Day 47: What a week!

This past week has just been crazy! I don't know what is going on, but work has just been so stressful!

Okay, okay, I do know part of it... We have had several parents deploy recently, and it has set the kids on edge. I feel for them; I really do. It's heartbreaking to see them so upset and not quite understand why their parent has to leave for such a long period of time--especially the younger ones, like my kinders or the 1st graders. :(

I am nearing the end of my Italian class on base. It makes me sad to know that my classroom Italian experience is coming to an end! I want to keep taking classes so I can become more fluent, but it won't work with my degree plan. Bummer! Hopefully I can continue using what I know to stay active when it comes to italiano. :)

I have a paper due Sunday night that I haven't done anything on. Tomorrow I'm going to a flea market with the Tauscheks, and then I'm all about that paper the rest of the day! No lies and no excuses. Maybe then I can have a Sunday without a huge to-do list! (I can only hope!)

I have been such a lush the past couple days! Last night was a dear friend's going away party. I only knew Stephanie for 7 or 8 months, but I'm going to miss her so! Anyway, we went out to dinner with a bunch of people, and then Breanna, Stephanie and I hit the town! Okay, we really only went to Bobe's for karaoke, but still. :) We were the life of the party, haha. I was pretty gone by the night's end, and it was so much fun. Tonight, after work I went over to the Tauschek's house and Tessa and I had a girls night. :) Girls night = Army Wives marathon! I've gotten another one hooked. Hooray! So we drank wine and ate popcorn and cookies and snuggled on the couch, hahaha. Okay, we only snuggled with their German Shepherd, Sandy. ;) But watching Army Wives makes my heart hurt, making me miss Arron more than I already do. But I've got 47 days down, and I can't believe it's going by this fast.

Anyway, that's an update on my crazy week. :)

P.S. I totally watched the Royal Wedding today, since it aired at noon our time. And yes, I totally cried as Kate walked down the aisle. I'm a mess!!

Day 45: 1/4 the way finished!

So, if this deployment really is only 6 months long, I'm a quarter of the way finished! However, there's really no way to tell if it will be more or less than that. Either way, it's been 45 days since our last kiss, and the fact that those days have passed so fast is a cause for celebration. :)

There's not much else going on, so I just wanted to share a song that I absolutely love. The music video isn't the greatest, but the song is still amazing.

♥

Day 44: Cryin' For Me

Today hasn't been the greatest day. But I don't really want to talk about it...

I'm gonna miss that smile, I'm gonna miss you my friend. Even though it hurts the way it ended up, I'd do it all again. Someplace sweet in heaven, 'cause that's right where you want to be. I'm not cryin' 'cause I feel so sorry for ya, I'm cryin' for me. -Toby Keith

Day 42: Buona Pasqua!

Buona Pasqua! Happy Easter!

Today was a really fun day. I didn't do much this morning besides make potato salad and clean the house a bit, but this afternoon I went to my first softball practice this season! The first official practice was last weekend, but I didn't know about it so I went today. I had said beforehand that I was ready to get dirty like old times, but didn't think that it was going to be this bad...

We practiced first, and then had enough people to break into two teams and scrimmage. During practice, I ended up catching mostly (don't ask me how, on a slowpitch team, but anyway...), so I ended up looking like that!

I left the scrimmage slightly early because I had to be at the Tauschek's house at 6, and I was covered in dirt (see above). So I rushed home at 4:30 to take a shower and get ready, and ended up looking like this by 5:30:

I was very thankful I had made the potato salad earlier! Anyway, this is my new Easter dress. I paired it with my cowboy boots, and I LOVE it! So adorable. Thank God Target ships to APO addresses!

So at 6 pm I headed over to the Tauschek's (they live like 2 minutes from me). We had a great BBQ and I met some other wives who are just so much fun! It was crazy, because one couple had only been in Aviano for 4 days now, and they knew Tauschek from a previous base. Gotta love how small the military is!

Anyway, it was great fun, with lots of BBQ, side dishes, gelato, and (of course) wine! Too many laughs were exchanged, and I left with thankfulness that I have new friends who are drama-free and just so much fun!

