2012

As I looked back over this year, I realized there was so much physically and emotionally packed into one year. I cannot believe that we have succeeded and failed so much in one year.

This year, you were introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Superman, a half-Bean half-Apple whole-hearted Army couple, who were under the impression that Superman would be shipped off this year – our first year of marriage -- to AFG.  

We were oh so ready. We had a pre-deployment, a whole battle book, and a whole post-deployment plan. We worked our tails off – so hard in fact that I was promoted at work. And Superman was too.

The Army sure had its plans for us. But God's plans were greater. And two weeks before D-day, Superman's orders were reversed. We found ourselves throwing away the battle book and fast forwarding our one year out post-deployment plans to right that second. Next thing you know, we're living together for the first time. 

Talk about adjustment. Talk about loving every minute.

There was more Apple than Army this year. In some ways, that was a huge sigh of relief. We learned the importance of taking risks. The importance of chasing our dreams at any cost. But our accomplishments and successes did come at a cost. We sacrificed.

We celebrated our one-year anniversary knowing that everything we did, we did it together. I couldn't have asked for a better life, love, and business partner.

There's something to be said about unconditional love. I just can't find the words yet.

Superman left on a mini-deployment that seems a total drag now, but I have to trust that it will lead to greater things

We also raised a fur baby, who came out alright.

So goodbye 2011. You were difficult and rewarding. I'm glad Superman was around to hold my hand through. Here's hoping 2012 will be smoother sailing.

The stakes are high

The water's rough

But this love is ours. 

Friends Friends Friends

You're only as good as your friends. And let me tell you, I have the best.

2012 is upon us, and I'm getting that 2-year itch. Every two years, I find myself in a radically different spot in my life. Something major happens. Two years ago I got engaged and bought a house. Two years before that, I picked up my unemployed self and moved to the city I wanted to be in and got a new job that propelled me in the greatest career move yet.

Do you sense a pattern here? Tecumseh's curse, maybe? Since all drastic changes were accompanied by feelings of maladjustment, and a sense of anxiety that the rug of happiness would be pulled out from under me.

But now I've realized that in all the big changes, my friends have been a constant. So constant, in fact, that their words of wisdom are becoming ever more wise... since they pretty much know the drill. Here are a few W.O.W. from which you too might find some inspiration:

• "The movie trailer will be like 'She had nothing to lose. They had everything to gain. One woman. one wall street, this summer... The Journalist.' Or wha'eva."
• "Sometimes, stuff just happens and it works itself out."

And what I was recently reminded by so many ...

Thank you Pinterest! 

Thank you, friends! 

That's What He Said

I know you've been missing these.

So by know I hope you know that Superman is the definition of Alpha male. Case in point: he spent most of last weekend's Christmas party talking about different gun brands. His solution to all my problems is to "mace liberally."

He's the protector, the provider. Him Tarzan. Blah blah. You get the point. (If you need any more justification: Read This.)

He's no shmoosh.

In fact, even in the beginning stages of our relationship into our engagement, Superman was not a "public display of affection" kinda guy. We've always been super private.

But lately, a few things have changed. Drastically. So I present to you the (I-can't-believe) that's what he said/did:

(At a very public diner, which we frequent very often, so the folks there know us very well):

Me: I'm the best business partner you're ever going to have. 


Superman: You're the only business partner I ever want. 

**Sappy smoochy face; hand holding, melting ooeeyyy gooeyy feelings of warmth and butterflies and rainbows and circus animals and...** Okay, I'm pushing it.

But you get it.

The truth is, damn right I'm the best business partner. Our business is doing pretty darn good while you're on your mini-deployment, Captain! Getting the credit I deserve is pretty good. But the private moments spilling over into public-hood -- in a way that's not disgustingly uncomfortable for other people -- is just way better.

We keep it classy, people.


So cute you just want to barf. I know. We're turning into the shmooshy couple that is super too in love that we're starting to love each other in public all the time.

I. Love. It.

(Minus the booty pinches. Seriously though. Those hurt.)

Holiday Hold Up

When you live in the Apple, it's hard to believe that the holidays are considered the "slow" period.

