Beautiful Day Out Today!

Today was gorgeous, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and there was just enough of a breeze to make it wonderful. We decided to walk to Chinese for dinner (delicious) and along the way found wild apple trees (there is an organic farm very close by to these, and they're the same ones they have, just the seeds got sown!), wild pear trees, wild blackberry bushes, and wild plum trees. I cannot wait to show you pics of the food we foraged on the way home.

We even made friends with the miniature ponies that the farm has. We threw them some of the apples, and the white one in particular is a little pig! I swear he tried to knock the other 2 down to get to them and followed us as far as he could actually salivating. Too cute! Once I get access to an internet connection quick enough to upload pics, there will be plenty!

Just now G went to Google Earth and figured out how far we walked to dinner and back. Each way was 3.4 miles!!! And we walked a couple of miles around base today. No wonder my feet are aching, we walked close to 10 miles today! I feel great though, and I even figured out a way to walk so my feet weren't killing me. Today was one of those days where everything just seemed to work out beautifully. Even the things that frustrated us seemed to lead to good things.

And I think we may head out to a pub to catch a drink tonight or tomorrow. Drink to England and the beauty that has opened our eyes here!

My Husband Rocks Friday!

G has been through so much craziness lately. But in the end it was all worth it. Wednesday night we met with his co-workers to bowl and say goodbye. And he ended up getting a wonderful memento from here. When someone goes away from his squadron here they get a cricket bat. When you're a supervisor you get a full regulation size one (no idea how we're getting it home!).

The cricket bat always has a joke put on it. Garret's says "Always Just a Phone Call Away.....Love you, Kiss Kiss!" G gets teased at work because every time we get off the phone he says "Love you" and makes two kissy noises. It's our thing. So they decided to have it burned into his cricket bat (along with a thank you and a plane, and his squadron symbol). Then everyone signs it, and we have a good time.

G rocks because he survived this base. The crazy schedule. The sometimes crappy way the run it (oh, who am I kidding? it's completely run crappy, they're evaluation is they have extremely low morale). He got to sit down with the commander and she really listened to what he had to say, and admitted that some of them are big problems she knows need to be fixed. And through this all his main priority was me and our little family (aka Sophie). He made sure to call from work and check in, and always left from home as late as he could to spend just a few more minutes with me. It was a nice reminder that he puts me first on his list.

Do you have a husband who rocks? (or a boyfriend/girlfriend/wife?) Let me know about it! If you have a blog and want to do a post, I'll link to it.

In Transit

I am sitting her at the community center on base, using their free wireless. G is drinking his cafe latte that I added some cocoa powder to. Yum! We're in the base hotel until Sunday when we head to London. And then we have a whole day of flying on Monday. It's a crazy thought for the both of us that we'll be back in the US in just a few days.

The move was crazy! The movers were at our house from 9 am until 6 pm! And in the end it started raining, they didn't have enough crates (apparently a problem they've been having lately with their surveyor not estimating enough), and they forgot my cookie sheets. So today or tomorrow we'll be shipping cookie sheets, laundry detergent (I had a few bottles, what can I say, I buy in bulk!), and some other cleaning things they forgot and/or couldn't ship. We sold our car, so hopefully Blueberry (yes, we named our car) will love her new owner. Passed our air conditioner on to our neighbor, and sold what we could. We also donated a whole ton of things, so hopefully things will come in handy.

I wanted to address a few of the comments. First, yes I am so grateful for what I went through before Garret. He was amazing through it all, and that is why I finally saw him for the amazing man he is! Sometimes I regret giving my heart away to unworthy men, but my maman raised me to believe that everything happens for a reason. And while I think it's crap that I went through all the bad to get to the good, I don't know where I would be without the bad. Once I gave my heart to G I finally admitted I was in a major that I didn't love, trying to attain a degree just to please other people. He was the person who told me that it was okay to take a break (he had selfish reasons, he wanted to marry me!) but also because he saw the struggles of trying to be someone for everyone but who I was.

Next, pics of the outfit will be coming, I promise! Right now it's all packed up in my luggage. But G has the task of planning a date for us while we're at home, and I am getting all dressed up for it. Hopefully I'll be revealing a whole new me at the same time, as I continue to eat healthy, and I plan on chopping into my hair once we get home. I really wanted to post a pic before of the outfit, but with G busy outprocessing, and the movers, I just didn't get it done. So it will be a surprise!

