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!