MONOGRAMMED-GIVE-A-WAY-MONOGRAMMED-GIVE-A-WAY

It is the moment that we have all been waiting for!! My good friend Emory at Emma's Closet has finally launched her new website! And I have to say that I think it is fantastic! Some of you will remember my last give-a-way that Emma's Closet hosted. The lucky winner got this super cute monogrammed essential tote bag.Emory has been hard at work creating the new Emma's Closet website and I am happy to brag on her for a bit! This website has some of the cutest monogrammed gifts that I have seen in awhile. While I personally have no need for these yet, the monogrammed burp cloths make the cutest baby shower gift. Make sure to check them out.

My new obsession is the line of Mixed Tote Bags that is new to Emma's Closet. These bags come in four different sizes and are perfect for many different events. Whether it be drug store, grocery store, department store or box store size, I can think of a million things I want to use these for. I have ordered several sets of the grocery store size to use for grocery shopping in style! I am using them for Christmas gifts this year and I can't wait to surprise my relatives! I've ordered sets of 4 with a personalized monogram. And the grocery size holds up to 40 pounds! I also think that the drug store bag would make a perfect lunch bag tote for those working girls! Check out some of these awesome designs.And these are just the tip of the iceberg! There are 54 designs in all. I'm offering a set of two grocery store bags including a personalized monogram! One lucky winner will get to choose their favorite set from Emma's Closet for themselves or as a gift. There are several ways to enter.

1. Leave a comment on this post = one entry
2. Become a follower = one entry
3. Head over to Emma's Closet and check out all the bag designs. Let me know your favorite designs for another entry!
4. Post about this give-a-way on your blog and let me know about it so I can check it out! One Entry
5. If someone referred you to this give-a-way thru their blog, please let me know and that person will get an extra entry!

So there are a total of 5 different ways to win these fantastic bags! I'm really excited about this give-a-way and can't wait for everyone to enter! The winner will be drawn a week Thursday, October 8th! Happy Entering!

Whew! Alone Again!

Having guests is hard! While I have thoroughly enjoyed the past ten days with my friend Lindsay here, I am beat! I dropped her off at the airport this morning and I am home all alone. It is SO quiet here and I really have nothing important to do! I have done some cleaning, some laundry and I have dinner in the crock pot. Now I'm settled into my comfy couch watching a very eventful Days of our Lives. I did NOT see this Kate and Stefano issue happening!! I can't disclose anymore or else my mom will have a cow. She is probably about 2 months behind now despite me telling her to cut her losses and just catch up already so we can actually talk about it!

Now I just have to prepare for my parents to get here on Saturday morning! I have already washed and changed the sheets in the guest bedroom and cleaned the guest bathroom. If I could only muster up the energy to carry the vacuum cleaner upstairs I might get it finished today. Just a little time out for Days! Our master bedroom is a disaster but I might have to wait until tomorrow to tackle that chore. I considered painting the second floor hallways before my parents got here but that would require mass amounts of work and I'm just not sure I have it in me!

Anyways, that is about all that is going on with me today. I have decided on my next blog giveaway and it is a really good one!! Y'all are not going to want to miss out on this monogrammed gift!! Check back tomorrow for more details!

Oktoberfest

Good grief. How do people attend this event for multiple days in a row? How do they come back more than one time a season? Not only can I not imagine going back to Oktoberfest again for another SOLID year, I'm not sure I am fully recovered yet. Ugh!! Friday afternoon we arrived in Munich at our hotel around 5:00 in the afternoon and we walked around before settling on dinner at a great Greek restaurant.The food was great and I probably should have not have partaken in all the alcohol the night BEFORE Oktoberfest! Oh well! It was fun. SO, Saturday morning we were up early and on the train to the legendary Oktoberfest. We were forwarned by a friend that all the "tents" would fill up by 8:00am and that if we wanted any shot at getting in one without a reservation we had to be there that early. 8:00am??? Yeah right. We arrived around 9:45am to an already HUGE crowd.Here are some pictures of the tents on the grounds. Most of these bigger tents seats up to 10,000 people!!!!! I have never seen anything like it.After trying to get into two tents and being unsucessful we were feeling pretty rejected. We stopped for lunch at a smaller tent while we hatched a new game plan.After lunch it was time to get down to serious business! Every tent was PACKED. We were pretty sure that we were never going to get into one. Until my friend Lindsay decided that she was going to take no for an answer. She walked up to the back door of this tent....flashed some cash to the security guard and for some unknown reason (he didn't take the money!) he let us slide in the back door!! I couldn't believe it! After standing around taking in the sight for about half an hour we were able to cram into a table full of Italiens. Thankfully there was an opening! Some fool had already passed out and the paramedics carried him out, thus giving us a space!After about 6 hours or so we decided that we had to call it a day at the good ole Oktoberfest. I think I ingested enough beer and inhaled enough second hand smoke to last me a lifetime. Don't worry, we didn't leave before purchasing these ridiculous looking hats!All and all it was a really great (and long) day. We finally got back to our hotel after taking the wrong train like 2 times. It was lucky we made it home at all. We walked to the Greek restaurant for a bite to eat and this is what ended up happening after my husband ate.And he claimed it was from the OUZO!!!! Yeah right!! I'm not that dense!! We were home, in bed and asleep by 9:00pm!! Who wants to come with us next year!?!