This was our first big military move, and it was a doozy. Hopefully we'll get better at it over the years. But for now, it was fun to see G step up to the plate and pack galore while I napped. He ended up staying up for 38 hours straight! I have a funny story to post about that in just a bit!

Another Great One

I am obsessed with SuperNanny. Jo Jo is my hero. G and I watch her transform the lives of these families, mentally taking notes. And one thing has been consistent----makes the rules and expectations for your children clear.

(Image from Perfect Sentiment)

So when I popped over to a blog I read, Perfect Sentiment, I was thrilled to see she had made their house rules, printed them and framed them. What a clear way to see them! I found her site through another and I have to say I love her free downloads (particularly the quotes). She also has an etsy shop where she sells some downloads, as well as cards and invitations, so check her out!

Romance

I was reading another blog and came across this famous pic.

I said aloud, someday I want to be kissed like that.

Five minutes later I was standing up to go get more coffee when Garret grabbed me, bent me backwards and kissed me like that.

Brought to you by the letter "S".

Swoon.

50 Things I Unabashedly Love

Starting off with 1-10:

1. My husband. He's asleep right now, I'm looking at pics from yesterday. And all I can think is how did I get so lucky? He went from being my geeky best friend to my hot, confident husband. And it amazes me every. single. day. (love the pic? we were in a charity shop and I wanted to see if he resembled Charlie Chaplin. Hat was too small, but he was a good sport.)

2. God. Yep, I do. Lately He has been amazing to me, reminding me that everything will be okay. For the first time in a long time I can think of death and not have a panic attack. Baby steps.

3. Coffee. It's bad for me, with the amounts I drink. The doctor says it will make it harder to have kids someday if I don't cut back or give it up. But I drink it black these days with a tsp of sugar, and there is nothing greater than drinking copious amounts of coffee while relaxing around the house.

Image from Martha.

4. Food. I've accepted that I will probably never be uber tiny because quite frankly life is too damn short to tell yourself no to everything all the time. I don't do over processed crap, but I am going to enjoy my pizza and ice cream occasionally.

Image from Martha.

5. Velvet tufted sofas (or headboards, or whatever really). Love them. And I've convinced G that they're fantastic, so when it's time to recover my grandmama's couch he's on board with the velvety goodness.

6. Wallpaper. I am truly my grandmama's child. Except I think she loves it a little too much. I want a really beautiful wall paper as an accent wall.

Ribbed Wall Paper, by Ferm Living. All wallpapers found at Heritage.

Birds by Kreme.

7. Cuban Afro Salsa Music. Soundtrack to Havana Nights? Well, it's been missing for a year or so, but I'll download it again if I have to. This stuff makes me turn the music up and car dance. I love getting lost in the beats.

Image from Amazon.

8. Cheesy love stories. Be it books or films, I cannot help loving love.

Image from Made By Girl.

9. Being a wife. I suck at it majorly most days, but I keep trekking on. It's the best job ever, and I constantly aim to improve.

10. Luxe fabrics. Velvet, silk, linen, organic cotton. These things just feel so nice against your skin.

Today Was A Day To Twirl (and in fact I did)

Garret and I went to Bury today and ended up doing a bit of shopping (and getting a double scoop of the locally made butterscotch ice cream that is to. die. for.). I did a bit of twirling with G as it was a beautiful day and we were trying to soak it all in.

Best ice cream. I was nice and shared....a little.

Beautiful building in Bury, would love a townhouse that looked like this!

There were quite a few half off stores, and I was pleased as punch. G ended up convincing me to get the quilted shoulder bag/clutch (the chain detaches) that I have been eyeing since January. And we had 60 GBP to burn in Javelin, so fate drew me upstairs to the nicer section. I saw a dress on a mannequin, but couldn't see it anywhere else. It just happened to be exactly 60 GBP, so I turned to the sales assistant and asked if there were any more. Oh yes, just one. And it happened to be in one of the sizes I always try on! (notice I didn't say "my size" because here in this country I am constantly doing the numbers in my head. I'm a 12/14 American, so I am a 14/16 British, and you never know what will fit) Now the dress is kind of girly, but I had grabbed a large leather belt that zips up the front to try on as well and in the dressing room got the brilliant idea to put it on the dress. It took a pretty dress to wow! The sales associate loved the pairing (maybe I should work in fashion ;)?), and when I whipped out my new purse with the gold details that tied into the gold zipper on the belt? Well it was like fashion heaven, and we began chatting, because the woman's mother has been eyeing that bag.

