Wishful Wednesday

Okay, so I always look at this girl Jessica's blog that I went to elementary school with because I always look for new crafty ideas and new recipes. Well, she finally got one item that I am seriously jealous of. I wish I had the Brother Sewing and Embroidery Machine. Yes, I really wish I did. I would love to learn how to sew and especially be able to put my mark on things with the embroidery tool. I tried to learn on my moms sewing machine, but sorry mom, your machine just didn't do many good. I thing I accomplished one side of my friends blanket she wanted us to put together for her boyfriend at the time. I want to do so many things: make cutains, pillows, blankets, and things for my future kids (NOT PREGNANT...I repeat, NOT PREGNANT!). Hopefully, I will be able to invest in one soon. The only thing is, if I get in the next year, I probably would not be able to use it because buying fabric in Italy will make your pocket book completely empty which is a shame because its so fashionable here. Well, I will stop rambling about my wish!

Now, an update! Well, the diet is going okay. I am eating healthy as much as I can, but sometimes I find it hard when friends ask me to go to dinner with them. I don't want to say no because I want to get out of the house, but I would like the menu's here to be a little more healthy friendly...(the salads on italian menus are nasty!) I have also been keeping up on my exercising. I try to do at least an hour of cardio or a bit more. I still can't handle the treadmil, because my shins hurt too much, so I stick with the eliptical and the bike.

I am getting a lot of lesson plans completed at work, so I am ahead of my game. I just can't wait to go back to normal schedule because the days go by a lot faster. No plans for the New Year yet, but my co-workers and I are REALLY trying to figure something out. Some of us want to get out of our house for the count down and others just want to stay at home with a glass of wine. Either one is fine with me.

Another person in our gate got their car broken into. That is 4 in the last two months. I don't know why they are targeting just us. There are more Americans all around us. Those gypsies need to realize we really don't have that much money, and they need to go elsewhere. It seems like our great neighborhood is slowly going bad. This really bothers me that I don't even feel comfortable leaving my car in my gated area. This really does stink!

Well, nothing else is new. I will update everyone again once the NEW YEAR hits us. I hope everyone has fun tomorrow night! Until next time, later!

A Webcam Christmas

After all of the cake making, I came home to webcam with the family while they had their Christmas celebration. I talked to them for a good hour while they finished cooking dinner. Uncle Rick and Aunt Wezi openned their gift from me on the webcam, and seemed as though they really liked it which makes me happy. I had to get a couple pictures of everyone because I have not seen them in a really long time. So, here is my crazy, but will never change Italian family.

Right to Left: Sister Katie, Cousin Lauren, Dad, Cousin Elena, and Sister Melissa

Left to Right: Mom, Dad, Aunt Wezi, and Uncle Rick And Lets Not forget my sister Sarah!

A Day Full of Smiles and a Couple Tears

Okay, so today is December 26, and it was a great day..definitely "One for the books." I started off debating whether or not to leave the house to go get groceries that I desperately needed. However, something kept pulling me back into the recliner watching my skype screen and hoping. And was I ever in for the surprise of the month. Gregg signed in and we had our very first official webcam chat since he has been deployed. Last deployment, we did not even have the chance to have internet, so this deployment has definitely turned around for the better. I got to see my baby and he looked just the way I left him...tired. He has been on two patrols now, and today he hurt his ankle. I feel really bad, and wish I could be there to take care of it. Gregg needs more baby wipes, icyhot pads, AA batteries, and snacks if anyone would like to send a care package. I knew the chat would have to end eventually, but when it actually got there, I didn't handle it very well. I started to cry, and the rest of the afternoon was spent being angry. I was angry that my husband was taken from his wife and home to be put in a war zone. When I was in car, I was not able to listen to any cute preppy song, it all had to be dark. It got better once I got to the PX and went on a shopping spree buying Clearance Christmas decorations.

Today was Day 2 with the 2 Wives and a Cooking Addiction Marathon.
Dana and I are getting together every weekend to cook or bake something that is fun and tasty.
Last week, we just ordered pizza to start because we needed a lot of time to research about the book called The Joy of Cooking that we saw from the movie Julie and Julia. We also watched the movie Julie and Julia that night and I absolutely loved it. It is a true girl movie and something that brought me back to the old days of good comfort food. This weekend we were going to watch The Hangover, but we got to into our project. We first made Chicken Alfredo with bow tie pasta and it sure was yummy. If Gregg found out I was eating that, we would be extremely jealous. After dinner, the real project began...Dana has done one foundant cake before and she had a little bit of leftovers to do a miny one and I wanted to try it out, so she taught me tonight. It is a lot harder than it looks, but I am very proud of the finished product. I posted my step by step progress thanks to Dana's great photography skills!

