Bonjour from Nice

We are fortunate enough to have an organization on post known as Outdoor Recreation that organizes lots of day trips to various places around Europe. When Jackie and I saw they were arranging a trip to Nice, France we knew it would be for us. The bus departed from post around 3:00 in the morning. It was obviously extremely dark and getting out that early was tough. I think we were beginning to question whether or not a trip is worth it if you have to get up at such an awful hour of the morning. Plus, the 24-hour shoppette had recently changed it's hours so it was no longer open for 24 hours. We, however, had not realized it until we got there. So, there we were with no coffee or snacks. If you know me, then you know I have to have snacks for a long trip...especially a 7 hour bus ride. We did find a vending machine that worked so we were at least able to get a snack and drink. But, we were still without coffee, so we mumbled and grumbled...of course. Once on the bus, I settled in with a Vera Bradley bag as a pillow and took some Benedryl to make me sleepy. Is that bad? Oh well, you know you do it too. ;) I slept off and on. It was sort of a light sleep. 

Before I knew it the sun was coming up and we were arriving in Nice. We were greeted with mountains and crystal blue waters from afar. Our first stop was a perfume factory. We got a tour of the factory and then were able to purchase products. Of course, it was all very pricey. So, Jackie and I settled for one product that was reasonable priced. It was this special oil that smelled amazing. It's a great thing to lather on after a shower to hydrate your skin. They said it was good for dry elbows. I was sold when they said that! 

After that we ventured to the market in Nice. It was amazing!! There were so many fresh fruits and vegetables along with beautiful flowers. I wish we would have brought a cooler to feel up with all the deliciousness. If we had been closer I would have purchased some fresh flowers to take home and put in a vase, but I figured they wouldn't last the day or the 7 hour bus ride. We did buy a baguette and had already made it our mission to find some good brie to go with our bread. OHH and we had the most AMAZING croissant ever. It was buttery, flaky,  and delicious. We also looked around the cutest little candy shop. The gave free samples, which is always a plus!!

During lunch we got some free entertainment. This group of guys were like acrobats! They flipped and did so many tricks. While some flipped and flopped other played music. It was quite a show. We ventured down the road towards the beach. It was beautiful. The streets were lined with palm trees and the sea sparkled in the sunlight.  The water danced with sunshine and different shades of blue. We of course took tons of pictures in front of the glistening water. We were happy as clams. I just wish we could have spent more time there. After spending some time by the water, we stopped at a little bar for mojitos and creme brule.

It was now time for our cruise around the French Riveria. Basking in the sunlight while riding around on a boat is the life. I can see why the rich and famous like it so much. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, and we had the wind in our hair. We were able to see Monaco and Monte Carlo from the boat.

Before departing from Nice, we stopped by another candy shop and browsed around. We never did find any Brie for our baguette.  We were quite disappointed. But, other than not finding Brie, our trip to Nice was awesome. I want to go back again someday. 

It was a long, but relaxing day. We got back home around 2:00 on Sunday morning. We had a full day with lots of tasty treats, beautiful scenery, and pleasant company. I look forward to many more trips to come. :)

Strange, isn't it?

I have only been home for less than 12 hours and I have already noticed some differences. It was dark, but I could still see that Fayetteville has grown and changed. It'll probably be even crazier looking in the day time. Even being in my house is so different. Sitting on the toilet seat was strange. I am used to a thin, wide seat where I feel like I might fall in. I sort of felt like a big cow on our tiny, thick toilet seat. When I reached for a spoon this morning I was shocked to discover that it isn't in the same place that my spoons are in my drawer at my home in Italy. My childhood room is even different looking. It's definitely quite cute and girly, but still different than before. The faucets have been changed and the kitchen chairs seat cushions have been redone. Oh and did I mention, as we speak, I am watching a TV with actual channels? I dont have my computer hooked up to the TV so I can watch something. Very odd feeling. It was also strange waking up in a different bed. What was extrememly strange was last night right before I went to sleep. It was midnight and I thought to myself, wow..in Italy the sun is already up. It's a feeling that you can't really understand until you've been in this situation. I also feel worried about my little home, which I find odd because we've been gone for weeks at a time when on vacation and I never thought twice about it. I guess it's just knowing that your so far away from it. It just facinates me that a country that used to be considered foreign no longer feels foreign at all and the country that was never foreign suddenly feels slightly foreign. There are differences that I have already noticed and it feels strange, but it's good to be home with my family and I can't wait to see my friends. Well, thats all the inital changes that I saw. I will be sure to keep everyone updated on my adventures in America! Bye Y'all!!! ;)