Another lambskin jacket that looked amazing on G! I asked the sales associate we always deal with to write down the information for me.....maybe a Christmas/birthday gift?

This is the chair outside of the women's dressing room at Javelin. I am in love with it.

The actual dressing room. Makes me want to lounge.

So we got the dress (and the belt that made it), and headed home. When Garret opened my door to let me in the car this older woman who was working in her flowers across the street yelled over to G "It's so nice to see a young man do that nowadays. Well done!" Garret got into the car with a big grin on his face. The fact is, G opens my door for me to get out and in usually, just part of his charm.

When we got home I was trying on the items, and I grabbed the purple purse. I asked if it went with it, since I was wearing a brown camisole and a yellow cardigan. His response was "well purple and yellow are on opposite sides of the color wheel, so it looks fantastic." God I love this man! He's partially colorblind (has trouble seeing varying shades, for example magenta and red don't look much different to him) and I've used the color wheel as examples before, and he listens!

Now it's Sunday here and I think I'm going to grab a slice of pizza for breakfast!

Got Busy and Forgot!

I have decided to keep my sanity and remind myself why I married the man I did I would begin participating in My Husband Rocks Fridays. Yes, I know it's Saturday here, but on the West Coast it's still Friday, so I'm gonna slide on in!

My husband rocks because he's my best friend. He drives me crazy, he hurts me, he makes me question my sanity in marrying him. Then he'll do something goofy and I fall in love with him all over again. Because he listens when I go on and on about fashion. Because he likes to carry me around the house. So many reasons, I better wrap this up or I'll lose ya!

Because he pouts when the goats in the field next to where we sat to eat our breakfast went away.

(G eating goat's milk yogurt as part of our breakfast.....yummy!)

(He looked over in the field and saw they were gone, pouted, and let me take a pic!)

Sickened

I should start off by saying you will never see me at a PETA event. I eat meat, wear leather, and I am okay with that. I do not criticize vegetarians or animal rights activists, but I am not a fan of PETA. And G, well, he tends to get quite worked up about them. Something about him not liking their funding environmental terrorists.

That being said, I am adamantly against some of their messages, and I occasionally watch videos they put out. So today I clicked on the video about animal treatment of the Ringling Brothers Circus. And I about threw up. This is not horrible abuse (if horrible is defined by leaving marks, which I am sure they avoid for the cash flow, but it is abuse. And what on earth would make a relative sane human being say "F*** you, fat ass" to an elephant? What are they doing hiring people like this?

I should mention that my favorite animals are elephants. I absolutely think they are the bee's knees. My dream is to take a vacation to an elephant sanctuary someday. And they are one of the reasons I don't go to zoos. Garret and I love animals. I think there is a food chain, so I am not bothered by animals eating animals (and wake up people, we kinda fall into that category). But I do think that animals, even those destined for my plate, should be treated well and housed adequately. I don't feel zoos house animals adequately. So I don't go. When we have children and they want to see animals we'll look into places where you drive through but the animals run free. I haven't quite figured out what we'll do when our children's classes are headed to the zoo, but we'll figure it out eventually.

I hadn't really thought about circuses until just now, because really, we just didn't go that often as kids. I don't think Garret's ever been. And while I am not sure I really like them, you won't find me holding up signs protesting them either. But I do think more stringent laws need to be set for performing animals. And the smacking the animals? There needs to be heavy fines and you should fire those trainers. Because if you maintain that you treat your animals properly, I am wondering if you know the definition. This treatment is anything but proper.

I am an odd military wife. I realize that. I do not support the "war" in Iraq. I do, however, support the military members who get sent to those places. I mourn for their families when I hear of them coming home in a box. A few months ago a man stationed here died in action. When Garret told me, my heart seemed to stop. I didn't know this man. But my heart stopped for just a bit as I mourned, as I took a moment to say a prayer for his family.

