Once again, it's been a while!

Well, hello everyone.  I come to you from the apartment above the garage at my dad's house here in Florida!  I am very happy to be home for the holidays.  As many of you know, Christian and I got in town last Saturday evening and spent the first few days of our visit running around seeing as many people as possible!  We also got to stay at my cousin's condo for about four days and that was super nice!  We walked the beach and watched sunsets, went for morning jogs, and even had all of our friends over to watch the Auburn/Alabama game (WAR EAGLE!!!).  We had a great time doing all of that while he was here.  

But, I had to take him to the airport this morning so he could head back to Philly and get ready to leave for his 30+ day trip over to Japan tomorrow.  The goodbye was very hard.  We both shed a few tears (mine continued on the way home and his were held back pretty hard in typical male fashion, haha).  So, needless to say, this whole thing sucks but I know it could be a lot worse.  Thirty days is nothin' compared to six, nine, twelve or eighteen month deployments that other couples have to deal with.  So, I feel a little like a spoiled brat being so emotional about this one.  But, I miss my husband and there's no getting over that.  

So anyway, since I'll be down here for another five-six weeks, I need to keep myself as busy as possible!  I'm trying to spend as much time as possible with family and friends but I'm also such an independent person so I'll be taking day trips here and there by myself.... Destin, Fairhope, etc.  I'm trying to fit in a trip to New Orleans and I've even contemplated getting a job while I'm here.  I'm thinking of working a retail job just a couple nights a week to give me a little holiday money and take up some free time.  Who knows if I'll actually find one but I'll be trying!  

Of course we also have this little thing called Christmas coming up so that will take up some time with the family too!  We have our family Christmas on my mom's side on the 18th and we still need to plan the one for my dad's side of the family.  I also have a baby shower coming up on the morning of the 18th for my beautiful cousin, Ali.  :)  

I don't really have too much to blog about right now but I'm sure something will come up soon enough to bring some interesting thoughts!

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving.  Have a great week back at work!

xoxo, 

Chrissi

Holy crap, it's been a while!

Well, folks... it looks like we have quite a bit to catch up on!  Where do I begin??

I guess I'll start in the typical chronological fashion and back up to where my last post left off.  So, my last post was about two weeks ago and Mom & Adam had just left Philly and headed back to Florida.  Quite a bit has been happening around here since then.  The weekend after Mom & Adam were here, I got to experience Atlantic City for the first time with my "philly friends".  Vicki's birthday was the occasion so about six of us drove over for Friday night.  We went to dinner at a place called Continental at Caesars and then saw a Pink Martini concert.  Pink Martini is a band I had never really had too much experience with but they are Vicki's favorite and since it was her b-day, that was on our agenda!  So, we saw the concert, which was pretty awesome.  Very different from anything I've been to before but none the less, a great show!  After the concert we hung out in a bar/club in the casino and then hopped around to different bars/clubs and before we knew it, we were walking back to our hotel room at 5:30 a.m., yes, that's 5:30 in the morning.  Uh, I don't even remember the last time I was even close to staying up that late, much less past midnight!  But, we had a BLAST!  I LoVe the friends I've made up here and we have so much fun together.  They're intelligent, funny, a little crass (which I love), and honest (also another thing I love).  Vicki and Iris (who Vicki introduced me to one day over a game of golf) are probably my closest friends here so far.  So, Atlantic City was fun and I really think once you've seen one casino, you've seen 'em all but I've never stayed out this late at any of the casinos I've been to in Biloxi.  Oh, did I mention I didn't even touch a slot machine, poker table, blackjack table or roulette table?  The casinos made their money from me on the $16 drinks.  Blah.  And, mind you, $16 drinks don't make a hangover any better.  Vicki, Iris and I were pretty pitiful driving back to Philly Saturday morning.  haha

