When It Rains, It Pours....

.... and typically hails, and almost always floods, and there's usually some impressively large lightning thrown in for effect. At least, that's the kind of week I've been having. Between car trouble, family issues, a nagging stress headache, and a gazillion other minor annoyances, the past several days have packed a bit of a one-two (three-four?) punch. However, in a continuing effort to ward off the crazy focus on the happy, I figured I'd channel my favorite holiday (can you guess?) and talk about a few of the things I've been thankful for lately:

 -- yummy dinners/leftovers: I sauteed okra again last night and am kind of obsessed, and I also baked some great salmon for myself and a friend. I'm pretty excited that a leftover piece is sitting in the fridge waiting to be plopped onto a spinach salad for my lunch today. I also whipped up a box of 'pearled couscous' last night, which I've never tried before. It was delicious!

 -- haircuts: I got my locks trimmed last week, and I love that something so simple always boosts my confidence and gives me a whole new outlook on the world. I feel much lighter and it's great for running, I love how my short little ponytail bounces along behind me!

 -- (A)B&J on a waffle: my new favorite breakfast is something that most people have been enjoying their entire lives, but since I'm allergic to peanuts/peanut butter, the very first PB&J sandwich I had was also my last. After years of being hesitant (although I eat almonds, so I'm not sure why I was worried), I recently bought a jar of almond butter to try. While it's pretty bland by itself, it is the perfect topping to a waffle with a little bit of raspberry jam. I've also discovered that I like to add a spoonful to my oatmeal, and I'm pretty excited to try out a few more combinations that I was deprived of as a kid!

 -- Mumford & Sons on Pandora: I recently set up a new station with Mumford and Sons, David Gray, and Peter Bradley Adams (who I saw in a teeny tiny but excellent concert a few weeks ago). The genius that is Pandora has thrown in a little Matt Nathanson, Mat Kearney, Counting Crows, and of course the occasional Dave Matthews for a perfect balance of mellow and relaxing.

 -- vacations from work: While I love taking a few days off myself (and can't wait until my 4-day weekend in July!), sometimes it's just as nice when co-workers go on vacation. In general I like the people I work with and value their talents and insight, but sometimes it's nice to have fewer interruptions, fewer crises, and a much quieter workday. I am getting so much done this week!

 -- awesome runs: I had a fantastic long run this weekend and have gone on three great shorter runs since then. Despite the heat, I've been feeling great and the miles are flying by faster and easier. I'm crossing my fingers this continues!

 -- Magnum ice cream bars: Please tell me you've tried these. If not, stop right here. Nothing I could write would be more essential to your very well-being than you scooting out the door and getting to a grocery store as fast as your little legs will take you. Really, I can wait. My words will sound much better when you're distracted by crunchy chocolate and smooth ice cream anyway. Let me tell you, these are heaven in frozen form. Perfection-on-a-stick. Pure bliss wrapped in chocolate. The double chocolate are my own personal crack, but I hear that other people like the caramel ones too. I'm just more of a death-by-chocolate girl. The only problem with these? They come in boxes of three (and no, they're not cheap). So far my very small amount of will power has hung on bravely to just one a night, but it's only a matter of time before that snaps like a cheap rubber band and I start bringing them to work too. It's a good (if slightly miraculous) thing that those runs are getting easier, because I'm sure going to need it as the boxes continue to pile up in my trash can.

So there you have it, lots of things to be happy about. Which does seem to ward off that impending bad mood... or if nothing else, now I'm distracted by a sudden and intense need for a Magnum bar. Details, details....

   Love,

    Meg

Silent Sundays: Weekend Snapshot

[left to right: Friday night included (1) an amazing glass of wine to go with a great meal with friends, followed by (2) yummy frozen yogurt. Saturday morning I went for (3) a fantastic run, grabbed my favorite iced coffee and (4) got on the road headed for (5) a really fun lunch with a fellow army wife and wonderful new friend. Saturday evening I (6) sauteed some okra with garlic and butter for a fantastic dinner, (7) painted my toes a great summery shade of pink, and watched (8) No Strings Attached. This morning, after a good recovery run, I spent some quality time (9) at the pool (and yes, that is an actual picture of our incredible neighborhood pool) before heading out with my friend C for yummy nachos. The only problem now? Tomorrow seems to be Monday again.....]

