Category Archives: blah blah blah

Who me? Versatile Blogger Award!

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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!

It’s the Little Things {new shoes & Saturdays}

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The little things that made my week:

Mama got a new pair of shoes… Of course the LAST thing I needed was another pair of impractical heels but damn it, I just can’t resist! $30 and hey I wore them to the mall today so at least they won’t be sitting unworn in my closet!

Yay for new shoesies!

Friday night I went to Bunco with some friends, I only knew a couple of people that were there and was a little bit nervous about going but it ended up being SO much fun. Bunco is basically Yahtzee for inebriated women.  Ended up being there until after 1am and then caught a ride back to base…. I think some of the hard core ladies were going to go out on the town for drinks… Have fun, I was wiped out!

My husband dragging me out for a 3.75 run/walk (that really should be walk/run because my butt is WAY outta shape) It was horrible but I’m still glad I did it… He had to keep running ahead and doubling back because I am so slow so he probably ran more like 6 miles!

And to make up for the run, we had dinner at McDonald’s! We RARELY eat fast food, maybe once a month so it was a yummy treat. I do love me some Big Macs, and the fries here are WAY better than stateside.
Linking up with Lindsey from Aisle to Aloha!

Aisle to Aloha

Getting 2012 started

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Well the first day of 2012 turned out to be a beautiful day, the temperature hit the 60s and the sun was shining.  We took Bowser for a walk along with the RC car to a nearby playground with a field attached.  Bowser LOVES chasing anything with wheels; bikes, power wheels, RC cars, the vacuum.  I am actually worried that he is going to try chasing a real car one day and end up getting run over!

Bowser chasing the car across a field

He can *almost* catch the car

Our base has playgrounds all over the place, there are probably 3 within a mile or two not counting the elementary school (which has three).  Ever since Bowser was a puppy we have been taking him to playgrounds and getting him used to walking on the different surfaces and playing on the slides. Now he LOVES going down the slide and will go down repeatedly by himself.

Racing down the slides

Finally when he’s exhausted I can take some pictures of him sitting still!

And of course just some general goofing around on the playground:

Our little corner of the Bay of Cadiz… The Spanish Navy has their ships docked here and any American ships that pull in will pull into a nearby pier.

New Year’s Eve in Spain!

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Every country has its own traditions and Spain has some pretty fun ones.

New Year’s Eve is no exception and this is one of the Spanish traditions that you can do in your own home!

If you are in Spain on New Year’s Eve you will find pretty much everyone in a square or plaza hanging out with friends and eating and drinking.  When the clock strikes 12 everyone eats 12 grapes (ideally one for every strike!) and you will have luck all year long.  The grapes here are crazy big and generally have seeds, but you’ll see cans of grapes (conveniently 12 grapes!) for sale that are smaller and easier to eat.

This started one year (many many years ago) with a bigger than normal grape harvest.  The farmers couldn’t get rid of their grapes so they  basically started the tradition! A great way to get rid of the grapes and the start of a fun tradition.

We are generally boring and stay home with the kids because its a bit insane to be out with the kids (although it’s pretty normal to see kids running around that late anyways) but we like to have our grapes at home anyway.  Thankfully I can get some smaller grapes from the commissary so we can actually eat them!

 

Is it summer yet?

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I know we JUST celebrate Christmas but I am done with winter.  It was 39 degrees this morning when I came to work. I know some of my friends (especially one friend in North Dakota!) would laugh at me, and I did live in North Idaho for 5 years but I am out of winter shape!  It’s cold! We are supposed to be in southern Spain!

Of course I am here complaining about the cold and my kids are begging to go to Germany again this year so they can play in the snow!  While I don’t know if we’ll get to Germany we might take a day trip to the mountains, Spain has its own Sierra Nevada mountain range near Granada.

I think I would have preferred moving to Hawaii RIGHT NOW instead of in the middle of summer! It seems a lot of people stationed in Hawaii complain about having a warm Christmas but it sounds REALLY good right about now!

Christmas. Christmas. Christmas.

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Yes that is all I can think about this moment.

School is over and the presents are all shopped for (and wrapped!) so I can finally start to get into the Christmas spirit. I just haven’t had time before!

So here is my happiness in a cup:

Perfection. Mocha peppermint creamer in my FAVORITE holiday mug with the lights on the tree.

Also I should have posted this earlier in the month to inspire somone else… I saw this online SOMEWHERE last year and just loved it so I had to start this tradition this year.

Christmas Book Advent

The kids get to unwrap a book every night in December and read it.  I ran short of Christmas books and had to hit up the library.  I did order a BUNCH more for them for Christmas so we should be good for next year!  It’s a fun thing to look forward to and they love that they get to open SOMETHING before Christmas. Along with the chocolate advent calendar anyways!

Rum cake ready to be glazed so I’m off, this is just the start to our holiday binge eating!