I don't know which I love more. Reading or writing. I guess no one is forcing me to choose so I can be content with liking both equally. I guess it just depends on my mood. Reading is mindless for me. A get away. I don't read anything heavy. I don't read to learn. Anymore. If I ever did in the first place. More on that later.
I read for pure and simple pleasure. I read fiction almost exclusively. Not science fiction (gag!) or trashy romance novels...although I've read my fair share of those. Just good ol' fashioned fiction novels. People and their lives. Their stories. Not all that different from what I do every day at work. Listen to people's stories of their lives.
But unlike work I don't have to retain the information I read when I read for pleasure. In fact I often forget most of it after I read it. I can't, and quite frankly don't want to, remember the details. I have enough to think about.
Last year for Mother's Day the boys gave me a Kindle. When the Kindle first came out I shunned it. I thought I would miss the feel of a book. Of turning pages. Not unlike most new technology (cell phones, laptops, texting....just to name a few) I assume it's unnecessary and I won't like it. It's the Spidle in me. We are too good for new technology until it's been around for a few years. Then we come to the dark side and become dependent on it just like everyone else while somehow feeling superior that we held out longer than others. A ridiculous way of thinking. Of this I am keenly aware!
Anyway, I got a Kindle. And I LOVE IT!!! The best present I have received in as long as I can remember. I have to limit myself lest I read at all hours of the day and night. Skipping sleep, work, and parenting. It could happen. It's my drug.
Last night I let myself just read to my little heart's content, which ended up being 1 am and that's only because I finished my book. I could have gone on for a few more hours. This morning I woke up with what I call a book hangover. I'm a big fan of books that make me cry. I think it might be the one emotional outlet I allow myself in my otherwise "Ice Queen" world, as my husband lovingly calls it.
I just let it flow. Allowing the ugly cry every once in a while. Connecting with or at least sympathizing with the main characters. Feeling their pain. Riding the highs and lows with them. Then wrapping it up. Reading the last page. Closing the book or rather now switching the book off and coming back to my own reality, which in comparison to what most characters are doing is pretty uneventful. Fine by me.
Last night wasn't one of the ugly cries but I did have a nice chance to let go of some of the feelings I work so hard to keep in check the rest of week. And oh it felt so good. It was the kind where at first I start to tear up while trying to stay strong. Then the realization that for all intensive purposes I am alone. Jeremy is in a deep sleep beside me. I am only occasionally reminded of his presence when he has a conversation with himself in his sleep. The boys were sound asleep too. So, I stopped trying to prevent the tears and just let them roll. Occasionally wiping my eyes with the corner of my pillow case. Then sniffing a little bit. Then throwing caution to the wind and wiping my nose on my sheets. It's OK. Don't panic. I knew today is laundry day. It did finally get to the point that I had to get up for some toilet paper to blow my nose quietly. Then I remember that Jeremy is in a dead sleep so I go for the ol' foghorn blow.
I can feel a headache coming on from the stuffy nose and crying. So I'm reading faster and faster knowing the end is so near. I started the evening at about 73% of my book completed. That's a new thing to get used to with the Kindle. No more page numbers. Just percentage of completion. I think you can change it to page numbers but I kind of like the task of getting to 100%. As I read, I can see the scale at the bottom slowly creeping towards 100%. At the end of every chapter I think I should just put the book down and get some sleep. But I don't. I push forward. Telling myself repeatedly "Just one more chapter. OK. Just one MORE chapter." I'm such a rebel.
And as that thought crosses my mind I realize it is both sad (seriously? THIS is my rebellion?) and hilarious. Hilarious because many times in my life reading at night has been a rebellion. As I finished my book I started thinking of all the times that I actually got in trouble for reading. Sounds funny to me now. I wonder if my boys will ever be "in trouble" for reading. And as I think of one time another pops in my head. Then another. Then another. Then I got out of bed and came down to write this blog.
Nancy Drew books were my first love. The first books I really remember reading and not being able to put down. I remember trying to read them by flashlight at night and hearing my parents yell from the other room to go to bed.
The same was true when I moved to my Aunt and Uncle's house when I was in middle school. I had one of those fancy-dancy lamps that clip onto my headboard. It was pink. I was so cool. Well fancy-dancy almost burned the house down. I would put a pillow over it to dim the light so Karol couldn't tell I was still up reading. One time it burned a hole through my pillow case. Hey, I was 12. Or maybe 13, but still....
Then there was the time that someone gave me a Dean Koontz book to read in 7th grade. Seriously, who gave me that? Anyway the librarian told my mom that his books were totally inappropriate for my age and she forbid me to read them. I got another one somewhere because she caught me reading one again a few months later. Seriously, these are my teenage rebellion stories? This is so sad. But when you train 35 hours a week and go to school full time, you aren't left with much opportunity for actual teenage rebellion.