So, anyway, Saturday after AC was pretty much a dud.  Christian flew that day so he didn't get home until late that afternoon.  We had dinner out and then Sunday we decided to drive over to Jersey to look at some houses.  We found a couple that sparked our interest quite a bit but there was one that we both love.  It's in Moorestown, NJ and it was build in 1927 by a very popular builder during that time for his mother.  It's in a great neighborhood within walking distance to the little downtown and it has so much character.  We met with the realtor that day and told her that we weren't looking to move until the beginning of March but wanted to go ahead and secure something b/c of all of the traveling we have coming up.  So, we're in the process of negotiating rental terms.  I have another meeting with the realtor and the owner tomorrow to discuss everything (and to meet the owner for the first time).  So, keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer that we get this house!!!

This weekend we traveled over to western Maryland to visit with the family-in-law.  We got over there Thursday and got back last night.  As always, it was a good, relaxing time.  Christian's high school football team had a playoff game Friday night that we went to.  It was FREEZING but we had a good time and I got to drink my first hot chocolate of the year.  The hot chocolate brought back memories of the good ol' St. Ann's Round-up days (for those of you from Pensacola).  Christian played golf Saturday while I hung out and started Bush's new book "Decision Points".  It's a great book so far!!  I definitely recommend it (even for people who haven't had a great view of him).  We went to church yesterday morning with Christian's 91-year-old grandma, like we do every time we're in town.  The church also had their Thanksgiving lunch yesterday so we stayed for that and it was just a bunch of yummy food!  We got back home around 7:30 last night and Christian unpacked from the weekend and packed again for the week.  He left this morning for a five day trip over to Germany.  He'll be back Friday, I'll pick him up from work, we'll drive straight to Maryland to spend the night and then Saturday morning we'll be on our way to Florida!!!  I can't wait to get home!

Today was such a fun day!  I met Iris at here house around noon and we headed down to Philly to run some errands.  She's a self-proclaimed food snob so we went down to the Asian Market in South Philly to pick up some things and then ventured over to the 9th Street Italian Market in South Philly.  She introduced me to two shops in the Italian Market that literally made me feel like I was in Italy.  I stood there tasting cheeses and olives and pesto for about 15 minutes!  AMAZING!  I ended up getting some cheese and pesto.  It's so neat to have all the culture around since we live in a big city.  With every new little finding, I love Philly more and more.  After the markets, we went to Rittenhouse Square (another one of my favorite areas of the city) and had lunch at Parc.  After lunch, it was time for manicures and pedicures.  The great thing about Philly is that you can find services for SUPER expensive or SUPER-DUPER cheap.  We found a little place that did mani/pedi/massage for $45.  They literally massage your back the entire time you're getting your nails done.  Can't beat that!  Plus, our nails look great!  That pretty much wrapped up our day and we headed home.... where I am now.

So, tomorrow is the meeting w/ the realtor, I don't have anything planned Wednesday and Thursday I'm meeting Vicki so we can donate our quota for the Junior League thrift shop (one of our requirements for Junior League up here) and then we have a meeting that night for Junior League.  Friday is a packing day and it'll be time to pick Christian up and start our road trip before we know it!

I hope all of you are enjoying the fall weather wherever you are!  It's kind of gloomy and cool here for the next day or so.  I'm ready for that Florida sunshine and 70 degree weather!

Love y'all!  Have a FANTASTIC week!

xoxo,

Chrissi

In the Season of Giving Thanks...

As Thanksgiving approaches each year, I try to reflect on life and ponder the things for which I am thankful.  I think I have a winning year this year.  Never have I ever been so blessed in life with everything that I want, need and desire.  I have never been happier in life than I am right now and I have so many people and circumstances to thank for this.  So, here are the things I am thankful for:

My home:  As a military wife, I have come to terms with the fact that home really is where the heart is.  For the next six or seven years, we will be moving around the country and we don't have the luxury at this point in our lives of looking for a home to raise a family in and make memories for a lifetime in our children's childhood home.  But, while we're in limbo for the next seven years, I will make the most of the roof over our head.... whether it really "feels" like home or not.  We are blessed that we get to experience life in different parts of the country.  This helps us become more accepting of others and step out of our comfort zones.  I will carry my heart with me to each and every house and home will be where the heart is.  

