Heroes

I had good intentions of writing a New Year's post this weekend, but there is something else I need to write about first.  Just before the New Year, I saw posts on Facebook about the death of Air Force Capt David Lyon, killed by an IED in Afghanistan.  I didn't know him, but Facebook has a way of showing you connections you never knew existed.  One of my friends who is in Afghanistan had seen David's group just hours before the IED hit the vehicle.  Another friend from SOS (AF Capt training class) this past summer mentioned that David's wife Dana, also an AF Capt, had been in our SOS class.  Another friend had known both David and Dana at the Air Force Academy.

Here are a couple stories about David and Dana:
http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/467849/af-officer-former-academy-athlete-killed-in-afghanistan.aspx
http://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20140102/NEWS/301020033/Fallen-captain-remembered-protector-athlete-loving-husband

The saddest part is, there are too many other stories like this.  When I started going to Crossfit classes here back in September, I spent some time on the official Crossfit website reading about the program.  I already knew that some workouts were named after military personnel who had been killed in combat, but when I got to the page listing these "Hero WODs", I had no idea there were going to be so many.  As I scrolled down the page of pictures, and kept scrolling, and kept scrolling, tears started flowing as I realized just how angry it made me that I was still scrolling.  Too many husbands, wives, sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, friends who were no longer with those who loved them.

Here is the list of Hero WODs:
http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/faq.html#WOD1

Yesterday morning, our "parent" unit at another Kuwait base did one of these Hero WODs, in memory of a JTAC named Bradley Smith who was killed in 2010.  Only a couple people from the unit had actually known Bradley, but the fact that he was "one of them" is a fact that hit home for everyone.  I wish I had been there to do the workout with them, but his story impacted me all the same.  Here is the Bradley Smith Hero WOD: http://crossfitdrippingsprings.com/may-18-hero-wod-bradley/

Also, just a few days ago, Crossfit HQ posted a video on Youtube with the "Best Crossfit Moments of 2013".  Most of the video is fun or silly, but the middle part caught me off guard, as it was a tribute to military Crossfitters who were lost in 2013.  Some were pictures in combat gear, while some were smiling in pictures with kids or wives or friends... people who would have never guessed they'd be looking at their loved one in a remembrance video instead of making holiday memories.  I read an article a few days ago that mentioned both David and Dana Lyon were Crossfitters, so David will probably be memorialized in next year's video.

So why am I writing about all this sad stuff?  For me, I think it has been a reminder of how ungrateful I can be for the people and things I have in my life.  While I was sitting in a sports bar with my husband last weekend, Dana Lyon was sitting next to her husband's casket, escorting it home.  While I was laughing on a plane with my group of JTACs, I never thought about how Bradley Smith could have been one of them.  Yes, I'm deployed, but I'm so far removed from the real fight going on, it's easy to forget that we are still losing people, and we're going to continue to lose people as long as we are in this fight.

I'm not a political person, and I knew what I signed up for when I joined the military, but times like this, I just have to hate the reality of what we do and the consequences that come with it.  But at the same time, I believe in our country and what it stands for, and I believe we have to fight for it... just like David Lyon, Bradley Smith, and everyone on that list of Hero WODs believed.

I thank God for all the people I have in my life, and I know I need to work harder to show them how grateful I am.  I don't believe in living life in fear of losing someone, so that you don't enjoy the present for fear of the future.  1 John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."  The only perfect love is God's love for us, and the love we show others as a result.  So my goal this year?  Think about showing that love in everything I do, so I don't have to fear what may come.

I hope that heroes like the people I mentioned are never forgotten, as well as what they stood for.  Sometimes I worry about where this country is going, but I have to remember that the real war has already been won, about 2000 years ago.  I pray that the families who have lost loved ones are blessed this year with the love of God, family, and friends... and that I can love others like I have been loved.

Merry Christmas!

So I realized that today is the last day I can write a "Merry Christmas" post without it making the "Happy New Year" post late, haha.  Christmas was relatively uneventful here, but as you probably already know if you see my Facebook posts, my best Christmas present came the day after! ;-)  But first things first...

