Operation Honeymoon Part II: The Good Life

Food poisoning is not fun. EVER. But guess who got a surprise visit from the upchuck fairy last night? That's right... this girl. I went to bed feeling weird... but figured i was just tired. Or that i was woozy from the delicious new marshmellow vodka chocolate milk mixed cocktail D & I invented last night. Upon waking up at 4:30 am I had that  feeling in the pit of my stomach... you all know  what I'm talking about. I suppose now is a good time to bring up the fact that I abhor throwing up. And will do almost anything to avoid it at all costs. So at this point in the morning, I know full well what's going down in my near future and I'm trying to get up the guts to go through with it. Finally I can't take it any longer and make my way down the hallway to the room of doom. D & I ate salads for dinner last night from the commissary. You know the self serve ones that you're charged for by the lb with spinach and broccoli and carrots and cucumber... One word: GROSS. Although you'll be happy to know that the salads were not the culprit. Paula & I were hanging out yesterday and had a ridiculous craving for Popeye's. The Air Force closed the one on Ramstein (the base D works at) so we had to drive to Vogulweh. I will say this... while I was eating my popcorn shrimp with redbeans and rice... it was bliss. pure unadulterated bliss. I've gotten food poisoning from popcorn shrimp before, so I'm almost positive that was the miscreant. Downside? Today has been rough.... Really rough... Positive Flipside? I now have zero desire to eat fast food for a LONG time. Surely there's a better way to curb the craving that this....

 **Please pardon the disgusting references in today's excitement. I felt this could  be potentially  entertaining to many of my readers... although I realize that it could gross the majority of you out. My sincerest apologies to those of you with weak stomachs.** 

I know i've been slacking on giving you guys honeymoon photos... So here's the next phase... A typical day in the wondrous life of being on vacation in Greece. Our days consisted of lots of beach time, sometimes frisbee, lots of reading, diving lessons from my husband, lots of fun beachy drinks, and food. Our days strangely revolved around what time we would eat as breakfast and dinner were only offered at certain times. So first up, here are the photos of our resort.

The main invisiline pool that looks onto the med. LOVE!

Where we would sit for after dinner drinks and cigars on the patio.

This is part of the main building. This section of rooms have marina views instead of sea views.

D was awesome and let me get a facial at the spa while we were there. It was some vitamin C injection thing... OMG. Best facial I have ever had. The girl cracked me up though, she's like "You should come back for one of these everyday while you're here" and all I was thinking was "If I had a million dollars...."

They served me ginger lemon tea after it was all over. Turns out it's the same tea my father has been making me for years! (Yay Dad!) but they served it cold... which was interestingly fantastic! Definite felt proud of my Papa and missed him dearly all in the same moment. 

Then of course I had to post our beachtime pics. There are more, but these were at the beginning. We had a blast in the water. It's so freaking clear!!! If you stood still long enough the fish would come right up to you and nip at your feet. Completely scared me half to death the first time it happened.

He's such a goof, but I love him!

Then of course there is the epic slicing of the leg incident. Note to all of you, when the battle comes between your skin and a boulder on the beach? BOULDERS WIN. every time. hands down, no questions asked. I really wanted to get up on the rocks to take a panorama of our view without the swimmers per say... So Dana of course, having swimming shoes was able to walk along the rocks comfortably... I however, was not... so I swam up to the rocks and he helped me find a place to step up. I believe it was the phrase "swim over here and swing your legs around this rock" that brought forth the impending onslaught of blood streaming down my leg. To D's credit, that's exactly what I needed to do... To my own detriment, that is NOT what happened. I cut the angle too close and the sharp rock sliced into my leg near my knee. I didn't even really notice it when D pulled me onto the rocks... nor was I aware while taking a panorama for 5 minutes. It wasn't until my husband noticed the pool of blood at my feet that he got nervous and told me we should go ashore and have it looked at. D was adamant about this. I was not. I didn't understand what the big deal was. I wasn't in any pain... and yes, there was a great deal of blood, but it didn't feel urgent, so why should I go all damsel in distress-like to shore to clean what is probably a superficial wound? In the end, he won out due to his unrelenting insistence. But I was fine. and the cut indeed looked worse than it was. phew! All that is to say, I will NEVER make fun of my husbands water shoes again. They are not any of the following: nerdy, stupid, unfashionable, nerdy, awkward, weird, and did i mention nerdy? No... these shoes are genius. and I want a pair A-SAP.

The weather was absolutely beautiful every day we were there. I was in shock after being privy to rain at least once every day. This is the first time I have seen these photos in a month and I want to go back tomorrow!!!! *sigh* Well, that's all for the honeymoon update today. I'll do my utmost to finish posting the pics this month.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful thursday! 1 more day till the weekend!!! Love and miss you all....