I worry about military member's who come home dead. The protestors sicken me. I do not support the "war" but I would never ever think of not supporting the men and women involved. So when I saw the youtube video today I lost it. I cried, and then told Garret about it and we both cried as we watched the end. Staff Sergeant John C. Beale died in Afghanistan the beginning of June from wounds suffered from an explosive device and small arms fire. A notice was placed in the paper of the route and approx. time of his procession. The online community called for people to come out and honor him. I don't think they ever expected the result.

I am proud that these men, women, and children came out to bid a honorable farewell to a man who gave his life for this country's freedom. I was shocked to see people lined up through different towns and counties. This is something I feel people need to see. Whatever your views of the military and Iraq, this man deserved to be honored, and I thank God that he was properly. I pray that his family is comforted by this outpouring of support from the people in Georgia.

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

So we went on a date to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It was over the top fantastic! I don't want to give any spoilers away, but I will say that I laughed a lot. I will also add that I don't feel this is a movie to take kids to, but that's my personal opinion. It's not that it's too dark and scary, although it has a moment I knew was coming, and I still jumped! It's that the humor is really too old for kids. Not inappropriate, they just won't get a lot of it.

After the movie we went to Cafe Rouge and had some wine and yummy goodness. Garret ended up eating about half of my meal, since it was too much. I had their chicken liver pate with an onion chutney and french bread to start (and it was my first time having pate, but I learned that 1 serving is a wee bit too much for me). Then I had the toulouse sausages with new potato salad for my main. Yumminess, but very filling. Garret started with Paris mushrooms with raclette cheese, and had pasta with pesto, green beans, pine nuts and tomatoes for his main.

I fell asleep on the way home, so that was basically my day. Oh, except we stopped at H&M on the way to the car and I bought a flower for my hair.

Ashes To Ashes

I first read Angela's Ashes after writing a paper comparing the film to another Irish film as the final for my Ethnographic Film Study class my freshmen year of college. The film was good, but the book was something else entirely. Beautifully poignant. Harshly honest about the reality of it all. I quickly dove into 'Tis. That book had me bothering my roommates my Sophomore year as I kept the light over my bed on reading late into the night. I wish I had the words to better express those books.

Frank McCourt passed away yesterday, exactly one month before his 79th birthday. He has touched the lives of his family, friends, students and readers and his voice will be missed.

May the road rise up to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

And the rains fall soft upon your fields,

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

It's Official

(image from hallmark.com)

I am now officially one of those people who cries at Hallmark films. Oh my am I slightly embarrassed to admit that. There was a film I have been meaning to watch for years now called The Magic of Ordinary Days. Thanks to a wonderful person who posted the whole thing on YouTube I was able to watch it in full, since I have not been able to find it elsewhere (every time we are at the store I check the Hallmark movie section). It stars Keri Russell and Skeet Ulrich and is AMAZING.

It's tag line is "One mistake changed the course of her life. One man changed the direction of her heart."

It's set in the 1940's during WWII and Keri Russell plays Livy, an educated woman who gets pregnant and is sent off to marry a farmer, Ray. He treats her phenomenally, and of course it ends happily.

This movie really spoke to me. My past is not as clean as I would have liked it to have been. And so when she asks Ray how he knows it's going to work (after telling him she isn't sure she deserves him), and his response is because he knows one day she will forgive herself.....well, I knew the feeling.

I know what it's like to feel ashamed of decisions I've made. And to feel unworthy of the love a good man is offering. I haven't been in the same situation, and if I had gotten pregnant out of wedlock I am pretty sure my parents would not have sent me off to marry a farmer. I am very blessed to know though that had I been in such situation, I am pretty sure Garret would have married me anyways. He has loved me for so long, and much stronger than I can fathom. I have felt unworthy of him before. It's hard to be loved so completely when you don't love yourself even close to that amount.

Garret is not the first love of my life, but he is the greatest. My biggest regret is that we weren't ready for one another when we were younger. He had to grow into the man he is today, and I had to be hurt to appreciate a man who would do anything to avoid hurting me. He fumbles, I fall from grace, but in the end we have one another. We are so far from perfect that it isn't even funny. We stumble and crawl our way back to one another more than we walk beside each other. But the great thing is that we try. We get up, humble ourselves, apologize and aim higher.