Happy Easter, y'all!
Is it grammatically correct to say, "Buona Pasqua, y'all"?

Ciao ciao!

Day 41: Spring Fest

Not much has been going on, and at the same time, too much has been going on! Just an update on the past week:

Today was our huge base-wide event "Spring Fest." (Let's just say that huge equals chaotic in this sense.) We've been working towards this event for over a month now.I somewhat volunteered to take over the Easter eggs, as we bought them pre-filled but had to tape all of them shut so that they didn't burst open when we threw them out into the field.
There were over 5000 eggs. 
Three fields, three different age groups, plenty of eggs. Right?
Wrong.
Apparently some parents didn't want to listen to us. The first field (0-2 year olds) was filled with older kids because "they didn't know." The second field (3-5) was rushed through the back gate and most of the eggs were picked up before half of the people even got in the gate. I had parents yelling at me and kids crying because they didn't get any eggs. On the last field, we got Security Forces involved and had them (and us counselors) standing on the perimeter of the field to make sure no one started before they were supposed to.

My crazy neighbor had her son on all three fields, and he's 6. Believe me, if I could have grabbed her to stop her, I would have... but she evaded me. And then she won a prize later, which I had to hand her, knowing the junk is going to end up in my backyard anyway. Geesh. 

Other than the egg craziness, most everything else went as planned.

The good news is there's another whole year before the next Spring Fest, and we have lots of ideas to fix it! But oh my goodness I am tired...

Day 35: The Longer the Waiting

I have come to realize that cleaning makes me happy and it releases any stress I'm carrying. When I'm upset, sad, anxious, or stressed, I clean.

Today was a mix of all of those emotions wrapped up in one. But I cleaned, and right now I am almost stress-free. I cleaned most of the house (basically everything but the floors upstairs), and even cleaned the oven for the first time since we've moved in. It was sooo gross, the water in my bucket was black by the time I was done!

In other news, I have found a few more deployment songs to add to my playlist. I found some of these through friends, and some by googling "deployment songs." So here's the new additions:
"Traveling Soldier" by The Dixie Chicks (I already had this song, just forgot to add it.)
"I Just Came Back From A War" by Darryl Worley
"I'll Stand by You" by Carrie Underwood
"I Miss You" by Darren Hayes
"Stay With Me (Brass Bed)" by Josh Gracin
"Long Distance" by Bruno Mars
"Calling You" by Blue October
"The Longer the Waiting" by Josh Turner

Arron and I were finally able to catch each other this morning. It was relieving to finally be able to see his face--didn't know how stressed I was and how much I missed him until I heard his voice. ♥
"The longer the waiting, the sweeter the kiss."

This week is going to be a nice break after last week's Spring Break craziness. It looks like work should (finally) be going back to normal hours--6 am to 6 pm, instead of 5 am to 7 pm, and only five days a week instead of seven. I'm officially halfway through my Italian class, and on Week 3 of my other classes. Onward to graduation!!

Day 34: Busy weekend!

So I've taken the past couple days off to show an old acquaintance around town here. Kathleen graduated with me, and happened to be studying abroad in the Netherlands this semester. When she asked me about a month ago if she could stay with me for a night while touring Italia, I jumped on the opportunity to have our first overnight guest in our house. :)

She ended up coming in a day early, so she arrived Thursday night. Friday morning I had to work from 5 am - 2 pm, so she slept in and then as soon as I got home we headed up to Lake Barcis to show her the town. :) It was a beautiful day!

Later Friday night, we went to the Visotto in Budoia, which is an Italian grocery store. I must say, I loved it! I got some proscuitto, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and grappa. All of it was amazing except the grappa... not the best, but oh well!

We then ventured out to Cellini's, which is the new restaurant I went to last weekend with the Tauscheks. It was amazing, just like last time! I have now tried four desserts, and all of them were amazing. (I only ate two, and sampled the other two.)

Today we woke up and went to Venice! Kathleen had been to Venice already, but wasn't able to make it to San Marco's Square (Piazza del San Marco). So we went and hustled our way to the square--we got to Venice at 12:30, and Kathleen's train to Milano left at 1:50. We spent about 20 minutes in the square and headed back to the train station, and Kathleen jumped on her train about 20 seconds before the doors shut and it left!