Deployment Bucket List

Let's face it, deployments are not fun. They make you stress, worry, and miss the other person like crazy. Your suddenly doing half the amount of laundry (hm, well, maybe this is one of hte high points) and cooking you once did. You find yourself staying up waaaay too late watching TV shows and movies. Your constantly bringing your phone everywhere with you. Gotta go to the bathroom? The phone goes with you. Everytime the phone rings you automatically think its them. Well, news flash, it's usually only them in 1 out of 10 phonecalls. When you log onto your skype you triple check to see if they are on. Well, that's if they were blessed with internet. Thomas was not blessed with internet on his last deployment. This deployment I'd say he is very blessed...he has his own room with a roof and they do have some internet access they can use at the MWR if they aren't busy. Okay, so I went off on the dirt road for a minute there..lets get back to my original point. Deployments are not fun! There are a slew of other reasons why they are no bene, but today we are not going to focus on that. We will focus on why deployments can be a good thing if you let it. Remember, in every aspect of life, its what YOU make of it.

So, here I am, making my Deployment Bucket List. These are all the things I would like to get accomplished OR be seriously working towards getting accomplished by the time Thomas comes home. Last deployment I didn't make such a list. My goals were simple..survive the first year of Graduate School. That was all I cared about. I didn't have time to develop hobbies or do things for me. This deployment it's about being there for my husband and creating a mentally, spriritually, and physically better person in myself. I want to be the best Rachel I can be. Yes, I know you think I'm perfect just the way I am, but there's always room for improvement. ;) Okay, here is my deployment bucket list thus far...

1. Grow in my relationship with Christ. While Thomas is gone I want to start going to weekly bible studies. There is an organization called PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel). I've never been able to go because it's on Tuesday mornings and I am usually at the school volunteering. But, I decided that I need to go regardless. I am not getting paid for what I do. I don't need to feel obligated. If I took one morning off to work on what's important then that would be okay. What's funny is I know the people I work with would not care and would completely understand. But, you know how it is. You make a commitment and you want to stick with it. But, I need to make my commitment to Christ a little bigger. I am also going to be the Awana Cubbies Director again. There's nothing like seeing Christ through a child's eyes. Another aspect of this I need to work on is reading and studying the Bible on my own. Doing that seems a bit overwhelming because it's such a big book and it's sometimes hard to understand (thank goodness I have a study Bible now). Any tips on studying, reading, and marking the text of the Bible would be much appreciated. :)

2. Exercise more and keep it consistent. I'm sure this is on every girl's deployment bucket list. Seriously, I have to do something. I even thought about getting a personal trainer at our gym on base, so I am more accountable. At least until I get back into the habit again. And hey, if I am paying for it, I'm most likely to go. Plus they could probably give me some valuable information. Crossfit is also going back on the schedule again. I would love for Thomas to come and be like wow..is that my wife? Haha!!! :)

3. Keep my diet healthy. What I find fascinating is that any time I eat a bunch of junk food I feel gross afterwards, but yet some how there are days when salt and vinegar potato chips are just what I need. Realistically, I know that every once and while I have to have a little junk (blame it on PMS). But, for the most part I know I can do the whole healthy eating thing. I just need to remember what the bad foods do to me and limit it. Everything in moderation.