On both Thanksgiving and Christmas, the dining facility staff has gone to an enormous amount of effort decorating for the holiday.  It has been really fun to see what they come up with, and the atmosphere is like a big party with music and people dressed up (even some dancing, haha).  Here I am with the giant turkey on Thanksgiving (excuse Doug's finger over then lens):

And then here I am with Santa and his reindeer on Christmas:

On Christmas morning, I did a "12 Days of Christmas" workout with a bunch of people at our Crossfit gym, which was pretty brutal, but made me feel less guilty about having a second piece of pie at Christmas lunch!  Then I met Doug and a couple other co-workers for the big Christmas meal (served at lunchtime).  After lunch, I went to work for a bit (weather never gets a day off!) and then came back to my room for some Christmas FaceTime.  I got to talk to Martin and then "open presents" with my parents and Lisa.  Gotta love the internet!

Then the last thing I did on Christmas day was... pack for my trip to Qatar the next day!  :-D  The trip had been planned for a few weeks, but I told very few people about it ahead of time because 1) security reasons, and 2) I didn't totally believe it was going to happen!  I was invited to go on the trip with a small group of people from another base in Kuwait, from a unit that Doug and I are technically a part of (it's complicated, haha).  They were visiting a unit in Qatar that just so happened to be at the same base where Martin is currently deployed, so of course I said I wanted to go!  Here is a picture of us by the awesome little plane we flew in:

The official parts of the trip were really interesting, I learned a lot about the weather support done out of that location, and got some cool tours of several ops units.  But of course... the best part was seeing Martin!!!  It had been over 7 months since we last saw each other in person.  It seemed totally unreal at first that we were face-to-face, and it wasn't through an iPad screen.  Once the initial shock wore off, it was so amazing just to be together again.  We spent most of our time just hanging out and talking and enjoying being with each other. 

Martin's base has an awesome sports bar that was paid for and built by Fox Sports (the TV channel) for the deployed personnel to enjoy their time off.  I have to give major kudos to Fox Sports, because the place is awesome!  There are TVs everywhere, with really nice tables and chairs, pool tables, couches, and bar stools.

The first night there, Martin and I got a pizza and sat watching sports together... it was just like being at home, except we weren't on our own couch!

Though I had to come back to Kuwait yesterday, I will remember the last 5 days as the best ones of my deployment.  I think one of the guys in the group said it best when he said he was glad Martin and I got to "reset our clock" on this trip.  It's hard to explain, but before I saw Martin, it felt like it had been forever since the last time we were together.  But when we were together again, it almost felt like no time at all had passed, because it was so easy and natural to be with each other.  And though of course I was sad to leave Qatar yesterday, I left with the feeling that Martin and I can do this, that the hardest part is over and now it's all downhill from here until we can be together again.

I am so grateful for all of the people who helped make this trip happen (people both here and back in the States), and though I know none of them are reading this, I hope I can tell them all how much it meant to me and how thankful I am.  I'll end with a pic of Doha at sunset as we departed last night... farewell 2013, tomorrow I'll say hello to 2014!

 

Kuwait City

About once or twice a month, I have had the chance to go off base into Kuwait City.  I usually go with my co-worker Doug, and sometimes we meet other weather people from another base in Kuwait.  The city is very different than most places I have been before because of the Muslim culture, so it has been interesting to explore.

I have a lot of pictures, so I'll try to remember how to space them out in the post (it has been a year and a half since I used this, haha)!  The first time Doug and I went into the city, we met some other weather people at a restaurant near the Liberty Tower, seen between the buildings in this pic:

The next time, we went to a mall called the Grand Avenues.  It is absolutely HUGE!  Doug compared it to the Mall of America (which I have not been to), if that helps you imagine the size.  Here is a picture of one of the many, many hallways:

Since you can see some people in traditional Muslim dress in that pic, I'll take a second to say that the variety of dress is one of the most interesting things to observe.  When we go to places like the mall, we see a lot of men wearing long robes, some with headpieces and some without, some men wearing suits, and some wearing more Western-style clothing.  We also see women in burkas, women in slightly less-restricting robes and veils, some women wearing Western-style clothes but still covering their hair, and occasionally a few women without head coverings.

