One Month in the Stan

Disclaimer:  Please don't post these pictures anywhere else on the internet.  They are fine here for family but not outside this closed group.  Thanks in advance for your help!!!

It has almost been one month and things are going great.  Wanted to post some pictures here to let you share in the experience.  Have a great day.

#1 - On a mission.  Before climbing in to take off, some other Blackhawks flew in as well.
#2 - Me after my very first flight in Afghanistan
#3 & #4 - The mountains here are quite beautiful.  Some of the most fantastic landscape I have seen.]
 #5 - My friend Dallas from church and me at Bagram Air Force Base.  Our picture taker caught us laughing together.

On the Way...

 Many thanks to the Gale family for letting me stay with them for a few days before I deployed. 

          I started college with my friend James and we have followed each other around in the Army.  Thanks James for all you are doing for our unit at home.

Got to have a hooah picture for deployment...

Fellow pilots in Bravo company.   Kingsmen roll together.

My friend RJ is coming with us, grateful to have him around. 

0345...time to head out to the airplane.

Not a bad plane ride...

Can't beat stopping in the Vaterland.  Had some great German discussions and, as you see below, hanging out time with Kingsmen...

The complete Bravo company crew on this flight...looking tough.

Standing in line with friends Brian and RJ.

Family Photos 2013

Life must go on, even with a wonderful holiday for two. So while Brady works on Army things, I decided to blog a few special moments from the last few months. Before I left in September, Tami Darley, our favourite photographer and dear friend, was kind enough to take our first family photos for us.

 

A Birthday Worth Waiting For

Brady knew that I spent my birthday (and the day before...and the day after) writing term papers, and so on his calender of special events for us he penciled in Saturday as our day to celebrate. He took me to see "It's a Wonderful Life" at the TPAC with the magnificent Wonderful Life Foundation, and then escorted me to dinner at City House. It was so fun getting all dressed up again with Brady! The restaurant was amazing, and you must go if you are in Nashville. The bread gnocchi was delicious, and the birthday treat they brought me (Butterscotch Panna Cotta with Salted Caramel and Marscapone Creme) was life-changing. I may have only grown older by just one year, but I'm already becoming like my grandpa, and had to take a good dose of Tums afterwards :)

Where My Heart Is

"Oh, you're married?" the customs officer at JFK airport asked me as he handed me back my passport. 

"I am," I responded smiling. At this point I was only a two-hour layover and a three-hour flight away from seeing my husband again.

"If I were your husband" the officer began in his thick Brooklyn accent, "I'd be waiting on the other side of baggage claim with a big bouquet of flowers." 

"Oh, I'm sure he will be." I assured him... 

Hmm...I think I know my husband quite well by now :)

Although the initial leg of my trip flew me into New York - the heart of America, in my opinion - it just didn't feel like I was coming home. And even after I landed in Nashville, I still didn't feel that I was finally in my home country. In fact, I felt quite as unaffected as when my planes landed in France and Italy on holiday. I was beginning to wonder if I was growing too attached to London. 

But as my eyes locked with my handsome husband's across Nashville International's baggage claim, I realised for the first time that home isn't a physical location; it's where my heart is. And for me, my heart is with Brady. The Army may send us all over the world, but no matter where we are, we're at home when we have each other. 

After being separated by over 4,000 miles and by seven time zones, Brady and I are finally together again! I'm not sure if my words could adequately express just how sweet a feeling it is to wake up next to him in the mornings, and how enjoyable it is to talk and laugh as we ride in the car together. I just love being with this man! And he loves me so much, he even sacrificed watching the Army-Navy game (this is an '09 Old Grad, by the way) to see "It's a Wonderful Life" at the TPAC in Nashville. That is some love...

And because I love him so much, I stowed these scrumptious Christmas cakes from Gail's (my favourite bakery in London) into my carry-on for him to delight in on the drive home from the airport.

 But alas, I was outdone again! When I walked in, Brady had made me cupcakes for my birthday. And since most of our things are already packed away in storage, he made the apartment feel a little more like home by pulling out our Christmas decorations and by making me a sign....

...and he restocked on Wallflowers for Christmas. What a happy day :)

It's Tea Time

Proper Scones: with jam & clotted cream

Although I hosted countless stuffed animal-tea parties as a little girl, I haven't quite come around yet to realising this childhood dream here in London. Perhaps one day I'll slip into a pretty floral dress, pull on the white gloves, and hand over the fifty-plus dollars necessary to check this item off my Londoner bucketlist. In the meantime, I have been quite content to try my hand at the menus myself - at least until the Chesterfield Hotel starts offering a student discount :) 

Daily Telegraph: The Chesterfield Hotel

London Holiday

Each day, I have this thought. 

Sometimes it is on my morning run, as I race past the swans at Regents Park. 

Sometimes it comes as I pick up a brie-and-pear macaroon on my way home from errands in South Kensington. 

Other days, it happens when I'm attending the free daily Japanese art history tour at the British Museum (again). 

And some days it comes later, when I realise that the woodblock print I've been researching for so long is just down the road at the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

At these moments, I think, "Someday, I will look back on this time in my life and ask, 'Did I really live in London for a year to attend graduate school?'"

O'Hare to Heathrow - wooooo!

And during these moments, Brady and I will look back fondly at these photos and say "Yes, we were Londoners for a year. And what a blessing it was."

I say "we," because although I am honored to say that my husband will soon be serving our country in Afghanistan, I keep a bit of him still with me...

Keeping me co' at the bank. Thank you, Army Family Services

...in more ways than one :) 

I'd like to take a moment and remember that precious week Brady and I spent here together in London. It was a sweet realisation that I not only married my dashing prince charming, but my very best friend...and all-time favourite travel companion. 

Romantic moonlit stroll along the Thames

Kensington Gardens

Borough Market

Westminster Stroll

The British Museum

Wicked! With lovely British accents :)

There was no "Row Z" by the way... 

Westminster Stroll...

Saint Paul's Cathedral

View from Saint Paul's Cathedral

Tower Bridge, from the Tower of London

My studly husband again, pondering Rothko at the Tate Modern :)

Brady is not only my eternal companion, my best friend, and the love of my life, but is also my favourite travel buddy as well! I don't think that anyone else could have trekked around London with me - with my dawn-to-dusk itineraries, high standards for restaurants (made fresh in house only please), and passion for museums ("Just one more guided tour pleeeeaaaassseee..") - while still maintaining loyalty to nuptual agreements. Who needs to spot Kate and Wills, when you realise that you've had your fairy-tale romance long before your plane even landed at Heathrow.