4. Get my creative juices flowing. Have you met my mother? She is the most creative, artistic person I know. So, it's gotta be in my genes somewhere right? Here are some of the things I'd like to do to get creative. I want to learn to draw. I've got some books already and have slowly started trying, but I haven't been consistent with it (are you now noticing a pattern? consistency is obviously not my strong suit). I also plan on going out and buying some blank canvases and some paint and just, well, paint. I read somewhere not to think too much about just grab a brush and start painting. I will try to research it more, but I would love to take some sort of painting or drawing class. Another way I want to get creative is to start doing more DIY projects. I think it would be awesome to have different things in my house that I could say, "yeah, I made that." I'm also planning on taking some classes at the Arts and Crafts Center. Some of the classes I think I'll take are wheel spinning (I think this is what it was called, it's where you make pottery out of clay and spin it) and mosaics as well as whatever else they've got. I would love to have a hobby like this.

5. Improve my photography. I absolutely love taking pictures and I've been told that I'm good at it. I've even got a lot of my pictures framed and hanging on the walls of our house. I am planning on taking a photography class in September to improve on my photography skills.

6. Develop a Green Thumb. I have tried the whole gardening thing and I have had ups and downs with it. For example, my pansies did quite well this winter, but now that summer has come they are dead and crunchy. I have had the WORST luck with citrus trees. I think its actually a bug problem though instead of a "me" problem. The reason I say this is because of our rose bushes. They were doing so good!! They were blossoming and thriving. All of a sudden they went downhill fast! I discovered bite marks in the leaves and I remember the citrus tree leaves getting those bite marks. Stupid bugs. But, we saved on of the rose buses after buying some insect spray. But, back to the orginial point. I want to get better at gardening and have beautiful flowers and other plants.

7. Blog More. Oh, how appropriate since I am writing a blog right now!! I really do love to blog. I love that I can share my thoughts and experiences to my friends and family back home while I'm away. I've gotten a little slack on it lately. I haven't been taking the time to sit and write well-written thoughts. You can probably notice the difference between ones I wrote way after the experience happened and the ones that I write pretty immediately after it happened. You are going to find much more humor, insite, and details in the ones that I sit, concentrate, and do immediately when I think of it. Hm, kind of like this blog, I suspect.

8. Cooking. I have become quite the happy little cooker since living in Italy. I have taken a cooking class and I usually cook all the meals at home now. I am constantly researching new recipes on Pinterest. I want to develop my skills more and experiment with cooking new things. I am already signed up for the second cooking class at Aeolia's in October.

9. Journal More. Yes, this may seem very 7th grade to you, but there's just something about putting your thoughts down on paper that really seems to help. Plus, it's so fun to look back at the things you wrote years ago. It can kind of show how you've changed and how you haven't changed. Anyway, I need to get back into the habit of sitting down and reflecting on my day while putting it into writing.

10. Travel. Even though Thomas is away, it doesn't mean I should sit in the house all the time. I'm going to get out and see the world with my friends. You don't get a chance like this very often. It's a treat to live in Europe, you might as well dig in and savor every single bite.

11. Organization, Organization, Organization. I have got to get things organized in my house. Everything needs a place, but not everything does right now. I need to find special homes for all my belongings, so both Thomas and I know where to find them.

12. Learn Italian. Now, I've obviously picked up some Italian by just living in Italy for over a year. But, I want to take an actual Italian class so I can improve and add more vocabulary to my Italian repertoire.

For now, I think that's all I have on my deployment bucket list. I of course reserve the right to add to or change anything on my list. :) Well, I've made my list so now it's time to make yours.

Food and Organization 101

So, my family seems to be amazed these days at all the things I've been cooking. Sometimes they are good amazed and sometimes bad amazed (example...avocado chicken salad, ha!). Thus, the reason for this post..well, that and to show off my first organization win! To begin I will show you what I did to our little military issued wall locker to get it looking and being more organized!

          I forgot to take a before picture...but this is the final, whole thing.

                                                 Close up!

   I put labels on all the bins so I would know what was in each bin, so no more digging through all the bins to find what I need. 