After she got on the train, my train back home didn't leave for another 30 minutes, so I walked to get some gelato. I found a stand that had some delicious strawberry gelato with real strawberries. When I got to the front of the line, I saw that they also had a Nutella gelato, so I was obliged to get one scoop of each. :) I walked along the Grand Canal with gelato, looking at the shops. I jumped on my train to head back at 2:20 and ended my wonderful day in Venezia. ♥

With Kathleen being here, it has been hard to find time to talk to Arron. We've been missing each other for 3 days now... but we'll finally be able to talk tonight. I know he was getting frustrated, but with my guest in town and his work schedule changing, it was hard to be online at the same time.

Anyway, I am now watching Fever Pitch and looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. No alarm = happy lady. :)

Arrivederci!

Day 29: Six Months

This blog is going to be "deeper" than my normal posts of regular day-to-day life.

Today was a hard anniversary for me. Six months ago, Momma passed. For the past six months, I've wanted to pick up the phone and call her to ask her a question, or to tell her something funny the kids did at work today. I wanted to call and ask her how she managed three kids while Pops was away on trips so much. I wanted to hear her laugh and just one more "I love you."

There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of her, and all she did for me. She was truly my hero, and every time I told her that she just shook her head like she wasn't good enough. But she was, oh, she was. I can't even list everything she fought and overcame in her lifetime. I mean, she battled cancer for 11 years. I still won't say that she lost that fight, but she finished it. I thank God every day that I was given those extra 11 years with her... I can't imagine losing her when I was 10, or 12, or even 18. I am so thankful that she was there for our wedding day, and she was so happy that I was with someone who made me so happy. She told me all the time that she could tell that Arron loved me with everything he had.

I wasn't going to cry today. I was going to stand strong. But here I am, blubbering like a fool. I remember the shock of going home and seeing her, and knowing I wouldn't have the two or three months the doctors told us we'd have. She made it ten days, just long enough for all of us kids to get together to say our goodbyes.

On October 11, 2010, the world lost a beautiful and kind soul. My brother Paul said he thought she would pass on 10/10/10, but she, as a mom, was an 11, and she showed us that to the very end. She passed away at high noon, and we had her funeral on the following Friday. Every Friday morning when we were in school (and even after we all graduated), she'd wake us up with, "It's Friiiiiday!" She loved Fridays.

These past six months have gone by so quickly. I can't believe that it has already gone by, but at the same time, it seems like an eternity has passed.

I'm just going to end with some pictures. They're not in any particular order, just how I found them.

 The beginning of a 30-year marriage. ♥

Momma and Jacki.

On their honeymoon.

Wedding day, July 19, 1980.

Another honeymoon one. So beautiful!

This was Arron's birthday present last year from her. She was so upset that it was so pretty but wouldn't fit into a flat rate box! She had to unwrap it and re-wrap it not as prettily.

At the Guadalupe, one of her favorite places.

Our last picture together, at Makayla's baby shower, June 2010.

At the pool, May 2010.

One of my all-time favorite days. Galveston, May 2010.

Momma and her puppy, Carly.

All of her brothers and sisters. The Luedeke family.

This is how I will always remember her--t-shirt, capris and Crocs at the beach with a smile.

My wedding day,August 29, 2009.

My bridal shower, June 27, 2009.

We used this one for the funeral program. Captures the beauty of who she was, inside and out.

She loved her crawfish! Mother's Day 2009.

Mother's Day 2009.

Modeling with her beloved car on the beach.

:)

In our beautiful yard, May 2010.

First family portrait, December 2010. Pops, Momma, Jacki, Paul and I (the baby!).

Here's to you, Momma. I'll dedicate a margarita to you tonight. ♥

"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - A.A. Milne, writer of Winnie-the-Pooh

Day 28 : Spring Fever!

Yesterday was my first day of spring. Yes, I have been rejoicing with the weather change for about two or three weeks now, but yesterday I actually lived it! It was a perfect day.

