Fall

I feel like beginning with a comment like "Good grief, where did August go?", but it is starting to seem like I say something like that every time I write... so I'll try to refrain. Yes, it does feel like the summer flew by, and though it is officially not fall until September 21st, fall has arrived in England. Our weather has been cooler and cloudier for the last couple weeks, sunrises are getting later, and sunsets are getting earlier. It sounds like I am complaining, but I'm really not... just making observations. Driving to work the other day, I noticed orange tints in the leaves of trees lining the road, which was absolutely beautiful with the sun glinting through.

Another positive aspect of fall... FOOTBALL!!! :-D I am so super-excited for the college football season, and it starts this Saturday! I have been watching NFL preseason for the last couple weeks, even though I don't really care about the NFL, just because it is football (and there are some PSU alumni to watch). Penn State's opening game this Saturday is against Youngstown State, who is not even a Division I team. This is a good thing, because I will be in Spain and unable to watch the game, so I am happy to be fairly confident we'll start out with a W. The next week, Sep 11th, is the big test... we're playing #1 Alabama! I'm excited but also nervous about this, especially since I just invited about 20 people over to my house for a tailgate party that day to watch it. It will be a good time, I'm sure... it would just be so much more awesome if we could pull out a win!

This weekend was pretty low-key, which was nice after taking a trip to London during the week with a friend who had family visiting. We ate at the original Hard Rock Cafe and visited the Beatles studio on Abbey Road... even got a picture crossing the street at the famous crosswalk! (I don't have the pic now, or I'd post it). One thing I accomplished today was finally posting Paris pictures... here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=482483&id=701905001&l=8c2e92ada8 I have more from Lisa's and my adventures in England, but will post those another day... figured one album was a good step forward. :)

This should be a pretty busy work week, since my boss is TDY so I'll be running things at the office. There is some training to take care of tomorrow, plus we are getting a new squadron commander on Thursday, so there will be plenty of events surrounding the changeover. On top of that, I have some car issues to deal with (with both cars, unfortunately). On the bright side, it is looking more like I will get to go to Spain for Labor Day weekend (has been in question due to a possible TDY for my travel buddy). Should know for sure by tomorrow, so I can't wait to make final plans! For now, it is bed time for me...

Good List:
1. My college roommate Jamie had her first baby!!! :-D SOOO happy for Jamie, Ben, and baby Alexis!
2. Catching up with geographically separated friends.
3. Homemade lasagna. Not mine, unfortunately, but I got to enjoy it :)
4. Forgiveness. Getting it and giving it.
5. Concert tickets. I will get to see three awesome bands in the next three months, including my two favorite bands of all time!
6. 6 days until College Football begins!!!
7. Yahtzee. Why is rolling 5 dice over and over again so much fun? ;-)
8. Slippers and sweatpants on a cool evening.
9. Living in England. Pretty sure I take this for granted entirely too often.
10. Sleeping in.

I'm still here!

Yes, friends, I am in fact alive. And I have not completely abandoned this blog... only for the last almost-month. Oops. I have good excuses, I promise! First, Lisa visited at the end of July into the beginning of August. We had a blast with lots of travels and adventures including Paris, London, Warwick Castle, Hunstanton Beach, and Cambridge, among other things. I have exactly 472 pictures from the two weeks of her visit and therefore have not even begun the task of sorting through them for a sampling to post online. But when I do... you'll be the first to know. :-)

The weekend after Lisa left, I went to Nottingham for my half marathon. Bad news first: I did not hit my goal of running it under 2 hours. This was really frustrating because the weekend prior, I had done a 10-mile training run in 1:31... on track for sub-2 with minutes to spare. The day of the race was hot and humid, and the start wasn't until 10:30am. To make a long story short, I couldn't keep my goal pace past mile 5, and ended up finishing 10 minutes slower than my current PR. So I was kind of grumpy after the race, but then we spent the rest of the day having fun in Nottingham, which was an awesome way to end the weekend! Lots to see and do, plus great restaurants and shopping... I will definitely be going to Nottingham again. :)

Then my life was taken over by work. We are finishing up a two-week-long exercise on base, plus the weather flight is going through a really important inspection this week. This translates to work days so long I stop counting the hours, exponential stress levels, working through the weekend, and running around in chem gear at all hours of the day and night. Sigh. ENDEX is by far my favorite word in the Air Force. (If you aren't Air Force, just trust me on this one...) The exercise officially ended yesterday evening, but I am working a night shift tonight to cover for someone doing a weather equipment display at an air show tomorrow. This means I should probably be getting some sleep first, so I'll leave you with...

Good List:
1. ENDEX!!! (I guess it's fairly intuitive, but just in case... this means end of an exercise) :D
2. Hooters Hot Boneless Buffalo Wings. Yes, Nottingham has a Hooters, and yes, that was our post-race reward dinner... and I was mega-impressed! I had only been to Hooters once before in the States, and this one was wayyy better, both the food and the atmosphere. I will admit I was surprised... most American restaurant duplicates in England are not very good, but this one was awesome!)
3. Shopping with Lisa. :)
4. New SSgt-selects. I can't believe how many I know on this list, so excited for all of them!
5. Diet Dr Pepper.
6. People who make me smile even when I am stressed and exhausted.
7. Driving the Mini again! (Well, almost... needs a few things fixed before it is entirely legal)
8. Making travel plans.
9. Digital cameras. I don't know how I ever lived without them, and I definitely couldn't have during all my traveling in the last year.
10. Old mix CDs in the car. Music brings back memories (good and otherwise) like nothing else.