I know I've been talking more deeply this post and the last. But it's been put on my heart that I need to really look around and appreciate the good things in my life, and the greatest gift I have ever been given is a best friend and husband who loves me even when I feel unlovable. This movie was great. But what I have is greater. No script writer wrote it, but it was designed by God. And for that I am thankful daily.

I love this song by Marc Broussard, and it is one that G and I sing often. One of the lyrics is "Sometimes when I look back, I don't even know myself. It blows my mind to think that I've found grace in someone else. Baby your grace is something else." He's a fantastic artist, but I love this song more than some of his more popular ones.

When It Rains It Pours

It has been raining up a storm here in England. It's been such a beautiful summer, perhaps this is God's way of showing me it's time to move on. I've been having a hard time imagining no longer living here in England, but this is just the nudge I've needed to remind me I am ready to go home, even if to hot and humid Missouri.

We're slowly checking things off of our list. Garret is going to finance, housing and TMO (which is the office that deals with moving our things) tomorrow to set up the move. We're aiming at a week from this Tuesday having the movers come and get our things out. That way we can clean that night and Wednesday morning and have housing come to inspect either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday. We'll spend the rest of our time in the base hotel, until we head to London on Sunday. I'm really hoping we can squeeze in a trip this weekend, if the weather cooperates!

Garret also took the car to have the yearly inspection today. It didn't pass. For a 13 year old car this isn't all that surprising, but since we put 4 brand new tires on it last year, and it was one of the tires this year that's the main problem, it's a little discouraging. The people there are calling around early tomorrow to find the cheapest parts they can get (this car place has been wonderful in working with us) since it's one tire and a hose that needs replacing. So while I am stressed that more money is being poured into a car that we're selling in less than 2 weeks, I am thankful for it being less of a problem than last year! I'm also grateful that we have been smart and saved for these rainy days, even if I hate that there has been so much lately we had to save for!

I've been thinking a lot lately about how lucky I am to be married to a man who strives to do his best, and how I need to back off from expecting perfection. He does need some gentle reminding about things (because with everything going on, he inevitably forgets something) but he's taken care of setting up a new bank account (since our bank here is only for here and we have to close it), scheduling the antiques assessment and getting that entered in on time, booking Sophie's flight, and dealing with moving things that I cannot help with. All while getting very little sleep some days because he insists on "us time." Today for instance he got off work at 10 am, came home to a sleeping wife, curled up with her on the couch, and still got up at noon to take the car to the inspection. I am slowly learning how blessed I am by a husband who thinks I am the most important part of the day.

As I look around me at a house with boxes stacked up and a list of household things that need to be done as long as my arm I am choosing to be thankful. We have nice things, a fairly comfortable life, but most of all we have each other. And if being on our own away from family and friends for 2 years has taught me anything, it's that we can survive anything with the other by our side.

Caffeinated

Well, it's official. Doctor's would probably lecture me on my caffeine intake. We're going through several 12 cup pots a day. What can I say, we're busy and it's been almost a comfort thing.

We dropped Sophie off very early this morning. In about an a hour and a half she'll be leaving Houston (where she's been the last 8 hours), to head to KC where my maman will pick her up. I'm supposed to get a call when she has her.

We didn't end up having to pick up the water bowls that were not provided with the crazy expensive kennel. The pet shippers messengered 2 heavy duty ones over to Heathrow for us for free. In the end I would say I do not like working with pet shippers, but there was no other way, so we did what we had to. I was just glad it ended up costing less than the 2 grand I was estimating. Absolute craziness (there was 200 Brit pounds that went to the people simply for booking everything, we dropped her off, carried the kennel into the warehouse at the airport. They got paid to literally book the flight). In the worst moments of stress I tried to reason with myself that we should find her a good home with kids here, but I don't trust others to treat her the way she's used to, so we kept her. I cannot wait to see her and Audrey in 2 weeks!

And lastly, here's the outfit I was going to wear yesterday, but ended up realizing it was too humid and ran it to change. I'm hoping for a date night before we leave here so I can wear it.

Sophie's Grand Adventure

Well, it's been madness the past couple of days! We had to take back the kennel we bought Sophie and buy the largest size they make (which is labeled for a Saint Bernard, but no worries, she thinks it's like her own little apt. I'm thinking of stealing a painting of dogs playing poker from my grandmama's home to put in there!). Hassle, that's all I will say. I am going to be honest here and say I absolutely hate AAFES, the military shopping place that runs so much.