My sister Lisa studied Arabic and the Middle East in college, so she has been a convenient source of answers to many of the questions I have about things I see out here.  She says that this mix of clothing is probably due to a few different reasons, the first of which being that a large percentage of people living in Kuwait are not native Kuwaiti.  Their style of dress may be that of their home country.  Also, she said that family tradition and level of religious beliefs play a major part in what Muslims wear.  Thanks for the info, Lisa! :-)

As you may expect, the level of wealth here due to the oil industry is amazing.  It is an awesome place to car-watch (I only wish Martin was here to do it with me!), as we regularly see Lamborghinis, Porsches, Ferraris, and the like in the city.  The "houses" are also unbelievably huge, as you can see in this pic from the highway (yes, those are individual houses!):

One time we met the other group for dinner, Doug and I headed into the city early to catch the sunset at the beach.  Here is a pretty sunset pic:

And here is me with my toes in the Arabian Gulf! :-)

I'll finish with one more thing... as the temperatures cooled later in the year, we started seeing "tent cities" popping up in the open deserts adjoining the highways.  Lisa enlightened me again on this, explaining that camping is a frequent winter activity for the Kuwaitis.  It may also be a tribute to their heritage, some of which are Bedouin.  Sometimes families have camps in the same places every year, and sometimes groups of young adults will pitch camps to just hang out and spend time with their friends.  It is really amazing just how many tents are out there, and though that can't really be conveyed in just one picture, here is an example of what the tents look like:

I have more pics, but that's a good overview of what we see when we go off-base.  I'll try to work more of the pics into future posts! :-)


 

New Adventures

I guess I should start by saying that I never intended for "Leaving England" to be my last post for a year and a half.  After landing in the US, we were off and running for our wedding, honeymoon, new base, new house, etc, etc, and I just never got started writing again.  But here I am in the desert, with a bit of time on my hands now that my grad school semester is over.  So why not give blogging another shot?  I'm not entirely sure what I'll have to write about most of the time, and I'll have to leave details out of some things for security reasons, but... here we go. :-)

I want to talk about the last year in Arizona at some point, but I think it makes the most sense to start with where I am now.  Since the Army feels secure enough to post event pictures from here on Facebook, I can say that I am deployed with the Army in Kuwait.  I've been here a few months, and I'll return sometime in the spring.  This is my first deployment and first time with the Army, so I'm learning a lot and enjoying the experience. 

Why am I with the Army when I'm in the Air Force, you may ask?  Air Force weather personnel support the Army at almost every Army post both stateside and overseas, because the Army does not have their own weather personnel.  So it's a pretty common occurrence for an Air Force weather officer to have one or more Army support assignments in their career; some even devote most of their careers to it.  I've always thought it would be an interesting experience, and that's turning out to be the case.  There are plenty of similarities between the two services, but there are also quite a few differences.

The facilities here are relatively good for a deployed location.  I live in a dorm-type environment with one roommate, an Army Lieutenant from Louisiana.  The bathroom and laundry room are wayyy on the other end of the building, but at least we don't have to go outside to get to the bathroom like some other living areas.  The dining facility food is kind of hit or miss, but if you don't compare it to anything you could get or make at home, it's not that bad.  One good point is that there is always grilled chicken available if you don't like what's on the main line, so I have found several new ways to eat grilled chicken!

I work what you would probably call a "swing" shift, from about noon until 9:30pm-ish.  There is one other Air Force weather person here, and he works the early morning shift.  It's not a bad schedule; I have plenty of time to work out in the mornings and do my grad school homework while my roommate is at work and it's quiet.  The only downside is that I can't go to any of the evening events the base holds, and I don't really get to "hang out" with people because most are off in the evenings.  It's not bad though, I enjoy the people I work with and work out with, so I always have fun talking with them at work or the gym.

The weather was really hot when I got here (sort of what you expect for this area), with average high temperatures in the 110s.  What a difference a few months makes, however... our low temp this morning was 43!  I actually had to wear leggings and a long sleeve shirt to go running.

I don't want to ramble too much in this "first" post, so that is probably a good enough overview of where I am and what I'm doing these days.  Hopefully I'll have more interesting things to say in the future. :-)  I'll leave you with a teaser picture, since I'll probably talk about our off-post trips next... here's a road sign!

