Two posts in one: Two great things for two of my favorite guys

Remember all that traveling I did from Dec. 23 through Jan. 18? No? Well, there was a lot. So much that in 4 weeks' time, I was only home 6 days. SIX DAYS -- and all of those were 2 days at a time.

Ugh. Let's not do that again!

I listed some things I needed to tell you about, and I've only knocked the first one off the list. So now I'm going to kill two birds with one stone.

Since my last post was about a relationship I'm less than thrilled about, what better follow-up than to tell you about one that I'm SUPER thrilled about?!

Yay, Little Brother

My brother has met the woman he's going to marry. He actually met Bridget back in August when he was back in OK for a visit. When he got back to North Carolina, he and Bridget talked on the phone quite a bit. They saw each other in November when my brother was in Texas for the N@SCAR race (he works for them, remember?). Bridget flew out to NC to visit my brother after Thanksgiving.

We saw him just before the visit, and from the way he talked about her, I had my suspicions that she was The One. When he went back to OK for Christmas, they spent a good amount of time together. He met her parents. It went well.

Unfortunately, my brother left to go back to NC just two days before I arrived in OK. But I still got to meet Bridget! This girl actually drove 20 miles through warnings of icy roads to meet my dad and me -- my dad and me -- for dinner. She came over to the house the next night for dinner again, and a few days later, she came with us to my grandparents' house for dinner, where she met my aunt, my cousin and her husband, and my grandparents!

She's gorgeous, and she's so sweet. She seems pretty low-maintenance, and she's completely open to moving to NC someday. We actually have a lot in common, including a love for our cowboy boots.

My favorite part about her? She adores my brother. The first time she saw him, she actually told her friend (who's married to one of my brother's best friends), "That's my future husband."

Since they're long distance, it's funny how similar the beginning of their relationship is to the beginning of mine and K's. My brother was a little worried in the beginning about how it would work and what would have to change in his life for him to be in a relationship, especially a long-distance one. It came in handy that I've been through that experience, so I was able to answer any questions he had about what he called "the rules" of long-distance dating.

Anyway, so that's exciting! They'll have a little more of a challenge than K and I did in that they won't be able to see each other each weekend. I worry that could get to them, but I really think they're a good pair. As long as they don't rely to heavily on that and forget to put effort into it, they'll be just fine! Yay, little brother!

Yay, K!

The second thing in this double-post is a props to K. He got promoted last month, and I actually got to take part in the ceremony! A two-star general conducted the ceremony. It was impressive how much he had memorized about K in preparing for the ceremony!

When the general talked about how K started off in ROTC in college in PA, he said under his breath, "Probably a Penn State fan." I was standing up front alongside K. I started shaking my head, and one of the guys in the room called me out on it. The general said, "Oooh, that's right. His wife, [my name], is from Oklahoma and from what I understand, a die-hard Sooner fan."

"Die-hard!" I chimed in. The general added that K has become a Sooner as well (or as I like to say, he's seen the light).

So that's how I corrected a two-star general. I don't think I'll make a habit of doing that, but in this case, it had to be done.

Congratulations, K!

(By the way, please excuse the poor blurring job in these photos.)

Standing at attention while the promotion orders were being read.

The general ripping off K's rank so I could attach his new one.

Me with my Major stud!