For today's VBSQOTD:
Teacher: Shout out something that you are afraid of.
Kid 1: Snakes!
Kid 2: Dangerous monsters!
Kid 3: Diabetes!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
German Crepes and Double Knots
It’s been almost a week since I last posted and I have so much to tell you, my loves. Let’s start with bullet points then break it down to the longest, most pictureless post ever.
x Dusseldorf is my new location lover.
x I have pictures but you can’t see any of them (and neither can I.)
x La Bella Figura
x VBS
Moving onwardly: Dusseldorkin
I want to be a Dusseldorfer. I want to wake up in my house in the old town and hop on my bike down to the market on the Rhine river and eat a crepe for breakfast from the stand that looks like a red truck. (Oh, yes. They have crepes in Dusseldorf, delicious crepes.) Then I want to go to work doing whatever it is that I do while speaking fluent German, of course. For lunch, I’ll meet my husband at a local favorite. Eat schnitzel with fries and a big tall beer. (Beer in Dusseldorf at a restaurant is cheaper than water by almost half!) Back to work, then end the day with a stroll through town. Maybe a beer at the worlds longest bar. Talk to some fellow Dusseldorfers (who are SO NICE and NICE and I LOVE THEM.)
The other thing about Dusseldorf that sold me completely? They have a Dunkin’ Donuts in the train station. DD is my not so secret lover. They have great coffee and delicious doughnuts. If the only condition to getting a D ‘n D on post was that I had to scrub the potties every day with my very own toothbrush, I would seriously consider it. Since American luxuries such as these don’t come around for me, ever, (unless I go to Dusseldorf) I ate a big ol’DD doughnut. I do not regret it to this day. In fact, I wish I’d eaten two. Then I would have told my BetterU about the doughnuts and still not have felt bad.
I took pictures in Dusseldorf. OH, I took loads of them. I took one of the cutest road sign I’ve ever seen (a mamma sign person holding a kid sign person’s hand. It was a hand holding zone. Hubs and I followed the law.) I took some of the river side market and a big Camden County school bus they had there. I took some of the Rhine and some pretty hot air balloons that were being blown up on the other side of the river. I took some of our beers. I took some of the heavy weight fight we went to. I even took a picture of a shop that’s named after my best friend, Laurel, to send to her. I would like to share these with you very much. But my computer had decided that it doesn’t like anything plugged into its USB outlets. So. I was going to upload the pictures at work to share, but the Army now HATES external drives of any kind because terrorists live there. I think.
The book I took to read on the airplane is La Bella Figura by Beppe Severgnini. So far I’m really into it. It’s a commentary on the Italian lifestyle, written by an ACTUAL Italian. None of this, “I’m an American that went to Italy for a little and am now an expert and will write a book,” nonsense. Hope to post a review soon.
VBS has started this week. (If you don’t know what VBS is read about it on Joshilyn Jackson’s blog.) I’m a volunteer and lead a group of 10 kids around to all the different activities. Yesterday we were learning about Moses and the burning bush. We were sitting around a “burning” bush when a voice said, “Take off your shoes. This is holy ground.”
The voice waited a moment. Then it began speaking again. A kid yelled out, “Hold it, Moses! I got laces in DOUBLE KNOTS!”
x Dusseldorf is my new location lover.
x I have pictures but you can’t see any of them (and neither can I.)
x La Bella Figura
x VBS
Moving onwardly: Dusseldorkin
I want to be a Dusseldorfer. I want to wake up in my house in the old town and hop on my bike down to the market on the Rhine river and eat a crepe for breakfast from the stand that looks like a red truck. (Oh, yes. They have crepes in Dusseldorf, delicious crepes.) Then I want to go to work doing whatever it is that I do while speaking fluent German, of course. For lunch, I’ll meet my husband at a local favorite. Eat schnitzel with fries and a big tall beer. (Beer in Dusseldorf at a restaurant is cheaper than water by almost half!) Back to work, then end the day with a stroll through town. Maybe a beer at the worlds longest bar. Talk to some fellow Dusseldorfers (who are SO NICE and NICE and I LOVE THEM.)
