First weekend in Petersburg!

The weekend is here! And it has been great so far, although very, very hot. I skipped my morning run on Friday due to the heat, which was somewhere over 105 degrees. AJ came home at his usual time on Friday and hopped in the shower right away because we had a dinner date. He met another 2nd lieutenant who's here for transportation BOLC I believe, so he's not in the same class as AJ. He had breakfast with this guy on Thursday morning, during which they discovered that they have the same amount of siblings, almost the same birthday, look similar, and love to talk--which in their minds, made them best friends. ;) The soldier just got married a month ago like us, so they immediately set up a double date for us wives to finally make some friends. It turns out they love ethnic food and sushi like we do, so we met at Elephant Thai, a restaurant right off post. Our husbands finally learned each other's first names, and we all agreed to try to remember to use first names when we're together. Of course, this is no problem for us wives. This couple is on active duty and will be stationed at Fort Hood, the other base in Texas, which is a far cry from their home in Colorado. AJ and J are so similar that it's crazy, and I really enjoyed getting to know R. We talked for a full two hours at the restaurant and then invited them to see our place and have a cup of coffee. They live in Fort Lee housing, which means that they don't have a kitchen or anything like that. They actually brought things they would need for an apartment, unlike AJ and me. I told R that she is more than welcome to come over and use our kitchen at any time, and I'm pretty sure we will be having them over for dinner quite a bit. She has made friends with another young wife who has a daughter the same age as AJ's niece, so I'm excited to get to know her too. It was such an encouragement to finally meet someone here who shares my experiences and who can share their perspective on Army life, deployment, children in the military, etc. I'm so thrilled to have a friend. We're going to church with them tomorrow, which is great because we haven't had a chance to try to find a place yet.


AJ took me for a drive on post yesterday before dinner. This was my first time at Fort Lee, and it was great to finally visualize where he goes every day. It feels a little bit like a college campus, just not quite as home-y, I guess you could say. The Army is super creative about street names too- A, B, C, and D streets, Lee street. We found the commissary and PX, which will be great for me once I get my ID. I'm looking forward to getting my paperwork done and meeting with Army Community Services to try to find a place to volunteer or something while I'm here. 


I've been learning more and more about Army culture and being an Army wife in general these days, mostly through AJ. One day he came home from a security briefing will all this new information he wanted to put to use. Obviously, security is always important for anyone to know about, especially when you're in a new area, but it's super important in the Army. He told me some crazy stories about information being leaked to terrorists just by someone doing something innocent like posting a picture on Facebook. I try to be careful about what I say on the Internet anyway, but I now that I'm affiliated with the military it's crucial. 


I'm also new to the serious hierarchy here and the strict boundary between officers and enlisted soldiers. This area is crawling with enlisted people here for AIT, which comes right after basic training. Their freedom is still very limited--they have to go places in groups and must always wear an ACU backpack, which singles them out very easily. I had no idea how much enlisted soldiers really do live in a different world, as AJ puts it. It's crazy that many of them are here straight from high school--some of those 18-year-olds are even MPs (military police) on post, which is a little weird. Officers are told not to go near them, period. As an officer, AJ has plenty of freedom here; our lives would be very different if he was enlisted.


Well, that's a lot for today. We're probably going on post to the Quartermaster Museum and Army Women's Museum today, mostly just so AJ can say he's been but also so that I can learn more about his job. We're supposed to meet up with yet another couple tonight, so that'll be fun too I'm sure. Time to start our day.

Grocery shopping adventures and meeting the squad.

Before I talk about yesterday, I'll post some pictures of my new car. Notice the Virginia plates--I'm driving disguised as a Virginian :)

Okay, on to our day real quick. I finally went for a run in the morning, which was so needed. Unfortunately, AJ came home for a quick break during that time so I didn't get to see him as much as I would have. There aren't any sidewalks around us and we're on kind of a busy road, so that's kind of a bummer. If nothing else I might just drive to the Petersburg Battlefield and run along the trails because that would be nicer. 

After AJ left I tried to figure out how to report AJ's stipend on my FAFSA, which was unsuccessful even after calling the FAFSA people. Turns out they don't know much about the military because they told me to ask the VA, which even I knew was a little ridiculous. Next I made our grocery shopping list and tried to figure out where I should go. I decided Save-a-Lot sounded like a promising name, and it's close by. Turns out, it's like an Aldi but not nearly as nice and without much variety. Still, it was cheap so I felt really good about shopping there. I doubt that's where the other officers wives go, especially because it definitely serves a different demographic, but I don't care. I went to Kroger to get the rest of our food and I was so nervous about the prices the entire time. I've never bought significant quantities of food from anywhere but Aldi, so I thought I'd for sure shock AJ with what I spent even though I just got what we really needed. In the end it was okay though.

