Post it note Tuesday!

5 Question Friday!!

1. What is your favorite part of a Thanksgiving meal?

I would have to say my favorite part is sitting around with a table of friends and enjoying the food, conversation and just being relaxed.

2. Are you a host or a guest for Thanksgiving this year?

I was a hostess! I had intended on only having my family but as it turned out we had a lot of friends who had nowhere to go and that just doesn't sit well in my book. Apparently my mom did a very good job of raising a daughter who can't stand to see someone else feel alone on a special day. We had a house full and I ended up having a really great time.

3. When you think of one Thanksgiving tradition, what comes to mind?

I would have to say putting up the Christmas tree. Although this year we did it the weekend before and occasionally depending on if Mr. M was due to deploy soon we have done it a little early before as well.

4. You have two pieces of pie in front of you and you HAVE to eat one...do you choose pumpkin or pecan?

Definitely pumpkin!! I like pecan pie but pumpkin pie just says Thanksgiving to me!

5. Are you a Black Friday Shopper?

Heck yeah!!!  It is a little harder being overseas and the only choices being not so great but as soon as we return to the states it's 3am standing in the cold with a cup of coffee laughing about how crazy we are and yet having the time of our lives!!

Happy Thanksgiving to each and everyone of you!!!

I do hope that all of you have a fabulous holiday today!
I prepared 2 pumpkin pies, a pumpkin cheesecake, a chocolate cream pie, cranberry chutney, 2 dips, cut up veggies, and green jello salad last night. Now the ham is in the oven(we don't like turkey much and why spend hours making something we don't like right?!) and I will be making mashed potates, bacon wrapped green beans (recipe from a fabulous blogger...thanks Maranda!), gravy and sweet potatoe casserole this morning.

Hopefully everyone shows up and everything goes great today! I ran out to the truck this morning and it was raining then a few minutes later...for real...it was snowing!!!  How sweet to have snow but ummmm I just hope it doesn't come down too hard and everyone is able to get here.  You know if they don't we will have tons of food and some snow to play in but if they do it will definitely be more fun.

Have a fabulous day everyone and I hope that you get to enjoy your loved ones and be thankful for everything that you have in your lives!

Post it note Tuesday!

Seriously ya'll I was mortified by the fact that someone I invited to MY house on a holiday just invited other people without asking me and then said in front of them to me "was it ok" !!!  I just can't tell you how shocking it was and how upset it really made me! I am all about sharing at the holidays but we already had a full house and I am the one fronting majority of the food bill so who in their right mind does that?!!!

I am trying to get it all out and off my chest so that hopefully I can just let it go and have a good day on Thursday but so far it is not working!!!

I really do wish ALL of you a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope that your homes are filled with love and joy on that day. I also ask that you please pray for me and give me the strength to turn the other cheek and just make it work!!!  I AM TRYING I SWEAR!!!!

What a weekend!! Let me tell you...

All about how my weekend went. I am sure you will be following along, grasping your seat..it IS that good!!  Yeah ok so I tend to think my life is completely exciting but really you should too..just saying!!

So Friday night we had a dinner and wine tasting with the local spouses club. I was so excited to that it was a dinner and therefor Mr. M could go with me. I had to get his clothes out and demand he go but still....he really HATES social events!  So we got dressed and went out. The night started out good and we were tasting some great wines and walking around talking to people and looking at all the stuff I would love to buy but of course that is for a luncheon when Mr. M doesn't have to see how much it all really costs. We kind of have this deal you see..I buy and tell him nothing of the price and he tells me whether he loves or hates whatever I have bought. It works out great for us! I get to buy what I want and he gives me an honest answer not based on price. TADAAAAA!!!  Yupp we are hilarious I told ya!!
So anywho  we were sitting there enjoying ourselves chatting with some friends at our table when it came time to get the food. Now for all of you who do not know us personally then you probably don't know that Mr. M is HIGHLY allergic to fish!!!! So let me just say that the gravy covered fish was hard to recognize and Mr. M put a big scoop of it on his plate only to spend the next few hours gasping for air, gagging and almost passing out.  The night started so well and ended up pretty sucky!  It was nice to get out but I was so worried about Mr. M that the rest of the night I just got more and more pissed that the food was not labeled!  If you are not going to label food then you need to give a menu to your guests so that this kind of thing never happens. It was horrible and I was so scared for him. He is fine now and it took a lot of meds and some serious tlc.