Secondly we found out this morning that we will be driving to the airport at 1:30 this morning because the latest she can be there is 4 a.m. for an 8 a.m. flight. She's gonna just love that. We're hoping to wear her out so much that once the plane gets going, the lull of it will put her to sleep (because let's face it, she likes to sleep as much as I do) and she won't stress out on the flight too much. My parents will be picking her up in KC at 9 tomorrow night!

I'm a little stressed about how much stress this is causing my parents. After my grandmama got out of the hospital she went to a rehabilitation facility to learn how to move more easily with her walker and cane. While there they continued to monitor her heart, and after seeing that there were plenty of times when it seemed to slow down too much, they decided she needed a pacemaker. She's in surgery as I type this, and since she's 81, I am a tiny bit worried (oh, let's admit it, I am scared as hell). I'm praying she'll get through this just fine and it will give her a new lease on life. I'm also praying my dog doesn't try to lick her to death or knock her down the stairs since Sophie has the happiest tail I have ever seen and it's thick and powerful (I've gotten bruises from being smacked by it before).

So I am still freaking out a little about Sophie leaving. I am going to miss her terribly. The way that Garret can try to call her inside, but as soon as I call out to her, no matter where I am in the house she comes bolting inside to find me. But it will allow Garret and I a little more freedom. We're going to try and get down to London next week to get G's watch repaired (it's too big for him. He had it shortened before, but it still is huge, and the place he had it done will re-do it for free with the receipt). While there we're going to hit up a couple of museums, and have a good time just relaxing and not having to rush home. We're also hoping to make a long day trip to Stonehenge at some point.

It's kinda sad, but we haven't really traveled much at all over here. I haven't been to Scotland or Ireland. I'm hoping that maybe we can get up early one morning and drive the 8 hours to Scotland, see a few things and drive back. If we switched off driving and drank lots of tea or coffee we could do it. Or we might find a cheap hotel and stay overnight.

But back to Sophie. She's my little 3 year old as I call her, and I am hoping she has a fun time getting to know her sister. But I will be most excited to see her in 2 1/2 weeks!

I've Become One Of Those Mothers

In 3 days I put my dear sweet Sophie on a plane to go to my parents' house. I'm utterly terrified. I'm like a mom with her kid going off to camp. Only in my case there are real dangers.

First, Sophie could pick up bad habits at their house. We've discussed not feeding her people food (except for the occasional bite of fruit) but my parents tend to fail on this regard.

Secondly she could get fat, and she's at the perfect weight. The vet doesn't want to see her any heavier (because of her build, she's heavier, although not overweight, so we have to watch her weight to not put a strain on her). My poor dachshund I left behind? Oh Audrey has no idea what's coming in a few weeks. She's going to be on the doggy exercise regiment from hell! Apparently she likes to sneak downstairs and eat the cat food. Never mind that when I left the cat food was up on a ledge because of this exact reason, so I have no idea on earth how my little 7 inch high pooch is reaching said food. And they claim she overeats. She was always free fed when I had her and at a healthy 9 lbs. God only knows what I am coming home to after 2 years.

Thirdly, I am worried she will quit eating. She did it when I was on the cruise, only needing her food bowl filled 3 times while I was gone 12 days. She is a very attached to mama kind of puppy, so I'm just hoping she'll be so distracted by being in a house with 3 other dogs (and 2 cats, an animal she's never had contact with) that she'll forget to notice my absence. Unlikely, but I'm holding out the hope.

And lastly, my dog Audrey, the dog who is my little doggie soulmate in that she's pretty much like me in dog form? Well, she's a bitch. A tiny, was the runt of the litter miniature dachshund bitch. It's little dog syndrome, but she reminds me of the poodle from Oliver and Co. who states that everything from the doorknobs down is hers. And she's so pretty she gets away with it. She just looks up at you with her cute little face with black rimmed eyes (it seriously looks like she wears eyeliner) and you tend to forgive her heinous behaviour. So, poor sweet Sophie who is not dominant at all is about to get her 60 lb. butt handed to her by something the size of her chew toy. Not to mention Wrigley, my baby brother's dachshund who is afraid of his own shadow, and therefore tends to snip when he's terrified (which is 90% of the time) will probably bite her and she'll get all squinty eyed (like she does when you even say her name in a tone she knows is bad) and cry.

