Morning

I woke up this morning to Gabe telling me...

"You better hurry, Edward is in trouble, you need to go to Italy immediately to save him.

Then head to Russia where the 'babbagoushkas', the russion version of the volturri are waiting for him."


Then he kissed my feet.

Is he weird or what? I'm weird too.

Then this reminded me that my new moon dvd is still in moving limbo. Where are you?

The movie was hands down my favorite in the series. Go see it. Right now.

Letter from a fan

Dear Robert Pattinson,
 My husband will give me a look when he reads this. Just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed Remember Me. A lot. Wanna know something else, I cannot wait to see Eclipse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear Taylor Lautner,
 You should date Dakota Fanning, just a thought. I have always been on team Jacob (nobody hate)

Dear Indianola movie theater,
 Please don't be icky

Dear Popcorn and Diet Coke,
 I will not buy you for $15, no matter HOW GOOD YOU SMELL! But maybe if you are like at a discounted rate, I might consider.

Dear Gabe,
 I won't be gone too long. K? Wuv you!

courtesy


Dear New Moon DVD,
 Can you please reappear, pronto!

Love,
Twilight Fan

Post Edit: I am now realizing that Dakota Fanning just finished her junior year of high school. Taylor, maybe I'm giving this a second thought. I wouldn't do it.

Courtyard Hounds

We are up and I am already dreaming about bedtime. Tonight we are going to bed super early due to a early wake up time the next day. We are making a day trip for an audition for Gabe. So, hope all goes well. I'll give you more details later.


I'm kind of obsessed with "The Courtyard Hounds" right now. Martie and Emily from the "Dixie Chicks" have formed a new band sans Natalie and their new album is amazing. Once you get used to the new sounds, you will fall in love, promise.

I love when they talk about the connection they have as sisters and how it's so easy to make music together.

My favorite song is the first track called, Skyline

 

What am i doin' here 

In such a lonely place?

Birds fly below

I'm high up in my cage

Wide awake again

Or am i dreamin'?

Trains passing by

World's spinning 'round my head

Then i heard a sweet voice cry

Telling me yeah it's gonna be alright

I just look at the skyline

A million lights are lookin' back at me

And when they shine

I see a place i know i'll find some peace

I obviously relate to being somewhere different but at the same time the song is upbeat and a good reminder that we are exactly where we are supposed to be...and everything will be alright.

Happy Sunday!

I LOVE the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore I will call upon him as long as I live.

Psalm 116:1-2

The Zoo

We ventured off to the Des Moines Zoo a few days ago. It was HOT! Not Florida or Texas hot, but nonetheless. We loved it! We are members for the Houston zoo, so we got in for free. Yipee. Oh my gracious, guess which animal we happened to see first? Not one, but two red pandas. Gabe was obsessed with the one in Houston. It looks more like a racoon, than anything. But Gabe remains fascinated.

Here he is on front of the exhibit for the red panda in Houston. This picture always makes me laugh. He looks like he is going to implode with excitement, but wants to remain a casual adult. The panda is in the tree.

Back to the Des Moines zoo. It was amazing, smaller than Houston but I dare say better. There were areas where you simple opened up a gate and walked into the exhibits or "cages" and just stayed on the sidewalk and the animals roamed free, even on the sidewalks sometimes.

Peacocks

wallaby

This was soooo neat! They aren't skiddish at all.

The giraffes were my favorite. They have feeding times too where you can get really close, but we missed it. I told Gabe we should go back again just to feed them.

I just love looking at their necks. The fur is so amazing!

Here are a few more pics. Too many to share!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Healthy Marriage

Gabe-isms

1. A couple days ago we were both huddled around the computer (primary source of entertainment) and Gabe was exiting out of the internet screen. Our program asks again to make sure you are really done looking at the screen before it exits and Gabe was just staring at it. I sat there for a few seconds and finally said, "what are you doing? It's asking a simple question." To which he replied "Oh, sorry I was finishing up a song in my head."

2. He woke up a few nights ago, rolled over and said "Boobsicle" I laughed out loud at 2am. Boobsicle. Hmmmmmmmmmmm?

(I hope he doesn't make me shut down this whole operation)

3. That same night I actually heard him singing in his sleep. Singing. It was unrecognizable, but defintely some type of song.

4. Hi honey, what did you have for lunch today? (They give them meals here) Oh I ate a salad, so that was healthy, then I had a bacon cheeseburger, pizza, pasta, broccoli and cheese, chicken sandwich, tater tots, carrots, and a root beer float.

Oh, okay, glad you started out healthy.