Then in college, reading remained one of my vices. Given at this point I had developed a few other age appropriate misbehaviors but those are for another blog. In another lifetime. All of my good friends and teammates from that time know this story well. We still get a laugh out of it. I actually got in trouble from our coaches for reading an "outside reading book" on a bus trip home from a gymnastics meet. What??? I was like 20 years old and in trouble for reading a book. Apparently my grades were suffering (which meant having anything below a B) which would reflect poorly on our team as a whole. We can't have that happen. We have a reputation to uphold and that reputation does not include having a vast knowledge of Mary Higgins Clark or Danielle Steel. I am sure on some levels their intention was honorable and in my best interest as opposed to theirs. They could likely see a bigger picture than I could at the time. A picture that included graduate school admissions requirements. I should be grateful. But mostly I still just find amusement that I got called out for reading a book of my own choosing as opposed to completing my Algebra homework.
And now I'm all grown up. And sooooo mature, I might add. And rarely encountering anything close to Algebra. And no one to tell me to go to bed except the voice in my head reminding me how dead tired I will be the next day if I read just one more chapter....just one more chapter....just one more chapter.....just one more chapter....zzzzzzzzzzz.
the boys
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
NOVEMBER!
Thank goodness for Ellan's Preschool! I'm a better coach than teacher and quite frankly I'm not sure if I'm all that good of a coach.....and let's be honest...by coaching I mean just generally bossing people around. But I'm certainly no teacher. I was actually an education major in college until I realized that I lack the patience to teach a roomful of children the same thing over and over again. It's not my cup of tea. Ellan and Heather, on the other hand, are pro's at it! Three days a week my kids come home with their handiwork. Learning their letters and numbers. Writing their name. Matching. Cutting and pasting. All of the usual preschool tasks.
I know I teach my boys. Good, bad, and otherwise! I only have to read past blog posts to see they learn from me whether I intend for them to or not. I try to be a positive role model for them. I hope and pray I am not failing them. This parenting thing is tough and I know I am not alone in feeling like I can't ever get it quite right. Tonight I tried to channel my inner Ellan/Heather and tackle the pack of site word cards Justin discovered on our game shelf earlier this week.
We have never done site words so he was pretty clueless about the "game." We started with an easy one. Mom. (Hey, I embrace my narcissism). We start sounding it out, letter by letter. Mmmmm. Oooo. Mmmmmm. Repeat. Repeat a little faster. Then Justin says "I guess CAR." What? This isn't a guessing game. And how do you guess car? How the hell do you get car from MMMMM OOOOOOO MMMMMM?
So we try this a few times trying to get the hang of it. He can easily recognize all of the letters and gets the sound of each one of them right most of the time. But the concept of sounding each one out to form a word is seemingly lost on him at this point. He still thinks it's a guessing game. Or a rhyming game. Which makes sense because up to this point all of our games at home are in fact rhyming or guessing games.
On to the second word. Not. Meanwhile, Leo is hovering nearby like he always does when Justin and I play card games. He never wants to actually play but he wants to make sure he isn't missing anything. He is busy making Batman attack a Hot Wheel.
So back to "not." Justin recognizes the first letter as N and starts to sound it out. From out of nowhere Leo yells "NOVEMBER!" They are so proud of themselves. They are convinced that the card says November and they are congratulating themselves on getting it right. I actually felt bad telling them it wasn't November and to sound out the whole word. Nnnnnnnn. Oooooooo. Ttttttt. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat a little faster. Then Justin yells "BATH!" And Leo yells "November!" What??? How do you get Bath or November from Nnnnnnn Ooooooo Tttttttt?
I am the worst teacher ever. They are totally not pickin' up what I'm puttin' down here! We continue on through "red" and "run." It's a slow and painful (for me) process. Everytime we got to the N in run Leo would yell "November!" At least I know he's got that one down pat. He learned it at Ellan's....of course!
We made it through a few more words before it was time for dinner. I was amazed that neither of them showed any frustration with not getting the answers right the first time, or the second, or the fourteenth. I guess that must be what it's like to be so open to learning. I could probably learn a little bit from them. Is there a mommy school? I think I need to enroll!
I know I teach my boys. Good, bad, and otherwise! I only have to read past blog posts to see they learn from me whether I intend for them to or not. I try to be a positive role model for them. I hope and pray I am not failing them. This parenting thing is tough and I know I am not alone in feeling like I can't ever get it quite right. Tonight I tried to channel my inner Ellan/Heather and tackle the pack of site word cards Justin discovered on our game shelf earlier this week.