   Love,

    Meg

Thursday Already?

We are so close to the weekend I can smell it... thank goodness. This week has whizzed by so far, and between training at work and an internet outage in my neighborhood, I have felt a little disconnected for the past few days. In the time that I haven't been facebooking, twittering, and otherwise engaging in social media, I've caught up on some movies:

Good: Bridesmaids. All I've been hearing for weeks is how absolutely hilarious this movie was, and I'll admit there were parts that had me laughing, but more of a oh-my-goodness-I-can't-believe-this-is-actually-happening-on-screen-how-awkward kind of laugh. I had a hard time finding humor in the characters and spent a lot of the movie feeling a little sad that people get such a kick out of watching someone completely self-destruct. I couldn't feel sorry for poor Kristen Wiig though, no matter how hard I tried.
Better: Valentine's Day. I expected lots of story lines badly tied together, with big names thrown in and expected to balance the lack of plot, but I was pleasantly surprised. While there were a few parts that felt contrived, for the most part each little dramatic arc weaved seamlessly into the next and the actors were surprisingly strong, despite their small parts. It was light and heartwarming but also honest, and the conclusion of the Julia Roberts story may have made me tear up... just saying.
Best: Blue Valentine. I've been wanting to see this one since it came out, but knew that no one would really want to watch it with me. I rented it and curled up in bed, expecting that no matter how good it might turn out to be, I'd fall asleep within 10 minutes as per usual. When it finished 2 hours later, I was very much awake. This was an absolutely incredible movie: heartbreaking and raw, dark and perfectly understated. I was not a huge fan of Ryan Gosling before, but he really knocked this one out of the park. I had heard an interview with Michelle Williams when this movie first came out about how she and Gosling prepared for filming and truly became their characters (they lived together for almost a month on their characters' budget and with their on-screen daughter), and all of this intense and in-depth work definitely paid off. The relationship between Gosling's and Williams' characters is complex but infinitely relatable and is captured artfully and simply. Probably not a date night movie, but a must-see nonetheless.
Next in my Netflix queue is the quasi-documentary Milk with Sean Penn, which I've been dying to see for quite a while. For now, though, I'm off to take full advantage of our restored internet access and catch up on some blog reading!

   Love,

    Meg

Country Mouse in the Big City

I am not a "country" girl. Although I have lived my entire life below the Mason-Dixon line and do not call a major metropolis home, I was raised in a decent-sized city and am certainly more comfortable in an urban setting than a rural one. My step-brother used to make fun of me for being "citified" when he found out I'd never been camping and was less than friendly with bugs, spiders, and snakes. I am used to functioning in a world where the grocery store is no more than 10 minutes away, Starbucks is right around every corner, and you can rarely drive 50 feet without practically running over an oblivious pedestrian. I am familiar with the correct balance of neighborly kindness and insistent driving necessary to navigate the suburban terrain... or I thought I was until this weekend.

Saturday morning I drove with Dan's younger brother T up to our nation's lovely capital. I dropped T off at the hospital where my brother-in-law is making a slow but sure recovery, but only after being picked for a random car search upon entering the gates. If I hadn't been so unnerved by the stern security guard, I probably would have laughed at him when, after making us open every single door and compartment in my entire car (including the hood) and pointing us onto the sidewalk, he barely glance in the driver's side door, didn't even make it halfway around the car, looked me square in the eye, and said "Have a nice day" before turning and walking away. I was baffled but relieved, and more than a little ticked that he couldn't even stand there while we put the pieces of my car back together. Good start to the morning.

