Christmas decor!

Okay, so I still have to put up a couple of more wreaths and the other strand of lighted garland in the kitchen but here are some preliminary pictures of the decorations!

My evergreen wreath... smells SO good!

Our tree - it fits perfectly in the living room!

Decorations on the patio

Our 2008 ornament

I love this time of year!!

The new place and Thanksgiving!

Well, we've finally received our furniture! We really love having something to sit on in the living room! Here are some pictures of our apartment minus 1 room - the second bedroom's furniture won't be making an appearance until next month.









And here are two pictures from Thanksgiving :)

Enough said.

We've arrived!

We arrived in Virginia on November 7th! We really love our new apartment and the area we live in. All our stuff will be delivered tomorrow and we are looking forward to unpacking and making our place cozy. In less than 2 weeks we will venture back to Maryland for Thanksgiving and we are very excited about that too.

I will post pictures of our apartment as soon as the new living room furniture is delivered on Thursday!

Oh, and as soon as we get settled we will be ready for houseguests!

It's fall!

Last night, my husband, sister and I went to the annual Halloween party hosted by our close friend Michelle. Here are some pictures from the weekend and a couple with our fabulous pumpkin!

This is why I love the fall!

Bill's pumpkin carving skills

He's home!!

On Sunday, October 19th, my husband finally returned from Korea! He was greeted by a slew of friends and family. He was one happy guy!

I am so, so relieved to have him home. I can't wait to start our lives together!

Here are some pictures from the BIG day!

Holy crud! We're almost within 48 hours...

until Bill comes home! I can't believe it's been a year already - it really did fly by. I am so excited to have him home so we can finally act like we are married! We will get to go out to eat, sort through our stuff at the house and move to our new home in Virginia!

I will be posting pictures from the BIG DAY sometime early next week when I've had a chance to upload them. I just can't wait!! I'm all doped up on caffeine since sleep has eluded me this past week!

Some good news after a terrible week...

As some of you may know, Bill and I applied for off-base housing at a development in Chester. Well yesterday morning, our application was approved and we are the proud new renters of a two bedroom aparment home! We are SUPER excited to finally have all this behind us and we are ready to start a new chapter of our lives.

Now, I just have to land myself a job in this ugly economy... keep your fingers crossed that I can find a good job ASAP!

Here are a few pictures from their website. This is the sample one bedroom apartment - ours will be much larger:

Living room

On bedroom & Pool

Outside Kitchen & Dining

Prayers for a fallen solider

Just this morning, I learned of some truly terrible news. It was the kind of news every military wife dreads. Captain Michael Medders was just 25 years old and he left behind a loving fiance, Stacey and their families.



Stacey is a member of my military spouses forum and it's such a special place to be. Some of us have been "sisters" for years and others have just joined us recently. We share the joys and sadness of this peculiar life that we have all chosen. But more importantly, we are a sorority of sorts where engagements, new jobs, military relocation, weddings, and births are all celebrated. And in the event of an untimely death, we come together again to lend support to the "sisters" who have lost their best friends and in most cases, the person who brought them to our board.



If you could say a prayer for Stacey, Mike and their families, I know they would appreciate it. My heart just breaks for them...

Captain Michael Joseph Medders, US ARMY, will be returned home tomorrow, Tuesday September 30, 2008. The plane carrying his casket is scheduled to arrive at Lorain County Regional Airport, 44054 Russia Road, Elyria, OH at 12:37PM. Members of his family will meet the plane escorted by US ARMY Honor Guard and US ARMY Pallbearers. The Family and hearse carrying the casket will be escorted by numerous Police Departments to The Busch Funeral Home at 163 Avon-Belden Road, Avon Lake.The public is invited to line the route that his casket procession will take from the airport to the Busch Funeral Home. (See routes below) Mayor of Avon Lake Karl Zuber and Mayor of Elyria William Grace have both stated “Our communities will come together to show our respect for the tragic loss of Captain Medders, please join your fellow neighbors in showing signs of support lining the funeral processional routes Tuesday and Friday this week.”Visitation for Captain Medders will be at Avon Lake High School, 175 Avon-Belden Road, from 5-8pm Wednesday, October 1, 2008 and 3-5pm & 6-9pm Thursday, October 2, 2008.Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Joseph Church, 32929 Lake Road, Avon Lake, OH Friday, October 3 at 10:00am.Captain Michael Joseph Medders will be buried with full military honors at St. Joseph Cemetery, 32789 Detroit Road in Avon, OH.
UPDATE: In a brief News Release today, the United States Defense Department said that Medders died on Wednesday, September 24th, in Jisr Naft, Iraq, of wounds suffered when a suicide bomber detonated a vest during operations. Medders was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.

