Hey y'all! :P

I just figured I needed to stop by and say hi, break up some of Tommy's long diatribes... LOL Luv ya baby! :P If you can't tell from Tommy's posts, things are going ok here, same old thing with work and all. I've been a little under the weather, but I've survived this far, so I'll be ok. :) My only real complaint about being here is how much I miss normal food.... LOL It's not really normal per se.... but there is something to be said for all the laws and regulations governing food and food prep. Don't get me wrong, I am LOVING all the fresh fruits and veggies, but we have to check ourselves constantly, cause they just don't last as long as they do back home, and luckily produce is dirt cheap, or else we'd be throwing away a lot of money! The part that bothers me the most is not having real beef (cow meat-- eww gross, I know, but deal), whether it's steaks or hamburger, and PRE-PACKAGED, washed, cleaned chicken!! Mama, I can totally see now why you hated chicken so much growing up, if it's not already cooked I don't want anything to do with it here.... LMAO!! Gregg and I happened to try the Tex-Mex buffet one night at the Corinthia, and let me tell ya, if I could have that more I think I'll manage to survive a little longer... :P Not everything was "truly" what we'd consider Tex-Mex, but they did a damn good job of turning a few local dishes into something more my style. :) There is also supposed to be an Asian restaurant in the same hotel, so I'm REALLY hoping to try it pretty soon!! (One of the biggest things I've missed about home is not having all the variety in menu options.... only after a little snooping I've managed to find some to hold me over!!) I enjoy eating (entirely too much I should say), so finding these menus and restaurants has been a real treat! I'm not quite as homesick anymore. LOL We're slowly breaking in the apartment, making it a little more home-y. I don't even think twice when I say something about going home and meaning there. Tomorrow I will have been here for 2 months, and stayed in the apartment all but 1 1/2 weeks of my trip, so it IS home to me. I really wish I could bring everyone over for a visit, and show off the place and my favorite areas of the city. Maybe one day, when travel to Libya isn't so dificult, that can be possible. (Yeah, and when Tommy and I win the lottery and become filthy rich or something.... HA!) Ok, now I have a few specific messages I want to share, to say hi and a few other things... Marisa, darling, I am so proud of you and so happy in wishing you congratulations on your wedding! I would have loved more than anything to be there to share that moment with you! I also know how wonderful it's going to be with your new job, new home, new family, pretty much a whole new life. :) It's so great to see someone go after something they had their heart set on and achieve it, you are truly a hero to me! I love you girl!! I understand you won't be online as much as before, but PLEASE drop me an email or two and let me know how things are. I hope we'll get a chance to get together some once I get home and just catch up on everything. Take care sweetie! Bridget and Melissa, I totally thought about you on Friday, when I thought you'd be heading to the concert! We were listening to Tommy's Ipod and a Dierks Bentley song started, and I could just see you two belting it out at the top of your lungs wearing your cowboy hats and drooling like crazy!! ;) LOL I really wish I could have been there with you. Thank you so much for chatting with me some, it's the only "girl" time I get, and let me tell you, it's no where near enough!! Most of the time I don't mind being one of the guys, but I'd love to have at least one girl here that I could talk to. Thanks Melissa for keeping me sane during the day! I love you both and miss you like crazy!! Mama, I know we haven't had nearly enough time to talk on the phone, and I hope now that we have a "real" phone line that can change a little. I remember calling you at least once a day when I started ECU and left home, and even when I moved to Greenville on my own we still talked at least once a week. I LOVE YOU so very much and wish I could have been there to help you after your surgery, but I know Frankie did a great job of taking care of you! I know some of these pictures have to bring back memories of Germany, wow, how life has changed! :) Thanks for keeping me up on everything that's going on with the family, it means a lot! Tell everyone that I love them and miss them and hope that I'll get to see them when I get home! Jenn, it's nice to see you back around here, we've missed you. I can't believe you're moving to Kansas, but I hope everything goes great for you while you're there! Congrats again for Baby Beluga, I can't wait to see all those cute-sy pics you were talking about! ;) Love ya girl! Ok, I really need to cut this off, I'm totally turning into Tommy by just rambling like crazy.... LOL I hope everyone hasn't gotten bored and just quit reading a long time ago... :) If I left out someone, I'm sorry, but I still love you and miss you too! Please everyone keep in touch! XOXOXO