After this, I headed out to navigate Maryland traffic and meet my best friend for brunch. She had given me the exact address and guessed it should take me about 15 minutes to get there. 40 minutes later, I thought I had made it. I called her before feeding the meter, and as we described our locations I realized that there was no way I was in the right place. After cursing resetting my gps about 16 times, I made a second attempt and, 30 minutes later, found the restaurant. I parked, shoved 4 quarters into the meter, and pushed the start button... and nothing happened. I put in two more quarters (ever the optimist) and the thing still blinked back at me like an irreverent teenager. Slamming back into my car, I drove less than a block and swerved into the next available slot, glancing at the sign and saying a little prayer that my car wouldn't get towed while I ran to meet my poor friend who had been waiting for almost an hour (in a shocking and rare stroke of luck, it didn't).

Some of the blame for turning a 15 minute trip into a trying 60 minute misadventure rests squarely on the shoulders of my gps. While the annoying little voice inside that box tends to know where she's going, she most definitely did not pass the course in communications. Her directions are often woefully inadequate and sometimes seem to resemble a foreign language. With each wrong turn I took, she got increasingly flustered and at one point wanted to take me on a 6 mile detour to avoid the next traffic circle. So I'm not very good at those... touche, little gps.

But directional issues and broken parking meters aside, the real reason that such an easy trip became insanely frustrating and at times a little frightening was the other gazillion city drivers on the road with me. In the center of DC, apparently, all typical regulations, kindnesses, and ounces of common sense take a backseat to getting-where-you-are-going-as-fast-as-humanly-possible. Small gestures like turn signals, obeying the speed limit, letting other traffic merge, and allowing pedestrians to cross streets without threatening their lives are forgotten. Drivers act as if they are on a bumper car track, zooming in and out of tiny gaps, nudging the noses of their cars into the tailpipes of others, and relying heavily on the use of their horns to communicate both joy and frustration. Had I not been enclosed in thousands of pounds of steel, equipped with an airbag, and almost an hour late to my destination, I would have gone home and tried again some other time. So many times I considered pulling over and trying to recollect my nerves, especially as a few defeated tears clouded my vision. I've rarely felt so out of place, so unprepared, and so utterly incompetent.

Now let's be clear, rush hour in my hometown is no picnic on the roads. I have been cut off countless times and practically been run down by a rogue crazy once or twice. Thankfully, though, my own roads seem like efficient, safe, and kind places now that I've had a taste of Dupont Circle on a Saturday at noon. I do love DC (and all my friends who reside there), and to any of you out there who may call it home, I am eternally in awe of your ability to navigate through that mess every single day. You are braver than I... or maybe you're just used to it. One thing this escapade left me sure about though? As much as I enjoy visiting the "big city," I've discovered that I am very happy right here at home, where I can run along university streets and get from point A to point B without almost dying and park in parking lots. Well, that, and now I know how to get to 14th Street NW and V Street with significantly fewer issues. Maybe.

[Thanks to the genius behind The Oatmeal for capturing some of my feelings in comic form: enjoy the section on "cutting each other off."]

   Love,

    Meg

Silent Sundays: Father's Day Edition

I am so lucky to have several many amazing "fathers" in my life today...

my wonderful stepdad (with my mom, I love this picture!)...

my incredible (and adorable) grandfather...

my sweet new father-in-law...

... and, of course, my actual father, without a doubt the most impressive and loving man I know. He is without a doubt the greatest dad a girl could ever wish for, and I am so lucky to call him mine!

(and one day I'm going to find the person we were actually looking at when this picture was taken!)

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there, hope your day was fantastic!

   Love,

    Meg

Friday Favorites

My favorite thing about today is not that it's Friday (shocker, I know). It's not that it has finally cooled off outside and actually looked like it might rain on my drive to work this morning (everyone needs a rainy day sometimes, and I think I'm overdue). It's not that my running is going well (even though it is), or that I have a clean bedroom (even though I do), or even that the little brigade of ants who welcomed me home from work on Wednesday has been completely taken care of (even though it has, thank goodness). Nope, my favorite thing about today is that this morning, while looking back at the last several weeks, I realized that actually, if I'm honest, it hasn't been that bad.

