Beautiful Things

The last few posts have been either so serious or dreary.  Well bah to that I say!  Have I mentioned the weather has been phenomenal today?  Sun was out with lots of clouds, so it got a bit chilly, but decent enough weather that we could walk to do errands (since our car won't start, this is a major blessing).  So today I decided to get out some cute summer flats for our walk.

(I was stalking G outside, taking pics without him knowing and here he is laughing when he finally saw me!)

Also, the nights have been just as fantastic with a bright moon that you can see the earth's shadow on.  Hopefully G and I can take a walk when he wakes up and then come back and curl up with hot cocoa or tea.  I have to say that if you are looking for a good hot cocoa, the Godiva dark chocolate is amazing......chock full of chocolate-ness! And we found out yesterday that the mix of half 2 percent milk and half fat free was delicious.  

On a random note Sophie has been stalking our bed lately, walking all around, looking hopeful at jumping up, which because of her ability to turn anything paler than her deep black fur into a fur blanket hasn't been allowed.  Well the night before last I dragged our blanket from the living room upstairs (it's a deep chocolate brown) and threw it over the bed so she could curl up and sleep with me.  Well she started out there, but if I wasn't willing to pet her all night then she decided it wasn't worth her time.  How's that for a spoiled puppy?

Here's a cute pic of her that I took a week or so ago when she was asleep.  And another of her outside with her big stick she likes to run around with.  Isn't she the cutest thing ever?  

Gun Safety

(Glock 9mm pictured)

A comment was left asking why we were planning a handgun.  Well, that would be for me, surprisingly.  Garret is amazing with a rifle, but neither of us has much experience with a handgun.  

But the thing is, I am absolutely terrified of guns.  Hence the asking my FIL to take me to the range.  I used to do a lot of acting, and in one play we had to use guns.  We originally were going to use old revolvers with blanks, but when I shot it off, I cowered, and my character was not supposed to cower.  So we ended up using toy capguns which in the end suited the play better anyways.  But from that day I knew I needed to learn to be more comfortable around them.  

When I married Garret one of the debates we had was the safety of having a gun in a house.  I was totally against them, other than rifles locked in a big safe.  I knew Garret has a few guns waiting at his parents house, and as his dad is retired from the police force when his father dies (hopefully not for a very long time) most of the guns will go to Garret since he's the only son.  So, basically we will own a small arsenal of firearms (mostly hunting guns) and I feel a strong desire to learn how to shoot the damn things so that I will feel a little more comfortable about having them around.  I think people who have guns in the home should know how to handle them safely.  

The handgun is my idea.  If we are to have a gun in the house for personal safety, I feel that a handgun is a tiny bit easier to wield than a shotgun.  But I am against any child having access to a loaded gun, and really what is the point of a gun for personal safety if it's not loaded?  So we have begun to look into special safes for handguns, that require codes, and are even searching for one that might take a finger print scan (the more difficult to get into the better).  I have read the research that shows it's pointless to have a loaded gun in a safe since if anything happened it would be difficult to get it out quickly enough, but I move fast and type even quicker so I am not too worried.  And really, with the option of being able to get to it or not, what's the difference?  If I can't get to it I'm screwed, and if I don't have one I'm screwed.  But hopefully if I ever did need it, I could get it in time.  

I know this post might throw some in an upheaval about the safety of guns in households with children (that we do eventually plan to have).  But we don't have a child, nor will we have a child old enough to worry about guns with for years.  And I know that some of you will agree with me, some will strongly disagree, and others won't care either way.  But feel free to leave comments either way.  Do any of you have guns in your homes?  Or any of you feel you would never keep them in your home?  Do tell!

To My Lovely Readers,

I noticed recently on my site thingy that I have a few readers up in Canada (mainly Ontario) and was wondering if any of you have a blog as well?  I used to read a blog of a person there in Ontario, but for the life of me cannot remember the site.  

And do any of my other readers have blogs?

Or have blogs you would recommend reading?  Do tell!

Merci, 

Moi

Weekend Woes

Does anyone ever wish they had a fairy god mother to swoop in when things are difficult and make everything all better?  Hmm.  Just me?

Our car has decided that life has been too easy for us lately and it was time for more trouble.  The Blueberry (as I have begun to call our little blue Peugeot) tried it's hardest to work, but alas no.  So tomorrow will be spent towing our car somewhere to have it looked at, and hopefully fixed.  Please keep your fingers crossed, as we only have 4 months before we move, and the car really only needs to last us that long.  

And now comes a slightly more fun topic.  Clothes.  I love clothes.  I could window shop online for hours just looking at beautiful clothing and shoes.  Which is a good thing, since I am about to minimize my wardrobe to a smaller quantity than I have ever seen it.  

See, the thing is, I am now about 35 lbs smaller than I was a year ago.  Which actually isn't a lot size wise on me (I am indeed blessed to lose it evenly all over).  However it does mean that quite a few items of clothing are too big for me.  A few select items are being kept for when we decide to start a family, but the majority is being boxed up and donated.  This is a big step for me.  I tend to hoard all sizes just in case.  But since I have no intention of going back to some of those clothes, I think it's smart to just rid my closet of them.  Sadness came over me when I realized that some of my favorite items are too big (so I decided I will save those and get them altered) and that some items I had been keeping to fit back into I overshot and are now too big instead of too small.  Yay for losing the weight! Boo for losing the wardrobe.

I will be hopefully taking some pics of outfits soon.  I have been like a kid in a candy shop the past couple of days trying on clothes and figuring out what works together for this summer.  All of my shorts and jeans fit wonderfully, although a lot of my skirts fall off of me.  Thank God I bought a couple cute skirts for the cruise and they still seem to fit.  I am also taking this opportunity to donate things that just don't suit me or my sense of style.  Which is the most difficult part since I tend to have different styles according to my moods.  