Here I am putting the icing on the first layer of cake before the second one goes on.

Dana did a fantastic job doing this part of the cake...She was giving me step by step tips in order to put icing on a cake perfectly.

This is when I put yellow food coloring in the foundant and have to knead it over and over and over again.

Here I am rolling out the foundant into a very thin sheet. This is my first time to use a rolling pin, and it hurt my hands, and this step is very tricky.

Dana helped me put on the foundant and was giving me tips all the way. And, there I go starting to make my circles.

And the circles are being put on!

The finished product...TADA!!!!

I am so proud of Dana and I's work. I am taking it to work for the teens to enjoy. They are going to be super excited when they see this work of art! There will be more pictures posted on facebook for everyone to see.

Hey Gregg, what do you think? I am keeping busy...just like you wanted me to!

Update

Okay, so quite a bit of stuff has gone on this past week. You guys all saw in previous pictures that it started to snow here in Italy. We ended up getting a lot more and were snowed in for a couple of days. I loved looking at it, but getting out in it caused me to have a break down. On Monday night, I helped my friend Justine transport luggage from her house to the hotel on post to get ready to catch the shuttle to the airport. On the way there, the traffic was bumper to bumper and going no faster than 10 mph. As soon as I got off of my street, the Sentra began to slide tremindously. There was no way I could turn around due to traffic, so my goal was to just make it to post. Half way to post, my brake light came on, but that has happened before so I told myself to just it easy and go super super slow...So, I did. I finally got post, but on my way to the hotel, the brakes went out completely and I slid right into traffic, but remembering the tips I got emailed to me, I controlled the steering wheel and took my foot off the gas. So, right now, its parked on post, and I am so scared to get back in it. Once the holidays calm down, I am going to have someone come look at it. I balled my eyes out to Justine when we were at the hotel, I felt so bad for having my first break down since Gregg left the night before she left. The car was the straw that broke the camels back. I was stressed with the car ride, Justine was leaving, and I hadn't heard from Gregg since he had left. However, Justine being there helped calm me down, and I was better by the end of the night.

The snow is starting to melt, and I seem to be the only one in Italy happy about it. However, it keeps raining and it makes it super cold. Justine has left Italy and is on her way to Idaho, and I am doing okay so far. Lets see how Christmas goes, and then we can reevaluate. I have been busy getting stuff mailed for her, and working. I finally bought a DVD player and I set it up in the bedroom with the TV so I can fall asleep to movies. It makes the security issue a bit easier.

I have got to talk to Gregg twice now (only through instant message though). He is now in the place he will be stationed at for the rest of the deployment. He is very cramped because the people they are relieving have not left yet, and he can't wait to have room to breathe. He said it gets warm during the day (about 60 degrees) and cold at night (about 10 degrees). Today he mentioned he was very bored, and was over the whole movie watching and reading thing. So please, family and friends, send him little activities here and there. Also, send letters, letters, and more letters!!! He needs as many as he can get because he says he loves receiving them. Nothing else to mention because I don't want to bore you with all the lovey dovey stuff. lol.

I have also started working out, and last night I did a full hour and I am pretty proud of myself. I did 10 minutes of fast pace walking on the treadmil, 30 minutes on the eliptical, and 30 minutes on the bike...I started to read and got way into it that I forgot what I was doing. Gregg was proud of me, but apparently I am suppose to burn the first two weeks, and I am not. So, if you guys can think of more intense things for me to do, let me know.

Tonight, I went to see the movie Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs with Dana and her baby boy Jericho. It was a really cute kids movie and worth it for parents to purchase. I love hanging with them because we have a good time and I never look at the clock. This weekend we are doing are dinner and a movie marathon...And this weekend, its Chicken Alfredo and The Hangover!

Anyways, nothing else is knew. I am trying to make the blog as interesting as possible, but its hard with Gregg away. He is so much fun, and I get boring with him away. Until next time, later!

My New Goal

As many of you deny this fact, but the scale does not lie....I have gained an intense amount of weight. I am sure this is either the Marriage 20 or the Italy 20, but I have to come to terms that I have caught this awful disease. Now since Gregg is away serving our country, I want him to come back to the skinny (yes, I will admit I was skinny) me he married. I am not letting this one year ruin my body forever. So, starting TOMORROW...I am throwing away the oreos, sugared sodas, pizzas, and waffles. I will be headed to the commissary to buy zucchinni, squash, salad, chicken, and water. The gym has also been calling my name! I should have stopped this snacking thing along time ago when my jeans started to get snug, but I didn't want to accept it. I am actually really upset with myself and very embaressed, and this needs to stop now. So, if anyone has any words of advice, maybe a healthy meal plan to share, just words of encouragement...I need them desperately. I am really doing this on my own, but truth is, I need your help in continuing it. So, either leave it here or email me at amanda.rauwolf@yahoo.com. I usually don't say this, but I do need yalls help, so get to writing!