Okay, now on to the food portion of this. I'll probably try to take more pictures of foods I make and share it with all of y'all. First of all, Thomas and I have been trying to eat based on the Paleo Diet. Some call it the Caveman diet. It's sort of based on what the early humans ate. You basically eat meats, poultry, nuts, fruits, healthy oils, and vegetables. Your not really supposed to eat flour, grains, or dairy. We aren't hard core or anything...we have our cheat days (uh hello we live in Italy), but it's just about trying to eat more fresh, healthy options so we can be, well..more healthy. Here are some of the things we have made...

 This is something we have made for forever!! Way before Paleo..oven baked veggies. You  just pick whatever veggies you want, drizzle them in extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle seasoning of your choice (no salt though if your trying to be healthy). They are delicious!!

                                            We've just got good ole grilled chicken here!

 Okay, now this is the point where I say to my family..if you think this looks disgusting then you are CRAZY!!! Seriously, this sauce is delicious! Thomas said it was like one of the best sauces he's ever had. Its   a sun-dried tomato sauce to pour over chicken, but you could pretty much pour it over any meat I think.

                                                       It's completely Paleo Friendly!

                                                                       It is super yummy!!

                                                                  Finished Product!!


Here's the recipe for it: http://paleodietlifestyle.com/chicken-sun-dried-tomato-sauce/ Now I did a couple of things different..I didnt have any steak seasoning, so I didnt use it. I also used rosemary instead of time because we grow rosemary and not thyme.

Now, this next thing was supposed to be Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies, but I decided to make a pie thing instead. Now, this is only semi-Paleo..it called for sugar which is definitely not Paleo, but I used Splenda so it would at least be lower in calories. Hm, I might could have use honey instead..now thats Paleo..hahaha!!! Oh and I used olive oil instead of coconut oil because I couldnt find it. Here are the pictures of it and the recipe: http://chocolateandcarrots.com/2011/06/coconut-flour-chocolate-chip-cookies

I am nowhere neeeear where I want to be organizational and health/fitness wise, but I am getting started. Now, that Thomas is deployed, I want to use that time to get myself in gear. Feel free to hold me accountable and/or motivate me when you think I need it. :) My next post will be my Deployment Bucket List. I have all these goals I want to achieve and work on while Thomas is gone. So, stay tuned!

Cinque Terre

We decided to spend Thomas' 3-day weekend in an area of Italy known as Cinque Terre. The literal translation for this into English is "5 Lands." Cinque Terre is known for it's hiking trails that span between the 5 towns of the area. The 5 little villages include: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Recently, in October 2011, the area endured some severe mudslides. The beautiful area was now looking destroyed. But, now, you wouldn't know it. Yes, there is still some construction and rebuilding going on, but all-in-all, the towns are better than ever. I have to semi-quote Rick Steves..he talks in a recent article about how you can tell that the rebuilding of this area was so important to the community because Italian workers were working around the clock. He mentions that you can only understand this and find it funny if you've ever live in Italy. It is the truth. The Italian workers typically take their sweet time and enjoy a nice reposso. So, it's a big deal that so many are working all hours to get this place back up and running. We drove up to Cinque Terre on Thursday afternoon. We arrived in Vernazza (the town we were staying in) around 830 in the evening. I usually debate going anywhere later in the day after Thomas gets off work, but it was worth it because we had all day Friday and Saturday to see everything. We had to park in one area in the middle of nowhere and walk down a path that leads into the only road in Vernazza. It was quite a small village with beautiful water. After getting settled into our rustic little Italian apartment, we ate a restaurant that overlooked the sea. We enjoyed delicious Trofie pesto, wine, and bread. We settled into our rooms for a good sleep once we were done with supper. I was awaken by tons and tons of church bells at around 700 am. Their bells were bizarre..they rang a lot more than they do here. They even had a special ding for when the clock hit the "30" mark. 

