Ridiculous Rainbows, A Like-Minded Friend, & The Winner Is....

Today's Yesterday's Excitement in General:

I am a huge fan of seeing rainbows before/after/during a rainstorm. There is a YouTube video about a guy who is freaking out over a double rainbow... that's me. minus the groaning. If you haven't seen this video it's hilarious. I've added it below this section. This guy has to be on crack. The Remix is my favorite. But you have to see the original to appreciate the Remix. Anyway, I digress... It's been raining an insane amount here lately, and D and I desperately miss the sunshine that lasts for longer than five minutes in between rainstorms.  The other day I looked out our window to see a very vivid rainbow... and I was so excited! D thought there was something wrong because he runs out and asks me if everything was okay... and I jumped up and down and pointed to the prism of color. He laughed. But I snapped pictures anyway.

Not an hour later, there is a completely different rainbow in the sky. A double rainbow, all the way!!!!

Then D had to play the video. and the Remix was stuck in my head for the rest of the day. A shout out to my fellow OPNers who first introduced me to the Remix series... i miss you all.

Double Rainbow Original

Double Rainbow Remix (hilarious!!)

A Like-Minded Friend...
Sometimes you meet people and it just clicks. You've barely been conversing for three minutes and you realize that the person you're talking to not only "gets it" but that you both think the same way. I was introduced to Jessica Aiduk at the christmas party forever and a day ago... but we recently started hanging out as I was helping her redesign her blog. (Seriously check it out!!!! There & Back Again: An Air Force Tale) Let me tell you.... Jess is my freaking hero. She's a hippy-gypsy-soul air force wife, rockstar mom of two beautiful girls (Lily & Sam), amazing photographer (she even has a book on photographing food!!!), and fellow foodie extraordinaire! I watch her with her girls and I can only hope that someday I'm as good with my kids as she is with hers.

I stole this one from her. Because I LOVE it!!!! 

This one I took of Sam when I was there. One of the few moments where I didn't have both kids in my lap!

She spoils me every time I would come over with an amazing lunch, like chicken tortilla soup & barbecue shrimp pizza, to name a few. She lives in a gorgeous house (designed by an architect!!!! and you can totally tell...) in Otterberg not too far from Landstuhl. They even have space for a garden and a grilling patio with a view! There was definitely some house envy going on. There's an entire wall of windows in their living room. The view is unreal.

I have had a blast teaching her Photoshop and in turn she's been teaching me about photography and the trials and tribulations of mommy-ing. We exchange food recipe's and I admire her in more ways than she'll ever know in her adventures with purely organic cooking. She's right up there with my dad. And of course, she's made the transition of AirForce Wife for me remarkably easy. It's an amazing thing to have a group of women that not only speak the lingo and know what the acronyms mean, but to also know that you have a support structure for whatever you're going through. Since Jess and I have the love of food photography in common, I've been making pretty desserts for her to capture on camera using her new lens!!

One of my cupcakes. Isn't she AWESOME?!

My blueberry rainbow cake. How convenient that she has blue carpet??

L.O.V.E.

So Jess... Thanks for being wonderful. For renewing my hope and faith in good friends so far away from home. (: Here's to hanging out again after we both get back from vacation!!!!

& The Winner Is....
A while back there were several posts on the play D & I were working on called "The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood". I believe I mentioned that this play was adjudicated and we received rave reviews from the judges! The Toppers Awards Tournament of Plays 2012 was this past weekend in Heidelberg. D and I as well as several members of the cast attended. I had no idea that this shindig was such a big to do! Think Tony Awards or Oscars. I haven't seen that many ball gowns since prom in 2003. It was so much fun! There were drinks and yummy snacks and an entire show put together for our awards entertainment. As it turns out, "The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood" was nominated for 23 awards and won 6! This is by FAR the most nominations & wins for Razz-Ma-Tazz Community theater! Way to go team!!! The show was nominated in every possible category we could have been nominated for. THAT in and of itself is extremely impressive. We had an amazing cast that truly bonded together to create an outstanding show with every performance.

