Boombox Guy

So, when Melissa and I were coming back from lunch today we saw this guy walking around with a boombox on his shoulder (can you see it?) , and the boombox was blaring, loudly, "We Built This City on Rock and Roll." I couldn't wait to share this with you!

(Sorry the picture quality is bad - I took it with my iPhone)

Countdown

Right now I'm counting down to some very important and exciting events! Here's what I'm looking forward to over the next few months:

23 days until Mom and I go househunting in Clovis
31 days until I celebrate my sis-in-law Mandy's bachelorette weekend in Austin
43 days until Nick is slated to leave his forward operating base
**55 days** until Nick is home (this is only an approximation - could be shorter or longer)
By popular request (for you, Suze), it is 103 days until we are residents of Clovis, NM. For those of you who are wondering where Clovis is, it's in the middle of nowhere! If you triangulate 90 miles southwest from Amarillo and 90 miles northwest from Lubbock, you will be in Clovis. I haven't been counting down because I'm so darn sad to leave all my friends in Columbia, but it will be nice to be closer to other friends and of course family!

Oh Happy Day!

The sun came out today! Like George Washington and that old cherry tree, I cannot tell a lie. Even though my precious pup is a lifesaver for me while Nick is gone, it has been a PAIN to have to take him out for walks several times a day when the thermometer hasn't even cracked 35 degrees some days! And it's been rainy!! Finlay and I are both so thankful that the sun finally showed his face today. To celebrate we went out to the field by our apartment and ran around for a while. The picture isn't great because I took it with my iPhone, but it does show Finlay basking in the warm sun.

Here's something else - did you know that it's only 9 weeks until Nick comes home?! 9 weeks still seems like a long time, but it's so so so much better than 52!! You may be able to tell that it's kind of hard for me to talk about Nick being gone. I don't even now that it's hard to discuss, it's just that I don't even want to listen to myself whine about how lonely I am or how sad it can be with him gone. And most of the time, if I'm honest, that's what I'm thinking about when I have enough time alone, at home, to write about it on the blog. Hence, I've been relatively quiet this past year. Let me tell you, it hasn't been a cake-walk, but my marriage has only been strengthened over the last 10 months as Nick and I have both grown incredibly, and we have so much to look forward to in the coming months. I do think that as Nick's return grows closer and my spirit continues to rise I'll have more to share. I hope I don't bore you all to death!

For now, thanks for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed a nice day off at home with the people (and pets!) that you love.

Step One

So don't get too excited - he's still not coming home until late March - but this is the first shipment of Nick's stuff to come back from Afghanistan. Woo hoo!

Christmas Break Pics

Christmas pics - enjoy!

White Christmas at Mom and Dad's house! Here's Fin, taking it all in.
My cousin Kelli's son, Parker, with me on Christmas Day

Mark, Lauren, and me at Barkin' Ball on New Year's Eve

Mom, Dad, and me at Barkin' Ball

I know I've been a delinquent blogger once again! The thing about getting to do fun things, like traveling home to see family, is that they're exciting, but all the travel and the chores on the front and back ends of trips also sap my energy. At any rate, I had a great time in Texas visiting my family over the holidays. I miss it already, but I'll be back soon enough for my sister-in-law, Mandy's, bachelorette party in February. Woo hoo! I hope you enjoyed the pictures from my trip home. I will try to do better with my blogging in the future...