Everyone's working overtime to make sure that the store fronts have the most magnificent scenes to date, the world's largest menorah is ceremoniously lit 8 nights in a row, there are at least 7 tree lighting ceremonies all within 20 mile radius, and the Nutcracker, the Rockettes, and Hansel and Gretel all go off without a hitch at least three times a day. More Appleites are choosing to rent-a-Santa instead of waiting in the long line at Macy's (yes, I heard this fact from a few moms I went out to lunch with a few days ago), not to mention there are more Scrooges than Santas running this town -- meaning that those of us who live here year round are still working overtime.
 
There's no slowing down in Manhattan.

I've got two chapters of a book to wrap and a contract to seal, while still feeding the daily work beast. So it's been difficult for me to believe that people aren't responding to emails, returning calls or replying to applications because it's "just the slow period," or "everyone's on vacation." Am I delusional to be taking this non-communication personal?

What's the holiday hold-up people!?!? (said the true Appleite.)

The Apple is spinning, and I'm trying to keep up and stay productive while still counting down the days to see Superman this weekend.

I think that maybe once Superman comes around I'll be able to focus and bang out those two chapters, and get that script written -- all in a days work, right?

But secretly I know that when we're together the world can spin all it wants.

I won't give a hoot.

Hope your holidays also hold you up from the demands and deadlines!

All Grown Up!

Today, Gatto graduated from kitten to adult cat food.

I'm convinced this feeling is the pet equivalent of your baby taking her first steps while husband is deployed.

Our Gatito is all grown up!!

Nostalgia

Last night I thought about the day we signed the papers for our first home. I remembered how I could see Superman's eyes smile through his motorcycle helmet. I remembered that even though it was a freezing cold December evening, we strapped our motorcycle jackets on and rode like bandits to our real estate agent's office... a little faster than we should have.

I remembered how excited we were to sign page one of a nearly 300 page contract to our home. I remembered that we weren't married yet, so we had to be "business partners." 

I remembered that the excitement began to wear off by the time we got to signing our 200th page, and we just wanted those dang keys. 

I remembered being carried into our home for the first time and really truly understanding what it meant to love someone. What it meant to work so hard toward a dream together and to see that dream come true. 

We were so incredibly happy I don't think we even slept that night. Life seemed so simple then.

  

 I remembered all of this because these past few weeks I've been calling our mailman incessantly. We still own the home but we don't live there full-time -- the mailman thought that we don't own it anymore and had been returning our mail to the senders. That's what happens when you live in a small town and everyone knows everyone.

Last night, when I found out that some holiday cards sent to our home had been returned to our family, I got really upset and called the mailman. Twice.

In reality, I wasn't as upset as I should have been about the mail or the mailman. I was upset because I felt like our home was being taken away from us. It's hard enough that Superman isn't around our current Apple home. But now I feel like I'm trying to protect two homes at once and make sure that both forts are secure. And whenever one thing gets fixed, another thing breaks.

I also thought about life after this mini-deployment. Will it ever get back to being as simple as it was?

The Halfway Blues

We're halfway through Superman's mini-deployment, and it's safe to say that the halfway blues are here. I really thought I could dodge it, but alas.

For many things, I'm struggling to put one foot in front of the other. And for others, I'm just on autopilot. Things are getting done, I'm just not sure how.

But I'm tired. Tired of being a single mother to our fur baby, tired of living my life in a bus from one state to another. Tired of holding the weight of responsibilities on my shoulders while holding two jobs, a few projects, and some resemblance of a life.

It's that (not so) normal mid-deployment feeling of wanting it to just be over because I'm not sure how much longer I can keep it together. But at the same time, not wanting for it to be over because I fear life after. Already I'm feeling the pressure of the next step, especially the parts of life after that I just can't control.

I was an insomniac the first half of a deployment because I miss Superman. I'm an insomniac the second half of a deployment because I'm anxious about life after. What will happen to us? How will we adjust? How much more will I have to give up?

I wish I had control over the answers.

Deployments -- no better way to describe them than slow when they should be fast and fast when they should be slow.

Ugly Day... Or Two. Maybe Three. Maybe Week.

Caution: You're about to enter the pity pow wow.

I'm on Day 3 of having an Ugly day.

You know what I'm talking about. I look gross. I feel like a disaster in the making. Whatever I do to myself is just not working. I'm coming up on a deadline for a project I haven't even started yet. And I probably can't look you in the face.

I'm Eeyore to the Nth degree. Because ugly day is turning into ugly week -- and someone needs to put an end to this. ASAP. Especially since giving up is beginning to sound tempting... (What's happening to me!???)