The Nominations and Wins are as follows:
Best Make-Up & Hair in a Comedy: WINNER Kirsten Wollschlager & Edison Ruland
Best Costumes in a Comedy: Nomination - Amy Hopkins
Best Sound in a Comedy: WINNER - Kirsten Wollschlager
Best Lighting in a Comedy: WINNER - Cindy Krewson
Best Set Painting in a Comedy: Nomination - Kirsten Wollschlager
Best Set in a Comedy: Nomination - Kirsten Wollschlager
Best Props in a Comedy: Nomination - Kirsten Wollschlager
Best Stage Manager in a Comedy: WINNER - Will
Best Male Military Performer in a Comedy: Nomination - Chris McNeal (Prince John)
Best Female Military Performer in a Comedy: Nomination - Ashley Jenkins (Maid Marian)
Outstanding Male Youth in a Comedy: Nomination - Spencer Allen & Andrew Allen (Merry Men)
Best Debut in a Comedy: Nomination - Jordon Campbell (Friar Tuck)
Best Ensemble in a Comedy: Nomination - "The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood" Cast
Best Actress in a Feature Roll in a Comedy - Nomination: Erin Allen (Lady in Waiting)
Best Actor in a Feature Roll in a Comedy - Nomination: Michael (Sherriff of Nottingham)
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy - Nomination: Danielle Pierce (The Towns Guy)
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy - Nomination: Chol McCarthy (Little John)
Best Actor in a Comedy: WINNER - Nick Perez (Robin Hood)
Best Director in a Comedy: Nomination - Edison Ruland
Best Comedy: Nomination - "The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood"

And finally the photos... which is the best part!!!!

Miss Technical Directors Unite!!!

The End!

ALSO, we're gonna be on TV!!!
MANNHEIM, Germany -- AFN Europe is showcasing the top Installation Management Command theater productions during a special airing of the "Topper Awards," on the Pentagon Channel 7 p.m. Central European Time on May 5 and May 12. "We feel it's going to be a fun show," says AFN Europe Commander Bill Bigelow. "You'll see parts of some of the best theater in Europe, as well as the actual award presentations." This is the first time in the 17 years of the Toppers awards that AFN has televised the show. AFN Europe will record the program at the Village Pavilion in Heidelberg, then edit it for the May air dates. The show will also be on AFN Europe's Youtube channel May 6 at http://www.youtube.com/afneurope.

On the Way Home...
It was a really nice drive on the way back from Heidelberg on Sunday. So we took lots of random detours and got lost. Took some fun pics along the way!

This opening is meant for two cars. HA! Although the sign says that on coming traffic is supposed to yield to you...

i love the views that pop up when you reach a high point. it ends up looking like a bumpy patchwork quilt.

Coming Up Soon....
Leaving for Texas in "T" minus 14 days! crazy. luckily there's a wedding or else i wouldn't want to come home! lol This week I'm working on Sophia's flower girl dress, getting together with Jen for some photoshop fun, & Dana is up for the Tony Sturn award on Friday. Busy busy week. Poor husband came down with strep throat on monday... so he's home with me sick right now... but he went to the doctor and got meds and a shot (yikes!), so hopefully he'll be better soon! Wishing everyone a great week!!!

All my love....

Grecian Honeymoon, Furniture Mishaps, & Curtain Calls

Today's Excitement:

WE BOOKED OUR HONEYMOON!!!! We are officially headed to Corfu, Greece after the wedding in June! Dana & I are SO excited! It took us forever to decide where to go... and after six (yes, SIX) trips to the travel agent, we finally made a decision! It's fantastic to be able to check that one off the list! oh man the beach.... i cannot wait!!!!