Just to be fair, I let him embarass me too

Christina-isms

1. I came home and told Christina that I needed to take my shirt off for a scene, to which she quickly replied, "Oh, you better do some push ups."

2. I come home with a diet coke as a generous gesture for my "diet coke obsessed" wife and instead of thanking me she quickly asked what's the "diet coke to ice" ratio, how long had the ice been melting, is it from a fountain.

3. (Night routine for Christina)
    10:00pm "snuggle me"
    11:00 "snuggle me"
    12:00 "GABE, SNUGGLE ME"
    1:00am "snuggle me uuuuhhhhhhh..."
    2:00 "uuhhhhhh thunder,..... snuggle me"
    3:00 "I dropped my pillow on the floor, uuuhhhh snuggle me"
    5:00 "you're singing in your sleep again, snuggle me"
    8:00 "how come you never snuggle me?"

4. A typical conversation with my wife...
  (G)  "Can you hand me the pickles? (silence for 5 seconds)
           Christina, can you hand me the pickles? (10 seconds)
           Hey honey can you hand me the pickles? (20 seconds)
           CHRISTINA!"
   (C) "WHAT! WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME?"
   (G) "I asked you for the pickles, THREE TIMES"
   (C) "Oh, well you could have just gotten them yourself"


   Man, we laughed so hard over this post. As many of you know we have been together a long time and love each other very much, but it is really fun to point out the silly sometimes.

I think this might be a reoccuring post you will see from time to time. Gabe already had 15 more in his head.

New obsessions

                                                  
 Go here for the fun tutorial!  Trey and Lucy

A true labor of love. Took almost a week to finish. It's not perfect, but neither am I. I'm sure if make a few more it will get better, but overall, I think it's pretty cute.


Tonight I have been using photobucket to post these photos. I may be a convert. Picnik has always been
 a favorite for photo editing, but I think photobucket may be a bit more versatile. We'll see.

Want to follow me? I have ten followers. I'm not sure how important it is to have followers. I know I shouldn't base my self worth in followers but I know there are more than ten of you. Right??  I know it. I don't care if we don't know you. You can ride along on our adventure too. :) Go ahead press the follow button on the right.

Just in case you forgot, next Tuesday night I will be counting down the hours to see Eclipse. Will you be at the midnight showing? I found a few girls to go with. Gabe is on his knees with thanks.

Love,
Twilight fan

The balloon

Indianola is known for a hot air balloon festival held every summer. Sadly we will be leaving Iowa a few days before it starts. There is even a musuem that Gabe and I plan to peruse one of these days. I was on my way back from Des Moines when I spotted this off to my left...

Because I had nothing else to do, I decided to get closer and try and find it. So I went down a couple country roads and got pretty close. It was beautiful!

If you wanted to know how to reduce stress in your life I suggest the following

1. Quit your job

2. Follow your husband to Iowa

3. Craft/Sew

4. Follow hot air balloons down country roads

You won't have a ton of money but you'll have a job again soon and you'll know you're living your life to the fullest. Happy Monday! Didn't know I could really mean it until now.

Happy Father's Day

To Our Dads,
 Thanks for being everything and more. We love you both soooooo much and are so excited to see you soon!

(Dad and I at San Antonio river walk, 2009)

(Michele and Dad Christmas 2009)

my heart

I was thinking a lot about high school recently. Catching up with friends via their blogs or facebook has been amazing. I love browsing pictures and seeing that they are happy. I also find it fascinating that some have not just one child, but multiple children. Then, there are some whom aren't even dating. I'm happy about being somewhere in the middle. I feel like we are just where we should be, together and in love. High school for some people is down right miserable and never ending. My experience was quite different, mainly because of this kid I met...

Little did I know I'd marry him and give him my whole heart. How could you possibly imagine that when you're 16. Somehow, I think my heart always knew.

Happy weekend!

Grand Opening!

Mom called me last week and said you will never believe where I am at. To which I screamed "NO!" She said "YES!"

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

My mom works closely with several theme parks in Orlando to get merchandise in the parks. Every few months she would send me camera pics that showed the top part of a fence and the Hogwarts castle mid construction whenever she took a trip to Universal. A couple days ago they had a "soft opening" for any guest in the park. I guess there have been days in the last few weeks when hotel guests could get a sneek peak. But, that day anyone could enter. She said that at the entrance people were actually screaming, they were so excited. That will be me sure enough! Here are some of the pics she took. Tara F- I dedicate this post to you!

AAAHHH! I cannot wait!

Maybe once you see the snow you're supposed to forget about the 100 degree weather! Not.

If you haven't checked out the website,

you must have an infestation of whackspurts floating in your brain! Go!