Ok so let's move on to Saturday now.  We woke up and saw it was going to be a sunny beautiful day so we called up some friends and headed out to see a castle and gardens we had yet to go to even though it is a 20 minute drive from our house..yupp I never said we were geniuses people!!  We had  a blast and even though we missed the inside the castle tours so we will be going back in Spring to go inside and see the gardens all green and not covered for the winter. Even with all of that though it was gorgeous and we had a fabulous time!!

As you can see it really was pretty but all of the statues were covered in these wooden boxes so it will be nice to see it all with everything out in the open and not covered. I will definitely update the pics when we go back next year.
So once we left the castle we strolled around town for a little bit..it really is an adorable town and I found my jeweler there to fix my watch..waaaahooooo!!!   So we then headed to get a bite to eat. I discovered a new favorite drink. It's called Miami Ice and ladies let me tell you..if you love strawberry daquiris and pina coladas then this is the drink for you because it is both of them combined..yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmyyyy!!! Omg it was so good and I didn't want to have just one. We then headed over to the bowling alley with some more friends and had a blast spending the rest of the night bowling, laughing and having a grand time!

That leaves us with Sunday. Now on Sunday the plan was to get the living room rearranged so that we would have room to put up the Christmas tree. It took a little longer to rearrange things..Mr. M and I are so bad about once we get something started then we want to keep going. We decided to rearrange the living room, dining room and our bedroom..yupp looney bus was definitely in our house!!  After all of that we got the tree put up and ornaments on and then realized we had forgotten the candy canes. So off to the store we went to buy some. Today I will be finishing up the tree and decorating the living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom for Christmas.  What??!!  You don't put your tree up early like we do!!  Don't be jealous just get yours up too!! :) Next weekend instead of having to decorate for Christmas I will be hitting some Christmas markets and shopping and exploring my buns off so ya'll have fun now ya hear!! 

So that was my fun and eventful weekend! I hope you all had a great weekend and I would love to hear about it!

5 Question Friday!!

Waahoooooo Friday is finally here again!!  You know even though it was a short week for the kids because of  PT conferences I felt like this week was never going to end. Maybe it's because next week I know is a short week and one of those off days will be me cooking like a mad woman for a bunch of people I love!!  I adore Thanksgiving simply because a bunch of people get together, enjoy a fantastic meal and sit around and talk and laugh and just really enjoy life. Being military we are very grateful for any time that we can be together as a whole family and even more so when we can add a few good friends into the mix.  Enjoy your Friday everyone and I hope that your plans for next week make you smile too!

1. What Christmas song do you loathe?

Loathe a Christmas song?!!!!  WTF?!!!  How could anyone loathe any song that makes you smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside?!!  Seriously?!!

2. Do you and your significant other cuddle at night or sleep on opposite sides of the bed?

Ok so sitting on the sofa with Mr. M I like to cuddle and hold hands but in bed I have issues with being too close to him. I think the funniest thing about my sleeping habits is that I can not sleep if he is in my face but at the same time I can not sleep if he is not in the bed with me either. Weird I know!!

3. Have you ever had surgery?

Yupp several. Knee surgery twice, Sinus surgery, of course my C section and if I am not lucky I will be having another surgery on my foot..cross fingers the physical therapy works please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4. When do you typically have your holiday shopping done?

