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!