Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends that we couldn't be with this year. We miss all of you, and we wish we could have been together!
We spent a great day with our friends Robert and Michael at Shauna's house with her boyfriend, Eric, in Sacramento. We all bought some dishes, and Eric made the turkey! The food was wonderful, and we all ate until we felt like we would burst :)
About Me
- Jeff and Karen Doherty
- We were married in September 2005. We're best friends, and we love traveling and exploring new places. We like sci-fi movies and watching the history channel. Our little boy was born February 1, 2010. He is named Jeff Jr. or JJ. Our daughter Moira was born July 28, 2011. We have a cat named Munchkin. Jeff is a career military officer, and Karen works for a family services program for the Army. We live in Monterey, California. We are making this blog for our family and friends who we miss and want to share our life with.
Friday, November 24, 2006
California Guard - Family Support Group Training
We've been busy for the last few weekends!
Karen is the Family Support Group Leader for Jeff's California Guard Company. November 18-19, we went to Sacramento so she could get some formal training and ideas for running the group. All military branches have Family Support Groups or Family Readiness Groups, or a family group with a similar name. These were all set up during the last Gulf War as a way of getting family support and communication. The group is an important part of each military group as its the way the family members can communicate with command. Its also a great way to make friends!
We met people from units from all over state. Karen was invited to be part of the state Family Support Group Council.
Sorry, no pictures from this weekend. It was just classroom stuff...
Karen is the Family Support Group Leader for Jeff's California Guard Company. November 18-19, we went to Sacramento so she could get some formal training and ideas for running the group. All military branches have Family Support Groups or Family Readiness Groups, or a family group with a similar name. These were all set up during the last Gulf War as a way of getting family support and communication. The group is an important part of each military group as its the way the family members can communicate with command. Its also a great way to make friends!
We met people from units from all over state. Karen was invited to be part of the state Family Support Group Council.
Sorry, no pictures from this weekend. It was just classroom stuff...
Disneyland November 4-5
Hi everyone, we know its been a while since we've updated this blog, but life has been going good and quiet, which is a very good thing!
Karen was invited by one of the Army Reserve units in southern California to teach some Army Family Team Building classes on Sunday, November 5th, down near Ahaheim. So, we decided to make it a fun weekend, and we stayed at the Sheraton across the street from Disneyland. We drove down Friday afternoon and had dinner in Downtown Disney. We spent all day Saturday exploring and having fun at Disneyland. Saturday night we went to Medieval Times for dinner to celebrate Jeff's birthday, and to see the jousting show.
Sunday Karen taught her classes until noon, and then we went back to Disney to go to the California theme park part of Disney. We had an absolute blast!!! We have fun together all the time, but this was just great. The rides were awesome and the park was beautiful!!! You can see from the pictures that it was just great!
Karen was invited by one of the Army Reserve units in southern California to teach some Army Family Team Building classes on Sunday, November 5th, down near Ahaheim. So, we decided to make it a fun weekend, and we stayed at the Sheraton across the street from Disneyland. We drove down Friday afternoon and had dinner in Downtown Disney. We spent all day Saturday exploring and having fun at Disneyland. Saturday night we went to Medieval Times for dinner to celebrate Jeff's birthday, and to see the jousting show.
Sunday Karen taught her classes until noon, and then we went back to Disney to go to the California theme park part of Disney. We had an absolute blast!!! We have fun together all the time, but this was just great. The rides were awesome and the park was beautiful!!! You can see from the pictures that it was just great!
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Karen has started her new job!!
YAY!!! Go team Doherty! Karen started her new job for CB Richard Ellis on Monday. Karen is the Facility Coordinator at the McGraw Hill building in Monterey, and she also works with the Salinas and San Francisco offices, and 2 offices in Washington State.
So what is a facility coordinator you might ask yourself? A facility coordinator works directly for the facility director in managing projects, day to day tasks and administrative functions for running the physical part of a building. We're the people you call when your office is too hot or a light is burned out or if the roof is leaking or the parking lots needs to be updated to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act..... This is the same sort of job Karen had in Florida, except this time there are no free tickets!!!!
Jeff is doing great in his job. The Public Affairs Office was taping part of their new recruitment video at his site yesterday while the Arabic students were in for the day. All military project funding is currently frozen solid. Jeff has been soliciting donations and help from the community. Today he received a donation of 2 practically new industrial sized refrigerators from California State University - Monterey Bay for students to use for their food when they do overnight immersions. Way to go Jeff in saving all us tax payers around $5000!!!!
