Brutally Happy: April 2010

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Could it be true? Could we really move back down south in a measly three years?? Well, according to Christian, it could be true. There are two C-130 squadrons down there. One in New Orleans and one in Jacksonville. Of course, if any of you know me at all you know my first pick is New Orleans but my husband, like too many other Americans, turned his nose up at that idea. So, our next choice is Jacksonville!!! We talked about it yesterday and he said if he could extend here a little over three years (almost four years) he could probably get Jacksonville pretty easily and retire there! Tears came to my eyes when he told me this. I really like Jax and I would really love to be a short drive (yet, a crappy drive) away from home!!!

Of course, I can't get my hopes up. I got my hopes up to stay in the south last time and now look where I am? The armpit of the Northeast! haha No, it's pretty cool up here and I know I'll end up liking it once we meet people. Speaking of meeting people... thanks to Ash for the recommendation, I've been using Meetup.com to find groups of people that I think are pretty cool. There are so many things to choose from up here and they aren't all weirdos like I expected. So, once I (or we) go to the first meet-up, I'll report back. I'm part of three girls groups, one Philly Couples for Culture group, and a travel group that does trips around the area. Christian and I are also joining a kickball or dodgeball league when we both get back in town at the end of May. That should be a blast and a neat way to meet people.

We might be going to New York City this weekend. One of Christian's friends (Eric for those of you who have met him) is in the states on vacation from his security job in Iraq and is going to be NYC for a few days. If we go, we'll go see a broadway show or something. That's pretty exciting! I'll let you know how it is if we go.

That's about all I've got for now. Have a wonderful day and it's almost the weekend for those of you at work!!!

Chrissi :)

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

I had a minor melt down today. I broke the glass from my favorite mirror ever. It's been passed from Aunt Janet to mom and then to me with no breakage... then I break it. My dad even secured it for me about two years ago so I wouldn't break it.

Let me tell you how this all started. When we moved here I brought the mirror to our bedroom because it goes really well with our bedroom furniture. It's EXTREMELY heavy and needs to either be hung in a stud or using some special hardware. Well, Christian didn't listen to me and hung it up one night on a flimsy little hook that proceeded to rip out of the wall at approximately 12:40 a.m. and scare the devil out of us! When it fell, the mirror was still intact but a side piece that holds the mirror in place popped off the therefore the mirror was not supported by anything. It's been sitting in our bedroom in three pieces for about two weeks. So, today, I decided I was going to fix it myself. Well, I tried to slide the glass back into the frame and it got caught on one edge, I pulled up too much and *SNAP*, it cracked the bottom corner off... a piece about a foot long and six inches or so high. Ugh... I couldn't believe it. I LOVE that mirror with all my heart! It's been through so much with our family and it's so beautiful. I loved the dents and the discoloring in the glass. So, needless to say, I was a little depressed. My dad saw my Facebook post about it and called me and I just started bawling like a baby (probably letting other frustrations out along with that cry). I'm ok now but it just sucks. I'm going to try to find someone to put new glass in it. Wish me luck.....

Oh, and I'll let you know if the seven years of bad luck kicks in.... geez....

Love you all-

Chrissi

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Rainy day here in PA

Well, our forecast calls for rain the next three days and temps in the 50's. I looked at the forecast for Pensacola today and it's sunny and in the 80's for the next three days. Anyone want to trade places?!?! :)

Nothing really new going on. My allergies are still driving me nuts and nothing seems to help. I'll be fine one minute and sneezing and itching the next. It's so strange. I need to find a doctor up here at some point.