Iowa day 19

My Day in a nutshell (round 2)

So, again, woke up shamefully late. Whoa with the insomnia. It's weird. Varies from day to day.

Ate lunch (yep, it was that late)

Gabe got back from rehearsal and I told him I wanted to go to Goodwill down the street to see if I could find treasures. Gabe is reluctant, but he has a long break and wants to indulge me. We walk to Goodwill (it's getting hotter, but still nice). We split up, because we always split up at stores. Is that just us? Does anyone else do that? I look through the dresses. One of my sewing goals is to find a dress that needs a little help and alter/embellish/spice it up a bit. No such luck. Then, from across the store I hear Gabe laughing. Not like a belly laugh, but just a little giggle. I instantaneously know someone is flirting with him. That kind of laugh. I don't even have to know what's being said, I just know. Maybe a wife intuition. Gabe had been on the opposite side of the store trying on blazers. Then from behind a lady comes up and proceeds to tell him that he looks good in every one of them blazers and doesn't know why he is even trying them all on.  So, he giggles. I of course am curious, so I walk over to see what he is giggling about...sure enough, and he tells me the story. Then he said "See what happens when you leave me alone." I didn't know goodwill could be a threat. He tries on a jacket and makes this face...

Oh my.
Guess what, he found a blazer for under $5 (not the one above, just to be clear) He may never wear it, but I think it will give him fond memories.

Then we walked to the corner sundry and shared a butterscotch milkshake. Yuuuuuummmmmy.

He played a game of basketball later in the afternoon and I just lounged in the shade and read a book. It was lovely. Good day. He'll be done with rehearsal soon. We'll have to watch more hulu. Seriously, amazing.

Thank you all for the sweet comments and emails about my latest craft endeavors. I love making them so it's always nice to receive the compliments. Thanks a bunch!

Look at my new nephew sporting the snake onsesie. AAAHHHH! How adorable is he? Look at the cheeks. I love it! I think his big brother Aiden is pretty darn cute too.

Bye bye for now :)

Something new

So, here are some things I'm working on...The crafting bug has bitten. I took a trip to Joanns the other day. It's roughly 12 miles away, so I don't frequent it very often. On this last trip I stumbled upon the jewelry making aisle. It was kind of dangerous. I might be addicted. My problem with accessories is that I never want to spend much money on them. I always think everyone looks so cute with those statement necklaces and hair pieces, but if it is over $10, forget it. Maybe I'm cheap, I like frugal better. I'd rather save that money and buy another piece of clothing eventually. Agreed? So, the more blog browsing I do the more I thought jewelry might not be that difficult. So, I started very simple.

Cool right? This all was inexpensive, made even cheaper when you use a gift card. Score. I put three "pearls" on a head pin, then used the pliers to bend the remaining part of the pin into a loop. Second, using the pliers I opened up the loop on the fish hook and put the pearls on. You just use the pliers one last time to make sure everything is snug. I was almost jumping when I was finished. I made earrings! I dare say they may have cost like a $1 to make. I showed them to Gabe and he told me they looked expensive, I think he was impressed.

So, since I had the supplies, I wanted to make more. I found this idea from trey and lucy for lace trim earrings. The spool of lace I bought for $2.50, then I just proceeded to cut some of the designs out of the silk.

Saved the best for last. I saw a dollar tree on the way to Joanns and stopped in to look around. Have you been in a dollar tree lately? I found great stuff. Including a pack of three headbands, for you guessed it, $1. I am picky about headbands. I have a funny head, a little mishaped I guess you could say, I'll tell you about that later if you don't know that story. Anyway, these were great, thin and very flexible. Then, I thought they were the perfect kind of headband to experiment with, maybe I could fancy them up a bit.

So, I took a silk flower that I found at Joanns, and popped off all the plastic and wire until I was left with just petals. Then I arranged them so they were pleasing to my eye then hand stitched more of my "pearls" in the center of the flowers using clear thread. I saved some of the petals for future projects.

Then I used hot glue to attach them to the headband. I about died. How cute.