It started off with me waking up early (on a Saturday--shocker!), about 9 am. I ran some errands and found that the BX finally had the steam cleaner in stock that I've been wanting! Done deal. I came home and cleaned my ENTIRE house (except one small bathroom, but hey), and steam cleaned our carpets. They look so much better now and the house smells amazing! Didn't know that much dirt could come out of our little industrial carpets.

I then met up with Breanna, Stephanie, and some friends at Lake Barcis, which is beautiful in the spring and summer. Hell, it's beautiful all year round, but it's too damn cold to be there in the winter! We BBQ'd and soaked up the sun.

 We kept remarking how crazy it was that we were sitting there in our bathing suits, and we could look up and see the snow-covered Alps.

This is our "table" with the meat, and of course a bottle of Patron and a water bottle chilling for later use. :)

After Barcis, I came home to get ready for dinner with the Tauscheks and company. They informed me we were going to a place called Cellini's in Sacile, which I had never heard of. It was AMAZING! We even sat outside, with perfect weather, under a greenery canopy overlooking the river. They had perfect pizza, amazing house wine (what restaurant in Italy doesn't?), and dessert to die for. I was (somewhat) of a good girl and opted for the strawberry mousse instead of the chocolate. A guy at our table took a bite of his chocolate mousse and proclaimed, "This is like sex in my mouth and everyone's invited!" By that time, of course, we had already gone through two liters of wine at the table, with Tessa and I drinking most of it. ;) We topped it off with a half liter of Moscato and went on our merry ways.

We then toured Sacile by foot, which was so beautiful. I am constantly amazed by Italians, because they have little hideaways that some people might never know are there. For example, we stumbled (literally) upon this little gazebo.

The light behind it makes it a little hard to see, but it was still beautiful--and deserted.

We then traipsed into a little bar for the men to get cappuccinos. There were these huge demi-johns full of wine corks--must have been at least three in the bar!

That's my ultimate dream, right there.

So anyway, yesterday was just amazing. Good friends, good food, good wine, beautiful country--what more could a girl ask for?

Ciao!

Day 26: Baby Fever

It's official: I have baby fever! I've told Arron several times in the past couple weeks that I'm glad he's gone, because I would be really wanting a baby, and I have to finish college first. However, that doesn't mean that I can't stare and dream whenever I see a baby in public. :)

On a funny note, I was talking to Pops the other day about how I needed to buy a onesie for a cousin's newborn baby, and I said, "God only knows that as soon as I walk into the baby department at the BX, rumors are going to start flying!" He laughed, but we both know it's true. So, this is for anyone who saw me picking out a onesie--I am not pregnant!

Onto other news: I had to be at work at 5 am this morning. Today was supposed to be a family day for our base, so the kids were out of school, but with current events, they canceled the family day and made it a regular work day. That means we had a full day with the kids, which is always interesting. However, work went by so fast that I didn't mind being there so early at all! Of course, I'm drained now, especially after running on the track after work. I really want to go bike riding, but I might just save that for tomorrow since I'm not sure if I can pick myself up off this couch! (Read: SO tired!)

The good news is that I have absolutely NOTHING scheduled for this weekend. I don't think I've had a free weekend since Arron left! I can't wait to sleep in and laze around for two days. Okay, okay, I know that lazing around isn't going to happen. I need to grocery shop and clean up the house, but I can dream, right?

Anyway, that's all for now. :) Ciao ciao!

Day 25 : Officially a Brunette!

So the blonde in my hair started turning orange from the whack job I did on it a couple weeks ago. My friend Kaelee talked me into becoming a brunette. :) I officially became a brunette on Tuesday night, but haven't had a chance to take a picture and update here.

Ignore the messy hair; I styled it yesterday and just threw it up in a half pony for today. However, I do have a great quote from one of my kinders:
Her: "What happened to your face?"
Me : "I dyed my hair brown."
Her: "It sure is messy! It used to be yellow."

Made me laugh inside. :)

Day 23 : Guilty Listening Pleasure

Anyone who has known me for several years knows that I used to be in love with the Backstreet Boys--namely, Brian. Yes, I know their golden years are far behind us, but I still love to listen to them every once in awhile. I think it's because it takes me back to a more innocent time--my friends and I would spend all recess singing Backstreet Boys songs in elementary school. I went to two of their concerts, one of them which was the first I went to without an adult (at 10! I can't believe I was so young!). They remind me of a truly happy time in my life, when the biggest problem I had was not being able to sit next to my best friend in class.