Furniture Mishaps

We had our first act without thinking furniture mishap. I was surfing Ramstein Yard Sales and found a buffet table and a modern china cabinet for relatively amazing cost. I immediately emailed the seller and we were able to secure the purchase. The smaller piece is about 6' by 3.5' by 2'. The larger piece is about 8'-3" by 5'6" by 18". We went to view the piece and bought them at about 10:30 am on saturday. We then had to figure out how in the hell we were going to transfer the larger piece home. Recently we made friends with a family in the area that happens to have a Yukon. After a quick phone call and an amazingly fast "Yes, I can help". We raced back to base to get gas and pick up cash. Upon getting back to the sellers house, it didn't take us very long to discover that the larger piece of furniture was not going to fit into the vehicle. Because it's german furniture... the legs don't screw off.... so we ended up getting the neighbor of the seller, an eighty year old Opa to saw the legs off. In all of this effort we only ended up getting two legs sawed off (how??!?). So the piece finally fits in the car... and i'm freaking out because I realize that we're going to have to find a saw if we want this thing to stand somewhat level. We have to tie the back door down on the Yukon.... and drive veeeeeeeeerrrrry sloooooooooowly back home up the hill to Landstuhl. Did i mention that this thing weighs a ton?!? So we get back to the apartment... somehow i keep forgetting that we live in an apartment with a tiny elevator... and a really narrow staircase. We had our neighbor Kreiger and his roomie to come help us unload so that our friend with the Yukon could get back home. Much to my chagrin... the larger piece doesn't fit in the elevator (not by a LONG shot) and it also doesn't fit up the stair case.... not to mention i don't know who would be willing to help us lug this piece of furniture up NINE FLOORS. So i'm close to tears because we have this nice storage unit for my clothes (which are still in boxes) and it only has two legs and my dreams of getting it into our apartment are getting smaller and smaller. We managed to put it in the storage room for the time being. I want to see if i can take it apart, refinish it, and put it back together in the apartment. Dana hates watching me do this.... the whole "NO! we can DO this! I just need some time and some tools!" and i try and try until there seriously is no way to move forward or backward. lol My guess is that will happen sometime this weekend when we can get it outside to see if we can even attempt to take it apart. Gah!

so, to make a long story even longer.... we learned our lesson. before buying ANYTHING... make sure we can get it into the apartment via the elevator or stairs (while being prepared to buy said helpers 15 year old Glenlivet). The good news is that the dining room buffet fit in the elevator just fine! and i'm going to try and clean it up and maybe refinish it soon. yay projects!

Curtain Calls

The "Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood" had it's final show this weekend. I have decided that when a show ends, it's as bad as the day after christmas. You get so amped up for the performances and get so accustomed to seeing everyone's smiling face, day in and day out, that when the show is over you feel empty. All the sets came down and the castle i had painted was simply wooden boards once again. The "Ye Olde Easybake" was torn down and all that was left was piles of cardboard and tape. All the costumes were put away and the dressing room was cleaned out. *sigh* it was an awesome show though. and I am SUPER grateful that Dana and I were able to be a part of it. On the plus side, now I have a ridiculous amount of free time. Which is great because the wedding madness is about to kick in full swing.

This week:

We're having dinner with Amy and her family (the costume designer for the play) on tuesday night which will be a nice change of pace. Also, the KMCC show "Foreigner" is still going on this weekend and D and i have plans to attend with Nick Perez. Alas, his lovely fiance Danielle (aka. the better half) is in London for the next week, so she won't be able to join us. Now we'll finally have time to clean the house though. It's been a disaster zone for the past two weeks. It's what happens when you get busy and you're never home.

Well, that's all for now.... Perhaps more to post tomorrow! love you guys!