Delicious Dinner

After a very relaxing day of watching TV on the couch and driving thru some wine vineyards we just had the most fantastic dinner. Deaner and I have been to this place before with GEORGE but it was equally great this time. We can't wait to take our parents there when they visit! It is up in the vineyards and is a winery itself with delicious wine. Deaner had Riesling soup tonight and I can't wait to order it myself when we go back with my parents next week.

I wish that I was able to stay up and watch the Ole Miss game tonight but it doesn't start until 1:30 in the morning! Normally I would be all for it but since we are leaving for Munich at noon tomorrow for Oktoberfest, I might have to settle for sleeping in my Ole Miss jersey! Hotty Toddy!!

I'm out!

Best News Ever!!!

Guess who is coming to visit me?!?! MY PARENTS!!!! Originally my parents were going to come visit us in Germany in October but when Captain Jack got sick they had to put their plans on hold. Well, we all know how that story goes so now they are able to come! And guess when they will be here?? A week from Saturday!! I can't believe they will be here in 9 days!! It is the best news I have had in a long time. And since my friend Lindsay is here now it is like my "run thru" as a hostess. I'm getting all the practice I need and learning the best places to take guests. Lindsay will be here until Tuesday and then my parents arrive Saturday. Just enough time to clean things up and get things organized!! I literally CANNOT wait to see them! It is so hard being away from home! And yes, I realize I am using a lot of exclamation marks but that is how I feel about them coming to visit!

Yesterday Lindsay and I had a blast in Heidelberg. The weather here has been fantastic this week and I feel like we have been really lucky. I just hope it holds another week for my parents. Here are just a couple of pictures from Heidelberg.Today, with the weather being stunning and all, we woke up early and went on the Rhein River Cruise. We got on the boat in Rudesheim and cruised up to St. Goar. I have never seen so many castles in my whole life! Every bend around the river had another castle and they were truly amazing to see. I am definitely going to take my parents next weekend. It was a great day and I'm even a little sun burned! Here is where we boarded........and now for the castle montage!And don't worry, there are even more castles in case you were jonesing for some castles!Whew!! I have even more pictures but seriously, don't y'all get the point!? All and all it was a great day even though I lost my favorite Master's sunvisor. I'm sort of sad about that but at least I have one in pink too! If anyone goes to the Master's next year I really need a new one!!

I am not sure what we are going to do tomorrow but I'm sure it will be fun no matter what it is! The weather isn't supposed to be very nice but since the forecast for Munich on Saturday is 68 and sunny, we will take a day of rain. I can't wait for Oktoberfest! There are going to be some great pictures from that event so definitely stay tuned. I'm also nearing my 200th post so I'm trying to think of a really fun giveaway! Hope everyone is having a good day!

PS--My spell checker is not working so you will have to excuse any errors (DAD!)