This weekend was pretty low-key for us. No trips to the city but we did take a trip yesterday over to New Jersey to check out a couple towns that we might move to once our lease is up on this place next March. We went to two places, Mt. Holly & Moorestown. Mt. Holly wasn't so nice but Moorestown is absolutely beautiful! It was rated the top place to live in America by Money magazine in 2006. It's just this charming little town with a great tree-lined Mainstreet, some HUGE old homes and nice neighborhoods. Everyone that we walked by was very nice, friendly and actually smiled at you! That's HUGE for me! It would be very convenient for Christian when he moves to the next base b/c it's about 10-15 minutes away. We went to an open house for one gas-light district townhomes and O-M-G were they beautiful! It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen; dark hardwoods throughout, huge crown molding, amazing kitchen that has LOTs of windows and the top-notch appliances and granite countertops, an ELEVATOR!, and other rediculous stuff. Buuuuuuttt, they were also $800,000. So, that's just a bit out of our price range. :) I think they are prices wayyy high though. The entrance of the little five or six home area is literally right next to a train track and two houses down is a little strip of white trash folks. So, they'll go down in price eventually but never enough for us to afford them. We also still have Haddonfield, NJ as an option (the first town that we came and looked at in January). It's another great, historic town that ranked high on best places to live. Then, last night, we went to this little italian restaurant in Doylestown (the town that I like so much near us). It was sooo yummy and cheap and they gave me free wine b/c they didn't wipe our table off before we sat down!

Then today, since it's raining, we're just having a lazy day. But, I was sitting here at the computer earlier and Christian called me down to the garage and made me learn how to change a tire. I SOOOO didn't want to do it and I bitched just about the whole time but it was hilarious and he laughed at me and I finally got it finished and it wasn't so hard. haha Now, I have to go spend an ungodly amount on groceries for the week! I'll be home in 9 days!!!! yaaaaahooooooo!!!

Love you all very much!!! (Christian says hello too!)

xoxo-

Chrissi

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Today might just be one of the best days of my life. Ok, maybe I'm being a bit dramatic but we finally have cable!!!! This has been a long awaited day of infamy. haha Yet, come to find out... day-time t.v. isn't too fabulous. :)
Anyway, enough about that and on to other important matters. I come home in 14 days!!!! yay!!! Two weeks from today I'll be taking the train to the airport (God help me with that) and heading to the SUNSHINE State! Yahoooo!! Can you tell I'm in a pretty weird mood today? And, one other thing that makes the timing of my trip down south even that much better is the fact that I'll be home for the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores. It's an outdoor music fest with some of my favorite bands/artists ever! John Legend, Ben Harper, Black Crowes, Flaming Lips, etc, etc, etc. So, now starts the begging for a ticket from my husband. They're $159 for three day passes and $86.42 for a one-day. Yes, it's expensive but HOLY CRAP this would be amazing and would be one the best things I've ever been to. Furthermore, if any of you would like to throw a $20 bill my way for the ticket fund, by all means, feel free. (i'm totally kidding- kind of)

Ok, well, I have to go wash my car and other things around the house. Love you all!!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

((cue music)) I'm leaving on a jet plane!!! Well, in 15 days I'll be leaving on a jet plane to come HOME! I can't wait! I'm so excited to see everyone I know! Yay!
Just in case any of you were wondering, I'm sleeping fine now that Christian made it home. It was just so strange. Our neighbor (amazingly nice older man who is a retired Marine from Brooklyn), Pete, stopped me yesterday and told me to call him if I ever hear anything strange or need anything checked out when Christian's away. He told me he's well armed and not afraid to use them! That made me feel better :). Our neighbors are very friendly, aside from the fact that they are all over 60 haha. Seriously, our neighborhood consists of senior citizens and asians. No joke. It's a little strange. I wonder where all the young people live. haha

Yesterday, Christian and I went into the city again. We went through Independence Hall and saw the Liberty Bell. That was pretty neat! The amount of history here is crazy! There are so many museums and historical sites which make for a great day of culture! I'll probably do a lot of that stuff when Christian is gone and I have nothing to do. The train costs about $10 round trip and takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get down there. It would take a lot more time to drive. Going 8 miles around here takes you about 25-30 minutes. It's nuts. And, the drivers around here SUCKKKKKK. I seriously have NEVER seen worse driving in my life. No one understands that slower traffic needs to keep right. It's amazing. You'd think all these big city folks would know the ins and outs of driving but that's not the case.

Anyway, I'm starting to contact volunteer agencies for opportunities in the community. Habitat for Humanity, Mental Health Society, Animal shelters, etc... I'm going to meet and greet on May 2nd for the Junior League of Philadelphia. Junior League is a women's volunteer organization. Some of my friends from Pensacola are in it so hopefully that will be fun. Still no luck on jobs. Every week I look around for stuff. I've never really had to search for a job and do the whole internet application thing and sit back and wait. If I could get in front of people with my resume, I think I'd have a better chance. Maybe I'll meet some "people to know" when I join Junior League.