Invitations, Somewhat True Tales, & Sunny Days

Today's Excitement:

i am this close (holds up finger and thumb) to finishing our wedding website! yes, it does take forever to load... and i'm trying to work on that... but it's worth it i promise! i've been doing a little bit here and there since i was in iowa. the work has finally paid off. perhaps if i didn't wait so long in between sessions it would've come along faster. because every time i'd open the program i'd have to reteach myself whatever tutorials i had learned in flash the last time. ha! i'm waiting on my husband to finish writing his portion of everything... i would totally write it myself, except that the whole point of it is for the spiel to come from his perspective. Poor thing, just what he needs, one more thing on his to-do list.

Invitation Invasion

i have put together many complicated invitations in my day. i have written my far share of fancy letters, designed shower invites, and graduation announcements. all to say that i have had experience with the art of seriously insane mail. truth? our wedding invitations are THE most complex, fancy-shmancy, tree-killing, caligraphied, wax sealed, eight shades of crazy i have ever dealt with. want to know the scary part? i loved every moment of it. for those of you who know me, paper and postage is my thing. deep down i'm an old soul, so why write an ordinary letter when you can write it i fancy handwriting with brilliant ink on the most amazing paper you've ever run your hands over and seal it with your own personal seal and unexpected color of wax. i know i sound crazy. why on earth would i take the time to do such things, ever? It's one of my happy places in life. and i've found that indulging in what makes you happy tends to make it an overall amazing day. i wanted to post pictures of the entire suite of paper i managed to cram into an envelope (oh wait, there's two envelopes.. nope, just kidding, three...) but the i thought that might ruin the fun for those of you who will be getting yours in the mail. I want to have our set with us on our wedding day so that our photographer (Chelsea Davis!) can get some fantastic shots. so instead of spoiling the surprise, here is all my hard word spiraled around my coffee table. i envy betsy dunlap. i would LOVE to do this for a living and have a hand in everyone's weddings.

The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood

last weekend the show opened with gusto! we received rave reviews from the adjudicators that arrived on saturday night. i'd say all in all saturday night was our best show yet. everything just fell into place. Dana was the assistant director for the show, while i busied myself with set painting, prop creation, sound tech, and hair for the fawning ladies and the lady in waiting. Zach Bach had come in to take photos of the cast last thursday during our dress rehearsal. Here are a couple shots from different scenes. For the full album see The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood on Facebook. this weekend the show continues on Friday at 6:30pm, Saturday at 6:30 pm, & Sunday at 3:30 pm. I highly encourage everyone to make an appearance. the cast has worked so hard and deserves a full house! i guarantee you will laugh till your sides hurt.

Sunny Days

The weather is finally changing here. I can't believe all the sunshine! although our current dilemma is that it shines right through our bedroom window only to blind you at 6:30 am in the morning. no need for an alarm clock, just use the natural glaring light. looks like we're going to have to invest in some curtains... geez i wish our apartment came with rolladenz.

tomorrow i get the car and i'm hoping to stop by Toom and pick up some crown molding. i have a project i'm working on, and i'm excited because it involves my shoes! i just wish the walls weren't solid concrete. speaking of toom, D and i are picking out paint for the living room. i'm trying to go with a neutral pallet so that i can have fun accent pillows and art of the walls. but it's so darn hard! the color of the carpet is the color i want the accent wall to be. *sigh* but then i figured if i want the contrast we can invest in a floor rug. (hello IKEA!)

Paula, Jen, Jess & I have banded together to start a book club! hooray! finally my speed reading skills can be put to good use... we're currently reading "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin. I highly recommend it. it's inspiring to think that you could change your everyday life and make it that much better simply by the way you think and making a choice to be a happier person. i'm excited to finish it and discuss with the other girls!

Things to look forward to...

