Sunday, October 31, 2010

Getting Our Sane On







This has been a pretty amazing weekend. But first let me start with last week. Matt headed off to Log Warrior to do some tactical mission stuff (very broad, I know), and I spent the week in Alabama visiting family one last time before the move. Most of my days were spent in Wetumpka, though I did spend Wednesday in Auburn!!! It was our friend Taylor's birthday, so she, Laura Lea, Paul and myself had a delicious lunch at Momma G's. YUM!!!

Then Thursday I drove the 12 hours back :( Thank goodness I had my favorite pup along for the ride!

Friday we drove up to DC to visit our friends Becky and Ryan, who are moving to Kyrgyzstan in the next couple of months. We all attended Jon Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity" on Saturday, and oh my, was it fun!! It's quite adorable because though I am a rally veteran, this was Matthew's first. He was so excited, and I don't think he was at all disappointed. Jon brought out Stephen Colbert, of course, but more surprising guests, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) and Ozzy Osbourne. Yusuf sang my favorite song, "Peace Train" which was then countered by Ozzy's "Crazy Train". Pretty fantastic!

The message was simple and clear, with humor mixed in. I feel personally challenged to see past all of our differences and not blame or judge others because they believe differently than me. Jon said that there are extremists of all kinds out there, but we can all get along. Very true. We will be posting pictures soon!

That being said, there are a lot of decisions being made right now surrounding Don't Ask Don't Tell, in regards to gays being open in the military. I feel compelled to ask everyone to please keep not only our service members, but our decision makers in mind as there could be life changing decisions being made in the next year. The Cole's stand behind our LGBT soldiers and pray that the right decision be made soon.

Peace and Love,
Brittany and Matthew

Sunday, October 24, 2010

La Da Dee



So Thanksgiving is coming up, and we have our family (Matt's mom, stepdad and sister) and our friend Max and his two friends coming to dinner!

It's going to be epic, for a few reasons. First of all, it is the last time we're going to see family before the BIG move :( But on the upside, it is the first Thanksgiving we are going to spend with Europeans (Max is German and his friends are French)! And because I believe in cruelty free meals, I suggested we have a meat-free Thanksgiving. Matt objected with authority. He won this one, so we're getting a turkey. Which brings me to the next exciting tid bit...

I've been researching local Virginia farms that raise free-range and organic turkeys. We found one that we will be using a couple of hours away called Autumn Grove Farm in Farmville, VA. The plan was to visit the farm prior to slaughter to see how the turkeys are raised and roam and such. But I had a bit of a breakdown the other night, just knowing that I will be having to prepare this creature for others to eat, and I just can't do it. As a matter of fact, I don't know if I will be able to cook it. It goes against everything that I believe in. Prior to my veggie days, Chick-Fil-A was a staple. Now, I get nauseous even driving by the establishment. Even Matt got a little iffy about it, knowing that the animals would be alive, happy and roaming, until just hours before pick-up.

So that's what I'm dealing with these days. Nightmares of the creatures I love and refuse to eat being served up for our holidays guests.

What else has been going on? Well, we shipped off Matt's car this week. It may have even met up with our household goods on a ship somewhere, on it's way to Germany. Matt's suffering from G6 withdrawals...it's kinda cute.

We also celebrated our friend TJ's birthday this week. He and his wife Emily are also moving to Germany, and will be stationed in Vilseck, close to the Czech border. I'm really looking forward to hanging out with them more, especially in Deutschland!

Oh, and we went to one hell of a honky tonk karaoke on Friday night. It's safe say it was not our scene. There were many moments that made us cringe, but we had a good time hanging out with Matt's classmates.

And that seems about all that's going on for now. We'll be getting back with you soon!

Ciao!
Matt and Britt

Monday, October 18, 2010

Lately



This weekend we did much of nothing. We got new winter jackets for Germany, though! And ate a pretty delicious meal at Tara Thai, our favorite Asian eatery in Richmond.

Let's see, what else? Oh yea! Matt had a dining-in Friday and I can tell you from first hand experience, he looks quite delicious in his fancy pantsy uniform!!!

We hung out at a local pool hall (Murphy's Law) after and managed to embarrass ourselves in front of our friends. Only to find out later that they were cheating the whole time!!!