We have never done site words so he was pretty clueless about the "game." We started with an easy one. Mom. (Hey, I embrace my narcissism). We start sounding it out, letter by letter. Mmmmm. Oooo. Mmmmmm. Repeat. Repeat a little faster. Then Justin says "I guess CAR." What? This isn't a guessing game. And how do you guess car? How the hell do you get car from MMMMM OOOOOOO MMMMMM?
So we try this a few times trying to get the hang of it. He can easily recognize all of the letters and gets the sound of each one of them right most of the time. But the concept of sounding each one out to form a word is seemingly lost on him at this point. He still thinks it's a guessing game. Or a rhyming game. Which makes sense because up to this point all of our games at home are in fact rhyming or guessing games.
On to the second word. Not. Meanwhile, Leo is hovering nearby like he always does when Justin and I play card games. He never wants to actually play but he wants to make sure he isn't missing anything. He is busy making Batman attack a Hot Wheel.
So back to "not." Justin recognizes the first letter as N and starts to sound it out. From out of nowhere Leo yells "NOVEMBER!" They are so proud of themselves. They are convinced that the card says November and they are congratulating themselves on getting it right. I actually felt bad telling them it wasn't November and to sound out the whole word. Nnnnnnnn. Oooooooo. Ttttttt. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat a little faster. Then Justin yells "BATH!" And Leo yells "November!" What??? How do you get Bath or November from Nnnnnnn Ooooooo Tttttttt?
I am the worst teacher ever. They are totally not pickin' up what I'm puttin' down here! We continue on through "red" and "run." It's a slow and painful (for me) process. Everytime we got to the N in run Leo would yell "November!" At least I know he's got that one down pat. He learned it at Ellan's....of course!
We made it through a few more words before it was time for dinner. I was amazed that neither of them showed any frustration with not getting the answers right the first time, or the second, or the fourteenth. I guess that must be what it's like to be so open to learning. I could probably learn a little bit from them. Is there a mommy school? I think I need to enroll!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Eating, Drinking, and Being Pretty Darn Merry!
So, I've been thinking all week about what kind of blog to write about my fabulous trip abroad. What to share? What to share? What NOT to share (wink, wink)?
I guess I will go boring and do a top 10 list. So here it is....excluding our Kosovo experiences since I already blogged about those:
10. Spending way more time at the awesome shopping mall on the bottom floor of the Louvre than we did looking at actual art. I think we only pulled ourselves away from the stores out of sheer obligation to see the Mona Lisa. You can't go to the Louvre and not see her. But don't worry. We shopped some more before we left :)
9. Drinks at Experimental Cocktail Club that were super yummy. It was located in our favorite shopping area and we tried 5 times over 2 days before it was actually open. But no big deal really. We spent so much time in this area. It had cafes, cheese shops, pastry shops, wine stores, chocolate stores, high end clothing, consignment clothing, pubs, etc, etc. We could have stayed right there for an entire week and never gotten bored.
8. Notre Dame- simply amazingly beautiful church. We tried twice to get up early enough to attend a morning Mass but both mornings we slept in from the exhaustion of being a tourist.
7. Stick thin/bleach blond haired French waitress at the Cha Cha Lounge that screwed up our dessert order three times and I totally got the giggles when she kept bringing me the same one and I kept telling her I wanted the chocolate cake. Below is a pic of Allison testing out my drink.
6. the Eiffel Tower. Really amazing just to see it in person and go up to the top. My parents went almost 30 years ago so really cool to see it for myself. We waited in some really long lines. I was shocked at how many people were there on a random Thursday in October. Can't imagine the lines in June!
5. Dessert sampler at a little cafe/bar place in Paris that we went to twice...yes, we went back just for the desserts one last time before we left! We were starving the first night we got there and Allison had scoped out a hot new place but it was booked through the end of October so we wandered the streets of Paris aimlessly at about 10 pm and finally stumbled upon the perfect shopping area I already mentioned. Most places were already closed but this place was still serving. After dinner we opted for a little dessert sampler and we were pleasantly surprised to say the least!! The chocolate lava cake was SOOOO good. I got the full sized one the last night. No need for sample size here! I love these two pictures of the before and after.
4. Wicked! By sheer luck on our very first night in London we came upon the Broadway musical just 3 minutes before the curtain dropped. And we got rock star seats that must have been saved for some VIP's that didn't show. Loved every minute of it. Acting and singing were awesome. People watching during intermission was also worth the price of the seats!
2. Harrods in London. It was one of those experiences where you walk in and just fall in love. It's super high end for the most part (Prada, Gucci, and Chanel....OH MY!) but one one of the main floors was several rooms of fresh food including cases and cases of cheese, shelves of spices/oils/coffees, etc, a whole room for chocolate, and then the seafood room. We had the most delicious lunch in the seafood room. Ahhhh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I could have stayed there for 3 days straight. I would have to take out a 2nd and 3rd mortgage out on our house but it would have been fun for the time being!!