Viva La Stilettos!

Stilettos are perhaps the most dynamic of fashion pieces for lady Appleites.

It's regarded as the status symbol of mastering the uneven streets of New York while doubling as a weapon to kick the poop out of anyone who gets in your space.

But for this Army wife whose husband is on a mini-deployment, stilettos are the new toolbox.

A few nights ago I came home to the sound of the fire detector beeping loud and obnoxiously every 30 seconds. I couldn't reach high enough to check it out. At first I thought I'd just leave it alone and maybe I'd stop noticing long enough for Superman to come home and fix it. (This is coming from the same lady who, 3 months into a yearlong deployment to Iraq, wanted to wait for Superman to come home and change the burnt out light bulbs in her bedroom).

But after a few subsequent beeps, I had enough.

I grabbed a pair of my stilettos and chucked it at the detector, and it came crashing down. Lord knows if I broke it since pieces of it went every which way. But the house is peaceful and quiet again. So, I call that fixed.

And that, my friends (and husband), is why every woman needs less screwdrivers, and more stilettos.

Confessions of a Workaholic

Confession: I am a workaholic.

Lately I have:

• forgone a personal social life and enveloped myself in a purely work-related social life.
• invited friends to hang out at my office instead of one of the bajilion hot spots in the Apple.
• neglected posting about the fun holiday "goings on's" because I've been working.
• spent more time drafting to-do lists, business plans, and contracts than taking my new tennis shoes to the gym. 
• contemplated turning one wall of our home into a white board.
• convinced Gatto to be my assistant.

Keep In Touch

One of the great things about this city is that people who say they'll visit, actually visit.

Yes, the city is tough to navigate, but many are enamored by Apple living, and every so often they need to get their overwhelming big city fix.

Lucky for us, we're here to receive.

Being in this city has given me the opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues that I haven't seen in a long time. Like, Jenny... a former coworker turned friend who I met when I started the job I'm in now 4 years ago.

In the four years since we worked together -- while I've been planting my feet in my career -- Jenny has moved to a different state, almost wrapped up her Master's, spent time in Bangladesh, and in a few months will be country hopping for a new position she recently accepted. 

Amazing. Meeting with her definitely reinforced that "adventure fever" I'm having.  

Sing It

Most Appleites feel like their life is set to a soundtrack. Every reserved moment on the subway, every honk of the horn and rush of the crowd. Every date spot. 

Every walk around leftover dog poop on the sidewalk (or as I call them, the sh* and run). These moments are epic and require background grandeur.

Sometimes, in broad daylight and among the strangers of street, you'll see some of them sing their song. Out loud. Sometimes, you'll see them sway, and shake, and leap onto oncoming traffic.

There are no weird looks given to these folks. It's like the people around them are totally oblivious to how not normal that is. 

I was asked to pick mine this week.  And it got me thinking that maybe I should embrace the new normal, and appreciate that sometimes we need to sing to the tune of our own songs. 

So for all of you who are convinced your life is a movie...  

Love is the answer, 

At least for most of the questions in my heart

Like why are we here? And where do we go? 

And how come it's so hard? 

It's not always easy and

Sometimes life can be deceiving

I'll tell you one thing, 

It's always better when we're together.

Sick Day

I've been quiet lately. No Apple anecdotes. No photos of the 'goings ons'.

Trust me, there's been 'goings ons.'

While I'm grateful for all things that have come my way so far, there have been a few disappointments lately that have really knocked the wind out of my sails.

I'm not one to entertain at the pity party, so let's skip the deets.

Let's just think of this lull as a workaholic's sick leave. Meaning, I've been excusing out of fun, so I can work. A lot. All day. Every day. Sometimes I'm late to work because I'm working.

Bare with me while I pick myself back up and remember what fun means again. With a photo or two. Soon. I promise.

I'm Ready

Dear God,

I know I have mentioned to You numerous times that because of my inherent fear of failure I have a fear of success. And I know that You have responded many times -- often in unsuspecting ways -- that when the moment is right, I will not be afraid.

But I wonder whether not being afraid means the moment is right. Because I'm ready.

A new adventure, a new opportunity, a 'yes' instead of a 'no,' a door just barely staying open to close and a new one to open -- something that will totally sweep me out of my comfort zone and into a wild new world. I'm ready.

I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready.