This past month (-ish) had all the potential to be incredibly, incredibly bad. Not just trip-you-when-you're-not-looking bad, but shove-you-back-down-every-time-you-try-to-get-up bad. Between having to say goodbye to my sweet husband, his brother's serious injury, and all kinds of speed bumps in between, it would have been easy to just sink into the fog of bad luck and misfortune. There were so many times I was tempted to crawl into bed, skip a run, cancel plans with a friend, and wade around a little in my misery (and maybe a bottle of wine). I've gotten lonely, scared, upset, anxious, and frustrated. I've wanted to call it quits, do whatever it took to get Dan out of his contract, and move to a different city state country. Sometimes running away has truly looked like the best option. In short, this month could have sucked me in, chewed me up, and spit me out a much more jaded human being.

In spite of everything, though, and mostly without a whole lot of conscious thought, I've figured out a way to navigate this minefield. I've kept myself running (literally and figuratively) on a steady diet of contact with good friends and family, iced coffee, skype dates with my hubby, and the determination to stay strong for others who needed me, with a little pinch of denial thrown in for good measure. It hasn't always worked, and there were certainly times when I got overwhelmed by everything that's happened, but for the most part, I feel like I've made it through intact. Bumped around and bruised a little, but still smiling.

Instead of looking back on the past several weeks and remembering the bad parts: the goodbyes, the scary phone calls, the hours upon hours of driving, the long sleepless nights in a bed much too large for one body, I am able to recall the happier memories. The tipsy but wonderful vineyard tour with Dan and our best friends. The phone calls and emails from friends and family to check in on me and let me know they are thinking about me. The night after Dan left, when my best friend and I stayed up talking until almost 3 AM. The runs that felt amazing and proved to be incredible stress-relievers. The dinners with my wonderful and (mostly) drama-free family. The nights when my friend C came over just to hang out, watch bad tv, and make sure I was still laughing. And just to prove that despite all the gloom still hanging around, the sun continues to poke its way through at even the most unexpected times, the gorgeous flowers that were delivered this morning to brighten my day:

How does Dan even have time to think of this when he's working so hard?

I am so lucky to have the most loving and thoughtful hubby, a few dedicated (and truly persistent) friends, and an incredibly sane, stable family. They have all made the difference in ensuring this month was "not too bad," instead of the horror it could have become. So my favorite thing right now is not that it's Friday (although that's a close second). My favorite thing about today is that despite everything, I am still able to face it -- and the next weekend, the next week, the next month, and maybe even the next 11.5 months -- with a smile.

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all have wonderful weekends planned!

    Love,

     Meg

Tiny Bubbles

Since I started running seriously at the end of last year, I've seen and experienced some pretty crazy things. Weird squirrels? Almost daily. Ant infestations? Check. Oddly outfitted other runners? Definitely. Random, intense leg pain one single day a month like clockwork? Don't ask me why, but it definitely happened. A heron practically as tall as me? Almost gave me a heart attack. Unexplainable and awkward sweat patterns? Too many to count. But this week I've added a new and infinitely more strange occurrence to this list: bubbles.

After the past few workouts I've completed in the heat, I've noticed what look like a few teeny tiny blisters on my back and shoulders. They were clear and soft, and when I gently ran a finger over them they popped really easily and completely disappeared. They didn't itch, weren't red or irritated, and even the biggest one was still incredibly tiny. Odd.

This morning, I dragged myself out of bed and talked myself through a tough 5+ miles on the treadmill. I just wasn't feeling it this morning -- actually I haven't been feeling it all week. I guilted myself into finishing, though, and headed home to shower before work. Just before jumping in, I reached to scratch a little itch on my back and was met with...

You guessed it. Except this time there weren't just a few here and there. There were hundreds, miniscule little bumps stretching from my shoulders all the way down my back. I ran my hand across my shoulder and it was like rubbing a sheet of bubble wrap.