And last, my weekend is being consumed by reading.  I am really into a book called The Lost Constitution.  I will be doing a book review when I finish it, but so far so good.  If you like historical novels, it's great.  And this book mixes telling a story from the past as the modern characters go on a treasure hunt of sorts as Congress is up in arms over the right to bear arms.  Fantastic.  And it has sparked quite a few conversations in our house since Garret is mainly Libertarian and they believe in the right to bear arms as staunchly as the republicans, while I am a confused partisan and tend to not like it to be so easy to buy guns.  Not that I am against gun ownership.  I was raised in a family where my dad hunts occasionally, as did my grandfather before him.  And Garret and I will be picking up his rifle and whatnot when we go home.  For that matter I have asked my father-in-law to take me to the range and teach me how to handle a handgun, since we plan on buying one in the near future (locked in a strongly coded box of course).  But I do not like how easy it has become to buy a gun, and I don't think people should be allowed to own some types of guns.  Just my humble opinion.

So, that's my weekend in a nutshell.  This next week I get plenty of time with G, which means plenty of time outdoors.  Today we made hot cocoa and went outside for a bit to read (G is reading Drood, and I might even let him do a guest post about it.....apparently from reading other bloggers reviews, it's good).  This week coming up also means plenty of time to relax, spring clean, and veg out.  Anyone have anything interesting happen this weekend?

Suits

So G is getting baptized and confirmed in 2 weeks, and last night we were talking with some people when they asked us what we were wearing.  Damn, I kind of forgot about that.  Garret says he is fine with just wearing pretty much a similar outfit to our latest "wedding" of a button up and dress pants.  But I am looking at suits.  Unfortunately I am a girl who believes that if you are going to go out and buy one, make it a nice one that will last.  So that being said, I need help!

Do any of my lovely readers know anything about suits?  Brands that the men in your lives prefer?  And for those who don't know too much about them, but are willing to give an opinion, 2 buttons or 3?  I never realized there were so many decisions!  

Garret really would like to get a suit at some point for us to go out to dinner all dressed up. But he doesn't feel any strong need for one for Easter, and I don't want to push him and make him panic.  So far I am loving the buy one get one free in this style by Calvin Klein.  Then we could get him both the black and the charcoal suits and call it a day.  

I also like this by Ralph Lauren and I love that it's navy pinstripe.  

Twirling and Sunshine

So a week ago, as mentioned, G and I went to the Abbey in Bury St. Edmunds to play and go to the market.  We took lots of fun photos of twirling, dancing, and lying about in the sunshine. 

It was a busy day at the market, especially for a Wednesday!

We picked up some locally made strawberry ice cream. Their raspberry vanilla is to die for in the summertime!

Garret was sitting down reading The Greatest Love Letters that I had brought along while I danced around taking photos.

This is G, after twirling/spinning.  He collapsed.  But don't worry, he seems to be okay, other than the random talking when he's half awake.  But he's always been that odd.

This is the face you make after too much spinning.  Headache and nausea are a dangerous side effect of TMT (too much twirling).

My favorite red flats, they were with me all over the world and are the most comfiest thing on the planet!

G sneaking up on me.....or so he thought!

Ahhh!  He got me!  I look terrified don't I?

Okay, had to throw this one in here.  G likes it for the sunlight, I like it because it shows off my dimples......vain, but true.

And finally a Mallard duck.  I am not allowed to take one and eat one, so I feed them.  I think they get the better end of the deal.

And thus concludes abbey adventures.  Do you like the pics?

Your Time Has Come To Shine, All Your Dreams Are On Their Way

So today Garret and I went off on an adventure.  The weather here was what we call "don't like it? wait five minutes!"  Literally we had the sun shining, then rain, then hail, then the sun shining, etc.  Always good days, so of course we braved all of the above (including a horrible downpour) to go to Bury and the abbey.  Then we headed home and stopped off at some charity shops on the way.  In one we hit the jackpot and found Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits for 50p (less than 75 cents for the Americans) in amazing condition!  Now, we already have the music on the iPod, but nothing beats the original vinyl.  G and I want to buy a record player when we get home for dancing around the house, so we are over time picking up some records.  But for now, the iPod will do and we are dancing to some great old school music!  

Peanut, Peanut Butter....

And Honey!

Growing up my mom would always sing the song peanut, peanut butter....and jelly! to us often enough.  I should mention I do not, nor have I ever, liked peanut butter and jelly.  There, I said it.  I also have never liked hot dogs or kool-aid, so as a kid I was considered pretty weird, and as I got older, un-American.  Oh well, life goes on.  I have always loved plain peanut butter sandwiches, and over the past several years have fell in love with peanut butter and banana or peanut butter with honey.

So that is what my amazing husband brought me to eat when we woke up just a bit ago.  Only first he asked me how I wanted it cut.  "In rectangles or diagonally?" (I just asked my husband how to spell diagonally, and he said it's diagon-ally, which I got all excited about because, hello, that's from Harry Potter!) I told him I wanted it in rectangles but that he should have said "rectangles or triangles" so it matched (he also could have said diagonally or down the middle).  He laughed, but then sleepy Kalee got a bit irritated with the fact that he does it wrong anyways, everyone knows that rectangles are better, because in triangles the peanut butter smooshes out the tiny ends and makes a mess, and you only get a bite of crust there.  Duh.  He just laughed at me like he does when he thinks I am being adorable and said I did it wrong that triangles are the right way.  Jerk.

Oh, and let it be noted that he remembers me making fun of him earlier about something he said, but had no clue what it was.  So I had him read the previous post.  He got a kick out of it, and yes, he loves mazes!

Laughing My Butt Off....

My husband tends to wake up partially a lot and say things to me that make no sense to me, and he never remembers them.  I am lying in bed next to him right now and he turns to me and says, "Oh boy mazes! I love mazes!" in his cute boyish mumbling voice.  I laugh and he looks at me, so I assume he is more awake, but quickly realize he's not.  So I say to him "really?" and he uh-huhs, and I say "you love them" and he uh-huhs again.  

I had to share.  This happens so often and rarely do I get a chance to record what he's said!

Thoughts on a Day

Today has been kind of a lazy day.  I spent almost the entire day in bed so far.  And I am getting ready to read some more of a new book I started reading called Where Serpents Sleep by C.S. Harris.  That's not the author's real name, in fact she writes under 3 different ones apparently, but it's the name she uses for this particular set of dark murder novels, the Sybastian St. Cyr Mysteries.  I haven't read the first two (the libraries here rent a lot of the novels, so they had the last one, no longer do, but I was able to grab this one yesterday after waiting a couple months!) but I think I will probably end up buying them.  