A Holiday Gift Idea: Armenia

The holiday season is here!

I'm already conjuring gift ideas in my head. I tend to over think gifts. I want to stay within our budget, but also want to get gifts that are meaningful and in the spirit of the holidays. I know that there's a way to do both -- I just have to over think it until my head explodes.

We've started fundraising for our home building trip to Armenia next year. Along with asking for your support, we'd love for you to consider making a contribution to our trip as part of the charities you'll be donating to this season. You can have the donation be a part of the "gift" you will be giving to your friends or family this year. To me, nothing is more in the "spirit" of the holidays than to give to those in need.

Your donation WON'T be going to pay an organization's overhead. It WON'T be going to pay people's salaries. It WON'T be going to the oblivion of a person or place far far away... never to know what happened.

It WILL be going towards necessary transportation and handyman materials needed for Superman and I to -- with our own two hands -- build homes for families devastated by the earthquake in Armenia, and for those who are in need.  We'll be documenting through photos and video to prove it! You'll know where to find us. ;)

Learn more HERE -- and I really hope that you'll consider supporting our efforts!

Baba

Don't mind me, I'm just tripping on my dress...

One of the greatest gifts that I believe God has given me so far has been my dad being there on my wedding day. It's really every daughter's dream, and I am really close to my dad. He has a moral compass unlike anyone whom I have ever known. One of the real "seal the deal" moments in mine and Superman's relationship was the incredible relationship he built with my father.. my Baba...

Growing up, Baba was always a bit hard of hearing, and over the past few years his hearing has grown progressively worse. In fact, if I'm not looking right at him when I speak, he wouldn't be able to hear me. So phone calls have been few and far between. It's been harder since I moved away from home and for most of the year, phone calls are all we have to keep in touch.

But a few weeks ago Baba underwent a cochlear implant in the ear that had no hearing at all. Just the other day, he called me. Incessantly. Six times in a row.

I thought something was wrong, but when I called him back he started talking, and talking, and talking. And when I asked questions. He understood me. And he replied correctly to all of my questions. And I didn't have to yell into the phone. I spoke softly. And I spoke fast. And he spoke faster.



For the first time in a long time I had a real conversation with Baba. No lip reading. No yelling. No repeating.

It was an incredibly emotional moment. I am completely shaken by God's blessings.

Let's Move

I hardly ever talk about work here. Ever. I talk about writing. But that's not work. That's love. 

But tonight, let's talk shop. Apple style. 

In the Apple, a job can kill. Honest to goodness. Only here have I heard the phrase, "heart attack job." You get it -- the stress,the stakes, the 24/7 of it all.  Sometimes, we forget why we came to this city in the first place: to succeed by doing what we love! 

I don't believe in success, in the sense that it doesn't just happen. I believe in calculated success. At some point, we have to pave our own way. If there are no hard decisions, if there are no crossroads, there can be no success. But it can be so easy to lose track of that and instead jump on the rat wheel of come what may -- a slow, painful crise cardiaque of the soul.

Over the past month and a half, as I've been shifting into a different role at work, I realized I was feeling some work/life "chest pains." What I felt I loved felt more like work - and not in the good way. As a successful woman who truly believes that you are your own CEO, I needed to make an executive decision. Fast. 

So I did. I chose my life and love over an opportunity that would have landed me an angioplasty before age 30.

And I am all the more happy for it. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not slowing down. In fact, stepping off the nonsense wheel and stripping away the "busy work" has set me on a faster, more productive, path. The truth is: sometimes saying No to the things you don't want will make it easier to say Yes to the things you do. 

Besides my full-time work, I sealed two new project contracts that will challenge me in positive ways. I worked really hard to get them, and I'm glad to see my efforts pay off. Now the real work -- the work that matters to me -- starts. 

In the Apple, if you ain't movin, you're standing still. 

Broken

The ecofriendly cup that I couldn't stop talking about so Superman bought for our wedding anniversary...

Broken.

BROKEN!

Because our mischevious Gatto enjoys going on rampages where she knocks everything off the table.

I don't know what I'm more sad about... the fact that my first anniversary ecofriendly gift is broken, or the fact that I can't just call Superman up and tell him about it! 

I am so over single parenting the (nightmare) fur-baby. And I am so over this minideployment! 

