Monthly Archives: January 2012

Sick day… well, sick afternoon

Posted on by

2

I am sick.  Wasn’t feeling great this weekend but was hoping I was on the mend.  I made it through half a day of work and then called it quits.  Sore throat, sinus pressure, I was a hot mess and not the most welcoming sight at a reception desk! So home I went.

Of course M had an orthodontist appointment scheduled for today but my husband said he would take her if I just picked her up from school and had her ready at the house. So I go to pick her up and of course, OF COURSE, her appointment is almost the same time as the spelling bee that she happens to be an alternate in. She is not happy. I am feeling like a parenting failure because I didn’t have it marked on the calendar. I don’t even know what an alternate DOES!  Now if she was for sure going to be in it I might have called to cancel the appt (just so they can write bad things in my file and take another 2 months to get another appt) because the winner of the spelling bee gets to go to Germany (with a parent excort! For free!)

Lesson learned: For God’s sake, write EVERYTHING on the calendar! My old brain remembers NOTHING!

Now off to drug myself so I can hopefully function tomorrow!

This is just a test

Posted on by

0

Just seeing how well posting from the WordPress app works… It would probably be better if my iPod or iPad took pictures and I could post those as well. Not too shabby, but I don’t think I could ever really type something longer than a few words as I HATE typing on this flat screen!

It’s the Little Things {Pinterest & Curly Curls}

Posted on by

5

Taking a minute to recap the little things that made my week!

First off, after trying to stay away for months, I am officially addicted to Pinterest. It is absolute pure evil but I have found SO many great ideas for M’s birthday party next week.  If you are on Pinterest come follow me, here!

Next up I did try one of the hair ideas I found, no heat curls. Super easy, involves a headband and sleeping with your hair looking crazy but when I woke up my stick straight hair looked like this:

 

Blurry picture but my hair looked great!

 

 

 

Beeswax and rosemary (so it looks and smells good!)

 

Also had a great dinner out with friends at one of my favorite restaurants 100 Montaditos this week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Linking up with Lindsey from Aisle to Aloha for the Friday link up party!

Aisle to Aloha

100 Montaditios

Posted on by

6

One of my favorite places to eat in Spain is 100 Mondaditos.  It is a sandwich place that has just about every variety sandwich you can think of.

Every Wednesday everything on the menu is 1€, so a couple of my girlfriends and I decided we needed to go out to dinner tonight!

100 Montaditos, I love you!

 

Picture perfect setting, right on the beach at sunset!

As usual we were pretty much the only people in there. There were a couple of other occupied table but they were just having drinks, no one else eating.   6:30pm and you can guarantee the only people in a restaurant will be Americans!

Inside

The tables all have menu’s and order sheets so you just write down the number of the sandwich you want along with any sides, drinks, etc. Then just go up and hand it to the cashier, pay and sit down until they call your name.

Waiting at the counter, food please!

 

Beachside Rota, even better in summer when you can eat outside.

 

 

Montaditos and chips!

Here is how the montaditos arrive, a bunch on a plate with a pile of fresh potato chips in the center. The bread is this delicious crusty Spanish style bread. Now as to what we ordered: a couple of chicken caesar, one with kebab meat, one with Spanish tortilla (which is basically a potato frittata) and my absolute go to number one favorite, chorizo and brie. So. Good.

O couldn't wait any longer! Stop taking pictures mom!

 

Patatas con 4 salsas... yummy fries with 4 sauces - usually aioli, ketchup, taco and kebab. Comes with cute forks to eat them with (or fight with your sibling over - your choice)

Dessert!

Okay, I know it looks wierd but this is a dessert montadito. Yummy crusty warm bread filled with chocolate. Let it sit for a minute so it gets nice and melty. They also have a version with a berry sauce added. You would never believe that a chocolate sandwich would be delicious. My kids go nuts for them (and were COVERED in melty chocolate)

Lucky for anyone stateside, 100 Montaditos is going to be opening stores in the U.S.! While I don’t know if they are going to have the same delicious combos, you have to go try them if you see them!

My happy place – Puerto Sherry

Posted on by

2

Puerto Sherry is what I pictured Spain would be like before we moved here.

I thought my house would look like these houses (not knowing we didn’t have a choice and HAD to live on base!)

Hello beautiful houses, will you be mine?

Puerto Sherry is where I go when I start to feel bummed about living overseas (I really do love it, it’s an awesome opportunity and I am going to miss the hell out of it when we leave but it can be challenging!)

As a matter of fact I DO love bougainvillea arching over my windows! I’ll take this one!

Puerto Sherry is a charming neighborhood that is parked right on the bay and has a small group of restaurants and a small beach.  The parking is pretty horrible (par for the course in Spain – when someone tells you about a restaurant the parking situation is one of the biggest pros/cons!) But there are parking lots and if you go during ‘American’ dining times as opposed to Spanish, you are fine.

