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

Armenia

If you guessed Armenia... you guessed right!

While the thought of vegging on a remote beach somewhere sounds tempting, a two-week volunteer mission to build homes in Armenia seems even more tempting for this Super household.

I've been itching to go to Armenia for a reallllyyy long time. In fact, three years ago I was accepted into a summer program in Armenia, but I was graduating college at the time and thought I need to be a grown up and get into that dwindling job market, fast. In some ways I regretted it because I thought the Armenia trip would be a once in a lifetime chance, and I passed it up. Now I know that might not necessarily be true.

And while I feel a larger connection to my roots in Syria (since we're part of the diaspora in Syria and my whole family is now from there) than I do to the land of Armenia, I do think this would be the chance of a lifetime to connect to my roots, my language, and to share that experience with Superman, who is totally game for all things foreign and fun (and happens to be pretty good at Armenian too!). More importantly, it'll be a chance for us to give to others and leave the best of ourselves in a place that holds a lot.

Here's to Armenia, 2012!

Parev!

We have decided on our big trip for 2012!

I know you're thinking it's kind of early (and who knows if the planning powers that be will let us plan that far in advance). You're probably also thinking we're being a bit hasty on coveting vacations. But this trip is going to be a little different. We'll be going for 2 weeks on a volunteer mission to build homes in this country.

What country you ask? Well, how about you guess! There's a hint above, and here's a hint below...

 

Happy guessing!