Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July!! Today also marks 9 weeks since Sim left. A milestone of sorts in that this is officially the longest we have ever been apart from each other. Not really a milestone that I was hoping to achieve but this is the way the Lord has directed our lives so...here we are!

 I spent July 4th keeping busy with some good friends and some of the Coast Guard families from Sim's unit. I went on a brunch boat cruise with my friend Sabrina out into Galveston Bay and then spent the evening BBQing and watching fireworks at a fellow Coastie family's house. I also lit off my very first Roman Candle! I grew up terrified of those things... I mean who in their right mind would actually want to hold a firework as it is going off? Oh my goodness! It was the biggest rush! 

The pictures below are from the brunch cruise and of my friend Ashton and her daughter with sparklers.

June just flew by! Which I have to admit I am happy about! I was able to escape home to VA for what I think was the shortest weekend ever but it was SO worth it. I was able to see my beautiful niece Alexandra for the very first time! It was so nice to see family and spend the weekend in scenic Virginia. I think Sim and I have it mixed up coming home every year for Christmas. Virginia is MUCH more beautiful and welcoming in the summertime!! Below are photos from the baptism and the Orioles vs. Met's game in Camden Yards (Alexandra's FIRST baseball game and Met's game!)

The end of June I traveled to my FAVORITE Texas city for a work conference. If you've ever asked me about Texas...you have probably figured out that, while Sim and I are really enjoying our time here, we do miss some of the gorgeous beaches and scenery that we were so lucky to be surrounded by in Florida. Southeast Texas is very flat, very brown, and very humid. Austin, Texas on the other hand is in the "Hill Country" of Texas and is surrounded by lakes, rivers and rolling hills....beautiful! So I was very happy to get a trip out to the Hill Country compliments of UTMB.

We took the opportunity to explore the State Capital building which I had seen from the outside before but never been inside. WOW! Everything truly is bigger in Texas. This building is not only huge but it is built up on a large hill with a maze of offices and hallways underground. I walked the halls observing the names and faces of every Texas Governor since James Pinckney Henerson took office in 1846. What a beautiful historic building!

In the midst of all of this traveling I have been swamped with my summer school. Whoever thought that taking two classes in the nine-week semester was a good idea is crazy! (Oh wait...that was me!) Seriously though I am trying very hard to stay focused on the fact that in 5 more weeks I'll have 6 more credit hours under my belt and only ONE MORE CLASS until I graduate!!   

Beautiful Florida

Memorial Day weekend was spent with my friend Lesley in one of my favorite places in the United States....Fort Lauderdale, Florida. When I heard I had the opportunity to go back to Florida I knew I couldn't pass it up. I arrived at the airport about an hour before Lesley did so I took the opportunity to jump into the rental car and drive down through my old "stomping grounds". It's hard to believe that I only spent 15 months of my life there because I feel like I have so many memories. It was the first place I lived on my own after graduating college, it was the place Sim had to adjust to Coast Guard life, and it was the place I lived as I planned our wedding and eventually returned to with my husband to live in our first "home" together. Not to mention that we lived 1 mile from one of the country's most beautiful coastlines!

Well here is the best part...the photos!

As Sim put it..."One month down...and it was a long one!"

Well today is officially on month down on this deployment! 31 days. Sometimes I feel like it was yesterday he left and I feel empowered by how I have been handling this deployment. Other times I feel overcome in sadness in just how long I have to wait until I can see him again. I am a little frustrated that "our life" is on hold while we are separated. I love him and I love spending time with him and making memories together. Right now....it's just not possible and to be honest...it sucks. What I have tried to focus on is the fact that "my life" and "his life" are not on hold during this time apart. We have to keep on going and trying our best to enjoy our life and our experiences until we're together again.

"Distance never separates two hearts that really care, for our memories span the miles and in seconds we are there. But whenever I start feeling sad, because I miss you, I remind myself how lucky I am to have someone so special to miss."

On today, June 2nd 2010, I recognize the fact that for one month I have come home to an empty house, tended to our household needs alone, and gone to bed with his empty spot beside me. I miss him so much. I can almost close my eyes and imagine three years ago this very day and how much fun we had together sharing our wonderful and magical wedding day. God has blessed us SO much and I cherish our family and friends who have been there for us throughout our entire relationship and especially during this deployment.
Thank you so much to those of you whose kind words and thoughts mean SO much and to my amazing husband who is sacrificing by serving his country today...thank you as well.

I love you and Happy Anniversary!

What's for dinner?

So apparently Cheerios is not a healthy dinner option. And suprisingly it's not just because they are Chocolate Cheerios (which by the way if you have not tried...you MUST! Simply delicious!) So I figured it's been a few weeks since Sim left and it was about time that I finally get around to cooking a real dinner for myself. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE cooking for my husband. It's when it's just me eating that it seems a bit fruitless to get out all of the dishes and dirty so many pots and pans. Hence the Cheerios!

Well right before Sim left we had our last "date night" and went to Carrabbas. While we were killing time waiting for our table we did some window shopping and I stumbled across a marked down cook book that I had been eyeing on Amazon.com for a few months. Sim insisted on buying it (love him!) and THAT is where tonight's dinner inspiration comes from!

Hungry Girl is a series of cook books filled with quick, easy, and healthy recipes written by Lisa Lillien. On tonights menu is one of Lisa's easy "Foil-pack recipes". I wrapped a big piece of Salmon in the foil-pack along with a hearty helping of what has to be my favorite salsa of all time. (Italian Rose Fresh Salsa)

and stuck it in the oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes!

Then I warmed and a can of corn and a can of black beans with a little lemon juice.

