100 Days of Summer

Will has officially been deployed for 100 days. I only know this because he tells me what number card he reads each night. It feels like 500 days. But we are nearing the end, the tide is shifting and our European vacation is just over a month away! We are planning to visit a few cities in Italy and then make a group trip to Munich where our sober summer will officially come to a long awaited end! Stay tuned for pictures of Will in lederhosen and me in a dirndl. He's worn the same outfit for four months straight and I've been in scrubs so we are ready for costumes and beer.

Here is the most recent marble jar photo. My side is filling up which means there is an incredible homecoming in the near future.

Celebrations

We are now thirteen weeks into Will's deployment. It's another week down and one less that we have to spend apart. But we hit an even bigger milestone this week. One year ago on August 15th, I opened my email to find a message from Billy, a high school crush from ten years ago. Intrigued, I responded wondering what in the world he was up to. It went something like this:

Will Andreotta August 15, 2009 at 4:50am
Hey:

Long time no talk. Congrats on the nursing school!!! How is everything else going? I am just done with some leave in the States. As bad as it sounds, I am dreading going back to Italy....The more I spend away from the States the more I want to go back...

 Hope things are going well. Keep in touch.
- Billy

Lindsey Baskette August 15, 2009 at 11:10am

Hey! So good to hear from you. Things are good here. I'm living in Charlottesville and will start a job as a labor and delivery nurse at UVA in October. I'm also the house mom for one of the sororities here so that keeps me young and busy.

I can imagine being away from beer and baseball is hard. I got in a fight with Italy when I discovered they don't serve ice in drinks. All I wanted was something cold to drink;-) so are you flying planes all over europe or what? Fill me in on what you are doing over there. Take care.
Lindsey

They say that prince charming won't come knocking on your door, that you have to go out and live your life to find him. But he sure came knocking at mine, or at my inbox anyway. He claims that his intentions were more than just friendly chit chat and I felt the sparks immediately. Emails bounced back and forth before I ran into one of his pilot buddies at a wedding in Colorado. We knew that my running into a mutual friend who flew halfway around the world to be at this wedding was anything but coincidence. The next thing I knew, he asked if it would be too forward to call me. How polite is that? I couldn't wait to hear his voice. Then there were flights booked to Paris, stargazing at the eiffel tower and bottles of wine in quaint French brasseries. The rest is history, but it all started with one little email. He took a chance, I gave it back and we ran away with love. My prince charming found me, half way around the world, at the perfect time in our lives. I can't wait to have him home again!

One year "re-connection" anniversary flowers

I got to babysit my baby nephew David last week and captured his genius on video. Listen and watch as he responds to his name and follows commands. What a smart kiddo! I love him to pieces. Now I just have to start monitoring what I say and do since apparently he is listening.

I know why people with chronic pain are crazy

I've been battling (self diagnosed) plantar fasciitis in my left foot for about 18 months now. I've read all about the "treatment" modalities which basically only work if you can be confined to traction in your bed for six months. Here's what they say:

NEVER go barefoot or wear flip flops

Spell out the alphabet with your foot before you get out of bed

Heat your heel first thing in the morning

Do calf stretches 3-4 times a day

Do not run

Always wear a shoe that supports your arch (as soon as you get out of bed)
Ice your foot at night right before bed (then hop on one foot into bed)
Wear a night splint or soft cast to bed

Massage the heel

Take ibuprofen as necessary to reduce inflammation

Foot Wakers

Admittedly, I've only followed a few of these guidelines and sporadically at best. So maybe it's not surprising that this nagging pain keeps getting worse and worse. Anyway, I tell every medical professional or running expert that I meet about this problem in the hopes that they are hiding the key piece of information that will lead me to tranquil healing. So I was excited when this neuromuscular therapist told me about "foot wakers," massaging spheres with knobs to loosen up the fascia in your foot. I was immediately turned off when I found out that they cost $60 a pair. Crazy Brian. Then, I went home and googled these suckers. What? This is what all the hype is about? I think I've seen those in the pet toy aisle.

So I gave up and decided my feet would forever be "asleep" because I refuse to pay $60 for "wakers." But today, my foot pain woes found hope in the laundry aisle at CVS. These little dryer balls are perfect for rolling around under my heel and cost a mere $3. That's more like it. And that's how I outsmart the ridiculous  medical community, of which I am a part.

Care Packages for Me?

He is the sweetest. But I already knew that. I'm just frequently reminded of how incredible he is when he does things like send me care packages to thank me for all the care packages that I send to him. Today I received a package full of fun things that are perfect for me - a collection of hand made soaps, a baking cookbook, four beach themed cookie cutters, a stainless steel pineapple corer, mint lip balm, a t-shirt from Afghanistan, a bathing suit tote bag and Harley Davidson sweatpants. How was he able to put all of this together? Your guess is as good as mine. I though he was busy flying a fighter jet. Apparently, he dabbles in "too good to be true gift giving" as well.

Under The Same Big Sky

The latest from my love affair with Animoto videos. These pictures and videos are from the day Will left Italy for Afghanistan. When I pony up the $3 it costs to make a longer cut, I can add more video of his jet's take off. Enjoy!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Summer Soundtrack

The name of my blog is not just a snappy title - I really feel like I should have a soundtrack playing in the background of everything I do. I usually put a line from a current song on my soundtrack in the title of this blog. I love listening tosongs that describe my life or just have fun beats to dance to even if they are obscene (i.e. "It wasn't me" circa 2001 which ended up on my first cell phone's voicemail.) Sometimes I think," if my life were a movie, what song would be playing right now?" And then I listen to it. Over and over again. 

Will and I have used music a lot in our relationship to communicate how we feel and to remind us of fun times we've spent together. We get to tell each other how we feel everyday, but it's always fun to see which songs each of us put to those feelings. When we listen to each other's mixes, the songs have so much more meaning because we know that the other specifically chose that song. Sometimes they are mushy love songs and sometimes they are tributes to the Greats who have provided for hours of dance parties at bars all over the world! This month we were both making mixes for each other at the same time without knowing it. Here are our July playlists:

Will's Playlist
Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton
I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight - Foreigner
Hold my Hand - Hootie
Why They Call it Falling - Lee Ann Womack
My Baby Loves Me - Martina McBride
I'd do Anything For Love - Meatloaf
Never Gonna Be Alone - Nickelback
Be Here To Love Me - Nora Jones
God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You - NSYNC
That's When I Love You - Phil Vasser
You Had Me From Hello - Kenny Chesney
True - Ryan Cabrera
Dreaming Of You - Selena

Lindsey's Playlist
Come Home – One Republic feat. Sara Bareillis
Signed, Sealed Delivered I’m Yours – Stevie Wonder
Gimme That Girl – Joe Nichols
Everlasting Love – Howard Jones
Legs – ZZ Top
Love Like Crazy – Lee Brice
Thinking of You (Live) – Katy Perry
With Every Beat of My Heart – Taylor Dane
The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson
All Night Long (Live) – Jason Mraz
Someday We’ll Be Together – Diana Ross
Free Fallin (Live) – John Mayer
I Wanna Dance With Somebody – Whitney Houston
Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now – Starship
Best is Yet To Come – Howard Fishman