Christian and I are going to the gym now and then running errands. Love y'all and can't wait to see everyone in P'cola very soon!

Chrissi

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Last night was a rough night for me. I feel almost as if this house is haunted. Any night I sleep alone, I have the constant feeling of either someone else being in the house, someone staring at me or the doosey that happened last night, someone leaning over me in bed. Soooo creepy. And, because I had such a stressful night, I woke up with a cold sore.
I went to bed around 11 last night and woke up at about 12:45 a.m., wide awake. Christian texted me about 30 seconds after I woke up and let me know he had landed in California. After that, I couldn't go back to sleep. I would nod off and then have the feeling of someone watching me and wake up and then fall asleep again and one time I felt as if someone was leaning onto the bed on my side (as if Christian was leaning over to kiss me or something). I woke up and nothing was there. I'm sitting at the computer right now and I feel like someone is watching me. Maybe I'm just being paranoid but this sucks!!!!

Other than that weirdness, everything else is fine. Christian finally comes home tonight. I can't wait. My trip to Virginia Beach was fun. It was nice to be around friends and have fun with some ladies that we went out with. It's about five hours from here so the drive was a bit long but worth it.

We still don't have cable. I want to punch everyone at Comcast Cable. They are the most incompetent people I've EVER dealt with in my entire life. And it's not just one person that's an idiot, it's every single person I talk to there. We're waiting on them to come fix the cable that runs from the street to our house. It was cut somehow. So, relying on our DVD collection is a little boring. I'm ready for some guilty pleasure reality t.v. and OPRAH! haha

Anyway, I'm heading out for a while. Tired of being in this house! Love all of you! 17 days until I'm home!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Today, Christian left for his first det. He's going to Hawaii. It's a little weird to think I have to sleep alone tonight! Oh well, I can handle it! I'm leaving tomorrow for Virginia Beach to see Christina. I'm sure that will be fun! I'm ready to be around some friends! I've become my own best friend and I must say, I'm a pretty good friend to myself haha. I've just been finding things to do; whether it's going to the gym, finding parks around here to go for a run or, of course, shopping.

Everything is going pretty well. This past weekend was a lot of fun! We went into the city Saturday and saw a lot of the main attractions. The LOVE statue, the Philadelphia Museum of Art (where Rocky is) and we walked through some pretty amazing residential areas. Then on Sunday, we went boating in Baltimore, MD with Christian's biological dad and his wife. That was pretty fun too.

We're trying to decide if we are going to move when our lease is up in March. Personally, I really want to. I'm not a huge fan of where we're living now. It's a SUPER nice area but it's soooooo cookie cutter and everyone around us is at least 60. When I say cookie-cutter, I mean it. If our cars aren't in the driveway, I have no idea which house is ours without looking at the number. It's weird. I want to find a historic town where we can find a house with lots of character and charm and even possibly be able to walk to shops and restaurants. That would be IDEAL! But, the other thing we have to find out between now and the end of our lease is whether or not Christian could extend here another two years (putting us here a total of five years). Then we would definitely buy something else. But, if it's not an option to stay, we'll continue to rent somewhere. Per Mapquest, the drive from our current house to the base in New Jersey (the one Christian will start working at next Spring) is an hour and six minutes. But, we talked to some locals the other day and they said that time is probably accurate for 3:00 in the morning. So, essentially, it would be a mighty long commute for his once the bases change if we stay in our house now. So, we have a lot to figure out.

I will tell you one thing, this place is NOT like the south. It's just plain ol' different. The people aren't as friendly and everyone sucks at driving. I definitely miss Florida but I'll get used to it up here, I guess. I just keep telling myself, "only six 1/2 more years of the military telling us where we live and then we're FREE!!! Free to choose where we want to live!". I seriously doubt we'll ever come back to Pensacola, which sucks. But, I'm thinking South Carolina or Georgia. I want to be near a coast or at least a lake and I must be in the South. No buts about it. Another thing that is great about the timing of everything is that by the time our kids are the age to go to elementary school, we'll actually be settling down and out of the military. So, they won't have to change schools!