15 minutes later....Voila! I peeled open the foil to find a steaming juicy cooked fish ready to eat!  Plus I now have leftovers for lunch tomorrow at work! ;)

Now what to make for dinner tomorrow.....

He's gone!

Well our first big deployment has begun. As of early this morning Sim and his unit were on their way for their seven month adventure. Still waiting for a phone call to hear he has arrived....hopefully that will come within the next few days.

Unfotunately all of our photos are with Sim on his camera so it might be awhile to until I can share those but here are some photos from one of the other guys at his unit as they were boarding the plane at the Air Force base.

Sim's Advancement

Today Sim was promoted to a Second Class Petty Officer! A very exciting event in his Coast Guard career and a great accomplishment.

This is Sim being pinned by his YN1 and his Chief.

Sim with his Commanding Officer

The decorations I put up for him to surprise him when he got home from work!

Our fabulous cheesecake dessert we'll be eating tonight!

Ready or not...it's April!

Ready or not...April is here! I've honestly been dreading this month since the Fall and here we are! It's my busiest month at work, my busiest month with school, and sometime here in the next 4 or 5 weeks Sim leaves for his deployment. We were just talking to each other and mentioning how we feel like we're just waiting for him to leave. It's awful to say that but when you know someone is going to be gone you begin to mentally prepare and then when you have go about life the same, while you wait for them to leave you almost wish they could just leave now....so that their return home will be quicker!

In the meantime...here is the rest of my Feb/March update!

The last weekend in February we snuck away to our "favorite state" Florida for a quick weekend getaway!

It was actually the five year anniversary of our first date and although it just happened to fall on that weekend, it was pretty cool that we were able to do something special together to commemorate it!

We were also fortunate enough to randomly be in the same area of the state as the same time as our old friends from Fort Lauderdale. Kim and Anthony Brick now live in Palm Springs, California. Anthony was my old boss when I used to work for Marriott in Fort Lauderdale. Kim and I grew close as we tried to plan our weddings during the same time back in 2007. We were both far away from our family and friends and dealing with all of the wedding stress so we really were there for each other during that time! Well that and a few nights out at the Elbo Room and on the Riverfront welded our friendship solid! Kim and Anthony now have a beautiful daughter Avery who we were also able to see during our visit.

It was really wonderful that they were able to drive up to Clearwater to see us while they were visiting family in Fort Myers. The following day we were able to meet up with an old friend from Woodbridge, Jenn Ruecker who now lives in Largo with her fiance. We enjoyed an amazing dinner with them and it was really nice to get to catch up with Jenn. She was the one who set me and Sim up! :)

Our time in Florida was amazing but short!

March 11th we headed back to the Houston rodeo...the best part of living near Houston! This year we took some friends with us on the bus trip.

We had such a good time last year on the all-inclusive rodeo trip (starts at Hooters with all you can eat wings and all you can drink beer, includes a charter bus trip to the rodeo with games, raffle prizes, and more drinks, and tickets to see the rodeo and the concert) that we just had to do it again! This year we saw Brad Paisley who was an awesome performer. He is no Keith Urban of course....but he held his own!

So that is what we've been up to! Well besides work and school of course! Sim is finishing up his last science requirement and I'm doing my last Economics class and my last Human Resources class! There is a light at the end of the tunnel!!

Mardi Gras 2010

Well Mardi Gras has come and passed but I have been meaning to post some pictures from our fabulous evening so I'm going to do that....even if I am a month late!

We were invited through my work to attend the San Luis Salute Mardi Gras Ball in Galveston again this year. It's a truly spectacular event put on to help raise money for The University of Texas Medical Branch and each year they designate a special department that will be the recipient of the donated funds. This year money was raised to support the hospital and surgical tower, which is still recovering from Hurricane Ike. The event is hosted by one of the Houston area's largest philanthropists, Tillman Fertitta. In addition to being a huge supporter of various charities and community activities, Mr. Fertitta is also the owner of the Landry's chain of restaurants which includes The Chart House, Joe's Crab Shack, and Charley's Crab among others. So of course the food was wonderful!! He also brought in performers from the resort he owns in Las Vegas, so while we dined we had Cirque style dancers spinning from ribbons and ropes suspended from the roof! It was a wonderful way to support UTMB and celebrate Mardi Gras...Galveston style!

Oh and we made the paper! http://www.chron.com/disp/photo.mpl/photos/20425876/sim-and-sara-zuger.html

More photos below:

This is Tom Koch the Channel 7 morning newsman. I was SO excited to meet him!

Tourist Saturday

This past Saturday, as our family and friends back in Virginia were being blasted with the "storm of the century", we were actually blessed with a beautiful day in Houston. After days of rain and dreary weather we were just itching to get out and enjoy the sunshine. So I jumped on the internet and found some fun touristy things for us to do with our day. Since we've lived in Texas we've taken quite a few trips out to our favorite part of Texas, the hill country, but we have really not taken the opportunity to explore our home city of Houston except for an occasional baseball game or visit to the HUGE mall downtown :)

So we started our day off with a quick run around the local go cart track down the street from our house and then hit the highway to head up to Houston. Our first stop was the famous "road-trip stop" The Beer Can House. The Beer Can House is referred to as visionary art but I think back in 1968 when John Milkovisch started siding his house with the aluminum from his favorite beer cans, he was just looking for something to do rather than actually make a statement. The story behind The Beer Can House can be found here http://www.beercanhouse.org/

After leaving The Beer Can House we headed over to the Downtown Aquarium where we saw a bunch of fish, reptiles, and owl, a white tiger, and rode the ferris wheel!

Our tourist day wrapped up with dinner at the ultimate touristy restaurant....The Houston Hard Rock Cafe! :)