After four trips up to the third floor with my purchases I started dinner, which was sloppy joes on Texas toast with spinach salad on the side. It was a pinterest recipe and it was delicious! AJ really liked it, which was very exciting because this was the first time I've ever made dinner for him. After dinner AJ had to give out PT belts and other equipment to his squad, so he had them come over here. I was really glad he decided to do that because I got to meet a lot of the people he spends time with. They all introduced themselves by first name, which makes perfect sense anywhere outside the Army. AJ doesn't even know their first names I'm pretty sure, so after each one left I asked my husband for their last name. We finally got to spend a little over an hour together after all that was over, which was really needed after how crazy things have been lately.

AJ had the APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) this morning. He left at 3:30am and came home just as I was waking up at 7:15 to shower and tell me that he maxed yet again. Which is great because he really hasn't worked out since we got married! So proud of him, but I knew he would do it. Now he's on a breakfast date on post with his new friend, so I'm on my own again. Time to start the day.

New apartment, new car...life's good!

Yesterday I was able to unpack all of our belongings and put everything in its place. I was surprised at my husband's lack of clothes other than his ACUs, but at this rate, that's all he wears anyway so I guess that's okay. And when I'm gone in two months I can't pester him to wear something other than a T-shirt once in a while. ;) Here are a couple shots of our new digs.

AJ was able to come home for a 30-minute lunch break, which was short but better than nothing. Once he returned at six we hopped in the car and drove straight to Mechanicsville to pick up my car! The dealership had been out of power for about 24 hours due to a storm, so the process of signing papers took a bit longer. We finally drove away as the sun was setting. I was nervous to drive a new car in a new area, but that feeling quickly went away because I was so excited and happy. I love it! According to the Army, we should never give in to road rage because of the open carry law here. Apparently it's not uncommon for people to be shot over an argument on the road. Duly noted. Makes me thankful that IL is the only state left without a concealed carry law. You REALLY don't want to give Chicago drivers a gun! One challenge we face with two cars now is the fact that we only have one remote to open the gate to get to our building. I have to get up with AJ, follow him out of the gate, wait til he hands me the remote, and drive back to our building. Which is GREAT because now all our neighbors get to see me with bedhead, pajamas, and a cranky expression first thing every morning. I wear sunglasses even though I don't need them so maybe I'm not as recognizable. :)

AJ was on his cell phone "keeping my squad together" all evening, and we had to stop at another apartment building right away so he could meet with another soldier. We finally had McDonalds for dinner at 10pm. I can tell he must be feeling overwhelmed these days, so I'm doing my best to take care of his needs and not ask much of him.

Well, I'm about to go for my first run here. Supposedly there's a trail behind our complex; however, as an Illinoisan, while living around lots of trees is somewhat novel to me, it also makes me a little nervous for safety. But this seems to be a nice quiet area, and I AM surrounded by the Army, right? After that I'll take my car for a spin and finally get us some groceries. Maybe I'll make dinner tonight!

We're home. :)

Not a whole lot to report for yesterday on my end. Thankfully, AJ raced over to the hotel on his lunch break to grab my suitcase so I could leave the hotel lobby and walk over to Starbucks for the day. He was gone until about 5:30, poor guy. Since he left at 3:30 that morning, that's a 14-hour first day. When I saw him, though, it seemed as though I was much more tired than he was. He finally was able to get our housing voucher, so we drove to our apartment complex to check in. I held my breath as we climbed the stairs to the third floor and as I opened our front door. Wow! This place is so much nicer than what I would ever hope to have in my first year of marriage. Granite counter tops, en-suite laundry, a corner unit with a view of the tall VA trees, a dishwasher (I've never even used a dishwasher before!)...it's pretty amazing to me. There are little samples everywhere, from shampoo to laundry soap to granola bars. They even provided us with dish cloths and a laundry basket! I'll post pictures as soon as I put our stuff away because right now our belongings are scattered everywhere. One thing is for sure. We are completely surrounded by people in ACUs here. I wonder how many people living in these apartments are non-military. We're definitely not unique anymore, like we were in Illinois. Another thing--it seems as though almost every state is represented in the license plates here. Proud to add our Illinois plate to the group.