The first day was spent hiking the trails between the 5 villages. The first trail took us from Vernazza to Corniglia. Now, there are two trails you have the option of doing...one is the easier trail and one is the more difficult trail. Well, wouldn't you know it was just our luck that the easy trail was closed for some construction due to the mudslides. So, Thomas and I, as well as another military couple from Vicenza that we traveled with, took the hike up the difficult trail. When I say we hiked "up" I am not exaggerating. It was all uphill. However, as the saying goes, "what goes up must come down." We finally made it to the top and found rich green vineyards and a great view of the sea. We arrived in Corniglia and our first stop was eating some lunch. I had some pasta with pesto and tomatoes, while Thomas opted for just the pesto pasta. Our friends got this pesto gnocchi which tasted amazing. We walked down to a rocky area where the wind was beginning to pick up so the waves of the water were crashing down over the rocks. You had to be careful or you would get soaking wet.  After Corniglia, we headed to the village of Manarola. The trail between these two towns were closed so we had no choice but to take the train. I will have to say...us girls were not too disappointed by this. It was nice to take a short ride instead of a very long walk. After arriving in Manarola, our first stop was for some gelato. We quickly began the walk from Manarola to Riomaggiore. The trail is called "Via Dell'Amore." Translation? The Love Walk. There were gates with various items tied around them..locks, paper, string, etc. etc. Its supposed to represent couple sort of locking their love there forever. Thomas didn't want to do it..he said it would jinx us. He sort of compared it to tattooing someone's name on your body. Oh Lord, silly boy. After we got to Riomaggiore, the boys took a quick dip in the water for a swim and snorkeling expedition. Once done at Riomaggiore, we hopped on the train and headed back to Vernazza for the night. We had visited 4 out of the 5 towns that day. That night we ordered in pizza and drank wine while playing Catch Phrase with the two couples we traveled with. It was so much fun! Sometimes, I think an evening in with friends can be just as fun as going out. 

                                              Before Starting the Hike!

                                            Beautiful Vernazza

                                                  Going uphill!

                                            Beautiful Views from the Top

                                            Made it to the top

                                         Another View from the top

                                          Corniglia

                                          Windy day causing big waves

                                           Starting the love walk

                                         Lock away your love

                                          Riomaggiore

                                         Catch Phrase with Friends








The next day, we took the train to Monterosso for a beach day! There would be absolutely NO HIKING involved. Nothing but sun, clear blue waters, and sandy beaches. Wait! Hold the phone! Did Rachel just say "sandy beaches?" YES! SURE DID! Not only did we find amazing clear blue water, but the beaches were actual sand beaches and not the stone, rocky ones we have become accustomed to. It was a perfect, relaxing day. The boys were able to do some more snorkeling while us girls sat in the sun with a beach bar near by that served us delicious, fruity cocktails. That night we had a lovely dinner out. We spent the evening taking a little walk around the seaside of Vernazza and then went to bed early. It was a perfect trip! The next morning we had our cappuccinos and croissants, bought some amazing paintings, and heading back to Vicenza. 

                                           Beautiful beaches of Monterossa

                                           Loving this water! Gorgeous, right?

                                            Yum! Cocktails made from fresh fruit!

                                           Ready for some snorkeling

                                        Snapshot of our last night

                                         Bonjourno! Time for a Cappuccino before we go home!

                                            It really makes for a happy morning!


Cinque Terre is one of those little "heaven on earth" places. With it's bright colored houses, mountains, and clear blue waters you will not regret a trip there. I cannot wait to go back there. Once again, I find myself amazed by this country. It is truly remarkable. 

Until next time, Ciao Ciao! 

Cheerio From Merry Ole England

Yes, this post is entirely waaay long overdue. After our visit to Ireland, we hopped a plane to London, England. Our flight was supposed to fly into London Gatwick Airport, but due to fog we had to land in London Stansted for a delay. During the delay, we discovered that our hotel was actually closer to the Stansted airport. Too bad we couldn't just get out of the plane right then. We finally got back up in the air and then landed in Gatwick.

We quickly found out that our hotel was like about an hour drive from the Gatwick airport. It was one expensive taxi cab ride, but we finally got to our hotel. Our hotel was...okay. It wasn't what I expected at all. It was the crappiest place or anything like that, but after a long delay and a long cab ride..this was not what I wanted to see. I eventually got over it, because we were in LONDON!! We found this great little pub in the town we were staying in. It was filled with these old men, so hilarious! And of course, I got some amazing fish and chips with mushy peas.