Guest In Town

Yea for having friends in town!!! I have someone to play with all week! My friend Lindsay got in town on Friday morning and surprisingly I had ZERO problem picking her up at the airport. Somehow I parked and walked thru the door and was right by the door that she walked out of. This never happens to me and I was pleasantly surprised that it went well! After fetching her at the airport we came home and I got to give my first official tour of our house! We met Deaner for lunch and then after work we went down to the river and the winegarten. For some reason it was closed when we got there!! I was so disappointed but the beer garten next door was open so we simply changed our plans! The above picture is of Lindsay and me in front of the beer garten. After enjoying some beers we headed home where we ate some excellent (if I do say so myself) enchiladas out on the patio. Deaner and I tried on all the presents that Linsday bought us and I can't say I am fearing the cold weather anymore!!Not with these neck warmers and hats! Thanks Lindsay!! Saturday was a pretty day so we headed to a little town just North of our town. We took the train to Assmannhausen.....and walked to the Neiderwald, which is this really neat monument on the Rhein River. You take a gondola up into the vineyards and then a 30 minute walk to the monument.We had a great time and had lunch in a little german biergarten and then did some shopping. Lindsay bought a cute little coo-coo clock and some Christmas ornaments. Deaner bought me a beautful Christmas thing that I don't know the name of!! It is one of those things that you light the candles on it and the Christmas scene spins around from the heat of the candles? I'll have to take a picture of it! I really wanted this.....but decided against in! :) I did like the yarn braides though! Saturday night we watched some fooball until LATE in the evening so we slept in late on Sunday. After lunch at the PX on Sunday we went to the little town of Konigstein to visit the castle ruins that remain there. Unfortunately right when we got there it started pouring raining. Thankfully after standing in an ancient tunnel for an hour, the weather clear up and we were able to get some pictures taken!See Deaner in the picture above?? It has been a fun past few days! Today Linsday and I went to downtown Wiesbaden to eat lunch and walk around. She bought one of the biggest bags of gummy bears I have ever seen and I am pretty jealous of them! Now we are home watching Days of Our Lives before we head down to the winegarten! Hopefully today it will be open! I'll post more pictures tomorrow! We are heading to Oktoberfest this weekend and I can't wait to experience it firsthand! I'll try and keep up my posting this week! Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

Horrific Experience

Everyone knows how ready I was to get home from England. I'm not sure I could have taken another night of being there in that awful hotel. So when we arrived at the Manchester airport for our 8:05pm flight I was fully relieved that we were finally on our way home. Being that we got there several hours early we decided to grab dinner since we would be getting home way to late to eat once we got home. We picked a little airport restaurant where everything was mediocre and overpriced. I ordered a California chicken breast sandwich. All seemed good. Then our food came out. Mine was disgusting. I mean, hard to eat disgusting. I was really trying not to complain but about half way through it I couldn't take it anymore and told Deaner something was wrong with my sandwich. When he took a bite he sort of started laughing and said "Uhhh, Gleatie, that isn't chicken, it's TUNA FISH"!!!! OMG. If I had to pick the most disgusting food in the entire world, I would have picked tuna fish. I hate it. I hate all fish but tuna fish in particular makes me gag. It was pretty much the worst thing he could have told me. I was worried for hours afterwards that it was going to make me sick. Thankfully it did not. However, what happened next almost did..........

It took forever, of course, for me to get my right food. Even then I was so rattled by the tuna fish ingestion that I couldn't really eat much. We paid our bill and Deaner headed for the bathroom before we headed to our gate. Our flight was at 8:05 (or 20:05) and the person at the front desk told us that we started boarding at 7:30. I think it must have been around 7:00pm at that time. While Deaner was in the restroom I started scanning the board for what gate number we were leaving from. Horror and dread came over me as I saw at the very top of the board.......FINAL BOARDING CALL.....FRANKFURT.......GATE 24. All I could think was oh my god, how did this happen to us?? Deaner comes out of the bathroom and I am FRANTICALLY waving my arms at him pointing at our last boarding call warning. He too starts to freak out and we go RUNNING down the escalator, practically knocking people down, and sprinting towards gate 24. Girls, let me tell you, if only one of us were going to make this flight, it was going to be Deaner. He left me in the DUST. He claims now that he was just trying to get there first to hold the flight but I'm not so sure! Anyways, we dash up to the gate literally as the gate agent has closed the doors to the ramp. Here is how the conversation went:

Deaner: "WAIT WAIT!!!! HOLD THE PLANE"!!!!!!!
Gate Agent: Briefly glances thru a tiny window "Sorry sir, the plane has already pushed back".
Me: "HOW CAN THIS BE?? WE WERE TOLD IT WOULDN'T BOARD UNTIL 7:30pm"!!!
Gate Agent: Very calmly. "No, we boarded at 7:00pm"
Deaner: "DID YOU BOARD EARLY"?????
Gate Agent: "No, right on time"
Me: "WELL I AM POSITIVE THEY TOLD US 7:30pm!! YOUR FRONT DESK PEOPLE ARE TELLING EVERYONE THE WRONG TIMES"!!!

At this point, I am reaching full blown hysteria. There is only ONE flight a day from Manchester to Frankfurt and we were in the process of missing it. All I could think of was the fact that we would be stuck there another night, Deaner's boss would think we were morons (since he was on the flight too), it was going to cost us a fortune, and we would have another whole day in England!! Tears were filling up my eyes and my hands were shaking. Back to the conversation (by the way, the gate agents were walking away already as they obviously didn't give a hoot about our plight!)