Leave a Message

Week one of the Academy is over for Superman, and I've already learned my lesson:

Superman will be unavailable for at least the next six months. It may look like he's around. But don't be fooled.  Don't depend on Superman for any plans and decisions. The fort shall be held down with the power of one.

Leave a message that may or may not be answered after six months... after the beep.

... It's times like this I am so glad I've got my own thing going.

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like...

Okay, I won't jump the gun. But this is what "30 Rock" looked like this morning!

And I did see some stockings and amazing smelling candles at Bed, Bath, and Beyond yesterday, and I couldn't resist.

Who knows, maybe Superman may slip something small (a.k.a. big) and shiny in the boot -- a minideployment appreciation?  After all, I have been on the NICE list this year.  (Remember when I mentioned that as married women, we have to "nudge" the man in the "right direction" ...?)

Just a little wishful thinking for the most wonderful time of the year...

Why I'm Not Carrie Bradshaw

1. I can't "get by" as a writer by frolicking around my apartment in my underwear. Writing is hard work. Does inspiration come while I'm in my underwear? Maybe for Superman it does... But I actually have to wear business attire to spin hay into gold. 

2. Serial dating makes my head spin. Okay, I'll give her the fact that in marriagehood, you do begin to miss the surprises (there's alot more nudging the man in the "right" direction rather than having him come out ahead unexpectedly). But I'm with Charlotte on this one -- there are too many crazies out there and I wouldn't give up being a Wife in the City for anything.

3. I have a four-legged pet, who always has my undivided attention. Does that, by default, make me a better Appleite than her?

Just a thought.

Sleepless in the Apple

I must have tucked away a few experiences from Superman's deployments that only now are starting to resurface.

Insomnia.

Looking back I always think, how did I ever endure? I think, could I ever do it again?

(Deployment powers-that-be, that was a rhetorical question, okay!? thanks.)

I think deployments nowadays are so much easier -- soldiers have social media, skype, gchat... whatever. And they always seem to be so available! We didn't have that. Superman had work to do. I had work to do. And somehow I dug up the foresight in an at least twice a week phone call to know that it would all work out.

This time it's different. It's been a while since Superman's deployment, but a part of me is beginning to think that Superman's mini-deployment (a.k.a. the Academy) is way more difficult. No communication allowed during the week. I got more phone calls while Superman was in IRQ than within a few hundred mile radius. So we don't talk.

But sleep.

Sleep. That's what I miss the most this week. That experience of deployment pseudo-sleep is coming back to me now.

My mind is always racing a million miles a minute with endless thoughts, task lists, anxieties...

So what's an Appleite to do when her thoughts won't let her rest her head, and the double digits on the clock that signal bed time have transformed into single digits that signal a new day?

Get out. Literally. Get out of the apartment and go to the wonderful Greek diner a few blocks up. One of the hundreds -- no, thousands -- of places in the city that are open 24 hours. And not just open. But occupied. Full of sleepless-in-the-Apple people who are on a date with themselves. The diner is more than just a place for a midnight snack. It's a cult of people who have no idea who the heck Superman is, but they get why I'm there. Because they have the same symptoms.

The best place to have insomnia is in the city that never sleeps.

Rugged Terrain

Ah, Apple.

Soft on my heart.

Hard on my shoes.

The only person who is happy to see yet another one of my shoes lost to the Apple terrain is Superman, who is convinced that having more than one pair is one more too many.

It's not. Not for this Apple-ite, who really knows that these shoes seeing the last of its days really means that it's time to go shopping for a new pair.

Of course, I could always walk the streets in tennis shoes and switch when I get to my destination. But who are we kidding -- my stilettos ARE my tennis shoes.

Oysterfest 2011

Superman lost alot of weight these past couple of weeks. I've been feeding the man, I promise. But I can't seem to keep enough food in him to counter all the training he's been doing for the Academy.

Thankfully, this weekend -- our final weekend together before he starts the Academy -- we quit the running around, took a few days off from training, and laid back with our friends and family. This weekend also happened to be Oysterfest on the Cape. So what better excuse to hang with my old roommate Julie and her fun fam, and just...

EAT.

AND EAT...

AND EAT...

I think we did a proper sendoff for Superman as he embarks on the toughest 5 months of his life. 

This trip to Oysterfest was a year in the making. Julie and I planned my presence at Oysterfest since last October, and I really wanted to make good on that deal. The added bonus was that Superman was around to experience it too.