At first, I freaked out. Should I pop them or leave them alone? They burst so easily -- just the lightest pressure made a tiny little popping sound, and that area was left smooth and a little wet. Apparently they had water in them. Sweat? I had no idea. Was I falling apart? Was it an infection? Did I have some kind of icky disease or fungus? So I did what any logical terrified 23 year old would do when confronted with a sudden and strange mass of bubbling skin: I googled. 

Luckily, it didn't take me long to come up with a diagnosis. Apparently I have miliaria crystallina, essentially a fancy term for, uh, little bubbles on the skin. No other symptoms. No scary complications. No real treatment besides "get thee into an air conditioned building." No risk of dehydration, or contagion, or death. Phew. Satisfied, I hopped in the shower, and by the time I was dry, everything was normal again. I'm not sure if it was the water pressure, the towel, or just time, but they had all disappeared as mysteriously as they had "popped" up (pun completely intended).

This episode is without a doubt one of the strangest things that I've ever experienced, but thankfully it doesn't appear to have any lasting consequences. Over 6 hours later, I'm still bubble-free and completely unaffected. I'm just waiting to see whether I will turn into a live sheet of bubble wrap again tomorrow...

... although apparently Toby might not complain.

  Love,

    Meg

Monday... Monday... Monday

Goodness, is there an echo in here? Must be all that space in here where there should be writing...

Unfortunately, I've had good reason to be away from the internet recently: without going into too much detail, Dan's older brother was wounded in combat overseas last week. It's been a frightening few days, with some bad reports and (thankfully) lots of good updates, but as of yesterday he is finally back in the states. Dan's parents' are with him and now begins a long and tough road to recovery. He is a strong guy thought and in the end, he's very lucky to have his life, his limbs, and a good support system.

Other than this entirely unwelcome excitement, life has been otherwise calm. Poor Toby seems to be feeling better, the kitchen sink is full of dishes, I have about 16 loads of laundry to do... typical. I was able to squeeze in a pretty good long run Saturday morning before the sidewalks turned into molten lava (ie right around the crack of dawn), and made the excellent decision to end at my very favorite place. Heaven had better provide iced coffee daily, otherwise I'm not going.

I apologize for being so short and sweet today, but my to-do list is glaring at me from where it has been banished on the corner of my desk, and before long it may grow legs and little fangs and aggressively demand attention. After this half-sad, half-boring post, I promise to return only when I have something happy to share -- which I hope will be soon! Until then, I'll be catching up on all of your blogs... and maybe some sleep. Happy Monday!

  Love,

    Meg

Sneezy... and a few of his brothers

Thursdays are good for bullet points. Hadn't you heard? Today, I'm channeling my inner Disney:

 -- Poor Toby has been transformed into the feline version of Sneezy:

He has been sniffing and sneezing ever since Tuesday -- poor kitty! I'm hoping it's just a rogue allergy that will go away soon.

 -- I, on the other hand, am starting to resemble Sleepy:

The last week of little sleep and lots of emotion has started to catch up with me, and I've been sitting at my desk all day yawning and wondering when naptime starts. Definitely planning to go to bed early tonight!

 --  I have a few new friendships that are making me Happy:

After leaving college and moving home, meeting people and making friends became a difficult task, especially since I'm only on the market for girlfriends. In the past week, though, I've met two great girls around my age (through two very different sources) and am really excited to get to know them better!

 -- On the flip side, there is one thing that is making me a bit Grumpy:

Our neighborhood is completely smoke-free (inside and out), which I love. Recently, though, I've been noticing the smell of smoke when our bedroom windows are open. There is a row of garages right outside of these windows, and the two closest to us are used by the neighborhood maintenance guys. The timing of the smells make me pretty sure that one of them is smoking out there.

 -- In news that should probably make me a little Bashful:

My underwear matches my sweater today -- not just in color but design as well -- which is impressive considering my diminished capacity for thinking (blame the sleepiness above). Too much? Sorry, I'm a sharer...

