VICENZA GO KARTS AGAIN...

We went back to do GO KARTS like two weeks ago, and I never uploaded pictures on here, so here they are!

The place we ate that night, Nirvana. It was a cool place that looked like it could turn into a fancy night club at any moment.

Logan and I cheering on Gregg

Mom and Logan cheering for Daddy

Everyone ready to rock and roll

Taylor and Gregg getting ready to go!

This is everyone that road that night; I have done this before and didn't want to go again because the boys drive crazy and its expensive. 30 euro (I think its $49) for 20 minutes.

Lil Logan...

Justine and I took a trip to the Commissary, and we had one tired baby in the back seat. He was too cute and I had to take a picture!

Our First Thanksgiving

Last night we celebrated our very first Thanksgiving together as a married couple. Last year I missed it due to seperation by the Army. We had a total of 15 people for dinner and we had plenty of food. I was stressed and hit some bumps in the road, but everyone understood due to it being my first. I was ready for people to start coming in the door and had appetizers ready at 3:00 pm (7 layer dip and one tray of deviled eggs). I was almost done cooking all the sides when it was time to take out both of the turkeys. The one in the roaster came out first and looked yummy and still moist. However, when I took out the turkey in the oven (the temp reached 180), it was no where near done and looked gross. So, Justine and I decided to put it back in the oven and let it cook longer while everyone else would start to eat dinner. We wanted the second turkey just in case we ran out of the first and for LEFTOVERS. But, uh oh! Justine and I forgot about the second turkey. Therefore, it was in there for a good 7 hours total!!!! Yea, it was a waste of a turkey. So, we only get ham sandwhiches for leftovers. You live and you learn. I didn't get many pictures of the night because I was so busy. My kitchen and living room or a mess, and the clean up begins. Justine and Taylor are coming back over tonight to eat more food, and to help clean the rest. I have wonderful friends, and I don't know what I would do without them.

Anyways, mess ups are good for learning, but all and all, we had a great THANKSGIVING!!!!

(But man, I don't have any dessert leftovers...)

The Married Couples

All the Boys

Tuesday's List

Okay, better late than never, right? Okay, so we are back to another week of participating in Jessica's Tuesday's List. This week is Thanksgiving menu and centerpieces. I can participate in the Thanksgiving menu, but not the centerpiece part due to this year's circumstances. For anyone who does not know, Gregg will not be home for Christmas due to deployment, so we are having Christmas early. All my Christmas decorations are up, but we are celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday.

The Rauwolf Thanksgiving Menu

Appetizer

2 Trays of 7 layer Dip

Chips

Main Course

100 Deviled Eggs

Cranberry Sauce (Canned Jelly)

Bread Rolls

Mashed Potatoes

Yummy Potatoes (Cardinale favorite)

Green Bean Casserole

Corn Casserole

Stuffing

26 pound Turkey

8 pound Ham

Dessert

Pumpkin Pie

Cheesecake

Chocolate Mousse Pie

Gregg and I will be having Thanksgiving with our closest Army friends (16 to be exact). This will also be the very first time I am ever cooking a Turkey, Ham, and this many sides in my life, and without my Mom. This will be interesting. I am stressed, but excited at the same time. I have always helped my mom throughout the years, but never knew the true ends and outs of cooking a Thanksgiving meal. I also wished that my first time would be with my Mom in the kitchen. Using her as my supporter. But we can't always get what we want in life, and I am greatful I get to spend a good chapter of my life in Italy with my husband. I just can't wait to practice my skills a couple of times and then go home and show everyone what I can do!

I will be sure to take plenty of pictures for you guys to see! I hope everyone has a bountiful and blessed Thanksgiving! Sending my love to all...

So Behind

I am so sorry I am behind on my blogging. It has been crazy, but calm and I am enjoying every bit of it...Well, except for the fact that the days are going by so very fast! Gregg and I have been trying to spend as much time together as possible. We had to pack him up for deployment this past weekend and I did better than I thought, but I still had the knot in my stomach that liked to rise to my throat every now and then. Gregg and I are well into the holiday season. The house is officially decorated, the meals have been bought, and now all we have left is to eat, open presents, and get last minute power of attorney's. Time is definitely going by way too fast, and can't believe my baby will be gone anytime after next week.

