I'm THANKful for the Blogoverse!

Today's Challenge is I'm THANKful for the Blogoverse.  And really I am!  The first time I'd ever heard of blogging was right before I left for the Peace Corps.  Some volunteers were talking about setting up a blog to keep their families up to date on their adventures in Honduras.

I had no idea what they were talking about.  What's a blog???

I kept in touch with my family and friends the old fashion way - through mass emails.  And it worked just fine.  I didn't know what a blog was and in my non-internet town of 1700 people, I wasn't about to try to learn.  Having to pay per minute of internet use in the big city was not conducive to learning new internet things.

Now that I sit here and think about it, I'm not sure how I got into the blog world and why I decided to start a blog.  I think the idea of a blog actually came from my cousin, Erika, who was living over in Singapore and started a blog.  She didn't continue her blog but I thought it sounded fun so started one too.  I just wasn't sure what to write about.  But then I read a book called The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner and my idea came to me (read my first blog entry here).  So, I started my first blog 365 Days of Happiness. 

Then when I got engaged and started planning my wedding, I decided to start another blog: Maple and Mud.

This blog was about our wedding and then morphed into our life after our wedding. 

And then this past spring I decided to run the Marine Corps Marathon with Leukemia and Lymphoma's Team In Training in honor/memory of my Uncle Dave so I started my third (and FINAL) blog called In Honor Of...

Yup - I have three blogs.  And I'm horrible about updating them.  But I love them all.  I actually have plans to merge them all into one blog in the very near future.  So maybe one day you'll return and they'll all be together instead of long-lost friends.

Here are the things I LOVE about blogging the most:

    ** I LOVE the amazing people I've met.  I've never met any of my blog friends in real life, but I cherish our blog-relationships.

    ** I LOVE blog swaps and fun challenges like these.  I have given and gotten some really fun things and met new blogs and their owners.  

    ** I LOVE learning about new things and new experiences.  I feel like reading so many blogs helps me see life in different perspectives.  I love reading blogs about running, traveling, marriage, children, cooking, healthy living, and everything in between.

And here are some things that annoy me about blogging:

    ** Although it hasn't happened to me, I am saddended when people get mean comments or get bullied by other bloggers.  Not very nice.

    ** I am annoyed when people do thousands of give-aways and to enter you have to do 90 things that include Twitter, Facebook, selling your kidney, and friending five people who you aren't interested in really being friends with.

Ok, so not many things annoy me about bloggins, which is why I still do it.

So, that's my blogosphere update. 

You are my #1 reason for blogging!!!

What do you love/hate about blogging?  Why did you decided to start a blog??

My Hometown

Today is Day Three of the Plenty to Be THANKful for Blog Challenge and I am excited about today's challenge: My Hometown.  How fun to read about where everyone grew up!

My hometown as a topic is a bit of a challenge for me because I don't have a real hometown.  I grew up all over the world.  So, take a seat, relax, and enjoy this flight through my many hometowns.  These are not any any particular order - I was too lazy to do that!

First Stop: Greece

There is where I was almost born:

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Zeus's Cave.  Yup, where the Greek God Zeus was allegedly born.  Luckily, I wasn't.  However, I born shortly thereafter.

Although I don't remember Greece that much at all, I'm sure it was a nice place to start off my life!  Look at how cute it is!

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Next Stop: New Hampshire

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New Hampshire was a beautiful place to spend some time.  We lived with my aunt and uncle and cousins and so the house was filled with kiddos.  There were five of us (me, my two sisters, and my two cousins).  We had a great time and got into lots of trouble.  Think mountains, forts, hiking, big boulders, and a typical New England town.

 

Next Stop: Japan

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Another place I consider my hometown is Japan.  Although Greece was probably nice, I'm not sure how much of a hometown it really was.  I don't really remember it and although it probably played a small role in my development - I'm not sure what.

Now, Japan I remember.  Japan is a great place!  Although we lived in northern Japan, we traveled a lot and saw many different parts of the country. 

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Things I remember most are the cherry blossoms, the beautiful temples, Buddha statues, SNOW, watching the Japanese street festivals, and going to the hot baths.  A wonderful hometown!

Next Stop: Italy

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I lived in the "heel" of Italy.  It was not the same as living in Rome or Florence.  However, it was home and it was great.  Here is a picture of our house:

Courtesy of Google Earth

Courtesy of Google Earth

Italy was also an amazing hometown.  Our house was on a farm that grew tomotoes one year, wheat another, and grapes another.  There were nut and fruit trees everywhere.  I ate my first fig and pomogranate from trees that grew on the side of our house along with fresh picked almonds and olives (don't eat fresh picked olives - they are gross).  During the summer an Italian family lived below us and we played with the kids all summer long.  Great times and great memories!

Next Stop: England

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We spent a good three years in England and it was great.  London is amazing and the British countryside is beautiful.  Here was our house for the first year we were there:

Isn't it fun!  What I remember most about England is thatched-roofed houses, jacket potatoes, Indian food, trips to London, foot paths, going to the London theatre, and not having to learn a language.  All things that make a hometown great.

