June

It's hard to believe that June is almost over and we're careening toward toward July as quickly as I've ever felt a month coming on. During the year that Adam was deployed, time really seemed to stand still at certain points. I think the worst were the months of February and March, when it seemed as though every day lasted 40 or 50 hours, and we used to talk about how we felt like we'd never see each other again. Part of that was due to his being on missions and us only being able to communicate via email, but another big part was just the anticipation of what life would be like when he finally did get home. Sometimes I'd lay in bed at night and wonder what it would be like to have him sleeping next to me, and I even started to worry that it would be hard to adjust to not sleeping diagonally across our queen bed anymore.

I am happy to report, though, that all of the apprehension was for naught, and that we have actually settled into married life much more easily than either of us had anticipated. The hardest part so far is to get used to NOT being around each other after the initial "glued at the hip" phase we went through when he was first back and during our honeymoon to Disney. Recently we wanted to watch different shows on tv, so he went to his "man room" and I watched on the big TV downstairs. Afterwards, we talked about how we felt guilty being in the same house but not being together in the same space, and we realized this comes from having done four years of long-distance dating/marriage. When we would visit each other during this time, there was an incredible sense of urgency to spend as much time together as possible because someone was leaving at the end of the weekend. Now, we're slowly adjusting to the fact that neither of us is going anywhere, and that it's ok for us to be the awesome, independent people that we've always been in this relationship haha.

Adam has been doing an intensive job search and is looking for things in all areas of education and student support, as well as government jobs. He is really focusing on middle and high school teaching positions since this is what he got his degree and certification in, but he is being very open-minded about things. We are trying to be patient and make the best of the free time that he does have now...don't be jealous ladies but my man does laundry, prepares dinner, cleans the house, and even packs my lunch for me in the morning :-) At the same time, we both know that we're facing a very tough job market here in Columbia, especially when it comes to teaching positions. A few weeks ago Adam attended a teacher job fair for a district almost an hour away and there were literally hundreds of people there for less than a handful of positions. Many schools are anticipating openings after the new fiscal year begins on July 1, but there's just so little out there right now that it's easy to start to become frustrated. Fortunately, he's been kept very busy filling out substitute teaching applications and setting up interviews for that in case he doesn't get a teaching job by the fall. In the meantime, please keep us in your prayers...not that he gets a specific job, but just that things work out according to God's plan and that we remain patient with and faithful to that plan. We know that we are supposed to be in Columbia right now--I'm sure I've said to many of you over the past year or two that "this is the place I'm supposed to be and the time I'm supposed to be here"--so we are just keeping our heads up and never forgetting what an immense blessing it is that I do have a job, and one that I love at that.

Anyway, I'm heading to bed, but I do promise that we're going to be better about blogging. We talk all the time about things I mean to post, but it's just the sitting down and doing it part that's difficult. Have a great week and be well!

D

Great dog quote

The past week has been a rough one for me and Brady. He had a cutaneous histiocytoma above his right eye, which is basically a lump/cyst that will go away on its own if allowed time to heal. Unfortunately, he must have scratched it open at some point because it became infected and ruptured on Monday night. Thank God the vet had late hours on Monday night because they took him in and performed emergency surgery to remove it and clean out the infected tissue. They got it in time so that the infection hadn't spread to his eye yet, which would have been disastrous. He had to wear the head cone thing and take pain meds, and he ended up having a really bad reaction to the anisthesia and/or meds and Tuesday he was like a zombie. Wouldn't eat, drink, or move, and I was feeding him ice chips to make sure he didn't get completely dehydrated...he didn't stop shaking all day and would recoil every time I touched him. It was awful, but thank goodness he's now well on the road to recovery. He will get his stitches out in another week as long as everything has healed properly, and gets to stop wearing the cone after tomorrow. I'm sure he'd be happy if he understood it :-)

Anyway, all of this has made me realize just how much I love this dog. He's totally like my kid and seeing him in so much pain was absolutely devestating. In celebration of his continued recovery, I wanted to share one of my favorite dog quotes. Hope you enjoy:

"He is my other eyes that can see above the clouds; my other ears that hear above the winds. He is the part of me that can reach out into the sea. He has told me a thousand times over that I am his reason for being; by the way he rests against my leg; by the way he thumps his tail at my smallest smile; by the way he shows his hurt when I leave without taking him. (I think it makes him sick with worry when he is not along to care for me.) When I am wrong, he is delighted to forgive. When I am angry, he clowns to make me smile. When I am happy, he is joy unbounded. When I am a fool, he ignores it. When I succeed, he brags. Without him, I am only another man. With him, I am all-powerful. He is loyalty itself. He has taught me the meaning of devotion. With him, I know a secret comfort and a private peace. He has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant. His head on my knee can heal my human hurts. His presence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and unknown things. He has promised to wait for me... whenever... wherever — in case I need him. And I expect I will — as I always have. He is just my dog." -Gene Hill

I shall now begin to blog

I have recently been inspired by the ambitious kids of HESA to go back to blogging, so here goes nothing :-) Stay tuned for the greatness that is sure to ensue!