I have also been excepted to UMUC and will start school in January. I can't wait to get school started again, but nervous to see if I can do it all over again. I am hoping to finish by the end of next year because Gregg and I do not want to be in school together....that would just be hard on us. So, if anyone knows there history or their science...I will probably be calling you!

Gregg and I went to go see the movie 2012 this past weekend and I did not expect to see what I saw. I was expecting to see a great movie with a great story, and I didn't. It was way too long, I got tired of sitting in the movie theather chair, and the story was way too corny. The only thing it had was good effects. I was certainly disappointed, but know this end of the world thing will not happen in 2012.

Okay, so today is tuesday's list. I don't have enough time to do it before work, so I will come back later and complete it. I promise I won't skip out this week.

Its Christmas Time...Well for Us!

Its Christmas Time...Well for Us! I am going to post a few of my Christmas decorations. This is my first time to actually have a Christmas with my husband and I am pretty excited about it!

First off, are my vases filled with ornaments. I stole this idea frommy Mom who started to do it a couple of years ago. We are doing kind of a red and gold theme at our house, and this ornaments work perfectly!

The next two are my nativties...I adore them. I saw another one at this store here in the mall and I want it badly...Do you think I need another?....Please say yes, please say yes!

Got to have Santa!

The Christmas decor I bought this year at the PX. Justine bought a green tim one with three snowmen. I think these are just too cute as well!

My Christmas pot holders!

I have more decorations going up, but I wanted to show you a little at a time! It should be snowing here soon, and I am not ready for that, but bring on Christmas!!!

Bath Time for Jack

Gregg and I seperated tasks around the house right after we got married. I seem to think my list is a lot longer than his, but he seems to disagree. Lets take a look and you decide...

Amanda

Laundry

Dishes

Cooking

Cleaning Every Room

Taking Trash to Post
Taking Jack to the Bathroom

Grocery Shopping

Errand Running

Greggory

Cleaning up his barbeque mess

Giving Jack a Bath

Putting his dishes in the sink

Uh huh, see! Its okay though, he helps me sometimes. To be honest, sometimes I don't like to ask for help because I have my own special way of doing things and bless his heart, he just can't do it. Anyways, back to the post. Gregg was too tired last night (more like lazy) to give Jack a bath. It had been awhile and I desperately wanted him to be clean. So, I did it. For the very first time in my life, I gave a dog a bath. I know, I know. How could I have never given a dog a bath. Well, lets just say they made doggie groomers for a reason and I am all for them. Gregg on the other hand thinks its a waste of money and thats how it got put on his list. I told Gregg though, this will not be a continuous thing, and if it does...off to the groomers he will go!

This is Jack after I gave him a bath. I was snuggling with him around towels and I thought he looked too darn cute. I felt so bad making him all wet!

Christmas Wreath

Alright, I promised a finished wreath and here it is!

I am not very happy with the way it turned out, but thats okay. It gave me something to do for the past couple of days. I am not happy with the way the ribbon is laying around the wreath. I might just end up taking it off. I also tried my hardest to make sure my bow looked decent. Hope Mom is proud! Justine helped me with it because I was just too darn nervous about it. Well, its hanging on or door right now, and who knows how long I will keep it up! But there is another DIY project I was craving to do.

Now I am workng on some canvas art. I put on the base coat so far. Next is drawing the design and then painting that in. Hopefully, it will be good enough to hang in the living room. If not, in the back room is where it will go. : )

Grilled Calamari

This is one of those things I have to post....just to gross out some people. Gregg and I love this restuarant here in Vizenza that we call "The Waterwheel" only because the name is way too hard and their is a waterwheel out front. We decided to order the grilled calamari again last night, and I had to snap a picture of it because I know a lot of you would just be grossed out....BUT IT IS SOOOO GOOD! I know, I know...how can someone put something that looks like in their mouth. I was skeptical at first, but it ended up being okay. Anyways, this shows you how the Italians do it! lol.

Happy Veteran's Day, Baby!

This Man Above Is By Far My Favorite Veteran

(He is sooo Handsome too...)

This picture was taken during Banner Day on September 13th (I think?). He had to go through a Army Relay sort of thing. He did Amazing, and Chosen Company came in first on this day!

Greggory (my husband) entered in the Army in January 2006 and went straight into Airborne and Javillion School. In June 2006, he was stationed in Vicenza, Italy. A year after that, he experienced OEF VIII in Afghanistan for fifteen months. During that deployment, he got the ARCOM and the ARCOM V. He is still currently serving his country in Italy and will be experiencing another deployment here in a couple of months (OEF X).

