Not My Day

Lord this has been a long day! I had such big plans and I did not get off to them on the right foot! I was up and ready to leave the house by 10am this morning. I needed to go to Hornbach for more paint, the commissary for a can of tomato sauce (I know, the ONE thing I forgot to buy on Monday) and to the Mainz-Kastel base for more gas and more paint tape at the hardware store. So I set off on my merry way. About half way into town I realized that I forgot the can of paint that I needed more of sitting on the table at home. Knowing me, there was no way in hell I would remember which color it was once I got to the store so it was back to the house I went. Of course I got stuck by a train going AND leaving again. Set back, 35 minutes or so. I decided to go to Hornbach first. As luck would have it, the paint counter was getting a new computer installed so there was no one there to help me. And by no one, I mean there was no one even in sight for me to ask when it would be re-open, so I left.

I then headed towards the commissary to get my one can of tomato sauce for spaghetti. On the way there I was flashed by a radar disguised in an unmarked white van. Nice. This is the SECOND time in TWO weeks that I think I have been flashed. For those of you who don't know, the police will rarely pull you over in Germany for speeding but they have these handy cameras just about everywhere. The tickets are mailed to you no sooner than about 3 months later just when you think you have gotten away with it. I was not pleased about this AT ALL. Continuing on. Got my tomato sauce and headed to Mainz-Kastel, which is also where Deaner works.

While approaching the town of Mainz-Kastel some dumb ass decided to make a left hand turn AT THE LAST SECOND and I had to slam on my brakes, which sent my car skidding around, in order to miss rear ending the car in front of me, who was also experiencing the same issue (skidding around). All my VAT forms flew off the seats all over the place and the paint can went flying. This only could have been worse if the lid had popped off!

Did my business at MK and headed back to Hornbach. Still closed. Excellent. Headed home. Got stuck by the train again. Started my spaghetti sauce only to find out that my LAST onion was rotten. As it turned out I actually did need more at the store than just tomato sauce. Continued making sauce with only onion powder. I survived and thankfully the day is drawing to a close. Whew!

On a MUCH better note, the baby's room is looking stunning. After my bad morning I tackled the beams and made tons of progress. The only part I have left is to paint the baseboards. I'll do that tomorrow. Hopefully! Here are some pictures.I am thrilled with the way that things are turning out. My friend Anne thinks that she will be able to paint the tree sometime at the end of next week or the beginning of the next. I'm so excited to see how it will turn out. I know she will do a great job! Tomorrow I need to tackle the baseboards. I am going back and forth about whether to do them in cream or in that same brown as the beams. I'm just not sure. HELP!

I think I'll make the executive decision tomorrow. What does everyone think about the room??

Baby Evans' Room

Good grief. I have been working my tail off in the baby's room this week! I love having a project though and it really helps the day fly by. Unfortunately I am one of those people who can't seem to stop working on the project at the end of the day. I haven't slept very well the past few nights because all I can think about is what I am going to be working on the next day. That and the fact that last night I had to get up FIVE times to pee. Maybe all that sparkling water and SOUP for dinner wasn't the best idea. I keep telling myself that I am going to get up bright and early to work on the room each morning but this time change has got me all out of whack! Maybe tomorrow! SO, today was a very big day for me. I got ALL the walls painted (including second coats) and including the parts that I didn't think I would be able to reach. As it turns out, the tall ladder that George lent us is just high enough for me to reach the ceiling. It wasn't a big area to paint and yes, I know Deaner would have done it but I just didn't feel like waiting. After all the walls were done and the tape was taken down I started on the window trim and the door frame. Just a brain refresher, the window frames and door frame are painted in an extremely bright blue, just like the lovely carpet. Here are the before pictures.Now, my walls are the loveliest khaki color that matches the crib bedding perfectly and the door frame and window frame are a shade darker. I am really happy with how it turned out!As you can see in the last picture, I started taping the beams and put the first coat on the parts I could reach. I am really really happy with the way that the window and door turned out. It was a bit tedious as it took FIVE coats to cover up that hideous blue. I am anticipating the beams being just as awful but it will be worth it I think in the end. Deaner forgot his work out clothes for the gym today so when he came home he worked on taping the rest of the beams. I'm hoping that they will be done by this weekend. I am not sure that I have shared this part yet but it is one of my favorites. On this particular wall.....I am going to copy this tree.Well, let me clarify, my friend Anne is going to paint this tree, definitely not me. I am going to make the birds blue I think. Anne is an awesome artist and I know that she will make it perfect. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Since she is starting a new job this week I am not sure exactly when we will get it done but hopefully soon. Then the crib will go in front of the tree. The tree will be in the same color brown as the windows, beams and door frame. If you can't tell, I am really excited about all of this!! I'm surprised that is seems to be coming together. The last HUGE hurdle is the carpeting. I am going to have to get brave and go looking for some soon! Oh yeah, I also have to paint all the baseboards. They are currently detached from the walls and lined up in the guest bathroom. That will probably take another day.