D

P.S. Adam should be home in the next few weeks. That's all I know about it, honestly. I'll let you all know when he's back in the states.

Update on leave

Hi all!

Just wanted to share a quick update on Adam's leave status. I wanted to wait until we knew for sure what was going on before posting, and now we do seem to have a pretty good idea what is happening. Adam emailed me in the middle of the night on Thursday (I guess technically it was Friday by that point) to let me know he had been notified that he'd be flying out that evening. I didn't hear from him again until this morning, when he emailed to let me know he is at a processing base in Kuwait and will be getting home as early as tomorrow evening! For once, the time difference is playing in our favor :-) I'll make sure to let everyone know when he is here safe and sound, but I won't even start to predict what the next two weeks will look like. I'll have to give you a review rather than a preview haha Anyway, the only things he said he wants in the fridge when he comes home is "some good beer and chocolate milk" although I'm guessing he doesn't plan to drink those together. I'm off to make that happen...have a fabulous week!

D

Thanksgiving

So I have to admit, I've not been so good at keeping up with the blog over the past two months. OK, so I haven't even posted one thing :-) In my defense, Adam was away on a mission for the entire month of October and then another one in early November. Since coming back, he has primarily been working on constructing buildings and a bridge on his home base in Marez. His unit is the last vertical construction unit left in Iraq, so there is no shortage of things for them to do. The unit left two days ago for another mission, but Adam didn't go because he's coming home on leave in a few weeks and the unit probably won't be back in time.

Anyway, I know it's cliche, but it's the time of year when you naturally start thinking about all of the things you're thankful for. This year, Adam and I spent time talking about all of those things, and we wanted to share some of them with you.

First, we are thankful for such a benevolent God, whose love and grace never cease to amaze us. Every day we become more convinced that He holds the ultimate plan for our relationship, and that all things are under His control. We know that, without Him, we would not have made it through the past five years, and that it is only by relying on His strength that our relationship will continue to grow for many years to come.

We are thankful for each other and for the absolute committment we have to our marriage.

We are thankful for our families and friends who have always and continue to support us, advise us, and love us unconditionally. Adam is especially thankful for everyone who keeps him in their prayers and sends him packages, cards, and other things to keep his spirits up while he's deployed. I'm particularly thankful for everyone who has supported me in more ways than I can even name as I've gotten used to Adam being gone.

We are thankful for the ball of fuzz named Brady, who has provided me with lots of love and company over the past few months. He has totally surpassed our expectations for our first family dog, and we look forward to many more years with his crazy antics.

We are thankful for the full-time employment that will begin for me in January during a time when so many are facing the awful struggle of unemployment.

We are thankful for a warm home as the weather gets colder, for plenty of food and clothes, and for having all of our other needs met, even those we don't even realize we have.

We are thankful for Adam's continued safety, and for both of our continued good health.

Finally, we are thankful for another year of life, love, and happiness that we have been able to share with each of you. Be well, and be blessed!

Lots of building

Hi all! I figured I'd better get another update in before the end of September because otherwise I couldn't really even call this a "blog" anymore...maybe just an "occasional update site" haha. Anyway, things are going pretty well for both Adam and I on our opposite sides of the world. Last week, he had to drive across the country to get building supplies for their base, and the trip took longer than expected because of the weather. Unfortunately, it's the "dry" season over there, which means that there are frequent and heavy dust storms. He said that everything is always covered in a fine layer of dust, but that it was particularly bad when they were trying to make this trip so it made driving really difficult. While he's out on these missions, I don't get to talk to him, so it's just a matter of waiting it out to hear how things have gone. I asked Adam what comes after the dry season, and he said the rainy season, which I thought would be a good thing...no more dust, right? Well, technically. He told me that once the dust storm season passes, they're still in the desert, so wet season plus desert equals mud. He said it's usually just as bad as the dust, because everything gets covered in mud. I'm sure he'll be excited when he gets back to see grass (at least until he realizes that now he has to cut it). His projects this week are focused on doing a lot of building projects for the base that he lives on. Today and yesterday he and his guys built a bunch of floors for buildings. He says it's pretty monotonous work, but now he knows how to build floors :-)

On my end, just more of the same old, same old. Keeping busy with school, work, and trying to have a bit of a social life. The updates are now finished on our kitchen and bathrooms, so I'll try to take some pictures and get them up soon. I can't belive the difference some granite, new faucets, and new stainless appliances have made. We supposedly have added a massive amount of value to our home but have not made it too much for our local market. Guess we'll see when we go to sell in a few years! Anyway, that's all for now. Hope everyone is doing well, and don't hesitate to get in touch when you have some time!