Deaner: "I just don't understand, it says right here on our ticket that we don't leave until 20:05"
Gate Agent: "Let me see that ticket".
Me: "I'm just positive they said 7:30".
Gate Agent: "Sir, this is a Luftansa gate"
Deaner: "Ok but now we are never going to get home"
Gate Agent: "Sir this is a Luftansa gate and you are holding A RYAN AIR TICKET"!!!!!

Oh. My. Gosh. I have never felt so stupid. And so relieved all in one emotion. I didn't know whether to cry or laugh but I do know that I almost had 3 heart attacks. As we made our way back to the lobby area we saw Deaner's boss and our flight's gate hadn't even been announced yet. Deaner explained then to me that our flight would be listed under "Hahn" and not "Frankfurt" but I certainly didn't see him enlightening me of that during the mad dash 2009.

Looking back on it now it is REALLY funny to me. But it took almost an entire week for me to get up the nerve to write it down! (besides being sidetracked by a few other more significant events!) I'm glad it is over and I am glad that we made it home. I wish I didn't have to eat tuna fish or have a coronary in the process but at least I am over gagging when I THINK about the tuna!!

I have a friend coming in town tomorrow morning from Houston!! I can't wait to see her and the next 10 days are going to be a blast and probably leave me really worn out. Tonight is Captain Jack's visitation and tomorrow is the funeral. I just found out that it is going to be a full military burial which is REALLY cool to me. I have seen one before and there is no way to describe the feeling when Taps is played. It would give anyone goose bumps. I wish I was going to be there to honor my grandfather but I know he would be cursing me from heaven if I had flown all the way home. Keep my family in your thoughts today and tomorrow. And thanks for all the kind words this week. They have meant more than y'all will ever know!

John Joseph Schiveree 3/21/1930 - 9/15/2009

Would you get a load of that face?? It is hard to imagine this picture was taken in (roughly) 1934 or so!! Sorry for the terrible scanning job, I'm not sure whether to blame my mother or my father, but this little boy is cute! I'm betting that he was also very bad! I woke up this morning sad and missing my Captain Jack. I can hardly get my head around the fact that I am never going to see him again. The weather in Germany doesn't do much to lift ones spirits either. I'm sad that I won't be able to get home for the funeral and sad that I didn't get to say goodbye. I imagined that this sort of thing would happen at some point while we were living overseas but I sure didn't think it would be this fast or this person. Anyways, I was excited to see this picture when I checked my e-mail this morning. I remember growing up that my mom hung pictures going up the back stairs and this one was always one of them. So was this one.....Did anyone notice that the suits are almost identical in both these pictures?? Hmmmmmm. Captain Jack was a handsome man, and don't think he didn't know it. This picture was taken around the time of the Korean War, I am assuming. Eventually, my grandfather went to work at Prudential, where he had to wear a suit and tie to work everyday. I mention this only because if you only knew him after retirement (at the age of 50!) you would have seen him in an outfit more like this.....Crappy t'shirts, crappy cut off jeans and (mostly) crappy boat shoes. It used to make my grandmother so mad and there were times when you might have mistaken him for being homeless. :) He had to be THREATENED for special occasions and you could never be certain what he would show up wearing. He managed to show up for my sister's rehearsal dinner in the hideous boat shoes and I thought my mom was going to slap him. I think that it is only appropriate that he is going to be buried in them. My mom said she would have buried him in a t'shirt and cut-offs but that she would be afraid to answer to my grandmother when they finally meet again! I just can't believe that the above picture was taken only 6 WEEKS AGO! My mom said he must have been telling a story about how big the fish was that just got away.

Tomorrow I PROMISE more entertaining stories. I have a really good one about something that happened to Deaner and I in the Manchester airport last Friday. My heart is still racing from it. And guess who is coming over for dinner tonight!?!? GEORGE!!!!!! Deaner said that we really needed to have him and his wife over to show our appreciation for everything they have done for us since we have moved here. I agree, but I'm sure it is going to be a doozy. And while I haven't seen George in two weeks, he has been over twice today. Once with a meter reader and once with a person to check on our heat. Why he was checking on our heat? I don't even ask anymore, I just let him in! Alright, I'm off to finish cooking and start tapping my toe for my husband to make his appearance from the gym! Happy Hump Day!