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