If you are interested in signing this guestbook, please visit http://www.legacy.com/Cleveland/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=118179331

I

Layers

Okay, so I "borrowed" this from Christina - one of the MB's

LAYER ONE:
Name: Lindsay
Birth date: May 21st
Birthplace: Baltimore, MD
Current Location: Baltimore, MD
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Blonde
Height: 5′4''
Righty or Lefty: Righty
Zodiac Sign: Gemini

LAYER TWO:
Your heritage: Italian & Scottish
The shoes you wore today: brown suede flats
Your weakness: Starbucks, Old Navy and Panera Bread
Your fears: Not being successful!
Your perfect pizza: Ground beef and green peppers
Goal you’d like to achieve: Find a new job and start our family

LAYER THREE:
Your most overused phrase on AIM: lol
Your first waking thoughts: Crap, I'm tired!
Your best physical feature: Smile
What you miss the most: Sleeping in past 8 a.m.

LAYER FOUR:
Pepsi or Coke: Coke.
McDonald’s or Burger King: McDonald's
Single or group dates: I would love a date with my husband!
Adidas or Nike: Nike for sure
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Lipton
Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate!
Cappuccino or coffee: Coffee

LAYER FIVE:
Smoke: Nope
Cuss: Like a sailor! :)
Sing: Not enough
Take a shower everyday: Yes I do!
Do you think you’ve been in love: Of course!
Want to go to college: Already completed college :O
Liked high school: Sure! It was fun while it lasted.
Want to get married: I'm a married woman!
Believe in yourself: Yes.
Get motion sickness: Sometimes.
Think you’re attractive: Somewhat ;)
Think you’re a health freak: Not entirely but I owe much of that to Weight Watchers
Get along with your parent(s): My parents are just as crazy as I am... so, yes!
Like thunderstorms: Not especially
Play at instrument: The flute in elementary and middle school

LAYER SIX:
In the past month…
Drank Alcohol: Yes
Smoked: No
Done a drug: No
Made out: No, isn't that sad??
Gone on a date: No.
Gone to the mall: Yes
Eaten an entire box of Oreos: Eh, no - those days are over!
Eaten sushi: No - but I could go for some sushi!
Been on stage: No
Been dumped: No
Gone skating: No
Made homemade cookies: No
Gone skinny dipping: No
Dyed your hair: No
Stolen anything: I stole my coworkers' pen off her desk.

LAYER SEVEN:
Age you hope to be married: I got married at age 27
Numbers and Names of Children: N/A
Describe your Dream Wedding: My wedding day was my dream wedding!
How do you want to die: In my sleep.
Where you want to go to college: Went to Towson University
What do you want to be when you grow up: Good question - I've yet to figure that out.
What country would you most like to visit: Italy, Greece and Turkey

LAYER EIGHT:
Number of people I could trust with my life: 4
Number of CDs that I own: A few.
Number of piercing: 3
Number of tattoos: 0
Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: Once.
Number of scars on my body: Too many to count!
Number of things in my past that I regret: I have no regrets.

7 years ago today...

The World Trade Center buildings fell, heros were made, and nations across the world came face-to-face with one of humanity's worst modern-day realities - terrorism. Never before had Americans experienced a level of hate so strong and blatant. In the days that followed, uncertainty of our nation's security was questioned for the very first time since we were thrust into World War II.



