I only have a few pictures now, but will post more once we actually move in. The condo is a 2 story town home on a "lake" (read: pond). The complex we are in has a pool and some really pretty grounds...trees everywhere, green space, etc.
For those of you who have been out of the loop, I am planning on staying here during most of the work week once I start school. The plan is for me to stay in Tuscaloosa on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights, but that will, of course, have to be adjusted as needed. Chris won't be able to come to Tuscaloosa while he is in pilot training, but maybe once he is finished and (hopefully) an instructor pilot, he will be able to sometimes. After I graduate, we are currently hoping to use the condo as a rental property. It is near the local hospital and has a great rental history.
The kitchen had updated cabinets, which we liked. The appliances are not updated, but that will be okay for now. |
A big selling point was the screened-in porch overlooking the "lake". It is really low right now because the city was doing some pipe maintenance, but we've been told it will be filled back up soon |
The entry hall on the first floor also has a half bath off of it. The upstairs has two large bedrooms, a master and a second bedroom, and a full bath. The master bedroom has a walk in closet. There is also a washer/dryer closet and a linen closet. The area seems to be very safe and is extremely close to a lot of businesses, restaurants, stores, etc. It is less than a mile from a great looking gym that I hope to join and from Highway 82, which goes straight to Columbus. It's about 3 miles from campus, and although I'm sure it will take me a good 15 minutes to get there on high-traffic days, it is nice to be convenient to the highway I will take to get home.
So, that's our headline story! For the record, we are trying to furnish this place as cheaply as possible...especially since I won't be having much company there and we really can't afford to buy much with the pay cut I am getting ready to take! If anyone has any of the following that they would like to donate or sell at a very competitive price ;) we are looking for the following:
Apartment-size fridge (apparently this is a size smaller than a regular fridge)
Sofa and love seat
TV stand
Bed and/or mattress
Pots/pans
Vaccuum
ironing board
bookcase
I'm sure there are tons of other things that we will realize we need. A lot of things that maybe people have sitting around their house that they have had for years and have since replaced with newer/better models and maybe they would love to get rid of the old model! :)
Two Fridays ago was Chris' class solo party, the party they have after everyone in the class has done their solo flight in the T-6. First they all got together for the naming part. This is when the person getting their call-sign (i.e. nickname) leaves the room, and everyone in the room talks about them and makes fun of them and chooses a call-sign, usually based off of a funny story about them. Wives don't get to attend the naming part. Chris' call-sign is Yogi because he "terrorizes park rangers". I don't know if I ever shared the story about how Chris (okay...and I) got into a verbal altercation with an out-of-line park ranger who tried to kick us and a group of friends out of a public park 2 hours before it closed so he could go home...even though we had just gotten our steaks off the grill...he was rude and yelled, called the guys derogatory names because he hates the Air Force, etc...well it was a big mess and Chris had to take a day off pilot training because the ranger wrote this ridiculaous "assault" ticket and we had to go to court and we won because it was stupid. Don't know if I ever shared that on the blog...I probably didn't want to because it's not the most flattering story but I feel like I have to for anyone to understand why Chris' name is Yogi now! So now the world knows our dirty secret, ha!
After the naming ceremony, the class rented a party bus to take us downtown to the Princess. The Princess is not only the most popular bar/club in town, but also happens to be Class 13-06's pilot partner (Chris is Class 13-06), which is like a business that sponsors your class throughout training. They set a bar in the back that I'm pretty sure was just for us, and they had karaoke which I, of course, sang a bunch of times and also sang a couple of times with some of Chris' classmates. I wish someone could convince Chris to sing karaoke with me! Maybe one day... Here are a couple of pictures from the party bus:
I guess this face is supposed to convey excitement over soloing...? |
John, Autumn, and I on the way to the Princess on the party bus! |
Saturday was an exciting day because Chris and I headed to Auburn for a weekend of celebrating Hannah's engagement to her fiance, Chase, and Chris Sr.'s 60th birthday. The engagement party was at Lauren's parent's house. As always, there is a special place in my heart for my girls and I love to see them any chance I get! Here is a picture of us...Sara, Lauren and I are all bridesmaids in Hannah's wedding, along with Lauren Emily (who was also in my wedding), but she was moving from Tampa to Atlanta that weekend (yay!) and couldn't make it (boo!).
On Sunday, we had lunch at the Saugahatchee Country Club to celebrate Chris Sr.'s birthday. I'm glad Virginia put a nice lunch together for us, and it was great to be with family! We will be coming to Auburn again to celebrate next weekend, but have the added bonus of celebrating Aunt Bette's 90th birthday along with Chris Sr's 60th!
Well, I know this post is getting rather long winded, but I want to share a few more pictures before signing off!
Jon and Ralph came over to eat the (Autumn was out of town). They were so excited about being photographed for the blog! haha |
Yummy meal on my 4th of July place mats! And the wine coaster that Meredith made me for Christmas! |
Ralph could not resist the urge to snuggle Mason! I mean, who could? |
For lunch on Saturday I made these delicious "turkey sandwiches" out of tomatoes, avocados, an olive relish that I made, cheese, and (obviously) turkey and bread. |
Maybe I haven't posted enough adorable pictures of our wittle baby Mason lately...here are some ones I wanted to share.
Mason cooling off in the shade after chasing his ball. |
I have submitted Mason's picture to the Lee County Humane Society calendar contest and would appreciate your votes when voting opens! I will be sure to post on the blog and solicit votes all over the place when it starts!
Chris has been flying all week, still working on formation flying and also starting instrument flying. Instruments are what you use when weather or darkness prevent you from being able to see to fly the plane. His schedule this week has started at 5:30am, but, selfishly, I kind of like it because that means he is home by 5:30 pm, same time as me! Next week starts his night-flying week...the first flight isn't until 3pm. He does 12-hour days, so you do the math. I certainly will not be seeing much of hubby next week! I can't wait to hear about night flying, though, because it sounds cool! It's interesting on base when they have night-flying weeks, because you go to sleep to the sound of faint engines roaring in the distance...except, sometimes the distance is pretty close, and sometimes the noises aren't very faint. I wonder if I will be able to sleep knowing that one of them is Chris' plane! While Chris is still deciding whether he wants to go the T-38 route or the T-1 route, he has really loved formation flying and I feel that he leans more and more toward the T-38. As we know, only a small part of that decision is his! So we will just have to wait and see what he decides and, more importantly, what Uncle Sam decides in August.
Next week is my last week of work, my very last day being June 29! Last week I started working in Columbus instead of Birmingham, and I think I will be working here until my last day. I can't tell y'all how excited I am to finally start this new chapter, as the tension has been building for several months. I have been working a lot on my teaching materials for the class I am teaching in July. I must admit, it is a little intimidating to know that I will be teaching people who are barely younger than me. Some of them may even be older! But I'm excited and ready for it. I know as a college student, I didn't really think differently of my younger teachers...as long as they taught me what I needed to know in clear English, I really didn't care if they were 20 or 90! I think most college students probably have that attitude.
Before I finish, in honor of Father's Day, I want to say "Thank You" to all the fathers out there, especially my father, Chris' father, and his step-father, Greg. It's so sad that a lot of people these days don't have relationships with their fathers, because it is certainly a special relationship for a growing woman or man. I can truly say that both Chris and I are fortunate to not only have relationships with our fathers, but have very close relationships with them. We both enjoy being with our fathers and appreciate all the life lessons they taught us. We are also fortunate to love and have special relationships with our fathers-in-law. We look forward to all of those relationships growing and getting even better over time! Love y'all, and thank you for everything!