Hahahahahahaha  yeah I have totally discussed this one already!  Usually I am all done by the end of October at the latest except for a few stocking stuffers but this year I drew a blank and just started this week.  I will say though that after talking with my girls and Mr. M we did come up with a list FINALLY and it is of course way over our budget but thats ok we cut out a few lesser things to get them the big stuff they really want. So barring the mail system being extra slow this year and nothing getting here on time we are done.  Yupp done!!  hehe

5. If money were not an issue (and you HAD to pick something), what would your ultimate luxury item be?

Item?!  Like what is considered an item?!!  If money was  no object and I HAD to pick something of course it would be,........a housekeeper!!!  OMG I would be so flipping happy I just can't tell you. Having someone else do all the serious cleaning around here so I had more time to do my stuff and more time to volunteer or spend time with friends...heck YEAH!!!!  That is definitely my choice!!

Post it note Tuesday!

One of my favorite days of the week is Tuesday!! I like Tuesdays because it means first of all that I made it through rough and tough Monday and then of course it means I am one day closer to the weekend and most of all I like Tuesdays because of Post it note Tuesday. So grab a cup of joe and have  a grand time and then click the button below and get in on all the fun yourself!!

Lastly I would like to thank everyone for the well wishes last week for our anniversary. It was fabulous and although most people criticized us for what we decided to do for anniversary getting take out and watching movies all night together on the couch all snuggled up is our idea of a great night!  Yes we love to do stuff alone but we can do that any time we want and it was cold and rainy and so we chose comfortable and fun over alone!!

Furniture, Cruises and Christmas...OH MY

Ok so lately I have been a little busy, distracted, excited, confused, and just a weeeeeeeeee bit overwhelmed.  I know I know my blogging days are a little off but I really AM trying I promise!!!!

My biggest ventures these days are trying to find new furniture for my girls bedrooms, trying to find and book a cruise for us and of course somewhere in there we would like to take a cruise or two.

So first things first we have found a few different ideas for the new bedroom furniture for the girls. The only real hold up on getting it though really is weight. Yes I know that sounds strange and maybe even a little dumb but being in the military we have a weight allowance and are only allowed so much weight of our household good before we have to pay. Now why would I want to pay because the military decided I had to move right?!! I don't and that is the hold up.  You see we are in Europe and along with that comes tons of really cool stuff that we can buy and take with us back to the states that normally we would never even venture to buy while living in the States. So the question is do we buy this...

for the girls or do we keep buying things like this....

Ok I know what you are thinking...yeah for real I do!!  Of course get the cool stuff right...but am I being selfish?!!  I am so confused right now. Furniture is temporarily on hold for now until I can make up my mind I guess.

One thing is for sure though...we ARE going to take a cruise or two!!!  I have been looking online and have found some really great deals and am dying to actually book them. Yes Mr. M loves the idea of taking a cruise but honestly the thought of putting out that money makes him a little pissy..er  ok a LOT pissy.  He loves to vacay don't get me wrong but he works hard for his money and so it is hard for him to part with in a large lump sums. I get it really I do but eventually he is going to have to give up the hold on the bank account and just let me book these cruises.
I have been looking at a few different ones and I think I have finally decided on these two and am sooo excited to get them booked and take them.

The first one has an agenda of..
1     Savona          
2     Civitavecchia            
3     Palermo, Sicily            
4     Tunis            
5     Palma de Mallorca            
6     Barcelona            
7     Marseille            
8     Savona 

while the second one has an agenda of..
1     Savona          
2     At Sea            
3     Katakolon    
4     Piraeus    
5     Izmir    
6     At Sea            
7     Ashdod    
8     Port Said / Alexandria
9     At Sea            
10     At Sea            
11     Civitavecchia    
12     Savona 


Mr. M is not so keen on the second one but honestly I am and since I have spent months upon months looking for these deals and waiting and searching and hunting and talking and emailing everyone I could think of for advice then he WILL deal with his thoughts and have a fabulous time.