So that has been my day! Hope that y'all enjoy the pictures. I sure like doing the work so I like to show it off! I'm also going to be hosting an Emma's Closet give-a-way as soon as Emory gets settled into her new house so stay tuned! Happy Tuesday!

Progress on the Room Switch

So, before I show the progress that I made this weekend I had to share this first. I forgot to post about it on Friday and I think it is worthy of mention. Now I know I mentioned before that Germans think it is appropriate to bring their dogs with them everywhere. Not being a big dog fan myself, I find this pretty obnoxious. I mean, I just don't want to look at your dog while I am eating my dinner. Thursday night Deaner and I went to our favorite "fancy" restaurant for dinner. I was appalled when someone walked in with their dog. Of course they sat at the table right next to us. Sick. Then they freaking put food out for their dog! So not only did I have to LOOK at their dog, I then had to HEAR him eat his dinner! Unreal. After he was finished chomping his dinner, the waitress brought him a bowl of water. Before she even brought the humans their drinks. Sometimes I think I am living in the twilight zone.

Friday evening Deaner and I moved all the furniture from the former guest bedroom, to the new guest bedroom. Before y'all go and yell at me, the furniture was not that heavy and I didn't have to strain to pick any of it up. I am happy with the way that the new guest bedroom turned out with the exception of one large ugly military issued closet that doesn't fit in the room but was too heavy to move. Here is a picture of the old guest bedroom.The new guest room is actually bigger I think than the old one and it just up a flight of stairs. The new guest room could use a coat of paint and a new carpet but that just isn't going to be happening right now. I hope that it will satisfy all our guests.Like I said, I could do without that giant shrank (closet) in this new room but I'm not sure where to put it for now. The old guestroom/new baby's room is going to take me awhile. Everything needs to be painted, the ceilings are high, the exposed beams are painted BLUE, as are the door frames, window frames and baseboards. I'm anticipating it taking awhile. Sunday I was restless and didn't feel like lying on the couch all afternoon so I started painting one wall. Again, before there are any screams, paint in Germany is not latex or oil based and there are no fumes. It is perfectly safe for me to paint the walls. I'll leave the extremely high parts to Deaner though. The walls are going to be a khaki color. I'm sort of nervous that the pillow sham that I had matched to the paint was a bit dark but there is no turning back now. Here are just a few pics.I have a long way to go. We are having HUGE issues with having the crib and changing table shipped here and it has been one huge headache after another. Anyways, it hasn't been shipped yet and therefore I have plenty of time to get the room in order!

Today I had to do some errands including going to the commissary (again), hit up the base hardware store for more paint tape and the German Home Depot (Hornbach) to get a cream color paint to paint the baseboards. I love having a project!! I'll make sure to post some more pictures soon!! Hopefully there will be more progress! Happy Monday!

Where Did the Week Go?

With all this traveling suddenly I look up and it is already Friday. Geez. I had so much stuff to post about as well! Now I feel like it is all in the past and that I should move on! However, for a very brief recap........Our flight didn't get back to Frankfurt until midnight on Wednesday night. We didn't arrive home until after 1am. It was an extremely long day and we were both thrilled to be home. Poor Deaner had to be out and out of the house to work bright and early on Thursday morning because the car was due for an oil change. I was up pretty early myself because I had a doctor's appointment. One of my favorite past times! Things went much more smoothly at the doctor's this month and Deaner, thankfully, is back to liking the doctor a lot. Thank god. I couldn't have lived with that for much longer. She apologized profusely to him for blurting out the baby's sex last time and I think he was just thankful that she acknowledged it. Crisis averted. Baby Evans is looking good these days! I am 18 weeks and 2 days pregnant today and that means that I am ALMOST half way there. Evans was healthy and moving around and the Doctor sounded pretty optimistic about our trip to Greece. Also, much to my relief, Evans is still in fact, a boy. Trust me, when you have bought as many clothes as I have, you start to worry about these things!