I never ever wish for my husband to be away from me or to be put in harms way, but I am so proud of him. He is risking himself to protect me and millions of people he will never know or meet. Therefore, I am thankful and will forever be in debt to him. He has done so much!

Tuesday's List: Fall Fashion and Acessories

Today's Tuesday's List is about Fall Fashion and Acessories. I am not the kind of girl people go to for fashion advice, so we shall see how this goes. When everyone shops at Hollister, American Eagle, and Abercrombie, you will find me at The Limited, Thrift Stores, and The Buckle. So, here I go...

This year, I am all about the sweater vests. Call me old fashioned with these vests, but I always feel so comfortable in these things. I don't have this exact one, but I have some others and the collection is only getting bigger. These sweater vests are also becoming popular over here in Italy, so I know I am within whats in style these days.

With hand held up: I swear I will never leave the pea coat style. I purchased my first pea coat when I was a freshmen in high school. And, I still have it. Right now, I have two black ones; One with a hat and one without. I eventually want to branch out in my colors with red, white, and hopefully a patterned one. So, if anyone needs Christmas ideas...I am a size small. lol.

This is my first year, yes I know....I am a bit slow. Back then, I was completely against the whole legging thing, but it has grown on me. I bought my very first pair about two weeks ago and I have worn them like crazy. They go perfectly under a skirt, dress, shorts to the gym, and under jeans for that extra warmth...They are good in my book!

Dark Purple and Burnt Orange. I happen to love love love these two colors and they are definitely fall colors! Usually, my purchases this fall season consist of these two colors because they are so warm and just catch the eye.

My next purchase is some Italian boots. I don't want these exact pair, but I did see some at the mall last weekend that were 65 euro, and they were just too cute. So, I am going to save a little out of each paycheck and then take my little self down to Scarpe & Scarpe and purchase them!

During the fall season, I usually break out the more detailed earrings. In the summer, I wear a lot of plain post earrings because they are functional. I can go from pool to dinner without changing. In the fall, I like going all out with styles and colors. I am hoping to find a couple of cute ones at the market next week in Camisano.

Belts are definitely an all year round sort of thing, but I think they look even better during the fall season! So, I had to put it on my list!

In Italy, the Italians are all about their scarves and I am glad they are! I so far have 5 scarves and I wear all of them! I think I might even go purchase more to add to my collection. A girl can never have too many scarves...I mean, come on, we have to match!



So, there you go! I have my list done, and it didn't take me too long this time. I thought this was going to be kinda hard, but I enjoyed it very much! Next week is Thanksgiving Blessings, and maybe Jessica should put a limit on how many we can have....otherwise, I will be here forever. lol.

First Timer

Since Gregg and I are celebrating all these holidays together for the first as a married couple. We are starting our new traditions and that means sucking up and trying new things. My family is used to the yummy Apple Cider drink as our winter thing, and Gregg's is used to Egg Nog. I always heard egg nog as being nasty and to stay away from it...so, I always have. Well, this year, I had to suck it up and try it, and Gregg had to try the cider life. Egg nog isn't too bad; its like melted down ice cream. I am proud to say Gregg and I are open to trying each others favorites out, but I think every year we will stock our kitchen with Gregg drinking his Egg Nog and me drinking my Apple Cider.

Here, I am about to drink my first sip....CHEERS!

"Thanksamas!"

So, the hubby is asleep on the couch sick; therefore, it is time for me to do some updating while I can. Gregg and I have had the best time on our vacation so far! We have pretty much done nothing, but cuddling and making memories giggling away. It has been so worth it, and I would not change one bit! We did manage to put our Christmas tree up this weekend. We are celebrating Christmas and Thanksgiving together this year because we will be apart due to certain circumstances (ahem....deployment). So, we are calling it, "Thanksamas!" I am going to upload some of the tree, and I will be uploading more later because I am still in the process of decorating the house. I am almost done with my wreath. The only thing I have left is the bow and I am nervous about it because I want it to look perfect for mom....She is just too darn good at bows. I want to thank my COLE PAIN FAMILY for making my Christmas tree look full! I miss you guys very very much! Gregg did put the star on the tree and that will be a Rauwolf tradition from now on. I did get a picture, but I promised I would not post it for the world to see.