But the highlight of our weekend was last night. We ate dinner with the Bellamy's, a retired Major and his amazing wife for whom I volunteer for at Fort Lee. They moved back from Germany a little over a year ago and gave us the low down. We even go to drink wine they brought back from our future home! We can't wait to visit with them again soon!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

On the way....

The movers came and packed up all of our belongings today. Wow. We're on our way!

Our house is now empty. Not for long. Tomorrow we are getting rental furniture for the next month and a half! Thank goodness, because we are hosting Thanksgiving at our home for family and friends. Matt's mom, stepfather and sister will be joining us along with our favorite German, Maximilian!

So we've made this huge step. Now we must get immunized (not enthused) along with new government passports and the rest of our little duckies in a row.

Now, to the important things. I must find fantastic european hot hair tools (hair dryer, curling iron, straightner)!!!!!! I'm terrified of my fro making an appearance in the midst of winter :(

So now I shall start the all night googlefest to find these things. If you know of anything please let me know so I don't have nightmares of unruly hair!

sweet dreams to all,
M and B

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Sarah's Shower!

Last Friday we flew to Nashville to visit the besties, Sarah and Daron. Matthew and I both needed this weekend to reconnect with our Twinkies, and I think that is exactly what happened.

Matt and Daron went to see Auburn beat Kentucky on Saturday (it was a close one!) while Katie and I hosted a Pin Up Girl Lingerie Shower for Sarah Elizabeth.

We has mimosas, wine, beer punch, and more wine. Then all the girls headed out to parade around Nashville in our vintage wear. It was pretty spectacular.

After much needed girl/boy time we said our goodbyes and came home. I may have shed a tear or two. The next time we see the Future Florys we will all be celebrating their wedding in LAS VEGAS!! And that is only a month away! The reason for the tears, however, is that this will be the last time we see our faves before the big move to Germany.

Don't get me wrong, I'm more than thrilled about our big move! But I'm not very excited to leave the best friends that we could ever hope to have. We must not dwell on this, though, and think of the positives! The Flory/Cole trips to Greece, Oktoberfest, the holidays we'll all spend together. Think of all the memories we will share! This is truly exciting :)

And as for Germany. Well, sigh, it's getting hectic. This week all of our homestuffs are getting picked up and shipped overseas. You name it, it's going. Our apartment is going to look pretty bare for the next month and a half, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Oh, I also called United Airlines today and got Patton's transfer straight, along with booking our vegetarian meals for the flight :) Oh yes, I did.

May your week be filled with love, peace and light!
Matthew and Brittany

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Pictures from Shenandoah


Pookie on the hike


Beautiful sunrise


How many soldiers does it take to light a fire? Evidently, more than two.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Shenandoah

This weekend Matthew, Patton and myself spent our time with our friend Sam camping in the famous Shenandoah National Park.

Within minutes of entering the park we ran across at least twenty baby raccoons with their mommies! It was the most precious site, and we knew we had picked the right place.

However, when we got to our site to set up camp, it was many degrees cooler than it was in Richmond. The wind was howling, and setting up a fire was nearly impossible. I had layered myself in a t-shirt, long sleeve and sweatshirt, but that wasn't cutting it. Thank goodness I didn't bring only shorts and t-shirts like Sam!

The next morning we headed out for a hike. We saw waterfalls and got quite the workout. As a matter of fact, Patton smoked me in endurance and performance. I struggled.

After the hike, we went to where any thirsty hiker would go. A winery! Not just any winery, but Barboursville Winery. They are the only winery owned by their owners that is not in Italy. Did that make sense?

On the way to the winery we saw a baby black bear!!! This was the highlight of my trip. I just wanted to get out and hug it!! Patton thought it may want to play, but that just scared it away :(

We then came home for a nice dinner of hot dogs and s'mores. Patton was a great watch dog, almost to a fault, as he barked at everything that moved after sunset.

Sunday morning we woke early and left, and got home before noon. What an amazing weekend in nature!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Our Assignment

So Matt and I just received an email that he will be a soldier in the 357th Air and Missile Defense Attachment in Kaiserslautern. YAY! We finally know!

Not that any of you care, but this is an exciting moment for Matt, seeing as now he knows what he'll be doing! So we thought we would share :)

This week has been BUSY! The cupcake making business has picked up. Three orders this week! And today we are going camping at Shenandoah State Park. It's Patton's very first time camping, and I just know he's gonna love it!

We will surely have updates soon. Have a great weekend!

Britt and Matt