When Garret got home this morning I sent him right back out to get some lunch, which we enjoyed while lying in bed watching Gossip Girl (yes, it's a guilty pleasure in this household).  Then I told him it was time to nap and I caught up with some blogs and started my novel while he snoozed next to me (and continues to do so while I type this).  It's a goodness, as we say.

I think I might start a special section of this blog just for some of the funny things that man says.  We have been friends for so long, but he was more tentative then, so I am just now discovering his genius wit.  We have one little smartass line perpetually written on the calendar downstairs because it cracks me up each time I see it.  We were watching jeopardy and it was the teen tournament (which anyone who watches the show knows has some of the easiest questions) when my brilliant husband (I know I say he's smart a lot, but literally, he is considered one of the smartest people at work, and he works in a group of "extra smart people") said that he liked the teen tournament, but he preferred celebrity jeopardy because "that's where I really shine!"  I about lost it I laughed so hard.  G and I compete when it comes to show like trivia to see who can get the answers fast enough.....between the two of us we generally know all the answers, so it was definitely a smartass remark.  

And lately he's been even more witty and sarcastic, which has been nice.  When we first got married something we dealt with was how quiet he could be, and his jealousy about how an ex and I had always been able to banter and he didn't feel like he could.  Well, he does now.  I think he got over his idea that he could never say anything that might hurt my feelings, even in jest.  Thank God.  Although he still won't call me names, not teasingly, not when he's mad, and it is something I adore about him.  

Anyways, this is a random post, I know.  I need to find the camera so I can post the pics from last week.  We had it outside just the other day when I was taking a pic of G holding our neighbors 3 month old son (who he thinks is just the cutest thing ever and I have to pry him back to get to hold him), so I am sure he knows where it is.  Now I just have to decide if I let him sleep (I probably should) or if I stare at him like Bridget Jones to make him wake up.  Hmm.  Choices, choices.

Book Review Time

(Image from amazon.co.uk)

So I finally finished The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris ( I just discovered that it is called The Girl With No Shadow in the US).  Usually it wouldn't have taken me so long (generally I read several books a day) but I have been reading it sporadically because of scheduling and my overall lack of ability to focus.  

It is a continuation of Chocolat, and for those who do not know Joanne Harris' works, I would start with that one.  In The Lollipop Shoes Vianne has changed names and goes by Yanne.  Instead of pretty dresses, long hair and a big smile, she is quiet, dowdy, and has cut her hair painfully short.  She is trying to hide from the wind, to live a "normal" life.

I really cannot go into too many details because it would give away too much.  Once again it's a great book with each chapter being told by a different person, so often you know secrets that all the other characters do not know yet, so it leads up well.  It took me a while to read the book, but each time I had enough time to sit and read a few chapters I had a horrible time putting it down.  It's a quick read in my opinion, although the paperback version I got from Waterstone's is thick so my hands started hurting from holding it open near the end.  

It takes you back into the world of a chocolaterie, and opens up more of Vianne, showing how much she has given up of herself for her two daughters.  One who doesn't speak, never has, but signs, and another daughter who no longer really speaks to her about anything going on in her life.  In the end Vianne has to choose who she wants to be, dowdy and unhappy Yanne, or her old self Vianne.  And once she decides she has to fight to not lose everything.

I thought it was very well written.  It unfolds beautifully, telling different aspects of the story at the perfect pace.  And as always Joanne Harris has made it very easy to see in your mind as you read, to smell the heady scent of chocolat and cinnamon.  To imagine the clack of the lollipop shoes.  Of course you would want to read Chocolat first, but once you've done that I would highly recommend rushing out and buying this book.  It doesn't disappoint.  

Beauty Outside

As I type this I am sitting outside on a comfy chair, listening to Marc Broussard (I really must learn how to add a song widget to this site), and warming myself by our outdoor fireplace.  We've done this the past couple of days, the weather has been so nice.   Garret ran off to the store because he wants to grill bratwurst and we need buns and maybe some corn to grill too.  I made quiche for breakfast.  Lately I have been feeling like cooking in the mornings because yesterday I made buttermilk biscuits and gravy.  It was very yummy.  

Tomorrow morning we are planning on taking some quiche or maybe leftover bratwurst and having a picnic at the abbey.  The weather is supposed to be even prettier than it is today!  

I should mention an oddity.....we like to drink tea while outside, so we decided yesterday to take the kettle after it was done and keep it warm by placing it on top of our fireplace.  It worked beautifully, and our neighbor thought it was ingenious.  

And now, since it is getting into that time of year, I feel it is best to inform everyone that Pale is the new Tan......please everyone, wear sunscreen.  If you want a tan, I recommend a good self tanner, but avoid skin cancer.  Not only can it kill you, it leaves horrible scars from removal, on top of the wrinkles.  So stay safe and use at least a 30-45 spf.  I prefer a 45-70 range, but to each their own.  

I plan on posting pics either later today or early tomorrow.  Thanks to several peoples suggestions, I am planning on watermarking some of the photos.  If ever there is a pic you see and think, "that would make a nice background on my computer" by all means e-mail me, and I will probably not have a problem giving you permission to use it.  But my husband is getting into photography, and practicing on me until I give in and buy him the canon rebel, so there are some I want to keep ours.  Thanks!

Blogging Help

Does anyone know how to imbed photos so they can't be clicked on and saved?  I have some really awesome pics I took today and I have had a problem with people taking my pics and using them without my permission before (not on here, but other photo sharing places).  So I am trying to avoid that hassle! Thanks!

Thought of the Hour

I have found something that always makes me feel better when I am upset (as I clearly was today).  My husband buying me strawberry fruit bars to suck on.  I guess for me popsicle items make me feel childlike and that calms me.  

But the other main thing is being able to help someone else out.  For me, it often has to do with cooking since that seems to be something I came to naturally.  But other days it might be helping with an errand.  

I think it's because it allows us to sit back, take a deep breath and a good look at all that is good in our life.  How much we have that we sometimes overlook.  How nice it feels to be able to help someone with something they would otherwise struggle with.  God has funny ways of reminding us that we are indeed blessed.  

For Those Who Pray

Please pray for the military personnel that we will be dealing with in the near future.  It seems like things lately just get worse and worse.  Garret and I will be e-mailing our congress and state senator later today.  As well as e-mailing a complaint to the office that assigns where we go next. So pray for them.  I am quite possibly more pissed off than I was the time the British visa office lost my passport and couldn't tell me why they didn't mail it to me, or where it was.