After my trip to the doctor I checked our mailbox that has been neglected for over a week. We had about 20984 packages including part of my crib bedding! SO, this afternoon I headed over to the German version of Home Depot and actually discovered that they could scan my color and match the paint! Wouldn't this tidbit have been nice to know when I was painting everything else in our house!? Now I am about to go upstairs and start moving the light things from the guest room (future baby room) up to the new guestroom (currently empty room). Then I can really dig in and start on the room next week. I'm excited to have a project and can't wait to take pictures to show y'all.

Ok, even though I have more to tell I am going to have to sign out for now because I want to get some work down upstairs on the bedrooms. Including testing my paint color on the walls. Happy Friday to everyone! I hope your weekend weather is better than ours is supposed to be!

From Bavaria, Home, to England

It has been a busy past couple of days! We headed to Garmish Germany early on Friday morning with our friends, Anne and Brian. I haven't downloaded any of the pictures yet, which sort of stinks but I'll be able to post them once I get home. The weather in Garmish was awesome and the skiers had a great time. I was pretty disappointed not to be able to ski with the others. I didn't think I would mind as much as I did but it just looked like so much fun and I sort of felt left out. Saturday was nice because I went up the mountain and had lunch at least with Deaner, Anne and Brian. It was really nice and warm up there, surprisingly, and I was able to sit at the restaurant and watch them ski for a couple of hours before we headed back down. Dinners at night were fun and we made it back safely on Sunday afternoon. Pictures will follow, promise.

It was a short homecoming for us but the one night in our own bed was nice, I have to admit. We were up early on Monday morning and on our way to the airport. We got to England safely but unfortunately something got screwed up with our rental car and we ended up with a manual transmission rental car. So on top of Deaner haven't to drive in a car with the wheel on the wrong side, on the wrong side of the road, he now had to figure out how to drive the stick, backwards. It was a pretty interesting drive to the hotel.

Today has been pretty uneventful. Deaner came home for lunch and we were able to go eat at a restaurant on the base. Now I am just waiting for him to return! Days of our Lives may or may not be on in the background. I think I am going to go read my book now and maybe look at baby stuff online. Deaner has forbidden me to buy anything until AFTER my baby shower in Atlanta on May 1st but I can look right??

Big Hit

Well I had no idea that a picture of my fat belly would be such a big hit! But with 16 comments I'll make sure to post another when I feel as though I've hit another milestone! Getting fatter makes everyone want to look!!

We got up early this morning and left for Garmish around 7:15am and arrived a bit after noon. After dropping off all the skiers I went into town and dined alone. I was a little sad and a little jealous not to participating in the spring skiing. Especially because it is 65 degrees without a cloud in the sky. I'm afraid it is going to be a long day alone tomorrow. I could always take the life up and have lunch etc with them but I think a lift ticket for the sole purpose of having lunch is a little bit silly. Anyways, after I ate lunch downtown I checked into our hotel. Just before completely conking out in our hotel I realized that my phone was in the car so I had to shake myself awake. Now, pathetically enough, I'm sitting in the backseat of my car with the windows down, blogging from my iPhone. Cool, I know! It's 4:06pm and hopefully they will have had enough soon! I just hope Deaner comes down in one piece!

Pictures to follow. Excuse any spelling mistakes! They were ALL the iPhones fault! I just have one question to leave everyone with this Friday. I already asked this on facebook but........In the Brady Bunch, what happened to the Dad of those 3 girls and the Mom of those 3 boys that allowed Mike and Carol to create the Brady Bunch?? Just a thought!! Happy Friday!