 

Leaving England

This is a blog post I really do not want to write, but I think I need to write. Life has been so busy with moving and wedding planning lately, it has been easy not to think about the sadness of leaving, and how close I am to it. But now that the household shipments are gone, and I am in a lodging room on base with no “chores” to do, I don’t have much excuse not to face how I feel about leaving England next week.

Two years, 11 months, and 8 days ago, I landed at Heathrow with my eyes as big as saucers, nose pressed to the airplane window, taking in the fleet of British Airways jets and unfamiliar-looking cars and trucks driving around the airfield. I felt like I was landing in a new world, and couldn’t wait to start my “Big Adventure”. My friend Jose picked me up at the airport, and I fought to stay awake the whole 2-hour drive to Lakenheath, afraid to miss seeing a single thing. Because base lodging was full, I was checked in to a historic hotel in Lakenheath village, and I almost went through the roof with excitement when I saw the elegant English décor. I might as well have been checking into a castle.

Jose had a squadron softball game that night and offered to take me and introduce me to people, which of course I accepted. He suggested I take a nap until he came back to pick me up. Fat chance. I bolted for the door and wandered the village with my camera, taking in everything I possibly could, until it started raining and then hailing. I retreated to my hotel room, but sat on the windowsill watching the rain fall on the picturesque village street, wondering if I was in a dream. Two years, 11 months, and 8 days later… I still wonder that.

My assignment to Lakenheath was a dream come true from the moment I got the news, even though looking back, I had no idea of the life-changing opportunities and experiences I would have here. I remember sitting in my former commander’s office at Barksdale, shortly before I left, talking about my plans and goals for the assignment. Lt Col D was someone I looked up to and respected, and who encouraged the adventurous and independent side of me that I’m not sure I knew existed before. I told him that I was going to look for a travel buddy once I got here to sightsee with. He looked straight at me and said “Heidi, don’t wait. Don’t waste any opportunity you have to see the world, because you will never regret a single trip you take.”

I took him seriously, and never sat still for a moment that I thought could be better used exploring. Before I met Martin (who became my forever travel buddy!), my camera was the only companion I needed, and I refused to sit still with a whole big world out there to see. During my first few months here, I went to a castle or historic site almost every weekend. I went TDY to Germany, and got to see Neuschwanstein, my dream castle. I went TDY to France, and volunteered to work the night shift so I could go nearby castles during the day, sleeping just a few hours in the evenings.

Once Martin entered the picture, Lakenheath took on even more significance as the place that I met, fell in love with, and became engaged to my future husband. The memories we made traveling all over Europe together will be treasured as some of the first bonds in our growing relationship. How many couples can remember their first two years together in terms of sunny Spanish beaches, snorkeling on the coast of Greek islands, riding four-wheelers through the desert in Morocco, and so many more adventures that we were blessed to share with each other?

Have you ever felt so connected to a place that you just felt like you belonged there, like you were meant to be there all along? Like every time you look around and take it all in, your heart feels like it is so full of beauty and joy and amazement that it might explode because it can’t be contained? That is how I feel about England, and I think the hardest thing about leaving is being afraid I may not find that anywhere else. I spent so long being jealous of other people who got to live my dream, and then I actually got the chance to live it myself… and I don’t want to give it up now.

Two weeks ago, I ran my favorite 5-mile route through Bury St Edmunds on a sunny Saturday morning. I didn’t take my iPod, just decided to run and take in the scenery. I ran past houses and cottages hundreds of years old. I ran through the bright blooming flowerbeds and the 1000-year-old abbey ruins in Abbey Gardens. I ran on a dirt path past fields of long grass rippling in the wind. I ran past sheep grazing in the sun. I ran past groups of people heading into the town for Market Day. I didn’t intend for it to be my last run in Bury, but two days later, a minor back injury from lifting weights sidelined me from running. At first I was frustrated and upset that I didn’t get to have a “last run” in the town that I considered home here. But when I really thought about it, what better run to remember than the one I had already done? Even now that I am cleared to run again, I’m going to stay on base and leave that last beautiful, perfect morning run in Bury at the front of my memory.