The End.

Ok, I'm kinda tired of describing all my hometowns.  I have a few more in there but that's enough.  You get the idea, right!  I grew up in many places and had different experiences in all of them.  Although it was hard at times, I wouldn't change it for anything.  I definitely appreciate other cultures and countries and I have a love of travel.  Nothing wrong with that!

What was your hometown like? 

Plenty to Be THANKful For: YouTube

In case you haven't figured it out, for the next two weeks or so I am participating in Meghan, Kristine, Courtney, Sam, and Caroline's Plenty to Be THANKful for Blog Challenge.  I love Meghan and think we would be great friends if we me in a coffee shop one day.  If I ever make it to Chicago again, she will be on my list of people to see.

Now, on to the challenge, which was YouTube.

To tell you the truth...

I am a YouTube FAILURE!!!

I know, the horror, the horror.  I never look at YouTube.  I don't remember the last time I went to the website unless I wanted to see the Twilight trailer.  Or the Hunger Games trailer.  Actually, I think the last time I went I was searching for a clip from Splash (the one where Madison is eating the lobster at the restaurant). 



Yup, I was trying to give you a mental image of how my husband eats crabs.

I know, my YouTube experience is deplorable.  I just don't have time to search around on YouTube for interesting things.  Also, YouTube was pretty much invented while I was in Honduras so it was one of those things that I had to learn about upon my return.  Same with the iPod.  And it's hard to learn about things late in the game.  That's my excuse anyway.

Oh, I did also enjoy watching the clip of the two little girls singing and dancing to Nicki Manaj:



Does that count?  I think that that is all I have though.  Sorry to be such a lame YouTuber-er!!!

What YouTube videos do you love???

Plenty to Be Thankful For: Guilty Pleasures

 

So, if you read my other blog, 365 Days of Happiness, you will know that I joined Meghan at The Perfect Compilation Tape for her Plenty to Be Thankful For Challenge!

Yay!

Today’s topic – the first one – is Guilty Pleasures!!  I’m not sure I have a lot of guilty pleasures though, so this might be difficult for me.  But here’s my attempt:

** A glass of wine after a long day of work.

In this particular attempt to open a wine bottle the wine opener broke.  In the cork.  It was a nightmare.  Ivan tried to get the cork out but to no avail.  I was so desperate for a glass of wine that I drove to the grocery store and bought a (better) wine opener.

Ivan somehow managed to get the cork out of there in one piece.

I was impressed.  And happy to finally have a glass of wine.  Surprisingly enough I hardly ever have a glass of wine.  It’s one of those things I like but I always feel I need to get up to early the next day or stay up late and since wine makes me sleepy I decide against it.

 

** Coffee!!!

I love coffee!  I am actually trying to decrease my caffeine consumption so I have switched to de-caf for the most part, but I still love coffee.  I try my best to get Honduran coffee when I can. When I visit Honduras I definitely stock up as much as possible.  I don’t currently have any Honduran coffee in the house but every once in a while I see it at the store and pick up a bag.  I think that switching to de-caf has increased my coffee consumption because I’m not worried about becoming hyped up on caffeine.  Yesterday I had 5 cups of de-caf!!  Whoops!  I can’t help it – a nice mug of coffee with some half and half and a splash of sugar makes me feel cozy inside!

 

** New running clothes

I have nicer running clothes than work clothes.  It’s a fact.  I spend $50 on a new pair of running capris but won’t spend half that on a new pair of work pants.  What can I say – I LOVE running gear.  It’s definitely a guilty pleasure!

 

** Reading

I love a good book.  I can’t help it.  My husband does NOT understand my affinity for reading.  He always asks if I get bored reading book after book after book.  How could I get bored????  Never gonna happen.  I should post on the last few books I’ve read – they’ve been winners.  I love cozying up with a good book and cup of coffee on a rainy day.  Pure bliss.

 

** NCIS

I don’t get to watch much TV but when I do I pretty much only watch NCIS.  Good thing it’s on almost every night, at least four times.  LOVE IT.

What are some of your guilty pleasures???

Ivan cleans the house

So I sneakily snapped this photo of Ivan vacuuming the house.  It was priceless.

He has become quite the cleaner recently.  My efforts have paid off!  He washes the dishes almost every night and he vacuums about once a week.  I know, a miracle.  He still can’t seem to get his own plate of food, but at least he’s helping out a bit.  Yesterday I got home from class and he had redesigned the entire living room.  I had been taking about moving our bookshelves to a different spot every since we got our new sofa, but hadn’t found the time.  I got home and he had moved the bookshelves, straightened everything up, vacuumed, and washed the dishes.  I was in heaven!!

It is so nice to have some help around the house sometimes. I actually like doing the cooking and cleaning when I have time – but I’ve been so busy that time seems to get away from me. At least I know that eventually Ivan will get to it, even if he complains about it.