 We spent the evening walking around London on our own. My mom was feeling much better than she did in Ireland, so she was walking way ahead of us looking at everything. We were in search of Buckingham Palace. We went around and around around. We saw lots of things..Big Ben, Parliament, the back of West Minster Abbey, and even the changing of the guard. But, for some reason we could not find that palace. 

Then...(sorry Mom)..right in front of Parliament, my mother had this really intense, horrible leg cramp. It was awful and scary at the time. Now, we sort of look back and giggle about the fact that only my mother would have a leg cramp in the middle of London right in front of one of the major sites. The next day Mom's leg was still sore from the cramp, so her and Dad stayed at the hotel while Thomas and I toured the city. We did the hop-on-hop-off bus. I totally recommend those, especially if you have a time crunch. We finally got to Buckingham Palace and discovered it was very close to where we had been the night before.

 

We took a river cruise and saw Big Ben, The London Eye, London Bridge, and Tower Bridge. The river cruise dropped us off at the Tower of London.It was interesting to see all the torture stuff and kind of creepy.

Well, I am really displeased with this blog post. I'd say it isn't one of my best. I guess that's what happens when you wait 2 months to write about something. ;)

Until next time, Ciao Bella!

"Jumpers..hit it."

Okay, I really should be blogging about our last half of the U.K. trip, however, that would take much longer I am thinking than this post, so if I can at least get this one done I will feel somewhat accomplished for today. On that note..."JUMPERS HIT IT!"

You might be wondering what that phrase means or what it's referring to. Well, I had to hear it non-stop while Thomas was studying during jump master school. I swear I could probably recite all the non-sense (well, seems like non-sense to me) that he had to memorize. It's a phrase used during one of the sets of jump master duties. There are several different "duties" you can perform. For example, you could do safety duties or head jump master duties, etc. etc. Now, which set of duties this line comes from I don't really remember. All I know is hearing Thomas recite all the stuff he had to recite and then pretend to smack somebody on the butt (yes, as a jump master you get the wonderful opportunity to smack guys in the butt) cracked me up. I would have to try really hard not to giggle while he did it. 

So, after 4 years of being with this man, I finally got to see him jump a couple of weeks ago. Some of the girls from the FRG took the trip outside Aviano to the airfield to watch our men in action. We had a convoy of about 7 cars following each other up there. We all made it safe and sound. As we waited..and waited (as you usually have to do with the Army) we socialized, took pictures, and ate our snacks. We found out that Chosen Company was having a bit of technical difficulties so to speak. Their plane was in fact...broken. Yes, broken. Hm, yep, "just our luck." At this point, we realized that we had definitely made a mistake in not bring wine on this trip. I mean who goes to a jump in Italy with snacks, but no wine?! Beats me. So, we were looking at them being very delayed in jumping. 

We saw another company jump first. Seriously, it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It was literally "raining men." To see these guys all fall out of the sky was the neatest thing. I can't imagine having the courage to do it. Then I have to remember that now that Thomas is a jump master, he not only jumps out of planes, but he gets to stick his head out the window before everyone jumps. This is an airborne mans dream apparently. I know Thomas was quite thrilled the first time he got to do it. 

Finally, after several rotations of jumps from one company, Chosen was allowed to get on another plane so they could jump. I found out Thomas would be the first one out the door on this jump! I was real excited!! Thomas told me he'd be the one with a ruck sack dangling from him. As he was parachuting down he looked like he was crossing over in front of another parachuter and that's when panic sunk in a little bit, but then he safely glided past and that's when I saw a tiny ruck fall down, but still attached to him. He said he actually was no where near the guy. It's amazing how things can look very different from a distance. 

This day also marked the day that Thomas was qualified for senior jumpwings! Basically, they are just "fancier" looking jumpwings. They have a star in the middle I believe. You have to get so many jumps doing jumpmaster duties before you can be awarded your senior wings. Proud wife? You bet I was. ;) Now, here are some pictures for you viewing pleasure.