Against My Will - Belly Picture

I have really gone back and forth on whether or not I was going to do this but let's face it, I have been pretty boring lately. It is pretty easy for me to hide all the way over here in Germany and not let anyone see my growing belly and honestly, that suits me just fine. I was 17 weeks pregnant yesterday and as I was getting dressed to head out to my Spouses Club lunch I figured it might be about time to sport a pair of maternity jeans. I am still able to wear my normal jeans but since I was wearing a more fitted top, my fat belly was going to be a bit more obvious. I can still hid behind button down polos (and probably will for a few more weeks!) but yesterday I decided to just go for it. I am almost half way through this pregnancy after all. My dad accused me of "poking it out" farther than it was, but you can rest assured, I'd rather not do that!!I actually felt like I LOOKED pregnant yesterday. I think that the difference is that when I wear my regular jeans, I can disguise the "muffin top" with a large shirt. When I wore the maternity jeans, my belly was free of all constraints and had nothing holding it back! I know the quality of the picture isn't great and sorry you can see all the million and one cords hiding behind our TV but that is the only large mirror in the house where I could take it. And don't get used to these, I only did it because I was feeling very brave. A moment like that might not strike again for awhile. Today I am back to wearing my roll over yoga pants that do a very nice job of holding that belly in! Coupled with a long sleeve t-shirt, you might just mistake me for being a bit plump! :)

Today is a beautiful day here in Germany and I am still trying to decide how I want to spend it. I don't have to leave the house until around 3:30 to head to the base and pick up Deaner's skiis from the outdoor rec place. Then I am heading to Steph's house to get some much needed highlights in my hair. From there I will head to Frankfurt to pick up my beloved husband from his flight from Manchester. I'm thinking we will eat out somewhere easy, gas up the car and come home and pack for our weekend in Garmish. So now I have roughly 2 hours to myself and I can do whatever I want. If only I HAD something to do! :)
As I was admiring the beautiful weather out the window this morning I was very surprised to see this.A solid 8 inches of bird crap right in the way of my view when I look out the window. I know that the angle I took the picture from all you can see is the neighbor's house but when I look up into the vineyards it is all I can see as well. I know I need to clean it off but that is just gross! It is supposed to rain here this weekend so maybe I will see if that does the trick first!

Anyways I'm off to try and get some things done! It's almost time for the weekend (a long one for us!) and I for one can't wait. Even despite the fact that we are leaving for the Alps very early tomorrow! Lord help me!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I dropped Deaner off bright and early this morning at the Frankfurt airport so he could catch a flight to Manchester. Luckily he is only gone for one night so I don't have to worry too much about what I am going to do to fill up my time! :) After dropping him off I headed home, showered and picked up my friend for our Spouses Club monthly luncheon. I went last month for the first time and had a really good time. This month I joined and hopefully I'll continue to enjoy going. I won a basket full of baby items that I bid on during the live auction and it has been fun going thru it this afternoon. Why is buying baby stuff SO addicting?

So yesterday my mom claims to have spent two hours cleaning the baby crib that was mine, my sister and my brother's and having it set up in the new "baby room" at her house. My dad officially does not have an office anymore in his own home but my baby will have his own room complete with the new Pottery Barn bedding that she bought this past weekend. I can't wait to see it.

Well, I really don't have much else to say today. I think there will be lots of lounging on the couch and reading of my new hilarious book. I should mention that it was 57 degrees today and it is supposed to be 62 here this weekend!! Too bad that we will be down in the Alps where it will probably still be super cold. Perhaps Spring is on the way! It is hard to believe that we have almost been here for one year. March 28th will be the first anniversary and I am looking forward to reading what I had to write on that day. I remember it like it was yesterday and thank god I am in a different place today! Happy Wednesday everyone!

Just a Day Late

Sorry for my absence yesterday! Deaner was feeling a bit under the weather and decided to stay home from work for the day. It completely threw me off my normal Monday routine and I had to keep reminding him yesterday that I was "all out of sorts"! He got quite a kick out of that. So, it was nice to have a long weekend. Especially since he is heading to England tomorrow and I will be alone tomorrow night. We had a pretty good weekend. Friday night we tried a new restaurant out and liked it. I obviously wasn't thinking when I ate tomato soup and then spaghetti for dinner and I was chewing the Tums for the rest of the night. Saturday we ran some errands and had dinner at my favorite restaurant, Vapiano. It was nice being out of the house. We are getting so close now to Day Light Savings time and I can't wait to have the extra hours of sun in the day. Better yet, I'm ready for it to warm up some. My legs haven't been this pale in a LONG time.