I know I sound crazy, but anyone who has seen us with our dog understands. Sophie may be walking into hell. Or, maybe since I won't be there Audrey won't see it as a betrayal and they will get along as the best of friends and it will be Sophie's idea of heaven. Here's hoping for the best!

My Own Words

Another blogger was discussing a co-worker (male) and how he sees life's happinesses as just periods between strife and sorrow. And she talked about how different she thinks, and how she feels women are stronger than men.

I had to agree. And suddenly these words formed.

We are the survivors. The ones who pick up the pieces when life falls apart. We go forth, making the shattered pieces form something beautiful in our lives.

I think most people have been through horrible things in their lives. Few people in these modern times get through even the first few decades without scars. But I have seen the difference between how men cope and how women cope. Women survive because that is what we do. It's quite possibly a part of our make-up. Men are the hunters. We gather our lives up, moving to survive, loving because to hate simply harms our own lives.

We are stronger than even we give ourselves credit for. It's what will make this move go smoothly. What will help us get through the madness of this nomadic life.

How To...

Make a wonderfully lip smacking lunch.

Today G and I were in the process of switching back to nights, so we just ate our first meal of our day at about 4 this afternoon. Taking note from a starter I had yesterday at Cafe Rouge I pulled out the other part of the puff pastry we bought for the nectarine puffs the other night. I let it defrost (takes about 30-40 min.).

Then I rolled it out, sliced some red onion and set that aside. I placed the rolled puff pastry on a lightly buttered baking sheet ( I used my jelly roll sheet). I took 3 logs of goat's cheese (G is a cheese fanatic, so a lot of cheese is a must!) and crumbled them over the puff pastry. Then we literally just tossed the red onion slices on and sprinkled some bacon over it.

It cooked for approx 15 minutes, just until the edges were golden brown. Took it out and placed the sheet on a cooling rack.

Sliced and plated with wild rocket. And consumed while sitting and enjoying a good afternoon.

It was so good that I knew I needed to get on here and share the recipe! I think it will definitely go into our "cook for guests" rotation. So simple, and yet quite impressive in taste and presentation.

Healthy Option

So, I can admit it. I've gained approx. 5 lbs dealing with the stess of this move. So I've dictated no more junk food all the time. Hence why we've been eating a ton of things like chicken tacos with homemade black bean and salsa. In fact, I loved the black beans and corn so much that I came up with this quick simple meal.

I baked 4 Tilapia filets seasoned with cumin and cayenne pepper at 350F for approx. 30 minutes. While those were cooking I chopped up some red onions and sauteed them in a small amount of olive oil over medium heat. I took 2 cans of black beans and about a pound of corn (we used frozen corn kernels) and put them in a pot to heat up. When everything was done, the plating was easy.....simply put the beans and corn on the plate, lay the tilapia filets on top and sprinkle the cooked red onion over it.

Voila! Fantastically tasty little meal.

And bonus points, because we had quite a lot of beans and corn left over so whenever we got munchy we would eat a small portion of it.

Something Important

The other day G's sister Terri sent us a link to a site where we found a link to another site that I just have to share. Volunteer Match. You can type in your city, what category of volunteering you are interested in and voila! they show you places you might be helpful.

I used to volunteer with the Special Olympics in my small college town. It started because my Special Education for Elementary Education degree required volunteering. But in the end I became attached to the 4 guys I worked with and for long past the requirement, until I left the town, I went almost every week (consistency is important there).

Dan, Ricky (who I affectionately called Ricky Ticky, misspelled but after the children's story), Chester, and Kenny became another part of my family of sorts. Dan's mother helped run it all. He was a fantastic bowler, as well as being involved in other S.O. activities. He played a mean game of pool, and would save a spot for me, telling others who were in "my" spot to move. Ricky was quiet. Halfway through he got a girlfriend, so it wasn't hard to make him blush. Sweet soul. Chester smoked far more than he should have and drank copious amounts of coffee. I used to tease him that his smoking and caffeine habits made his hands shaky and that that is why he would get the occasional bad bowl. And Kenny was about 6'7" so of course I called him shorty. He was incredibly quiet and social all in one package. After running in to him at the bar once he decided I must go out drinking all the time and harassed me endlessly about it.