Even though I was exhausted, I started unpacking right away. The first thing I set up was our fancy new coffee maker that was a wedding gift from my brother and his girlfriend. You guys know me, but actually it was AJ's idea. We ordered Domino's for dinner, which took AJ awhile to eat because he was busy emailing his squad and taking care of Army things. Eventually he took out all of his paperwork for me to see. I'd rather not try to understand some of it, such as all the financial stuff and his life insurance. However, I was shocked to see that we're going to get reimbursed a little over $400 for gas it took to drive out here! WHAT?! He also has to document the miles he drives to and from base because we get money for that. Holy cow. I also learned that the Army already considers me exceptional ;) I have to be enrolled in a program due to my illness so that we're always stationed in a place where I can get the care that I need, but I'm sure once they get to know me they'll learn how lucky they are to have Hannah Ullrich on board. We talked about Army Community Services, TRICARE (health insurance), why he shouldn't haze enlisted personnel, and the fact that AJ should get separation pay because we won't be living together for the next year on account of the Army. He seemed to have a lot of energy and I think he had a decent day overall, except for the part when his instructor threw a chair because some of the 2LTs (2nd Lieutenants, AJ's rank) were late. He said he saw uniforms from all over the world, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ghana. Once we went to bed I could tell he was a little stressed and tired, especially with his squad texting him in bed. I'm doing my best not to bother him with the things that I need too much and instead do what I can to make him at home and ease the stress. 


So, our stuff is scattered everywhere and our fridge is stocked with just Mike's and a Domino's box containing leftover pizza. Feels kind of like a frat house right now, so I'm going to start organizing. Can't do anything about the food situation without a car, but hopefully that will change tonight!

Living in Barnes & Noble for a day.

We definitely took our time checking out of the hotel on Sunday morning, as we had nowhere else to go. We watched the election results in Egypt on CNN before driving to a shopping plaza closer to Richmond, where I pretty much spent the day. We occupied our time with trips to Best Buy, Target, and Chipotle before settling in at Barnes & Noble around 1:30 in the afternoon. AJ changed into his ACUs and left to report at Fort Lee just before 2:30, and from that point on I was on my own. Now, I love Barnes & Noble and will happily spend a few hours there reading or working on something. However, AJ did not return for me until just under six hours had passed. By that time, the computer had died and there were no outlets, and my back was getting really stiff from sitting so long in a wooden chair. I sure was happy to see him! 

Turns out AJ's day went really well. He said that everyone was very kind and helpful, and he met his entire BOLC class during a briefing. There are indeed a few people who have gotten married in the past few months, and some of their wives are here. I told him to be sure to make me some friends. He said that one woman gave him a pitying look and said that he missed his chance to move into his apartment tonight, so he would have to spend another night in a hotel. To which AJ replied that his wife would just be ecstatic to know that she was getting to live in an apartment. And I am! As it turns out, many BOLC students here are indeed stuck living in hotel rooms for four months with no kitchenette. So we are very, very fortunate. Of course, we have pretty much nothing to move into the apartment except our clothes, AJ's equipment, one pillow, and a coffeemaker, but all I care about is the fact that we have a space all to ourselves that I can make into a home for my husband. I am beyond overjoyed. We serve a generous and compassionate God. In the end, I'm thankful that we were told so many times that we would just be living in a hotel, even though it really hurt and frustrated me. Now I know to be grateful for the blessing we have.

We had some amazing sushi nearby before we drove to the next hotel, which is really, really nice. Turns out, the Best Western is in the not so nice part of town and the area we're in now is definitely better. There are a ton of Army people staying here; there were a couple men staring at us as we checked in and eventually they waved AJ over to tell them that they had just finished BOLC and were living here. Earlier in the day AJ teased me for kind of staring at someone at our Best Western who I thought was in the Army, but as it turns out I fit right in. AJ had to make some calls to his squad last night, and then we went to bed early because he left for Fort Lee at 3:30am. We had a really great evening together though; hearing AJ's good news and knowing his first day went so well definitely made my day. So far today I've been spending the day alone in our room, which is slightly lonely but thankfully I've been working on my FAFSA and my mom called for a little bit. I have to check out at noon, but once again I have no car, nowhere to live, and a suitcase with me so I can't even walk far. I think I'm just going to sit in the lobby and hope I hear from AJ soon! 

The Ullrichs drive to VA.

We're finally here! We left Manteno, IL at about 10am on Friday with the Echo (aka the marshmallow) completely crammed with some of the most important things we think we might need for the next two months in my case, and four in AJ's. We drove across Indiana and Ohio for about a bazillion hours. Not much to report there. I tried really hard to keep AJ company for awhile, but then my stiffness and sleepiness won over my guilt so I fell asleep for a little while. We listened to The Heavenly Man on AJ's iPod, which I'm really enjoying. It's perfect for a road trip. I usually keep asking to listen to it, and then AJ tells me not to listen to it all so quickly. We're different.