BSB is now touring with New Kids on the Block, who were a little before my time. However, it KILLS me that I won't be home this summer to catch their stop in Houston. :(

I think everyone has that singer or band they listen to to remind them of younger days. What's your guilty listening pleasure?

Day 22 : Singing the Blues

The past 24 hours has not been good for me. I'm feeling lonely, mostly. A smidgen of feeling left out. Workplace stress isn't helping.

"Even the man in the moon is singing the blues. I hope you still love me baby; I'm missing me some you." - Toby Keith

I want to go upstairs and take a bubble bath and go to bed. I'd also like to drink a couple margaritas to make myself feel better--although I know better, since alcohol only increases whatever feeling I'm already in presently. But I can't seem to peel myself off of this couch for anything.

I wish I knew the cure for bad day syndrome. I'd be a millionaire.

On a slightly brighter note, I had a little girl ask me how my day was today. I honestly think that was the first time any of our kids asked me, instead of the other way around. It made me want to cry. :)

Also, it's been three weeks. Only 20-something left to go. 

Day 20 : From the Archives

I have been meaning to post a conversation I had with a kinder about a month ago. At work, we have a spiral notebook that says on the front, "Kids Say the Funniest Things." And it is SO true. Anytime a child says something outrageous or hilarious, we write it in the book.

The following conversation occurred between myself and a boy kinder on the playground. For privacy's sake, I'll call him K.

Me: Hey, K, sit on this ladder really quickly so I can tie your shoe.
K: But it's going to hurt my butt!!
Me: Well, we use the word "bottom" here, but it won't take long.
K: (sits down) Some people like to call it their privates.
Me: Yes, you can call it that if you like.
K: I like the word "penis" better.
Me: (trying not to laugh) Okay, but let's use the word "privates" while you're here, okay?
K: Okay. (thinks) But only boys have penises. What do girls have?
Me: Well, they have privates too, just different. (thinking, "I am not giving sex ed to this kinder!!")
K: (thinking harder) Hmmm... I think girls just suck their penises in!! (quickly runs off)

Needless to say, that completely made my day. Kids seriously can say the funniest (and damnedest) things!! 

Day 19 : Done with finals! And other school-relating things.

Today was my last final for my first spring semester. I am stoked! While I don't get a Spring Break, it is still nice to know that I have two more classes done and out of the way.

Most of you probably don't know how my college works. In a normal semester, there are two mini-semesters. Each class I take is between 8-10 weeks long, so I take two or three classes at a once, which ends up being 12-18 hours a semester. I don't get a Thanksgiving break, or a Spring Break, and we only get a week for Christmas. But it's worth it to get this degree done!!

What somewhat confuses me about this college is the fact that the online classes' schedule and the face-to-face classes' schedule overlap. We just finished our second week of my Italian class, and just took finals for my online classes. However that works, this spring semester I will have taken 16 hours. I'll be taking two classes over the summer break, one of which didn't transfer from the University of Houston. So here I am, a PolySci major, taking an introduction course to PolySci after I've already taken several upper-level courses here.  Which is why I'm taking it in the summer, since I should know the material already pretty well.

Today is April 1st, a.k.a. April Fool's Day. I played a few jokes on my kindergarteners, and got them good. I told them for snack today we were having bell pepper slices, and that was it. They looked at me in bewilderment until I told them, "April Fools! We're having sugar cookies with fresh fruit!" (Sugar cookies are probably their favorite snack, and the most sugar-packed thing we offer.) After that, I told them we'd be staying inside all day, even though it was a beautiful day, and we'd be doing nothing but reading all day. I saw a few tears well up in their eyes before I told them again, "April Fools!" They laughed and acted like I didn't get them. ;)

Along with April Fool's Day, today kicks off the Month of the Military Child. We're doing a big BBQ tomorrow with plenty of games and crafts and such to keep the kids occupied for a couple hours. :) It should be fun, as it's supposed to be another beautiful day in Italia!

Ciao ciao!