Its been a while since we have posted, but the time has gone by so fast!!! The Arabic instructors crammed 3 weeks of class material into 2.... no wonder its been hard to process so much new information. The reason they did this was because of Christmas break and they wanted the students to get all the information before they left for 2 weeks. So, they will have a nice review when everyone gets back from vacation. We plan on using the break to review all 11 chapters and work as hard as we can on the information we currently have.
We are getting ready to spend Christmas with the Doherty families. Our flight leaves early on the 24th, so at least we will have Christmas day with our family. We are hoping to get some skiing in. Karen will probably stick to the bunny hills; Jeff claims he can still snowboard, haha, we'll see about that when we get back.
We've posted some cute pictures of the cats. Cat Fancy magazine is having a photo contest with the theme of Best Friends, so we are taking lots of pictures of the kitties. The Munchkin is so cute. She still has that kitten sense of balance and is afraid of nothing yet. They are too much fun to watch playing with each other. The kitten has shown Topaz how to play again. Both of them try to help us wrap Christmas presents, so if they look a little wrinkled, be warned.
Until later everyone....
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.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
arabic - week 1
We are still alive, but deep in the bowels of arabic letters. The squiggles and dots and bumps are starting to look like words... almost! Karen is studying all day what Jeff is learning in class, and we are averaging about 3 hours of joint studying each night.
We're going out to see a movie Friday night, but we can't remember which one. Its one of the new ones, opening on Friday. I guess it will be a surprise!
The cats are doing good. Little Sledgehammer is getting more catty. Jeff has been calling her Munchkin, so it will be her name. She is such a little cutie. She is not much bigger, but feels heavier and stronger. We are going to enter some pictures of our babies in a cat photo contest. I'll post the pictures soon. The theme is "best friends."
Love to all,
Jeff and Karen
We're going out to see a movie Friday night, but we can't remember which one. Its one of the new ones, opening on Friday. I guess it will be a surprise!
The cats are doing good. Little Sledgehammer is getting more catty. Jeff has been calling her Munchkin, so it will be her name. She is such a little cutie. She is not much bigger, but feels heavier and stronger. We are going to enter some pictures of our babies in a cat photo contest. I'll post the pictures soon. The theme is "best friends."
Love to all,
Jeff and Karen
arabic - week 1
We are still alive, but deep in the bowels of arabic letters. The squiggles and dots and bumps are starting to look like words... almost! Karen is studying all day what Jeff is learning in class, and we are averaging about 3 hours of joint studying each night.
We're going out to see a movie Friday night, but we can't remember which one. Its one of the new ones, opening on Friday. I guess it will be a surprise!
The cats are doing good. Little Sledgehammer is getting more catty. Jeff has been calling her Munchkin, so it will be her name. She is such a little cutie. She is not much bigger, but feels heavier and stronger. We are going to enter some pictures of our babies in a cat photo contest. I'll post the pictures soon. The theme is "best friends."
Love to all,
Jeff and Karen
We're going out to see a movie Friday night, but we can't remember which one. Its one of the new ones, opening on Friday. I guess it will be a surprise!
The cats are doing good. Little Sledgehammer is getting more catty. Jeff has been calling her Munchkin, so it will be her name. She is such a little cutie. She is not much bigger, but feels heavier and stronger. We are going to enter some pictures of our babies in a cat photo contest. I'll post the pictures soon. The theme is "best friends."
Love to all,
Jeff and Karen
Saturday, November 19, 2005
What is this?
We were eating breakfast a few days ago and this came strolling by. Karen thought it was a turkey, and Jeff thought it was an emu. Ideas anyone? 
View of Monterey
Here is a pretty view of the Bay we took as we toured Cannery Row. Sardines were a huge industry in Monterey from 1930 - 1960. When the sardine schools went away, the canneries went out of business. The sardines have a growth cycle that lasts about 25 years and runs opposite the anchovie population, which also lasts about 25 years. The U.S. Fish and Game Department was unable to regulate fishing during this time, so the fish "dried up." Commerical industry of the fish is now regulated in this area and they are trying to learn more about why the sardines and anchovies reproduce the way they do.They turned the section of Monterey that had the fish canneries into a commericial district with little shops and restaurants. Its a pretty area to walk around and to meet friends. Monterey does have a fisherman's wharf, but we have not gone there yet.
Harry Potter!!!
Woo hoo, we went to see Harry Potter tonight!!! Yay!!! It was totally awesome.... we don't want to give away any secrets, so you'll have to see it yourself.Before the movie, we went to the Navy Officers' Club and had a few drinks with friends and bowled some frozen turkeys. It was funny.... Karen's a wimp and couldn't swing the turkey hard enough to even hit any 2 liter bottle bowling pins... Jeff did a fair job, but neither of us were winners. I guess we'll stick to cooked turkeys....