The cats still continue to taunt the neighbor dog!!!
So what is a facility coordinator you might ask yourself? A facility coordinator works directly for the facility director in managing projects, day to day tasks and administrative functions for running the physical part of a building. We're the people you call when your office is too hot or a light is burned out or if the roof is leaking or the parking lots needs to be updated to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act..... This is the same sort of job Karen had in Florida, except this time there are no free tickets!!!!
Jeff is doing great in his job. The Public Affairs Office was taping part of their new recruitment video at his site yesterday while the Arabic students were in for the day. All military project funding is currently frozen solid. Jeff has been soliciting donations and help from the community. Today he received a donation of 2 practically new industrial sized refrigerators from California State University - Monterey Bay for students to use for their food when they do overnight immersions. Way to go Jeff in saving all us tax payers around $5000!!!!
The cats still continue to taunt the neighbor dog!!!
Friday, June 16, 2006
Jeff and his baby
God only knows why the kitten did this, but one afternoon she started to lick Jeff's head after he got a hair cut. Maybe she thought he was another cat?
Our roses
Here are our first roses blooming in our front yard. One plant is actually bright pink and the other is a very intense orange. They are also very fragrant! This is our first time with roses and they seem to be doing well here.
Our cats are bullying the neighbor's dog
Notice our cute little kitten sitting in the flowers, and see the dog through the slats of the fence? Yes its a little hard to see, but the dog was moving around a lot so it was hard to get a good shot. The cat is actually taunting the dog. She even stands up and bats the dog on the nose with her little paws.We think both cats enjoy teasing this poor dog. As soon as they hear him bark in his backyard, they will run to the fence if they are outside or meow to him through the sliding door in the living room. The dog, of course, goes nuts barking and his people make him go inside.
Jeff's first day at work
Here is our fearless soldier ready to deploy on his first day of office duty.....
Jeff's new job
Jeff is doing great in his new job. He is excited to go to work everyday and has so many things to get done yesterday. The men and women working with him in the immersion program are very proud of everything they've done and can't wait to get the program up and running. Their target opening date is July 1st. I think they'll get it done.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Life in an alternate universe....
A few weeks ago Jeff and Karen volunteered to help a local army unit practice going into Iraqi villages and working with the locals. We dressed up in local clothing for the day. So this is how we would look.... Needless to say, no one who knew Karen before that day recognized her fully covered from head to toe!
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Very sad news....
It is with a very heavy heart that I post of Mimi's passing earlier today. Mom called us earlier this morning to let us know that she and Kevin were both with Mimi to hold her hands and tell her that they loved her. She will be missed by all who knew here.
Karen
Karen
The Browns come to town (hey that rhymes!)
Jeff's mom and step-father, Linda and David, came to visit us during the week of April 16th.
We had a very nice time with them and took a trip into San Francisco on Tuesday. We stopped at the Hiller Aviation Museum along the way and Jeff and David got a chance to take a test ride in one of the retired Blue Angels' planes! We dropped Jeff off at Alacatraz after lunch, but he was let off with time served after he told the guards he was married. We had a lovely dinner in Chinatown at a rooftop garden overlooking the Bay. It was a fun day for everyone!
We had a very nice time with them and took a trip into San Francisco on Tuesday. We stopped at the Hiller Aviation Museum along the way and Jeff and David got a chance to take a test ride in one of the retired Blue Angels' planes! We dropped Jeff off at Alacatraz after lunch, but he was let off with time served after he told the guards he was married. We had a lovely dinner in Chinatown at a rooftop garden overlooking the Bay. It was a fun day for everyone!
New job for Jeff
Hi everyone, I know its been awhile since we have posted. We have been through some exciting changes.
Jeff has been offered the position of Officer in Charge (OIC) of the defense Language Institute's (DLI) Language Immersion Program. Jeff will be working with a civilian contractor to develop immersion programs for all of the languages taught here at the DLI. Currently, the students go for a short trip to a country where their language is spoken, near the end of their language program. DLI has decided this is great, but a little too late for many students, so they want something that will last a weekend or a few days for the students to be completely immersed in their language. Jeff will coordinate these arrangements and will have a few enlisted soldiers working for him.
Way to go Jeff!!!!
