Memorial Day

I just wanted to take time to remember all our men and women who serve and have served our country.

I'm thinking of all you ladies today with deployed significant others!

Just For Giggles

Ok, I swear I did do some contructive things today, but I also made something funny on Photoshop.



It's not my best work, but I did it to make Sean laugh. One of these days I'll have to re-try.

As Seen At The Gym

I've honestly been disappointed since moving here in that I believe our last duty station had more interesting characters at the gym then where we are now. Today however, I was treated to a few interesting sights and one situation that really ticked me off.

Interesting person #1

The guy was wearing sunglasses. Inside. To lift weights.

Why? I have no idea. The only situation I would think one would wear sunglasses for an hour inside a gym would be because you've recently had laser surgery or your eyes are dilated. I'm thinking that wasn't the case.

Interesting person #2

Ok..let me preface this by saying I lift weights. I love weights more than cardio. I like being toned and having muscles. I do NOT however want to look like this.



That's what the lady at the gym looked like today, except her biceps looked a little more cut. I get that there are different strokes for different folks and I guess that's how she wants to look. I just don't ever want to look like that.

Incident that Ticked me off:

Most people who do weights regularly know there are certain rules. You don't hog the dumbbells and/or weight machines, you re-rack your weights and you don't walk between a person lifting weights and the mirror they are facing.

Well.. a lady today did two of the three things. I was on a weight bench working on arms and using 10 and 15 lb dumbbells for various exercises. I re-rack whatever weights I'm not using and then rotate them out when I need them. I'm using 15 lb weights today and a lady comes and grabs the 10. I put up the 15lb weights and grab a 20 lb weight for some lifts. The lady comes back over, picks up the 15lb weights and walks back over to where she is. So now she has the 10lb and 15lb. I look over at her, wait a few minutes and she NEVER brings them back. Finally I just went across the gym and got the weights I needed. Normally I'd say something, but I knew today would be a bad day for me to say what I really thought so I kept it to myself. The icing on the cake was that she repeatedly walked in front of me while I'm facing the mirror trying to look at my form. Um...you seriously can't walk behind me? It's that much of a struggle for you?

Moral of the story? Tread lightly around me at the gym. :)

Oh..and for all those that like my new blog layout, thank you! I'm not talented enough to do it myself so I asked Becca over at Lovely Yellow Ribbons to do it for me. Isn't she just the most creative person ever? I'm in love with my new layout!

New Trend?

I'm having a love/hate relationship with Forever 21 right now.

In the past, I really enjoyed their clothes. I thought they had the cutest dresses and shirts.

Now? I don't know who is designing or buying for them, but they should be fired.

What is this?



And please tell me big bows are NOT coming back in style.



I think we need to have an intervention.

Question of the Day

Todays question stems from my love of the show Big Love.



What are your thoughts on polygamy?

I'll chime in with mine first. I don't agree with polygamy in the sense that men take wives that are under the age of 18. That creeps me out. However, looking at it religiously, how can people say they don't agree with it, when there are a lot of cases in the Bible of men who took several wives? That's always puzzled me.

So..let's hear your thoughts! (And please keep it civil)

Just So You Know

Not a lot to say today. A horrible night of sleep has left me pretty much worthless today.

However, I did want to pass along that Pioneer Woman has a special photography assignment. The subject is homecomings, so if you have any pictures of homecoming ceremonies of you and your husband, your friends and their husbands, etc...then check out her page here to find out how to submit your pics to her Flickr group. It's all the way at the bottom of the post, so make sure you scroll down!

News and a Weekend Update

I've been such a crummy blogger lately! In my defense, I have been out and about a lot in the past week.

I also have some big news. Sean is now in Germany and should be home within a week. They are doing an MRI in the next day or two and from there will decide if he needs a spinal injection or surgery. Either way he'll be home for at least a month and we are thinking he won't be sent back to Afghanistan. Although I am happy he's coming home, this is not the way I wanted it to happen. I know he's upset that he won't be finishing out the deployment with his friends and I can't blame him. It's a tough situation.

This weekend I had the pleasure to go to Nove with Dana, her little boy and a neighbor of hers. I got a couple of sweet deals.



This awesome platter that I'm sure I'll use for dips and chips.

AND



These bowls kind of remind me of Fiestaware, which I love and so I snatched them up...for 2 euro apiece!

The best picture from Nove is this random plate we found in one of the shops. It seriously looks like a crazy version of Jesus. Ha!



Last night I went to a local cherry festival. The proper name for it is Festa dea Siaresa, but I prefer to just say Cherry Festival.

It was great, this is the first time I'd really been to an Italian festival and once we figured out where to buy tickets for our foods and drink we were golden. They were selling a kilogram of cherries for 5 Euro and it was well worth it. The cherries are AMAZING. So sweet and tasty.



Best cherries EVER!

Night At The Cellar

Last night, a group of friends and I went to a local villa for a night of food and wine.

It was AWESOME.

For starters, the villa is beautiful. I enjoyed just walking around, taking pictures of it and the beautiful flowers all around it. The wine and food just made the experience ten times better.



Looking at the stairs from the entrance. It's quite an imposing first view.



Some of the many flowers.



There were a ton of fountains on the property too. This was my favorite!



Me in front of some gorgeous yellow roses


Dinner was amazing. We had four courses and it was served sort of buffet style. For the antipasti we had polenta with fish, crackers with some sort of fish spread and squares of some sort of spinach like quiche.

The primi piatti was risotto with mushrooms (it was heavenly) and ravioli with pea sauce. I'm not one for peas, but again, this was delish.

The secondi (or meat course) was veal topped crositini and skewers that had potatoes, pearl onions and the most tender and melt in your mouth meat I've ever had. I found out later it was rabbit. I've never had rabbit, but it was so good!