1. Little Palace Hotel. Our initial joy that it was on the same block as our metro station was quickly enhanced by the absolute adorableness of the whole place. When we made it to our room and realized we actually have an awesome view from our penthouse suite (ok, it wasn't a penthouse suite....it was just a tiny but adorable room on the top floor with a double window that opened!) I literally squealed with delight that we could see the Eiffel Tower from our room. Kudos to Allison for finding this perfect little area of Paris!
LOVED, LOVED, LOVED every minute of my trip.....except the trip home. An obvious blog choice would be to document the disaster that was my trip home. I really hate to give it too much attention. It was the only downside to my trip. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning so this is as short as I can make it:
20 minute walk to Underground; 1 hour subway ride to the airport; 2 hour wait to board plane; 8 hours ride to Newark; got diverted to Maine; sat on tarmac in Maine for 2 hours and not allowed to get off the plane; 90 more minutes to fly to Newark; circled above Newark for a few minutes; another hour on the tarmac waiting for a gate to open; 30 minutes through customs; 30 minutes for my bag; 3 hour wait in line to rebook my flight to Kansas City (11:45 pm by this time!); 45 minutes in line for a taxi; shared a taxi with 2 women that didn't speak English; dropped them off at a hotel that didn't have electricity; drove to Lisa's (college roommate) house in a cab; barely avoiding downed power lines and tree limbs; arrived at 1:15 am; talked for 45 minutes ands slept for 2 1/2 hours; took a town car back to the airport at 5 am; got caught in a huge traffic jam but finally arrived back at Newark; 1 hour in line to find out my flight is cancelled and they can't get me home until Monday night (this was Sunday morning); break down in tears and beg for a flight anywhere close to Kansas City; get on 8 am flight for St. Louis; St. Louis flight cancelled; wait in line for 1 more hour to get put on standby for Kansas City; mini tram to a new terminal; wait in line for 10 minutes to get an actual seat on the 2 pm flight to Kansas City; wait in another line for 1 hour to get bag routed to Kansas City instead of St. Louis (even though that didn't actually happen!); 3 more hours waiting in the airport for my flight and FINALLY success! Home sweet home just a mere 36 hours after my trip began.
Wow, that took longer to write than I expected. What a friggin' nightmare end to my trip. My memory is already fading of those miserable 36 hours. I decide to only remember the good times from now on.....I guess if I ever want to recall that day and a half from hell I can read my own blog :)
All in all a great time. Where to next????
I guess I will go boring and do a top 10 list. So here it is....excluding our Kosovo experiences since I already blogged about those:
10. Spending way more time at the awesome shopping mall on the bottom floor of the Louvre than we did looking at actual art. I think we only pulled ourselves away from the stores out of sheer obligation to see the Mona Lisa. You can't go to the Louvre and not see her. But don't worry. We shopped some more before we left :)
9. Drinks at Experimental Cocktail Club that were super yummy. It was located in our favorite shopping area and we tried 5 times over 2 days before it was actually open. But no big deal really. We spent so much time in this area. It had cafes, cheese shops, pastry shops, wine stores, chocolate stores, high end clothing, consignment clothing, pubs, etc, etc. We could have stayed right there for an entire week and never gotten bored.
8. Notre Dame- simply amazingly beautiful church. We tried twice to get up early enough to attend a morning Mass but both mornings we slept in from the exhaustion of being a tourist.
7. Stick thin/bleach blond haired French waitress at the Cha Cha Lounge that screwed up our dessert order three times and I totally got the giggles when she kept bringing me the same one and I kept telling her I wanted the chocolate cake. Below is a pic of Allison testing out my drink.
6. the Eiffel Tower. Really amazing just to see it in person and go up to the top. My parents went almost 30 years ago so really cool to see it for myself. We waited in some really long lines. I was shocked at how many people were there on a random Thursday in October. Can't imagine the lines in June!
5. Dessert sampler at a little cafe/bar place in Paris that we went to twice...yes, we went back just for the desserts one last time before we left! We were starving the first night we got there and Allison had scoped out a hot new place but it was booked through the end of October so we wandered the streets of Paris aimlessly at about 10 pm and finally stumbled upon the perfect shopping area I already mentioned. Most places were already closed but this place was still serving. After dinner we opted for a little dessert sampler and we were pleasantly surprised to say the least!! The chocolate lava cake was SOOOO good. I got the full sized one the last night. No need for sample size here! I love these two pictures of the before and after.
4. Wicked! By sheer luck on our very first night in London we came upon the Broadway musical just 3 minutes before the curtain dropped. And we got rock star seats that must have been saved for some VIP's that didn't show. Loved every minute of it. Acting and singing were awesome. People watching during intermission was also worth the price of the seats!