Though there were ups and downs at work in the last 3 years, I will truly miss being a part of the 48th Fighter Wing. I grew exponentially as a person and an officer though my experiences here. I went from not even knowing the structure of a Wing (my first assignment was a tenant unit), to being involved with almost every function and office on base. I saw senior leaders actually make decisions based on information I gave them. I got to lead a weather unit for the largest international flying exercise in the world, Red Flag. I found many mentors to watch and learn from, and gained the confidence to make tough decisions and stand up for the right way to do things. I was called in the middle of the night to help plan the first wave of a real strike mission. Being a part of the Operations Group has been a crazy ride, but one I will remember for the rest of my career.

Though I am leaving England a week from tomorrow, I have to remind myself that “Heidi’s Big Adventure” is not over. When the plane takes off from London, it will feel like part of my heart is being left on the ground… but I’ll be off to start a new adventure in Arizona, one that I am sure holds more joys and memories than I could ever imagine.

Anticipation

On December 14th, the list of possible assignments for Martin and I to move to next summer was released. I would like to say that I was excited about this, but in reality… I was terrified. The assignment process is stressful enough as it is, but now with two people and two careers to consider, it is especially daunting. I worried that we wouldn’t have any bases in common, or that the only ones we had in common would not be good career choices for one or both of us. Obviously, our first priority is to be together, but in an ever-downsizing Air Force, it is important that we both fill certain job types within our career fields.

When the lists dropped, the biggest shock was the sheer number of jobs available, especially for me. Previous cycles have listed about 20-30 jobs, yet this cycle had over 100 listings. I never thought I would say there were “too many” possibilities, but this was ridiculous. Trying to shave that list down to jobs that were “right” for me was an overwhelming task, which I had to put off until the weekend when I actually had time to read all of the details and descriptions. Martin narrowed his list down pretty quickly, then we spent several days talking over the pros and cons of jobs and bases that we liked/disliked.

We turned in our requests yesterday, and after they go through our leadership, will be sent to the personnel center for decisions to be made and released in the Jan-Mar time frame. I’m not going to talk about what we requested… not because of “jinxing” (don’t believe in that) or anything, just that it is really pointless to lay out all the possibilities and talk about all the locations when it is such a short amount of time until the official announcement. I think we made good decisions about what to request based on what was available for both of us, and we just have to hope that the assignments officers agree.

This is sort of surreal in one aspect because I can’t believe we are talking about leaving England. Living here has been a dream come true, and I want the last 7 months to go by as slowly as possible, not rush them with talk of our next assignment. Strangely enough, however, all of this assignment talk has also made me think a lot recently about my time at Barksdale. Maybe it is because I have been talking to two of my mentors from there to ask their advice about my next job, but I have just had a lot of flashbacks to all of the good times I had at the 26th Operational Weather Squadron.

You all know by now that I was not excited to be assigned to Barksdale, and I was definitely not a fan of the Shreveport area, but I truly LOVED my squadron. Especially my second year there, when I had the chance to be a flight commander and Lt Col D was the squadron commander. He was an absolute phenomenon as a commander, the type of person who comes into a unit and transforms it along with all of the people in it just by the example he set and the things he empowered us to accomplish. I don’t think I really understood the concept of being the type of officer that your people want to follow into battle until I saw it in action with him. I would be the first to say that I would go anywhere to have the opportunity to work for him again. I am so blessed to have been given the chance to be a flight commander when I did at Barksdale. I worked with so many incredible people who taught me so much, and I wouldn’t give that up for the world.

It was amazing to watch the camaraderie and morale soar among squadron members under Lt Col D. I have so many treasured memories from that year. There was the group of us who decided to train for a half marathon and did increasingly long runs at morning PT, at some points being dropped off in the woods at the back of the base in the dark, following glow sticks dropped by our first sergeant (our fastest runner) so we didn’t get lost. There was the continuous joking and laughter with my amazing officemates (Maj W, MSgt R, and MSgt M) who made every day a good one, no matter how stressed or frustrated we were. There was the group I went skydiving with to re-enlist an airman while jumping from 14,000 feet. There were the camping trips in Texas with all the officers for professional development sessions. We started doing field training at a nearby Army site and I learned to drive a HUMVEE.