I actually didn't stay for dessert as I was tired and my ride was leaving, but I've heard it was delicious too!



Lovely scenery around the villa



Last night was just beautiful! All the beautiful views...one of my favorite nights in Italy by far.



All of us girls...plus a writer from Frommer's guidebook and her mom.

Question of the Day

When you were younger, who is the first singer or group that you were really into/mildly obsessed with?

Were you an Nsync fan? Perhaps a Backstreet girl?

I have to admit the first group I was in awe of was New Kids on the Block. I never got to go to a concert of theirs, but I had a sweater with all their names on them, their cassette tape and a few books on them. Jordan was my fave! I bet I could still remember the words to "The Right Stuff"




So let's hear those answers!

Look What I Did!

First of all, thanks for everyone who weighed in on my sewing post! I appreciate it immensely!

Now for a semi-Wordless Wednesday.

This picture was taken over R&R. I was going to OKC to take my boudoir pictures and borrowed my Mom's truck. At 75mph on the turnpike I had a blowout.

This is the aftermath. To say I feel lucky/watched over is an understatement.

New Project

There's something I've been wanting to try for awhile and since it's also on my deployment goals list, I think I better get started on it.

I'm talking about sewing.



My Mom and Grandma both sew wonderfully. My Mom made all my Halloween costumes growing up and countless other dresses and outfits. I've sewed one dress in my life and that was with extensive help from my mother.

So, here is my question for those that sew.

1. What sewing machine do you recommend for a beginner?
2. What other tips do you have? Where should I start? Any books you recommend? Websites?

Dear Deployment...

You can suck it, seriously.

Today is one of those days, where I've had it with deployments. I've had it with my husband being gone,with crappy phones in Afghanistan, with being alone to take care of stupid things like car repairs and without someone to cook me a sizzling steak and the best baked potato I've ever had.

I'm so frustrated and stressed about Sean's back and what this means for us. I have no idea when he's going to Germany or if his back is bad enough that they will send him to Walter Reed. I don't know if this will be the end of our time in the Army, if they'll let him re-class or if we'll be starting all over in the coming years with a new life that is not the Army. If I could know, even one little detail, I'd feel so much better.

I'm trying to medicate with talking to my mom, some chocolate and the next Sookie Stackhouse book.

Let's hope they work!

Weekend Recap

Well, another weekend of me being a blog slacker!

Here's what I've been up to this weekend:

-Went on a walk with Dana and her little boy J. I brought Boomer and we spent an enjoyable walk taking pictures and discovering this AWESOME villa. Too bad it's only open for special events. I want to get on the grounds so bad and take tons of pictures. It's that pretty.



Just one of many buildings on the Villa's property

A few sights along the way:





On Friday, Dana, J and I went to Vo. It's a pretty vineyard, with a great selection of wine and they also serve yummy cheese, bread and meats. I think I came away with 2 boxes of wine. Don't judge.



Some of the salami I munched on at the vineyard.

While at the vineyard we saw a German who was a Stanley Tucci look-alike. I was greatly amused by the resemblance and somehow managed to snap a somewhat blurry photo of him. If it were higher quality I'd share it with you guys.



Some old wine barrels that now serve as props.

Friday night I went with friends to a local restaurant. I've eaten there once before and both times I've not been disappointed. This time I had spaghetti with clams, bruschetta and a crepe with Nutella for dessert. So delish! Unfortunately I ate everything too fast to take pictures of it.

Today, Boomer and I went on a walk. I took the camera as I knew there are a ton of little flowers right now and I was not disappointed.





What did you do this weekend?

Fashion Finds

I haven't done a fashion post in awhile, so I thought it was high time that I did.

First of all, a fashion disaster. Normally I find tons of cute things on Forever 21, but this piece is just awful. I don't even have words to describe it.



I LOVE these hoodies at Old Navy. They have so many cute colors, but I think this color is my fave.



Love, love this dress



(Old Navy)

This top is too cute. I'm all about the boatneck!



(Forever 21)

This pendant has been worn by this season's Bachelorette, Ali. I think they are adorable! I first saw them on The Possessionista.



You can find the pendants here.

Also worth mentioning are two fashion websites that are for us ladies who can't afford to dress on a celeb's salary.

Stuff Under Twenty

Uber Chic for Cheap

Question of the Day

This is kind of a personal question, but if you feel comfortable answering it, please do!

After you and your husband were done having children would you expect him to have a vasectomy? Or would you rather go with a method such as birth control pills, tubes tied, IUD, etc?



Have you discussed this?

Deployment Month 5 In Review

I skipped Month 4 since it was over R&R, but I'm back on track with Month 5!

In Month 5:

-Went to NYC for 5 awesome days

- had budoir pictures taken(I still haven't got the proofs back, but I've been told it will be this week)

-had my last Bible study this past Wednesday. I'm so glad I started going to that. I met some awesome ladies and I think we are even going to do a book club over the summer

-read a ton of books. Since Month 3 I've read: books 3-6 of the Sookie Stack House Books, Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella, The Wednesday Sisters- Meg Waite Clayton One Thousand White Women- Jim Fergus, Shanghai Girls- Lisa See, Five Quarters of the Orange-JoAnne Harris, Dear John- Nicholas Sparks,The Ocean Between Us- Susan Wiggs

-went to a baseball game with Sean and my brother while we were at home

-I did slack on exercise while I was home, but I gained no weight and currently I weigh less than when I left. I'm sure some of that is attributed to the fact I lost muscle mass, but whatev. I'm back on track with working out and even added yoga to the mix.

-celebrated my Grandpa's 80th birthday with my family

A couple of pics from Month 5:



This is me with two of my cousins




In front of the Ed Sullivan Theater. I wish we could have gotten tickets, but no dice.