I really do think that we will have a grand time and I am excited to see the girls faces when we actually get to the boat and start having a fabulous time.

Now the last part of this blog is....*looking around*....Christmas.  Oh dear friends I have not even begun to shop for this year. Usually I am done by the end of October but this year for some reason I am so busy and honestly a little confused as to what to even get the girls let alone Mr. M.  I am at a LOSS!!!  I have never been at a loss but then again maybe it has something to do with the fact that we made a decision to not spend money frivalously and to try our hardest to save up for travels while we are here in Europe. I just can't wrap my head around spending oodles of money on my girls when they don't need or seriously want for anything.  What do you get kids that have everything and every time I ask them "what do you want for Christmas?" they say "I don't know" Sooooo not helpful girls..just saying!!!

So who knows what I will do for Christmas but something needs to be decided on soon..ughhhhhh!!!  Any ideas are soo much appreciated ladies!!! REALLY!!  SERIOUSLY!!! PLEASSSSSSSSSEEEE HELP ME!!!

5 Question Friday!!

Once again we are at Friday and my days have all run together. A day off yesterday was nice but really screwed me up time wise. We decided to head out of town just to get away and spend some time together as a family. It was nice and fun until we came home and had to rush around trying to get dinner done and homework done and bath time done and so  everyone went to bed late. Those poor teachers that have to deal with my cranky kids today!! :)  I meant well ya'll that is all I can say about it.

1. What is the most physically painful thing that has ever happened to you?

So I bet everyone is thinking this is going to be one of my pregnancies but NOPE you would be very very wrong!!!  The most painful thing that has ever happened to me so far in my life would be the day I dropped a full size, glass roasting pan on my foot and broke my big toe into 4 pieces. Yupp you heard right...4 pieces!!   I am still not the same after that and probably going to have surgery now that it is healed and still messed up...ughhhh!!!

2. How much sleep do you get at night?

If everyone else in my life is lucky then I will get atleast 7 hours a night. I say that only because without atleast 7 hours of sleep I am one.mean. mama.  Sooooo not kidding. If you run into me and I am pissy or just blankily staring at nothing I would advise you to stay back and protect yourself!!

3. How long did you believe in Santa Claus? How did you find out that he does not exist?

Well I learned about Santa Clause one Christmas when I snuck down stairs and actually saw my parents putting the presents out. I was about 7 years old at the time. From then on my parents had to hide the presents really well or else I knew all my gifts by the time it was Christmas eve..teeheee!!!

4. What was the last movie you saw in a theater?

I believe that would be..the sorcerer's apprentice.  Good family movie!

5. What do you wear to bed?

Well this would depend on the month really. You see living here in Germany we have no central air AT ALL!!!  Yupp that's right cry for me people because I cry every summer as I melt pounds off my behind every day. In winter it gets pretty cold and the side radiators keep us from freezing to death(so I am told) they do not keep me warm so I wear big thick heavy pajamas to bed every night and snuggle under my electric blanket.

In the summer though like I said it is HOT and so I wear usually just a tank top. I can not sleep naked it creeps me out!!  I wish I could though sometimes because it IS just that hot!!

Post it note Tuesday!!

5 Question Friday!!

Thank goodness I made it to Friday and all is well with the world still. I really have to be honest with you all and say I know I have been quite the slacker on blogging lately but it was a much needed break from life that I took for myself this week.
You see it all started in June when the PTSA kicked off the start of our chili challenge event and I have been running around day after day hunting down supplies, prizes and donations along with living my normal life and trying to keep up with everything else going on around me. I have felt like a crazy lady for these past few months and now since the chili challenge was last weekend and is all done I took this week OFF! 
I paid attention to my house that looked like the cleaning lady quit and 3 bachelors moved in..so serious ya'll!! I have been organizing and cleaning and really just catching up on some ME time and it has been nice. So forgive me for not being such a good blogger but know that now I feel fabulous and am ready to get back into the game of life completely...Yay me!!!