3. Getting dressed up all fancy-dancy for our night on the town in Paris. We started with drinks at the Ritz Carlton at the famous Hemingway's Bar. Uber rich and fancy. We sat at the bar with a really fun and engaging bartender. We had one drink a piece and paid way more than I would ever pay for a full meal here in good ol' USA :) I begged Allison to let me take a picture but she wouldn't let me. I was able to sneak a quick pick of a beautiful flower arrangement in one of the many sitting areas on the way through the enormous lobby area.
2. Harrods in London. It was one of those experiences where you walk in and just fall in love. It's super high end for the most part (Prada, Gucci, and Chanel....OH MY!) but one one of the main floors was several rooms of fresh food including cases and cases of cheese, shelves of spices/oils/coffees, etc, a whole room for chocolate, and then the seafood room. We had the most delicious lunch in the seafood room. Ahhhh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I could have stayed there for 3 days straight. I would have to take out a 2nd and 3rd mortgage out on our house but it would have been fun for the time being!!
1. Little Palace Hotel. Our initial joy that it was on the same block as our metro station was quickly enhanced by the absolute adorableness of the whole place. When we made it to our room and realized we actually have an awesome view from our penthouse suite (ok, it wasn't a penthouse suite....it was just a tiny but adorable room on the top floor with a double window that opened!) I literally squealed with delight that we could see the Eiffel Tower from our room. Kudos to Allison for finding this perfect little area of Paris!
LOVED, LOVED, LOVED every minute of my trip.....except the trip home. An obvious blog choice would be to document the disaster that was my trip home. I really hate to give it too much attention. It was the only downside to my trip. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning so this is as short as I can make it:
20 minute walk to Underground; 1 hour subway ride to the airport; 2 hour wait to board plane; 8 hours ride to Newark; got diverted to Maine; sat on tarmac in Maine for 2 hours and not allowed to get off the plane; 90 more minutes to fly to Newark; circled above Newark for a few minutes; another hour on the tarmac waiting for a gate to open; 30 minutes through customs; 30 minutes for my bag; 3 hour wait in line to rebook my flight to Kansas City (11:45 pm by this time!); 45 minutes in line for a taxi; shared a taxi with 2 women that didn't speak English; dropped them off at a hotel that didn't have electricity; drove to Lisa's (college roommate) house in a cab; barely avoiding downed power lines and tree limbs; arrived at 1:15 am; talked for 45 minutes ands slept for 2 1/2 hours; took a town car back to the airport at 5 am; got caught in a huge traffic jam but finally arrived back at Newark; 1 hour in line to find out my flight is cancelled and they can't get me home until Monday night (this was Sunday morning); break down in tears and beg for a flight anywhere close to Kansas City; get on 8 am flight for St. Louis; St. Louis flight cancelled; wait in line for 1 more hour to get put on standby for Kansas City; mini tram to a new terminal; wait in line for 10 minutes to get an actual seat on the 2 pm flight to Kansas City; wait in another line for 1 hour to get bag routed to Kansas City instead of St. Louis (even though that didn't actually happen!); 3 more hours waiting in the airport for my flight and FINALLY success! Home sweet home just a mere 36 hours after my trip began.
Wow, that took longer to write than I expected. What a friggin' nightmare end to my trip. My memory is already fading of those miserable 36 hours. I decide to only remember the good times from now on.....I guess if I ever want to recall that day and a half from hell I can read my own blog :)
All in all a great time. Where to next????
Monday, October 31, 2011
Travel Bingo, Kosovo Style
When we were young, my mom had creative ways to keep me and my sisters busy. We were always a fan of the road trip however short (Hamilton) or long (Florida) it may be. There were no qualms about climbing into the ol' station wagon and setting off for an adventure. When you live in a small town, even heading to "the city" for shopping or a movie or Worlds of Fun took the better part of the day.
But traveling with 3 young girls in the back seat might make you want to pull your hairs out one by one. Between the bickering, the giggling, the incessant questioning, and the requests for frequent stops I'm sure it was a joy ride for all. But I remember it very fondly. We had lots of car games/activities including singing girl scout songs, picking a color and counting how many cars passed of that color, reading books, and the ol' standby: Travel Bingo.
Travel Bingo, for anyone that doesn't know, is a collection of cardboard square cards with 5 rows of 5 pictures in regular "BINGO" fashion. The pictures were of items you might see during travel. Each picture had a little red plastic window that would slide over it so when you saw it you closed the window. Five red windows in a row or diagonal is BINGO. I'm sure it's fancier today and somehow made into an electronic game, but really nothing beats good ol' bingo.