The military:  I never,  ever thought I would end up as a military spouse.  Coming from Pensacola, Florida (one of the largest military populations), I, like many other young women in Pensacola, had a preconceived notion about what military men were like.  And, I NEVER wanted anything to do with any of them.  But, everything changed when I made some great friends who were officers stationed in Pensacola for flight training.  They (about six guys who lived across the street from me) made me realize what great guys they really were and how hard they worked.  So, two years after making those friends, I met my husband.  Thank God for the change of heart I had regarding military men or else I wouldn't be in the position I am today.  Yes, the military life is tough and yes, it sucks that my husband is gone so much.  But, we are extremely blessed in this economy to be in a position where we never have to worry about getting laid off or always having a back-up plan.  The military allows us to sustain an amazing life and gives us all kinds of opportunities to travel the world and have free healthcare (another luxury in this country).... not to mention the great discounts we get on everyday items.  I'm thankful that my husband is so dedicated to his job as a pilot.  He's so smart and loves what he does.  His dream of being a pilot stemmed from a flight he took to Europe when he was 10 years old... and that dream has come true.  Doing what he loves definitely makes our home a happy one.  

My family:  Family is always at the top of my "gratitude list".... especially my immediate family consisting of my mom, dad, brother and step-parents.  I had such a great time this past weekend with Mom & Adam and now I'm missing my dad a lot!  I can't wait to see him in less than three weeks so we can hang out and laugh like we always do!  Living over 2000 miles away really puts things into perspective regarding your family. When I lived in Florida I had the luxury of seeing my parents any time I wanted to see them.  Now, it's obviously not that easy.  But, the time that we do have together is so special!  Plus, now they have a great vacation spot!  I'm also thankful for all of my extended family; my amazing aunts, cousins, grandfathers and crazy grandmothers (haha)!  The new addition we have coming to the family from Ali & Ben is sooo exciting too!  

My friends: When I moved, I knew things would change a little bit with my friends.  Of course, the most obvious change is the fact that I don't get to see them as often and I can't call them to grab a drink after work or meet me for lunch.  But, thank God I have great friends who are just a phone call away.  There have been a few times since being up here when I really needed a friend to cry to and Alison, Laura and Christina have been there every time I've needed them.  I'm so thankful for great friends like that.  I'm also so very thankful for the great friends I'm making up here.  Junior League has been my saving grace when it comes to friends.  There are such great girls in this group and I'm excited to see how these new found friendships will blossom in the coming months, years, etc.  

and last but certainly not least, the love of my life, Christian:  As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I have never been happier in my life than I am now.  Much (if not all) of that happiness is caused by this amazing, smart, handsome man I get to wake up to every day (well, not every day since he's gone 50% of the time but you get my point).  For those of you who know us really well, you know how unconventional our relationship really is.  We always tell each other that if someone took a transcript of our conversations with each other and didn't get the tone or sarcasm from our conversations, people would think we hated each other!  haha  About 90 percent of the time, we're joking around and laughing and being goofy.  It's awesome.  The other 10 percent of the time is left for serious conversations that are necessary to sustain any relationship, lifestyle and our sanity.  This man that I get to call my husband is everything I could ever ask for.  If I made a list of all the things I want in a man, he would have all of those qualities.  He's obviously very attractive (check), very intelligent (check), fun (check), outgoing (check), good w/ money (check), gets along with anyone he meets (check), can fix things and figure out how things work (check), etc, etc, etc (check, check, check).  Plus, he does little things totally out of the blue that make me so very happy.  For instance, the past two nights, he's built a fire, set up a table in front of the fire place, turned the lights low and we've eaten dinner right in front of the fireplace with Frank Sinatra playing.  Not too shabby, huh?  He's just about the least emotional person I've ever met but he surprises me sometimes with these little things.  I can't wait to spend all the days of my life with him, see him as the father of our children and continue all of our crazy adventures together.  