We Interrupt This Programming...

For a moment of annoyance.  

Sorry, need to just let it out.  I think everyone has these moments.  Moments where you just feel ready to shake someone.  Moments when you realize that the person who is making you feel this way really is always going to be that stupid/immature/rude/enter whatever word you like.  I am having one of those moments.  

And I am venting on here, because I write when I am upset.  I write, it's what I do.  And it's very tempting to facebook comment something, but in an effort to not completely piss my entire family off because I dared say anything I am going to say it here:

I wish those involved who so desperately like to think of themselves as adults would actually choose to act like adults.  You get the title by earning it, not because you reached a certain age or milestone.

There, I said it.  

I feel mildly better.  Because let's face it, I can't bounce back and forth as some people would probably like me to.  I can't be angry one moment and cheering for them the next.  I just can't.  And it kills me that sometimes I feel like that's what's expected.  But here's what it comes down to:  I don't think they are ever going to change, as long as everyone keeps allowing them to claim to be adults while not actually making them act like it, then they won't.  Why would they?  It's not just her, it's him too, and worse, it's about her not them.  Damnit.

Rant over.  I'm tired.  

Relationships

I still plan on doing a post about how Garret and I met closer to our anniversary (which is in just a month and a half!).  But today I want to talk about relationships (ours), because I have gotten comments from so many people in our lives about how they want what we have.  G's co-workers tease him about making kissy noises on the phone with me whenever we get off the phone (it's something we started when we were thousands of miles apart on different continents).  What people see is generally us at our cutest, at our best moments (well, not our "best" but good ones).  

We are not perfect.  Not even close.  We have disagreements occasionally.  And I have a temper, so when I am mad I had a tendency to yell.  But we decided a while back that we love each other.  We just "get" each other in a way that is rare for two people.  And that, let's face it, if we can't make it work together, who will we make it work with?  Because we married our best friend.  Best friends fight, but they don't generally walk away from each other, because they know that the other person knows them better than anyone else does and still loves them anyway.  

I truly believe that there comes a point in every marriage where a person decides that no matter what, they aren't walking away from the other person and they stick to it.  For some lucky people that happens the day they wed.  For most it happens over time.  Our first year of marriage was a doozy.  Aforementioned temper grouped with the fact that I don't like to let a person know when they have hurt my feelings tends to make for some explosive conversations.  A lot of slammed doors (something I did a lot as a child and never grew out of) and the occasional broken glass (I learned to not throw things quickly.....I had to clean up the mess, and it was generally an item I was sad to have broken).  But this past year our marriage has gotten stronger.  The past few months have been the most wonderful of our marriage.  And why?  Because we decided to make them, to focus on us.  I made the conscious decision that I wasn't walking away from this marriage (something that I had sometimes fleetingly thought of doing our first year).  I have made a lot of effort to curb my temper, to learn to talk it out rather than yell.  And Garret decided to really make an effort to romance me.  Hence the flowers, and the making of dinner.  It wasn't always like this.

Relationships, and marriage especially, take a lot of work.  They take being conscious of the other person, really seeing them and what is going on in their life apart from you.  They take all the things you hear about: trust, faith, love.  For the most part I think the problems in relationships stem from people going into one, feeling passion, feeling "in love" but not thinking about what it will be like once that dies down a bit.  I am "in love" with Garret, but if I didn't love him as much as I do, as a verb, deciding to love him and show him that through actions, we would never make it.  That feeling of being "in love" is great, but loving someone when times get tough?  That's a hell of a lot harder.  You have to love someone even when their "bad" traits come out.  Even when you don't like them very much.  Love is not something that happens to you, it's something you do.  An action you take towards another person. 

My favorite moments with G that we've had recently have been: dancing in the kitchen lit with candles, giggling with him under the covers as I talk about how crazy I think Madonna is (I kept repeating over and over "Have you seen her?!?"---we had been up for about 20 hours), being half asleep and trying to explain to Garret how to tell when the cinnamon rolls were done, curling up on the couch reading Miss Manners online and having my husband thinks she's almost as great as I think she is.  It's the little moments.  The ones that we tend to forget over time, but that I feel will flash before us in the end.  The moments where you see, truly see, the person you're with and think how lucky you are to be with them.  Moments such as when G is asleep next to me in bed and I am reading, but I look down at him curled up as close to me as is possible without osmosis and I think, "I love this man."  

Here's my favorite quote about marriage from a movie:

Susan Sarandon's character in Shall We Dance says this in response to why people get married:

 

"We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet ... I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things ... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness'."

 I think it's the closest anyone has ever come to saying it right.

Playing Around

I am trying to find another background I love.  This one is okay, but not what I am looking for.  Does anyone know any good sites for free backgrounds?  And does anyone know how to get rid of the blogger template and just go with the background?  It seems to be mixing the two.  

If You Can't Take the Heat...

You should probably not eat salsa by the spoonful!

I love salsa, the spicier the better.  But it's been a while since I had some with any heat.  And last night G and I decided to make burritos.  We took chicken breast and mixed it with taco seasoning.  And I made homemade salsa with tomatoes, red onions, jalapenos, and cilantro.  And I proceeded to eat it with a spoon.  And then added a ton of it to my burrito.  And then ate some with tortilla chips.  And finally proceeded to feel as if my stomach and esophagus were on fire and felt like crap all the way until tonight, when I decided to play it safe and eat less salsa.  

This morning G and I made some cinnamon rolls (it takes hours, because the dough has to rise twice and for some reason this dough take upwards of 2 hours to rise each time, so all in all you are talking about a 5 hour process, but they are the best cinnamon rolls on the planet!).  And even the cinnamon rolls smelling so wonderful couldn't get me to eat one.  But Garret sure enjoyed them!  

This is the mixture of light and brown sugars I used last night to fill the cinnamon rolls....mmm!

So not much to report about the past couple of days.  Wednesday it was too grey and icky to go to the market, until late afternoon, when the market is finishing up.  We've been drinking copious amounts of tea, trying to stay awake (switching to nights is always hard for a week, we usually sleep far more than you are supposed to).  And now I am working on spring cleaning, which is never fun.