D

Viva la VISSSSSSTA

So, I always start off with info about Adam, so I decided to flipflop a bit and start off by sharing one of the really cool things I did this weekend. On Saturday, I went to Viva la Vista, which is a "Taste of" kind of festival here in the downtown area. Many of the wonderful restaurants that are here in Columbia were represented, and you basically could buy tokens for a dollar and get a "taste" or "tapas sized" portion of some of their most popular food for a few tokens or even just for one. Here are the different things I tried, and keep in mind that this was probably 1/30th of the wonderful things there. I want to give a little review of each, so that if you're here in the Columbia area you might be inspired to go get some of these great things:

*Jillian's - Mac and cheese (Really creamy, very mild cheese, good ratio of cheese to noodles, it reminded me of Yesterday's mac and cheese if you like that...I'd like to do a taste test with them and see which I prefer haha)
*Blue Marlin - Shrimp and grits (Best I've had since moving to the South, had some pieces of andouille (sp?) sausage and some Cajun seasonings that gave it a bit of a kick, slightly buttery undertones, this is a dish I would definitely order if I went to the restaurant); Pan-seared sea scallops (nice texture to the scallops but could have used a little more seasoning)
*Liberty Tap Room - Blue cheese potato chips (Sometimes called "wing chips" down here, these were thinly sliced potatoes that are fried and are crunchy, but they aren't like a traditional potato chip because they retain more of an actual potato taste, the blue cheese dip on them was absolutely amazing, it was a melted creamy dip and was so much better than the traditional blue cheese crumbles that go on top of wing chips)
*LongHorn Steakhouse - Shrimp and lobster chowder (Good consistency but lacked the "seafood" flavor I was expecting, tasted like a regular potato and corn chowder except when there was some shrimp or lobster in the bite)
*Cupcake - Mini mint chocolate chip cupcake (Wish they sold this size at their store on a regular basis because two bites of their decadent cupcakes can really be plenty, their mcc cupcake has always been my favorite and I wasn't disappointed at all, tastes like an Andes mint...if you haven't visited this store in the Vista do it NOW)
*Motor Supply Company - Sugar bacon dipped in bittersweet chocolate (Tried this basically just so I could say I did it and was surprised at how good it really was, I always wonder about this "savory and sweet" thing on Food Network and now I totally get it)
*Gervais and Vine - Seared jumbo sea scallops w/ rosemary oil and white balsamic reduction (Excellent texture, perfectly seasoned and cooked, balsamic reduction was a little too salty but overall these were amazing), Marinated & grilled veal skirt steak & house-smoked bacon skewer w/ balsamic syrup (Veal was very tender and almost sweet, and the bacon and balsamic gave it the perfect salty compliment, truly an excellent dish, something I would order at the restaurant), Spanish shrimp "lollipop" (Cold shrimp in a spicy marinade with very light crunchy flakes on the outside)
*Ruth's Chris Steakhouse - Rosemary-crusted tenderloin sliders w/ creamy horseradish sauce (Amazing...so well-cooked and seasoned, wouldn't expect anything less from them), Sweet potato casserole (perfect balance of sweet potato to brown sugar topping, wasn't overly sweet, best "side dish" of the day)

That's all I was able to try, not because I was out of tokens (this stuff was CHEAP) but because I was so full! You wouldn't think that you could get full from little bits of food, but it was all so rich and it was so hot outside that I was gulping water all afternoon. I do also want to give a shout out to a few places that were there but that I didn't get anything from only because I've been there numerous times and know how amazing their food is. Those places are:

*Five Guys Burgers and Fries - By far, my favorite burger place in the world. So cheap, so fresh, so delicious. They were selling huge portions of fries for a dollar yesterday...unbelievable. If you've never had a Five Guys burger, give it a try. You wouldn't believe the kind of burger you can get for the same price as a fast food one. Can't say enough good things about this place.
*Nonnah's - Love their desserts...usually pass on their food, not such a fan, but maybe it's because their desserts make it hard to like anything else there.
*Mellow Mushroom - Fabulous pizza, calzones, salads, etc. Best dough in Columbia, most options for building your own pizza/calzones but their house pies/calzones are so good that you really don't have to haha.
*Wild Wing Cafe - Love their wings, love their wing chips, love their drinks and waitstaff...great karaoke and local music. One of my favorite "casual dining" places in Cola, along with Carolina Ale House and Carolina Wings and Ribs.

Annnnnnnnyway, now that you've heard everything there is to hear from Dawn Traynor, Food Critic Extraordinaire, here's what is going on in Adam's life. He returned to his base about a week and a half ago and is quite happy to be getting to sleep in his regular bed again, use the internet regularly, etc. They've been doing a lot of local work recently, so he has actually had some more time on his hands, which he's using to play in a poker tournament, set up a fantasy football league, and play video games. He just went through some special driving training so he can drive these crazy vehicles called MRAPs that can drive over an IED without sustaining major damage, so the next time they head out into the field he may be at the wheel. Also, I'm not sure if I've posted this before, but he was recently promoted to Staff Sergeant, so we're all very proud of him. Because he's been back on his home base, he's had much better internet access, so we've been able to be in pretty close touch. Just being able to be in touch like this has been wonderful for us and it's helped a lot with the separation.

Anyway, hope all is well with everyone. I'll try to be better about posting, but if you look, you'll see that I stopped posting literally the week that school started up again haha I'm sorry! I'll try to get up one post a week or so...until then, be well!

D