Our apartment is almost all set up – we are just missing our dining room table.  There are still some other things that we need (like a hope chest for the bedroom where I can put all my memories), but it’s slowly coming together.  I’ll snap a photo of it soon and you can see what it looks like.  I could use a bit more space to put up shelves and stuff, but we’ll make do with this.  I am really enjoying our little apartment (minus our neighbors below us that say we walk to heavy and they can hear every move we make)!

Five Question Friday

I haven't played along with Mama M.'s Five Question Friday for a long time so thought I'd go ahead and answer some questions.  If you want to link up, head on over to My Little Life!

1. What ringtone do you have on your cellphone?  I actually don't have a ringtone nor does my phone ever ring.  I am so worried about having my phone ring in an inappropriate place that I NEVER have the ringer turned on.  It always just vibrates.  I don't even know what the ring would sound like if I turned it on.

2. What is your favorite memory from the summer?  What summer?  Did summer already happen?  Hard to say what my favorite memory was when it seems like it occurred in such a blur.  I guess my favorite memory would be moving into our apartment.  It's nice having our own place that we can decorate and call our own.

3. Paper books or e-books?  I love paper books but I think I would enjoy a Nook too.  Nothing will ever replace a paper book though - the smell, the feel, the weight - priceless.

4. If you could have one home upgrade what would it be and why?  Umm, does having a home instead of an apartment count???  If I had to upgrade one thing in my apartment it would be the kitchen.  It's tiny and looks like it hasn't been upgraded since the 1970s.  Which is probably true. 

5. When was your first serious boyfriend or girlfriend?  My first serious boyfriend was my husband.  Yup, it's true.  We dated seriously and then got married.  Maybe I should have shopped around a bit more now that I think about it???  Haha - just kidding hubsters, you're my perfect match!!  Love you and Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Pre-Weekend!!!

School Days and Birthdays

We have had some big milestones these past few weeks.  I love milestones and I love celebrating - especially celebrating my husband.  Why?  Because he was never been celebrated much  growing up so he appreciates it so much more and that makes it so much more fun for me.

When Ivan first arrived to the U.S. we headed over to the community college to sign him up for English classes right away.  I wanted him to have something to do and thought that learning just a little bit of English would help him adjust better to the U.S.  It's never fun not knowing the language and not being able to communicate with anyone (except your wife).  So, he dutifully attended all the classes, did all his homework, and learned as much as he could in a free twice-a-week class.  When summer rolled around we decided to take a break from classes because they aren't free in the summer (and cost over $200).  Hubs thought that I could tutor him since I was tutoring people at the library already - why couldn't I tutor my own husband.  Good point, hubs, good point.

Well, I can tell you, that did not work out so well.  I am a busy girl!  I was tired by the time I got home from work and the last thing I wanted to do was sit down for two hours and teach my husband English.  Twice a week.  I think I did it two or three times but after that I just couldn't work up the energy.  So English took to the way side.  He kept learning because he was interacting with people all the time, but it takes TIME to learn another language.  However, I was adamant that I wasn't going to force another class on him.  Although I could hear judgment in people's voices ("He's not taking English classes? Doesn't he want to learn English?  How's he going to get a good job?" - yeah, people are very judgmental even when they don't think they are), I wanted him to want to take an English class.

Then one day (a year and a half later) we were sitting around and he said, "I think I want to sign up for another English class." Woo-hoo!!!!  I took him to register the next day - before he changed his mind.  It was quite an exciting moment for him because his English had improved so much that he skipped a level.  To a boy who was never encouraged and was never told he was smart or intelligent, skipping a level is BIG NEWS.  He was thrilled.

And so, this fall both of us headed off to school again (him to English and me to A&P).  I felt like I should take a picture of his first day of school, since that is what my mother did to me all the time.

And boy does he look excited! Take a look at the huge frown on his face....

This week he also had a birthday.  So, of course, I threw him a big birthday party manly BBQ and invited a bunch of his friends.  I tried to invite all of my friends too, but he told me it wasn't my party.  Boo.

I spent all weekend cooking food and it turned out GREAT.  My sister made cupcakes into the Honduran flag, which was super cool.  I made a bunch of recipes from my Grandma's cookbook for some reason.  The BBQ was reminiscent of a 1970s party - complete with a jello mold with ambrosia salad in the middle, potato salad, yummy fruit dip (cream cheese, marshmallow fluff, and orange juice = pure bliss), black bean salad (from Gina's Skinny Recipes - her blog is wonderful and this was amazing!), BBQ ribs, chicken kabobs, and 7-layer dip.  Everyone raved about the food which made me especially happy.  Although I sacrificed many study hours to cook everything, I was thrilled that there were hardly any left-overs. 

Plus, hubs got lots of wonderful gifts and had a GREAT time hanging out with everyone.  It was truly a great party.  It also cost an arm and a leg so I'm not so sure we'll do another one next year.  Or maybe we'll skip the super expensive ribs!

Happy Birthday Amor!!!