I am finishing up cleaning out my closets and donating the clothes.  I am hoping to clean the carpets early next week (I already deodorized them with baking soda tonight).  But I want to scrub the floors and start boxing up all our books soon.  Maybe preparing to leave will help us figure out where we are going quicker?  My most OCD moment comes when I feel the need to make documents with lists of our possession (unfortunately we know people who have had things stolen by the movers, which you can file a claim for).  I make lists on the computer (which will come with us on the plane) of all of our movies, books, even special dishes so if they get broken beyond recognition I know what I need to file for.  

Does anyone have any good tips for moving or unpacking?  We will be (hopefully) taking a 2-3 week vacation to go home and see friends and family between leaving here and moving into our new residence, so we will be moving our things about a month ahead of time (it takes 6-8 weeks to get from here to there) so hopefully our things will be waiting for us when we get there.  The best news we've gotten so far is that we should be able to pay and have Sophie fly on the same plane with us as cargo, so she won't be away from us except for the 9 hour flight.  I think she will be a bit pissed at us (a.k.a. terrified, she freaks out in situations where she is with strangers without us) but she should be fine once we land.  We'll be headed to my parents home, and she'll get to play with the other dogs and get loved lots.  But anyways, any advice is welcome!

Checking In

We successfully switched to nights.  I have been keeping myself awake by watching t.v.  Tonight's show was the Real Housewives of New York.  I thought about reading my book, but know if I start I will fall asleep.  Cannot quit yawning!  

Earlier I broke one of the 2 crystal wine glasses we got for our wedding.  We have more than 2 of the goblets and the water glasses, but with the wine glasses that we just used the other night we only had 2.  Now the other one is sad.  And I'm sad because I am not sure I like the pattern anymore, so I am not too upset it's broken, except it was a gift for our wedding.  And I shattered it.  Shit.  

I tend to ramble when I am tired, and I can see this post will be no different.  It's beginning to resemble my e-mails to Garret when he's at work and I am half asleep.  Oh well.

Five more months and I get to fly home and pick up my little puppy and give her lots of snuggles.  I am not sure how happy she is going to be that we have another dog (she's jealous that way) but I figure we will spoil her into being happy.  She cracks me up, because she hated any man I ever brought around, until I started dating Garret.  Then the little brat stepped on my face to get to him one early morning and I realized that I may be her mommy, but she is most definitely a daddy's girl.  

I am in the middle of reading The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris (who wrote Chocolat).  This continues the story from Chocolat and so far so good.  I plan on doing a nice little review of it once I have finished, so keep an eye out for that!

And finally I am just hoping the weather is nice later today.  I think Garret and I will be going to the market and letting Sophie run around and finally meet the ducks up close at the Abbey.  The weather here has been iffy lately, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.  I love days with my little family, and lately they have been fewer and further between.  

And thanks J for the compliment about the headband.  I am trying it out, and it's a pain because apparently I have an odd head shape (or the manufacturer's think people should have some sort of shelf on the back of their head to keep the elastic in place) because it's elasticized and I have to pin it in my hair.  But G loves is, and I have gotten compliments on it, so I am going to persevere.  I also have one that is bigger and has mother of pearl pieces on it, so it will be a bit easier to show in pics.  

I have really enjoyed all the comments lately.....keep them coming!  It's nice to know people are liking the blog.  If you have any questions or something you want me to write about let me know!

Weekend Weariness

What a long weekend this has been, but not in a great way.  G and I are switching to nights, so it involves trying to reset your schedule to work 12 hours ahead of where you are used to it being.  Not incredibly fun.

However, I do have an amazing husband who Friday night, when I was simply too tired to do dinner, went to the store to get things to make.  He came home and told me he was making salmon and roasted asparagus but that I needed to stay where I was, not go in the kitchen, and not ask any questions.  Later on I told him I needed to come downstairs to plug the computer in so he closed the kitchen door and told me to stay away.  Then, finally, no longer able to stand it, he came into our living room holding a candle and a little tiny vase with a tulip and led me into the kitchen where on the table was a beautiful bouquet of purple and yellow tulips and our candelabra all lit.  He even had bought white wine and had it chilling in the fridge.  We normally drink white, but he said he thought it would go well with the salmon and asparagus.  I was highly impressed.  I ended up helping him check the asparagus, but it was all very sweet.  When we were eating dinner and having lovely conversation revolving around what an amazing job he did, I asked why he chose yellow and purple tulips.  His response was the cutest thing ever!-----because they are on the opposite sides of the color wheel and go together, I learned that in elementary school.  So he was basically set for me adoring him all night.  

Here is G stretched out on the couch.  I told him he looked like one of those guys watching "the game" (football, baseball, basketball, whatever) with a beer on their belly.  My husband?  He had white wine and we were watching America's Next Top Model.....the season just started and unfortunately my husband picked up my addiction when we got married.....he says he loves seeing how catty women can be!  (In defense of his manhood, his favorite sport is hockey where even when there is blood, there is usually no foul.....best fights in the world!)

Saturday we wanted to go to the market, but the weather was kinda crap and we thought about it and realized that we didn't need anything from there.  So instead we lazed about the house, and then got dressed up for mass.  I got to take communion, which was surprisingly very overwhelming.  I don't know what to say, except it had me thinking about what a huge thing it is that we are planning on being involved in the church together.  

Then we went home, and I decided soup was in order and threw together the same soup I came up with previously (chicken breast, potatoes, carrots, garlic, onions, and celery) and decided to also saute some portobello mushrooms in butter and added them to the soup too.  By using all one pot, the mushroom bits that stayed in after sauteing colored the broth wonderfully and added such an amazing taste.....we will definitely be making this again!  We watched Ghost Whisperer (I am so hoping Jim figures out who he is, yes, I watch a few t.v. shows with a little too much involvement).  Basically we have been trying to enjoy our time together.  I downloaded a bunch of Marc Broussard songs and we danced all over the house to him.  We danced to him while getting ready for church, we danced in the living room, we danced in the kitchen while I cooked.  

Here I am, cooking, so my hair was pulled back, but I kept the cute headband from Anthropologie in!  I looked like a "Grecian goddess", or so my husband thought!

Then today, Sunday, we woke up at 5:30 p.m., and laid in bed snuggling and chitchatting for a couple hours.  Finally we got up and decided to eat some soup.  We also sat down and watched Twilight today (better than I expected, I was pleasantly surprised, or maybe it's my adoration for the character Edward----I think G is jealous).  

