The One Where I Eat Grapes as Big as My Thumb

After I jumped out of the box, we celebrated my dad in a big way!

The party had an Italian theme, and someone donated a bajillion amazing grapes from Lamont for table decorations and pre-dinner snacking.

There was also bread, olive oil, and cheese on the red and white checked tablecloths.

The grapes were HUGE!

We had individually made pasta on the spot. These guys did an amazing job.

Cake time! We had cake from Jake's Tex Mex, the same cake that was served at our wedding. 

I think Mom, Aunt Linda, and Nancy enjoyed it!

What an amazing back yard! Thanks Tim and Linette!

Mom and Sister

Dad and daughters

The fam from '83-'92 :)

My sister's iPhone pic

Thanks to my date, Amy, for all of these pictures!

The One Where I Jump Out of a Box

My dad's surprise party was so awesome! He was completely shocked. The picture below is of me getting ready to be covered by the giant box. I'm sitting on a paint bucket and am about to be wheeled out on a wagon.

I felt like I was on the starting blocks about to swim a race for Stockdale. I always thought I was going to pee my pants. I was so nervous!

Here is his face of surprise.

I love Ralph and my mom's faces. True sanguines.

Here come the water works.

I was so happy!

This picture is a shout out to my stylist, my sister Kristen, who tamed my horse tail for hair into a classy updo.

My mom is signing. I'm not sure what I'm doing with my hands. Dad is wiping his tears. Awww...

Next up... more detail pictures of the party!



I'M IN AMERICA!

Hello from my parents' living room!


The reason for bloggy silence recently is the fact that I was doing planes, train, and automobiles for 36 hours to come surprise my dad for his birthday.


It. Was. Awesome.


I popped out of a box in front of 70 people. He was shocked. I can't wait to write about the whole thing and get some pictures to go with it. Amy was my official party photographer last night because I left my camera at home with Nathan. He is going to do some research this week down in Oxford, and he asked if he could use it to take pictures of manuscripts. *Nerd alert*


Anyway, I hope to get those up very, very soon this week. In the mean time, I will be recovering from a killer cold I picked up when I was in London on business (I just love saying that), stocking up on some winter layering basics at Old Navy, eating a lot of Mexican food, and snuggling my nieces - after the cold goes away, that is.


Thanks to all who entered the expat blog contest. Taylor Irby, what would you like me to send you from America? Canned pumpkin? Marshmallows? Graham crackers? Taco mix? Goldfish? Pick your pleasure, and it will be yours.  


May God bless you all, and may God bless America! 

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Craft Night with PhD Wives

Here are all of my graduate wifey friends being crafty.

All of these ladies are PhD wives, and they made some beautiful things! I am not crafty. I wrapped bricks with maps to make door stops. I copied the idea from Pamela.

I made hot apple cider in my crock pot, Ashley made popcorn balls, and Amelia brought chocolate cake. It was awesome!

If you're an expat, leave a comment and enter yourself to win something AWESOME!

Band of Brothers

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this yet! Nathan and I borrowed Band of Brothers (not to be confused with this band of brothers) from Sam and Emily, our first English friends, and have stayed up way too late watching it in bed on our computer. What an amazing miniseries. I can't stop thinking about it. I know it's several years old, but I was seriously moved by the courage and sacrifice I saw.


Have you seen it? What did you think? If you haven't seen it already, I highly recommend it.





Has anyone seen The Pacific? Like Band of Brothers, it's produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, but it is set in the Pacific theater. Is it as good as Band of Brothers? Is it out on DVD yet?





If you're living outside of the US, leave a comment and enter yourself into the blog contest! Something cool is on the line. :)

The Day of Love: Part 3

After our awesome visit to Alnwick Castle, Nathan and I went to a bookstore called Barter Books. It was actually an old train station that was transformed into a huge bookstore, cafe, etc. The train theme was throughout the building, and it was truly a cool space.

Lots of books

And some cool pieces of furniture too

There's Nathan checking out the card catalog with a train going past overhead.

This is one of the cafe rooms. So cozy!

The wooden floors had train stops stamped into them.

There's my man through the window from the cafe.

Here's the children's section. I wished I could read to Winnie and June in here!

One of the coolest features was a mural with tons of famous authors painted on it. It was really awesome.

We escaped with only one (?!) book but we shared a scone and hot chocolate too. Yum!

I hope you enjoyed our adventure from the Day of Love. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 if you'd like.

And now... I'd like to announce a new blog contest. Fortunately/unfortunately (depending on your location) this is for non-US resident readers only. You can be an American to enter, but you have to live outside of the country. All my winners in the past have been in the US, so I thought I'd give some ex-pats and internationals a turn at the goods. :)

Leave a comment to be entered to win a special treat! You have until Friday, October 21st to enter, but why not take 60 seconds and do it now? I'll announce the winner on Monday, the 24th.

Marking Special Days

Today is my three-year diaversary. Crazy. There's a strong chance that you've already read the whole story about how I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, but just in case you haven't, you can check it out here. And here are pictures of me taking my first insulin injection with my Al Pal.


Also, tomorrow is my awesome dad's birthday. I'm posting birthday wishes right now because I want him to see them when he checks this blog at work first thing in the morning. I wrote him a birthday tribute with lots of pictures last year, and you can check it out here. For now, here is just one teaser picture.

The fact that he was only 25 when I was born makes me feel really old. 

I love you so much, Daddy! I hope you have a great day feeling really spoiled by everyone who loves you, even me from across the pond.

The Day of Love: Part 2

Welcome back to the Day of Love. After my amazing breakfast in bed, Nathan and I went to Alnwick Castle, which is a must-see if you're ever in the Northeast part of England. 

The sun was out, the air was crisp, and we were hungry. Nathan pulled out the lunch he had made us: turkey, cheese, bacon, and lettuce sandwiches; hot soup in a thermos, bananas, and digestives.

He was especially proud of the hot soup in a thermos thing. 

Here's a message of welcome from the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland... and the family goose I gather.

We went to the vegetable garden, where there were several scarecrows set up that were created by local school children. Nathan liked this Native American looking one and asked me to pose with it in honor of Grandpa Plucker, the "bad little brave."

Tree house time!

The Day of Love is not yet over, but you'll have to wait for part three. :) 

Bye for now!