Birthday in a box...take 3

First, Tony is not deployed. He is on a long underway and will return soon. I wanted to share this and this was the best platform I could think of.

I began this blog to chronicle the story of my husband being deployed because as I was doing my research, (on pinterest of course!) there were a lot of awesome milso bloggers with amazing care package ideas/posts (Jo my gosh is one of my faves!) but most were centered around information and help for those in the Army and Marines. I had to figure out the specific rules mailings to sailors mostly on my own. My hope is that this is a resource which milsos whose spouse is in the Navy and deployed can use.

This is the third birthday of Tony's that we won't be together for. Actually, we've never been together for his birthday...or mine...needless to say, this box has traveled quite a bit. 

I keep changing the number on the side. 25, 26 and now 27. I use it as a chance to change that particular panel's decoration. This year's paper represents the memory of our recent trip to southern Utah where we camped and spent time laying on the roof of our rented camper van, looking at the stars.

I kept the bottom of the box the same as last year. 

This year, I added another banner. This one will show at the first stage of package opening. 

This is a view of the back of the love you banner.

Here is the same banner re-used from last year. I added his name this year. I was trying to get this package out quick so it had a chance to get there by his birthday (Aug 15). That's why I didn't re-do the happy birthday, which I think looks ugly. I kind of ran out of time with it being the start of the school year and all (yes, in July, I know!!!)

This picture sort of shows the layers of the box that have accrued over the past couple of years.

Inside, I wrote a message: "This is the third year of this birthday box...here's to it being the last!"

This will be the last year (at least in a row) because his enlistment is up June 2016. Counting down the months. 

A month away

Hubbs is scheduled to go underway for a month on Friday to southern California. We just got back from camping in southern Utah and a Vegas weekend. I needed to go to the grocery store and I got inspired to pick up a few things for his "voyage." Totally surprised him with a bag of goodies when he got home from work. It was my last day of summer break....I know, how can school start in July?!?!

Wipes (face and butt) in case they secure the showers (shut them down). Gummy vitamins because if they're sour and taste like candy, they're more likely to be eaten. Fiber gummies and dried prunes to combat the ship food. Omega-3s because on the island, we eat a lot of good fish...on the boat, I think fish is probably like getting the fishwich at McDonald's...

A battle roll ( we have a running joke about the single wrapped Scott roll) because you never want to be without TP...

2 spray sunscreens so that he can ask one of the guys he's with to sunscreen his back without having to rub it in...and an extra in case someone forgot to pack sunscreen. You really don't want to get skin cancer.

Yummy goodies he loves from home: li hing mangos and li hing sour hula keiki. Granola bars because that stuff they call food on the ship sounds like anything but...

Those fruit squeezy things they make for little kids to prevent scurvey.

Last but not least bacon jerky and chez-it's as creature comforts.

Christmas candies and goodies

I broke my previous record for heaviest package...this one was 16 pounds!

I 

With Christmas right around the corner, I needed to send out a Christmas care package. I've been super busy...from moving again and trying to finish up the semester at school...

There is nothing home-made in this package. It's all candies, foods and goodies. I'm liking these little milk boxes that have chocolate milk in them and don't need to be refrigerated! I hope they taste better than that super high temp pasteurized milk they serve on the ship. I also sent some soups that are in bags and you heat them in the microwave along with a few microwave packets that have quinoa and brown rice. :) who says non-refrigerated microwave food has to be unhealthy?

I sent lots of granola bars like fiber one, nutri grain(they have a Greek yogurt one!) and nature valley. They're good to have on hand and easy to store. I also sent cheese whiz.... He likes that junk...and triscuits :) the sandwich bags are scoops of strawberry protein powder.

Of course I sent some candy, like li-hing sour hula keiki. I'm forgetting what else I sent but I tried to warp up pretty much everything.

I found some great Christmas cards to send out to family and friends. I'll have sent 4 varieties. This was one kine card that I sent out. I thought It was a nice decoration.