So here I am, half way across the world in Kosovo. I'm visiting Allison who is quite the tour guide. Poor girl gets made fun of for constantly reading her map and Kosovo tour book, but as a fellow frequent map user, I applaud her. And I use the term map loosely because roads are built and torn out from day to day so not sure how a map can keep up. But it has the general idea.
So we set out on our 48 hours of adventure in Kosovo. Within the first few miles I knew Kosovo Bingo was the only way to go. So for those of you that come to Kosovo in the future (of which I am so sure will be many of you), take along Kosovo Bingo. And good luck to you!!
Here is my Bingo Card. I was successful in that I obtained a Black Out meaning I witnessed each and every item on my card.
My Kosovo Bingo Squares:
BINGO!!!
So, the funny thing that I realized is that I can find almost every single one of these things in the good ol' USA. Let's be honest......Missouri has become a big fan of the roundabout and isn't afraid of potholes. We embrace them. And children with rotted teeth? Check. Bill Clinton lovers? We have many. Livestock are aplenty in these here parts of the world too. We aren't big on 12th century castles, but Red Bull we've got. And I'm sad to say....there are 7 year old children allowed the occasional swig of Bud Light. Not in my house necessarily, but it happens. I've seen it happen. I challenge you to see if you can achieve a black out Bingo here in America. I think you might get close.
In addition to all of the wonderful sites, we had a fabulous time eating, drinking, and being merry!! We had a delicious late lunch with awesome red wine and a creme brule for dessert. YUM! We had a cards night with Allison's work friends (YES, me...cards!). Her friend has her house all decorated for Halloween. I felt right at home!
So in my lifelong theme, I will simply attest that the happenings of Kosovo are not wrong. They are just different than my norm. Except this last little tidbit. Whether truth or fiction, it made for a good giggle on our last night in the 'Vo. The Tooth Fairy does exist in Kosovo. But instead of hiding the tooth under the pillow, the family dog eats it.
Now that's just wrong!
On to London!!!!
But traveling with 3 young girls in the back seat might make you want to pull your hairs out one by one. Between the bickering, the giggling, the incessant questioning, and the requests for frequent stops I'm sure it was a joy ride for all. But I remember it very fondly. We had lots of car games/activities including singing girl scout songs, picking a color and counting how many cars passed of that color, reading books, and the ol' standby: Travel Bingo.
Travel Bingo, for anyone that doesn't know, is a collection of cardboard square cards with 5 rows of 5 pictures in regular "BINGO" fashion. The pictures were of items you might see during travel. Each picture had a little red plastic window that would slide over it so when you saw it you closed the window. Five red windows in a row or diagonal is BINGO. I'm sure it's fancier today and somehow made into an electronic game, but really nothing beats good ol' bingo.
So here I am, half way across the world in Kosovo. I'm visiting Allison who is quite the tour guide. Poor girl gets made fun of for constantly reading her map and Kosovo tour book, but as a fellow frequent map user, I applaud her. And I use the term map loosely because roads are built and torn out from day to day so not sure how a map can keep up. But it has the general idea.
So we set out on our 48 hours of adventure in Kosovo. Within the first few miles I knew Kosovo Bingo was the only way to go. So for those of you that come to Kosovo in the future (of which I am so sure will be many of you), take along Kosovo Bingo. And good luck to you!!
Here is my Bingo Card. I was successful in that I obtained a Black Out meaning I witnessed each and every item on my card.
My Kosovo Bingo Squares:
- Every Bingo has a star in the middle known as the Free Space. So here's a freebie that you can't miss, even when you try: Giant holes in the road. Not just potholes. Ohhhh, no. That would be too easy. These holes are big enough for your car to fit in. They are random. There one day, gone the next. Only occasionally identified by a small orange cone or possibly a small dumpster sat out to deter drivers. Sometimes they make the entire road impassable when it was barely drivable in the first place. Not sure what causes them or how they get fixed because I saw neither of these things occur during our 10 + hours of driving the countryside, but they happen. So there's your freebie. The rest you have to work for.
- Sheep
- Angry Shepard man yelling at us in Albanian because he is angry that we only speak English and Serbian. Angry Shepard man must have scary looking dog.
- Novo Brdo- 12th Century Castle ruins.
- Empty Red Bull can among the castle ruins
- Restaurant in the woods where angry wife refuses to make fresh bread for our dinner.
- Ambassador to a foreign country
- Catholic Church Mass in tiny village where priest spends last 5 minutes of Mass calling out the important international figures in attendance for the day including "Alissa and her sister visiting from America!" That's right, got a shout out in church!!
- Tiny girls with rotted teeth who want to hold our hands and can't take their eyes off of us.
- Miniature Golf and Paintball
- Giant (and I do mean GIANT) pile of hay stacked in the shape of a trapezoid
- Mini-tractors with never fewer than 2 people piled on, but more likely to have 3-4 people riding. Bonus point if there is a man in a pin-striped suit riding the tractor.