Operation Honeymoon: The Trek to Greece

The first wedding present made it's way to Germany!!!! Crista & Adam Reed gave us a thermal french press from William's Sonoma!!!! What they probably don't realize, is that we have been DYING to purchase one of these for the past 8 months.... and had to refrain (husband literally holding my hands back) from buying one in the hopes that someone would purchase this from our registry. We are so thankful at their kindness and want them to know this gift is already well in use and will continue to be for many every year to come in our marriage!

The Trek to Greece:

This was how it started. Look at us. So excited!!! So happy!!! So very ready for anything that's going to hit us. If only we had known that staying the night at the airport is not fun. Zero. Fun. Sir.

Both of us did an awesome job of trying to stay positive as we hopped from terminal to terminal on the monorail in our attempts to stay awake. but by 5:00 AM we were hurting. The german airport folks don't even let you into the  waiting area for your gate until 20 minutes before you board the plane. What is that all about?

We finally board the tiny aircraft and poor D barely fits into the seat with his long legs. We're both just so grateful to be sitting in a semi comfortable chair that we pass out. and don't realize that our plane was delayed on the ground for 1.5 hours until we're 45 minutes from landing. ha! Corfu airport is crazy small. Which makes sense because it's a small island. We made contact with the trip company and they directed us to our transportation and off we went through the island of Corfu to the resort. Now might be a good time to mention how delirious we both are. This trip was a blur. It was around 8:40 AM and we had only had about an hour of sleep apiece. It felt like we were on the bus for an hour... come to find out later it was a 20 minute ride. Arriving at the hotel we are so psyched!!! We can hardly wait to get our room keys and climb into bed for the best nap of all time. Unfortunately our room wasn't ready for several hours due to check out time being around noon. Did we fret? Not a chance.... The hotel set us up in the bar area with free drinks! Woo hoo!!!! This was all we needed to convert to Island time...

Nothing like an Mojito and a Singapore Sling to get your happiness flowing! The mojito's here were excellent. seriously. It ended up being my drink of choice for the rest of the trip in addition to pinapple juice + Malibu.

See how happy we are?!? Those are tired but content smiles if I ever saw them. (:

When our room was finally ready we headed that direction with our suitcases not really sure what kind of a room we were in store for.

This was our room.... #828. Where we will always stay if when we go back to this resort! It was amazing!!!

We did some exploring around the resort after a much needed nap. It had already gotten fairly late in the evening by then and we were content to hit the restaurant for dinner and call it a day. We were fortunate enough to have breakfast delivered to our room the next morning! It was soooo excited. The food here was fantastic!!!! And after those precious months of watching what you eat to fit into your wedding dress, it was nice to finally be able to eat until my tummy was content!

This so reminds me of the breakfasts our house mom used to make us in Seville, Spain. D & I were pumped! So this ends today's post of the trek to Greece and the beginnings of our honeymoon. Stay tuned tomorrow for more pictures and stories such as my epic bleeding episode, the dessert plates, sunset vs sunrise, & snorkeling adventures!

I hope everyone has a beautiful Monday! All my love!

The Big Texas Wedding, A Honeymoon in Greece & Back to Reality

Today's Excitement:
I'm writing in the blog again!!!!! After a two month hiatus..... (which practically killed me...) I am finally able to return to the labor of love i adore so much. There is a fair amount to update on... but with some patience and a significant amount of time, i think i can catch everyone up. Today's post is going to be rather short... but with the inspiration of a fellow blogger (HI JESS!!!) if i do a little bit every day, i can satiate the blog monster inside of me.

The BIG Texas Wedding: 
oh my heavens............ all the prep... all the work... all the crafty DIY projects... all the time and scheduling.... all the father/daughter moments.... all the bride/groom panic sessions... completely and totally paid off!!!!!!!! I cannot tell you how glad i am that i allowed myself the time to go home and prepare. I can barely believe it myself how much i was able to accomplish in a month's time. The wedding was absolutely a DREAM COME TRUE!!!! The decorations were perfect, the food was awesome... and everyone who i love so dearly was there to support us. Now it's time for the BIG thank you's:

My Father (aka Papa Scott, Dad & FOB): This wedding was made possible by YOU. Without your help, dedication, running around matching dress swatches with tux colors, cake tasting efforts, handling all of the invitations, designing centerpieces and place card holders, hacking at your trees in the backyard so i could have branches, list making skills, etc. none of this would have even been able to happen. I don't think it's possible for words to express my thanks, gratitude, and awe at your thoughtfulness. I love you, Dad and these moments were some of the best memories with you that I will carry throughout my lifetime.

Mama & Papa W (aka The W's, MOG & FOG): What a true blessing to marry into such an amazing family!!! Thank you for driving down to Texas from Iowa with car loads of decorations specially catered to dana's and my taste. Thank you for shuttling family to and from the airport. Thanks for spending time with my family, they absolutely adore you guys! Thank you for all of your contributions that made the rehearsal dinner so beautiful. I was speechless at the careful planning of the centerpieces.... they were absolutely gorgeous! We miss and love you and look forward to seeing you in October-ish!