I certainly remember where I was 7 years ago today. I was running very, very late for my theater 101 class. I was driving on 695 (Baltimore's beltway) in Towson when the first plane hit. The radio announcer broke into commentary to let the listeners know. At first, it was unclear if it was an accident. When I arrived at my theater class, there was a note on the door and I went to my lecture hall not knowing all of this wasn't an accident. I arrived at my lecture hall to find a crowd of people packed into the stadium-seated room with a jumbo-tron. That's when about 100 students in the room witnessed the other plane hit. Sheer panic ensued and commuters were told to leave campus immediately and return home.



When I think about how so much has changed over the past 7 years, I think about the victims of that horrific day. I think about their families that had to find a way to carry on. All of the things I have been able to experience since then and how much my life has changed. It makes me feel lucky to be here - to make my life worthwhile. And, to live the kind of life those victims never got a chance to live.

Book review!

As part of my "MB Knottie Secret Sister Exchange" gifts from Jacqui, I received "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. This is a fictional tale that chronicles the life of a girl named Mariam living in Afghanistan from the 1950's to present day. The struggles the Afghani people went through during their many changes in government are the main focus of the storyline.
The social unrest in the country when the Soviet Union invaded, followed by the various guerilla groups and finally presence of the Taliban. It was unbelievable to read about the inequalities women and children endured. Half a world away, you would have never guessed this kind of inhumanity was occuring at such a modern time in Western culture.


I really enjoyed this book but I have to say it gave me nightmares when I would read it before bedtime. This was both a compelling and timely story about life, loss and the meaning of happiness.

My grade - A+

Finally, an update

Well, we heard from the housing office at Fort Lee. We are currently 11 on a waitlist of 59. While that may seem like pretty good odds, we just can't take a chance that we will get moved up by next month. If we sign a lease and a house becomes available, we won't be able to get out of our lease without major penalties. So now I am looking off-base in Chester, VA for apartments, townhouses and condos. I have three places I am going to tour in the next two weeks. Keep your fingers crossed that we find a place quickly!

Housing application.... check!

So, yesterday we submitted our housing application for Fort Lee. We are hoping to get a good number on the wait list (and since Bill is doing a PCS from Korea, he gets priority). The base is undergoing an expansion much like what is happening over at Fort Meade (BRAC). The houses are really pretty and new from what we can gather from the website. Please, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!


Here is a picture of one of the houses in one of the Villages -

EEEE!!!

We have orders!!

So after much agonizing, we finally have our military orders! Bill will need to report on November 10, 2008 at Ft. Lee, Virginia! For those of you unfamiliar with the location, it's about 20 minutes southwest of downtown Richmond. And, he will be home sometime around the third week of October from Korea! Double good news! Bill will also go in front of the promotion board on August 26th and we are hoping for a great outcome.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we make our journey!

Baltimore Restaurant Week!

Last night, Emily, Danielle, Ashley and I went to The Capital Grille for dinner in honor of Baltimore Restaurant Week. Let me start this review by saying the staff could not have been more professional. Everyone from the valet to the wait staff were friendly and attentive. When we asked our waiter Kevin if they saw a difference in revenue and reservation count, he replied they sat a whopping 700 people for lunch earlier that day. That just boggles my mind. It's so exciting to see tourists and Baltimoreans alike pumping money into local businesses when the economy is so terrible.


All four of us ordered the Capital Grille Garden Salad (that had a tiny mound of blue cheese on top) an 8 oz. filet mignon (you didn't even need a side) and we ordered two plates each of the cheesecake with fresh strawberries and chocolate espresso cake with fresh raspberries. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

If you haven't already made your plans to visit a restaurant downtown this week, do yourself a favor and go to The Capital Grille - you won't be disappointed.

Read any good books lately??

Yesterday my book club met and discussed the June/July book - 'The Last Lecture' by Randy Pausch. If you haven't heard of or read this book yet it's about Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon professor whom is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given only months to live. Randy actually passed away this past Friday morning. The book focuses on his reflections on his childhood, the accomplishments he made academically and professionally and most of all, his young family. When I first learned this book was chosen, I was a little afraid it would be too depressing for me to get through. After reading the first few chapters, I didn't find the book to be depressing at all - it was actually quite inspiring. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend giving it a shot.

For the August/September book, Megan has chosen:

I am really looking forward to reading this book. I hear it's hilarious. Stay tuned for my review of this book!