Jeff has been offered the position of Officer in Charge (OIC) of the defense Language Institute's (DLI) Language Immersion Program. Jeff will be working with a civilian contractor to develop immersion programs for all of the languages taught here at the DLI. Currently, the students go for a short trip to a country where their language is spoken, near the end of their language program. DLI has decided this is great, but a little too late for many students, so they want something that will last a weekend or a few days for the students to be completely immersed in their language. Jeff will coordinate these arrangements and will have a few enlisted soldiers working for him.
Way to go Jeff!!!!
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
The yard is finished!
YAY! We got the backyard done this weekend, and it looks so pretty. We've been looking out the window every once in a while to admire it!! I have to say, we do have the nicest yard in our little neighborhood. I think part of the reason is that we don't have every toy our non-existent kids own thrown around the yard... ooops, I guess I shouldn't have said that. We are also going to buy some goldfish to put into the pond.
Karen is taking the Army Family Team Building II classes this week, and she also teaching a class on Adapting to Change. Last week she went to the Master Trainer class for Army Family Team Building. Army Family Team Building is a program that was initiated after the first Gulf War as a way of empowering the spouses that were left behind. Our husbands do and learn a lot of things they don't tell us, or have forgotten in all the time they have been in. These classes are designed to fill in the blanks and to give us things to ask our husbands about.
The first of these classes teaches about rank structure, paycheck, basic benefits and entitlements and other general information. The second classes talks more about change, family readiness groups, time management and financial planning. After the first class, one of the employees of the Army Community Service team asked Karen if she would like to volunteer by teaching classes. Karen took one of the training classes last week, and in April, the Department of Defense is going to send her for a week of training in St. Louis to become an Army Family Team Building Master Trainer. I am looking forward to this!
Last week, Karen also applied for a Spanish Professor position at the Defense Language Institute. It will take about a month to find out if she has an interview. They are going to hire several language teachers because they are going to build up the Spanish school again. If selected, they will pay for her to get a Master's Degree in Spanish!!!
Jeff's Arabic test did not go so well last week. Apparently, even though the class is in Chapter 3 in their books, they have been given the quantity of vocabulary and grammar that is the same as Chapter 5, in half the time that was allotted for chapter 3. (I hope that explanation made sense.) And, instead of being tested at the end of each chapter, the teachers tested them on Chapters 1 - 3 all at once. Jeff's class is a new test group to get the soldiers through Arabic faster. Well, this didn't work so well, all but few failed, and the ones who passed, barely passed. So, they are taking an extra 3 weeks to review the information and are being tested again on Chapters 1 - 3 after that. We are both greatly relieved!!!
We miss all of you and hope everything is going well!
Love,
Karen and Jeff
Karen is taking the Army Family Team Building II classes this week, and she also teaching a class on Adapting to Change. Last week she went to the Master Trainer class for Army Family Team Building. Army Family Team Building is a program that was initiated after the first Gulf War as a way of empowering the spouses that were left behind. Our husbands do and learn a lot of things they don't tell us, or have forgotten in all the time they have been in. These classes are designed to fill in the blanks and to give us things to ask our husbands about.
The first of these classes teaches about rank structure, paycheck, basic benefits and entitlements and other general information. The second classes talks more about change, family readiness groups, time management and financial planning. After the first class, one of the employees of the Army Community Service team asked Karen if she would like to volunteer by teaching classes. Karen took one of the training classes last week, and in April, the Department of Defense is going to send her for a week of training in St. Louis to become an Army Family Team Building Master Trainer. I am looking forward to this!
Last week, Karen also applied for a Spanish Professor position at the Defense Language Institute. It will take about a month to find out if she has an interview. They are going to hire several language teachers because they are going to build up the Spanish school again. If selected, they will pay for her to get a Master's Degree in Spanish!!!
Jeff's Arabic test did not go so well last week. Apparently, even though the class is in Chapter 3 in their books, they have been given the quantity of vocabulary and grammar that is the same as Chapter 5, in half the time that was allotted for chapter 3. (I hope that explanation made sense.) And, instead of being tested at the end of each chapter, the teachers tested them on Chapters 1 - 3 all at once. Jeff's class is a new test group to get the soldiers through Arabic faster. Well, this didn't work so well, all but few failed, and the ones who passed, barely passed. So, they are taking an extra 3 weeks to review the information and are being tested again on Chapters 1 - 3 after that. We are both greatly relieved!!!
We miss all of you and hope everything is going well!
Love,
Karen and Jeff
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)