I could go on and on, but the point is, I had an incredible time and my life is better thanks to people at a place I never wanted to go in the first place. And I think that remembering all of these things is helping me have a peace about our next assignment, wherever it may be. I believe that God has a purpose for everything that happens in my life and every situation I am placed in. I also believe in Ephesians 3:20, that God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine”. Even if I am disappointed in my next job or our next location, God already knows the joy I will experience in the future. While I was upset about being assigned to Barksdale, God already knew the adventures I would have here at Lakenheath, and that I would meet the man who will be my husband.

So for that reason, I am no longer waiting for news of our assignment in fear, but in anticipation of our next exciting step in life. I am so thankful for the blessing of having Martin home for the holidays after all of the time we were apart this year. I can’t wait to marry him next July and move into our first home together… wherever it is!

Good List:
1. Martin. I love the fact that I am teased by co-workers for being “young and in love” when I talk about how excited I am to spend time with him every day… I plan on that being true forever! :-)
2. Flavored Egg Nog. We were able to try Gingerbread and Cinnamon before the commissary ran out. Both yummy!
3. 4-Day Christmas Break. Enough said.
4. Snow! No accumulation yet, but we got flurries twice last week and it was beautiful while falling.
5. New Year’s trip. Berlin is booked! We will celebrate the arrival of 2012 at the biggest street party in Germany… excited!
6. Football. Penn State is in the TicketCity Bowl on Jan 2nd against Houston… stupid name but great opponent, should be a good game.
7. Skype. In the last week, we have talked to both sets of parents, Lisa in California, and Martin’s aunt in Indiana. We plan to “see” everyone again over the Christmas break!
8. New Daughtry CD. I also must thank Martin at this point for fixing my car speaker so I can actually listen to it! :-)
9. Surprises. Can’t wait for Martin to open his gifts on Christmas! ;-)
10. USPS. My mom sent a package of gifts on Thursday and it arrived here on Monday. Miracle!

Thankful

**Disclaimer: I started writing this over Thanksgiving weekend (just didn’t finish gathering
all of the pics and posting until now… sorry!)**

As I sit on the couch writing this, Martin is sitting next to me on my left, our Christmas tree
lights are glowing on my right, ornaments are shining and sparkling, a fire is burning in the fireplace in front of us, and a Toll House Chocolate Pie is baking in the kitchen. Need I say more about being thankful this season? :-) I apologize for my, umm, neglect of this blog over the last two months... life has just been so busy (in a good way) since Martin got home from
deployment that I haven't had time to write about it!

Since this is Thanksgiving weekend, I thought it would be most appropriate to bring you up to
speed with a list of things I have been thankful for over the last two months, with a picture for each one (because it may be a long time until I get all these albums on Facebook, haha). In
chronological order, here we go!

Thankful List:
1. Sep 26: Martin returned from his 5-month deployment!!!!! :-D I don't have a picture of us from
his homecoming, but here is the welcome home cake I made for him:

2. Oct 2: I ran the Loch Ness Marathon in Scotland. This was my third marathon, but due to my move and long work shifts, my training had gone down the tubes. The longest run I had done was a half-marathon (13.1 miles), 6 weeks earlier. I mentally prepared myself for a run-walk race: running for as long as I could, then taking walk breaks as necessary for what I expected would be the majority of the race. I told myself I would not care about time, I would just enjoy the scenery and look for Nessie (haha). I was thrilled that Martin got home in time to travel to the race with me, and our friend Laura was also along for the trip to run the 10K race.

Race day started miserably: I had to walk through a muddy field in my running shoes to get to the bus, then once we arrived at the start, it was raining steadily and frigidly cold. I have (self-diagnosed) wet shoe phobia, so I was a mental mess. It rained continuously for the first 6 miles, and it took about 3 miles to regain feeling in my frozen hands and feet. Once I got warmed up, however, things started to look up. After the rain stopped, it was still foggy, and running through the cool fog kept me from getting sweaty or overheated. The fog lessened around mile 8, and I could see the Loch, which was beautiful… it was the kind of day you could expect to see Nessie poke her head out of the water! Miraculously, I was able to keep running until mile 17, when I stopped at a porta-potty. After that, I took a few walk breaks, but once I got into the town of Inverness (just past mile 23), there were spectators lining the route cheering, and I could actually hear the announcer at the finish line on the other side of the river loop. That gave me the last mental boost I needed, and I said “let’s finish this.”