So, really we have been quite lazy, I must admit, but in a nice way.  This will be a long week (60 hours) with G gone and me trying to stay awake all night.  I think I will probably read a lot (and maybe review some books on here).  But it will be nice to know that Garret and I are on track to making sure the time we do have is good for us.

Sundays

We go to mass on Saturday nights, so the most exciting thing about Sundays?  Big Love airs.  Seriously, if I am allowed a slightly un-chic t.v. obsessed moment I need to just rave about this show.  I love it.  I even (jokingly) tried to convince G to get me a second wife, so she could help with the house.  

Now, for those of you in the world who do not know what this show is, one word: polygamy.  It centers on one family, the Henricksons:  Bill and his 3 wives Barb, Nikki, and Margene.  I have to say I love them all for their own storylines, but I think Margene is the best---she's just too adorable!  It actually shows a healthy polygamist marriage.  Well, as healthy as any marriage can be, I suppose.

Now, as a Catholic, obviously we won't be adding a second or third wife.  Even if I wanted one around (which I don't, I get quite jealous) G swears that he doesn't want one ever, that I am the only wife he wants (I think he might be implying that I am a handful while trying to disguise it with looks of adoration).  And obviously compounds, where a lot of polygamist groups seem to be have been shown to be backwards, abusive, demeaning to women, and just plain wrong.  I don't think anyone should be forced into a marriage, and I don't think girls at 16 should be getting married (hell, I don't think that "women" of 18-19 should be getting married either, if you cannot celebrate legally with champagne, then perhaps you shouldn't get married-----sneaking liquor at your own wedding seems so tacky... and at that age you really don't know yourself well enough or have enough life experiences).  However, I do feel that if some woman wants to become a second wife in a marriage (and in these cases, they don't legally wed, it's more ceremonial) and have no legal rights in the marriage, then that's her business.  Basically it seems nothing worse than the husband having a mistress that the wife knows about, loves, and she generally lives with them.  I am not going to tell you your lifestyle is wrong, as long as all parties involved are consenting.  

So yes, I am obsessed with the show, and while it airs on Sundays, it doesn't post online until Monday so I am antsy already.  If you haven't seen the show, please, search it out.  Everyone I have recommended it to loves it (my neighbor calls to discuss it with me!) because it is delicious!  And for those of you who may decide to give it a shot, I won't spoil anything, but after last week I am dying to see this week's episode.  Seriously, the season is almost over, and I am trying to not think about that.

Oh, pics and whatnot from this weekend will be posted later.  We have been switching to nights this weekend, so it's 7:25 p.m., we've been up for 2 hours and we need to eat something.  

New Toy

We had a great night last night but came home to a broken computer (it's working now, but that was after we tried a few times, decided to open in safe mode to get everything saved to our external hard drive, and didn't touch it for the rest of the night). So today we went and got a MacBook.....even getting 10% off because they were out of stock and we bought the floor model (and apparantly they aren't supposed to give you a discount, because they had just put this one out, but he offered and once he did he couldn't take it back).  Yay for saving extra money!  

So far I am not in love with the Mac, I won't lie (it's already been tossed on the couch in frustration a couple of times).  Mainly, it was because of here, on the blog.  Mac makes posting pics very very difficult, this is the 5th time I tried to write this blog.  I am used to being able to put them in here, move them around and publish, and maybe I am doing something wrong, but it isn't working out too well.  

If anyone has any advice on blogging with a mac, please e-mail me or leave me a comment.  I tend to get mad at G when the electronics don't work the way I think they should (because he is generally the one who chooses them and I rely on him to make good decisions), so he would be most grateful for any help!

No Longer Living In Sin

Well, according to the Roman Catholic church if you get married outside of the church (even having the very nice protestant church wedding we did) it is not recognized by the Catholic church as a sacramental marriage.  Basically, here's how it works, the Catholic church has sacraments (for example, baptism, communion, confirmation)---all 3 Garret is needing, but he cannot get without our marriage being recognized as one.  And I couldn't take part in communion.  

So last night during RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) we had a very quick discussion, and then the whole class watched the priest have us say our vows again, get our marriage and our wedding rings blessed (which we exchanged again), and then we ate the cake I made. 

Well, G and I didn't eat any cake, because we were headed off to Strada to celebrate.  We didn't end up drinking any champagne (I was very tired, and knew it would only knock me out).  But we did have an amazing dinner.  Garret and I shared ciabatta bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and then we shared a plate of antipasto (meats, fresh buffalo mozzarella, olives, fresh basil).  Then G had calves liver (for the first time) that was pan seared with potato puree, fresh green beans, and crispy pancetta.  It was delicious!  I decided to venture out and get something different too, pasta with porcini mushrooms, ricotta, grana padano in a sage butter sauce.  I forgot to take pics, but boy was everything delicious!  We decided with cake at home to skip dessert and order some espresso and cappuccino.  

Here are some pics of our evening:

Waiting for everyone to fill out some forms we were doing for class, and then off to the chapel where the host is kept.  Garret looked quite handsome (if I do say so myself), and my outfit was the perfect mix of sweet and comfy.  I wore the same pearl necklace (a gift from Garret when we were engaged....it's a beautiful set).  I also put my hair back with the same hairpins (they are jeweled) that I wore in our real wedding.....my stylist (and close friend) made us promise that G would take them out that night because she said it was bad luck for me to do it myself.....so last night G freaked out when I joked that since it wasn't our real wedding that I would just take them out.  

Before the ceremony began.....we were a little goofy.  

Exchanging rings, saying vows.  And how nice of Father Max to wear an outfit that coordinated with my dress!  (We didn't plan any of that!)

This was the first smooch (we might have gone on a bit) and we didn't want to appear vulgar.

The simple little cake I made.  I was told it was very good (F.Max said it was very moist) and even someone who gave up sweets for Lent justified eating a piece saying it was to help us celebrate! I hand rolled the pearls at the bottom to add some cuteness.

At the restaurant before our meal.  I didn't end up with enough time to curl my hair (we were half an hour late, Garret got off work a bit later than expected and we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get ready!)