The other thing about Dusseldorf that sold me completely? They have a Dunkin’ Donuts in the train station. DD is my not so secret lover. They have great coffee and delicious doughnuts. If the only condition to getting a D ‘n D on post was that I had to scrub the potties every day with my very own toothbrush, I would seriously consider it. Since American luxuries such as these don’t come around for me, ever, (unless I go to Dusseldorf) I ate a big ol’DD doughnut. I do not regret it to this day. In fact, I wish I’d eaten two. Then I would have told my BetterU about the doughnuts and still not have felt bad.
I took pictures in Dusseldorf. OH, I took loads of them. I took one of the cutest road sign I’ve ever seen (a mamma sign person holding a kid sign person’s hand. It was a hand holding zone. Hubs and I followed the law.) I took some of the river side market and a big Camden County school bus they had there. I took some of the Rhine and some pretty hot air balloons that were being blown up on the other side of the river. I took some of our beers. I took some of the heavy weight fight we went to. I even took a picture of a shop that’s named after my best friend, Laurel, to send to her. I would like to share these with you very much. But my computer had decided that it doesn’t like anything plugged into its USB outlets. So. I was going to upload the pictures at work to share, but the Army now HATES external drives of any kind because terrorists live there. I think.
The book I took to read on the airplane is La Bella Figura by Beppe Severgnini. So far I’m really into it. It’s a commentary on the Italian lifestyle, written by an ACTUAL Italian. None of this, “I’m an American that went to Italy for a little and am now an expert and will write a book,” nonsense. Hope to post a review soon.
VBS has started this week. (If you don’t know what VBS is read about it on Joshilyn Jackson’s blog.) I’m a volunteer and lead a group of 10 kids around to all the different activities. Yesterday we were learning about Moses and the burning bush. We were sitting around a “burning” bush when a voice said, “Take off your shoes. This is holy ground.”
The voice waited a moment. Then it began speaking again. A kid yelled out, “Hold it, Moses! I got laces in DOUBLE KNOTS!”
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
France Recap (without pictures)
I am back!
France was delicious. The pastries made poor little Italy’s pastries run and cower under a table with its tail between its legs. It’s a goal of mine while Hubs is away to eat my way through the big cities of France. I can mark Lyon off my list.
Let me give you a run down of the best dinner I had while there:
o Halved cantaloupe with port in the middle.
o Roasted chicken with herbs, mixed roasted veg, and French fries. (I guess just fries since I was in France.)
o Best. Chocolate. Mousse. Ever.
Great day in the morning was the food ever good. I had a quest while I was there to eat a crepe. Sadly, it didn’t happen this trip. Apparently the French don’t eat crepes in the morning and that was the only time Hubs and I were free to search for them. WHY you wouldn’t eat crepes all day every day I don’t know. I even went to a French mall that would NOT serve me crepes at 1220 but would serve me a big ol’ice cream if I would like.
The concert was held in an outdoor Roman area. It was pretty cool. What wasn’t cool was that I almost got squashed to death and rained on the whole time. Since living in Europe my personal boundaries have gotten a LOT smaller. I don’t mind any more when people stand so close to me in line that I can feel their breath moving my hair. I don’t even mind pushing my way to the front of lines anymore (because in Italy there is no line. If you want to go to the front, you push.) I have even been to concerts in college on the ground floor and outdoors and remember the pushing and shoving and jumping around. But for some reason at this concert I couldn’t handle it. The people, the shoving, the smell, the rain, the new shoes I had bought that were pinching my toes: it was all too much. I freaked out. I feel bad because that means my husband didn’t enjoy the concert as much as he could have because he was worried about me. But people in France (and Europe) are SMELLY and it was RAINING and we waited 5 HOURS before the show to get in and then for it to start. It was just too much. I’ve been begging the Hubs to give me a second chance at another concert, but he’s standing firm that next time we go we need seats. C’est la vie.