Today I have gotten back into my routine a little bit. The house is clean and dinner is on the stove. I ran to the commissary and met Deaner for lunch. Now I am relaxing on the couch and about to start reading my new book. Has anyone read the book A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel? I read it a few years back after I ran out of every other book I owned and it was the last one I had that I had not read. I don't know what took me so long because it was truly one of the funniest books that I have ever read. I laughed through the entire book and if I had not returned it to my mom, I would read it again. I was super excited to find out (from reading another blog!) that there was a sequel to A Girl Named Zippy called She Got Up Off the Couch. It took me awhile to get my act together and get it ordered but it came last week and I started it last night. I was already laughing in the Preface. Can't wait to get further into it!

Speaking of ordering new books. If you haven't signed up for Ebates now is the time! In the past week I have accrued $30 in cash back from internet orders! $10.40 of that was from ONE order from Barnes & Noble. Definitely worth it. And you get $5 in your account just for signing up! Thanks to all the readers that have already signed up! Your reward is coming, I promise! :)

I'm off to read now. Deaner is picking up his skiis after work today for our ski jaunt this weekend and I hope he picks up the pace as I am sure I will be ready to eat! :) The above picture was taken at the Zugspitz in Garmish, Germany. This is where we are heading this weekend for some skiing. I hope Deaner doesn't end up with any broken bones!! Happy Tuesday!

One Day Closer

Ok, I can now write a post. I have eaten half a large thin crust pizza and I am feeling a bit more peppy than I was a few hours ago. I felt pretty good during my day in kindergarten today and even when I got home I was feeling pretty good. After about an hour on the couch I was pretty exhausted. Thankfully I managed to talk about pizza long enough that Deaner agreed we should forego having burgers and just order pizza. It was delicious and worth it! No dishes, no kitchen clean up and now I am back on the couch.

I have to work again tomorrow so hopefully it will be early to bed for me. 6:00am comes really early. Especially when you wake up with killer heartburn. How that happened, I don't know, but I think I had eaten 6 Tums by noon. So this morning I heard some funny little kids exchange a few words. When I sub for this particular position I concertrate on two particular little kids. The little girl is so cute and has always been really well behaved for me. When we were walking into the school this morning I leaned over to her and said "E, let's have a really good day at school today so that I can give your mom a good report". At just the same time I said this a 1st grader was walking by and she looked at me and said "What's a report"? Well, my student, E, said "A report is what she gives my mom if I have a good day at school". To this the 1st grader looked impressed and said, "Wow! You are one smart 'lil kindygartener"! I laughed all day about it. When I said goodbye to E this afternoon she called as she was walking out the door, "I'm really going to miss you"! So sweet. Lucky for her, I'll be there again tomorrow. If it could just all be this easy!

This weekend we don't have any big plans. I want to go to the German equivalent of Home Depot and look at paint colors for the baby's room. Hopefully some other fun and exciting things will occur as well. Only seven more hours of working to get to the weekend! Happy Thursday!

Winter Time Blues

When I close my eyes and dream about places that I would rather be instead of Wiesbaden, Germany, this is one place that comes to mind. One year ago today (and seriously, I think it was exactly a year ago) Deaner and I were on our honeymoon in Tamarindo Costa Rica. Paradise on earth. What I wouldn't give right now to be sitting in this exact chair, sipping a cold beverage and soaking up the sun. It was 80 degrees and sunny for the 5 nights that we stayed at the Capitan Suizo and being that it was March, it was a great break from the cool weather in Atlanta. Now that is it 24 degrees and FRIDGID in Germany, I'm think I would appreciate a vacation like this 100 times more. If I can just hold on until Greece at the end of May! Hopefully things will continue to be uneventful with my pregnancy and the doctor will feel comfortable letting me go. Otherwise, we might have problems.
I met Deaner today for lunch and enjoyed a nice big calzone at the pizza place near where he works. It is sort of sad that it is only 5:00pm and I am already thinking about the spaghetti that is on the stove simmering for dinner. I have been HUNGRY lately! I seriously doubt the my zero weight gain will hold up at this next doctor's appointment.