Now, what to wear it with? I'll take better pics when I wear it out somewhere. Maybe a performance or church or something. It's been a productive day :)

Swords and flowers

Here are a few pics from yesterday. Gabe is currently entrenched in rehearsals for three operas and several different scenes programs. The three operas for this season are Susannah, The Marriage of Figaro and Macbeth. Below Gabe gets to put on a choreographed battle with swords and all the regalia for Macbeth. He is always pumped up when he comes back from those rehearsals and now I know why. Everything is done in slow motion at first, and then is gradually supposed to go faster once everything goes smoothly. I was still nervous, even when they were going at a turtle's speed. I took these while he was onstage, so forgive the quality, he was moving and I didn't want to use the flash. (He's in stripes) 

I'm excited to see the finished scene. While Gabe is playing with swords, I am either watching him or trying to be crafty. It's kind of overwhelming when I see all the cute tutorials online. I feel like I just want to try everything. I made this little rosette hair pin from this tutorial. It was quite easy and I plan to make a bunch more. This little one seems to get lost in my hair. I think it would look cute with a few of them clumped together. I also didn't have an extra barrette, so I just glued it to a bobby pin.  

I looked at this picture and instantly started looking for gray hairs. Isn't that sad. I found one for real a few weeks ago and now I'm scarred. Do you see any? I was also kind of stunned by all the freckles. Summer must be here. Love to you all.

Old photo challenge

I hopped over to one of my new favorite blogs, Busy Bee Lauren, and she challeneged her readers to post some old photos and give the stories behind them. The wonderful thing about this girl, is her story is much like mine. She married her high school sweetheart, who also happened to go on a mission. She waited for her husbsand too and now they are happily married.

It was really fun to go back and read her story of the day he returned from the mission. I felt everything she felt and related in such a way that I think others might not understand unless they experienced it themselves. I loved reading her story.

So here they are...

The day he came home from Brazil.

My heart lept out of my chest the first time I heard him call me baby again. I wrote this post last year to sum up my feeling about the mission. He came home almost five years ago.

Gabe asked me to marry him a few weeks later. He sang Unchained Melody and got down on one knee.

It was perfectly romantic.

We were married six months later. All my dreams came true.

Go ahead and take on the challenge. Post some of your favorites!

The projects have begun

Gretchen turn your eyes away :)

My sister in law Gretchen had a baby last week, a day shy of her own birthday. His name is Owen Jacob. How cute right? I should have made this stuff months ago, but knew I would have ton of time here in Iowa. So, I tried some more onesies and a couple burp cloths. I think they turned out pretty cute. They are in the mail now, so hopefully she doesn't peek ;)

I thought of the first onesie as I was looking through my stash of fabric. A green checkered fabric reminded me of a snake, so I thought I might try it. I added some embellished detail to the face and the snake goes over the shoulder and twirls in the back. It was a bear to do on the sewing machine but it probably would have taken three times longer to do it by hand.

The finished product.

Turned out pretty cute, I think. I can't wait to meet little Owen once we make it back to Florida. He was  9 pounds, 6 ounces and Gretchen had a natural delivery. Holla! So amazing! I know you are giving her a standing ovation right now.

A nap

He's so sleepy. He needed a nap after lunch. So I layed down with him.

I was playing on the internet, then I remembered the webcam...

I love him.

I was sewing today. I'll show you the finished product soon :) 

The jail

You read that write, the jail. In this little town of Indianola, I had to go to the jail to get my fingerprints done. No, not because I am a criminal, it's because I am a nurse and the state of Kentucky won't let me be a nurse without a background check. Poo. I did this a few years ago in Tallahassee, the state of Texas wanted the same thing. I went to the Tallahassee Police Department, signed in on a waiting list, waited 20 minutes, paid a few bucks and I was done. They only did it on certain days, but that didn't bother me. No big thing. I kind of thought I might go through a similar experience here. I thought wrong. On Friday I called the police station here and this is how that conversation went...

Me: Hello, I need to get fingerprints done for a nursing license, can I do that at your office?
Operator: No you need to go to the jail, here is there number 512--------, click.
(the jail)
Me: Hello, I need to get fingerprints done for a nursing license, can I do that there?
Operator: (huge sigh) well, I guess.....
Me: Sooooooo, are there certain times that are better to come in?
Operator: (huge sigh) well, are you coming like, today? Because it it's today it would have to be after 1pm.
Me: Well, no, actually I was wondering if I could come Monday.
Operator: I guess, still have to come after 1-2pm.
Me: K, thanks for all your help.

Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez.

So, today was the big day. Gabe was in the car, I told him I would be back in a few. Went to the third floor of the court house, or the jail. Elevator door opens...sitting right in front of me is a felon with a bright orange suit and a cop asking him questions. It happened to be the smallest lobby in the entire country and I just stood there about a two feet away from the man. I was weireded out, scared, creeped, you name it. Felon walks away, to jail. Another cop asks what I need, I explain, and he was very nice. Took down my information, was a bit confused as to why I was in Iowa but when I mentioned the opera he understood. Another cop comes around and takes me to the fingerprint area, meanwhile shutting all the doors around us.