It's been so much harder to send out perfect packages after returning to work full time but I've been trying.

Mail for me!

This beautiful envelope arrived for me in the mail today! First mail to the new place. Tony got it in port in Japan.

So fresh so clean care package

 After packing up the package, I met my friends at the beach on the north shore...This is at Sunset. The waves were going off quite a bit...guess it's about time for winter...




This picture below is at Sharks Cove. We decided to go down the road to it to wash off the sand and I happened to have my mask with me so we took turns snorkeling a bit...

Flowers...for me!

The one day I leave school before 3...just as I'm pulling into the parking level, my phone rings...it's the office at my school calling...they ask, can you come to A2? There's a surprise for you...I'm all...ummm....I kinda already left...she asks, are you far? Like 20 min...she says, if you can come back, a really nice gift for you just arrived and it won't be here tomorrow...

Now my curiosity is piqued....what could it be? 

So, I drive back....this gem was waiting for me :)

How sweet is that?

They were super thoughtful and it was nice to get them at the beginning of a 5 day week...The last 3 or 4 weeks were all 4 days weeks so I knew this one was going to be a long one!

Rescuing mail...

So I get a notice in the mailbox...postage on letter mail due. I needed to go to the post office to give them $1.62 to pay for the rest of the postage due on the letter. Tony paid for it at his hotel in port...Yeah, the ship ran out of stamps...again...Seems to happen a lot...
Anyways, it was pretty funny, then the cashier rings it up at the post office and is all, that'll be 2.62 when he sees me getting out cash...I was so tired, I probably would have just given him the extra dollar...

Anyways, inside was a letter and a mini flashlight on a key chain he sent me "in case of another hurricane." Haha. It's pretty nifty for on my keys, I must say...

Halfway There Theme Care Package

We hit the halfway point of this journey...107 days down, 107 days to go. That is, if everything goes according to schedule (that's funny...you should just expect it not to).


I decided to send a package with the theme of being halfway there...with a little help from my favorite milso blogger.
Halfway There Theme care package



I took pictures of it before I sent it but my phone got stolen from work and the pictures hadn't been backed up to google + yet so I had to ask Tony to take pictures.

 You know I love putting surprise, secret messages on my packages every once in awhile.

I really like to combine themes. I like to have a theme on the outside and sometimes, something different on the inside. I was pretty rushed putting this one together because of course the port schedule got changed so I thought I had more time but then with the schedule change, I had to rush to get it there.

Of course it was a couple days late but c'est la vie. Basically, I've found it best to just ignore the "schedule" and wait until Tony can give me information. I just keep sending packages whenever and they get there when they get there.

Yeah, that's how cold it is on the ship...
I guess every time I've been on it, it isn't very cold at all. Maybe because it's parked...Not sure.

All the loot! The real reason for needing to send this package was to send him the Biology textbook for his Bio class that was starting. Well, of course it got there a bit after he started the class.

 And finally, the secret message! Haha :)
You know I gotta make my statement about the whales!
Always about that ocean protection and conservation....

Halloween themed care package

I decided to send a care package for each person in Tony's work-group. I think they call them a division...but I'm not quite sure...Anyways, so I set out after coaching a swim meet that ended early shopping for supplies...

My theme: Halloween

Intended Materials list:
14 flat rate envelopes
halloween scrapbook paper
lollipops
mini marshmallows
candy corn
candy
mini pumpkins
construction paper
spider web material

Impulse Buys
mini pumpkins
LED tea lights
glowsticks
halloween-themed burlap

The first order of business was to start with the decorations for the outside of the envelopes. I asked Tony the names of everyone in his work-group (or whatevas it's called) and decided I was going to make an envelope for each person. I found stencils of pumpkin faces here: pumpkin face stencils (they're actually intended for little kids' shirts). I printed them out and set about creating an individual face for each person. I traced the stencils onto black construction paper, cut them out and then glued them on the pumpkins I traced from a stencil I printed out from a google search of pumpkin stencils.