I ran the last 3 miles, smiling and waving at Martin and Laura as they cheered and took pictures on one side of the river, then crossed a bridge to watch me finish. I have no idea how this happened, but I finished my third marathon (the one I felt the least prepared for) in 4:37:11, a personal record by 21 minutes.

3. Oct 8-10: Dublin re-do! As you may remember, a group of friends and I had planned to go to Dublin for St Patrick’s Day back in March… but had to give up the trip when we were called to support military operations in Libya. Well, we finally made it up on a 3-day weekend in October. We toured the Guinness Factory, rode through the city in a horse-drawn carriage, and took a bus trip into the beautiful green countryside.

4. Oct 23: The Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to play an NFL game in London, and the NFL gave 1000 free tickets to the Air Force bases at Lakenheath and Mildenhall. Martin and I were lucky enough to be given 2 of them, so we got on a bus with the rest of the crowd and spent the day at Wembley Arena. We participated in the pregame show by standing in a formation on the field holding up foam tiles to form the American and British flags, then watched the game from our (nosebleed section) seats. I got to see former Penn Stater Robbie Gould kick for the Bears!

5. Oct 29: A couple friends joined us for a concert and 10K run in Nottingham, one of our favorite English cities. Funny story about the run, however… it was Halloween weekend, so we wore costumes for the race. The start was at a sports center outside the city, and due to traffic from a soccer game letting out, our cabbie told us “just walk straight down this road…” Well, after 45 minutes of wandering and trying to follow signs, while being honked at by passing cars who appreciated our costumes, we never found the sports center and missed the race! We made up for it by running our own race back into town, and celebrated with a trip to Hooters for yummy chicken.

6. Nov 1-15: Mediterranean Cruise!!! Our long-awaited vacation (had been planned since June) to celebrate Martin’s return was everything we dreamed it would be. The destinations were incredible, the ship was fantastic, and we had so many amazing experiences that we will remember for a lifetime. I can’t decide on one favorite port, but the most picturesque was Santorini, Greece, with its stunning whitewashed houses and blue-domed churches… I had dreamed of going there ever since I saw the movie “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”, and it did not disappoint! Our most adventurous port was Corfu, Greece, where we took a bus to the other side of the island, found a beautiful deserted cove, went snorkeling, and took pictures of fish with the waterproof camera Martin gave me for my birthday.

7. Nov 25-26: After a relaxing Thanksgiving at home, we went down to London for a couple days. On Friday, we ate at Chipotle (a treat since it is the only location in the UK), shopped at our favorite 5-story toy store (Hamley’s), and enjoyed the Winter Wonderland festival in Hyde Park with some mulled wine, candied nuts, and carnival games (Martin won me a stuffed penguin!). The next morning, we went running in Hyde Park (something I needed to check off my “England bucket list”), then ice-skated at the Winter Wonderland rink. That afternoon was the Top Gear Live show at an arena just outside the city, with stunt driving, shiny expensive supercars, and the famous show hosts/comedians Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May.

That’s all the big events, but I’ll finish out my Thankful List to 10…

8. Christmas decorations! Thanks to Martin (I am a procrastinator), our tree is up and decorated before the end of November.

9. Christmas parties. We have two this year (my squadron and Martin’s), and I am excited to dress up and celebrate with our friends.

10. Wedding planning. Yes, this news is somewhat buried at the end of the post, but… we finally picked a wedding date! =D Martin and I will be married on July 21, 2012, in my hometown of Hampton, VA. I now have about 25 million things on my to-do list, which is slightly overwhelming, but I am so excited to finally have a date on the calendar! Many more updates to come, but for now I am thankful for the help of my parents, maid of honor Lisa, and bridesmaids Carrie and Jamie. Church is reserved, reception site is being investigated, and bridesmaid dresses are being considered. Yay!