Cop: If I don't shut these doors, they might start hollering at you.
Me: Great, thanks

Fingerprints are done, thank goodness and I leave. The end. Then I thought, I could write about this on the blog...sorry no pics inside the courthouse. I bet you really would have wanted to see what the felon looked like, right?

Cabaret, all the way!

Here are some highlights from Caberet Night.  The first one's really hilarious!!!!



"Be my friend" or the Facebook song performed by Gabe and some of his facebook friends.



"I'd give it all for you" from Songs for a New World-the camera ran out of memory so we only got the first half.

(proudly posted by Gabe of gabeandchristina inc.)

1 week

(museum district, Houston)

What a difference a week makes. We left Houston last Thursday. Here are some things we miss and don't miss...

MISS

1. Our friends, most specifically the Beetles and the butterfly. Real people, promise.
Our church friends are innumerable. Everyone was wonderful!

2. Restaurants! Gabe would like to point out that he specifically misses any Vietnamese sandwich shop.

3. I miss the malls, The Galleria of course, but also Memorial City Mall. Especially the establishment formerly known as Auntie Anne's which is now a Wetzel Pretzel. I mean, come ooooon. It is sooo not the same.

4. SWIRL! Our most favorite frozen yogurt place. I've heard that there are comparable places in FL. We'll see.

5. I miss my coworkers. I also miss my patients, mostly long term patients that I've known since I started working there. It was so hard saying goodbye to some of them. I received the most overwhelming compliments in those last few days.

6. Something I am obviously forgetting-  

DON'T MISS
1. TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC, especially traffic at 2:00pm for absolutely no reason!

2. traffic

3. Some other coworkers, :) not naming names here

4. Gabe doesn't miss the act of going to school and being a student. Yeah for my husband!

5. HEAT! It's so pleasant here in Des Moines.

Gabe will be performing in a Cabaret performance In Des Moines at 7:30 tonight. I will try and get a video that isn't pasted with the sun, oh and upright as well. That would be good.

Casey's General Store

Ok, so it's basically just a gas station mart. But it's quickly becoming one of my favorite stops here.
I got a 44 ouncer, thats right 44oz fountain diet coke. Several hours later I hadn't even finished it. Note to self, never go with anything bigger than 32oz. I got to the register and the sweet girl said...

"Just the pop?"

and I said with a smile on my face...

"Yep, just the pop."

I am offcially in the midwest. It's nice here. I drove to Des Moines to go to the bank. Wouldn't you know there was a Joann Fabrics less than a mile away. I found fabric for a skirt I have been meaning to make. I've had the pattern for probably over a year and always get too intimidated by it. I will make that skirt. I WILL. I will. I will. I have some other stuff on my to do list as well.

Remember how I told you about the sing through for The marriage of Figaro last night. I decided to go with Gabe. There was a tornado warning, so we were all moved to the basement. I almost bit off all my nails. Where am I going to sleep I kept thinking!  Luckily, by the time it ended the warning was over and we could leave.

Oh, one more thing, my Gram would have been 90 today. Happy Birthday! Miss you!

Iowa day 5

My Day in a nutshell

Wake up shamefully late, because I'm not working, and sometimes I have trouble sleeping. But it's ok, because my lovey is sleeping next to me. And sometimes he wakes up and sees me awake and kisses me.

Blog updates. Don't you love it when you wake up and like 5 or more of the blogs you adore have been updated? I love it. I love bloggy world.

Then I wait for him to come back to our small abode so we can have lunch together. Today we decided on sandwhiches. It was lovely.

Watch the second episode of The Bachelorette on Hulu. Why do I put myself through this. I inevitably get sucked in.

Gym, unfamiliar gym, which makes me uncomfortable for some reason. Looking for familiar equipment and not seeing any. Fear to use equipment as I might appear like a doofus.

A trip to Walmart. That's right. An outing, to walmart, nonetheless. But, guess what I found at walmart, fabric and sewing notions. This made me happy. I know it's so close in case I need something real quick for a project. I just bought essential food items, though.

Back at small abode waiting for Gabe to come back for dinner. Then he's off to a sing through of The Marriage of Figaro, for which he is covering the part of the Count. (For non-singers, that means he goes on if the professional, more experienced singer gets sick or something. It's good for Gabe's resume. He's excited about it.) I might go listen. Or watch hulu again. My sewing machine is here, I guess I just need a push to get me started. I promise you'll see projects soon.

Oh, and I finished Eclipse, again, last night. I could not be more ready for the movie to come out. Seriously.

(view from our room)

P.S. Thanks for reading.