Blessed Week, Last Week.

EM 385-1-1 done, One more to go.

Last week, Monday started off with me attending the US Army Corps of Engineers EM 385-1-1, 40-hour Safety Course at the Fiesta Resort.  It was a fun, information filled, safety course.  Many of the trainers, I've met before.  Also met lots of new safety trainers, who are working to get their trainer certification during the course. 

We had lots of fresh bread and fruits for our snacks.  I even skipped eating breakfast at home to eat a fruit breakfast at the course.  The hotel served different types of teas.  The tea on Tuesday was the best.  It had a nice lemony flavor to it...not to strong, just right.  The lunch during the safety course was awesome.  Everyday, we had different types of main dishes.  I never ate rice there during lunch.  Mostly veggies and whatever main course meats they were serving.  I usually went for the fish.  Thursday's fish was great.  For some reason hot coffee in the morning does not keep me awake.  I get really sleepy at the aroma or even drinking hot coffee.  BUT if I buy Iced Coffee, I'm wired until the next day. 

The topics were pretty much similar to what is taught during the OSHA numbered courses.  USACE EM 385-1-1 is stringent in some places.  Still there was a lot of new topics that I didn't attend before and new information on topics that I do know.  All in all the training was fun, productive, and I learned. 

The test though was open book.  Samoan Joe, one of the trainers, during his own trainings outside of the EM 385, tells us that, Open book is not a test.  That's homework.  Yes, He is correct.  So I practiced taking the test online.  They have a sample test at the NAVFAC website under Construction.  In fact there are two tests on the site.  Those of us who knew of the online sample test had an advantage.  We knew the questions.  The hard part even though it was open book, was finding the citations.  We had to prove our answers to the letter of the citation.  I'm glad that I took the time to challenge the sample tests online and using my laptop to find the citations.  That took some getting used to at night.  During the test, that extra time to do some time-alone research paid off. 

In the end, I missed 4 questions.  I missed one question totally by not answering it.  I really thought I did answer all the questions.  On two questions, I forgot to cite the whole citation leaving out a sub-paragraph letter.  On another question, I cited to far, adding the sub-paragraph.  It's okay...I PASSED! 


Rhoda's Oath Taking Ceremony and Birthday.

More great news for the family, Rhoda took her Oath taking for her licensing as a Registered Nurse, on the 22nd.  This event was a long time coming for us.  I am so proud of Rhoda for finishing and accomplishing her goal.  This is another bridge we have crossed.  Only one more, the NCLEX, then she'll be coming over here with the kids.

Rhoda also celebrated her birthday with the kids and family there in Cagayan De Oro (CDO).  Again, I was not there to celebrate with her.  But, I will make it up in the future.  I wonder if the celebration was more for our kids, Rhoda, or both.  The kids enjoyed the spaghetti and ice cream for their mommy's birthday. 


Frenz's Healing.

Frenz had some bad sores from Impetigo, a really bad skin disease in that region.  It's especially bad for children.  He is healed from that nasty bug.  I'm thankful for those who helped us out and for their prayers. 


Larraine's Honors.

Larraine is on the Honor Roll for her class.  Another great achievement for my neni girl.  I'm so proud of her.  She has great study habits.  This she earned on her own.  She doesn't realize it, but I'll be getting the cellphone she wants.  But, I"m not telling her when I'll give it to her yet.  It's a surprise.