These were my guys. I wasn't particularly friendly about sharing. Dan, his mother, and I would occasionally catch dinner together. And I finally gave in during the summer and bowled with them. It was horrible, since I wasn't that great of a bowler anyways, and they were fantastic. Just another thing to rib me about!

I loved my experience and have talked about it enough that G wants to get involved with Special Olympics with me when we go back. Some days I didn't want to go, I wanted a nap in the late afternoon. But going there and realizing these people loved me, quirks, sarcasm and goofiness. I loved cheering them on. I loved getting them to smile when they didn't do so well (because boy could they get moody). I loved having them defend me when another guy would try to claim me for his girlfriend (this generally resolved in Dan telling them to step off, I was his). I loved introducing others to it, and watching them realize quickly that these people were special all right (they could whip you in so many sports), but overall they were just normal people.

This world needs more volunteers. Whether with an organization, or simply helping a neighbor with their yard. It helps someone else, but selfish as it sounds, it also helps you too. You get to grow, and to be grateful for the life you've been given. And that my friends is something you cannot put a price on.

Allowance?

So I have a question for the married women who read my blog, particularly the stay at home ones, but any wife really. Do you have an "allowance?"

See, G and I occasionally talk about me having one, with a separate account for it. Because since I don't "work" in the traditional sense, I sometimes have a hard time spending money on myself. Those cute shoes I blogged about recently? I pined over them for days and finally it was G who told me he liked them and to get them. He even okayed spending more on some other things, but in the end I just got the shoes.

I think I have a hard time thinking of it as "our" money, since he's the one who earns it. It's unusual for me. I love the show Mad Men, and sometimes I am envious of a time period where this was considered normal, the woman staying in the home, but surely they had an allowance? Maybe part of my freaking out is that I like nice things, I just hate their prices, since I tend to squirrel away money (or at least attempt to).

Today G and I discussed me having an allowance of sorts where I can buy 1 dress or skirt every pay period. Yes, eventually I would have to stop buying dresses (or get a much bigger closet), but it would work for awhile. I love the dresses at Anthropolgie and ModCloth, and it would perhaps allow me to buy some without panicking. (and I could squirrel away my "allowance" and really go to town when the sales hit)

Why dresses and skirts? Because I'm a girly girl, and G loves me in them of course. And really, you can never have too many in my opinion, particularly black, navy and grey dresses. They make a great clean palette. So perhaps I need to begin backlogging my allowance now? Because these beauties call to me like sirens to a sailor.

(Jacqueline Dress, Anthropologie)

(Nights at the Lyceum dress, Anthropologie)

(Behind the Clouds dress, Anthropologie----also available in a turquoise I want as well).

Aren't they just ladylike and divine?

Dream Home

In a perfect world it would be simple to find your dream home, and affordable. But this is reality, and so we're looking for a will work for now, just give me something to paint home.

In our dream home you would have:

A huge front porch with room to sit and drink tea.

A beautiful foyer that opened up to a sweeping staircase.

A kitchen so big that I could have caterers in there no problem for a child's wedding someday.

A walk in pantry that kept cool year round.

A wine cellar.

A sitting room, parlor, office with french doors, and a family room somewhere a bit more comfy.

A library that is 1 1/2 stories tall.

A ballroom next to the library.

A dining room that would hold a table for 20 for the dinner parties I want to throw.

Wooden floors polished till they shine.

5+ bedrooms, with the master bedroom having a huge walk-in closet (think the size of a small bedroom), huge claw foot tub for 2, and a fireplace.

Vaulted ceilings.

And a huge yard that would be sectioned off into different areas such as a cutting garden, a walking garden, a vegetable garden, and perhaps a tennis court. Oh, and a place to play badminton and croquet.

We're old fashioned, no doubt about it. I basically want Gatsby. A huge home where I can always make friends and family feel welcome. Where we can throw a masked ball, or host a family member's wedding. We have big goals, we realize that. But every so often we talk about this list, and why we want to save money to someday come close.

For now we're looking at a tiny little cape cod house and a couple town/row homes in Baltimore. They aren't perfect, but they suit us for now. And something we can be paying on and painting is good enough.

For now.

Oh, and don't forget the old 1930's Ford. Our hometown parades always have a couple and I simply swoon! (photo found through yahoo)