So, needless to say, life is good.  I'm thankful for everything.... every decision I've made in life that has ultimately made me who I am and gotten me where I am.  Tell me the things you're thankful for!!

xoxo, 

Chrissi

November 1, 2010- Part 1 of 2:  Great Halloween Weekend!

Well, the weekend has come to an end and so has Mom & Adam's visit to the City of Brotherly Love.  We had a great time this weekend and I was super sad to see them off this morning!  Friday evening we ventured up to my favorite little Americana town, New Hope, PA for some brew and dinner.  Adam and Mom both LOVED it up there... maybe even as much as I do!  We parked right by the New Hope/Ivy Land Train Station (cute, old school train station....you should google it) so we got to see the "Trick or Treat Train" take off with the little kids in their halloween costumes.  It was really neat!  They have it decorated really cute all around the station.  Then, we noticed there was a brewery right across the tracks so we walked over to the Triumph Brewing Company and had some great beer!  Pumpkin Ale... my favorite! After a few drinks, we walked down to a restaurant called Karlas.  It was so neat!  Teeny tiny place in an old house with a lady playing piano right in the middle of everyone.  And, as the night went on, she started singing along... it was great!

Saturday was our day down in Philly.  We ventured to Pat's & Geno's for some cheese steaks and decided on Geno's.  It was my first cheese steak ever and it was pretty good!  We walked around in the 9th Avenue Italian Market and then headed uptown a little to visit the Reading Terminal Market (one of my favorite Philly sites).  We walked around the city a little bit then hit a sports bar to watch good ol' college football and then headed back up towards home for dinner at the Brick House in Willow Grove so we could catch the rest of the games (WAR EAGLE!)  :).

Yesterday was pretty low-key.  It was a beautiful day so Adam & Christian played golf on the course we live on and Mom and I went riding around to antique shops!  We got some great deals and I added to my growing milk glass collection!  Mom couldn't get over how cheap the antiques are up here.  I love it!

Then, last night was soooo fun!  We went down to the Eastern State Penitentiary to visit the Terror Behind the Walls Haunted House.  Eastern State Penitentiary is a historic prison that was built in 1829 and closed in 1973-ish.  Al Capone was probably the most notorious criminal to be locked up there.  This haunted house was BY FAR the best all of us had ever visited.  There were about six different themes to the haunted house and the coolest one was the 3D area.  The guides handed out 3D glasses and it was super crazy!  Soooo much fun... and I got the sh*t scared out of me a few times... so did Mom!  haha

So, all in all, we had a great time!  I'm sad to see them leave but I'm excited about going down to Florida for the holidays!

Part 2 of 2:  Happy November & Merry Christmas


On this Monday, November 1st, according to advertisers, Comcast channel 645: "Sounds of the Seasons", and the random house up here who already put Christmas lights up, it's time for Old Saint Nick to make his mark on the world.  Plus, the fact that it's COLD!  It's a brisk 50 degrees right now and supposed to stay this way for the next few days!  So, this Florida chick has a fire going in the fire place and Christmas music on the surround sound.  haha  I'm not going to be up here for the actual day of Christmas so I have to celebrate somehow, dang it!

Mom & I were watching t.v. this morning and saw our first Christmas commercial for cookies (I think that's what it was for) so I switched it to the music channel called Sounds of the Seasons and sure enough, Christmas music has started.  Kind of funny since yesterday this same channel was rocking out to "Monster Mash".  Oh well.... I guess as the song says, this is the "most wonderful time of the year" so I'll just bask in all of it's glory since it feels like Christmas outside anyway.  

So, anyway, I hope all of you have a wonderful Monday!  Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving (the red-headed step child of the holiday season)!  ;-)

xoxo,

Chrissi