Gregg also took me out to dinner on Friday night. I was so shocked because he thought of the idea all on his own. He went and got euro, picked the place out, and then asked me out....HOW CUTE IS THAT?! I miss those days. He also ordered wine, openned my door, and told me how good I looked...this was a true date and I hadn't had one in a really long time. I enjoyed it very much so!

okay, ill stop rambling and let you look at the pictures....

Just an Update

Well, things are always going at the Rauwolf house, and things are perfect with Greggory and myself. I wanted to give you guys a little something of how things have been running here, and the best way to do it is to do it day by day. It helps me remember things better!

{Monday} Neither one of us wanted to go back to work after this weekend. Gregg had a four day which he throughly enjoyed, and I didn't want to go back because I wanted to experience a four day weekend. I think he has finally recoperated from his terrifying experience with The Board, but does not want to do it again next month. Both of us went back unfortunately; I had a full days worth of training and Gregg and a lot of paperwork to do with his team to prepare for Block Leave. On Monday, we also ended up getting back our Ford Fiesta which we are not happy about, but oh well. (Long story and I do not want to go into it). On Monday night, the Army held a battalion FRG meeting. I could not go because of work; I wanted to because they talked about the deployment, but Gregg went and got all the information for me. We got their deployment address and it will be given out to families at the right time so we can activate OPSEC....we are ALWAYS OPSEC!!!! If you would like to know this address, please email me and I will get it to you very creatively.

{Tuesday} Well, Gregg went to work and today he has CQ which stinks. CQ is when two soldiers have to stay awake for 24 hours and protect the Company area. So, I will be sleeping alone once again. I did take him and the other soldier working dinner (chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, chili, and caprese....don't worry, all leftovers). They loved it! With Gregg gone for the night, it gave me some quiet time to do some girly things. I made cheese cake bars from scratch for tomorrows Company barbeque. I forgot to get a picture, sorry! I made the crust out of Honey Grahm crackers, sugar, and vanilla. The cheesecake part was made out of cream cheese, sugar, and eggs....I think I got everything...yea, I did. I also decorated the top of the cheesecake bars with Christmas colors to make them look like little presents. They were cute, and I was proud of myself! I am also decorating my very own wreath this year which I have never done before. I started on it tonight, but have not finished...this is what I got so far..

{Wednesday} Well, so far Gregg is asleep recoperating from his long shift at work, and I just got home. Today I helped Jessica Chinchilla get ready for the Company barbeque. I went alone because I knew Gregg would probably fall asleep at the table. I am glad he did not go because it was just too darn cold and wet. My feet felt like ice! I only stayed for an hour after it started because I just could not take it anymore. So, I am going to go change into very warm pajamas and curl up next to Gregg for a long nap!

Oh, starting on Friday, Gregg and I will begin our TEN day Block Leave. YAY...no work for TEN days!! I think we are going to Barcelona, Spain. However, with this block leave, it will give us plenty of time for our last video chats as a couple with the family before Gregg leaves for deployment...So, email me if you would like to have one! Okay, I think thats about it, LATER!

SNOW!!

Well, on Monday morning I woke up very very chilly! I just knew, and was I right! It snowed in the mountains today. Nothing on us, but it did snow up high just a couple of miles away. That means, ANYDAY now! I tried to take a picture on the way to work, but I was concentrating more on the roads and than my aim. So, this was my best take. I had to take while driving because you can't see the mountains once you are on post. So, here it is...

Too Cute Not to Post!

On Saturday, I went to the grocery store to do my two week grocery shopping. Every now and then, I stroll down the doggie aisle and pick up something amazing for Jack for his ALWAYS good behavior! Gregg always gets happy when I bring them home to him too and has to be the first one to give it to him. This time, Gregg wanted me to video tape his reaction because Jack goes SUPER LOVE CRAZY with a new treat!

Lame Halloween

This year on Halloween, we went to dinner at Papa Joes (the only decent Mexican place we can find) with Justine and Taylor. Gregg and I bought pumpkins to carve, but never did them. We ended up falling asleep early to our Harry Potter Marathon we created this weekend. So yep, thats what we did this Halloween weekend...we watched all the Harry Potter movies from start to finish! We skipped all Halloween parties we were invited to. We wanted a chill weekend...well, Gregg wanted a chill weekend. Here is a HORRIBLE picture of us standing in front of Papa Joes after dinner and after a couple of drinks.