The drive really started to get interesting when we got to West Virginia. It truly is wild and wonderful, as it says on all their license plates. The mountains are gorgeous and there's hardly any towns there from what we could see, which made me really want to just take a random exit and see what tiny towns we could find. The drive got even prettier when the sun started to set and the mist came down among the mountains. So beautiful. I loved it and wish I could remember that forever. We stopped at a cheap hotel in Beckley at 9:30pm, which is good because we were getting a little delirious.

The drive to Virginia was just as pretty. We even stopped at a scenic overlook just because, and I'm glad we did. AJ was hard at work buying a car for me pretty much the entire time. I was okay that, but all that negotiating started to drive me crazy. Again, that's how we're different. Still proud of my husband for working so hard to make sure he was getting me the best car he could. He went in to sign the paperwork as soon as we got to our hotel in Hopewell. We don't waste any time.

So we've been in Hopewell, VA (right outside Fort Lee) since late this afternoon. We had dinner at a weird sushi place that wasn't our favorite, but not bad either. AJ thought historic downtown Petersburg was really sketchy, and after having driven around looking for a Target and Best Buy tonight, I agree. We are in a pretty sketchy area it seems, which makes me really thankful that we're getting me a GPS. The area is kind of run down and poor, and we've counted 3 adult video stores in our immediate vicinity. And apparently it's not conceal and carry here, just carry, from what I saw in Best Buy. But there's a Korean restaurant with karaoke! ;) Like everyone's been telling me for months now, it's an adventure. This is where the Army lives, and so now it's our home for awhile. Now we're kicking back with some Mike's hard lemonade and tv. AJ doesn't need to report till around three tomorrow, so we're grateful for the time to relax.

We're moving!

Packing for our first road trip to Fort Lee! Everything we need for the next two months needs to fit in AJ's tiny Toyota Echo. Needless to say, it's a bit of a challenge. Kinda like a puzzle :)

Married life.

Whenever I know a couple that gets married I always want to know...what do they do after all that wedding excitement? Although I've seen a few friends and family and have had a chance to catch them up on what we've been up to, my list of needed skype dates is very long and I've been kind of bad at keeping in touch with all of our newlywed busyness. Here's a super quick summary of what our little Ullrich family has been doing lately. :)


We've been living in AJ's aunt and uncle's basement since the night we returned from our honeymoon, which is even better than I thought it would be. At first I was a little sad about the idea of not returning to our own place after our honeymoon, but the basement apartment we've been blessed to live in is amazing. We have a bedroom, our own bathroom, a kitchen that's bigger than my mom's (not actually hard to do), and a pretty nice tv. We've also been blessed to spend lots of time getting to know my new aunt, uncle, and cousins just by living in their house. They are such gracious hosts and have made us feel right at home here. I'm going to miss this place, especially since we're supposedly living in a hotel room this summer.


So that's where we live, and here is what we've been doing. I was able to still coach a few softball games with my dad when we returned to Illinois, so we were busy with games for about a week. That is something I will definitely miss a lot, not only because I love the game but because it keeps me close to my father and sister. We've also spent time changing my name, seeing a couple friends before we leave, and eating meals at our parents' houses. Today is the first day we're actually cooking dinner! Like many newlyweds, we have plenty of thank you notes to write and wedding gifts to sort through. Unfortunately, the vast majority of our gifts are going into storage because we don't yet have a home. Basically, we've been super busy every day. I'm actually somewhat looking forward to some peace and quiet in Virginia.


Overall, newlywed life has been really good for us so far. We're so blessed to finally be together for awhile, because we're so used to being apart. That has smoothed over many misunderstandings and hardships for us. We love seeing our family so much and don't have to worry about working just yet. At the same time, this is one of the toughest times in my life so far. It's very challenging to have to move so far away so quickly just to see your husband, and even then I don't exactly know what I'll do to pass the time in Virginia. I'm happiest when I'm busy, so the thought of not working or going to school or having a church home is a little scary to me. I'll spare cyberspace the details, but I will say that so far being an Army wife has stretched me a lot. It 's unpredictable, it's painful, it's frustrating. It's hard, and I know that I'll continue to face challenges especially in the next year. Even so, I am finally married to the man that I love, and I would never dream of living apart from him as long as I have a choice. Come war or peace, Army life or civilian life, I love AJ and know that he is God's choice for me. We're in this together for life, and he's worth every sacrifice.