I am working tomorrow and Friday and while I am not dreading it too much, I'm not really looking forward to it. I'm not nervous at all since I have subbed for this person before and the two kids that she works with are pretty easy. I'm just hoping that everything goes smoothly and that the days go by quickly! Before I know it, the weekend will be here! This weekend I am hoping to pick out colors for the baby's room and to start looking at carpet samples. I'm sure that this is exactly what Deaner wants to do on the weekend but if we wait much longer, I won't be able to paint the room by myself. That should motivate him! And don't worry, paints here aren't usually latex based so the fumes aren't anything like paint back in the States. We also have to move the guest bedroom from it's current location up to the empty spare room on the top floor. All this should give me several projects next week. Deaner has to travel to England on Wednesday and what better way to spend my time?

Alright, I'm off. Deaner annouced that he is really tired and isn't going to go to the gym today. Something must be up! But he is on his way home and I am going to clean up a bit first. Happy Hump Day!

I'm Caving

That didn't take long, huh? Deaner and I discussed the crib bedding last night and decided that I would purchase the quilt out of my money that I earn substituting and that we would purchase the rest of the set out of our joint account. After dreaming about it again last night I woke up this morning and ordered it. Then I got to thinking. If I had ordered the items together I would have saved $21 on shipping, could have qualified for 10% off and used a $25 gift card. SO, I just got off the phone with Pottery Barn Kids where I cancelled both orders. I'll re-place them together tomorrow and will be able to get the nursery set, the quilt and the monogrammed sham for $317 instead of just the nursery set and quilt for $370. What was I thinking? At least I came to my senses! Hopefully I won't dream about it tonight again! I also dreamed that my teeth were falling out. Not a pleasant nights sleep!

It has been sunny here in Germany for the past several days in a row. This is practically unheard of in Germany. Now, if it would just get above 25 degrees we might have something to work with!

I don't have a ton more to say. I've been meaning to mention that I have a new found love for SPARKLING water! I don't even like regular water at all and I used to really hate sparkling water. Now my new favorite drink is a 1.5 liter bottle of sparkling water with crystal light in it. YUM. And it can't hurt me to be drinking that much water!

Alright, I have to go because I'm about to have to go meet a friend and see if their ski rack fits on the top of my Jeep. We are going skiing next weekend and if we don't figure out a way to transport the skiis, we are going to have a small problem. Hope everyone is having a good day!

Weekend Recap & Baby Bedding

Don't y'all just love how my titles don't ever seem to go with each other?? We had a really nice weekend this past weekend and I am sorry that it is over. Friday night we went to our favorite restaurant, Trenz, where I got to enjoy the best reisling soup ever made as well as some awesome Flammkuchen. I even ordered my own glass of wine even if I did only drink a few sips out of it, it was nice to have my own glass and I am sure that Deaner didn't mind finishing it up the last 3/4ths of it for me. Saturday for lunch we were really adventureous and headed to good ole McDonald's for lunch. We RARELY do this because to be honest, fast food just isn't as convienant over here as it is in the States. We are both too chicken to go through the drive thru which means if we want it, we have to "dine in" and it is not normally on our agenda. However, I cannot tell a lie. I am in love with McDonald's chicken nuggets and french fries. I am not in love with the no ice and no refills that comes with being in Germany. We ventured to a new McDonalds on Saturday and when we ordered I was surprised that they put two empty cups on our tray. What could this mean? As I turned around it was like the heavens opened and all the angels were singing as I saw a self serve coke fountain WITH ICE!!! It just goes to show, dreams really do come true. That will now be my McDonald's of choice when we actually go to a McDonalds. There was actually some sort of warning sign on top of the drink machine and it may or may not have threatened patrons about getting refills and/or leaving the premises with their drinks but we ignored it. Stupid Americans!

Saturday evening we went over to our friends house before heading out to a restaurant called the Waldgeist for dinner. The Waldgeist is known for it's XXXL food and drinks. They serve giant hamburgers and schnitzels etc and the beers come in increments of 2 liters. Unfortunately when we arrived we realized the error of our ways by not making a reservation. There was a party of 192 coming for dinner and there was 0% chance of getting in. Bummer. We redeemed ourselves with dinner at Brauhaus Castel where everyone ELSE got to enjoy the home brewed beer. It was still a very enjoyable dinner and we had a great time. Deaner stayed up WAY too late playing with his new satellite dish, SKY TV, that he managed to install all by himself on Saturday. He is very proud of himself and I have to admit that I am pleasantly surprised that he did it as well. Just goes to show what you can accomplish when you actually WANT something like MORE television channels so badly!

