MMM, Chik-n-Biskit, nummmm . . . though that might just be because I'm a salt whore.

The more I do tech support, the more I think I have a future in phone sex, especially from a dominatrix point of view.

Oh, lord, my nana used to put butter on PB&Js. Ugh. But as a Canadian, I am well acquainted with many varieties of chips that would make most Americans sneer. (Bacon! Dill Pickle! Ketchup! And the killer, All-Dressed!)

So my question is - is there a way to find out if the Enterprise has left the area and is coming home? When does the Navy typically notify spouses, etc. that a ship is sailing to home port?

I'll give the old WWII maxim. "Loose lips sink ships." Honestly, they don't give much notice on that kind of stuff at all. When I was in Spain, the hookers out in town knew when the gator freighters were coming in before most of the folks on base found out. The people who would know first are the Port department personnel to make sure they've got a slip ready and for refueling and the like. How much notice do they give spouses and families? Not a fricking clue. Suzi might be able to give you a better estimate on this since she was a Navy spouse.

::shudder::

I did become fond of curry chips, though. Mmm.

Suzi might be able to give you a better estimate on this since she was a Navy spouse.

Heeee, and here I was being quiet thinking that you would have the scoop.

You have to remember that I was a Navy spouse 15 years ago, pre-technology. Now sailors can e-mail home during most of their deployment. That being said, we always knew, within a few days, where they were. Word would just filter through unofficial sources.

DH was on the USS California, a Cruiser, when the USS Stark (another Cruiser) got hit in the gulf. The first news reports did not list the ship name and we all knew that our ship had been in the area. In fact, it had just be relieved by the Stark. While we weren't supposed to know any of this, it became common knowledge quickly.

So - is there an offical way to find out, probably not. If you know any families on the Enterprise, you might get information from them.

How did I live until now without the Best Hair Product Ever Created? [link]

And in I Need Coffee to Make Coffee News. I filled up the travel cup from my one cup coffee maker with water, poured it into the reserve. I added coffee to the basket, noted that I was on my last filter and turned it on. Did anyone notice that I DIDN'T PUT THE GODDAMNED CUP UNDER THE DRIP SPOUT. So, I get up a few minutes later, pick the cup off of the brown wood table, stare into the empty cup, puzzled. Then, I put the cup under the spout, and check to see if there's water. That's when I notice that the papers I had on the table were now coffee coloured and I figure out what happened. So, not only do I not have any coffee, I have to clean up a layer of coffee on the table, under the fax machine, etc. And, since I have no more filters, I CAN'T MAKE ANY MORE. I will go to Starbucks before my 12PM meeting.

One of life's paradoxes is that sometimes you need to have had some coffee before you make coffee....

I love the image of attack Olivia. Sort of like Hobbes greeting Calvin at the door.

Looks like she's going to be an early crawler/walker like Emmett was. He started crawling at six months and was walking at nine months. It made him a very exhausting hazard.

Curious international snack foods always reminds me of seeing movies in Chinatown at the Pagoda where you could get Green Grass Soda and Dried Cuttlefish (in a little potato chip bag).

Suzi, we need to get you down to Ti Couz and do some dessert crepes. My favorite is the one with apples, caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream, topped with chantilly.

As evidence they point out that the deployment ahead of schedule of the USS Dwight D Eisenhower (it's due to arrive in the area around today). The Eisenhower is scheduled to relieve the USS Enterprise, but they could probably hold the Enterprise there for a while longer if they needed to, thus making two carriers available if they wanted to attack Iran

The big thing to know here, tommy, is that a ship is never relieved early. IOW, if the Ike is heading out early, the Enterprise still won't go home until the official end date of it's cruise. Cruises are normally scheduled to be 6 months long and they never end early. There will definitely be some overlap. If you know when the Enterprise went out, you can get a rough estimate of when it is due back. Also, it is more likely for a ship to be held over longer than it's scheduled rotation. The Enterprise ended up doing 9 months in the Persian Gulf during the Iran hostage situation back in 1980. It was known as the 6-pack cruise. They have "steel beach" days every 90 days where they shut the flight deck down and each sailor gets 2 beers. By the time the Enterprise had finished that cruise, they'd had 3 steel beaches and 6 beers. Still, a lot of pissed off sailors, let me tell you, for having to be out there 9 months. One of the things that came out of that cruise was the promise to always stick to the 6 month rotation schedule. Also, one of the reasons we have to have at least 12 active carriers, so that the rotation schedule doesn't get screwed.