 This is from a tutorial about making party favors using TP rolls. I have been saving them since I moved in here...I hate to throw them away...I finally found a way to re-purpose them. They are wrapped in scrapbook paper. I filled them with little bags of candy. The tutorial used mod-podge to adhere the scrapbook paper to the tubes but honestly, that would have required yet another trip to the store...so these guys are getting packing tape. In word, I inserted a circle and then a textbox inside it that says, "BOO." You just fold the ends in and it makes a cute little candy storage box.

 Now, for the mustache pops... The idea for these is from here (mustache and lips lollipops for Valentine's Day) and I got the mustache stencils from a wedding photographer's blog for photobooth props.


Instead of making them lips for the girls and mustaches for the boys like the tutorial...I decided to go gender neutral and give everyone a moustache. I had a total of 5 different mustache types. I only made one mustache of the curly-up one because it's hard to cut!

I thought that they might like to have the mustaches...idk what for but...they are out in the middle of the ocean so I'm sure they'll find a way to make them a source of entertainment...I ghetto laminated them with packing tape. Then, I punched a hole in them so I could put them on the lollipop stick. Then, when eating the lollipop, they have a mustache!

I got all the packages packed up and sealed and with the last one...I noticed I had 2 lollipops left...oops last to be sealed has to find who didn't get one and give it to them!


And now for the purpose of the mini-marshmallows....
ghost poop!

The link isn't the exact printout I used but I think I may have just ended up googling ghost poop printable or something.

I just put the mini-mallows in ziploc bags...I hope they made it there alright! I tried to get the air out as best I could...

 pumpkin poop printable
The candy corns are pumpkin poop!

I also put them in ziploc bags...Hope they don't get squished. Honestly, I don't know if anyone even likes candy corn. I can eat about two before I feel sick...

But, how adorable is that? They even had a super dorky poem on the back side of the printable about it!



I packed a couple extra bags of the poops and put them in random people's packages with a note to give the extra to a friend!

They can't have jack-o-lanterns on the ship?
Not a problem!

I found these cute little mini plastic pumpkins at the Don Quijote and the led tea lights (with batteries included!) at Wal Mart. How totes adorbes.





And now, a peek inside the packages!
I put a joke in each one (ok my printer ran out of color ink so I only have jokes in most of them...) I packed each package with candy...assorted. sweet, chocolate, sour candy, li hing candy, peanut butter candy...as many different kinds so I hope there is something in there that is each person's favorite...
I got some "spider web material" from walmart and packed in on the top of each package...

So....someone's glow sticks might not work...my knee cracked them...These are so cheap, they crack really easily...

I forgot to take a picture of the "goblin tongues." They are li hing sour belts...I had to buy more and the commissary re-did their store and made a section called, "HI candies" but it DID NOT include any li-hing candies! Can you believe that?! So, I found the "ethnic foods aisle" I mean, honestly, how can you shove so many diverse foods into just one aisle! It's ridiculous but I digress. I found sour belts but they were only strawberry (sorry guys, I ate some of the li hing ones when I was working last night...) So a couple people are going to get strawberry sour belts instead of li hing sour belts... 

 Here is the view of the bottom of the envelopes...


I think I used a total of two complete rolls of packaging tape on all these. I think that's pretty good, considering...

 I found Halloween printed burlap at walmart. I got "Happy Halloween" and "BOO" printed burlap the line the edges of the envelopes. I also cut pieces of scrapbook Halloween paper on the back of the envelopes...

Here they are all, lined up and ready to go...

 

All ready to go to the post office...

Now which one to choose...
Pearl City has a very grumpy worker so that's out
Aiea is usually pretty busy
Ewa Beach makes me fill out the big customs form...

That settles it...the post office on base...Try my luck there. The last time I went, the lady was super nice and helpful when I was trying to mail a package to Australia.





The results...
Halloween mayhem!