 -- And finally, I've been feeling a little Conflicted:

... wait, there's no dwarf for that? Gee, Disney sure missed a chance for an interesting character there. Anyway, I'm a little torn these days: while I am dying for July to be here so that I can go visit my hubby, I also want time to sloooow doooown because I know that the faster that happens, the sooner I have to say goodbye for much much longer. On the other hand, once we make it through July, we are that much closer to Dan being home again for good (not much closer, but it's something). What to do?!

 -- Sorry,  Doc and Dopey:

[How sad is this picture?!]

Better luck next time, you two!

Happy Thursday, everyone -- we're almost to the weekend!

   Love,

    Meg

6 Days: Part II

[find part one here]

After several late nights trying to make the most of every minute, thankfully Sunday morning Dan and I were able to sleep late. When I finally made myself get up and take a shower, I emerged to find that my awesome hubby had made breakfast -- yummy pancakes and bacon cooked just the way I like it... burnt to a crisp.
That afternoon we packed bunches of balloons in the truck and headed out to our niece's and nephew's birthday party at the park. It was seriously hot but worth it to watch all the kids having fun:

Who can resist a two-year-old with yellow icing from head to toe? I sure can't. Some of us, however, were less than pleased with the heat:

Poor little C -- he is really much cuter than this, I just managed to catch him at a bad time!
That night we went back to Dan's parents' house for some more quality time with the kiddos. They are just so darn cute!
Monday was a day of goodbyes: we went to lunch with my dad's side of the family, then headed out to see lots of Dan's extended family, and finished the day at dinner with my mom's family:

While it was great to see everyone, it was a bittersweet day. We were exhausted and fell asleep on the couch almost as soon as we got home.
Tuesday was our last actual day together, but unfortunately we had lots of errands to get done. We did take a few hours off for an afternoon nap, but there was a lot of driving around town getting things settled, making last minute purchases (who knew international outlet converters were so expensive?), and visiting a few more family members and friends. Watching Dan say goodbye to his niece and nephews was especially heartbreaking, because they are too young to truly understand. I got some adorable pictures though:

Dan and his youngest nephew...

... and reading to his favorite little girl.

It was a tough night and neither of us got much sleep before we had to get up at the crack of dawn and head for the departure ceremony (about 3 hours away). Luckily, my best friend M came to stay on Tuesday night and drove down with us. Thank goodness for her!

... And this is when 6 days of getting to see my sweet hubby turned into 7. Halfway to the departure ceremony, a sleepy Dan looked at me and said "I think my camelbak is in your car...." After 6 years together, this realization didn't surprise me at all -- Dan and I both tend to be a little bit forgetful. Really, though, who would be able to pack for 12 months away from home and not forget something? I know I certainly couldn't. 

I had been pretty sad to say goodbye to Dan that morning, but as soon as we realized that I'd need to drive down to deliver the camelbak the next day, the dark cloud lifted and I was ok. The ceremony itself was hot and very emotional, but I held it together pretty well knowing that in just over 24 hours, I'd be able to give my hubby one more kiss before we separated for 2 months. I felt a little twinge of guilt when I looked around at the other crying wives, but I wasn't about to give up an extra day of seeing Dan!

our anticlimactic goodbye

The part I wasn't prepared for was coming home. We stopped for lunch on the way back, and then after a long and incredibly hot drive I had to walk back into our apartment, where Dan had just been that morning but whose absence, then, was everywhere. I was so grateful that M was there to spend the evening with me and keep my mind off of everything. We went out for a great dinner, watched a mediocre movie, and stayed up forever just talking. It made me miss college, where she lived in the next building and we could spend most nights that way!

The next morning, M headed for home and I spent the afternoon with my stepmom and grandmother -- a date which had been planned when I expected to be really sad, not preparing to drive down for a last goodbye. That evening, I headed down to where Dan was staying with my mom (who was sweet enough to not just go with me but drive me... AND to take Dan cookies) and Dan's cousin (who was willing to ride along to make sure we could get on post -- he's in the military, too). I am so glad I didn't have to make the trip alone!

