. Sprinkle over chocolate filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until center is set.

4. Cool in pan and enjoy!