We were there until right before closing, so we were able to get some shots of the interior after everyone left (it was pretty full when we got there).  The walls in this pic are covered in bamboo blinds and have lights behind the seats shooting up at them.  

This is my favorite drum light in the whole wide world.  Trying to hunt one down.....it's the size of a small dinner table!

This is the mirror and light above the cash register/service area.  The lighting in this place makes everyone look fantastic.....good thing they provide mirrors to admire ourselves!

"Wedding" Day To Do List

Oh Boy! Seriously, I am hopped up on tea! I decided my nice little tea cups would not cut it today and broke out a mug I bought in Seattle a few years ago.....it's kinda cheesy cute, but it's bright and colorful and that's what I need today! Please excuse the no make-up looking half dead look......I didn't get much sleep (I am always a bundle of nerves before any event) and I am in the process of baking!

So on my To Do List for today:

1. Eat something--- I have a tendency to get all busy and nervous and forget to eat, or I worry about eating something and it not sitting right and feel icky all day.
2. Bake Cake--- I have already made a batch of buttercream frosting (with a whole cup of butter in it!), and the butter for the cake is sitting in the bowl waiting to be beaten and mixed. I even ran next door to Julie's and borrowed her cake plate with a dome lid. I have several cake plates (including a vintage one that was given to me by an old teacher when I won her cake at the dessert auction!) but none with lids.

3. Curl hair---G likes it when it's all sexy/romantic and curled, so I have got to do that.

4. Iron clothes

5. Clean Kitchen--- After baking today it will need it.

6. Breathe, and remember, we are already married, this is just a formality, and it's going to be fun!

At the suggestion of a new friend, Garret and I discussed breaking Lent for this special night and going out to dinner. We agreed it sounded nice, and looked around. We decided to go to Strada, because although it's a chain, it's a good chain. The food is delicious (a lot of it is shipped in from Italy daily), the service is wonderful, and the mood is romantic. They decorate in what I consider warm modern (modern lines but warm browns, taupes, reds) and at night they dim the lights and have candles in the windows and on the tables. So thanks, J, for suggesting dinner!

Thank You

Thank you everyone who posted comments about iMacs......you guys were very helpful! I love the look of the iMac, as well as the way they are set-up (I am mildly obsessed with being able to have a calendar and schedule that is kept up to date at all times.) So I think we will be going with a iMac. We are still trying to figure out how to go about getting one. Apple has a military discount, but apparantly they don't ship to APO's. Great. You can buy it and have it sent through some site for APO's, but that seems like a bit of a hassle, as my neighbor did that and didn't get the computer for almost 2 months....the site had screwed up and shipped it incorrectly (but she did get a free printer/scanner!). We can buy it at the store here on base, or go to the huge Apple store in Cambridge, so we will see. But boy am I excited to be able to start lying in bed to type. I love sitting up nice and straight at the table, I really do. But G doesn't like to go to bed without me, so being able to take my work up there and type while he snoozes (he would sleep through world war-esque bomb sirens, I swear) seems like it would be wonderful!

Need Advice

Hello all my readers! I know most of you lurk, most never comment, but it's just been great to have people reading that I haven't been too worried. But now I need some advice, and it means you need to come out of the woodwork!

Garret and I are in desperate need of a new computer. My old computer from college is pretty much dead (although sadly this weekend we will be attempting to bring t back to life long enough to get all my files and whatnot off of it after realizing some iTunes got left, and I want to dance to I Could Write a Book by Dinah Washington.....I knew I had bought it, but it is still on the other computer!). Garret's computer was doing okay (other than the colors being a bit screwy because I somehow hurt the screen) but when I came back from the cruise he told me the computer screen had completely died while I was gone, that he had gotten help, but it wasn't worth fixing it, so he hooked it up to our spare t.v........which means YAY for bigger screen with no defects, but the computer is on it's last leg and continues to shut itself off at random times. So we are looking into getting a new computer. Eventually we want a iMac desktop, but because we will be moving in 5 months, and that sucker would be difficult to move, we are sticking with a laptop for now.

Which is where you, my readers, come in! Garret very much wants a iMac. He likes them very much, and up until recently, so did I. However, the geniuses at Apple have created a problem for me: the double finger scroll. For those of you who do not know what this is, let me explain. With the new double finger scroll you can scroll using the touch pad.....but you have to use 2 fingers. Sounds simple enough right? Except my pointer finger and my middle finger are a good half inch difference in length (it sounds weird, but I have pretty hands, so whatever). I have been practicing on this touch pad, and I am getting the hang of it (because I know how badly G wants this new computer and I don't want to disappoint). But I thought I would ask you all if anyone feels one way or the other about Macs vs. PCs. Please sound off. Let me know if you prefer one or the other. And if you have a Mac (even the desktop) I am begging you, please leave a comment and tell me what you like about it! Thanks!

The Day Before

So, as our marriage will be convalidated tomorrow evening, it had me thinking about the whole journey of getting married. From how Garret and I met (a long story for another day, don't want to tell everything all at once!) to how we eventually got engaged and married. One thing always sticks out in my mind....the proposal.

It started with G and I spending a week at my apartment to ourselves. We went shopping, had dinner, watched movies. To this day I joke he married me for my cooking (mainly my meat loaf.....he ate all of "his" loaf, and then all of "mine" that was left.....quite a bit of a meal!). But in reality ours was a quirky relationship, filled with trials and cuteness. Once at my apartment I had forgotten green beans and was running back out to get some. I was going to leave him there to finish a movie he was watching, but he wanted to come. He said, "I just like being seen with you." Yeah, cuteness.

But G had never heard of the concept of asking for permission from my father to marry me. It's old fashioned, I know, but I have always been very firm in that whoever proposed to me had better have asked my Daddy, and had better have dropped to one knee. A girl has to have some standards in these crazy dating days! So once I had made it clear that he couldn't propose to me without talking to my father it became comical. I knew my parents had told me I should marry him years before, so there was nothing to worry about, but boy was he a bundle of nerves! My dad had no clue, but my mom and I spent a lot of time giggling because Garret was trying to find the right moment for it. When I finally heard him ask my dad to speak with him, I had to run downstairs I was giggling so hard. And so Garret asked permission to marry me. My dad felt his forehead (insinuating maybe he had a fever and was delusional) and asked him if he was feeling ok. G responded by saying that he was feeling great, that he had loved me for a really long time. Of course my Daddy told him it was nice of him to ask, he really didn't have to, and gave his blessing.