We had a late birthday celebration at Benihana's in Monterey, and we are attaching a picture. Jeff told everyone it was Karen's birthday, so they gave her a balloon hat to wear - yes, thats the wierd yellow and black thing on her head - and the wait staff sang happy birthday. It was great and we have enough leftovers to last us a few weeks.
until later....
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Settling in to Monterey
Its been a while since we've been able to post and many things have happened, most of them good! We arrived in Monterey and signed the lease for our new home. We've been getting to know the area. It looks like we are going to like it here. We are just about a mile away from the ocean and there are mountains and hills everywhere. The trees are still changing color here, and some of them don't drop their leaves. We have a pretty assortment of reds, oranges and greens here. A lot of the flowers are still in bloom too!
Our have a townhouse that is in the middle of a four family unit. It has three bedrooms, a nice size living room, a dining room and eat-in kitchen, as well as three bathrooms. While the place has been here for a few years, it was all freshly painted, had new carpet and was extremely clean. We have a lot of closet space, a storage room on the second floor and a 10 x 10 shed outside. We are very happy with the house so far.
The movers came Monday morning with all of our things. The only thing that we have found broken so far is one wine glass! Everything else made it okay and in good shape, and even some things we didn't remember we owned :) We have the majority of the boxes unpacked (go Jeff) and the house is starting to shape up nicely. We're sure we will move furniture and some things around a few more times until it all feels right.
We've met some nice couples so far, and we are starting to make a nice little group of friends. They are mostly navy couples (without children), since we live where most navy families are. It seems the childless people are looking for other childless couples to hang out with. We've been invited to the navy officer's club tomorrow night for drinks and dinner. It should be fun!
Love to all,
Jeff and Karen
Our have a townhouse that is in the middle of a four family unit. It has three bedrooms, a nice size living room, a dining room and eat-in kitchen, as well as three bathrooms. While the place has been here for a few years, it was all freshly painted, had new carpet and was extremely clean. We have a lot of closet space, a storage room on the second floor and a 10 x 10 shed outside. We are very happy with the house so far.
The movers came Monday morning with all of our things. The only thing that we have found broken so far is one wine glass! Everything else made it okay and in good shape, and even some things we didn't remember we owned :) We have the majority of the boxes unpacked (go Jeff) and the house is starting to shape up nicely. We're sure we will move furniture and some things around a few more times until it all feels right.
We've met some nice couples so far, and we are starting to make a nice little group of friends. They are mostly navy couples (without children), since we live where most navy families are. It seems the childless people are looking for other childless couples to hang out with. We've been invited to the navy officer's club tomorrow night for drinks and dinner. It should be fun!
Love to all,
Jeff and Karen
Monday, November 07, 2005
ADDRESS CORRECTION
We found out today the correct spelling and zip for our new address:
Jeff and Karen Doherty
384C Bergin Drive
Monterey, CA 93940
Sorry for any confusion.... Our cell phone numbers are the same.
Jeff and Karen Doherty
384C Bergin Drive
Monterey, CA 93940
Sorry for any confusion.... Our cell phone numbers are the same.
we've arrived!
We made it safe into Monterey last night. This is our first chance to access email since before the STORM. Yes, it was as bad as you see on TV... we haven't had a TV since October 24th, haha. It was so hard to see our beautiful Florida so destroyed, it made me cry the first time I left the hotel. Most the trees we saw had the bark blown off of them if they were still standing, and most of them didn't make it through. The hotel we stayed in through the storm still didn't power as of November 6th.
Monterey is beautiful so far. The people here are very nice. We have ocean to the west and mountains on our east. Its incredible to see. The town looks like something from a painting.
Our furniture was supposed to arrive today, but didn't. The movers tried to call our old home phone number last week and it was disconnected, so they put everything into storage. They will deliver and unpack everything next Monday. In the meantime, Army Community Service has lent us dishes and kitchen goods and Jeff's friend Angela has lent us a blow up bed. The house is great, though - three bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, new carpet and a cute backyard.
Monterey is beautiful so far. The people here are very nice. We have ocean to the west and mountains on our east. Its incredible to see. The town looks like something from a painting.
Our furniture was supposed to arrive today, but didn't. The movers tried to call our old home phone number last week and it was disconnected, so they put everything into storage. They will deliver and unpack everything next Monday. In the meantime, Army Community Service has lent us dishes and kitchen goods and Jeff's friend Angela has lent us a blow up bed. The house is great, though - three bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, new carpet and a cute backyard.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Resort living on a dime
The movers called and our apartment should be empty by October 21st, so we have to find housing until November 6th. The army will reimburse us at a later date, but we aren't holding our breath for the money. Karen's dad suggested checking out Skyauction.com to find hotel deals. As it turns out, skyauction.com auctions timeshares that people don't/can't use, for the price of the auction +$195 tax.