It was a long four hour drive to only get 10 more minutes with my soldier, but of course it was absolutely worth it for one more goodbye kiss. It was hard to come home again, but I have to keep reminding myself that in a few short months (that I know will fly by), I will get to see him for a weekend! Luckily, in the meantime I have this handsome guy to keep me company:

   Love,

    Meg

6 Days: Part I

Between three weeks of training and... 2 months of more training, Dan and I were able to spend 6 days together -- 2 days at a yellow ribbon ceremony, and then a 4 day pass. I was incredibly excited to see him, but was a little apprehensive knowing that these were our last days together for 2 months and the last time he would be at home for a whole year. I knew that the stress of his departure and our time apart would be hanging over us the entire time and I was a little concerned that all the goodbyes would make for a depressing 6 days, but overall we ended up having lots of fun and making the most of the short time. We were able to stuff many happy memories alongside the sad ones, and I took lots of pictures, stole lots of kisses, and tried very hard to forget about the year that was to come.
[To keep my "week-in-review" a manageable size, I decided to split it up into two posts... so if you're not interested, check back in a few days!]


To kick off the beginning of my super long vacation, I relaxed by the pool after work on Wednesday and then went out to dinner with my friend C. Thursday morning I woke up early to go for a quick and extremely hot run before packing up the car and heading off to the yellow ribbon ceremony, which was in a town about an hour away.

As soon as I pulled into the parking garage at the convention center, there was my hubby! We headed inside and I got to meet one of Dan's close friends and his wife, who was so sweet and I'm really hoping to keep in touch with while the guys are gone. We sat through about 3 hours of what felt a lot like a college class... information on Tricare, DEERS, and how to survive a deployment while married. Some of it was interesting, but a lot of it was just common sense, and by the time everyone was done talking I was starving and ready to check into our hotel and actually spend some time with my husband. I should know by now, though, that nothing in the Army is easy or logical. It took us over two hours of standing in line to finally get our room keys, and then we had less than an hour to check in, move our car, get all of our stuff to the room, and head back to the convention center... and did I mention that the hotel had 18 floors, approximately 400 soldiers and their families trying to check in, and only 4 ELEVATORS?! It was a gorgeous hotel, but slightly lacking in architectural planning.
That afternoon, there was a departure ceremony for the entire task force and then Dan and I headed to dinner with several officers and their spouses. We had an excellent meal and a few great beers, and it was really nice to meet some of the guys that hubby will be working with for the next year. When we got back to the hotel we weren't ready to head for bed yet, so we stopped by the hotel restaurant and ordered another drink. It was so great just to hang out and catch up on the last few weeks.
The next morning, we had to get up super early and get all our stuff packed up and in the car again. Dan headed back over to the convention center, and I stopped at Starbucks to grab us drinks before following him. We sat through another several hours of speakers and information and were finally released around noon to begin our long weekend!
We made a much needed stop here:

... before heading back for home. Once we got back to town, we stopped to pick up Dan's shiny, newly re-sized wedding ring and then headed to his parents' house quickly so that he could see his sister and niece and nephews. That night, we escaped for a night at fantastic old local hotel, had a yummy dinner at one of our favorite places, stopped for some ice cream, and generally just enjoyed a night of gorgeous weather and finally being together.
Saturday morning, we ordered room service for breakfast and then packed up yet again (sensing a pattern here) to head back to the apartment. Dan spend a little quality time with a certain furball:

and then our best friends made it to town and we headed out to sample a little local wine! It was a beautiful day and the four of us had such a fantastic time relaxing and enjoying the scenery and the excellent wine:

So much fun! We got to taste anywhere between 5 and 8 wines at each vineyard and enjoyed a few glasses of our favorites. After visiting three vineyards and the brewery where I used to work, we headed back into town and met up with Dan's little brother and his girlfriend K for dinner. The 6 of us had a great time together and I am so grateful that my best friend and her boyfriend came all the way to spend the day with us!

Stay tuned for the next three days...

   Love,

    Meg