I'm Back!!!

Home sweet home! I'm finally back in the Springs after a five-day stay in the great state (not according to me) of Texas. I went there in search of a place to stay for my next duty assignment. It was no easy feat. The only reason I had a great time was because I was able to see my best friend Chrissy. Since she absolutely refused to take a picture the entire time, I am forced to display an old pic of the dynamic duo. Around this time three years ago, we were getting ready to leave for Iraq. We met through a mutual friend, Jocelyn, and because we worked together,ended up becoming close friends. I mean, you couldn't get any closer than living with the girl. Shoot, we shared a double-wide trailer in Iraq for a year! We even toured Europe for two weeks during R&R. So that's Chrissy, in a nutshell.

Well, I'm on orders to report to Fort Bliss in El Paso by mid-January. I knew I'd have to go down there to pick out a place to live--an apartment, since I'd be down there alone at least two years. I knew that I didn't want to do it all by myself, so weeks ago Chrissy and I agreed that I would fly down to Killeen (where she is stationed at Fort Hood) and make the 8 to 10 hour drive to El Paso. So on Friday, I arrived in Killeen, we hopped into a rental car that evening and went out on our merry way. Needless to say, it was quite an adventure. After leaving a Pizza Hut because we waited over 30 minutes for food that never made it's way to us, a few of stops at gas stations, Chrissy getting pulled over by the state trooper for speeding (got away with a warning, by the way), me swerving out of control and around a huge tire tread, me nearly hitting a deer crossing the road, Chrissy getting a 0300 phone call that one of her soldiers was assaulted, and Chrissy getting hounded at the Holiday Inn check in counter, we settled into our room in a total of ten hours. Total drama there. We should have known though. She and I don't seem to have any good luck when we're together...like EVER.

So El Paso...I don't know what kind of deal I got myself into. I know it's only two years, but the place will definitely get some getting used to. All the apartment complexes we looked at were pretty old and shabby, but I found about two that I may consider moving into. The worst part is that no complex in the entire city allows dogs that are over 25 pounds, which means bringing Lucy is out of the question. This is a huge concern considering the crime rate (specifically for rapes) is worse than the national average, not to mention Malu won't be there with me. I'm anything but thrilled and have to admit that I don't really feel to secure in that area. However, I am really good about making the best of every situation so although it'll be a huge adjustment I'm sure everything will pan out. Two years isn't too long! I didn't make any commitments to move in because people don't like to hold apartments more than a month out, but the one good thing that came out of the trip to El Paso was figuring out which parts of the city to NOT live in--and there were TONS of those. Oh, and another good thing about that trip was eating at Landry's.

The trip back was so much better. Texas highways have two speed limits. One for day and one for night. At night, it's 65 and during the day it's 80. Naturally, we capitalized on the daylight hours and returned to Killeen in no time. My last day there, we met up with a great friend, Kim, who was my section NCOIC (non-commissioned officer in charge) when I was at Fort Bragg. She, Chrissy and I were all deployed together with the same unit. Such great times! There we were back then (in Iraq):

And here we are now. How times have changed! Doesn't she look great for a mother of five? Yep, five. Her eldest is 9 and her youngest is less than a year old. I don't know how she does it, but she's supermom! It was so great to see her. We ate lunch at Jason's Deli and gabbed away--just like old times.

Later that afternoon, Chrissy and I watched the movie, The Secret Life of Bees, which we really enjoyed. It's a must-see, especially if you're a chick flick lover like me! Afterwards, we went to the sushi place called Nami's. They have the best sushi I have ever tasted. It didn't take long for Chrissy and I to down about two plates full of the stuff. Check it out!

It's mmmm mmmmm good, I tell ya! Before going to Nami's I refused to touch any form of raw fish, but it was a rude awakening when Chrissy took me there the first time I visited her. I'm totally hooked!

I'm so glad to be back. You should have seen the welcome I got from Lucy when I picked her up from my mom's house. Now that we're back in our house, she's following me everywhere I go, even for just a few steps, as if she thinks I'm going to leave again any minute. I really am going to miss her when I move to El Paso. I'm sad just thinking about it.

Can you believe that I don't have classes for the next two days? My professors have other commitments, so classes have been cancelled. I am not complaining! I plan on sleeping in (of course!), working on some schoolwork, cleaning, taking Lucy to the park and for walks, and working out (if motivated enough).

Just an update on Malu...he's doing great! He goes on missions into the city of Samarra just about every day, which has included meeting and dining with the city locals and officials. He's eaten some interesting stuff, to say the least and he's learning so much. Despite his long work hours, he always finds time to work out but unfortunately pulled out his shoulder while lifting today. He gets really frustrated when he gets injured, so lets all hope that it heals quickly! Besides that, he's been asking me for items to send him in his next package and of course, I will oblige. I want to send him packages at least every two weeks just so he has everything he needs.

Okay, that's it for now. Can you tell I've missed blogging? Have a great week everyone!