We won two, one week stays in different resorts for about $200 each. Both resorts are on the beach and look very nice. October 22 - 29 we are staying at the Hollywood Beach Tower, in a one bedroom suite with mini kitchen. HAHA, we won the auction for $1 + tax
http://www.epinions.com/content_114580885124
October 29 - November 5 we are staying at the Sea Gardens Beach and Tennis Resort in a two bedroom suite with a full kitchen. This room was slightly more -- $15 + tax
http://www.seagardens.com/
So far this looks good. We are getting excited to live the life of the rich and famous on the beach.
Love to all,
Karen and Jeff
We won two, one week stays in different resorts for about $200 each. Both resorts are on the beach and look very nice. October 22 - 29 we are staying at the Hollywood Beach Tower, in a one bedroom suite with mini kitchen. HAHA, we won the auction for $1 + tax
http://www.epinions.com/content_114580885124
October 29 - November 5 we are staying at the Sea Gardens Beach and Tennis Resort in a two bedroom suite with a full kitchen. This room was slightly more -- $15 + tax
http://www.seagardens.com/
So far this looks good. We are getting excited to live the life of the rich and famous on the beach.
Love to all,
Karen and Jeff
Sunday, October 16, 2005
The move to California begins....
Hi everyone! Our condo is almost boxed up. We've been busy tying up loose ends here and getting everything ready for the movers next week.
We've been on the phone with the base housing people in Monterey. The housing community looks very nice. They are trying to make it family friendly, so it looks like a suburb with stores, schools and churches as part of the community design. Plus, its only 10 minutes away from the school. Our new address, barring any changes, will be 384C Bergen Road, Monterey, CA 94940. (We are keeping our cell phones the same, so our phone numbers shouldn't be changing.)
We will be in the La Mesa Townhouses. Here is the link to the housing community so you can get an idea of where we will be and how we will be living:
http://resident.montereybaymilitaryhousing.com/incomingresidents/incoming.asp
I took the entrance test for the Defense Language Institute and scored 105 out of 125. If there are spaces available in Jeff's class, I will be learning Arabic along with him. I can't wait to get started!
The movers are coming October 19th. We have a lot of the house packed, but (thankfully) we are going to have them box up the rest. Everything should be on the truck and on its way out of Florida by October 21st. We are going to stay in a hotel until November 6th, which is when they are flying us to California. The army will reimburse us for those expenses.
We are still figuring out how to ship our vehicles. We really can't understand why the Army won't help or pay for this. If we were going overseas, they would put the cars on a coast guard ship. We will need the vehicles to get to class and to get around. $3,000 for moving the cars is going to leave a mark.
Topaz, our kitty, is doing good. We think he's enjoying his army haircut. He looked like the Fancy Feast cat, white with long hair, when we adopted him. His hair got to be too much with our allergies, so we had him shaved completely except for his face. He looks liks an albino lion now! We're not sure how to tell him we're moving, haha, I guess he'll figure it out when we put him on the plane.
We're setting up this "blog" so we can post pictures and let everyone know what we are doing. We are can't wait to explore California. We've done a little online research and it looks like there are a lot of neat day trips we can take, and Monterey has a lot of festivals and outdoor concerts.
love to everyone,
Karen and Jeff
We've been on the phone with the base housing people in Monterey. The housing community looks very nice. They are trying to make it family friendly, so it looks like a suburb with stores, schools and churches as part of the community design. Plus, its only 10 minutes away from the school. Our new address, barring any changes, will be 384C Bergen Road, Monterey, CA 94940. (We are keeping our cell phones the same, so our phone numbers shouldn't be changing.)
We will be in the La Mesa Townhouses. Here is the link to the housing community so you can get an idea of where we will be and how we will be living:
http://resident.montereybaymilitaryhousing.com/incomingresidents/incoming.asp
I took the entrance test for the Defense Language Institute and scored 105 out of 125. If there are spaces available in Jeff's class, I will be learning Arabic along with him. I can't wait to get started!
The movers are coming October 19th. We have a lot of the house packed, but (thankfully) we are going to have them box up the rest. Everything should be on the truck and on its way out of Florida by October 21st. We are going to stay in a hotel until November 6th, which is when they are flying us to California. The army will reimburse us for those expenses.
We are still figuring out how to ship our vehicles. We really can't understand why the Army won't help or pay for this. If we were going overseas, they would put the cars on a coast guard ship. We will need the vehicles to get to class and to get around. $3,000 for moving the cars is going to leave a mark.
Topaz, our kitty, is doing good. We think he's enjoying his army haircut. He looked like the Fancy Feast cat, white with long hair, when we adopted him. His hair got to be too much with our allergies, so we had him shaved completely except for his face. He looks liks an albino lion now! We're not sure how to tell him we're moving, haha, I guess he'll figure it out when we put him on the plane.
We're setting up this "blog" so we can post pictures and let everyone know what we are doing. We are can't wait to explore California. We've done a little online research and it looks like there are a lot of neat day trips we can take, and Monterey has a lot of festivals and outdoor concerts.
love to everyone,
Karen and Jeff
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