Gingerbread Houses

This past week at work, our activity was GINGERBREAD HOUSES! I can not remember doing this in my life, so I was super excited when this day came. However, It was a lot more difficult than you would think. The icing we created was too thin, and it caused the grahm crackers NOT to stick together. I wanted to make a BIG one filled with all kinds of candy...Worthy to be put on CANDY MOUNTAIN. lol. Unfortunately, my partner (one of the teens that came in..Megan) ended up with a tiny one. By the end of it, we were wanting this thing to be over with and to keep standing for at least ten minutes. But here it is....our semi-masterpiece.

Snow

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...Oh wait, it did!

I woke up the day after Gregg left to snow. It was pretty to look at, but the second I stepped outside, I hated it. It left some places with Black Ice, and that is very difficult to drive on. Here are some pictures of the snow to look at though.

Christmas Work Party Downtown

On December 15, my work held its annual Christmas Dinner Party. We went downtown to this classy restuarant that I will definately be taking Gregg to when he comes home for R&R. Here is all of us at the table minus Richard.
Going from Left to Right: Me, Cecilia, Nicole, Manuela, Megan, Michael, Elena, and Jen.

On the way to the restuarant, we had to walk through The Square, and my mouth dropped when I saw it lit up with lights. It was gorgeous..I had to take some pictures!

All About Sweets

The day before Gregg left before deployment, I asked him what one last goodie he would like to have before he leaves for a year. Surprisingly, he said the dessert with the nilla wafers, bananas, and pudding, and hot chocolate. Crazy, huh? For a man who hates sweets, this was shocking to me, but I was very happy to make it. So, here are my masterpieces...

My Hot Chocolate: And yes, I have gotten into it this year. Plus, I am going Starbucks style.

Gregg's Hot Chocolate..He does not like Whip Cream...Crazy man!

Also, The Friday before he left. I took off work without him knowing so we could spend a whole extra day together. He was definately surprised and greatful. I had a whole day planned, and that night, of course I had to go the romantic route. We did dinner and a movie in that night. Gregg and I both made Manicotti TOGETHER. We had so much fun in the kitchen, and Gregg appreciated how much work I go through to make this favorite for him. After dinner, we ate the requested (by both of us...surprising again) chocolate cake that you will see below.

Beautiful Rainbows

Wow, I have a lot of catching up to do and you will have to excuse my absence. Gregg and I have been spending every last second together before he had to leave. These next few posts are going to be random, but they are more for me so I will have them later for memories. So, you can either join me in my posts our just wait until something interesting comes along.

I love the rainbows here. The picture does not give this rainbow justice because this rainbow was very much so complete and you could see every color. I don't know why they look prettier over...maybe it has something to do with the equater, but what do I know...

Babysitting Logan

On Friday, Decemeber 4th, it was Justine's Birthday. The four of us were going to all go out to dinner to celebrate, but then Gregg did not feel so well to go out. So, I volunteered to babysit, so Justine and Taylor could make this kind of a date night. Logan, Gregg, and I had fun watching Monsters vs. Aliens. Logan LOVED that movie, and he would get upset anytime I accidently made him lose his focus on the screen. Anyways, by the end of the night, Logan was asleep on me. Jack was a little jealous of Logan and myself, so he crawled right in to snuggle as well.

Christmas Cookies at Work

This past Wednesday, the 2nd, we decorated cookies at work! I had so much fun, and it certainly passed the time. Mine were not all Christmas themed, but I didn't care. The kids were not going with the Christmas theme that much, so why should I as well. I am starting to dislike my job if anyone was wondering. Don't get me wrong, I love the kids and I love doing stuff like this, but there is just more stuff to it, and I am not happy anymore. I am only keeping it right now because the money is good, and I could not leave the kids I hang out with everyday.

The cookies were kind of hard to decorate because they were so small and we didn't have the correct decorating tools. Top Row: "R" for Rauwolf of course, I tried to attempt a present, but the cookie was too small to put the bow on it, and then I was making a heart for Gregg, but the sprinkles came out way too fast. Bottom Row: My attempt at a snowflake, a Christmas tree, and then my second attempt at Gregg's heart (BETTER).