Whoever said three's a crowd?!

Certainly not Boston, Riva, or Shea!

Vote!

Provide Free Phone Calls to Deployed U.S. Military Service Members:

http://www.refresheverything.com/callshome

3 phone calls a day...

keeps the separation at bay :)

Alex and I have been super lucky in our communication so far even though it's only been a week (cross your fingers that I don't jinx it). He has had SOME internet access and constant phone access. While the time difference is hard, we've managed to talk about three times a day! In Manas, the phones he used had a 15 minute time limit.. at 15 minutes, a big horn would go off and make us hang up :( BUT in Kabul, endless phone calls!! HOW LUCKY!! If communication stays as is, this deployment will fly by!

Tof-urkey

While it may not be Thanksgiving appropriate, in Hokie land we say, "Gobble Gobble, Bitches" - but of course, it's completely unrelated to Thanksgiving..

This year, I am thankful for my AF husband currently in Afghanistan and men like him, serving our country so that we can all enjoy our holiday season at home, free. Thank you Dr. Rapalje :) Also, thankfully, he got to eat turkey and apple pie at the dining facility on base!

This is my first vegetarian Thanksgiving. I will be filling myself with sides, sides, and more sides (that's the best part anyways!). Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

New York, New York

For our last weekend getaway, we took the train up to New York City! What a trip! Neither of us had been before and we both LOVED LOVED LOVED it!! Our hotel was in a great location - right smack dab in the middle of Time Square! Tons to do and see and lots of places to eat all within in a short walking distance of our hotel. And for the further sights, we took the Metro - gotta love public transportation (remind me of Europe in that way.. and the fact that you hear lots of other languages besides English!).

We arrived in the city Friday afternoon. We had fabulous dinner and drinks at a cute little restaurant near our hotel - some sort of octopus and it was delicious. Then we went down the street to the theater that was playing Colin Quinn "Long Story Short." Tickets were expensive, but it was directed by Jerry Seinfeld, so we both wanted to go. We asked the man in the ticket booth if he gave a military discount. He cut us a major deal. Instead of paying $150/each, we payed $50 total and sat in the front row!! Amazing what being in the military will do for you. The show was hilarious - a stand up short history of the world - good choice on our part!! We were debating on going to another show the next night, but just did dinner and drinks instead - we needed some hang out QT on our last night.

During the days and nights we saw the major sights - Rockafeller Plaza, Radio City Music Hall, Empire State Building, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, etc. On Saturday, we went to the Village Pourhouse aka HOKIE bar to watch the game. One of my friends told me it was Hokie Central and she was right - all hokies, so fun! We even ran into one of my friend's from highschool, a Mill Mountain regular, and a friend from college! Small World! Sunday, before we left, we went and had our own Christmas Day in Macey's! Since A will be missing Christmas this year, we decided to walk around the super-decorated, world's largest Macey's, to get a feel for the day. And surprise surprise, we ran into one of A's good friends from highschool and his wife! Really small world! Sunday afternoon we had to head back to base in NJ to do some errands and from there, to Baltimore for A's flight. The weekend flew by, I wish it could have lasted longer. Overall, awesome city, awesome trip, and would definitely go again SOON!

Book Recommendation: The Healing of America

"The Healing of America" by T.R. Reid. Read it. Informative, interesting, and we can all use different perspectives on our nation's problems and how to fix them.

Tsung-Mei Cheng's Universal Laws of Health Care Systems:

1. "No Matter how good the healthcare in a particular country, people will complain about it."
2. "No matter how much money is spent on health care, the doctors and hospitals will argue that it is not enough."
3. "The last reform always failed."

Kandahar to Kabul

The AF strikes again. Less than a week before his deployment, the AF changes Alex's order to Kabul instead of Kandahar. Although he really doesn't know WHAT he will be doing in Kabul, I 'googled' his title and found lots of related articles. Here is a link to the one I find most interesting/useful/informative.

http://www.ntm-a.com/news/categories/aircorps/1343-afghan-air-forces-first-scheduled-aeromedical-evacuation-flight?lang=

i hate delaware

In anticipation of driving to New Jersey one last time before Alex leaves for Afghanistan, can I just share how much I hate the state of Delaware? I have to drive through it on the way to McGuire and on the way from McGuire. You drive in the state for like 5 minutes and wind up paying $10 in tolls. WHAT A WASTE! And then, on top of the money you pay for the (what should be) 5 minutes of driving, you have to face an enormous amount of construction i.e. traffic. Cars back up miles just to go through the toll booth to pay the ridiculous tolls. 5 miles turns into 45 minutes...and then you still have to pay another pocketful of cash to the stingy state of Delaware. Only getting $20 more out of me Delaware, after this trip, never again.

soccer star

Goalie Ali

Although she hates playing goalie during games, she's SO good at it :) The main goalie was hurt, so Ali played goalie for a half.

oh dear oh deer

Well, I don't know which is better: 1. A husband who comes home with a dead deer boasting about his hunting skills or 2. A pissed husband who hits a deer with his wife in the car. Actually, I prefer number two. What a coincidence since that's what I have.

Last night while driving from a non-existant coffee shop (thank you Cassandra, you worthless GPS) that we were trying to relax and do a cross word at, 1. Alex hit a deer OR 2. A deer hit Alex (I stick with story number 1 while A prefers number 2 - imagine that). We were all fine (minus the car), including the deer who thankfully ran off with his buddies.

Immediately after the hunt, we went to a Toyota dealership and ordered a new side mirror which will be replaced on Thursday morning. Believe it or not, it is extremely difficult to drive without a side mirror, especially a 6 hour drive home on I-95. The front left panel also needs to be replaced, but that was going to cost an arm and a leg, so we'll be waiting until I get a job for that fix. Who needs to be able to open the front door anyways?!

Happy Birthday, Charlotte Isabel Coates!

Alexander and I are now an Uncle/Aunt x 3 (even though we've only met one niece). Charlotte Isabel Coates arrived this morning! Can't wait to meet baby Charlotte in December!





Emma Grace, now a big sister :) How lucky, for both her and Charlotte!

Vick vs. Manning

Last night we got to go to the Colts/Eagles game in Philly. GREAT GAME to watch, even though the Colts lost (and played horribly). >

While I think it's fun to watch Vick play too (man, he's still good), some disagree. Walking into the stadium, there lots of protestors picketing vs. him and his dog fighting. I don't have a problem with any of the Eagles players, however, Eagles fans? Well, that's a different story. The fans there were so whiny, complaining about every single play, every single call, it was just ridiculous. Never before have I been around such poor fans. But what's worse is when Collie went down and was NOT MOVING on the field (hint: this is serious), the fans started chanting 'asshole, asshole.' Definitely unnecessary and only proved who the assholes really were. I have no desire to EVER attend a game at Lincoln Financial Field with Eagles fans again, ever.

GT: 21 VT: 28

GO HOKIES!

Sorry Grandaddy Martin, but Virginia Tech BEAT Georgia Tech last night! GO HOKIES! Thursday night games are the best! Public schools close early, VT classes are cancelled in the late afternoon, and the whole town tailgates all afternoon/evening in preparation for the game. I don't know what it is about Thursday night games, but the fans seem even MORE into it than usual, if that's possible. Well, last night was no different. In fact, it was probably one of my favorite Thursday night games. The game stayed exciting until the very last second, no one left early, it didn't rain like it was supposed to, and the fans seemed to get even louder as the game progressed.

Mill Mountain Friends

bffs

Ali, my little sister got to sit with us again!

Blacksburg friends. Laura, Laura, Jessica, Me, Ali

Cornhole: A VT Classic

I was kicking butt in Cornhole!