Dana's birthday is coming up on April 10th! this will be the first birthday we get to celebrate together so i'm plenty excited! you guys know how big of a deal birthdays are to me, and this one is no different! I'm still trying to decide what to get him. there are so many options! we were thinking of going on a mini-vay because he gets a comp day for his birthday... but we'll be heading to Heidelberg for toppers on the 21st of April, so that might end up being our "trip" for the month.

i will be heading back to the states on May 7th for the wedding in June. i can't believe how fast time has flown since i've been here. it makes me want to check myself everyday and basque in a moment so i don't take anything for granted. Preparations for the wedding are still in full swing... signing contracts, getting the rehearsal dinner together, picking out small detail decorations to make it a vintage affair... not to mention trying to figure out how to decorate the church. (head in hands) but everything is coming together. and dana and i are pleased. while we have hiccups every once in a while, especially while planning this event from europe, we've enjoyed the process. it is our hope, that everyone we send an invitation to, can make it to celebrate with us!

well i've got plenty to do today... organize the office, clean the kitchen from last nights dinner party, etc. hope you all are having a fantastic week! it's almost friday!

lots of love....

"Oh shock and disbelief!!!"

Today's Excitement:

Well, it was actually yesterdays... i went to the post office with a finished wedding invitation to check the postage. i wanted to make sure there was enough stamps to send the thick book. I asked the woman behind the counter, she weighed it and told me i had plenty of postage. I was so thrilled i grabbed my things to leave... and she tells me that unfortunately, i need a customs form to mail it. my eyes got huge and my heart sank. i proceeded to reply that these are my wedding invitations and i have around 94 to send out. (in case you're bad at putting two and two together... that's NINETY FOUR CUSTOMS FORMS.... dana, i love you, but your last name has entirely too many letters for me to write it NINETY FOUR times.) i asked her if she was serious and she told me that i could chance it and send them without, but if they came back it wasn't her fault. so. instead, i am preparing all of them with the appropriate stamps, putting them in a large box, and shipping them to my father so that he can mail them stateside. yet one more hoop to jump through when planning a wedding from another country while residing on a military base. *sigh*

i know i haven't written in a while... but the wedding has been taking up an enormous amount of time. hand making all of the envelopes and all the trimmings that come with a wedding invitation is way more time consuming than i would have imagined. it's a blast though. if i could ever have the buisness of my dreams it would be to create custom wedding invitations. complete with the envelopes, seals, and calligraphy. it's my happy place. and my mad scientist lab table (aka the dining room table) proves it. the image below reminds me of studio... those were the days!

D and i have also been busy helping out with the ramstein community theater production of "The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood" a hysterical comedy that's somewhere between monty python and men in tights. Check out their Facebook page that lists dates, times and ticket prices. I highly recommend the VIP seating, as there are couches and they're way more comfortable! it's fun for the WHOLE family. Your kids are going to love this. So come out and support your local Razz-MaTazz Community Theater!

So yesterday i made a trip to Otterbach to visit Jess at her AMAZINGLY fantastic home and i won't lie i was a bit nervous to drive out there by myself. German navigation is insane. tiny tiny roads that you wouldn't think two cars were supposed to fit on, more or less three... and i was leaving base after the post office debacle and i was supposed to get gas before i went home. for those of you who aren't familiar, if you get gas on base, you pay american prices. You can get gas at any Esso Station and pay with your prepaid card to get the amercian prices also, but i am NOT familiar with the locations of the Esso stations anywhere outside landstuhl. so i stupidly forgot to get gas because i was so frazzled by the invitation incident and left for Jess's on less than a fourth of a tank. Luckily i remembered before i left and jess kindly directed me to the nearest station close to Globus. I had less than two notches worth of gas and after running out on the highway in iowa, i am terrified of it happening again. so i prayed the whole way. as my luck would have it i made it. but i did take a pictures of the totals on the meter. because this is what we would pay if we bought gas on the German economy instead of using American rates. that's 83.97 EURO. which currently is $110.60. to fill up a 15 gallon tank on a honda accord. Crazy huh? you could go broke just trying to keep gas in your car!

well, that's all for now. i've got a million invitations to finish! Love you guys! i'll try to write more often even if it's sans pictures.