Well, I'm rambling on and on now! I have to go to the gym and get ready for my trip to VA tomorrow! Much love!

Chrissi

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Christian and I are headed down to the city today! I'm so excited! We're going to see all the touristy stuff and eat a Philly Cheese steak and go to one of the largest farmers markets in the world.... oh the joys of city life! Pictures to come!!!

Friday, April 9, 2010

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/04/09/past.present.irpt/index.html

Today, like many days, I woke up with some wicked allergies. I'm so sick of taking Benadryl but that's the only thing that works! Oh well... I'm hoping this only lasts through Spring. < Well, we have a pretty eventful weekend coming up that I'm pretty excited about! Tonight, I'm going to get drinks with a new friend. I was introduced to her via Facebook by a friend of mine from Pensacola who went to FSU with her. Her name is Loren and she's from Spanish Fort! So, we grew up like 40 miles from each other and now we're less than 15 miles from each other. I talked to her on the phone yesterday and she seems really nice. She has a pretty harsh southern accent which was so nice to hear! So, she and I are going to get drinks tonight in a little town called Ambler. I'll let y'all know how that goes! Tomorrow, Christian and I are venturing down to the city to check out all it's Brotherly Love. I'm excited! We're taking the train into the city from a station that is about a mile from us. I have to learn how to ride this thing because that's most likely what I'll take to get to the airport when I leave in May. I'm a little scared of it. The only train/subway I've ever ridden is the one in Germany. But anyway... we're getting Philly cheese steaks for lunch and going to see the statue of Rocky and run up the stairs there like he did and check out some other tourist attractions and cool places. I'll take lots of pictures and post those!

Then, Sunday, we're going boating in the Chesapeake Bay (Baltimore, MD) with Christian's real father. We're going to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore for lunch so that should be fun. Hopefully not too awkward... it's hit or miss. haha

So, like I said, a pretty eventful weekend coming up. Next week, Christian leaves for his first det. He's going to Hawaii Wednesday through Saturday. I'm not excited about it but I'll make the best of the time to myself. I might go down to Virginia Beach and see Christina. Depends on if I feel like driving that much. We shall see...

Until then, love all of you and I'll post again soon!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

So, I've taken up a couple new sports to occupy my free time. Christian bought me a new set of golf clubs and we played all last weekend in Maryland while visiting his family. After two full days of golf, we then met up with Christian's friend Ron and his girlfriend Ashley (they were at the wedding) and played tennis. I had a blast doing both. So, last night, we picked up two tennis racquets. So, eventually I guess I'll be one of those housewives who wears awesome outfits while playing tennis and golf. One can wish, right?? :)
The job hunt is pretty slow up here. Healthcare communications isn't a hopping industry right now. So, I might try to find a job at a little boutique in one of the cutesy little towns around here. To me, that would be ideal. Especially since my dream is to own a shop of my own one day (one comparable to Objects in Malbis or Pizzaz in Gulf Breeze. If you haven't seen either, they are a must shop on a great sunny day!

I'm looking forward to coming home in May! I'll be there for about 10-12 days and want to eat Krispy Kreme doughnuts, get sand on my feet, smell like Panama Jack sunscreen, hear some live music, and have a drink on the deck at the Fish House! Man, I love Pensacola and I hope none of you ever take it for granted! It's great up here but nothing will ever compare to the downtown & beach areas of Pensacola!

Until then... I'll keep you posted!

Much love...

Hello family & friends
I'm getting a little too obsessed with Facebook and thinking it's time to limit the amount of information I make totally public. Thus, my first blog. By following my blog, you will be able to keep up with our lives and how we're doing up here in the great northeast. I'll try to keep everyone as updated as possible on the ins and outs of this thing called life.

So, just for those of you who are wondering what the hell "Chrissi's Colloquy" means... colloquy is just another word for conversation or debate. No, you're not the only one who has never heard that word before. I used thesaurus.com to find a clever synonym for conversation. Nice, huh? :)

OK, so... I'll keep you guys posted! Much love!

Chrissi