Oysterfest was everything I ever hoped it would be and more... and as always, the Ferro fam did not disappoint.

 I don't think we could've asked for a better way to spend the last free weekend we'll have in a while!

A Calm

It's easy in the Apple to bite off more than you can chew.

I recently came back from two conferences and have all these ideas for new projects shelved in my head. The disappointing part is that I haven't had time to put these new endeavors in motion. I'm itching. Aching. Begging. excited, to get started. But when? how?

A very smart Army wife once told me that the most productive people in the world are military wives whose spouses are deployed. No words rang truer.

But do we really need to throw our husbands' in the line of fire just so we can get some peace and quiet and productivity on the homefront? Okay, fire may be too extreme. And a year may be too long. And overseas may be too far. So the "deployment" cons may outweigh some of the pros. But I think you get what I mean here.

Let's face it. Some of our soldier boys feel a sense of excitement to get out their and do their thing. It's perfectly normal for spouses to, in some ways, feel that way too.

The truth is, sometimes, we do.

I'm starting to think that another alternative to the deployment/productivity scale... will be the Police Academy/productivity scale. Will it work? It better, or I'll just be miserable. We shall see in the next few weeks.

Superman leaves for the Academy then, and while I fear for his safety and well-being (seriously, the orientation proved these "other" men in uniform are no joke), I'm looking forward to that same "deployment" productivity I had when Superman-the-soldier deployed overseas.

While Superman was deployed overseas I held two jobs while in graduate school full-time. I lived on my own (with a pretty swell roommate) and racked up $0 in student loans. I received two fellowships. I surrounded myself with friends who kept me sane whenever, in between all of this productivity, I could hear the seconds tick. I never felt closer to them than I did then.

It sounds crazy saying it now, but I didn't feel a crazy rush to do everything all at once (though it looks like it). Instead, I felt this sense of calm and control over the things I knew I could accomplish with the time I was given to myself.

This time, Superman will be gone for six months. I know there's a lot to be done. A personal essay that is currently a blank page with a ticking cursor staring at me. Two websites to create. A few project wheels to put into motion.

I welcome the calm.

Apple Weddings

If you're looking for the best weddings in the Apple, go to New Jersey.

This weekend we attended a good friend's wedding -- by far the best wedding we've attended this year. There were about 700 people, and the dancing was so intense that at one point the chandeliers were shaking.

This couple will be making their debut to the Apple in a few weeks. I'm so excited to have more of my friends moving to the big city! Ah, welcome welcome!

One Year Later...

Dear 1-year anniversary,

You snuck up so quickly and are now cramping my newlywed style!

No, but seriously though. 

If you asked me on my wedding day where I think I would be for our first anniversary, I would’ve said that I’d probably be at home waiting for Superman’s phone call from Afghanistan. But God is good. So in reality, I am at home waiting for Superman to come home with a “surprise.”

Whatever that surprise is, the true surprise is that Superman is home. And we are here together.

Every year that we have been together has been dramatically different, and I know that this coming year will be no different. There will be some dramatic changes in the Super household. For one, Superman starts the State Police Academy later this month. For 6 months, he’ll be “deployed.”  And that’s something we’ll have to endure. We’re contemplating a new home, and some new adventures. But as you now know, I’m terrible at accurately predicting the year ahead. Every Army wife is.

People have told us many times that the first year is the hardest. Compared to what we have already endured, this year has been by far the easiest and most fun. We are so thankful for our family and friends who’ve really set us up and walked with us in the right direction.

I loved our wedding day (even though I was a nervous wreck). But I’ve got to say, I’ve loved every day after even more.

Our last shot of the night!

The Big Easy

Superman and I are down in New Orleans this week.

Technically we're down here because I'm speaking at a conference , but of course it's also a chance to catch up with my family that lives nearby. And dunk our faces in some darn good beignets.

My cousin and my aunt drove in from Baton Rouge last night, and they showed us all the pretty (and not so pretty) sites of New Orleans. We absolutely had a blast.

Bourbon St. is ridiculous. Seriously, the innocence in me is totally gone. At one point, a not so sober man decided he wanted to whisk my aunt away. Really. He wanted to marry her.

Yes. We almost married my aunt off last night...

I can only imagine what tonight will bring!

Celebration

You might be wondering what life was like for the Super's before the Apple.

Trust me, it wasn't as dreadful as that sounds.