While Deaner enjoyed all his new TV channels I started looking at crib bedding. Who knew it was so expensive!? Anyways, I didn't think I would find anything that I loved but I did and now I must have it. I know it is a little silly to love CRIB BEDDING this much but I found a set at Pottery Barn Kids and I adore it. I even had a DREAM about it last night. Think I am a little off my rocker? I do. I resisted the urge to buy it on the spot and I actually created a PB Kids registry. They have the cutest things! Here are some pictures of the bedding. I love that it is neutral and that I could use it again with another boy or a little girl.I am having a few heart attacks that it is actually on sale right now because I am scared that means it will sell out or that they aren't going to be making it anymore. I will try and do the reasonable thing by waiting however. That's what adults do, right? Let's see how long until I cave.

Sunday was a nice low key day. I swear we did not go to the PX and buy more things for the baby. Promise. There was more SKY TV watching and computer internet surfing. It was our actual anniversary on Sunday but since we celebrated all weekend we didn't do much on the actual day! Deaner made a big pot of chili for dinner and we watched Amazing Race. And now we have arrived here on Monday. Sigh. I have already been to the commissary and of course they didn't have any buffalo meat. Annoying because now I will have to go back. I am making soup for dinner and looking forward to eating it already! I am working on Thursday and Friday this week so I have to mentally prepare myself! I hope that everyone has a great Monday!

Baby Crib, Changing Table & Anniversary Dinner

OOOOOh, how it has been such a long day. I was up at 5:55am and in the shower for my long day at school. I'm finally home and fighting to keep my eyes open. I was told today by a student that I have a very "memorable face" and that I was the "coolest sub ever" by another. Pretty good track record for the day. I'm even working TWO days next week. I don't know if I can handle all this work! Ha ha!

Tonight we are celebrating our first anniversary at Trenz. I can't wait to eat some Riesling Soup and Flammkuchen!! Yum!! I really think that I am going to have to catch some quick ZZZZZZZ's before our reservation at 7pm or else I'll never make it!

So, I am pretty excited because I just ordered Baby Evans crib, changing table, mattress and changing table pad. I am SUPER pumped about it. This was a gift to us from Deaner's Mom, Aunt, and Grandmother. It is the perfect gift and I cannot wait to see it in person! I haven't picked out bedding or anything but here is a picture of the crib and changing table.I realize that this picture is of a girl's room but obviously ours will be decorated differently. I need to start looking at bedding but what a headache. I REALLY need to figure out what I am going to do about the ugly carpet in the baby's room. Everytime I think about it I get frustrated and have to ignore it again. Maybe I can get something done this weekend but that is doubtful!

Anyways, I'm off to take a little nap on the couch. Happy Friday to everyone and hope that the weekend treats y'all well!!!!!

Do You Use Ebates?

Ebates is something that I have recently been introduced to. I have to admit that I signed up a long time ago and promptly forgot about it. Since Deaner and I do a lot of ordering online I recently checked out my account and I am now more committed to use it. Ebates is a site that offers cash back on most items you can order online. All you have to do is go to www.ebates.com, find the store where you want to make a purchase, and head to that store via Ebates. Each store offers a different percentage back but it sure does add up! I just got $10.40 back from Barnes and Noble for ordering a shipment of books. If you are interested in signing up for free (in fact, you get $5 just for signing up) click here. If you do register, please use me as a reference so that I get $5 too!! My email address is sarahgleaton@hotmail.com and I promise, for those of you that use me as a reference, I'll do something very nice for you in the near future, perhaps involving a give-a-way!!

Today I met my friend Steph for lunch at our favorite place and we pigged out on pasta. Well, I might clarify that I pigged out at least! Steph and Jon are heading to the Middle East this weekend and will be out of town for 10 days! Not sure what I will do without her home but I'm sure there will be lots of e-mailing going on!

