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
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
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!
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!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
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
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
Sunday, September 13, 2009
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
*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
Monday, August 17, 2009
Adam's address and some pictures
Hi all...here is Adam's address for those interested in sending him mail/packages. Something I found out the hard way: don't forget that you have to fill out customs paperwork because the package is going overseas. Depending on your post office, they may want you to leave the box open before sending it, so they can look at what you've put in it and make sure it's all ok. Your best bet is to only send him things that total $50 or less, because it makes things much easier on his end, and it's less likely to be opened and searched in transit. Also, if you plan on sending something heavy, get one of the APO/FPO flat rate military boxes at the post office because no matter what you put in it it ships for one price (I think it's $11). Otherwise, it's getting weighed and if it's heavy, it will cost you a LOT. Make sure to check at the post office about things that can/can't be sent (or get the info online) and remember that certain things are actually illegal in Iraq and can't be sent to him there (this info can be found on usps.com...I can look up the exact link again if you can't find it). I'll let you know other little things I figure out as I go along :-)
Anyway, here is the address:
Traynor, Adam SSG
115th EN CO. (779th EN BN)
COS Marez
APO AE 09334
Write it exactly as it is here to avoid delays.
Also, I wanted to share a few pictures of what has been going on in my life here in Columbia. First, last week I went back to work at my beloved Career Center, located in the H. William Close building on campus:
I'd love to point out my office, but you can't see it because it doesn't have any windows :-) It's on the sixth floor and I love, love, love it. I'm still personalizing it a little bit this year, but it's just so nice to have a space all my own, and I'm very thankful for it, especially knowing that many of my fellow GA's have to share office space with many others. I'll try to take some pics of my actual office sometime in the next few weeks.
Next, because I've gotten a lot of requests for them, here are a few pics of the little monster we like to call Brady:
He sure does make my life interesting, but I can't imagine what it would be like not to have him. I just can't wait until his dad comes home and we can split doggie duties :-) Hope you all are having a fabulous day!
D
Mission: Building Something
Just wanted to give a quick update on what's been going on with Adam. His unit is the only vertical construction unit in all of the northern part of the country, so he's going to be spending a lot of his time off on "missions," building things off of his main base. For example, this week he's about four hours away from his main base, doing a big concrete project. While out on these missions, he doesn't have internet access but was able to give me a call last night and let me know things are going pretty well. He had the day off today to wait for the concrete to set, and he was very excited about getting some really good sleep. He hasn't given me a lot of details (probably on purpose), but I'll ask him about things when he gets back. When he IS on his home base, he's able to email me pretty much every day, and we're sometimes able to voicechat, which is nice because he doesn't have to use his phonecard or go to the call station and can just talk to me from his room.
I'm going to post his address in a separate post since a lot of people have been asking me for it. I'm sure he'd love to get some mail :-)
As for me, I'm back to working at the Career Center and classes begin this week. Tomorrow is the first day that I'm going to meet the U101 (freshman seminar) students that I'm co-teaching, and then Tuesday is Division/Univeristy and Program Orientations. Wednesday is our first career fair of the year, believe it or not, so things are really picking up. I don't mind at all though...it makes the days go faster (although it does also make the nights become shorter as well hahaha). Anyway, Brady is laying here next to me passed out on his back, so I think I'm going to scoop him up and put him to bed for the night, then head off to bed myself. Be well!
D
I'm going to post his address in a separate post since a lot of people have been asking me for it. I'm sure he'd love to get some mail :-)
As for me, I'm back to working at the Career Center and classes begin this week. Tomorrow is the first day that I'm going to meet the U101 (freshman seminar) students that I'm co-teaching, and then Tuesday is Division/Univeristy and Program Orientations. Wednesday is our first career fair of the year, believe it or not, so things are really picking up. I don't mind at all though...it makes the days go faster (although it does also make the nights become shorter as well hahaha). Anyway, Brady is laying here next to me passed out on his back, so I think I'm going to scoop him up and put him to bed for the night, then head off to bed myself. Be well!
D
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Moved to Iraq
Adam got in touch with me yesterday to let me know that he flew to Iraq in the middle of the night and is now living...get this...literally 300 feet from the building where he spent his last two months during his last tour in Iraq. He said it was a pretty surreal feeling, because not too much has changed, which is probably one of the reasons they are back there.
Things that are good in Adam's new digs:
*Only two guys to a room, not 50 to a tent (he's rooming with Brandan, his old roommate from Morgantown)
*Personal AC units for each room
*Real toilets (no more portapotties)
*More reliable internet
*No more hour and a half long lines to use things like the phone and internet
Things that are not so good in Adam's new digs:
*No Starbucks
No, no, I'm kidding. When I asked him that question early, that was really the only thing he could come up with, other than the fact that now they're in a combat zone, which they weren't in Kuwait. He said overall it's a big improvement. One thing they haven't gotten yet is their big toughboxes, which is where a lot of his things are packed. They do have the bags that they took on the planes over from the US, so he has some things with him, but he's missing his XBOX, which we know is oh-so-important! He hasn't been told what their first mission will be, but he said it's sounding like it's going to be "building something," which is shocking considering that they're a carpentry/masonry unit ;-) Overall, he says he's doing well, and he misses everyone a lot, and to send his love.
Things that are good in Adam's new digs:
*Only two guys to a room, not 50 to a tent (he's rooming with Brandan, his old roommate from Morgantown)
*Personal AC units for each room
*Real toilets (no more portapotties)
*More reliable internet
*No more hour and a half long lines to use things like the phone and internet
Things that are not so good in Adam's new digs:
*No Starbucks
No, no, I'm kidding. When I asked him that question early, that was really the only thing he could come up with, other than the fact that now they're in a combat zone, which they weren't in Kuwait. He said overall it's a big improvement. One thing they haven't gotten yet is their big toughboxes, which is where a lot of his things are packed. They do have the bags that they took on the planes over from the US, so he has some things with him, but he's missing his XBOX, which we know is oh-so-important! He hasn't been told what their first mission will be, but he said it's sounding like it's going to be "building something," which is shocking considering that they're a carpentry/masonry unit ;-) Overall, he says he's doing well, and he misses everyone a lot, and to send his love.
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