This day two years ago was our engagement party! I can't believe how fast time has flown and how much we've changed. Sometimes I look back and think that life was simpler then. 

But hindsight is always so clear. I'll even look back to now someday and think just the same.

So while we're out exploring New Orleans today in 2011, here are some shots of 2009...

Not everthing has changed. We are still this fun.

Dear Apple Autumn, Welcome

Oh Autumn, how I've missed thee. How my wardrobe has missed thee!

Apple Autumns are so beautiful. Central Park. Back to School. Sweata Weatha (even for the doggies).Cider donuts at the Farmers Market two blocks up. Upstate getaways. It's the season I live for here.

I know. You're thinking I should have photo documentation of this magnificence. My photos have been lacking lately. Autumn also means fall television lineups, sweeps, and the arduous stretch of nose-to-the- grindstone and no-days-off-until-Christmas. So today, Autumn for me can only be summed up as...

Salted Caramel Mocha. A lot of it. On my desk. Next to my to-do list.

I've actually decided to take on an overnight shift tonight so I can get all of my work done and then kick back and enjoy the first Apple Autumn weekend.

In fact, Superman asked me out on a date this weekend when he comes home. After thinking long and hard... I figure I'll give the guy a chance. (Who am I kidding! I'm totally in love!)

Dear weekends of Central Park, swanky dinner date, yoga, and "I Don't Know How She Does It," (story of my life!) in theaters now. Here I come!

Hope your weekend will be just as fabulous!

When Superman's Away

What does an Army wife do when her husband is away for... well... the Army?

She gets to catch up on work.

Superman home means the phone calls can wait, the inbox can fill up, the blog can go without posts. But when Superman's away, the calls are returned, the emails replied to, the bills paid, the blog's got an interesting read.

Oh, and those cute Lululemon fall collection essentials I've been window shopping while Superman's been around? ... bought.

Productivity is at an all time high and business is booming again.

Let's face it. It's the Army wives whose husbands are away that are single-handedly pulling this country out of recession.

You can thank us later.

This Day

A decade ago I was sitting in my high school law class. 
I didn't know then that today the world would still be at war.

And I didn't know then that I would be married to the military. 

But I knew that in every way my life would change.

This Time Last Year

I've been noticing lately that this time last year, my life was totally different.

For example, last year, I was training for this:



Please excuse the ridonkulously exhausted face.



Now, my out of shape bum is trying to find the hours in the day to get back the toned arms and kick of endorphin. Forgetting what songs are in my iPod is motivation enough. Not to mention getting pummeled with wedding  invitations...

I'm missing the weekend love affairs with my ipod arm band. I'm missing my weekday self-acknowledgment of my weekend grown healthy tush. My running shoes are missing the dirt of Central Park Saturdays and Sundays. 

Oh weekend warrior, where have you gone!???!!

That's it. I've got to take back my Saturdays and Sundays. Starting next week. Sign me up for something! Anything!

My Childhood

It's a pretty weird feeling introducing a husband of the present and the future to a pretty significant part of the past. Superman and I met toward the end of college, so besides just hearing stories about each other's childhoods, and visiting the area where we grew up, our history is really just that: stories.

But last weekend, Superman got to actually experience a significant part of my childhood: Mackinac Island. Every year since I was 3 years old, my family would spend the last weekend of summer in Mackinac Island. My dad attended a conference there and we spent our time riding horses and playing by the lake.

I think at some point in my 14-year-old head, I imagined one day being able to continue the tradition with my future husband... okay, that's a lie. I don't think I ever thought about that. In fact, introducing the past to the future was... weird. 

Like when I showed Superman the haunted theater that I finally had the guts to go into after walking by it every year, only to pee my pants (don't ask me how old I was).  Enh, we're way past the point of having any shame...

Or walking into the Grand Hotel and knowing every square inch of the place enough to point out the order of the shops on the bottom floor and the store hours. 

I think Superman really got a sense of a part of me that has never really left just by experiencing where I came from. And I saw the Island in a way I never have before. 

I think for the first time in more than 20 years, I really internalized that Mackinac Island was an actual military fort. It's one of those things I always knew, but never really thought about -- until a few years and an army wife status later...



Horse & Carriage ride to the Grand Hotel



Arch Rock

Dinner at Joe's Crab Shack on the way back

One of the many absolutely stunning Michigan Lighthouses