Sarah, Nate, & Sophia Ndjerareou (aka Sister & Brother -in-law & niece): Huge shout out thank you to you guys for housing almost all of the groomsmen at one point. Thank you for opening your BRAND NEW house to help us take care of the many friends and family that passed through for the wedding. Sophia - Thanks for being the BEST princess flower girl and for rockin it on the dance floor all night at the reception!!!

The Aunties... Tricia, Teresa, Diane, & Karen: You guys are so amazing!!!!!! I cannot thank you enough for helping me make the wedding balls for the reception. Everyone LOVED them and several people asked us to take them home. I loved having you guys be such a big part of the wedding with helping in setting up the reception and taking things down. My father was so grateful to Diane and Tricia for coming back to help tear down the festivities. It helped make me feel as if mom was right there with me all along. May my words properly express my gratitude for all of your moral support, prayers and help on this monumental occasion.

The Bridesmaids (Chelsea, Crista, Brittney, Tori, Tabby, & Sarah): I could NOT have done this without you. Thanks for keeping the panic moments under wraps so i wouldn't worry. Thanks for talking to me and calming me down when i got antsy. Thanks for seriously taking advantage of the holiday vacation and enjoying the wedding to its fullest. Thanks for pulling me into the photobooth with you guys so i could get a picture! Thanks for just being awesome all around. Every one of you played such an important part and helps compliment a side of me that isn't strong. I love you all so much and am super bummed that i can't pinpoint a time where we can all be together again. Thanks for being in the moment with me..... these will last me a lifetime.

The Groomsmen (Nate, Paul, Free, Russ, Josh, & PT): Thank you for taking such great care of my husband!!!! He keeps raving to me how amazing it was to get to spend three days with all of you. It is such a blessing to know that my husband is surrounded by such incredible and awe inspiring men. Thanks for giving him a bachelor party and Russ you're a rock star for getting that cowboy hat!!! (: It was really nice to see you all and I look forward to having you at our house here in Germany.

Chelsea & Troy Davis (aka our freaking FANTASTIC photographers): You guys are incredible!!!!!! I loved having you at our wedding as guests and as photographers. You both are a well oiled machine and it was brilliant to get a chance to work with you. Thanks for helping out so much and easing stress when it came. I cannot get over how beautiful your shots turned out. It is everything i could have hoped for and so much more!!!! I can hardly wait to see the rest of the photos! My family, friends, and everyone else is amazed at your wonderful work! I look forward to staying in touch and helping you out in the calligraphy department for your stylized shoots. (: We love you guys!!!!!

For those that aren't aware... Chelsea & Troy have graciously posted a tremendous sample of our wedding photographs on her photography blog website located here: Chelsea Davis Photography Blog. Please check them out!!!!! They're work is absolutely stunning!!!!! I will be sure to post pictures when we actually get them, but for now this sample will have to do! Here's one just for funzies:

The Grecian Honeymoon:
so don't get mad, but i haven't had time to edit the photos yet... so i just did one to give you guys an idea of what's to come! We had such an amazing time... The resort is amazing and the food was unspeakably good. We got plenty of sun and surf and decided when we retire dana's going to teach scuba lessons and i'll have a cupcake shop on the beach. (Score!) So i promise to give a full play by play as soon as i can get some time to edit photos. For now, this one will have to do!

Back To Reality.......
after being in wedding world for the past two months getting back to the daily grind where you have to do things like pay bills and clean house SUCKS. Not to mention the fact that it's hard. I am trying to be so good and get the important things done now so they aren't hanging over my head. Like getting my name changed on my SS card (meant to do that while in Dallas... oops.), and writing wedding thank you's, and continuing to unpack our stuff in the apartment from when we moved here 8 months ago. ha!

On the plus side, it's been great to spend time with our friends here again. It it's amazing to be back home in Germany. We had a righteous thunderstorm yesterday and i was mesmerized by the cloud formations in the sky. Check it out!!!

Fun on the 4th of July in Germany:
One of those rare moments I am super glad to be among so many Americans was on this 4th of July. Spending an American holiday (more less the celebration of the our country's independence) is weird when you're in a foreign country. because for them, it's just another day. I wanted all of the traditional... the fireworks, the barbeque, the watermelon, and the pie!!! unfortunately, i just made do with the fireworks. which is my most favorite part anyway. The base put on a spectacular show and it completely made coming home from greece worth it!!! Here's a sample of what we saw plus some group shots!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand my time is up for the day... actually i took way more time than i should have! I hope everyone has a great weekend and I can hardly wait to post more stuff!!! Lots of love!!!!