Flash forward a couple of days, G is getting ready to move to England, and I knew that while we had discussed him proposing when I came to visit him at Christmas that he was going to do it sooner. After a dinner with both of our parents, he asked for some time with me and drove me out to a field under the open sky. It was dusk, and stars were beginning to come out. We sat in the car and I said, "Thank you for loving me so much." He said, "Thank you for finally seeing me." Yes, it was like something out of the movies, as great love tends to be. Then he asked if we could get out and dance (to no music). We did, but after a bit I turned and looked at the stars, marveling at how small they made me feel. When I turned back around Garret was on one knee and had a ring box in front of him. He gave a speech (of which all the words I cannot remember) but I answered with a definitive YES!

The next day he flew out to England. I was engaged but knew the next year would be difficult. I saw him at Christmas time that year (we had gotten engaged in August), but other than that, phone and the computer were it. I chose May 5th, because G's favorite number is # (and never get him started, he will go on about it!) and 5/5 seemed like something he could remember even when old and grey. He flew in on May 1st. My birthday was the next day. The week seemed a whirlwind. Then it was THE day. We were married, and I barely remember that at all. But I do remember something that had nothing to do with Garret.....my Daddy. Now, anyone who knows me well knows I am a Daddy's Girl. I love my maman, but Daddy has always been number 1. So as we are dancing to "I Loved Her First" my Dad looks at me and asks if I am happy. That was all he cared about that day, was whether I was happy. And of course I was deliriously happy, and my Daddy twirled me and bowed and passed me on to a man who loves me as much.

Do A Happy Dance!

I completely forgot to do a post about the fact that I, Kalee, who never wins a damn thing, won a lamp from a giveaway on This Young House!!! It's a bamboo lamp, it's hella cute and I won! The lamp is from Shades of Light.

When I found out from Sherry of This Young House that I had won I did a crazy hop around the house "I won a lamp dance!" which was mildly ridiculous, but please I very rarely win anything, I am just not that randomly lucky girl. My husband had no clue what was going on and started laughing at me, until he realized I had won something we could possibly use in our new home once we move back the US, and then he was pretty giddy too! (to justify his giddyness, it must be noted that we are both slightly obsessed with home buying and home renovating and decorating currently)

So, currently it will be soon (if not already) on it's way to my maman's house, where she will keep it safe (I hope). She did ask me if it got there and she liked it if she could have it (I think she implied hiding it from me) to which I replied she wouldn't like it (because she wouldn't, it's too modern). At the word modern I sensed her back down. I have very traditional tastes, with more modern thrown in as I get older. I like to call it warm modern. My mother is the woman whose home is quite a bit opposite of how I plan to decorate mine. It's not bad, it's just not me (well, the fake flowers drive me nuts, always have, and I hate paisley, but I digress).

Anyhoo, Shades of Light seems to have furniture and rugs as well. I am definately loving the patterns such as here and here. And I am loving these rugs seen here and here. Oooh, I love patterns to liven up a room (since we tend to stick to neutrals). Oooh! And they have mirrored furniture....I have been really feeling love for the art deco pieces lately!

Bread Soup

So Riana has mentioned bread soup before (although honestly whether on her blog, her food blog, or the flicker group A Slow Year I cannot tell you, maybe more than one).....it's a good way to use up leftover bread. This week I looked at the hard-as-a-rock half loaf sitting on my counter that was a good 3 weeks old (I kept telling myself I would slice it up for croutons or bread crumbs) and thought to myself, "I should e-mail Riana and see if she thinks the bread is too old and ask how she makes her bread soup." Well, I was pleasantly surprised by her quick response (I am used to waiting forever for responses from people because of time differences, but thank God, she's in France, I'm in England, it's simpler).

I know this doesn't look wonderfully appetizing, but it was really good. This was the leftovers getting ready to be put in the fridge because I forgot to take a decent pic.

So I took my leftover loaf of campagne bread and soaked it in milk until it got soft. Her instructions said to add olive oil and vinegar and make a paste. I thought to myself, why would I use vinegar, and omitted it (only to add it later when I realized by looking at her pics she probably used basalmic, which is fine, I just immediately thought of the read wine vinegar I generally use for salads). While that was soaking I decided to tweak the recipe and chopped up a small onion, boiled it and some garlic in chicken broth, and then added that to the bread mixture. Riana said to add whatever herbs you have on hand, so I threw in some basil, rosemary, parsley, and a bit of thyme I think (all dried, it isn't yet warm enough in our kitchen to sustain growth). In the end you blend it all in the blender (or food processor) into a soup, and you can eat it cold or heat it up (we heated it up) and if it's too thick, add liquid (I added half and half and a smidge more chicken broth, as well as sea salt and freshly ground pepper.....a lot of pepper, because that's how we roll).

It was my attempt to not waste bread and make a simple quick meal that was warm. G and I both thought it was delicious (I think he is secretly hoping more bread goes stale) and will make it again. I think it would be wonderful with a small chicken breast on some salad as a small supper.

Best of all, it was cheap as all get out and filling. And it kind of made me reflect on how lucky we have been in our marriage. We will probably never be rich, but we have never really been poor either. We are less than 2 years into our marriage and we have started to save quite a bit each month (although that's gonna take a hit soon when we shell out for a much needed computer......I've officially put it off as long as I can). So we don't really need to use that last bit of bread loaf. We would have found many other things to eat in our home. But it was satisfying to not waste just because we could, to throw something together that I just kind of winged it.

Oh, and an update on the tea.....we are out of all tea bags, and right now I am drinking Twinings loose leaf Finest Oolong that we bought at the original flagship store in London while visitng in September. I was a little worried it wouldn't still be good (I never put it in an airtight conatiner, I just left it in it's little bag.....when I opened it months ago I cut it across the middle and in doing so had a little top to put back on. It isn't perfect but I amazed how much flavor it still has. Today I was whining and Garret offered to pick up more Earl Grey bags (because our loose leaf is mildly stale, enough you can notice) and I told him no, that I was trying to stick to my guns about this one. And while no one else may be, I am proud of myself. Before I would have just dumped the tea and bought more. It's still fine to drink, so drink it I shall.