The rest of the trip was beautiful though.
Hopefully I’ll have pictures to post soon. My parents called last night to let me know that the package with the memory card USB thing had been sent. I crossing my fingers for the end of this week or beginning of next week.
France was delicious. The pastries made poor little Italy’s pastries run and cower under a table with its tail between its legs. It’s a goal of mine while Hubs is away to eat my way through the big cities of France. I can mark Lyon off my list.
Let me give you a run down of the best dinner I had while there:
o Halved cantaloupe with port in the middle.
o Roasted chicken with herbs, mixed roasted veg, and French fries. (I guess just fries since I was in France.)
o Best. Chocolate. Mousse. Ever.
Great day in the morning was the food ever good. I had a quest while I was there to eat a crepe. Sadly, it didn’t happen this trip. Apparently the French don’t eat crepes in the morning and that was the only time Hubs and I were free to search for them. WHY you wouldn’t eat crepes all day every day I don’t know. I even went to a French mall that would NOT serve me crepes at 1220 but would serve me a big ol’ice cream if I would like.
The concert was held in an outdoor Roman area. It was pretty cool. What wasn’t cool was that I almost got squashed to death and rained on the whole time. Since living in Europe my personal boundaries have gotten a LOT smaller. I don’t mind any more when people stand so close to me in line that I can feel their breath moving my hair. I don’t even mind pushing my way to the front of lines anymore (because in Italy there is no line. If you want to go to the front, you push.) I have even been to concerts in college on the ground floor and outdoors and remember the pushing and shoving and jumping around. But for some reason at this concert I couldn’t handle it. The people, the shoving, the smell, the rain, the new shoes I had bought that were pinching my toes: it was all too much. I freaked out. I feel bad because that means my husband didn’t enjoy the concert as much as he could have because he was worried about me. But people in France (and Europe) are SMELLY and it was RAINING and we waited 5 HOURS before the show to get in and then for it to start. It was just too much. I’ve been begging the Hubs to give me a second chance at another concert, but he’s standing firm that next time we go we need seats. C’est la vie.
The rest of the trip was beautiful though.
Hopefully I’ll have pictures to post soon. My parents called last night to let me know that the package with the memory card USB thing had been sent. I crossing my fingers for the end of this week or beginning of next week.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Very special day
Today is my Mama's birthday. She's a very special lady. She is probably the happiest person I know even though a lot of things in her life have been hard.
This is a picture of her on my wedding day. She was a little stressed out about getting my bouquet just right. I was in that little room behind her on the hotest day in March on record standing in front of an open freezer trying not to sweat my make-up off. It might not have been the hotest day in March on the WORLDS record, but it certainly is on mine. 
Can't you feel the love radiating from this picture?
Can't you feel the love radiating from this picture?
Happy birthday, Mama!
Monday, June 8, 2009
2 conundrum Kevin
So. I have two cameras. One broke. (Y’all know about that. I whined about it here.) I charged up my other one and was taking pictures of all kinds of stuff. While take pictures I was thinking, “Man, I’m a crazy pie. Why did I even buy that other camera? This one is ALL the time taking photos. And when I press the power button the lens actually OPENS. It’s ten times better than my ol’mailed in camera!”
And then I went to plug it in and the computer didn’t pick up that it was plugged in. It had no IDEA there was a camera that wanted to download it’s pictures on there. I kept turning the camera on and off and off and on to encourage it to be found. But it would not be found. It was like Kevin in UP to that old explorer guy with the little mustache. No matter how many talking dogs I trained to FIND the camera it REFUSED to be found.
When Aimee was here she had a cool memory card USB reader thingy. You put your memory card in there and plug it in and it FINDS your pictures like *snap* that. I went to the PX to find one of these. (I’m out of the loop here in Italy on the fancy computermajigs.) But here is where my story gets more complex. Because the USB guy turned out to be MY Kevin from UP. I couldn’t find her or her babies anywhere. After MINUTES of searching and even asking some Army guys I knew for help, I sill couldn’t find it.