- Photos, billboards, and statue of Bill Clinton
- Missouri license plate on random car
- Te Ariu (The Bear). It's the Chuck E. Cheese of Kosovo. A place to take your kids for dinner with "exotic" animals roaming about. Includes caged bears.
- Gracanicia Monastery- one of two remaining Monastery's that were not burned down in recent conflicts.
- Seven year old girl drinking beer with what appears to be her father and brothers on a bench opposite the Monastery.
- Water park complete with water slides that appear to be slightly rusted.
- Wine, wine, and more wine
- Furniture stores and appliance stores with no customers. One can only assume the same couch has been on the display floor for the last 8 years. Appliance stores have 3-4 stories of washing machines stacked up viewing pleasure.
- The most F-ed up Roundabouts known to mankind. Absolutely no logic. Streets that run parallel to each other for no purpose.
- Buildings only half built
- Carnival ride- one of those that you sit on a swing and it spins and the swings go way up in the air. If you think the traveling carnival that comes through your town looks scary you haven't see anything yet!
- Cows individually tethered to the ground and chickens wandering aimlessly
- Pollution. In order for this to count you must be able to see, taste, smell, and feel the pollution deep in your lungs. Found near Obiliq.
So, the funny thing that I realized is that I can find almost every single one of these things in the good ol' USA. Let's be honest......Missouri has become a big fan of the roundabout and isn't afraid of potholes. We embrace them. And children with rotted teeth? Check. Bill Clinton lovers? We have many. Livestock are aplenty in these here parts of the world too. We aren't big on 12th century castles, but Red Bull we've got. And I'm sad to say....there are 7 year old children allowed the occasional swig of Bud Light. Not in my house necessarily, but it happens. I've seen it happen. I challenge you to see if you can achieve a black out Bingo here in America. I think you might get close.
In addition to all of the wonderful sites, we had a fabulous time eating, drinking, and being merry!! We had a delicious late lunch with awesome red wine and a creme brule for dessert. YUM! We had a cards night with Allison's work friends (YES, me...cards!). Her friend has her house all decorated for Halloween. I felt right at home!
So in my lifelong theme, I will simply attest that the happenings of Kosovo are not wrong. They are just different than my norm. Except this last little tidbit. Whether truth or fiction, it made for a good giggle on our last night in the 'Vo. The Tooth Fairy does exist in Kosovo. But instead of hiding the tooth under the pillow, the family dog eats it.
Now that's just wrong!
On to London!!!!
Friday, October 28, 2011
LOVE
Five years ago today on the most beautiful October afternoon we got married. The day was perfect. I could not have asked for more. The last five years have been amazing!! I had a whole blog to write but I am in Paris today and there are angry French women waiting to use the computer.
Jeremy, I love you more now than I did five years ago. You are the most generous and loving husband a girl could ask for!!
Jeremy, I love you more now than I did five years ago. You are the most generous and loving husband a girl could ask for!!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Dinner Time (emphasis on the TIME)
Wow! It's been a whole month since I have posted. My how time flies when you're.... boring. Not that boring is bad or anything. I'll take boring over some of the usual craziness just about any day.
In the past month we have been working on getting the boys to eat a good dinner. Less processed/quicky food and more meals. I am a horrible and picky eater so combining that with busy evenings and Jeremy being at the firehouse every 3rd day our meals were really suffering. I'm trying to get back to planning out a menu to keep us on track. I'm doing a little bit better at it this month.
Tonight is a firehouse night so it's a left over night. Dinner is less formal. We will use the china tomorrow. Oh wait, I don't have china. Oh well. Anyway, tonights menu is Egg McMuffins (not from McDonalds), grapes, pears, and cheese. Fancy, I know. Who's jealous? I accidently bought a dozen eggs when I already had a dozen at home so it's all eggs all the time until we use some of them up. To hell with cholesterol!
My boys are rather slow eaters which they get from their dear ol' mother. I was always the last one done with dinner. My sisters hated me for it. They thought I was trying to avoid clean up. They were wrong. I just didn't like food. Unless it was cake. I like me some cake. YUM. Cake.
Anywho. My boys are also chatty. During dinner. Before dinner. After dinner. Pretty much every minute of every day. Not sure who they get that from ;) Chatty, chatty, chatty.
Slow eaters and chatty. So, basically dinner lasts 15 hours around here. What follows is a list of tactics the boys have used tonight (yes all in one night) to avoid eating dinner. I sat there and just took notes because finally I'm not the last one done eating in our house. Pat myself on the back.
