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January 23, 2006
Taking a Break
Well, I obviously have not been very good at this lately. I'm still pretty busy getting settled and we are heading up to Boston for a about a week.
So please check back in a couple of weeks.
Posted by Julee at 12:16 PM | Comments (3)
January 12, 2006
McGuire Housing
We even get our own television station!
Back in November when we heard we might be going to New Jersey, I immediately started researching local housing options. Well, it didn't take long to learn there weren't really any local options except on base. McGuire is kind of in the middle of nowhere and there really aren't any rental options in the nearby towns. The high cost of living makes buying a house impossible for us even with Eric's adjusted housing allowance, not to mention we will have to start paying back student loans in June.
I spent quite some time perusing various military spouse websites to see if anyone had commented on McGuire housing. Most of what I read was very negative. The houses had all been built in 1961 and there have been very few updates since then.
The Air Force is actually planning to build all new houses in the next 5 years. They had originally approached the State of New Jersey with an offer of sale. They were hoping the state would buy all of the units to use for public housing. Well, after inspecting them NJ said No Way, they weren't nice enough.
Having said that, I think the house is fine and I'm not just being a trooper. It's a little small for 5 people and the kitchen is even smaller with no pantry space whatsoever, but it's luxurious compared to what we had in Boston. The hardwood floors have been refinished and there is a fresh coat of paint on every wall. We have a lot of closet space and even an attic for storage. It also has been updated a little since 1961. Unlike the house in the picture (page 5) we do have central air.
Next time I post I will tell you all about the cookie I'm going to go eat. I bet Colleen knows what I'm talking about.
Posted by Julee at 07:53 PM | Comments (2)
1902
I'm stealing this from Eatmisery.
United States statistics for the year 1902:
*The average life expectancy in the U.S. was forty-seven (47).
*Only 14 Percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.
*Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
*There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S. and only 144 miles of paved roads.
*The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
*Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.
*The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
*The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents an hour.
*The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
*A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
*More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home.
*Ninety percent of all U.S. physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."
*Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee cost fifteen cents a pound.
*Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
*Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.
*The five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
*The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.
*The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.
*Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.
*There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
*One in ten US adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
*Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. According to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and the bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."
*Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic.
*There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.
Posted by Julee at 07:37 PM | Comments (0)
January 07, 2006
Pictures
Taken on the campus of Princeton.
Don't they look cold? It is so cold here.
Posted by Julee at 09:30 PM | Comments (1)
Hello from New Jersey
I'm Back!
Here we are in our new home in New Jersey. We are still swimming in a sea of clutter. The movers just brought our goods yesterday. It feels so good to sleep in our own beds after nearly 3 weeks of various hotel rooms.
It was quite a trip getting here. Three weeks ago tomorrow was our last night in our home in San Antonio. After spending two nights basking in luxury on the Riverwalk, the kids and I left for Kansas City. (Eric had to remain an extra day for outprocessing, which is basically going from office to office at Lackland begging for signatures) We broke down and bought a portable DVD player and thanks to Disney the trip to KC was really easy. Okay, mostly easy: from San Antonio to the Oklahoma border you pass about a half dozen or so drive-thru Starbucks. But once you cross over you might as well forget about drinking decent coffee. I even had to resort to drinking McDonald's coffee in Kansas. (gasp!)
We then spent a few days in Kansas trying to schedule visits with so many family members in so little time. Eric's 95 year old grandmother who had flown by herself from Seattle was even there.
On the day after Christmas we hit the road again. It took us almost 3 days to get to New Jersey and once again thanks to Walt Disney and the feature-length film it was a relatively easy trip. The best part was stopping in Indianapolis to meet Suzanne and her beautiful daughter.
We arrived in New Jersey late on Wednesday the 28th and actually were able to choose a home on base the next day. (more about that later) We would have been able to move in on the 30th had the movers notified us that our possessions had already arrived, like they were supposed to. But as you can deduce from my tone we had to spend a week at the Amerisuites because we never got the phone call.
The high point of the week was when Iris poured a cup of hot tea onto herself and scalded her arm. The front desk called 911 and 6 paramedics and a policeman converged upon us and thankfully told us that her burns were minor and there was no need to go to the hospital.
Just a few thoughts from the past 3 weeks:
I have seen the inside of enough gas station restrooms to last a lifetime. (Remember that I have 2 young sons who have frequent urges)It will be a very long time before I will be able to step foot inside another Applebees, Chilis or Fridays.
It will be even longer before I let my children eat another order of chicken fingers.
So here we are.
Posted by Julee at 08:15 PM | Comments (5)
On the Riverwalk at Christmastime
If you ever have an inclination to visit San Antonio I recommend doing it the week before Christmas. The weather can be really nice, the tourists are relatively scarce and the Christmas lights are exceptionally beautiful. I hate to say it because it sounds so corny, but the atmosphere is quite magical.
Posted by Julee at 08:04 PM | Comments (0)