That is my camera conundrum. I want to go to MediaWorld or maybe Emisferro to find one, but that leads me to my two conundrum deal. I’m working a LOT this week. Like, 12 hours on Wednesday and 8 hours the days before that and 7 hours a day after that. I know to Army people (like my Hubs) who work 16 hour days that’s not a big deal. My husband is all the time working 16 hour days then drinking beers at night like it’s nothing. But my little part-time self is used to working 5 hours a day. I’m used to waking up and drinking coffee on my balcony while reading scripture to get myself ready to face those 5 kid and parent filled hours. Plus the Hubs is coming home on 12 hour Wednesday. And we go to France this weekend!
All of that to say I don’t think I’ll have time to find my computer camera Kevin this week.
And then I went to plug it in and the computer didn’t pick up that it was plugged in. It had no IDEA there was a camera that wanted to download it’s pictures on there. I kept turning the camera on and off and off and on to encourage it to be found. But it would not be found. It was like Kevin in UP to that old explorer guy with the little mustache. No matter how many talking dogs I trained to FIND the camera it REFUSED to be found.
When Aimee was here she had a cool memory card USB reader thingy. You put your memory card in there and plug it in and it FINDS your pictures like *snap* that. I went to the PX to find one of these. (I’m out of the loop here in Italy on the fancy computermajigs.) But here is where my story gets more complex. Because the USB guy turned out to be MY Kevin from UP. I couldn’t find her or her babies anywhere. After MINUTES of searching and even asking some Army guys I knew for help, I sill couldn’t find it.
That is my camera conundrum. I want to go to MediaWorld or maybe Emisferro to find one, but that leads me to my two conundrum deal. I’m working a LOT this week. Like, 12 hours on Wednesday and 8 hours the days before that and 7 hours a day after that. I know to Army people (like my Hubs) who work 16 hour days that’s not a big deal. My husband is all the time working 16 hour days then drinking beers at night like it’s nothing. But my little part-time self is used to working 5 hours a day. I’m used to waking up and drinking coffee on my balcony while reading scripture to get myself ready to face those 5 kid and parent filled hours. Plus the Hubs is coming home on 12 hour Wednesday. And we go to France this weekend!
All of that to say I don’t think I’ll have time to find my computer camera Kevin this week.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Staying at Daisy's
By Jill Mansell. This is my second Mansell novel. Nancy turned me on to her. I am not/have not been sorry.
All business Daisy is the manager of a cozy country hotel, owned by her father, Hector, the life of every party. A year after Daisy’s cheating husband dies in a car accident, all the people she hoped to keep in separate parts of her life start to meet and fall in love. Genuinely happy for all of them, Daisy wants to stay out of it herself because she’s had her heart broken and knows how much it hurts. Not even dashing, rugby player Dev Tyzack can change her mind, until she meets Barney. And when Barney falls in love with the girl who was in the car with her husband during the accident, Daisy’s best friend Tara falls in love, then her father.
It’s only fair that Daisy follow suit.
Staying at Daisy’s was so many love stories wrapped into one book. I think that all the great stories are love stories. Whether between lovers or family members or friends, love is what makes a story.
Well done, Jill.
All business Daisy is the manager of a cozy country hotel, owned by her father, Hector, the life of every party. A year after Daisy’s cheating husband dies in a car accident, all the people she hoped to keep in separate parts of her life start to meet and fall in love. Genuinely happy for all of them, Daisy wants to stay out of it herself because she’s had her heart broken and knows how much it hurts. Not even dashing, rugby player Dev Tyzack can change her mind, until she meets Barney. And when Barney falls in love with the girl who was in the car with her husband during the accident, Daisy’s best friend Tara falls in love, then her father.
It’s only fair that Daisy follow suit.
Staying at Daisy’s was so many love stories wrapped into one book. I think that all the great stories are love stories. Whether between lovers or family members or friends, love is what makes a story.
Well done, Jill.
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