In the past month we have been working on getting the boys to eat a good dinner. Less processed/quicky food and more meals. I am a horrible and picky eater so combining that with busy evenings and Jeremy being at the firehouse every 3rd day our meals were really suffering. I'm trying to get back to planning out a menu to keep us on track. I'm doing a little bit better at it this month.
Tonight is a firehouse night so it's a left over night. Dinner is less formal. We will use the china tomorrow. Oh wait, I don't have china. Oh well. Anyway, tonights menu is Egg McMuffins (not from McDonalds), grapes, pears, and cheese. Fancy, I know. Who's jealous? I accidently bought a dozen eggs when I already had a dozen at home so it's all eggs all the time until we use some of them up. To hell with cholesterol!
My boys are rather slow eaters which they get from their dear ol' mother. I was always the last one done with dinner. My sisters hated me for it. They thought I was trying to avoid clean up. They were wrong. I just didn't like food. Unless it was cake. I like me some cake. YUM. Cake.
Anywho. My boys are also chatty. During dinner. Before dinner. After dinner. Pretty much every minute of every day. Not sure who they get that from ;) Chatty, chatty, chatty.
Slow eaters and chatty. So, basically dinner lasts 15 hours around here. What follows is a list of tactics the boys have used tonight (yes all in one night) to avoid eating dinner. I sat there and just took notes because finally I'm not the last one done eating in our house. Pat myself on the back.
- Can I be done? (this is asked by Leo by about the 3rd bite and continues throughout every meal until he is actually done)
- Can I play on the swingset?
- I need to go pee-pee
- My belly hurts I don't think I can eat.
- UGHHHHHHHHHHH (angry grunt when told repeatedly to finish dinner)
- Do I have to eat everything? (Yup). Like even the rest of the egg? (Yup, all of it). How about the bread part? (yup, everything). Even the rest of my pears? (yes, EVERYTHING). OK then. I was just asking!!!!
- I'm so tired I don't think I can finish eating
- I want some more grapes
- after being told repeatedly to STOP TALKING AND EAT! Leo tried whispering to Justin as if I'm not sitting right beside him. "Jushtin" (Leo, stop talking) Quiter this time "Jushtin" (Leo, I'm sitting right here. I can hear you talking). And again "Jushtin" Really, Leo?
- I really, really, really love you. I really wish I could be done.
- Maybe if you let us eat on our TV trays in the living room we can eat good and be done so we'll have time for a movie
- I wish I could have more drink
- I need to go poo-poo
- various levels of crying and whining
- various levels of sillyness and giggle fits
- this is so weird
- Looooook mom. I'm taking a big bite!!!! NOW can I be done? (no, you have to eat all of it) Ohhhhhh, that makes me SO MAD! (well, it's ok to be mad but you still have to finish your dinner)
- Now can I be done?
- more uncontrollable laughing
Sunday, September 11, 2011
My Hero Today
Jeremy has been asked to participate in the ceremony on the field. Numerous firefighters from around the KC metro area were gathered together to present a HUGE flag on the field before the game. Jeremy decided to turn down that opportunity, but one of his co-workers was on the field today. When all of the firemen came out on the field around 11:30 everyone in the stadium stood and applauded. Shouts of USA, USA!!! were heard all over the stadium. Very, very moving.
At about 11:50 the pre-game events were underway. We watched as the firefighters unraveled the flag that covered the entire field. Buffalo Bills players and firefighters held it on one side. KC Chiefs and other firefighters held it on the other sideline. It gave me the chills!! Jeremy took a few pictures on his phone including the one attached.
Just as we were preparing to listen to the playing of Taps and then the National Anthem, the man sitting in front of us noticed that the older gentleman two rows in front of us was not standing and joining in the celebrations and cheers. Upon closer look, it seemed that he wasn't breathing. I immediately told Jeremy who jumped into action. In a flash he was down the two rows and assessing the man for signs of life. He was able to determine that he was still breathing but was unconscious. Jeremy yelled for someone to call for EMS just as the man's wife came down the aisle.
He asked a few people close by to help him lift the guy and carry him about 8 rows to the concourse to further assist him. The first professional staff to show up on scene were firefighters but not paramedics so Jeremy continued to be the main paramedic in charge of the scene until other EMS staff arrived. He stayed with the family to take and report pertinent information to the medics that would then transport him to the hospital. He also calmed the wife enough to convince her to drive to the hospital so that her car wouldn't be left in the stadium and later towed.
All of this occurred while the rest of the stadium was watching the emotional rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and seeing the fighter jets fly overhead. So at a time when the entire stadium and everyone watching on TV was paying tribute not just to our nation but a special tribute to the first responders on 9/11, my husband was being a hero and saving this man's life just like he does every day on duty. Thankfully he was not on the field today holding a piece of the flag because his services were needed elsewhere. Divine intervention.
Honey, I am SO very, very proud of you!
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