So today is Friday and that means the fabulous Mama M has her questions and I love love love to answer them. You can click on that button up there and get your own questions on if you want...and you know you want to...don't be shy...JUST DO IT!!!  OOps that's Nike..oh well you know what I mean..Let's roll!!

1. If you could have any talent and turn it into an occupation, what would it be?

Ok ok so I have been told by numerous people that I have a talent for counseling people and making people feel safe about talking to me. Honestly I love to listen to people and if I think for even a minute that there is a chance I can help them out I will take it every time.

My wish would be to take that talent and turn it into a talk show..yupp I said it! I would love to be like Dr, Phil and counsel people and tell them when they are being idiots, crazy, selfish, annoying, overbearing....well you get my drift.  I mean how much fun would it be to get paid to tell people what you think?!!!  Yupp I'm back ya'll!! Woohoooo!

2. Would you rather have a house at the beach or a cabin in the woods?

Oh definitely a house at the beach!!  You do know that bad things happen in the woods right?!! I mean how many movies have you seen where the killers are on the beach hiding out behind waves instead of behind trees?!!  Duhhh!!

3. Is there any meaning or reasoning for the names you chose for your child/children?

OMG..ok not only do I have a fabulous answer for this question but this is my question...woohooo tytyty Mama M!!!!!

So here goes..My family is split between Christian and Jewish so I tried to incorporate a little of both families into my kids names. Yes it was hard but also fun at the same time. Mr. M thought I was a looney tune but he ended up loving the names so he went with it.

My first daughter is names after her Great grandfather on my dad's side of the family and a Great Aunt on my mom's side of the family. She was shocked when I told her she was named after a man...girls can be so funny about those things! lol

My youngest's name actually we made up. It is a combination of mine and Mr. M's first names put together and her middle name is a relative on my father's side of the family.

Now that said it probably sounds like I totally disregarded Mr. M's side of the family but honestly...well...yeah ok I did. They have some really strange names over there on that side and that is all I have to say about that!

4. What is your guilty pleasure? (I know we've done this one before, but I'm guessing people's "guilty pleasures" change frequently. At least, mine do!)

Ok well lately it is ignoring the phone.  I have been swamped with calls from everyone for so long that I have just decided it isn't that important and I don't answer the phone!  Ok so all of you who are reading this and are now saying.."omg no wonder you never returned my calls" yupp sorry but I needed the break and so that is what I have been doing!  Not trying to be rude but it was ME time!!

5. Do you live in a house that is deep cleaned or straightened?

Hmmmmmmm how to answer this one...well seeing as I just told you I had let my house go to pot lately due to circumstances beyond my control my house right now is a work in progress. Normally I pride myself on having a put together, clean and comfortable place for anyone to feel welcome in but right now if you came over I would just die!!  Seriously the neighbor came up stairs last night for one of her gripe sessions..whole other story with that one....but I was MORTIFIED!!!  My house never looks like this and I hated that especially she saw it like this. Ughhhh today this house will be back to normal and I will be all back together again!!

Ok so now you all go get your questions from Mama M...tell her how fabulous she is and get on the band wagon!!

Have a great weekend everyone and see you next week!!

Ciao for now!

Post it note Tuesday!

Ok so the weekend was a ton of fun and by Saturday night Mr. M and I thought our feet were literally going to fall off of our bodies!!  Can you say Owwww?!!!  Yupp it was so worth it though! A lot of hard work went into the Chili challenge and making sure that the girls had a fabulous weekend. Although we did miss out on Titanic because DD2 took off her socks and shoes and played outside for a few hours before Mr. M and I even realized she has taken them off..ughhhhh!!  Hopefully we can catch the next one though.

We have another fun filled weekend planned this weekend so cross your fingers that our weather stays nice and we can get out and have a blast. I will update much more tomorrow when I have a little more time that is.

Go click that button up there and get in on the post it note fun you know ya wanta!!!!