Now our favorite place to eat? Blanca Paloma.  It is a small Italian restaurant that actually has another larger twin a few miles away. However there is no competition when it comes to the view!

The kiddos hanging out on the rocks next to the tables…

Big O and little O, hanging out at Blanco Paloma. You can see the beach in the background.

The kiddos and I last Mother’s Day… (A little blurry but you can see the city of Cadiz in the background)

Cutie pie!

A few things about this picture… first of all look at that great house behind O… And it’s for sale!! Also see the street right there? The street actually runs between the restaurant and the outdoor seating.  The outdoor seating is on a little strip that sits right on the water. The street ends at a small parking area so there isn’t really a ton of traffic. Also hey look there is Blanca Paloma’s phone number just in case you feel like giving them a call!

The view along the rocks, always LOTS of fishermen

Why can’t I have this roof on my house!!

M posing!

Puerto Sherry, Blanca Paloma, get there. You won’t regret it.

Who me? Versatile Blogger Award!

Posted on by

4

The rules for the Versatile Blogger Award are:
1) Thank the person who nominated me and link back to them in my post
2) Share 7 things about me
3) Pass the award on to 15 more bloggers
4) Contact the bloggers I have chosen to let them know that they have been selected

So onward!

1) Thank you happiehippyrose for nominating me!  I’ve loved reading your blog (and reading years of your back posts) that have shared so much about your life in Hawaii.  It’s made me even MORE excited to move there!

2) Seven things about me:

  • I regularly drive my husband crazy with the recycling, sustainable energy and sustainable living lectures on a regular basis.  We have a long way to go but we’ll get there eventually!
  • I drink an insane amount of coffee. It’s terrible for me but I am addicted!  I think I have probably had five cups of coffee today and I’ll probably make another in a minute (its 10:28pm).
  • I have been to four continents and hope to make it to 6 within the next 10 years (South America and Australia I’m coming for you!)
  • I am my absolute happiest on the beach with a book in hand…
  • …speaking of which, I read 2-3 books a week. It is my therapy, my down-time, and my sleeping pill.
  • I have been married for a decade, which sounds SO long but in reality it went by in a flash. I am amazingly lucky to have found my wonderful husband who drives me up the wall then has me laughing my ass off a minute later (usually at myself).
  • When I was a stay-at-home-mom I couldn’t wait to get back to work and now that I work I look back on all those days and hours of free time I had with envy.  I love my job and I love working but I’ll be looking forward to taking time (at least this summer) off before working again. Although it’s very possible that when we do get to Hawaii I’ll start on my Master’s degree and volunteer instead of working.

3)    Fifteen Bloggers getting nominated!

The Engelbrecht Family – Jenn has four kids under six and just PCS’ed from Guam to Hawaii. I started reading her blog when we were looking at picking up orders for Guam.  I don’t know how she does it as a submariner’s wife, those deployments are terrible!

So-Called Paradise – Another Guam blog, super cute family that just took a trip to Australia (I can’t wait until she post pictures!)

Aisle to Aloha – Lindsey is adorable, fashionable, takes great photos and is expecting her first baby.  She is an amazingly talented painter and I am bummed that we probably aren’t going to be in Hawaii at the same time!

Our Nesting Place – Miranda is a talented blog designer with two little ones.  She has been kicking butt with boot camp lately and has been such an inspiration to me!

Hyperbole and a Half –  If you haven’t read her you are missing out on half of the jokes on the internet. Insanely funny, draws hilarious cartoons and used to live 1/2 hour away from where I used to live in Idaho.

Joy the Baker – I wish I could steal her. Joy is an awesome baker and one of the cutest people ever. Every post makes you feel as if you are chatting with her over a cup of coffee and enjoying something delicious she pulled out of the oven. She is also publishing her first cookbook!

Proud Life of a Chief’s Wife – Jessica is another Hawaii military spouse, on a bit of a hiatus as she just had her first baby last month.  She make SUPER cute customized military duty station signs.

Blonde Glambition – She is in the process of PCSing from Hawaii to Italy.  She loves the islands and is missing them already. I can’t wait to experience some of her favorite places on Oahu.

The Clean Bin Project – A couple and their roommate went waste-free for one year. While the project is over they still offer tons of information on going waste-free.

i could make that – Alison has an adorable blog that is a daily source of crafty inspiration!

Our Best Bites – Two moms with an awesome selection of ‘real’ recipes. I have made so many of their recipes it’s crazy.  Bacon wrapped green beans are now a staple in our house!

Household 6 Diva – Ann Marie is a military spouse living in Germany, great photos, cute kiddos and a hubby that just came home.

Delightfully Coconuts – Jamie is another military spouse in Germany, super crafty with two cute little girls.

Kelsey Lately – Kelsey is actually stationed here in Spain on the same base as I am.  She is back in the states temporarily. Wonderful photographer!

I had lots of fun doing this! I love finding new blogs and I hope you find some new ones on this list to love!