At Home with Heather

I was just commenting on Renee's blog and thought I would write my own on the topic.

When everything happened 6 years ago I was a senior in high school. I was in my government class and we turned on the television in the classroom right before the second planes hit. I remember everyone feeling so helpless and confused about what was going on. Later on that day, I was in my journalism class and we were reflecting on how we could write about this in the school newspaper and how we could look at it from a journalist perspective. Actually, the coverage from this event actually inspired me to go to school for journalism. A dream that was lost, due to mission work and deciding I wasn't cutthroat enough for the job.

I remember thinking of all my 18 year old guy friends and how they would be old enough to be drafted now, if the events from the day lead to a war. Which they did.

Now I am married to a man in the military and because of the events on that day he is now being deployed for a year. AND the ironic thing, is that he was deployed on September 11th six years later.

I participated in a moment of silence this morning with the rest of the nation. No matter what our political views on 9/11, the war, and the current situation in Iraq, I do believe we all feel for the lives that were lost that day.

(Yes, I stole pics from BA's blog for now, b/c our camera went to the bottom of the lake a few weeks back and I need to get pics from Sam's brother, David... =)

My dear husband Samuel Thomas Chandler is going to be leaving the country in less than 24 hours. His "big" send off was on Saturday at Fort Bragg. I am actually really glad that his unit did a send off for him because I know it meant a lot to him that everyone came to see him off. And it was actually really fun to have that time with him and all our close family and friends.

And SURPRISINGLY, he got an extra day. His Lt. told him he could spend the night off base and wear civilan clothes. YEAH!!! You have NO IDEA how that made my day and the whole trip. After everyone else headed home, we still had a whole day together. That last 24 hours with him was perfect. I wouldn't change anything about it and it made it a little bit easier to say goodbye on Sunday, ending on such a good note.

I am sooooooo, so appreciative of everyone that took such a long trip to come see Sam off. It meant SO much to him and us. So, thank you from both of us, you all are the best. =)

Please, continue to keep us in your prayers. Pray for Sam's safety and quick return. We love you all!

So here it is, my new PINK dyson. Target was having a sale on dyson's and we have been looking to buy one for awhile. So when I saw the add in Target on Sunday, we went straight to the store and bought it, b/c the PINK one is exclusive there. Plus the offer included a $100 Target gift card too. Yeah! More Target shopping. So I was pretty excited to get a pink vacuum cleaner. I used it today and it is great. It almost makes cleaning fun! =)

Sam has returned to Fort Bragg as of yesterday. I am very thankful I got to have about 5 days with him before he leaves on the 11th. We had a lot of fun just being together and enjoying each other's company. I will get to see him at least one more time at his "going away party" the Army is putting on for his team on Saturday. His brother David is probably going to come at the end of the week and we are going to try to spend a few extra days with him. As hard as it is to say goodbye over and over, I would never turn down the chance to see him even for a half a day. I know again someday we will be like normal married couples and be able to see each other every day. Absence DOES make the heart grow fonder for sure. It was nice to not have to sleep alone and I slept better the 5 nights I was with him than I have the last two months he has been gone. So as great as it was to see him for a few days I am anxious for the time he gets to finally come home for good.

Today, I finally went back to one of my loves, Yoga. I started going to Yoga consistently about a year ago. I had always been interested in trying it out, so when a friend asked me to go last fall I decided to give it a shot. I was hooked from the first class! I go to a place called "Yoga One" in Charlotte. It's pretty intense yoga. They call it, "Power Vinyasa Yoga," which basically means you're getting any amazing workout. It really is cardio and strength training and stretching all in one! Most classes are an hour and a half, so you're really getting a workout.

They have a great studio which is decorated amazingly and really gets you into the feel. AND to spicen things up there are individual heaters all around the room, so the room is SUPER hot, like you walk in and you're like, "WHOA!" Kinda like a sauna. It really helps loosen your muscles and cleanse your body as you sweat it out. =) Plus, for me I tend to have a bit of trouble tightening up my stomach and arms, but yoga will do that for you.

Besides being a great workout though, I really enjoy yoga because it is all about mind, body and spirit. My instructor always seems to throw life lessons in there while you are suffering doing a "vinyasa" (a move that takes a lot of determination and strength) to help you push through and continue doing your best. I always feel better coming out of yoga.

After moving and getting married and wanting to spend every waking moment with Sam, I took a hiatus from Yoga. But I'm back now. I can only imagine how sore I'll be tomorrow. =)

So yesterday I spent THREE hours at Central Piedmont Community College trying to register. I had to take a placement test and the like as well. I scored 99% on the English test, but TOTALLY BOMBED the math. The last math placement test I took at my other school allowed us to use calculators. No such luck this time. =( I was seriously not happy with my results, but I guess math is Sam's specialty so I decided to just go with it. What can you do?!

After the placement test I proceeded to start to register for classes. I had about 6 classes as options to take. I was in utter disbelief when EVERY single one of them was CLOSED-filled up! WHAT?! CPCC has 6 campuses and NOT ONE has a single class opened that I needed. It was insane. I am feeling a little discouraged because I really wanted to get some of my schooling out of the way, especially while Sam is gone. I guess maybe there is something else better out there for me this semester. Usually when crazy things like this happen it is not too long before I see the reason things didn't work out the way I thought they were suppose to.

We'll see...

My birthday was yesterday. Sam's birthday was on the 4th. I sent him a book/poem/photo collage to help cheer him up. He loved it, but told me he was so sad because he couldn't do anything for my birthday, 4 days later, because he was out in the field. I honestly didn't think he would do able to do anything, so I didn't expect anything either. Well, I woke up on my birthday and went on my usual morning run. When I returned I saw the roses, balloon, cake and gift bag on my stove. I was SOOO excited. Sam had called our really cool neighbors, the Cauthens and asked them to make a special delivery for him for my birthday. I was totally surprised and elated! =) The gift bag had a "Full House" season 6 DVD in it from the Cauthens. I really like Full House. =) So then I went to lunch with BA, Eli, Renee, Haylee and Mrs. Swaringin. It was fun times. Later on I spent the night with my fam. All in all it was a good birthday. The surprise from Sam really made my day though...

p.s. he comes home three weeks from today-Hurray!!!