Right now I am trying to decide what to do about purchasing a crib. So many things to do! I have to work tomorrow and I am sure that will WEAR ME OUT!! Have I mentioned that Sunday is our first anniversary? It has really snuck up on both of us. Our big present is our trip to Greece but we are going to eat at our favorite place, Trenz, tomorrow night. I hope I can stay awake! I knew the first year of marriage would be eventful but I am not sure I knew I would be almost four months pregnant on our first anniversary! It has been a great year for sure.

Say a prayer for me tomorrow that I can hang in there. Working is always trying for me! And don't forget to sign up for Ebates!! It would make me VERY VERY happy. You wouldn't want to disappoint me, would you? Happy It's Almost Friday!!

Home Again & Baby Name Announcement

We are back from Brussels. It was a quick trip but not unpleasant. Especially since it included a trip to the Pizza Hut buffet AND a dinner at Chi-Chi's for fajitas. Get this, it has actually been sunny for the past TWO days! This is like Christmas coming early to Germany! When I checked my iphone weather forecast earlier today it showed sunshine the next 7 days EXCEPT for Saturday, where it is supposed to snow, AGAIN. So sick of the snow. Ready for warmer weather. My legs are so pale they are practically transparent.

While Deaner worked yesterday I was bidding on this super cute perfect baby Patagonia snow bunting.Could it get any cuter? It is also reversible and the inside is green! Love it. I ended up "winning" it for $36 which I thought was a great deal since it is originally $100. It is perfect for living in Germany in the winters and will be the perfect size for baby boy this winter.

I realized today that I haven't shared our baby's name with my blogging friends. It was pretty easy for us because we actually already had our baby names picked out whether the baby was going to be a boy or a girl. I'll keep our girl name under wraps but sometime in late August, Richard Evans Deaner, III. will be joining us. Unlike his father, he is going to go by Evans. I LOVE this name and I am already planning all the monorgrammed outfits in my mind. Obviously this is a family name, hence the III., but the name Evans has also been used several times between nephews and cousins etc and I am really excited to use it for our son. And yes, it still feels really weird to say things like "our son". Now if August can just go ahead and get here already!!

Well, that is about it for the day! Deaner is up on the roof putting together a new satellite dish that he ordered so that we can pick up English SKY TV. I have no idea what this will entail but I guess I am about to find out. Off to rotate laundry! We are half way thru the week!

Back to the beginning of the week!

Does anyone else feel like Mondays come around way too quickly!? I do! Even though I spent pretty much the whole weekend thinking about how excited I am to be having a little baby boy. I could not be more excited. I just want to go out and buy everything that I can find. Even though I know that this would not be reasonable AT ALL. Deaner and I had a pretty low key weekend. I worked on Friday as the Kindergarten substitute and everything went well. Friday night we went out to dinner and came home early. I was exhausted from my day at work (my how things have changed in the past year!) and I fell asleep pretty early. Saturday it ws actually really nice outside and we spent over an hour waiting in line to get the Jeep cleaned. I have to admit that when I got into the car this afternoon I thought about how worth it is was. It is so nice to have a clean car again! Even though I'm sure it won't last for long because I bet anything we will have one more snow before spring really arrives here. Saturday night Steph and Jon came over to enjoy some chicken fingers and onion rings. YUM! Sunday Deaner and I splurged and bought some baby things, just for the fun of it. Everything I picked up Deaner insisted we buy. Think we are excited?? We got a couple of newborn gowns, onesies, hats, mittens so the baby doesn't scratch himself and a few other things. We have been keeping all the baby things that we have gotten in the guest bedroom and I just ran upstairs to take a picture of it.Now, I really have to wait until I get to Atlanta and have my shower and see what else I am going to NEED. I worked on my baby registry on Babies R Us this weekend but of course I keep thinking of things!

Hmmmmm, what else? My doctor seemed a little sketchy about our trip to Greece at the end of May. I am slightly concerned about this because I have every intention of going. It wasn't because it was dangerous or anything but she said that it was not a place that I would want to be if I actually needed medical attention. I just hope that it works out and that she is comfortable letting me go. She was fine with my trip home to the States. Deaner found out this morning that we have to go to Brussels tomorrow. Only for one night but sort of a pain in the a$%. Hopefully I will get to eat Chi-Chi's. Too bad the last time I was there was the last time I'll be enjoying the margs for awhile! Anyways, I'm off to keep folding laundry. There were mountains of it this morning but I am finally getting through some of it. Happy Monday everyone!